naruto – Page 8 – JackSGreyson Says

“Fear to Tread”. the archangel Aoba one?

November 18, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

ANON, I GET THIS REFERENCE! 😀

So the full quote is “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” and it’s basically what it says on the tin–rash people attempt things that wise/more experienced people avoid. But if we take it literally (in the sense that post Land of Hot Springs!Aoba is now god in the making!Shikako’s first archangel) then this would be an Aoba afterlife shenanigans fic.

Or maybe not shenanigans. Maybe something honestly frightening for Archangel!Aoba to do. And, like, what would scare an archangel who has already died?

I have two very different answers to this.

The first is “the god that killed him,” AKA Jashin who HATES Shikako for denying him entry into the world and drowning it in pain and despair and thus hates Aoba by proximity. And this version of the fic would be some actual feels of Aoba overcoming this fear for the sake of being Shikako’s celestial ambassador/advocate and making sure they don’t smite her while she’s mortal.

The second is Ibiki.

And, well, that is funny. But at the same time could lead him to coming to terms with being dead. Peeking in on the world of the living and being sad at no longer being able to return, but also knowing that he has a purpose now and there is no going back now. Although, if he does make contact with Kisuke and get him to be Shikako’s second archangel that would be a method to get messages across…

But both of those ideas are important to the brainstorm, not really separate spinoffs. Frankly, anon, the archangel Aoba brainstorm doesn’t have a title so “Fear to Tread” would be good for the entire idea as a whole…

Sorry, I don’t really know what else to do with this. I mean, I have more ideas about the archangel!Aoba ‘verse than what was the original post, but most of that I passed along to @captainlibrarynerdstuff so I don’t know what they might or might not want to use…

“This I How I Let It Go” – Shikako anything, maybe her previous life/Gelel experience

November 16, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

For some reason, anon, I feel like this title should have some parentheses like… “This Is How I Let It Go (I Don’t)” or “This Is How I Let It Go (i learned it from you)” or “This Is How I Let It Go (I’m Always Angry)”…

But I guess what’s inside the parentheses depends on what direction I go with this.

This isn’t a reference is it, anon? Because if you were around for the last fake fic title event, you’ll know that I almost NEVER catch on until after I’ve posted so…

Hm… I don’t know if it’s because Gardens!verse is so fresh in my mind, but I think this would be a canon divergence in which Gelel didn’t disperse and revive the Dead Wastes but instead stayed with Shikako. Or perhaps did both?

But instead of the easy partnership that is Gardens!verse Shikako-and-Gelel, it’s a struggle of a mortal trying to contain a god that is multitudes without giving anything away to any interested parties.

It’s not all bad–Gelel is more than happy to walk her through the book and chatter about fuinjutsu and see the world beyond the Dead Wastes through her eyes–but it’s more of a constant negotiation than a simple clicking together of puzzle pieces. It’s probably most similar to a benign, cooperative relationship between jinchuuriki and bijuu.

I feel like the logical conclusion to this fic would be during the Land of Hot Springs in which Gelel would make a sacrifice play to fend off Jashin. So no exploded country, but no more internal god. It’s a very short-lived partnership and if I were the kind of writer who could pull it off, it would be poignant and heart-wrenching.

I mean, Gelel would also save Aoba–because hello, godly powers of life itself–which is a silver lining. But except for the canon Gelel/Shikako stone and her shadow state there’s nothing left of it.

… this one would probably be the “this is how i let it go (i learned it from you)” variation.

Hm… let’s see, what else would be in this verse?

Gelel stumbles into the jinchuuriki-bijuu space accidentally, dazing all of them with their godly presence. Gelel is basically that cool teenager in comparison to the moody preteens that are the bijuu.

Gelel is delighted to learn more about Shikako’s first life because–as a celestial being several millennia old–there’s not much in this world that they don’t understand/know of. But the real world? That’s absolutely novel.

Shikako glows green slightly whenever she and Gelel get angry.

Um… what else?

“There’s Nothing in this World (I wouldn’t do)” — I’m feeling very sympathetic to Shikako’s depressed collapse on the couch after her fight with Shikamaru in front of Sasuke, right now. It’s the Depression. Although I’m not particularly picky in terms of ‘verse, I’m hoping you’d have something that fits that sort of theme? ((the title is a reference to Avicii’s “Hey Brother”))

November 13, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I don’t know if it’s my brain enjoying making connections, me having so many different AUs, or me being lazy, but I’m getting a sort of Dreaming of S(hade) vibe from the post. But, like, specifically the situation, not the ‘verse.

