004 - Action/Voice

[halfnhalf]

[Action]

[Although Teddy didn't go on the draft, he knew plenty of friends who did. Once he was certain they were all accounted for, though some had gone through some heavy losses, he felt like he could relax a little. And with relaxation, it dawned on him that he hadn't really practiced his shifting ability in a while. Sure, there was his Hulkling form, but he knew that one. Knew it inside and out. What about others?

This is why he sits by the edge of the fountain, homework and pencil in hand, though he doesn't work so much as watch people over the top of the page. He's inconspicuous about it, as this is a hobby he's developed for some time now.

And when he's sure he's not in anyone's range of vision, he transforms, shifting into the form of the person he's got his eyes on. That's when he stops watching them and looks down at the body he's impersonating, just to study the shape, occasionally glancing up to make sure he has everything right. Even when the person's left, he still stays in that form for a few long moments before he shifts back, writing his answers in his homework once he's satisfied with the shape he's in.

Observe, learn, shift, hold. This is what he's learned over the years, though it's been a while since he's done this for selfless reasons. Just for practice, nothing more.]

[Voice]

[It's sunset and he's still outside, though he appears to be walking back home. There's just one thing on his mind, something that occurred to him while shifting.]

Anyone up for playing b-ball sometime? It's been way too long since I actually got to play against someone. Holograms just don't really cut it, you know?

[He would suggest football, but, well. When you've got the ability to possibly break someone in half with a good tackle, that probably isn't the best sport to go for.]

Comments

Voice;

[heartisabattleground]

[Oh a challenge, huh? Sora can't resist that.]

I'm up for it!

[He pauses.]

One question; what's B-ball?

Voice;

[halfnhalf]

Oh, right. [Sometimes he forgets that people here wouldn't know what that stands for.] It's short for basketball. You heard of that?

[Voice]

[wildbluevagner]

B-ball? Are you looking to be getting schooled, homeboy?

[Voice]

[halfnhalf]

Me, schooled? You're talking to a high school champion here!

No powers, though.

voice;

[positivelycharged]

B-ball? Is that a game? I like games!

voice;

[halfnhalf]

Yeah! But it's actually called basketball. Heard of it?

[action]

[selfhelp]

[The plaza is pretty much his favourite spot - there's so many options to check out, and besides the community buildings it's the closest to resembling a city-ish layout - so Billy spends a fair bit of time in the area, especially on weekends after school gets out for the day. He and Teddy had split up to do their own thing, and he's just on his way out of the bakery with some afternoon snacks when he spies a familiar face hanging out by the fountain.

Or- temporarily a familiar face anyway, for as he watches, feeling curious (and a little nosy), Teddy shifts into someone else. And from the look of things, Teddy's trying to be conspicuous about it, so Billy sneaks off out of sight to watch for a bit. It's kind of shameless, but he can't help but find the shapeshifting to be a fascinating thing. For all the varying abilities that Billy's magic grants him, Teddy has powers that he can't replicate himself. And that makes them more fun to watch.

Before too long, though, while Teddy is in the shape of a particularly handsome fellow, Billy feels a flair of mischief and can't resist striding over, one hand resting on a hip.]

Someone must have shot you with a phaser set on 'stunning'.

[Wow that sounds even worse out loud than it did in his head. KEEP THAT STRAIGHT-FACE KAPLAN]

[action]

[halfnhalf]

[Okay, so he should've expected that awful, terrible, DISGUSTING pick-up line - it's just the voice behind it that snaps him out of reading the problem on his worksheet and stare up at his boyfriend with wide eyes, a half smile on his face due to the fact that yes, that was stupidly corny, and fit with who he's impersonating now. But he also just looks extremely confused, like he's smiling at a joke he doesn't quite understand.]

Uh... Billy?

[He... KNOWS that it's actually Teddy and not Captain James T. Kirk, right? ... Right?]

[action]

[skrullbucks]

[Xavin had been heading over, having spotted Teddy as himself, when he shifted. That in turn stops her, enough that she tilts her head just slightly to watch him, and keeps watching as he shifts through a few more people. That gives her enough time to recognise what he's doing and of course. He hadn't had the training most Skrulls had, hadn't even really known about his abilities as a child she assumed. So of course he would be getting all the practice he could.

There's a faint, almost proud smile on her face as she comes over and takes a seat next to Teddy, looking away as she does over to whomever is wearing the same face as Teddy is] The nose isn't quite right, and the jaw needs to be slightly more sharper.

