(open) why is he like this: the log

[heavyhead]

who: Noctis and u, new and old CR welcome!!
what: some prompts feat. Noct and also Noct, but 8 years old
when: June
where: around
warnings: doubtful

A. not a literal child

[Not by age, anyway. When Noctis isn't on his shift at the petting zoo, he can be found out and around Riverview, usually with his nose in what appears to be a strategy guide for a Riverview-equivalent of the wildly popular!! (not really) board game Kingmaker. Nerds and children might be familiar with this game, but besides them: there's Noctis.

Every so often during his intense study, he checks something on his phone, scoffs in disappointment, and looks at the book again. Occasionally he makes a note with a pencil. This is the most studying he's ever done in his life, for the record.

Eventually he'll stick a finger in the book to hold his page and flag down a passerby, complete stranger or not.]

Hey, can I ask you something? I need a second opinion for, uh, work stuff.

[it's fucking board games, he's full of it]

B. actually a literal child; after June 14

[Once 8-year-old Noctis has slipped cleverly away from the clutches of his various babysitters, he quickly realizes something very important: it's hard to make a daring escape in a wheelchair. Thankfully (uh, maybe) he doesn't need it for more than a slowly healing injury, so he makes the wisest choice an 8-year-old child could make:

He just abandons it, because an empty wheelchair just sitting in a public space isn't a concern, or anything. The boy himself doesn't make it far—in fact, he's quite literally up a tree nearby. Not very high - he is tiny - but he sure did get up there.]

Whoa—this is higher than I thought. [genius]

C. still a literal child; still after June 14

[Other fun things kids do: make a lot of noise and a lot of mess. Noctis isn't as rowdy as plenty of 8-year-olds, certainaly, but he's bored and when you're a child stranded in a weird place with no friends to keep you busy, you make a lot of noise and mess.

He appears to be playing with fireworks because he is literally playing with fireworks; little round ones that seem to go off not because he's also playing with matches, but just because they... go off after he tosses them high enough in the air. After a few he gets bored of just tossing them and takes to batting them higher and further with a giant, squeaky rubber mallet.

Surely this is not annoying.]

D. choose your own age-defying adventure

[hit me up via pm or @ melodrama if you'd like a starter! Nocts of all ages available!!]

Comments

eichi

[heavyhead]

[Noct's first order of business as an 8-year-old menace is not that menacing at all. Wherever Eichi is in their apartment, a distant clattering and a quiet "oops" herald his dear roommate's clumsy awakening, which would be totally ordinary if he wasn't a small child knocking over his adult self's things.

There are novelty cups everywhere.

But that's a fun surprise for later, since what Noctis inevitably winds up doing is slouching into his chair and wheeling himself out, where he winds up stopping to watch Eichi twirl around for a while because it's entertaining, and also because his tiny chicken arms aren't built to push this wheelchair around for more than ten feet. Ouch.

Still, he will clap a little when it seems like the right time. Yay dancing boy...??]

[finethanks]

[He hears the distant sound, but thinks nothing of it immediately. There's no loud yell or any following sounds, and besides, he's in the middle of this routine that he absolutely has to perfect. Step, step, turn and spin... point...?

Ah. There's someone quite small in their room.]

Eh? Ah, wait, am I mistaken, or are you actually Noct-kun...? [Or does he have a little brother? His arms drop back down to his side and his head tilts slightly. That... hair... is unmistakable, so it must be something like that.]

[heavyhead]

[Imagine how much more embarrassing he'd be if he had a little brother who didn't collect stupid garbage. Little Noctis has already wondered about why there are so many trash piles, but that could be anyone... right...

Anyway, dancing boy. He stops clapping with his hands still joined together, lifting them a little like he's going to hide his face behind them before thinking better of it. Be cool, Noctis.]

...Yeah! That's me! Um... That was a good dance? [he's 8 let him live]

ignis

[heavyhead]

[What's really weird about finding Ignis here in this world is how old he is. Little Noctis has already made it clear exactly how he feels about finding his... adviser person... like this, old, when he should be a lot shorter and staring at Noctis until he does his homework.

Although Ignis has stared at him a fair amount with the same expression, so there is that.

