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]

_{( 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.

[blue_and_proud]

Well...that's not how it was in the 1950s. I don't even think my brother particularly likes me blue.

[titaness]

Then he's being an ass and needs to learn some unconditional love.

[blue_and_proud]

'Love' is not Charles's problem. He's just an ass sometimes. [Raven shrugs.] It doesn't matter.

Anyway.

[titaness]

No, it does. Someone who's family, it's their job to make you feel good.

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven just shrugs again. She loved her brother, but their relationship was strained when it came to this sort of thing.]

Charles is worried about all of mutantkind. He tends to miss the little details.

[titaness]

It's still not right.

_{( a little sigh. )}

But you know, you haven't given me an answer yet.

[blue_and_proud]

...Right.

[Well, so much for that handy subject change getting her out of answering the question.]

I just...I mean, I can look like whatever you need me to. But it...won't be me. This is as close as I get to being me without...being me.

[Raven wasn't sure she was making any sense.]

[titaness]

Want to know a secret? No one's really themselves when they model. It's a lot like acting that way--you take on a character or persona to display a certain idea.

[blue_and_proud]

[Raven was quiet, tapping her finger lightly against the table without realizing as she thought about it, and then finally she let out a resigned sort of sigh and smiled faintly.]

Fine. I'll...give it a try. What do you need me to do?

[titaness]

You will? Oh, you're the best, Raven, really.

All you need to is show up, allow one of my interns to dress you, and then let me photograph you! Easy, huh?

[blue_and_proud]

...It doesn't sound so bad.

You want me to look like this?

[titaness]

Well that's what I did have in mind originally.

But you know, if you end up liking this, we could have a lot of fun with that ability of yours.