#telephone ino

[kyriolex]

Cliff Notes for Boruto Chapter 14

Boruto wakes up in the interrogation chamber with Konohamaru and Ibiki. They've put jutsu sealing cuffs on him so he can't teleport away. We see Inojin is doing okay. Himawari healed him almost perfectly with zero medical school training. I hope she gets to be Sakura's apprentice, but that's probably anime-episode material.

Meanwhile, Daemon taunts Kawaki about what he's going to do if Boruto tells the truth about Omnipotence. Kawaki says he'll kill Boruto if that happens. He'll also kill Boruto if he stays quiet. Kawaki's solution to every problem is fratricide.

Boruto is doing an exposition speedrun about the Ten Tails and their goals. He claims Naruto and Hinata are still alive, and Konoha's elders threaten to kill him for lying.

Ibiki then tries to torture the truth out of Boruto by punching him. You'd think a city ninja government with mind readers and shape shifters would have more sophisticated means of extracting intel.

Shikamaru watches the interrogation unfold. He knows he has to save Boruto, but not specifically why. Omnipotence really does give people goldfish memories I guess.

He asks Ino to do him a favor and patch him in to Boruto. Ino, who is standing over her comatose son's body, says she's not going to play telephone with a terrorist anymore.

So Shikamaru calls in Mitsuki, with the excuse that snake venom is more painful than punching. He slips Mitsuki the secret passcode for Boruto's cuffs. Mitsuki rushes in and pretends to attack Boruto, and one of his snakes boops the passcode into the cuffs with his little snake snout. Boruto then teleports to safety.

Everybody then turns around and yells at Shikamaru for his 'mistake'. Mitsuki is immediately forgiven because nobody expected him to be emotionally stable. A short while later, Shikamaru gets a call from his brother in law. Kankuro says "Hey, sorry to bother you, but Gaara and his son Shinki both got that 'tree affliction'. Do you mind sending one of your protagonists over to help us out? I don't want to be like you and end up a placeholder Kazekage for the next three years."

We then get introduced to Shinki's tree clone, Ryu. And he's already wearing a spiky goth uniform with an ab window like all his tree friends. Good for him.

[chaifootsteps]

Can you please explain what the hell Dutch Angel Dragons are and why it apparently isn’t allowed to have NSFW made about it?

Lore wise, Dutch Angel Dragons are angel-ghost things created by the beings that made the universe, basically serving as guardian angels until there was a great big war that got them cast out of Paradise. They're kind of like horses and kind of like dragons, and they became super popular because Ino's character, Telephone, is the cutest goddamn thing you've ever seen.

For years, they were also known for their strict character rules; you couldn't make Dutches with muzzle rings or "technological" names because only Ino and her partner's characters could have those, and you couldn't make nsfw of your Dutch, and then there were about a million other small rules the mods imposed, like Dutches weren't allowed to read or swear or identify as LGBT.

Ino not allowing nsfw was just a personal choice she made, and one the Dutch Rebel Dragons were always fine with. We thought that people should be allowed to do their own thing in their own spaces, but one of our server rules is no Telephone NSFW allowed, no nsfw of anyone's character without their consent.

[quotablefanfiction]

There was rowdy and then there was Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Naruto playing drunk strip poker and failing to understand why Neji was winning every hand, collecting reluctantly discarded articles of clothing left and right.

never play cards with a Hyuuga (chp. 1)

Telephone by rageprufrock (AO3) Naruto – Teen – Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uzumaki Naruto/Uchiha Sasuke #Canon Divergent #Relationships #Gossip #Secrets

It’s rough being Team 7.

[dutchrebeldragons]

I dislike the fact we can’t do whatever we want with our DaDs I absolutely hate it

“Open species” my ass

Also isn’t like both Telephone and her husband active zoonercophiles or something like that?

Best advice: create as many DaDs as you like and do whatever you like with them. You won't be allowed into official groups, but the community seems to be dying anyway.

And no, Ino's actually very vanilla, but her husband has a fetish for art of dead and dying horses.

[radioproto]

HI ok so I’ve actually had this question for u since we did the art trade ALSKDJDJFJFJ

what is a Dutch angel dragon and what makes it Dutch?

A dutch angel dragon is an original species by Ino89777 (on multiple sites) that resemble a dragon with horselike anatomy :]

The name doesn’t actually refer to the Dutch people/country/culture/whatnot, it was actually named after Ino’s horse. It’s just a cool name for it. Telephone is the first of her kind! You can look up more about her and watch some of her awesome videos too (please do she will make your whole day dhdhdhsh)

You can read a little more info on them here as well: https://www.dutchangeldragons.com/what-is-an-angel-dragon

[attackradish]

hello! you're one of my favourite mutuals. i love seeing you in my notes.

what's some music you like?

