January Catchall [OPEN]

[azurestar]

Who: Lance (azurestar) and OPEN
What: Catch-all log for January.
When: All of January
Where: All over Trench.

Content Warnings: alcohol and drug use, risky behavior, symptoms of PTSD and trauma induced hallucinations etc., memory loss, shedding of skin to alter one's body and all the psychological issues that comes with, traumatic memory share, lockjoint, will add more specific warnings as they arise.

SNAKE DEN

i. [Lance frequents the Red practically every night it's said to be hosting the talent and fashion shows. He only gets on the stage when he's in different forms, though. In the second week of the month, he's a catboy thief from a tabletop fantasy game called Monsters and Mana. On stage, as this persona he'll grab a guitar and start singing extremely well and captivatingly as he walks through the audience and uses his tail pick pocket the onlookers. He can also be found chatting people up and lounging in booths with beautiful ladies in this form and letting them pet his ears... yes, he's purring when that happens.

In the middle of the month, he's a bit younger, back to who he was before he went to space at the age of 17, and he'll be getting on stage to show off his acrobatic and dance skills, as well as his musical skills. He'll descend from the ceiling from bolts of fabric around his legs and waist, with his guitar in hand, spinning around slowly and playing with a rose in his teeth. He'll then toss the rose to the prettiest person in the audience an start singing and dancing quite well once he reaches the ground.

Also in the middle of the month, he's a beautiful young woman for a short stint. In this form, he does singing and dance routines, showing off his high notes and also gets in the fashion show, the outfits he gravitates to look like this, this and this. He can also be spotted mingling in the crowd dressed nice and downing champagne flutes and charming everyone.]

ii. [As a paleblood, people will be extra compelled to open up to him and tell him the truth in this space, and in all his shedded forms he's pretty good at active listening if the subject is heavy enough. He may also offer to help ease pain if someone is hurt or emotionally suffering, as that's the paleblood power he has when touching people skin on skin. At first he'll be confused about people just dumping all their truth on him, but eventually he'll start to figure it out and definitely take full advantage with some people he knows or is curious about.

He'll sidle up to anyone who looks interesting or he wants to get to know, and especially to existing friends and go:] Sooo, got anything you wanna get off your chest, maybe?

[It will be easy to mistake him for a working nightwalker, feel free to proposition him for anything.]

iii. [In all his forms detailed above, he'll be available for a private conversation or interaction as even he needs some time to sit and chill out. Often, he'll be laid back in a more private area just strumming on his guitar and casually singing random lyrics that come to mind. Because of his empathic powers, what he's unconsciously singing about may feel specifically tailored to your life, especially if he touched your skin and took some suffering or pain from you no matter how small. If he hasn't touched you recently, then the song may still feel relevant to you and like the notes being played hit you in your soul, but it's not as deeply specific.

Lance doesn't realize he's doing this, he still doesn't have control over his powers and has not figured out how to consciously channel them. When he notices someone's emotional or physical presence, he'll stop playing and look over, brows drawn together.]

Uh hey, looking for something? Maybe someone~?

[He waggles his eyebrows a bit and smirks on that last bit. Could be he means someone else, or himself and is implying you should stay a while and hang out with him. Either way, he's not bothered and oblivious to what he was just doing that got your attention. If you'd like specific lyrics and a musical tone/genre for your character, just describe the emotions/situation they are experiencing that Lance would be singing about in prose and let me know.]

SHEDDING CEREMONY

iv. [Later in the month, Lance sheds into a full AU of himself where he isn't human, but a highly advanced Android that didn't know he was an Android until very recently. Many things in his life are the same, and he remembers Deerington, but through the perspective of an Android Lance with slight differences to his background and certain edits to what he experienced. From his perspective, he's just returned from a big "canon update" where he discovered what he is and is understandably shook.

