026 -- [Voice || Written || Action]

[endgames]

If I see another mountain again, it'll be too soon. Did any of you know that sirry means "ridiculous"? [He snorts.] Explains a lot. Avalanches. Yetis. More freaking snow. Man, that mission was a pain...

[/whine and complain]

Anyways. I'm back. [Technically has been for two days albeit not in town, so he'll make it official.] Anything interesting hap- [His disinterested tone gives way to irritation as he turns his attention to something off-screen.] Oi that's not for you-

[The journal snaps shut with a sigh. He never finishes speaking, but about an hour later the post is transcribed... minus the interruption, and now with complete sentences.

If you're out today now that the heavy rain of the few days is finally letting up, you might spot Shikamaru coming back into the village from the North... closely followed by a deer much larger than Luceti's usual fare ((think five feet at the shoulders, six at the head, and eight feet with antlers)). The stag seems pretty content to follow him around - even into town or just standing around when he sits - despite sticking to the tree-lined paths when he can. Shikamaru talks to him sometimes.

Yes, talks, shut up.]

Comments

[tsuntrader]

...The other part. [The mentioning and talking it out part.

...So maybe he is the pot and everyone is the kettle but shut up okay at least he'd own up to shit.]

[endgames]

Like people here are that secure. I'm not that secure.

[Except for the part where he's talking about it anyways. Have we mentioned Shikamaru is a study in contradictory.]

But it's just as well.

[tsuntrader]

They said you had an IQ of 200, and that you were the best in your class. [Might as well just say it. ...What he won't say is that he has no idea what an IQ is.]

[endgames]

[Shikamaru remembers that. After he dropped over Silver, he quizzed them. Asked for everything they'd heard on him. That one is tame, at least.]

That's where things get fuzzy, see. Near as I can tell, those rumors they were spewing were a nice collection of half truths.

[tsuntrader]

Truths, half-truths, outright lies. [You still didn't answer him, Shikamaru. Are you saying that it's a half-truth?]

[endgames]

Some are easier to tell than others. You have to look underneath the underneath.

[Like he did with what they said about you.]

[tsuntrader]

You're being indirect. [It really does sound like he's talking about something in specific...]

[endgames]

You asked nothing. [Or he sure didn't hear a question in that.] Even if you had, a lot of you can be the judge of yourself.

[tsuntrader]

[...Yep, that's enough to get annoyed silence out of him. Dammit, Shikamaru.]

[endgames]

[Well?]

[tsuntrader]

If we're talking about asking questions, what's an IQ? [Well that.]

[endgames]

[...heh.]

Intelligence Quotient.

[tsuntrader]

[...Oh. Alright.] Then where exactly does "over 200" fall?

[endgames]

Dunno.

[tsuntrader]

You don't?

[endgames]

Numbers don't go that high on the chart.

[tsuntrader]

[...Wait, what...? He knew Shikamaru was smart, but- he broke the chart?]

[endgames]

[DON'T JUST AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPT IT WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU.]

[tsuntrader]

[Shikamaru, you're not exactly the type to play up your intelligence. There's no need to not immediately accept it.]

You can't do some weird thing where you flip through a book and memorize every word on every page in five seconds, right? [Or some other weird chart breaking intelligence things?]

[endgames]

That's different.

[tsuntrader]

[Ugh. Stupid genius.

...But wait-] So that's the half that's true? [Shikamaru did go on about half-truths after he brought it up, so...]

[endgames]

I sure as hell wasn't the top of my class.

[tsuntrader]

Too busy calling everything troublesome and staring at clouds?

[endgames]

And skipping class. Sleeping.

[tsuntrader]

Sounds about right. [Not that he'd do much better in school, but...]