Between a Sock and a Hard Place (
betweenasock) wrote in
bakerstreet2020-08-29 12:12 am
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Entry tags:
when we were young

Aged Down!
Something has happened to you: Somehow, you've been aged down. Maybe you have memories of being older. Maybe you're aged down in memories as much as you are in form.
Don't worry, help is on the way!
...Whether you want it or not.
What happens next?
Post as either the aged-down character or as a potential finder. How it happened is up to you!
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"So, one or the other? Not both?"
Sketchpad ignored for now, he watches Thrawn carefully, eyes subtly wide with unabashed curiosity, feet idly wiggling where he's perched them on the edge of the seat.
"What are they like? Those you met?"
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Thrawn presses a button on his desk, and brings up images of Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker, taken from old news holos.
"Anakin Skywalker was the Jedi. He was quite brave and loyal, but also reckless and stubborn. He is no longer with us." In a manner of speaking. "The Sith is Darth Vader. He is ruthless and cold, but efficient."
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He looks carefully at the holos, nodding as he listens. Sometimes, he ducks his head to add doodles to his sketchpad, but he still listens raptly.
"Talk about extreme differences," he comments with a huff. Looking down at his drawings, he tries to organize his thoughts. It's a lot of information all at once, even though he's happy to listen to all of it, and take in all of it. Setting the sketchpad down on the desk, he gets up and bounces on his heels to try to feel less restless. He has the vague feeling that he's forgetting something, but it's hard to pin down.
His vision swims slightly, and he hastily grabs the back of the chair to avoid falling, blinking rapidly to try to clear it. Although faint, some of his hair is starting to shift of its own accord, turning from regular strands of hair to something softer and feather-pronged.
He blinks a little more, and then tries to ignore the waviness in his vision.
"I was gonna say something, but I forgot."
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He regards the artifact again. "Do you think you would be willing to examine that some more? I am trying to get it do perform a specific function, but I do not know how it works."
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Glenn reaches as if to grasp it, but stops mid-movement, remembering that this is not something to just touch for fun, and settles his hands on the desk. He shifts his weight more noticeably, working a little harder to maintain his orientation.
"I'll-- need a rest after. I'm starting to not feel that great. My vision's kind of blurry all of a sudden."
But he doesn't feel like he's dying, so he's probably just fine, he reasons.
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Thrawn doesn't want to scare Glenn by telling him that he's supposed to be an adult of several hundred years, and that orb simply reverted him back to being a child.
"I have a bed you can sleep in." If Thrawn gets tired, he can use the couch.
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Frowning a little, he squints in the hopes that his vision stops swirling, but it doesn't. Giving up on that with a sigh, he chalks it up to tiredness.
Regarding the artifact, Glenn gives it the very faintest of pokes with a fingertip. Nothing happens.
"Hey-- I'm sure you can hear more than me, right?"
Nose scrunching as the buzzing starts up again, Glenn makes a wholly unimpressed face and closes his eyes.
"Stupid! Just use pictures! I understood those better than-- whatever language you speak!"
Glenn waits to make sense of the artifact's reply, and slowly sounds it out as he does.
"It says-- it's.. already happening. Because his soul is.. stubborn, and.. remembers who and what he is. His spirit has accepted the.. path? with the Force. And is.. coming back. Because he knows.. where he wants to be. He... knows, and, he will remember.. what happened.. when he returns."
Opening his eyes, Glenn flails when the world swirls in some places, reflexively reaching out for the desk to keep his balance. He manages, barely, and swiftly shuts his eyes again to center himself.
no subject
He comes to Glenn's side and helps him remain upright, looking down at the boy with kind eyes. "Would you like me to carry you to bed?"
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Shyly, Glenn nods and averts his gaze towards the floor, cheeks burning slightly pink. Even his feet look like they're not real, but ripples in a pond.
"I-- think so. My vision's... weird. I wonder if I'm getting sick... I-I can handle it if I do. So..."
Perhaps contrarily to the implications of his words, his grip tightens. A few more strands adopt that fluffier look, and even one of them starts to curl up in his usual uncannily long cowlick.
"...I can take care of myself if I get sick. Mom told me that self-sufficiency is important."
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Thrawn carefully picks Glenn up and carries him out of the office and into his quarters, where he lays the boy down in his bed. He also lays his datapad on his bedside drawer. "If you need anything, tap that and it will send me a notification."
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"...Okay."
The bed is large compared to his small body, and once Thrawn nears the bed again, Glenn reaches out again to grab his tunic, without thinking, brow furrowing.
"Um..."
His mouth works for a few seconds before he manages the actual words. His gaze drifts in and out of focus. Slowly, his body heat rises.
"Could you.. stay, just a little bit? I'm-- a little scared, with everything looking so wobbly, and.. mom's usually too busy, even when she's home."
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"Of course," Gently pulling out of Glenn's grip, Thrawn sits on the edge of the bed and takes up his datapad. Perhaps there's something he can read to the boy to help him go to sleep. He selects a detective novel that he has stored on his datapad and starts reading out loud.
