
izzy's playlists!

Origami Around
Sade Olutola

oozey mess
No title available

PR's Tumblrdome
official daine visual archive

⁂
Keni
Xuebing Du

Love Begins
Three Goblin Art
Today's Document
One Nice Bug Per Day
Noah Kahan

titsay
untitled
Cosmic Funnies

Kaledo Art
Misplaced Lens Cap
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Kenya
seen from Malaysia

seen from United Kingdom
seen from India

seen from France
seen from Brazil

seen from United States

seen from Canada
seen from Russia
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
@certaintrashruins
Adoptables! PayPal only. DM me here or discord thatonecookingrat
My adoptable is up at Toyhouse
Exemples of my art on my art fight (esima._)! OPEN FOR NEGOTION!
More about this (+art) on
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNHsgPs9bAoYT-LSEFT/
Why am i so hyped by cavemen
But like
Early civilizations we still don't fully know and maybe never fully will
THE PAINTINGS
THE DNA OF OTHER TYPES STILL FOUND IN PEOPLE TODAY
TYPES WE POSSIBLY NEVER KNEW
Some of them had healthcare, elderly care and burials!! Please why are people not talking about this more
Cavemen are so interesting. Like.. I'm kinda sad more species of humans don't exist anymore. I know i know the racism would be crazy but more SPECIES of people and not just races sound fun. A bit family guy like fun.
I like these two idiots so much its not healthy. Like. My hungarian a$$ will forever fixate more on hungarian charakters, but these are the two not hungarian charakters who come really close to being more of a fixation.
I love how they interact.
Wish the story explored them more. Like. Please.
I'm an adult, why am i so fixated on two silly fictional charakters
Okay so i saw a lot of people not getting why many of us don't really see Tzekel-Kan as evil. I tought i give explaining it a go.
As always, this is just my opinion. Sorry for my bad english, i am still hungarian, but will try to write it down as good as i can. (Plus also why some of us like our main conmen less)
Now, to the first point.
The human sacrafise part. For me this is an easier take. El-Dorado seemed used to it, and didn't question when he tried to sacrafise something. His gods also didn't seem angered. So.. If your movie creates a religion that thinks human sacrafise is normal, why do you expect me to see the person who does it as normal? If you wanted this to be seen as a negative, show the victim and his family, show the people being vocal against it, show the gods not wanting it, or hit at Tzekel-Kan just misunderstanding the gods, or being into some occult version of them. This way it didn't seem like a villian move, it simply seemed like an icky thing about the religion (and by the way, america or europe, almost all religions had human sacrafises. Christianity had a lot, even in the bible.)
An another thing is this. Its literally shown that Tzekel-Kan really has some power. The book, the statue. Power that the movie associated with his gods. So as far as we know the gods didn't just "let it" but rewarded it. As far as we know everything he said about their religion was right, because they were in the movie not proven false. (I am going off the idea that if El-Dorado is fictional, so is their religion, its simply inspired by native cultures.)
The movie wasted huge oppurtities to explain a lot of things, even if i think its overal a well done movie. Yes, the idea has some icky things, but even that could've been done right.
To him selling his village out.. I don't think his judgement is clear there. As far as we know he did not know who Cortez is. He just almost drowned, wich takes away the very thing your brain needs to function - oxygen.
Plus. He just tried to (and managed to, behold the stone jaguar) summon something that as far as we know destroys. We give the whole El-Dorado a pass at seeing two conmen as literal gods.
Besides this action is not framed as right.
Now to the conmen themselves.
Miguel and Tulio are fun, I enjoy them on screen. But they robbed El-Dorado, lied to the whole town, took offerings ment for the gods, and (while knowing about slavery and plantations, as Cortez talks about it in the beginning of the movie) never warn Chel about any dangers when taking her with them.
I also wish the movie explored other charakters more.
Did the movie age well? Not really. Is it fun? I think yes.
Because yeah maybe don't have the native guy's "fair punishment" be getting dragged off by Cortez, or at very least acknowledge that not being okay.
