Tag: naruto

Gambling Away The Past, 6/? (2016-12-07)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

They get to Sangaku Outpost with minimal disruptions–the pair of Sand shinobi they almost literally stumble over notwithstanding (for this, Shikako hangs back, unsure exactly whether the Sand-Konoha alliance is on or off or even existent at this point)–just in time for a dinner of watery okayu.

The four of them are shuffled into the line by an Akimichi with scars and wrinkles and a kind smile on her face. “It’s not much,” she says, “but it’s delicious and it’s warm–”

“–and it’s not ration bars,” finishes her Yamanaka partner. It’s better than that (though not being ration bars is a huge pro) given that there’s an array of toppings: scallions and umeboshi and dried, shredded pork. In wartime, that’s practically a feast.

He glances between the clan crest on Shikako’s uniform and Kakashi’s distinct hair color, considering, before ushering the team to the table where his Akimichi has already settled.

It brings a different kind of warmth to Shikako, knowing that even decades out of place, some things do not change.

Kakashi is taciturn as always, but Obito’s natural affability more than makes up for it along with Rin’s polite inquiries of the infirmary situation. Shikako hardly has to talk, though she comments about Ikoma-san when prompted and circles around to Sembei-obaasan after a bit.

Like her deer summons, Sembei-obaasan has adopted a more crepuscular schedule, and given her advanced age (the specific which still remains a mystery), Shikako won’t be able to meet with her until tomorrow morning.

With dinner savored as much as can be, and their welcome committee off to fulfill their roles in the outpost, the four are left to their own devices. As team leader, Kakashi goes to report with the jounin in charge, while Rin–ever dutiful–checks in with the medics and offers her services.

Which leaves Shikako alone with Obito in a peaceful place for what might very well be the first time ever.

They grin at each other, perhaps a tad awkwardly (definitely on her part, anyway) fully realizing that they have been fighting side by side for weeks without having had a conversation that didn’t somehow include the war, their teammates, or a shared appreciation for explosions.

Well, at least they have that.

It’s not as if she’s been avoiding him–not as if such a thing is really possible on a team of four–but she hasn’t exactly gone out of her way to befriend him. With Rin, it’s easy–minimal prior knowledge means there’s nothing to bias Shikako one way or another. With Kakashi, it’s easy in an entirely different way: then and now, he’s always been steady yet standoffish; she can’t push him too far, but she can trust him to be there.

With Obito? She knows entirely too much about what he might have been, and nothing at all about who he currently is.

~

A/N: Something about this series just makes me think about wintertime… or the wintery theme of my writing makes me think about this series?

DoS Prompt: Shikako/Gaara–“it didn’t make sense, but Deidara’s fixation on Shikako angered him as much (if not more than) the whole ‘trying to kill me and my village’ thing” aka the forum’s thing of Deidara and Shikako being explosion buddies (or rivals) and Gaara’s repressed/hidden feelings/crush acting up at the wrong time?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

I’m going to be honest, anon, I don’t see how I’d write this without it being massively OOC or in a completely separate AU. Because whether it’s friendship or rivalry, I can’t really imagine canon Shikako devoting more brainpower to a member of the Akatsuki beyond how to defeat them.

And, well, Deidara views explosions as art–Shikako is more utilitarian than that. She likes explosions but not inherently? They’re efficient and impressive and exciting, but she’s not going around blowing up things for the thrill of it. It’s like… a lot of people are mesmerized by bonfires, but only a small percentage of people are arsons.

And then, on top of that, my interpretation of Gaara’s character is a little incompatible to a scene of romcom-esque misunderstanding leading to jealousy at an inopportune time. Especially not post-Deidara-attacking-Suna, you know? Like, Konoha (and Shikako and Naruto in particular) is Gaara’s standard of what good people do–there’s not way he’d think that Shikako would approve of such a person who would be part of Akatsuki and attack Suna. Deidara’s fixation/admiration of Shikako doesn’t even factor, I think.

That being said: now that I’ve covered how that wouldn’t work in an in-character canon ‘verse, the basis of this prompt could lead to an interesting plot in an AU.

Off the top of my head, I can see this working pretty well in the modern royalty!AU that came up during the Ask Box Three Sentence Fic event. I mean, obviously, in this AU Shikako doesn’t know what’s going to happen next since… AU… but maybe she does know canon so she recognizes people but not their context. There’s no ninja, no chakra, so a lot of her knowledge doesn’t really apply, so maybe she gives people the benefit of the doubt.

She meets Deidara and, hey, he’s just a performance artist and that’s not inherently bad. An artist with slightly anarchist tendencies, yes, but Shikako has frequently been on the wrong side of bureaucracy that she can understand the appeal. Maybe, without the bijuu and ninja, he really is just an artist.

Hahahahaha, lol, nope. Turns out Akatsuki does exist and is an anti-monarchy terrorist group.

