[Week 1] Getting to know the characters / cosmosduvet.
Title: Siblings.
Author: cosmosduvet.
Exercise: [Week 1] Getting to know the characters.
Word Count: ~1,050.
Characters/Pairings: Shikamaru (and Choji) | Sasuke (and Itachi).
Warnings: Some facts aren't canon.
Link:
Nara Shikamaru
1) Nara Shikamaru had never missed having a sibling. No, because after all, he never had to spend time on his own. At least not as long as he didn’t want to.
2) Out of question, there were these certain days he liked being all alone, spending the day outside, not telling anyone where he would go. He secretly cherished these time-outs, taking a break from his constantly thinking brain, lying in the grass all by himself. Feeling the blades of grass smoothly touching his skin, the wind soft on his face, watching himself breathing slowly, smelling the trees and the earth.
3) No doubt, he liked silence very much. Especially this unique silence nature provided, which wasn’t completely silent due to the birds, bugs or the wind, but pretty close. Shikamaru found it even more comforting than absolute silence.
4) His preference of quietness had nothing to do with him not being a social person or not having friends he could ask for company. It was rather that the young Nara sometimes felt overwhelmed by all the expectations and the pressure inevitably coming with the life of a shinobi.
5) And since he considered pretty much everything coming with the life of a shinobi as at least sort of troublesome, it was not surprising he would need these short breaks now and then.
6) It didn’t take much effort to get to his favourite spot to relax, a little off the beaten track, which was a good thing. Because one thing everyone knew was that Nara Shikamaru was a pretty, no, a very lazy guy. And combining two pleasant things - feeling good by not doing too much at the same time - was practically everything he would ever ask for.
7) It didn’t help that Shikamaru was - and this was the second thing everyone knew about him - a mastermind, or as Asuma-sensei liked to put it, a “brainiac”, with an IQ of 200. No exaggeration. However, it just lead to Tsunade-sama calling for him more often than for any other chuunin, sending him to help out at the decoding-laboratory or asking him to develop strategies for upcoming missions and fights.
8) In the end, the slender boy didn’t have many free days. But when he had, he liked to make use of them. Lying in the grass, he sometimes thought about Choji. The Akimichi boy had been his best friend for about 15 years now.
9) And coming to think of it, Choji was probably the reason why Shikamaru did not miss having a sibling. After all, he was sort of a brother for the raven-haired Nara boy. Together they had survived Iruka-sensei’s rage during their time at the Ninja-academy, a fight against the Akatsuki and several other near-death experiences during various trainings and missions.
10) Choji was one of the few people with whom Shikamaru could just keep silent with and not feel uncomfortable at the same time. On the other hand, there was practically nothing they did not talk about. Shikamaru could become a real tattletale if he wanted to. However, most of the time, he didn’t want to.
Uchiha Sasuke
1) Uchiha Sasuke was one of two young children the Uchiha clan proudly raised.
2) His brother, Itachi, was older than him, but he never acted superior because of it. Sasuke loved his brother and looked up to him, and the fact that Itachi always tried to treat him fair-minded was one of the reasons for it.
3) The siblings liked spending time together, and sometimes, when he had some quiet moments, Sasuke thought he could never imagine his life without Itachi.
4) Sasuke was eager to be taught his first ninja moves by his admired brother. But that wasn’t all; he had always been very thirsty for knowledge and whenever something unusual grabbed his attention, he would ask questions about it and not stop until his curiosity was satisfied. Itachi was a very patient person, he liked to look after his brother, and he had pledged they would train together.
5) Itachi had been attending the ninja academy for some time now, proving he was an above-average student, and quickly became Sasuke’s idol.
6) However, unlike his brother, Uchiha Sasuke was pretty impatient. Since Itachi had to spend a lot of time studying and practicing, Sasuke often felt neglected. He never was mad about it, but now and then he felt sad because Itachi would always postpone their promised training. The sadness then made him keep searching for his brother’s attention, who, of course, never denied it to him. At least not as long as their mother did not interfere.
7) The desire of training together seemed to be the only thing Itachi would deny his brother. He kept making up excuses and saying, “Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time.” Sasuke never understood why, but he wouldn’t dare to ask because he was afraid it would make the older boy angry. (A thing he usually avoided at all costs; there were practically no fights between the siblings - but when there were, they weren’t serious and rather for fun.) Still, this proved that Sasuke was not very self-confident, he often felt very small and avoided being alone.
8) One thing his parents had taught young Sasuke was to be brave, or at least to pretend to be brave. With Itachi as his idol and best friend, it became easier for him every day. He gave him something to hang on to and helped him stay focused on his goal of becoming a shinobi suitable to his clan’s high expectations.
9) Sasuke did not have friends except for his brother, but he was okay with it. Now and then his parents told him to put more effort into socializing, but the young Uchiha boy did not see the point. He was happy with just his family around, he trusted and loved them deeply.
10) And apart from that, Sasuke didn’t think anybody else would understand the importance of his goal. The children his age seemed to have other things in mind, but even if he tried, he just seemed unable to connect with them. Sasuke liked to talk, he really did, especially about his dreams, but in front of anyone else except his family, he preferred to stay quiet.
Reflection: All in all I really loved this exercise. I could have written 20 more facts about Shikamaru, it was hard to decide what I want to focus on and where to stop. As for the Sasuke part, it wasn't easy. I have never before written about a character I don't like, so this was my first time, I'd be happy if you told me what you think. (PS. Feel free to point out any grammar mistakes, I haven't found a beta yet.) Also I'm nervous as hell because I have never published anything I wrote online.