As i said i like the movie, and especially Tzekel-Kan. I think the charakters and most of the movie are fun to watch. It has its mistakes (Tzekel-Kan and the Chief would've been a really good way to dodge the racism. Like. Show that not all people believe these two conmen.)
My main problem was always Chel, who is clearly sexualised.
Plus i'm sorry, my inner eastern european grandma is comming out.. But girl, the conman who only has eyes for your body is not the ideal guy. Run.
Personally if i had to highlight something smaller, i REALLY love how the chief and Tzekel-Kan interact. Most likely unpopular option but Tzekel-Kan is giving major "little brother who will cause trouble" energy, while the chief is giving "please stop this for five minutes" energy.
I think he saw through Miguel and Tulio too, and i really wish that was also explored more. Overall i really like the chief as a charakter because he is one of the only both morally right and fun charakters. Also teddybear vibes
"Kakuzu fans" who forget (not AU change, but FORGET) that Kakuzu has threads and not tentacles creep me out. I said what i said.
My opinion about ships is like the weather. Confusing and freaking changing all the time.
Like i used to be mad because of huge age gaps? But to tell the truth i can't really be bothered anymore. I am not into proship or any of that weird shit, but i think the best is AO3 logic.
Post it with any needed content warning, and don't like it don't read it. Just don't try to normalise that fuckery.
Idk i was always into older guys. (Irl)
But yeah this is me thinking over my Akatsuki phase. Like.
Seriusly i've got bigger problems in my life than who you write having butt sex with who. Amen.
Distancing myself from the Naruto fandom a bit. I don't think i had many friends there but lol in case i forgot to tell someone
Honestly i am sick of charakter ai. They freaking delte the text you are trying to write and send some irritating a$$ "There is help!🥺" text. Like bro would i SERIUSLY tell a bot i am to off myself? No! I am doing what every sane person does and doing cringy little OC roleplays, that are not realista in the slightest. I swear this app is only getting worse.
And honestly it creeps me out because wtf. I want to do a cringe roleplay, not think about my or other's serius mental issues.
I find it amusing how a big part of the Akatsuki is just troubled and traumatised kids. Like Pain went out of his way to recruit:
Itachi, 13
Deidara 14-16
Hidan (a bit older, but mentally maybe the youngest).
So look, i would have ADORED if he recruited Kakuzu after Hidan, and not vice versa.
Just image it.
"Yes, we are a very serius crime organisation. Also babysiting duty and elementary scool teaching skills are required."
But i also find it very funny how Kisame was recruited to be Itachi's partner.
"Ah, yes. You are being offered to work for the number one upcomming crime organisation. Also you are required to babysit a traumatised teenager. Sir, put away your sword, i am talking about serius bussines here."
"We are the Akatsuki.
We are very serius.
We are a crime organisation.
Also daycare. But mainly crime organisation."
Kakuzu's only crime i am willing to acknowledge is wearing that mask.
LOOK AT HIM.
HIS FACE.
HIS HAIR.
WHO IN THEIR SANE MIND WOULD HIDE THAT
(ignore the strings)
I shamefully admit that i ship Kakuzu with Zangei.
(Not shamefully at all)
(Please hear me out on this)
(Yes that bounty counter who had less screen time than TenTen)
(He didn't betray Kakuzu even after he died😭Does he even know he died😭)
(Love them)
(They gave me old married couple vibes)
Someone write that just for the different take.
Actually thinking about it if Kakuzu and Zangei did have a thing going on, that adds a whole extra dimension to Hidan's pointed "uuuuugh I'll wait for you outsiiiiiide" reaction in that scene. Sure he doesn't want to stand around waiting in an apparently filthy public men's room (which really, my poor boy is so valid for that, who would?) but he also doesn't want to witness any sudden outbreaks of old man yaoi...
...dammit now I might have to write this. >_>
And then Asuma lived because Kakuzu took a few extra minutes to say goodbye to his life partner?
ETA: GDI you could get an emotionally impactful scene out of Zangei coming to formally identify/claim Kakuzu's body from Konoha. There are many options for Feels.
