Follow TV Tropes

Following

Fanfic / Gender Confusion

Go To

Gender Confusion is a Naruto fanfic where Deidara overhears other Akatsuki members gossip about his gender. Deidara finds it funny, and so decides to troll everyone by being as androgynous as possible.

Take a dose of crack. Add in a large dash of crossdressing. Toss in some Alternative Character Interpretation. You have yourself the three main ingredients in Gender Confusion.

Can be found here.


Gender Confusion provides examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    A-C 
  • Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Considering Chapter Thirteen, Hidan will probably forget this trope by tomorrow.
  • All Periods Are PMS: Invoked by Deidara while in girl mode. Kisame sees through it.
    • Played with when most of Akatsuki are forced through a three-month sex-change stint. Deidara decides to teach Sex-Ed, and PMS is covered (as are a number of far less pleasant things). Itachi holds the dubious honor of being the first to go through it during the change.
  • Alternate Self: If you pay attention in Chapter 3, you start realizing that Hidan's probably got more than a few issues trying to figure out what goes on with all the OTHER versions of him out there.
  • Amicable Exes: While Deidara and Yumiko were never married, they did have a rather heartbreaking split. A little over a year later, Deidara gets an invitation to Yumiko's wedding, and we see that they're actually still quite friendly, if occasionally a little awkward.
    • Averted, however, with Deidara and Mamoru.
  • Anger Born of Worry: Deidara is uncharacteristically terrified after Sasori starts a battle with Orochimaru and co., and rips into him afterwards.
    • Chapter Fifty has Konan berating Deidara for everything s/he did on her dangerous mission/AWOL period... including dying.
  • Apologetic Attacker: Juugo apologizes to Hinata before he tries to kill her. Hinata isn't much better.
  • Apocalypse How: A Continental Class 4: All living creatures die within the Elemental Nations, effectively wiping out humanity because of Deidara's sacrifice. This occurs due to narrowly avoiding a Class 6 Universal.
  • Apocalypse Wow: As per her usual sadism, Phoenixyfriend revels in the obliteration of the world.
  • Archaeological Arms Race: Sasori, Deidara, and Tobi raid one of Orochimaru's abandoned bases after the snake's death, as they know that people are going to be doing the exact same thing in hopes of stealing his numerous kinjutsu.
  • Arkham's Razor / Occam's Razor: Deidara provides one to Sasori to explain why he is hearing voices: he is hearing the author. Sasori is not amused and thus provides a counter theory: Genjutsu. Guess which one is right. It's the first one.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Sasuke delivers several to Itachi in chapter 51.
  • Ass Pull: Sasuke's escape is lampshaded as such in universe.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Deidara.
    • And many other members of Akatsuki, after the Drunk!Kami incident led to three months of a forced gender change.
  • Ax-Crazy: Hidan, as in canon.
  • Babies Ever After: After Konan's pregnancy is introduced, this seems to get more and more likely as her and Nagato's ending.
  • Badass Adorable: Deidara declares Tobi to be the cutest thing ever (even going so far as to call him a Keet). This being Tobi, the badass in Badass Adorable is also covered.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Or, more accurately, the villain doesn't get any more punishment than any other character. Kabuto dies unceremoniously with everyone else.
  • Barrier Maiden: Two examples;
    • Hidan serves as an active one, as every soul he sacrifices is then used to maintain the balance between dimensions, thus keeping the universe alive a little longer
    • Turns out that Sasuke as the Irrationality Locus is a passive one. A rare example where the Barrier Maiden actually DIES, which in turn DOES cause the destruction of all life on the planet.
  • BDSM: Deidara asks if this is why Sasori's informant is tied up and gagged in the omake at the end of chapter six.
    • Deidara and Hidan are also later revealed to enjoy this in the actual sexual sense. However, Deidara is more interested in the bondage, while Hidan's more interested in the Sadomasochism.
  • Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Lampshaded by Kakuzu when Tobi says his famous line in the background.
  • Beat: Fairly frequent, to the point where writing them all out would take far too long.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: Juugo like Deidara because s/he lets him do something useful and nonlethal.
  • Becoming the Mask / Beneath the Mask: One reason why Zetsu is so unsure of whether to label Deidara with depression or bipolar disorder is due to the fact that Deidara is quite good at infiltration and thus quite good at faking his feelings... and it's hard to tell where and when the mask ends.
  • Berserk Button: Don't touch Sasori's puppets; he'll come after you with a flaming chainsaw.
