AGE PLOT SHENANIGANS

[microbrobotics]

WHO: Everyone and anyone!
WHERE: De Chima, various
WHEN: Around 6 PM EST, March 25th
WHAT: Age plot kickoff!
WARNINGS: Cuteness.

[ LET'S GET THIS PARTY OFFICIALLY STARTED! Opening events so we don't do too much comm flooding (although people are welcome to make their own posts for the event). You're welcome to toplevel with your character if you'd like to have them show up somewhere else for this plot.

Current toplevels:
Spring Festival in a De Chima city park
De Chima #1
De Chima #1, later (Minato)

The age plot will run from March 25th through Sunday, March 29th. More deets available at the plotting post. ]

Comments

commander shepard | unregistered | open to all, in heropa!

[sassguard]

[ on the streets ]

[ Getting back to Heropa even as children wasn't a big deal, a few near-misses aside -- a quick stop at a shop and flashing their IDs meant they didn't have too much trouble getting clothes to fit them. The most inconvenient thing by far, though? Is getting around. Much to Shepard's annoyance, a bike designed for a fully-grown man doesn't operate so well when it's being steered by a child... not that it's stopping him from trying, though.

Which means there's a skinny, pasty-white blonde boy grimly straddling a hoverbike and trying to nudge it along a few inches from ground level, trying to coax it to go higher but the sensors refusing to respond to what is, to its mind, entirely too little weight. After a while, Shepard starts bouncing on the seat in frustration. ]

Come on, you stupid piece of junk--

[ a park somewhere ]

[ Being a child is odd. Shepard remembers being an adult, remembers beating Saren and Sovereign, and essentially flipping the Illusive Man the bird when he walked away from the Collector Base, but right now, there are more pressing things: like discovering he has slight hay fever, and that climbing things is a lot of fun.

It's weird, being in a place with real gravity, and Shepard can't get enough of it, wiping his nose off with little care for hygiene on the sleeve of his hoodie and clambering up trees and playground equipment. It's not entirely pointless fun and games -- observers might note that he carefully checks the time on his watch every time he successfully completes one of his mental circuits, before he does it all over again.

When he's finally too exhausted to keep running around anymore, he's easy to find napping in the shade, soaking up the bright, warm sunlight with little regard for things for mere mortals such as sun protection. He's not alone, though. Taking advantage of its owner's inactivity, a slightly overweight hamster has crawled out of Shepard's pocket and curled up on his stomach. ]

ON THE STREETS

[incendere]

[Roy has been watching Shepard trying to get the hoverbike started for a while, more out of interest for how the bike works than the spectacle of a kid trying to ride a bike meant for adults. A few times he thinks he might be getting close, but his excitement is quickly cut down when the bike still refuses to move or go any higher.

Fianlly, unable to help himself any more, Roy steps forward.]

Perhaps you should push the button a little harder.

[sassguard]

[ Shepard doesn't recognize who the kid is, but when he speaks up, he's treated to a particularly huffy look, frowning at Roy like he's clearly defective. ]

I'm already pushing as hard as I can!

[ To emphasize, he jabs the button for the acceleration as sharply as he can -- and yelps when it scoots forward sharply a few feet, then returns to a neutral hum. ]

[incendere]

[Roy gives Shepard a 'see? I told you so' look, but when it stops moving he steps a little closer to it, examining it.]

Well, did you try holding the button down instead of just jabbing it? Maybe it just needs continual force.

[sassguard]

Well if you're such an expert, why don't you try it?

[ Shepard leans back from the controls enough for Roy to be able to reach it and crosses his arms, apparently seeing no potential problems at all with what might happen if he's successful. He's that confident it's not going to work. ]

1/2

[incendere]

[Roy puffs up his chest as if to say, "fine! I will!" and then...cautiously makes his way over to the bike. He's never seen anything like it before, and he still doesn't quite understand how it seems to be hovering. Still, the controls don't look like it could be that hard to figure out.

He has to lean a little further than he thought he initially did, and puts a foot up on the bike to steady himself as he presses the button.]

[incendere]

WHICH SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH WEIGHT FOR THE BIKE TO REGISTER THAT SOMEONE IS ON IT, BECAUSE AS SOON AS HE DOES PRESS THE BUTTON IT STARTS ZOOMING DOWN THE STREET

OH MY GOD

WE'RE GOING TO DIE]

fyi i reread this and just started cracking up so bad...

[sassguard]

[ that



may have been a mistake.

Luckily, Shepard has the presence of mind to grab hold of the handlebars of the bike with one hand and the back of Roy's shirt with the other, keeping the inertia from flinging him away as the hoverbike bolts forward. Although perhaps that would have been the lesser of two evils, all things considered, since the bike likely would just have stopped if Roy hadn't gotten on. ]

HOLD ON! [ Shepard bawls, stubby fingers and equally stubby arms struggling to hold onto Roy and keep them from crashing into a wall at the same time. ]

LOL I'm trying to keep from laughing on this bus...

[incendere]

[Roy immediately grasps onto the handlebars in front of him, his knuckles turning white from how hard he's gripping them. He's also leaning back a little as if he's trying to reign in a wild horse, but really it's all because HE'S EXTREMELY TERRIFIED THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH!!!]

WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING!

[OH MY JESUS CHRIST THIS IS THE END THIS IS HOW I'M GOING TO DIE GOODBYE WORLD MY ONLY REGRET IS THAT IT HAD TO BE WHEN I WAS SO YOUNG

At least other drivers have the sense to stop or get out of the way as they speed down the city streets. Roy shuts his eyes for a split second before realizing that's probably not the best thing to do in this situation. It's a good thing he does open them, because they're about to hit the back end of a double parked car. ]

LOOK OUT!

streets

[truth_unseen]

[Excuse Ed as he just sort of. Stands there and stares at said hover bike. Because wow what is that it looks awesome. And new. He's never seen anything like it back home, after all.

Though. It does seem a bit big.]

Winry could probably help. But aren't you kind of small for that bike?

[sassguard]

[ At first, Shepard was pretty happy to have an audience -- and he can't really resist showing off for a kid who's so much smaller than he is -- but he does not appreciate the unsolicited audience feedback, and he scowls at tiny Ed, wrinkles forming between nearly-nonexistent blonde eyebrows. ]

At least I'm not as small as you.

[truth_unseen]

W-what was that?!

[Of course, Ed's rarely the type to stay quiet and observe for too long without piping up with some comment. And he's mostly grown out of this temper at remarks to his height back home in years to come. But not yet, at this point. It's thus hardly a surprise he's still at it, still reacting badly. Yelling at the top of his lungs and all but ready to pick a fight at that s word.]

[sassguard]

[ Wow, he's easy to rile up, isn't he? Shepard grins, deciding that trying to get the engine kickstarted isn't nearly as interest as picking on this kid, even if his mother probably would have kicked his ass for it back home. ]

You heard me, shorty.

[truth_unseen]

I'm not short! Come over here off that thing and I'll cut off your legs and stick 'em on your head!

[No, he won't. He's just reacting instinctively to being made fun of regarding his height. As always. All but flailing as he yells, much louder than one might expect from such a tiny kid.]

[sassguard]

Wow, you're really serious, aren't you? [ He's got a pretty impressive set of lungs for someone so tiny, and it's enough to make Shepard laugh and finally turn the ignition off, deciding if someone's gonna be this worked up over stupid insults, it's more fun than trying to get an oversized hover to work.

He hops off the bike and sidles closer, squinting at Ed dubiously. There's something familiar about him, but he just can't place it... ]

Where's your mom, anyway? Aren't you too small to be out on your own?

[truth_unseen]

My mum? She....she got sick. And I haven't found her here. But it's not like I'm alone. Winry's here too.

[Not that this really makes things better, depending on the point during this age mess he might meet Shepard, given Winry starts as about the same age, just recalling more than him before she is the first to regain her usual age physically as well as mentally.]

[sassguard]

[ Shepard exhales, then frowns. Winry, Winry -- that name should ring a bell, but he can't quite grasp it right now. Anyway, he's more wondering about why the kid seems so familiar. ]

Sorry about your mom. [ He pauses. ] But why aren't you with Winry, then? Shouldn't you stick together?

[ Says the kid who wandered away from his roommate... ]

park!

[wayhot]

[Flame Princess likes parks. Though she can't really do much in them, what with nature being so flammable. But it's still nice to just walk around, enjoy the scenery, and... that is a small boy up a very tall tree.]

You're probably going to want to be careful climbing down from there.

[sassguard]

[ Flame Princess hasn't changed, so Shepard can recognize her -- but it's hard to miss a girl who's always on fire. Shepard pokes his head out, leaning dangerously far out of the tree to get a better look at who's calling him, before his face splits into a grin, exposing missing teeth that look like they might have been knocked out somewhat recently. ]

I'm always careful. [ He boasts, and immediately proceeds to contradict as he swings himself down haphazardly, moving from branch to branch, with a few clear near-misses that he rapidly makes up for with quick reflexes. He comes to a stop on the branch lowest to the ground, looking at her triumphantly. ]

See?

[wayhot]

[Always careful, and then he goes and does the opposite of being careful.]

Yeah, I see, but your - [Parents? Guardians?] - people who take care of you probably wouldn't want you to keep doing that, in case you slip or something.

[sassguard]

[ Shepard frowns at that. It's... actually a good point, and he doesn't think his mother would be particularly happy knowing what her son has been up to of late since he got shrunk down to far younger than he should be, but he's not about to admit that. ]

Kaidan won't mind. [ And then, with a cockier grin: ] He's smaller than me now, so I get to take care of him.

[wayhot]

... Wait, you know Kaidan?

[sassguard]

Huh? [ Shepard tilts his head and scrunches up his nose at her incredulously. ] 'Course I know Kaidan. He's my boyfriend.

[ He pauses. ]

And I know you, too.

[wayhot]

[... Wait, Kaidan's boyfriend?]

Shepard! You were turned into a kid, too?

[sassguard]

Yeah. [ Shepard nods grimly, but it doesn't last for long; he's grinning the next minute. ]

Pretty weird, huh? I forgot what it was like to be this little.