ETA II: Zangei's got those scars on his forehead. Were those fixed with Kakuzu's EGF? One wound-care bunny, free to good home.
Also, Zangei uses an honorific for Kakuzu [IIRC it's -dono?]. What does that say about their relationship. [Is it a D/s thing? I don't think you date Kakuzu without being into bondage.]
ETA III: I misremembered, it was -san.
ETA IV: *Danna*, it was *danna* not dono!
Okay i love seeing people consider this not totally bs🥹 I can just image Hidan's face when he is just "okay i have to get out of here before this two start something"😂😭
And Zangei canonly didn't give out information about Kakuzu after Kakuzu died, even when threathened with torture. We (as far as i know) also have no idea of how Konoha captured him, so i can totaly see him just going to search for his husband.
My heartbreaking take definently would be that a ninja from Konoha tried to collect Kakuzu's bounty, but thats just me being dramatic.
Because image working with dead bodies, waiting for your husband to come visit you with some dead body, but than some ninja opens the bag and you just.. Hey thats my man. And have to give the ninja money for killing him. To go thought the papperwork (because there has to be some, to avoid scams), and just realising that he isn't messing with you, all hearts are gone, he really is dead.
There's no reason to consider Kakuzu/Zangei BS. They canonically know each other and have neutral to positive interactions, which is more than one can say for a lot of pairings out there.
Hidan... was probably screaming internally when he realised he was at risk of seeing something he didn't want to, hence his rapid exit. Certainly if Kakuzu's let slip he's got a partner somewhere, maybe has a photo or two he keeps close ... and then Hidan realises oh it's THIS guy, in a morgue behind a public toilet, I am OUT OF HERE.
Zangei was threatened with/by Ibiki, and Kiri were killing their cipher teams rather than let Ibiki at them *a decade ago*. There's some loyalty/professionalism/something there. Presumably Konoha swept him up when they were retrieving Asuma's body after the fight...
IDK if Konoha would try to claim a bounty on Kakuzu, he seems to have managed to stay under the radar pretty well [given how little Shikamaru knows about him when he goes after the two of them later]. But certainly Zangei could be the one to claim Kakuzu's body from Konoha's morgue after Tsunade's done autopsying him.
Gets worse if Zangei ever finds out about the 4th War Edo Tensei too [Kakuzu was up to something, I'm certain.].
Love them more than i am willing to admit😭
And Hidan realising that hell what if they are about to do it **here** and **now** thats like running out of there with the speed of light😭😂
And that loyalty/seemingly not bad relationship is why I started to ship them in the first place.
Either way i image Zangei finding out Kakuzu's death as damning.
And also i just love the idea of what a relationship between them would be like. We know awfully not many things about Zangei
Hmm... what can we tell about Zangei...
Well, firstly, he's involved in the black market/underworld bounty system so he's presumably not a shining angel.
His eyes are quite round and his eyebrows are hefty, so he could be from the same ethnic background as Rock Lee and/or the Maito family.
He's got quite the scar on his forehead, and it looks like it extends onto his right cheek too. I legit cannot work out what would leave a mark like that, unless it's two or even three scars piled together [which would make more sense]. So we know he's likely been in at least one fight that didn't kill him. His expressions are mostly on the left side of his face so it's possible those scars have impaired the movement of the right side of his face.
He's wearing a coat that's not far off those worn by Konoha iryo-nin. Makes sense, he's working in a morgue. People who work with the dead often develop dark/morbid senses of humour out of it.
He appears to work alone. There's nobody else [alive] in that morgue. He's also got *30 million ryo* on hand, probably more. Apparently whoever his superiors and colleagues are in this network, they trust him with that much money. So he's loyal and those who work with him know it.
He's working alone in a dim room with corpses. The man has strong nerves... which also goes for not cracking to Ibiki [unlike Kakuzu's banker and accountant, who spilled to Suigetsu, although Kakuzu was dead by then].