Now he's been promised ice cream, but he did not know that ice cream came with eating a vegetable, and so he's sitting glumly at a table in this local diner, leaning his grubby elbows all over the table and pushing his sandwich around on his plate. Occasionally he steals a glance up at Ignis, thinking he can slide a tomato under the table and hide it under a napkin on the booth seat while he's not looking.

This is genius!!]

[cookingmama]

[If anything, being so much older has lessened any prospects of Ignis caving. It's been so long that the server's given him his own little coloring sheet and pack of crayons, as he's long since finished his veggie burger. Now he's occupying himself with coloring in the lines of this tree, with glances at this child's progress (or lack of) every so often.

But Ignis stops coloring when he sees that tomato move, narrowing his eyes.]

That ice cream is probably melting, you know.

[heavyhead]

[A veggie burger. He can't believe this old man is supposed to give him good advice, or something. Noctis isn't exactly sure what Ignis' job is, just that he's always been around and apparently always will be. That would be a comfort, if he weren't forcing Noctis to look at vegetables.

Caught, he just leaves his tomato rejected on his plate instead of shoving it under a napkin. Ugh.]

You didn't buy it yet, I'm not dumb. I hate tomatoes.

A I hope this is okay?!

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru recognizes you Noctis. You're the guy he went on a search for that lantern with. Shigeru gives him a smile and a wave as he walks over then. He'll tilt his head with a questioning look on his face as if to ask 'what's wrong?' ]

[heavyhead]

[Oh—can't-talk-guy. This might be a little weird when it comes time to wait for a reply, but hey, the guy's pretty nice, so—why not.]

Hey—okay, I need... advice. For a friend.

[Where could it be going.]

So let's say my friend is... fighting with another friend about how many, uh, books they're allowed to borrow. If my friend invaded his... house to take his books back, is that... in bad taste?

[god it's a fucking board game and he's a loser]

C. before Gladio is Sadio

[leatherdaddy]

Noct... oi...

[ Fast forward past the inevitable disbelief, the laughter, the hope that this isn't permanent and finally acceptance that this very well may be. This is never going to feel normal for Gladio, suddenly babysitting the king. How far has the line of Shields fallen that they need to pull nanny detail.

Still.

He's kinda cute. Just... noisy, with every squeak signaling an impact with a firework, followed by a light pop interrupting what should have been a quiet moment of reading. Gladio closes the book and gives up on it for now, striding over to where this more diminutive version of his friend is playing, hands on hips. ]

How about we give that a rest soon, huh? You bored?

[heavyhead]

[why is this giant man menacing him

Or: Noctis stops swinging his hammer only because Gladio is in the way, looking up - and up and up - at him with a frown. He's clearly playing here, big guy.]

I'm not bored. I'm doing this.

[leatherdaddy]

[ Gladio looks way, way down. Noct is so small at this age, it's... kind of cute. Somehow just looking at him gets him all... paternal. Weird. ]

Can we not for the rest of today?

[ It's kind of loud, and it might be annoying others. Normally this kind of thing wouldn't even occur to him, but things get weird when you start caring for a kid. It's kind of like when he used to take care of Iris when they were younger... poking his head in way too many times in a room she's sitting in alone because you really, really can't take your eyes off them for a second.

It was almost easier dealing with a grown-up Noct, who could be relied upon to be caught napping more than getting himself into trouble. ]

Come on, I'll...

[ Think fast, Gladio. This is a hard-fought negotiation here. Kids are not to be trifled with. ]

Read you a story. Go brush your teeth.

B

[carrotkeeper]

[The rescue squad is here, except she doesn't know that she a) needs to rescue someone or b) needs to get off her phone. She's aimlessly playing with whatever the popular app is this week when she bumps into said abandoned wheelchair, almost falling over it. That's not troubling or anything.]

Huh? That's weird.

[It doesn't look like anyone's around and it's unlikely that squirrel by the tree needs this chair. As she's about to call the hospital to see if they're missing one, she hears a voice mid-dial and stops. What did he say? Higher? She looks up and-

Oh. This is going to be a weird day.]

Noct?!

[heavyhead]

[Noctis is already looking down at Iris when she looks up, since she decided to talk to herself about his chair... He's wondering if he's in trouble for just leaving it there, honestly, and blinks wide-eyed at her a few times when she spots him talking to himself up in a tree.

