🪲 Botanical Headcanons // accepting.

At this point Shino has an idea of his mother more than a concrete memory, given that she was gone by the time he was no more than two years old. (And what an odd little ritual of secret humiliation that is: to know so many that have had a parent ripped away from them by death or circumstance; and to likewise know that his own did not have to be ripped. That, in fact, she very simply walked away.)

What he does remember is the back of her head — (sometimes her profile, if he is lucky) — and the way that the continent of her absence could fill a room even with her in it.

🪲 Botanical Headcanons // accepting.

There are a few things about Shino’s relationship with gender that are simultaneously true and worth noting:

[a] He is entirely comfortable and content with his perception of himself as 'a man', and feels no calling to question that or explore alternatives. [b] His perception of what it fundamentally means to be a man is broader and more accepting of fluidity/ambiguity than the perceptions generally held by the (non-Aburame) dominant culture. [c] When it comes to using terms such as ‘man’ or ‘woman’, Shino's emphasis is generally upon the social maturity of a person (essentially: that one has developed a sense of themselves as both an individual and as a small part of a universal, cooperative whole), rather than upon how well that person exemplifies or performs the traits expected of or idealized in their perceived sex. (If Shino remarks, for example, that someone has become quite an impressive man or woman, he is essentially just saying, "They have grown into themselves well, and with that do honor to both themselves and to those around them. I would be pleased to go through life in the orbit of a person like that." As you might imagine, this sometimes leads to instances of him being misunderstood, or of him misunderstanding others.) [d] Because of this emphasis upon social maturity/'big picture' cooperative structures rather than arbitrary expectations based upon one's physical sex, his perception of himself as a man does not rely upon a rejection or diminishing of womanhood/femininity in order to inform itself. That is to say: he does not have to consciously and constantly hold (the dominant culture's understanding of) femininity at a distance in order to be comfortable with himself as a man. Therefore, he might sometimes do, say, or believe things that non-Aburame people would consider distinctly un-manly by their own standards. Likewise, he finds it extremely perplexing, at times to the point of repulsion, when other men reject things purely on the basis of those things being, allegedly, "girl-y".

It is perhaps worth noting, at this point, that the Aburame seem to have a higher proportion of (what we might generally and reductively refer to and recognize as) queer and/or otherwise gender-nonconforming people among themselves than would be the case in a random sampling from the broader population. It's likewise not strictly clear whether that's because [a] the Aburame clan does just organically produce more queer people for whatever reason, or [b] if the proportion of queer people between the two populations is actually more or less the same, but because the Aburame operate within a social framework which accounts for such variations as part of the natural and inevitable order rather than treating them as undesirables, pariahs, or 'biological dead ends' in need of pruning, there is perhaps simply a decreased incentive for closeting among the Aburame.

In any case, all of the above is essentially to say: Shino is preconditioned by the social structures within his clan to see gender as, basically, whatever one personally makes of it. (And, likewise, to see sex as a thing that has little if any bearing upon one's personality.) He has his idea of himself, and you have your idea of yourself -- and it is not his place, interest, or priority to dictate that idea for you.

(After all, there are multitudinous examples in the natural world of creatures and plants performing roles -- (or changing roles, even) -- in ways that are strange, contrary, or even downright incomprehensible to humans' ways of conceiving or doing things. And yet, the natural world still endlessly turns, thriving upon the variety, adaptability, and, yes, ambiguity, sometimes, of its myriad subjects.)

🪲 His features — while unremarkable when taken in isolation — are precise and sure in their overall sense of balance, with none in particular dominating over or shrinking beneath any other. The effect is refined, in its understated way, but neither delicate nor fragile. Gives the somewhat strange impression that he fundamentally could not have looked any other way.

🪲 (For those with more discerning eyes, the most distinct point of softness in Shino’s countenance is his mouth, of all things — much as if God trailed a finger down the center of his face and caught for a mere fraction of a second longer upon his lips than anywhere else.)

🪲 Figure like a sighthound. Shoulders appear broader than they truly are given the long, lean stretch of the rest.

🪲 Masculine, but spidery hands. Deliberate.

🪲 Distinct Adam’s apple, to the extent that an artist would very likely include it were they to draw him in even quite simplified profile.

🪲 Unexpectedly long-legged when divorced from the concealing bulk of his usual clothing. Looks like he could unfold and prod you with a foot from half a world away.

[ main ] POST-WAR.

🪲  30+ years old; he/they. ‘Miller’ will do.

🪲  I am multiverse and multiship, as well as open to OCs, AUs, duplicates, crossovers, custom verses, and so forth.

🪲  My primary verse is one set following the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi War, in which Shino has set his sights upon not only becoming a jōnin and sensei, but also upon preparing to eventually succeed his father as the Aburame clan head. This verse is broad, informed a great deal by headcanon, and can refer, in theory, to any point in Shino’s life following the war.

(That having been said, while I generally default to a post-war-but-pre-Boruto setting, I am open to interactions which occur at any point during or after the events of the series. I am likewise open to interacting with Boruto characters, with the gentle note that my Shino diverges a great deal from the iteration of him presented in Boruto.)

🪲  I am selective. What this means in practice is that I will answer messages, questions, IMs, and memes from anyone, but will only undertake more time-consuming and long-term efforts, such as threading, with mutuals.

🪲  Due to my own age, I will not be interacting with anyone below the age of 18 on this blog. My ultimate goal here is to make friends and enjoy a shared hobby with other adults.

🪲  Standard etiquette applies to RP interactions. No metagaming, godmodding without prior communication, etc. Y'all know the drill.

🪲  Given certain aspects of both the series as well as the character in question, this blog is apt to touch on upsetting or triggering material. Triggers will be tagged in a 'trigger tw’ format. (For example, 'bugs tw’.)