He receives dead bodies from bounty hunters and so on, and hands out bounties for them. This means he's trusted to correctly assess whether a bounty's fulfilled or if some chancer's brought him a lookalike. Again, trustworthy.
He's receiving corpses that aren't exactly fresh. Kakuzu's been carrying Chiriku around for a couple of days, and Hidan's making it very clear how bad he thinks things stink. So Zangei's probably got a strong stomach for bad smells and so on.
He's also presumably receiving bodies from missing-nin and so on, including dangerous rogues, people who don't like taking 'No' for an answer and those who go 'hey, that guy's got the key to the safe, grab him!'. So he's presumably able to stand up for himself against the average bounty hunter - at least enough to safeguard the cash and get out alive.
He's familiar enough with Kakuzu to speak somewhat familiarly with him - congratulating him on a big kill, hoping to see him soon - but also advising him to offload Hidan and asking for justification when Kakuzu can't/won't. So they've got a working relationship there. Heck, Kakuzu even says something close to an apology for not being back soon.
So there's a few things we can work with here; strong nerves, loyal and trustworthy with some sort of strength below the surface.
First of all you are awesome at analysing charakters, there are quite a few of these that never occured to me, even if i love him (being similar to Maito/Rock Lee, using the right side of his face less, or, i shamefully admit that i never really rought of even powerscaling him, tho it makes sense that he should be able to at least get away with the money if attacked).
I plan to re-watch Naruto to make sure my infos are right, because i was a bit younger when i first watched it. But hell do i love them🥲 I feel a bit like that meme where two charakters interact for a second, and a shipper immidiatly appears, so its always nice to see if someone else approves that it makes at least some sense.
Something you also said, but for me i always lived him because of his loyalty. It makes sense in his field of work, but to be fair, i would 100% spill the tea about my job if the other option was torture. So the work is probably "good" for him (this is odd as fuck to say, but i mean like good pay), or he has connections that are worth protecting, or well, my less loved option is that escape is hard if you sold out bounty hunters😂 But i definently love to connect that loyalty to Kakuzu, because he was dead by than. Meaning (if he knew) he had to love/respect Kakuzu enough to not talk - considering that most parts involved (Kakuzu, the bounties) were already gone.
And also, he either is just brave (makes sense in his work), or just doesn't fear Kakuzu. Because telling someone to leave their teammate, i think that requires a bit of trust.
And obviusly i don't know the paychek Zangei is getting, but overall giving Kakuzu advice that he thinks is usefull, even if Kakuzu is known for getting rid of his teammates, is sweet in my option.
I love them😭
Thank you! It's fun :) When it comes to power-scaling, to be anyone in Naruto you need to use chakra, which seems to come in three traditions: shinobi, samurai and monks like Chiriku. IDK which would be the best fit for Zangei's origin, certainly shinobi would be the easiest - I'd hazard a guess he'd have to be somewhere in the low to mid chunin level just to defend himself should any of the bounty hunters get uppity. Corpse kawarimi at least. My first thought would be that he could be ex-Iwa [mostly because of the moustache] but really the field is wide open. My first thought for a power-set would be leaning towards some sort of corpse control - perhaps using Suna puppeteering techniques, or perhaps Kabuto's Dead Soul jutsu. Either way, picking a fight with Zangei could be a bad idea if all he needs is a few hand-seals and suddenly the morgue drawers spring open and a dozen zombies climb out.
Good luck with the rewatch, I'm on my second watch-through and the filler is murder. Aside from the Tea Country Race and the Utakata arcs, avoid the filler! And hey, at least Kakuzu/Zangei as a ship is standing on a canonical, positive interaction scene! It's more than some of them have.
Yeah, a dude who's working alone with ripe corpses and a lot of money has to have a reason to stay beyond the paycheck. And it's very easy to see that loyalty being something Kakuzu recognises and appreciates - certainly if their initial interactions were kinda rough, maybe Zangei refused to accept/pay out for a corpse Kakuzu brought in even when Kakuzu got angry and threatened him, and Kakuzu had that moment of 'this guy is holding his ground because he values his superior's trust, I remember being like that'.