Author: cosmosduvet.
Exercise: [Week 1] Getting to know the characters.
Word Count: ~1,050.
Characters/Pairings: Shikamaru (and Choji) | Sasuke (and Itachi).
Warnings: Some facts aren't canon.
Link:
Nara Shikamaru
1) Nara Shikamaru had never missed having a sibling. No, because after all, he never had to spend time on his own. At least not as long as he didn’t want to.
2) Out of question, there were these certain days he liked being all alone, spending the day outside, not telling anyone where he would go. He secretly cherished these time-outs, taking a break from his constantly thinking brain, lying in the grass all by himself. Feeling the blades of grass smoothly touching his skin, the wind soft on his face, watching himself breathing slowly, smelling the trees and the earth.
3) No doubt, he liked silence very much. Especially this unique silence nature provided, which wasn’t completely silent due to the birds, bugs or the wind, but pretty close. Shikamaru found it even more comforting than absolute silence.
4) His preference of quietness had nothing to do with him not being a social person or not having friends he could ask for company. It was rather that the young Nara sometimes felt overwhelmed by all the expectations and the pressure inevitably coming with the life of a shinobi.
5) And since he considered pretty much everything coming with the life of a shinobi as at least sort of troublesome, it was not surprising he would need these short breaks now and then.
6) It didn’t take much effort to get to his favourite spot to relax, a little off the beaten track, which was a good thing. Because one thing everyone knew was that Nara Shikamaru was a pretty, no, a very lazy guy. And combining two pleasant things - feeling good by not doing too much at the same time - was practically everything he would ever ask for.
7) It didn’t help that Shikamaru was - and this was the second thing everyone knew about him - a mastermind, or as Asuma-sensei liked to put it, a “brainiac”, with an IQ of 200. No exaggeration. However, it just lead to Tsunade-sama calling for him more often than for any other chuunin, sending him to help out at the decoding-laboratory or asking him to develop strategies for upcoming missions and fights.
8) In the end, the slender boy didn’t have many free days. But when he had, he liked to make use of them. Lying in the grass, he sometimes thought about Choji. The Akimichi boy had been his best friend for about 15 years now.
9) And coming to think of it, Choji was probably the reason why Shikamaru did not miss having a sibling. After all, he was sort of a brother for the raven-haired Nara boy. Together they had survived Iruka-sensei’s rage during their time at the Ninja-academy, a fight against the Akatsuki and several other near-death experiences during various trainings and missions.
10) Choji was one of the few people with whom Shikamaru could just keep silent with and not feel uncomfortable at the same time. On the other hand, there was practically nothing they did not talk about. Shikamaru could become a real tattletale if he wanted to. However, most of the time, he didn’t want to.
Uchiha Sasuke
1) Uchiha Sasuke was one of two young children the Uchiha clan proudly raised.
2) His brother, Itachi, was older than him, but he never acted superior because of it. Sasuke loved his brother and looked up to him, and the fact that Itachi always tried to treat him fair-minded was one of the reasons for it.
3) The siblings liked spending time together, and sometimes, when he had some quiet moments, Sasuke thought he could never imagine his life without Itachi.
4) Sasuke was eager to be taught his first ninja moves by his admired brother. But that wasn’t all; he had always been very thirsty for knowledge and whenever something unusual grabbed his attention, he would ask questions about it and not stop until his curiosity was satisfied. Itachi was a very patient person, he liked to look after his brother, and he had pledged they would train together.
5) Itachi had been attending the ninja academy for some time now, proving he was an above-average student, and quickly became Sasuke’s idol.
6) However, unlike his brother, Uchiha Sasuke was pretty impatient. Since Itachi had to spend a lot of time studying and practicing, Sasuke often felt neglected. He never was mad about it, but now and then he felt sad because Itachi would always postpone their promised training. The sadness then made him keep searching for his brother’s attention, who, of course, never denied it to him. At least not as long as their mother did not interfere.
7) The desire of training together seemed to be the only thing Itachi would deny his brother. He kept making up excuses and saying, “Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time.” Sasuke never understood why, but he wouldn’t dare to ask because he was afraid it would make the older boy angry. (A thing he usually avoided at all costs; there were practically no fights between the siblings - but when there were, they weren’t serious and rather for fun.) Still, this proved that Sasuke was not very self-confident, he often felt very small and avoided being alone.
8) One thing his parents had taught young Sasuke was to be brave, or at least to pretend to be brave. With Itachi as his idol and best friend, it became easier for him every day. He gave him something to hang on to and helped him stay focused on his goal of becoming a shinobi suitable to his clan’s high expectations.
9) Sasuke did not have friends except for his brother, but he was okay with it. Now and then his parents told him to put more effort into socializing, but the young Uchiha boy did not see the point. He was happy with just his family around, he trusted and loved them deeply.
10) And apart from that, Sasuke didn’t think anybody else would understand the importance of his goal. The children his age seemed to have other things in mind, but even if he tried, he just seemed unable to connect with them. Sasuke liked to talk, he really did, especially about his dreams, but in front of anyone else except his family, he preferred to stay quiet.
Reflection: All in all I really loved this exercise. I could have written 20 more facts about Shikamaru, it was hard to decide what I want to focus on and where to stop. As for the Sasuke part, it wasn't easy. I have never before written about a character I don't like, so this was my first time, I'd be happy if you told me what you think. (PS. Feel free to point out any grammar mistakes, I haven't found a beta yet.) Also I'm nervous as hell because I have never published anything I wrote online.