kiezh
I think Bashat grew up with Kai around, mythologized as the Most Loyal Servant of Bashat's Famous Ancestor (whose legend Bashat megalomaniacally wants to inhabit and make about himself and his Empire), and just... failed to understand that Kai is a Person. A person who WAS very loyal to Bashasa's family, but not to the point of self-erasure or submission to Empire. Bashasa was always aware that people had their own priorities and inner lives; I think Bashat fails at that
(And maybe Bashat's too invested in his Famous Ancestor RP to understand that a personal, malicious betrayal (trapped underwater!! family attacked!!!) like he did to Kai was so profoundly un-Bashasa an act that it would destroy the association for anyone who had actually known him.)
I have to wonder - either it wasn't specified or I'm forgetting where Kai lived prior to the start of the book and how involved he was in the royal families - but did he watch this kid grow up? He seems fond of children; was he doting on all of Bashasa's descendants like an immortal demon godfather? He talks about it being unusual and suspicious that Bashat was willing to get close to him, so probably not, but boy would it twist the knife deeper if so.
Edit: Somehow missed the part of your reply directly talking about Bashat growing up with Kai around, sorry. Would be sad and fucked up though!
so like, some of these are from a couple months back at this point, but whatever, still better than my ao3 inbox?
@darksilveraster replied to your post “Prompt maybe? Or just thoughts/headcanon needing an out -- Magnus...”
kudos again
thanks! some day I really should attempt to reorganize all my SH rambling so it’s easier to find. I’m glad you found that one 😅
@kiezh replied to your post “despite metaphorically stabbing him in the heart several times in a...”
SH is not my fandom, but I've been thinking a lot lately about another heavily parentified oldest sibling (Jiang Yanli from MDZS/The Untamed) and the stuff you've been saying about Alec really resonates... being saddled with parental responsibility (without parental authority) fucks up a kid in predictable ways, I guess
ahhh, my whole dash (& tl on twitter) are all the Untamed ALL THE TIME... several of my fave fic writers are writing for it too, you’re in excellent company
and yeah, there are some pretty consistent conclusions you can make under those circumstances, allowing a bit for personality variations of course (tbh, my husband is one of those same overly-parentified, and it’s sad (if unsurprising) how close he isn’t with his family anymore. There’s only so much of that a soul can take before it’s too heavy.)
@uchidachi replied to your post “anonymous asked:Author’s choice, 7 7. For comfort (cuddle prompts)...”
aww, this was so cute!
@genginger replied to your post “anonymous asked:Author’s choice, 7 7. For comfort (cuddle prompts)...”
It's never too late for more fluff from these two! <3
THANK YOU BOTH 💕
@genginger replied to your post “Spoiler!”
Oooooooh. If encouragement would help you get that written I am happy to offer my services. I make an excellent cheerleader as long as you don't ask me to wear a short skirt. ;) <3
HA. No shirt skirts needed. I’m having enough trouble finishing up all the other shit I’ve started? I’m afraid it’s pretty unlikely at this point. (But what do I know? I’m not in charge of the voices in my head when it comes to writing.)
@twistedsinews replied to your post “Freeze! You’re under arrest for being so nice and cute. Copy this...”
^.^ <( <3 )
😘
@rutherinahobbit replied to your post “Happy New Year, tumblr! In honor of new beginnings and general...”
Can confirm she is adorable in person ��
🥰🥰🥰
@girlpower8900 replied to your photo “I got a piano for Christmas?!”
The piano is cool!!! And for games for your boys, Mario Kart is always a pretty fun games franchise (unless they're not into racing games)
oh, we’ve got Mario Kart. I insisted. (I haven’t played in ages though, I should dig it out again)
@intezaarlily replied to your photo “I got a piano for Christmas?!”
a piano! that's so awesome!!
@quilleth replied to your photo “I got a piano for Christmas?!”
Ooh that's awesome!!
THANK YOU. I have not managed anything like figuring out a regular practicing schedule yet, but it makes me smile daily, so that’s a good start
@musanocturnis replied to your post “So I just started a Jade Empire replay, and before I had to go to work...”