So, to be clear, it’d be about a Shikako who, while in a desperate battle, tries to use the night itself as a shadow (being the opposite side of the planet as the sun) and disperses herself into the void. Like with going into the black but on such a massive scale that, for the most part, very few people expect her to be able to come back.

Shikamaru is one of those people.

Shikamaru will damn well make sure she comes back even if he has to fight a hundred gods to do this.

So instead of letting her recover slowly in Suna, as in Dreaming of S(hade), Shikamaru goes on a quest to find a cure for her. Or, well, I guess they’re not exactly incompatible? He could make sure she’s settled in Suna before going off on his quest.

Which turns the dynamic around. Because we know they’re protective of each other, and we know Shikamaru would throw down with anyone that looked at her the wrong way, but Shikamaru is very… sedentary. He’s very earthbound and dedicated to the clan, the village. Shikako isn’t the crowned heir–she learns some things, yes, but she’s not the one who had to say the oath–so she has the luxury to travel as she does and follow her own pursuits.

So what if it’s Shikamaru who has to travel? What if he’s the one who has to put his intellect to work not in logistics and leadership as he’s been trained, but in sleuthing and translating and cobbling together snippets of a long ago technique that might just be able to help his sister?

Or, consider, it doesn’t even need to be specifically a B-side to Dreaming of S(hade) it could be a canon divergence fic. Post Land of Hot Springs, Shikako in all but a coma, lost to the world. Her family’s greatest fears come to pass–she doesn’t wake up, doesn’t snap out of it. Nothing Kasuga can think of works, the Sharingan (Sasuke’s and Kakashi’s both) can’t get through her defenses, whatever buzz word Sai used to get her out of the hospital doesn’t work (or, rather, Danzo doesn’t try to kidnap her so Sai doesn’t sneak in and smuggle her out of the hospital), and so she’s just lost.

Now–during the war, with their father on the front lines and Shikamaru needed at home as acting head–nothing can be done. But afterwards? Well. When Shikaku gets back, he’d be hard pressed to keep his heir in Konoha. And, in part, would he want to? He knows tradition would say to keep his heir safe–make sure the succession is unbroken–but when has he ever adhered to tradition?

So it is sort of a coming of age story for Shikamaru as he travels to find a cure for his sister and figures out who he is outside of Nara, outside of Konoha.

Which is, frankly bizarre to read now that I’ve typed it. Because… like… who even IS Shikamaru outside of Nara and Konoha?

The reason why I did bring up Dreaming of S(hade) first, instead of doing the post Land of Hot Springs!canon divergence, was because if Shikako is dispersed into the night (as the literal shadow of the world) then there could be some scenes from Shikako’s POV? Or he sort of interacts with her at night? Something that isn’t so turtled into herself that no one can reach.

I suppose it’s not so much about depression as you’d asked for, anon…

‘The Land of Snow Job’ DoS/Leverage cross. Since the Snow arc seems twisty enough to be a Leverage plot anyway, with the movie and the princess and stealing a country. XD

November 12, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

That’s true, anon. I mean, I don’t know if just “The Land of Snow Job” as a title matches the others but as an idea, the plot of the Snow arc would translate pretty easily into the Fia(M)C ‘verse.

And while I know it’s a full movie in canon, I don’t know if I’d want it to be a “finale episode” equivalent here because it’s not as relevant? Like… this feels very much more a focus on Kakashi’s change than Snow country itself.

Probably this one would be called something like… “Best Served Cold” or something like that? And it’d focus more on how a younger Kakashi tried to con the Kazahana corporation but failed because it was undergoing a literal hostile takeover and instead he ended up having to call in favors to find a home for the Kazahana would-have-been heiress.

And, like, considering Yukie/Koyuki is an actress that could be leaned into as a stronger bond between Kakashi and her. Sure he never trained her to become a grifter–he tried to find her a normal home, but the closest thing to normal he knew was a non-criminal theater troupe? or a B-movie special effects studio?–but she never fell for his “consultant” job cover.

So when news comes out that Kazahana Corp. is going public in a weeks–meaning Dotou could potentially gain billions by selling a company he stole–she goes to the crew for help.