Heir of Grief by TenseiMusic

The Phantom Of The Opera Overture by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Underwater Ambience from Donkey Kong

Stir It Up by Patti Labelle

Touch Tone Telephone by Lemon Demon

Kokoro by Toruboruta-P

Battle Against a True Hero by Toby Fox

The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood by Zun

Space Battleship Yamato (1974) Theme by Hiroshi Miyagawa

Kimi Wo Nosete by Azumi Inoe

Mehve and Corvette by Joe Hisashi

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

Judas by Lady Gaga

Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

Caramelldansen by the Caramella Girls

Memory of Trees by Enya

Symphony #5 by Beethoven

Tik Tok by Ke$ha

So What by P!NK

Resonance by Home

Tight Pants/Body Rolls by Leslie Hall

Popopo by Steampianist

Redoin by JerryTerry

Schwarz by Patricia Taxxon

[fabiansteinhauer]

Via Ari Solon/ Ricardo Spindola

Wozu Anthropofagie?

1.

Ari Solon ist der arischste und solonste Sol Iustitiae, den ich kenne. Von der Lektüre der Deutschen, von dem, was Ino Augsberg Schmitt-Lektüre nennt, ist er besessen - und damit bester Zeitfahrzeuge und Zeitgenosse für das Thema Staatsrechtslehrer-Lektüre. Man kann seine Besessenheit erklären, aber man darf dem Tod keine Gründe geben. Der Ausradierung von Familien darf man keine Gründe geben. Es ist sogar äußert problematisch, dem Überleben Gründe zu geben. Dogmatik ist Technik, zu erfahren, eine Welt, die vorübergeht. Ari Solon hat erfahren, wie problematisch es sogar ist, dem Überleben Gründe zu geben, wenn dieses Überleben mit der Ausradierung von Familie verbunden ist. Überleben ist nicht unbedingt gut, nicht unbedingt schlecht, es ist aber unbedingt eine Illusion, mit der man eine unsichere Zukunft haben soll.

2.

Heiner Mühlmann, der Autor von Alberti/ Ästhetische Theorie der Renaissance, nennt das Reden darüber am Telefon ein a-symptomatisches Sprechen. Er ist Historiker und Theoretiker des decorum und ein Mitglied der Forschungsgruppe TRACE, der ich frei assoziiert bin: Transmission in Rhetorics, Art and Cultural Evolution. Für diese Gruppe habe ich Gerechtigkeit als Zufall geschrieben, Mühlmann ist der Gaius dieser Gruppe. Was meint Mühlmann mit a-symptomatischer Rede? Eine Kerbe, eine Kurve, eine Damm oder eine Dämmung im Reden: Man stirbt zwar, aber spricht so, als ob man überleben würde. So (a-)dressiert und pol(aris)iert man noch am Telephon, dem nach Aby Warburg sogenannten Fernraumzerstörer, einem manchmal maßlosen Nahraumhalter.

3.

Ari Solon ist Anthropofage und arbeitet anthropofagisch. Kennen gelernt habe ich ihn über Facebook, er ist Prof. in Brasilien und ohne Berührungsängste gegenüber dem Heiligen und dem Unheiligen. Die Phobie kennt er, weiß aber, dass sie nicht die Form ist, deren Name dann Gesetz oder Liebe oder Angst ist. Er kennt die Ikonophobie perfekt, weiß um ihre Geburt aus dem Geist des Kriegsrechts. Weiß aber auch sehr gut zu kippen, zu kehren und zu wenden. Ari Solons juridische Kulturtechnik ist das Wischen, sein Gesetz ist die Pathosformel vis+/-vision=Recht und Regen. Auf der Tagung zu den Lettern war er da, es war alles einleuchtend und ausleuchtend. Musterhaft, nur nicht jedem!

[flaredonut]

Base by Krapette on deviantart

I'm usually not the type of person to use bases to do my characters, but this time i just decided to see how an oc of mine that is a regular fluffy dragon as a DAD

I know there was/is some controversy involving the dutchies species recently (2018), but bro, telling people to straight up STOP liking the species as a whole just because there's 6 or 7 rotten apples in the pack is arguably WORSE than everything nimbus, voodoo and other members did. Not to mention that the creator of the species (ino or telephone) is NOT problematic itself, and she's probably not comfortable with everyone idolizing her as "mamaphone" too

[dragonmythfandom]

Dutch Angel Dragons: Telephone 3.0 !!!! <3 <3 <3 Beginning of a new era !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Sm5hYIU-0

[illwynd]

feeling the isolation of my perspective really sharply today. the effort of trying to communicate... the distance is just too great and the potential for a tragic game of telephone too likely. this is why i write. translating it into art somehow makes it travel better. but the loss of the community of people who at least seemed to be speaking some sort of mutually intelligible dialect, in the last couple years, it’s hard. ino it doesn’t matter to anyone else, but it’s hard and i wish i could feel like i’m even allowed to say so.