  • Beta Couple: Nagato and Konan. Their relationship is just full of WAFF, and they provide a more mature relationship to compare Deidara and Hidan to.
    • Strangely enough, Hidan and Deidara seem to be a variation in that they do have a remarkably easy time getting together compared to less important couples, such as Jiraiya and Tsunade, or Sasuke and Karin.
  • The Bet: There's one between the various other Akatsuki members regarding whether or not Deidara and Hidan would get together. They do.
  • Beyond the Impossible: Sasuke is the Irrationality Locus so he can pull off things so insane that Fan Wank is needed to explain it. Deidara can also pull this off by exploiting Sasuke's position as such.
  • BFS: Samehada, of course, as well as Kubikiri Hochou... which is what leads to [TenTen] badgering Kisame and Suigetsu for quite a while.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Konan admits that she's started thinking of Deidara as a little sister/annoying cousin in chapter eleven.
    • Of course, Itachi and Sasuke later on, if only in a very twisted manner (lampshaded by Kisame).
  • The Big Damn Kiss: Chapter thirteen, where Deidara and Hidan finally get together.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Parodied in chapter 58, where Deidara is gagged and Kakashi is the only one that can understand him, because he speaks muffled.
  • Big Entrance: The start(...ish) of Chapter Fifty, where Hidan kicks in the door.
    Hidan: I'M BACK, B***ES!
  • Bittersweet Ending: VERY VERY bitter. The gods recapture the Juubi and save the universe from destruction, stabilizing the Naruto dimension. The Cost? Every sentient human on the planet and the majority of Animal life and Summons in the Elemental nations. Gets even more bitter when you realize that, with all humanity dead and thus no one entering the realm of the dead and generating the energy required to support the three realms, the dimension could still collapse.
  • Black Hole Sue: Invoked[/]Played With in concerns to Sasuke, who is this to, not the story, but the dimension itself.
  • Breather Episode: Once the plot starts weighing on your mind, you begin appreciating times like the Travel Arc, which is full of mostly breather episodes with lots of fluff and humor, and just enough stuff that's plot-relevant to keep you from forgetting just how deep in s*** they are.
  • Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: Played with. Deidara and Hidan are very aware that they're in a fanfiction, and that their "world" is seperate from that of the author, but just as real. Unfortunately, the rest see Deidara's insistence on the fact to mean that s/he's delusional or schizophrenic.
  • Captain Obvious: Occasionally.
    • First used by name in chapter five, with Deidara referring to Sasori as such.
  • Casual Danger Dialogue: Deidara has no qualms ignoring Konoha jonin in favor of taunting and then teasing Itachi.
    • Deidara, again in girl mode, just keeps on casually chatting when Konan holds a kunai to her throat in chapter six.
  • Catgirl: Deidara, during the punishment from Kami.
    • Later, Shikamaru is forced to be a catgirl as 'punishment' from Deidara for burying Hidan.
  • Cerebus Roller Coaster: Starts off as a humorous crack fic with occasional heartwarming moments, veers into a small darker moment when Sasori comes into the base half-destroyed while rounding the corner for chapter ten, goes immediately back into humor, and then repeats with increasing frequency and intensity. The largest "dip" so far would have to be chapter 35, which many readers admitted to crying during. Naturally, they also admitted to laughing their heads off only a few chapters later.
  • Chainsaw Good: What happens when you touch Sasori's puppets without permission, along with Kill It with Fire.
  • Cheerful Child: Deidara's got this air about her, even though she's supposedly sixteen at the start of the story. NOTE: This only applies to female Deidara.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Remember when Sasori found that paper about the Irrationality Locus? The locus is Sasuke.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Yumiko, and later Mamoru. Mamoru was actually foreshadowed in an author's note, and unlike Yumiko his cooperation is going to help save the world.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Deidara is sometimes this.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Sasori sees himself as this.
  • The Confidant: Deidara becomes this for Hidan in chapter 3, and it plays a role in getting the two to become closer friends.
    • Similarly, Deidara's knowledge of Tobi's real identity leads to his/her friendship with Obito.
  • Conservation of Ninjutsu: The fight in chapter two is delayed just by Deidara and Sasori showing up; too many Akatsuki to distribute the ninjutsu among.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: Konan punishes Deidara for making Itachi BSOD by... using Deidara as a dress-up doll for a scene.
  • Cosmic Plaything: As far as Kami is concerned, Akatsuki is this. Granted, she was drunk at the time, but she still did it.