And yeah, Zangei has to have some nerve to talk to Kakuzu, even pressing for an explanation, or he knows Kakuzu well enough to not fear him. Which... given Kakuzu's reputation amongst the Akatsuki says Zangei sees a side of Kakuzu that the Akatsuki don't. And Kakuzu is an S-rank missing-nin, most of the bounty hunters are probably *much* less dangerous.
It's easy to see a fic for these two; Zangei's relationship to Kakuzu in a series of corpses, from the first one Kakuzu brought him through to Kakuzu's own body on the slab. Dammit, it'd be kinda funny if the first 'corpse' actually *was* Kakuzu, like someone drugged him and brought him in 'dead'. And Kakuzu returns to consciousness with Zangei telling these idiots no, he's not paying out, *this guy's not dead*.
Okay, i decided that i will actually try to write that fan fic, if its not a problem. I will 100% credit you when i upload it. So far only a test like first draft is posted here, and i didn't write anything on it yet because it may be horrible 😅 But also i delte it if you don't want me to
Remember that i ship Kakuzu and Zangei? Behold, the first try of a fanfic. Sorry for the spelling. Wanted to ask for honest opinions. This is not final yet! I plan to work through it a few times. It includes two OC too, but they are only there to move the story, and give Kakuzu someone to be mad at and chase.
He never imaged that love would come to him in the form of a cadaver.
But well, he never in his wildest dreams would have imaged any of that day to happen. Thats a lie. He expected this to happen, evenactually.
As the sun set, Zangei was still working, counting the money and guarding the corpses of the bounties, all while waiting for the hunters to arrive with their prey.
Two men walked in, finding the hidden entrence with ease. One careened fast on the rickety wooden floor, his jet black hair tied back in a low ponytail, with a few strands falling around his face. His sharp, golden eyes searched the room for anything suspicious.
The other man followed him, slowed down by the body thrown over his shoulder. His hair was cut short, a spiky dark blue, to not get in the way. His bright green eyes scanned his teammate in front of him, silently cursing. The man he carried was tall, too damn tall. Haru was not small, with his 172, almost 173 centimeters. But the man was well over 180. Kaito and the bingo book said 185. He hated it when he had to carry taller bodies. Kaito and the man were the same height. Much to Haru's chagrin, the taller man was clutching a deep wound on his shoulder with one hand. The Akatsuki member who they fought dealt quite a few good hits. Kaito's speed was their only advantage. Haru himself couldn't even manage to aproach the monster made out of treads. He thanked his saving grace, the poison they covered their weapons in. At the same time, the thick coat their victim wore made him feel uneasy. Wich was worse? Feeling the cold, dead body, or not feeling anything at all?
Blood dripped down the floor when Kaito stopped for a minute to open the door. For a moment, Haru wished he could feel blood spilling from the dead body. It strangely made him feel at ease: They were dead, and long dead.
But Ryuzaki's sleeveless vest was torn, and his black shirt soaked in blood, while the body on his back was just rigid, hidden in the clothing he wore.
They stepped in, the smell of decay hitting them hard, even after years of this job. Haru wasted no time unceremoniously tossing the body onto the table. Kaito opened the bounty book on the right place.
-Kakuzu, missing nin from Takigakure. Akatsuki. 85 years old. - He said, wasting no time. The bounty counter looked at the dead.
He laid there, splayed out on the table, a coated and masked man. Sharp eyes with red sclera and teal irises, rolled back into his head. Not something he says daily, but also not something that made him question the legitimacy. It could be poison, or just the way he is. He saw his fair share of unusual eyes. His coat was stained with dirt, most likely the result of a long mission. His skin was darker.
-Show his face. I can't give anything for a masked one, Ryuzaki. - Zangei responded harshly.
-Have i ever fooled you? - Kaito scoffed. He stained the man's face and clothes with his own blood, as he quickly worked off the mask and the hood.
