Tag: rant

i really like it when i read your fics that are really short and compact but somehow it still manages to convey everything that needs to be said, either if the thought is mixed in the narrative or written. it usually takes me more energy to read fics with long paragraphs and yours is very refreshing to read!!

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Oh thank god. I always worry that my fics are too short? Or that I’m not conveying enough of what’s in my head?

Like, I love short fic too, but some of my absolute favorites are long fic and I will go back and reread them because of their encompassing imagery and swooping emotionalism and I’m just like: I cannot do that. I do not have the attention span for it.

And it always feels like when I try to do it it comes off as pedantic or overly descriptive? Like… yes, we know this person has this color hair, don’t do that.

In my heart, I want to one day write a super long in depth epic, but in my head I know I enjoy writing short slices of life where the feelings are subtly intertwined with, like, the way people take their tea.

i don’t know if canon did it, but i wonder if jiraiya allows naruto to write letters back to konoha? there is the risk of somebody tracking their whereabouts so it might not be often but the forum brought up an interesting point about naruto missing on a lot of things in the last three years (especially considering that the newest arc happens during more or less a year after he left) i’ve wanted to know your thought about this!!

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I forget which fic I pulled this headcanon from, or if it just kind of bubbled up as collective fanon thing, but I always imagined that Naruto was sending stuff back to Konoha either via toads or regular slow civilian mail. But, like, months off Small things–like a postcard or something from one country when they’re already two countries over, or sent along with a merchant caravan that will end up in Konoha eventually.

Naruto didn’t grow up with a lot of bonds, remember, so he wouldn’t really know the culture of gift giving and letter writing so much. A lot of his friendships are in the moment, in person–not that he no longer considers them friends when they’re long distance, but it’s not something I imagine him being so conscious of as to send gifts?

I mean, then again, this is all minutiae that Kishi never bothered with, but who is in Konoha that he’d want to send stuff back to in canon? Sakura and maybe Iruka and Tsunade? Possibly Kakashi, though what besides snippets of Jiraiya’s books would he want?

Contrast, of course, with DoS where Shikako did actively cultivate stronger bonds amongst her friends. Deliberately made post-mission team dinners a tradition, and fostered a sense of shared stuff amongst her team.

And I do think Tsunade and Jiraiya keep each other appraised of the respective situations to some extent–now, whether Jiraiya feels like sharing that is up to him.

Sounds like a kind of sensory overload; everything too loud, too bright, too scratchy, too hot, too everything. And music blocks out noises, and rythmic tapping/stimming behaviour gives your senses something predictable to focus on instead. A kind of peace, as is evenly filtered light, coolness, and rain that takes away excessive smells, even if your nose wasn’t the main thing bothered,

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way.

I kind of figured it was “reverse” seasonal affective disorder (or a reaction to everyone else recovering from their seasonal affective disorders and me being a dick and getting irritated at their rising spirits), but breaking everything down like that is pretty smart.

I was so exhausted from the day before yesterday that I literally slept for fourteen hours and didn’t find it weird to just spend the rest of the day in bed, and I feel so much better. I think it’s because, as you said, I could control everything–keep the lights to my level, the sound to my level, and there’s less dust and pollen or whatever in the air because I’m indoors instead of out on deliveries. And, also, no other people, so…

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

lyricwritesprose:

bubonickitten:

do you think we as a society can finally acknowledge that “this thing didn’t have a name until recently” doesn’t necessarily mean “this thing did not exist until recently” or (worse) “this thing doesn’t exist at all”

Let’s also agree that “this thing did not have an English name until recently,” does not necessarily mean it was nameless.

I was talking to my coworker (who is over three decades older than me) who is both my friend and kind of like my mentor to adulthood, and we got to the topic of significant others. I already came out to him as not-straight, which he was really cool about, thankfully, but I don’t know how much he understands about my sexuality.

He’s not like my relatives who are “you just haven’t met the right man yet” (or woman, for the more liberally minded relatives), but he does often say “maybe you’ll meet a woman you’re into, so until then you have to work on your social skills.”

He’s right about the second half–I do have social anxiety, though I’ve been trying to mitigate it by going to weekly tabletop rpg nights–and the first half isn’t nearly as presumptuous as what my relatives say, but I’m not sure if he quite makes the connection when I say I’m ace/aro.