[action]

[halfnhalf]

[It's always been more difficult for Teddy to impersonate women, seeing how he's been raised a boy, definitely acts like a boy, and can't quite get the gender switch in his head. He manages well enough, but he certainly couldn't pass for one long term. He's looking at his smoother hands when Xavin sits down beside him, and Teddy notes that she's in her male form.]



[And for a moment he wonders how she does it, though he answers his own question when "Skrull, duh" goes through his head. He'd only really discovered his own shapeshifting abilities when he was barely a preteen, after all; Xavin had her entire life.

At the advice, Teddy blinks, looks at the girl - Haruhi, yes - and rubs at his own chin.]

Oh, you're right. [When he pulls his hand away, his jaw is indeed sharper, and his nose shapes out to be a little more slender. Anime types are even harder to shift into]

You caught that way faster than I did.

action | i hope this is okay?

[chirpchirp]

[oh a person! a new person. a--

oh my gosh that person just became a different person!!!!!!!!!!!!

the traveler jumps off the roof it was on and floats down, hitting the ground a few yards from Teddy. it somersaults forward until it is back on its feet and then runs over, looking up at him.

what did you dooooooooooooooo]

♪?

action | def okay!

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy didn't get to watch this person long (he knew him anyway, one of Dreamworks' finest and all), so a few things might be off, and he can't see the boy anymore. So he sticks with what he's got, turning his arms over and lifting his leg up to study the prosthetic one he shifted.

This is a very odd body type. But before he can think further on it, something catches his eye, and he looks up in time to see -

Whaaat in the world is that - IT'S AWESOME.

Teddy watches with wide eyes and a slight gape to his lips, one that slowly turns into a smile once the Traveler comes close to him. And that sound it made -

what did you doooooooooo]



Whoa... hey. [He grins and leans forward, as if to get a better look at the little guy.] That was awesome, just so you know.

[Action]

[thisismylife]

[Okay, she's been watching him. Mostly because she'd been wandering in and out of a few of the shops and twice she'd seen him in the same position. The third time, it had been someone else, and she'd took note of that as she slipped in the Items Shop. But when she came back out, it was Teddy again in the same exact spot, and that made her pause, her curiosity piqued and she found somewhere just out of sight that she could watch him with open curiosity for a few moments.

He could change shape, she realized with fascination as she watched him alter into an unfamiliar form of someone that had passed by a moment earlier. It was almost like watching M'Gann do it.

On that faintly homesick note, Artemis stepped out into the open and wandered towards him, unsure if she should interrupt or if it was rude of her to have been watching him.]

[Action]

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy's a girl this time, the harder gender for him to impersonate. He'd long ago gotten over how weird a girl's body is compared to his own male one, but it's still... bizarre. And he definitely has none of the mannerisms that a girl might have.

He's looking down at his hand and turning it from the back of it to his palm when he spots Artemis in the corner of his vision. His gaze goes to her instead, and with the way she's looking at him and heading towards him, she's spotted him. Teddy had, admittedly, taken Artemis' form a few times, having seen her around the shops, only to shift out of it again while she was still in the store. He's kind of wondering if this had to do with that.]



Artemis! [He gives a wave of his hand, both to acknowledge that he sees her and doesn't mind, and to greet her.]

[Action] possibly a sad thread

[i_speak_softly]

[It's completely by accident that the ninja comes around a corner just as Teddy is shifting back to his own form. Don doesn't know which - if either - of these is the stranger's true shape, but he is pretty sure that person just shapeshifted.]

[Excuse him while he stares, processing the implications of this.]

[Action] LET'S DO IT

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy smiles a little when he's back in his own form, wiggling his fingers as if to further stabilize the fact that he's him again before he turns his eyes back to his homework.

At least, he would have, if it weren't for the spot of green in his vision, a rather large patch of it too. He's usually the only one who can be all green at will, so with curiosity, he looks up and

al;skdjfaskldjkljfoa;oijdNINJA TURTLE

Okay okay okay, it's cool, it's cool. It's only Donafreakingtello. Thankfully, Teddy's been here long enough to at least put enough of a lid on his fanboying to not make it obvious (and only flailing to Billy about it later, away from people whom he might accidentally cause brainbreakage to), so he only stares back for a moment before he realizes that he's being stared at.]

... Hi? [SO UNCOOL, TEDDY ALTMAN.]

[etherealblast]

You play basketball? [He's mostly asking for confirmation because wow it has been a long time since he was in a place where people had heard of the game and he even had time to play.

Problems with getting stranded on an underdeveloped planet, he supposed.]

I didn't even know you could set up a sim for that.

[halfnhalf]

[Aaah, another person understood his reference! That's a relief, even if he doesn't know this person actually plays basketball yet.