He can be found overcompensating as he walks through the streets of Trench or enters various venues to shop, shooting finger guns at every person he sees. This is normal, he's normal, he's totally a person and not a thing with no soul. But the mechanism that keeps his head attached to his body is disrupted after he recently tested taking it off and promptly freaked the fuck out, he didn't put it back on entirely right, so all it takes is someone or something jostling him and- POP! His head comes off and rolls up to your feet.

He looks up at you from the ground looking like he's barely keeping his shit together and trying not to freak out as he blinks and then laugh so nervously and through a tight anxious throat, that he chokes on it.]

Hey, l-looks like I lost my head a second there...

v. (closed) [Vary late in the month, Lance is a merboy! He sheds to the form in the night, and all his memories are shifted slightly, he doesn't know where he is and believes belongs with Mariana ever since arriving in Trench. In his version of history, many things are the same, except that he had his DNA messed with on an ocean planet and gained the ability to turn into a mer. He struggled with the feral nature of that side for a long time and coming to Trench, steeped in blood pollution caused him to perma shift into the merman state and heavily bond with the Ocean. Naturally, this was startling and scary to him to wake up in a strange place and he started freaking the fuck out when woken.]

vi. [After merboy Lance is brought back to Mariana, he is actually quite happy to talk to people who come by the docks, he'll pop up out of the water and grin with all sharp teeth and flirt, Mariana sometimes assisting him further out of the water by lifting water with him in a cone. But his flirting is sometimes meant to lure in victims... yes, he's one of those siren types of merpeople. Sometimes, he's harmlessly interacting and interested in having some fun, others... he's hunting.

If he's not directly targeting you on the docks, you can catch him in the middle of luring a poor sailor out of their boat and into the water with him. If you call out to interrupt, he'll look over at you with a death glare and his hands fisted in the person's shirt as he's in the process of pulling them in.]

Ohoho you better not be interrupting us right now. Can't you see we're having a moment??

UNSNAKELY

vii. [Lance has taken a liking to Madam Generosity as she slithers through the streets. He feels comforted by her and talks to her as she goes, running to try nad keep up. Then, it doesn't take long before he's just riding on her back every now and again throughout the month, no matter what form he's taken or what memories he has (excluding merboy). Catch him lounging on his back with his hands up and pillowing the back of his head and ankles crossed like he's on the beach, definitely flirting with the giant snake.]

So, how's your day going, beautiful? Heading anywhere interesting?

viii. [Because of his affection for Madam Generosity, he does fall into the unsnakely's traps more than once and in multiple shedded forms (all but merboy). And unfortunately, his star powers are still not working correctly, even after he's shedded, and in some forms he has no powers at all, so when he follows the trail to find the snake of his heart, he's not the most prepared for when a giant fiery beast emerges to attack.]

AHHHH!

[Immediately, he leaps out of the way of a fiery attack and covers his head protectively. Then he hops up and looks around for any assistance or weapons or ideas. Regardless, he's taking a stance and rolling up his sleeves.]

Alright, let's do this.

[And if he's in a body that has powers and/or combat training (regardless of their functionality), he'll stand his ground. If he's his younger, early canon self or his catboy self, he'll immediately run for his life after saying that.]

WINTER MOURNINGS

ix. [Possible memories from Deerington open in the thick of a jungle where many of them were forced to battle each other much like in the Hunger Games. This is where he ate a man, killed his friend Moira and where Reaper tortured him to death in revenge and he'll look around at the place they end up, look at you, then at the area again...] Nope. Bye.

[And with that he turns to walk away into the jungle. And if it's not the jungle you found yourself in, it's the streets of Deerington during darker periods such as October's blood filled streets or something that looks more benign and normal but definitely isn't. He'll have no idea what is about to happen and that makes him fidgety. He looks around uneasily and then his hands come up to his head.] Maaan, this could be anything!

x. [The experience begins in his memory and the first thing you see is the inside of a very futuristic space ship, fighter cockpit, or you're in the back seat of a land rover on earth. These possible memories are from his time back home and they have him sighing next to you heavily with a note of "oh this again" on his breath.] Well, let's strap in, this'll be over soon.

