A/N: Hm… I kinda want to both brainstorm and write a ficlet for this prompt, because the idea is very lovely (as per usual, dona) but the brainstorm I have is different than the ficlet I want to write?
Like the ficlet is just a straight up narrative prose exploring the idea of some Nara children being changelings and why their clan are the exception, etc. etc. Whereas the brainstorm is a more expansive plotty thing about how having a changeling character would affect the story.
Hm, I guess they’re not necessarily exclusive to each other so let’s do both… ficlet first!
~
To say that the Shodaime Hokage created the forests around what would become the sight of Konohagakure is an exaggeration at best and an outright lie at worst.
It’s true that the Hashirama trees are the first type that villagers learn to identify as children–prevalent in most parks and training grounds, a protective ring around the walls–but the forest itself is far older than that; far greater.
Far less human.
///
Yoshino is in labor for a grueling forty six hours–more blood, sweat, and tears than even the worst battle–but she knows it’ll be worth it, prays to every god she can think of that it’ll be worth it.
When finally it’s done, that last exhausting push, she can barely catch her breath, barely stay awake, and yet she claws at consciousness desperately.
Why is there only one baby crying?
///
The Nara clan live close to the earth: their herds and their trees and theirs shadows upon the ground. They are intelligent, taking their own time and space, and for that they are looked upon fondly.
Most of the time, that’s a good thing.
///
There is a tree, deep within the Nara clan compound, old and gnarled and kept secret.
In that tree, there is a hollow, cleaned monthly but left empty.
Tonight, with Kasuga and Sembei at his back, Shikaku places the small, shrouded bundle inside.
///
It has been a long time since the Nara clan were given a gift from the other side.
An honor and risk, both.
The rest of the village has no idea what they’re in for.
—
OKAY! So, now it’s brainstorm time.
I made it vague because I wasn’t sure if, because you specified Shikamaru, you wanted him to be the changeling or if you wanted his POV of changeling!Shikako… or, I guess, now that I think of it, if you even wanted DoS? Whoops.
Anyway! The ficlet above would be the prequel basically laying down the groundwork of your prompt for a much larger story. What that story is, I’m not entirely sure…
Actually, I’m thinking something like Danzo has somehow gotten to the other side and that’s where a lot of his ROOT soldiers are from–changeling children that weren’t so blessed to be placed with the Nara clan, which sort of explains the affinity Shikako has with Sai, etc. etc–and the Fae kind of point Shikako in that direction and just, go wild, dispense our wrath…
… but I’m worried I’m focusing too much on Danzo as the big bad. I mean, the Fae could also be GREATLY DISPLEASED with the giant evil bijuu eating statue and that’s another task the whispers in Shikako’s mind point her towards.
I do like the idea that while the Nara are the only ones who get changeling children as a sort of active, deliberate exchange, there are other places (including outside of Konoha) where changeling children appear where there isn’t any established and known protocols for it. And so, like how Naruto has his not-so-secret society of jinchuuriki, Shikako has a slightly-more-secret society of changelings.
Sai is one, definitely. I’m thinking also Juugo? And maaybe Isaribi to incorporate her more into the story… I don’t think there’d be any overlaps in changelings and jinchuuriki (the only exception might be Sora at the Fire Temple who is only a partial jinchuuriki or something like that?)
Hm…
I mean, this would be in Shikamaru’s POV so as to match your prompt and also him as an outsider but close observer of this phenomenon would lend itself well into the whole–changelings LOOK human, but they aren’t, kind of thing. Yes, they’re mostly taught how to interact in a socially acceptable way, but they’re still Other.
Actually, now I wonder if even the bijuu are a little scared of the Fae (and, by association, the changelings) because chakra is a relatively new power in the world. The bijuu aren’t that old in comparison to the Fae. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT FURTHER 😀
Awesome! A brainstorm AND a ficlet! I love this so much- I totally hadn’t thought about the ROOT thing. …Man, the Fae could be PISSED about that. And …not concerned, but irritated at the instruction of the Juno. Yes, irritated. (Your suggestion also now has me wondering about the au of this au, where Shikamaru finds out HE’s the changeling. Oooh.) But I love the Shikako-Sai connection you did there. And for some reason I am thinking about the logistics of hiding this from the hospital. (Either the Nara blatantly take over that wing of the hospital, or Tsunade is left affronted that the Nara never go to the hospital for childbirth. Which makes one wonder if other clans try to take over one aspect of village administration/services in order to conceal/uphold their dealings with the Fae.)
