#.ok so wanna talk abt what i'm writing its a rly long post series neji lives shikaneji au

[everyneji]

Do you ship Neji with anyone?

Hehe. I answered this once but I'll definitely talk more on it. I love Shikamaru/Neji, and considering I published fic for them as recently as of 2021 those feelings are still going strong. Generally I prefer my ships to have a little more, er, content, but they captured my imagination so what can I say ...

If my followers will forgive me for getting indulgent for a spell, there's something very charming about how, in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Neji is keeping up with Shikamaru.

When they're trapped by Jirobo, Neji seems a little surprised by Shikamaru's false surrender, but keeps quiet. Now he's not a loudmouth like Kiba and Naruto, but he's also not shy about speaking his mind. However, between his own observational skills, a likely respect for the command structure, and Choji's words, he doesn't interfere. He's then right in step with Shikamaru and Choji when the plan starts.

Neji then explains that he observed everything Shikamaru did (that the prison recovered from Kiba's attacks at different rates) and why Shikamaru spoke to the enemy and so on. We expect Choji to work well with Shikamaru 'cause they're besties, but Neji was essentially a stranger to them and he's right there with them because he can get why Shikamaru does what Shikamaru does.

When they break free, Neji briefly assumes command to stop Kiba and Naruto from attacking while Shikamaru is busy thinking of another solution. Shikamaru names Neji his second-in-command -- and I know it didn't come up earlier because it wasn't relevant to the story, but in a more Watsonian perspective, it seems like Shikamaru should have done this at mission start. Neji is the shinobi with the most experience there. So did Shikamaru just assume they wouldn't have to split up or he wouldn't die (optimistic) or would he prefer to evaluate someone's leadership potential before trusting the lives of his buddies to them? I'm more inclined to believe the latter.

From all this we gather that they're both intelligent, observant people who quickly gain a mutual respect of each other when asked to work together. I happen to be a big fan of relationships between people who are both strong-willed and opinionated leader types. Yes, they can clash, but so long as they're respectful of each other there's so much potential for an interesting dynamic to explore.

They're also both lowkey people with compatible lowkey hobbies (cloud gazing & bird watching, napping & meditating) who I think could just relax together, though Neji's got a more active personality to keep some of that spark and spice. Neji needs some relaxation in his life ... Shikamaru can be very tender and emotionally intelligent if he feels like it, and Neji could use that too. What does Shikamaru need? Someone who is unafraid to challenge him, haha.

In fact, figuring out what Shikamaru wants (answer: a hardass with a nice smile) is easy because we see it in canon, but what about Neji? That, my friends, is a separate post I will make because I get very sidetracked from just gushing about my little rarepair.

Thank you for the question! ♥ In the end, I stand by my opinion that so long as Neji is getting some love all's fair! I've read or at least seen art of every Neji ship that exists I'm pretty sure … I just want good things for him. ✌️ Also, if you want to talk more specific shippy stuff, feel free to hit me up on my Naruto sideblog @hallwaydodge!

#not everyneji #ask #long post #neji hyuga #shikaneji #.i had to rewrite this whole damn thing bc u backspace once tumblr deletes ur whole damn post #.ok so wanna talk abt what i'm writing its a rly long post series neji lives shikaneji au #.its playing on the conceit of this naruto sd episode but played straight (neji fake dating naruto to test his worthiness for hinata) #.but that's just the inciting incident for the first part of the story #.it's really about young adulthood and grief and trauma and martyrdom #.and thinking you're too smart for feelings to surprise you #.its where i dump all my neji feelings when i get overwhelmed #.if i reference writing a fic on here it's most certainly that one