KAYLEY SAYER

An Isfan/Jimsa ficlet series — Arslan Senki canon-divergence AU

@acheneya-blog Rest assured, there is more to come! Please feel free to point out any errors I made while trying to fit all our shared conversations into this little compilation ;-)

@acheneya-blog and I may have cooked a bit too much in the comments and this is what came out of it!

This might come as an unexpected pairing to some but we hope you're ready for our full presentation of evidence as to why they are a perfect match! It might yet surprise you as much as it surprised us.

Please feel free to share your comments, thoughts, hopes and wishes.

The first set of ficlets is currently with a friend of mine for beta-reading. I hope to share it soon! For now, please find below a little teaser:

Shapur survives Atropatene because Kubard, faced with a man who would rather die than retreat, solves the problem by knocking him unconscious and carrying him off the battlefield.

Later, Jimsa ends up responsible for a pair of wolf pups.

He has no idea what to do with them. Isfan does.

As there's no news on the fanfiction front (still patiently waiting for my BETA), I decided to share my other WIP early.

I do recall sharing that I was going for something crafty as an alternative to writing while I was finishing my master's thesis (currently waiting for the topic to be approved btw).

Soooo, here we go!

Allow me to introduce the first completed prototypes of Azrael and Soroush!

Emphasise on first 'completed' because the first set remained bodies only:

It took me a long time to find a fitting pattern.

Of course this meant digging deeper into the exact type of bird I was trying to imitate:

In ancient and medieval Persia, the most famous falcons used were the Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and the Shaheen (a regional variety of the Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus babylonicus). Known as "black-eyed" raptors, they were prized for their intense speed and fearlessness when hunting larger birds and small mammals.

Tanaka's original (correct me if I'm wrong!) only specifies Shaheen which meant I started of with the peregrine falcon as reference:

But the pattern of the bodies just... Didn't hit the mark. That's why I started to amend the body before moving on. As you might see, I've changed the amount of white and also decided against the clean lines when doing colour changes as I feel it appears more natural to have it a bit rougher.

But before I went off to wings, feet and embroidery I thought to re-check some manga and anime references:

And compared to the peregrine I started with I felt like the Saker falcon might yet be the better reference still:

It's still a work-in-progress, though. You'll find Azrael looking quite... angry, I guess? This was my idiotic decision to add the safety eyes at the end and embroider after closing the body only, which basically made it impossible for me to get it done.

I still need to find a better solution for the yellow cross marking, though. And guess what? The pattern decided they wouldn't get a tail... So that's still on the list as well for improvising later.

Last song: If we're being precise, that is "Can Do" and "RIMFIRE" by GRANRODEO, the first and second opening to the anime Kuroko no Basuke as I've started a background noise re-watch while working on other projects.

Favorite colour: Every blue-green mix: turquoise, seaweed, teal.

Currently watching: Re-watching Kuroko no Basuke as background entertainment (I sometimes hate how quiet the house can get and feel more comfortable with having something run in the background, so that's that). Otherwise we have just finished The Pitt Season 2 and are on the hunt for the next thing to watch - happy to take recommendations!

Current obsession: Going food for this one - and I know opinions are 50/50 on this - but white rice with tuna and mayo. This is the quickest recipe that belongs to the category 'comfort food' for me.

Currently reading: Manga - Spy x Family Vol. 14 (I love the series, it's one where the anime is actually worth watching) Book - Ikigai by Ken Mogi (I got this from my partner for National Book and Roses Day (I didn't know that was a thing, but apparentely it's a Catalonian (Spanish) tradition, so, thank you, Tik Tok for getting me another book for my pile of shame!) Otherwise I'm stuck reading scientific research papers for my master's degree.

Current project / currently working on: In terms of fanfiction currently only working on Arslan Senki ones (I guess I'll do a separate post on those.)

I'm also working on (practising) the accompanying piano part of an arrangement for piano and cello of Rachmaninow's Op. 34 No. 14 'Vocalise'. The cello teacher at music school approached me and asked whether I could accompany her student for their A-level exam at school 'as you've played this in the past'... Well... I did. I know, but my fingers don't, so we'll see how much time that will eat away of my schedule.

Otherwise, I have just placed an order for some materials for another Arsen-related little project I've chosen as a procrastination project while finishing my thesis papers. As I'll be stuck writing a lot I wanted to be prepared in case fanfiction writing will be out of the picture for that time. And if we're being honest, I'm really invested in this right now, so it might as well be done before I even start with the final thesis paper.

Last Google search: Recipe for cream puffs. I was shocked about the price nowadays and thought I could simply make them myself. Turns out I can. Turns out store-bought cream puffs will now forever be banned from the menu as they taste better if you make them yourself.

Azrael stiffened suddenly, feathers ruffling as a voice carried on the wind.

"Ah! There she is — my desert bloom!" Rajendra's voice shattered the quiet like a poorly struck chord on a badly tuned instrument.

Kaleiya closed her eyes. Azrael made a low, dangerous click in his throat.

"I feared you had wandered off and been spirited away!"

Azrael turned with an indignant flap of wings, feathers bristling. Kaleiya calmly patted him down.

"How may I help you, Prince Rajendra?" she asked with practised politeness, turning slowly — face calm and hands still on Azrael.

Rajendra spread his arms. "I have come to rescue you from solitude. No lady should be left alone while there is food, wine, and music to be had."

"I'm not alone," she said. "Azrael is with me."

Rajendra laughed. "Surely a bird is poor company beside a prince."

Azrael turned, feathers flaring, and fixed the prince with a withering, human glare.

Kaleiya's smile thinned. "Azrael is more than fine company. He knows when silence matters." The look she gave him was razor-sharp.

Rajendra clutched at his chest. "Ah, but I can be quiet too — though admittedly, it's hard to contain myself when faced with such radiance! You must let me tell you of Sindhura's beauty. I would compare you to the gold of our palaces, the silver in our rivers—"

"I'd rather you didn't. Your comparisons are hollow."

Rajendra faltered. "You wound me, Lady Kaleiya."

"Not yet," she said, drily. "But stay longer."

She cut in, voice colder than the wintry evening wind.

"Prince Rajendra. If I wanted to be smothered by flattery and suffocated by gold, I would stand still and let a merchant bury me in coin."

He blinked. "I—"

"Fortunately," she went on, brushing Azrael's feathers smooth, "I prefer my company sentient. And silent."

Rajendra faltered only briefly. "I could be silent."

"Leave." The word sliced through the air like drawn steel.

Azrael hissed, eyes blazing, before he fluffed his feathers and turned his back on the prince — like a silent judge delivering his verdict.

.

Azrael turned his head and gave Rajendra one final side-eye of disgust.

Rajendra blinked, startled, then wilted, swallowing his pride with difficulty. "Ah... as you wish. No need to be cruel about it." He turned and slunk down the hill, mumbling about uncultured birds and impossible women.