#minato also strikes me as just

[crehador]

i remember also having this feeling during the first season but it’s become so much more obvious in season two that there is something going on in the minato-seiya-masaki-shuu situationship that is being severely obfuscated in the anime and as an anime-only i just find myself in a constant state of bewilderment because their actions seem to suggest they are reasonably Normal about one another while the vibe they give off is that they are very clearly Not

[oh-no-its-bird]

Obkk ghost marriage fic where after kannabi bridge, the Uchiha decide Kakashi can keep the eye but only if he agrees to marry Obito's ghost in a traditional ghost marriage.

(This also means he officially joins the Uchiha clan. Maybe lean into how he knows very little ab his own clan history, so there's like some minor complexes playing off of that as he ultimately takes up the Uchiha name and traditions, effectively abandoning his own -> which could also play interestingly into his negative views of his father at that age. This also means he moves out of his clan compound and into the Uchiha district— which is actually really good for his mental health)

Kakashi doesn't argue, he sees it as the ultimate atonement actually. He's incredibly dutiful but especially so at that age. He'd take it dead fuckin seriously and be the best ghost bride possible. Instead of constantly going to the memorial stone he has like a proper shrine to honor him in the house where he leaves his favorite foods n stuff

Like little 13 year old widower Kakashi w Rin as his witness rip

I'm not the biggest Rin fan bc her canon characterization feels like that usual boring "girl crush turned martyr" (naruto misogony strikes again rip) and I've yet to find any interpretations that really strike me— with one exception.

I don't remember the fic, and Rin only showed up for part of it, but I remember being rlly taken by her in it. It highlighted her being as struck by Obito's death as Kakashi, with her an official mednin working overtime in the hospital as the war ramped up. Also it gave her a smoking habit!! I can appreciate a well played addiction to cope in text. Idk I just read it and kinda went "woah she suddenly feels like a real person to me"

But like, that for Rin here. She's working triple overtime in the hospital, day and night. The war is getting worse and worse and some nights she comes home w her gloves still stained in the blood of her patients from back to back surgeries where her patients died on the table. They have her listed for eye trauma specifically after her successful transplant for Kakashi, and she's proving to be invaluable for the patients w eye based kekkei genkkai. She wants to go into specifically researching and healing for eye bloodline limits, but is struggling to convince the clans to allow her access to that information.

Kakashi's new home is closer to the hospital that Rin's parents, and stuff w her parents is starting to get... tense. It hurts them, to see their daughter struggling like this. To see her coming home with dulled eyes and bloodied hands. To be waken by her nightmares and then not know how to comfort her.

Rin slowly starts staying over with Kakashi more and more and after a while she's just kind of fully moved in, but neither of them actually really talk about it

Let them be best friends w a kind of codependency on eachother that would be concerning if not for how it's very clearly keeping both of their heads afloat as days go on and things get worse.

Queerplatonic besties Rin and Kakashi sharing the same bed so when they wake up screaming they can help eachother go back to sleep easier. Rin likes it when Kakashi summons his ninken to sleep w them. They sleep easier w eachother bc they feel safer knowing they're there to have eachothers back, just like they would on the field

Anyways, Kakashi moves out of his clan compound and into the Uchiha's. He's neighbors with a little 6 year old Shisui and is kind of picked up by the scruff by a lot of Uchiha who have really weird complex feelings ab Obito's death (many of them feeling bad ab not having reached out before to him / seeing him die so young, and then projecting that onto Kakashi)

Kakashi and sometimes Rin kind of accidentally becoming a babysitter for Itachi both bc of proximity and bc Mikoto is friends with Kushina

On that note -> Minato does not really get the ghost marriage thing. He's civilian born, and the practice is really old and hasn't really been used since like, warring states era. So Minato is kind of weirded out and very "uhhh. Are you SURE this is what you wanna do?" But Kakashi seems set, and like, if it helps him cope???

He is however very supportive of getting Kakashi out of the fucking tomb of his father's house and into the much more populated and lively Uchiha clan compound

Minato makes Kakashi ANBU and designates him as his home guard specifically to keep him off the battlefield. He lowkey does the same to Rin (minus the ANBU part) positioning her in the hospital and making sure she's getting that good good mednin education. If pressed on why she doesn't go out as a field medic, he insists it's because she shows too much promise as a healer to risk— not now that they've lost Tsunade. If Rin can grow to be even half as good as she is, it'll be worth keeping her away from the fighting.

Neither Kakashi nor Rin feel very good about this decision (tho hypocritically, they agree w it when it comes to the other, bc ofc they do)

Rin doesn't die bc I say so and Obito does a comedy spit take when he inevitably learns he's legally married to Kakashi under the eyes of the Sage, Amaterasu and all.

[narrators-journal]

The SEES sexuality (plus a bonus)

To break up the persona 2 content and feed my persona 3 fans, have some thoughts on the SEES’ sexualities. Excluding ken, of course, and koromaru lol.

Yukari Takeba

Possibly a hot take for the p3 fans, but Yukari...isn’t my cup of tea. So, I don’t tend to comb over her character the same way I do Minato lol. So, the only real thing I have to go on for her sexuality is vibes, and the movies to say that she seems like she’s a bit of a man-hating lesbian type. Maybe she doesn’t know it, but she’s got that vibe to me.

Mitsuru Kirijo

Mitsuru vibes like she’s got too many gender issues to be dealing with sexuality too, but I think she vibes like she, like Yukari, likes women more than men. But, she also vibes to me like she doesn’t exactly look to date, maybe is some flavor of asexual and/or aromantic.

Akihiko Sanada

Akihiko is so fuckin’ gay. Namely for Shinji, but he doesn’t seem to show any interest in women in general in my opinion. I mean, he’s got a whole fan club that he seems to avoid more than anything, and while part of that is his tunnel vision on fighting shadows and protecting his friends, him and Shinjiro definitely have somethin’ more there lol. So, I think Akihiko is pretty solidly gay. At least for the most part, I’ll give him some bisexual wiggle room with Kotone.

Fuuka Yamagishi

Fuuka is a weird one. Like Yukari, she doesn’t really spark a lot of combing through and picking apart, but she also doesn’t give any strong energy. I can see her going either way, being hetero, or being bi, or maybe even having no real interest in relationships. But, if I had to chew on it, I’d say she’s maybe bisexual, or lesbian. She seems to have a fat ass crush on her best friend, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she got flustered about Aki being shirtless, or seeing Shinjiro being a sweetie.

Minato Arisato

This is gonna be another slightly heated one, but I think Minato is pretty firmly gay, or maybe grey-ace or some level of aromantic. Because in the game, his relationship with men seems just...so much more intimate. Like, Kenji gave him a damned choker, and Hidetoshi refused to frame him for power. Mans gave up his life goal to protect Minato. Something’s there. In contrast, his bonds with the women, while not stiff, don’t feel like they develop natural chemistry. Plus, in the movies, I just never got the vibe that he liked damn near anyone outside of Ryoji. So, I can’t really see him liking women almost at all. He’s either grey-ace, gay, or ryoji-sexual to me lol.

Shinji Aragaki

Shinji strikes me pretty strongly as unbothered by relationships. He doesn’t seem very interested in dating, since...well, y’know, his personal shit. That being said, he does strike me as pretty firmly bisexual. He has no real desire for a relationship, but he’d sleep with a woman or a man, Aki or Kotone, doesn’t really matter to him.

Aigis

I don’t think Aigis’ asexual like some might assume because she’s a robot. After all, she ends up basically growing a proper sense of self/a soul in the game, so she’s pretty well human. But! I do see her as demisexual and biromantic. She takes emotional connection to develop any sexual feelings, but either gender can get her romantic attraction.

Ryoji Mochizuki

There’s no competition. Ryoji is aggressively bisexual. He’s not choosing shit, he wants both lol.

Junpei Iori

I think Junpei is heterosexual, but bi-curious. Because, naturally, he seems very interested in women, but he seems to have a big ol’ crush on Akihiko, and maybe Minato. Would this grow into a proper bisexuality? No clue, but let’s be serious, we all know it doesn’t matter.

[katsona-the-katsequel]

Status of Persona Users when SMT's Great Cataclysm was supposed to strike

The end of the world never came to this timeline, but if it had, would they have been prepared?

Legendary Persona User (and Lovecraftian cameo!) Randolph Carter is currently 118 years old. His incident with Nyarly already took place and he goes by Chandraputra.

Baofu and Kandori are 25 years old. Kandori has graduated from Oxford. Baofu still goes by Kaoru.

Katsuya is 20 years old. He has begun to study to become a police officer.

Ulala is 19 years old. Her friendship with Maya is recent.

Zenkichi is between 16 and 25 years old.

Maya is 16 years old. Her father died in the Soviet-Afghan War. She just returned to Sumaru for high school six months ago.

Yukki, Maki, Masao, Reiji, Eriko and Kei are 13 years old.

Naoya, Brown and Yuka are 12 years old. Hidehiko already earned his nickname. Kazuya died years ago.

Tatsuya is 11 years old. Has already taken somebody's eye out.

Jun and Lisa are 10 years old. The Alaya Shrine Incident took place some time ago, and Nyarly has taken Akinari Kashihara's place.

Eikichi is 9 years old.

Adachi is 8 years old.

Mitsuru, Shinjiro and Akihiko are 1 year old.

Yukari has just been born. Maybe Minato/Kotone has as well.

That's all of them. From this group, only Carter has fully awakened to his Persona, but has that entire "Nyarly fucked with me and now my mind is trapped" deal going on.

Maya and Tatsuya have also awakened but don't even know what a Persona is. Jun, Lisa, Eikichi, Katsuya, and (maybe?) Kaoru, Ulala and Kandori have already played the Persona Game, so they have the potential.

No wonder Persona Users are basically extinct in main Shin Megami Tensei.

[natalisdragon]

IS THERE ANY ADULT?

I have released some ideas on Twitter lately, but when I realized that there was a common thread, it seemed like a good idea to put them together to organize them better(and maybe expand a little).