������
@teaandinanity replied to your post “So I just started a Jade Empire replay, and before I had to go to work...”
An interaction with Shikako, Sai, and Kakashi - what's Kakashi's perspective on Shikako adopting socially-stunted Root agents?
hell yes more Sai. i love Sai so much.
takes place some time after the current chapter (ch 146/145) but doesn’t really contain any spoilers or anything.
I’m pretty sure that Kakashi hasn’t actually met Sai — Sai was at Naruto’s going away party, but Kakashi was in the hospital for chakra exhaustion. I didn’t check this very closely tho.
also i’m pretty sure that Shikako hasn’t told anyone about her water whip thing but I only like… scanned the Wave arc for that so who knows.
word count: 1973
————————————
There’s a stranger in Team 7’s training ground.
It’s not like Kakashi or his students ever actually book the training ground, because it’s rare for anyone but them to chose to train so close to the memorial, and most of the people who might consider it know that it’s Team Kakashi’s space. Still, there’s always some wayward unobservant chūnin or fresh genin looking for a place to train, and occasionally they end up here. They’re always easy to scare off, and if they get snotty Kakashi sends them to Gai’s training ground for all the training they can stand.
(This is a punishment for them and a favor to Gai. He loves helping.)
The boy in the field is about the age of Kakashi’s precious not-genin-any-more genin and he’s not even training. He’s leaning up against the training posts, lapdesk out, drawing. Kakashi will give him this: it’s an unorthodox use of a training field.
“Aa, this seems like something you could be doing anywhere,” Kakashi says as he drops into view.
The boy is not surprised. He looks up at Kakashi calmly and gives a slow blink. “I believe there are several locations where this would be difficult,” says the boy.
A shiver walks up Kakashi’s spine. The blandness of the boy’s expression, the flat look in his eyes… he’s not confused, or annoyed, or nervous. He’s not anything, not like he should be with Kakashi standing over him and hinting that he should get out.
Tenzō had been the same way when Kakashi met him. Untouchable and untouched. Not missing social cues so much as not even attempting to look for them, sorting every interaction into Orders and Not Orders. And Tenzō had had the same bland tantō, the same standard-issue shoes and slightly subpar equipment pouches.
“I have training scheduled here,” Kakashi says, “so this is about to become one of those places.” He does not waste a smile or a cheerful, friendly tone on this boy. He speaks flatly, directly.
Kakashi is the boy’s superior and he will order him away if that’s what it takes to keep Danzō’s grasp from closing in around his kids.
The boy smiles, a rearrangement of his face with no feeling behind it. “I checked the training ground bookings and no one was scheduled to use this field,” says the boy. “But I think we are here for the same training partner, because you were Nara Shikako’s jōnin-sensei.”
“Don’t be rude, I’m still her sensei,” Kakashi says, and then gives the boy a second look with this new information. “You must be Sai.”
“I am,” says the boy, and now Kakashi feels rude.
And even more worried, because Naruto has described his and Shikako’s occasional mission partner as ‘kinda weird, but good, y’know?’ and Kakashi had had no idea that Shimura Danzō had managed to get one of his lackies so close to the kids. What in the fuck is Tsunade thinking.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Kakashi says. “Why don’t we spar? I have to make sure Shikako-chan’s teammates can keep up.”
Kakashi had thought that he could depend on Tsunade to keep unsuitable mission partners away from his team, but apparently not. He’ll have to get a little more hands on, starting with a good evaluation of Sai.
“Yes,” Sai agrees blandly. “It is good to know if someone precious to you has teammates they can trust.”
The problem with ROOT agents is that you can’t even tell when they’re being threatening. Tenzō used to say things like, ‘I’ll gut you like a fish’ in the same tone of voice he’d say ‘I’ll lend you my whetstone’ and that tone of voice was wrong for both.