So you can get the Shikako and Deidara as friends/friendly rivals without it being OOC for Shikako, while still maintaining the whole… Deidara has attacked Suna and attempted to assassinate the Wind Country royal family. And probably it’d be more of a “Gaara feels betrayed because he thinks Shikako is part of Akatsuki” than a “Gaara is jealous/possessive of Shikako.”

I guess, if I were to make an outline of this fic it would also have a sprinkle of university!AU too because the timeline I have is something like:

  • Shikako is a university student and Deidara is an alumni/grad student of the same specialty/major (ie, explosions). They meet, become friends, etc.
  • During a break, Shikako goes home–Shikaku brings up the whole “the clan needs to send a representative to the coronation of the crown princess of Wind Country,” and Shikako is conscripted.
  • Coronation! Shikako and Gaara meet–paparazzi turn them into the fairy tale romance of the century.
  • Over the weeks of trying to manage the media, Shikako and Gaara do actually begin to fall in love (I’m a sucker for epistolary fics).
  • BUT THEN–Akatsuki attacks Suna/attempts to assassinate Her Royal Majesty, Temari the First! Security is tightened around the Wind royal family. Gaara is, understandably, rattled, Shikako is worried.
  • The authorities discover that Deidara is part of Akatsuki, Shikako is revealed to be a known associate.

(Unsure how the following events are organized but considering this is the emotional/dramatic climax of the non-existent movie it’d make sense for it to be a flurry of scenes but basically):

  • CONFRONTATION: Gaara, feeling betrayed, accuses Shikako of being a part of Akatsuki or possibly a patsy and endangering his family.
  • SCANDAL: The media, constantly on both of their tails considering the whole “fairy tale romance of the century” jump all over the drama.
  • FALLOUT: Akatsuki (or, specifically Deidara and Sasori), seeing the opportunity of having their actions highly publicized, kidnap both Shikako and Gaara?
  • RECONCILIATION/BADASSERY: Gaara apologizes, argument resolved, the two of them (despite being “pampered royalty/nobility”) totally break out as the authorities do a rescue mission. Media is back to being all over this “fairy tale romance of the century” except now when they say “fairy tale” they mean more the slaying dragons kind.

Yeah? 😀

image

Hell yeah! 😀

It fulfills my need for complex political ramifications and dramatic machinations of public versus private relationships and also my desire for I JUST WANT MY OTP TO FALL IN LOVE, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

DoS Prompt: Shikako/Gaara–“it didn’t make sense, but Deidara’s fixation on Shikako angered him as much (if not more than) the whole ‘trying to kill me and my village’ thing” aka the forum’s thing of Deidara and Shikako being explosion buddies (or rivals) and Gaara’s repressed/hidden feelings/crush acting up at the wrong time?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I’m going to be honest, anon, I don’t see how I’d write this without it being massively OOC or in a completely separate AU. Because whether it’s friendship or rivalry, I can’t really imagine canon Shikako devoting more brainpower to a member of the Akatsuki beyond how to defeat them.

And, well, Deidara views explosions as art–Shikako is more utilitarian than that. She likes explosions but not inherently? They’re efficient and impressive and exciting, but she’s not going around blowing up things for the thrill of it. It’s like… a lot of people are mesmerized by bonfires, but only a small percentage of people are arsonists.

And then, on top of that, my interpretation of Gaara’s character is a little incompatible to a scene of romcom-esque misunderstanding leading to jealousy at an inopportune time. Especially not post-Deidara-attacking-Suna, you know? Like, Konoha (and Shikako and Naruto in particular) is Gaara’s standard of what good people do–there’s no way he’d think that Shikako would approve of such a person who would be part of Akatsuki and attack Suna. Deidara’s fixation/admiration of Shikako doesn’t even factor, I think.

That being said: now that I’ve covered how that wouldn’t work in an in-character canon ‘verse, the basis of this prompt could lead to an interesting plot in an AU.

Off the top of my head, I can see this working pretty well in the modern royalty!AU that came up during the Ask Box Three Sentence Fic event. I mean, obviously, in this AU Shikako doesn’t know what’s going to happen next since… AU… but maybe she does know canon so she recognizes people but not their context. There’s no ninja, no chakra, so a lot of her knowledge doesn’t really apply, so maybe she gives people the benefit of the doubt.

She meets Deidara and, hey, he’s just a performance artist and that’s not inherently bad. An artist with slightly anarchist tendencies, yes, but Shikako has frequently been on the wrong side of bureaucracy that she can understand the appeal. Maybe, without the bijuu and ninja, he really is just an artist.

Hahahahaha, lol, nope. Turns out Akatsuki does exist and is an anti-monarchy terrorist group.

