You know that happy meme? Yeah.
So there's this meme that tells you to post for eight days straight something that makes you happy, and tag back eight people. I got tagged by Youko and Jill, but I really don't think I want to tag people. If you want to be tagged, hey, you're tagged.
What made me happy today? A fic Tisha wrote for me.
A little backstory first.
Once upon a time in Adstring there was an event called Family Bonding. Characters would believe they were related to others. One of us had a silly idea, Jiraiya and Carmen being boyfriend and girlfriend. It was fun though not much happened with it. And then, after the event, they just started talking back and forth, conversations that flowed. And somehow, I completely blame Tisha, I suddenly had a second 'ship' I liked for Carmen. Saul brings out her drive, her strength, her passion for who she is and what she does and life in general. Jiraiya reinforces her, an external strength, a casual comfort that she's not known before.
All this, for a woman who views herself as Master Thief first, leader second, and then a woman. Yeah, that shell she's got is broken.
By Tisha, rated PG
~*~
So maybe he flirts a lot. So maybe all the pretty women catch his eye, and he'll stop to talk or hit on them.
He's an old man, and in his 50+ years, he's never really loved anyone (other than Tsunade, but that's a different story). So that makes it perfectly alright to drink sake with women of the night, ladies who don't expect anything except a night of fun.
But it's the weirdest thing he's ever felt, to know that the woman in red (like roses, like blood, like the markings on his face), can get under his skin.
He enjoys talking with her, enjoys discussing places he's been, and learning the places she's been, things they've done, or things that have yet to be heard of.
Truthfully, she makes a pleasant change from everyone he's ever known. No illusions to hide her age, no past love that she can't let go. And no scars from a life that at times, seems too long and too bloody with too much loss of good people.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't like her. So he does. He lets her read his first novel, the one that flopped, but had more meaning than the stuff he writes now. As a joke, he even wrote a fun short story with her as the main character, who naturally got away in the end. And was surprised when she liked it.
He's yet to meet a lady like her (and lady is the right word, somehow), no matter where he goes.
It's a relief to be out of Adstringendum, out of time compression, and with advanced knowledge of what happens should he fail to defeat Pein. So with that in mind, he does. Because there's still a lot to be done. Ladies to meet, places to go, stories to be told. And a godson to protect.
When all's said and done, he allows himself to think of the people he'd met. Unohana, Maes, Juke, Trisha, Kanzeon, Gojyo, Kevin, Tamaki, Madara (and he seriously wonders why nobody has just shoved the man off a cliff to put him out of commission for a while), Carmen.
He briefly considers submitting the short story about Carmen to his publishers, but decides against it. After all, he has a reputation to maintain. What kind of author goes and falls for a woman nobody's heard of, much less seen?
He's 57 when he hears the rumors of buildings going missing. And no one can understand why he laughs so hard it hurts, because there's only one person who can pull off such a stunt.
He waits, and it pays off. One year later, a monument goes missing in Konoha. It's not the Memorial Stone, or the Hokage Mountain. Rather, it's a storage place of history, dating back to when Konoha was just being founded, when the first Hokage was little more than a boy
There's a trail of clues, and for all the combined intelligence of the investigators, they're stumped.
He just snorts, and goes right to the source herself.
"Hello, Carmen Sandiego."
She smiles. "Hello, Jiraiya."
"Long time no see. It's been what.....4 years?"
"About that long, yes. What brings you here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd pay you a visit?"
There's a wide, knowing smile. "If I didn't know better, I would."
"Well, it's a good thing you know better, isn't it?"
"Perhaps. Come to arrest me and take back what I've stolen?"
"No to the first, yes to the second, because there's not much point in dragging you back by force. But if you want, you're more than welcome to stay for a tour."
"Hmm. Alright. You can....what is the expression....show me your world."
"It's a strange one, but good."
So she puts back the building, and they talk as he gives her a tour, not the typical 'this building was made in the year of so and so's reign', but one by a person who merely wants to share the highlights of the place they grew up in.
He shows her the springs, the monuments, the view from atop the Hokage Mountain, and even the Hokage's office itself (and he'll never forget the look on Tsunade's face when he introduces Carmen to her, it's priceless).
As the night falls, he takes her out to dinner, and there's more conversation over that.
It's amazing really, the way they never seem to run out of topics. He pays for her hotel room, and in a change of events, she challenges him to a game.
One game turns into two, two turns into three, three into four, and so on. He loses track after awhile, not really caring, and it's a surprise to wake up in the morning (closer to afternoon, really), and find himself sitting against the headboard, with Carmen next to him.
He hasn't felt this content in years, and it's nice.
After lunch, he walks her to the gate, and they exchange goodbyes in the form of a long kiss. "I suppose now is the time when I should say something clichéd about how even though we're far apart, we're always together and nothing can destroy that, blah blah blah."
She laughs. "If you were any other person but who you are, then maybe so."
"Well then, it's a good thing that we are we, and not anyone else. Because then, we wouldn't be here." He kisses her again, on the cheek this time, gives her a hug, and steps back.
He watches her leave, and smiles. One day and one night together, and that is all that matters. He doesn't hold any illusions about settling down with her, domesticity doesn't suit either of them.
So maybe he still flirts more than he should. And maybe all the pretty women still catch his eye. And maybe he still ogles Tsunade's chest when he gets a chance (and he still dodges her punches, which are as strong as ever). And maybe he still drinks and smokes more than he should (some habits never die).
And maybe, just maybe, he runs into a lady in red again, and maybe he spends the night with her again.
