- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
A Sugiyama Update!!!
Kakashi tired himself out, yelling at Sugiyama.
I'll admit that it's a little annoying to see Kakashi reduced to "boy" in Sugiyama's mind... however, the gap in emotional maturity is huge. And I know that I've met people who are (physically) twice my age who act half my age. And I've fallen into similar mindsets.
Woot, someone recognizes that Kakashi has been through the wringer. Also that he has an impressive amount of skill with Very Difficult Arts.
Also: "half?"
We know that Sugiyama spend ~15 years in Honey, but this gives us a clearer age for Sugiyama. I estimate 35-50, but I'm leaning more towards 35-40, even if Sugiyama plays up the "listen here, you young child" social leverage with Shizuka later in this update.
We should use MEW to fix Sugiyama's home. Maybe we can spend FP on it? [As a Declaration]
Interesting language here. Sugiyama is personifying the house, a little bit. They're not saying "it would be a cold winter this year," or "I'll be cold, this winter." Instead, they say that "the little building would be colder this winter."
I wonder if Sugiyama, with their mysterious Sight, can see the budding Soul of the house they've lived in for 15 years? If, over time, a house collects personality to it (pencil marks on doorframes, marking the growth of children, little dings and bumps in the wall that aren't noticeable, scuff marks that blend with the floorboards, etc). A little like the phrase "it gives it character," but true.
And don't think that I didn't notice how Sugiyama didn't call their house their "home." They've lived there for 15 years. A decade and a half. You'd think that they'd grow more attached to their place of residence, even if in a begrudging way. Maybe having an emotional investment in your place of residence accelerates that place's growth into a petty "god." Not a very powerful god, or even as powerful as a spren... but a Lares (roman god of the particular household your family lives in, a guardian spirit, almost).
Or maybe the place that Sugiyama initially fled from (before they settled in Honey) is their heart's home, even after all this time?
[If the first, what will having Kakashi's chakra/soulstuff being used in its reconstruction do to its metaphysical development?]
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours."
Rude, but also fair.
No fire cantrips for lighting the pipe? I wonder if the utilization of chakra would affect the taste?
Really glad that we picked Sugiyama. They're pretty cool ^.^
New Combat Plan: Kakashi Makes a Big Fucking Fire, Sugiyama takes the Smoke and Shoves it Somewhere Else(into the enemies, preferably)
"I just watched the best telenovela of my life, and I must know more."
Side effect of the smoke inhalation? Lung cancer, which the smoke is (in an ironic twist) treatment for (like how certain breathing treatments are used to treat asthma/flu symtoms/other such things?
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours."
"Bro needs therapy."
Kakashi wants to be a good person, or, perhaps, is a good person. But that core essence of himself is buried underneath nine layers of trauma, and he exists in a world where it is very hard to be a good person.
His father was a good person, and presumably raised Kakashi with these standards. Sakumo tried to be a good person in a bad world, and was punished for it. And Sakumo, for any of a hundred different reasons, killed himself. So Kakashi, having just seen the consequences of goodness, was left abandoned.
So Kakashi was left alone, until Minato picked him up. And Minato showed Kakashi it was safe to love again. Minato protected Kakashi, nurturing the child until he lowered his guard and allowed his new found family in.
Through Minato, Kakashi found a friend in Gai. Kakashi found a brother in Minato. Kakashi found a sister(?) in Rin. Kakashi found a second father in Minato, a maternal figure in Kushina.
But Obito died, then Rin. And then Kushina died, and Minato soon followed. And Kakashi betrayed Gai by betraying Leaf (unless Gai knows about the Intangible Man the Kakashi's Plausibly Deniable Mission).
Kakashi is, at his core, a good person. But his trauma makes it hard for him to be one.
We'll get him there. Kicking or screaming, we'll get him there.
Kakashi wouldn't have survived that meeting, either. Maybe revealed Hiruzen's tacit support, but depending on rolls, I could see Tsunade shrugging and saying "good, then Hiruzen will let you go once I drag your ass back. Shadow work has always been Jiraiya's stuff, not mine."
Different colors = different drugs = different secondhand effects = subtle control over conversation?
Different colors = different environment = color theory, influence on moods = subtle control over conversation?
Different colors = different mental notecards = subtle preparedness = more effective manipulation of conversation?
Oof.
Eager for money, or scared of danger? Fight, flight, or fawn? I doubt fawn would be present. Given Shizuka's specialty, I'm thinking "flight."
You can forgive someone without extending trust back to them. You can drop the bitterness eating away at your heart, you can leave the weights off your shoulders remaining vulnerable to their harm.
But also yes.
Hm, another reason why Sugiyama spent most of their time in outlying hamlets, healing civilians? Not just boredom with the mission, or a lack of suitability for combat, but also because of grudge/distrust/disgust at Zabz? All compounding factors.