Sai tucks his drawings away and they fight. Sai is good, but uninventive. He uses a lot of the same moves Tenzō started out with, at least right up until he pulls out a scroll and a brush.
Kakashi has had this skill of Sai’s described to him a couple times by Naruto, with lots of enthusiasm and little technical detail, so he’s not surprised when chakra constructs leap of the page but he is surprised at how fast Sai can produce them. Faster than any Kurama Kakashi has ever known, although that’s not saying much — the clan heir that Anko is teaching is maybe the only one who’s ever attempted to use the Kurama clan jutsu for combat, a choice that has Shikako’s fingerprints all over it — and Sai has the advantage of working without color.
Shikako shows up when Kakashi is closing in on destroying Sai’s last ink beast. She lingers on the edge of the training field, cautious as always about interrupting even a spar as lazy as this one.
(Well, lazy for Kakashi. Sai has worked up quite a sweat. He’s not entirely useless, but he’s still probably the enemy.)
When Kakashi stops and looks towards where Shikako is waiting, Sai halts, too. Shikako practically bounces onto the field moments later.
“Sorry I’m late, Kofuku-oba trapped me with more questions about Shika’s arm seal,” she says. “Hi, sensei! I see you met Sai. And stuff.”
“Yes, we’re acquainted now,” Sai says. “I have been assessed to see if I have weaknesses that may lead to you being injured or killed while working with me.”
“Okay,” Shikako says slowly. She looks at Kakashi critically. “I’m sure that’s not exactly what you meant, right Kakashi-sensei?”
“I was just curious about his combat skills,” Kakashi says innocently. “Naruto is terrible at explaining things, you know.”
“Don’t bully my friends,” Shikako chides, like an academy teacher lecturing pre-genin to share their kunai.
“How come you always assume the worst of your poor sensei?” Kakashi complains. “I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t break on one of your rough, scary missions.”
“It was a good spar,” Sai says. “I enjoyed having my skills assessed.”
Shikako looks suspiciously between them, dissatisfied, but eventually decides to move on.
“Fine,” she says, and claps her hands together. “Since sensei is so interested in making sure your combat skills are developed and well-rounded—”
“I never said that,” Kakashi objects, uselessly, because he can see where this is going.
“—he can teach you some new things!” Shikako says. “He knows lots of water jutsu, you know.”
“You teach him some water jutsu,” Kakashi demands.
Shikako blinks at him. “I don’t know any? I mean I guess there are some in that book you gave us, but…”
“You used water whip months ago,” Kakashi says. “Without seals. Teach him that, it’s B-rank.”
“What?” Shikako asks. “When do you think you saw me do a B-rank — are you talking about the chūnin exams?”
Kakashi says, “I understand it can be hard to remember what exactly you pulled out in the heat of the moment.to please the crowd.”
“You said that your chūnin exam fights in Grass weren’t very interesting,” Sai observes.
Shikako is such a liar. It’s actually almost embarrassing.
“Really?” Kakashi asks, keeping his voice mild and raising his visible eyebrow at Shikako. “I guess we remember those fights very differently. But you definitely used water whip.”
“Sensei, I did not,” grumbles Shikako. She crosses her arms and gets that look that says she thinks she’s going to say something embarrassing. “It’s just a dumb chakra trick. For chakra control. I can’t just teach it to someone unless they want to spend a year or two messing around with it.”
“A… chakra control exercise,” Kakashi repeats.
“I think it becomes a technique once you attack someone with it successfully,” Sai offers.
Shikako says, “Well, it didn’t really do anything.”
“That’s because you were attacking the Kazekage,” Kakashi says dryly. “What kind of chakra control exercises have you been doing?”
“I made some up,” Shikako says, which doesn’t answer the question.
“You attacked a foreign Kage?” Sai asks. He actually manages to sound like… something. Worried, maybe? It’s probably Kakashi’s ears playing tricks on him.
“He wasn’t the Kazekage yet,” Shikako grumbles.
She gets so petulant when people start talking about her like she’s impressive. It’s adorable.