Just as the exchange master had guessed, the man had sharper features. He did not look 85. Zangei guessed him to be about his own age, maybe 30, but certainly not more. Despite this, the bounty book also noted him as 85, and the photo was also the same. He had learned not to ask questions.
Otherwise, he had to admit, that the Akatsuki wasn't ugly. Long, dark brown hair matted in blood. He had some injuries, but the blood never soaked his coat. His face was scarred, telling the tale of an unfortunate past. A gasglow smile was stiched onto his face.
The photo mathed. All major features the same.
-Ryuzaki, Takeda. Stand back. - He didn't need to explain it. The two men stepped back, Kaito leaning against the wall. Zangei wanted to scold him for the blood stain it will leave, but decided its not worth the time. He prefered to check if the body was legit.
He placed his hand to the artery on the neck, while checking the injuries. A dead man was hard to fake.
The blood seemed real, but there were no major wounds. Poison. He knew the duo's fighting style well, and he did not expect less.
He was caught off guard, when he felt an unnatural heartbeat. The Akatsuki's eyes rolled back from his skull, and Zangei instincly jumped back.
The two men immidiatly drew their weapons, and they seemed just as suprised. Regardless, he was sure to note not to trust them again.
Zangei looked at the dead man, who sit up.
To be fair, in his many years of working with cadavers, a part of him was sure this will evenactually happen.
This is set six years before canon. Any opinions? Both positive and negative are appreciated!!
I shamefully admit that i ship Kakuzu with Zangei.
(Not shamefully at all)
(Please hear me out on this)
(Yes that bounty counter who had less screen time than TenTen)
(He didn't betray Kakuzu even after he died😭Does he even know he died😭)
(Love them)
(They gave me old married couple vibes)
Someone write that just for the different take.
Actually thinking about it if Kakuzu and Zangei did have a thing going on, that adds a whole extra dimension to Hidan's pointed "uuuuugh I'll wait for you outsiiiiiide" reaction in that scene. Sure he doesn't want to stand around waiting in an apparently filthy public men's room (which really, my poor boy is so valid for that, who would?) but he also doesn't want to witness any sudden outbreaks of old man yaoi...
...dammit now I might have to write this. >_>
And then Asuma lived because Kakuzu took a few extra minutes to say goodbye to his life partner?
ETA: GDI you could get an emotionally impactful scene out of Zangei coming to formally identify/claim Kakuzu's body from Konoha. There are many options for Feels.
ETA II: Zangei's got those scars on his forehead. Were those fixed with Kakuzu's EGF? One wound-care bunny, free to good home.
Also, Zangei uses an honorific for Kakuzu [IIRC it's -dono?]. What does that say about their relationship. [Is it a D/s thing? I don't think you date Kakuzu without being into bondage.]
ETA III: I misremembered, it was -san.
ETA IV: *Danna*, it was *danna* not dono!
Okay i love seeing people consider this not totally bs🥹 I can just image Hidan's face when he is just "okay i have to get out of here before this two start something"😂😭
And Zangei canonly didn't give out information about Kakuzu after Kakuzu died, even when threathened with torture. We (as far as i know) also have no idea of how Konoha captured him, so i can totaly see him just going to search for his husband.
My heartbreaking take definently would be that a ninja from Konoha tried to collect Kakuzu's bounty, but thats just me being dramatic.
Because image working with dead bodies, waiting for your husband to come visit you with some dead body, but than some ninja opens the bag and you just.. Hey thats my man. And have to give the ninja money for killing him. To go thought the papperwork (because there has to be some, to avoid scams), and just realising that he isn't messing with you, all hearts are gone, he really is dead.
There's no reason to consider Kakuzu/Zangei BS. They canonically know each other and have neutral to positive interactions, which is more than one can say for a lot of pairings out there.
Hidan... was probably screaming internally when he realised he was at risk of seeing something he didn't want to, hence his rapid exit. Certainly if Kakuzu's let slip he's got a partner somewhere, maybe has a photo or two he keeps close ... and then Hidan realises oh it's THIS guy, in a morgue behind a public toilet, I am OUT OF HERE.
