#yes i know the lack of visible shapeshifting was probably at least in part for budget reasons. i'm still sad about it tho

[a-most-beloved-fool]

I wish we had gotten to see Odo shapeshift into objects and animals more throughout DS9. It could have been so much fun. Let the man be liquid.

Like, imagine a holosuite episode where Odo is stuck in one of Bashir's spy programs (he did not want to be there in the first place, and is very grumpy about being trapped), and the people he's with keep trying to play the game normally, while he keeps shapeshifting them out of things.

Locked door? Oh lookie, his hand's the key. Sidequest skipped. Character needs a disguise? Odo shapeshifts into a wig. Disguise acquired. An enemy puts him in handcuffs? Oops! No more hands! Bonds escaped. You need something on the other side of that ravine? Good thing Odo's a bird now! Detour averted.

and so on and so forth, while his companions are like "I know where the key is! Oh, never mind... We can steal a disguise from- ah, I guess not? Handcuffs? Are you just going to -- yup, I thought you might. ........ You know, Odo, you might have more fun if you actually played the game."

(later, Julian commissions a game from Felix that prevents those kinds of workarounds. little invisible walls are programmed in that prevent any key but the correct one from working, you can't leave the room until your cuffs are actually unlocked, not just off, etc.)

[introvert-celeste]

Amethyst meeting with the fam at the ball?

I have to reiterate that I literally got most of the prompts in my inbox, including this, sometime in January, and I apologize for how late it is. I hope you like! There probably wasn’t nearly as much angst in this scene as I made it out to be, but I’ve been a ball of anxiety lately and I wrote this to decompress XD

Amethyststood unsteadily, testing her new limb enhancers as she ignored the judgmentalglare of the Peridot beside her. The foreign instruments felt uncomfortableconnected to her skin, making her extremities tingle where they ended and herbody began. She was still recovering from the installation process, a small zapon each limb to disrupt her form making it easier to interface with theenhancer’s technology, or so the Peridot grumbled irritably in response toAmethyst naïve and intrigued questions.

She took afew steps, wobbling from the unexpected weight and height. She had shapeshiftedto this height plenty of times before, but they seemed to hang awkwardly offher body. They were clearly not made for a gem as tactile as a Quartz.

“Wow, thesesure are…different,” Amethyst affirmed, not wanting to seem ungrateful. “Theyfit pretty good, I think.”

“I wouldthink so,” the Peridot scoffed. “They’re made to your specific measurements.” Asan extra dig, she added, “You’re lucky Blue Diamond has made such exceptionsfor a gem like you.”

“Yeah?”Amethyst replied, trying to sound more curious than offended.

She rolledher eyes, the offense implied. “Yes. Defective gems are normally shattered onsight, and you are very lucky the Diamonds have granted you mercy.” She stoodto see Amethyst out of her station. This Peridot was clearly Era 1, as her fullheight almost matched Amethyst’s simulated size. “Now, you may go.”

-

Hobblingdown unfamiliar corridors, Amethyst closely followed the directions Pearl hadgiven her before she left. Clinging close to the righthand wall, she tried toremain as unnoticeable as possible. She had no shame in her size, not anymore,but the Peridot’s words still managed to wriggle under her skin and the limbenhancers did nothing to dispel her shame. If anything, they emphasized her size, making her defect all the more obvious to passing gems who no doubt heldthe same prejudices.

Miraculously,Amethyst found her way to the ballroom without incident, drawing littleattention to herself, however the crowd of gems that gathered in the confinesof the room made her want to sink through the floor. There were so many gemsaround her, she could scarcely see the far wall, save for the looming thronesof the three, currently absent Diamonds. Pink’s was barely visible, and it was amiracle that she could pick out Steven’s bored and impatient form beyond thethrong, Pearl standing impassively on one side and Connie seated on the other.

At the veryleast, the sight of familiar faces put her at ease a little.

“You’relate,” she heard an oddly familiar voice his at her gruffly. She turned to findan Amethyst beside her, looming over her despite the limb enhancers. Her heavybangs—which hung over her eyes—and notedly restrained composure said she wasnot an Amethyst she knew, certainly not one from Prime. Likewise, all of thesoldiers around her matched this Amethyst in both appearance and composure,quietly judging her.