    • Sasuke's insanity is partially caused by a Cosmic Phenomenon that also keeps him alive, in spite of everything that is thrown at him. Including a Nuclear Class explosion.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Depending on your point of view, Sasori's burn cream and Deidara's chakra-less bombs may count in chapter four.
    • Subverted for Sasori later on, as he's revealed to be the medic for Akatsuki as a whole, so having burn cream actually makes sense for him.
    • Justified in concerns to the heating/cooling/anti-poison seals in Hiruko.
  • Creator's Pet: Invoked for the duration of a small portion of chapter sixteen, Shino.
    Because he's awesome like that.
  • Creepy Crossdresser: Well, Deidara's technically creepy...
  • Cruel Mercy: You'd expect Sasuke's punishment for leaving Konoha to be something horrifically painful and excruciatingly humiliating. If you consider being indefinitely tied to Naruto via seal to be horrifically painful and excruciatingly humiliating, then you're probably right.
  • Crystal Dragon Jesus: Judging by the excitement of Amegakure as a whole, they fully expect Konan and Nagato's child to be this, much to the future parents' amusement.
  • Cuddle Bug: Deidara is this in girl mode. It's even lampshaded in chapter eleven, when Kisame finds Deidara cuddling up to, of all people, Itachi.
  • Curse: Kami, due to being completely smashed, decides to punish the Akatsuki by gender-bending everyone except the Paths, Deidara, and Sasori. Deidara gets cat features (which she honestly enjoys, so Kami's little idea backfired there), and Sasori gets to deal with the author. Constantly.
    • Cursed with Awesome: As troublesome as the sex change is for all of them, Itachi's slightly thankful as it "pauses" his illness for its duration.
  • Cute Kitten: Maia, originally a character meant to stay for one omake, but lasting longer due to popular demand. However, she's rarely seen due to not being part of the plot.
  • Cutting the Knot: The 'players' of Deidara's little game are supposed to figure out the truth on their own. Hidan asks Jashin. Zetsu just steals Deidara's birth certificate from Iwa.

     D-H 
  • Dating Catwoman: Deidara is the "Catwoman" here, with Yumiko as, not quite Batman, but a law-abiding civilian noble.
    • Later, Mamoru and Deidara fulfill this role to each other, in different ways. Mamoru is the heir to a large Yakuza sector, while Deidara is, as is well known, an insane terrorist bomber.
  • Deadpan Snarker: A large number of characters, but namely Obito and Suigetsu.
  • Death Is Cheap: Hidan isn't dead, so his burial in chapter thirty-two is technically this trope.
    • Deidara in chapter thirty-three. Blown to hell by a nuclear class bomb? Yeah, but Deidara gets better by exploiting Sasuke's irrationality.
  • Détournement: Chapter 48 has Tobi parodying the (in)famous "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs." anti-drug ad by... dropping a vase.
  • Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Sasori is surprisingly calm about meeting with and talking to Jashin.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Apparently, half the things Deidara says if under the influence of just about anything.
    • Later on, a few of the interactions between Sai and Shikamaru make you wonder just how aware Sai is of what he's doing.
  • Don't Fear the Reaper: Jiraiya summons the Shinigami in chapter Sixty Three.
  • Double Entendre: Once again, half the things Deidara says while drunk.
  • Double Standard Abuse Femaleon Male: Averted when it comes to Deidara in girl mode. No one has any qualms about hurting her.
  • Downer Ending: Deidara flies into Juubi and uses C0, which combined with the Juubi's unstable chakra, caused a nuclear explosion that covered the Elemental Nations, killing all humanity, most land animals, and most summons.
  • Dramatic Thunder: Tobi uses it in chapter 54 when announcing that it's time to go.
  • Dr. Jerk: The medic for the Akatsuki is Sasori.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady / Lady Looks Like a Dude: What the entire story is built upon.... at the beginning, anyway.
  • Dull Surprise: Kakashi is in too much shock to react much to the revelation that Tobi is Obito.
  • Dumb Blonde: Deidara occasionally plays to the stereotype to mess with people... or in the case of chapter seven, as an excuse for forgetting major information.
  • Dynamic Entry: Gai has all of three lines in chapter two, but still manages to pull it off, and with style at that.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Deidara's preferred clothing in girl mode. Apparently, it hides all the necessary areas and has the added advantage of looking cute... which, of course, makes people underestimate her.
  • Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Subverted. Sasuke's Raiton Chidori (Italize that please) easily beats Deidara's Doton powered Bakuton bombs. But that shouldn't disable the bombs, just weaken them.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: The whole point of Jashinism and human sacrifices is to PREVENT this.