Zangei was threatened with/by Ibiki, and Kiri were killing their cipher teams rather than let Ibiki at them *a decade ago*. There's some loyalty/professionalism/something there. Presumably Konoha swept him up when they were retrieving Asuma's body after the fight...
IDK if Konoha would try to claim a bounty on Kakuzu, he seems to have managed to stay under the radar pretty well [given how little Shikamaru knows about him when he goes after the two of them later]. But certainly Zangei could be the one to claim Kakuzu's body from Konoha's morgue after Tsunade's done autopsying him.
Gets worse if Zangei ever finds out about the 4th War Edo Tensei too [Kakuzu was up to something, I'm certain.].
Love them more than i am willing to admit😭
And Hidan realising that hell what if they are about to do it **here** and **now** thats like running out of there with the speed of light😭😂
And that loyalty/seemingly not bad relationship is why I started to ship them in the first place.
Either way i image Zangei finding out Kakuzu's death as damning.
And also i just love the idea of what a relationship between them would be like. We know awfully not many things about Zangei
Hmm... what can we tell about Zangei...
Well, firstly, he's involved in the black market/underworld bounty system so he's presumably not a shining angel.
His eyes are quite round and his eyebrows are hefty, so he could be from the same ethnic background as Rock Lee and/or the Maito family.
He's got quite the scar on his forehead, and it looks like it extends onto his right cheek too. I legit cannot work out what would leave a mark like that, unless it's two or even three scars piled together [which would make more sense]. So we know he's likely been in at least one fight that didn't kill him. His expressions are mostly on the left side of his face so it's possible those scars have impaired the movement of the right side of his face.
He's wearing a coat that's not far off those worn by Konoha iryo-nin. Makes sense, he's working in a morgue. People who work with the dead often develop dark/morbid senses of humour out of it.
He appears to work alone. There's nobody else [alive] in that morgue. He's also got *30 million ryo* on hand, probably more. Apparently whoever his superiors and colleagues are in this network, they trust him with that much money. So he's loyal and those who work with him know it.
He's working alone in a dim room with corpses. The man has strong nerves... which also goes for not cracking to Ibiki [unlike Kakuzu's banker and accountant, who spilled to Suigetsu, although Kakuzu was dead by then].
He receives dead bodies from bounty hunters and so on, and hands out bounties for them. This means he's trusted to correctly assess whether a bounty's fulfilled or if some chancer's brought him a lookalike. Again, trustworthy.
He's receiving corpses that aren't exactly fresh. Kakuzu's been carrying Chiriku around for a couple of days, and Hidan's making it very clear how bad he thinks things stink. So Zangei's probably got a strong stomach for bad smells and so on.
He's also presumably receiving bodies from missing-nin and so on, including dangerous rogues, people who don't like taking 'No' for an answer and those who go 'hey, that guy's got the key to the safe, grab him!'. So he's presumably able to stand up for himself against the average bounty hunter - at least enough to safeguard the cash and get out alive.
He's familiar enough with Kakuzu to speak somewhat familiarly with him - congratulating him on a big kill, hoping to see him soon - but also advising him to offload Hidan and asking for justification when Kakuzu can't/won't. So they've got a working relationship there. Heck, Kakuzu even says something close to an apology for not being back soon.
So there's a few things we can work with here; strong nerves, loyal and trustworthy with some sort of strength below the surface.
First of all you are awesome at analysing charakters, there are quite a few of these that never occured to me, even if i love him (being similar to Maito/Rock Lee, using the right side of his face less, or, i shamefully admit that i never really rought of even powerscaling him, tho it makes sense that he should be able to at least get away with the money if attacked).
I plan to re-watch Naruto to make sure my infos are right, because i was a bit younger when i first watched it. But hell do i love them🥲 I feel a bit like that meme where two charakters interact for a second, and a shipper immidiatly appears, so its always nice to see if someone else approves that it makes at least some sense.
