The Age Up/Down Meme

[kingshaming]

Look, most of our characters have lots of backstory to take advantage of, or headcanons for their future. This is the place to use it!

Prompts

1) People are suddenly shifting ages on the good ship Teremity! It's probably space waves and will fix itself in a day or two, so enjoy reliving your mispent youth.

2) You were always this age! Nothing bad is happening and you all already know each other and it's all cute af. A fluff option.

3) You are this age... and going through your round (or a remixed version) of your Airlocked season. Not for the REALLY young age downs!

Comments

[serrata]

I'm not hungry, Arianna.

[ Ah, it looks like we've left politeness behind and now we're cutting right to the heart of it. Congratulations, you are now on phase two of this boss fight of a conversation. ]

[daughterofthemark]

That is unfortunate, because I'm quite certain I need your assistance in particular.

[She can win this one! It's all a matter of defending on the right turns. It'd be easier if she had a guide, though.]

[serrata]

So instead of talking to us or letting us know what was happening you just crept off and left us to wait for you? For years?! Do you know how many times we nearly got hurt or worse because we were out looking for you, trying to find any trace of you we could?

[ It'd been like Megu-nee all over again. Not even a body to bury -- but at least with Megumi they'd known what had happened. There hadn't been any doubt -- but Kurumi? How could they possibly know if she was alive or dead? How could they have given up hope when there was still the slightest chance she was still alive?

Yuuri hates her for it. ]

[serrata]

I've already eaten. I'm sure one of the others would appreciate it more than I would.

[ ... which would be a good trick, considering she hasn't left her room since dinner last night. Art thou a liar, Rii-san? ]

[daughterofthemark]

[]

Perhaps. But the others all have someone to share it with.

[...yep, the roommate assignments were the same in this timeline.]

[tasteslikesurvival]

Miki knew the cure wasn't working! She should have told you!

[Because obviously this isn't Kurumi's fault. It was going to end in tragedy either way so why not make Yuuri hate her even more.]

[serrata]

[ There's a long, long, long pause. ]

You're not going to leave me alone until I let you in, are you?

[daughterofthemark]

You're learning.

[...............................................at least she's honest?]

[serrata]

...what?

[ That shuts her up.

Yuuri freezes, her grip still tight on Kurumi's collar. But her hands are suddenly trembling, in a very human way. A very human way Yuuri hasn't allowed herself to be in nearly ten years ]

I... b--but you were still alive. You weren't one of them! Of course it worked! And even if it wasn't... Miki-san wouldn't... sh--she would've told me something like that!

[tasteslikesurvival]

Feel my hands. See how cold they are?

[It's true, she hadn't said anything but Miki had guessed and, probably, so did Yuki.]

You know I kept sleeping in longer. That my eyesight wasn't as good--Yuki kept joking I needed glasses.

[Small things. Little things that, had it not been for the bite, should have been normal in the process of getting older.]

[serrata]

[ It looks like she might just be considering slamming the door in Arianna's face (and on her poor foot) anyway. But then she sighs and finally finally pulls the door open. ]

Fine, then. You might as well come in.

[daughterofthemark]

Thank you.

[And she just strolls on in like the past couple of minutes never happened.

The breakfast consists of scrambled eggs (competently made), biscuits (passable), bacon (mildly overcooked), and orange juice (orange).]

I think you frightened some of the younger Champions the other day.

[serrata]

[ And likewise, Yuuri barely even acknowledges her as she breezes past. She doesn't shut the door -- god no, she wants everyone to know she's alone in her room with a guest just in case there needs to be witnesses -- but that seems to actually catch her off guard and make that unaffected mask slip just a bit. ]

Frightened? [ she even sounds, unbelievably enough, a little hurt by the idea. ] What on earth could I have done to frighten any of them?

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna is maintaining healthy skepticism (there's something I never thought I'd say), but that certainly seemed like a genuine reaction.]

I believe they've come to see you as something of a maternal figure. So your sudden shift in behavior came as a shock.

[serrata]

[ It's usually hard to tell what's going on in Yuuri's heart. That's perhaps part of why she's become that maternal figure, as Arianna says. Because she's always smiling, always knows what to do and never seems like she's letting any of this trouble her.

This seems to hit somewhere tender she wasn't expecting, though. Her lips purse in a tight line and she drops her gaze from Arianna's face and then turns her own away altogether. ]

...well. Someone has to do it. They surely can't have expected me to be smiling and laughing while we were in there trying to find a murderer.

[daughterofthemark]

[Yuuri's good at hiding what's going on in her heart. If she wasn't, they would have had this conversation two weeks ago. But a skill is only useful if you know when to use it.]

Indeed, but I doubt anyone expected you to be quite so cold.

[serrata]

I don't really see how that's my problem. It's like I'm going to be acting like that the entire time we're stuck in here, is it? You can see that for yourself.

It's nothing for any of you to work yourselves up over.

[daughterofthemark]

Perhaps. But it is not the only way I have seen you isolate. I believe that unwise under these conditions.

[serrata]

[ She turns back to Arianna at last and that smile of hers is fixed carefully back in place. ]

You don't think it's safer? Especially now we know there's people who might be willing to kill in here with us. And if I really am frightening the children like you said then maybe I should give them a bit of distance until they're not as shaken up.

shit I left a word out of that tag. "isolate yourself."

[daughterofthemark]

[Arianna is 100% convinced by this smile. No suspicion at all.]

On the contrary, you're making yourself an easier target.

As for the children, I believe they would prefer to have "Rii-san" back, and to forget that that other side of you ever existed.

[serrata]

[ There's an almost oppressive silence following those words and though her smile doesn't shift, something in Yuuri's eyes does. She doesn't turn away but something in them flattens, stops her smile from reaching them all the way. But it's hard to tell there's even anything wrong unless you'd seen the real thing.

That's right. She doesn't have the luxury of keeping to herself here, does she? Even if that would be smarter. The adults might be able to fend for themselves and Yuuri tells herself she doesn't give a damn what happens to them. But even she can't tell herself she doesn't care about children. ]

... I suppose you've got a point. With any luck, we won't have any reason to be back down there for them to see it.

[serrata]

But-- but that's--

[ That's normal she wants to say. But what do any of them know about normal anymore? ]

Why didn't you tell us? We could've-- maybe we could've gone back to the school and found more medicine! Or seen if there was any at the university or-- something! Anything other than sit around and wonder if you were dead or not!

[tasteslikesurvival]

Why? Because we all knew! Like how we knew what happened to Megumi or Yuki. We knew but we didn't say anything. At least--

[At least that's what she thought. Miki knew for sure. Yuki... Yuki wasn't as dumb as she looked. Kurumi falters.]

At least that's what I thought! Just because we could find more medicine doesn't mean it would reverse anything! I didn't want to die as invalid as you all watched me!

[daughterofthemark]

Indeed. None of us wishes to repeat... that mess.

[Not that it'd be a repeat of that mess, but shh.]

Dame Yuuri. [wow that felt weird to type] Why are you hiding?

[serrata]

I DIDN'T!

[ Her voice is far shriller than she would've liked and she forces herself to let go of Kurumi and step back so she can try to master herself again. But there's no hope of that when she's already lost control to this degree. ]

You think I would've just kept quiet if I had?! As far as I knew you were fine! Nobody told me otherwise! If they had I could've-- we could've done something to try and fix it! We could've made plans! We could've-- I don't know what we could've done! But it would've been better than spending years thinking you were dead and not even knowing how or when it happened!