  • Even the Girls Want Her / Even the Guys Want Him: Is it really any surprise?
  • Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Mild, in chapter five, when Deidara realizes that Hidan isn't straight.
    • Played straight in chapter 64, where Deidara has an absolutely MASSIVE attack of this trope when he realizes that Sasuke, otherwise known as the Only thing Keeping the World Together, has just died.
  • The Family That Slays Together: Akatsuki is a non-biological example, but is explicitly stated to be such in chapter fifty.
  • Fangirl: Itachi's more or less secretly terrified of them. He sometimes has hidden panic attacks.
  • Fantastic Nuke: Deidara, of course. However, C0 plus Juubi equals the death of humanity.
  • Feminine Women Can Cook: Whether you consider Deidara a girl or not.
  • For the Lulz: Deidara's whole reason for crossdressing... in the beginning, anyway.
  • Fourth Wall: Played with. A lot.
    A/N: Oh, and I've started ignoring the fourth wall. It keeps badmouthing me, so I told it that it would be fired if it kept on back-sassing me. It threw a tantrum and then went on a paid vacation.
  • Fourth-Wall Observer: Hidan and Deidara.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Taka has a very uncomfortable encounter with the author.
  • For Want Of A Nail: Deidara's personality is the nail here. The story is based on this combined with the Fan Wank of the "Three Gods Theory."
  • The Gadfly: Deidara's entire given reason (at least, early on) for doing all this is to mess with people's heads.
  • Genki Girl: Deidara, so very much. Later on, we find out that Yumiko fits as well.
  • Genre Buster: Starts of as a cracky humor piece with no sign of seriousness. It then turns to Romance, with a side of W.A.F.F.. After that, it becomes an action/adventure with bits of Angst and occasional Mystery. The fun part? After a genre has been incorporated, it doesn't leave. That means that, by the end, you have a WAFF-y Humor Crack Romance with a side of Action-Adventure, Angst, and Mystery. All at once.
  • Giant Equals Invincible: Jashin grows to the size of a small moutain in order to body-check the Juubi... into a mountain.
  • Glomp: Deidara. Fairly frequently, too.
  • Godzilla Threshold: Well, you get pretty desperate when a dimension is on a quick route to completely collapsing.
    • More specifically, Jashin, a god, is put into a self-induced coma so that all his energy can be drained and used to personally fuel the demon realm.
    • Then there's Deidara and Hidan's plan, which involves a giant symbol of Jashin painted onto an enormous block of sandstone. What does it do? It's to summon Jashin, the actual god.
  • Good Is Dumb: In chapter sixteen, Kiba tries to antogonize Sasori. Let that sink in for a moment. Sasori calls him out on it.
  • G-Rated Mental Illness: So very, very averted.
  • Gratuitous French: If barely, in chapter four. One word, which is known to most of the world anyway.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: Seeing as this is a Naruto fanfiction? Naturally.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: Deidara and Hidan in Chapter Four.
  • Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Deidara does seem to have elements of this at times.
  • Having a Blast: Well, Deidara's the main character, so what do you think?
  • Hearing Voices: Technically the author, but what do you think people assume?
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: Deidara denies being in a relationship with Hidan in chapter ten. Guess what happens a few chapters later?
  • Hermaphrodite: Hidan considers this a possible answer to Deidara, but decides that even s/he wouldn't mess with them quite that much. Later, it's discussed that the politically correct term for such is intersex.
    • On a side note, Hidan apparently once met a hermaphrodite on a mission and that's why he'd wondered in the first place.
  • He Knows Too Much: In Tobi's early chapters, he's concerned over Deidara's knowledge about him, and wonders about whether s/he needs to be taken out. However, Deidara's knowledge eventually causes a Strange Friendship between him/her and Obito.
  • Heroic BSoD: Deidara makes people do this frequently.
    • First chapter has Itachi mildly breakdown when Deidara pretends to be a fangirl
    • Hidan's fault: he tells Konan that he found out by asking Jashin, and she goes into temporary shock.
    • When Jiraiya sees Deidara in girl mode, and is pretty much catatonic as a result.
    • When Deidara licks Itachi's forehead for no reason, and he becomes unresponsive.
    • Deidara has this herself in chapter fifty, but it's taken much more seriously than the other cases, due to why she's so disgusted with herself in the first place.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: According to chapter 51, Kisame and Itachi are this trope.
