Okay okay, hear me out.
I know OOCly we see tons of characters Ageing rapidly, or never aging at all, and it made me wonder.
How do we put this in lore. Like actual lore.
So this is my idea (heavily inspired by Widow's bay
It explains why so many people are still in high-school and colleges, and so many other people seem so stagnated. They feel the passage of time yes, but life never seems to move forward.
(I hope you enjoy the read and let me know your thoughts)
The Karakura Phenomenon
There is something strange about getting older in Karakura.
Ask anyone on the mainland how old they are, and they will probably give you a number.
Ask someone in Karakura, and you may get a much longer conversation.
Because on Karakura, age is less of a fact and more of a suggestion.
Nobody knows exactly when it started.
The oldest stories say that long before Karakura became a bustling island of schools, universities, businesses and far too many people who apparently refuse to graduate, the island was watched over by something ancient.
Some call it a kami.
Some call it the Island Spirit.
Some insist there are several spirits involved.
And some very confident drunkards will tell you that the island itself is alive and has simply developed a bizarre sense of humour. (and don't we all know it)
Whatever the truth is, everyone agrees on one thing:
Karakura does not treat time normally.
There is an invisible boundary somewhere in the waters surrounding Karakura.
Ships cross it every day. Ferries cross it. People swim across it, although this is generally discouraged because apparently the supernatural phenomenon is not the biggest danger involved in swimming across a shipping lane.
Most people don't notice anything when they cross.
According to folklore, the moment a person crosses it, Karakura takes a measure of them.
Their fears. Their ambitions. Their regrets. The things they're running toward. The things they're running from. The things they refuse to let go of.
And then, somehow, the island decides how that person will experience age.
Nobody knows what makes the decision. Nobody knows who makes it.
And nobody has ever found a way to appeal it. Because Nobody has noticed it... or even if they have they let it simply be a passing thought or just a general sense of reality. Because thats what karakura does.
So... How Does Aging Work Here?
Badly. well atleast that's the short answer.
The useful answer is that Karakura does not stop time. It changes the way your body moves through it.
Some people age normally.
Some barely age at all.
Some age rapidly.
Some seem to fluctuate.
And, in exceptionally rare cases, someone's physical age can actually move backwards.
The important distinction is that your mind does not get reset along with your body.
If you've lived twenty years, you've lived twenty years.
You remember them.
You learned from them.
You fell in love during them.
You made terrible decisions during them.
You probably have several embarrassing photographs from them.
Karakura can change your body.
It cannot take away the time you've lived.
Which means a person can be physically seventeen and emotionally forty... though we all doubt if maturity is something that really hits them.
A person can be physically thirty and chronologically twenty-two.
And yes, someone can technically be sixty-three and still be mistaken for a university student.
This has resulted in many awkward conversations of people who travel out of the island for years and then come back to see the people still in that strangeness that is time.
So why is Karakura doing this?
There are approximately four hundred and seventeen explanations for this, and every Karakura citizen believes theirs is the correct one.
A belief worth noting is that the island gives people the time they need rather than the time they expect.
Someone desperate to grow up may be forced to remain young.
Someone terrified of growing old may suddenly age.
Someone who has spent their entire life rushing toward the next milestone may find themselves unable to move forward.
And someone who has spent years refusing to change may suddenly find themselves aging faster than they can comprehend.
Yet... nobody in the town seems to be aware of this. The moment they enter the town, it is a collective acceptance of sorts.. where time.. has just decided to happen based on whatever they see.
(also please dont mind the tons of grammar errors, i wrote it in a flow!)
I know OOCly we see tons of characters Ageing rapidly, or never aging at all, and it made me wonder.
How do we put this in lore. Like actual lore.
So this is my idea (heavily inspired by Widow's bay
It explains why so many people are still in high-school and colleges, and so many other people seem so stagnated. They feel the passage of time yes, but life never seems to move forward.
(I hope you enjoy the read and let me know your thoughts)
The Karakura Phenomenon
There is something strange about getting older in Karakura.
Ask anyone on the mainland how old they are, and they will probably give you a number.
Ask someone in Karakura, and you may get a much longer conversation.
Because on Karakura, age is less of a fact and more of a suggestion.
Nobody knows exactly when it started.
The oldest stories say that long before Karakura became a bustling island of schools, universities, businesses and far too many people who apparently refuse to graduate, the island was watched over by something ancient.
Some call it a kami.
Some call it the Island Spirit.
Some insist there are several spirits involved.
And some very confident drunkards will tell you that the island itself is alive and has simply developed a bizarre sense of humour. (and don't we all know it)
Whatever the truth is, everyone agrees on one thing:
Karakura does not treat time normally.
There is an invisible boundary somewhere in the waters surrounding Karakura.
Ships cross it every day. Ferries cross it. People swim across it, although this is generally discouraged because apparently the supernatural phenomenon is not the biggest danger involved in swimming across a shipping lane.
Most people don't notice anything when they cross.
According to folklore, the moment a person crosses it, Karakura takes a measure of them.
Their fears. Their ambitions. Their regrets. The things they're running toward. The things they're running from. The things they refuse to let go of.
And then, somehow, the island decides how that person will experience age.
Nobody knows what makes the decision. Nobody knows who makes it.
And nobody has ever found a way to appeal it. Because Nobody has noticed it... or even if they have they let it simply be a passing thought or just a general sense of reality. Because thats what karakura does.
So... How Does Aging Work Here?
Badly. well atleast that's the short answer.
The useful answer is that Karakura does not stop time. It changes the way your body moves through it.
Some people age normally.
Some barely age at all.
Some age rapidly.
Some seem to fluctuate.
And, in exceptionally rare cases, someone's physical age can actually move backwards.
The important distinction is that your mind does not get reset along with your body.
If you've lived twenty years, you've lived twenty years.
You remember them.
You learned from them.
You fell in love during them.
You made terrible decisions during them.
You probably have several embarrassing photographs from them.
Karakura can change your body.
It cannot take away the time you've lived.
Which means a person can be physically seventeen and emotionally forty... though we all doubt if maturity is something that really hits them.
A person can be physically thirty and chronologically twenty-two.
And yes, someone can technically be sixty-three and still be mistaken for a university student.
This has resulted in many awkward conversations of people who travel out of the island for years and then come back to see the people still in that strangeness that is time.
So why is Karakura doing this?
There are approximately four hundred and seventeen explanations for this, and every Karakura citizen believes theirs is the correct one.
A belief worth noting is that the island gives people the time they need rather than the time they expect.
Someone desperate to grow up may be forced to remain young.
Someone terrified of growing old may suddenly age.
Someone who has spent their entire life rushing toward the next milestone may find themselves unable to move forward.
And someone who has spent years refusing to change may suddenly find themselves aging faster than they can comprehend.
Yet... nobody in the town seems to be aware of this. The moment they enter the town, it is a collective acceptance of sorts.. where time.. has just decided to happen based on whatever they see.
(also please dont mind the tons of grammar errors, i wrote it in a flow!)