[happyocelot]

2, 19, 32, and 39 for the asks, please!

2. What character(s) do you find the most difficult to write for? Why?

I wouldn't say he's difficult, but Sasuke. You know how most of the Naruto movies barely have any Sasuke presence but have tons of Konoha 11? I can see why the scriptwriters/directors don't include him, actually. It's like...he hasn't interacted too much with Naruto's other friends yet has made a large impact on their actions and that alone takes a lot of time to resolve. I've read a fic that deals with this, actually, about Sasuke after the war, reconciling with the rest of the Konoha 11 and Ino specifically. It's pretty good: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2586821

19. What words do you think you tend to use the most?

I think I use "..." too much rather than a specific word.

32. What story do you think showcases your signature style the most?

I think readers should answer this, but maybe Telephone Game? What do you think?

39. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Dialogue, maybe. Again, something I would like my readers to tell me. ;)

[chaneajoyyy]

Who’s writing new BP fics? It’s feeling kinda dry out here

Oh you gotta keep looking cause they out here!!!

NEW/NEW-ISH BP FICS

- winter wonderland series (25 days of christmas challenge), Chunk series (updated)- @ghostfacekill-monger

- you better watch out series (25 days of christmas challenge), baby daddy series- @teakturn

- couple’s getaway series, message therapist erik, erik and you have relationship issues that need to be resolved, incubus erik x reader series, gamer erik humiliates his girl, christmas wishes & mistletoe kisses series, all vampire eriks stories, drug dealer erik gets ino an entaglement with a married woman series, erik teaching his daughter how to love her dark skin, assassin erik and his girl london make up for lost time-   @nahimjustfeelingit-writes

- all i want series- @thadelightfulone

- the jabari that stole christmas, misfit wakandans, er*k in a box, t’challa’s 12 days of christmas, the jabari-cracker, christmas even will find erik, the coffee prince series (updated), song of stevens (not new but do read), will the bell ring? (updated)-  @eerythingisshaka

- chrismasing with you-  @ceeverse

- mama is wild, how he acts when he’s sick: m’baku “mama’s other baby’ jabari, peaches, how he acts whe he’s sick: erik “i can do it myself” stevens, how he acts when he’s sick: t’challa i’m fine” udaku, final decision, body pillow, the most dangerous game-  @akimi-youngblood

- his majesty, my king series; he chosen bride, a jabari wedding (not so new but do read), he wasn’t mad enough for me, clean-up woman, i wish you would, mistletoe series, dadmonger series- @snowbaku

- what if...?, without question, polaroids, the temple series, queen shuri, wh you are series-  @tchallasbabymama

- biggest puddle ever, crab legs, play fighting, the fight, let me tell you a story, stop, got it bad, what would you do series, sugar babe series, poetic justice, messing w/ erik while he’s playing the game, erik had a reputation of being a fuckboy. tha meant you had to be careful around him. guard your heart. it was a solid plan until he came in and ruined all your plans- @dreamingofmilk

- our christmas, how to feel, warm colors series (not so new but do read), thanksgiving w/ mr. stevens, valentine’s gumbo (sequel to thankgiving with mr. stevens)-  @mermaidchansons

- she likes me, huh? nuh uh, cute enough to eat, screams in the night series (updated), open up, autumn leave & cookie thieves, one way or another, mr. telephone series, you ain’t hear that?- @supersizemeplz (check masterlist)

- anniversary blues, the chosen one series (updated), the sweetest thing series, in the light series-  @devnicolee

- the arrival series, boxer!baku series (updated), fireflies and foot races, sessions-  @muse-of-mbaku

- 85 “you can’t cum unless i say so” & 89 “you’re drooling. you really don’t deserve it though, do you?”, seventy-three, “29, 75 & 82″, “5, 13, & 69″- @marvelmaree

- subconscious- @freddiefcknmercury

- shameful series- @iwrite4poc

- only forever series, what lies beneath series,bunme takes new york (part of space between series)- @dramaqueeenamby

- letters for my love series, just for this moment series, she’s mine series, abiona au series- @sarcastic-sunshines

