Nara Shikamaru // 奈良・シカマル (haecceity) wrote,
@ 2009-09-10 21:04:00

Entry tags:

}{ ESSAY, &c.
Ask me anything about Shikamaru—I'll answer it with as much detail as possible according to what I know so far, tl;dr included. It can be as impersonal or as personal as you want it to be.

Post always open.

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	goodwithscalpel 2009-09-10 02:15 pm UTC (link)
	1. What's his problem with Sakura? 2. How much does he smoke? 3. How did he end up a TA? (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-10 02:35 pm UTC (link)

1. He actually doesn't have a problem with Sakura, and if you actually look at the big picture, he never really gives her a bad grade overall. He might be her GPA killer, but she's always within the top 10% of the class—meaning that even if it brings her grade down, know that the other 90% of the class has it worse than her.

He's hard on her because she actually speaks up and has an opinion inside and outside of class, and half the time it's probably not even about the material being taught, because... he's probably a good TA when it comes down to crunch time. But, on her opinions: some he just doesn't agree with because she's not the most rational of all people, but most times, he just disagrees with her in the most logical way possible just because he can.

2. Since this isn't canon and not a shounen manga that needs to maintain its good appeal to little kids, I want to say he goes through at least a pack a week, depending on how he feels and how much his load is. He's not a chainsmoker, but it'd be a lie to say that he's not addicted after two years of constantly smoking.

He does a little bit of pot on the side, but that's something that's unrelated to addiction. As he's ICly told Gaara on one occasion, he can stop when he wants and can handle missing out on the opportunity of smoking pot without batting an eyelash or looking back longingly. It's a luxury he can live not having, and right now, he's probably going through a dry spell of pot because he's living with Ino right now. She hates the smell of pot and he's a lot more considerate than he lets on.

3. Having photographic memory and a brain that soaks up just everything he hears, Shikamaru has scored at the top of his class consistently since the beginning of the school—at least in terms of his major. By the end of his freshman year, he gained senior status due to the sheer amount of credits he got through additional testing—most likely, he probably didn't even take half of the mandatory classes because he passed out of them. Add that with having really pretentious professors within the department, and you have someone from the department approaching Shikamaru about the possibility of being a TA for the department.

Given the pay (he was probably broke because Hurricane Ino had gone through his bank account) and the benefits (graduate students' library), he accepted.

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	goodwithscalpel 2009-09-10 02:39 pm UTC (link)
	1. I had a feeling it went along those lines. :V (Reply to this)(Parent)

	equate 2009-09-10 02:32 pm UTC (link)
	.............k. Lis'n up Soo. This is important. Does he do any of the work, or does he lie back and kind of sit there like an overly warmed amoeba? :D (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-10 02:43 pm UTC (link)

I think he does a little bit of both. It's noted in the manga that he doesn't forget anything he takes note of, and I like to keep that in because it gives me a reason to make him an asshole without reason. There is no physical or mental way for someone to be overly social and nice with a brain like Shikamaru's—technically, he should be more socially stunted than what I make of him but hey. It's RP! So I'll take my liberties there.

Back on topic, he probably does less work than the average hardworking student. For example, if Sakura, an average, hard-working student who gets good grades, takes notes in class, pays attention, and studies five extra hours... Shikamaru probably got the same grades or even better just by listening in class and looking over the textbook once or twice before that same exam. Time efficiency, baby! That, and he gets to review over the basics over and over again because of his job, so he's always pretty well-versed in what he studies.

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haecceity
2009-09-10 02:51 pm UTC (link)

/SCREAMS

Again, he does a little bit of both depending on the person! If he really likes them and they whip his ass into shape, of course he'll be willing to do the work. If it's just anyone else that he's not really that interested in, he'll just let them do all the work.

But know that if it's the latter, it will probably never get to that stage. To him, it's not worth the effort and he's just not going to deal with it.

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	equate 2009-09-10 02:52 pm UTC (link)
	...........that took a while, didn't it. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

oriental_dragon
2009-09-10 03:00 pm UTC (link)

1. ~~Dude, what's his beef with women?~~ No, seriously though, thoughts on Tenten, por favor? On any and all matters that you can think of or would care to discuss, ie. concerning their friendship (for lack of a better word), as a girl in general, as a person, etc. Because I know he thinks about these things. >__>

2. Fondest memory of his past, whether it be recent or far into his childhood. The past is the past, no matter how much time has gone by since then.

3. Virgin. Y/N?

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haecceity
2009-09-10 03:57 pm UTC (link)

1. I wouldn't say he thinks about Tenten aside from when he has to, and that's only when he has to plan things with her (if any at all in archery) or when he has to talk to her. She's just another girl that has a thing for overpowering men because she's a feminist, and he understands that. It doesn't mean he has to agree with it. This leads him to take a similar way of approaching Tenten as he does with Sakura—disagreeing with her just because he can, in the most logical way possible.