  • Hidden Depths: A couple:
    • Zetsu has a degree in psychology.
    • Deidara knows a lot about chemistry.
    • Hidan's ridiculously detailed knowledge on all religions.
  • Hide Your Lesbians: Played with, as it is played straight in the wider world, though ninjas are fairly tolerant of homosexuals, so they avert this trope.
  • Highly-Visible Ninja: Deidara, multiple times throughout the story, though it happens as early as chapter four.
  • Horse of a Different Color: Hiruko, according to Deidara.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Deidara and Hidan.

     I-R 

  • If It's You, It's Okay: Averted. Many would expect Karin's canon obsession with Sasuke to remain regardless of gender. Instead, there's a rather blunt conversation about just how awkward the situation is for her when Sasuke is turned into a girl, because she wants to keep loving... but she's just not into girls. Fortunately, Sasuke doesn't stay female forever.
  • Ignored Enemy: The Konoha nin are this to Deidara and Sasori when they drop in on Itachi and Kisame's fight.
  • Incoming Ham: Deidara's entry on Itachi and Kisame's Konoha fight. A few minutes later, Gai drops in with a Dynamic Entry.
  • The Ingenue: Deidara likes to play the part once in a while.
  • Insistent Terminology: Frequently, regarding gender pronouns, from a variety of characters, as well as the author herself.
    • Also in chapter 54, where Suigetsu demands to be called a minion, not a henchman.
  • Jerkass Gods: Subverted when it's shown that Kami's outwardly rude demeanor is only in place because of the insecurity she feels over being the one to cause the current mess when she created the Sage of the Six Paths.
  • Kaiju: The Juubi.
  • Killed Off for Real: Asuma, Chiyo, and the Jinchuuriki. Everyone. Even Hidan, because Jashin was merciful.
  • Large Ham: Deidara and Hidan, so very, very much.
  • Last of His Kind: Hidan is the last Jashinist left alive after Kumo-nin destroyed all the temples.
    • Karin was afraid that she was the last Uzumaki for quite a long time, and her parents took precautions in case that WAS the case.
  • LEGO Genetics: Karin points out that if Sasuke sleeps with her, their children might have the Rinnegan, as she is an Uzumaki (and that gives her a big dose of Senju blood, given how much the two clans intermarried).
  • Lipstick-and-Load Montage: A few, here and there.
  • Magic A Is Magic A: Jashinism and... well, just religion in general. The rules are twisted, but they stick.
  • May–December Romance: Deidara considers faking one with Sasori in the first chapter, but he refuses.
  • Meaningful Name / What Did You Expect When You Named It ____?: Deidara teases Obito about how he created the name of "Tobi" by just switching around the syllables a little.
  • Medium Awareness: Hidan and Deidara.
    • Later, Sasori fits as well.
  • Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty: Deidara's two modes ignore this completely. Both are considered attractive in-universe, and both are that same S-Rank missing nin that can blow up a village and laugh at it. It kind of helps that 'they' are the same person.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: Have fun reading this story and treating mental illnesses like a joke. Sure, the story's humorous most of the time... won't change the fact that you have to deal with understanding the true nature of a lot of psychology that makes the story a little to poignant at times.
  • Mistaken for Gay: Deidara and Hidan at the nightclub, though that was entirely Deidara's fault and completely on purpose.
  • Mood-Swinger: Deidara, though only on occasion.
  • Mood Whiplash: Used effectively, to an almost terrifying degree.
    • A minor, amusing case is in chapter four, where Deidara jokes with Sasori, toys with team Gai, sex changes, and ends the chapter with a bang. This is lampshaded when Sasori breaks the "evil" mood that Deidara created with a bland request to get going.
    • Used later on for a number of Wham Episodes, and very effectively, at that.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Sasori acts as the medic for the Akatsuki. Not a very good bedside manner on that one.
  • Mother Nature, Father Science: If we look at Hidan and Deidara, it's inverted. Hidan is a religious nut with little thought of science most of the time, while Deidara likes playing with chemicals a little too much.
  • Mr. Exposition: Sasori fills this roll for the Akatsuki and the readers in chapter thirty-three.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Lampshaded with Sasuke. Moves into Ms. Fanservice for a short while later on.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Apparently, destroying the Juubi caused the natural cycle to collapse, so the past several centuries have seen the dimension on the verge of collapse because of what he did, and the Jashinists are the only ones keeping it from collapsing. So, nice job messing up reality, Sage of the Six Paths.