I also note that Zabuza is less emotionally mature than Kakashi, and far more confrontational (with maybe a peppering of "alpha male" bullshit, considering the way Zabuza decided to ask for Kakashi's help). I could see Sugiyama growing very tired of Zabz's company, very quickly.
I find myself glad that Sugiyama wasn't forced to interact with Zabuza, and that they made Zabuza treat his own goddamned wound.
"You're still here, aren't you? Let me make you remind yourself of why, even if I don't know why."
I like how the gods' dialogue is in smaller font, denoting the general weakness of them and the fact that their "age" as "passed," according to Sugiyama.
"You can defend yourself with lies, yes. But never believe your own lies, because that will mean you make decisions on bad intel."
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours. I'll remind you of the fact, and then reassure you of my 'passivity.' And you will, indeed, be reassured --even though you should definitely know better than to dismiss a threat. But you're going to be reassured, anyway, aren't you? How? Because my numbers are bigger than yours."
Hatake Kakashi spent the next several hours idly reading, eating, and making small talk before finally succumbing once more to the signals that his exhausted body was surely screaming at him. Sugiyama made sure to place a glass of drinking water and a chilled mug of herbal tea on the windowsill of the back room, in case the ninja happened to wake up in the middle of the night. They spared the boy a glance on their way out to the small waiting room in the front of the building.
Kakashi tired himself out, yelling at Sugiyama.
I'll admit that it's a little annoying to see Kakashi reduced to "boy" in Sugiyama's mind... however, the gap in emotional maturity is huge. And I know that I've met people who are (physically) twice my age who act half my age. And I've fallen into similar mindsets.
He looks so young, for a battle-hardened soldier, Sugiyama thought. Younger still for one who weaves magic with the blood and bones of reality, and has some proficiency in the Emperor's arts to boot. He cannot be more than half of my current life's age.
Woot, someone recognizes that Kakashi has been through the wringer. Also that he has an impressive amount of skill with Very Difficult Arts.
Also: "half?"
We know that Sugiyama spend ~15 years in Honey, but this gives us a clearer age for Sugiyama. I estimate 35-50, but I'm leaning more towards 35-40, even if Sugiyama plays up the "listen here, you young child" social leverage with Shizuka later in this update.
Sugiyama slipped through the thick purple curtains. A heavy-lidded Shizuka stood watch from a rickety wooden chair in the far corner of the entrance room. The little shack wasn't spacious by any means, the only other room was a small room to the side of the entrance that served as a cramped, makeshift kitchen. There were holes in the ceiling and the wood was getting old and was probably mostly rotten through by this point to boot. There was a new gaping hole in the siding where the Shipwreck had casually ran through, that Sugiyama had draped a curtain over. They had propped up what remains of the wall with a few dozen stone bricks stacked together, but it was a makeshift job. The little building would be colder this winter.
We should use MEW to fix Sugiyama's home. Maybe we can spend FP on it? [As a Declaration]
Interesting language here. Sugiyama is personifying the house, a little bit. They're not saying "it would be a cold winter this year," or "I'll be cold, this winter." Instead, they say that "the little building would be colder this winter."
I wonder if Sugiyama, with their mysterious Sight, can see the budding Soul of the house they've lived in for 15 years? If, over time, a house collects personality to it (pencil marks on doorframes, marking the growth of children, little dings and bumps in the wall that aren't noticeable, scuff marks that blend with the floorboards, etc). A little like the phrase "it gives it character," but true.
And don't think that I didn't notice how Sugiyama didn't call their house their "home." They've lived there for 15 years. A decade and a half. You'd think that they'd grow more attached to their place of residence, even if in a begrudging way. Maybe having an emotional investment in your place of residence accelerates that place's growth into a petty "god." Not a very powerful god, or even as powerful as a spren... but a Lares (roman god of the particular household your family lives in, a guardian spirit, almost).
Or maybe the place that Sugiyama initially fled from (before they settled in Honey) is their heart's home, even after all this time?
[If the first, what will having Kakashi's chakra/soulstuff being used in its reconstruction do to its metaphysical development?]
"You don't look to be in good shape to be up watching, Quiet One," Sugiyama said. "How long has it been since you visited the land of dreams?"
Shizuka blinked blearily and yawned. "Not since we were asleep at the Sasu compound. Just about two days."
Shizuka, to her credit, only looked mildly tired on the surface. The girl's dark brown hair was mildly disheveled, and her blue eyes were bloodshot, but that was it. It was the years of experience of reading people that revealed the subtle tells of the shinobi's inner struggle with her own physical limits.
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours."
"I'll wait until morning," Shizuka said. "Hatake will be awake by then, and even half-dead he's still a force to be reckoned with. I'll sleep more comfortably with another combat ninja awake."
