Dreaming Of Sunshine - Blog Posts

Shikako fandom is like if a few many eyed angels descended and went "god is dead, but worry not. we will take care of things from here."

Kei fandom is like thinking the room you're in is crowded with people, but actually it's just one person with fifteen microphones.

Gardens Shikako & A Softer World #62 ??? (aka transmigration quote that eats my brain) When we die we come back different, like, with greener eyes, or as some far off star.

I also love that softer world quote, anon! (There’s actually an @asofterdreaming comic that uses it)

I think, though, what makes it especially brain eating is that its--footnote? subtitle? Post title? Secret, parenthetical style whisper at the end?—is “you’ll be someone you wouldn’t understand.”

In total I think this quote doesn’t actually apply to Gardens!Shikako as straightforwardly as it may seem from the outset for several reasons:

1) Gardens!Shikako seems to not actually die so much as she gets thrown into different universes that don’t have their own “Shikako” 2) She arrives in each universe as herself—not a new body or even a “reset” version—as, presumably, she activates the Gelel jump. Which includes her stats but also her techniques and access to her hammerspace 3) In a lot of gardens fic, Shikako is so OP (which I love and am guilty of myself) that she’s very rarely confused? If anything, she seems to have perfect information or, at least, very often appears omniscient to the other characters she encounters

Overall, not a quote that applies to a “standard” Gardens!Shikako per se…

… but we could change some things :D

And I’m going to be honest, my first thought of how to, essentially, break all three of the above listed rules would be to just… okay, I am laughing at this, and it IS funny but it IS also incredibly lazy of me… (which honestly is VERY Nara of me of you think about it)

She is still Shikako… but instead of Shikamaru’s twin sister, she’s Shikadai’s twin sister.

AND I STILL HOLD THAT I HAVE NOT CONSUMED ANY BORUTO, NOR AM I LIKELY TO EVER DO SO!

BUT!

IT HITS ALL THE POINTS OF THE A SOFTER WORLD QUOTE!

If this is a world that HAD a Shikako—Shikamaru’s twin sister at some point—then this is a world where a Shikako DID die and then CAME BACK. Perhaps even with greener eyes. And she is someone she wouldn’t understand because presumably that SQ soul ALSO HASN’T CONSUMED ANY BORUTO and so none of the usual omniscience applies.

And, like, if this is a world where Shikako—as Shikamaru’s twin sister—had died or disappeared after the Jashin incident and thus was presumed dead after a decade or so, WOULDN’T Shikamaru name his firstborn daughter after his long lost sister? ESPECIALLY if she’s also a twin to Shikadai.

AND LIKE. IMAGINE BOTH HOW SAD AND FUNNY THINGS ARE IN THIS WORLD.

Like, WHAT IF THIS IS HER ACTUAL ORIGINAL UNIVERSE? She truly cannot go back home. But she is home. She’s literally as home as she can be, but she’s not herself but she is herself but not really.

It’s not “came back wrong” and it’s not “you can never come home” but a secret, stupid third thing: “I’m my own niece.”

THIS IS GOING TO LIVE IN MY BRAIN FOR A WHILE, ANON. I MAY COME BACK TO THIS. BUT ALSO I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF THIS.

(Not sure if I can qualify for another prompt after the last wonderful prompt fill but here goes:

The Academy was perfectly fine with Shikamaru’s imaginary friend Shikako, until she managed to ____.

Oh dona, there are so many things that can fill in that blank. SO MANY THINGS. And, I’ll be honest, a lot of what comes to my mind range from funny to alarming. But the on that I think is the most encompassing—without being too boring—is simply “get caught.” Because that opens up so many opportunities for what else she could have been doing before she got caught in such a way that also builds a dynamic between those who are in on it (ie, the Rookie Nine, maybe even the full Konoha Twelve since Team Gai IS only just one year older) and those who aren’t (presumably the teachers of the Academy) However, in order to narrow this fic down into something writable, I should figure what Shikako is doing before she gets caught… and, maybe this is just me, but I kinda like the idea of… now maybe this is too specific… but basically, Shikamaru’s imaginary friend Shikako, aka his literal sentient eldritch horror twin sister that lives in his shadow, just straight up eating Danzo. Just. How do you get rid of something? Eat it. Because, like… okay. My brain goes something like this:

“Hm,” says Shikamaru as they hide in the treetops from Iruka-sensei.

Normally, Shikamaru is content with being out of the classroom that, outside from telling them the plan needed to ditch and stay hidden, he stays pretty quiet either cloud watching or napping.

Chouji, in his spot next to Shikamaru and equally satisfied with just being outside, is the only one to hear him. “What is it?” He asks.

That gets Kiba and Naruto to perk up, starting to get bored after their flawless escape with minimal conflict.

“Shikako says she’s hungry.”

Good friend that he is, Chouji offers some of his chips. A tendril of Shikamaru’s shadow shakily takes one, wobbling even under that weight, but Shikako is also a good friend so she eats it.

Well. She tries, anyway. Shikamaru’s shadow curls around it, mimicking a chewing motion, but it remains unchanged.

After a moment, Shikamaru reports, “Shikako says thank you, but she might need to eat something else specifically?”

Naruto, ever curious asks, “What does a shadow even eat?”

Shikamaru shrugs. “She says she’ll know it when we find it.”

Kiba, and an Akamaru squirming with eagerness, declares, “Akamaru and I are the best and finding stuff. We’ll get it in no time.”

—

Iruka-sensei finds them before they find the ambiguous “it.”