    • Naruto has a major goal of getting Deidara to desert Akatsuki and join Konoha (thinking that s/he is a victim of Akatsuki due to his/her mental issues). Unfortunately, he helps earn Konoha Deidara's hate by helping nearly kill Kakuzu and burying Hidan.
  • No Fourth Wall: Hidan and, due to him, Deidara. Though it's usually just Medium Awareness and Fourth-Wall Observer.
  • Noodle Incident: Many, and there's even a list of them. They're even referred to as the Noodle Incidents.
  • No Periods, Period: Averted, sort of.
  • The Nose Knows: How Kisame figures out.
  • Not That There's Anything Wrong with That: Of course, Deidara saying this is a little easier to take completely seriously considering what he spends his time doing.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Played Straight, Subverted and Double subverted depending on who you are and where you are in the Akatsuki. For the first few chapters, Kakuzu and Kisame have no idea it's an act; Kakuzu, Itachi, Konan, and Nagato know it's an act; Deidara, Hidan and Zetsu are aware he is faking it, but want him to continue the act because it makes him more fun and pleasant to be around.
    • Of course, then people start figuring it out... they're S-rank criminals for a reason after all.
  • Odd Friendship: A few.
    • Deidara and Obito. Notable not because of who they are, but because all the sides of "Tobi" are in on it.
    • Juugo and [TenTen].
  • Of Corset Hurts: Subverted, and discussed. The other Akatsuki members expect it to hurt... and are quite surprised when it doesn't, and Deidara explains exactly when and why a corset would hurt... when it's worn wrong.
  • Of Corsets Sexy: Certainly seems so, for Itachi.
  • Omake: An omake request is the prize for every Kiriban review. Pretty good incentive, as far as it goes.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: Sasori doesn't feel pain and has a puppet body, so ever wound is only a flesh wound. Granted, flesh is wood for him, but its the same difference.
  • Only Sane Man: Sasori sees himself as this.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: A couple instances, mostly played for humor.
    • Chapter 2: Sasori actually (mildly) freaks out at the idea of Deidara faking PMS.
    • Chapter 45: Itachi's visible anger is taken as a sign by everyone to stay as far away as possible.
      • Except Sasori, who just plays the role of Dr. Jerk and orders him back to bed.
  • "Open!" Says Me: Chapter fifty starts off with Deidara trying to convince Hidan to kick the door in for a Big Entrance. He caves.
  • Pals with Jesus: It's been implied that Jashin and Hidan are not only on speaking terms, but rather casual with one another.
  • Papa Wolf: When Nagato confirms Konan's pregnancy, she is effectively removed from active duty. Due to the romantic (though non-sexual) nature of their relationship, the trope may or may not apply.
  • The Peeping Tom: One of the rules for the game is that you can't go peeping to figure it out.
  • Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Yumiko and Giichi. Maybe not perfectly, but as far as an arranged marriage goes, they seem pretty well-matched, and Deidara even notes that they might be able to actually fall in love eventually.
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Nope. Deidara has the same Akatsuki color scheme in either mode.
  • Playing with Fire: Sasori's chainsaw.
    • Itachi's ability to set anything he tries to boil on fire.
  • Plot Twist: is quite fond of subverting audience expectations.
    • Deidara's fight ends as in canon... and then he's brought back to life by taking advantage of Sasuke's status as the Irrationality Locus.
    • On that note, Sasuke being the irrationality locus.
    • Chapter 58: Amaterasu shows up.
  • Power Born of Madness: The only reason Hidan could survive the ritual that made him immortal was because he was ALREADY insane.
  • Power Nullifier: Kakashi can turn off Sasuke's chidori, seeing as he invented and perfected it. It isn't useful in most battles, but here, its pretty effective.
  • Pretty Boy: Deidara, in chapter four, teases Neji and calls him a "white-eyed pretty boy."
  • Psycho Psychologist: Hello, Zetsu! Of course, like most tropes, this one is played with, as opposed to played straight. Zetsu has split personality, cannibalism, and likely a whole host of other problems... but he also earned his degree partially in an attempt to understand and help Tobi with his underlying traumas, and genuinely tries to help out Deidara with his issues.
  • Puppy-Dog Eyes: Deidara uses them occasionally when in girl mode.
  • Pyromaniac: Deidara, of course. Of course, it's seen as a genuine mental disorder here (unlike canon), but goes untreated, as they're convinced he makes for a better shinobi without having it treated.
  • Rage Against the Mentor: Nagato has... issues... with Jiraiya. Downplayed, but they're there.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: Played with everywhere.
