futurology | video | un: ramenkage

Entry tags:

video | un: ramenkage

[ There’s a lot of important posts going up on the network lately. So much so that Naruto has been kind of apprehensive about posting this. He can't really articulate as well as everyone else and while he wishes he could say something useful about everything that's happening, he's kind of overwhelmed by it all and just taking it as it comes. His issue is determinedly unimportant, but desperation has got the better of him. So here he is. Hi, he's new. Be nice. ]

So uh, I was wonderin' if one of you could help me with something…

[ His usually whiskered but now strangely bare cheeks (thanks cloaking device) are slightly pink as he scrunches up his face. He looks… kind of embarrassed to be asking something like this so openly, because it’s like admitting inferiority, but this kind of stuff just isn’t his forte. ]

I dunno what to tell people when they ask what I do, or where I come from, or anythin' like that.

[ Coming up with an entire backstory? All by himself? Surely you jest. The most he’s managed is dressing his clones differently and calling them his brothers, any more creative than that and you’re asking a little too much of him. He’s entirely new to this community and finding a place in it is hard enough without also having to find a place in this random world too. ]

An old lady asked me why I wasn't in school, an' when I told her I stopped goin' to school when I was thirteen she didn't take it well, so I dunno what I'm supposed to say, y'know. In my world I'm a shinobi, is there anythin' like that here?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[HMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Aang gives the description a good whirl in his head, face scrunching as he tries to come up with the nearest comparison.]

So.....like police officers? Or people in the royal army?

[(he tried ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)]

An army, kinda, yeah!! [ More like exactly. They're the main source of protection and force for their respective leaders, so yeah. Pretty much exactly an army. Of mostly children. Yep.

But it's fine, he understands the concept of the word 'army' to mean a lot of people fighting and being heroes, so is totally fine being part of one - even if it's a different world's definition of one. ]

Like I said, there's a lot of us, y'know.

That's pretty cool.

[He's got some friends in the army, they're all pretty cool dudes. And also...somewhat young....so the whole age thing doesn't faze him in the slightest. Perking up, Aang studies Naruto with unconcealed interest.]

Does that mean you've been on a bunch of cool missions and stuff?

[This may or may not be a subtle request for story time.]

[ Dude, if you like stories then Naruto is your guy. He's not exactly the most avid storyteller due to his habit of either overexaggerating or overcomplicating his stories or just getting plain distracted all together, but he does get a great deal of enjoyment from regaling tales of his ridiculous shenanigans, of which he's had far too many. This could go on for days. Ready yourself. ]

Oh yeah! I've been goin' on missions since I was twelve, y'know. One time, [ are u ready ] I went on a mission with my team an' we just thought we were gonna be protecting a bridge builder gettin' home, but it turned out it was way more than that... [ He's got his hands splayed out and he pauses... just to add to the suspense. ] Someone sent powerful ninja and missing-nin to kill him 'cos of a secret plan he had, and we had to protect him. It was our first mission together, a D-rank mission turned A-rank, an' it ended up with the bridge builder namin' the bridge after me, y'know. [ He looks very proud of himself and though that time had been choc full of difficult learning curves for tiny baby Naruto, it's a lot easier to bring it all up now, years later. ]

[He is so ready, let's do this.

And do this Naruto does, the added gestures and fluctuations in voice doing their part in transforming his story into something all encompassing. Even though some of the terms don't quite stick in Aang's head - what's a missing-nin? - he listens raptly regardless, oohing appropriately at the end when Naruto concludes his story.]

You got a bridge named after you? That's so cool! I haven't even gotten anything named after me yet and I'm the Avatar.

[That seems a little unfair, actually. Though, speaking of naming things—]

What is your name anyway? I'm Aang.

[ It's super good to have someone interested in his stories. Everyone where he's from either knows the ins and outs of his missions or straight up doesn't believe his ridiculousness, so it's refreshing. He's not sure what an Avatar is, but he'll get to that soon. ]

Aw, I'm sure you'll get your chance soon, if ya want it bad enough!

[ He believes in Aang even from just this limited conversation. He looks like the kind of kid who doesn't give up. ]

When we got to the bridge-builder's village we met his grandson, and he was all messed up and scared of standin' up for himself after seein' his Dad get killed protecting the village, so he never tried and just started crying instead, but.. I told him he had to be stronger than that if he ever wanted to stop being a baby. [ He scratches his head, maybe a little awkwardly. ] Maybe I was too hard on him, but he listened to me and he protected his Mom when she needed him, and then the whole town started doing it too, and with their help we beat the bad guys down. That's why he named it The Great Naruto Bridge, to symbolise that sometimes we've gotta be strong, even when we're up against scary things, y'know.

