[u]SHIFU[/u] [u]THE OUTSIDER[/u] Real Name: ??? [hider=Looks] - Shifting - Animalistic body - Animalistic Eyes - Mismatched clothing - No Costume Now, look. [i]Look.[/i] You need to understand this, because it’s important, right? Shifu. Is. A. Shapeshifter. What that means is, y’know, she shifts shapes? Changes. Changes shapes. Right verb. Goes batty. Note to self, catchphrase. Something she can shout when she transforms, because if there’s one thing she knows in her heart of hearts it’s that you should dramatically announce all of your attacks. Aaaaaaanyway, what that means is that trying to pin her down with “big coat, teal, loves reds” is always gonna be a losing battle, right? Because tomorrow, it could be green hair and eight feet tall? Or cat? Or fox stealing your wallet? Well, probably not that last one. Have you heard about Foxpearl? She’s the best at helping people free of the material things binding them to this existence. No stealing wallets, that's stepping on toes. But the point is that she changes skins like less fortunate people change clothes! Or, actually, [i]actually, more[/i] often, because people usually only change clothes like, what, maaaaybe three to five times? Pajamas, work clothes, maaaybe a change for going out, and then pajamas again? Unless they’re superheroes, in which case they have a lot more costume changes. Thank heaven she doesn’t need to deal with all that–has to be hard to find a phone booth, and then you need to change back, and… Does shapeshifting count as a costume change? Anyway! Point is, she’s never the same look from day to day, or even minute to minute. But, if you’re looking for generals…. Orange. Amber, really, like the best mix of yellow and orange? Or occasionally teal. Blue and orange work so well together. Most of her shapes are orange, because it is the best color and it’s a crying shame not to be the best you can be at all times. If you see an orange tabby-cat in the Terochimomo Net Cafe–or possibly an orange labrador, wandering between clients and collecting pets, or a brilliant cockatoo being taught dirty words when Joshua’s not looking, or a funky-looking cat-dog-thingy with a su[i]premely[/i] pettable mane–that’s her. Don’t tell Joshua about the cockatoo, kay? You’re not a narc, right? Orange eyes! Did I mention those? Technically, she doesn’t have to keep them in all her shapes, but she made them one day and liked them so much she decided to keep them? Oh, there was a fuss that day, but she won that friggin’ argument, see if she didn’t. Deep orange–like, almost a green-brown level of orange? Orange with green underneath, like cat-iris marbles. Oh! And the two kids hanging around the cafe, but you never see both of them in the same place? Also her. Probably wearing orange and blue, which, again, [i]best colors,[/i] and finding new ways to put them together. She’s got a round, open face–except for when she doesn’t–but she likes the world and likes the people, and yeah she has a little bit of baby fat still hanging around, and so she’s the perfect shape for hugging. Or petting. Or giving brushies, come to think of it. You should give her brushies. [/hider] [hider=Abilities] Really, when you think about it, her abilities [i]should[/i] be taken as evidence that celestial lion dogs aren’t [i]supposed[/i] to be guardians, right? She can fly in all of her forms, which is not something you need when you’re standing on a plinth all day, and she can coax the five elements to her will, which is only tangentially related to standing on a plinth all day, and she can [i]shapeshift,[/i] which, again, is not what you need when your job is to sit in one place all day, and be the same shape all day, and growl menacingly [i]all day.[/i] I mean, toughness, yeah, but that’s only really useful as a guard dog if you’re actually [i]doing[/i] anything with it. You know, fighting, and saving people and such. [/hider] [hider=Shapeshifting] - Mostly based around different animal shapes, Beast Boy / Animorphs / Nimona style - Not limited to animals but animals are quickest to mind, easiest to do - Plant shapes might be theoretically possible, but off-theme and she has no interest in being a plant. Being a plant is boring. - Inanimate objects are a no-go. Needs to be something with a mind. - While she can transform to be shaped like somebody else, it's taboo and rude - Most of her shapes are amber, again, Beast Boy and Nimona style. Not mandatory, but she likes amber and teal and why wouldn't she be the best colors? - Shapeshifting is not instantaneous, but it's within the half-a-second to three second range. Shapeshifting is both audible and visible--burst of changeling fire style is what I'm thinking, but I can be persuaded otherwise. Shapeshifting should be non-destructive--she cannot use the burst of fire to actually set anything on fire - Shapeshifting is a full-body deal. While she can shapeshift to do small things, it's still a full-body change even if she's just like, changing hair color - Shapeshifting large is usually harder and takes longer than shapeshifting small. She also needs to have enough space to shift into something--can't just shift into a whale unless there's a whale shaped hole in the world for her to fit into - She hasn't quite mastered the art of talking around a mouthful of teeth if they aren't her own or human. I theory, she might be able to get that down, but she's still learning. - While she can modulate her weight to better match the animal form, she does not always remember to do so, which means that occasionally a house-cat weighing approximately one statue's worth of granite will crawl into someone's lap and stay there. - Cannot transform while collared, because mystic. Emotionally: - Shifting is like fidgeting. It scratches an itch to be something new, to feel something different. Part of the reason she doesn't want to go back to heaven is it means that she has to assume her role as a guardian, which means sitting in one place in one shape and that's awful - She loves taking new shapes because it lets her be new things, experiment with new shapes, new ideas, new senses - She has a number of standby shapes for comfortable daily use--cat, labrador, squirrel, snake, teenager of both genders, her own lion dog shape--and tends to swap between them as the mood takes them does not like taking on adult human shape. While she can, it comes with Expectations and social pressure and gross gross gross - Different shapes represent different moods and requests for engagement [/hider] [b]LABELS:[/b] Freak: +3 (Unleash Your Powers) Danger: -2 (Directly Engage a Threat) Savior: +1 (Defend Someone) Superior: +1 (Assess the Situation, Provoke Someone) Mundane: +0 (Comfort or Support, Pierce the Mask) [b]Conditions[/b] [ ]Afraid (-2 to directly engage) [ ]Angry (-2 to comfort or support or pierce the mask) [X]Guilty (-2 to provoke someone or assess the situation) [X]Insecure (-2 to defend someone or reject what others say) [ ]Hopeless (-2 to unleash your powers [hider=Backstory] Okay, peel your ears back and stick your head in a convenient bucket, because Shifu’s about to [i]blow your mind.