tucky | IC contact for lastvoyages

[Once they're outside and Francesco changes back, Tiffany breathes a sigh of relief. His space lobster form doesn't bother her, but it clearly bothers him.

She hangs back, waiting to see how he'll answer Iris's question.]

[He answers with a withering glare.]

Are you entirely serious?

[Having seen what he is, that sort of question answers itself.]

'Ardly ever, lovey, but I'd still like to know. Be like Tiffany being embarrassed 'cause she doesn't walk on all fours and moo, Francesco - what gives?

But we won't tell anyone about it. Right, Iris?

Not if 'e'd rather we didn't, no. I'm just curious, is all.

I am not embarrassed. I do not wish to be treated like an animal.

[It's also a strategy for conquering the native people by lulling them into a false sense of security but he's less aware of that than his mother was.]

'Ave you seen people treating Axel or Mewtwo like an animal, lovey?

Axel ain't a good example.

[Mostly because people - Tiffany included - treat him like a child.]

[He raises an eyebrow triumphantly.]

And I know neither of them.

If you only show people what they expect to see 'ow will they ever learn?

But I s'pose it's 'ardly your job to teach 'em. Just makes me sad to see anyone not liking what they are, is all.

But you're, like, a shapeshifter, right?

[She's still a bit confused on the mechanics of this.]

Both forms are you?

[He folds his human arms, which take to the motion much better, and stares at her with a vaguely nasty defiance.]

No.

[He's prepared for her to turn on him for this admission.]

[She doesn't, but she does look a little confused.]

Can you say what you are, or...?

[She won't demand that he does; to her, whether he tells or not tells is his choice.]

You have seen what I am. And I would never say I did not like it.

[The issue is other people.]

My perception filter simply allows you to experience me in a way you can accept.

I accept you. I can't, like, speak for anybody else, but I do.

[He rolls his eyes.]

In a way you can recognize. I am to you now as others of my species see me.

[A young man, fair, tall, and still slightly gangly. Prone to moodiness, and with a face that is neither plain, nor ugly, but which has just a bit too much character to be classically handsome. A deep, smooth voice. Thick and glossy in the places where he should be. Good teeth.]

Nah, I mean I accept you the other way too.

[He eyes her suspiciously, unsure how to take such a declaration. On the one hand: of course she should accept him. Nothing about him is unacceptable. On the other: it is not something he has previously experienced. He sounds vaguely annoyed as he explains:]

Yes, that is the point of the perception filter. You can claim to do so because we can speak; because you know me. You would not have otherwise. Things would be quite different had I come upon you as I truly am, while you sat alone in the dark and leaked.

... Yeah, I know. I wouldn't have acted the same.

[She won't deny that.]

But I think we would've figured it out, and I wouldn't've hurt you.

That is not the same.

[Not hurting a creature, is not the same as befriending it.]

It is not enough to be the dog you do not kick. I am more than that.

I would've learned that. It wouldn't've taken long, either.

You do not know that. You would never have even known my name.

So?

You do not think that I should care?

No, I'm saying I still could've cared. Even if I didn't know your name, or couldn't understand what you were saying.

IC contact for lastvoyages

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