    • Averted in chapter 51, where Sasuke and Itachi have reconciled enough to hug.
  • Recursive Crossdressing: Deidara. Usually just For the Lulz.
  • Redemption Equals Death: According to Sasuke, this is what Itachi was trying to pull off, even calling him a "twisted martyr" and variations thereof.
  • Religion of Evil: Subverted with Jashinism. Jashin's just trying to keep everything from falling to pieces around him.
  • Rule #1: Pein wrote a list of rules that the Akatsuki have to follow. Deidara is the reason for about half of them.
    • Sasuke's list in chapter 46 consists of various conclusions drawn from the information given to him... but every other point is about how completely insane Obito is.
  • Rule of Three: Deidara has to wait to his third relationship to get it right. Fortunately, it's with Hidan.
  • Rule 63: As of chapter twelve, Deidara has officially entered true rule 63 territory.
    • And as of chapter fourteen, so has the rest of Akatsuki, barring Sasori and the non-Nagato Paths (Nagato, however, is not exempt).
    • Once Taka and the Konoha hostages join in, at last half of them are subject to it at least once.

     S-Z 

  • Satan Is Good: Jashin's name literally means Evil God, but he's only asking for sacrifices to keep the universe from collapsing in on itself.
  • Schizo Tech: Just as much as canon.
    • Orochimaru is the source of the method of artificial insemination (though through Deidara stealing a scroll, rather than willingly) that allows Konan and Nagato to have a kid despite the latter's health problems preventing them from engaging in the usually necessary activities for it.
  • Schmuck Bait: Zetsu refuses to tell Tobi Deidara's gender, leaving a very confused big bad behind. This is eventually a non-issue, but at first...
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The Shinigami is thankful for Jiraiya's summoning, and as such passes up on eating his soul. Not that it makes much of a difference in the end.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: Itachi doesn't realize that Pein and Sasori know about his illness.
  • Ship Tease: Sasuke and Karin, in chapter 53, though it's fairly in-character for Karin, and Sasuke doesn't skimp on the fact that they'd need to survive the oncoming Juubi mess if they ever want to get around to anything.
  • Sick Episode: Chapter six spends the first half with Sasori nursing Deidara back to health in a cave during a mission. The author insists that this was not for romance, but simply for W.A.F.F..
    • Any scene with Nagato in it automatically becomes this.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Shown Their Work: Occasionally, Phoenix includes a lengthy author's note detailing what exactly she researched for a particular chapter. The three most in-depth instances so far are as follows:
    • Chapter 24, with the corsets.
    • Multiple chapters where gender identity and the like are explored, particularly for a large number of terms involving such.
    • Various mental illnesses and their biological correlates, like depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
  • Sibling Incest: Defied. The Author's Note at the end of chapter 51 clearly states to readers that she doesn't ship anything incestuous, particularly not ItaSasu or SasuIta.
  • Single-Issue Psychology: Averted, for the most part. While the emotional/personal past aspect isn't explored as much as it could be (yet), the author clearly uses biological correlates (a dopamine imbalance in the brain) as a large contributing factor to Deidara's mental instability.
  • Split-Personality Merge: Depends on whether you consider Deidara's male and female sides to be a split personality, but it evens out over the course of the story.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Deidara pretends to be one for Itachi in the early chapters.
  • Stockholm Syndrome: Mentioned by name by Ino, who's trying to help Naruto talk Deidara around to coming around to Konoha.
  • Sugary Malice: Deidara greatly enjoys using this on occasion, such as during the meeting with Team Eight, which is peppered with giggles, hugs, and death threats.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: The Konoha nin in chapter 2 don't attack the Akatsuki while they hold their own little conversation, ignoring the supposed enemy. This is probably due to the confusion that Sasori and Deidara brought stalling them.
  • The Tease: Deidara, in early chapters.
  • Telepathy: Deidara (along with Hidan, and later Sasori) can fake the ability to read minds by paying close enough attention to what the author is writing.
  • Teleportation Sickness: Poor Neji, in chapter fifty.
  • Teleport Spam: Obitobi uses this to freak out and seriously mess with Kakashi's head in their fight. Later he uses it to mislead Naruto and Kakashi.
  • There Was a Door: Too bad Hidan kicked it down for his Big Entrance.
  • Too Many Mouths: Deidara's make Neji throw up.
  • Tranquil Fury: As seen in chapter six, Konan is normally rather reserved, but still prone to acting fairly normal. The second that something potentially threatening occurs, she loses all emotion and doesn't hesitate to go on the offensive.
