「oo1」 ❥ OPEN.

[permutant]

[Who knows how you've found her - maybe you were just walking by, or you came to investigate what was definitely laughter - but there's a girl in the living area who you won't recognise from the sarcophagi; blonde, pretty, and otherwise unremarkable. She looks fairly happy and relieved for someone who is locked in a castle.

And as you're glancing over her, she's not a blonde any more. Her hair turns brown. She laughs again, looking at her hands, turning them over - there's a cascade of blue scales over her body and suddenly she has dark skin from the elbows down. More scales and she's completely blue, with shocking red hair - a more familiar face to some people. And then she's back to the lovely blonde girl.

Raven has her shifting back, everyone!

She also didn't realise anyone was watching her. Oops.]

Comments

[stillshinigami]

[He catches it in a flash of blue, snapping his head to look over and there's nobody but a blond girl sitting there. Then he sees her shift again and he turns to look her head on.]

Holy...

[permutant]

[her head snaps around too when he speaks and her newest shift - bright pink hair - freezes and stops where it is, leaving her half-blonde half-pink.]

Oh.

[... awkward.]

... Uh, hi.

[stillshinigami]

[His expression fades from surprise to mere curiosity. She's a human, right? This isn't the strangest thing he's seen these past few days, he even absently wonders if she's an alien like Ratchet.]

How'd you do that?

[permutant]

[she's not feeling too fond of the pink hair now that she looks at it, so the blonde girl peels back to become a pale, green-eyed, black-haired girl. she stands up, trying to catch her reflection in a dusty window.]

I can't really explain that. Hey, does this look good to you? I don't think black hair suits me. Ugh. [she shifts back to her usual blonde form again.] Anyway... Like I said, I can't explain it, you should ask Charles about that. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something I can do. I'm a mutant, and shape-shifting is my mutation.

[stillshinigami]

[He just tilts his head as he watches the girl shift from one form to another. Huh. It is not something you see everyday.]

Mutant? [He scratches his head.] I don't know if I'd say that- and who's Charles?

The black hair's okay. [But he nods approvingly at the blond.] I like the blond. Why not try brown?`

[permutant]

No, no, that's actually what it is. Mutation. He did research and everything, it's his big project. Charles', I mean. He's my brother.

Brown's not bad. I like the blonde best, but hey, there's nothing wrong with change. [scales, and her hair is brown.] I can be blonde any time. Got an eye color you like?

[stillshinigami]

That's awesome. [He smiles, and is quite clearly impressed. Though the comment on mutation makes him scratch his forehead.]

Mutation... uh. I guess.

Even if it is, it's awesome.

Hmm. Eye color. I like blue eyes, I guess.

[permutant]

You think so? ... Thanks. [she's pleasantly surprised, and more than a little flattered. she's still getting used to the fact that people accepted her blue form so easily, and now there's someone complimenting her abilities - it's a nic change. there are no scales this time, her iris just floods with a lovely bright blue color.] Ta-da. I can do two different colors too, but I think most people just find that weird.

[stillshinigami]

Sure.

[It was a useful ability, and he didn't really think it was all that freaky. On the other hand, that may falter a bit if he gets a clear look at her default. He wasn't sure what he was seeing before. He peers into the girls eyes and draws himself back, his arms crossing. That was cool.]

Hey, with powers like that you can get away with it. You can look like whatever you want.

Never have to complain about appearance, do you?

[permutant]

[the second the last sentence comes out of his mouth, something noticeably changes in her demeanour; she freezes up completely, and her eyes flit down. she almost recoils, and she honestly has to concentrate to keep herself from reverting to the blonde instinctively with the sting of that remark - never have to complain about appearance.

of course people like the shifting, god, she's so stupid. it's something cool. she can be any kind of pretty girl she likes, or any kind they like.

and nobody likes blue girls.]

... Yeah. It's great, huh.

[stillshinigami]

[His eyebrows raise, catching her change in body language almost immediately. Something he said definitely struck a cord there. She looked as though he'd insulted her rather than complimented. He didn't understand.]

Uuh, hey. Did I say something that bothered you just now?

[permutant]

... Did you wonder what I actually look like, when I'm not... shifted?