Rude, but also fair.
Sugiyama noted the specific phrasing of 'combat ninja', but chose not to make a comment on it. They gave a small shrug, and pulled out their newly acquired pip and a pouch of ground herb mix. They lit it with some amount of trouble fussing around with one of the half-dozen candles burning lazily around the room, and took a long drag.
No fire cantrips for lighting the pipe? I wonder if the utilization of chakra would affect the taste?
And if there was a greater herbalist in Honey Country than Sugiyama the fortuneteller, then they had certainly never bothered to come within spitting distance of Yahashibetsu.
Really glad that we picked Sugiyama. They're pretty cool ^.^
"I'll be staying up regardless," Sugiyama said. Puffs of green colored smoke trailed through the air with the words. The effort invested in learning the Smoke Manipulation Technique had, by now, paid for itself countless times over. "I have much to think on, this evening."
New Combat Plan: Kakashi Makes a Big Fucking Fire, Sugiyama takes the Smoke and Shoves it Somewhere Else
Shizuka nodded slowly, carefully, as if she was reaching for a poisonous snake. "It must be a lot to take in."-
"I just watched the best telenovela of my life, and I must know more."
"It's unusual," Sugiyama said. They erupted into a small coughing fit. "But there is worse that could happen than being informed of a few months of thrilling adventure and decent deeds done that one is incapable of remembering."
Side effect of the smoke inhalation? Lung cancer, which the smoke is (in an ironic twist) treatment for (like how certain breathing treatments are used to treat asthma/flu symtoms/other such things?
Sugiyama frowned at Shizuka and narrowed their eyes. "I noticed your questioning towards the beginning of the tale. Hatake leapt forwards to protect an ally in battle, and you were confused as to why. It was artfully done, he was too tired to realize you were clumsily fishing around for some of his internal motivations, but the true answer left you confused."
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours."
Shizuka paused at the unspoken question hanging in the air. "It seemed strange to me. He seems like an incredibly selfish, calculating, and distant person. He is incredibly annoying on purpose, and even his attempts at closeness are awkward and seem forced. Yet he leaps to protect strangers in the middle of battle. Strangers like that shinobi girl in Snow, someone who was actively fighting him not days beforehand."
"Bro needs therapy."
"I suppose that fits," Shizuka finally said. "He ran forward and sliced through that clan elder's lightning ninjutsu, and he almost made it look easy. But I couldn't help but notice the similarities to what happened with the other shinobi in Snow. He's a jounin, he probably could have just dodged it, or Substituted away. The whole fight out of the compound seemed odd in retrospect. There were a fair number of Earth Element jutsu that he mentioned using in some of those fights he talked about today. By the time his Shadow Clone blew up the hive, he could have simply used one of them to escape and left me to die. But it was never even something he considered, he leapt right into outlining an action plan that allowed the both of us to fight our way out."
Kakashi wants to be a good person, or, perhaps, is a good person. But that core essence of himself is buried underneath nine layers of trauma, and he exists in a world where it is very hard to be a good person.
His father was a good person, and presumably raised Kakashi with these standards. Sakumo tried to be a good person in a bad world, and was punished for it. And Sakumo, for any of a hundred different reasons, killed himself. So Kakashi, having just seen the consequences of goodness, was left abandoned.
So Kakashi was left alone, until Minato picked him up. And Minato showed Kakashi it was safe to love again. Minato protected Kakashi, nurturing the child until he lowered his guard and allowed his new found family in.
Through Minato, Kakashi found a friend in Gai. Kakashi found a brother in Minato. Kakashi found a sister(?) in Rin. Kakashi found a second father in Minato, a maternal figure in Kushina.
But Obito died, then Rin. And then Kushina died, and Minato soon followed. And Kakashi betrayed Gai by betraying Leaf (unless Gai knows about the Intangible Man the Kakashi's Plausibly Deniable Mission).
Kakashi is, at his core, a good person. But his trauma makes it hard for him to be one.
We'll get him there. Kicking or screaming, we'll get him there.
"Of course I am!" Shizuka whispered. The girl's voice was slightly squeaky, the words shook slightly as they fell from her lips. "That was Tsunade of the Sannin in here earlier. Do you know what my father did to her and her teammates? If she knew who I really was, she would pick me up and skip me halfway across the ocean—like a child skipping a stone over a pond! And that's only partly hyperbole. Still, he's a powerful ninja, apparently one with a frightening knack for coming out on top in dicey situations, if his story is to be believed. We were at a massive numbers disadvantage in that compound, but it didn't end up mattering a fraction as much as you would have expected."
Kakashi wouldn't have survived that meeting, either. Maybe revealed Hiruzen's tacit support, but depending on rolls, I could see Tsunade shrugging and saying "good, then Hiruzen will let you go once I drag your ass back. Shadow work has always been Jiraiya's stuff, not mine."
