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

[motherfucking_ghost]

Does a bear shit in the woods?

...Jesus, do you even have bears? You don't have horses, you have fucked up unicorns. You don't have ducks. You have living cacti. I have no idea if you have bears.

[scourgingstars]

...What the hell is a bear?

[and there it is]

[motherfucking_ghost]

God damn it, just. Insert some other animal that, presumably, shits in the woods, or any environment in which said animal lives. It means yes. Yes you would do that.

For the record, a bear is a big furry mass of...mass. It looks cute but has teeth and claws and will run you down and maul your ass if it feels like.

[scourgingstars]

Oh--so basically something like a garulessa, I see.

[motherfucking_ghost]

You're such a nerd, and your planet is weird.

[scourgingstars]

That's quite impolite, you know.

[motherfucking_ghost]

So is making fun of how I no talk good. Guess we're just both disappointingly impolite.

[scourgingstars]

That we are. What excellent company.

[motherfucking_ghost]

See, and here you are thinking I'm the strange one. You're the young regal shit of a weird world full of supernatural malaria. Who delights in my impoliteness. Pretty sure I'm not the strange one around here.

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn frowned sharply at the malaria comment, hands dropping to his hips.]

...I delight in anyone's lack of decorum. It gets old quickly, being treated as a saint and savior.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Good, cuz you won't be treated as that here among friends.

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn raised an eyebrow at him, the look on his face defying description except for 'the visible interpretation of the sound of a record scratching'.]

What?

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Nobody's going to treat you like royalty here?

[scourgingstars]

[????????????????]

[Ardyn glanced around like he genuinely had no idea if this was a joke or not.]

I'm not...quite certain that I follow.

[motherfucking_ghost]

You're not--older you isn't a king to us. We were all in this bullshit together, and we're not his subjects, even if we...kind of made a kingsglaive around him--look, you're just Ardyn, but like, a younger kid version of the Ardyn we know, so no, we're not gonna bow or call you Your Majesty or anything. Arianna might call you Lord, but that's just because she's really polite and makes titles for people.

We're...your friends? You--jesus, god, you don't get friendship, that's right, fuck, okay.

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn looked off to the side before making eye contact again, expression calm but...perhaps just a little uncertain.]

I would not expect a group of strangers in a foreign world to defer to me as their king. Even the authority of the Crystal must not reach so far.

[motherfucking_ghost]

You made it hard, but...we're your friends, dude. More or less. Some a lot more.

[scourgingstars]

...I'm..sorry for the trouble, I think?

[motherfucking_ghost]

No, it just--shit happened. A lot of shit did. We were supposed to kill each other and...yeah. And you're different, older. I mean. Obviously, but like...

...There's my eloquence again.

[scourgingstars]

...it's quite alright. I find the fumbling charming in its own way.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Yeah. You'd do that. Sounds...very like you.

[scourgingstars]

[He laughed to himself, almost fidgeting nervously as he ran a hand through disheveled red hair.]

I do hope that to be a compliment.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I mean, I like old you, so seeing the similarities is...nice. It--listen, this must be really weird for you. We're gonna try and be cool about things until this gets all righted.

[scourgingstars]

There is no need to reassure me, I am hardly a child.

[Ardyn dropped his hands to his sides and straightened up--not a full 6'5" but still too tall and too thin, a lanky teenager that hadn't quite grown into his own frame yet. Barely eighteen and carrying himself like the weight of a world was squarely on the silver crown in his hair, insisting he wasn't a child anymore.]

I've no reason to be afraid of any of you.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Sorry, Ardyn, Church nearly spits trying to keep in that laugh and yet...cannot keep in that laugh. He might still be looking up mostly at the actual kid, but look at him. He's a twig. More than before.]

Okay, O Chosen Child, you need a couple sandwiches first, and also, shut up, you're a royal kid, but a kid nonetheless.

[He's gonna even pluck that crown out of Ardyn's wild hair.] Like, what even is this, an antler? Do you have a deer god? Dear god, deer gods, if you even have deer. You don't even have deer.