“S-sorry,I’m uh…new here,” she stammered, smiling apologetically.

The Amethystsmirked. “Yeah, we know.” She pointed toward the crowd. “Just get in line. PinkDiamond’s gems stand over there.”

“You aren’tPink Diamond’s gems?”

“Does itlook like we are?” She laughed, turning her back before Amethyst could answerand returning to her own group, undoubtedly belonging to Blue’s court.

Despite thehumiliating encounter, Amethyst was undeterred. After all, they were not a partof her court, where she would, at the very least, find gems that hadpersonalities similar to her own. At least the gems in front of her didn’t giveher dismissive looks, instead opting to smile blankly ahead. Even at thisdistance, she could hear their droning, repetitive, pleasant greetings andSteven’s weary responses. In their awe of “Pink Diamond,” she was thoroughlyignored, and that was just what she wanted.

While shewaited, she began to fiddle with her enhancers. Having gotten used to walking,she found that the sensation was easy to ignore, as well, however awkward anduncomfortable they may be. Worried about losing one of her fingers, she focuseddeeply on keeping them all aligned, until she found that it didn’t take nearlyas much mental energy as she thought it did. In her idle waiting, she began tofiddle with them, levitating them up and around her head and over the heads ofthe gems in front of her, testing it’s reach. She couldn’t hope to understandthe actual functions of the limb enhancers, but this was simple enough tograsp.

As she camecloser, she once again caught a familiar sight: Amethysts among other Quartzes,but they were still too far away to recognize. They stood together, sometalking excitedly while others cast weary glances at the talkers and whisperedamong themselves. A small hope overcame Amethyst, but she didn’t dare setherself up for disappointment.

-

“Hi, how’sit going?!” She called to the nearest group, emboldened by her friendlyinteraction with “Pink Diamond.”

At the veryleast, she was sure it would impress these gems despite her obvious flaw, evengreater than the Blues she met earlier. When she approached the gatheredsoldiers, however, all she received were stony, distrustful gazes andnon-discrete whispers behind hands. They still wore the blue insignia, but itwas clear by their demeanor that this was not their original court, standoffishbut lacking the cold composure of their counterparts. They didn’t even graceher with a response, as the Blues had done, instead gathering closer into theirgroups, drawing away from her as if she were contagious. “Earth” came up justas frequently as “defect” and “small,” until she wasn’t sure which repulsedthem more.

She hunchedher shoulders uncomfortably, wishing again to disappear. If it weren’t forSteven, she would have already left, ditching her new appendages at the door,but she had to stick it out. She had to make the most of her situation, for hissake, but that didn’t lessen the weight of her limb enhancers, grown heavier under the scrutinizing gazes of strangers.

“Em?” Sheheard suddenly, then more excitedly. “8XM?!”

A volley ofshushes sounded around them, maintaining the crowded yet eerily quietatmosphere.

Amethystspun around, nearly toppling over to find the source, apprehension and adesperate excitement washing over her in equal measures. In a far corner, asmall group stood gathered away from the others, who began shooting weary looksat them now, but it hardly mattered as recognition dawned on her. Beforeshe had time to react, the caller broke from the group and strode toward her,sweeping her up in a tight embrace, ignoring the complaints of the other gems.

“8XL!”Amethyst cried, relief washing over her. “What’re you doing here?”

“I could askyou the same question,” she chuckled, holding her back at arm’s length, partially to look at her and partially to steady her. “Ithought you’d be smart enough to go back to Earth while you still could.”

“It’s a longstory…” Amethyst trailed off, smiling apologetically.

“And is thatthe human you nabbed from the zoo?” She questioned, her expression growing moreperplexed.

Amethystshrugged, unsure where to start and not wanting to waste this short timegetting into particulars. “Also a long story. All’s I can say is Steven is PinkDiamond, half human and half gem.” She stood up taller, diamond-saluting her in mockseriousness. “By helping us rescue him from the zoo, you have done your civicduty to our great and powerful overlord. You will be rewarded greatly for yourbravery.”

