墨消し

I am so busy. I am practicing / my new hobby of watching me / become someone else. There is / so much violence in reconstruction. / Each minute is grisly, but I have / to participate. I am building / what I cannot break.

[sumikeshi]

【 墨消し 】 ⁛ redaction, to thoroughly cover over with black ink

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about

This is an independent, selective (as in: mutuals-only), and non-exclusive (as in: I'm okay with more than one version of a character interacting with this muse, this blog is duplicates-friendly), crossover and OC-friendly roleplay blog for Sai from the Naruto series.

My muse for Sai is somewhat canon-divergent and incorporative of headcanon material but is based almost entirely on canonical elements from the Naruto manga and Shippuden anime.

DMs are open to all, if anyone would like to plot something more serious for something like a thread. Asks are always welcome, even if we aren't mutuals, but I may be selective in what I respond to.

My name is Maz, I'm Sai's mun, and I'm an adult who has been roleplaying online since 2008 and on Tumblr since 2010, departing from the roleplaying community in 2019 and returning in 2022—over a decade of experience with collaborative roleplay-based writing!

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roleplay etiquette

No god-modding. I control my character, you control yours. I am, however, completely alright with things like your character(s) making assumptions about what my muse is doing or how they're feeling but, if you're really not sure where I'm headed with something, feel free to message me and ask. Clarification helps sometimes.

Yes, you can like and reblog the things that I post and share. You do not need to go to an image's or musing post's source to like it or reblog it. You can leave likes on threads you aren't a participant in—it's fun! It lets me know that you like what you're reading (just as long as you're not reblogging those threads)! Please don't worry about 'notification spamming' me. It's not a big deal and I don't mind it at all.

I observe 'Reblog Karma' with ask memes or inbox games but, importantly, I do not hold others to that standard; if I reblog an ask meme or inbox game from you, I will probably try my best to send you a prompt! I do not expect you to do the same. Sometimes, there just isn't a good one that works for a certain muse and that's perfectly alright.

Please don't start or add roleplay commentary on other Tumblr users' posts (I see this happening most often on images). Please be courteous to people who aren't roleplayers by keeping your threads off of their posts and making new posts of your own to start them instead.

Even as someone who has many original characters who is also an OC-friendly roleplayer of canon muses, I don't mind if you don't personally roleplay with OCs.

I don't mind it if you don't have a 'tagging system', that will never be a requirement for writing with me.

I match other roleplayers' text sizes in my replies (and I also usually omit emotive or reaction icons if my partner doesn't use them) but whether or not you format your posts is not a deal-breaker for me at all.

I don't mind if you don't trim our posts. I'm an X-Kit Rewritten user, I can be the one who trims our posts if you don't.

Typos and mechanical errors aren't a problem as long as I know what you're trying to say. If I'm confused by something, I'll send you a message about it. Otherwise, no worries.

Lastly, please do not follow me if you are someone who frequently recycles their blog into an entirely different muse. I completely understand falling out-of-touch with your muse but I don't have any interest in roleplaying with you if you only intend to write them for a few months before scrapping them and covering them up with a different character. It gives me the impression that you don’t really care about roleplaying with others.

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rules

Sai is portrayed as both a minor and an adult on this blog (most commonly between the ages of fourteen and twenty-three years of age). However, NSFW sexually explicit interactions between adult characters and Sai, in the context of the verses in which he is also an adult, may appear on this blog. I am selective about the NSFW that will be published here, since I also have a NSFW-dedicated sideblog for Sai here — just understand this before sending any asks of a sexual nature.

For accessibility reasons, I do not roleplay using over-formatted and edited text (including on Discord) and respectfully ask that other writers avoid using excesssively-formatted* or edited text when roleplaying with me when possible, as most formatted text (particularly unicode text or, for some reason, Tumblr's colored text) is not compatible with the screen reader that works best for me.

I don't tolerate fascist reactionaryism or bigotry (racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia and transmisogyny, queerphobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, pro-Zionism, or anti-communist sentiment) and I'm not shy about blocking people if I'm not interested in seeing their blogs anymore.