…Wow, imagine if BOTH twins were Fae. Brings the ‘and one looks like the mother and one looks like the father’ to a whole new creepy level, right? Some Fae thing they do so that the babies blend in- maybe it involves a blood sacrifice from the parents. Or- no. Just the little bundle at the root of the tree. That’s enough to work with.
I think it makes more sense if Shikako alone is the Fae, though. Does she even know it? Maybe not. She tries very hard to be ‘normal,’ for a chageling.
…I kind of wonder if Orochimaru was a changeling. And maybe that was what got Danzo interested in them.
Shikamaru as the changeling would be absolutely fascinating. Because Shikako is the “weird” one as compared to Shikamaru who is very traditionally Nara. But is he really? Or, rather, what is it to be Nara as compared to Fae?
After all, they do have the favor of the Fae, have had previously received changeling children as a gift. Perhaps it’s because they’re so similar?
There’s a post going around about how changeling children from the past were most likely autistic children which society at the time couldn’t put into any other words but having been swapped with a Fae child. And, well, the Nara are very… hm… the new Maori word for autism is “his or her own time and space” which I feel does describe the Nara clan as a whole.
They let their members grow as they feel, don’t push them to think one way or another, they’re very supportive when a member finds their calling, used to members switching between hyper-focus and scattered distraction. Cloud watching could very well be a way to reduce stimuli…
I think there are probably enough Nara who work in the hospital that whenever one is pregnant and giving birth, it’s not at all difficult to swap Nara nurses and medics into the delivery. Especially when it’s the clan head’s wife giving birth? It wouldn’t at all be suspicious for any Nara hospital staff to involve themselves in such a clan critical pregnancy, so then it wouldn’t be necessary to take over the maternity ward (just borrow it, for a little while).
Ooh, Orochimaru as a changeling… that makes a lot of sense, actually! Unfortunately for him, the Nara clan head at the time of his childhood hadn’t been as observant, or perhaps thought the stillborns for changelings swap was a myth, or was very clannish and didn’t consider it his responsibility to help. And it would, as you said, give an interesting spin on his relationship with Danzo and also his defection from Akatsuki. He’s definitely a Dark Fae, or a Fallen Fae, or whatever the terminology might be for a changeling that has broken so many Rules that the Fae no longer claim him as their own. Although maybe he redeems himself in their eyes (which explains better why he’s still walking around doing whatever he wants in Boruto)?
I’m a little hesitant about Gaara being a changeling as well as a jinchuuriki… maybe he’s of Fae descent? Like, Karura could’ve been a changeling… which explains why she died in childbirth (the bijuu chakra sealed into the as of yet unborn Gaara seeped into her own system, weakening her) but also how she was able to imbue her protection/love into his sand even after her death. And how cool would it be if that’s where Temari’s EXTREME WIND BADASSERY came from?
Shikaku is a very tolerant father, I feel like. Or, rather, accepting the fact that his clan has a weird trading system with the Fae means he’s just a very tolerant, not-easily-shaken man.
Adding a note or two: Fae are rather possessive. Which would explain some of Shikamaru’s actions/ thought process after the Gelel arc.
Also I don’t think Orochimaru actually broke the Rules of Fae
He may twist words and make the sky seem green but he doesn’t lie, even when he has a seal on his tongue keeping him from speaking truth. Even his experiments with the Jugo’s blood-limit (that Orochimaru benefits from but that’ could be seen him working towards what he said he would that’s fae to) he acts as his name and within his power, and he doesn’t try to mess with Fae courts (not established courts anyway) and the actions he takes are very much in the Human Realm.
He even takes in others that were in some ways abandoned or betrayed (Kimimaro being one example). Which fae are acknowledged to do
just thoughts to add
Even before the Gelel arc, Shikamaru’s concern over Shikako could read as fae-influenced possessiveness–though it is also just the whole “my sister is nearly dying on a monthly basis and then one time ACTUALLY dies” situation.