WILDCARD

( Want to combine old Winter Mourning Prompts with current events? Want to add a lockjoint element to one of these prompts? Or just wanna come up with something completely unique? Hit me with anything your heart desires. Current Event and last month's event prompts are largely flexible with each AU form as well, if you want a specific AU form for a prompt that doesn't specify which one/leaves it open, just let me know in the subject line. If you'd like to plot, I would be more than happy to! Contact me on my plotting comment where I detail all my ideas so far, at spypigeon or on discord at charley#8222! )

Comments

Sasuke (New Year's Eve)

[azurestar]

[So Lance's not!Boyfriend is back in town and he's in erratic spiral mode, just barely hanging on mentally. Clearly, this means he doesn't sleep and spends most of his time at night out going to bars and Earworm. And not just at night, during the day as well, if he could afford to do it 24/7 he probably would. But even in these awful circumstances, he has a line he stubbornly won't cross. Shit would have to be colossally bad for him to go completely wild.

And anyway, it's New Year's Eve! He needs to go out and drink and party and have someone to kiss at midnight and all that. Yeah, totally, it's practically illegal not to, right?

So that's why and how he's in the heart of Cellar Door, dressed in nice Trench style clothes, prowling for a good time. It's late in the day but it's not yet dusk, so there's plenty of time to get his party on and he's already had a couple drinks (and pills) before heading out. Because of that, he didn't want to bring friends like Hunk, he's going through something and he knows it.

Then he turns a corner and runs into Sasuke. It's not a full on collusion, so he just takes a couple steps back and his expression flattens a bit when he sees who it is.] Oh. It's you.

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke had mostly been trying to explore this place since he arrived, figure out the layout beyond what was drawn on a map. He didn't like not knowing the details of a place he had to live, each nook and cranny that could provide an advantage if there was ever any kind of danger to fight or escape from. Which meant that he had to even go to the parts he wasn't quite keen on exploring.

Which is why he'd ended up in this place which reminded him of the entertainment districts he'd seen in other towns, places like the islands that had housed the Coliseum. He probably stuck out like a sore thumb, not particularly interested in taking part in anything actually fun here. Of course Sasuke of all people would find himself ill at ease in the place that most would look to as enjoyable or even helpful in a world filled with darkness. He almost seems more like he's studying the buildings, the signs, like he can't quite figure them out. Or maybe he just can't figure out why so many people are actually going into them.

It's why he doesn't notice that someone's so close to him until it's too late, but it makes him flinch. He's at least able to fight the urge to reach for a weapon, and his shoulders even relax when he sees that it's Lance. Maybe not the top person he's been dying to run into again, but it's someone he's aware isn't an active threat. Just... ]

Annoying.

[ He sighs the word out with familiar ease. ]

You would hang out in a place like this.

Bolin (Early January)

[azurestar]

[Ever since Keith came back in late December, Lance has not been okay. On the day he met him on the beach, he helped him as best he could but it required burying all his emotions inside a box and internally holding on for dear life. Once they parted ways, Lance returned to the docks, movements stiff and barely containing his powers. Blue-gold energy and plasma wisps arced off of his body like off the surface of the sun.

He stole a poor fisherman's boat and took it far out to sea where he let loose, held himself in a tight ball and let himself grieve. From the shore, it would have looked like a blue-gold sun came to sit on the water and set off an explosion. Wind and waves so strong you'd think a hurricane was suddenly upon you. On top of that, radiation and electromagnetic interference caused anything even a little electronic to fritz and go haywire. Then he reigned it all in and found himself hovering over the water from his powers before he lost control and fell in the water… way out to sea.

Mariana, very impressed with his display and as his patron swooped in to give him a hand. The water calmed and circled around him protectively and helped him back to shore. He's pretty sure he's seen something similar in an old Disney movie his niece wanted to watch when he was watching her. Only this wasn't all uplifting and magical, it was… different. That's one way to meet a Pthumerian. Something to… think about.

