ˡᶦᶠᵉ ᶠᶦⁿᵈˢ ᵃ ʷᵃʸ

“Good because I like to make sure that trust is never misplaced on me.” the older Mutant beamed, almost puffing up with pride at the validation. Since he was a kid, Fernando had always enjoy feeling that people could rely on him and that had been a defining trait of his for as long as he could remember. The fact that it was Joseph who was putting his trust on him made it all simply sweeter in a way “I guess we should find a way to distract you or get you out of your mind for a bit then.” he chirped, winking meaningfully at his companion and letting his voice go a couple of tones lower in a teasing way. He had to steer those thoughts away from the direction they were heading right away; Joseph needed his help and his lowkey infatuation on the younger man would probably be counterproductive to that.. Not to mention, highly unprofessional even if the other was not one of his students.

There was a bit of a pause between him tugging the other towards his larger frame when Fernando allowed himself to consider the possibility that maybe Joseph was not indifferent to him but those blushes and the man’s shy attitude were not reserved to him specifically, as far as he knew. His left hand rested loosely on Joseph`s waist and his right one came to grip his wrist and the air glimmered for a moment around them as the more experienced Mutant exerted his ability to surround the other with his Field of influence and make him hover in front of him. Any minimal contact with the other would have suffice for being able to take him on a flight but Fernando felt a bit mischievous and decided to omit that bit of information, his power coiling around the slighter frame securely as the Telekinetic got used to his presence inside his Field “Do you have a limit for how high or how fast you would like to go?” he inquired as they steadily ascended, a playful expression on his face that was meant to be encouraging for the younger man.  Flying was the epitome of freedom and he planned to show Joseph precisely that.

         who would have thought that a little validation from him would have fernando beaming like he had won first place in the olympics? he didn’t pretend like it was solely from his commentary ( he probably did that for everyone ) but it was a welcome change from how insignificant he felt the rest of the time. confidence wasn’t the right word for what he was feeling ( nor would it ever be, in his opinion ) but fer’s self-assured pride did help to assuage some of his anxieties. at least the ones around being taken for a joyride. on the other hand, the nerves that went with being around someone well-meaning and attractive had doubled—some things never changed. being at ease seemed to be too much to ask for, but between that and what he was used to, he preferred this kind of anxiety, instead. it almost felt normal. ignoring the fact that fernando was about to take him flying, of course.

he uses his height as an advantage, thoroughly doing his best to seem STERN by projecting over, but he does let go of the other. he thinks grabbing him did enough to get him to at least stop ( if only to freak out a bit ). apollo steps away but places himself between joseph and the room. “ i’m serious, “ he says, never a good thing for him to say. it didn’t fit him well. “ i― i can’t help you if you go into that room. if you do you’re entirely FUCKED. “

Fusion wasn’t like Rod had liquified and could go on vacation without a care in the world. Every slight quiver, every glance, every inhale, every exhale – it was as if he were doing it too without actually having to. It was not just for Joseph’s sake to start slow and take deep, long breaths. The blocky, intricate way Joseph’s body had always mutated in the past made Rod writhe in pain along with the other, trying to hold back from grunting into Joseph’s thoughts.

And beyond the pain, Rod could feel Joseph’s anxiety intimately as if it were his own. They were such… pleasant anxieties, if they could be described as such. Joseph wasn’t recuperating himself from years of trauma, from days of having seen too much… It was just focusing on his powers. Rod felt that to be so… nice. He wanted that for himself. Watching as reptilian features formed over Joseph’s face, Rod offered whatever the mind equivalent was of an assuring deep sigh. ‘I’m here. Keep going, you’re doing so well. I’m so proud of you, Joseph. Shift fully for me, okay?’ 

          the biggest reassurance, aside from rod himself, was the idea that he was becoming something small. dog-sized, at largest. even with the vicious claws and needle-like teeth, he thought that it wouldn’t be too difficult for someone to kick him aside in the event that he got too aggressive. still, that didn’t help the pre-transformation anxiety he had. namely, in the fact that it was always painful when it came to changing size. less gruesome than having to literally tear himself out of his skin, but internally... each individual change to his dna was disgusting.