“Show us your chakra trick.” Kakashi waves in the general direction of the stream. “It’s a good learning experience for all of us.”
“Sensei, you’re not getting out of teaching Sai something,” Shikako warns him, but she does lead them over to the stream and show them her water whip.
It starts with water scooped out of the stream into a hollow ball of chakra. The chakra becomes a cylinder. The cylinder becomes a whip, and Shikako uses it to smack an impressive splash out of the stream. Water, she explains, is noncompressible. Also she doesn’t really know how to use a whip but it’s an easy shape to make and more impressive than a staff..
How is it that Shikako still manages to surprise him all the time?
“How long can you hold that?” Kakashi asks.
Shikako shrugs. “I don’t know, I’ve never tried to test it. Two hours? More?”
“Well, I guess if your fight lasts that long it won’t be chakra exhaustion that gets you,” Kakashi acknowledges.
“Oh,” says Shikako. “No, that’s not what I meant. After a couple hours the chakra bleed would mean that I wouldn’t be able to reabsorb any of the chakra, it’d be all used up. But I’d still be able to make another one.”
Kakashi huffs. “Chakra cycling. For external chakra manipulation. And you didn’t think you should mention that?”
Shikako’s brow furrows. “Is it a big deal?”
Is it a big deal, she asks. Kakashi wants to laugh and cover his face. Instead he says, “You’re probably right that you can’t teach Sai that. So, fine. Water jutsu. But I want something in return. I want…”
Kakashi turns to Sai and lets a sliver of ominous intent work its way into the air between them.
Kakashi draws the moment out, watching the way Sai reacts — his shoulders pull back, his stance evens out. Preparing to take a blow, literal or metaphoric, but not scared for his safety, likely because he registers that Shikako is exasperated by Kakashi’s dramatics rather than concerned.
Tenzō used to tense by relaxing to accept a blow just the same way, especially when it came to receiving instruction. Kakashi catches himself planning how to fix that in Sai, too, and kind of hates himself for his own predictability. Maybe, at least, he can introduce Sai to Tenzō and his kohai will do most of the work?
“…drawings of my ninken,” Kakashi completes.
Sai’s eyes open a little wider. His mouth falls open for just a moment and he feels the need to glance at Shikako as it to make sure Kakashi is serious. His surprise is immensely satisfying.
Carefully — probably unsure if this counts as backtalk or intel gathering — Sai asks, “How many ninken do you have?”
“Lots! Which is why he’ll give you one jutsu for each drawing,” Shikako interjects, before Kakashi can snow Sai into doing all that work for one C-rank water jutsu. A look at Shikako shows she’s definitely going to stick to that, too. No arguing her down with that look.
Damn.
“Fine,” Kakashi says, aiming his best woe-is-me face at Shikako. “You work this old man so hard.”
She laughs at him. “Someone has to,” she says, like coercing him into sharing his precious jutsu with random Danzō minions is some kind of public service she provides for the good of the village.
At least now Kakashi will be able to keep a closer eye on Sai. The boy can’t very well disappear into whatever muck Danzō usually has him wading through when he owes Kakashi eight dog portraits. Shikako looks so satisfied by this arrangement that Kakashi wonders if this is exactly what she had planned.
“I have a work presentation to procrastinate from, so I feel like...”
Does Maida participate in any form of online life? If so, what kind?
Helping with her raptor sanctuary’s Twitter
Following the blogs of people she knows
Occasionally getting her poetry published in ezines
Skyping with a few other Indigenous language speakers, including her old Nahuatl-speaking friends (she speaks Nahuatl because her dad was a culturally appropriative mess and the elders in the community were really gracious, basically)
Skyping with other K’iche’ speakers is entirely how she levelled her K’iche’ up from “when my mom speaks it, I get a vague sense of what she’s saying” to “I can go back to my family in Mexico and speak to them in something other than English or incredibly broken Spanish”
She has one K’iche’-speaking friend in Guatemala who’s trying to revive the classic Maya script and reincorporate it into living language. He comes up to visit her once and they chill out in Kent’s apartment, taking care of his cat and watching him beat peoples’ asses at hockey.