- redemption series (updated), starlight series, dress up- @airis-paris14

- new start series (with “reader meets erik who is a single father”), round 2 series, reader sleeping over a erik’s, “erik and reader are opposites- like she’s so nice, calm and soft, and erik is mean... as always and his family is so confused on how they’re dating”, imagine where erik and the reader has heir firs date and when he get home he’s super excited and tell his friends how happy and in love he is?, erik with goofy reader on a mission, reader catching erik using her expensice skincare products afer she told him it’s off limit, hug time, erik ghosting after a fight with his gf & she hears he’s out acting single so she decide she’s single too. but he shows up & all like “who said we broke up?”,  reader is not answering her phone and erik is worried/irrirated because the day before he was mean to her and she left his house crying?, an imagine where erik finding out the reader is powerful (like a mutant), erik & mbaku fighting over the reader, found you series, erik helping his need tomboy bff get a makeover & he starts to get jealous of how much attention she starts to get from other guys,  vulnerable soft erik where he and the reader get into an argument and later that night he’s trying to sleep but can’t because she’s refusing to come to bed with him and he has to be vulnerable with her and tells her “you know i can’t sleep without you”?, “short imagine or headcanon ha erik finds out his girlfriend has more body’s then him or his a mafia leader, something between those lines. but instead of being upset for her not telling him he’s actually cool with it”, erik comforting the reader after finding out she lost a loved one and he had a good day, reader learns she’s pregnant and comes up with a creative way to tell erik , erik and the reader are set up on a blind date by mutual friends, “reader is studying for her upcoming test and she is frustrated with the amount of studying she has to do.  erik notices she has been studying for a long time, and tries to do everything to relax her mind”, erik takes reader to wakanda for the first time, erik sees his girl still sleep with a stuffed animal and by kinda makes fun of her but when she puts it up he sees she struggles withouth it?, “imagine with erik inspired by the somg caretaker by dram and sza, like maybe the reader is feeling a bit ill/nauseous and erik to take care of her”, diaper change, sofboi erik where he asks the reader to marry him, hc of erik being jealous of his girl is too close to t’challa? always texting/wanting to hang out when they visit, back to you series, readering driving erik nuts with cravings & mood swings. ex: interrupting his sleep for food runs only to say she doesn’t want that anymore when he returns & demand something else, “ whatever you’re trying to butter me up for, the answer is no”?, how did he meet his love?, life together, your first time, hurting, fears, sick day, jealous series, when you’re sick, night fights, two lines, opening up, newborn, comfort, some love, insecure, first steps, it’s time series, cool down time, first day back- @killmongerdrabbles

- back & forth-  @supremethunda

- baby mama series, again, move, guess, night, nsfw alphabet, bow- @woahitslucyylu

- reactions o their girl’s wap (with erik), erik and reader being petty in the house after an argument-  @tastingmellow

- next lifetime series, days off with erik, girls trip series (updated),the way you make me feel- @theficplug

-  only then am i human series,a little vacation- @opalsandlace

-faded series, waves series, concrete cowboys series, black boys bloom thors first series (volume 3)- @uzumaki-rebellion

- black tie event-  @laketaj24

- genuine, numb- @taterfics

- city boy and his country girl series, wake up, meet the furys- @blackmissfrizzle

- come thru, this lil’ game we play-  @writetimes

- in between the lines series- @melodyofmbaku

- him, her and us series; conversations and coffee trips series, dancing around each oher series, mrs., you again series, where are we now?, cold coffee, here we are again series, summer love (could be any of the marvel men including t’challa); love, apps, and attitudes series; give me a reason (search for t’challa x reader)-  @iliketowrite1996

- homewrecker series (updated), family reunion- @shaekingshitup

- unexpected things happen in the clucky’s drive-thru, where you going: a quarantine quickie, halloween, delicate series, the best man-  @majesticbrownjawn

- i like tha series (updated), shea butter (baby) series  @nachtaiwrites

- the spririt of christmas, dentist series (updated), waiting to get home, best friends series, line love series, hell loves satin: tales of a mascochist, tattoo party- @hearteyes-for-killmonger

- uncharted series (updated), metamorphasis series, the remodel series, the boy is mine series (collab with @dashhoney25), sweet heat, quarantine bae, throttle, sugar, toxic, fair is fair, work boo (updated)-  @soufcakmistress

- caught up series- @twistedcharismaaa

- homebody series- @truglori

- roadtrip series- @cecereads209

- lights out, a better man- @reelwriter19

- you mean it? series, haunted series- @heykillmongerluhme

- end in flames series, my health- @bvlckgirlmvgix (not so new but do check out!)

***PLEASE HIT ME UP TO ADD YOUR STORIES!!!***

[chaifootsteps]

I've been snooping around trying to figure out your Satellite character, and my brain made this hypothetical conversation up:

A: …And so this character is JUST to piss them off!

B: Oh, but why would you do that?

A: I'm not MALICIOUS, but the thing is, these people act like a CULT. And people who take things THIS seriously just deserve to be trolled with, honestly.

B: Okay, I get it. But, what about the alternative of… leaving them alone? Not being involved at all?

A: Well, it started off as a joke… until you get attached to that joke and just want to continue nurturing him, and now he'll never ever leave! It's not his fault if his mere, quiet existence pisses cultists off 💔

Have I got the idea right 😀?

Pretty much!

