#And sometimes it was because I didn't do anything when I should have

[thedeadtalker]

-my grandfather was 8 when he and his family were rounded up on the Oregon coast, kept in a livestock pen for 3 very rainy days, then put into a cattle car to be carried out to the reservations in the east.

-my grandmother had two brothers and sister who were sent to mission school and never returned. They said they ran away. They lied.

-My mom remembers when Indians got enough citizenship to vote in Oregon. She describes her parents and their friends discussing if the should do it -vote -or if it was trick to register them.

-My friend took his grandmother out for her 100th birthday. He asked her what she thought were the most important things to happen during her lifetime. She told him: free wifi and the legal end of segregation.

-I remember those fucking nuns in mission school. I only went 1 year when the laws changed and we could go to other schools. We could live with our parents and ride a bus to school and back again and sleep that night in our own home. I remember that, you fuckers.

-I remember that my mom and two of her sisters gave birth in a hospital connected to the mission, and they didnt know for years that they'd gotten botched steralizations against their wishes and without their knowledge. I remember my parents desperatly trying to have more children. Theyd always wanted a bunch of kids. The house my dad built had many empty guestrooms. Eventually they sold it. I remember my mom having to have a hysterectomy 2 years ago because of all the health problems caused by the fucked up surgery. I remember sitting in a meeting and one of the nurses there having to put me through a fainting protocol because i got a text from my stepfather that during the hysterectomy they discovered one of mom's damned ovaries was just fucking gone. I wonder sometimes if some sick fuck retired doctor kept a genuine Indian ovary in a jar in his office. I wonder if his nazi kids and grandkids pull it out to show to guests as a conversation point. I think about how whites were paid piecework for Indian scalps amd seeing one dried out and leathery in an antique store in a small town in Idaho. There is evil in the Americas. The nazis were here long before they were ever in Europe.

- I remember my highschool history teacher showing us the number tattooed on his wrist. I remember him showing us all these recordings of ordinary German citizens talking about how they didn't see anything wrong happening. How there must have been some sort of perfecrly mundane reason for the endless smoke pouring from the ovens in the camp up in the hill. How it was all just politics. How they were reassured that all the people who were taken had just moved in the night, or were much happier wherever they'd gone to. "But you saw them all: the Jews, the other prisoners going into the camp. But you never saw them leave. Didn't you think that was odd?" "We just figured they'd moved from the camp in the night while we were sleeping." "Where?" "What do you mean?" "Where did you all think they went -in the middle of the night?" "Oh. We didn't know." "Didn't you wonder?" "Why would we?"

- I remember that same teacher explaining how the nazis had gotten a lot of their ideas from the US government's Native American policy. The death camps were modelled after our reservations. The dehumanizing and the stories of savages/gremlins that ate white babies and were less than human were based on the clever marketing campaign set up to not just enable the settler take over, but used to unite the fragmented people of newly forming colonial nation. He fucking showed us. There is publically available documentation of all of this.

-I remember getting put on the no fly list. I remember finding out about it because when we tried to buy tickets for the whole family to travel down to New Mexico for my granduncle's funeral the whole purchase was bounced. We were told why that might be the case so we tried seperate purchases for everyone. Me. It was me. Several years later my roommate's family friend -an old white guy with some pull, found out why. I was teaching K-3 and moonlighting as a computer programmer back then. And I'd printed some photos of holidays around the world to share with my students on the same computer I wrote code from. My own computer, in my own office, in my own home. He said it also didn't help that I wasn't white.

-I remember that fucker's first time in office: I remember seeing my coworker snatched from the elevator by ice agents and shoved into an unmarked van. He was a 3rd generation American.

-I remember having to warn the non-white, non-abled, non anything a nazi would want to gas you for residents of the dvsat shelter we worked with to not go out at night, not go out alone, not walk on these specific streets or go into these specific shops. I remember the time a native Hawaiian chick on my caseload didn't come back when expected and everyone was out of their mind with worry. She came back, tear-streaked and shaking, and told us about how she'd gotten lost (not in Hawaii any more, Dorothy) and ended up in one of the neighborhoods she was supposed to avoid, and being chased by some of the proud boys that patrolled our city streets in their ridiculous be-flagged pickups, and how some nearby restuarant diners had rushed her into the restuarant, and the staff there had hid her in the pantry, and all the diners lied and said they hadn't seen her. My teacher read Anne Frank to us in 6th grade. Do they still read that in schools?

-I think about that time I went into a DMV and the woman behind the counter told me to "sit over there," next to two men, and well away from the other patrons. Then a highway patrol officer came over and told us to go with him. In the parking lot he explained that he'd been called to take us to an immigration detention center. But instead he directed us to a "safe" DMV 40 miles away and walked away muttering about having had it up to here with those idiots in there. The two American Samoan men started laughing. Honestly, I didn't feel like laughing. I didn't feel like anything. I was thinking about the mission school and wondering if the detention center looked like it had.

-I've spent the last couple of weeks handing out flyers in different languages. I don't use an interpreter. I have no way of knowing if I can trust them. But somehow I manage to convey to the people I visit in field hand huts and steamy laundries that they are in a sanctuary state and what that means. That no one in our offices will turn them away or turn them in. At least I hope Im conveying that. Then I tell them, using paper language dictionaries if needed (librarians are superheros) how to get away, who to talk to, how to find the big dipper. I think a lot of my high school history teacher and those faded numbers on his wrist.

Oh I know they're coming for me first. Im your canary.

[jsooly]

idk why but i feel like reader was SO happy when tuk was born simply because someone was shorter than her

get my girl on stilts

ur so right anon 🙂‍↕️ this is so silly LMAO wait—

human!reader x sibling!sullys

the seven years before tuk came along, you swore you developed chronic neck pain from looking up at everyone all the time. jake was two inches shy of 9ft, neytiri following close behind, and even lo'ak, the youngest, was comfortably over 7ft.

it got to a point where you just didn't bother to look them in the eye anymore. not when they stood, anyway. sometime along the line, the kids started to crouch when they were around you. it started subtly. bending at the waist to match your eight. and you didn't think anything when they squatted around you—they did that all the time.

it was their rapid growth stage. they shot up from below you to being just over you, and suddenly they were acting as if they were as gigantic as your parents.

it clicked in your brain when you were out and about, taking a stroll through the forest and supervising your troublesome brothers and sister. you paused, propping your foot atop a rock to adjust the wraps around your feet.

they circled around you, bending at the knees in a squat while chatting among themselves. you paused, giving them suspicious looks before you began walking once more.

you stopped near a tree, shielding your eyes from the sun to get a better view of the foliage above. you remembered that you were low on fruits back home and—

you turned when you felt breathing over your shoulder. lo'ak was right behind you, neteyam and kiri just behind. they were low to the ground, a pattern you were just becoming aware of.

"...what are you doing." you said flatly.

"do you need a lift?" lo'ak offered his arms, nodding up to the tree as if it were a perfectly reasonable offer.

you scrunched your face, offense souring your expression like a lemon. "you're kidding me."

"i mean, it's a pretty tall tree." he mumbled, shrugging unconvincingly.

you let out a slow breath, flicking your gaze past him to neteyam and kiri. "and what about you?"

"we're standing here with you?" neteyam answered with a quizzical tone, thinking the answer was obvious.

"you're not standing. you duck down every time i stop walking. this better not be a prank."

"how else will you hear what we say from way up here?" lo'ak retorted, rising to his full height again.

you gave him an incredulous look, taking a pause in the conversation that set off danger bells in your siblings' heads.

"...because you have so much height on me." you said sarcastically.

the intent of your words flew over lo'aks head, missing the sarcasm completely. he smiled proudly, puffing out his chest. "yeah. yeah, i do."

"lo'ak, you're barely a foot taller than i am. i fear you are the last person that should be talking."

his ears shot up at the jab, pointing an accusatory finger in your face. "hey! i grew over the summer—"

"wanna go shoulder to shoulder?" you shot back.

his mouth hung open, his brain processing his response. he pulled back his finger. "no." he said slowly.

"don't stoop anymore," you instructed the obvious to them. when they all squatted around you, they looked like kids cornering a pet. "my ears work just fine." you glared at lo'ak.

"good, cuz that was getting tiring." kiri sighed when she finally pushed herself upright, her legs burning from the unintentional workout. neteyam stood up as well, stretching his arms over his head.

"unbelievable." you grumbled, rolling your eyes as you continued your trek through the forest.

—

all of this to say that you were really happy when tuk was born. she had at least a decade before she surpassed you and you intended to treasure every second of it.

you were more than happy to rub it in the other kids' faces when they suddenly complained that you spent an increasing amount of time with the newest addition to the family.

"it's not gonna last long." lo'ak grumbled beside you. you pushed him away playfully. wait until he finds out about the stilts humans regularly use.

[l1ndseyper3z]

Gallavich headcanons cause I'm tweaking out about them

- mickey loves bands (basically confirmed in 1-07 cause of the radiohead shirt) and the first time he heard I Love You by Fontaines all he could think about was ian so that's basically their song to him

- mickey runs cold, ian runs hot

- I kinda get the vibe that after a while Terry's death actually started fucking with Mickey kinda in the way Monica's death fucked with Ian. it made mickey get kinda clingy but Ian didn't mind

- in s5 when Ian broke up with Mickey. it was 100% self destruction, he'd seen Monica and didn't want to drag Mickey into what he thought he was destined to be

- ian calls mickey baby and anyone who teases mickey about it gets threatened cause mickeys a softie who will never admit it

- although Mama Milkovich canon is unclear, I think she died somewhere in season 1 after being ill for a while. it definitely fucked with mickey and I believe that's why he ended up hooking up with ian. he thought because she was gone he had no reason to live and was just winging life. he was definitely close with her

- some songs that make them think of each other are Arms Length - Sam Fender, Open Wide - Inhaler, The Craving - Twenty One Pilots.

- they're such girl dads this is not up for discussion

- I think they end up having one kid, a girl. mandys the surrogate and she basically ends up being mickey with red hair

- mickeys a big Eminem fan cause I said so and once he has his daughter mockingbird RUINS him

- I imagine the first time Mickey held his daughter he literally just sat there for hours in awe and all the Gallaghers were just like woah ian you've managed to break mickey what the hell

- they're such good dads

- if their kid ended up with bipolar they'd deal with it so well

- honestly they're the ones most likely to break the cycle

- ian is generally clingier but mickey doesn't mind. he actually quite likes it (although he'll never admit that out loud)

- ian fell first, mickey fell infinitely harder

- mickey gets quite emotional sometimes, I mean you saw how much he cried over ian. I think finally coming to terms with all the shit he went through hit him like a truck around the time terry died

- ian is big spoon

- cause they're little domestic bitches one of their favourite things is ian reading a book while mickey naps on him or next to him and ian messes with his hair with his free hand

- people act like they don't engage in pda but they TRADEMARKED pda

- mickeys too possessive to not like pda

- mickey and debbie plus ian and mandy. lethal

- ian loves seeing mickey fit into the family. family's a massive thing for the Gallaghers so seeing mickey blend right in makes ians heart melt

- ALSO seeing mickey do anything domestic like laundry or shit makes ian horny just saying

- mickeys scent 100% grounds ian. it's what he was around at the peak of his bipolar and it brings so much comfort to him

- hence why they share clothes so much

- mickey just likes robbing all ians shit cause why not and ian loves smelling mickey

- going back to if they had a bipolar teenage daughter mickeys literally the best dad ever

- needs a day off school cause shes struggling? absolutely let me call them.

- she feels like shit? come here we'll get comfy on the couch and watch a movie

- doesn't wanna take her medication? talk to me about it, tell me why and I'll explain why you should, we can try new stuff if you need it

- mickey hated ians black hair

- after they banged in prison for the first time they were lay there and mickey just went "why u not a redhead anymore? you look like a fucking idiot"

- part of him being such a good dad is because of terry but also because he's genuinely a gentle person deep down and it just took security and comfort to bring that out. plus he wants to make his mum proud

- everytime ian sees mickey with their daughter he just like falls into a puddle on the floor

- they visit Monica's grave every year. mickey doesn't really like her but he wants to make sure ian stays connected to her

- same with mickeys mum, they visit her a lot

- everytime they go into the Kash n Grab when they're in the southside they just giggle. it's so goofy to them now

- they see Jimmy Steve's dad out somewhere one time and they're both like 😦😦😦

- they're such bad influences

- always up to some dumb shit

- basically they're all of our parents and I love my sillies

[reashot]

But I'm Your GF!/Finally Some Arkos.

Pyrrha:

*glug*

*glug*

*exhale*

Barkeep, another!

Junior: I think you had enough.

Pyrrha: *throws glass*

Junior: Motherfu....

Pyrrha: I will tell you when I have enough!!!

Now pour me a drink, you sorry excuse for a bartender!

Junior: Okay sheesh. Don't blame me when you end up dead in a ditch.

*pours a stiff one*

Pyrrha: *glug*

*exhale*

See! That wasn't so hard now was it!

And leave the bottle.

Junior: *rolls eyes*

Hey Blondie you might want to keep your girlfriend from drinking herself to death. Just a small piece of advice.

Jaune: Uhmm... Pyrr. Don't you think you need to stop.

Pyrrha: *downs the entire glass*

And whose fault is that I have to drink so much in the first place?

Jaune: Me. But you only asked me to talk about my day?

Pyrrha: And you always talked about Ruby, Ruby, Ruby! I'm your girlfriend, Jaune!

Why won't you talk about me more!?

Jaune: Well I can't help it. Ruby is my friend and we share a lot of interests together.

Pyrrha: But I'm your partner.

I've been there for you from the start. I helped you with your training.

She didn't do anything!

Jaune: Hey now, Ruby sometimes helps me out too.

Pyrrha: Why are you always defending her!?

Tell me Jaune are you sleeping with her. Is that it?

Because that makes a lot of sense.

Jaune: Me with Ruby? No way!

We're just friend.

Pyrrha: J-just a friend?!!

I saw how you looked at Ruby. What kind of friend look at each other like that?

I also saw you cuddling with her on a sofa in the break room and on a bed.

Jaune: Ruby likes to cuddle, that's her way of showing affection and she sometimes gets very lonely at night.

Pyrrha: What?! She only ever did it with you!

Jaune: What can I say. Ruby just felt safer around me for some reason. That's what best friends usually are.

Pyrrha: Best friend! Best friend! Tell me Jaune does best friend shower together after training?

Jaune: Simple. She's my shower buddy. We're just showering together because we want to do our part to save water.