As a person and as a girl, he doesn't really have an opinion of her. But don't feel bad! He doesn't really have an opinion on people unless they're really important to him (this is canonically Team Asuma, Team Shikamaru, Kurenai, and maybe Temari but not as much as the Konoha-nins).

2. Probably the summer between his sophomore and junior year of high school. That was when his sensei would play shougi with him , with the stakes of paying for Chouji's meal tab. It's not really the countless games he played during that summer, but rather the quiet atmosphere that accompanied it. The summer breeze, the smell of cigarettes, and the sound of cicadas around the balcony of his sensei's apartment.

3. No. I actually have a backstory for this! Sort of. It's flexible and it might or might not be the girl you think it is but lmfao hi. 8)

When he was fourteen, he met a high school girl about three years his senior. He was getting bullied and about to get his money taken away (which he had the situation under control with a makeshift foolproof plan), and she barged in his life by taking him by his hand and dragging him away. Typical story of boy meets girl, girl meets boy, except the situation is nothing beyond the fact that he was on his way home and she was lost. He gave her directions back to her apartment like any person would, and promptly parted without much of a thought in his mind.

It was later that night that he was doing errands for his mother when he ran into the girl again in a park near his neighborhood. Without much of a thought, because girls shouldn't be left alone in the dark, he kept her company. They talked about everything and nothing, and once again, they parted without much thought on the subject.

Every so often they met at the same park, and it became more like a scheduled thing for them. Sometimes they talked, and sometimes they sat around not saying a word. But it all worked out, you know? A couple of months passed and this became a regular event in both their lives, and one day the girl came to him with a piece of news: she was moving away. They wouldn't see each other again, because the park was too far away. There was also a whole bunch of business that Shikamaru won't ever disclose to others because it's not his place to (and I want to give flexibility if anyone wants to use this backstory), but by the end of the night they became a couple. A low-key couple but still. A couple.

A couple of years passed. The girl move onto college, and Shikamaru moved onto high school. And as life revolved around them, the girl began to notice that Shikamaru was rapidly becoming an adult. Not in the way that most perverts would think of that sentence, but in the way that despite his laziness and indifferent attitude, Shikamaru was a pretty nice and dependable guy. There were some ups and downs in the relationship, but somehow it managed to last four years, until Shikamaru hit eighteen. I assume they broke up because the chick went abroad or there was some irreconcilable differences. I like the first option better. But they parted on pretty good terms, I'd think!

He probably lost it around sixteen or seventeen. 8)

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oriental_dragon
2009-09-10 04:46 pm UTC (link)

1. On a scale from one to ten, one being a hell no never gonna happen, ten being highly possible, and in association with all the girls he knows in current comm canon [ie. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten... because I don't think he knows Hinata yet], rank the likeliness of Shikamaru being in a relationship with them. And explain why for each.

2. How the hell did he get into pot?

3. How does Shikamaru view herself? On all aspects.

4. The wildest thing Shikamaru has ever done. Does he regret it? Why or why not?

5. What is one of Shikamaru's most well-kept secrets?

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haecceity
2009-09-10 05:16 pm UTC (link)

1. Ino: 1. She's his childhood friend, and while something without strings attached might be a possibility, neither of them would want that type of outcome because it might jeopardize their friendship, however dysfunctional it may be.
Sakura: 1. He's her student. Not only is that breaching the barrier, it shows that Shikamaru is prone to favoritism, and with Sasuke looking over him like a hawk on any vulnerabilities, he can't take any chances. Not that he's attracted to Sakura in any shape or form... really.
Tenten: 1. They just don't clash together as a relationship type of pair, imo. Shikamaru is a very particular person, and for him it's like a hit or miss type of thing. That, and he probably doesn't date down or across. :(

2. On a whim, like most things he's into (go, shougi, archery, biology, chemistry, TAing, &c.). He's not an addict though, I swear.

3. Himself, you mean? ;)

It's not that he's an insecure person as a whole, but that he's insecure about how dependable he is to others. He understands that he doesn't have the best personality in the world, but he'd rather stick to being himself than being fake and make lots of friends he can't trust. But he's aware that he has a shit personality and is willing to take full advantage of it. The problem is, if he makes a mistake, he'll dwell on it for a bit and blame only himself. Especially if it's a problem that spans a lot more than just himself. But there's really no use crying over spilled milk, so he'll move on, just as adults should.

He knows he's pretty damn smart, but sometimes wishes he wasn't. Life is boring when you know the answer to virtually everything just because he saw it in passing a couple of years back, or read it in a book, or had a conversation about it, &c. It's probably the reason why he's just so damn apathetic—he's bored to death. That's why he's never going to fully exert himself unless absolutely necessary; things would just be too troublesome if he did, and overall, even more boring than things are right now.