So you can get the Shikako and Deidara as friends/friendly rivals without it being OOC for Shikako, while still maintaining the whole… Deidara has attacked Suna and attempted to assassinate the Wind Country royal family. And probably it’d be more of a “Gaara feels betrayed because he thinks Shikako is part of Akatsuki” than a “Gaara is jealous/possessive of Shikako.”

I guess, if I were to make an outline of this fic it would also have a sprinkle of university!AU too because the timeline I have is something like:

  • Shikako is a university student and Deidara is an alumni/grad student of the same specialty/major (ie, explosions). They meet, become friends, etc.
  • During a break, Shikako goes home–Shikaku brings up the whole “the clan needs to send a representative to the coronation of the crown princess of Wind Country,” and Shikako is conscripted.
  • Coronation! Shikako and Gaara meet–paparazzi turn them into the fairy tale romance of the century.
  • Over the weeks of trying to manage the media, Shikako and Gaara do actually begin to fall in love (I’m a sucker for epistolary fics).
  • BUT THEN–Akatsuki attacks Suna/attempts to assassinate Her Royal Majesty, Temari the First! Security is tightened around the Wind royal family. Gaara is, understandably, rattled, Shikako is worried.
  • The authorities discover that Deidara is part of Akatsuki, Shikako is revealed to be a known associate.

(Unsure how the following events are organized but considering this is the emotional/dramatic climax of the non-existent movie it’d make sense for it to be a flurry of scenes but basically):

  • CONFRONTATION: Gaara, feeling betrayed, accuses Shikako of being a part of Akatsuki or possibly a patsy and endangering his family.
  • SCANDAL: The media, constantly on both of their tails considering the whole “fairy tale romance of the century” jump all over the drama.
  • FALLOUT: Akatsuki (or, specifically Deidara and Sasori), seeing the opportunity of having their actions highly publicized, kidnap both Shikako and Gaara?
  • RECONCILIATION/BADASSERY: Gaara apologizes, argument resolved, the two of them (despite being “pampered royalty/nobility”) totally break out as the authorities do a rescue mission. Media is back to being all over this “fairy tale romance of the century” except now when they say “fairy tale” they mean more the slaying dragons kind.

Yeah? 😀

About Sakako’s title: what about the “Tengu” (the bird-like Shinto god) if she gets into Anbu? From what I read, they appear to people as ghosts/evil spirits, or “ghosts of angry, vain, or heretical priests.” Unless it’s kinda funny-sounding, haha.

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

That’s a pretty neat idea, anon, though I don’t think she’d have to wait until ANBU to get that title (and having a title as an ANBU that isn’t your animal codename might be a bit counterproductive anyway?)

Because if you consider it? Sakako (maybe) doesn’t have the hawk contract, but she does have an emergency summon and combining that with the idea that she can manifest people’s angry ghosts AND that Tengu (according to wikipedia, at least) “possess people, especially women and girls, and speak through them,” to a very superstitious person and in the right series of events she would look like a Tengu.

Especially if it’s… let’s see… a business mogul or corrupt noble who is going to deforest/mine a place that’s sacred to the local village. And the local village hired Next Gen Team Seven for a really small task (maybe help clean the shrine up on the mountain, or escort the village chief who is old up the mountain so he can clean the shrine, etc. etc.) but then business mogul / corrupt mogul shows up and does *typically upper class awful things* and obviously any Team Seven wouldn’t let this happen so they kind of stay and fight and… well.

What Team Seven doesn’t have a flare for the dramatic?

Sakako uses a genjutsu on the bad guy, brings their ghosts to life (so to speak) and maybe has to summon her dad’s hawk when she gets pushed off a cliff and it’s all just. Bad guy has had a religious experience and learned the error of his ways and, hey, the local village can actually help business person/noble how to mine/harvest whatever they were trying to get in the first place in a sustainable way without razing everything to the ground (and that brings new blood back to the village which was, admittedly, beginning to age out–no one in that village was younger than forty, so there wasn’t much future for the village).

… so maybe it’s not so much her title as it is a significant note that would be put on her bingo book page (“actually possessed by a tengu? can summon tengu and ghosts?” Poor Rock nin are so damned confused.)

image

For such a mythological nickname, I figured a dramatic incident conflated to an incredible degree would work pretty well. With Shikako’s Shikabane-hime, it was after her badass fight against Gaara–one time to make a massive first impression connected to an intimidating but easy to remember moniker.

Tengu are more connected to birds of prey than stags, so her connection to hawks via Sasuke is probably more relevant than her Nara heritage. And it’s believed that the long nose is reminiscent of a beak so a bird ANBU mask would be enough, I think, and I’m not sure ANBU masks are overly detailed?

I kind of like the idea that she begins collecting fearsome nicknames early on like her mum–ANBU has a bit of a sense of anonymity that I’m not sure will transfer over well? Like, when Kakashi was ANBU he was well-known as an elite ANBU and all the enemies knew to beware of the ANBU with a wolf/hound mask, right? But I don’t think they’d go as far as to call him something else like Raikou. They’d just call him Wolf. Likewise, they’d probably just call ANBU Sakako Hawk or Falcon or whatever mask she’s assigned.