[she doesn't wait for a response - the blonde girl immediately folds back, although the shift is slow and almost hesitant, and her scaly, blue-skinned, red-haired form is there. she manages to meet his eye for a moment, but she ends up looking down at her feet.]

[stillshinigami]

Didn't really...cross my mind.

[He slowed as she changed, his expression changing slightly to something of apprehension. He had seen the blue before but he wasn't sure what he was looking at. Sure, he'd seen an alien, magic, but this? This was a little different. He just needed a moment to adjust and figure out how to respond to that.]

Uuuh.

[permutant]

[she snaps back into her blonde disguise.

she shouldn't have expected anything else, if she's honest with herself. there's a difference between seeing her blue from the start and seeing a pretty girl who's actually "monstrous" or something. there are a few people who are already okay with it, and that's really more than she could have asked for - and if she were stuck with the blue like she was before, she would just wait for him to adjust and try to keep calm about it, but... now that she has something to hide behind, it's a knee-jerk reaction to fall back on it as soon as she gets a bad reaction.]

... Don't worry about it. Nobody really thinks about it much.

[stillshinigami]

[Great. Now he really did feel like he'd offended her. What was he supposed to say? Had to say something.]

I'm not gonna worry about it. But it's not gonna make me think any different. Your power is pretty amazing, I admit. But blue or not, you're still a person, right?

[We'll let her answer that one.]

[permutant]

... Yeah. [she looks surprised, but she definitely sounds... grateful. relieved.] A lot of people... tend to forget that. Mutants aren't exactly getting parades where I come from.

[stillshinigami]

I can imagine that. It's not that I don't have faith in people, but we've done some pretty stupid shit.

Human rights, wars, terrorism...war...

Did I mention war? [He looks down, his eyes distant for a moment as he considers what else to say.]

And hey. Blue's a pretty cool color.

[kaderp]

[someone new? he peers for a moment, and then blinks. oh, blue! He knows that blue. He lets go of the wall and drops down, cheerfully letting his hood fall down. No reason to have it up, here; it might be uniform, but there's no one to hide from.]

Raven!

[permutant]

[she jumps in surprise and looks over to him - one of her eyes is bright green and the other one is bright blue now, but other than that, she's still the fairly ordinary-looking blonde girl. and she is very happy to see him!]

Kadar! Hey— [her appearance folds back as she shifts into an exact mirror of him, and she holds her arms out in a little pose; it's his voice when she speaks,] What do you think? You like it?

[kaderp]

[Kadar stares for a moment before he breaks out into a wide smile, clapping his hands together.] That is amazing! I do not think even my brother would be able to tell the difference! [he takes a step closer to investigate her, and then nods, satisfied.]

It is strange to see myself in the way that others must.

[permutant]

[she shifts back into her usual blonde form, laughing.]

Maybe I should try tricking him. He dresses kind of like you, right? With the fancy robes and the hood. I've seen a bunch of you guys around.

[kaderp]

Yes! His robes are blue-- he is the one who... [Kadar hesitates, faltering for a split second before carrying on, a bit more subdued.] --he only has one arm. He's not very friendly! [Kadar smiles a little ruefully.]

[permutant]

[she looks horrified for a moment, and then sympathetic - but she smiles when he picks back up.]

That's okay, I have experience with jerks. I'll turn into something really scary if he's mean to me.

[kaderp]

[he can't help but laugh at that.] Truthfully, I do not think my brother is scared of anything. He has always faced everything down unflinchingly.

[volcanic]

[ Iceland happened to walk by to catch the last part of Raven's shifting. He's hoping that maybe his mind is playing tricks on him and he didn't just see her skin change like that. As it is, the girl seems pretty chipper about... something, which is kind of curious, but still, Iceland feels like he shouldn't be here. But... he's also really curious. ]

What's so funny?

[permutant]

Oh - um, nothing, it's just... [she takes a deep breath, watching his face carefully for reactions, and shifts into a redhead.] I got my shifting back is all. I couldn't do it the other day when we got out of those coffin things.

[volcanic]

Shifting...? [ Iceland isn't quite sure how to react. It's intriguing and unsettling at the same time. ]

Looks like a neat trick. [ He says as he glances away. ]

[permutant]

[it's better than looking disgusted or horrified, but that's... not acceptance. that stings in the same way it always does with Charles, pretending to accept her blue form but being so uncomfortable with it. she looks visibly hurt, but her hair goes back to blonde.]

