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]

[ He's not that much older than Ruu-chan, is her first thought the moment she sets eyes on him. She's not that off, either -- Ruu would have only been nine when the infection took hold and though three years is an age when children are that young, it's close enough that Yuuri can't stop herself making the comparison. A little part of her hates that she's this easily swayed -- she can harden her heart to adults but a child is impossible.

There's another, slightly quieter part of her that's relieved she's not that far gone.

She's done her best to keep an eye on him, despite all his protests -- she'd been one of the ones most fervently insisting he be kept away from the body. But she doesn't have time to block his view of the gory execution and only watch, pale, as it unfolds.

She doesn't say anything, not at first. When she crosses the courtroom over to his podium and stoops down to his level, she seems like she's all business. But then she carefully takes hold of his shoulders and her voice is soft even if her tone is a little short. ]

Do you think you can stand?

[misanthropicprinciple]

[When she touches him, he jumps in place, but his eyes snap away from the gruesome scene to her face, not quite so shocked he can't focus. He breathes in, pale as a ghost, then swallows and nods even though he's actually really not sure he can.]

Y-yeah. I--I'm, I'm okay.

[His stomach feels watery the way it does right after a roller coaster, but he pushes himself onto his hands and knees and manages to get up. He's starting to shake, though.]

Was... was that really... [His gaze darts towards the glass separating them from the execution chamber once more.] D-did Xander-san really...?

[He holds onto his own shirt to try to keep himself together.]

[serrata]

[ He's too smart to believe a comforting lie and Yuuri's not sure she has it in her to tell him one anyway. She doesn't hug him exactly but her hands settle on his shoulders again and squeeze gently -- she'll hold him steady, if he needs it. ]

... yes. [ That sounds too blunt so she forces herself to soften it, just a little. ] I'm... I know it was hard to watch. You shouldn't have had to see it. And it shouldn't have happened like this.

[ She doesn't find herself wanting to argue that a murderer should see an execution. But this? Making a show out of it? It turns her stomach. ]

But it's over. Okay? We're going to go back upstairs and I'm going to put together something for everyone to eat and drink. I think we need it after all this. Do you think you can help me?

[ Busywork. She can't change the fact that he's seen this but she can try her best to make sure his mind doesn't stay down here in the courtroom with it. ]

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Junpei's quiet a good long while, looking down at Yuuri's hands on his shoulders and then back towards the glass, shivering like a sapling in a gale.

He's never helped make food before, honestly. He doesn't know if he can do it. But that doesn't even seem like the problem right now. All this--all this, and Nanna-obaasan and Xander-san are dead, and they're just going to go on with their lives like nothing happened?]

...We're not gonna fight back...?

[Champion Action Hero indeed.]

[serrata]

With what?

[ It's an awful thing to say to a child and Yuuri hates herself for it. But in a place like this, they don't have the luxury of softening things for him. This is the reality of the situation they're in and they're just going to have to cope somehow. She's done it before. She'll work out a way to do it again. ]

There's nothing we can do about this. Not right now and especially not when everyone's so scared and shook up. But once we've managed to pull ourselves together then we can start making a plan of action. Just... not right now. Not before people can think straight.

[misanthropicprinciple]

O...okay.

[Wakasa-neesan has to know what to do. She's the Champion Survivalist. He's smart enough to know that means she knows how to stay alive. This isn't like fighting a bunch of cowardly pet-killers from the junior high school down the street. They could really die in here. They're already really dying in here.

He gulps and nods.]

And food will help with that. I... I guess.

[He can't really imagine eating after that, but everyone knows food is power ups. Maybe that's how it works in real life battles, too.]

Uh, but I never helped cook anything before.

[serrata]

That's okay.

[ See? She's smiling. That means it's fine. ]

I just need an extra pair of hands and I'll tell you everything you need to do. We just need to keep busy for the rest of the evening and then tomorrow, we'll pick ourselves back up and see what else we can do.

[ She moves her hands from his shoulders and down to his, taking them gently and giving them a little squeeze. He's so small and she finds herself thinking of Ruu again, no matter how hard she tries not to. ]

Deep breaths. And we'll take things one step at a time. Do you think you'll be okay doing that?