But I guess a way that could work is if… hm… if Sakako inherits Sasuke’s ANBU mask which is Hawk/Falcon, she’d be stepping into this role with a lengthy and no doubt prolific career attached. And enemies are already fearful of Hawk/Falcon but they’ve notice that Hawk/Falcon’s fighting style/height/whatever has changed slightly and this is a new Hawk/Falcon. So to differentiate the two they call the first one (Sasuke) “Garuda Hawk” and the second one (Sakako) “Tengu Hawk” and then later just drop the Hawk part.

Or, well, maybe Sasuke doesn’t so much pass down his mask as he does part-time ANBU work and their masks are very similar… so still the same reasoning just now the enemies aren’t always sure which Hawk they’re dealing with (surprise, it’s both of them this time! Badass father-daughter ANBU bonding!)

About Sakako’s title: what about the “Tengu” (the bird-like Shinto god) if she gets into Anbu? From what I read, they appear to people as ghosts/evil spirits, or “ghosts of angry, vain, or heretical priests.” Unless it’s kinda funny-sounding, haha.

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

That’s a pretty neat idea, anon, though I don’t think she’d have to wait until ANBU to get that title (and having a title as an ANBU that isn’t your animal codename might be a bit counterproductive anyway?)

Because if you consider it? Sakako (maybe) doesn’t have the hawk contract, but she does have an emergency summon and combining that with the idea that she can manifest people’s angry ghosts AND that Tengu (according to wikipedia, at least) “possess people, especially women and girls, and speak through them,” to a very superstitious person and in the right series of events she would look like a Tengu.

Especially if it’s… let’s see… a business mogul or corrupt noble who is going to deforest/mine a place that’s sacred to the local village. And the local village hired Next Gen Team Seven for a really small task (maybe help clean the shrine up on the mountain, or escort the village chief who is old up the mountain so he can clean the shrine, etc. etc.) but then business mogul / corrupt mogul shows up and does *typically upper class awful things* and obviously any Team Seven wouldn’t let this happen so they kind of stay and fight and… well.

What Team Seven doesn’t have a flare for the dramatic?

Sakako uses a genjutsu on the bad guy, brings their ghosts to life (so to speak) and maybe has to summon her dad’s hawk when she gets pushed off a cliff and it’s all just. Bad guy has had a religious experience and learned the error of his ways and, hey, the local village can actually help business person/noble how to mine/harvest whatever they were trying to get in the first place in a sustainable way without razing everything to the ground (and that brings new blood back to the village which was, admittedly, beginning to age out–no one in that village was younger than forty, so there wasn’t much future for the village).

… so maybe it’s not so much her title as it is a significant note that would be put on her bingo book page (“actually possessed by a tengu? can summon tengu and ghosts?” Poor Rock nin are so damned confused.)

I’ve been on a bit of a modern-AU kick recently, and I’ve been thinking about a really cool Shikako in your Wanderlust!AU uploading photos of her journey on a blog or something. (It doesn’t even have to be a modern AU, since advancement in Naruto’s technology skyrockets in peacetime)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

jacksgreysays:

image

Ahahahaha, I can totally imagine that with the twins:

“You went inside a volcano?!”

“In my defense, it was dormant at first.”

“AT FIRST?!”

Or,

“How did you get this shot of a giant shark?”

“… you probably don’t want to know.”

I also figure she really embodies Indiana Jones-but-real in her show:

“Let’s talk about the interesting agricultural based fuinjutsu of the ancient Gelel Empire!”

Turns into,

“Oh gods, why is there this shrine?

Why are there traps?

What do you mean a CURSE?”

I also, also think there’s probably one episode where it’s like:

jacksgreysays:

Ooh! Okay, so part of me feels like any weird technological gaps that canon has could easily be handwaved away in DoS specifically because they’re already on track for that and also Shikako just expects more from tech that even if she’s not the one inventing/improving various tech she’s at the least hinting at something like–hey wouldn’t it be neat if this phone was also a camera? Or, have you considered a wireless network?–but that still will take about a decade or two for the Naruto world to get to modern level.

I imagine, at first, since cameras have been noted to be like clunky for elites and still film based, that she would have to either pay ridiculous amounts of money OR justify why she needs one. The easiest reason I can think of is to further her fuinjutsu research. So at first its very official, almost like police officers with using their weapon: she has a set amount of film and has to keep account of every roll that she uses.

So most of her photos are very cut and dry “see Figure 3” in academic papers on the remains of the Gelel shrine or something like that. But as a sort of protest/she has a few more cells left over she’ll take some pictures of some really spectacular scenery: the view of the galaxy (are they in the Milky Way?) in the desert, sunrise on the horizon from Uzushio, etc etc.