Sugiyama wondered idly if Shizuka was really the girl's name at all, if she was running around worrying about people looking for her. The fortuneteller inhaled, then exhaled. This time, the smoke was a dusty blue, with tiny glittering sparkles.
The sheen of lapis lazuli to set the mood.
Different colors = different drugs = different secondhand effects = subtle control over conversation?
Different colors = different environment = color theory, influence on moods = subtle control over conversation?
Different colors = different mental notecards = subtle preparedness = more effective manipulation of conversation?
"There were two ninja in here some days ago," Sugiyama said, not missing a beat. They nodded towards the somewhat-covered hole in the wall. "The larger one with the large sword left that in his wake. It was most disconcerting, I was sure that my time in this life was drawing to a close, but a twist of fate intervened to stay the boy's hand, and the Honored Healer came in the door scant seconds afterward. I, apparently, was not fated to die at that moment. They were here looking for the Copy Ninja."
Oof.
"Momochi Zabuza," Shizuka breathed. Sugiyama could almost sense the adrenaline coursing through the girl's exhausted body at the revelation. "That man has one of the highest bounties in the world right now. You say he was here trying to hunt down Hatake?"
Eager for money, or scared of danger? Fight, flight, or fawn? I doubt fawn would be present. Given Shizuka's specialty, I'm thinking "flight."
"You people are insane," Shizuka whispered. She resumed staring at the wall.
You can forgive someone without extending trust back to them. You can drop the bitterness eating away at your heart, you can leave the weights off your shoulders remaining vulnerable to their harm.
But also yes.
Sugiyama coughed. "I did not say that I would like it, young one. That is a different matter entirely. I was told long ago that the essence of wisdom is recognizing the difference between desire and necessity, and bridging the gaps between. The roads we travel across the paths will inevitably require it of us."
Hm, another reason why Sugiyama spent most of their time in outlying hamlets, healing civilians? Not just boredom with the mission, or a lack of suitability for combat, but also because of grudge/distrust/disgust at Zabz? All compounding factors.
I also note that Zabuza is less emotionally mature than Kakashi, and far more confrontational (with maybe a peppering of "alpha male" bullshit, considering the way Zabuza decided to ask for Kakashi's help). I could see Sugiyama growing very tired of Zabz's company, very quickly.
I find myself glad that Sugiyama wasn't forced to interact with Zabuza, and that they made Zabuza treat his own goddamned wound.
"You already knew that the Copy Ninja was pursued by powerful shinobi," Sugiyama said. The seer shrugged to dispel portions of the lingering unease undoubtedly coursing through the Rain ninja. "The one known as Dragon apparently came to hunt him down in Demon Country, and you participated in that battle firsthand. And yet you admit to considering teaming up with the man enough to weigh it seriously against that. This tells me that you are either lacking a great deal of common sense, or that you are in need of the help of a powerful ninja with a versatile skill set."
"You're still here, aren't you? Let me make you remind yourself of why, even if I don't know why."
"THIS ONE KNOWS MUCH THAT IT REFUSES TO TELL," The Lost Library mused from within the satchel that it was currently stowed away in. "PERHAPS EVEN A THING OR TWO THAT YOU WOULD ENJOY HEARING, GHOST, IF YOU WOULD BUT ASK! THE TRUE QUESTION: WILL IT LOOSEN ITS GRIP ON ITS PRECIOUS SECRETS, OR WILL IT CLING TO THEM EVEN HARDER IN DESPERATION?"
I like how the gods' dialogue is in smaller font, denoting the general weakness of them and the fact that their "age" as "passed," according to Sugiyama.
" One can survive in this world by lying to others," Sugiyama explained. The ghost gestured idly with their pipe, as if it would somehow make Shizuka understand (though this was a meaningless effort). "Though this is true, it is surely the case that death comes the instant that that same lie is believed by the self. Self-deception is not to be experimented with lightly."
"You can defend yourself with lies, yes. But never believe your own lies, because that will mean you make decisions on bad intel."
"Also, don't insult me, young one," the fortune teller deadpanned, eyebrows raised. "If I was going to manipulate you, it would not be so obvious. I have more than several years on you, and I'd like to think that any schemes of mine would be opaque."
Shizuka looked back quizzically and Sugiyama smiled in the way that they were taught to if annoying questions were in need of being deftly disarmed.
The reassurance was a lie, of course. A white lie, but a lie all the same.
SUGIYAMA: "My numbers are bigger than yours. I'll remind you of the fact, and then reassure you of my 'passivity.' And you will, indeed, be reassured --even though you should definitely know better than to dismiss a threat. But you're going to be reassured, anyway, aren't you? How? Because my numbers are bigger than yours."
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