I think there’s a certain generalization that can be applied if Shikamaru is the changeling because his personality is notably VERY in line with Nara-typical personalities which means A LOT of Nara over the years have been changelings/are descended from those changelings. Whereas if Shikako is the changeling then her unusual determination for a Nara matches up with those rare enough (but memorable enough) Nara who make the “motivated Nara” quote a significantly prevalent saying.
I dunno, I’m kind of waffling back and forth on this matter. Because the idea that the Nara as a whole all have even some percentage of fae ancestry is kind of fun. But also the idea that it isn’t so common, and they’re still just Like That is also very fun. And, like, there’s a certain level of tolerance if the “second-born” non-heir is a changeling, but I feel like there might be some backlash if the heir is the changeling.
… Then again, the idea of Asuma having to deal with changeling Shikamaru is hilarious to me for some reason. Kakashi is already on a team with a bunch of weirdoes, he’s used to it. Asuma would just be staring at Shikamaru–who he has specifically been training to be team leader–in utter bewilderment as his genin follow the strangest (fae) whims. AAAAAHHHH I don’t know
… True, true. Orochimaru is one of those characters whose Watsonian motivations must be more complex and fascinating than the Doylist reasons behind his actions. So the idea that he’s beholden to laws that aren’t human is absolutely compelling. All of the partnerships/promises he makes then breaks does give off a very mercurial vibe, and the fact that he doesn’t seem to be majorly punished for any of them does kind of go with the idea that his sense of honor/justice is somehow beyond human reproach. And that would explain why he is walking around in Boruto if he’s “only” broken human laws and those don’t really apply to fae/changelings.
I loosely follow @blackkatmagic’s fanon that Orochimaru’s backstory is as tragic as Tsunade’s with some added deliberate manipulation from Danzo to ruin one of the potential Hokage candidates, so Orochimaru can’t be as completely evil as we see on the surface (although there’s definitely a point where his actions are nobody’s fault but his own, and he doesn’t get held accountable for those at all). I suppose if I were more ambitious I would try to do an Orochimaru centered fic about his progression to cold, but that’s a lot of nuance that I’m not sure I can do…
Because Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con ‘verse is so heavily based on Leverage [which, again, I cannot recommend more highly. It’s on both Hulu and Netflix] this would have to be another one of those intricate, wheels within wheels, Rube Goldberg-esque heists where each part of the mission is steadily foiled but it turns out that success actually relies on being caught somehow. But because I am not as skilled a writers as the writing team from the show, I don’t what exactly that would be.
It would be grifter centric, which means its probably Kakashi centric because of all of the members of extended Team Seven he’s the only one who canonically grifted someone (though Sukea is a filler episode/omake).
Then again, Naruto’s oft forgotten flare for henge would make him a good grifter, too… They probably all overlap in roles eventually, but to start off with probably Kakashi is their main grifter (and he is the man of many masks so…)
Or maybe it’s about a grifting-heavy mission. All the different ways the team members successfully (or not) grift.
I’m also getting very strong kimono vibes. Like the fancy multi-layered kind that nobility wear which kind of harkens to this post but doesn’t necessarily require it so…
I have a feeling that this is an Uchiha related mission, probably Itachi but possibly Madara/Obito instead, and Sasuke’s “grift” is “himself but not a criminal” so… or maybe that’s one of the complications? Like, Sasuke’s “role” is “Uchiha heir” but then Itachi shows up and that puts his “cover” in danger because Itachi wasn’t supposed to be here and now they’re in danger of the mark catching wind that there are two Uchiha heirs running around. (And Itachi is not a criminal in this AU, but he’s definitely not as unaware as Sasuke probably hopes).
Yeah, that feels better.
I also want to involve Kurenai somehow because layers invokes genjutsu so maybe it’s something like:
Kurenai, a famous actress, is marrying Asuma, the son of a highly ranked politician, but someone is trying to interfere with the happy couple via blackmail or something and it’s Team Seven’s mission to find/destroy the evidence that is being used to blackmail and also make sure the wedding stays on track?