Physically, he doesn't really care.

4. Not changing his bank pin number after Ino figured it out. But he figures Ino and Chouji might need to fall back on it every so often, so... while there are times he regrets it (Ino spending his money like water, Chouji's restaurant tabs), there are times when he doesn't (when these two actually need the money and has access to his account).

5. His past major relationship (as noted before), and the extent of said relationship. I doubt even Ino knows the full details about it past what little details she's managed to dig up. Not even the chick's name ohohoho.

/SLITS WRISTS WANTS AN EDIT BUTTON

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	haecceity 2009-09-10 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	1. Sakura: I meant that she's his student. Not the other way around. Ughhhhh sorry. :( (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

oriental_dragon
2009-09-10 05:23 pm UTC (link)

-pets- It's ok, sweetie.

1. Tenten: I've written it before, and there are possibilities in there... somewhere if you look at it carefully. But the way we play them, I'd have to agree with you on that... but what's that about dating down ~~although I'm hoping Tenten falls under the across section of that statement~~? 8|

3. ~~No, I meant herself ^^~~ ...Orz. Note to self, check before copy and pasting things.

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haecceity
2009-09-10 05:32 pm UTC (link)

1. The distribution of points and their reasoning is as of right now, because I know for a fact that some situations are prone to change because I've been plotting. 8)

And I meant age-wise, lmao. It's my headcanon that Shikamaru wouldn't really consider anyone as someone who he'd potentially date (nor would he even think about it), and that he'd have to grow into the relationship after a great deal of development. Points if it's someone older than him, because he's a little mature for his age in one way or the other.

3. Pfff s'cool! 8)

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	oriental_dragon 2009-09-10 05:41 pm UTC (link)
	1. Secret fears and insecurities? 2. When he actually has it in himself to think about something, random or otherwise, what often comes to mind? 3. Lol, will Shikamaru and Tenten ever be on actual friendly terms? xD (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-10 05:51 pm UTC (link)

1. As I noted before, his dependability. If anything happened to Ino and Chouji, he'd probably blame only himself even if he wasn't involved in whatever case they're on right now. I don't think anything else scares him as much as failing as the oldest and designated pillar of the trio. He's already lost his teacher, and he's not aiming to lose anyone else around him.

2. Shougi strategies, of course. Against a recent player in the club or even himself as an opponent.

3. They... are? At least by Shikamaru's standards, which aren't normal, especially when it comes down to interaction with others. It's a little more intricate than the usual, and more often than not, it's what's unsaid or what's implied that makes or breaks whether or not Shikamaru and the person he's interacting with is on good terms or not. More often than not, they're on neutral terms, which is as friendly as Shikamaru will ever get without really big developments in canon. Someone can talk as much as they want with Shikamaru, but they should realize that it's more the quality of conversation rather than the frequency of it that matters to him more than anything else.

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	infrawhite 2009-09-10 04:22 pm UTC (link)
	If Shikamaru and Neji could ever manage a decent conversation on anything, what would the topic be. Also his thoughts on yaoi. (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-10 04:33 pm UTC (link)

1. Human psychology, specifically linked to human behavior and reality. Tradition. Ino and her lack of priorities.

2. He doesn't think much of it, but it's not his cup of tea. He's not gay, and he's pretty certain of that as a member of a traditional family with traditional values and hell, he likes his women submissive (or so he thinks). In other words: he'll never delve into the world of yaoi, but he's not going to judge others based on their preferences.

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	aquatic 2009-09-10 06:37 pm UTC (link)
	WHAT IS HIS DESKTOP WALLPAPER. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	haecceity 2009-09-11 01:47 am UTC (link)
	Probably a solid green because he's boring like that and green is a cool color. C: (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	aquatic 2009-09-11 04:58 am UTC (link)
	FFFFF. When he goes grocery shopping, does he bother to make a list? Does he forget things? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	haecceity 2009-09-11 06:21 am UTC (link)
	He has really good memory, I told you this! He's a really boring guy, so I'm going to go with the boring answer that he never really forgets anything he wants to get. And if on the rare occasion that he does, he just makes do without said item and it's like it never even mattered before. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	verdure 2009-09-10 10:43 pm UTC (link)
	DO I HAVE TO (Reply to this)

	verdure 2009-09-11 01:54 am UTC (link)
	i hate you lmfao YOU SKANK (Reply to this)

	verdure 2009-09-11 01:58 am UTC (link)
	...idek if i have a question i know everything about your shikamaru anyway (Reply to this)

	verdure 2009-09-11 02:07 am UTC (link)
	:\| 1. He can't wear his boring black shinobi outfit irl, so what does he wear instead? 8) 2. Thoughts on Ino after living with her for a few weeks? 3. HIS FAVORITE MOVIE? 4. Where did he go the week after Asuma died? (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-11 02:25 am UTC (link)

1. This is why I really like my iconset; I can see Shikamaru wearing most of the clothes that his PB is wearing in them. It'd be a mix of whatever his previous girlfriend, Ino, and he's bought throughout the year, and well, by some form of miracle everything in his wardrobe is matchable enough with each other that Shikamaru can just pick whatever. He never wears shorts, though. Always long pants, usually in the form of jeans.