  • T-Word Euphemism: The author is notoriously careful about even the mildest of swears, using asterisks to cover up the rest of the d*** word. She apologizes to the readers for having to deal with it, though.
    • Averted in chapter 51, due to the author feeling that the emotional impact of the scene would have been lessened if she'd used her normal censorship method.
  • Troll: Tobi and Deidara. Deidara by the many, many Unreveals and Tobi by how he treats most of the world... and by how he nearly convinces Kakashi that he's a crazed stalker in chapters 48 and 49.
  • Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Quite a few times, and about half the time it's not even true.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Tobi (acts like he) has no idea what terrible things Deidara has in store for him and his warp ability, in chapter ten.
  • Vagueness Is Coming: Deidara has a premonition of Hidan's 'death,' though without any actual evidence.
  • Verbal Tic: Deidara can control the grunt, but that takes effort.
  • Victoria's Secret Compartment: Chapter 58 rather blatantly lampshades it.
    It wasn’t quite clear where the rock came from, though several people later placed bets that [Tsunade] had had it hidden in Tsunade’s Secret Compartment.™
  • Visual Kei: How Deidara describes his clubbing clothes.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Hidan and Deidara are best friends, but you wouldn't know it from some of their conversations.
  • Webcomic Time: Averted, and possibly even inverted, if only slightly. The story begins sometime around the Chunin Exams (based on the fact that the altercation between the Jounin-sensei and Itachi and Kisame occurs in chapter four, and chapter one was ostensibly a month or two prior to that) and the one year anniversary (in real-world time) is celebrated in early to mid-Shippuden, which is three years later, at least.
  • Weirdness Magnet: Deidara out-and-out refers to himself as such in chapter eight.
  • Wham Episode: Far more than a Crack Fic should have.
    • Chapter Nineteen. Up until then, the story has been a mostly lighthearted comedy/crackfic/romance. Then you suddenly have an enormous battle and a destroyed village, several injured Akatsuki members, Jiraiya missing an arm and Naruto half-dead. Many reviewers commented on how they'd nearly forgotten that the main characters were powerful criminals until then.
    • Chapter Thirty Two. It's particularly surprising since the chapter before that, and even the first half of that chapter, had been pretty much built on W.A.F.F.. Then Hidan and Kakuzu go off for a bounty and Kakuzu comes back with one quickly failing heart, and Hidan's suffering the same fate as in canon. Deidara's contemplating suicide, Tobi's stretched trying to figure out how to comfort him, and Konan's worried about everyone while pregnant with Nagato's child (the very incident which cause the last chapter and the first half of this one to be so lighthearted).
    • Chapter Thirty Five. No, it's not the fact that you want to cry for parts of the chapter. It's that Shikamaru shows up with a team to investigate why there's people near Hidan's burial site.
    • Chapter Sixty Three. Why? Because in the space of a few small paragraphs, Naruto, Bee, Sasuke, Obito, and Itachi all die. And then Jiraiya summons the Shinigami, and Madara declares his intentions to kill Hidan.
  • Wham Line: Sasori revealing to Itachi, and Deidara revealing to Sasuke, that the youngest Uchiha is actually the focal point for all the destructive pressure and irrationality in the entire dimension.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Sasuke delivers a pretty long and emotional speech to Itachi in chapter 51, most of it based on this.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Deidara, obviously.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: Hidan begs Jashin to set things right and remove his immortality so he could die with his beloved. Jashin obliges.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The incident where Deidara got the penguin summoning contract is the same one that gave him a phobia for the animals.
  • Wingding Eyes: Kakuzu in the first chapter, with his eyes turning into... Ryo signs, of course.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: In chapter four, Neji and [TenTen] assume this of Deidara (and Sasori).
    • Assuming you live through the Jashinist immortality ritual, but aren't insane and masochistic to begin with (like Hidan), you gain immortality but lose your mind. Jashin commits a Mercy Kill at that point.
    • Deidara explains this to Sasuke. He doesn't buy it.
  • Wrong Genetic Sex: Played with. Deidara doesn't so much identify as a woman as s/he doesn't bother with identifying at all, after a while.
    • Later labelled as Bigender.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Onoki is actually this; He assumes that he is in a story that has him as a good guy, and everything the Akatsuki is either insane ramblings or outright lies; in other words, he assumes he's in a universe mirroring canon. In reality, he is the unwitting bad guy, and the Akatsuki are completely correct.


Top