thenearshore | 016 | The Good Old Days

Who: Everyone!
What: Ageswapping
When: July 15-17
Where: Everywhere
Summary: A breach in the space-time continuum is messing things up.

Edit: OVERFLOW is here!

The Far Shore has been dealing with a lot of space-time pulsating through the past week or so and everything is culminating on the night of the 15th, even though the Heavens are preparing for an all-out Obon bash. They had planned to have the celebration on the 15th itself, but Amaterasu asked to postpone a day due to the horrible feeling that is permeating the Far Shore.

And it turns out she was right to postpone everything. In fact, it will have to be postponed another whole month at this rate...

Before

Late in the day on July 15th, the new batch of shinki will arrive to a Far Shore with a thick, tense atmosphere. All night on the 15th it feels like something is about to happen - and it's difficult to tell whether that something will be good or bad. Any attempts to contact the management of the Far Shore have fallen on deaf, slightly harried ears and so everyone is left to their own devices to try and figure out why things are so tense.

July 16

Just after midnight, an explosive shock wave rips through the Far Shore, bringing on the age changes with it. Even the spirits of the Far Shore seem to be affected - for example, the library goblins are either toddling around on wobbly legs or are dragging themselves from place to place and looking decrepit. There are a few gods and shinki that seem to have been exceptions from the change, though it is not clear why.

July 17

Another wave of energy comes in the early morning of the 17th. Fewer people are affected this time and it seems to alter those people's ages a second time. There is no rhyme or reason to who is being affected further. Several of the library goblins have just dropped dead from severe old age. Oops.

Aftermath

Late on the 17th brings about one final burst from the energy that has been plaguing the Far Shore. For a short moment, every new temple glows with a soft light, seeming to beckon to their owners. But the light is gone quickly and everyone will find themselves back to normal with complete memories of everything that happened during their age adventures. The goblins that died, though, are still very dead. Looks like the library will need to get some new help soon.

In Summary:

Meet the newbies
Get aged or de-aged
Deal with other too young/too old people
Try to handle the consequences
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She isn't sure how good she is with kids, but there are... well. There are so many! It's strange... she isn't sure how this happened, but it's pretty worrying. Still, Mira can't just let them go unwatched, and she can't bring herself to ignore any of them.

... And, wow, this little girl is really adorable. Mira kneels down, giving her a kind smile. ]

Hi. Are you lost?

[Mira caught Natsuru just when she was starting to look a little overwhelmed. So she gasps and looks surprised for a moment when the nice-looking lady kneels down closer to her level.]

Oh! Um, h-hi...

[A pause, as she registers the question.]

I...

I don't know...

[Wasn't there a music store back where she came from? But she doesn't see it anymore...]

Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to frighten you. [ She pauses, and that smile doesn't falter. ] I should've been more careful. Everything's a little scary here, isn't it?

[ Being a kid, all alone, in a strange place... ]

Would you like to spend some time with me? I'm not busy today, and I'd like some company.

A little...

It's all so big...

[Bigger than she remembers, even though she's always been this size, so that doesn't make any sense. This lady is so pretty and nice, though!!! Of course she's not scary, and the more Natsuru realizes it the more her face lights up in a relieved smile of her own. Spending time with her sounds so much better than being out in this big, kind-of-scary place all alone.]

C-Can I, really?

[PLEASE STAY WITH HER, NICE LADY.]

[ If that smile doesn't melt her heart, Mira's not sure what will, honestly. The girl's obviously really relieved, and because of Mira? She's surprised, but pleasantly so, and her own smile widens a little. ]

Of course you can. I did offer. [ She holds out her hand. ] My name is Mira, by the way. I'm still trying to figure out my way around this place, but... we can explore together, right?

[Her smile is only getting brighter, and she steps in closer so she can take Mira's hand. That she holds on just a bit tightly shows how much she really needed someone to come find her.]

I'm Natsuru!

[She answers with such enthusiasm, and starts to blush when she realizes it.]

Ah... it's nice to meet you...

[And then she nods, agreeing with Mira's suggestion.]

Right! I'm sure it won't be scary with Mira-neechan!

Natsuru... that's a really pretty name. It's nice to meet you, too.

[ Oh, no... She's just too cute! Mira stands ~~and at least she's short, too, so there's not much of a height difference~~ and her smile doesn't falter. ]

"Neechan"? What does that mean?

[Ah! O-Oh no, she said her name was pretty... that makes her blush even more!

She's about to mutter a quiet and probably stuttering 'thank you', but Mira distracts her before she can get the words out.]

Eh? ... You don't know?

[She seems innocently oblivious to the fact that she's using Japanese honorifics while speaking English. Or maybe she just expects everyone to understand honorifics regardless of what language they're speaking.]

It's like... 'big sister'. S-Since you're older than me...

[Saying it like that in English makes it seem so much more meaningful and personal! She hopes Mira doesn't mind.]

[ Oh... Even Mira blushes a little, and she would love to give Natsuru a hug, but... that'd be odd, right? Surely it would be weird, since they just met and all... ]

That's so sweet... Um, how do you say "little sister"?

[She didn't expect that question! She blinks, looking surprised for a second, before she answers.]

Ah... that's 'imouto'.

[Does that mean she's okay with '-neechan'?! Even after Natsuru explained it like that?!]

Imouto... [ She kind of likes the sound of that? But, ah-- ] Is it okay if I call you that, Natsuru?

[The small girl's eyes grow wide, not having expected that at all. It's not even technically correct Japanese for an older sister to actually address her little sister with 'imouto', so why would Natsuru have even considered it as a possibility?

But Mira is so earnest about it, the suggestion makes Natsuru's heart swell with happiness at the thought. If she had just said it without asking, Natsuru might have found it a little silly, but now it's... touching.]

Uh... Uh-huh...

[She nods, eyes still wide and cheeks still flushed pink. Her small hand unconsciously grips Mira's just a little tighter.]

If you want to...

[ She's finding out very quickly that she's weak to cute kids. Oh, goodness, Natsuru is just too adorable. Mira smiles and squeezes Natsuru's hand before nodding. ]

I do. [ She looks around, letting out a quiet hmm as she thinks of what to do. ] Let's see... Are you hungry or thirsty?

[Ah-! Her face keeps getting warmer and she feels all fluttery when Mira squeezes her hand! But it's not bad... in fact, she shifts a little bit closer to the older girl now. She's just as much like a big sister already as Maria was when they met. That breaks down any remaining barriers in her mind, making her perfectly comfortable with sticking close and even leaning a little on Mira.]

Mm... yeah.

[Now that she's thinking about it, it really hits her.]

I forgot all about lunch.

[ Oh, no, Mira's so happy, too. She can't stop smiling! Natsuru's so cute, Mira absolutely wants to protect her, and even though she can't do much and she's not very strong, she can at least keep an eye on her. ]

I did too, actually, in all this excitement... So, what do you like to eat?

{The long-overdue continuation!}

016 | The Good Old Days

A! we keep meeting like this, phee

yes, good ♥

♥

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this could have gone a completely different direction BUT THE CUTE CAN'T BE STOPPED

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