THE ACADEMY AGE MEME

[sunshinenpcs]

The Academy Age Meme



"No, you can't eat yourself if you henge into a bowl of ramen, go sit back down"


Ah yes, another long-awaited Sunshineverse meme!

As the name suggests, this meme is fairly straightforward: bring out the cute academy aged icons, because we'll be playing everyone as their young, academy aged selves! This time it's pretty straightforward, but here's a step by step anyway.

Step one: Post a top level comment with your character's name and affiliation at the time of their academy training. You should probably include their age--again, at the time they'd be in the academy--along with it. If, for whatever reason, your character didn't go to a ninja academy, probably just post them as a child around the time other kids would have been in the academy

Step two: Given the nature of this meme, you may want to include a scenario or two for people to tag into, but otherwise, it's a good idea to include relevant information people will need if they tag your character. If during their childhood they refused to leave trees, preferred to henge into a puddle to make people slip on them, or killed people indiscriminately, these are good things for people to know.

Step three: Tag to others, and relive your high school Academy days!

NOTE: Ages in this meme are synched up. That means school-kid Karin won't be able to kick it with school-kid Kushina. But! A school-kid Karin could end up interacting with a somewhat younger than current canon Kushina!

BONUS NOTES!

1: Although it isn't required to, all tags and threads in this meme can absolutely count toward actual in-game history for the characters involved!

2: Threads that count for history also count for activity! Just like the test drive meme, if the threads count for history, they also count for activity

3: Don't forget the NPC journal! This is a great opportunity to interact with dead/distanced/etc characters that would still be around or would be prominently involved with the history of your characters, and that's what this NPC journal is there for! Use it!

4: Most important - Have fun, you cute little ninja terrors

Comments

[pinnedbangs]

"Good, because liars are bad and they get beat up for doing stuff like that."

It might have been a thinly veiled threat, but with that bright smile how could it be? Rin sighed and nodded his head once more. This was turning out to be a good day.

"I'm your friend now- " even as he said the words he had a hard time believing them. To think he had a friend! Not only that, but to think it had been so easy! He was totally going to try this again!!

"I'm your friend~. So, so, so that means I'm gonna help you with being the best!"

[abileunaspada]

"... Yeah. We're friends."

She couldn't help it -- Rin's smiling was infectious. At last she smiled, laughing a little even as she scrubbed away the last of her tears and still looked both red and beat up to hell. She'd never had a friend before.

That this guy believed in her, didn't think she was stupid or annoying and wanted to be friends -- she couldn't wait to tell Seph or her parents!

"Ne, my name's Adela. What's yours?"

[pinnedbangs]

Never mind, today was officially the third best day ever. She said, "we're friends". That sounded just as good - if not better - than the previous statement. And now his brand new friend was laughing and, oh, that was even better. His dad would be so proud of him, he just knew it!

"And I'm Rin! Rin Okumura! And I live over there - " he pointed towards some vague direction away from the school, " - and you gotta see something cool because only my brother has ever seen it and you're my friend so you have to see it too!"

In an instant he had her hand and he immediately started for the village, school completely forgotten. He held on a lot more tightly than he meant to. "C'mon, I wanna show you my favorite place and then we can go - uhm - we can go eat food a-and then we can - we can practice! And I can show you my mom and you can meet my dad an-and then we can play with my brother! And then we can so everything else!"

It barely crossed his mind that classes might have still been in session, that maybe it wasn't the best idea. There were just so many thing to do now and stuff to see and things to know!

[abileunaspada]

"Yeah! Let's go!" The fact that they were probably going to end up playing hooky was the furthest from her mind as she trotted to keep up with him, gripping his hand tightly as they dashed along. Who cared if grown-ups saw them? She wanted to see what Rin had to show her, especially if it was his favourite place. She couldn't wait!

"What're your mom 'n dad like? Are they nice?" The red head couldn't help asking as they went, clearly more relaxed than she had been when she was fresh from the fight.

[pinnedbangs]

"Yeah! Dad is the coolest dad in the whole world!" He was more than happy to continue praising his father, illustrating for her a picture of a valiant man who could do anything and be anyone. This man was a superhero, as far as Rin was concerned. His upbeat attitude hardly changed as he spoke about his mother. About how she cooked great food and always smiled even on rainy days and how -

"- she even fed a hundred people in one night! And all the food came from one huge pot and she kept cookin' and cookin' and I helped out a lot too - and it was awesome because no one started a fight because it's her place and that's how she likes it! How about your mom and dad?"