The way Bucchigiri approaches the "adult world" is something to say the least curious when you think about it. The gangs seem to be in their own reality, where everything related seems relatively distant. However, what is striking is that despite this, the anime doesn't completely rule them out, it recognizes their influence on their daily lives, and not only that, but also the great importance of adult guidance, with Arajin and Matakara being a clear example of this

Arajin was raised by his mother (we have no information regarding his father) who we can see has always been there for him, giving him her love and guidance, which we see by how she bequeaths him her cooking skills, a curious mix between independence and giving love/affection, key elements to mature as a person (being serious/Honki in a way)

But in the case of Matakara, everything indicates that he was a child raised by another (Mitsukuni) and that inevitably creates a gap between him and other kids his age, especially having grown up in a house where both brothers never felt comfortable, which is easy to notice by their desire to get out of there.

There is something I want to make clear, so far, it doesn't seem that the relationship between the Asamine brothers and their relatives was conflictive or hostile , but some tension can be felt, so I cannot assume that they had bad intentions, but it doesn't seem they did a lot to make both children feel welcome and safe, which can be seen in several details, such as the little (or no) interaction between them and Matakara

Or how, unlike Arajin, his lunches are not homemade, but bought and although it may not seem like it, this says a lot, because both houses are also family businesses in which they have to serve several clients, from what it seems to me that this parallelism is intentional and to make us see that despite coming from similar backgrounds, the treatment that Arajin and Matakara receive from the adults they live with is very different.

This is when food "speaks" in Bucchigiri, because it translates not only as affection, but also warmth of home, therefore, safety(There's already an analysis of this specific topic for those who may be interested). It's an interesting way to telling us (along with his oppressive room) that Matakara never had that while growing up.

Because no matter how hard Mitsukuni tried, he wasn't a father, not even an adult, he was another child, one who must also have his own scars after everything that happened, someone who was trying to play a role for which he was clearly not prepared. The fact that he doesn't know how to cook is a good way to represent it, because it's a skill linked to independence and therefore to adulthood.

In fact, it is very curious that Arajin is coincidentally the only one of all the young characters who knows how to cook, because something similar happens with Mahoro, who cooks for her brother who is in the hospital, but it is evident that she is not good at it, which which could indicate (at least based on what has already been said) that she has not had that guidance from the adults around her either.

However, we still have something else to address, we have already seen that even if it's subtle, Bucchigiri doesn't rule out the importance of adults as guiding figures, but just as this is pointed out, a line is also crossed, making it very clear to us that although There are adults like Yayako or Ken who can be trusted, there are also those who take advantage of young people, doing a lot of damage in the process.

Let's not forget the police officer who was trying to distribute drugs using members of Minato kai and probably other kids in the area, a situation for which Mitsukuni had to assume the consequences of taking the lead and putting a stop to it with his own hands, having to leave his brother behind in the process(reminding us of the harsh reality that exists in Honki city in the process).

And of course Ichiya is not spared, we are talking about someone who took advantage of an emotionally unstable teenager in his most vulnerable state to achieve his revenge against Senya, subjecting him to manipulation and emotional abuse, also using Matakara's pain as basically fuel. Situation that would have had the worst possible outcome if it weren't for Arajin managing to save his friend in time, but removing the supernatural factor, not all young people in real life are so lucky.

But leaving that aside, I think that both "genies" do something important, showing that adults are not perfect and that in a certain way they have not finished "growing" at all, in the sense that they are people who can still learn, commit mistakes, that can hide things from you, even if their intentions are not bad at all(Senya) or understand that their bad actions may have a root (Ichiya). Something quite curious, because like being Honki, maturity/adulthood is something that is sometimes diffuse and not entirely clear.

Although it wasn't the main theme, and it is certainly somewhat in the background, the "adult world" in Bucchigiri is still present throughout the anime in various details if you pay attention. There are still some things left, Mitsukuni and Ken seem to me to be characters that should be talked about separately, because their role as young adults seems to function as a kind of midpoint between the "world of gangs" and the "adult world", as well as maturity and the sense of duty, that is a key element for both.

[writers-reach]

Hii! Just found this blog and i really enjoy your writing. Just wanted to say that it would be nice if you had a sort of drafts/wip list where it says what requests you have accepted and what youre working on. Just a suggestion. Also since you did general hcs for minato it would be nice if you did them for minako too. Thanks and have a great day!

persona 3: general fluff headcanons (minako arisato)

notes: gn!reader, fluff, headcanons

minako is very energetic! always wanting to try new things and visit new shops and dragging you along (this girl has so much energy and a hollow leg... you're lucky she doesn't run your wallet empty. she's too nice to do that)

sometimes these bursts of energy are interspersed with days where she's just exhausted and depressed. these days she will wordlessly come up to you and open her arms for a hug.

will bring you along to go shopping with her and ends up sneakily buying you a plushie or snacks, presenting them to you before y'all leave and go home :)

i think she'd be the kind of person to want to like... dress similarly? like yk. couples clothes.

sharing headphones! listens to your music, but also shares her taste (she strikes me as someone who would listen to that hybrid genre of death metal and jpop. like babymetal. i think the genre is called kawaii metal?? idk)

being partners with minako means being besties with junpei, i don't make the rules. silly goose squad rise up!!!

oscillates between being confident in the relationship and silly and awkward. giggles at little pecks on the cheek.

she's so cute i love her so muchhhh bring my girl back atlus

a/n: hope you like this!! and tysm for the suggestion on doing a list of drafts. it really helps both you, the audience, to see what i'm workin on and for me to not feel overwhelmed with requests!!

[cyb-by-lang]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I've been following CYB since 2018, when I was still in middle school! When I read Shell Game on FF.Net, also around that time, one of my favorite scenes was Kei's debriefing with Minato and the UA's faculty. The way it let them have a peek into her life (strict, hierarchical, and military childhood) so contrasting to theirs (and her content and loyalty with it even while working to make it better) lives rented free in my head for years before I stumbled upon you work again! It has always been a pleasure reading your stories (now I'm accompanying E(aE)D and it has been a journey, because I absolutelylove Batman), and I'm glad you publish them for us to appreciate your hard work!

Thank you so much for your kind words. It’s been a fair old while since writing that scene, but it was one where me and @ffs-abalisk had to strike a very delicate balance between the UA faculty and Minato’s concerns, most of which were basically incompatible. If not for the looming threat of the League of Villains (and the contract), none of those people would have wanted to be in the same room.

The kids of each group would’ve been fine going to a cat café though. They’re a chill bunch comparatively. XD

[x-authorship-x]

Jokes aside the idea of Shisui smartly winning a place as Fugaku's right-hand man and using Mangekyō fuckery against ROOT is so cool? Also Fugaku doesn't strike me as someone who would be a super bad Hokage- would he be the best? No. But would he be the worst? I don't think so, especially with Shisui at his side

And who knows?

Maybe with time things will get better and Konoha will accept Fugaku as their new Hokage. I know I would 🤭

- Koto-anon

It depends on how you judge success/badness/goodness specifically towards leadership in Narutoverse!

Disclaimer! This is all my opinion! I don't want to be lectured! I'll keep deleting bullshit!

I'm gonna try really hard not to start spiraling into historical analysis of power structures and perspective bias etc etc but knowing me that's what's going to happen anyway so let's just get into it 🤣

So, fandom usually looks at Hokage candidates by their raw strength which makes sense, considering all the talk of "Strongest in the Village" and looking at who we have in Canon:

Hashirama was the God of Shinobi

Tobirama was a genius with Jutsu and assumed to be a good policy maker too

Sarutobi was 'the professor' and was pretty spry against Orochimaru even as an old man

Minato was a genius sealing master and the 'fastest man alive'

Tsunade could crush mountains and perform healing miracles

Kakashi is a (you guessed it) genius and the man of a thousand Jutsu

Naruto is literally the Jinchuuriki Favourite Child of "God-God" Sage

But, honestly, discounting Tobirama... Who here is actually fit to be a leader and not just...a glorified general?

We need to understand what the Hokage actually does. Jokes about paperwork aside, how does the mantel of Kage fit within the broader sociopolitical framework, what role do their advisors and council play into the system?

So let's make some assumptions.

From examples across time and space, we know that Generals can be just as much in power as a civilian politician or the biological heir to a dynasty. I'd recommend looking at the Hokage as a hodge-podge of these:

The Hokage are all connected to each other. Hashirama-(brother)->Tobirama-(student)->sarutobi -(student's student)->Minato-(sensei's teammates/saru's other student)->Tsunade-(predecessor's student)->Kakashi-(student, sensei's son)-> Naruto

They're military leaders and the power structure of the villages are based on this Shinobi prowess

They are also in control of their civilian population (if there is a civilian council, I doubt they report to anyone but the Hokage) and they mediate with Daimyo etc.

Hashirama was the Senju Clan Head, a mantel that maybe passed to Tobirama but more likely passed to Hashirama's mysterious children.

Tobirama was, at the very least, his brother's closest advisor. That's some political practice, right there.

Sarutobi, we assume but then...maybe not!, was the pretty important to the Sarutobi. And there seems to be a fair few of them looking at that one panel of them all breathing smoke and shit (assuming that they're not just a huge pack of brothers but most are part of their own family unit)

I don't think Asuma has a dozen brothers. Maybe he does but, frankly, I'd be disappointed if they all didn't have daddy issues with the Sandaime as well.

I'm going off tangent🙃

MY POINT is that Sarutobi possibly had some experience with bureaucracy before becoming Sandaime. Maybe Tobirama punished them all with paper pushing, idk

Minato.... I don't know what to tell you but I'm tempted just to...skip... him because frankly his term of office was so short he probably hadn't even redecorated or got the smell of smoke out of the furniture yet! Regardless, being smart with seals doesn't mean he's a good judge of politics, economics, or social welfare! He gets brownie points for being a thinker, tho

(Does Konoha function as a welfare state? Surely with the injuries on a regular basis, as well as the crazy working schedules and the turn over of retiree veterans, they've got to have some impressive infrastructure- No, don't get me started-)

Tsunade. Right, listen, she's a doctor yeah but this woman really had no clan left to learn leadership for and she's been wandering the continent for a decade in a drunken stupor. I love her but there's a reason she's smashing desks and it's because she's been confronted with problems she can't pummel or resuscitate. Tsunade didn't get a medical degree (did she????) just to have to study MORE bullshit. She's frankly wasted here but better her than some of those fuck-wits.

