#FtGoG

[asksythe]

FtGoG: Jiraiya Interlude 3 WIP

Continue from the latest chapter off of AO3. It's been sitting in my Drive for... a pretty long time... >>

Jiraiya Interlude: An International Puzzle. Hello, Sunagakure! 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………...

In the spy’s handbook, the best weapon was anonymity. The second was to be underestimated, and the third, patience. 

It was these weapons that Jiraiya wielded for the better part of his tenure as the spymaster of Konoha. His reputation as a force on the battlefield before he retreated into the murky water of conflicted peacetime had denied him true anonymity. But the change of blood and the natural degradation after wartime offered plenty of opportunities for a spymaster to whet his blade and wait for the right opportunity.  

To further his own arsenal, Jiraiya had fashioned himself a particular reputation over the years, that of a wine devil and an unrepentant old lech. His inborn appreciation for cheap wine and fine women certainly helped him out there, as was his ability to not take things too seriously at all times, like many of his brethren like to conduct themselves. It helped that plenty of shinobi coped with the violent nature of their path by doing the same things Jiraiya did as part of his job.

Now, in the heart of hostile territory and under not a small amount of scrutiny, he once more donned the familiar guise he had sewn himself and walked out the door of the Konohan Ambassadorial Building on shaky feet. A hassled-looking Nyudo followed in his wake. 

“Thanks a whole bunch, chief. That really helped me out there,” There was the slightest slur to his voice, toned just right so that civilians would not hear it, but the ninja on watch duty would pick up. His steps held a whisper of weightlessness. It would be easy to overdo it and have the truly canny observers poke at his disguise more than they ought to. He was an old, drunken lecher of a shinobi, not an old, drunken lecher of a civilian. 

“Jiraiya-sama, what of…” 

“Don’t sama me here, man,” he made a shushing motion with one hand, his other hand bringing up the sake bottle that hung from his belt and took a short swig. “I’m on vacation. Leave that sama stuff for when I’m actually on the job, man.” 

He moved about the streets with the careless swaggers of a man who had money and time to spare and the full intention of blowing it all in some fancy, overpriced joint. His diligent daily drink for two months leading up to his arrival here in Suna was paying dividends in the jut of his newly acquired gut over the hard cords of a lifelong ninja’s body. It was like putting on a performance, with the whole of Suna a stage. He wasn’t getting many looks out here on the open streets, which were dotted here and there with Sunans heady on the rush of spring and their new-found prosperity, but he had no doubt this was all being watched with attentiveness. 

Jiraiya was in no hurry at all. The saying was that good luck slept and wait. The right opportunity will come to those with patience and a keen eye. Besides, like he told Nyudo in front of their invisible audience, he really needed a vacation… from the stuffy old geezers sitting their wrinkled asses in Konoha council house. It wasn’t every day that Jiraiya got a blank mission fund check from those geezers and no hard deadline. He intended to make full use of it.  

The liquor store with the attached cedar pavilion where pretty women flounced about like butterflies on a spring day welcomed Jiraiya’s enthusiastic patronage with aplomb. In no time at all, all of Sunan dining and entertainment businesses knew Jiraiya of Konoha had a fat state-backed benefit wallet and the intention of blowing it all while on vacation in Sunagakure. 

On the first day in Sunagakure, Jiraiya partied hard.

On the second day in Sunagakure, Jiraiya partied hard.

On the third day in Sunagakure, Jiraiya partied extra hard.

On the fourth day, Jiraiya called the Ambassadorial Office for extra funds, then partied even harder. 

On the fifth day, all of Sunan establishments knew him by smell. 

On the sixth day, even Nyudo was looking a little green in the gills when a throng of business owners presented him with fat stacks of bills under Jiraiya’s name.

On the seventh day, as he expected, trouble came knocking. 

He was on his second tour of all the pleasure houses in Sunagakure by alphabetical order, lying in the lap of a buxom brunette and fermenting in more bad wine than the ending of the second Secret War when in came some young whippersnapper with red face and steam coming out of his ears, wanting to give Jiraiya a what-for.  