Maybe this is a mission as a favor/wedding gift to Asuma? Like, Asuma doesn’t quite know about Team Seven’s criminal inclinations, but he knows something is worrying Kurenai and he mentions it to Kakashi (who had awkwardly opted out of being Best Man–it’s Gai, btw) who is like. I can do this thing for my friend.
Doing a favor for his sister probably shouldn’t feel so much like doing a D-rank mission, but apparently–despite being S-rank war heroes–Team Seven really might as well be a bunch of children.
(Or, that ONE TIME Shikako asked her brother to look after her team for a week and he STUPIDLY agreed)
The funny thing is, I’m pretty sure that Shikamaru is actually really fond of actual children. The eagerness to help out with Baby Kino, the fact that his “dream” includes having two kids. If it didn’t require so much effort, he’d probably want to be an Academy teacher.
Shikamaru loves kids. He does not love overpowered idiots who act like kids. Poor Shikamaru, the title is not literal.
I don’t exactly know what would happen in this fic except for a bunch of The Hangover-esque shenanigans. I don’t even know why Shikako needs Shikamaru to watch her team.
Probably the rest of Team Ten is helping, too, but it’s very possible that Ino and Chouji contribute to the chaos: Ino and Sai have decided to paint floral murals on the administrative building, Chouji has brought all of Kakashi’s ninken to an all you can eat barbecue restaurant. Asuma (because… maybe he’s alive I don’t know) and Naruto are trying to outdo each other with wind ninjutsu and have managed to blow off the roofs of some buildings. They might also be having an ongoing heart to heart about their vastly differing emotions regarding the Sandaime. Sasuke keeps getting into fights with the chuunin on patrol. All of them. Every chuunin, every patrol. Shikamaru can’t find Kakashi ANYWHERE.
(Kakashi is definitely the child that wanders off in the grocery store and is only found when the PA system announces a clean up is needed in aisle four, will someone please collect their strange grey-haired child)
I think maybe it’s Shikako and Yakumo’s genjutsu-fuinjutsu collaboration. Or like a seal that’s meant to self-activate whenever a genjutsu is cast on the person (like an automatic kai) except it kind of backfired and now Team Seven think they’re in a genjutsu? Actually, now that I think about it… maybe they are actual literal children via temporary de-aging? Mentally, at least 😀
Basically, it’s Shikamaru running around trying to herd the worst cats and his own team making things EVEN WORSE.
A/N1: Because I am a glutton for punishment. This one was much harder than Team Seven’s (partially because there’s less material to work with, but also because… well… I’ll explain below).
If you’re reading this, I presume you’ve already read the Team Seven edition. If not, I highly suggest reading that one first because I explain most of the various team/group tropes/tests there. I will still be providing links to the related articles/websites, though, so don’t worry.
For consistency, I’ve included the TVTropes’ character analysis devices even though I’m not at all keen on them and they don’t make much sense to me. Which probably explains why I’m so conflicted about the allocations, but I tried my best and I hope it makes sense.
Chouji
the Ego / the Id Sanguine (/ Phlegmatic) The (Big) Chick (E/i=A)SFP – Artisan Hufflepuff Neutral Good
Ino
the Id / the Superego Phlegmatic (/ Sanguine) The Lancer ENFJ – Idealist Slytherin Lawful Neutral/good
Shikamaru
the Superego / the Ego Melancholic The Smart Hero ISTJ – Guardian Ravenclaw True Neutral
Asuma
the Mentor Choleric The Big Guy ENT(J/p) – Rational Gryffindor Lawful Good/neutral
From the outset, who fills which role of the Freudian Trio isn’t all that obvious. It’s not like with Team Seven where there are two obvious polar opposites and a mediator in between. So I tried positing a series of what ifs. That is, what if each member of the team was the ego, who would be the id and who would be the superergo. I got the following:
A) If Chouji is ego then Ino is id, Shikamaru is superego. – Ino is the one to push him, get him to act. Shikamaru is the one to guide him in the how. B) If Shikamaru is ego then Chouji is id, Ino is superego. – Chouji is his personal needs, safety and contentment. Ino is the one to bring up societal expectations. C) If Ino is ego then Shikamaru is id, Chouji is superego. – Shikamaru brings out her animalistic emotions, gets her to fight. Chouji is the idealism, represents the why she fights.