Kakashi. 🥹 Leading the Hatake? No. ANBU? Does Captaincy really count as anything but even more field experience. Result: Why (i love you but SEND THE MAN TO THERAPY AND GO TO THE SPA)

Naruto. Well... They wouldn't let him jump from Genin to the Hokage. Is this because they know he's so uneducated and needs to go back to school or is this purely because you HAVE to climb the pecking order in order to hit the top. Both? Both is good

So there's just... A lot here. And I can speculate to fucking hell and back but there's very little actually elaborated on in Canon. What do they even do in the Hokage Tower? Is it just all mission paperwork or does Konoha function more like... Idk a principality? What is the involvement of the Daimyo?

This is where fanfiction reaaally takes the reigns and I love that for them ✨😤

So what would make a "bad" Kage?

Danzo.

Danzo is a SHIT Kage and not just because I hate him. We're looking at someone who poisoned the previous - relatively successful - leadership, worked with foreign powers to manipulate other nations as well as his own village, orchestrated and then ordered the slaughter of thousands of Konohan citizens, kidnapping and experimentation, sabotaging political rivals (whether they considered themselves rivals is a different matter all together), bolstered social conflict and international tensions, bloodline theft and forming a private army who were indoctrinated and sealed to his will-!

So if that's the "shit" end of the scale, where do the other Hokage line up?

Hashirama: congrats on building the village! However, it's really contested whether you actually met your new allies on equal standing and it's left a lot of social pressure that will explode down the line 🥺 you get points for spirit but the execution (whoops) might prove a bit wobbily

Tobirama: congrats on being the best of an....interesting bunch. You seem to have had a good head on your shoulders and, pre-founding antics aside, you've committed to the bit. Unfortunately, you have an evil student :/ oh, right, and those social issues? You're probably making them worse

Sarutobi: well. You sat there. Congrats on living so long, I guess. You taught a few loose canons big names, you signed your name on the top of the exam, you held onto peace for a good while by the skin of your teeth. Unfortunately any good you mightve done or process made has been massively underscored by allowed your live-in nuclear-weapon-child to be abused and reviled, your students have either fucked off or were chased out after performing atrocities against the population, your teammate tries to get the last student of your (brief) successor to kill you... Yeah. It's a lot. Oh, also your own son flipped you the bird for a decade to go live in the Capitol instead. Oh, yeah, and you must either live in a bubble of ignorance (ignoring that crystal ball you've got going on) or you're wilfully ignoring Danzo squirreling funds to his private army ;/ all in all? Not great signs of leadership control, you rotten motherfucker

Minato. Is it even fair to list him when he martyred himself before anything could happen? All i can say is... Yikes. Also congrats on dying so quickly that you were immortalised as the faultless golden hero of the village ☺️ all in all, Minato is just lucky to be here

Tsunade: um. She fucked off for decades, loudly proclaiming her disgust/revulsion of Konoha and how stupid anyone would have to be to become Hokage, and hasn't exactly been graceful or pleased since being strong armed into taking the job. I'm not saying I don't sympathise but at the same time... Not a good start. Idk about anyone else but if my (dictator?) leader loudly hated the job and the village and had also gone AWOL for years living it up whilst the village was kinda imploding... I would be pretty resentful. Girl Power can only fly you so high 😔✊

Kakashi: I'm sorry that they made you do this 🥹 you are smart and you've seen a lot of shit but... He might be long-suffering for his duty but, like with Tsunade, you've got to weigh up if they'd be better elsewhere. Kakashi is high on the list of Hokage we've got to work with, however. Well. If you ignore that he was hated for most of his life, first for his father and then for being a little brat, and then for being an "eye thief", and then for being a Friend Killer, and then for being a Pervert- well. His reputation abroad is much better but there's a reason most leaders have, at least loosely, a cult of personality (Narutoverse is bad for this, btw). He has similar problems to Tsunade but he wins out on loyalty.

Naruto. I'm not going here because it's Boruto territory and that's a hard pass.

So what makes a bad Hokage? The usual things, I'd imagine:

pathological power grabbing (war mongering isn't good for your own minions and it's not good for international friends)

ignoring the wants and needs of the wider population (revolutionaries 🤷)

Inconsistency (people watch their leaders extremely carefully and so do their enemies)

lack of attention (^^^)

lack of control (you're running a military dictatorship, commit to the bit)

too much control (Danzo, I'm looking at you)

selfishness (it always bites in the ass)

pure ignorance (Sarutobi, I'm looking at you)

a focus on the brute side of things instead of the subtler arts (Sarutobi isn't brute strength but, unfortunately, he's on the other end where appeasement is making things worse)

So, looking at this, what makes a good Hokage?

Someone who knows what they're doing? 🥴

Someone who wants to be there or at least has dedicated themselves to the roll in its entirety without going on a power trip or burning out in a short period? 💀

Dedication

sensitivity

an awareness of social pressure and tensions (literally read the room)

a firm hand to the law (you gotta keep the minions in line)

support for both the backbone of society (Shinobi and Clans) as well as attention to the majority and minority (civilians hold a lot of sway in the every day realities of Konoha, don't let the Jutsu fool you) and knowing when to invest so neglect doesn't bite you in the ass (or rip everything up by the roots - ROOT, lol)

You need intimidation/respect (they are mercenaries after all) abroad as well as devotion and reverence at home (good old propaganda to keep the masses contained)

looking at the various downfalls of previous Hokage, you gotta deal with threats close to you with scary efficiency.

Another disclaimer: this is a profile for a leader in Naruto. I don't want to hear shit about me promoting aggressive foreign policy or totalitarian ideology, omfg

So! Bearing all this in mind, and incorporating an awareness of canon context... Would Fugaku be a good or bad Hokage?

I think he'd be a very important and decisive one. Good? That's a little more nuanced. Let's get into it-

Fugaku has the "good" qualities:

He's Clan Head, so about as much experience as any of the others had, but then he's also Police Chief (ACAB, whoops) so we're dealing with someone with intimate knowledge of the letter of the law, navigating Konohan crime and punishment as well as legal bureaucracy, and he's already a direct authority within the village and - get this - with the civilians.

Fugaku didn't personally want the Coup but he's a leader listening to his clan and they're getting desperate (and, therefore, more explosive). He's managed to hold his own against all these influences around him. Should he have completely shut them down? Maybe, but then what if they tried to usurp him? The Uchiha Clan can't exactly afford to split into fractions

He's called Wicked Eye for a (mysterious Mangekyou) reason. The fact that his skills aren't discussed in canon only gives us even more leeway to make him a total BAMF. He could also, apparently, go head to head with Golden Boy Minato. Am I sensing a badass? I think I am

He's surrounded by trustworthy BAMFS. Hashirama had Mito and Tobirama (Madara too, not to incite commentary, lets stay focused). The others struggled with this: Tobirama's successor is a little bitch and Danzo was devil spawn, Sarutobi was trapped between Danzo and his wild-card/war criminal students, Minato's Kushina died with him and everyone else doesn't seem on the level, Kakashi's bestie is literally a major antagonist, Naruto is (BORUTO REDACTED). Fugaku, however, not only has a bamf Clan who seem pretty devoted to him as a leader (we don't see a lot of dissent) but he's got Itachi and Shisui right there. They had a problem with the Coup, not necessarily with Fugaku himself although I think (looking at their characters) interpersonal strife would be set aside in favour of the bigger picture. All in all, there's a reason why he was thought of as the 'father' of his Clan (but what if you have daddy issues 👀)

Does Fugaku also show signs of being a bad Hokage?

Well, the timing might prove deadly against him. A revolution when the wider population is so anti-Uchiha would tear Konoha in two. But... That's if you're thinking that a Coup would be... Well, what you'd imagine. But if it's performed by Uchiha, the masters of genjutsu and manipulation? Taking liberties with Fugaku's Wicked Eyes and possible OC Uchiha characters, who knows if it would be a seamless transition? (In a fic, maybe Shisui's use of Kotoamatsukami on Danzo and ROOT would be the tip of the iceberg on what happened in the Uchiha Revolution. The Sandaime deciding to united the fractions of Konoha with Fugaku as his successor....?)

Fugaku isn't power snatching and, if he was, it wouldn't be directly for himself like Danzo's is. Danzo might sugarcoat it as an ideological difference, a variation in his vision of Konoha compared to others, but it's really all about him. Fugaku feels... vindicated.

Fugaku wouldn't be unwilling, uncomfortable, under qualified, or underpowered.

Personality-wise? He'd be like Tobirama, who i think was the best previous Hokage. Would this turn Konoha into a police state? Wasn't it always that in some form, anyway?

Overall, I think Fugaku would be a good Hokage, if he was extremely careful and played his cards right (and, considering his dedication and shrewdness, there's no reason to think he wouldn't be)

[asknarashikari]

Kari, do you see the latest development between Rinne and Houtaro as romantic or platonic?

Like, this might be me not shipping anyone in Gotchard, but am I alone in feeling that Rinne's jealousy, if it can even be called that, wait no, Rinne IS jealous, but her jealousy doesn't strike me as romantic.

I feel like Rinne's is jealous that Houtaro has a childhood friend outside of Kajiki, someone she doesn't know.

She's jealous of Houtaro's connection when she didn't have a lot of them previously, you get me?

Long post ahead

I don't really see Rinne's beef with Seina as being solely about jealousy over Houtaro and their relationship (however one sees it).

If she were jealous merely because Houtaro was friends with someone she didn't know, she'd also be jealous of their other friends like Sabimaru and Renge- like, she knew them before Houtaro did, but it wasn't like they were close then. They were basically schoolmates who got stuck together hunting the Chemmies under Minato. But Houtaro got along with them (especially Sabi) right from the get-go.

Part of it is also Rinne being jealous over how effortlessly Seina seems to form bonds (or reforge them in the case of Houtaro and his mom). Rinne is an introvert, and her singleminded focus on her alchemy studies and the whole thing with her dad left her isolated from her peers for a long time, so she struggled to make those kinds of bonds herself. It took a long time for her to loosen up, even around the ones she wholeheartedly trusted.

Seina, on the other hand, seems to fit in perfectly without even trying all too hard.

Moreover, even though she now has those bonds, she still lacks the security to be assured that they won't abandon her or leave her alone for one reason or the other. She's still anxious of place with her friends and fears that she's not good enough for her friends- that once someone "better" comes along, they'll just "replace" her with them and she'll be all alone again.

Rinne not being cast in the play in favor of Seina is sort of a hint toward that. Even that whole bit about how Seina and Houtaro's last names add to 100, where her and Houtaro's just add up to 10.