Shinobi, by the look of it, young and untested. Jiraiya yawned long and hard, not hearing a single word spewing angrily from the youngster’s mouth. He could guess. The boy was probably sweet on one of the girls here and didn’t take too kindly to Jiraiya’s obnoxious presence. Or maybe he just didn’t like foreign, obnoxious has-been moving about Sunagakure like he owned the place while making moves on all the women. Either or. Maybe both. Ninjas are a territorial lot. The violent nature of their work and hormonal, young twenty-somethings made for an incendiary mix. They had to work off the combat adrenaline while on home turf somehow. So long as nobody got maimed, higher-ups even encouraged it. But Jiraiya wasn’t one of them. So that made him a far more tantalizing target for young uns with blood to bleed. Which was precisely what he wanted, really. 

“Little man!” 

[positivlyspeakn]

I AM A RIVER OF LIVING WATER!!! #FTGOG

[le-feline]

Is there a similar moment between Kagome and her LI in FTGOG!AU like there is between her and Rasa where she tells him about how she killed 17 million people? What is the general reaction to the confession by the LI?

With the possible exceptions of Reto route and the secret route, no, there is no such confession scene in FtGOG AU, at least not on screen. 

That confession scene is a milestone, a turn point for the relationship between Kagome and Rasa. It takes a long time and many many conflicts between the two in the past, as well as mutual willingness to work together to bring about that scene. It is made possible also because of the proximity of their living arrangement and their mutual desire to improve the lives of Suna people. Without those two factors, it’s next to impossible for Kagome to ever disclose something like that to anyone else. Remember, until that point in the story, she hasn’t never said this out loud to anyone, not even herself. 

If the confession scene happens in either Reto or the secret route: it will happen in 2 possible ways. The first one (Reto’s route) is in a similar vein with Mouse interlude. The second one (the secret route) is when she says this as a boast and as she prepares to mindbreak the secret L.I into becoming her slave/dog (I did say the secret route is the dark goddess / unusual gameover route, didn’t I?). I haven’t decided whether the confession will happen in those 2 routes tho. I kinda want to keep this something unique to Rasa due to the different nature of their relationship and its progression. 

That said however, at certain points, certain people will start guessing that she likely has committed something very horrible or has a body count when they notice her self-flagellation complex.   

During the romance subplot climax / night before the final battle event, Kagome may allude to this 17 million body kill count in route Tobirama and route Kagami but is very unlikely to come out and say it in full. 

[asksythe]

Does Kagome's presence terrify the Tailed beast? Because GOTGs Kagome gives me major Matthew 8:29 vibes. "And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

"Safe? Who said anything about safe?! Of course she isn't safe. But she's good. She's the queen I tell you."

Probably some of them? Definitely Shukaku considering what she did to him. FtGoG Kagome just has a power that can uniquely deal with Tailed Beasts in general. Canonically, tailed beasts don't really die the way a human can (albeit I hear Boruto is retconning this part of the original series). They are chakra constructs held together by singular wills. Even defeated, eventually they reconstitute again. But Kagome's power is something that directly impacts the souls of all things. So outside of Kaguya, she's the only one who can deliver true death to the Tailed Beast. That probably comes as a shock to beings who never had to consider their own mortality before. If they were humans, I think fear would be the response. But they aren't. And when I come back to FtGoG again in the future, my intention is to not force a human mindset on them. They aren't humans. Never were. They have no reason to think or feel the way humans do. The only way they can ever habor human-adjacent feelings is from their bonding with their human hosts... which is not the case for all of the tailed beasts. So who knows how each of the tailed beasts will react to possible true death?

[asksythe]

Hi!! So I recently found ur story “Garden of the Gods” and let me just say…I’m OBSESSED!! This is such an amazing story and ur writing style…*amazing*🥰🥰🥰… I was even able to find the rest of Au version layout on Fanfiction.net!!!

I was wondering are u planning to continue it? Both the main story and the AU? Or is it on hiatus?

Thanks!!!

It's on hiatus for the moment.

I still have all the plot drafts and such and I know how both will end. I actually wrote the endings very early on in the drafting of both versions. There are multiple endings too. 2 endings for the mainline FtGoG and... something like 5 endings each with its own sub-endings for Clan War Era.