Junior: By the brothers, kid. What's wrong with you.

Pyrrha: Y-you are u-unbelieavable!!!

*stands up from her chair*

Hey everyone!

*belch*

My boyfriend is cheating on me with his best friend!

Jaune: Please, calm down Pyrrha...

Pyrrha: You don't get to calm me down. You cheater!

You think you can just do whatever you want just because you have a big dick!

Hey everyone did you know that my boyfriend's dick is so goddamn big that it should come with a choking hazard sign!

And he is such a great lover that he can make you cum multiple times with just his finger!

Crowd: *gasp*

Junior: Well that's my cue to stay away. You're on your own kid.

Jaune: Okay Pyrrha. Please come down from there let's talk about this at home. We don't need to make a scene.

Pyrrha: Then how come you never asked me to cuddle or shower with you?! Don't you know that I love you so much?

Jaune: I know that. And I'm sorry for making you feel that way. But rest assured that whatever feeling I have for Ruby is nothing like I have with you.

Pyrrha: *cry*

I'm sorry babe.... I know you and Ruby are just friends. And I agree that Ruby is a nice girl to hang out with.

It's just that every time you talk about her and be all happy about it. I felt a little neglected. I want to hang out with you too you know.

Jaune: Well maybe we can hang out together. All three of us.

Pyrrha: *sniffs* I-I mean if she's cool with it.

*doze off*

Jaune: Then I guess we will ask her together.

Pyrrha: *snore*

Jaune: Oh, I guess you're asleep now.

I'm sorry for everything my girlfriend does Junior. You can put it on my team's tab.

Junior: Urgh. Tell you what kid, it's on the house. Just get her the hell out of here.

Jaune: *heave*

???: Hey handsome. Here's my number if You want to hook up later.

Jaune: Uh... Thanks?

Back at the dorm

Ruby: Jaune, Pyrrha? What happened we were worried sick waiting for you... And why is she smelled like uncle Qrow before noon?

Pyrrha: Ugh...

*belch*

Ruby, keep your hands off... hrugh... My man.

Ruby: Excuse me?

Jaune: My guess is she just has too much to drink.

Ruby: Then we better put her to bed. I mean the rest of the team is already in one after they get tired of waiting.

Jaune: Thanks, Rubes.

*puts Pyrrha to bed*

By the way do you want to have a late night shower with me before we get to sleep? I've been sweating all night.

Ruby: Well... I mean it is good for the environment if we shower together...

So okay.

Pyrrha: * a single tear rolling down her cheek*

Jaune... You liar...

Then the both of them shower together. And nothing is going on between them inside the shower because they're just really good friends.

[vigilante-3073]

Right Where You Left Me

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

Summary: There had always been something lingering between them, an unspoken connection that could destroy everything.

TW: Boss/Employee relationship, tension, angst, mentions of death/loss, resignation, right person wrong time.

Y/N L/N had been a member of the BAU for years. Y/N looked through case files, arranging them in priority order based on victim amount and methodology. Y/N presented the cases to the team while JJ contacted local officials and interacted with the media. As a result of her role, Y/N spent quite a bit of time with Hotch.

Y/N reviewed cases with him, allowing Hotch to decide which unsub posed the most risk based on his profiling expertise. Y/N was incredibly good at her job, she saw a great deal of darkness and tried her best to prioritize and compartmentalize.

There would always be those cases that made it feel like there was no point in trying to stop bad things from happening. Humanity would always find different despicable ways to harm one another.

Hotch could always tell when the work was beginning to get to her. He was kind, willing to set aside the work and have a serious talk with her about their jobs. There were people out there who counted on them, victims who wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the BAU.

Hotch always managed to bring her comfort, reminding her why they do what they do and making her entire day better. He was a good man and Y/N trusted him more than anyone. She would do absolutely anything he asked without question.

Some people may call it loyalty, but that's not what it was.

It was love.

Y/N had been in love with him for years, she knew that she could never tell him how she felt. He was married and he had a family at home. Y/N saw Haley and Jack on multiple occasions, each time left her with an uneasy feeling of guilt that settled in her stomach like a rock.

Y/N tried to remain professional, but loving him was ruining her life. Y/N went home every day to an empty house, sleeping alone before returning to the same tortuous place.

Y/N began to look forward to every moment she was able to spend in his orbit. Hotch was a light in the darkness, he burned like the brightest flame and Y/N could only get so close without getting burned.

Y/N knew that what she was doing wasn't healthy, she had an attachment to him that was inappropriate. She should quit, turn in her resignation and leave to save herself the pain of loving someone she could never have.

A selfish part of her didn't want to give him up, he was the one good thing in her life and she wouldn't be able to handle the loss.

Y/N was stuck.

She had taken a step back from Hotch, closing herself off to him and keeping things as professional as possible. Hotch knew that something had changed but Y/N assured him that everything was fine with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Y/N sat at her desk, silently reading through potential case files at almost three o'clock in the morning. A gentle knock on the door made her jump, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Rossi said.

"It's fine," Y/N assured.

"Do you have a minute to chat?" Rossi asked.

"Of course," She nodded, he stepped into her office and sat down on the chair in front of her desk.

"Have I ever told you about why I left the BAU in 1997?" Rossi asked.

"No, I don't think so," Y/N replied, closing her file.

"I told everyone that it was because I wanted to write and got sick of the FBI bureaucracy, but none of that is true... The real reason is that I had feelings for Gideon's wife," Rossi said.

"You did?" Y/N asked.

He nodded, "I would have these thoughts that Jason wasn't good enough for her, so I stepped away from the BAU... I thought it would be best if they went on as a family," He said.

Y/N gulped, trying to blink away the tears that gathered in her eyes.

"I know you're in love with him and I can see what it's doing to you... I know it's hard, but sometimes you have to let go," Rossi said.

"What if I can't let go?" Y/N asked shakily, a tear escaping and rolling down her cheek.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, kid, it's not going to be easy but you'll be better off for it," Rossi said.

Y/N's chest stuttered as she held back a sob, holding her head in her hands as she cried. Rossi stood up from his chair and made his way around the desk. He set his hand on her shoulder, providing silent comfort to her as she broke down.

Rossi watched Y/N go through exactly what he had all those years ago, wanting someone he could never have and getting his heart broken. Y/N was such a kind person and he could see how much loving Hotch had hurt her.

Years of watching the one you love be happy with someone else was a cruel punishment. It was like a knife to the gut, draining the life out of you until there is nothing left to give.

Rossi couldn't stand by and watch her lose herself for any longer. He hoped that she'd be smarter than he was, that she would realize how her feelings for Hotch were affecting her and leave. But love was a powerful thing and it could blind even the smartest person in the world.

...

Y/N made her way over to Hotch's office with a white envelope settled on top of a case file. Rossi was right and Y/N knew that she needed to make some changes in her life. Y/N slowed to a stop outside his office and knocked on the door gently, taking a breath to steady herself and calm her racing heart.

"Come in," Hotch called from inside.

Y/N opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door gently behind herself. She stepped over to his desk, taking off the envelope and holding out the case file to him.

"I think this should be our next case, but I wanted your opinion before briefing the team. The unsub is obviously escalating and is desperate to get the media's attention," Y/N said.

Hotch took the file from her hand, opening it and scanning over the information briefly, "It sounds like they could definitely use our help. Have you given it to Garcia?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir, she can have everyone briefed and on the plane within the hour," Y/N replied.

"Perfect," He nodded, closing the file and standing from his desk.

"Um, Hotch... I also have this for you," Y/N said, holding out the envelope.

He took it from her hand, "What is it?" He asked.

"My resignation," Y/N stated.

A look of confusion passed over his face before he quickly regained his composure, "Is there anything in particular that brought this on?" Hotch questioned.

"No, Sir, I just needed a change... I've already spoken to JJ and she'll be able to take over for me so there isn't any need to search for a replacement," Y/N said, glancing at her watch before moving towards the door.

"Y/N, hold on. I- Can we talk about this?" Hotch questioned, setting the envelope down on his desk.

"Hotch, the briefing," Y/N said, her hand settling on the door handle.

"Have I done something to upset or offend you? I thought that we were close, but recently things have changed and I just want to know if you're leaving because of something I did," Hotch said.

"No, I'm not leaving because of you," Y/N stated.

His shoulders sunk slightly as he looked over her, "You're lying to me," He said.

Y/N opened her mouth before closing it, letting out a soft breath as she moved over to him, "You are the best boss that anyone could ask for, Hotch. You did absolutely nothing wrong, I promise," Y/N assured.

His eyes searched her face for any indication of a lie, reluctantly nodding when he found none.

"How long before you go?" He asked.

"I'll stay until the end of this case," Y/N said.

"And there's nothing I can say to change your mind?" Hotch questioned.

Y/N smiled softly, "No, there isn't," She said.

He took a breath, "I'm going to miss you," Hotch stated.

"I know... I'm gonna miss you too," Y/N replied.

They made their way to the conference room, everyone had already settled in their seats as Garcia passed the remote to Y/N.

"Just before we start, I have a bit of an announcement... I'm resigning from the BAU after this case," Y/N said.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Are you serious?" Morgan questioned.

"Where are you going?" Spencer asked.

"I don't really know yet, but I have some promising offers," Y/N said.

"Seems kinda quick. Is everything okay?" Morgan asked.

"I just need a change," Y/N said simply.

"Change is a good thing, kid," Rossi said, Y/N nodded.

"So, let's get started," Y/N said, clicking to the first set of photos.

...

It had been a few years since Y/N had resigned from the BAU, she managed to get a job with the CIA Office of Public Affairs. Hotch saw her on the news occasionally and he always stopped to watch. He had been incredibly close with Y/N and her abrupt resignation left him feeling confused.

Hotch missed her.

Y/N had become an incredibly close friend to him over the years and he wished that they still worked together. Y/N sent him flowers with a kind message when Haley passed away, but there was no other communication between them.

Things had been challenging since she died, Jack wasn't coping well and Hotch didn't know how to help. Hotch had never been an emotional man and he found himself feeling helpless in the face of such a complex situation.

Jack had always been closer to his mother, he felt her loss deeply and struggled to adjust to life without her. He was slowly returning to the happy little boy that he had been before her death, but Hotch would still catch him watching home movies occasionally just to hear Haley's voice.

It had been almost a year since her passing when Hotch made his way through the bullpen, "Hey, Hotch. Check it out, our girl is well on her way to becoming the face of the CIA," Morgan said.

Hotch looked up at the television, smiling softly when he saw the footage of Y/N holding a press conference for the CIA.

"She looks good," Hotch stated, continuing across the bullpen and up the stairs to his office.

Morgan looked over at Emily and Rossi, "Did I just hear that right?" Morgan asked.

"You did," Emily nodded.

"You think Hotch is ready to put himself back out there? Get a little something something?" Morgan questioned, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't know... He seems happy, it could definitely be something he's starting to think about," Emily said.

"I'll get to the bottom of it," Rossi said.

"Wing man to the rescue," Morgan smirked.

Rossi made his way up to Hotch's office, gently knocking on the open door. Hotch stood at his desk, eyes downcast as he looked over a case file.

"You got a minute, Aaron?" Rossi questioned.

"Of course," He nodded, closing the file and setting it down.

Rossi stepped into the office, closing the door behind himself, "Are you thinking about putting yourself back out there? Maybe going on a date or two?" Rossi questioned.

"I don't know. It hasn't even been a year since Haley passed," Hotch said.

"Listen, Aaron, Haley wouldn't want you to be alone. If you feel like you're ready to get back out there, you should do it," Rossi said.

"I'll think about it," Hotch stated.

"If you're serious about this, I have a good place for you to start," Rossi said, slipping a hand into the inside pocket of his blazer.

Rossi pulled out a business card, holding it out to Hotch. He glanced at him before taking the card from his hand, looking down at the name on it.

'Y/N L/N '

"Why do you have this?" Hotch asked.

"We get together for coffee a few times a month," He shrugged.

"I don't think she wants to hear from me, Dave," Hotch said, shaking his head and holding the card out to Rossi.

"Trust me, she does... Give her a call, Aaron," Rossi said, making his way out of the office.

Hotch stared down at the business card, brushing his thumb across the paper before opening his drawer and setting it inside. He closed the drawer, picking up his file and making his way down to the conference room for the morning briefing.

It took the team three days to apprehend the unsub, rescuing a few victims and reuniting them with their loved ones. There was a bittersweet feeling when only a few people were saved but a multitude of lives had been lost. These kind of cases made everyone cling to their loved ones a little tighter.

Hotch sat at his desk, diligently completing his report long after everyone had already gone home. He sat back in his chair, fidgeting with his pen before he reached over and opened his desk drawer.

Hotch easily located the business card, pulling it out and staring down at it. Hotch took a breath, picking up his phone and dialing the number.

The line rang, he honestly hoped to end up on an answering machine but the soft click caught him off guard.

"Y/N L/N," She said.

"Hi, it's Aaron Hotchner," He replied.

"Hotch? How did you get this number?" Y/N asked.

"Dave gave it to me... I hope that's not a problem," Hotch said.

"That depends on what you're calling about," Y/N replied.

"Do you want to go out for dinner with me tomorrow night? Or, I guess it's today now," He said, glancing at the clock.

"Like a date?" Y/N questioned.

"Yes, a date," Hotch nodded, fidgeting with her business card.

"I'd love to," Y/N said.

"Really?" Hotch questioned.

Y/N let out a soft laugh, "Were you expecting a different answer?" She asked.

"I was, actually... After you left, I kept thinking about your last few weeks at the BAU. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'd done to make you hate me all of a sudden," Hotch started.

"Aaron, I didn't hate you... I left because I was in love with you," Y/N said.

"You loved me?" Hotch asked.

"I did... But you were my boss and you had a wife at home. I couldn't stay there and keep getting my heart broken," Y/N stated.

"I'm so sorry," Hotch said.

"Don't be. I had to do what was best for me. None of it was your fault, Aaron," Y/N assured.

He let out a shaky exhale, "I really miss having you around," Hotch said.

"I miss the BAU," Y/N replied.

"Enough to have coffee with Dave a few times a month?" Hotch questioned.

"Hey, that was all his idea. If I'm being honest, I think he was just making sure I was still single," Y/N said.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Hotch nodded.

"I missed these conversations," Y/N said.

"I did too," Hotch replied with a small smile.

"For tonight, you can pick the restaurant and text me on this number. I don't really know what my day will look like and I know it's the same way at the BAU," Y/N said.