With her tendency to overthink things, she may have begun thinking about herself not being good enough for her friends in other things- including her being Houtaro's partner Rider, due to her power incontinence issues. (Atropos' taunting does not help matters, though Rinne already had these feelings before Atropos came along to pour salt into her wounds.)

However... I do think there certainly are romantic insinuations being made. I mean, the Romeo and Juliet thing is pretty on the nose, tbh.

That said, Rinne may not recognize the romantic aspect of it where Houtaro is concerned. As mentioned, Rinne had been preoccupied with more important things for so long that she may not have really entertained stuff like having crushes. I don't think she even realized that the way she felt could be construed as having a crush on Houtaro until Seina brought the possibility up.

(And if so... whoops, Seina may have just hoisted herself on her own petard there...)

[fistfuloflightning]

If you ever have the sudden urge totlk about Kushina/Fugaku, please do <3

(Totally unrelated to me reading your fic and finding a new rare pair. Honest. /lh)

Why yes I do love talking about my rarepairs!! *chin on hands* I’m so glad you asked! Also, sorry for the incredibly late reply!! 

Okay. So. Fugashina. I haven’t actually had to put down my thoughts about this ship beyond fic ideas before, so be forewarned that some of this is just brainmush and might not make sense.

I’ve mentioned this a couple other times, but I’ve long held the headcanon that the Uzumaki and the Uchiha are linked, through their sealing abilities (actual seals vs the sharingan which I would argue acts as a seal on the mind) but also as narrative foils. And that trickles down to their members. We already got the Naruto/Sasuke dynamic in canon, along with some teeny bits of Kushina and Obito also as foils (outcasts desperate to prove themselves to the place/people that regard them as Other).

Kushina is a fantastic character, strong and determined and so very underutilized. Admittedly, it is mostly Minato’s story but Kushina just gets swept under the rug. And while I lovelovelove Minato’s character, there’s a power imbalance in the relationship between the two of them that I don’t particularly like, (probably why I ship both Minato and Kushina with people that are not each other lol). They each deserve to have an equal partnership (and if that means writing fanfic, then fine damnit). Kushina doesn’t deserve to be that wife who wields power over her helpless husband; Minato deserves to be more than just a malewife after we got glimpses of what he could be. Kushina just feels like wasted potential (admittedly we only see her in domestic scenes in the anime, and mayyyyybe some fights scenes in the movies I think if I’m remembering correctly) and I think that’s just sad. It’s like… watching Padme, once the queen of an entire planet and then a senator in the galactic senate, spend most of RotS barefoot and pregnant. Idk I just think it’s wasted potential and it’s stupid and I want to make it better.

I already said I like the Uchiha and Uzumaki as foils, and the one who seems to beat balance her out personality-wise is Fugaku: he’s another case wasted potential (not as bad as Kushina, but still). I like having someone more serious and a little older than her to balance her immaturity and whimsical nature, someone who has the physical and mental stamina to keep up with her, and abilities that compliment hers. I think there are a lot more thoughts about those qualities but I’m exhausted rn. BUT. All this to say Fugaku seems to fit perfectly with her personality and her abilities and has the mental resilience to keep up. He doesn’t strike me as someone who would put her on a pedestal (like Minato did) and instead would challenge her and force her to think instead of behaving recklessly. In canon he’s stern (discipline-wise)with his children—I can see him taking the same approach with Kushina pre-relationship because he can see the potential and will try to help it grow the best way he knows.

She probably likes him for the fact that he doesn’t care she’s an outlier in the village—he likes competence and assertiveness and she’s got that in spades. He treats her as a person and a contributing member of the village—treating her like she has value beyond being a jinchuuriki (which I’m pretty sure was kinda hush hush at that point in canon but idc shhh). 

I just want mutual respect and a balanced relationship and symbolism with an Uchiha/Uzumaki union. A kind of closure to these two once great clans.

…And their babies would be hella cute ☺️ 

[adenthemage]

Kakashi, #2, 16, and 20!

Oh hell yeah my man Kakashi!!

2) Who they want to please the most.

I think the easy answer is the version of Minato he's built up in his head. Rin and Obito and Kushina and Sakumo too, of course, but I think Minato has a special little tier to himself. There's probably always some kind of self-imposed pressure, staying in ANBU after the Kyuubi attack, becoming a guardian figure to Naruto, taking up the Hokage mantle, to live up to his teacher's legacy and what he thinks he would've expected of him.

Gai's also a good option, but I think part of why Kakashi is so comfortable around him is because he doesn't feel like Gai can be disappointed by him, to a degree. He mostly just needs to be himself for Gai to be happy. If we're talking more on the headcanon side, I'd pick his grandkids. We get woefully little of interactions between them but I know in my heart he'd spoil and troll them in equal measures, as is his love language. Even if Boruto's an arrogant little prodigy like he and Sasuke were before him.

16) Their sexuality.

Aroace, EASY. My ace radar is never wrong.

20) Household chore they hate the most.

HMM my heart says dusting. When he was younger and active duty he spent a lot less time at home than he did on the field, so he's always come back to find a good layer or two of dust that needed tending to. Despite the clinical depression he seemed to never lose the habit of keeping his space meticulously clean, so it strikes me as something he'd eventually just plan around doing as soon as he got back from a mission.

But now he's older and retired and finds, to his dismay, things still accumulate dust alarmingly fast! Especially whenever his friends or his kids visit, or he gets stuck babysitting for one of them. Travesty! He's invented at least two jutsu to deal with this.

[panharmonium]

Hi! Do you have any Naruto fanfics (specifically Kakashi and Sasuke)? Sorry for bothering I just can't find any good ones anywhere. Thanks for your time <3

Hi!  Don’t worry, you’re not bothering me.  I totally sympathize with this; the lack of Kakashi and Sasuke material out there really took me by surprise when I first finished Naruto.  I unfortunately can’t answer your question about fic too thoroughly - despite my current Naruto obsession, I generally don’t read fic for fandoms where I’m actively writing, unless it’s something written by a friend.  But I know there are other people who hang out on my blog who might have recommendations, so maybe they’ll be able to chime in here with something they’ve enjoyed!

In terms of just general suggestions, you might consider checking out @keepyourpantsongohan’s blog - she cares a lot about Kakashi and Sasuke’s relationship (and about Kakashi and Yamato, which is like striking gold twice) - her posts were a huge breath of fresh air for me when I first started checking out the Naruto fandom, and she’s been in the fandom much longer than I have, so it’s possible she might have some recommendations to consider.

If you enjoy AU stories, I’d also recommend checking out @padmerrie! She’s a writer + fanartist who’s just as invested in Kakashi and Sasuke’s relationship as I am, and her Bookends 'verse is a modern-day au where Kakashi becomes Sasuke’s guardian at a young age.  Kakashi and Sasuke’s relationship as a family unit is the core of the premise, though the Bookends!verse also features Madara and Hashirama as Sasuke’s meddling “grandparents,” alive!Team Minato (minus Minato, that is, and not without that group’s characteristic brand of issues), and all the other characters you might expect to see in the Naruto ‘verse, with the addition of Kakashi’s (eight) pet dogs and Sasuke’s (one) pet cat.  

The story isn’t being written in chronological order (Bookends is more like an AU sandbox we play in whenever we feel like it, which is always), and there’s more to it than what has been written down so far, but there’s a basic intro post about the AU on @padmerrie’s blog, two one-shot fics set in that universe hosted on her AO3 page (with more currently in progress), and lots of fanart and other related posts on her tumblr under the bookends or vague bookends thoughts tags.  

(I tend to post about this AU fairly regularly too, in between working on canon stuff, so you can find related posts on my own blog under those same tags.)

And that’s about it for my recommendations!  Perhaps other folks here might be able to drop some recs of their own - if you guys know of any Kakashi & Sasuke stories you’ve enjoyed, feel free to drop them in the replies for @chocolatewobblermuffinwagon.

[tsukuyomii45]

Second part of Dark God Obito.

After the Tailed Beasts reveal the origins of Chakra and the Otsutsuki, the whole world goes into a frenzy as they fear that the Otsutsuki have returned to finish the job.

Rin is restless and desperately tries to find any clues as to who the masked man is.

Now that the Otsutsuki have most of the tailed beasts the feed them to the Ten tails and prepare to unleash the god tree, however Obito has been using Orochimaru's research and Zetsu's knowledge to steal the chakra for himself, he has already started to absorb the Chakra of everyone he comes across, growing more and more powerful with each fight.

Finally the climax arrives and Isshiki prepares to absorb all the chakra they have collected.

Every single Shinobi village and nation all arrive to face the Otsutsuki.

But just as Isshiki is about to consume the chakra, Obito quickly betrays him and steals all his chakra from him, before absorbing half of the culminated Chakra, this turns Obito into a true god, with more power than any other being on earth, he seals Isshiki away before giving an ultimatum to the others, saying he will carry out their plan but he is now the true god of the world.

It is at this point that the alliance attacks and Minato and everyone strike Obito, caught off guard, they succeed in breaking his mask.

Obito looks up with fury and reveals his face to everyone.

Rin is shocked to her core, as she stares in disbelief at Obito, who stares with nothing but hatred back at her.

Obito having had enough finally activates his modified karma and marks appear on his body, turning his skin even more pale and growing a pair of short horns on his forehead.

He raises his hand over his left eye and suddenly a new eye appears; A Rinne-Sharingan! At the same time his original eye transforms first into a Byakugan and then a Rinne-Sharingan.

Obito laughs evilly and says this is the end for the entire world and he will become a god.

Obito then uses his powers to wipe out half of the army in front of him. He is literally almost at death star level of power.

He then gives the chakra to the seed and the God tree forms. He will consume all chakra in the world and become as powerful as any Otsutsuki. He will be the new god of earth and then, he will go consume other worlds as well.

Another fight breaks out but Obito doesn't care, as he feels he has already won.

Rin and the others confront him again. Rin cries and screams at him as to why he would do this, why he would destroy everything. Obito just laughs and says this is all he has ever wanted for a long time. Not peace, but an end. The World's end...

Rin is apoplectic and screams that the Obito she knew would never do this, that he had a good heart. But Obito screams back that the Obito she knew is long since gone. And speaking of hearts, she broke his into a million pieces, he has nothing but his hatred and anger and desire for power and godhood left.

Rin gasps and she feels her own heart start to break, as she realizes that her selfishness was one of the factors for Obito going down this path.

