Cross stitch pattern of Shikamaru Nara from Naruto Shippuden. Thanks to Ploaj for the sprites. Download the PDF here: Shikamaru Pattern

Grid Size:118W x 62H
Design Area:8.29″ x 4.29″ (116 x 60 stitches)
Colors: 13

Arthur isn’t a Patron, but they’re still super awesome. I heard that Arthur is bioluminescent. It may not be the most useful talent, but they’ve never accidentally scraped up a car door handle trying to find the keyhole.

I’ve seen fewer and fewer major properties that have characters that smoke. Even in Naruto, Shikamaru’s smoking isn’t really framed as a good thing. Smoking doesn’t make Shikamaru cool, he’s a cool character who happens to smoke, but the distinction isn’t all that important if it still leads to more people picking up smoking.

Honestly, I can’t get too mad about characters like this. Shikamaru has a solid narrative reason for smoking and even kids know that it’s a story, a plot point in a fictional world. Spoiler alert: Shikamaru isn’t real. What worries me is that a lot of people don’t watch much TV, and that divide between fiction and reality is intentionally blurred on Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram.

Pewdiepie likes the things I like. Pewdiepie speaks directly to me. Pewdiepie is my friend.

Pewdiepie smokes.

And I’m not saying that real people can’t be themselves online. And it’s not really just about smoking or how responsible Felix Kjellberg is as a person. I’m just saying that I come from a generation where everyone told me to be careful about the internet, that I should always question what I see and who it’s from. I know that I’m being advertised to. I know I am a commodity.

I’m just worried that others might not have been taught that.

Talk to your kids about native advertisements. Not everything is as clear cut as product placement, sponsorships, or midroll ads.