He slowed down to a stop by a small clearing. It hadn't seemed remarkable in the slightest but Rin looked upon it with an almost reverent expression. If he was going to tell her about how spectacular this place was, he was definitely holding it off.

[abileunaspada]

"Mom 'n dad're nice, but they yell sometimes. They don't want me in academy or anything like that, they keep sayin' it's too dangerous," Her smile lost some of its warmth then, and she shook her head while they kept going. She hadn't even noticed that they slowed down when the continued, "Uncle thinks so too, but it's 'cause they don't want me gettin' beat up or anything I think. Uncle's lost a few people 'cause they were ninja, and he's said he doesn't wanna lose me too."

When they stopped she blinked at the clearing, cloaked just a little in mist as she stepped forward to look around. This was a cool secret place, but why was it Rin's favourite? She didn't get it.

[pinnedbangs]

"How's it dangerous? 'nd you're already gettin' beat up - but you have me now so that's not gonna happen anymore." He grew pensive at those last few words. His friend didn't look too happy, even though she was talking about her family. Was her uncle a person who just lost things a lot? But maybe she meant the other kind of loss. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't too sure.

"...You're not going anywhere 'cept to school to learn how to do ninja stuff." Tentatively - very tentatively - he asked his last question. "Is he afraid that you're not gonna come back?"

His voice dropped down to a whisper. "The Other Dad used to come here a lot. Mom said he trained here every day to become a better ninja. But that's not why it's my favorite."

[abileunaspada]

"My clan goes through lots'a training too, and they'll get mad if I say too much," She frowned at that, not really liking to think about it. That was before she glanced at him, frowning, "I dunno if he is're not. Maybe not now, but some day. 'cause what ninja do is pretty dangerous. But if I'm gonna be like cousin Sephiroth then I'll be too good not to come back!"

Wait, he was whispering. She hushed herself as well, looking at Rin intently as she asked, "Why's it your favourite? It's already really cool sounding."

[pinnedbangs]

Clan training? Too much talking? It all sounded like a big puzzle to him.

"You gotta keep it a secret? Is that what it's like to be in a clan?" He couldn't honestly say that it sounded fun. Well, her clan didn't sound like fun. If he was in a clan, it would be the fun clan that would let kids join Academies. Was ninja work really that dangerous? Sure, there were stories, but they were things that happened to everyone else. ...Like his friend. Oh. ...That was a sad thought.

Oh, that was simple! Rin puffed his chest out in pride as he easily proclaimed, "Because it's the mistiest place in the whole village so that makes it the best place to play hide and seek! And I'm a master of that game! No one can beat me!"

[abileunaspada]

Having been about to explain that the elders were mean and didn't like her talking about much, she stopped and perked at the sound of hide and seek. The mistiest place in the whole village, and the best place to play...

And he was the master.

It took her a few seconds to smirk, turning to him fully in the middle of the clearing before she piped up, "Oh yeah? You haven't played with me before!"

... Granted, she hadn't actually PLAYED hide and seek before, but it was simple right? Just looking for someone who was hiding.

[pinnedbangs]

"I'll win with you too!" Never mind that she would be the first person outside his family that he'd actually play this game with. His title was still relevant!

An impish smile crossed his face as a sudden thought sprung to mind. She was his friend, but this was a game. Games were totally different. "Then since it's your first time playing against a master, I'll hide first. Ready?"

[abileunaspada]

"Fine! I'll count to thirty, so you'd better hide real good!" She nodded, giving him a thumbs up before she ran to one of the trees and using her arms to cover her eyes. It wouldn't be fair if she watched him hide! And she had to play fair!

"One... Two... Three..."

[pinnedbangs]

He quickly ran to one of his favorite hiding spots. It was possibly the worst hiding spot one could look for, right behind one of the biggest trees in the area. But the mist seemed mistier there and as far as Rin could tell he couldn't see her as clearly.

All in all, that made it the perfect spot.

[abileunaspada]

"And... Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!" Thirty was enough, right? If not, then he'd tell her after. It was already kind of fun, and she started looking for him almost immediately. He had to be close, but it was really hard to see through the mist! She strained her ears to try and hear him, frowning with her concentration with her efforts to pinpoint him. Where was he...?