Someone in Intel (maybe Shiho?) is in charge of directing her reports to the right places, but since the landscapes aren’t actually for intel, she just collects it (with proper labelling because Shiho is a proud paperwork nin) until Shikako returns to Konoha for a bit.

And it’s like: oh, I’ve collected your landscapes, Shikako! And there’s just this huge album of them neatly arranged and labelled that Shikako doesn’t actively remember taking. Like, she remembers taking these pictures but she didn’t realize how many of them there were that had accumulated.

And maybe this exchange is during a kunoichi meetings, so the other ladies see it and are all oohing and aahing over it (because no one really vacations as a shinobi. They travel for missions or for training, but hardly ever just to sightsee) so it’s greatly appreciated.

And then someone (probably Ino, because the Yamanaka own a publishing company on behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans) has the idea to publish it. And it is REALLY well-received by the civilian population because they get to travel for sightseeing purposes even less frequently than shinobi. (And there are some views that literally no person has seen in decades or centuries because Uzushio has been abandoned or it’s a place that’s too dangerous with little return). So it’s really just accidental, I think, this following that Shikako garners from photography.

Then, as technology advances so too does her camera (and the Nara clan probably sponsors a really nice one both for the fuinjutsu research and the landscapes) and then the medium that its shared.

Copycats follow (because its an easy way for a shinobi to make money, and no doubt Cloud nin would be all about risking their lives for the perfect shot) but by the time blogging is around, Shikako herself has a following and that in itself has accidentally become a bit like “Man vs. Wild” even though she was originally aiming more for a “How It’s Made” or “Wonders of the Ancient World” or one of the other less action-packed National Geographic/Discovery Channel shows.

Whoops. (The Director of the Princess Fuun movies is probably involved somehow)

“This seal says something about ‘caging the dragon’ but considering chakra pathways used to be called dragon’s veins that’s probably just a metaphorical phrase. Most likely they mean harnessing a point of high natural chakra emissions.”

Twenty minutes later,

“NOT METAPHORICAL. I REPEAT, NOT A METAPHOR!”

Kankurou is her camera person just the once (he refuses forever after that) but it’s one of the favorite episodes despite the low-res video and frequent shaky cam and that static from corrupted data (this is pretty early on in the series, before heavy duty tech). After that, regardless if she’s the adoptive Mother of the NGSS, it’s poor Shinki who gets conscripted as her camera person.

Then again, I feel like The Director probably trained a group of similarly-minded camera people who would be not just excited, but honored to be official camera person of “Konoha Nara versus *insert adventure setting here*”

image

I feel like the general culture of Cloud would be more embracing of the adrenaline junkie styles despite her being from Konoha, but I also do wonder if the Rock shinobi develop a Mythbusters/Snopes equivalent purely to spite Shikako’s blog, but then it turns out everything is legit and they’re just like… what the hell? How?

There’s definitely one episode that has to take place in Land of Earth or Land of Stone (because the Old Western setting would be hilariously entertaining) and Rock shinobi are trying to stealth prove that Shikako’s show is a hoax within the episode, but nope. AAAAAALLLLL REAL.

Gaara is only in the show twice for collectively less than five minutes and possibly not even in the same scenes as Shikako? Or, like, he’s way in the peripheral or he doesn’t even interact with Shikako directly? But all the shippers are just over-analyzing: “DID YOU SEE THE WAY THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER?” or “THE WAY HE PAUSED AFTER HE SAID HER NAME, OTP!”

Depending on how much Shikako keeps a hand on the pulse of her fandom, she might know but she’ll definitely be confused.

I’ve been on a bit of a modern-AU kick recently, and I’ve been thinking about a really cool Shikako in your Wanderlust!AU uploading photos of her journey on a blog or something. (It doesn’t even have to be a modern AU, since advancement in Naruto’s technology skyrockets in peacetime)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

image

Ahahahaha, I can totally imagine that with the twins:

“You went inside a volcano?!”

“In my defense, it was dormant at first.”

“AT FIRST?!”

Or,

“How did you get this shot of a giant shark?”

“… you probably don’t want to know.”

I also figure she really embodies Indiana Jones-but-real in her show:

“Let’s talk about the interesting agricultural based fuinjutsu of the ancient Gelel Empire!”

Turns into,

“Oh gods, why is there this shrine?

Why are there traps?

What do you mean a CURSE?”

I also, also think there’s probably one episode where it’s like:

jacksgreysays:

Ooh! Okay, so part of me feels like any weird technological gaps that canon has could easily be handwaved away in DoS specifically because they’re already on track for that and also Shikako just expects more from tech that even if she’s not the one inventing/improving various tech she’s at the least hinting at something like–hey wouldn’t it be neat if this phone was also a camera? Or, have you considered a wireless network?–but that still will take about a decade or two for the Naruto world to get to modern level.