He ended up getting home all dripping wet and looking like hell. And since then he's been kind of erratic and dodgy. His bouts of random pauses to stare into the distance or talk to things not actually there, increases. He is also usually some level of intoxicated with drugs and/or alcohol, though still functional most of the time since he has a stubborn line he won't cross most of the time. And his risky behavior becomes more dangerous. Despite the state of his body, he went to help Varian in monster form and that was… a lot.

Now, he drags himself home once again from that whole experience, pops some pain pills once he's in the door and then goes to kitchen where he starts pulling out a bottle of alcohol and a glass. He may plan to be drinking most of that, but he's not a savage, he will use a nice glass while he drowns his sorrows. He notices Kaltenecker still standing in the kitchen nook nearby where he'd left her that morning and raises his glass to her.]

Heeey, beautiful. Here's to… us. You're the only pretty face a guy could ever need… [He sighs heavily and his shoulders slump as he mumbles to himself:] Keep telling yourself that, Lancey Lance.

[pabugotmoves]

[For what it's worth, Kaltenecker doesn't seem to care. She swishes her tail, watching Lance with a blank look before leaning back down to nibble from her basket of kitchen scraps.

But someone else cares. Someone who had approached the kitchen when he heard the door open and quietly padded down in his slippered feet. Bolin can be very quiet when he chooses and wanting to be a gracious house guest, he's taken to pattering around the place like a ninja. He's even made it a game of sorts, mapping which stairs creak the most and how to skip past without them moaning under his weight. What parts of the floor are starting to give on ancient beams. Which doors groan at the hinges.

When he appears in the kitchen, it's nearly silent. And when he opens his mouth to announce himself Lance is already talking to the cow, so he shuts up and waits, leaning in the door jamb with his arms loosely crossed.

There's a flutter of emotion through the air, which is what announces Bolin to his friend if he can feel it through the substances in his bloodstream. It's soft concern and a yearning to help.

Lance has been acting so weird lately, spaced out and distracted. Moody, upset, but refusing to talk about it. It's not dissimilar from how Mako was acting last month and that nearly ended in flames. Literally. It was Wu who brought Mako back from the grip of corruption but Lance doesn't have a Wu. He's got a Hunk and Bolin. So they'll just have to improvise.

The thought of anyone ending up the way Dean's brother did makes Bolin shudder. No, that won't happen. Not on his watch.]

There's got to be someone prettier than Kaltenecker.

[But it's said playfully as Bolin comes into the room. No one is prettier than Kaltenecker. He sees the drink and decides that his watch begins now, crossing to the counter to get a glass and sit, inserting himself directly into Lance's eye line.

Pressing the glass forward across the table, Bolin smiles and tilts his head to the side. He'd seen Lance that day on the beach. Out there with Keith and then again later going out to sea. Concerned, he'd stopped his flyering for the musical and watched just in case, getting a blast of energy in the face and an ass knocked onto the ice for his trouble. And a normal friend would freak out and have gone swimming out there to make sure he was okay, right? Because he'd started to before seeing Lance drop and be ushered back to land by the water itself. It was then he could see that his approach would not be welcome. So he didn't.

He's been keeping a soft distance since then, looking like he has questions but never voicing them. He's got a bad reputation for sticking his foot in his mouth with people and he's trying to grow... but maybe this is as far as he's able to push back his concern. Lance doesn't need pity for whatever is going on. He doesn't need to be needled or questioned or embarrassed, he needs support. Bo can handle that. He raps his kuckle on the table, pointing toward the bottle with his chin.]

Misery loves company.

merboy~~!

[tempredmental]

[So, this whole waking up in new bodies thing was definitely kind of weird... especially with the entire shed skin left behind in the morning. It was... an adjustment. Keith had a feeling everything was going to be an adjustment for a while. He'd woken up this morning with a new bloodtype, which had honestly just gotten him angry because he was still trying to get used to the first one he'd arrived with.

He also really didn't like hearing other people in his head. He was definitely willing to ditch the paleblood mental powers. Since his skin hadn't started getting all weird patchy again, yet, he'd wandered down to the docks looking for a place deserted enough to be able to hear his own thoughts again.

