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“Another day, another opportunity to take a nap under the clouds…You coming?”

Shikamaru SFW + NSFW Headcanons

SFW

Shikamaru prefers to keep many, many people at arm’s length, or perhaps the length of a 6-foot pole. He does not warm up to people easily, and although he works with a lot of shinobi he prefers to keep his close friends a number he can count on one hand. When it comes to developing a relationship with him, it will take a long time. Shikamaru does things on his own time and without a rush. It’s not uncommon to run into him a few times in a week then he goes incognito for the rest of the moment. I wouldn’t push him - he just needs to time to be on his own and commit to his duties as a shinobi. He’s just an enigmatic man who values his autonomy, it would be best to learn to love that about him than try to change it.

When it comes to the conversations you two share, it can oscillate between talking about too-hot weather to theories on the Warring States Period. Anything regarding gossip from neighboring villages or how your tv broke down today wouldn’t be interesting to him. He prefers probing questions that could be a bit off-putting for normal conversation. His mind is something that needs to be stimulated regularly (if only his body could keep up…)

He doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve, and that’s okay. His love for his Choji and Ino is strong and glaring, it just doesn’t manifest in loving words or physical affection. Although he seems to not want to be bothered, he is always there for his friends and family. Shikamaru is loyal, and one of the few who will always be close when you need him.

Will definitely call you troublesome while bringing you lunch when you forget to pack it, and will be there to walk you home after school or work. He shows up randomly, but that makes it much more exciting. Acts of service is definite go-to to show he cares, which says a lot from someone who doesn’t like to do much work. Picking up your drycleaning, helping you with your work when you’re stuck, and letting you sleep in while taking out the garbage are a few ways he tries to make your life easier.

Getting to know him as Shikamaru, not a tactician or shinobi, is important to him. Although he is a high-ranking ninja, he doesn’t care about titles in general. I’m sure he’s had people try to get close to him because of his career, which he could sniff out in a few minutes. This has turned him off from dating, so having someone get to know that he likes to read books on chess strategy and wildlife, that he volunteers to tutor children in the afternoon, or that he has 12 designated resting spots in Konoha helps him feel that he is being learned about as a person, not as a ninja.

It’s not uncommon for the two of you to nod off together while sitting in various settings (park, library, dinner table, in front of your boss, etc.)

He can forget recurring, mundane tasks such as paying bills, watering plants, and showing up to things on time. When you see him bringing you breakfast or cooking, it’s because he remembers to do it in that moment (and feels like it, which is 80% of the battle). It would be helpful to have a partner who is more regimented than him, because if not you’d both be in trouble.

“I feel like there was something we were supposed to do today…how troublesome.”

“It’s not troublesome if we don’t remember, right?”

“Hm, I guess not. Let’s go back to sleep.”

With this combination of chaotic disorganization and having high-intellect, he will adapt his lifestyle to be easier for him. Shikamaru hates folding clothes, Shikamaru will own few clothes. Shikamaru doesn’t like cooking often nor doing dishes, Shikamaru will eat out. Shikamaru does not like loud voices, Shikamaru will avoid a 10-mile circumference around Ichiraku’s at the hours of lunchtime, mornings, evenings, or essentially anytime Naruto will be there. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

Probably will try not to smoke around you, and will put it out when he sees you approach. He is aware it’s a horrible habit, and will urge you not to follow what he does if he suspects you may pick up on it. 

It drives Shikamaru mad when people speak passive-aggressively about something that is bothering them, and sees it as attention-seeking. I’m sure it’s grown old because of his relationship with Ino. Having sulking, woe-is-me behavior can turn him off, because it doesn’t help the situation get better. He also likes having his privacy respected, whether physically or mentally, so being nosy about his whereabouts or coming into his personal space before the two of you are close is a no-no.