I imagine, at first, since cameras have been noted to be like clunky for elites and still film based, that she would have to either pay ridiculous amounts of money OR justify why she needs one. The easiest reason I can think of is to further her fuinjutsu research. So at first its very official, almost like police officers with using their weapon: she has a set amount of film and has to keep account of every roll that she uses.

So most of her photos are very cut and dry “see Figure 3” in academic papers on the remains of the Gelel shrine or something like that. But as a sort of protest/she has a few more cells left over she’ll take some pictures of some really spectacular scenery: the view of the galaxy (are they in the Milky Way?) in the desert, sunrise on the horizon from Uzushio, etc etc.

Someone in Intel (maybe Shiho?) is in charge of directing her reports to the right places, but since the landscapes aren’t actually for intel, she just collects it (with proper labelling because Shiho is a proud paperwork nin) until Shikako returns to Konoha for a bit.

And it’s like: oh, I’ve collected your landscapes, Shikako! And there’s just this huge album of them neatly arranged and labelled that Shikako doesn’t actively remember taking. Like, she remembers taking these pictures but she didn’t realize how many of them there were that had accumulated.

And maybe this exchange is during a kunoichi meetings, so the other ladies see it and are all oohing and aahing over it (because no one really vacations as a shinobi. They travel for missions or for training, but hardly ever just to sightsee) so it’s greatly appreciated.

And then someone (probably Ino, because the Yamanaka own a publishing company on behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans) has the idea to publish it. And it is REALLY well-received by the civilian population because they get to travel for sightseeing purposes even less frequently than shinobi. (And there are some views that literally no person has seen in decades or centuries because Uzushio has been abandoned or it’s a place that’s too dangerous with little return). So it’s really just accidental, I think, this following that Shikako garners from photography.

Then, as technology advances so too does her camera (and the Nara clan probably sponsors a really nice one both for the fuinjutsu research and the landscapes) and then the medium that its shared.

Copycats follow (because its an easy way for a shinobi to make money, and no doubt Cloud nin would be all about risking their lives for the perfect shot) but by the time blogging is around, Shikako herself has a following and that in itself has accidentally become a bit like “Man vs. Wild” even though she was originally aiming more for a “How It’s Made” or “Wonders of the Ancient World” or one of the other less action-packed National Geographic/Discovery Channel shows.

Whoops. (The Director of the Princess Fuun movies is probably involved somehow)

“This seal says something about ‘caging the dragon’ but considering chakra pathways used to be called dragon’s veins that’s probably just a metaphorical phrase. Most likely they mean harnessing a point of high natural chakra emissions.”

Twenty minutes later,

“NOT METAPHORICAL. I REPEAT, NOT A METAPHOR!”

Kankurou is her camera person just the once (he refuses forever after that) but it’s one of the favorite episodes despite the low-res video and frequent shaky cam and that static from corrupted data (this is pretty early on in the series, before heavy duty tech). After that, regardless if she’s the adoptive Mother of the NGSS, it’s poor Shinki who gets conscripted as her camera person.

Then again, I feel like The Director probably trained a group of similarly-minded camera people who would be not just excited, but honored to be official camera person of “Konoha Nara versus *insert adventure setting here*”

I’ve been on a bit of a modern-AU kick recently, and I’ve been thinking about a really cool Shikako in your Wanderlust!AU uploading photos of her journey on a blog or something. (It doesn’t even have to be a modern AU, since advancement in Naruto’s technology skyrockets in peacetime)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment
image

Ahahahaha, I can totally imagine that with the twins:

“You went inside a volcano?!”

“In my defense, it was dormant at first.”

“AT FIRST?!”

Or,

“How did you get this shot of a giant shark?”

“… you probably don’t want to know.”

I also figure she really embodies Indiana Jones-but-real in her show:

“Let’s talk about the interesting agricultural based fuinjutsu of the ancient Gelel Empire!”

Turns into,

“Oh gods, why is there this shrine?

Why are there traps?

What do you mean a CURSE?”

I also, also think there’s probably one episode where it’s like:

jacksgreysays:

Ooh! Okay, so part of me feels like any weird technological gaps that canon has could easily be handwaved away in DoS specifically because they’re already on track for that and also Shikako just expects more from tech that even if she’s not the one inventing/improving various tech she’s at the least hinting at something like–hey wouldn’t it be neat if this phone was also a camera? Or, have you considered a wireless network?–but that still will take about a decade or two for the Naruto world to get to modern level.

I imagine, at first, since cameras have been noted to be like clunky for elites and still film based, that she would have to either pay ridiculous amounts of money OR justify why she needs one. The easiest reason I can think of is to further her fuinjutsu research. So at first its very official, almost like police officers with using their weapon: she has a set amount of film and has to keep account of every roll that she uses.