8XL rolledher eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll repay us so handsomely forscaring him half to death with that prank.”

The othersbegan to gravitate toward them, her relief reflected onto their own faces.There was a handful of Amethysts from her own kindergarten, as well as a coupleJaspers from Beta, who stuck out even among the variety of gems attending theball. All of them seemed to stick out, despite the lack of variation among theAmethysts, and she noticed that the other gems looked at them in the same waythey looked at her.

“Where’severyone else?” She asked, accepting a round of hugs from her fam, thankful forthe familiar crowd around her to block out the strangers.

“Back at thezoo,” 8XL replied, a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

“Why?”

One of theJaspers crossed her arms defensively, knitting her brows together. “We got aninvitation saying some of us could attend, and Holly chose the ones whowould be the least likely to embarrass her. The ones who aren’t as loud andobnoxious…or defective.”

“As ifanyone knows who she is,” the other Jasper agreed vehemently, glaring at thesuspicious soldiers nearby. “But clearly everyone knows who we are.”

This time, it was 8XL’s turn to shush them, raising her palms in caution as the whispering increased around them. Now was not the time to speak ill of higher-ups, however obscure they may be, and more attention was the last thing they needed. Like Amethyst, they were here based on technicalities. If it weren’t for their connection to Pink Diamond, all of them would have likely been shattered sooner or later, whether from physical defects or on some obscure battlefield, conquering in the name of Homeworld. They were kept relatively safe at the zoo, subjected to Holly’s bullying, while Amethyst was lucky enough to emerge after the war ended. No one wanted to jeopardize that good fortune now.

Murmurs began to roll over the crowd as they gathered in their respective spaces, looking expectantly toward the doors. 8XL tugged at her elbow, dragging her into the corner they commandeered for the occasion.

“Come on, the ball is about to start,” she whispered. “At least I went to one of these on Earth, before the war. I’ll show you a dance or two before the Diamonds get settled.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amethyst chuckled, placing herself among her fam, feeling oddly at home, despite having only met these gems once. At the same time, however, a quiet fear began to build inside her at the thought of losing touch with them again. There was no telling when she would see any of them again. So, after a moment of silence, she added, “maybe when all this is over, you guys can come back with us…to Earth. I can put in a good word with ‘Pink Diamond’ or something. Does that sound nice?”

There was pain behind 8XL’s grin, as if she knew that it would never be as simple as that. “That does sound nice. Someday.”

[deathbytitanium]

The Wildcat and the Bear (Part 8)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6  Part 7 (AO3)

Nesta sat by the edge of the nascent of the river, looking at the water flowing down, knowing that it would ultimately find the ocean. She thought suddenly that the water was a lot like her. Being born in one berth and ending in another entirely. Remembering the ocean she thought of all she had lived since she'd seen it last.

Most of all, she thought of her visions in the fire. She'd seen it all. She'd seen… herself. And it had been a rude awakening. All the things that had been said to her… they were right. She was cold and unfeeling, calculated. She'd chosen one sister over the other more than she could count and she'd never shown her love for those who had it.

She, gods, she deserved nothing.

Mor’s voice saying she didn't deserve Cassian echoed in her mind and this time, instead of thinking that perhaps she was mistaken, she knew she had been right.

Her reflection in the water looked back at her, her eyes had a strange glint to them, sorrow, almost. She kept her eyes on her reflection, pondering the life she had lived and wondering what she could possibly do from now on to change it.

She was still thinking this when she saw the largest brown bear she could have ever imagined, lingering behind her.

She jumped up with a scream. There was a bear not twenty steps away from her. She shouldn't have left, Cassian would know what to do, this is what she got for being a coward. She was going to be eaten by a bear.

She had just finished screaming when the bear let out a roar that had her shaking where she stood. The bear's paw was outstretched as if telling her to stop. Then, before her eyes, the bear slowly started melting into Cassian.

“Nesta, calm down, it's just me.” He was speaking while transforming, the snout and fur receding, shrinking in size. “Nesta, breathe.”