[pinnedbangs]

...Finally! Next time, he'll start counting from ten, that way he wouldn't have to stay hiding for that long. He kept as still as possible - but that was a hard thing for him to do. Imagine the look on her face when she realized she hadn't found him and that he really was a master!

He did his very best to stifle his laughter. Her face would be as red as her hair maybe and then - okay he couldn't think of what she would say but it might be funny too!

[abileunaspada]

Where was he? She kept trying, getting less amused and more frustrated that she couldn't see any sign of him. It also meant that she was trying harder to find him, huffing a bit as she finally just yelled, "Rin-kuuuuuuun! Where are you?"

[pinnedbangs]

Did he win the game? Did he prove he was the master? He definitely did!! He rushes to - ... oh wait, where was she? Well, there was nothing to do but to follow the sound of her voice. "I'm over here!"

[abileunaspada]

"You're really good at hiding!" Adela still seemed pretty huffy, pouting a bit as she tries to head to where the voice was. Why is the mist so thick now? It shouldn't be so thick, unless it was going to rain soon...

[pinnedbangs]

"I know! I told ya I was a master! But I can teach you the best ways and the best spots to hide in. ...You'll be Master Number Three because Yukio is working on being Number Two."

He hardly notices the difference in the mist. His mind is a whirl of all the wonderful things he gets to do now with a friend and all of the possibilities that follow it. It's not until he hears the thunder clap that he realizes how much thicker the mist has become. It's a loud and deafening sound that seems to shake the world around them.

In that moment, he couldn't be happier for the mist. He was sure that he had jumped at the sound and probably looked like a scared little bird...

[abileunaspada]

Adela jumped with the noise as well, yelping with it before she moved closer to Rin. She knew it was thunder but... It was still really loud, and she felt it shake everything, and everything flashed, and --

"M-m-maybe we should go home, Rin-kun..." Her tiny form was trembling before she made a noise at the first cold rain drop to hit her skin, feeling more and more follow before she ended up just clinging to Rin's arm. Playing hide and seek didn't sound fun anymore...

[pinnedbangs]

"Y-Yeah... We can come back some other time..."

The rain started to pick up its pace as the drops themselves seemed to grow in size. Rin held Adela closer to him and led the way out of the small enclosure. His skinny arms weren't doing much to protect her from the rain, but he wanted to shield her as much as possible.

"Which way is your home?"

[abileunaspada]

"S'near the west village wall... The clan stays on its lands mostly. There's a big pond in front of it," Adela was murmuring, and she snuggled into Rin as much as she could while they were going. She felt soaked, and Rin was probably getting soaked too...

[pinnedbangs]

His hair was soaked and his teeth were chattering, but he wasn't going to pay one bit of attention to it. As a friend he had a job to do, and that job was making sure his brand new friend got home safe. And he was pretty sure that if he ever did something cool in the future, like own a restaurant, he would have the same side job too.

In the meantime, he tried talking to her about simple things. It helped keep his mind off of the cold. He told her about his favorite recipes, about his little brother Yukio, his mother, his father, and the Other Man.

Rin kept walking and talking until he could see the west village wall looming before him. He wasn't sure about the lake. Was he supposed to swim through it?

[abileunaspada]

"This way Rin-kun, there's a bridge," Trembling, Adela managed to mumble it out before squeaking at another crash of thunder above. She was so cold, and hearing about Rin's family was helping a bit but she just wanted to be warm again. Adela paused though, frowning a bit before shaking her head.

"... I should ask Uncle to help get you home. The elders don't like outsiders in the compound..."

[pinnedbangs]

Rin was sure he would have been invited inside for just a moment - or at least until the rain let up. He masked his disappointment fairly well in his opinion. It wasn't his friend that didn't want him near her home, it was the old people. "That's okay... I don't like lakes anyway." It was a flimsy excuse to save his pride, but it made him feel as if he had a choice in the matter.

However, what really gave him pause was the mention of her Uncle taking him home. As much as he would have liked the companionship, he didn't know her Uncle as well as he knew her. Rin didn't want to invite some stranger accidentally to his home, even though this Uncle guy was well loved by Adela. "I can go home by myself."