Shikamaru craves connection, more than anyone could perceive. When he lost his mentor and saw the grief Kurenai was in, he first believed that marriage and romantic love was nonsense and more of a nuisance than it’s worth. Even when meeting you and fostering a relationship, he still went back and forth between wanting to be with you and fearing that vulnerability that comes with that. He’d be direct in his intentions with you one day, then you wouldn’t see him for a few weeks as he ruminates over what he said critically. You’d have a conversation that lasts hours about each other and your futures, then he’s shut off and being cold with you. It’s frustrating, and although you know why he acts this way it doesn’t take away the exhaustion his uncertainty brings. It is only when he pursues healthy treatment to cope with his trauma that the relationship could move forward. 

NSFW

HAVENT DRAWN IN A GOOD MIN BUT @teoandaurelioaregayashell FIC/ART INTRIGUED ME SO INHAD TO DOODLE OUT THIS AU I HOPE I DIDNT BUTCHER IT 💔💔💔

(Click on the image for better quality cause shit)

It often gets sidelined the importance certain elements may have to the narrative focusing more on the effect that they think it might have on real life than those they have on the actual story. Is not like I encourage or approve it but, I would technically understand if it was just an element that was just there without any effect on the actual storyline and that could have a serious effect on the viewer. However this clearly isn’t the case. The cigarette was vital for the web of meaning created by Kishimoto for this arc and was removed from several manga adaptations as well as from the anime.

I’m already making a in depth analysis of this change that I hope I will post sometime soon I’ve been writing it for a quite a while so I don’t promise anything but I wanted to hear your opinions about the subject:

Did you knew about this censorship? What do you think about it? What effect had the presence or absence of the cigarettes in you as a viewer? (Please don’t notice I am making you do my work)

Hope you are having a nice day!

Drabble or wtv.

Neji didn’t know what to make of the situation.

In all honesty, Neji did not know what to make of Nara Shikamaru most of the time.

The shadow nin was excruciatingly hard to read, especially when it came to social interactions and personal relationships.

However, it could also be that Neji was reading too much into it and that the Nara was simply touchy.

…Or at least, touchier than Neji had ever expected him to be.

It wasn’t obvious—not in the way Kiba draped himself over his teammates or how Naruto always found a reason to throw an arm around someone’s shoulders. No, Shikamaru’s touches were quieter, casual in a way that made it impossible to tell whether they were intentional or simply a byproduct of his lazy posture. A brush of fingertips when handing over mission reports, a knee bumping against Neji’s under the table, the way his shoulder always seemed to align perfectly with Neji’s when they stood side by side.

It was frustrating. Not because Neji disliked it, but because he didn’t know what to do with it.

Shikamaru wasn’t an easy person to decipher. He spoke in half-thoughts, let his words trail off as if the conclusions should be obvious, and rarely—if ever—said outright what he meant. And yet, his presence was strangely grounding. The weight of his gaze was never intrusive, but Neji could feel it lingering, like a puzzle he hadn’t quite solved yet.

He told himself he was simply overanalyzing things. That Shikamaru was just like this with everyone, that there was no reason to think too deeply about it.

But then there were moments—small, fleeting ones—that made Neji question everything.

Like the way Shikamaru’s fingers would linger just a second too long when handing him something.

The way he adjusted strands of hair when they fell over Neji’s face.

The way he called him Neji in a tone that felt too careful, too deliberate for someone as effortlessly indifferent as Nara Shikamaru.

Neji didn’t know what to make of it.

And, more troublingly, he wasn’t sure he wanted it to stop.

Objectively, Neji could categorize the Nara as one of the most attractive nin of their generation.

It wasn’t just about his appearance, though Neji did appreciate the broad shoulders—even though slumped—the pretty, dark brown, sharp eyes with their too-dark, too-thick eyelashes, the stupidly straight and sharp but never-tense jawline, and the not-full-but-neither-slim lips that usually stayed pressed in an infuriating, absentminded pout.

But he was smart—street and book smart—and also so quick-witted it gave Neji whiplash. He had a stupidly sharp mouth that Neji knew Shikamaru had to learn how to control, and a painful laziness that accompanied him in every word, move, stare, and thought.