"Okay, I will make a reservation for us and send you a message... Have a good night, Y/N," Hotch said.

"You too, Aaron," Y/N replied.

He hung up the phone, unable to keep the smile off his face as he packed up his things to head home for a few hours of sleep. Hotch knew that he would have to thank Rossi for his help when he saw him in the morning.

[destiny2-names]

A post for fellow "healer main" warlocks

I'm not sure if it's intentional, and maybe this was already a thing and I just didn't notice it, but there are now some activities where healing rifts don't heal. Defeating the whole point of healing rifts. Which can be quite off-putting for warlocks whose builds prioritize that.

So! What can we do instead?

Healing grenades, especially when combined with the Seeker's Sight exotic helmet, are quite useful in a pinch. They even have the added bonus that, unlike rifts, you can throw them at allies you can't reach quickly. However, healing grenades can only be used by Solar and Prismatic subclasses.

A lot of warlocks, me included, have probably spent a good amount of time trying to get their Recovery stat as high as possible. That's the stat that contributes to how fast your rift recharges, and normally a higher Recovery makes your health regenerate faster; for activities where natural health regeneration is disabled, you might want to focus more on Resilience.

Don't COMPLETELY dump Recovery though, because non-healing rifts are still useful! Empowering rifts buff your weapons, and phoenix dive (another ability option unique to Solar and Prismatic) gives your allies a brief burst of healing.

Things like solar mortars and arc souls still work regardless of what you've got equipped in your rift ability slot, but they won't stick around for as long with phoenix dive.

Remember: you can't help anyone if you're dead. Sometimes, if you can't reach your downed teammates safely, the best way to avoid a wipe is to take cover until at least one other person respawns.

Certain weapons, such as those with a support frame or the Healing Clip trait, can give a little boost to the amount of healing you can do for both others and yourself. Hey, anything counts.

For keeping yourself alive, Karnstein's Armlets can be handy (pun intended) when you're being swarmed by weaker enemies. They're a great combo with Monte Carlo, but even unpowered melee kills should activate the gauntlets' effect.

Don't forget about armor mods! Two leg armor mods, Recuperation and Better Already, give you small bursts of healing when you pick up orbs of power. If one or both aren't already part of your kit, you might want to take a look at them, because that healing really adds up when combined with helmet Siphon mods.

If you're using healing grenades, there are also several armor mods that will help that ability recharge faster, such as Bomber, Ennervation, and Explosive Finisher.

This post is meant to help save fellow players– especially newbies and people who only have time to play casually– some time and frustration. If you have any advice to add, please do! If you have questions, please ask! If I got something wrong, please tell me so I can correct it! And if this all seems super obvious to you or you have a better way of doing things, feel free to comment, but please don't be a jackass about it. Thank you.

[badgalsasuke]

Kishimoto interview with Kobayashi for Mandō Kobayashi broadcasted on Fuji TV Dec. 13th 2014

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW

This is a transcription of (most of) the interview. Please watch the video of the interview that I already linked above the image while reading the transcription because there are times where Kishimoto and Kobayashi are discussing a manga panel or notes from Kishimoto's concept notebook and if you're not seeing it then the transcription won't make sense to you.

Also keep in mind this is a very long interview that lasts 54 minutes in video.

INTRO (0:00-6:32)

Kobayashi: Let's start the mission now. Kishimoto: Excuse me! Hello! Kobayashi: Nice to meet you, my name is Kento Kobayashi Kishimoto: Nice to meet you, I'm Kishimoto Kobayashi: Are you Kishimoto-sensei? Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: So, we came here from a show called Mandou Kobayashi, but first of all, congratulations on the end of your series. Today, rather than coming here on request, we actually came to surprise you. Is it okay if we ask you a bunch of questions?

Kishimoto: Please feel free to ask me anything. Kobayashi: Thank you for your permission, let's go in. So is this the workplace? Kishimoto: This is the workplace. Kobayashi: Until recently, fierce battles were taking place here too, right? Kishimoto: It's hell. (Kobayashi laughs)

(I don't know what they're saying from 0:53-1:02)

Kobayashi: Isn't this good? This freezer is amazing. Kishimoto: This is a freezer. Kobayashi: Yes. It's a second-hand one, isn't it? Kishimoto: That's right. I got this one that was used at Jump Festa. Kobayashi: Kishimoto-sensei? Kishimoto: Yes. Kobayashi: You really wanted this one? Kishimoto: Yes, well actually, I wanted Goku. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: I wonder where Goku is now?

Kishimoto: Goku is at Oda's house right now (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: You'd have an assistant here? (Kobayashi points to desk) Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. The assistants here had already finished the manuscript, so they packed up and went home.

Kobayashi: I see. Kishimoto: There's nothing here anymore. It feels kind of lonely. Kobayashi: It feels kind of lonely, isn't it? Kishimoto: There's nothing to mess with. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: What's this? The adjustable desk? Kishimoto: Since it's the desk over there, it feels like I'm writing the manuscript here. Kobayashi: As I thought, when you write a color manuscript, you need vitamins, sensei. (Kobayashi grabs bottle of vitamins)

Kishimoto: So that's what it was, huh? I just ate it a moment ago. (Everyone chuckles)

Kobayashi: Hey, the staff didn't set something up like this. Kishimoto: This is different. Kobayashi: Are you trying to imitate us sneakily? Huh?

Kishimoto: I bought it out of my own pocket. I mean, I technically bought it under the company's expenses. (Everybody chuckles)

Kobayashi: You're kidding, right? If only you had told me that, sensei. Oh, but it would be really helpful for inventory control. That kind of thing, really.

Kishimoto: Well, this is… I found some old drama manuscripts, so I've left them here for a while. Kobayashi: Do these things ever get returned to the authors? Kishimoto: Yes, they do. Kobayashi: So, how much is it? 80 pages?

Kishimoto: I don't remember either... Oh Hinata, it's just Hinata. Not a movie script though. (laughs)

Kobayashi: Well, it turned out to be quite a coincidence sensei. (laughs)

Kishimoto: No, no, no. Kobayashi: As expected from a writer who has written such an epic masterpiece, how do you think he was able to digest all that foreshadowing?

Kobayashi: Surely this should be kept in a bank safe or something. Kishimoto: It's just sitting there with kids' clothes on top of it… Kobayashi: That is dangerous. Kishimoto: Some of it might disappear in a little while.

Kobayashi: is it like a movie concept notebook? For sensei's movies, you first sometimes come up with the original idea and the script, right? Kishimoto: Well, a little, but generally the screenwriters let me do this and that. I'm not the kind of guy who nitpicks or complains at all. There are things written there that have nothing to do with Naruto. Kobayashi: Things that have nothing to do with Naruto? For example, what do you mean? Kishimoto: Like stories I'd like to tell Mammone someday. (everybody laughs)

Kobayashi: Someday. Kishimoto: I'd like to do something like that. Kobayashi: It seems like this is the kind of design I thought of when we met. Kishimoto: That's right. Kobayashi: Ok, ok, ok. Kishimoto: It has nothing to do with Naruto at all. Kobayashi: You just write down everything that comes to mind. Kishimoto: Well, I guess I'll write it here, around here. Kobayashi: [The Day] The Earth Stood Still*. (action movie, 2008) Kishimoto: I watch movies around here and think, "If it were me, I would do it this way," and then I write various things down here... what is this, a read-through?

Kobayashi: It's a one-shot… Kishimoto: It's a one-shot… Have you read it? Kobayashi: But it's quite… Can I just say something? Like… Like panel illustrations… Kishimoto: Ah, that's right. Kobayashi: So the course is quickly drawn here, like a panel layout. Kishimoto: I think it's an image of Kaguya… Kobayashi: Kaguya! Kishimoto: being sealed away, and Gai's final special move was supposed to be something like that, but in the end it was just a kick. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Look at this course. At the end, Sasuke and Naruto make a sign of reconciliation. It was already written here. Kishimoto: That's right. I wrote it around here. This is the original draft for Naruto, and it was only the first chapter… Kobayashi: This is the most important part, so to speak, for a young manga artist, the draft. Kishimoto: Before it started serialization. Kobayashi: Do you really have to write this much for a draft? Kishimoto: That's right. When you're starting, rookies need to have a good image and there's a solidarity meeting for that, and in order to pass it they make a good impression by trying their best and doing as much as possible. Kobayashi: That's it. Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Isn't that just like the first chapter? Kishimoto: If I don't write it in that much detail, the image won't be conveyed. And I'm not trying to pander to anyone but... Kobayashi: "I'm a guy who can work hard and I want to show that". Kishimoto: Yes, show that.

Kobayashi: But somehow, you can see what Kishimoto-sensei has created, you know? Kishimoto: I quite like hero stories. Kobayashi: There are a lot of hero stories. Kishimoto: I quite like them.

Kobayashi: Toriyama-sensei is definitely someone great from that generation. Kishimoto: That's right. Surprisingly, my generation and everyone else feel like he's a god. Kobayashi: That's true, isn't it? Kishimoto: This is called a "gela/geller" and it means that only the parts related to Naruto are taken from Jump and then checked with this to see which parts of the manuscript need to be corrected before it actually becomes a comic. Kobayashi: Sensei, you change the wording of the book quite a lot, don't you? Kishimoto: Yes, but I guess I change it since the deadline isn't met, just a little bit..

Kobayashi: Were you under a lot of pressure? After all, it was a weekly serialization. Kishimoto: Yes, there were. Like with the Shadow Clone Jutsu… Kobayashi: I was planning to ask about that later but I'll ask here. Kishimoto: Okay, okay. Kobayashi: Our investigation has shown that Sensei may have dugged his own grave. Kishimoto: That's right. I messed up. Kobayashi: Since you already did it in the first chapter, you can't afford to power down from there. Kishimoto: That's right. You're constantly growing so you're getting more powerful, and the number of clones increases. Kobayashi: They just keep increasing, don't they? Kishimoto: I messed up… (Everyone laughs)

END OF INTRO, BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW (6:32-50:07)

Kobayashi: First of all, thank you so much for your hard work on that series. Kishimoto: Thank you very much.

Kobayashi: First of all, I want to ask about this Naruto work. I've made a timeline here, so please take a look at the first part. It starts with the Ninja Academy, then the Team 7 decisive test, the Land of Waves arc where they fight Zabuza and Haku, the Chunin Exams, Konoha's destruction and Gaara, Itachi and Akatsuki appear, the battle of the Legendary Sannin, Sasuke's defection, and a bit of Naruto's past. So, I was curious about where you started when you first thought about creating the Naruto series?

Kishimoto: At first, it was just a normal story about a ramen shop… Kobayashi: That's something you hear a lot about, but is it a joke? Kishimoto: Seriously, I seriously wanted to draw a ramen manga. Kobayashi: You seriously wanted to draw a ramen manga.

Kishimoto: I drew a story about a ramen owner and a boy who comes to eat there, and the ramen soup and noodles would be bland on their own, but when they are combined they become many times more delicious, and I used this as an analogy to life, creating a really spectacular, super-sensational story, but then the first editor in charge at the time said, "You're way off the mark".

Kobayashi: It certainly doesn't feel like it'd fit in Weekly Shonen Jump. Kishimoto: First, it was like, "You don't understand manga", so after that I wrote a story about an elementary school kid picking up some money and going on a detour… Kobayashi: What are you talking about? (everyone laughs)

Kishimoto: I was told that it was off, so I looked into it a bit. Well, I liked Dragon Ball, so I realized halfway through that I should draw something like Dragon Ball. It took quite a while, but I got there (Kobayashi laughs). And the ramen thing, which I thought was kind of lame, turned out to be surprisingly perfect for me, so I couldn't let it go. That's how the name Naruto came about.

Kobayashi: First thing is the Naruto name and that he loves ramen, Ichiraku ramen. Did you originally want to draw something about ninjas? Kishimoto: When I was doing the one-shot it was about monsters, and in that monster story it was originally a fox that turns into a human, and it was a mixed story between human and monster, but that deviated from that. Kobayashi: From the target? Kishimoto: It deviated from the target, and I quickly made it a human, redrawn it, and when I released it, it was approved.

Kobayashi: Indeed, we really did a lot of research, or rather, verification, but it seems like it's completely the opposite of the usual ninja stuff. Kishimoto: That's right. Kobayashi: When you think about it, ninjas are depicted as being very extreme, right? This is the world of the shinobi, or rather, it's about not letting them do that, right? Kishimoto: Yes. Since there have been quite a few up until now, like Sanpei Shirata*... (Mangaka of Ninja Bugeicho, 1959; Sasuke, 1967; etc) Kobayashi: Yes.

Kishimoto: I thought that if I did the same thing, it probably wouldn't stand out, so I did the opposite.

Kobayashi: With blonde hair.

Kishimoto: Blonde hair. Not Japanese, but foreign looking. And rather than dying, how should I put it, they're more about saving than hiding. One time I got a fan letter asking "is this character a ninja?". Kobayashi: Was it a simple question from a child? Kishimoto: A simple question from a child, and then I was like, Ah! it got off track again. (Everyone laughs) Kobayashi: The serialization had already started.

Kishimoto: But there was nothing we could do about it so we just went ahead with the deviation, and my editor at the time said it was fine to go with it, that this little deviation was fine. Kobayashi: Actually, this isn't off. Kishimoto: This isn't off. Kobayashi: That's why manga is so difficult.

Kishimoto: It is difficult. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: Do you remember when the "dattebayo" line and things like that came about? Kishimoto: I was thinking about what a typical Jump manga protagonist would be like, and I thought that if a grandmother were to like a clumsy character, it might be well-received or liked. So, I thought of making him a bit awkward, like someone who can't speak properly or stumbles over his words, and adding a catchphrase like "Dattebayo" to make him endearing... Kobayashi: Slurring his words? Kishimoto: Slurring his words, I say. Kobayashi: You put in characters who were classmates, or people of the same generation, right? Did you think about that in detail? Kishimoto: No, I didn't actually intend for it to be like that, I just wanted the missions to be more detailed.

Kobayashi: I think I'll ask about that later. Kishimoto: Okay.

Kobayashi: There was a mission in Wave Country, right? Kishimoto: The Land of Waves exists, and this time the mission is in a different village where there’s a teacher and three subordinates. Then, some guys from a different team come out, and Kakashi's real identity is that he’s a rival to other teachers... Kobayashi: Kakashi had rivals outside (the village) too? Kishimoto: Yes, I talked with the editor about wanting to do it with that setting, but he said there’s no time to be messing around like that.