I’ve explained before about finding people aesthetically pleasing, but not sexually compelling or “attractive.” Some people–yes, even guys, I’ll have to explain–are pretty, but that doesn’t mean I want a relationship with them. My coworker nods and says, “I was like that, too, before I met my wife.”

And I was dreading hearing about “finding The One” and “love at first sight” and “just knowing,” but instead he talked about how they became friends first. About how they had mutual friends who kept trying to set them up with each other on dates, but neither of them wanted to be forced into anything. He talked about how he finds other people “sexy looking" but doesn’t want to have sex with them and he doesn’t get aroused by them. He can acknowledge that certain features are more attractive to him, but because he doesn’t know that person it’s kind of just looking at a nice statue.

And all I could think was “oh, you’re demisexual.”

But I didn’t say it. Because labels aren’t for people to use on others, but for people to help identify themselves.

And even though he and I are friends I don’t want to tell him he’s something when he’s pretty comfortable with his identity already. And, frankly, how would that change his life anyway? He’s married with a kid, he’s not in the market for dating so his demisexuality doesn’t affect his everyday life.

But I have to wonder, if demisexual was a more popular term when he was my age, would he comfortably self-identify as such?

out of the stories and verses you’ve made during the fake summary fic period, which are the ones that you would continue? (or would like to see being asked more about?? though that can go for your other verses too)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Hm, see the thing is, there’s a difference between me wanting to see an idea be continued/written (by someone else) versus me wanting to continue/write an idea versus wanting to develop the idea some more via asks…

So I went through the giant list of the ask box fake fic titles event posts (under the cut) and split them into the three different categories and this is going to be a long rambling post, anon. But I’m really happy you asked it because I did kind of want to do an overview of the event because that was A LOT of stories and ‘verses that got generated over the past six weeks.

Also, I kind of want to see reader feedback about what stories and ‘verses everyone liked best. Anyway, here’s “writer’s choice” for now:

A) Would like to see someone else continue:

Miracle
Colorblind
close your eyes (breathe in your ruin)
Monster Smiles (blood in my teeth) **
All You Have To Do (Is Stay) **
the dark side of the moon

For Miracle and the dark side of the moon it’s more that I would like to see the directions that JJ1293 and the others go with for the pre!Kako ‘verse and where the other writers (including @donapoetrypassion) who already have ROOT!Shikako fics go with theirs. I like the ideas, but I more like what others can do with them.

Colorblind I’m pretty sure has to exist somewhere–the HP fandom is too big and too prolific for it not to–but if it doesn’t (because it is, admittedly, the “B-sides” of what would be the main story revolving around Slytherin!Harry) it’s still an idea I think someone else can do a lot better than I can.

close your eyes (breathe in your ruin) is almost entirely Kakashi’s POV which I’ve previously disclosed as being THE MOST DIFFICULT for me so… would love to read it, but cannot, for the life of me, write it.

** Monster Smiles (blood in my teeth) and All You Have To Do (Is Stay) are both in “would like to see someone else continue” and “would like to continue myself” because I think, in a perfect world, these would be pretty fantastic collaborative fics. Well, MS(bimt) would just be a collection of different authors focussing on different characters and less actual collaboration. But AYHTD(IS) would be active collaboration. And maybe different realities are different authors, but getting those to mesh together would require active collaboration.

—

B) Would like to continue myself (in a world where I were good at following up on fic ideas and didn’t have commitment issues or writer’s block/anxiety)

Rust and Parallel
Desperate Endeavors
In The Absence of Heroes
Freedom’s Just Another Word
Monster Smiles (blood in my teeth) **
Call On Your Angels
All You Have To Do (Is Stay) **

B2) Would like to develop idea / world build more via asks

Tamed
Strong In The Real Way
Trapped In The Lightbulb Fixation
Remember To Sleep

Rust and Parallel are both in my Iron Will ‘verse anyway so… I ought to develop that series properly. Straight up, I think I just need to marathon the series and just do it. JUST DO IT! But…

Desperate Endeavors I’m a little bit worried will be too similar to Lies Beyond The Morning and also has Kakashi. But I think so long as I don’t go into Kakashi POV overly much and frame it less as a mind trip and more of a run/escape mind heist it should be okay?

In The Absence of Heroes I know is probably one of the less popular posts from this event, but I’m inordinately fond of it? Probably because I love the Lost Kids way more than I like the Descendants movie, and the idea of putting them in a setting where they can grow into themselves properly is just so appealing to me. Also, the idea of Old Ben Kenobi having this herd of moody teenagers and NOT HAVING THEM FALL VICTIM TO CREEPY ASS PALPATINE is just so nice. A little bit redemption for everyone?