... He looks familiar, too. And not just because he might have seen him in a game or something. Hasn't he seen him in his community housing before?]

Oh, yeah. Yeah to both. The simulation isn't all that great, though; it's like the AI are Too Dumb To Live.

[reminded]

[Layton steps out of the grocery store, casting an eye around. He thought he saw a certain someone passing by and wanted to have a word... ah, there.]

Luke!

[halfnhalf]

[At first, Teddy doesn't look up. It's not like his name is Luke and all, so he must be referring to someone else.

But he recognizes the voice, and he'd love to see Layton and Luke interact, though not for too long. Being a fanboy creeper isn't cool and all. So when he looks up -

... Oh. Layton's looking at him. That's right, Luke had passed by and Teddy decided to take his shape. He'd been so caught up in the fact that his legs can't reach the ground that he'd forgotten he took this particular shape.]



Oh, Professor! [He even gets the accent right. But wow, this is awkward, always has been and always will be. He'll try to end the charade as quick as he can.]

[snikting]

Give it up, kid. There ain't a chance you'll match her annoying prattling.

[Sorry, kid. Logan is not fooled by this impression of the local barmaid.]

[halfnhalf]

Huh?

[He's a little caught off-guard, and he wants to ask "How did you know?", but then he remembers. Right, Logan. Him and his sense of smell. And the one thing Teddy can't mask, or doesn't quite know how yet.

So he shifts back to his normal form with a somewhat sheepish smile. Thank goodness; being in a girl's form is tough.]

You got me.

[action]

[handing]

[Well, there's something very interesting about this picture. Pepper absolutely has to ask, even if it means she'll take a little longer to get home from grocery shopping.]

Good afternoon, Natasha. [She tries somewhat successfully to hold back a smile.] I didn't realize you were studying algebra.

[action]

[halfnhalf]

[Uh.

Teddy's a little caught off-guard by that, so he looks up at Pepper for a moment before he gives a half smile. Might as well try to play along and practice some more.]



It's brushing up. And helping kids with their homework.

[voice]

[rashness]

Oh, oh, pick me!

[He's been thinking about getting more going on. Some baseball (as he mis-interprets it) would be good in his life]

[voice]

[halfnhalf]

Well - Sure, okay. How good are you?

[It would, after all, be nice if someone around here actually knew their stuff.]

[action][whoa so late]

[not_a_troll]

[At first Loki ignores the fact that he himself is sitting by the fountain's edge but then he notices the flaws so he sees it as his duty to point out that this could be done better.]

I am afraid you lack my natural charm. Ah, and my refined features as well. I shall call your attempt 'half-assed'. There is definitely room for many improvements.

[action][psh, not late]

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy had meant to change back before anyone of their form saw themselves sitting there... but this is fine, what with Loki not showing shock and immediate distrust.

Instead, Teddy finds himself raising his eyebrows, then looks down at his hands. True, he's never thought about shifting into Loki of all people, even a young one. But here he is, and if there's something that's wrong, as a shapeshifter, he needs to see to it that it's fixed.]



And what improvements are you seeking in particular? [The accent, at least, is something he's got down.]

[action]

[stillplaying]

[She still hadn't adjusted to living with Effie yet. Still wasn't even certain that she wants to adjust to it. Wants the other woman around to begin with. It's nice not to have to cook for herself or Richard all the time. And it's actually a little bit nice to not have to clean.

But it's still Effie Trinket. A Capitol woman that might as well be the epitome of everything the Capitol stands for.

Needless to say, the spring weather isn't the only reason she's spending more and more time outside. It's strange to find herself enjoying the village square like this, to find it a safe place to flip through a book found in the library.

And yet? It's not such a bad way to spend time after all.]

[action]

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy had, at first, been posing as someone else. Someone he knew inside and out, flaws and all, because that was the easiest form, and Teddy missed him a little at the moment.]



[When he sees Katniss, however, he decides to shift back. He hasn't shown her much of his shapeshifting, choosing instead to focus on he himself. Plus, he isn't sure if she's met his boyfriend before; no need to confuse her like that.]



Katniss!

[voice]

[frost_jewel]

Bee ball sounds dangerous.

[It's a bit of an absentminded remark; she hasn't seen or listened to any of the others.]

[voice]

[halfnhalf]

[Oooh... He has to wonder if Mia even knows what "b-ball" is. Eh heh.]

It's not that bad, really. I mean, sometimes injuries happen just like in any sport, and fouls kind of suck, but you're supposed to keep your hands off and not knock the other player around.