Dotou can’t make money off the company if the crew steal it first.

And, like, obviously the theater troupe/B-movie special effects studio are highly involved in the unmasking of Dotou’s crimes, etc. etc.

Um… probably the reason why Dotou did a hostile take over of Kazahan Corp was because he wanted to kill a specific solar tech project which would have put his oil investments in danger? And of course he buried the files and blueprints as best as he could, but no one ever knew that Sousetsu had actually built a prototype–which is what the crew eventually find…

Yeah. There’s not much to say for this one since, as you said, it’s close enough to a Leverage plot anyway.

Um… I hope you don’t mind if I go with “Best Served Cold” instead of “The Land of Snow Job,” anon, even though the whole ask box event is about me making summaries off your suggested titles instead of the other way around?

Best Served Cold

Over a decade is a long time to pretend being someone else, but it’s just about right for getting revenge.

Alright. “Team training”, either Flip to the Last Page or Gambling Away the Past? (I’m totally not hoping this will inspire you to continue one of these verses. Of course not)

November 11, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N: This is more of a regular prompt than a fake fic title, so I don’t think this does count as part of the ask box, but I do love your prompts in general, to-someplace-else, and I have been meaning to touch base with those series so, what the hell, let’s do this!

Gambling Away The Past, 9/? (2017-11-09)

Wakakusa is a young buck, only in his second antler growth, but he’s strangely tall and stocky–not as much as Heijomaru, of course, but a good combat summon nonetheless.

Where he got his penchant for fire, she has no idea.

“Oh gods,” she moans into her hands, sitting on the side of the training field with the rest of her team… the rest of the humans of her team, anyway.

On the field proper are Wakakusa and Kakashi’s pack of dogs–closer to pups than the grizzled ninken she remembers, paws adorably oversized, but far more experienced on the field than Shikako’s probationary partner.

Rin obligingly douses the flames with an almost lazy and exasperated D-rank water jutsu before Kakashi waves the summons apart to reset the exercise.

“It’s capture the flag, not set the field on fire,” Shikako yells out futilely; Wakakusa tosses his head in response. She’s not yet sure if that’s irritation or embarrassment or, simply, acknowledgement.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Obito nudges her.

True.

This clearly isn’t working–maybe she shouldn’t have expected it to work–Kakashi’s method of training his dogs wouldn’t necessarily work for Wakakusa just because they’re all summons. She’s his summoner, she should be more involved.

She heaves herself onto her feet, plants one hand on her fist with more confidence than she feels, and calls out a challenge, “Dogs versus deer! Obito and Rin will be the judges.”

At their names, the both of them perk up in excitement.

“That’s eight versus one,” Kakashi says slowly, not yet understanding. As far as he’s concerned, Wakakusa can’t even handle his ninken one at a time, much less all eight of them teaming up.

“No,” she corrects, “It’s nine versus two…” She walks over to stand next to Wakakusa who swishes his tail casually in a simple one-two. This, she knows, is a much more positive reaction.

“… unless you think you’re going to need help?” she continues, goading.

Kakashi’s eyes narrow. Around him, his summons drop their doggy grins and focus.

Challenge accepted.

Fake fic title: ” Point of No Return ” ( inspired by the Starset song ), Team 7 ( including Sai and Sakura too )

November 9, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I don’t want to do another Friendship is a (Mutual) Con ‘verse, because I’ve done a lot for this ask box event and there’s also another post in that ‘verse on the way. Not that I don’t love that ‘verse, but I’d like to explore others.

… or come up with new ones?!

So I know you mentioned Sai and Sakura so that I wouldn’t exclude them, but I thought about it and I like the idea of a ‘verse about the two of them specifically.

Like a post-bad-guys-win/comeback/time travel!AU except instead of Shikako going back in time, it’s Sai and Sakura. Or, alternatively, a dimension travel!AU more in line with this anon’s original ask…

But so as not to just recycle previous posts, let’s go in depth into this Sai and Sakura Save The World.

It’s pretty interesting because Sai has shown up early in DoS and yet he and Sakura haven’t met yet (as far as I know?) and their relationship would be inherently different from their canon relationship because while we consider Sakura as part of Team Seven still, in universe, nobody except Shikako would think that.