But those are stories for another time. After all, what author reveals everything in the first book? Better to keep the audience guessing.
End.
What made me happy today? A fic Tisha wrote for me.
A little backstory first.
Once upon a time in Adstring there was an event called Family Bonding. Characters would believe they were related to others. One of us had a silly idea, Jiraiya and Carmen being boyfriend and girlfriend. It was fun though not much happened with it. And then, after the event, they just started talking back and forth, conversations that flowed. And somehow, I completely blame Tisha, I suddenly had a second 'ship' I liked for Carmen. Saul brings out her drive, her strength, her passion for who she is and what she does and life in general. Jiraiya reinforces her, an external strength, a casual comfort that she's not known before.
All this, for a woman who views herself as Master Thief first, leader second, and then a woman. Yeah, that shell she's got is broken.
By Tisha, rated PG
~*~
So maybe he flirts a lot. So maybe all the pretty women catch his eye, and he'll stop to talk or hit on them.
He's an old man, and in his 50+ years, he's never really loved anyone (other than Tsunade, but that's a different story). So that makes it perfectly alright to drink sake with women of the night, ladies who don't expect anything except a night of fun.
But it's the weirdest thing he's ever felt, to know that the woman in red (like roses, like blood, like the markings on his face), can get under his skin.
He enjoys talking with her, enjoys discussing places he's been, and learning the places she's been, things they've done, or things that have yet to be heard of.
Truthfully, she makes a pleasant change from everyone he's ever known. No illusions to hide her age, no past love that she can't let go. And no scars from a life that at times, seems too long and too bloody with too much loss of good people.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't like her. So he does. He lets her read his first novel, the one that flopped, but had more meaning than the stuff he writes now. As a joke, he even wrote a fun short story with her as the main character, who naturally got away in the end. And was surprised when she liked it.
He's yet to meet a lady like her (and lady is the right word, somehow), no matter where he goes.
It's a relief to be out of Adstringendum, out of time compression, and with advanced knowledge of what happens should he fail to defeat Pein. So with that in mind, he does. Because there's still a lot to be done. Ladies to meet, places to go, stories to be told. And a godson to protect.
When all's said and done, he allows himself to think of the people he'd met. Unohana, Maes, Juke, Trisha, Kanzeon, Gojyo, Kevin, Tamaki, Madara (and he seriously wonders why nobody has just shoved the man off a cliff to put him out of commission for a while), Carmen.
He briefly considers submitting the short story about Carmen to his publishers, but decides against it. After all, he has a reputation to maintain. What kind of author goes and falls for a woman nobody's heard of, much less seen?
He's 57 when he hears the rumors of buildings going missing. And no one can understand why he laughs so hard it hurts, because there's only one person who can pull off such a stunt.
He waits, and it pays off. One year later, a monument goes missing in Konoha. It's not the Memorial Stone, or the Hokage Mountain. Rather, it's a storage place of history, dating back to when Konoha was just being founded, when the first Hokage was little more than a boy
There's a trail of clues, and for all the combined intelligence of the investigators, they're stumped.
He just snorts, and goes right to the source herself.
"Hello, Carmen Sandiego."
She smiles. "Hello, Jiraiya."
"Long time no see. It's been what.....4 years?"
"About that long, yes. What brings you here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd pay you a visit?"
There's a wide, knowing smile. "If I didn't know better, I would."
"Well, it's a good thing you know better, isn't it?"
"Perhaps. Come to arrest me and take back what I've stolen?"
"No to the first, yes to the second, because there's not much point in dragging you back by force. But if you want, you're more than welcome to stay for a tour."
"Hmm. Alright. You can....what is the expression....show me your world."
"It's a strange one, but good."
So she puts back the building, and they talk as he gives her a tour, not the typical 'this building was made in the year of so and so's reign', but one by a person who merely wants to share the highlights of the place they grew up in.
He shows her the springs, the monuments, the view from atop the Hokage Mountain, and even the Hokage's office itself (and he'll never forget the look on Tsunade's face when he introduces Carmen to her, it's priceless).
As the night falls, he takes her out to dinner, and there's more conversation over that.
It's amazing really, the way they never seem to run out of topics. He pays for her hotel room, and in a change of events, she challenges him to a game.
One game turns into two, two turns into three, three into four, and so on. He loses track after awhile, not really caring, and it's a surprise to wake up in the morning (closer to afternoon, really), and find himself sitting against the headboard, with Carmen next to him.
He hasn't felt this content in years, and it's nice.
After lunch, he walks her to the gate, and they exchange goodbyes in the form of a long kiss. "I suppose now is the time when I should say something clichéd about how even though we're far apart, we're always together and nothing can destroy that, blah blah blah."
She laughs. "If you were any other person but who you are, then maybe so."
"Well then, it's a good thing that we are we, and not anyone else. Because then, we wouldn't be here." He kisses her again, on the cheek this time, gives her a hug, and steps back.
He watches her leave, and smiles. One day and one night together, and that is all that matters. He doesn't hold any illusions about settling down with her, domesticity doesn't suit either of them.
So maybe he still flirts more than he should. And maybe all the pretty women still catch his eye. And maybe he still ogles Tsunade's chest when he gets a chance (and he still dodges her punches, which are as strong as ever). And maybe he still drinks and smokes more than he should (some habits never die).
And maybe, just maybe, he runs into a lady in red again, and maybe he spends the night with her again.
But those are stories for another time. After all, what author reveals everything in the first book? Better to keep the audience guessing.
End.