Freedom’s Just Another Word, I swear to god, is my favorite post and I can’t believed I messed up the posting for it so that it didn’t come out when people were expecting. Please, go check it out if you haven’t seen it. I can only dream of being witty and imaginative enough to make the FJAW that I see in my mind’s eye… ah, dang, does this title have JAW in it?! That’s hilarious. Though I’m worried that because Mist is so unknown that it’s too open a sandbox for me to play with. I work better with distinct frames, I think.

Call On Your Angels I just really like Atlantis The Lost Empire and “assemble the crew” movies.

Tamed, Strong In The Real Way, Trapped In The Lightbulb Fixation, and Remember To Sleep are very expansive AU fusions so most of those respective posts have been more about world building than a plot outline. I’ve already gotten a lot of asks which has helped me figure out both the world and the plots a little, but I don’t think I know enough yet to say whether or not I’d want to continue these four stories.

Anyway, if you’ve gotten this far–I’m impressed! How did everyone else like this event? Which stories and ‘verses were your favorite? Would anyone be interested in doing this event again in the future?

1) Miracle
2) When The Dawn Is Still Dark
3) Colorblind
4) Rust
5) Above the Abyss
6) /I Am Your Lionheart
7) Nevertheless, She Persisted
8) And Way Down We Go
9) Babysitting
10) Desperate Endeavors
11) /Blitzkrieg
12) Tamed
13) Seven Deadly Sins
14) Paint With All The Colours Of The Wind
15) /What You Thrive For
16) Spin Me A Song (In The Shadows Of Death)
17) In The Absence Of Heroes
18) close your eyes (breathe in your ruin)
19) //JASHIN AND SHIKAKO’S GODHOOD
20) /I’m Here
21) Parallel
22) the song remains the same
23) Strong In The Real Way
24) Freedom’s Just Another Word
25) Insuperable
26) blood and earth (not theory and chalk)
27) //we were the kings and queens of promise
28) Monster Smiles (blood in my teeth)
29) Bridge Over Troubled Water
30) Call On Your Angels
31) The Bustle In A House
32) The Homework
33) All You Have To Do (Is Stay)
34) An (Almost) Relaxing Day
35) Pro Patria Mori
36) find me where the wild things are
37) the dark side of the moon
38) Trapped In The Lightbulb Fixation
39) Remember To Sleep
40) Delicacy In Layers
41) when the fire’s at my feet again
42) We Built This City

The ones with / or // are not really brainstorms so much as rants dancing around the fake fic title.

So in the reminder to dream au what would have happened to his parents lab? Attacked by the corrupt police with Kurama? Oh maybe the tailed beasts are actually part of an ancient entity that the police stumbled upon and had put a piece in an Android to try and control. The one they used to attack Naruto’s parents escaped so they uploaded it along with Naruto?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

@donapoetrypassion’s questions:
(I’m just gonna float some ideas/questions your ways as they occur to me): Shikamaru has a new cybernetic arm- in this verse, how did he lose his flesh one?

Does Shikako’s hypersensitivity diagnosis have an in-universe equivalent?

Oooh… Danzo’s stolen mind-control eye… in a universe where so much runs on robotics and (presumably) many people have robotic limbs…

If the word ‘enslaved’ possibly applies to Naruto, what word applies to this world’s equivalent of Sai? And why?

Shikako seems like an adult with a job- that do the other Konoha 12 do?

(Does the internet affect what kind of shogi/strategy games Shikamaru plays? Who he plays? Are there competitions? Is he a professional shogi player who doesn’t actually need an income from another kind of job?)

(As you can see, I took that invitation and ran with it. I’ll stop bugging you now, though.)

Oh wow, okay, I totally asked for this and I’m grateful for the questions, so let me just wade through these first… (Also, dona, your questions are in no way bugging me. Actually your questions almost always make me contemplate deeper ramifications for my AUs, so thanks!)

I’m still not entirely sure what happened to Naruto’s parents exactly, but I do think they were probably working on something to do with the Kyuubi. The problem is I don’t know what it is exactly, either, beyond something like a… sentient “nature-made” AI. Like… something on the scope of the internet. Or The Machine from Person of Interest. A sort of cybernetic eldritch horror that lives in machines and consumes code… so maybe the bijuu are a virus?