I mean, Project Miracle–she did help save Kakashi’s life–but she is firmly Team Anko now so…

Why would Team Seven send Sai, a ROOT trained spy, and Sakura, an elite combat medic taught by Tsunade, back in time instead of the three walking forces of nature that is the “core” Team Seven or even Kakashi (or Tenzo!) who have years more experience/information?

Maybe BECAUSE they’re a ROOT trained spy and elite combat medic taught by Tsunade.

So then we have to consider when and where such a pairing would be more effective than the other possible combinations…

The night of Naruto’s birth would be the most recent, I think (the Uchiha Massacre is already too late, they have to show up before then to be effective and stop the underlying political tensions and machinations). Sakura would be there to heal Kushina and Minato on the night of, and the both of them would be able to advise them in, primarily, getting rid of Danzo much earlier on and preparing for future catastrophes.

Reverse chronologically, the other possibilities are during the Third Shinobi World War, specifically when Team Minato are in danger, and maybe whenever Sakumo’s failed mission but at that point the information would be spread so thin and the repercussions so difficult to track that it’s unlikely.

And, anyway, I quite like the idea of Sai and Sakura hanging out with Kushin and Minato and seeing all of their friends as babies. It gives them a tangible reason to keep going because, frankly, by changing the timeline they no longer have a home to go back to.

And just the idea of irreversible time travel makes the title very ironic and sad and lovely 😀

To make it more sad, I wonder if the baby!Sai and Sakura die when time traveler!Sai and Sakura appear–like, the universe self edits and there can only be one of each, and obviously the babies don’t have as strong existences as these badass teenagers. And, also, there’s an excuse. Now I’m morbidly curious as to how many babies might have died due to Kyuubi chakra in the air.

Additionally, I wonder whether or not, because there are time travelers and the universe doesn’t need an SIOC to correct problems (not in a the-universe-is-sentient kind of way but in a balance-the-scales kind of way), Shikako’s existence is the same. Maybe there is a Shikako Nara but no SQ soul attached. Or maybe, even though they went back in time to help, their actions meant the Kyuubi was out longer and thus the baby that would have been Shikako (and Sai and Sakura) died from bijuu chakra exposure.

… I don’t think I want to go that far, though. Maybe no SQ soul at most, but no dead!Shikako, only because I think that’d be such a major blow to the time traveling team so early on that they wouldn’t want to make any other changes for fear of killing any more of their friends. And the whole “replacing their younger selves in the time stream” thing is already pretty bleak, for Sakura especially, since she actually grew up with her parents.

Anyway, I just quite liked the idea of Sai and Sakura time traveling together to save the world by saving Team Seven before they even know it. And also, Sai dismantling ROOT over a decade early and saving Shin.

And the possibility of Sai and Sakura getting swarmed by baby versions of Konoha Twelve is just too cute to pass up.

Title: Sell It With a Smile. Friendship is a (Mutual) Con.

November 8, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I’m getting very strong Naruto-and-Sai vibes from this title. Part of me thinks that this would be an “episode” in which for some ~mysterious reason~ Sai and Naruto are the only ones who can actually interact with the mark without blowing their cover, but another part of me thinks this would be a heartfelt yet hilarious “what shenanigans do these two get up to by themselves while the rest of the team goes home to maintain their daytime identities/throw off family suspicion”

Ugh, phrased like that, though, I just made myself feel sad.

But, still, Naruto and Sai back together again! I haven’t thought much about this pairing since all the Colour Time brainstorms!

I can’t just copy paste their Colour Time from that into Fia(M)C, so what is it that they get up to when left unsupervised? Hm… well a cat burglar and an shadowy government agency hacker. There’s not much that they CAN’T do, crime-wise, which means it should be something ludicrously mundane or, at least, start that way. Like. Grocery shopping and Sai notices that, hey, the person in front of us is buying all the ingredients to a home-made bomb? Let’s go stop them!

Mrgh, no, too extreme.

When lives are potentially at stake, they’d definitely call in the rest of the team even if it “their day off,” so that wouldn’t work.

… I mean, I’m already stealing (heh) the premise of Leverage, so why not borrow a little further? The Broken Wing Job has Parker stuck at home with an injury and she tries to thwart a robbery mostly by herself–so this could be something similar?

… oh! So, Kakashi sends Sai and Naruto off to buy a birthday cake for Yamato (never mind that his birthday was four months ago–why are we tailing them, senpai? Is this some kind of test?)