Ah, Clan War Era was initially conceived as a build-your-own kingdom quest with Otome elements. Ergo the multiple endings. I'm still not sure which I'm going to go with now that it's written out as a prose-style story. In any case, the reason they are on indefinite hiatus is the same as a bunch of other stories of mine. Because I barely have time these days between my professional author work and my family. I really wish I could have more time... or somehow knew the Kage Bunshin so that I can write out all the stories I want but... c'est la vie.

I joke with friends about probably only getting that free time once I retire or something. I'm going to be one of those cool fanfic grannies.

[asksythe]

Since it's been a couple years I feel fine to ask, garden of the gods isn't entirely dead right?

Don't need a date because I know you got stuff, just wanted to make sure it's still alive.

Sorry for pestering you.

Oh hey! Good morning!

Yes, From the Garden of Gods and its spinoff story are alive. That said, I don't want to give people false hope. I know there are people who have followed this sleepy blog of mine for ten years and counting.

You probably already saw the prose version of Clan War, so you know the story beats and ideas are alive and well in my head. But as you yourself put it, life and work get in the way. I can't write for my hobby if I'm busy writing to pay bills.

Plus... I can't say I look fondly on a lot of post-Inuyasha developments. It's changed my feelings a fair bit for the story and for Kagome.

I always want to return to FtGoG and complete it, but I doubt I will have the time and space to do so until fairly far in the future. It might be a project for my retirement years 😅. I'm gonna be one of those cool fanfic grannies!!! I'm kinda halfway there already!

Neither here nor there, but today, I finally managed to convince/wheedle/cajole/push/drag @erimies to resurrect her Naruto fic, Clan of Samsara!!!!

Woooot!!!

[asksythe]

Okay my last question, as a holy Eldritch being...can kagome stand toe to toe with Kurama? I mean it being a knock out drag out, Kurama bitch slapped and melting into a puddle of goo type of thing.

FtGoG Kag? She wouldn't really have any motivation for a true no-holds-barred fight with Kurama. Her character is the kind that would reach for violence as the last resort. That's her whole thing. In a hypothetical scenario, full blood-lusted as those peeps on the VS forums usually put it, she would wipe Kurama no problem. She's a hard counter for all the tailed beasts, including the 10-tailed. The only one from Naruto verse who is on her power level, so to speak, is Kaguya. Kaguya and FtGoG Kagome are peers with differing conceptual authorities. Kaguya's is space (with a few attached tidbits of creation power ala Black Zetsu creation). Kagome's is soul with a side of soul-bound contract. That said, though, Kagome is frail. She's a glass canon whose power effectively bypasses all defenses. If you are on the same material plane as her, then you aren't tanking her blows. The only way to defend is to not get hit or not be on the same material plane at all. In return, her durability is what you would expect from a regular young woman of relative fitness. Her senses are good, though. She can sense intentions from quite far away, especially if those intentions are targeting her. This provides excellent defense via simply getting out of dodge before any attack hits her. If you want to go for a full blood lusted, battle-trained Kagome, then she can lean into her soul-bound contract to create a lot of conceptual defenses via warping people, animals, and plants around her to serve as exotic shields. The White Forest Barrier in Clan War Era is one example of the kind of soul-bound contract she's capable of with a bit of time and preparation.

[asksythe]

FtGoG Snippet (Alt draft): Searing Angel’s Battle Hymn

Just a short thing from a very early draft of FtGoG, back when Madara was still going to be the final big bad. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hwiCkU73NA

.........................

She stands in front of the embattled shinobi army, facing the general of the other side. A slight woman who stands no taller than Neiji’s shoulder, but somehow she seems to possess the gravitas of titans. In her hand she holds an impossible sword, bright and searing like a slice of the sun itself, and on her face she wears a look of easy defiance, as if she is not standing in between a losing army and the enemy horde.

This is the Kazekage’s Mistress? That Miko woman who is supposed to be a frail pacifist who couldn’t hurt a fly if it were trying to murder her? Neiji thinks incredulously. As he contemplates this, the woman addresses the legendary Madara with the ease of one addressing her peers.

“How shall it be, undead warrior? Won’t you meet me in battle and decide this once and for all?”