Something you also said, but for me i always lived him because of his loyalty. It makes sense in his field of work, but to be fair, i would 100% spill the tea about my job if the other option was torture. So the work is probably "good" for him (this is odd as fuck to say, but i mean like good pay), or he has connections that are worth protecting, or well, my less loved option is that escape is hard if you sold out bounty hunters😂 But i definently love to connect that loyalty to Kakuzu, because he was dead by than. Meaning (if he knew) he had to love/respect Kakuzu enough to not talk - considering that most parts involved (Kakuzu, the bounties) were already gone.
And also, he either is just brave (makes sense in his work), or just doesn't fear Kakuzu. Because telling someone to leave their teammate, i think that requires a bit of trust.
And obviusly i don't know the paychek Zangei is getting, but overall giving Kakuzu advice that he thinks is usefull, even if Kakuzu is known for getting rid of his teammates, is sweet in my option.
I love them😭
Thank you! It's fun :) When it comes to power-scaling, to be anyone in Naruto you need to use chakra, which seems to come in three traditions: shinobi, samurai and monks like Chiriku. IDK which would be the best fit for Zangei's origin, certainly shinobi would be the easiest - I'd hazard a guess he'd have to be somewhere in the low to mid chunin level just to defend himself should any of the bounty hunters get uppity. Corpse kawarimi at least. My first thought would be that he could be ex-Iwa [mostly because of the moustache] but really the field is wide open. My first thought for a power-set would be leaning towards some sort of corpse control - perhaps using Suna puppeteering techniques, or perhaps Kabuto's Dead Soul jutsu. Either way, picking a fight with Zangei could be a bad idea if all he needs is a few hand-seals and suddenly the morgue drawers spring open and a dozen zombies climb out.
Good luck with the rewatch, I'm on my second watch-through and the filler is murder. Aside from the Tea Country Race and the Utakata arcs, avoid the filler! And hey, at least Kakuzu/Zangei as a ship is standing on a canonical, positive interaction scene! It's more than some of them have.
Yeah, a dude who's working alone with ripe corpses and a lot of money has to have a reason to stay beyond the paycheck. And it's very easy to see that loyalty being something Kakuzu recognises and appreciates - certainly if their initial interactions were kinda rough, maybe Zangei refused to accept/pay out for a corpse Kakuzu brought in even when Kakuzu got angry and threatened him, and Kakuzu had that moment of 'this guy is holding his ground because he values his superior's trust, I remember being like that'.
And yeah, Zangei has to have some nerve to talk to Kakuzu, even pressing for an explanation, or he knows Kakuzu well enough to not fear him. Which... given Kakuzu's reputation amongst the Akatsuki says Zangei sees a side of Kakuzu that the Akatsuki don't. And Kakuzu is an S-rank missing-nin, most of the bounty hunters are probably *much* less dangerous.
It's easy to see a fic for these two; Zangei's relationship to Kakuzu in a series of corpses, from the first one Kakuzu brought him through to Kakuzu's own body on the slab. Dammit, it'd be kinda funny if the first 'corpse' actually *was* Kakuzu, like someone drugged him and brought him in 'dead'. And Kakuzu returns to consciousness with Zangei telling these idiots no, he's not paying out, *this guy's not dead*.
Okay i LOVE that idea😂 I can just image Zangei standing there, looking at one of the "corpses" get get up, and go like.. "Yeah, i've been working here for years, at some point this was bound to happen"😂 Wich would make it a lot more heartbreaking when Kakuzu is actually dead, but Zangei just waits for him to get up.
And i can totally image them getting into an argument when they first meet. Like Zangei is offended that someone tried to fool him, the ninjas are confused because they tought Kakuzu was dead, and Kakuzu is mad because he lost a heart.
As much as i obviusly understand that its not possible to explore every single side charakter, i'm sad we didn't get to see more of them.
And i LOVE the idea of Zengei either being a puppeteer, or having some other kind of corpse related jutsu. Its no wonder that he doesn't worry there, if he can literally make a whole room of corpses jump someone.
And Kakuzu - who was betrayed by his own VILLAGE, sure vallues loyality a lot. And holding his ground surely is a good point too.
I just love them so damn much😭