Um, yeah. So whatever Kyuubi is, the Uchiha probably had some kind of secret epic code to control it and the Kyuubi in turn took over the lab Naruto’s parents were working in?

Maybe they were working on putting the Kyuubi in a robot body so it could properly “live” except the Uchiha found out about it, wanted the Kyuubi robot, tried to buy it from Naruto’s parents, and ended up just taking it by force. Leading to the deaths of the Namikaze-Uzumaki family. (Unsure if I also want Naruto to have physically died but been uploaded into the robot body along with the Kyuubi, or if he’s still alive but doesn’t know it and his body has some kind of uplink connecting him with the Kyuubi robot body).

Shikamaru probably lost his flesh arm in an incident involving Shikako. I’m thinking something like… a tech expo and an overzealous rival/fan attacked her? But then Shikamaru got on the way and so there’s still guilt on Shikako’s end, as per canon–maybe this was pretty recent and the reason why she hasn’t gone home for family dinners in a while?

Shikako’s hypersensitivity diagnosis… it might be that she can’t have any cybernetic implants/mods. I know in cyberpunk universes, nearly everyone is modded to some extent, so the people who aren’t are unusual for some reason. Everyone has a ID chip, at the very least, but Shikako doesn’t even have that? (Which does make it a little ironic that she’s a genius with cybernetics)

Yup. Danzo’s got a Sharingan. I think in this AU the Uchiha clan are still alive, but Danzo might have stolen more the design for the Sharingan than actually plucking out Shisui’s eyeball. Then again, that imagery is gruesome enough to fit him.

“Enslaved” does also fit Sai, though perhaps it’s more… oh no… “groomed.” Danzo’s ROOT are actually human, but they have an implant that basically lets him wipe their memories and such and turn them into meat puppets.

All of the Konoha Twelve? I guess it depends mostly on what the clans would be in this ‘verse… except for Sakura who is, like in canon, a doctor/medic, TenTen who is also an mechanical engineer (though not so much cybernetics), and Lee who… what does Gai do?

As for the clans, they are probably like companies (or yakuza crime families) in the sense that the clan as a whole runs a business and the clan heads/heirs are probably the CEOs/training to be CEOs or are major shareholders who CAN live off the company but decide to work anyway. So for example, the Nara clan is probably a huge pharmaceuticals company (beginning to branch into cybernetics due to Shikako) but Shikamaru is also a professional shogi player.

Hm… what do the other clans do?

this isnt a fake fic prompt but more of a have you ever thought about what would happen if sasunaru was canon in dos and how shikako would react to it? (post-canon maybe?)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Yes? I mean I have briefly considered how the SasuNaru ship in DoS would differ from in canon, but I never consider any ship canon unless its actually written by SQ or actual canon (for example Yoshino/Shikaku).

I don’t think Sasuke and Naruto having a relationship would necessarily be something Shikako is overly surprised by, but its not as if she’s preoccupied with the live lives of her friends–after all, she didn’t know when Shikamaru and TenTen started dating but she didn’t have a huge reaction either.

Especially if its post-canon. SQ has already said DoS (and Shikako) are running up to a particular point in canon, so the travesty that is Chapter 700 wouldn’t apply which means Shikako has no expectations of what canon relationships Naruto may end up with and even less expectations about DoS Naruto’s relationships.

So yes, I’ve thought of it, but nothing extensive or interesting.

I.. had the weirdest dream of Shikako and Shikamaru as the two main leads in the Barbie: Princess and the Pauper film (my childhood!! Haha) I legit had the entire film play in my sleep. It was oddly satisfying/amusing. (I actually went to rewatch the movie when I woke up. Super cringey CGI, but still enjoyable haha. The songs are stuck in my head for whatever reason) (Also… Princess&Pauper!AU prompt? Just to make this ask relevant haha. (You can ignore this if you want))

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Cool? Not one of my own childhood movies, but I was always fond of how the Barbie movie franchise looked at any and all fairy tales and was like–hell yeah, we’re doing that somehow. Doesn’t matter if there aren’t any female characters traditionally, stick a heroine in that story.

Can’t really think of how a Princess/Prince&Pauper!AU would work because who looks enough like someone else to… 

Oh, wait… Sasuke and Sai?