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Glenn's body continues to gradually change as he sleeps, however slowly. For now, Glenn's grip is still on par with a young human's strength. He's mildly feverish, for a human, but otherwise has no signs of discomfort.
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For now, Thrawn approaches his mate and gently touches his shoulder.
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Until his own quickened purring, and Thrawn's touch, makes him stir further. His tendrils coil around his mate's arms for a moment as he wakes up, thoughts foggy, but vision clear.
"Oh... hey..."
He gently gives his mate's wrist a squeeze with that tendril and loosens his hold, wiggling a little to turn over, and frowning when scraps of cloth tear further.
That makes his eyes fly open, and he sits up, looking at a piece of the torn clothing in confusion, and then dawning understanding.
"...So that was about the weirdest experience I have ever had."
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"Indeed." The artifact told Glenn that he would remember upon returning to his normal age, he recalls. "It is fortunate that the effect was only temporary. I still have the clothes you were wearing when you reverted into a child in my office."
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Gaze flicking up towards Thrawn's, he smiles a little shyly and draws his mate in closer, to brush his lips against his mate's in a slow, chaste kiss.
"I still feel warm from how you treated me. If I'd had someone like you in my life, growing up..." Briefly, he catches his bottom lip between his teeth.
"Never mind. In any case, let us see about that artifact. After I put my clothes back on."
Pulling back, tentacles wiggling with excitement, Glenn starts pulling off the torn remains of those temporary clothes.
His voice hastens in excitement, and he gestures similarly as he speaks.
"It's a nasty thing. Useful for theoretical immortality, at least. Although I fail to see how useful forgetting my current self's memories in favor of the past is useful, but perhaps for someone more nefarious, it might be so."
Once settled, Glenn heads back to the office, still talking, even as he starts putting his proper clothes back on. His tentacles sometimes gesture in emphasis.
"Judging by how I felt then, and looking upon those memories now, along with my own research, it's very likely a Sith artifact. Or has very close leanings to it. Call it a hunch, but I do not think a purely Jedi artifact would hiss like a snake and promise power. Even so, its appearance is cleverly disguised to show neither inclination of Sith nor Jedi, from what I can remember of other art holos regarding them. I'm willing to bet it's to keep it from being destroyed by either party if found. So it's fortunate that we have. Although, perhaps, certain... entities of the Empire might have want for such a thing."
He's seen holos of Emperor Palpatine. If anyone, he would definitely benefit from the temporary reversal of time's march. And who knows if the return forward can be delayed or not.
"If anything, certain people could repeatedly enter and re-enter their prime years. And potentially keep their memories with enough revisits.
"Even as a child, I could feel some minor draw to you. I could sense that you were safe, and that you were somehow increasingly familiar to me. It's-- why I felt so inclined to show you my vulnerability. How lonely I felt. And that I trusted you not to sweep me aside, even if I was afraid of that possibility."
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Once they're back in the office, Thrawn regards the artifact. "Whatever Sith created this, or whatever culture did, it may have been used as a meditation device, or, as you theorized, partial immorality. I would need to compare it to similar artifacts to know for sure." He turns away from the item and looks at Glenn. "Perhaps it is best if we keep the artifact and its uses to ourselves for now."
Thrawn is loyal to Palpatine, but only on the surface. He knows when to hide certain things from the Emperor. Though, now he's wondering what would happen if he were to give it to a former sky-walker who had long since lost their powers. So many possibilities are open.
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Once his clothing is situated, he regards it thoughtfully, one hand resting briefly on his hip.
"...Looks like I will be studying the Force for the time being. If it wasn't lying in a misguided attempt to inflate my ego, then clearly such abilities, if I am capable, could only be an asset."
Given what he remembers of the Force and what different sides of it can do, somehow straddling the line between both extremes will be incredibly useful. Given the gist of how each side operates, it is probably within his capacity to utilize, he thinks.
"Though I am unsure how successful such attempts in practicality will be."
Either way, even developing such skills hold their risks, but if it works, then that's just one extra way he can protect Thrawn, and others.
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His gaze continues to focus on the artifact for a moment, and then returns to his mate's face.
"Either way, my ability to hear the artifact is diminished. So I won't be wringing my hands over something that ends up impossible. But if it is something possible, it can be utilized. Even if mastery is not particularly feasible at this point, if at all."
Either way, he offers a smile.
"If it means it is another way to protect you and others, all the better."
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Thrawn approaches Glenn and runs his hand through his mate's hair. "You protect me quite well already. You are already powerful as you are."
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So Glenn just gives his mate a nonsensical mumbling purr in reply, pushing his head against his hand for a moment, and then nuzzles in close for a hug. If he was in dog form, his tail would be wagging.
"I am glad to hear it." While this isn't the first time he's been told so, it still feels good to hear.
"Even so, I still wish to persist, if only out of curiosity."
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