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We Are The Young Ones

The sound was terrible. Like a great beast under the Isle was snoring. A horrible rattling noise that started in the middle of the night and just got louder and louder. There was something to that sound that struck primal fear into whoever heard it, even those who normally would show no fear. This was that core hide under the bed fear, that fear so bad it makes kids forget that the monsters under the bed are scary cause whatever this is... is worse. So much worse. The sound trips and triggers every possible fear and anxiety all at the same time. Those hearing it - which is probably everyone on the Isle, since it sounds loudest under the school but can be heard over the ocean at the shore - will feel the constant need to run. To hide. Like an itch under the skin. If it is in their nature to bring others with them to hide, they can, but as the night goes the urge to hide will get stronger and stronger until it feels like something has to snap.

And snap it would.

For each of them, at some point... it would become too much. For those more... biological... the brain would shut down in self defense, and the person would pass out. For those more technological in nature... Hello, BSOD followed by an emergency BRS (Big Red Switch/static reboot).

Those oldest would pass out soonest, and would stay out longest, trapped in their worst nightmares. Actual nightmares, as in they are asleep and no one else is seeing them. For once. The youngest would be able to hold out longest, though their nightmares might be the sharpest.

When the youngest of those on the Isle awake, they would find themselves alone in a room of the school they hadn't fallen asleep in, but searching.... where are the adults?

Where are the adults?

Well, they aren't. Adults, that is. During the nightmares, the adults have reverted to child form. Whatever that means for each of them. None older than eleven years old. They will wake up in the clothes they would have fallen asleep in at the age they awoke, but with no memories past that point in their childhood. No clue how they got here, or why. And worse? They woke up from the worst nightmare ever! And their adults! Are! Not! Here!

More, the dark feel to the Isle is libel to bring out the worst childish impulses. Temper tantrums. Bullying. Bossiness. Greed.

Welcome to The Isle, kids. Specifically the Isle from The Lord Of The Flies...

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We Are The Young Ones

No one could be quite sure where the sound came from to start. A low bubbling noise that those who were awake in the middle of the night and wandering around could hear. Not terribly unlike a stream over rocks, or like a pot on the stove. Just a moving liquid bubbling sort of noise. There was something almost peaceful to it, something almost dream like.

Whoever listened to it too long found themselves wearying first, a desire to go rest washing over them along with a sense of peace. For those who could remember such a thing, the sound almost brought back tactile memory of being held by a loving adult when one was small. Being comforted and comfortable and safe. The lassitude it brought was reminiscent of the sort of sleep a child could fall into when they knew they were completely safe and loved and cared for. Even those who had never had such an experience could almost feel it. It was hard to even want to resist it. It was calming. Soothing. Safe. Go to sleep.

Listen too long and the bubbles even sounded a little like the strains of a familiar lullaby. Even if the person had never heard one in their life. If they had, it would sound like the most soothing lullaby they could recall, even subconsciously. For those who had no such memory, the song would sound a little like this.

Eventually, everyone, even those who did not hear the bubbling or the music would find themselves sleepy and drifting towards a bed. And the sleep would be peaceful and safe. The sleep of a contented child.

Those who were youngest would wake up first, even if they usually did not. Anyone thirteen or under would awaken a few hours after sunrise to find none of the grownups were awake yet.

In fact, the older someone was, the longer they would sleep before finally they would awaken.

But what confused the youngest in Auradon, people like Leia and Nadeshiko, would probably be that they awoke slightly older than they had gone to sleep. No additional canon memories given to them, just a slightly larger body and a slightly less child-like view of the world. Thankfully their clothes shifted with them!

Of course, as confused as the kids would be... they will not be nearly as confused as the adults would be. Excuse me, the former adults, that is. For everyone over the age of 13 who went to sleep, they would awaken in a dorm bed in Auradon, in the room their adult self had chosen to sleep in when the spell hit. Except... they are now a child. Anywhere from the ages of five to eleven. With the memories they had at that age and not a lick more. No clue where they were, why they were there, and probably no clue who any of these other people are! They will wake up in clothes that they would have worn to sleep at the age they awoke. So feel free to put your characters in cute little onesies!

But this is Auradon... they wouldn't go full on Lord Of The Flies, would they....?

We Are The Young Ones - OOC info and FAQ

So... What is this new event going to be? Age shifting for the adults! Anyone over the age of 13 will awaken to find themselves somewhere between five years old and eleven years old. And their memories would be as if they were actually that age. Meaning... other then Ben and Mal, they've probably never heard of Auradon or The Isle. They certainly have no clue where they are, or why... Or where their adults are!

Meanwhile the kids of Auradon and The Isle might have aged up, or maybe not. But even if they haven't... they are still the oldest people around! They're the big kids now! They're in charge! This cannot possibly go wrong. Right?