Kobayashi: Did he say something like, "There's no time to be dawdling around"? (Kishimoto laughs) Kishimoto: He said to release everything at once and to release characters all at once with others too. But he said, "Let's do it, let's have a tournament." I don't have that kind of strength right now. I'll die if I do that. But then I said I'll do it. I said I'll do it even if it means I die. Kobayashi: That's what the Chunin Selection Exam. Kishimoto: That's how the Chunin Selection Exam came to be. Kobayashi: The result of being rushed Kishimoto: So, I still kind of wish I could have done that (the missions).

Kobayashi: Actually, I wanted to see a few more missions too.

Kishimoto: Right? we decided on the characters on the spot. Even while writing the manuscript, if we didn't have any ideas, it was tough for a newcomer to create dozens of characters all at once...

Kobayashi: Here comes the newcomer.

Kishimoto: So, I asked the editor to design them for me. (Kobayashi laughs) The editor suggested something like an old Jackie Chan movie, and something really strange came up, and that was Gai.

Kobayashi: It was Gai and Lee. I see. But when I was listening to the earlier conversation, I heard that there was a system like this in the Land of the Waves too, of course with an academy, and when I thought about Kakashi's rival appearing, I heard that maybe this Gai version was planned for there.

Kishimoto: That's right. I thought it would be better to have a rival… Kobayashi: It actually wasn't from Konoha. Kishimoto: but I thought there wasn't enough of them, We set it up so that there would be a rival in our village. We thought it would be better to have that kind of setting, so we made it happen within a year. Kobayashi: Right. In other words, the Chunin Exam and the Hidden Leaf battle with Gaara are two different things, but they're all correlated, and yet they keep moving forward.

Kishimoto: During the Chunin Exam selection test, we gained popularity. But even though we were gaining popularity, the editor in charge at the time said that if we just let it end with a regular victory, it would be too ordinary. It wasn't the right time for a tournament. Kobayashi: This is not the time to be dragging your feet. Bang. Kishimoto: They told me, "Come on, this character named Orochimaru is going to come out and wreck everything. He's going to destroy the tournament". I had worked hard to introduce so many characters. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: That's true. Kishimoto: I was having fun wondering who would win and things like that.

Kobayashi: Even for you, were you subtly wondering who the winner would be on social media?

Kishimoto: I was planning on making it Shikamaru.

Kobayashi: Were you planning on making Shikamaru?

Kishimoto: Yes. That's right.

Kobayashi: Shikamaru's fighting style got really good in the Chunin Selection Exam.

Kishimoto: I had decided that only Shikamaru would become a chunin.

Kobayashi: Yes, yes, yes. And that's exactly what happened.

Kishimoto: I just wrote "IQ 200," but I don't have an IQ of 200. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: You digged your grave again. Just like with the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It would require someone with an IQ of 200 to write in such a way that they would think about other people with IQ 200, so it's certainly difficult.

Kishimoto: It's not that it's difficult, it's that is just impossible, isn't it? So I struggled with this, I really struggled.

Kobayashi: Let's keep moving the story along. No, in The Land of the Waves arc, we suddenly have the formidable enemy Zabuza.

Kishimoto: I think it would be better to show a strong ninja out of the blue, and then Kakaishi-sensei would get serious about it. I thought it would be easier to show Naruto and the other ninjas from the older generation in a real ninja battle...

Kobayashi: Growing towards that point.

Kishimoto: I thought it would be easy to understand that we were going to continue to do this, so I decided to show that first.

Kobayashi: But if you think about it, the settings that are introduced in the Land of Waves arc and continue up to the final chapter, for example, the Kekkei Genkai and the Sharingan come out one after another here, right? How far did you plan this out? Kishimoto: No. I think it would have been better to just go ahead and bluff it out here. Kobayashi: Were you bluffing from the beginning? Kishimoto: It seems like a bluff, so I didn't think about what would come next at all. Kobayashi: First, you just went ahead and created the framework. Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: So you're rushing ahead with the serialization while also thinking about it? Kishimoto: Yes, that's right.

Kobayashi: So you suddenly mentioned Sasuke's past, right? Kishimoto: He wanted to kill someone. Kobayashi: That there was someone he wanted to kill. Kishimoto: I was thinking that he'd have an older brother, and that he had done something bad. I had thought about that, but not much else… Kobayashi: It was quite vague… Kishimoto: That part was vague. Kobayashi: So maybe you just said that Itachi was just a bad guy?

Kishimoto: No, by the time Itachi was brought out I had already decided he was a good guy.

Kobayashi: There's circumstances that make Sasuke feel this way.

Kishimoto: At first, the Sharingan was supposed to be able to closely observe and copy the opponent's movements, but it gradually went in a different direction. Kobayashi: It's the first chapter in the history of world entertainment to be themed around eyeballs, and it went up to volume 72. Kishimoto: I never thought that the idea of ​​the eye as a Dojutsu skill would be so useful. (Kobayashi laughs) The Sharingan is mentioned in a very old story called The Tale of the Hero Jiraiya, in which it is revealed that Jiraiya actually has the Sharingan.

Kobayashi: Jiraiya, that one. Kishimoto: The character has it, and it's often seen in kabuki and other performances. However, if Jiraiya were to use it, his character would become too prominent, so we decided to give it to the Uchiha clan instead. Kobayashi: And Kakashi's has them, so it's like he got the eyes because of some kind of grudge or connection. Kishimoto: That's right. Why does he have those eyes when he's not a part of the Uchiha clan? That's what we make into a mystery to keep the story going.

Kobayashi: So, Kakashi's Sharingan comes from the Uchiha clan. I see, so that's what it was, one of the major recoveries, a part of the mission. There are three main characters in this concept, right?

Kishimoto: Rin, Obito, and Kakashi

Kobayashi: The photo of Rin, Obito, and Kakashi came out pretty early, right? Like around the fourth chapter or so.

Kishimoto: I wonder if there are any photos of Kakashi. I'm thinking about this for now. When I get back, I'll have him be Naruto's dad.

Kobayashi: Ah, had it already been decided at this point that he would be Naruto's dad? Kishimoto: It had been decided. Kobayashi: Ah, this had been decided? Kishimoto: It had been decided, at that time. Kobayashi: Ah, is that so? Ah, had it also been decided that Obito would be the Uchiha? Kishimoto: Yes. Kobayashi: It had been firmly decided, really. Kishimoto: That's… Kobayashi: That was about 16 chapters in.

Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. We decided on that part too. Initially, it's not so much that we decided that the Fourth Hokage, Minato, was Naruto's dad, but rather that we thought we had to reveal that Naruto's dad was the Fourth Hokage. So we properly created the Hokage Rock with the Fourth Hokage's face, and originally, it was a dog's face, so the Fourth Hokage had a dog's face. Kobayashi: Dog? Dog as in dog? Kishimoto: Dog as in dog.Dog Dog. Well, there's that character with fangs, Kiba, right? So if there's a human with fangs, then why not have a dog become Hokage too, right? Kobayashi: It was a dog? Kishimoto: It was a dog. Kishimoto: Yahagi-san, editor Yahagi-san. Kobayashi: The person in charge?

Kishimoto: Yes, he told me I was off the mark again when I got there. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: You'd finally managed to fix the misalignment, and now it's off again? Kishimoto: So, I decided to make him the protagonist's father. So it was decided on the first playthrough, sort of speak. Kobayashi: I see. So you were excited about that part beforehand. But, you know, with Kakashi, did you have some kind of premonition that he'd become popular? Kishimoto: Not at all. Kobayashi: Eh, speaking of Kakashi, isn't he the most popular character? Kishimoto: That's right. I had no idea why a guy like that would become so popular.

Kobayashi: Kishimoto-sensei, that's off the mark. (Everyone laughs) Kakashi is so cool, he's gonna be popular. Kishimoto: Why can you only see with one eye? (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: Jiraiya is popular too, isn't he? Kishimoto: Jiraiya was really popular too. Kobayashi: I guess it's just that somewhere, are there any characters who are perverts at heart that become popular? Kishimoto: That's true.

Kobayashi: There's a "make out paradise" between those two. Kishimoto: That's why the characters I thought were cool and would be popular didn't become popular at all. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: Is there anyone else? This guy? Kishimoto: I drew Sai thinking he'd be popular. Kobayashi: Did Sai not become that popular as a character? Kishimoto: No, I also drew a character called Kimimaro thinking he'd be popular, but he pulls out his bones and turns them into swords and he seemed to be a little popular at some point, but the minute he pulled out his backbone he lost popularity.

Kobayashi: Did they have an allergic reaction? Women and such were like, "Wow, this guy is like this." What about Sakura-chan? Kishimoto: I drew Sakura because I thought she was cute. It's not that she's a girl's true nature, but I drew her realistically. Kobayashi: Her inner thoughts came first. Kishimoto: Yes. Kobayashi: Like appearing in a TV show. (Like the confessionals of reality tv show) Kishimoto: I thought she'd be popular with girls, but it seems like they just didn't like her. Kobayashi: Don't like her? Was there a lot of people who disliked Sakura?

Kishimoto: Right. They said that little kids hate her, so we tried a lot of things, but they just backfired. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: They backfired. I'm sorry. It's a painful memory. Kishimoto: It's a painful memory. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: You didn't intend to make them fall in love with her like that, but that's how it is. But you know, we had a little meeting about why only Sakura is like that, and it turns out that the Haruno clan isn't depicted, or rather, it was in the movie, but not in the original work. However, not that far ahead; once the recognition system is established, the parents of each clan and their relatives are depicted, and they participate in battles. So, what's up with the Haruno clan? Why aren't they depicted? She's only one girl from an ordinary family, or rather, a girl without any struggles. Kishimoto: The truth is that Sakura wasn't popular, so even if we expanded on that... (Everyone laughs) Kobayashi: So the truth is because she isn't popular you wouldn't expand on it. Kishimoto: Right. (Everyone laughs harder)

Kobayashi: But once it's out you can't backtrack on it, right? The cover of volume 4, and the cover of chapter 4 already have the details of each summoning. Kishimoto: That's right, in chapter 4. Kobayashi: And wasn't it this? If it's already out here, we can't take it down now, right? Kishimoto: That's right. We have no choice but to keep going, so it was pretty much decided by this point that those three, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade, would each become a mentor. Kobayashi: It's already being passed down.

Kishimoto: I drew this cover while looking at the faces of Hollywood actresses. Kobayashi: So you were trying to draw what is commonly called a beautiful person? Kishimoto: Yes. I was thinking of drawing a cute girl. I was sketching and so on. Naruto and Sasuke, I can just draw them quickly, but for this character [Sakura], I had to look at reference materials while drawing. Kobayashi: You were very careful about that, weren't you, sensei? Kishimoto: I was extremely careful. Kobayashi: If you could say it like that, you were pushing it. In other words.

Kishimoto: That's right. We were pushing her so hard that it didn't get through to her at all. Only Hinata kept getting more and more popular. I didn't draw Hinata much, and like Sakura, she wasn't doing much either, but her popularity was skyrocketing, so I thought maybe I should make her the heroine. I thought maybe I should make her closer to heroine status. That's why she has a bit of a standout moment at the end.

Kobayashi: I see, it feels like all the characters have been introduced, but the second part was amazing too. First, there was the mission to rescue the Kazekage from the Sand Village, the Tenchi Bridge reconnaissance mission, then the battle between Team 10 and Hidan and Kakuzu, Sasuke's formation of Hebi, Jiraiya vs. Pain, Sasuke vs. Itachi, Hebi becoming Taka, Pain's death, the Five Kage Summit, the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto vs. Sasuke, and then the epilogue. So, was there a specific reason for structuring it into two parts?

Kishimoto: That's right, in some parts, Naruto and the others are, well, let's say, weak, right? Kobayashi: That's right. Kishimoto: As expected because they're genins, the Akatsuki, which is like a collective of powerful yet disenfranchised enemies. Kobayashi: Akatsuki. Kishimoto: That's right, they're genin and the Akatsuki are a strong enemy that's like a collection of disenfranchised people but even the jonin can't do anything about them. Kobayashi: It's like even jonin can't catch them.

Kishimoto: So this is bad and for now I cut it and made them grow up all at once. I also wanted to change the clothes and so on, it's hard to draw this weird thing on the left shoulder, it's small, or rather the fluffy thing in around his neck, it hides his face when he lifts his shoulders or makes any movement.

Kobayashi: It was a bit wimpy when he was a kid. When he was a boy, it was wimpy and it got in the way when he was performing action. Even though it's neat like this, it still keeps you warm.

Kishimoto: I thought it doesn't look like a top garment if his neck isn't covered. I also added this headband here so that it flutters a bit and stands out when he performs action.

Kobayashi: Well, as we talked about Akatsuki earlier, Akatsuki was really exciting. As a reader, when all the silhouettes of the characters suddenly appeared, it was just too much. Itachi, Kisame, Pain, Konan, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Tobi, Zetsu. My favorites were Hidan and Kakuzu. Kishimoto: Ah, that's the same for me. Kobayashi: Oh, really? Kishimoto: I like Hidan the best too. Kobayashi: I like Hidan the best too! It's like, this is what dangerous evil is, and I think it would be great if this kind of thing could be applied. I really, really like it. And the fact that two immortals are immortal for different reasons is also really interesting to me.

Kishimoto: That's right. At that time, I actually quite liked how the abilities were portrayed, so things like Hidan stabbing himself with the kunai and the feelings behind it. Kobayashi: This scene is great, he pierces himself and that causes damage to Asuma. Team 10 was great. Sensei previously said it was hard, but from here on it becomes a battle of IQ 200s, right? Kishimoto: With Shikamaru in it, it's a bit tough. Kobayashi: No, but this cigarette scene is really different from previous Naruto, it's a bit of a man's world, a grown man's worldview, you know? Kishimoto: It's surprisingly brutal, with heads chopped off and stuff.

Kobayashi: Yes, there was a scene where his head gets chopped off. Kishimoto: They said that couldn't be done in the anime. Kobayashi: I said that one line, but it made me a bit worried. Is this okay in today's world? Kishimoto: Well first, after being told that it couldn't be done, there was a discussion about changing it because Shikamaru smoking was also a no-go, but the editor said not to worry about it and just go ahead and do it. However, the higher-ups would always check with the editor each time, saying things like, "Isn't this a bit too much? It's a shonen magazine after all." Kobayashi: Would we be able to show this scene now?