          at least outwardly they only looked bizarre. his first two fingers thickened and elongated, the remaining two grinding their way back into his palm. his feet went through a similar transformation, save for the menacing killer claw that sprouted out of his first toe. sized up like this, it could easily hurt someone—and then the shrinking started. it was always a horrible sensation, watching the world around him grow, but the fact that internally things didn’t shift as quickly made him feel sick to his stomach. his saving grace, in this particular instance, was the fact that he had long, brown feathers over most of his body—they provided enough fluff to keep him from seeing his organs shift around before they shrank.

          annoyingly, his tail was the last part of him to change, leaving him frantically flapping his wing-like arms to keep from flopping over. finally, it erupted out of his backside with a terrible grinding noise, already fully fanned and strong enough to keep him balanced. at last, he stood in front of the mirror as a slightly chubby-looking velociraptor. that wasn’t so bad...

Okay, fine. Maybe Joseph was far better suited to do something that wasn’t acting. Something more like… joining the circus - what, with the way he frantically minced his words and tripped over periods, Green couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Bwaha-Aha. R-O-F-L-M-A-O. You’re such a joke, Kontos.” Joseph was adorable in his body. So adorable that it was like reading a book, and every time he saw Joseph hinge his jaw ever so slightly in reaction, Green wanted to name the emotion on his face. ‘Now you’re confused!’ ‘Baffled!’ ‘Constipated!’ But all of that fell by the wayside as he wound up in front of the vending machine with two dollars and twenty-five cents inserted. Green returned to the table with his face stuffed with half a chocolate-chip-flavored chocolate chip cookie and a big, dumb grin.

“Let’s go relax and take a nap, Kontos,” he said, the cookie still in his mouth. He twined his fingers with Joseph’s and pulled him all the way towards the campus lawn. From his backpack, Green unraveled a big-ass beach towel. Hideous as it was, in its faded brown and grey stripes, it was something he’d brought with him when he first came here. He laid onto the towel, patting for Joseph to join him, and scarfed down what was left of the cookie. Chocolate and crumbs were smeared over his lips. Green yawned, pulling Joseph closer to him, laying his head on his right hand, a draw-me-like-one-of-your-French-girls. “Yo, Kontos, so I forgot to bring some napkins, can I wipe your lips with my lips?”

         apparently, switching back wouldn’t be necessary for the next... indeterminate amount of time. green seemed content to take the whole thing as a joke ( then again, that was his normal. when did he take anything seriously? ) and instead of humoring his not-quite-rhetorical question, he strutted off to vending machine, joseph following behind like a lost puppy dog. the idea of watching green stuff his face in his body didn’t particularly appeal to him, but just thinking about leaving him without having the slightest clue of what he was doing... that sounded like a recipe for disaster. at least if he stayed with him, he could keep tabs on which particular disaster was currently ongoing. right now, it was probably luck that he was just focused on eating. that, at least, didn’t have very many consequences.

Él te mira, recursive in his mind. If it were any consolation to Joseph, Rod would be that person watching over him, holding that faith. Not just as a trainer but as someone who cared – and, on some deeper level, that was what Rod liked to think his powers were like. He chuckled softly out of a mix of anticipation, nervousness, and assurance at Joseph’s last words, inhaling deeply as he nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me,” he said, massaging the other’s shoulders in soft, slow motions. It was better if his students and clients were relaxed, well-knowing that fusion was disconcerting. “Close your eyes and inhale and exhale for me, okay?” 

He thumbed circles into the back of Joseph’s shoulder, before his arms crept down to wrap around Joseph’s waist. A hug. Un abrazo. Rod lifted the bottom of Joseph’s shirt and let his arms graze softly against the boy’s skin, his torso warm against Joseph’s back. Inhale… exhale... Slowly, his body began to melt into Joseph’s, pooling them together, and as they merged Rod felt closer and closer to Joseph’s essence. Soon, they were just one, and it was just Joseph standing before them in the mirror, love handles prominent, chest softer, face rounder. It all felt like un abrazo through and through, and Rod… he was finally at peace, his anxieties washed away. He let Joseph take a moment to adjust before he surfaced in his thoughts, the only place in their fusion where he had his own free will. ‘How about we try something easy where you can breath, can move around. Unless there’s anything you have in mind. But remember. You’re in control. And I believe in you.’