Some anticipated questions and answers:

Q. What about characters whose ages are... odd. Like Xion and Roxas and Sun/Moon? Does it go by years alive? Or apparent age? Mental age?
A. Player's choice! Chicklet-mod for one is planning to not de-age Xion for the hilarity of her having to deal with bitty Lea. If you do choose to de-age an age anomalous character, you can decide if they just look like a smaller version of themselves or they actually get to have a childhood. Just remember if you do de-age, however you do it, they will not have their current self's memories of where they are or why. And probably don't know most of the people around them.

Q. How does the aging up work, do they get canon updated memories?
A. Nope! The kids that age up just are themselves but in slightly older bodies (no older than 17 please) with i little bit less of a child's way of thinking and point of view.

Q. What about [insert pseudo-immortal god like companion here]?
A. Sorry, Nooroo, Hope, and others of the sort will be in a deep sleep for the entirety of the event and nothing will be able to wake them. On the plus side, they probably instinctively hid themselves well before they fell asleep. They will wake up after the event. The fall out from that... well... that could be interesting for a post event log.

Q. Can we opt out?
A. Events in this game are always opt out. Just realize if you do your character may be literally the only adult in their area. Scary thought. Or they could just sleep through the whole event.

Q. How long will the event run?
A. OOC: This event will run from July 25th until August 15th. August may have a mini-event in the back half of the month in addition. IC: about 2 and a half weeks.

Q. What happens to characters who app in during the event?
A. They will have the choice to come in age-shifted or not. In the first half of the event the Mod-Squad may strongly encourage it for maximum chaos. In the second half, the Mod-Squad may suggest not, for extra "Wait what?" weirdness when the event ends.

Q. What about characters like River who... looked dramatically different when they were actually bitties?
A. Player's choice. Have fun!

Q. Wait... if Mallia and Chell choose to bittify... how are people going to have enough food to eat?!
A. Well in Auradon, luckily it is spring. Getting fruit out of the trees might take some teamwork and come with some bruises, but at least kids are famously good at rationing, right? On the Isle... well.... um... Good luck!

Q. What if my kid icons are on a different journal?
A. Reach out to Chicklet-mod for temporary access for those journals

Q. Will there be NPC TLs?
A. The NPCs are all children... those who are awake. But they might pop into people's TLs. Especially upon request.

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....But did I mean to say what you thought I meant to say?

Mallia has been very busy lately.

In fact, she's been pretty busy since before the cold snap....

On top of maintaining a seeming never-ending banquet in the cafeteria at more or less all hours, she's been....

playing Go on a board sitting beside her other projects, at the table in the cafeteria where she can usually be found,
copying her notebook of history-stories (adding illustrations and annotations and double-checking page numbers and so on and so forth)
checking in on the greenhouse's plants to encourage them to grow with a bit of her magic,
sewing more clothes and even a few plush toys (most of the clothes have been being put into future boxes of cargo to bring to the Isle, admittedly... unless someone wants something...?)
disappearing into the art rooms on occasion (though she hasn't in a bit, not since the new dishes appeared, all uniform, delicate ceramic, glazed in solid dark blues and purples and greens and reds, with black rose-leaf patterns on them, bowls and plates and stackable cups with handles)
or outside in the shopping district, seeming to meditate for a moment, the area around growing far colder and darker, somehow, as she draws in power so that the bottles of water she's brought with her glow again, before returning to leave them at her usual table in the cafeteria,
perhaps spotted out at the barrier of stuff surrounding the school and castle, looking for another way through it....

...She may also be found working on what looks to be a sort of card game, there at her table in the cafeteria. She's writing seemingly-random words on cards, putting a number in their corner, and on their backs, a definition for the word on the opposite side. And then she's writing that same information down in a notebook set aside as some sort of master list of these cards.

As per the automagical translation going on in Auradon, characters may see different words on the cards than one another... and that is the point! Her word-card project here is designed specifically to illustrate how languages map -- or may fail to map! -- to the languages that the people present know!

Some cards will be easy to read: practically everyone will see terms they're familiar with, like "sister", "brother", "mother", "father"... they'll probably also see such words as "justice", "revenge", "punishment", "repair", "heal", "kindness", "tantrum" (or "fit of anger"?) and "charity"... that is, presuming that their own language has such terms in it. If not, maybe they see them as written: "sœur", "frère", "mère", "père... "justice", "vengeance", "punition", "réparation", "guérison", "bonté", "crise de colère" and "charité". Mallia was writing them in French, after all.

There are a few cards which definitely would not be translated: "valmiran" and "alker" in particular would be among them. It isn't just French words she's writing down, but a handful of them in her world's Elvish, as well -- but the question is, how many of those have close-enough translations that others are able to simply read them as if they were in their own language to begin with? How many cards do they see as having the same word written on them?

...Investigate further? Care to see about helping her test whatever this is?