This cyclical allocation is rather vague, but I think it’s about right. Which makes this both frustrating and fascinating. Frustrating because everyone is everything, and fascinating for the same reason.
In the strictest sense of the Freudian Trio trope, however, variant C doesn’t make very much sense because I wouldn’t call Shikamaru and Chouji polar opposites or Ino the mediator. A and B fit better with the trope–A as more of an outsider point of view with B as the insider point of view. And, again, with jounin sensei Asuma as the separate Mentor role.
As I’ve said before, I’m not very keen on this group/character device since it just really doesn’t make much sense to me, but I tried. Here’s my rough breakdown of the four temperaments and the Myers-Briggs equivalent:
The clear cut ones are Shikamaru and Asuma, with the former being Melancholic and the latter being Choleric. Both of them are task oriented, and between the two it’s obvious that Shikamaru is the introvert while Asuma is the extrovert.
As for rational versus emotional, I’d say both of them are equally prone to using logic and feelings depending on the situation. We see it time and time again with Shikamaru, especially as relates to his sister. With Asuma it’s not as obvious, since we don’t really know much of him through canon or through DoS, but I know that he’s got issues with his father and that manifested in him wanting to strike out for his own (becoming one of the Twelve Guardians, some of the few shinobi who are not legally under the control of the Hokage) so I imagine he’s a bit of a rebel.
As for the people oriented members of Team Ten, well, I actually think it depends on when exactly we’re talking about them. More recently, Ino has been the Phlegmatic one (despite being an extreme extrovert and not at all an introvert) due to her PTSD from Orochimaru’s possession; whereas earlier she was the Sanguine one, bright and engaging. In contrast, Chouji’s early childhood bullying/uncertainty made him the more Phlegmatic one, and now that he’s older and more settled into himself he is the Sanguine one.
To be honest, I had to turn the the Four Philosophy Ensemble to completely make my decisions. The four philosophies and the four temperaments roughly approximate to each other as such:
As previously stated, Shikamaru and Asuma are easy enough–the former as the cynic and the latter as the realist. As for Chouji and Ino, it’s the difference between the temperaments versus the philosophy ensembles that tripped me up–Ino didn’t match the description of Phlegmatic but she was a match for the Conflicted, whereas Chouji wasn’t quite a perfect Sanguine but definitely matched Optimist more than Ino did–I decided that the issue was a matter of time. Or, rather, when in their development the both of them were. Hence the double allocation.
Ugh, this trope sucks, but consistency is consistency so here we go:
Jounin sensei kind of default to The Big Guy role, hence Asuma’s allocation. Although, if I didn’t have to include Asuma, I would assign his students as the following. Shikamaru, the Smart Hero–a mix of the smart guy (for obvious reasons) and the hero, as the leader of Team Ten (he makes the decisions and feels responsibility for his friends whenever they get hurt). Ino, the Lancer–she is the foil to Shikamaru, emotional where he is logical, aggressive where he is passive, etc. Chouji, the (Big) Chick–I hate the naming scheme, but he is the peacemaker of the team and undeniably the physically strongest (barring Asuma, of course).
Super quick breakdown of Myers-Briggs Types. It’s a set of four binary spectra: Extroversion vs Introversion, Sensing vs iNtuition, Feeling vs Thinking, and Judging vs Perceiving. So let’s go!