They post a picture to Instagram of Kit sitting on a piece of paper that, the caption says, declares “Slaughter your enemies!” in Maya (yeah I guess I should mention she has posting privileges to Kit Purrson’s social media?) and some white conehead from Chicago posts an analysis of how it’s fake and nonsense and totally NOT classical Mayan, and Kent has to deal with questions about it with no context in a post-game interview
So when Kent gets back the three of them post a video on topics like “Don’t tell us how to write our own language” “No we we’re not all dead yet” and “By the way here’s the difference between being Latinx, Hispanic, and Indigenous” (special guest: White Latino Kent Parson who speaks only English and French)
Facebook with all the usual reasons and aggravations. (She is not friends with Kent Parson, but she is friends with “Kenny Pee” who thinks he’s funny)
"In a city of crossroads that never lead home" from 'After the Fall' by October Project (why yes my mental soundtrack for the Gardens-verse includes a lot of October Project)
lyircs || song
a city of crossroads that never lead home would be about a verse where Shikako arrives just in time for the Grass exams and native Shikako died somewhat recently. Maybe Danzou sent a different ROOT agent on the Land of Birds mission – or sent a partner with Sai – and they killed her to ensure the Watari nin wouldn’t settle in land of birds, or to keep her from further subverting Sai. Sai… might also be dead. :C
Shikako would be caught at the Grass exams, maybe by Kakashi. Maybe by Gaara. Maybe both. She’d be asked to stay, but she knows this isn’t home, and she hasn’t figured out that she needs to Split yet.
but….. hey… ALSO for this song…
a voice that was echoing mine would be about Shikako landing somewhere where native Shikako gave a second sealing lecture series and she listens to the recording and read’s native Shikako’s notes and people keep telling her things native Shikako told them.
a shadow who’d stolen my face would be about a verse where native Shikako managed to replace with Sasuke in the Forest of Death and got bitten by the cursed seal. She fucks up big time, gets taken by the Sound 4, and Orochimaru is now going around wearing her body. The verse would probably open with Shikako being mistaken for Orochimaru.
drive-by rec since you said you wanted a fic on this topic: the Breaking Through series on ao3 by Suspicious Popsicle (A Day in Yunmeng, A Day in Yiling, A Day After Thirteen Years) is about WWX and LWJ having a fraught sexual relationship during & after the Sunshot Campaign and not communicating about it until post-resurrection
what's your name/what can i refer to you as, if i may ask?:)
Wow, this is my first ask ever. I’m always startled to find that anyone’s reading me at all!
kiezh works as a name (pronounced kee-EZH, using the zh sound from mirage or vision). I don’t capitalize it but I don’t care if people write it as Kiezh.
Pronouns are a messy issue but I’ll take they, she, or your gender-free pronouns of choice.
About Sayra - my theory is that she's the secret heir to the throne. A royal child surviving a coup and being hidden somewhere is a classic trope, and Sayra seems like the best option; Mrs. White would be there to watch over her (she seems to have some authority with the rebels, from the Clarmont secret), and the island natives might be sheltering them because Sayra is from Katyia's lineage. (Though not her direct descendant, I think; didn't Aly say at some point that Katyia had no children?)
Not something that would have occurred to me, and certainly a plausible enough theory. I’ll admit right now that this is not my favorite trope. Fantasy, no matter how much I love it, is far too in love with royal lineages and divine right to rule, and I’m not sold on it.
I don’t think Sayra is being sheltered, though. I’m pretty sure rather that she’s the one doing the protecting. Ria does say more than once that she’s far too clever to be “just a maid” and I think covert agent and/or stealth bodyguard more suits her demeanor, as I think I mentioned. I am curious as to whether she’s meant to be there as backup for Mrs. White and the others, or to spy on the delegates. Or even whether she was assigned specifically to the MC because someone had marked her out as an agitator. Seems likely, given the amount of attention she gets just by default.