He didn't. Instead, he heard what sounded like Lance's voice in his head, flirting and coaxing. Oh for the love of--- Was Lance really flirting with someone? Keith told himself he shouldn't be surprised and maybe should just stay out of it and let the other Paladin get himself in trouble, but part of him didn't really want to see Lance get hurt. (Apparently, again... all things considered... which was a whole different thing, but anyway...)

He couldn't help it. He wandered in that direction, a sense of responsibility to someone he considered a friend and teammate, and... Okay, that was a sight.]

Lance?

[Was he really trying to drag someone into the water? Keith blinked at the response.]

A 'moment'. [He frowned, crossing his arms in annoyance.] You mean like a bonding moment? [Yes, Keith was still sore about that.]

eyyyy :3

[azurestar]

[Lance squints at Keith and then looks back over to his intended prey who seems to be losing interest in the moment now that they have someone barging in and watching. He lets go of the young woman's shoulders where he'd intended to caress and then pull her down at the right moment. His hands go to the side of the boat and he pulls himself up, revealing more of his scales and fins.

Seductively, he bushes her cheek with his fingers and whispers.] Another time, beautiful.

[Then he drops back down into the water and completely submerges. The red-faced fisherwoman starts to paddle out to her sail boat, all flustered. The next Keith sees of Lance, he's popping up in the same way right in front of him with an angry look.]

What the hell, Keith!? [His fins are puffed out and he's hissing now. The water then pushes him up higher so he isn't craning his neck as much.] You just scared off my first good catch in hours!

unsnake viii

[royalfling]

[ Wu is vigilant now when he's out and about, having been attacked by the Unsnake more than once. He's huddled in Mako's coat, the only warm thing that will fit him with his new, muscled arms and shoulders.

So when a somewhat familiar person runs past him like they're being chased by a murderous Unsnake, Wu yelps and backtracks and takes off to join them ]

Oh no, oh boy, is it, is it that thing?

[ The warmth in the air answers his question for him, but here we are ]

[azurestar]

[The version of Lance that dashes by is the catboy thief. He's a rogue with skills that aren't fighting giant monsters and he has no powers, at last none he sees as useful here. His bloodtype is still pale, but his star powers are gone. If he had a whole party/team to rely on, he might be sticking to fight, but…

He looks over at the sound of a familiar voice. His memories of home and Deerington etc. are still in tact, but his personality has shifted a bit more to the mischievous thieving side. And at the sight of a buff Wu, he nearly faceplants in shock.]

WU?!

Snake's Den (girl-type Lance)

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz hadn't thought she was going to visit this place again, but she was still very much trying to get her corruption down, and if that meant recreation with a few of Lysithea's wafers stuffed in her pocket, this was probably for the best.

Strangely, she was pretty sure she hadn't seen the pretty waitress here when she'd been here the other night, so upon seeing her Luz politely cheers for her and admires her dress. It was nice to just be on her own, but she couldn't help feeling a little like she wished a certain person from back home was here.

In the meantime, she could at least see what new outfit that waitress would be into and quietly rate it in her head.

|3

[azurestar]

[Lance enjoys looking good and expressing himself through clothing and movement and music. And that doesn't change when he's in a female body. The first time he was turned into a girl, it lead to a bit of a crisis. And in many ways, his relationship with gender is still really hard for him to figure out. He is male, he likes being a guy, it feels right to him, but when he was in the body of a woman, he got used to the idea faster than he thought he would. Though he supposed it helped that he learned it wasn't permanent. And ever since, he's slowly come to appreciate the ways he can express himself in this body and hide in this body. The last outfit he's been asked to show off is a comfortable one, so he hops off the stage still wearing it when the show is done, stumbling a bit because he forgets he's in heels. Then he grabs a flute of champagne and downs a lot of it in one go. Definitely actions of someone who isn't used to acting ladylike all the time. He catches sight of Luz watching the show and sends a friendly pair of finger guns her way in greeting, along with a grin… absolutely forgetting she probably doesn't recognize him.]

snake den | iii, lady lance flavor!! i'm here to suffocate u

[retsuden]

[ There are a couple of fairly obvious differences about this version of Sasuke compared to the usual; for one, both his eyes look completely normal, and for another, he definitely has both of his arms. He's also not at all put off by being in public. In fact, he seems to be loving it. He's nearly always got a drink in hand (and is absolutely a little tipsy at this point) and he makes sure to talk to as many people as he can.