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verses

Ink Blotting — based in the canonical events of the Naruto manga and Shippuden anime, subject to some canon-divergence.

Forced Perspective — verse in which Sai defects, or considers defecting, from Konohagakure after reckoning with the fact that the ANBU, Root, and the village itself have used and deeply traumatized him, as well as directly causing Shin's death. ⠀

Inkling — Sai as a Root operative in training, between early childhood and early teen years, up until becoming a fully-fledged Root operative.

Underpainting — alternate universe wherein Sai is sent to the Konohagakure Ninja Academy after preliminary training and an early upbringing in the Root program; departing from the traditional extensive training depicted in canon. ⠀

Dieback — an alternate universe in which Sai never departs from the Root program, and never becomes a member of Team Seven.

Lion Tailing — alternate universe in which Shin survives, .

Wilting Point — Sai endures medical experiments conducted by a faction of the ANBU research division after being diverted from Root training. ⠀

Blank Page — based in the post-war events of the Naruto universe, following the Fourth Great Ninja War, subject to canon-divergence.

Still Life — based in the canonical post-war events of the Shikamaru Hiden and Sakura Hiden blank period era light novels, in which Sai and Ino's relationship blossoms.

New Leaf — taking place during the Boruto era; subject to canon divergence. ⠀

Monochrome — modern alternate universe setting in which Sai is a child (between the ages of seven and seventeen years).

Lightfast — modern alternate universe setting in which Sai is an adult. ⠀

Deprogram — a science fiction alternate universe in which Sai is an android (highly compatible with pre-existing fictional universes such as the Blame! manga or The Murderbot Diaries series).

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tags

headcanons

musings, psyche, happy place

answers

open starters

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other

Hōzuki Suigetsu ⠀⠀sideblog to leucistics

Fū of Takigakure

Uchiha Obito

Uchiha Imari⠀⠀ sideblog to ni-ju-ni

Team 22

Sai

Yamanaka Inojin⠀⠀sideblog to sumikeshi ⠀

mun's personal blog

mun's fanfiction

mun's art

[sumikeshi]

The most annoying thing about Boruto as a series is how frustratingly close it comes to doing something constructive with the world Kishimoto created... and all that potential gets squandered pretty much immediately. There was ample setup to have so many intense, great conversations about how and why children do deserve autonomy... how children aren't the belongings of their parents... and how conflicting it can be to raise children in a world that traumatized you even if that world has changed. What we got was, like, the most declawed and toothless argument for why "the status quo is okay, actually," and that just pisses me off.

[sumikeshi]

Something I appreciated about Boruto was its willingness to have Sakura bring up that same exact anxiety ("How can I justify letting my child walk in my footsteps like this when I know how dangerous it is? What good is being a parent and a member of society if I can't give my child a life that is better than my own was?") but, in the same breath, I can't say that I'm impressed with the conclusion it came to... which was, ostensibly, "Our kids make their own choices." I wanted Sakura to argue more with her friends on that point, especially as a physician. "How can they really be expected to make a choice when they don't have the full picture? How can that be considered informed consent? They have the opportunity to do more and be more in their lives than shinobi. Why aren't we encouraging them in other directions? Why are we dooming them? Are we worried this peace won't last forever?" What's that old adage? Our grandfathers were soldiers, so our fathers could be farmers, so we could be artists.

[sumikeshi]

I'm going to be honest and say I think preparing to welcome Inojin as a newborn might have had the unintended effect of sending Sai (and/or Ino) into a bit of a depressed slump. The ordeal of creating a life with someone is significant and I know Sai would definitely have experienced the common new-parent empathy epiphany of "wait a second, everybody is somebody's child," and processed having to take the lives of others as a small child, himself—less in a typical flashback-centric post-traumatic stress way and more in a five stages of grief way—all because the idea of ever allowing Inojin to be subjected or exposed to a life like his deeply horrifies him. Jury's out on whether or not he would be honest with Ino about this because he'd feel so guilty if it ended up making her feel bad while she's pregnant and prone to mood swings already. If she prodded him about it, though, he'd be more reticent to lie to her. It may be a period of peace but fatherhood scares him because he just wants Inojin to be safe. That's his job, that's his duty. How can he reconcile this with knowing that Inojin might possibly want to become a shinobi?