She was able to suck in a breath, but it didn’t feel like her lungs were filling. She must have been breathing because she could feel her chest going up and down, “You’re a--” she couldn’t make herself say it, didn’t really know what to say. She’d seen him… morph.

“Well, I’m a shapeshifter. Remember I told you yesterday that the tribe had gifts? The people of the Night Tribe are shapeshifters.”

“How?” she whispered.

He looked around, then back at her, “Like I said, it was a gift from the spirits. We lived so harmoniously with them that they started living with us, not just around us. The naming ritual is all about accepting the spirit that chooses you. Once the spirit chooses you, you can shift.”

Her jaw dropped and she pointed at herself, completely bewildered, “Can I…?”

He grinned, “Possibly. Probably.”

“Into a…” she pointed at her again.

“Wildcat.” he nodded, “An itty bitty kitty,” he smiled and laughed at himself while she just gaped. She could turn into a cat?

“That is not possible. I’m not… I’m not from the Night Tribe.”

“You are now. You officially became Night Tribe when you were given the sight. But you were already regarded as a member of the tribe by the spirits, even before that, otherwise you wouldn’t have seen anything in the fire when we were paired.”

“This is… insane.”

“I can imagine it would be for you, but it’s all true. I’ll train you to transform later if you want, for now, I’d prefer it if we returned to the camp site,”

“But--” she started, only to be cut off by another bear roaring. She looked back at him, as if she assumed it was him.

He waved her off, “It’s not me. I can only do that when I’m a bear and as you can see by the lack of fur, I’m human.”

“So there’s an actual bear somewhere close?”

He nodded, “Yes, when I roared it probably caught someone’s attention. Ergo, our little friend. Which is why I was saying we had to go back.” And just when he finished speaking a bear appeared at the edge of the trees, Cassian looked back nonchalantly at the bear. “Nothing to worry about.”

His calm did nothing to ease her, instead she felt herself panicking, after encountering two bears roaring at her in one day, her mind was a little too full of these crazy situations for one day, thank you very much. She tried to calm herself, but she couldn't. She was panting, all the air going into her lungs were useless. She could feel her heartbeat against her chest, her eyesight going fuzzy. Her skin started to itch… and she felt herself… shrinking.

Why was she shrinking?

She looked around her, trying to understand what was happening but nothing seemed right. Things looked too big for what they were. She craned her head, trying to find Cassian and found that he was much bigger than normal. She tried to asking what was happening but she only let out a loud “meow”. Looking down at herself she saw fur and paws .

Cassian shook his head as he watched Nesta shift into a cat. Well, a bit larger than a cat, but still, it was uncalled for. She couldn’t really control it, unfortunately, so he would just have to guard her for now. Willing himself to change, he took Nesta, who was no doubt panicking badly at the moment, by the scruff and walked them away on his four paws.

He could feel her breathing erratically and honestly, who could blame her? He trudged quickly back towards their camp. The bear would leave them alone there and if she didn’t he could talk to her and explain they were no danger to her or her cubs. She was just a momma bear trying to protect her family, she would be agreeable once he explained why they were here.

If he could do that and calm Nesta down, he’d give himself a new tattoo, because that would be quite the feat.

Trying to exude calm, he walked and once he reached their modest camp, he very carefully set cat-Nesta in the tent before changing back into his human form. He went back inside to find cat-Nesta sitting in the middle of the tent, visibly shaking. He sat next to her and placed her on his lap. She looked up at him, her gray-blue eyes, the same she had as a human, looked scared and almost pleading.

He carefully pet her around the ears, “It’s all about the emotions, Nesta.” He said as calmly as he could, “Getting your heartbeat down to a more normal level is the first step.” He continued petting her as soothingly as he could. Soon she rested her head on his lap as he pet her slowly, she started purring not long after and he smiled to himself, thinking that at least cat-Nesta liked him. Her little nose moved and she moved closer to him, then a little closer, until she simply jumped onto his chest and buried her face in his neck.