And while they’re at the bakery/cafe, they notice that, given the angle of a photographer’s camera, he’s not taking pictures of the food or the supposed, well-lit subject, but the building across the street? And that building is a bank/jewelry store/art gallery?

Or, hm, maybe minus the fake birthday cake errand. Maybe they’re just at Ichiraku’s–which is the closest thing to family that Naruto has that he’d spend his week off with (and there I go making myself sad again)–and some random person keeps showing up at the same time and the whole photography thing. And first off, Naruto is very bored, but second of all he DOES NOT APPRECIATE the sanctity of his favorite place being so violated. Ichiraku’s is the only crime-free place, as far as he’s concerned.

Sai is also a little bored and feeling awkward about the lack-of-family thing, so… yeah, sure, why not he’ll help.

(Kakashi and Yamato are probably just lurking nearby–Kakashi for funsies, Yamato reluctantly)

I have a feeling–in a series typical plot twist–that the alleged thief is, in fact, not casing the building but actually stalking an employee who works there. Which is EVEN WORSE and Naruto gets EVEN ANGRIER.

I like the idea that for some reason Sai was the one who had to go on-site and actually speak to the employees there (maybe because assumed thief/stalker guy had already seen Naruto or Sai needed to be there on location in order to hack into the bank’s security system back when they first thought it was a robbery) so Sai’s the one who interacted with the stalker’s victim and he’s the one who has to explain the whole… well, we thought he was going to rob your place of employment but instead he was stalking you, don’t worry, my friend will make sure he’ll never bother you again. Also, your shoes are very nice today?

Sai makes his first civilian friend! (IS IT SHIHO?)

Sorry anon, there’s a lot of gaps in this one, but here’s a short summary!

Sell It With A Smile

More than lock picks, explosives, or computers–a con artist’s best tool is their people skills.

Fake Fic Title: moral compass (says stand up, shake it off). Never Lookin’ To Come Back. p.s. all these brainstorms are so good

November 6, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Immediately from the title, I’m thinking this is a Sasuke!B-side of the Never Lookin’ To Come Back ‘verse. Like, what kind of shit has he gone through after his planet was destroyed? And then growing up as part of the Organization and going on black op missions up until he winds up on the Shuumatsu…

Sasuke’s moral compass is not exactly one for giving up, clearly. It may not always guide him in the right direction, but it at least makes him keep going. Which… I mean, was a disaster in canon, but can be a good thing so long as someone else points him in the right direction.

This is where Kakashi would show up in this ‘verse. As the one who “rescued” Sasuke by putting him in the Organization (so that Danzo couldn’t get him) he’d feature prominently in Sasuke’s past–whether as himself or as Agent Wolf–and maybe he’s the one who runs interference between ROOT and Shuumatsu the more they get involved with the politics of Senju vs Danzo.

I wonder what Sasuke’s opinion on the Shuumatsu crew is. Even before Neji and Hinata show up, that is–though the Hyuuga chancellor’s missing daughter and her first cousin is pretty interesting. Like, he definitely knows that Shino–the nameless Teacher of the Will of Fire–is the grandson of the Aburame chancellor. He probably knows that Shikako Heijo is in fact Shikako Nara, the Nara moon minister’s daughter. He probably also knows that–while the Inuzuka have been hit hard by the war–Kiba is the alpha’s son.

… I don’t think he knows about Naruto mostly because NOBODY is supposed to know about Naruto. (Except, you know, Kakashi and Jiraiya, probably)… and I don’t know if I want to go with my once-considered idea of TenTen actually being Danzo’s granddaughter via a disowned/runaway child but Sasuke definitely doesn’t know that, either.

The point is, Sasuke knows many secrets about the crew that they don’t necessarily know about each other and he lives in their starboard shuttle enjoying the entertainment. Obviously, he helps out when it’s needed, but he doesn’t volunteer his aid. Given his own adolescence of watching masked people return to The Org’s HQ and make jokes about assassinating people or disclosing their for various crimes, Sasuke finds the shenanigans the Shuumatsu crew get up to absolutely hilarious.

Of course, once the Hyuuga cousins show up and Ino points them in the direction of Tsunade, it starts to get much less fun. He’s not going to bail–the reason for which has less to do with him getting the Shuumatsu as his official mission, and more to do with how he’s actually fond of the crew–but now he’s got to defend the closest thing to home he’s had since ROOT destroyed his planet.