And while Lance's greeting may have normally made him roll his eyes and walk off in the opposite direction, this time, it makes him crack a smile and actually make his way into the private area and goes to all but throw himself into the seat next to him. ]

I think I might have found her. Pretty faces like yours shouldn't be hiding all the way back here.

[ ... When he's back to normal, he's going to want brain bleach for this. ]

im ready for it, what a beautiful tag lmaoooo

[azurestar]

[Well that… that has him looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He'd expected Sasuke to more or less tell him to fuck off in that Sasuke way of his. But now that the guy is lounging on the cushions with him, he sees the differences in more than personality. The arm, the normal eyes… yep, this is a shed and Lance doesn't know if he should escalate the situation to troll Sasuke when he's back to normal or slowly back out… he needs more data. As Pidge would say. Well, charmsuke, this guy is a master flirt. Reformed, but still damn good at it. And he has an idea of how to flirt as a girl by now too, so after he's recovered after a moment of shocked assessment, he giggles into his hand.] You really think I'm pretty?

ii

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul certainly doesn't look like himself, having been rendered into a human form with dark hair and brown eyes. Aside from the angles of his face and his voice, there's nothing that seems to connect him to his usual Zabrak form. His lightsaber, of course, is close at hand but it's been hidden under some of the layers of winter clothing that he's wearing.

When he hears the familiar voice, he looks over at Lance and his eyebrows raise up in surprise. The boy certainly looks like one of those sources that fuels Maul's eternal hatred and yet there's....ears? And a tail? .......Alright, he's just going to go with it now. Clearly, they've both been rendered into other forms, so Maul's curious to see where this goes.]

To you? Only to inform you of an intense desire to see you impaled on a sharp object of my choosing.

[Well, apparently honesty isn't always the best policy.]

[azurestar]

[Though Lance is in a different body, he is still Lance… just with an added intense kleptomania. Even as Maul is talking about wanting to see him impaled on a sharp object, his tail is deftly searching his pockets. But it stops the moment Lance registers that voice.]

…Waaait, a minute. Who are you?

[Does he realize he's quoting a meme? Probably on some level, yes. But the way he says it indicates that he's also seriously asking and on his guard.]

Vii

[searingwing]

I see so that's just how you talk to anyone. [It's meant as a mild tease as Diluc riding on the back of a horse. He rides like a man who has years of experience, moving with his mount, a dark red horse that seems more bored than anything else.

For once, Diluc looks less like some noble scion and more like a run-of-the-mill resident. His long hair is still pulled back but his coat is nondescript, and his dark scarf is only loosely draped around his neck. Dellingr is draped over his shoulders like a scaley cloak.]

But I would like to hear the answer to your question. [He nods to the great snake,] Good day, milady.

[azurestar]

[Lance looks over at Diluc on his matching steed, and raises an eyebrow, taking in his clothes and omen scarf.] Uh, no. I've never called you beautiful.

[And all flirting he's done with Diluc or anyone else of the male sex save for a couple was… largely subconscious. And/or influenced by substances. Since Keith disappeared, he's retreated back into the closet for the most part, but he also can't just easily go back to how he was before he realized he isn't entirely straight.

Madam Generosity turns her great head and seems to smile kindly, about as much as a snake can smile anyway.] My day is going well, thank you for asking. And where I am headed is a question many ask, and yet not the one that needs asking. [It's cryptic, but in a kind way and she laughs lightly.]

