my friends they all agree, give into our defeat;

[titaness]

WHO: kathreptis & blue_and_proud
WHERE: a nice cafe in the city.
WHEN: an afternoon a few weeks ago.
WARNINGS: n/a.
SUMMARY: donna and raven meet for lunch. one thing leads to another and raven gains a new career?
FORMAT: quick to start.

_{( donna stood outside their local haunt, dressed for the day and looking forward to seeing raven again. she found the other woman's presence relaxing, and also fun. there were a couple things she had in mind to ask her, but for the moment she surveyed the street, waiting for her to arrive. )}

Comments

[titaness]

Model! For my magazine.

[blue_and_proud]

I...

[Raven was immediately torn. On the one hand, it sounded like fun. On the other...this wasn't really her. What Donna wanted her to look like was just the mask she wore all the time, probably.]

...I don't know.

[titaness]

Can I ask why?

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven frowned at her, just for a moment, her eyes a bit distant, and then she sighed.]

It's just...this isn't...I mean, it would be me, it would just be-

[And then she was saved by the waitress! And she ordered a salad. Yum.]

[titaness]

_{( donna gets iced tea, and some light sandwich or other. )}

It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. I mean, I know it's not the most comforting job in the world.

[blue_and_proud]

It's not that. It actually sounds like fun.

[She absently toys with her fork as she speaks. She likes Donna, and there's no reason not to tell her. Right? She was obviously not going to hold it against her. But Raven was just so...paranoid. Still. She drew in a breath and took a drink of water and then set it down to kill time.]

This...okay, so, you know how everyone here has a power?

[titaness]

I'm aware, yes. _{( sort of leaning in now. this sounds like a secret. )}

[blue_and_proud]

[Another little pause, and Raven drums her fingers on the table.]

I'm a shapeshifter. I just look like this because I want to.

[titaness]

Really? You can take different human forms? That's amazing.

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven smiled faintly.]

Yeah, I guess it is. I mean...I love my power. And I could look like whatever you wanted me to. For a model, I mean.

[She shrugs.]

But it's never really me.

[titaness]

You don't have a default? Or a true form?

[blue_and_proud]

No, I do.

But nobody's going to want it in your magazine.

[titaness]

_{( donna pauses for a moment, thoughtful. )}

You sound like my friend Gar. He can shape-shift, too--only animals, though--but most of the time he's, well, green. Hard for him to be confident, but somehow he still managed.

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven smiled faintly. She was just sort of staring at Donna, considering what her options were, and then she rested her hand on the table. With a swirling motion, her skin seemed to ripple back, going from the soft, pale skin of her disguise to the blue, scaly, rough skin she 'really' had.]

That's what I look like. Everywhere.

[She let it ripple up to her elbow, and then it rippled back to her pale, normal disguise.]

[titaness]

_{( donna watches this proceeding very earnestly, waiting until raven was finished before speaking. )}

...and you think that's a bad thing?

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven hadn't expected a bad reaction from Donna, really. Donna knew green people, she was a hero. But...]

Everyone keeps claiming it isn't. That everyone...is understanding here. But if I transformed, right now, what do you think the people in this restaurant would do?

Or if I had walked in here blue.

[titaness]

_{( donna steepled her fingers against her chin, nodding. )}

People...see things the way they're conditioned to. There's a very strict standard for what's normal, or beautiful. And it's not the same everywhere.

I can't imagine what it's like to not fit, in that way. But it's not something wrong with you; it's a flaw in the system itself.

[blue_and_proud]

I looked blue until I was...seven. That's when I figured out how to change it.

But it doesn't matter if it's their flaw or my flaw it's still something I have to deal with.

[titaness]

You're...amazingly strong. You know that, right?

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven actually looks a bit embarrassed and just shrugs.]

Not really. I hide now. It's...easy.

[titaness]

It's practical. Not quite hiding so much as...being cautious?

[blue_and_proud]

That's just a nice word for hiding.

[titaness]

Maybe, a bit. But I can't imagine I'd behave differently, in your situation.

[blue_and_proud]

[She smiles faintly.]

Thank you. Everyone keeps telling me I should just trust everyone and try to relax, and that everyone is so understanding now.

[titaness]

It's easier when you have people around you who are more accepting. I mean, that's pretty much how my friends and I saw it, for ages. We could totally be ourselves with each other, so it didn't matter if we had to hide things from the rest of the world.