Not an update
Hello everyone, I deeply regret to inform you that this is not the update that I probably catfished you with- though that is underway, I promise.
I'm writing to communicate with you as directly and openly as I can on the state of a few things pertaining to this series, and unfortunately, that means bringing up the state of the world as well. If this makes any of you uncomfortable, I sincerely apologize. But, being able to recognize when you're uncomfortable is a privelage and I will not apologize for saying what I am about to say.
When I started this series, I posted twice a month, then life got busy. The world had started to pick itself up after Covid shutdowns and it feels like the world halted for a year and then started sprinting towards the finish line as soon as it was over. Then I only posted once a month after that while I tried to get my footing in this new version of the world. And now, as I find myself and countless others being thrust into an even more chaotic and harsh version of the world, I feel that I owe it to you guys to let you know that updates may be slower than before. That does not mean I'm giving up on this series, it only means that I am trying to hold everything together so that I can add to this series.
I think several of you might have already had a general idea from my previous author's notes, but I live in the southern part of the U.S. and while life here has always been tense and scary, it has never been this volatile in the 20 something years I've been on this earth. It's always been dangerous, but now it is lethal of utmost certainties. I grew up close to the border with Mexico, we live in houses with mixed Mexican and European architectural norms. We celebrate sweet sixteens and quinceaneras interchangeably and have a strong- almost jarring sense of Catholicism. Immigrants, both the documented and undocumented kind, have made this part of the country what it is, and now, on the streets or in stores or at school, I no longer see their faces. My best friend came here as a child with no agency, with only her parent's hope wrapped around her like a blanket to keep her warm, and has grown up here. She does not have her papers, as many of the children I went to standard education with did not.
It is for them that I am using what once had been my free time to write or bake or read, to instead offer support and protections to. I've been going to protests, helping organize funding for paperwork and identification cards and relocation efforts. Yesterday I drew up blueprints to alter my home to hide people if it gets to that point- and it will. I've been going to thrift stores and junk yards, looking for all of the banned educational materials to try and save them, so that knowledge is preserved. I have a cousin who teaches 5 year olds at the local school tell me that she had to throw her classroom globe away two weeks ago. Why? Because it was deemed innapropriate to teach children about other nations and would insight 'mistrust and rebellion against our government'. She showed me the email she recieved. That quote was word for word reasoning.
I don't know what the rest of the world looks like right now. We can't really see anything online or on tv anymore, it's being censored. But I know what it looks like within my country- hell, with in my state and town. I can imagine people in other countries- especially our neighbors Mexico and Canada, are in disbelief that we let it get this far. Anger, from Europeans whose lives are still impacted by the aftermath of both World Wars to this day. Disgust from the French, who know how to revolt and hold their governments accountable.
It's all justified. But I want others to know that we're trying. Records are being broken with the number of protests we're having. There are whispers of a civil war lingering in the wind, and like the Californian wildfires, I think they'll spark a flame soon. Millions of us did not vote for him or that party. Millions of us did not vote at all due to how inaccessible voting locations are. There is hope and there will be organization but I am so, so sorry and so deeply ashamed that it has not happened sooner. Every 4 years, the world watches with held breaths as they wait to see what colossal fuck up is going to happen next and see how that affects their own economies or political or social cultures.
Something I wrote in an essay in my 4th grade English class (I would've been about 9-10 years old here, for those of you who have polar opposite educational systems), is that America was born in war, and it will die in war. I had 10 points taken off for being too 'threatening' with that line, but much like real life, people to strive to do the right thing often are no strangers to loss in some degree.
Now, onto other matters.
I've gone ahead and drawn up a series of one shots that will be uploaded in the event that I find myself either too caught up in what the next 4 years looks like, or on the brink of total internet and media censorship that details each and every character's arcs and endings. I apologize in advance that they are not the quality of what I would have written in this scenario, but you guys don't deserve to be haunted by what ifs. I will still be posting as frequently as I can, but I am letting you all know ahead of time that this is a plan b for the worst case scenario.
Now, on to a more philosophical message. We all became united by our shared passion for Naruto for countless reasons. Some liked the personalities, some liked the animation, some liked the plotlines or the fight scenes. But, one thing can be said that I believe to be certain for everyone regardless of how they got here. There are religious, political, and social themes in Naruto that cannot and should not be overlooked. Corrupt officials like Danzo, fueled by his own ego, greedy sociopaths like Orochimaru, and revolutionaries who are just as corrupt like Madara or Pain or Obito are metaphors for real life. There is wisdom to be taken from their own follies, there are hints at weaknesses and strengths. Please, moving forward if any of you haven't already, use what Naruto inadvertently and intentionally showed us to keep yourself and others safe. Whether that looks like simply being the only one shouting no in a room full of yes-men, or offering mercy and understanding like Naruto in one of his talk-no-jutsu moments to, please use it. I say this to everyone, and not directly to my fellow American readers because whatever happens next will affect us all. Whether that's another World War or something else, I cannot say, but I know it's coming.
It has been an honor and continues to be an honor to be bonded to you guys through our love of this fandom and through this series. I've cherished and will continue to cherish the time spent working on this series- of seeing comments or kudos or getting to know a few of the regulars. It is unity from people whose faces I do not recognize, but I know in my heart are beautiful. It is togetherness from people split between geography and cultures, countries and timezones. It's an example of the type of community that all of our ancestors worked for, in some way or another.
I do not believe in god, but I do believe in the people. In nature. In love and hope, as well as hatred and sadness, because those very things are what makes us human. Regardless of race or ethnicity, nationality. Gender or sex or sexuality. Religion or lack thereof. When there are those who think they own these things, or that they are better than these things- who use these basic human qualities against one another, that is where we get to where we are now. And so, it is with that in mind, that I say this:
If you voted for Donald Trump. If you sold out your fellow man for a few dollars' worth of eggs. If you made or continue to make excuses for him or Elon Musk and his open and direct support and admiration for Nazis, and you have read/continue to read this series or any of my other works, you best click away real fast. My works of art are not for your eyes. The entertainment I create for free, for the enrichment or simple joy of others for no other reason than to share and be generous, is not for Nazis. And I want to make one thing clear.
If you support Nazis or Nazi themes or ideals, you are a Nazi. If you are silent as you watch this unfold within our country, you are a Nazi. If you walk to the other side of the road to avoid someone from another race, or if you turn your nose up at homeless individuals or pretend to not see indigenous people being harassed by ICE just as well as undocumented individuals because it makes you uncomfortable, you. are. a. fucking. Nazi. You would have been a death eater in HP. You would have been a supporter of the empire in Star wars. You would have been the Hydra agent that Captain America punched in the face. You would have sucked Danzo's dick without him ever having even told you to do it. Most importantly, you would have been the healthy woman with bright hair and eyes pretending that she could not smell the stench of death from the concentration camp a few miles away from her town, completely untouched from war.
Please, all of you, the silent readers, the shy commenters, the ones who always forget to kudos but do in spirit, the bold commenters who give me just as much support as I hope this series gives all of you by giving you some ounce of escapism from your every day lives and problems of your own, stay safe. Be smart. Be bold.
To my fellow Americans, let us practice what we've preached for so long. We've ridden on the accomplishments and victories of dead men for far too long. Complacency is as lethal as a gun, and I would know because I'm from Texas. America the free and home of the brave. A wise man once said that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. So, let's be brave and let's do this together.
I love you all and I so dearly hope to see you soon with another update. I will not be taking this down once a new chapter arrives, because people need to see it. People need to talk about it. Because silence is our enemy in every same way Maga and Neo-Nazis and Fascist pigs are.