[ He was... getting carried away and maybe just a little sentimental there. He blinks, owlishly, like he's woken up from a dream. ]

Oh! Naruto! Naruto's my name! [ He beams. ] Nice to meet ya, Aang!

[ Another pause. ]

So what's bein' the Avatar mean? Are you the strongest where you come from, too? [ He says like he is.... not yet, Naruto.. not yet. ]

[For Aang, jealousy's a fleeting thing, here and gone in an instant depending on circumstances and words. The more Naruto speaks, the clearer it is that he really did deserve for that bridge to be named after him.]

Wow. That was really brave of both of you.

[Generally Aang likes just about anyone, but now he's got extra respect for Naruto. It takes guts to stand up to bad guys instead of just running away. He should know.

As for the whole Avatar business...he just shrugs.]

Not even close. I'm the only person who can bend all four elements, but Toph and Zuko like to remind me all the time that I'm still not as good as them, plus I'm still pretty short and weak physically.

[Sucks being a 12 year old. When will he be big and strong??]

Hah, I guess...

[ Naruto is not used to compliments; ninja do what they do because that's what they do, and Naruto usually gets more chiding for his antics than he does actual praise, so even hearing Aang passively call him brave has him flustering, just a little. ]

[ But wait. ]

All four elements--? So like, that's like... your power, right? Like formin' chakra, where I'm from. [ There's a little confusion but evident wonder in his expression. ] What's bending though? Is it just making it in your hand or usin' it for techniques and stuff?

[ He doesn't understand the intricate ins and outs of chakra use - one time he had to have chakra blending explained to him using an ice cream as a metaphor, so.... - but he knows enough to form a physical ball of his own in his hand. He's never heard of bending, though.. but it sounds amazing and instantly he wants to know more. ]

[Aang has no idea what chakra is but:]

I guess so.

[To the power thing, that is. He's never so much considered it a 'power' as it is part of him, as integral to him as breathing or seeing. But he's seen how others have reacted to it - with fear and wonder and curiosity - and so he supposes that's not a completely wrong way of describing it, even if he's never seen it that way.]

Bending's like being able to use the four elements however you want. I can't really make fire or earth or water, but if I have it next to me then I can use it however I want. Here, I'll show you!

[And show he does, pulling forth a set of marbles in order to show off his favorite trick in the world: a circle of spinning marbles rotating between his two hands.]

See? I'm using the air to move the marbles around!

[ Naruto's eyes widen to a size larger than the marbles in Aang's hand; to the size of dinner plates, maybe. Needless to say he's incredibly impressed, even with something as simple as spinning marbles because he can't begin to fathom how it might be done. ]

Ey, I have wind chakra-- can you teach me how to do that? [ He asks before he's really had time to think about the possibility of the request, and powers on before he can waste any time doing so afterwards. ] I can do stuff like.. make my chakra really sharp and quick like the wind, so I can make a big ball of it in my hand and throw it, but.. I can't do stuff like that. [ He points at Aang's hand, clearly jealous.

Sensei kind of missed the simple things with Naruto, instead choosing to dive straight in for the big guns because.. well. Look at him. Little did he know Naruto would have probably got just as much enjoyment out of learning to make palm-sized baby cyclones as he did learning how to turn his wind chakra into a physical oversized shuriken. ]

[That's a request Aang's never heard before, if only because the lines dividing an airbender between a non-bender have always been so clear-cut where he comes from. He cocks his head, genuinely contemplative as he mulls the question around in his head. Could he teach Naruto how to airbend? Anything's possible, right?]

I guess I could....I've never tried to teach anyone who wasn't an airbender how to airbend before. [He offers up a smile, tentative.] But it can't hurt to try, right?

How about tomorrow? Are you busy tomorrow?

[ The way Naruto sees it, if he can't teach him to airbend or whatever, then at the very least he might be able to see some more cool stuff that Aang is capable of. So either way its a win-win situation.

He nods, then beams. ]

Nah, I'm not busy! Tomorrow sounds great!

Great! I'll see you tomorrow then.

[Aang's sure it'll be a great day, regardless of whether Naruto manages to learn anything or not. What's more fun than spending time with a new friend?]

See ya later!

[ :D!! He shuts off the connection with a little salute off his headband. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video | un: ramenkage

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

are you good with wrapping this here?

good with me!