He startled, but then just continued petting her as she sniffed at his neck. Her shaking stopped, breathing started to slow, “That’s better isn’t it?” he asked soothingly. She let out a meow he took to mean “yes”, so he continued his instructions, “Now, keep your breathing like this and think about yourself, think about your hair and your hands, your toes, think about what it feels like to move your arms, wiggling your toes, think about looking around you and seeing from your normal perspective.” She meowed again, a little more annoyed than before. He chuckled lightly, “Keep thinking about it, sweetheart. Now, when you think about it, tell yourself that’s the way you want to be and think of transforming,” She “meow”-ed again, and he slowly felt her fur receding, becoming her soft skin, he felt her paws turn into hands.

“There you are,” he said softly.

She started shivering again, then said in a small voice, “That was… Terrifying.”

“I can imagine,” he said good naturedly, continuing to stroke her, her hair now and not her fur. By some miracle, she let him continue holding her and brushing his fingers through her hair, soothing her as much as he could.

Once she stopped shaking, she pulled back to look him in the eyes, “How did I even do that?”

He kept his hands where they were on her waist, since she hadn’t told him to take his hands off yet and he was quite enjoying being able to touch her for once, and deliberated on the answer. He wanted to be as clear as possible, “You were upset, then I scared you by appearing as a bear, so when the second bear appeared, your body did its best to keep you alive. It’s best defense was changing you from human to your animal form. Like a reflex.”

She shook herself out of his hold, standing up and starting to pace, “So I didn’t do anything? Will it happen again?”  

“No, you didn’t really do anything and it’s not likely that it will happen again, at least not before you learn how to do it on purpose.” Seeing that her legs were shaky as she walked, he pulled her back down onto the furs, “Stop pacing, you’re tired, you’ll fall and hurt yourself if you keep going.”

She sat, sitting looking blankly at one direction, rubbing her hand over her forehead, “Today has been a very long day.”

He took her hand in his, “Nesta, we need to talk.” She looked up at him, then down at their hands, back up at him, lifting an eyebrow in question, “About why you left this morning and walked to the stream.”

She looked away from him, pulling her hand from his, “I had to leave… to breathe.”

“It’s about what you saw in the fire, isn’t it?” She didn’t answer, but her mouth tightened, “What did you see, Nesta? You have to talk to me, just walking away while I’m sleeping isn’t fair, so talk to me.” She didn’t seem like she was going to say anything, “ Please .” He pleaded.

“I saw myself,” She whispered, then she breathed deeply, then turned around and lay down. Obviously she wasn’t going to say anything, so he just sighed and decided to go to sleep too. All of the day had been spent tracking and calming Nesta and now it was already after dark. Why didn’t she just let him in? Why couldn’t she see that he wouldn’t care about anything, that he’d just be happy she was letting him in?

“What about yourself did you see?” he asked quietly after a little while, hoping maybe the dark would be enough to persuade her to talk a bit more.

“Everything,” she answered, “And none of it was good.”

He bunched his eyebrows in confusion, “Did you see yourself and Elain?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Trying to rescue Feyre?”

She nodded, then started talking, quietly, “I saw what I did to Feyre, how much hate I had in me, how horrible I am.” Her voice failed her, “I looked at myself and I just couldn’t stand it.”

“You know what I see when I look at you?” he asked, turning toward her, looking at the way she nestled herself in the furs. She shook her head and let out a muffled “no”, “I see a person that feels everything so deeply. A person that is maybe hard to understand, but those few people she loves, she loves with a ferocity that people would envy if they only tried to to understand. You’re a protector, you’re tough and you are absolutely awe-striking. Not just because you are incredibly beautiful but because anyone can see how unyielding and decisive you are. You would be a nightmare to anyone that fears strength and the best dream to someone that actually sees you for what you are.”

“I’ve made mistakes… mistakes that hurt people.”

He inched closer to her, hand going to her arm, “We all have, and if anyone thinks they haven’t they’re kidding themselves. What matters now is how you go on from now, what you do to not repeat the same mistakes.”

She pulled him closer, “Alright,” she answered quietly.

He wrapped his arms around her and soon they were both asleep.