Merman

[schoolingfish]

[Luca's been going near the beach on a somewhat regular basis, even though the water's much too cold for him. The waters around Italy are much warmer in this place, and the Ligurian Sea never dips below 13°C. In other words, Luca is not adapted for this environment at all.

Still, being able to remind himself that the ocean is near, even if he can't access it at the moment, is very comforting, so he makes a point to come by on a regular basis.

And that's when he sees it. A tail, splash across the surface of the water. He knows he can't go in right now, but the overwhelming feeling of knowing that he's not alone sends Luca running down the dock to meet whoever it is. Quickly getting on his hands and knees to see this merfolk better, he calls out.]

Hello? I didn't know there were any other sea folk out here, can we talk?

[azurestar]

[Lance's mer form can survive in most temperatures, but long before he was changed, he was a boy from Cuba. Warm waters remind him of home, bring him closer to himself, so he would definitely prefer them.

The Pthumerian Ocean is… alive, and intimidating and overwhelming in ways he has trouble describing. So since he came to these waters, he's lingered by the shores and docks, not exactly keen to go further out. Plus, he still likes people, and… now eats them. And it's nice to talk, but since he became a merboy, there aren't a lot of people who seem to want to initiate conversation when they see him.

So this is a surprise, for sure. He hears the boy from under the water, looks up and can see he looks almost like his nephew. If he gained a few years… which by now he probably has, it's been so long since he's seen him. Well that thought is really depressing, so he's just going to abruptly pop up to the surface now right next to where Luca is looking down at the water.]

Sure. What's your name?

[He still looks like himself from the waist up, but he has fins where his ears are normally, and also between his fingers. There's also patches of scales around his joints and along his sides, and his eyes have an odd catlike reflective quality to them, but otherwise look human. When he speaks, some sharper teeth are also visible.]

For Ryan (mid-month)

[azurestar]

[Lance is temporarily in the body of a girl and has come from exercising his new freedoms in this body at The Red, to help with a Rocky Horror dress rehearsal. He spent the evening lecturing some people about the importance of moisturized skin and how to do it properly for what feels like the hundredth time. But there's some difficulties in rehearsal from the fact that a bunch of them have shifted forms. Ryan looks especially overwhelmed by the change in vocal ranges. When it's all over and everyone has left, Lance ends up heading in the same direction as Ryan and catches up to him when he ports to Mouse House (thank you lamp friends). Lance had planned to come check in with the chaotic young Shiro, but Ryan is looking haggard and his empathic power is intact in this form so he hesitates as he watches him head to the front door. Things are a bit weird after they had that empathic explosion in the Raccoon Room and Lance opted to not be Columbia after all. It's not an easy thing to be stripped bare like that and exposed to someone you barely know, and no amount of careful talking it through is going to make it not weird. But, it's not so weird that he's about to just ignore when Ryan is having a problem he knows he might be able to help with. So as Ryan is going up the walkway, Lance comes up behind, silent. Waits. Then loudly starts talking.] So! You got that moisturizing routine down yet? [He neglected to bother him about it during rehearsal, after all, so might as well open with it! As a girl, his voice is a smooth and musical soprano fitting of a diva, but many of his inflections are the same.]

Re: For Ryan (mid-month)

[chickenchoicejudy]

[Ryan yelps and nearly jumps out of his skin - and despite the fact that he looks the same in many regards, he is super embarrassed by how high his voice goes now. He whips around and his hand is covering his mouth, but when he sees that it's Lance he tries to spin his discomfort into laughter.]

Oh! Lance! The moisturizing routine. I was...kinda hoping the whole skin shedding thing would have covered it?

[It admittedly left his skin very soft, but that might just be the change to a new and unfamiliar gender.]

iii.

[shiro2hero]

Well, you, but not like that. Put those away.

[He means your eyebrows, Lance. Stop waggling them around like they're fuzzy caterpillars. Doesn't matter which version of Lance he's run into - this time, it's the Normal Flavor of Shiro. Scars, white hair, metal arm and all. He hasn't been here long enough to feel the urge to change into anything more scandalous, so the man poking his head through the curtain is dressed in a suit.]