          just keep breathing, joseph told himself. inhale. exhale. as long as he stayed calm, he would be in control of himself—at least, that was the plan. as of yet, he had never succeeded in controlling his panic for long enough to test that. wrestling with an angry and confused animal brain made that much, much more difficult... to say nothing of the physical strain on his body. sometimes he wished his transformations were like in the movies—fluid and painless. the reality was that changing dna meant contorting into shapes he wasn’t built to be in. there was nothing painless about that. but maybe one day it could be. practice made perfect, right? “okay... okay, i’ve got this,” he mumbled, closing his eyes and focusing on his breath. in. out. repeat. it was easy.

          fusion felt... strange. one moment, rod’s arms were curled around his waist, and the next... they had melted into him like water to a sponge. much like a sponge, he almost seemed to expand as his teacher’s essence pooled into him—he was a little taller, a little wider, a little softer around the edges. joseph stared hard into the mirror at his almost-self, eyes scanning for the subtle differences that rodrigo’s dna had added. and then he jumped when the man himself spoke into his mind. “oh, my go—sorry, i never get used to that.” he let out another breath. keep calm. just keep breathing. “something—something easy, right.”

“I think you smeared it then, because it just got bigger,” Panit said, thinking he may have just seen it grow. Not that that was surprising, weirder things happened in this place. Not that he’d press the matter, he caught himself in time. He had discovered since coming here he had the bad habit of being somewhat indelicate with other people even when he never meant anything by it. It was a slow process for him to say the least.

Cassandra hummed after hearing Joseph’s question. “Not yet.” she affirmed. Anything could happen, after all history was capable of repeating itself and the threats and deaths were inevitable. “I guess we’ll enjoy it while it lasts.”

The quick confirmation that Joseph would rather be human was not alarming. “You know, my parents would have loved you.” she deadpanned. It wasn’t a random statement, let alone revelation. “…As their test subject. Their initial aim was to create a drug aimed at destroying the recessive mutant gene. Too bad they lucked out on that, so they did the opposite. But you would have been the ideal candidate for the trial runs.” Shrugging, she then tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and added, “Maybe you could have been the poster child of their brand.” Her parents had many close attempts at perfecting it, but unfortunately it took a lot of trial and errors that they decided to drop the project altogether and revamp their cause.”

She then looked at Joseph and sighed as she opted to give him advice, “I know you have no control over what you turn to or when it happens. I know it’s probably hell having to switch back and forth, but you’re here now and you should take advantage of the resources around you. Small progress is still progress and eventually, you’re going to have to accept who you’ve become. Don’t let your abilities control you, you should gain a hold of your abilities.”

         he nodded. peace was a good thing, he knew... but it never lasted as long as anyone liked. it was only a matter of time before the worst of their adversaries decided that playing fair wasn’t to their liking. it was clear that she was aware of that fact, and not only because of an affirmative comment—it seemed like she had more personal experience. my parents would have loved you. an uncomfortable prickle started at the back of his neck. as their test subject. he reached to scratch at it, but no matter how hard he dug his nails in, the feeling remained. uncomfortable, much like the subject at hand.

         it was true, he would much rather have been human. would have readily agreed to a cure if one had been processed and offered—but not by someone determined to give it out... forcibly. and unfortunately, he knew that deep down, that was the only option. it was acceptance or extinction. even a legal option would be made into a weapon against them. he didn’t want innocent people hurt or killed because he was bitter about his own circumstances.

Green was as nonchalant about the precarity of the whole situation as he could be, yet he could not resist a half-smirk as he watched Joseph’s awkward, confused facial expressions scribble all over his own face. And now he was craving another chocolate-chip-flavored chocolate chip cookie, as if what he ate was merely a sample. It was calling his name. Or, rather, Joseph’s name… That was until Joseph straight up lied to him - not an actor his ass. Green could take compliments like being high because, in some ways, Joseph was right: everyone just didn’t understand what it was like to stand tall like Green and be awesome. Clearly, Joseph didn’t, given how Green always took notice to their three or four height gap, even more conspicuous with how Joseph always seemed to slouch. But - not an actor? BUH, BUH, B U L L S H I T. “Jesus Hilfiger Michael Kors Neiman Marcus Christ.” Green was appalled, rolling his eyes as he slammed a fist down, wincing slightly in pain as he tried to shake it off. Still, he wasn’t unmoored. “Cry me a fucking river, Kontos. Now look here, you little shit. If I were to cast anyone to play me in a movie, it’d be you. Like, I feel like we look alike. I don’t think anybody can even tell we swapped bodies. Everything is a performance. Life is a performance, you dodo-head.” Green inhaled deeply before his serious resolve broken into a half-chuckled smirk. “And… scene. Great work, Kontos. Though, if I’m honest, you kind of upstaged me. Not cool, dude. Maybe you’re the high one if you can’t work things out logically. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get another chocolate-chip-flavored chocolate chip cookie.” He slid out Joseph’s wallet from his pocket and flashed it to the other, raising his eyebrows as he stood up.