Chouji is an ambivert (the in between of extrovert and introvert) in pretty much the exact opposite way that Shikako is. While she oscillates between solitude and large groups, Chouji does better with smaller groups and essentially shrivels in isolation. For all that he is an optimist, he lives in the moment–he trusts what he experiences for himself. In particular, I bring up his response to Naruto’s reveal of himself as the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. While the Nara twins are unphased because they already know/suspected, Chouji does not have that advantage. But he still believes in Naruto because he knows that Naruto is a good person, their shared history proves as such. Feeling is obvious, and Perceiving likewise. (E/i=A)SFP
Ino’s was almost ridiculously straightforward: she’s an obvious extrovert. She’s been repeatedly described and shown to be highly intuitive. She’s an inherently feelings motivated person. She’s decisive and has on multiple occasions shown her proclivity for strategic planning. ENFJ
Shikamaru likewise is very straightforward: he’s the only introvert on Team Ten (poor him!) He’s detail oriented, trusts in what he witnesses for himself more than what others say (cynic, remember?). Very obviously a thinker more than a feeler, and especially a strategic planner at that. ISTJ
Unsurprising, given how little we know of Asuma, my allocations for him are rather spotty. I presume he’s an extrovert given how frequently he hangs out with the other jounin (rather than be dragged out reluctantly like Kakashi) and how well he works in tandem with others. As for intuition, this is mostly a guess–he seems like a big picture kind of person, and is likely to trust people at their word. And, given his rocky relationship with his father, remembers events not with objective details but with their deeper, subjective meaning. I decided on Thinking as he does make decisions rationally, even if the goals themselves are founded in emotions, and the mix of Judging and perceiving is just something I assume every experienced shinobi must have. ENT(J/p)
Given the above Myers-Briggs types, figuring out the Keirsey temperaments is easy enough. Chouji, (E/i=A)SFP, is an Artisan; specifically the Performer (edit: after reviewing, I believe Choji is more like the Composer–ISFP–which makes sense given he is an ambivert). Ino, ENFJ, is an Idealist; specifically the Teacher. Shikamaru, ISTJ, is a Guardian; specifically the Inspector (which he definitely matches more than Sasuke). Asuma, ENT(J/p), is a Rational; specifically the Fieldmarshal. You can check out the descriptions of the temperaments, and their more specific titles, in the second link provided above. I’m fairly confident in these allocations, even for Asuma whom I know very little about.
Hogwarts Houses (is a link even necessary?)
This “test” is surprisingly the least difficult for me to run given that Hogwarts Houses has always seemed to be the almost bewilderingly subjective. Everyone on Team Ten is almost perfectly stereotypical representations of their Houses. Chouji, whose main trait is compassion and loyalty, an obvious Hufflepuff. Ino, ambitious and cunning, a Slytherin (definitely more so than anyone else on the team). Shikamaru–intelligent, creative, daydreamer–Ravenclaw. And Asuma, the Gryffindor (based on his likely rebellious-against-his-father but still-for-the-good-of-Fire-Country history and, of all things, his bluntness).
Team Ten, as a whole, is definitely more lawful than Team Seven (aka Team Trouble) though their good to neutral levels are about the same.
Chouji is Neutral Good–given he was a part of the troublemaking groups in canon at the Academy, he clearly doesn’t hold rules to be the end-all be-all of everything–and while he is loyal, he’s also an optimist. Hypothetically, he wouldn’t mindlessly follow after a friend turned evil, but he would try to convince them to come back to the good side or would believe, at heart, that they were good and need only be reminded of that.
Ino, having been raised by her parents with to have a firm belief in Konoha and its administration, is very distinctly lawful. But her ultimate loyalties are towards herself and her friends–her people, which, admittedly is quite a large group–not the ideal of a village. Theoretically, if someone were to take over Konoha and make it evil, she wouldn’t outrightly join the rebellion but she would probably toe the line and feed information to friends in the rebellion. She’s a Lawful Neutral edging into Lawful Good.
Shikamaru is a True Neutral. It’s not as obvious as it is with Sasuke, but Shikamaru is on a moral edge. He, amongst the entire team, would be the most likely to slide into Evil under the right circumstances (*cough*ahurtShikako*cough*). As for the law, well, laws are restrictive and chaos is too much work. Rules he can take or leave, but above all else his friends and family have to be okay.
Asuma, much like Ino, has been raised to respect the law of Konoha and Fire Country. The Good edging into Neutral is, again, a bit of a guess, but given that he continued to work for the greater good of village and country despite his hangups with his father, it seemed like a decent enough choice. Mainly I just don’t know if he’s done anything selfish–sure, he left Konoha, but only because becoming one of the Twelve Guardians allowed him to serve Fire Country without having to be under his father’s direct control.
A/N2: Not as satisfied with this one as the first, but mostly because there’s less info to analyze for these characters. Ugh, I shudder to think what doing Team Gai would be like.
JackSGreyson Says 