Kishimoto: Add this here. Kobayashi: Add this and then cut the left and right sides. Kishimoto: It looks like it's peeking out. (Kobayahi laughs) Kobayashi: It's amazing, isn't it? This head rolls around and suddenly starts talking again. Kishimoto: I tried to hide the cross sections as much as possible. Kobayashi: I see, the cross-section is beautifully concealed. This lighter texture is also quite nice, isn't it? I think many people have asked you about this, but is Hidan still down below?

Kishimoto: Yes, so I think I could have dug him up and have him join the battle if I wanted to, but when it comes out, I still get carried away and have to hide all the cross-sections, so it would be tough. Kobayashi: I couldn't stand it if it became any more troublesome to draw, but Shikamaru's smoke stings my eyes. It was a clean story right up to the point where he just throws it away at the end, and yet the hard-boiled sense is quite rare even for Jump. Kishimoto: That's right. Kobayashi: Did Sensei was always into that kind of world? Kishimoto: Surprisingly, I actually like those kinds of movies and used to watch them a lot, so I ended up doing everything I wanted to do in a shonen magazine, even though it wasn't really appropriate.

Kobayashi: Well, Akatsuki isn't just an organization, it's got all sorts of intertwined intentions, some that even the other people don't know about. Did you give that a lot of thought? Kishimoto: There's places like that. Kobayashi: Around here? Kishimoto: In the real world, companies have started hiring mercenaries to engage in private wars, so I wanted to explore that. Kobayashi: Like a professional group. Kishimoto: I thought that if we introduced a leader who could bring everyone together, it would bring out a sense of charisma. So, I considered developing the character's profile with that in mind. Pain. Kobayashi: That's Pain. When he first appeared, he said he was conquering the world on his back. That scene was difficult, wasn't it?

Kishimoto: It was hard. Kobayashi: It's a scene looking down on the world. Kishimoto: That was hard to draw. Kobayashi: It really seemed like sensei was pushing himself too hard, he drew a lot of scenery seen from above the city. Kishimoto: I draw the rough draft to a certain extent, but my assistants do the inking and stuff, so I leave that to them. Kobayashi: This is another scene looking down at a different city, but did the assistant only do the inking, and the basic drawing is done by you, right? Kishimoto: I did the rough draft.

Kobayashi: Wow, this is amazing. Kishimoto: If it's not like that, the layout and feel of that time can't really be conveyed just by talking about it. Kobayashi: Indeed, the world view of this village is thoroughly filled with such elements. Kishimoto: It was the same with Pain. Kobayashi: This is it, right? The sensei wrote it, what was it called, the handkerchief? Kishimoto: This is that Bobobobobobobobobo manga. (Manga serialized from 2001-2005) Kobayashi: Oh, that's right, now that I think about it, the deadline is a week, right? Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. You only have about three days to draw.

Kobayashi: Three days. You can spare about three days. Since we're talking about illustrations, I would like to ask you a bit about that kind of artwork. You have a unique composition style, don't you? This is a fisheye perspective, right? It's a view of Deidara from above. And again, a fisheye perspective from above. Kishimoto: I quite like fisheye views from above. Kobayashi: "I like fisheye views from above" is like a tongue twister. Kishimoto: I really liked the feeling that the characters were standing on the ground, and Akira was also very precise about that.

Kobayashi: By Otomo-sensei. Kishimoto: I look at various pictures and draw them by changing the depth of the fisheye lens, like Otomo-sensei's fisheye. Kobayashi: Look at this cover of Chouji, the photographer left during the shoot. He said, "Please wait a moment." This is the kind of composition you see in Chihuahua photo books, right? This camera is really only used for skateboarding PVs and Funkiller AVs. Kishimoto: There's no way I would study while watching AV down here. That's not happening. Kobayashi: It's more like a sunview. Kishimoto: That's the image I had in mind…

Kobayashi: Haku, right? Kishimoto: Yes. The "bang" when someone is punched is a common cinematic technique known as double action. For example, when Jackie Chan punches an enemy, the camera slightly pulls back and then zooms in again, making the punch stand out. I wanted to create an image like that in this manga. Kobayashi: We were looking for something like this, showing the same scene from three different angles, and I had a question, in Naruto, even when he uses his signature move, there isn't a name for it at that moment, but his face isn't shown when he lands the move. Is this intentional? Kishimoto: I thought it would be cooler if his face was not shown.

Kobayashi: How is that cool? Kishimoto: If the face isn't in the picture, the attention goes to the body, right? To the back and the body. That way it feels like the body is speaking or expressing itself, but if you show face, the power of the face is so strong that it takes over, or rather, becomes the focal point of the scene. Kobayashi: Rather than talking about the expressions in this scene, you want people to just look at the dynamism and things like that. Kishimoto: That's why I actually have to draw faces in decisive scenes. Kobayashi: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I noticed that a lot, like when the decisive scene doesn't show the face, it's like a deliberate act, right? There were also scenes where the battle progresses from both sides, like in Sasuke vs. Naruto. Kishimoto: This is unique to manga, so it's not shown like a movie on a timeline, and you can look at either side from above and if you just look from above, you can see both at once. This is a manga-like presentation that I came up with, so I thought I'd go with that. It's more about matching or being the same... Kobayashi: Normally you have to read it like this, so now you can read it like this. Kishimoto: That kind of feeling. I tried to keep the details as simple as possible so that it's easy to read. I wanted it to be simple, so I didn't focus too much on the details.

Kobayashi: This is an incredibly complicated panel. Are you even listening? (Kishimoto laughs) Kishimoto: Yes, this area is… Kobayashi: To begin with, we abandoned the interrogation, and now it's a huge mess. So, what is this supposed to be? Kishimoto: I deliberately made it look this cluttered, so that you don't know where to look… Kobayashi: It was a chaotic battle. It was happening at an incredible speed. Kishimoto: I wanted to create something like in movies where the action is so fast that you can't tell what's happening.

Kobayashi: Like directing a production? Kishimoto: That's exactly it. Kobayashi: You were saying you'd put it out this next time but it was difficult to put out. You were trying to make it as simple as possible, so I think it's fine to put out this one. Well, the time is almost up, so I'll have to rush through this. Was the Great Ninja War really difficult? Kishimoto: It was difficult. They said "you will be experiencing wars from now on". By that point, it had been decided to go to war. I was trying to get him to experience war once and then face it, so he couldn't escape, or rather... Kobayashi: Well, I guess it's inevitable. Kishimoto: I thought so.

Kobayashi: It's like everything that has happened so far has come to light in these three wars, right? Kishimoto: There were a lot of things I hadn't been able to do before, but I wanted to tie everything together there, so I did that. So I did a lot of battles between old men, which is unimportant, like Hanzo and Mifune. And I did something that shouldn't be done in a boys' magazine, which was to have those old men clash in the first chapter of the volume. Kobayashi: A boys' magazine that violates morals. Kishimoto: The old man was getting a lot of heat in a boys' magazine.. Kobayashi: An old man's duel. Kishimoto: That's something you'd expect from Torishima-san (Editor in chief of Shonen Jump and editor of Akira Toriyama, author of Dragon Ball) Kobayashi: From Mashirito-san (Anagram of Torishima) Kishimoto: From Mashirito-san. Torishima-san asked me what I was doing and told me to bring out Naruto right away and that I didn't need the old men and I got scolded.

Kobayashi: But, sensei, please listen, is this the fight that the director in charge thought was the best about? Kishimoto: That's right. Kobayashi: Hanzo vs. Mifune. Kishimoto: That's nice to hear. Kobayashi: I think this is great. It's something that people who don't give up on things can achieve. As they fight, they remember things from the past.

Kishimoto: There's a seppuku scene, and I wanted to depict that. I'm gradually becoming an old man, so I feel like I want to depict that kind of seriousness. Kobayashi: How was it? How popular was Mifune in the boy's fantasy genre? Kishimoto: Not at all. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: No, it's cool, but you know, there was a setting where they branched out from samurai and grew up to become ninjas, and then they started fighting like ninjas. Kishimoto: It's not that. Kobayashi: It's not that because it's that samurai are samurai because they persevere. Kishimoto: They don't run away. Kobayashi: It's a well-portrayed scene, but it's a bit too much for shonen. Kishimoto: It was like "old men are fighting, I wish it would end quickly, I wish the main character would appear soon". (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: My favorite character in that match was the second Mizukage, I think? He kept saying his own weaknesses while fighting, like "Hurry up and defeat me" or "Am I strong?" I really liked this character. Kishimoto: Ah, that's right. Kobayashi: This one is still a bit old-fashioned for me, though. Kishimoto: This character was surprisingly popular. Kobayashi: It was great, wasn't it? He kept talking and revealing his weak points, defeating his opponents one after another, while telling them to defeat him quickly. Kishimoto: I thought it was kind of interesting.

Kobayashi: Edo Tensei was really difficult, wasn't it? Kishimoto: Yes, well, ever since the Pain arc, Naruto has been unable to just defeat, beat, and kill people to settle things. Instead, they end with discussions. It's something you shouldn't really do in a shonen manga, so from then on, when he fights, he considers who he is up against and what kind of person they are. Kobayashi: Like cultivated clones. Kishimoto: Because it was something that fundamentally doesn't exist as a living being, it couldn't be defeated.

Kobayashi: Did you have the fighting puppets decided on exactly what they would be? So that's why Edo Tensei meant that Jiraiya, Hidan who was buried and Konan who was scattered didn't appear, right? Kishimoto: I mean, I didn't want to bring back Jiraiya. Kobayashi: Well, he was a good character and had a good way of dying. Kishimoto: That's right. I couldn't write a better death than that one and in a sense, with Jiraiya dying, Naruto understood Sasuke's feelings about how it feels when someone important to you dies. If he were to come back, it would be a bit difficult to handle that. Also, I wanted to use Madara as a hook, so that's pretty much everything.

Kobayashi: I see, isn't that a bit of a complicated Rinne Tensei no Jutsu? Madara himself is quite complicated as well. Kishimoto: He is resurrected through Rinne Tensei and Edo Tensei, so it's a bit complicated how it works. Kobayashi: The forbidden technique of Edo Tensei, you see, with the element of Orochimaru, this brings out the connection with Kabuto in the battle. Throughout this, there has been a persistent push from Mr. Kishimoto and the main cast, and then there was the incident where Sakura received a love letter. Kishimoto: This is... a mislead story, but why did I put it here? It's because if the anime continues with the war, it will soon catch up with the manga. So, I created a gap here and then moved on to the next part.

Kobayashi: There was some outrageous fortune-telling involved in this love letter incident, wasn't there? Kishimoto: Did you also wonder what I was writing? (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: So, it's called a love letter, huh? I was wondering what I was writing. Wow, I got to hear some good behind-the-scenes stories. When you think about it, there were a lot of casualties, but why did Neji have to die in the war among the well-known characters? Kishimoto: Well, I had decided on Hinata as the heroine, so it was quite some time ago… Kobayashi: Ultimately Kishimoto: So, I wanted elements that would bring Naruto and Hinata closer together. There was a scene during the Pain fight where Hinata came out and said something, but this time, Naruto consciously says he's happy to have Hinata by his side. So, there was that aspect, and that's why Neji, well, let's just say...

Kobayashi: Well, it was the trigger. Kishimoto: Yes, well, it was like he was playing the role of Cupid, so I was a bit nervous about that. And then we basically decided on the name Boruto for their son. Kobayashi: Is that so? Kishimoto: Once we decided on it, Boruto was also known as Neji (they both mean screw), so the idea was to have him take on the name of the uncle who assisted Cupid… Kobayashi: Well, when I saw it, I cried a little. Kishimoto: We decided on Neji. Kobayashi: Is that how it turned out? Kishimoto: So from now on, for example, this might be a bit harsh, but if I were to write a manga about Boruto, then the scenes with Neji would be important.

Kobayashi: Is it okay if I play this now? Is it alright if I go ahead with this?

Kishimoto: it's alright.

Kobayashi: Thank you. Well, this match is really amazing, so let's move on to the final battle, Naruto vs. Sasuke. I haven't been able to hear much about Sasuke until now, though.

Kishimoto: They start off as rivals and then fight at the end as rivals to close it out. Kobayashi: What's that place called? Kishimoto: Valley of the End.

Kobayashi: Valley of the End. It took quite a while to draw out this ending, didn't it? It's been a long time since Sasuke left, hasn't it?

Kishimoto: Yes, it has been quite a long time since Sasuke flew away.

Kobayashi: That one is definitely longer.

Kishimoto: Sasuke was sulking the whole time.

Kobayashi: He's been sulking the whole time, hasn't he?

Kishimoto: While writing, I was like, "Who is this guy?" (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Eh, did you hate Sasuke? Kishimoto: No, there were a few parts where I was a bit more annoyed. But I think I understand what Sasuke does… Kobayashi: Well, I understand why Sasuke does what he does. Kishimoto: I wanted people to understand that, so I wrote it with quite a bit of emphasis, but surprisingly, I wasn't capturing Sasuke's character expressions well. I often had to tell my editor, "This isn't right; this doesn't look like Sasuke"... Kobayashi: Isn't this part of the face a little different? Kishimoto: It took a lot of fixing.

Kobayashi: Wow, so you were quite tormented throughout the serialization. Kishimoto: That's right, I was pretty much tormented by Sakura and Sasuke. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: So the journey up to volume 72 was one in which you were tormented by two out of the three main characters. Kishimoto: Yes, it was long and painful. Kobayashi: It was difficult. Kishimoto: And Kakashi is Kakashi, but surprisingly, since he only has one eye, it's difficult to convey expressions, ah. Kobayashi: I see, so his expressions are halved? Kishimoto: That's right, and that's why it was so difficult.

Kobayashi: Isn't this a cycle of hatred? We're talking about breaking the cycle of hatred, but we're actually creating more hatred, aren't we? (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: Yeah, that's right. So I was thinking about how to do it, and in the end, it really turned into a battle between men. I didn't want to resolve it with ninjutsu or anything like that. I wanted a straightforward fistfight. Gradually running out of strength and continuing to fight is, after all, the spirit of Jump. I thought, "Come on, just pull through," but somehow, it worked out.

Kobayashi: They say both of their right arms are blown off.

Kishimoto: Naruto being right-handed and Sasuke being left-handed, so he loses his left hand. In Ninjutsu, there is a tradition called Ninja Kumite where when two friends fight, they put one hand forward as a sign of reconciliation...

Kobayashi: It was a memorable scene.