To be more specific, Satellite started as a silly little joke character meant to break all of the Dutch Angel Dragon's infamously draconian rules at the same time. I quickly started getting more and more attached to him, started using him as an excuse to practice my art skills, started to take comfort in how apologetically himself he was. I started a private server for other folks who wanted to have fun with this, found a whole slew of them, and it wasn't long until it turned into more of an "Oh shit, this situation is actually awful and people are suffering legitimate harassment" type of thing.

Long story short, it ended with a couple of group calls to Telephone herself. She was actually a sweet person, heard our concerns, made some changes.

So if you're in the Dutch Angel Dragon fandom and appreciate the fact that they're allowed to be gay, thank Ino because it was ultimately her call. And then, if you feel so inclined, throw a thank you to your friends, the Dutch Rebel Dragons.

[psalloacappella]

tempo rubato

Day 7 Prompt: free prompt // “From now on . . .”

@sasusakublankperiodweek

Ao3 | FFN | ↓

It is a divine and breathtaking thing, to be untethered from their earthly expectations.

The rhythm of the world is a universal hum, an unbroken orbit consisting only of two.

(we write a story)

Hewn halves of the same whole, shadow and light.

They tell themselves to keep it simple, take it slow. This, whatever this is.

The dynamic shift between them is not sudden nor gradual, but something permanent, piquant, and passionate.

Arcs of exploration, personal and entwined: They roam the edges of the world they know and the enclaves they don’t, hoping that their bonding will reveal the hidden map — time reigning at the helm, the pilgrim cartographer. 

But they’ve never been blithe or unfocused, not in their goals or in the shaping of their destinies. Certainly, nothing between them has ever been anything other than a dramatic affair, enduring, and a love that every other eye can see.

“How many days has it been?” she asks him across an inn table, watching him in the dim light. 

Sasuke knows damn well she’s aware of the hours and seconds that have elapsed together; she’s far too precise for sly questions of time. Does it matter?

He pauses before answering, already so taken with the way she levels her gaze at him, unadorned, and knows bringing her along will be the ultimate undoing of his penance journey, the taking apart of his hard heart. Sunrise cleaving through his endless dusk.

“Months, now.” Gathering up the last shreds of meat from his bowl, he places it in hers and meets her eyes in the manner of setting dry kindling alight. 

And so it works, this restrained and sentimental pace, for a while.

.

(we speed up)

Whispers in firelight will be their foundation, the tales that will shape their future. They speak of mundanities (flowers), practicalities (weather) and dreams, some past, lost, and others transforming into hesitant, potential plans. They speak of scars, this one that one, from the one they called Sasori she breathes, his fingertips tracing a swift cleaving crescent, from him, he mutters, and he knows she’ll know which man simply by the smolder in his sloe and violet eyes.

Some damage gossamer, passing marks on the skin, and others rugged as mountain ranges, raised in affront. Shapes distorting and flickering in the flames. A reminder of the world they hold up, the home they must decide to recommit to, if they can.

They travel and retrace their own history, craving and dreading the point at which they meet the end if only to know the epilogue. 

But this love is unbridled, moves at breakneck speeds — years piled up with unsaid things, so it’s easy to melt, crumble, learn and map every single vulnerable inch of one another. Hearts, minds, skin. Whispering one another’s names in constant refrain.

It is a divine and breathtaking thing, to be untethered from their earthly expectations.

The rhythm of the world is a universal hum, an unbroken orbit consisting only of two.

.

(we slow down)

Swimming in a lazy river, circling as fish in palty ponds consisting only of their dual halves, they speak of coulds:  Could we settle somewhere new? Is the place that birthed us a sort of destiny? Is that home, or is this, you and I, enough of an identity? 

Could our future thrive in the same place of our trauma?

Could this system, somehow, become better? 

Balancing a brush between idle fingers, Sakura drips dry in the parched heat and nibbles the end of it in thought.

“Anything to add?” she asks. 

Sasuke swats at an insect, squinting in the high noon.

“For Kakashi?” Thinks a moment, then glances sidelong at her; at the way she holds things aloft so delicate in hands that break the earth. Heal men, and kill them on occasion. At the way she imbues such seriousness into her letters to their ex-sensei, frown rivets dashing across her forehead. At the fading water evaporating from her skin. “Ah, just to share it with the idiot.”

Lips drawn in moue, Sakura struggles not to laugh. “I can write separate letters; Kaka-sensei is busy now. Hokage things, you know?”

She watches him throw his arm against his eyes to shield them from a dazzling sun, and his quiet snicker contains multitudes, echos in a song. The expression just in that reminds her how little friction remains between them, that they’ve caught fire. 

���He can dictate to Naruto — you’ll burn out here if I let you write two,” he chides, noting the red dusting on her cheeks, suffused with glow. “I’m not quite sure how well he reads on his own anyway.”

Erupting into giggles, she shades her own eyes to stare at him with bewitching and stripped abandon. “Be nice. You know he’s next in line to lead, and no matter what he says, he’ll need you.”