Minato says that Obito has betrayed everything he ever believed in, but obito replies that they betrayed him first. And that being a Hokage is nothing compared to being a true God. And he has become one. He then demonstrates his powers, now being able to open Karam space-time rifts, the Kamui has evolved to allow him to manipulate spacetime and other dimensions at will, he also now has Shinjutsu. Obito accelerates the growth of the God tree and soon half of the world is under the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Except for Rin and everyone else and a handful of others.

Obito decides it is time to end this, he needs Shukaku, Isobu, Gyuki and Kurama to complete the god tree.

Rin begs him to stop and tells him that she loves him, Obito stops and looks at her with disdain; "Had you told me you loved me years ago I would have overjoyed. But now... all I feel is disgust"

He then charges towards Rin to take Isobu from her, but Kakashi stops him.

Obito realizes he has to do this the hard way and gets ready for a fight. He creates a terrifying looking staff made of pure energy and gets ready to fight.

And this is where I will leave it, the rest is up to all of you to decide what happens. Will Obito win, will he be redeemed, will Rin live, does Obito still love Rin deep down, will Obito challenge the Otsutsuki themselves. It's all up to you.

Very detailed and vibrant. You certainly know how to make plots and action scenes come to life. Well done!

As for the ending; given how dark and evil Obito has become; a fitting end would be his death. I cannot see it any other way.

To add onto that fitting end, a more dramatic and dark way he'd die is through Rin bringing him down and ending their lives together. It'd be so poetic if she blames herself for not doing enough to bring the Obito that she knew into the light, so she'd find a way to manifest enough power to sacrifice herself in bringing his demise. :)

[rosedragonblast]

Naruto/Dishonored AU Crossover

Just a bit of an after thought that carries itself in my head for quite a while. I like both fandoms so, wanted to mix them with each other in some way. Also have some other ideas for AUs with Naruto. Sasuke is a an heir to her father's throne after Itachi, not being able to handle the responsibility, fled the scene, much like Beatrici fled Serkonos when Corvo was a child. Having no other choice, Fugaku made his daughter an heir. While trying to conceive another male child, Mikoto almost died during childbirth. She managed to live, but the child was born deformed and already deceased. Accepting the fact that this can be an omen for not having another kid, fearing for his sick wife, Fugaku finally fully excepted his daughter as the true heir. After a long diplomatic conversation with Serkonos, duke, Minato, decided to send his youngest son, Naturo, to serve there as one of the officers. Unexpectedly, Uzumaki was the only one who forged a close bond with Sasuke. So, after his wife's influence and wish to make his daughter as comfortable as possible in her new position (Sasuke was gradually prepared for this, as she was considered to be nothing more than a wife for the royal of other country and a diplomatic instrument before), he accepted Naruto as a possible candidate for the position of royal protector. Sasuke finally named 16-year-old Naruto as her royal lord protector when she turned 12.

They managed to get along ever since. Even tho they had different personalities and political thoughts, they found solutions for it. Naruto protected Sasuke and even her father during a coo that was stirred up closer to the end of Fugaku's rein. Naruto was wounded, but managed to impress the emperor. A year after Fugaku passed from an illness that he was battling for quite a while. An eye disease that was passing through the male Uchiha line. Being a woman, Sasuke did not only tear a century long male line of her family, but also broke a curse of this eye plague that killed her ancestors before they ever turned 50.

Naruto helped her every step of the way, along with her mother, Mikoto. Eventually their bond grew so close they started secretive relationship that lasted for a year, before Sasuke was able to give Uchiha line heirs. Twins, that were named Kay and Emily. They both looked very similar to their mother, expect for their eyes that had bright blue color. Royals tried to claim their bastard nature, considering their birth outside of marriage, but Mikoto managed to quickly shut the acid spitting mouths. She suspected the truth, but considering that Sasuke refused to marry, it was the only way for the Uchiha line to thrive.

Outside of anyone's knowing, even closest friends and family, Naruto and Sasuke had a third child. A boy named Kirin. He was sent to Serkonos in fear that he might face the consequences of strongly resembling his father. The only man on earth who knew about his nephew's royal lineage was Kurama. He hid the boy away, making sure that he could get everything necessary for his comfort.

After that, Emily, as the oldest child, was pronounced as the heir. Even tho she only was a few minutes older than her brother, for many people, who already saw a rise of the great empress, that was enough to make that claim legitimate. They grew up together in Gristol, calling their father by his name to avoid any more suspicion. Kay grows up to me much like any Uchiha. With black hair, tall stature, handsome face with a visible jaw line and a slender body. Although he had quite a dark skin tone, was taller than many of his ancestors and had striking blue eyes that were usually filled wth a spark of joy and curiosity for the world around him. He was quite an energetic and mischievous child, but calmed down a bit when he turned 10. He found himself in art, painting animals since he was 5. Emily is quite similar to her look in the canon, besides having blue eyes.

At this point in time a canonical event happened. But with major differences. Kabuto was an assassin that tried to kill Sasuke. He failed, but many didn't know it yet, including Naruto. Kabuto is send by royal spymaster, Orochimaru. Sasuke is hidden away, while Naruto was pursued for his "crime". He spent 6 months im prison, but finally managed to get out with help of Kakashi, Yamato and others. Loyalists don't betray Naruto in this AU because they consist of his canonical allies. They bring him to the Hound's Pit and give him a mask that resembles his demonic fox from from the anime. He also connects to the Outsider, who is not really changed in this AU. He starts his journey with wiping out Orochimaru's allies, who didn't only want to usurp the throne, but also take Sasuke for himself. He starts with Karin, although he finds out that she is merely a hostage doing his bidding. By freeing her, Naruto stopped a constant flow of Orochimaru's experimental materials. He also managed to shift Suigetsu and Jugo to his side. They form sort of an alliance. They help Naruto get through some of Orochimaru's defences, which drove him to an island of Kingsparrow. To get this info, Naruto had to face a failed killer. Kabuto tried to fight and conseal his master, but broke down after a swift chase and under Naturo's ability to resolve issues with conversation. He disbanded his group of orphans as assassins and proceeded further into the country to find a better fate.

To be able to get there, Naruto first secured the safety of his children. He found them captive at one of the Orochimaru's labs, being watched over by some of his men. After rescuing Emily and Kay, Naturo turned his head towards his main goal. When children were freed, Orochimaru finally had no open leverage against Naruto and his allies. Loyalists helped him, while their protected heirs to the throne. Naruto has final confrontation with Orochimaru, where he revealed that Sasuke is alive. Although not well, the empress managed to push the man to the edge. Not willing to give up just yet, he almost brought down both of them. Seeing Orochimaru fall, Naruto gripped tightly to Sasuke's hand. He pulled her up, holding the empress close.

At first, not recognizing him, she seemed confused, but they share a reunion under a heavy rain when Naruto finally takes his mask off. After thinking that they lost each other, Sasuke thinking that Naruto was executed, and Naruto thinking his lover dead by assassination, they return to rule the realm and raise their children together.

The story of the second game happened 8 years later. Sasuke was preparing her oldest child, Emily, to take the throne from her mother after Sasuke's long 21 years of holding the crown. She was not quite ready herself, but tried her hardest. With emotional support from her brother, she learned how to fill in the documents and properly speak while addressing her subjects.

At some point, Naruto is kidnapped. Kabuto, knowing too well that he was not welcomed, still bowed infront of Sasuke, sharing the info about Naruto's disappearance. Not being able to leave the throne unattended, the monarch send Kay and Emily to deal with a supposed coo that was preparing somewhere in Serkonos. They explore their father's birthplace, while exposing all it's dark secrets. At this point, Naruto's parenthood is revealed. But they don't yet know about their brother's existence. They manage to find and save Naruto from overseers, who find his old connection to the god of the Void and try to question him.

After saving Naruto and letting him rest, the Uchiha twins got a visit of their own, getting a half of the mark each. Thet possess the same abilities to one another, efficiently stalking through the streets.

They stumble upon Clockwork mansion once they are in the city. They see an uncanny resemblance of it's owner, Kirin. Naruto, not being able to hold the secret any longer, explains their brother's story. Kirin was born without a limb, missing his right arm. But it didn't stop him from being a natural genius. He was as clever as he was cunning and calm, so he slowly pushed himself through in the academy, finding his place as an inventor. He was also curios about the coo because of the fact that someone used his clockwork soldiers without his knowledge. Kirin strongly resembled Naruto, having his face and hair color, but inheriting his mother's eyes and skin tone. He dresses in dark tones, unnatural for Serkonos. It's mainly blue, black and grey. He has a mechanical prosthetic arm that he constructed for himself. Despite his timid nature, he still managed to create a social fond for people who need prosthetics as much as he does (children with deformities, mine workers after accidents.) Ironically, living on Serkonos and descending from a line of Serkonan royals, he still burned by sun like a fish on a pan. Because of this he mainly spends his days working, only going outside while the moon is in the sky. He also inherited naturally suspicious character of Uchihas, so he is not the most loving towards society and crouds. Reunited siblings manage to track it all down to Delilah. She became a victim Orochimaru's experiments at an early age, loosing her mother to them as well. Bitter and weak, she rose to power and intended to make royals all over the world pay for their negligence towards Orochimaru's doings in various cities and countries. Kay, Emily and Kirin manage to stop the coo, return to Gristol and introduce Kirin as the member of the royal family. Although he continued to live in Serkonos, officially helping his relatives from his mansion.

Details might be added through development. It's a raw concept really XD)

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Just Say Hello

Words: 5293

@kkgweek

First Meet

Minato could feel a headache as he stared at the two boys in front of him. Neither of them had done anything wrong yet, but he could tell from the way Kakashi clenched his fists and glared at the other boy that he was getting annoyed.

All because Gai was standing there, smiling at him.

Neither of them said anything. They simply stood there staring at each other, Kakashi glaring daggers into the other boy, and Gai smiling back at him as if nothing was wrong. When neither of them said anything, he decided to try and continue the conversation he’d been having with Kakashi shortly before inviting Gai into his office.

 “Your task-” he began, frowning when Kakashi directed his glare towards him. “Is to catch two Pokemon each.”

“Why?” Kakashi asked as he stared a hole directly into Minato’s soul. 

“Well, as you know it’s standard procedure to test all recruits before granting them a position on the survey corps.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I know that,” he grumbled. “But why do I have to do my trial with…this!?” He waved his hands towards Gai.