So most of her photos are very cut and dry “see Figure 3” in academic papers on the remains of the Gelel shrine or something like that. But as a sort of protest/she has a few more cells left over she’ll take some pictures of some really spectacular scenery: the view of the galaxy (are they in the Milky Way?) in the desert, sunrise on the horizon from Uzushio, etc etc.

Someone in Intel (maybe Shiho?) is in charge of directing her reports to the right places, but since the landscapes aren’t actually for intel, she just collects it (with proper labelling because Shiho is a proud paperwork nin) until Shikako returns to Konoha for a bit.

And it’s like: oh, I’ve collected your landscapes, Shikako! And there’s just this huge album of them neatly arranged and labelled that Shikako doesn’t actively remember taking. Like, she remembers taking these pictures but she didn’t realize how many of them there were that had accumulated.

And maybe this exchange is during a kunoichi meetings, so the other ladies see it and are all oohing and aahing over it (because no one really vacations as a shinobi. They travel for missions or for training, but hardly ever just to sightsee) so it’s greatly appreciated.

And then someone (probably Ino, because the Yamanaka own a publishing company on behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans) has the idea to publish it. And it is REALLY well-received by the civilian population because they get to travel for sightseeing purposes even less frequently than shinobi. (And there are some views that literally no person has seen in decades or centuries because Uzushio has been abandoned or it’s a place that’s too dangerous with little return). So it’s really just accidental, I think, this following that Shikako garners from photography.

Then, as technology advances so too does her camera (and the Nara clan probably sponsors a really nice one both for the fuinjutsu research and the landscapes) and then the medium that its shared.

Copycats follow (because its an easy way for a shinobi to make money, and no doubt Cloud nin would be all about risking their lives for the perfect shot) but by the time blogging is around, Shikako herself has a following and that in itself has accidentally become a bit like “Man vs. Wild” even though she was originally aiming more for a “How It’s Made” or “Wonders of the Ancient World” or one of the other less action-packed National Geographic/Discovery Channel shows.

Whoops. (The Director of the Princess Fuun movies is probably involved somehow)

“This seal says something about ‘caging the dragon’ but considering chakra pathways used to be called dragon’s veins that’s probably just a metaphorical phrase. Most likely they mean harnessing a point of high natural chakra emissions.”

Twenty minutes later,

“NOT METAPHORICAL. I REPEAT, NOT A METAPHOR!”

I’ve been on a bit of a modern-AU kick recently, and I’ve been thinking about a really cool Shikako in your Wanderlust!AU uploading photos of her journey on a blog or something. (It doesn’t even have to be a modern AU, since advancement in Naruto’s technology skyrockets in peacetime)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Ooh! Okay, so part of me feels like any weird technological gaps that canon has could easily be handwaved away in DoS specifically because they’re already on track for that and also Shikako just expects more from tech that even if she’s not the one inventing/improving various tech she’s at the least hinting at something like–hey wouldn’t it be neat if this phone was also a camera? Or, have you considered a wireless network?–but that still will take about a decade or two for the Naruto world to get to modern level.

I imagine, at first, since cameras have been noted to be like clunky for elites and still film based, that she would have to either pay ridiculous amounts of money OR justify why she needs one. The easiest reason I can think of is to further her fuinjutsu research. So at first its very official, almost like police officers with using their weapon: she has a set amount of film and has to keep account of every roll that she uses.

So most of her photos are very cut and dry “see Figure 3” in academic papers on the remains of the Gelel shrine or something like that. But as a sort of protest/she has a few more cells left over she’ll take some pictures of some really spectacular scenery: the view of the galaxy (are they in the Milky Way?) in the desert, sunrise on the horizon from Uzushio, etc etc.

Someone in Intel (maybe Shiho?) is in charge of directing her reports to the right places, but since the landscapes aren’t actually for intel, she just collects it (with proper labelling because Shiho is a proud paperwork nin) until Shikako returns to Konoha for a bit.

And it’s like: oh, I’ve collected your landscapes, Shikako! And there’s just this huge album of them neatly arranged and labelled that Shikako doesn’t actively remember taking. Like, she remembers taking these pictures but she didn’t realize how many of them there were that had accumulated.

And maybe this exchange is during a kunoichi meetings, so the other ladies see it and are all oohing and aahing over it (because no one really vacations as a shinobi. They travel for missions or for training, but hardly ever just to sightsee) so it’s greatly appreciated.

And then someone (probably Ino, because the Yamanaka own a publishing company on behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans) has the idea to publish it. And it is REALLY well-received by the civilian population because they get to travel for sightseeing purposes even less frequently than shinobi. (And there are some views that literally no person has seen in decades or centuries because Uzushio has been abandoned or it’s a place that’s too dangerous with little return). So it’s really just accidental, I think, this following that Shikako garners from photography.