To be fair, they were searching through the refrigerator in the teacher’s lounge, and their self assigned mission had carried them through to lunch time. So really it was their own fault.

Didn’t stop Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru from yelling and howling up a storm as Iruka-sensei grabbed the two boys by the collars of their shirts. Mizuki-sensei at least just gestured his two charges forward, trusting that Shikamaru and Chouji would cooperate since they had been caught fair and square. And plus, it was lunch time.

Distracted as they were, none of the boys noticed Shikamaru’s shadow stretch itself to connect to Mizuki-sensei’s.

Without that context, none of them made the connection when, not even a minute later, Mizuki-sensei stumbled, nearly falling, before catching himself in an uncertain stance.

“You okay?” Iruka-sensei asked, caregiving nature winning over his desire to continue lecturing the boys.

Mizuki-sensei waved him off with a strained laugh, “Ha, I just felt a little tired—midday slump, probably.”

Kiba and Naruto, sensing weakness, re-aim their efforts from complaining to making fun of Mizuki-sensei’s age. It draws his ire, never mind that he tries to seem cooler than Iruka-sensei, but he musters a woozy, half-hearted defense at best.

Shikamaru glances at his shadow, darker and deeper than it was before.

Shikako isn’t as hungry anymore.

—

A/N: And then something something Ino and Sakura spot the boys questing for Shikako’s food and they also believe in/like Shikako anyway so they try to help out, Shino gets pulled in because they end up on Aburame territory and he’s holding his smiling baby sister and his untouchable vibes are way lowered, at some point they’re like… maybe Hinata can use her cool eyes to FIND what Shikako needs (and she’s stalking Naruto anyway so we might as well actively include her) and then Sasuke kind of feels left out ALTHOUGH… I may have a separate thing for how Sasuke gets pulled in. Anyway the kids try to figure out what she’s doing—she doesn’t eat chakra, she eats life energy, but only out of people that she wants to kill anyway and the amount she eats from them is maybe based on how much she wants to kill them? (she really does almost eat Kabuto to death the first time they encounter him lol)—and they’re like… well… we also don’t like the people Shikako doesn’t like anyway? Here’s where plot maybe comes in and maybe where Sasuke gets pulled in but basically if this is pre-Uchiha Massacre then there could be a day when Itachi goes to pick up the little Uchiha members from the Academy and Shikako is just like ??? DO I want to kill and eat him??? because he hasn’t done anything (YET) so it’s just like… the rest of the kids investigating into Sasuke to investigate into Itachi which then somehow Scooby Doo style gets them to Danzo and MAYBE he’s being a creeper and visiting the Academy to recruit future ROOT agents or MAYBE the Academy building is near the Hokage’s Tower (I think???) or Shisui and Itachi are BOTH picking up the various Uchiha Academy students and Danzo tries to use the opportunity to intimidate/threaten them both “subtly” and Shikako’s just like !!!!! FEAST MODE!!!! And fully just eldritch style swallows him whole in front of some Academy teachers :) And it’s not like Shikamaru can get in trouble because he’s BEEN telling the truth about his imaginary friend Shikako the whole time. And as far as they know it LOOKS like a Nara clan technique so they’re like… well… uh… maybe we should tell the Jounin Commander about this. And Shikaku’s just like… uh… Kasuga… what the fuck… And Kasuga turns to Sembei-obaasan and also asks what the fuck… And Sembei-obaasan has to search deep deep into the Nara oral tradition for what the fuck is going on And Shikako is just in Shikamaru’s shadow, totally pleased with herself. I’m not hungry anymore :)

Inktober 2021: Traitor

It's that time of the year friends!

Shikako Nara from Dreaming of Sunshine by @dosbysilverqueen

Shikako, holding a python: Guys I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name him Sasuke: You did WHAT– Naruto: William Snakepeare

shikako: I am not out of control! I’m a law abiding citizen! sasuke: Really? Name one law shikako: Don’t kill people? sasuke: That’s on me. I set the bar too low.

Nara Shikako - Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen - Chapter 70

Sasuke: I’m gonna need a human skull and I can’t have you ask any questions why. Shikako: Only if you also don’t ask why Shikako: *Pulls out 7 pristine human skulls* Take your pick. Sasuke: Shikako: Sasuke: This one is fine

Everyone gather! It’s-

Nart Art Dump Time!

Enjoy :) (image explanation under the cut)

I’m back on my BS again so I have a backlog of fandom art from the past couple of months teehee :)

Naruto was my first hyper fixation media and now 10 years later I’m back on that grind baybee~

Anyways, for those who care here’s an explanation for the pictures, since most are hyper specific lmao:

Image 1: random Sakura doodles. Includes toxic yuri SasuSaku and my interpretation of Sakura’s chuunin exam outfit in the fic Pulling My Weight on AO3 (I’m pretty sure it’s by itschoccopuff)

Image 2: fem Sasuke again because I have the disease (lesbianism)

Image 3: OCs for a Naruto themed TTRPG mainly set during Minato’s Hokagedom I play with my brothers. Our party is so dumb I love them. From left to right we got Arashi Uzumaki, his twin Ichigo Uzumaki, and Shisui’s older sister Kiri Uchiha, then on the bottom we got Kakashi (I drew him first so he looks incredibly rough woops)

Image 4: Sasuke in ANBU as Hawk (yes this is a reference to Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen on FF.net)

Image 5: More DoS fanart teehee. I just wanted to draw how I imagined the lucky 7 in the later chapters

Okay now I go disappear again for 6 more months byeee~~