Kishimoto: In the end, it seems like reconciliation is impossible or rather they're unable to due to the loss of their hands. I felt that these two didn't want to simply reconcile, nor could they, so it didn't seem like the right fit. The concept of reconciliation was similar to the conflict between Indra and Ashura, who were reincarnated. The hands of Madara and Hashirama overlapping are the representation of the symbolized reconciliation.

Kobayashi: I see. Kishimoto: So, I expressed it this way, with the two of them above, even though they don't have hands but still. Kobayashi: Well, sensei's character continued to suffer, but it's a great final scene. You know, these two really brought it about. Kishimoto: We've finally made it this far. That scene has been something I've wanted to draw for a long time, and it was a scene I hinted at at the end of part one, so I'm really glad to finally be able to draw it. Kobayashi: Yes, it's a relief, the daimyo are safe. This daimyo, when you look at him like this, he looks a bit like me. Kishimoto: The cat, that's the cat I have.

Kobayashi: Did it make an appearance? Is it okay to touch on this bit? I was quite moved by this cheer battle. It was kind of… Kishimoto: More like comrades… Kobayashi: More like comrades… I suppose the two of them are comrades, but I feel like I'm a comrade too. In the video, the three of us were standing. Me, Oda-sensei, and Kishimoto-sensei, the three of us were standing together. (Kishimoto laughs) Kishimoto: Well, let's do that. Kobayashi: So you have some thoughts about it? Kishimoto: I think everyone has their own things going on, you know, it's just like…

Kobayashi: It's clearly written here, isn't it? Friends and rivals. A serialization that we did together for 15 years. Kishimoto: I'm grateful. I feel the same way and I want to convey those feelings to Oda-san. Kobayashi: It's not the first time I've seen something like this, but everyone has a valuable message for sensei. Kishimoto: That surprised me. Kobayashi: You didn't hear about it in the volume? Kishimoto: I wasn't informed about it. Kobayashi: That shows that he was an incredible sensei who left behind some amazing works, and therefore a very precious teacher. Kishimoto: Thank you.

Kobayashi: Well, there have been some announcements, like a new generation project. Kishimoto: Yes. Kobayashi: Do you have any plans like that for your next work? Kishimoto: Yes, you're thinking about what you want your next work to be Kobayashi: Their silhouettes are shown, but there is also a new generation project. Kishimoto: The fact that the children have appeared up to this point means that that's what it means, and that I want to depict them. Kobayashi: Seriously? Kishimoto: Naruto also makes a few appearances, but I think that Orochimaru, who didn't appear in the final episode, and Kabuto and Karin are connected, and once it becomes clear that there's a change of generation, then it'll be over.

Kobayashi: Well, there are things that have been announced, like the new generation project and so on.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Do you have any plans like that for your next work? Kishimoto: Yes, I'm thinking about what I want to do with my next work. Kobayashi: The silhouette is reflected but it's also a new generation project. Kishimoto: The fact that we've included children up to this point means that that's what I want to depict.

Kobayashi: Seriously?

Kishimoto: Naruto will also make a brief appearance, but I think it will be complete once the connections with characters like Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Karin, who didn't appear in the final episode, clearly show a generational shift.

Kobayashi: Yeah, that's good. I was just thinking about Karin earlier. When I saw Karin's abilities, I honestly thought, "Wow, the teacher must be really stressed," but was that the hardest time for you? (Kishimoto laughs) Kishimoto: It was difficult. (Kobayashi laughs) Kobayashi: I think you had a lot of free time. Kishimoto: That's right. I was really lucky, but that was a really bad thing. Kobayashi: It's work that requires you to sit down, after all. It's a job that you can't do without sitting down. Kishimoto: That was painful. I think it was both the mental and physical aspects that built up a lot of stress.

Kobayashi: It's a sitting job, after all. It's a job that can't be done unless you sit.

Kishimoto: It was painful. Probably both the mental and physical aspects were affecting me, and I was quite stressed.

Kobayashi: Sir, it seems you've acquired some special abilities. In this world, I have high hopes that we might be able to see such things. Do you have any thoughts about getting something entirely new from Kishimoto-sensei in the next world?

Kishimoto: Well, of course, I thought about taking a break, but I just can't seem to settle down. So I called in an assistant and we talked together, and I guess I'll ask him to help me with some work and we talked about it.

Kobayashi: Is that so? So it's like it's actually moving around a bit. Kishimoto: That's right, so I want it to be like this, and like this, and with this setting and the main character is like this. Kobayashi: What's the story about? Kishimoto: That's a total secret.

Kobayashi: Well, right.

Kishimoto: It's a bit of a secret.

Kobayashi: It's a bit of a secret, isn't it? Is it wrong to ask about this sort of thing? For example, will it be in Jump?

Kishimoto: Weekly Jump.

Kobayashi: Weekly Shōnen Jump, etc.?

Kishimoto: Well, I want to, but only if I have the stamina.

Kobayashi: There's also G, you know.

Kishimoto: First, the surgery. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Ah, yes. That's the best. You should definitely be able to find more time than before. First, please take it easy, really. I know there are many things that make it hard to relax. So, let's talk about the highlights of the movie at the end. Please make sure to mention them here.

Kishimoto: I thought it was something I'd never done before, and if I was going to do it anyway, I should try a theme that hadn't been done in the main story or the original work, or something like that, so I thought it would seem new and interesting, and so I embarked on the adventure of trying my hand at a romance.

Kobayashi: It was more like a straightforward romance than an adventure. I got to see it, and actually, there's a work here that was written after the serialization ended. It's a gorgeous two-page one-shot.

Kishimoto: It took a while, so please check out those two pages. Kobayashi: Everyone please watch the movie too.

Kishimoto: I want you to watch this. Looking at this, well, I don't know if I should say it, but there are parts that were lacking in the manga that might still be completed, so I wanted to do it with Hinata.

Kobayashi: Please take a look, everyone. So, is this Naruto 10, which means it's cloe to the new year? Haven't they? Is this coming out next year?

Kishimoto: Yes, I think this will be quite moving next year.

Kobayashi: Will we also be able to see the colored illustrations by sensei?

Kishimoto: Yes, you can see it there. I haven't shown you my old setting materials and such.

Kobayashi: You were hiding it a bit today, huh? Well, I guess that's over there, over there, right?

Kishimoto: No, no, no, that's not the case. I just had a few notes lying around.

Kobayashi: Earlier, during the notebook time, it didn't come out easily.

Kishimoto: No, no, no, it's not good at all.

For some reason, Kishimoto's demonstration and whatever comment he and Kobayashi were making were muted in the video linked, sorry about that.

[konjiang]

Cumplane AU slightly nsfw? Finger kink?

SQH crashed at SY place because his internet went out.

SY watched as SQH rapidly typed while munching on some seeds. No matter how many times he saw it, he will always be shocked at the sheer speed SQH completes writing assignments. He watched as those fingers curled and stretched across the keyboard while pressing all the right letters.

'What else can those fingers do...' SY snapped his eyes back to his own laptop, trying to forget whatever dumbass thoughts he got when he was around SQH.

SY couldn't focus on any of the words on his screen. He had to reread the page over again when he saw the way SQH sat up and stretched.

"Cucumber-Bro," SQH said as he smiled at SY, "I'm done. Do you want to do anything?" SQH started moving and rolling his hand and wrist.

'Do anything...what about me-' SY mind was wandering again, and he needed to focus before he let's SQH control his mind again. They are just two bro sitting 5 ft apart because he's not gay!

"You think everyone can type like that? Stop bothering me and go do something else." SY needed SQH to be away from him before he says or does anything weird.

"Alright, alright, you are such an asshole sometimes." SQH pouted as he grabbed a couple dessert from the pantry.

"Hey! Why are you eating my food?" SY watched as SQH opened a bag of veggie straws.

"Bro, I'm hungry, and you're rich. Here, I'll feed you." SQH declared as he shoved a veggie straw in SY face, giving SY direct access to those fingers. He carefully bit the straw and avoided SQH's hand. Soon, they got into a rhythm, where SY would open his mouth, and SQH would feed him. It was still hard to focus, but SY was proud of himself for getting some work done. He opened his mouth and closed it when he felt something else in his mouth. This time, when he bit down, his lips surrounded half of SQH's index finger.

SY was panicking, 'WTF WTF WTF', but he didn't release SQH's finger.

"Uhmm, bro? Can I have my finger back? Should I be scared that you acquired a taste for human flesh?" SQH teased and wiggled his finger a little, causing SY's face to burn up. He couldn't let SQH have the last word in any conversation.

"No." SY said as he grabbed SQH's wrist and doubled down, biting and sucking SQH's finger. He had expected a shriek or noises of disgust, but instead, SQH sticked another finger in SY's mouth.

This was going somewhere, and SY had no idea how to steer it back to normal. How could he when SQH's finger touches and pulls at his tongue. SQH leaned in closer, and SY could see that his face was also turning red.

"Shen Yuan..." SQH whispered as he gently placed his other hand on SY's face. He removed his fingers from SY's mouth. SY couldn't stop himself before he whined at the loss. However, his mind was now occupied by how close SQH face was. If he leaned a little more, their lips would be touching.

SY tilted his face into SQH's palm, and in turn, SQH caressed SY's face with his thumb. SY watched as SQH moved closer but made no moves to stop him. Their nose touch against each other, and SY could feel SQH's breath on his lips. SQH tilted his head and-- do nothing because SQH's phone rang, pulling them out of this weird tension.

'What were we about to do!' SY mind replayed every moment of their interaction and tried to come up with a logic conclusion. He can vaguely hear SQH talking in the background.

"Okay, okay, thank you. Bye. " SQH hung up, and they just both awkwardly stared at each other.

"Uhm, my internet got fixed."

"Oh," Shen Yuan said mindlessly.

"I should go..." SQH stood up, intending to gather his stuff, but he was stopped by SY grabbing his wrist and yanking him back down. SY could not leave this unresolved, or else SQH would get the wrong idea. He opened his mouth, wanting to spit out some excuses, but instead...

"Where do you think you're going? I haven't had a chance to taste human flesh yet."

[pressplay-if]

YOOOO I was the one who submitted a ro ask that said "wanna fuck Lincoln already haha." Literally after I did it, I went ahead and searched their name on the blog and saw your post about your pet peeves (particularly about irrelevant information about the ros and shit) and I WAS LIKE "DID I FUCK THIS UP???"

I WAS SO CONVINCED YOU AIN'T GONNA REPLY TO IT HAHAHA anyway keep up the good work 💋 tell Lincoln I'll be waiting for them because the NSFW Alphabet was something else. I don't usually see love interests as submissive as Lincoln and it pisses me off ngl (please don't be turned off 🫦) If you have IF recommendations with submissive ROs, dab me up author ^^ (proceeds to turn you off probably) (please don't) (no really sorry)

hahaha nooo you didn't fuck up anything, you're good xD and you're very much allowed to be horny for Lincoln, it's just that sometimes, people being super horny in my inbox makes me feel a certain way. I mean we all love erotica, I love it, too... Not afraid to admit that. But I've always viewed it as somewhat of the fast food of literature, when I'm over here going for a more nutritious meal. I probably sound super uppity right now but I don't know how else to say it. Also, I'm still a little bit afraid of actually writing and sharing a smut scene for the first time. Ah well.

I don't really have recs for sub ROs, but I think in Cyberpolice you can customize these things so maybe check that out, it's easier to find on the forum. But I do agree with you, there's never any sub ROs for some reason. Everyone's always so dominant imo.

(and don't worry about turning me off, I mean I'm interacting with you aren't I, and your asks gave me a good chuckle. Sure if I had to pick you up (I imagine you're hamster-sized, like all nonnies) I would put some rubber gloves on or sth. But I should do that anyways with every hamster bcs you never know. So it's by no fault of your own.)

Xx

[epickiya722]

I'm gonna be frank, I don't think I'll be understood here on my stance (especially since I'm just not good with my words) and I know some of you isn't going to agree with me. That's fine. I'm okay with different perspectives.

I'll be honest, 431 isn't the most well written epilogue and yes, I don't particularly like it.

But it wasn't the only thing that made me irritated. It was just the tipping point of "You know what, I kind of had it".

The writing definitely didn't do Midoriya justice, neither for Uraraka and Toga. But let's not act like Bakugou had great writing there either because for me, him asking Midoriya to work at his agency didn't feel like Bakugou to me.

Over the story, we see that Bakugou had grown to be more open towards Midoriya. So why did he go about skirting around to ask Midoriya about the agency, let alone ask him at all? And in front of Kirishima who had to act like a translator? So you're telling me Katsuki Bakugou who has freely been straight forward, after learning to be because sometimes Midoriya does need people to be blunt, before couldn't have a conversation with Midoriya about working at the agency?

You're telling me Bakugou couldn't have a discussion with Midoriya like "hey, can I talk to you" and they go from there to having coming to an agreement of sorts?

All that development of their relationship getting better that they could confine in each other that Bakugou and Midoriya couldn't have a scene where they sat down at a restaurant or somewhere, just them and discuss the agency?

No, that had to be sprung up and hinted at Midoriya in a car with Kirishima present? Before they met with their friends?

Maybe it's just me, totally just me, but I don't think Bakugou would have went about it like that. I would have figured that Bakugou would have asked Midoriya to meet with him and together they would have a proper discussion. Like by then, those two would have learned better communication.

Even before Kirishima had to say anything, Midoriya voiced that he enjoyed being a teacher and still thankful that he has a hero suit thanks to everyone.

Actual Bakugou, at least not my Bakugou. wouldn't be framed totally butthurt by Midoriya wanting to still be a teacher. Not when they know can still be heroes and rivals and whatever else together. Bakugou wouldn't let Midoriya being a teacher and not working at his agency keep him awake at night like "can't believe he rejected me, can't believe he rejected me".

Heck, I doubt he would have even brought up an agency in the first place because what mattered to him was that he and Midoriya were heroes together.

If their teachers were able to do it, them why Bakugou would even question Midoriya about still teaching?

So Midoriya isn't the only one at fault here and he's not the only character done dirty. Bakugou didn't have perfect writing here either to me.

But I feel like some people are stuck on "Midoriya betrayed Bakugou" that maybe that's the part not being caught on. That frustration towards Midoriya is blocking from seeing Bakugou was not written well in this chapter.

I wouldn't even say either are at fault here, the chapter just wasn't that good. We had some highlights but it just wasn't the best epilogue and as much as I know a lot of people want to blame Horikoshi since it is his manga, let's not forget who he works for. I don't know the man, but we all have seen what any kind of entertainment industry will do when it comes to any kind of media.