Then, as technology advances so too does her camera (and the Nara clan probably sponsors a really nice one both for the fuinjutsu research and the landscapes) and then the medium that its shared.

Copycats follow (because its an easy way for a shinobi to make money, and no doubt Cloud nin would be all about risking their lives for the perfect shot) but by the time blogging is around, Shikako herself has a following and that in itself has accidentally become a bit like “Man vs. Wild” even though she was originally aiming more for a “How It’s Made” or “Wonders of the Ancient World” or one of the other less action-packed National Geographic/Discovery Channel shows.

Whoops. (The Director of the Princess Fuun movies is probably involved somehow)

Gambling Away The Past, 5/? (2016-12-02)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Shikako wakes up.

Not with a start–it wasn’t her sense of danger that prodded her from unconsciousness–no need to wake up Rin’s sleeping form, gentle breathing beside her.

It reminds her of her childhood, in a skewed and almost desperate way, curling up next to her brother for warmth and comfort. In war, comfort is a scarcity, she will not take it from Rin if she doesn’t have to.

Shikako keeps her movements slow, doesn’t stiffen up either, opens up her chakra sense to investigate what woke her. Rin’s dual nature calm and soothing, Obito’s volcano banked for now. Kakashi, then. Which makes sense, considering it is his watch right now.

She eases away from her bedroll, lined up parallel to Rin’s so close as to nearly be touching, and silently makes her way over to where the newly summoned Pakkun sits.

In her chakra sense, summons are multidimensional (pun only slightly intended). Each creature has their own chakra, their own signature, but summons have an additional layer of their summoner’s chakra:

Pakkun is familiar to her–both then and now–rich and thick and surprisingly dense for a dog his size, like the best kind of hot cocoa. With the added zing of Kakashi’s electric-ozone signature, she can easily picture a stormy day, lightning incoming, enjoying it from the safety of her own home.

The pug gives her an ear flick–acknowledgement and not so subtle request for scritches–and, once she’s seated, jumps into her lap.

“He’s restless,” Pakkun says in a voice that isn’t at all higher than the one she remembers, “Went to check out the perimeter.”

Shikako doesn’t bother to ask if he took some of the other summons with him, Kakashi isn’t stupid, but it still seems… risky. Overly confident, maybe.

The Kakashi she knows has decades and a Sharingan on this one, and she still worried about him.

There’s no campfire–not much of a camp, really, just an arrangement of their bedrolls to reduce wind chill and detection, and traps all around–but the moon is nearly full, and it’s just enough to cast a weak shadow.

Pakkun critiques her shadow puppets while they wait for Kakashi to return.

—

Dawn rises, cold morning light turning the sky a gentle lilac for a few, breathtaking moments. She is tired, but she doesn’t regret sitting up despite Kakashi’s terse words then or the brutal pace he sets now.

After all, they’re heading to the Sangaku Outpost for her benefit: Sembei-obaasan is stationed there, deer summons a vital part of Konoha’s intel dispersion.

Which is just a fancy way of saying glorified messenger hawks, but no Nara would dismiss the importance information in battle.

“Are you excited?” Rin asks cheerfully, as they jump from branch to branch, both of them ignoring the way Obito complains at Kakashi for the demanding speed. They’re all still on alert despite heading inland and nearer to Konoha–home doesn’t always mean safety, she learned (will learn that) long ago–but hours of travel is still boring regardless of if it’s in a vehicle or by her own two feet.

“About the summoning contract?” Shikako clarifies, perhaps a bit unnecessarily, considering the whole point of this mission is to meet with Sembei-obaasan. Ostensibly Team Kakashi is delivering some of the more critical intelligence reports to the Sangaku Outpost, but they all know the real reason.

“Yes,” Rin confirms, “I think it must be nice to have summons,” she muses, “The Nohara clan isn’t exactly big, and we’re mostly medic nin–well, obviously–so there aren’t many of us in the front line, so there isn’t much need for summons, I suppose…

“There might be someone who has a contract with cranes,” she continues after a considering pause, “but I don’t think I’ve met them.”

Shikako nods, wondering herself about such a summoning contract. As far as she can remember, no one in her time uses crane summons. While she isn’t close with anyone from the Nohara clan, they and the Nara are both entrenched the Medic Corps. Surely such a useful summon would have been mentioned at least once.

“I am excited,” she says, finally answering Rin’s original question, “And a little nervous,” she admits, “as far as I know, Sembei-obaasan is the only summoner for the deer contract and I don’t know whether or not she’ll let me sign it.”

Just because she did in the future (past?) before, doesn’t mean she will again.

~

A/N: I missed this series, I’ll be honest.

I guess the advent calendar thing is a no go, but have some more winter imagery anyway courtesy of Pakkun’s hot cocoa chakra!

😀