Tag: foundation of yesterday

can I prompt some of that foundation of yesterday outsider pov?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N: So… I know I just did a Into Thin Air ficlet which is, of course, set in FFVII but… the problem is anon, I haven’t actually played FFVII?

And like, that’s mostly the reason why Into Thin Air kind of rehashes the same ideas and is VERY VAGUE, because I don’t know the timeline in enough detail to make things specific (which is why Unto The Climate is easier for me since I’m more familiar with Naruto canon and it’s only Windy–and Kaguya/Jenova–who is from FFVII).

And given Foundation of Yesterday is primarily set in FFVII with Naruto characters being summoned/awakened there, that explains why the brainstorm was just a brainstorm and not a ficlet. And then there’s the whole… set up of it…. Although, to be fair, that was more of me stream-of-consciousness coming up with the idea as it came to me as opposed to attempting to write it so, what the hell, it’s the ask box advent calendar, I’ll give it a shot!

~

Foundation of Yesterday, Prologue (2017-12-15)

The Shichidaime Hokage goes missing without a trace. The Elemental Nations begin to freak out: it’s been decades since the world was so close to destruction, but that their primary defender has gone is alarming.

It is only the beginning.

—

Kaguya is uncovered from her icy prison and experimented on, the foolish mortals playing at gods, but their folly shall be her triumph.

Her first two sons were traitors, but her third? Oh, she’s certain Sephiroth will do her proud.

—

There is an unstoppable countdown, jinchuuriki disappearing despite everyone’s best efforts as if chakra itself were reclaiming them.

Shikako and Sasuke have not stopped searching for Naruto but their hope is steadily dwindling.

They are running out of miracles.

—

Vincent knows his eyes are unnerving–unnatural, demonic–but Lucrecia is the first to ever say she loves them.

Too bad she loves science more.

But honestly, the cursed existence that follows after his death isn’t entirely her fault.

—

“It’s time to sleep,” Gaara tells his children, a bewildering, solemn statement from the only remaining jinchuuriki. It’s the last clue they get before he, too, disappears.

For Shikako, it’s also the last straw.

—

When Yuffie is six, father gives her a necklace, the pendant a dark stone with shining green flecks–a family heirloom: if she protects it, it will protect her in turn.

Obviously just a superstition, Yuffie thinks years later as her homeland is conquered and destroyed.

Not quite.

—

The loss of the jinchuuriki is never solved, and though sad, time marches on. Children grow up, take their own place as heroes and leaders, and eventually it becomes just another tale to tell.

They never think to connect it to the vanishing Shikabane-hime.

—

Where a Strife walks, trouble follows, names well earned. They are living, breathing natural disasters, bringers of storms and change.

It’s not a coincidence that they end up in Nibelheim.

—

The Planet works in mysterious ways.

~

A/N: … hrm… this is probably overly referential to the brainstorm, but it just didn’t want to flow :/ Hopefully it’s still a fun read, though, anon!

Check out the Ask Box Advent Calendar!

Edge Of The Stars, for Shikako and Shikadai

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

So in a world where Shikadai doesn’t have five cousins–specifically via his aunt Shikako, that is –he would be the closest thing to a child she ever has. Literally. Siblings are biologically the closest to each other–especially twins, even if they’re not identical–so genetically Shikadai is the closest thing a childless Shikako would have to a descendant.

Which means he might be the closest thing to an heir for her legacy if she doesn’t take on apprentices like Tsunade does. Or maybe a literal heir for all her earthly possessions if she ever does permanently die. (Which, I mean, given her track record, the probability is less than average)

Or maybe it’s something like Shikadai tries to solve the mystery of his missing aunt and thereby becomes her heir (whether he actually finds her or not)?

It’s a lovely title, anon, I’m just not sure what direction to go with this. The only thing I am sure of, though, is that this is NOT within the Stars Also Dream ‘verse, mostly because Shikako herself isn’t so involved in that ‘verse and of Yoshino’s children I’m pretty sure Kinokawa (… or Bant? Eerin? Would SAD!Yoshino still name her youngest child after the Kinokawas if her “real” family was her Jedi Master?) would be the most involved in ~the ways of the Force~.

And, see, this is where the problem of human desire for continuity/patterns arises because this just feels to me like a “Shikako has disappeared (into her Gelel stone) and Shikadai is trying to find her” very early on in the Foundation of Yesterday mythos.

Like. Where yesterday’s post would be about Shikako (and Gaara’s) story millennia in the future, Edge of the Stars would be the immediate aftermath of the jinchuuriki and Shikako going dormant for Kaguya’s possible future revival.

Eh… while I do like it as a story premise, that seems a little lazy to just ride FoY’s coattails.

Maybe it’s a different sci-fi Star series crossover/fusion?

Shikako discovers a Stargate in the depths/remains of the Gelel shrine (on a research mission from Suna) and is flung to the far-reaches of the galaxy where Goa’uld are still strong. She resigns herself to joining the efforts against them only because she figures, so long as she fights them there, they won’t trace back her path and find her home planet and all her loved ones.