Ask Box Event Still Open!

not really for the a fake fic event, but in the pokemon!dos fusion, if team 7 were pokemon what reflected their personality and such, what ‘mons would they be? Like, I’d imagine Naruto to be Ampharos, haha. They’re electric-types who can light up their tail so bright that they can guide people who are lost. Electric types are also sporadic and tends to be overexcited too! Oh, & Sasuke can totally be a Luxray, what with their temperament + special, enhanced eyesight that can look through things!

November 5, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

(2/3) I want to say that Shikako is a Xatu?? Psychic type, sees the future. (It also “eyes the sun’s movement” a lot) I’m torn between that and Azelf (the latter can learn explosion! woa) And Ino is totally a Florges or Milotic! No questions there aha. Sakura’s a shiny Lopunny who goes into Mega-form when doing her super strength! aaaa it’s so much fun to play in your pokemon!au. Hope you don’t mind that I’m just rambling all over the place. (> v <)

(3/3) I guess my ideas isn’t really “if they were a pokemon, what ‘mon would they be.’ Rather, it’s what fits them best? Like, sure ninetales = kurama, and fire-types can be just as spunky and exuberant, but ninetales is a wise, mystical, almost deity-like pokemon, and that doesn’t really fit Naruto’s character. Ampharos might be a bit of a stretch, but I find their type & special characteristics to be more appropriate, yea?

No worries, anon, ranting about Dreaming of Sunshine and Pokemon is one of my favorite things 😉

The Pokemon teams in my AU were more representative of the characters’ abilities than their personalities, so I never really thought about it. I mean, the clan kids have their “clan Pokemon” of Sawsbuck and Politoed and Talonflame, etc. etc., but I suppose as Pokemon themselves it’d be different.

Like the difference between the normal Pokemon games and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, I guess?

At the same time, though, I do like the idea of them being their clan Pokemon and just having different personalities. Like, Shikamaru and Shikako are both Deerling, but Shikako is super adventurous while Shikamaru’s just… nah, I’m gonna chill here. And then whenever someone is exasperated with him they’d be like “Are you a Deerling or are you a Slakoth?”

Although Ino as a Grumpig doesn’t work so well, even though that is what I have as the Yamanaka clan Pokemon. Maybe a Delcatty? She never really had a Feebas phase, so probably not a Milotic… Unless she’s just the most fabulous Grumpig that every lived.

And I figure Sakura would probably be within the Chansey line given they’re healing and the super powerful physical attacks…

But, yeah, I haven’t really thought about making them Pokemon. It’s an interesting idea, anon!

Ask Box Event Still Open!

“Snapdragon” for Shisui/Shikako, if you feel comfortable with it? I’m really enjoying the Gardens!Shikako verse going on in the Recursive thread on FFnet, and I think these two would have an interesting dynamic in another reality

November 5, 2017 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

math-is-magic:

jacksgreysays:

I had to do some sleuthing to figure out what you were talking about, anon, because while I love the recursive fic forums, they also frighten me a little. My completionist tendencies won’t let me do it unless there’s a specific ‘verse I’m reading, so if nothing else I appreciate the fic rec; wafflelate is a fantastic author!

I am going to specify, though, that this is based mostly on wafflelate’s linked posts… the “canon” thread, if you will, because I’m not sure what else has been accepted as true or not. Although I did like the idea that… wait, hold up, *SPOILERS* y’all. I’d suggest checking out wafflelate’s The Many Gardens of Shikabane-hime before reading this, otherwise it won’t make much sense.

Anyway…

I liked the not-(yet?)-canon idea that Konoha interprets Shisui’s testimony as Shikako being a Senju descendant with the Mokuton and blood access to the vault (in order to steal the lightsaber). And I’m also liking “Kamiko” as her name as derived from “Kako” since “Shikako” is a little too obvious for her parentage, though given her penchant for shadow jutsu, they are aware she is also Nara.

I’m personally going to go with the idea that Shikako’s existence is fairly unique in the multiverse–maybe in the style of Lady Hallen and Fragile Dreams, in that Shikamaru was born a twin but said twin did not live through the Kyuubi’s corrosive chakra eighteen days later–so “Kamiko” is the only (living) Shikako in this universe.

Now, all that being said, anon, Shisui/Shikako as a ship in the Gardens!verse is rather compelling and I love your choice of title. It harkens to both Gardens and DoS, and given the meaning of snapdragons is deception that works pretty damn well for both Shikako and Shisui. Perfection!