So the day is going great.]

Hi. I'm okay. [She sEEMS CONCERNED]

[carrotkeeper]

[Hi. I'm okay says child Noctis who was most definitely not a child the last time she saw him. Sure, he's fine. He's just in a tree. On a branch. Being a kid. That's what kids do. Totally normal.]

That's good, Noct.

[She doesn't know how to deal with this-whatever this is. Might as well start by getting him out of the tree. She walks closer to the base of the trunk and looks up at him.]

Hey, you wanna get down?

[ b ]

[supersweet]

[ It's like deja vu — as his mother calls it. A sense that the universe is trying to tell you something. Jon peers at him thoughtfully and then shrugs. If Noctis falls, Jon can easily catch him. His powers are good enough for that. ]

Whatcha doing up there?

[heavyhead]

[That is the question of the day, what is he doing up here. He shrugs, wobbles a little on his chosen branch, and grabs around the trunk of the tree to keep himself steady. Oh boy.]

Hiding from my keeper.

[supersweet]

[ Jon judges a little. But mostly because he's an experienced tree-climber. ]

A keeper? What's that?

a

[maskerading]

[ And a total stranger Noctis shall get. With his attention caught, Yuuto stops in his tracks, curious. ]

... Alright. What's up?

[heavyhead]

[Alright, time to make a stellar first impression, trying to make a board game about conquering an imaginary country sound like—anything besides that. Noctis perks up just slightly, turning the book over and tucking it under his arm to hide what a colossal nerd he is.]

Hypothetical situation... Let's say you're... fighting with your, uh, neighbors- over the yard.

How many other neighbors could you get on your side before it's way too much?

b

[followhim]

[poe was just walking along and trying to mind his own business when he bumps into the empty wheelchair ... what in tarnation?? it doesn't take him long to "investigate" — i.e., look around until he see tiny noct up in a tree. is the wheelchair his? maybe, maybe not. GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT.]

Not stuck up there, are you?

[heavyhead]

[Noctis is learning quickly that he should have probably pushed his chair somewhere else before he climbed up here, and... also... that he probably can't get down from here by himself. But.]

No, I can do it!

C

[ragnarsson]

[This would be annoying to most everyone else, but Ivar finds delight in the sight of things exploding and making noise in the air amusing. Yuri had showed him the wonders of using fireworks to cause chaos. He watches Noctis whack another one up into the air and a slow smile spreads across his face. He eggs the soon-to-be little nuisance on further.]

See if you can get one to land in a trash can.

[He is such a bad influence on kids, who let this teen out without adult supervision?]

[heavyhead]

[He's got a seemingly endless supply of these fireworks he's pulling out of either his pocket or what appears to be thin air, so - it sure is time to be a nuisance. He looks up at the sound of a voice, considers, and makes the brilliant logical deductions that:

a) it's not a person he's throwing fireworks at, and
b) no one is going to send him to his room, here

so this is already going great.]

What do I get if it goes in?

a

[realimperfect]

[ The commotion of people changing ages and appearing from different timelines is... well, it's a new level of special Re-L's never gotten to experience yet in the quarantine. None of it would be so bad if the police force wasn't now on the look out for rowdy children and, new position as detective or not, she was expected to participate as well. Escaping for a spot of lunch had been a feat - but she'd managed it, sneaking away to try and find a quiet place to enjoy a store bought lunch that looks a bit too healthy for someone also carrying a large, black, iced coffee. She'd call it literal fuel in that moment, trying to say conspicuous in a crowd to avoid co-workers who may not be too favorable to this sneaking out business.

- - Kind of hard to do at her height and, well.. who the hell else does their hair in almost cat-like ears like that?

She's walking and simultaneously sucking down coffee as she's flagged down - stuttering her pace for a moment as if confirming it's really her that he wants before, finally, making her way over. ]

I can't say I'll be able to give the best informed answers, but go ahead.

[heavyhead]

[She's not the first person he's asked today and she won't be the last, so just- bear with the dumb shit he's about to try.]

What's the best way to convince your neighbors to join you in taking down your, uh, other neighbor?