          it was getting difficult to piece together what exactly he was feeling. shock. confusion. bewilderment, maybe. what the hell was going on? the thought looped in his mind like a merry-go-round, but riding it out didn’t lead him in the direction of an answer. how could it? it was going in circles. when it came to being around green, he always felt like he was going in circles. “i... don’t think jesus had a middle name. let alone, like—like five,” he managed, after a long pause to blink at his body. somehow, it looked so foreign from the outside—green had a confidence in his own nonsensical nature that joseph couldn’t help to imitate. and it showed, as vibrant as a peacock’s tail-fan. “we don’t look anything ali—” he couldn’t even finish his statement before green’s rapid-fire speech drowned him out again, leaving him dumbstruck in his seat. he wondered how that expression looked on green’s face. did he look as foreign to himself as joseph did? if he did, there wasn’t any obvious indications. in fact, he looked downright comfortable with his essence seated in joseph’s meat-suit. like the padded, rolling seats that teachers had, the ones that every student trapped on the hard, hand-me-down chairs had always coveted. 

Startled he stops abruptly and looks to where the familiar voice came from, his shocked features morph into those of sheepish relief. “Hi. you think so? I feel like I have been losing my ouch” he stammered a bit, flustered “uhmthankyou. “ he had stopped playing, never could play in the company of others.

Raj Patil ––commonly known as the coolest teacher this school had ever seen–– was a morning person. Very much to the annoyance of some of his colleagues. There was a slight bounce to each step he made and that cheshire cat grin that rarely disappeared from his features. Some of his students appreciated his upbeat nature which usually did the trick in waking them up better than any caffeine fix could. But most could do without it, he assumed. Not that he minded, he knew it was hard work to earn those kids’ respect and if Raj was known for possessing of a specific value then it was determination. “Morning report, Krish?” Raj asked as he kept walking and to an oblivious observer it might have looked like a curious scene. Because Raj was accompanied by no one but a flash of light that followed him around as he passed mechanical doorlocks and loudspeaker. On and off again as soon as he passed them, like Jiminy Cricket on acid after falling into a bucket of neon paint. “There was one kid who came this close to blowing up the chem lab during his last class but other than that it has been quiet. Makes me almost wish he had succeeded even if only to shake things up a little …” A voice answered, coming from the loudspeakers that were installed at the ceiling, the voice jumping from one speaker to the next as Raj kept moving. The grin on Raj’s lips broadened further and he intended to reply to his old friend but was distracted by someone nearby. Halting in his movements he looked up at one of the speakers before looking at the other person again. “I assume you haven’t met Krishna yet?”

          it was too early to be awake, but duty called. students and boarders made messes when they threw their little parties, when they walked along with their friends—human existence was not a cleanly one. he hadn’t thought of custodial work as difficult before he had gotten the job, but now that he had... well, unskilled work seemed like a very unfitting term. it took a lot of skill to wake up early, stay up late, and make sure the campus looked presentable to everyone who walked by—even those who had only recently decided to add to the mess. not to mention the difficulty of doing his job when his mutation decided to flip everything on its head. stress always had made it worse.

At Joseph’s statement, Cassandra nodded as he got the gist of it. “And I can’t afford to let that happen, not on my watch. We’ve lost so much, we can’t afford to lose again.” It was a heavy, yet honest statement. The unfortunate thing about it, is that many of the younger mutants aren’t quite receptive to the truth. She didn’t blame them for keeping it in the back of their minds or assuming that they’d be fine here period, they were probably exhausted of always looking over their shoulders.