Before Minato could respond, Gai stepped forward and jammed a finger directly into Kakashi’s chest. A move that earned him a swift slap to the hand from Kakashi. “You’re just afraid I’ll do better at the trial than you will,” Gai’s smile grew wider when Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Admit it. You think I’m going to outshine you.”

“As if,” Kakashi grunted. “I’ve been raised alongside Pokemon. You’re just some newcomer from another land who has to prove himself.”

“You have to prove yourself too,” Minato barely contained his laughter at Gai’s jab, a slight snort escaping when Kakashi drew in a sharp breath. “We both have to do this trial, which means you’re in the same position as me.”

“The sa- Minato-san!” Kakashi looked his way for support. “I am not in the same position as him, am I?”

Minato could only shrug his shoulders. To agree with Gai would do little more than earn him Kakashi’s wrath, but he also couldn’t lie and act as if Kakashi had any sort of edge over the newcomer.

“See, even he agrees,” Gai grinned. “And he chose me to do this trail with you, so you’re stuck with me.”

“I’d rather have Obito as a partner,” Kakashi grumbled. “You’re just going to slow me down.”

It was Gai’s turn to gasp, the insult striking right at his pride. “I will not,” he insisted. “You haven’t even seen me in the field!”

“I don’t need to. I’m the best of our age group,” there was no arrogance in Kakashi’s voice when he spoke, his words more of a statement than a brag. “Any partner would slow me down.”

Rather than getting upset at the insult, like Obito would, Gai simply smiled brighter than before. “Prove it.”

“I- what?” Kakashi stared at him dumbfounded. 

“You heard me. Prove it. If you’re so much better than me it should be easy to beat me in a competition.”

For the first time since he’d met Kakashi, Minato saw Excitement in his eyes. An expression that he was certain the boy wasn’t capable of showing until this very moment. 

“First to catch three Pokemon and get back to camp wins.” Kakashi declared, officially accepting Gai’s challenge.

“Wait.” Minato was certain he was dreaming, or in another reality, or hallucinating. The scene unfolding in front of him could not possibly be real. Hatake Kakashi had never caved to someone else’s taunts before.

“You’re right, Minato-san,” Gai nodded in agreement, though Minato hadn’t said much of anything to warrant such a reaction. “Three is too easy. How about four?”

“How about the first to complete two of Professor Onoki’s research tasks wins,” Kakashi fired back. “That will be more than enough to secure our spot in the survey corps, right Minato-san?”

“Well, yes but-”

“It’s a deal!” Gai threw an arm out in front of himself and gave Kakashi a thumbs-up. “You’ll see. I’ll beat you and then you’ll have to accept that I’m just as good as you.”

Turning his back to Minato, Kakashi waved Gai off and made his way toward the door. “Whatever you say. Come on, Eevee.”

All Minato could do was stand there, watching as Gai chased after Kakashi, their Pokemon following after them and their conversation fading off into the distance with each passing second. 

“What…” He stared at the door and tried to process everything that he had just witnessed. “You- You two didn’t even say Hello to each other!” 

Gai Passes out

Just over the hill, about five minutes away, was the heights camp. There, Ibiki and Yugao would be awaiting Kakashi and Gai’s return from their surveying so they could all head back to the village.

“They’re going to be surprised,” gravel crunched under his feet as he pushed forward. “We’ve only been out for a few hours.”

Usually, he and Gai could be out in the field all day. Hiding in tall grass studying various Pokemon, or running around catching and battling everything they ran into. It was normal for them to return only when the sun was setting and the cold of the night was beginning to set in.

“Minato-san is going to lose his mind when he finds out you got hit by a Pikachu’s thundershock,” stepping over a fallen log, he cringed when the muscles in his legs began to protest all of the weight he was carrying. “You are really heavy. You know that, right?”

There was no response from Gai.

Unsurprising, since that thundershock had hit him so hard he blacked out. 

“You know, this means I win by default,” Kakashi taunted his unconscious friend. “You said whoever stays out the longest win’s today’s challenge, but here we are. Me carrying you back to base.”

Not that he would hold the win over Gai’s head. Sure, it put him in the lead for their overall total, but it wasn’t Gai’s fault he got roasted by a tiny Pikachu. He hadn’t even seen the thing until he stepped on its tail, and by then it was too late.

With two more short steps and Kakashi reached the top of the hill. Heights camp was visible in the distance, with Ibiki and Yugao standing just beside the tent they had set up just in case Kakashi and Gai decided to make today's trip an all-nighter. 

“Not too far now,” he glanced to his left where Hitmonlee and Eevee stood staring at him. “Hitmonlee, can you go ahead and get their attention?”

The fighting Pokemon didn’t move. Its eyes focused on Gai’s unconscious form laying across Kakashi’s back, it stayed firm in its spot. Refusing to leaving its trainer even when there was someone else to watch over him.

“Right,” Kakashi sighed. “Eevee?” Springing to action, Eevee ran ahead.

With that taken care of, Kakashi continued on his way. Each step he took, Hitmonlee followed, Eyes glued on Gai the entire time.

“He’ll be alright,” Kakashi promised, though he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince with his words. Hitmonlee or himself. “Rin will take care of his injuries as soon as we get back to the village.”

“Hit!”

“I know,” he chuckled. Although he didn’t understand exactly what Hitmonlee was saying, he’d spent enough time around the Pokemon over the last six months to learn a little about how it expressed itself. Its worry was evident in the way it watched Gai, ready to jump into action if needed. “But how many times had this happened before? We always get out of it fine, and he’ll learn to watch his step from now on.”

Getting knocked out by an angry Pikachu was already enough to earn Gai a week's worth of teasing from Genma and Anko. If he made the same mistake again he’d never hear the end of it.

“Besides,” stopping in his tracks, Kakashi turned to face Hitmonlee. “He has us watching his back, right?”

The Pokemon straightened right up and nodded its head in agreement.

“We’ll keep him out of trouble,” at that moment, Kakashi felt the slightest movement on his shoulder. “Ah, signs of life.”

Lighting his head slowly, Gai let out a pained groan and immediately dropped back against Kakashi’s shoulder. “What happened?’

“Hello to you too,” Kakashi responded with a roll of his eyes. “You got knocked out.”

“Please tell me it was something big that did it. Like a Rhyhorn, or Gravellor.”

“Well…”

“I take it back,” Gai sighed. “I don’t want to know.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it was a pretty powerful Pokemon,” Continuing down the path, Kakashi smiled when Ibiki noticed Eevee now sitting beside his Umbreon and looked their way. A rather unimpressed expression on his face when he spotted them. “It nearly took out Eevee.”

“You fought it?” 

“I caught it,” Kakashi clarified. “Oh, and by the way-”

Lifting a hand, Gai placed it gently over Kakashi’s mouth. “Don’t you dare.”

All Kakashi could do was chuckle. 

Gai was awake and coherent enough to be upset about his latest loss, Hitmonlee seemed a tad happier with its trainer awake, and they were going home.

Everything had turned out alright.

Eevee Evolves

Plums of smoke rose from the little campfire Kakashi had set up, the smell of grilled fish wafting through the air. After a long day of running around in a cold, damp cave, Kakashi was enjoying the fresh air and the freedom it gave him to eat something other than Onogiri that Emi-san had been kind enough to make for him and Gai before they headed out for the day. 

“So,” Gai set his bag down beside Kakashi’s and claimed a seat to his right. “How many Pokemon did you catch, Rival?”

It hadn’t even been two seconds since he arrived, and already Gai was looking for the results of their latest competition. A competition that Kakashi had been ready to win until he stepped inside that cave.

Poking at the fire, he grumbled out his answer.

“I’m sorry?” A smile tugged at Gai’s lips. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“One,” he grunted. “I caught one Pokemon.”

He expected laughter or teasing. Perhaps even ridicule if Gai was feeling particularly rude, though that was unlikely. What he did not expect from his best friend, the man who had something to say about everything, was stunned silence. 

“Gai?” he watched as his friend sat there staring at him, mouth ajar but no words coming out of it. “Did I break you?”

“N-No!” Gai shook his head. “It’s just…you’ve never caught less than fifteen Pokemon everything we go out. What happened?”

Thinking back over his day, Kakashi couldn’t help but scold himself. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t tried to catch anything while he was trudging through puddles of water and hiding behind rocks writing down his observations. He’d thrown about sixteen Pokeballs throughout the day, and only one of them had managed a successful catch.

The problem was, he’d left all of his Pokemon back in the village ranch and only brought Eevee along with him today. Which wouldn’t have been an issue, except that every Pokemon that Eevee tried to battle ended up being too strong. 

“I’ll just have to catch more tomorrow,” he decided, not noticing the moment his Eevee stood up and began walking towards the bags that he and Gai had left behind them. “Eevee and I were just having a rough day. We’ll do better after some rest.”

“A bad day,” Glancing over Eevee’s way, Gai frowned. “Kakashi…”

“Don’t,” Kakashi warned, already knowing what Gai was going to say. He’d heard enough about how Pokemon got stronger through evolution, and Professor Onoki had begun lecturing him about the bond he had with Eevee almost as soon as Ibiki’s Eevee had evolved into Umbreon. “I don’t need to hear it.”

“Are you sure?” Gai pushed. “I mean, it is kind of weird, isn’t it?”

Sighing, Kakashi turned his attention back to the fire. It seemed obvious that Gai’s mind was set. Something about Eevee was bothering him and it wouldn’t stop bothering him until he talked about it. “What’s weird, exactly?” 

“Well, we know that Eevee has seven different evolutionary possibilities,” Gai started, rattling off information that Professor Onoki had spewed during one of their many different conversations. “Flareon and Vaporeon require certain stones, Leafeon and Glaceon require a specific spot to evolve,” Kakashi cringed at the memory that popped up. He, Gai and Yamato had been walking around in Obsideon fields when they came to a giant mossy rock sitting in the middle of a nice field. None of them had thought much of it until Yamato’s Eevee got a little too close.

It was the first time any of them saw a Leafeon, and Yamato had ended up loaning his precious Pokemon to Kakashi for a week so he could take notes on it. A fact which he still moaned about whenever he saw Kakashi. 

“I know how they evolve,” he sighed, willing that memory out of his mind. “And I also know Umbreon and Espeon seem to be evolutions based on the time of day. Ibiki’s Umbreon evolved while we were in the field at night.”