[Really, though, he was looking for Lance. Or anyone from their little team. Parties never had a great track record for people in his experience. In any of their experience. So, naturally, he ended up here. Poking his head into the private corners.]

[... thankfully he's run into Lance, and not. Something that would have him twitch an eye.]

[azurestar]

[This flavor of Lance is actually Altean, freshly Altean in fact. There's some differences in his memories, but not massively big ones and his relationship dynamic with most of the other paladins and Shiro remains the same or similar. The blue marks on his face glow slightly as he unconsciously reaches out empathically to get a sense of Shiro's mood. He sits up a bit, setting the guitar aside and grins.]

Oh yeah? Why? Wanna pull off another "awesome" stunt?

ii. snake den + paleblood honesty

[wannasmash]

Midoriya is more of a wallflower than ever next to the other glittering patrons, but he secretly thanks Madam Generosity for not giving him something he'd feel he couldn't pull off. His outfit is a simple gray suit with a black shirt and a green tie. He still can't tie a tie properly, though. He wears his usual red sneakers.

Midoriya is running into a lot of confident people for some reason, even those he knows are normally shy, like Ange. He puts it down to this place just being lovely and safe. (As a Hunter, he can appreciate that.) He's not too surprised when Lance approaches him, but why ask that question?

"Ah, uh, sure I've got a lot to worry about, but not really, no..."

It's true he's got more baggage than an airport, and Lance did see him bawling his eyes out that one time, but what an opener... Midoriya would like the past to stay right there where it won't disturb conversations in mixed company.

"How are you, Lance-san? Having fun?"

It's fine, he's fine.

[azurestar]

Lance is currently his catboy thief self. Which is just regular Lance with cat ears, a tail, face markings and an intense case of kleptomania. His ears were momentarily flattened back and blended with his hair and when he gets a sense of Midoriya's mood and his reply, they perk up in interest. The outfit he's wearing is on the casual side as well since in this form he finds that anything too tight and restrictive means less movement and... no place to hide things he steals.

Speaking of, even as he throws a friendly arm around Midoriya's shoulders, his tail is subtly feeling in his pockets for something to steal, "Oh, I'm having a great time, the champagne here just keeps flowing, you know? Come on, you look like you need to loosen up a bit." He reaches over to a passing tray to grab a flute of champagne and hand it to Midoriya, "Soooo, what're you worrying about?"

winter mournings x, semi-wildcarded

[arclightning]

[ In retrospect, Mako should possibly have learned her lesson about touching random pieces of bone.

It has almost never gone well for her, and has thrown her into some generally pretty uncomfortable situations, and anyway she has a personal policy of touching weird things in this place for the first time with gloves on because of the sheer number of things that will absolutely try to mess with her.

In her defense, though, she had entirely forgotten about the Winter Mourning hung up behind the bar in the Raccoon Room for luck during the show, and she'd only brushed past the stupid thing when reaching up to put some of their more expensive bottles back, and now she is...

Here. Wherever here is. Here is not a familiar place, and Mako's dealt with enough stares this month. She does a slow circle, looking for anything she recognizes, her face drawn into a tight frown. ]

[azurestar]

[At this point, Lance is considering taking down the Winter Mourning he placed in the window of his room, surely the benefits don't outweigh the down sides by now. But here he is in another memory and as he looks around at the sleek interior of the castle of lions, now lit a Galra purple, he knows precisely which memory it is. Has he revisited this memory before? He can't quite recall. Certainly hasn't in recent memory that's for sure. But at least it's not one of the rougher ones, just one that causes him some twangs of embarrassment and a bit of sorrow.

But he doesn't recognize the girl who ended up here with him, that's interesting. It's obviously not unheard of, he's gone through these memory shares before with strangers, but he doesn't think he's even seen her around. And yet, there's something familiar about her. Particularly her eyebrows.]

Weeelll, this is awkward. [He's a catboy right now, and his tails swishes while his ears twitch.]