Duty. It sits between them occasionally, considered and sometimes unwanted. 

“You as well.”

Before she’s laughed it off, brushed it away to avoid its grip, but he’s correct. They are fever-bound in fire to the village that will shape the future. A daunting prospect. 

“And I’ll need you too.”

Sakura’s so sure she’s misheard, but he’s closer now than a moment ago, sweeping into her orbit with his infuriating and silent speed, thumb resting gently on her blazing bottom lip.

Bringing the question into being, a fruitless thing he’d never deliberate but she never has qualms about speaking into being. 

“Do we have to go back?”

In answer he kisses her on a simmering, sunny riverbank in a way that would make their mothers blush, an apology, a wish, and this day becomes an axis even if they won’t know it for many cycles of the moon.

A pin is pressed into a shared soul map, becomes a burgeoning accompaniment, another rising phrase in their endless song.

From now on, they are in harmony, particularly with something much larger than themselves. 

.

.

Somehow it seems the village feels them coming, whispers paving the way.

Beginning with the far-flung ranging scouts and flying fast to the spry perimeter lookouts, on to the first inner circle defensive squads and, once the shinobi are identified, the hostile caution drops from their voices in a game of telephone to be replaced with a slightly manic curiosity. 

“Two,” one of them says, yanking a sweaty flak collar from his neck. 

“No,” the other says in a strident tone, waving his answer away. “There’s another with them. Three.”

Details drip in Ino’s ears, and she leaves her post in a whirlwind, a tornado of emotion whose  witnessed story springboards from house to training ground to alcove to inn. 

It’s fitting that the first encounter, or reunion, occurs in the middle of a main road beginning as ringing, if loving insults but dwindling to potshots from gritted teeth and smoothing into cooing whispers as the two women, these best friends, encircle one another with shaking arms and a bundle pressed between them; the accompanying men linger at awkward edges, Sasuke betraying so little with his usual impassive expression and Shikamaru, who was tripped up in Ino’s anger along the way, keeping his hands in his pockets. 

“Oh, how could you?” Ino sniffles, wiping away tears with the heel of her hand. “Can’t do anything by half-measures, no subtlety, you never could! No letter, no warning.” Here she glares at Sasuke for a moment, enough for him to cast his eyes away in at least a modest show of humility. 

The moments pile upon, become stranger and more surprising, as Ino presses her lips to the bundle in Sakura’s arms and Shikamaru sighs in not-unhappy resignation, ah, so it is, and extends his hand to an unusually startled Sasuke and for a fleeting sliver-second, the corners of his mouth aren’t quite so dour.

“Who’s next?” Ino asks, tenderly flicking away a lock of Sakura’s hair. “Though by now, the whole damn town knows.”

The men shake clumsily, wary, bereft of custom.

“I’m sure you had nothing to do with that. The honorary uncle, it's only fair.”

“We have to report regardless,” Sasuke supplies quietly. Bending over the bundle and his new wife (which, Ino will rant in retrospect, seems obvious now — his unusual tenderness, his glow, men don’t glow like that for just anyone, any reason!), he whispers, begins to lead her away. They walk with high heads and radiant faces.

Her jade eyes behold their new bundle, but his eyes stay, mostly, on her. 

.

By now the gossip’s reached his stuffy office, and though he’s never been one to put on airs or prepare for visitors, he does try to clear a free spot to be able to see over the mess of his desk, before an aide takes pity on him and handles the rest.

He will have to get a full, unadorned look at this.

She leads, of course she does — this is the love at twelve she forcibly took into her own hands, even when it pricked and bruised. Wrestled it until she won. The newlywed glow is obvious. As a shadow Sasuke sweeps in behind, but the tiny uplift of his lips is still evident.

True, then. Differences all around.

“The kids do things differently these days,” Kakashi jokes. “Have you at least considered getting married?”

“Have you?” Sasuke snarks.

Sakura shushes him gently, thumbing away some errant speck from their bundle’s chubby face. Eyes bright, they seem to dim the rest of the room as she raises them to Kakashi and asks, breathless, “Do you want to—?”

And despite his aide’s effort to clear his desk he gets up and comes around it, to them, closing the loop around a future he hopes is halcyon and new, shepherds of peacetime. 

He wonders if they’ve had their real homecoming yet, the true test — but no, he’d be able to tell. Not that the joy in Sakura’s face could possibly be more evident, and by the careful way Sasuke presses his mouth to her temple, nudges her with his nose (and there’s the glow, the one that paints great men often only because of exceptional women they love). Naruto, busy and climbing for his Hokage position but with his own recent arrival, his own legacy coming in the form of something tiny, blond, and confusing. 

The third point of their legendary triumvirate, no doubt unaware of what’s coming to his doorstep and in tow, the new member of his full life he’ll meet anew. 