Madara grants her no answer, merely throwing a contemptuous look her way. The message is clear. You are not worth my time. But she is unfazed. Meeting his eyes from across the battlefield, she says loudly and clearly.

“Typical of you to think that only swords of steel and iron can cut. But in my world, the strongest of us battle not with irons or steels, but with weapons forged from our very souls themselves.”

What? Sputters Neiji in his own head. He turns to his comrades, sees the same look of bewilderment in their eyes.

She brandishes her sword. “This is one such weapon, forged from my own soul. Mikazuki-Munechika.” Despite being teammate with Tenten, Neiji knows little about weapons, no more than is adequate for his need. He knows even less of weapons purportedly forged from souls, but even he can tell the blade in the Miko’s hands possess unknowable power. It is a terrifyingly beautiful blade. Searing, burning, a condensed sun in the form of a sword and given such an ironic name. It sings a wordless battle hymn that shakes Neiji’s heart. He does not believe her claim of soul-forged weapons, but he can easily believe this blade is no less powerful than the Nidaime’s legendary Raijin no Ken and that is a blade small nations will wage war over. Madara must think the same, because even he does not dare look at that blade with anything less than utmost regard.  

She smiles. Her smile is threaded through with pity.

“Admire my soul do you?” she says, almost mocking. “But do you know its strength? Can you withstand its power? I will tell you a secret, pretender godling. I have seen your soul, and it is a pitiful, mewling thing.”

Madara’s face is frozen in a rictus of shock and anger. This is probably the first time somebody insulted his soul of all things. The black fire raged behind his back, a promise of terrible retribution for the slight. But she is not at all deterred.

“I have seen your heart, the frail, feeble heart that you hate, your truest desire that you do not even have the courage to acknowledge. You are not even remotely the all powerful god you pretend to be.” she points her blade at him in challenge. “Enter into battle with me, black hearted fraud, I promise you, you will not survive a single cut from my blade.”   

[asksythe]

Short-hair Kagome. FTGOG art sketch. 

[asksythe]

Thank you for sharing FtGoG, I really enjoy it. Does Kagome ever get tempted to join another village such as Konoha? Since they present themselves as the "nicer" village?

She doesn't. Kagome is with Suna because things lined up rather perfectly for her to start putting down her roots there. A combination of her mental state when she arrived in Suna and Suna leadership knowing how to tie her emotionally to Suna itself.

In one of the two endings I have written for the story (the one where Rasa kicks the bucket and Kagome is untethered to Suna), she eventually leaves Suna to travel the world. By that time, she has become such an entity that she understands her tieing herself down to any single village or nation is likely to have major consequences... so she doesn't.

[asksythe]

Hi! I just wanted to say that you’re such a talented writer, I’m rereading FTGOG and FTGOG AU for 10th time and it’s just as wonderful. I hope you’re doing good ! Patiently waiting for an update ❤️ can’t wait for that day to come ! Thank you for sharing your work

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed those stories. I am working on an update.

[asksythe]

Hello again. I hope I am not bothering you but I do have another question. I really love FtGoG and I was wondering if you know any fics that is similar to yours? Like introducing modern concept into a backwards world. Or it's sometimes called tech uplift.

Not off the top of my head, no. Tech uplift tends to be specific to fandoms. Neither Naruto or Inuyasha are the usual fandoms for tech uplift. I see more of that type in Game of Thrones, albeit they aren't always well written.

Tech uplift also has different stripes to them. Some are wanky, some are more realistic, some are pessimistic and frustrating. So it really depends on what you are getting out of uplift fics. For me, I tend to like the ones that go on the positive side but with a realistic mindset that doesn't devolve into all out wanking of one faction. As in, do good but be prepared for backlash.

In that vein, I like ManMagnificent's "Gospel of the Lost Gods" and Cap'n Chryssalid's "King in the Long Night". There's a few others I like, but I can't recall their names shortly.

[asksythe]

hi sythe , do you have any plans on continuing ftgog? It’s been a year since your last update and I was wondering if you were discontinuing ftgog or was no longer interested in continuing the story.

Yes. I am working on the new chapter as I type this.

