crossover fic doodling
Dec. 15th, 2005 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timepiececlockWhat happens when I read a lot of Avatar: TLAB fic, read some of one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, and wonder about the Naruto manga, all in one day?
I write snippets of crack crossover fic. This one has Shikamaru, Aang, and Sokka. The Terry Pratchett influence comes with the narrative style.
To say that Shikamaru was an easygoing sort of guy would, under most circumstances, be a rather severe understatement. Shikamaru was casual the way oceans are wet. When his peers were asked to describe him, most of them could come up with nothing more creative than "Shikamaru...he's just this guy, you know?" His closer friends would manage to work the adjective "smart" in there somewhere, but only if they felt like being accurate.
Shikamaru was a ninja by trade. It was a job he'd sort of fallen into, being that it was a family tradition and he lived in the ninja equivalent of a company town. Did Shikamaru like being a ninja? Not really. Did he want to be something else? Perhaps, but he'd already done the training for being a ninja, and switching this late would be too much work. Besides, it wasn't that he disliked being a ninja. It was more the case that he disliked the societal construct of occupations in general. Nevertheless, being a ninja was his job and most days he was willing to do it. Today was not shaping up to be one of those days.
Today he was staring into the eyes of a genin-sized bald kid who claimed it was his "ninja duty" to teach said bald kid how to "bend shadows like that," since apparently the bald kid was a Special Bald Kid, and being a Special Bald Kid meant he deserved to know that sort of thing.
Shikamaru had had just about enough experience growing up with "Special" kids not to fall for that trick. If he was so terribly special he would eventually figure it out himself. Plus, teaching was troublesome. Shikamaru religiously avoided the troublesome things in life.
"Please PLEASE, you have to teach me!" the Special Bald Kid crowed, floating about Shikamaru like a hummingbird. Literally floating in this case, but that was hardly impressive to a Konoha ninja.
"Why don't you just show him," muttered a brown-skinned boy about his own age. "Just show him a little and trust me, he'll figure out the rest on his own."
Shikamaru tried to close his eyes and ignore them.
"I can learn, I swear! I've never seen anyone bend light before but I'm sure I could do it if you showed me PLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASE!"
Shikamaru closed his eyes tighter. It was like listening to Naruto in his Academy days after a meal of solid sugar. Amusing for a moment and then rapidly exhausting. He could outlast them, though. If he ignored them they'd eventually go away. After all, he had a mission to complete. This kid was not his mission.
Unfortunately for Shikamaru, ignoring didn't work very well with Aang. The boy changed tactics, blurting out, "You're foreign, aren't you? If you teach me that shadow bending, I'll help you find where you need to go!"
Brighter than Naruto, Shikamaru noticed with grumbled resignation. He popped one eye open. "Do you know where I can find Prince Zuko, son of Ozai?" he asked them.
The boy stopped dead, all the bubbliness draining from his expression. Shikamaru noted the other boy tense up as well.
"Why do you need to find him?" the darker one asked.
So I can assassinate him, Shikamaru thought with a much-troubled-sigh, but elected only to say "I was assigned to contact him and deliver a message," in his blandest possible voice. Which was, in fact, very bland.
The little Special Bald Kid was peering at Shikamaru like he knew he was lying. Shikamaru thought he was bluffing though, and kept his face straight. "What's this message about?"
"State business," Shikamaru replied, which was true. His village had been hired by one of the minor lords of the Fire Nation to take care of their renegade prince and clear the way for the princess to ascend the throne. The Hokage and the village council were surprised that the lord in question would go so far into foreign territory just to request an outsider contract, but the payment was hefty and shinobi villages were very good about not asking too many questions, especially in a drought year. They picked their newest (and cleverest) ANBU rookie and shipped him off to very foreign places with a scroll full of information on his target. Unfortunately, since arriving in this accursed land, Shikamaru had realized all his information on the target was two years old at best, and the target was rather annoyingly mobile.
Finding the stupid prince had become a frustrating task, and Shikamaru was not above entertaining some kid to get it over with sooner.
-------
Kudos to anyone who gets the Douglas Adams ref!
I write snippets of crack crossover fic. This one has Shikamaru, Aang, and Sokka. The Terry Pratchett influence comes with the narrative style.
To say that Shikamaru was an easygoing sort of guy would, under most circumstances, be a rather severe understatement. Shikamaru was casual the way oceans are wet. When his peers were asked to describe him, most of them could come up with nothing more creative than "Shikamaru...he's just this guy, you know?" His closer friends would manage to work the adjective "smart" in there somewhere, but only if they felt like being accurate.
Shikamaru was a ninja by trade. It was a job he'd sort of fallen into, being that it was a family tradition and he lived in the ninja equivalent of a company town. Did Shikamaru like being a ninja? Not really. Did he want to be something else? Perhaps, but he'd already done the training for being a ninja, and switching this late would be too much work. Besides, it wasn't that he disliked being a ninja. It was more the case that he disliked the societal construct of occupations in general. Nevertheless, being a ninja was his job and most days he was willing to do it. Today was not shaping up to be one of those days.
Today he was staring into the eyes of a genin-sized bald kid who claimed it was his "ninja duty" to teach said bald kid how to "bend shadows like that," since apparently the bald kid was a Special Bald Kid, and being a Special Bald Kid meant he deserved to know that sort of thing.