[sumikeshi]

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WORKER'S DAY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHOJI AKIMICHI ☭

[sumikeshi]

Been on an unofficial hiatus from writing for a little while now because I've been recovering from my sprained ankle and wrist as well as some depression issues but I'm just in time for Mun Day... I want to show you all the website I've been working on for the past couple of weeks as my "downtime at work" hobby (when it is normally roleplay writing). It's a bit hyper-local to my area with some of the niche references but... I hope it can be enjoyed by newcomers. I neglected this website for four years and it sat collecting dust on my Neocities profile until this month, so... thank you, if you do choose to visit!

[xmonday-mintx]

"people are good"

[cyberpunkplaza]

[sumikeshi]

Guess what day it is? That's right. Maz Munday.

🚨 fellow lesbians please peep my hand pics 🚨

[sumikeshi]

Maz update: I sprained my ankle last night! I took today (well, at this point, yesterday) off from work since I still can't really walk on my left foot. Momo is loving this. I feed her a little spoonful of her wet food every time I get up to use the bathroom and, when she finishes eating, she immediately comes and sits on my chest, aggressively nuzzling my face while purring loudly. I have a boot coming in the mail for my ankle. Thank you HSA. All my bones are crunchy and I am on a lot of ibuprofen. Happy weekend!

[asparkleofmuses]

"Nice to meet you, Sai-kun," she responds, still watching him attentively, but not trying to touch him, or asking further, not yet. Maybe she can convince him, eventually. In the meantime seemed intent on continuing studying despite being sick.

"Oh, I don't think you are incapacitated" she replies. As she does, she is cataloguing symptoms. Congestion, tiredness, possibly fever. All in all seems like a simple virus, but surely something not comfortable. And it could get worse if he did not rest.

"But do you mind if I sit in this table? I won't interrupt, I promise"

[sumikeshi]

Right, this is one of those questions. He takes a moment to think about his response. Yes, he does mind? Or no, he doesn't mind?

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're welcome to it," he eventually answers, figuring he'll dispense with the convoluted version, adding softly, “Do as you wish.”

He doesn't look at her again as she takes the seat, returning his attention to the book in his hands. Unfortunately, the text still refuses to congeal into anything of sense. Blinking once, then twice, he tries to force his vision back to normal. Sai shifts his posture, straightening his back against the thick wood of the library seat, and his shoulders resist the entire process.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“I'll, uh, try my best not to fall asleep again,” he adds, forcing a bashful smile.

[cornbelt]

[oliviarampaige]

“Borealis”

Day 25 - Dangerous

The ol’ North Wind starts to howl.

[sumikeshi]

Any threads that I began when Sai was a bird will be continued at the discretion of the partners I was writing them with — for the sake of continuity, they will simply be the continuation of those distilled hours of bird-Sai. You know what I mean? Rest assured, he will one day be a bird again.

[sumikeshi]

AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, SAI FINDS HIMSELF FREED

[torimoyou]

ハクセキレイずくめ / Full of White Wagtail

駐車場やガソリンスタンドでよく見かけるハクセキレイ。無機質なコンクリートと、沢山のハクセキレイを組み合わせて「とりもよう」にしました。

もともとは、水辺を好む鳥ですが、近年では都市部にも進出しています。（適応能力すごい！）

白黒のクールな見た目とは対照的に、尾をふりふりしながら歩く姿はとても愛らしいです。

さらに正面から見ると、まるで別人級（別鳥級）に印象が変わるところも魅力のひとつ。顔まわりの模様には個体差があるので、観察してみると楽しめると思います。

[sumikeshi]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He wakes again inside this feathery prison. No longer is there denial or anger. Where, yesterday, there had been bargaining and depression, there is now a looming threat of acceptance. He is beginning to fear that all hope is lost. Perhaps he will remain this way forever. He knows not what turned him in the first place, nor what can turn him back.