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like forever D:
4. Shino has a fairly healthy self-image. He considers himself to be intelligent and very mentally capable; in fact, if asked point blank he'd likely reply that he's not sure there's anything he couldn't do or learn without the proper time and effort applied. Not that he's not man enough to admit when he's wrong--knowing what he doesn't know means he can ask about it and get answers. He isn't overly concerned about himself or his future, as he's fairly certain that, should his life plans change, he'll still excel at whatever he's ultimately meant to do. On a less important level, Shino understands that he's not the most socially adept person. As with everything, he's sure he could be if he tried, but it's never been horribly important to him. He doesn't have a lot of concern about the fact that people have wildly different reactions to him moment to moment based on how well his mental filter is holding up at the moment. When he needs to, in a professional setting, he's confident that he can play the part of a winsome young man very well, but generally speaking it's not worth the trouble to bite back things that need to be said. As long as they aren't questioning his intelligence, he doesn't much care what other people think of him, after all. He gave up on that idea long ago when he realized that saving spiders from being squished by his fellow toddlers was unpopular. He knows what's important to himself, and he knows that supporting that sense of self is more important than surrounding himself with casual friends. On the topic of actual friends, he's somewhat more insecure. Shino likes to tell himself that he doesn't need other people in his life, although the truth of that statement is very debatable. Like many his age, he isn't completely confident in his own appearance; neither of his parents were stunningly attractive and he certainly doesn't see himself breaking from the established trend of mediocrity. Given, however, that Shino has had an amazingly easy time hormonally, this point of weakness has never felt devastating. The harder struggle has been attempting to differentiate himself from his parents' expectations. For the most part he's fairly certain that he's made them proud with his moderate success as a student, but the longer he spends away from his father the less certain he's become. He still feels, like many only children, that the point of his hard work and triumph is to please his parents. Whether he has an actualized sense of it or not, he acknowledges that a positive conversation with his father sends his confidence through the roof, and that quiet words of parental disappointment can keep him locked up in his room for weeks trying to figure out how to be better. Particularly since leaving home he's been struggling with this concept, as things that his parents wouldn't necessarily approve of are starting to feel potentially very fun. In so many words, Shino's general sense of himself is that he is a competent human being.

5. As somewhat explicated above, Shino feels a lot of obligation to his family. He's not particularly close to his mother, but he holds her at a basic level of esteem which has continued to influence his treatment of women from his toddler years onward. He feels a little bit of disappointment about the fact that she continually left him and his father, which he's fairly certain is why he tends to hold girls in his life at a farther distance from himself. His father he absolutely adores. All of Shino's really truly positive memories from childhood revolve around his relationship with his dad. Although he's not completely sure he wants to be 'just like daddy' when he grows up, he tends to use his father as a measure of success. Shino doesn't have a strong sense of family, but his loose affiliation with each of his parents as individuals is immensely important to his sense of self and where he's meant to be taking his life. As much as he's beginning to second-guess his parents, he certainly doesn't know how to function without them.