Shikamaru had had just about enough experience growing up with "Special" kids not to fall for that trick. If he was so terribly special he would eventually figure it out himself. Plus, teaching was troublesome. Shikamaru religiously avoided the troublesome things in life.
"Please PLEASE, you have to teach me!" the Special Bald Kid crowed, floating about Shikamaru like a hummingbird. Literally floating in this case, but that was hardly impressive to a Konoha ninja.
"Why don't you just show him," muttered a brown-skinned boy about his own age. "Just show him a little and trust me, he'll figure out the rest on his own."
Shikamaru tried to close his eyes and ignore them.
"I can learn, I swear! I've never seen anyone bend light before but I'm sure I could do it if you showed me PLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASE!"
Shikamaru closed his eyes tighter. It was like listening to Naruto in his Academy days after a meal of solid sugar. Amusing for a moment and then rapidly exhausting. He could outlast them, though. If he ignored them they'd eventually go away. After all, he had a mission to complete. This kid was not his mission.
Unfortunately for Shikamaru, ignoring didn't work very well with Aang. The boy changed tactics, blurting out, "You're foreign, aren't you? If you teach me that shadow bending, I'll help you find where you need to go!"
Brighter than Naruto, Shikamaru noticed with grumbled resignation. He popped one eye open. "Do you know where I can find Prince Zuko, son of Ozai?" he asked them.
The boy stopped dead, all the bubbliness draining from his expression. Shikamaru noted the other boy tense up as well.
"Why do you need to find him?" the darker one asked.
So I can assassinate him, Shikamaru thought with a much-troubled-sigh, but elected only to say "I was assigned to contact him and deliver a message," in his blandest possible voice. Which was, in fact, very bland.
The little Special Bald Kid was peering at Shikamaru like he knew he was lying. Shikamaru thought he was bluffing though, and kept his face straight. "What's this message about?"
"State business," Shikamaru replied, which was true. His village had been hired by one of the minor lords of the Fire Nation to take care of their renegade prince and clear the way for the princess to ascend the throne. The Hokage and the village council were surprised that the lord in question would go so far into foreign territory just to request an outsider contract, but the payment was hefty and shinobi villages were very good about not asking too many questions, especially in a drought year. They picked their newest (and cleverest) ANBU rookie and shipped him off to very foreign places with a scroll full of information on his target. Unfortunately, since arriving in this accursed land, Shikamaru had realized all his information on the target was two years old at best, and the target was rather annoyingly mobile.
Finding the stupid prince had become a frustrating task, and Shikamaru was not above entertaining some kid to get it over with sooner.
-------
Kudos to anyone who gets the Douglas Adams ref!
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 07:17 am (UTC)... What do I win?
Anyways, lovely fic. I like your writing style! Very amusing. I'd prolly get it more if I watched Naruto. Which one is Shikamaru?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 09:00 am (UTC)Which one is Shikamaru?
He appears in the third or fourth episode when they assign teams, and then reappears more significantly in the second season. His hair looks like a pineapple, and he's terribly lazy. He's also a genius and does well in the chuunin exams.
(frozen) repost for spelling
Date: 2005-12-16 10:42 am (UTC)I love the first two paragraphs on Shikamaru. Especially the line about Konohagakure being a Company Town. Clever, clever. Also the line about societal constructs, so very Shikamaru. (Whenever I think about Shikimaru, I'm reminded of a film noir detective. He's just that combination of smart, disinterested, and secretly a pretty good guy.)
It was like listening to Naruto in his Academy days after a meal of solid suger.
You misspelled sugar.
(frozen) Re: repost for spelling
Date: 2005-12-16 10:49 am (UTC)Misspell sugar? I? ::looks:: *I* don't see any misspelled sugar... Clearly you must be imagining things my friend! >D
::evil laugh::
::cough::
Ahem, ANYway...
Especially the line about Konohagakure being a Company Town.
I've thought of the hidden villages that way since I first started watching the series. It just reminded me so much of a mining town. Steel maybe.
I love the first two paragraphs on Shikamaru.
::giggle:: I had to stop myself after realizing I'd just spent two paragraph yapping about Shikamaru and wasn't actually getting to the crossover part. But then I was too self-indulgent to cut any of it out. Rambling is acceptable in LJ fic snippets, I think.
. (Whenever I think about Shikimaru, I'm reminded of a film noir detective. He's just that combination of smart, disinterested, and secretly a pretty good guy.)
I'd never thought of it that way. By that definitely, it does apply pretty well.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 09:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 07:21 am (UTC)"Zaphod's just this guy, you know?" XD
Wow. Beloved Pratchett, Beloved Shikamaru, Beloved Avatar (& Sokkasnark), and one of my all-time favorite lines from Douglas Adams all packed into one funny little fic...
*glomps you*
Rock!!
Thanks!
Date: 2005-12-16 09:04 am (UTC)"Zaphod's just this guy, you know?" XD
I love that other people caught it! It's actually a pretty obscure reference... but then again ANY reference to HHGTTG is pretty obscure, yet usually recognizable to other people who've read the book. If I said "almost, but not entirely unlike..." you'd probably be able to finish it for me.
Re: Thanks!
Date: 2005-12-16 05:16 pm (UTC):)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 02:49 pm (UTC)Apropos of nothing, where do I go for FB scanslations?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 06:31 am (UTC)That was terrifyingly probable. Nice job.
just got this comment rather late....
Date: 2005-12-24 12:32 am (UTC)