... Well, it's not a trick. It's a mutation. I mean, it's part of who I am.

[volcanic]

[ The hurt expression makes Iceland feel guilty, but he's not sure how to act on the emotion since it's not like he can take back his initial expression. ]

I've never seen anyone do that before. [ He tries to sound more intrigued than nervous. Because he is curious about it! But it's also unfamiliar... ]

[pinetreemary]

[The delighted sounds drifting across the quiet courtyards are enough to attract attention on their own, not to mention the sight that accompanies an innocent investigation. There's a soft but sharp intake of breath as a younger blonde steps around a corner just in time to catch the most recent change. She can't have seen what she thinks she saw, can she? It was quick, but still...

For a long moment she just stares, trying to decide whether the castle is messing with her head or not.]

[permutant]

[she starts to shift again into a girl that looks vaguely Irish - pale, curly red hair, freckles - but she catches sight of the girl and the transformation stops halfway; her clothes had been changing too, so now half of her shirt is green and the rest is black.

oh god, just because she's not in public public doesn't mean she shouldn't pay attention to people around her.]

Hey. Uh. [she decides to play it cool and finishes the shift, leaving her in a green dress.] What do you think?

[pinetreemary]

[Her mouth was hanging open in shock as she watched the transformation, snapping shut when the woman addressed her. She stared for a second longer, eyes wide and body completely frozen in place.]

How. How did you do that? W-was that a magic trick? [Please say yes please say yes please-]

[permutant]

[she'd normally get upset, offended or angry at a reaction like that, the suggestion that it could be a magic trick like those guys at the CIA thought, but - it's different when it's just a younger girl. she shifts back into her pretty blonde form, slowly this time, and tries to sound gentle despite the sting she feels from the obvious fear.]

It's not a magic trick. It's a mutation. I'm a mutant. Kind of an... extreme mutant, [she grins briefly and gives a sort of weak laugh] but that's all it is. It's a part of me, just like... having blue eyes, or blonde hair or something.

[pinetreemary]

[Marnie barely registered the words being said to her. As the older girl changed again she makes a choked noise and jumps forward, grabbing her arm and cutting off her explanation.] Stop, stop! Someone's going to see you!

[She's startled at her own disproportionate reaction, but she can't help the panic that shoots through her. Her eyes are wild with fear, yes, but not of the person in front of her. Instead her gaze darts around them frantically, making sure no one else was in sight.]

[last_lombax]

[Ratchet watches for a moment, watching the scales move over her body and change how she looks. It's strange to see, that's for sure. He doesn't know of many aliens that could change forms like that and most need multiple of their kind to do it.

...Like Cragmites. But she was blue, not purple. So that was good. Still though, his curiosity was piqued.

"Um...hello?"

[permutant]

[she freezes and reflexively hides - she snaps back into her blonde form.]

Hi. ... You were watching that, huh.

[last_lombax]

For a bit. You seemed pretty excited you could do it.

So, what is your species called? I'm Ratchet, a Lombax.

[seventeenth]

[Desmond blinks, stares. That's.... huh. Desmond probably shouldn't interrupt, but he can't stop himself from going:] Woah.

[permutant]

[she jumps and whirls around and she has a distinctly caught-in-the-headlights look, but he's not... screaming or calling her a monster or anything, so she pauses.]

... Hi. I didn't know I had an audience.

[seventeenth]

[Oh, Raven, he recently found out that the backstory of his entire family is 'aliens did it'. It's gotten pretty hard to weird him out.]

Sorry. I would have knocked, but... [He gestures vaguely, not sure how to put it aside from 'that's pretty cool'.]

[sicarius]

[Pardon Ezio while he blinks and stares... but after all that's gone on, he's not as surprised as he should be.]

...that is some talent, bella.

[permutant]

[did he just say something in Italian to her that hits her right in the teenage girl weakness spot. she falters for a second, and then puts her hands on her hips and tries to look confident.]

Um. Yeah, I guess it is. [the scales sweep back over her hair and it goes red.] Anything you want to see?