Except it’s been years–decades, almost–since she’s disappeared. Most everyone thinks she’s dead. As far as Shikadai is concerned, she may as well be, he’s never actually met her. But both of his parents (and all of his uncles) are certain that she’s still alive somehow.

Does his generation of Team Ten get assigned a basic joint mission with some Sand ninja in a patrol of the Ikioi-En when a sudden lightning storm/earthquake heralds the arrival of Shikako? Or the arrival of an alien army that overwhelms the genin teams, only for a lone figure to strike it down and send it back through the portal in retreat?

… the problem is that I don’t actually know that much about the Stargate franchise.

I know much more about Star Trek, but that’s less conducive to the same “Shikako goes missing/deliberately leaves,” only because the Federation has a Thing about first contact and they wouldn’t just abscond with a person.

And even if it’s not the Federation that she encounters, the other various organizations (depending on which series you’re going with could be Romulan, Klingon, Borg, etc.) aren’t exactly subtle either? They would be BIG NEWS on a planetary scale even if Shikako’s the only one who understands what’s going on.

I think the Stargate one has a more compelling plot.

I mean, even if we don’t want to go with the Ikioi-En setting, we could do an Uzushio version instead? Eh, that’s just trappings, though. What do you think, anon?

Foundation Of Yesterday Shikako/Gaara

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I’m getting definite “future people!POV looking back at the past” vibes and whether that means canon future people looking back at Gaara and Shikako’s relationship as distorted through time and drama (as with Winter in the Fields) or a historical!AU via epistolary and archaeological narration or some kind of “summoned and reunited in the future by heroes in desperate need of help” is a little uncertain.

Well… although I’m always somewhat reluctant to reuse ideas… this would be a pretty good title for that reverse Stories of Ancient Gods, aka the one where DoS is the ancient past of FFVII (instead of the other way around) and Shikako is a strangely proactive and human Summon while the bijuu/jinchuuriki are the WEAPONs.

And given Gaara and Shukaku are the Ichibi, it makes sense for them to be the first WEAPON that AVALANCHE (+Shikako) encounter.

Sort of this idea where Shikako and the bijuu/jinchuuriki are the failsafe to stop Kaguya/Jenova and were dormant for millennia until AVALANCHE awaken them.

So while Cloud and Company’s quest is to stop Sephiroth and save Midgar, Shikako (and Gaara’s) quest is to defeat Kaguya/Jenova once and for all. They’re in a strange world surrounded by strangers, trying to find and awaken the people they do actually know.

Obviously this fic would start with a member of AVALANCHE happening upon the strange Summon Materia that is Shikako’s Gelel stone. Whether or not it’s one of the team’s family heirloom or just something they stumble upon during their travels, I’m not sure…

I had considered it being Cloud’s family heirloom–in that, Shikako’s Gelel stone was entrusted to Naruto’s descendants–but given that Naruto is already one of the WEAPONs and will make his own, independent cameo that seemed unfair… even though appearance and the village pariah and naming convention parallels so nicely. Meh, that’s what Unto The Climate is for)

And then I felt sad because even though your prompt asks for Shikako/Gaara only, to have Naruto and Shikako appear and not Sasuke gave me feels. Team Seven must be complete!

So then, what, is it Sasuke’s descendants who have Shikako’s Gelel stone? Or does the Sharingan somehow enable Sasuke to manifest millennia into the future also?

If we go with the former, I was thinking maybe Shikako’s Gelel stone is just one of the many materia that Yuffie has without knowing what, exactly, it is. After all, it’s not the normal color for Summon Materia and she probably doesn’t use all of the materia she ends up getting. Alternatively, Sasuke has become Chaos?

He (accidentally) combined the Sharingan and the Curse Seal in such a way as to achieve (unwanted) immortality that Orochimaru could have only dreamed of, but the mortal mind is not meant to experience such a long period of time. The jinchuuriki are fine because they were mostly asleep while their bijuu are themselves walking forces of nature. Shikako was dormant in her Gelel stone. But Chaos/Sasuke didn’t have that cover. So he’s a little… crazy. Poor Vincent.

Although, Vincent being the only one to survive being imbued with Chaos because he was the only genetic descendant of Sasuke is pretty good? For an arguable definition of good.

Actually, yeah, I like that Sasuke-as-Chaos idea with Vincent-as-Sasuke’s-descendant. Perhaps Yuffie is just a descendant of one of Shikako’s brother’s? So as to keep the Gelel stone within the family even if they weren’t entirely sure what it would do.

… yeah, I like that better.

So with that foundation in mind, and through the lens of Shikako/Gaara, it would be Shikako and AVALANCHE (and Gaara and Chaos/Sasuke through Vincent) traveling around the world to stop Sephiroth, find the other WEAPONs/jinchuuriki/bijuu, and defeat Kaguya/Jenova ~forever~

And meanwhile there’s a lot of AVALANCHE!POV of these ancient beings and their bizarre conversations and behaviors.

Did Shikako and Gaara have A Thing before being turned into dormant last defenses for the planet but they hadn’t quite resolved their issues so now they’re tiptoeing around each other and AVALANCHE are just like… wtf. Even Ancients and WEAPONs have romantic drama?

~I don’t knoooooooooow, anon~