“I remember that,” Gai chuckled. “And from the information, we’ve gathered from the leader of the Diamond clan-”

“Itachi.”

“Itachi, right. Sorry,”  Running a hand through his hair, Gai chuckled. “He said that one of the wardens had a Pokemon, Sylvion?”

“Hinata does, yes,” Kakahi confirmed. “We’re still not sure how it evolved or why.”

There was a lot of research they still needed to do. Every day it seemed like there were new things for them to learn, and Kakashi loved that about his job. Studying Pokemon was a lot more fun than sitting around being a warden, even if Electrode was a cool Pokemon itself.

“So that’s seven different types of evolutions for one Pokemon, and yet, glancing behind them, Gai watched as Eevee sniffed his bag. “It's been three years.”

“Three years you’ve known me,” Kakashi corrected him. “Eevee has been with me since I was two.”

“Alright, so eighteen years,” Gai corrected himself. “That’s eighteen years that Eevee has had to evolve, and she hasn’t. Not even into Umbreon or Espeon, which don’t require a location or a certain stone.”

Kakashi would be lying if he said he didn’t care. Questions about Eevee and what it might one day evolve into constantly plagued his mind, but it wasn’t his place to question his Pokemon.

“She’ll evolve if and when she wants to,” he declared, poking at the fire once more. “It’s not my place to try and force her to evolve. I don’t know what she wants to become, or even if she wants to change at all. She might be just as happy as she is right now.”

“Well, yes. Of course,” Gai nodded, his eyes glued on Eevee as she pawed at his bag until it opened enough for her to stick her head inside of it. “But if she’s not going to evolve…”

“I’ll bring another Pokemon with me on our next outing,” Kakashi promised. “I just thought because I was going into a cave today we’d want to make as little noise as possible. Besides, I still have tomorrow to catch up to you, right?”

When he and Eevee were recharged and ready to take on another day. Then he’d catch enough Pokemon to beat Gai and claim a victory in their competition. A victory that would put their total at twenty-five to twenty-four in Gai’s favour. 

“Are you sure you can?” Gai teased, dropping the conversation in favour of stroking the flames of their rivalry. “You haven’t even heard how many Pokemon I caught today.”

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi set down his stick and reached out towards Gai, shoving him in the shoulder. “Not enough,” he smirked. “You could catch a hundred Pokemon and I’d still find a way to catch up.”

Gai laughed, his joy filling the air all around them. One of the most beautiful sounds Kakashi had ever heard in his life, though he’d never admit that out loud. 

“You’re right as always, rival,” his laughter died down until there was nothing but the sound of the wind between them. “But don’t think I’ll make it easy on you. I have every intention of wi-”

At that moment a brilliant light filled the area. Bright and yellow, Kakashi could swear he saw lightning crackling through the air as he looked around. “What?”

“Kakashi,” Gai reached out and smacked his arm, calling his attention back to him. “Look.”

Seeing that Gai was staring back toward their bags, Kakashi turned his head and felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw just where that brilliant yellow light was coming from.

Eevee.

There she stood in all her glory, head inside of Gai’s bag and body glowing in a way that Kakashi recognized all too well.

“She’s evolving…” he whispered as he watched Eevee, wondering just what she was turning into. Perhaps a Sylvion just like Hinata’s, with a brilliant pink ribbon and all of the love a Pokemon could give. Or a Flareon with flaming fur. There were so many options and all of them would be perfect as long as Eevee was happy.

Eevee gave her body a shake, and Kakashi watched with excitement as her fur popped up all over her body into little spikes. “Rival,” Gai turned to face him, a brilliant smile stretching across his lips. “I think she found a stone Hitmonlee got out of a cave wall for me today.”

“A stone?” Kakashi asked. “What kind of stone?”

“I’m unsure,” Admitted Gai. “It’s like the fire and water stones we’ve seen before, but it was also…different. It had what looked like a lightning bolt on it.”

Kakashi’s excitement grew as he listened to his friend.

A lightning bolt stone that seemed similar to the fire and water stones could only mean one thing to him.

A new evolutionary stone.

One that Eevee had just activated somehow.

“Does this mean,” Gai glanced back at Eevee as the light began to die down. “Did she?”

“She did!” surging to his feet, Kakashi ran forward and scooped Eevee up into his arms without a thought. “You evolved!”

Opening her eyes, Eevee stared up at him. No longer the little brown Pokemon he’d been raised beside, she now had bright yellow fur that stuck out in every direction, with a white collar around her neck. 

She let out a breath, the sound of crackling electricity filling the air around them while Kakashi hugged her tight against his body. Wriggling around a little, she turned herself towards him and placed a paw on each of his shoulders before licking his face.

“Hello,” he chuckled. “You’re beautiful.”

Eevee didn’t say anything. She simply stayed there in his arms letting him hug her while she continued to lick his face, more than happy with the attention she was getting.

“She is beautiful,” Gai agreed as he stepped up to Kakashi’s side, Hitmonlee directly behind him waiting for the opportunity to greet his new friend. “I guess all you needed was a pretty yellow stone.”

Turning her head, she licked Gai’s face. 

“I think she’s saying thank you,” Kakashi explained as his friend raised an arm and gently wiped away the slobber that Eevee had left dripping down his cheek. “For the stone.”

Laughing, Gai reached out and patted her on the head. “Well, you’re very welcome Ee- I mean… Ummm…”

Thinking fast, Kakashi smiled down at his new Pokemon. “Jolteon,” he declared. “Her new name is Jolteon.”

“Well, you’re welcome Jolteon,” Gai grinned. “And hello.”

Gai meets Yua

New people weren’t unheard of in Jubilife Village. Every once in a while a ship would appear at Prelude beach with people from all over the world hoping to make their homes in the Hisui region.

Just four short years ago Gai had been on one of those boats. His Hitmonlee by his side and his father’s promise for a better life in his ear. 

Today, however, it wasn’t a newcomer from a far-off land that Gai was faced with. 

Instead, he found himself standing face-to-face with an older woman who wore the same diamond clan outfit as his best friend, and who looked like she was searching for something.

Not one to leave someone hanging, Gai had chosen to offer his help. The problem was, as soon as she turned her gaze onto him he froze. The weight of her stare held him in place as he tried to think of something to say.

“Hello,” she spoke first, her voice surprisingly soft for someone who looked at him with hard, calculating eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Sakumo is, would you?”

“S-Sakumo?” he perked up at the mention of his friend's father. “Oh, he’s in the headquarters,” turning his body just a fraction, he pointed at the tall building just behind him. “I believe he’s in a meeting with Tsunade-sama.”

“Ah,” a smile stretched across her lips. “I should have known.

“If you would like, I can take you there,” Gai offered. “My friend is running late and I can’t head out without him.”

Kakashi would never let him hear the end of it if he did. Though he wouldn’t be as vocally upset as Gai was the one time Kakashi had headed out without him, he’d make his disappointment known, and Kakashi’s disappointment wasn’t something that Gai could deal with. 

It weighed too heavily on his heart whenever Kakashi was upset.

“Your friend…” the newcomer narrowed her eyes. “His name wouldn’t happen to be Kakashi, would it?”

Gai’s jaw dropped. “How-”

“I should have known,” she chuckled. “He’s always talking about you when he visits.”

“He does?” Thinking about it, Gai shook his head. “Wait, how do you know Kakashi? I mean…” his eyes darted down to her outfit. “You’re Diamond clan, just like he is. So you must know his mother.”

Perhaps she was the woman who cared for Kakashi when he was growing up. He’d always told Gai that his mother was one of the Diamond clan’s wardens, so she wasn’t always able to be there to raise him. During Kakashi’s visits to his clan, there must have been others who watched over him, and Gai was certain this was one of them. 

“Well, you could say that,” she nodded. “You and Kakashi are going out to do some surveying today, right?”

“We are,” he confirmed. “We go out every day, but today’s the first time that we’re going to Alabaster Icelands. Kakashi says that there are a lot of different types of Ice Pokemon there for us to research.”

“More than even he knows,” she chuckled. “Though you have a preference for fighting-type Pokemon from what he’s said,” Peering over his shoulder, she smiled at Hitmonlee. “Perhaps you’ll enjoy the Riolu’s that are in the area.”

Gai’s eyes widened. “R-Riolu?” He’d never heard of such a Pokemon.

“It’s a fighting Pokemon that hangs around the Icelands,” she explained. “Fiesty little ones, but they’re rather loyal when they get to know you.”

Gai had already been excited about today’s adventure, but hearing about this new Pokemon had his blood pumping even faster. He couldn’t wait to get out there and catch himself a Riolu. 

“Though you’ll have to be careful,” she continued. “We also have quite a few more dangerous Pokemon. The Glalie are especially territorial and will attack without notice if they see you in their area.”

“Right,” he nodded, unphased by the dangers facing him in this new area. “Speaking of Pokemon…” searching the area behind her, he frowned. There was no sign of any Pokemon as far as he could see, but he’d never met someone from the Diamond clan who didn’t have their own partner. “If you don’t mind me asking, where is your Pokemon? Kakashi’s always telling me that his clan is proud of their partner Pokemon and the bond they have formed with them.”

Some days his friend couldn’t shut up about it. A fact which seemed to annoy their other friends, especially Asuma, but which Gai adored. Hearing Kakashi going on about his clan, the Pokemon he had met even before joining Team Galactic, and the various wardens was always a treat.

It was one of many reasons he loved hanging out with Kakashi. No matter what they were doing, Kakashi always had something to talk about. Sometimes it took a bit more effort to get him to talk, but it was always worth it when he’d cave and answer all of Gai’s questions. 

“Ah, well you see-” turning her head, she looked back towards the east gate where Genma was diligently standing watching the parameter. “She’s over there.”

Peering over her shoulder, Gai gasped when he saw what was standing there. A giant Pokemon stood taller than the gate, with enormous tusks that stretched out in front of it.

“What is it?” he asked, excitement dripping in his voice. 

“Mamoswine,” turning back to him, she chuckled when she saw the excitement in his eyes as he stared at her partner. “She has been with me since I was little. Just a little Swinub when we first met, but she has grown a lot.”

“It makes sense why she didn’t follow you in.”

“I don’t think my husband would have appreciated her taking down the gate, again.”

“Husband?” he turned his focus back onto her. “Wait…again!?”