Snapdragons can also mean grace under pressure and inner strength which is also pretty apt for both of them as well. However, in Japanese hanakotoba, it can signify a range of meanings, such as foresight, shamelessness, or an intrusive person. Which… also sort of works? And… apparently they look like skulls when they wilt? Dang, I am learning so much.

… er… enough fawning on my part!

So the main problem I’m seeing is that Shikako will always be trying to go back home (after she’s made sure that Kakashi is relatively safe) and unless that can be definitely closed as an option, then that will stay between her and anyone else that is not Kakashi and prevent her from getting close. Then again, Shisui is the kind of person who is best friends with Itachi, so it’s not like a couple (hundred) secrets will frighten him off.

But I do think that is an issue that needs to be resolved before Shikako can start to put down roots (heeeeeey) and get emotionally involved with this particular dimension, much less its people (besides this Kakashi), even much much less some Uchiha who she’s never met before.

A simple way would be to have Gelel tell her that what she wants can’t happen. Sure she can use their power to go into another dimension, but she’ll never get back to her specific dimension. The multiverse is vast with all sort of dimensions forming and dying and brushing past each other. They’re not linear paths she can just jump across, or even tangled strings that–if she just finds the right one–she can just track back home. Each dimension is more like a air molecule, bouncing around and past each other, no bonds holding them in any semblance of order. The dimension she came from has long since blown beyond her reach and there is no wind that can bring her home. At best, she’ll just doom herself to traveling forever, bouncing between dimensions that get further and further away from something she can recognize.

That’s bleak, sorry, but I really do think it needs to be a definitive no, otherwise she will always try to go home. As for how the Gelel know this, well… they did create a massive seal that still worked for centuries after their empire fell and was forgotten so… if Shikako and the Uzumaki could create three dimensional seals (which Konoha are baffled by) then whose to say the Gelel weren’t also super sealing genii.

With that out of the way the story then becomes smaller. It’s no longer about Shikako fighting the cosmic flow of time and space–pausing only to help someone who is very similar to her teacher–but rather a more intimate story about a figurative fish out of water settling into a village which has no idea what to do with her.

That’s the kind of setting we need here, anon.

So as I said earlier, I did quite like the idea of Shikako being assumed to be a SenjuxNara descendant. From there–and I don’t know if someone else thought of this already, but if they have then sorry–I like the idea that in order to resolve Kakashi’s “PR nightmare” (or whatever it was that got him named comrade-killer) with her sudden appearance and bewildering heritage, that they (probably Tsunade) say that he was on a “secret undercover mission from the Sandaime” to protect the last Senju from Danzo.

And, well, he’s dead so who’s to say he didn’t. Also, it worked for Itachi, kind of, so…

Unfortunately, Shikako no longer has her uncle’s earrings–but that could have sort of explained how Kamiko learned shadow jutsu so long Ikoma had a interesting shinobi career with several unaccounted for gaps. Maybe he was ANBU or MAYBE he was training a secret SenjuxNara child?! He’s dead too, no one can say otherwise!

… I’m getting very off track, I think.

Basically what I’m saying is, Shisui would fit perfectly in this political subterfuge campaign and if anyone’s going to bring the Uchiha clan out of their pariah-hood it would be a ridiculously powerful Senju x Nara who has, if not hard evidence, then an easily proven list of Danzo’s crimes and intended crimes.

Also, she killed Orochimaru, so shut up. (FINE, Kakashi helped A LITTLE, but he’s the only one who can say anything)

Speaking of, Kakashi would probably be one of the few people to tease her about the Shisui thing. Like, everyone else is super serious around her and is just “yes, what a politically advantageous match,” or “whatever the crazy powerful badass wants, she gets” whereas he’s just like… “ah, my adorable little kouhai, growing up so fast.”

I think this is all I got, anon, sorry for being slightly incoherent about it and thanks again for pointing me in the direction of Gardens!verse.

~

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Waffle has another, concurrent gardens!mechanic story on the soulmates thread, but it works slightly differently – Shikako is always dead/doesn’t exist in these other verses, but when she uses gelel to go onto the next, she ‘splits’ instead of leaving, thus meaning *a* version of her eventually gets home, but others can sit tight and be in for the long haul in these other verses.

Ooooh! That’s very nice 😀 Thanks!