Maybe that’s Sai’s fairy tale origin in Tamed?

apart from shikako and tetsuki, who do you think would be in qprs in the dos verse (or any of your aus) i also agree with the qpp you chose for shikako and i think it would work in an au not decorated with daily death or alive situations. maybe shikako would be in a qpr with both ino and sasuke but ino and sasuke themselves are just friends (or at least until they get to know each other better) if she considered it. (my second choices for shikako’s qpp was essentially naruto/gaara because (1/2)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

maybe not necessarily in dos canon, but in your aus focusing on their relationships, it is easy to interpret their relationship as “more than friendship, but not less than romantic, just something different” (and there i would talk about alterous attraction but i haven’t really explored that term myself a lot more) (2/2)

Oh! I did not know about the term alterous, but I think that’s how I interpret Shikaara–as an ambiguous mix between platonic and romantic. Of course, not in canon but in a canon adjacent AU such as Dreaming of S(omething).

I think Naruto and Shikako are very platonic. Even in my post-series Waking Up Starstruck (which is my attempt to do a Narukako ship) it’s still not all that romantic. And not even because of my interpretation of Shikako as aro/demi, but because I cannot for the life of me understand Naruto’s character. He and I just are not simpatico. :/ I love him but I do not understand him. I don’t know if they would even have a QPR or maintain their less intense friendship.

Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship is too steeped in canon for me to disentangle (SasuNaru was one of my “Baby’s First Ships”) so I don’t know if they would have a QPR or a romantic relationship… But I do think Naruto and Haku would have a fantastic QPR in a canon adjacent AU, so at least I know him that much, right?

Let’s see, who else…

As Ino’s co-spouses, Sakura and Sai are not romantic with each other, but they do develop a sweet QPR which is very nice for their triad marriage.

I imagine Team Gai are not romantically interested in each other, but they are the closest thing they all have to family which would easily translate to QPRs. Especially when they’re older and their personalities have matured.

Actually, yeah, if I’m not restricting myself to canon. Then in a canon adjacent AU, that Kiba+Shikako QPR would definitely exist.

Oh, in the Team Medic!AU (Team One with Sakura, Youbirin, and Jiro passed with a combat medic jounin sensei)–or, at least, the How To Adult Properly series based on it–Team One definitely have QPR because they have no boundaries with each other.

I don’t know who else, this is a big question. There are so many characters that’s like an infinite number of combinations so…

But I do appreciate your question, so thanks for asking, anon 🙂

!!! im also aromantic and in the ace-spectrum and when SQ said that romance was not a thing that’s going to happen in DOS smh i got really happy, i’ve gotten so attached to shikako that i actually headcanon her as aromantic as well and would rather see her in queerplatonic relationships rather than romantic ones (though i can see why the shipping thread in the forums is lively) who do you think would shikako be QPRs with?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I actually quite appreciate that there isn’t any romance in DoS. Which might sound off considering a lot of my DoS fanfic does revolve around various ships, but I’m relieved that canon DoS doesn’t.

My interpretation of Shikako in canon is also aromantic–though for shipping/fic writing purposes I tend to extend that to demi-romantic. Then again, considering how mild my writing expression of romance is, all of my shipping fic could be interpreted as queerplatonic? But I understand what you’re saying (my Trailblazer character Tetsuki is qpp with Ryohei Sasagawa) so let’s see…

I think Shikako and Ino are one step away from a canonical QPR… but it’s one of those “in a kinder world” sort of situation. Even without the oncoming war, both of them (or, at least, Ino does) have clan responsibilities, and I do think Ino is a romantic at heart. She would want a romantic relationship (not necessarily with Shikako, per se) and while I know QPRs aren’t incompatible with romantic relationships, that’s a lot of people to juggle since I do really quite like the triad of Sakura/Ino/Sai (which is at least 2/3 canonical for Naruto and could very well be completely canonical in DoS?) 

Alternatively the only other character who I think Shikako is closest to a canonical QPR with is Sasuke. But the problem with that is I cannot help but headcanon that Sasuke is in love with Shikako most likely romantically. So while it’s platonic on Shikako’s end, it’s probably romantic on Sasuke’s, and I don’t think she’d be comfortable with deepening their friendship into a QPR for fear of breaking Sasuke’s heart by not being able to reciprocate his romantic feelings.

Who else… I don’t know. I would have considered Kiba before but not particularly recently and not more than Ino and Sasuke… Yeah. Those are the most canonical potential QPRs.