“Yua!” Hearing a voice behind him, Gai turned to see Sakumo and Kakashi headed towards him, a cheerful smile on Sakumo’s face as he greeted the woman Gai had been chatting with. “I wasn’t expecting you here today.”

“Well, you have two people from the survey corps heading into the Alabaster Icelands today,” Yua explained. “I know that Team Galactic has decided they’re ready to tackle such a job on their own, but I would still prefer if they had someone walking them through such a harsh climate.”

Gai stood there confused. 

“Three people,” Kakashi corrected the woman, holding up three fingers on his left hand. “Rin got a promotion today after some late-night surveying. She said she refuses to be left behind while we run off and become the first Surveyors in team Galactic to head out into Alabaster Icelands.”

Snickering, Gai turned to face Kakashi. “I would expect no less of her,” he declared. “Rin is a dedicated surveyor and Doctor. It’s impressive that she was able to catch up to us in a short time.”

“Well, she is Rin,” Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. “And this way if we get split up it’ll hopefully still result in at least two people together so if anything goes wrong-”

“It won’t go wrong,” Yua interrupted him. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Right, Sorry…” Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Gai, I take it you two have met.”

“A bit, yes,” Glancing back at her, Gai smiled when she winked at him. “She’s very nice.”

“Nice?” Kakashi frowned. “Her?”

His father turned to him with a horrified look. “Kakashi!”

“What? She’s never nice.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Gai huffed. “Well, she was nice to me.”

“It’s alright,” Yua chuckled. “Let Kakashi say what he wishes. At the end of the day, I win.”

“You win?” Gai asked.

“How do you figure that?” argued Kakashi. “We haven’t even done anything for you to ‘win’?”

“Of course, we have,” stepping up to Gai’s side, Yua draped an arm around his shoulder. “Your boyfriend likes me, and that’s a win.”

“Well, I do like her- wait…” Processing what he had just heard, Gai looked back at Kakashi. “Did she-” 

Before he could even ask Kakashi’s face began to turn a deep shade of red. “M-Mother!”

“Mother!?” Gai nearly collapsed in his spot. First, he’d been called Kakashi’s boyfriend, and now he was finding out that the woman he had spoken to, who he’d gotten along with and laughed with, was Kakashi’s mother.

The woman who gave birth to his best friend.

“Well, am I wrong?” she asked, her arm still draped around Gai’s shoulder. “The way you talk about him you two may as well be dating.”

“Mom!”

“Don’t forget the way he smiles,” His father added, stepping back just as Kakashi turned towards him. “Whenever someone even mentions Gai you get this dreamy sort of smile.”

Extending his arm out in front of himself, Kakashi poked his father in the chest. “You are not helping.”

“He’s your father,” Yua reminded him. “He’s supposed to embarrass you. It’s his job.”

Standing there watching the three of them bicker, Gai processed everything he had heard.

The way Kakashi talked about him.

How he smiled whenever someone mentioned him.

The more he thought about it, the harder it became for him to ignore the signs he had seen before today. Like how Kakashi would always scootch closer to him when they were sitting by a fire trying to pass the time, or how he always seemed to be looking at Gai whenever he was talking even though he hardly paid anyone else the same attention.

“You…” All three of them stopped and turned towards Gai, but Gai only focused on Kakashi. His best friend. The boy he’d spent the last four years journeying Hisui and catching Pokemon with. “Do you really like me?”

“I-”

“Oh come on,” Rin appeared at Kakashi’s side suddenly, a cheerful smile on her face as she stared at him. “Everyone in Jubilife knows already except Gai. You might as well fill him in.”

Lowering his eyes, Kakashi huffed. “It doesn’t matter.”

The signs were there in front of him. Gai knew them better than anyone else, he’d seen them far too often over the years whenever Kakashi became overwhelmed or upset.

His friend was shutting down.

“Alabaster Icelands,” he declared with a proud smile, grinning when Kakashi looked back at him. “We’re going there today, Rival. The first of our generation.”

“The first of Team Galactic,” Kakashi corrected him with a fond look in his eyes. “We’re making history.”

Rin stepped forward at that moment. “Not without me you’re not.”

“Of course not!” Jumping up into the air, Gai smiled as the wind blew through his hair and pulled it in all directions until his feet touched back down on the ground. “I’m going to catch fifty Pokemon today, and one of them is going to be a Riolu!”

Kakashi smiled that soft, sweet smile that he always seemed to have for Gai. A smile that Gai was certain was made just for him because whenever he saw it he felt like the whole world was looking at him.

“Fifty-one.”

“What was that, Rival?”

“Well, you’re going to catch fifty Pokemon,” Kakashi explained with a twinkle in his eyes. “So I’ll catch Fifty-one.”

A challenge if Gai had ever heard one.

“I won’t lose to you, Rival.”

“Yes, you will,” making his way past him, Kakashi reached out and gently poked his nose. “And when you lose, you can pay for dinner.”

Seeing an opportunity to embarrass his friend, Gai grinned. “Is that a date, Rival?”

Kakashi stopped in his tracks, and as the back of his neck turned a brilliant hue of red Gai couldn’t help but laugh. All he had to do was win his competition and he’d get free dinner and a date with the coolest guy in all of Hisui.

There wasn’t a single thing in the world that he could think of that was better than that, except maybe a Riolu.

[fa1rytunes]

I’ve been rewatching Naruto with my fiancé and there are so many things that jump to me that I never noticed & so many criticisms I have with the storytelling I would have never had when I was 10-15 years old.

First and foremost, there are clearly two different animation teams at work, and it’s particularly striking in Shippuuden.

The main/“beta team” has thicker lines, more shading, duller colours. They work on pretty much all filler episodes (the bulk of which I’ve skipped) as well as non-battle or secondary battle episodes that have less importance on the overall plot. Their animations can be a bit janky and it shows that this team is there to save time. Side-characters are often not well-drawn or very static, time-saving techniques are used to avoid animating/detailing certain parts, and use of flashbacks to drag on is ubiquitous. Character poses are often stiff or the perspective is a bit off, they try as much as possible to draw “easy” angles.

The senior/“alpha team” uses thinner lines, more vivid colours, less shading/more flats. They make all of the climax episodes in main story arcs. They have a much better sense of pacing, meaningful shots, and don’t shy away from using complex/difficult to animate angles like beta team does. They are used for most of the heavy action sequences in meaningful fights (e.g. the climax episode of the Naruto x Pain battle where Hinata tries to protect Naruto; Minato’s intervention to reseal Kyuubi during Naruto’s fight against Pain; Danzo and Sasuke’s fight; the last flashback episode from Naruto’s parents’ death). Their animation of combat is much more fluid, they don’t strictly respect anatomy and try to give a “feel” of the movement rather than produce it as such, which is the mark of an animator at the top of their craft. You can see them animate the Shikamaru grief episode after Asuma’s death as well as Naruto’s grief episode after Jiraiya’s, so their work is not just limited to action-heavy arcs, they also work on very important emotional episodes for the story progression. One thing of note is, during Sasuke and Itachi’s fight and after that (mostly every time Itachi’s sacrifice is referenced), there are numerous flashback sequences to the time leading up to Itachi’s slaughter of the Uchiha, and you can see that some of the scenes have been redrawn by team alpha (one specific clue is that some shots show light in Itachi’s eyes whereas the alpha team went with flat black for both Itachi and Sasuke’s eyes).

You know when alpha team is involved, this is likely a major/important episode. Likely, this team of animators is senior/more experienced, as their quality is visibly better, so they only focused their effort on the most important episodes while the beta team rushed to deliver the rest of the episodes on much tighter schedules.

Secondly, I have a lot of criticism about specific story arcs where I feel like the writing could have been much more compelling.

First, there is the common criticism that after Pain’s arc, Naruto’s answer to everything is the “talk no jutsu”, where simply talking to an enemy who is blinded by thoughts of revenge will make them abandon it and surrender (one particularly glaring example is the conclusion of the filler arc just before Naruto arrives at the island where he learns to control Kyuubi with Killer B’s help). It feels like things become way too easy for Naruto and he doesn’t do the kind of deep emotional work that would explain his “growth”. Learning about Nagato’s story and changing his direction to take on his burden as well as Jiraiya is one thing, learning how to do it concretely is another. Consequently, things start to feel a bit too easy for Naruto after that.

Namely, the whole “waterfall of truth” arc is solved way too quickly for my taste. Naruto quickly understand that he must not “fight” with the darkness within him, but his solution is to explain said darkness that it has propelled him forward, and thus it is no longer needed. This feels like an easy solution when Naruto has shown many times that he does have some resentment towards Konoha’s villagers for treating him like shit, and resentment towards his parents for making him a Jinchuuriki. He only stops feeling this resentment towards his parents when Kushina tells him it was a necessary sacrifice and that it was their only solution to save the village and reseal Kyuubi. However, his resentment towards the villagers is never truly resolved. Yes, it has propelled him forward, but Naruto does not understand why said resentment was a thing. His arc with the waterfall of truth did not involve understanding other people’s pain, understanding his own, accepting it, and then living beyond it. It was basically just hand-waved away for plot convenience. He does not even understand what Kyuubi is (as in, an incarnation of all the hatred and suffering in the world) beyond the fact that it is a mass of pure hatred.

Then, right after the waterfall of truth, there is the whole episode where Naruto goes into the secret room of the temple with Killer B and Yamato to “conquer” Kyuubi’s chakra, where he gains his evolved Jinchuuriki form. While it is understandable that Kushina’s help was invaluable in helping Naruto in his fight, it also does not do much of a service to Naruto’s characterization, as it does not show Naruto’s unwavering will finding a way to dominate over Kyuubi’s, and we know there’s no way Naruto would have won without Kushina’s help. Furthermore, I didn’t like that this arc relied on a pure battle (although inner) between Naruto and Kyuubi. It would have felt more compelling to me if this arc had relied on Naruto gaining a deeper understanding of hatred, where it comes from, why it is inevitable, how evil happens, and through this gained an emotional mastery over Kyuubi, and not just an inner battle. In particular, it is very much emphasized that hatred = desire for revenge, and this feels like a huge oversimplification of how hatred works. A deeper reflection on it would have also added weight/flexibility to the “talk no jutsu” idea which surfaces later on.

Anyway those are some random musings, and it’s where I’m at right now, right after Naruto/Killer B/Aoba/Yamato/Guy/other guy fail to capture Kisame because he commits seppuku. I may have more thoughts when I reach the end.