[/i] Shifu’s actually from [i]heaven.[/i] Or, you know, the heavenly court, which is much less interesting. Specifically, her guardians were assigned to protect the peaches of immortality? Which is nice for them, because the trees only give fruit once every three thousand years, which means they only need to be worried about once out of every three thousand years? Which, on the other hand, means that for 2999, they don’t do anything but stand by the garden entrance and glare at people, right? Boring. As. Hell. Apparently there was this one monkey, but he's busy somewhere else and has already eaten one of the peaches anyway, so he's probably not coming back? Anyway, there they all are, year 2999–there’s actually a second type of peach that grows every 9000 years? Is it that year?--2999, give or take, and suddenly they’re in a tower, and Shifu’s got this thing round her neck, and everyone’s shouting? And this lady with foxtails is shouting at them, and Shifu gets put in a box! Well, that’s not going to work very long! Not with Shifu on the case! And that’s how she found Mr. Chan, right? On the street, wet, a funny little cat-dog alone in the world? And he took the cat home, and couldn’t find any tags on the collar, and took it off to see if he couldn’t find any chips or notes or something? And that’s the story of how Mr. Chan found a girl in his room. Which he was very nice about! You’d like Mr. Chan. He lets her have coffee if she's been a good girl. Which mostly involves not getting into the coffee on her own, but still. And she’d go back to heaven, but wouldn’t you know it, the next few days after all of that, there was this big ghost explosion, right? And the lady with the tails is gone? Kinda? But also not? She’s somewhere, hidden, like Shifu is hidden, and if she can just find the lady, she won’t need to go back to heaven, right? It’s not like heaven was that great, after all. This place has squirrels, and coffee, and her friends, and Mr. Chan, and all these new sharpest o try on, and they don’t mind hardly at all when you go off and save people instead of guarding a tree, and she can be a master here, and– Earth is great, right? Super great. And all her friends are here. Oh! You’ve met her friends, right? Foxpearl is so smart–she knows everything about earth, and she’s so good at knowing what to do. And Rain is. Rain is. Look, you [i]can’t[/i] tell anyone, right? You gotta promise! Okay, you ready? You promise? Uh, um. Rain is [i]super[/i] pretty. And she’s so nice, and she helps people just because she can, and she’s figuring out how to do things so quickly and. She's really cool, and. And she gives good brushies, and she just. Shifu really likes her. [i]You can’t tell anyone.[/i] You pinkie-swore! [/hider] [b]Relationships:[/b] Hsien’s been teaching me about earth. She’s one of my mutuals, and I love reading her discourseposts. I have a crush on Rain, but I keep it under wraps. [b]Influence:[/b] I have a cheerful demeanor, and therefore everyone has influence on me. [b]Moves:[/b] [i]Elemental Powers:[/i] When you alter a human device with your magic, roll + Freak. On a hit, you create a device that can do something impossible once and then fizzle. When you roll a 10+, choose one: - it works exceptionally well - you get an additional use out of it On a miss, the device works, but it has a completely unintended side effect that the GM will reveal when you use it. [i]The Best of Them:[/i] When you comfort or support someone by telling them how they exemplify the best parts of Earth, roll + Freak instead of +Mundane. [i]Not So Different After All:[/i] When you talk about your home, roll + Freak. On a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one. During the conversation, you: - confess a flaw of your home; add 1 Team to the pool - mislead them about your home; take Influence over them - describe the glories of your home; clear a condition On a miss, you inadvertently reveal more about yourself than you planned; tell them a secret or vulnerability you haven’t shared with Earthlings before now. [hider=Advancement] Team Moves: When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, take Influence over them if you show them meaningful affection, physical or emotional. They decide if it’s meaningful. When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, they tell you what you should do to fitin more. Take +1 forward to do it, and mark potential if you do. Potential: 0/0/0/0/0 Every time you roll a miss on a move, mark potential. When you fill your potential track, you advance. Choose from the list below. ❑ Take another move from your playbook ❑ Take another move from your playbook ❑ Take a move from another playbook ❑ Someone permanently loses Influence over you; add +1 to a Label ❑ Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a Label ❑ Unlock your Moment of Truth ❑ Choose two new abilities from any playbook as you come into your own ❑ You adopt a human life; take Secret Identity and The Mask from the Janus playbook When you’ve taken five advances from the top list, you can take advances from the list below. ❑ Unlock your Moment of Truth after you’ve used it once ❑ Change playbooks ❑ Take an adult move ❑ Take an adult move ❑ Lock a Label, and add +1 to a Label of your choice ❑ Retire from the life or become a paragon of the city. [/hider] Inspirations: Beast Boy, Animorphs, Nimona