And again, it's not just the writing of the chapter that rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, some bits I could try to make sense of it, even if I don't like it (frankly, something I think should be learned).

But again, as I have said it multiple times before, it was indeed the fandom's reaction to Midoriya and just Midoriya that irked me to the point.

And here's the thing... IT ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS EVEN BEFORE THE EPILOGUE.

Like, no, epilogue sucks or whatever, but now I feel like it's just being used as an excuse to further hate on Midoriya more.

Every other character had gotten some kind of "Oh, they got done dirty" by the fandom, but no, not Midoriya. I saw quite a few people framing him as the bad guy when he is also a victim of flawed writing, too!

Even if admitting he too had flawed writing, he still gets hate for it while other characters are felt sorry for.

But even, again, before that the fandom had shown me how much they don't care about him at all. I would say it's always been evident from the start.

Haters, supposed fans... it doesn't matter.

No, I don't expect everyone to like him or see him the same way.

What frustrates me is that some people act like they don't do Midoriya dirty, too, whether you like or not and it's not always the fault of the narrative. The narrative could be flawless and some of you would still hate him for whatever reason or twist him to fit how you want to see him.

[your-sleeparalysisdem0n]

*~𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆~*

𝐇𝐒𝐑 𝐗 𝐅𝐄𝐌!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

summary: You were found by the astral express in a less-than-pitiful state. As you tread the path of the trailblaze with your companions, will your journey lead you towards the celstial night sky? Or will your flight be short and bright like Icarus's?

Part1 (sever the past), Part2 (coming soon!...)

𝕋𝕎: 𝕗𝕖𝕞!𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣, 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕄ℂ, 𝕊𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕖(𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕔), ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜, 𝔸 𝕓𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕥

"Y/N GET YOUR ASS UP WE'RE LEAVING FOR THE XIANZHOU"

"10 MORE MINUTES OR YOUR ASS IS GONNA GET BEATEN"

You were a member of the Astral Express crew, somekme who reached out towards the starry sky while treading the path of the trailblaze. You loved being a trailblazer, it was more than what you could ever ask for. The Astral Express was a place you held close to your heart, and you were ecstatic to have a place where you could call 'home'.

The playful bickerings with Caelus, the late-night gossiping with March, the silent reading sessions with Dan Heng. It felt like something out of a beautiful dream, a dream you wouldn't mind at all spending eternity in.

However, you always longed for more. Desperately wanting even though that light is unreachable. The Paradise so close, yet so far. You loved trailblazing, but what your brittle, broken heart yearned for the most of all, was the final puzzle piece to fill the emptiness of your past.

The express had found you on the brink of death while trailblazing a planet. Welt had discovered you underneath a lush and abundant willow tree. He was the one who took you back to the express, where you were nursed back to health by Pom-Pom and Himeko. You couldn't be more thankful for them saving you, you really can't.

But sometimes... on solemn, lonely days like this, you wish they had left you on that dreadful planet. You sometimes wish on that fateful day, Y/N L/N ceased to exist. For though you survived, the cost of survival had been a part of yourself. The price to pay for your life was your most precious memories. Countless nights you dreamt of faceless men and women, whose arms embraced you so delicately and adoringly. You vividly remember the serene smile of an angel who appeared in your dreams and chased the looming shadows of the past away. You would do anything to figure out who that smile belonged to, anything.

Hoping to feel that gentle warmth once more, you closed your eyes, praying to any Aeon listening to see that ethereal smile once last time-

"Y/N! WHAT THE FUCK IS KEEPING YOU SO LONG? ARE YOU TAKING A SHIT IN THERE?"

Welp-, never mind.

"Caelus, stop it. She might still be tired, we can't blame her for oversleeping when you two are the reason she didn't get any sleep last night." You hear Dan Heng's smooth, melodic voice say to The Trailblazer. Soon another voice, belonging to a lively pink-haired girl joins in.

"But Dan Heng! All we did was send a few memes in the group chat! It wasn't THAT big of a deal!"

This asshole. Wdym it 'wasn't a big deal-'

Dan Heng's sigh echoed across the express's walls. "March, you and Caelus spammed over 1000 memes in the group chat last night. My phone is still lagging because of your 'messages'. I think it's safe to say that she didn't get any sleep either."

Caelus grinned "That's not my problem, it's hers. She shouldn't have slept with the notifications on :3"

*sigh* "What are you-" You could hear Dan Heng's exasperated sigh from your room. You imagined the 'I'm so done with these idiots' look, which made you stifle a laugh on more than one occasion. You could practically hear the deadpan expression on his face.

'Those idiots will probably try to jump me when I come out, should I go now and apologize?' You ponder.

.

.

.

'Nah, let them wait' you thought, with a mischievous grin appearing on your face.

You gazed down at the notebook in your hands, the one which you use to jot down any returning memories or to recollect some moments with your astral express companions.

You sighed. 'Will my memories ever return to me again?..'

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

The sound of a hand banging on your door interrupts your train of thoughts, and once more, you hear Caelus's (annoying) voice on the other side.

"She's not answering. Guys, do you actually think she died in there?"

"Uhhhh... I don't know, let's find out!"

"How?"

"Use your baseball bat dumbass." March scoffed.

"Oh, right."

"Can we please not do any brash move-"

*BAM*

Before you could even warn him to stop, you hear the swinging of a baseball bat and the breaking of a door. F in the chat for Door-Chan, it did nothing wrong😔.

Gawking at your now broken door, you turned your head to the raccoon-like trailblazer only to find that that little bitch had a smile on his face, that mf-

"CAELUS YOU DUMBASS, WHY TF DID YOU BREAK MY DOOR?"

"I have a baseball bat, what else do you expect me to do with it?"

"I- Fair point."

You sigh, seeing as your memories haven't returned to you yet again. The peace and tranquility of the moment ruined by a certain Baseball-bat-swinging raccoon.

"Y/N, we gotta set out for The Lufou. March and Dan Heng are good to go. Though, March says she's a little sick."

"Does a sick person really send over 1000 memes at 3 A.M.?"

"What else would a sick person do? Lie in bed all day and do nothing? ;-;"

You rolled your eyes at his antics, being used to them from your time together with the gray-haired trailblazer.

You sighed. "Ahh alright, let's go to The Xianloo Lowpoo or something like that."

"It's pronounced The Xianzh- "

"Shut it." You scowled, as you both left the now silent room, with the fragments of your past life, and the echos of your dreams on the bed.

A/N: this is my first fanfic ever, why is it so cringe;-;. I welcome constructive criticism! Thank you for reading <3. Likes and reblogs are always appreciated! If this blows up, I'll do a part 2! :D

please do not spam like as it could get me shadowbanned. No plagiarism is allowed.

ⓒ All rights reserved

[ae-azile]

Fadel/Style "One-Shot" (or probably longer 🙄) Idea

Impulsive one-shot idea that I should not start because I am that person with 59496492 WIPs. But here is the general idea:

Three years into Fadel's and Bison's sentence, their relationships with Style and Kant are still surprisingly strong. Style and Kant visit every Wednesday, volunteer on Saturdays and Sundays, and write and send packages so often that they rarely come back to their cell empty handed when the mail arrives. It's hard, but they are past the halfway point and this is finally starting to feel doable.

And then - on visiting day - Style doesn't show up. Fadel doesn't get called back to the visitation room like he always does. Bison does, but Fadel is left alone. He tries his best to not be upset. He has told Style countless times he does not have to come every single visiting day, especially now that he's volunteering. But it's the first day he has ever missed and he never even gave Fadel a head's up. When Bison comes back, he just says that Kant told him Style isn't feeling well and that he's very sorry he couldn't be here. That worries Fadel enough and makes him feel guilty. He spends the rest of the week beating himself up over not being able to tend to Style while he gets over a virus. He's hoping that Style will call. That way, Fadel can let him know to just take it easy until he is completely better and to not feel guilty if he can't visit until that happens.

But he doesn't call. When Fadel gets a turn with the phone, Style doesn't answer. He tries again the following day with the same result. He tries not to assume the worst. Style is sick, so maybe he just isn't up for talking. He just wishes Style would tell him that, even if it is croaked out and they aren't on the phone for more than thirty seconds. Fadel would take it, because he is now jumping to other conclusions.

Maybe Style met someone else. Fadel always told him he could and that he would understand. That always resulted in Style throwing a fit and calling and writing even more, just to tell Fadel off for undermining his love and devotion. Sometimes, Fadel will get multiple letters in one day when Style is riled up like that. He finally got to a point where he understands that Style isn't going anywhere.

But if he isn't answering Fadel's calls, maybe that has changed.

When Saturday comes along and Kant arrives to volunteer, Style is nowhere in sight. Since he can't talk to Style, he corners Kant. He does his best to be reasonable. He even tells Kant he won't be mad if Style found someone else. He just needs to know so he isn't left wondering.

Kant doesn't tell him much of anything. All he does is look at Fadel sadly and hand him a letter. As soon as Fadel finds a private area so he can read it and not become targeted if he bursts into tears, he's glad that he did. It's a single page, just one, long paragraph. He's used to Style writing at least three pages front and back. But he still gets his point across.

I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia last week. Same as my ma. My 5 year survival rate is about 30%. I am in the hospital now, but I will come back as soon as I am out if you still want to see me. If you don't, I completely understand. I'm sorry I'm not telling you in person, and I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone. It just isn't looking good, and I didn't know how to say it without trying to make light of it. That pisses Pa off, and I figured it would piss you off too. I don't know when I will be discharged. I also don't know when I will lose my hair. Probably soon. Fuck. I don't know if I can pull it off. Whatever. My sex appeal had a good run. Kant can give you updates on that and everything else if you get curious. Again, I understand that you probably don't want to be a part of this. Just write, tell Kant, or give me a call. As long as I am awake, I promise to answer this time. I've been sleeping a lot, but I told Pa to watch my phone Saturday and Sunday in case you do call so he can wake me up.

I love you,

Style

Or...

Style gets diagnosed with cancer while Fadel is in prison and has a bleak prognosis. Fadel feels like his world is completely falling apart as he becomes more and more desperate to find a solution.

I hate it when I get one-shot ideas, especially depressing ones like this LOL. And also, idk if I could make this work as a one-shot. It will probably be very angst heavy if I ever do start it, and I have several KinnPorsche fics I need to get back to. But if anyone is interested in seeing where this could lead, feel free to let me know!

[writing-whump]

Feeling cold today

Because I neglected the Hector x Olive pair something terrible. Hector with a cold and scratchy throat and Olive caretaker. Some emotional talk and emeto included.

"You should take vitamin c, vitamin d, omega three, this syrup for immunity-"

Hector rolled his eyes, although he couldn't deny that he found Olive robbing out the pharmacy for him super adorable. "Oli, I'm not dying."

"Oh, you mister, shut up." She flashed him an angry glare, dark gray eyes wide and burning like coals. "Why can't you take one thing regularly? When I say three times a day, you only take one-"

Hector sighed. He was perched on the sofa in her living room while she packed out all possible bottles and boxes on the small table.

Olive's apartment was a small thing, just a bedroom with a couch in one and something resembling a an electric stove and kettle in the entry hall. And a mini bathroom.

Hector always felt bad when they were here, because he was basically forcing her into this tiny place, when he had a huge apartment and a nice new building...but this was a lot less complicated than smuggling Olive over around the pack.

Christ, Hector couldn't even think about Olive and the pack in one sentence.

But it was still too soon, wasn't it? They were dating—or seeing each other or whatever the right word was—since the summer solar system exhibition. It was soon gonna be 6 months. Time sure flied.

Not that Hector was counting. He wasn't promising himself anything, cause how would he know how it worked? And it didn't make sense to stress about the future he didn't know if they would need.

He still woke up sometimes not believing how lucky he was to know her.

"I also got you magnesium and Chatgpt said-"

Now Hector had to laugh. "You are Chatgpt-ing my cold symptoms?"

Olive's round face grew cherry red under her black bangs. "How would I know what works best for wolves?"

Hector rolled his eyes again. Since she found out, she tried to study and be so considerate of him, but truly, he loved how ignorant and innocent she was.

The blond was quite proud that usually none of his shadow mannerism or wolf life bled over into his time with Olive. Yes, there was the shadow possessiveness, the obsession with her smell, the territoriality that felt seated only when he could find his scent on her things...

But otherwise he could be very human around her and her pixie artist interests he had no idea about. Going to her was always like a doorway to another world.

"Alright, that's enough." Hector didn't need to reach for to grab her around the waist and pull her into his lap, then flopped over the armrest to snuggle with her on the couch.

It creaked under the movement, reminding him to get her a new one. Maybe that's how he could start, by renovating her place when he couldn't share his.

Olive squeeled, but then melted against his chest, her plum scent filling his nostrils as she pouted at him. "I'm just so sorry I got you my cold-"

"Hey, it works for me. At least I don't have to worry about passing it over." He kissed her on the nose, shifting so she could lie on top of his chest. His throat was scratchy, but he thankfully didn't have sniffles, so he didn't feel too stupid. He could swallow whatever shit was pooling at the bottom of his throat just fine.

She buried her face against the inside of his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't know wolves could catch it so easily."

Hector huffed, wrapping his arms around her small frame, giving little pats on her back where his palm landed. The reminder wolves were more vulnerable to viruses irritated him more than any cold.

"Do you want some soup? I bet that will feel good."

Hector almost growled. "No. This is perfect as it is. No moving."

"O-okay," Olive said quietly, squirming in his hold so she could perch his chin on his chest and stare at his throat.

Her breath ticked againt his neck, causing a shiver of excitement and thrill. She was so clueless about these positions that gave all kinds of firework signals to his brain.

She loosed up a hand from his grip to trail a finger around his cheekbones. "My art profession must be going insane. You are the only thing I keep drawing in my sketchbook."

Hector gave her a smug smile, more than pleased. "Can't complain about that. I'm the most handsome model you could find."

"And so modest," she said teasingly. "As much as I love this view, I should get some work done. Social media posts need to be scheduled for work and I have a hand in at the end of the month."

"It's not even Valentine yet, why are you worrying about something so far away?"

"Because when I'm finished I'll be free for the semester holidays..." a new blush crept up her cheeks. "And I wanna be drawing some new places and..." and spend more time with you going there.

Hector grinned again, tipping his head back. He might have been clueless about art as much as Olive was about wolves, but he could take her to trips and places she could never afford alone.

Hector had always been rather territorial. As a pack with set places that were theirs, he didn't feel the need to travel, always locked to a specific location.