[asksythe]

If Kagome decides to go full on fusion!Shikon Kagome like the Steven Universe then does she become immortal in her gem body? Cause Gem!Kagome seems pretty cool.

If she does that then she will become an Eldritch being. Keep in mind, the Shikon itself is already an eldritch item born from fusing the souls of thousands of demons and a single powerful Miko. Calling it a gem is simply because of its deceptive appearance.

As canon Inuyasha has portrayed times and again, the Shikon is naturally a corruptive, parasitic entity. Every single person, with the handful of exceptions being select Miko, who has held the jewel has fallen prey to it one way or another, and their fates are not pretty. If they are not devoured outright by the Shikon, then they are subtly influenced and strung along until the Shikon is strong enough to devour them outright.

Kagome in FTGOG knows this full well, and only by dint of her being born from three combined wishes made on the Shikon and being its host for over a decade that she can safely merge with it. Even so, should she let go of the brakes and throws away her humanity for the poison apple that is the unleashed Shikon, then her fate will be little different from... say.... Naraku.

The entirety of FtGoG is basically a story about Kagome fighting her hardest to retain her humanity despite having become clearly eldritch in nature.

[asksythe]

Ok. I’ve thought over ninjas and civilians and Naruto is very focused on the ninja because NARUTO. Konoha’s also a super power military dictatorship fiefdom so able bodied soldiers are going to be more valued than civilians. The unseen lines are drawn. How does Kagome desegregate all this? Since ninja are at the end of the day mercenaries for hire and the ninja system ain’t even 100. Are there bars that are unofficially Ninja Only and civilians are glared into submission to leave?

For Konoha itself? She would be nowhere near that. In FtGoG she is in Suna and it takes years for her to truly be part of the community and even then she has to adjust for the sheer cultural value dissonance. As called out by Rasa in the story, it is unreasonable to foist her ideals onto a people whose world is not exactly her equivalent (and even in an equivalent world, it's not like Kagome's modern world is so nice and hot either when it comes to.. you know... equality, justice, and progress). Even her attempts to better the lives of people there lead to social unrest and conflict within the rank. It is not something so easily done.

In FtGoG - Clan War Era, she is the leader of a mostly non-shinobi nation. That line doesn't even exist for Gems. And while she does want to spread that good influence, her allegiance is first and foremost to the citizens of Gems, not the citizens of Konoha.

Keep in mind, a storyline that involves a person from a presumably more 'civilized' society going to a more 'uncivilized' society, forcing their ideals and values on this uncivilized society, and foisting a supposed 'uplift' on them without considering the complexities of the situation and suffering little to no backlash whatsoever... is not a storyline I am interested in pursuing.

A big part of the progress of the Naruto world is that it has to be driven by the people of said world to begin with, or that progress will mean nothing at all. Kagome, at the start of her journey, is very much a foreigner in a strange land. She has no stake and should be given no voice in the social discourse of the people of Naruto. It should take her years and years of integration, learning of the local cultures, and appreciating them for what they are, for her to earn the right to.. at most... be the support for the local people who genuinely want that change.

[asksythe]

Hello, I just read your FtGoG AUs Warring States Era until 2am. It's really good and I wondered if you are planning to add more to it? Also, I enjoyed reading the FtGoG multiple times and can't get enough of it. Hopefully, you can get back to it but I understand if you don't. I hope you are doing well this year.

I am in the process of transferring both FtGoG and FtGOG - Warring States era from ffnet to Archive of Our Own. A friend took me to task on my abysmal tech skill and gave me a brief course on how to use AO3 (while calling me a grandma brontosaurus but that's besides the point). So you see, I have been forced to see the errors of my way.

I do plan to pick Ftgog back up again. As I transfer the stories I have been rereading and doing some editing of the text. I wrote it a long time ago, and though I do not have the habit of looking back as a writer, I can see I wrote some good stuff. It's put me in the mood so to say. So yes, I do plan to pick both stories back up again. I'm just not sure when exactly this year yet, since I have (checks note) 2 autobiographies, 1 scientific book translation, 2 game scripts to go through this year in the name of bill paying. But I intend to find time. I've grown more disciplined over the years as a published author, so hopefully it will help me write even with the snatches of free time I have.

I am glad you enjoyed what I wrote.