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Sakura whispers, eyes shining.

A gloved hand on each head, as if they’re genin again:  He’s gentle with Sakura, ruffles Sasuke’s hair with a roguish twinkle if only to provoke his trademark scowl. 

Subdued, but their sensei’s happiness sings through in the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. 

.

Perhaps they don’t expect Naruto to be the one they see as the door swings open; after all the last letter he sent in his untidy scrawl is still in Sasuke’s cloak pocket, unread in the wake of their universe shifting to this perennial birth that’s brought them across the world and then to their best friend’s doorstep, clutching this thing that did not exist and now does, borne of them and their love; he stands there, blond hair in chaos and a strange smattering of dirt on his cheek and a rag over his shoulder covered in fluids that his friends now know will be constant, streaming, the aftermath of infants; Hinata behind him, carrying her own bundle, with the same look of frenzied-excited exhaustion but now her mouth falls into a small, round ‘o’ as she sizes up the scene faster than her darling, ditzy husband, who’s bereft of speech and straightens up from his sagging position against the door frame, stunned.

“S-Sakura-chan!” Bright ocean eyes ping from her face — beaming, because she’s already understood this wonderful coincidence and can deduce now what his message contained, she begins to weep a little, overwhelmed — to Sasuke’s, hesitant but with its own subtle change, a fleeting expression of love and pride. 

Hinata makes a comforting noise behind them, a reassuring response to Sakura’s tears, the language of women a bit quieter, something less decipherable.

“‘Ay, Sasuke you total bastard, showing up like this! Didn’t respond to my letter—”

“You ass,” Sasuke hisses, tugging fabric over one tiny ear belonging to his daughter. “She can hear that.”

“She’s in trouble anyway, with my mouth,” Sakura sighs, brushing away a tear.

Naruto’s eyes grow so wide they push the earthly bounds of his sockets. His head whips ‘round to look at his wife, their son, and snaps back just as fast to stare at his best friends.

“She?” The word comes out croaky, and Naruto’s already sniffling.

Sasuke and Sakura exchange a glance, the ghost of a knowing smile:  His sentiment has always been equal parts maddening and endearing, his adoration broadcast to the entire world.

Sasuke assents with a nod, but his own voiced response emerges with surprising vibrato emotion. Perhaps to hide it, he drops his chin onto Sakura’s head, resting it there. “Yeah. A little girl.”

They should expect it, but it’s still a scuffle like old times, Naruto tackling them both, gathering them close in his way, welcoming them home from the outside world and back into his magnetism, his heart. 

“Can’t believe you — didn’t even — you just come home like this—”

Their greetings and scoldings and expressions of love mesh together, can’t believe Sasuke managed it, Don’t squish her, Naruto! You idiot, It's you who’s managed it, how old, how long, where did you travel, what have you seen, how old is your son?

“How did you know?” Naruto asks, finally allowing them to breathe. He stares at Sakura, quizzical. “Betcha missed my letter. So how’d you know it’s a boy?”

“I’m a medic, remember?” Readjusting her daughter, she extends her other hand to Hinata, gesturing so she comes closer, anticipating a deeper appreciation of a friendship they’ve already begun, a new language they’ll learn together. “Had a feeling. I just know.”

But Naruto’s tugging on them again, drawing them close and tight, rooting them to the earth and the place they sprung from, flourished and fought in, and now, where they’ve returned. 

Time slackening and quickening though never lost or stolen, occasionally rhythm-robbed but always arriving expectantly, weaving their life legends into knots.

The codetta they’ve always managed to sing together in the end. 

[weaselsoneasels]

Throwback to the day I met Telephone while filming for the Lisa Ling special on CNN. Such an amazing person AND furry. -Ashaeda #furryfandom #furrynation #telephone #ino #ashaeda #cnn #skypro #weaselsoneasels https://www.instagram.com/p/BtaRaacHVIV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t8k6uroeqlzw

[strikearose]

Lovingly

I just uploaded the homemade translation of a very old story I wrote. It takes place in the 1950s, it’s a Sakura-centric and there’s a slight SasuNaru. You can also read it on ao3 (link) or ff.net (link) :)

I won't cry.

At least, not in front of him.

I couldn't think straight. My body remained inert, rooted to the spot. Knees bent against my chest, tears were burning me and I couldn't voice my pain. I felt like the neglected doll that every little girl came to forget for good in the shadow of a room, once they grew up. Several hours had passed since Ino's departure and yet I was still lying there, desperately waiting for someone, anyone, to come find me. Her words had pierced my soul from all parts and left me undone, pinning me in that agonizing state. My heart was aching in agony, it felt like my thoughts were suffocating me and I couldn't find the strength to scream out my misery.

I wish I was strong enough to face him, to face the truth.

I wish I could tell Sasuke about it.