But there was nothing more beautiful than Olive's wonder in a cathedral or getting her to a nice view or her sketching a cityscape while on the steps with cheap coffee and fingers black from coal.

And since she was there with him, it never felt like he was not anchored. Her presence had a gravity to it, and to his surprise, he quite enjoyed being pulled in by her field. Like the moon around his sun.

Hector leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "Only if I can stay and watch you draw."

Her cheeks were crimson now. To hide her fluster, she kissed him, making him lean back again before slipping out of his grip.

They ended up in their usual position, his head on her lap, her elbows on his chest and the armrest as she worked on her laptop and took breaks to add something into her tablet or her sketches.

Though Hector was quickly finding out that lying down was not ideal. His throat was overflowing with something gooey.

The blond tried very hard not to cough and just clear his throat five times in a row, but it wasn't helping the drowning sensation. He curled up a little more against her tights, wishing he could fall asleep and forget about it.

His chest hitched with an aborted cough, almost involuntarily. He wheezed out a breath, a weird choking sensation-

"Get up." Olive threw her laptop to the side unceremoniously, grabbing his arm. "Come on, handsome. You can't be lying down like this, it makes it worse."

He sat up reluctantly, finally letting himself cough. It was all wet and didn't feel good at all, making him fold forward with the force of it rattling his chest.

Olive rubbed his back along his spine, those smoky grey eyes going all wide with worry. "I'm so sorry, Hex. What about some cough syrup? So it calms it down?"

Hector finished his stupid cough, sagging back in exhaustion. "I'm fine." He hated he was taking it worse than her.

"I'll get you tea," Olive said, ignoring him. "The warmth will help melt that stuff in your throat, I promise."

He hated the cold space left behind her when she got up. God, he was getting so whiny without her. The wolf threw an arm over his face, enjoying the little moments when his chest wasn't wheezing and his throat didn't feel full...except that lasted about five breaths and he could feel slime filling back in.

Fucking great.

Maybe he should just go home and cough this crap up on his own? But then he would have to face Arnie and he would be out of Olive's reach...ahh there was no compromise to this.

Olive returned five minutes later with a steaming transparent mug of black tea with lemon. "Drink this while it's hot like this. It will feel warm you up."

Hector wasn't cold, but didn't mind her sliding against his side as he took the mug from her. "It's really okay. Just keep being this concerned and cute, I really can't complain."

She shoved his arm, but the little frown between her eyebrows almost covered by her bangs didn't disappear. He would have to work on that.

"By the way, now that there are holidays, do you not want to spend some time with your family?" Olive brushed a strand away from her face. She leaned a bit away to have a look at him, but also couldn't meet his eyes. "Not that I don't love having you over, I'm just not sure if it's fair to steal you away like this."

Hector shook his head, taking a sip from the tea. "It's alright. My older brother is busy with work and my younger has like 10 exams for law school." First semester was truly intense.

"But he had been studying all semester...and you are here way more this week than before."

Hector clicked his tongue, looking through the window. He was surprised she picked up on that. Were they really getting to know each other to such a degree now?

"Arnie is...getting his stubborn ideas again. I think a little break from each other will do us some good."

Her eyebrows jumped up, as surprised he actually said something as he was. "Stubborn about what?"

Hector took a bit bigger sip of the tea, the warmth pleasantly spreading through his throat despite how much tighter it felt. "He got into his head he wants to move out and try a a hu-" he cut himself off with a gulp,"a dorm."

Olive watched him with a quizzical expression. "And isn't that good? He wants to meet new people, spend more time with his classmates, be more independent...as his main caretaker, it's good news, right? Spreading his wings and all."

"He is not even 20 and not a bird," Hector grumbled. A familiar spike of anxiety went through his lungs.

"I moved out when I was 18," Olive said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Isn't it about the right age? To experience student life and all."

Hector struggled to swallow over the lump in his throat, not sure if it was the phlegm or the anger.

How was he supposed to sum up years of concern, their pack name, his position and Arnie's special vulnerability as a perfect human hostage to two of the most influential powerful wolves in the city?

Olive might call him overbearing or Arnie spoiled. And he didn't want to sound like he came from a mafia movie or spook her with some danger talk. But this was a nuanced issue and...and it freaked him out something terrible that Arnie, of all people in the world, didn't see it the same way as Hector.

Cause that didn't make any sense. Cause Arnie was supposed to understand, on basic, instinctual level. He was supposed to know better, enough not to ask something like that in the first place.

A growl he tried to suppress shook inside him. He realised a bit late it wasn't a growl but a cough as he finished the rest of the tea in one big swing.

The cough and the liquid exploded in his throat. Now this was drowning. It reminded him of the moment in sea when he fell of his water scooter.

Hector coughed brutally, shaking and leaning over his legs and the sofa as he tried to get the offensive force and the liquid out. The cough turned into a gag and the tea, still burning hot, rushed out in a torrent all over his legs, the edge and the floor.

"Jesus christ, Hex!" Olive's voice was more concerned than angry though as she swatted his back with all her strength.

Hector gagged again, then kept gagging as little sprinkles of tea that got where they were not supposed to jumped out.

"Okay, you are okay. Shhh, shhh," Olive chanted, rubbing his arm up and down. "Can you breathe? Hex? Talk to me, hey-" She took his face into her hands, brushing away little stress tears that came out.

He nodded in her grip, then pushed his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. His chest was still heaving and the hot liquid on his pants was getting colder. "I'm sorry, drunk the tea too fast," he rasped.

"No, it's okay, I shouldn't have attacked you like that, I'm sorry. You are sick, I shouldn't-"

Hector scoffed. "I'm not that sick or upset, chill out. I'm sorry about the mess though."

She opened her eyes, their foreheads still touching, her whimpers huge from this close. "It's okay. You want a shower? Hot steam would probably help. I can wash these in the meantime."

Hector chuckled. He didn't exactly have a change of clothes here, but he didn't mind strolling around half-naked either.

He swabed his hand over his mouth, getting rid of the moisture and the rest of the conversation.

[killerzys]

Should probably post this on my venting account..oh well

[DO NOT ATTACK ANYONE THAT WAS MENTIONED]

Tw mentioning of cutting, say kill yourself, and F1zzyst4r

Please don't center me around this drama I'm not the one who needs the support Wenni is they have been a victim of F1zzyst4r for a year now I just want to simply explain.. how this has affected me.. but please show some support to Wenni and not me

More in the undercut

So there has been a lot on my mind been gone a few days so it feels a little bit more clearer

I do not want to meet the situation about me since I'm not the one who's being harassed Wenni has and I don't want to make the situation about me even though I am also being affected by it. Just not the way Wenni has been, that's why I have been scared to talk about how I'm feeling about Skittles.. and everything but uhh just because I don't want to make it about me I'm not the let's say main victim.. yes I have been harassed I don't know if was one of skittle's friends that told me this in my ask box but someone recently told me to kill myself and it threw me off

And for a while I felt forced to be friends with him (Skittles) I texted him before I blocked him that hey I felt forced to be your friend and it's making me uncomfortable.. I didn't say this part but the tracing also made me uncomfortable.. especially when it was clear that you copied someone else's design and is tracing someone else's art without credit or say oh yeah I make expired by this person inspiration, and now don't come attack me and say oh there's a few times that you didn't credit someone but as soon as someone say hey by the way maybe credit the person that gives you inspiration you @ them and I have I go back and edit pic or post and @ the person there is just sometimes where I get so excited that I forget but Skittles even after being called out and you're saying hey dude by the way maybe just give credit to the person that you take inspiration from Skittles is like erm actually they're tracing me!!

That's my point of view of how I see it and those other parts but I don't want to make this really long and boring to read

But I just mainly wanted to say how I've been infected by everything, after becoming friends with Skittles I thought they were kind and sweet they were to me but that's before I knew the full drama I did follow wenni on Pinterest for a while and seen little glimpse here and there last time I seen before I became friends with Skittles is that Wenni and Skittles were on good terms.. so I thought it was all right to be his friend, this whole friendship started because I made my old reference sheet of nighty, based off of on of wenni's old ref.. Skittles was like hey by the way maybe not copy me and I simply told them that I took inspiration from someone else that I didn't even know they were on the board, we became friends on Tumblr and talked, then I started getting targeted not targeted that's not the right word to say involved in drama that simply I was just watching from behind.. never had any attention to get involved with any of the drama but with my luck I somehow got into it because I was friends with Skittles.. I'm no longer friends with him and I feel free I feel safer now but I keep seeing the excuse of like his friends in my inbox "he made art for you and everything, he thought you guys were friends" just because you simply made art for me doesn't really mean anything I'm sorry? Like I make art for a lot of people doesn't mean I'm their friend I just think whatever OC or design I did was really neat and I wanted to draw it myself.. in the friend part I did see each other as friends but we never really communicated like we were friends.. we would talk to each other about the drama and I remember at some point I said whoever is tracing needs to own up to it now so this drama could be over and no one can get hurt or go through more mental health problems... But it seems that he didn't take that advice but oh well but other than talking about the drama and stuff we vented it to each other, there were a few funny moments but it's wasn't really friends? It was like that one buddy you see crossing the hall and you talk for a minute before going back to your class and then you don't see them for the rest of the year that's how it felt and before everything that happened I will admit I had a tad of a crush on Skittles but over time it started affecting me not in the greatest way... And I just lost all feelings when I got with my partner... And then at some point he would call me dear or something ? And sweetheart saying I'm sorry I think someone hacked my account acting all flirty with me which made me uncomfortable...

But besides that uhh he has now decided to text my mutuals or get his friends to do it I believe he's doing it because they are all anonymous and him or he got his friend to send something one of my mutuals inbox say hi by the way uhh river faked being friends with Skittles like a few times something something quite frankly I don't think you should be mutuals with them no more

Ok ok Skittles I see I see going to my mutuals telling them, that they should stop being friends with me because I stopped being friends with you because you're traced someone's art and copied many people's designs and when I tell you that I felt forced to be your friend and felt so uncomfortable and I unfollowed you which is a valid reason saying that I was uncomfortable and blocking you you're going to resort to going to my mutuals and basically harass them saying you should stop being friends with River, river is a bad friend you shouldn't be friends with them

Okay buddy like what? I've been trying to stay serious but the more I text this sentence the more I'm getting mad and the more I'm realizing the red flags that I should have realized from before... Honestly Skittles I hope you get help I hope you get therapy or something I'm not going to wish upon your death because honestly that's against what I believe which is nothing but like I don't believe in telling people they should kill themselves just because of certain actions I feel like they should get help now let's say if you were a pedophile now I would say kill yourself but does drama could have been resolved a long time ago if you just figured out your own art style who you are and stop copying someone to the point of copying that Wenni saying you have anger issues and trust issues ?

Wet Skittles I do wish that you get some therapy help mental help hell go to a mental asylum I don't care get help...

Now onto more stuff that like other things I've been thinking about

So basically going to my friends and harassing them

Having people go in my inbox harassing me saying like why did you stop being friends with Skittle kill yourself

It feels like you're using the fact that I used to have a crush on you against me and saying that we were friends because sometimes we made art for each other?

That's really it? Uh yeah I don't know this entire situation has just had me stressed about everything.. to the point where I'm having a hard time even drawing.. communicating with people talking and everything...it's really unbearable.. a few days ago I lost my streak .. because of this. The stress got so much that I took it out on myself I was almost 2-3 month clean..

[atimeofyourlife]

My place, your place, our place

@bucktommyfluffebruary day 9: moving in together | rated: g | wc: 666 | ao3 Buck gets ready to leave the loft for the final time

It had been a long day. Week. Weeks. For such a small space, the loft had been something of a nightmare to pack up for the move. All of his belongings seemed to multiply, needing far more boxes to pack everything into than he had been expecting. Every time he had thought he was done with an area, he would turn around and find more stuff to pack.

He could have sworn it hadn't been that difficult to move in, but then he remembered it was very different circumstances. He'd never had a place of his own before the loft. Hadn't really had stable housing from when he'd left home. Years of being on the road, sometimes in the jeep, sometimes in a motel, or in a house share with people he didn't know. Occasionally in provided accommodation like when he worked on the ranch, or when he tried out for the SEALs. It taught him to live light, consolidating most of his belongings into a pair of gym bags. Even for his first years in LA, first in the frat house with Connor and the guys, then Abby's place. Then crashing on Chimney's couch before moving on to Maddie's place. It never made sense to have much stuff.

But the loft was his space. He didn't need to be so strict about living light. He could buy things just because and not have to worry about it taking up space. He could do what he wanted to make the space feel like home.

Now, everything was boxed up. Most of it had already been moved to Tommy's, now their, place. Just the last few boxes to take out, before doing the final sweep. And final final sweep. Then it would be time for him to turn in his keys at the leasing office. And that would be the chapter of his life at the loft over.

It was kind of bittersweet. Giving up the first place he'd been able to call his own. Leaving behind the place where so many memories had been made over six years he'd lived there. Some good, some bad, some just neutral. A space where he'd fallen in and out of love. Where he'd recovered from the worst injuries the job could throw at him. Where he'd watched Jee grow up, one babysitting session at a time. A place that had seen just about every emotion he could ever experience, happiness, anger, depression, joy, fear.

He and Tommy did the final walk through together, checking every closet, every shelf. Every nook and cranny for anything he might have missed. Closing the door for the last time felt far heavier than it should.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked as Buck locked up.

"Yeah. It's just. I'm gonna miss this place." Buck replied. "This is the longest I've live somewhere since the house I grew up in."

"You did make a lot of memories here. We made a lot of memories here."

Tommy coming over to clear the air about Eddie, then making a move on Buck, completely turning his worldview on it's head. Eddie telling Buck to call Tommy after that disastrous first date. Bringing him home after Maddie and Chimney's wedding, Tommy being half asleep against his shoulder still in his turnouts. So many dates. Tommy staying to take care of him after he dislocated his shoulder. The break up. Tommy coming over to apologize only for it to turn into them shouting at each other, getting out all of the pent up emotions, followed by them sitting down and having an actual adult talk about everything, and deciding to try again, slower this time. The first 'I love you'. Tommy asking him to move into his place when he saw the letter that had come through about renewing the lease.

"We did. Let's go make even more in our house." Buck held his hand out to Tommy and they walked away from the loft together for the final time.

[talesofwhimsy]

"As we hang up the map on the motel wall Count up the places that we've left behind, add the distances between them all All the bridges that someone's burned down for us All the chances that we burned all by ourselves

Makes us wonder what we were thinking then 'Cause we will never see Ireland again"