2. He doesn't have much of a thought. He's probably seen Ino half-naked like four times a day but doesn't even bat an eyelash at her about it. So! My guess is that she's just kind of... there in his apartment, and he's trying his best to accommodate her without being too flexible about what he's doing. Chances are, he's probably never really around when she's in the apartment.

3. Any movie that he can fall asleep through.

4. I never mentioned his name mmkay that teacher could have... not been Asuma ffff. A better question is: where did he not go after his teacher died?

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	verdure 2009-09-11 03:29 am UTC (link)
	1. lmfao Ino probably goes out and buys him stuff and shoves it in his closet because she knows what he'll wear. sob. 2. WILL HE MISS HER WHEN SHE'S GONE? 8( (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	haecceity 2009-09-11 03:38 am UTC (link)
	1. And because she wants to compete with whoever went shopping with him. 8\| 2. Probably not. Shikamaru's a pretty independent guy who doesn't get too attached to people anymore. That, and Ino will probably make sure to see him at least once a week for her own amusement. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	impellere 2009-09-11 08:13 am UTC (link)
	1. WHY AM I GIVING THE SAME QUESTION TO EVERYONE- Friend? What does he think of him? Would he shoot him if given the chance or take him out for ice cream? :( The 'him' is Naruto btw. (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-11 01:12 pm UTC (link)

There are very few people Shikamaru would consider a friend, mainly because he's a pretty independent type a guy who won't really care what others think about him. To him, Naruto's a pretty obnoxious and noisy guy, but otherwise he can see that he only has the best intentions in mind for the people around him. He doesn't agree with the stuff that Naruto does because they're so irrational, but whatever. It's none of his business.

That, and what I just typed out for Tenten. Shikamaru doesn't really think of a person unless he's super close to them—a process that can only take years or a very particular type of interaction. He just doesn't have an opinion of Naruto, because he just doesn't think about these things. To Shikamaru, Naruto's just another guy in the world, and whatever he does is none of his business.

Not yet, anyway.

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	impellere 2009-09-11 07:53 pm UTC (link)
	Best intentions almost always weighs over the tolerable amount of concern he puts into the situation. Haaaaaah. This just means Naruto has to bug Shikamaru more. Which... is an easy thing to do. :D (Reply to this)(Parent)

	itsa_twister 2009-09-25 05:01 am UTC (link)
	1. Would Shika ever consider playing chess with Temari? Even if it's just for the lulz? She promises to be good. 2. Is he a crybaby and if so I can has tormenting rights pls? 3. What are Shika's eating habits? I know he doesn't work out, so how the fuck does he stay so skinny. (Reply to this)(Thread)

haecceity
2009-09-25 06:51 am UTC (link)

1. Given that he's from a largely Japanese household which focuses on games like shougi or go, he's probably never really sat down and figured the game out. Meaning, if Temari can teach him the basics, sure! I'm sure it'll come up sooner or later. Temari should be ready lose, though. 8)

2. I'd say it would take a lot for Shikamaru in general to get worked up. Meaning, if you can make him break down, it would have to be something drastic involving like a life or death situation, which I don't really see happening in LS like in canon. But if she does get tormenting rights, know that he won't deal with it and just walk away... which is a sign for nag more. 8)

3. There are some days he doesn't eat, but most days he gets his full 3 meals a day, even if it's just a sandwich of cheap cheese. If he's hungry, he'll feel hungry, and it's a pain in the ass to keep getting distracted by some hunger problem so he's just not going to deal with it and eat bread. Or something. He probably eats out more often than not, sometimes even taking Ino in tow because jesus, she needs to eat more, but otherwise he eats sandwiches. :|

But that doesn't mean he can't fry a pretty damn good egg. It just. Takes too much effort. But once he gets into the habit of things, someone could probably force him into making them the perfect egg for breakfast LMFAO.

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itsa_twister
2009-09-25 11:17 pm UTC (link)

1. Well Temari knows how to play Shougi but she definitely prefers chess. I'm sure she'd be willing to teach him so she can have a partner who she can't beat in under ten minutes.

2. Temari does not nag. Temari insults you so much that she has made people cry before. But nagging is for girls of a certain variety. Incidentally, the variety of girls that Temari hates.

3. Haaah Temari just doesn't cook because she doesn't know how. She pretty much lives off vitamin water and those yummy little pre-made sammiches.

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