I wish I could order him to make a choice on the spot between me and him.

I wish I could tell me how bad it hurt inside of me, so he could feel some of that pain too.

The phone was ringing but I couldn't register where that sound was coming from. How could I behave normally at a time like this? My body slowly began to crawl towards the telephone handset in order to unplug it and then - agony yielded to fear. What if it was him? He knew I was home, where else could I be? I was the perfect embodiment of the model housewife.

I ended up picking up the receiver and waited for a moment. Praying he couldn't hear my tremor.

"Sakura?"

I barely managed to hold back a hiccup of surprise. It was him.

He couldn't find out I knew, I needed to get hold of myself.

"I-is that you dear?" I stuttered as my fingers slipped a lock behind my ear mechanically.

"Good lord! Why didn't you pick up the phone earlier?," he sighed and I could only picture too well his tensed expression.

"S-sorry, I was in the middle of..."

He cut me off in a weary voice.

"Don't wait for me for dinner. I have an important business meeting to attend to and I...-," he left his sentence hanging in the air for a few moments before continuing, with a softer tone. "See you tonight Sakura."

I put the receiver down after he hung up, relieved. Thank God, he hadn't realized. His last words, however, kept haunting me - I knew for a fact that my doubts were indeed well-founded. For several months now, I had had the unpleasant feeling that something was not right in our perfect life. Sasuke was more distant - not that he was ever of the demonstrative kind, it was quite the contrary. The way he behaved with me was off - little gifts, sweet nothings whispered quietly - he would start ignoring me and then try to make up for it later.

Ino had confirmed what I dreaded to acknowledge, finally daring to say out loud what I somehow already knew.

It was guilt.

Sasuke had grown tired of me, he had gone look elsewhere. And worse than that, I even knew who it was.

What was I supposed to do now? What choices did I have in front of me? If divorce was slowly becoming normal, it wasn't what I wanted. We were married for better and for worse. I would never dare facing our so-called friends if they came to know our marriage was a failure. I couldn't bring myself to.

My whole life revolved around Sasuke. I had given up everything for him: my sweet, naive, young girl's dreams and my pride as a woman of the twentieth century. He was my everything; I was his and he had to be mine. The feelings I had for him went far beyond love or even worship. He knew it - he probably always did - but had never said anything about it.

After all, as a wife, it was only natural to be completely devoted to him.

That's what I wanted.

That's what we both wanted.

Sasuke...

My life without him wouldn't be the same.

I felt anger towards everyone and everything. Towards Sasuke and his so-called 'stupid childhood friend' of course, but also towards Ino. Why did she have to tell me? Why did she have to get involve in my life? Everything was perfectly fine.

"Don't get me wrong, Sakura, but you must be the only one who hasn't realized yet. They probably always... You only have to look at them to see it."

What exactly did Ino want from me? Why did I have to know? What if I didn't want to? How couldn't she understand that I wanted the lies to perdure?

She said it was for my own good, that she did it in the name of our own friendship. But I didn't believe her.

That harpy had always wanted to take Sasuke away from me, she wanted him for herself. She wanted me to pay. She wanted me to suffer.

But what was she expecting me to do? Deep down, I knew exactly what was the answer.

She expected me to keep quiet - that's what they were all expecting me to do. To continue portraying perfect Sakura. Perfect, quiet, oppressed Sakura.

No.

I won't give them what they want.

I woke up the next morning around five o'clock. Sasuke was there, still sleeping soundly next to me. His breathing was slow and steady. I took a moment to appreciate how strangely peaceful he looked in that moment. From his pale skin to the obscurity of his dark brown, almost black, eyes - I loved him with all my being. My gaze fell upon the alarm clock and I tiptoed out of our room so as not to wake him up before entering the bathroom.

I looked dreadful, my face was all swollen and my complexion duller than usual. I took a quick, vitalizing shower, put on his favorite light emerald-colored dress and began my usual morning routine. First, a slight amount of pinkish power, then the faintest touch of red on my mouth. And finally, a thick layer of rimmel on my lashes and I was able to smile at my reflection in the mirror. Today was a new day - today, everything was as perfect as usual.

As I hurried down the stairs, I went to the kitchen and made coffee. The rich and peculiar scent of caffeine seemed to bring Sasuke out of his sleep and he appeared in the living-room a few minutes later. He greeted me as he would do on any other day with the loveliest peck on my lips and sat into his leather armchair, the day's paper in his hand. I found myself staring again at his beautiful face, still foggy with sleep. It made me so happy to be with him.

The family clock struck six times and brought me out of my lethargy.

With a trembling hand, I served the burning contents into a cup and offered it to him. Sasuke thanked me distractedly and brought the mug to his mouth. He didn't see a thing. Neither my watery eyes nor the small amount of poison I had lovingly poured into his precious beverage.