Hearing his response, she nodded once more in understanding. “So you’d rather be human permanently hm?” she inquired, not hesitating to beat around the bush. She didn’t blame those who see their powers as a burden or a nuisance. Regardless, it could be a blessing or a curse, or even both. “Ever thought of reaching out to the other mutants for help? Or who could at least help you hone in on your abilities? There’s trainers too, they could at least help you gain focus on your transformation - maybe help you control it.”

         he didn’t know too much about the school’s history, but he didn’t have to in order to know that there had been... problems. anti-mutant sentiments had been very, very prominent in the past ( and continued into the present, albeit illegally ) and that had often meant being rounded up and murdered. it was a blessing that most of the laws allowing that kind of behavior had been repealed, but... not everyone was eager to follow them. “w—well it seems like, uh... like things are going okay right now, right? nobody’s—there haven’t been... attacks.” not like there could have been in the past... as far as he knew.

Boooo. Green was banking on hearing some sweet, sweet bird noises. He was ninety-five percent sure that Kontos would choose that option, so much that he had the words ‘now turn into a bird!!!’ canned behind his mouth. But now a frown was drooped over his face. “Typical Kontos, always going with the safe option. I bet you like me, l-o-l. I’m flattered, don’t worry.” He tightened the grip of his arm around Joseph’s neck and pulled on his cheek before Green repositioned himself to sit across from him. All Green did was wink and click his teeth before he felt his essence rip away from his body in one incredibly long-lasting second. Green moaned out when the curious sensation of being torn away from his body died down, and he inhaled deeply as he mused upon… his body, sitting before him, definitely Joseph. He winked once. “Caw, caw, caw. Let’s pretend to be each other, now. As the Joseph Kontos would say, what is the good, Green?” Not a second was wasted as Green stuffed the remainder of the cookie into Joseph’s mouth, crumbs and chocolate slathered all over his lips.

What felt like a lot of the job was having faith that things would work out. It made Rod feel like an imposter, especially when it came to training some of his favorite people, but he always fell back on his mother’s words – cree, ten fe, Él te mira. Training with Joseph felt particularly difficult because progress felt so slow and… unrealizable, at times. But Rod had utmost faith that Joseph could improve, had improved.

Rod sympathized with Joseph, noting casually how stiff his stance was, how stifled he looked. He undid Joseph’s arms, wrapped around his body, and coaxed them to stay at his side. Rod turned Joseph to face the training room’s mirrors, his hands resting his shoulders. “I want you to take another deep breath with me, okay? Inhale. Exhale. Now. I want you to know that, whether you’re a fish, whether you’re a reptile, whether you’re you. It’s you in control. And I want you to believe that. But to also be comfortable knowing that, whatever you become, it’s still you. And I know that might be hard to do. But do you think you can do that for me, Joseph? I want you to believe, have faith.”

          very few people could get away with touching him without having to deal with his discomfort. rod, of course, was one of them—he’s comforting in the way that he wishes his own parents had been. supportive. caring. accepting of his strange abilities. maybe it helped that rodrigo had one of his own. “okay,” he agreed, taking another deep breath. inhale. exhale. repeat. admittedly, the exercise did help to calm his nerves—momentarily, at least. he knew that he had a long road of practice ahead of him. and lots of failure. 

         pets, as joseph knew only too well, were hit or miss when it came to liking his company. some seemed to be able to sense his differences a little too well, and others treated him like he was any other person on earth. this dog didn’t like him. at all. ears flat back and tail between its legs, it cowered behind its owner like it was facing off with a bear.

Lincoln stood still and waited for him to calm down and reign in his powers. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with randomly bursting into a dinosaur at any moment. How did this guy survive this long? 

When it seemed liked he had calmed down, Lincoln let go and offered him his hand to help him up. “Do we need to bring you to the doctor or are you okay now?” he asked. It was probably better to bring him just to be safe but at the same time, mutations were weird like that. One moment they could be flaring up and making a person’s life a living hell and the next moment, they were fine. There was no point in over-reacting.

          he took a deep breath when lincoln’s gauntlet of a hand finally pulled off of his chest, keeping his back flat against the grass until he could pull himself back together. despite the transformations being out of his control, they were still horribly exhausting. changes in dna usually were, he supposed. “i—maybe i should go...” even if it was just to make sure he hadn’t cracked any of his ribs. he wasn’t sure there was anything they could do for his mutation-related complaints. “sometimes it, uh... you know. comes back.”

JOSEPH

Brushing his fingers over the chestnut coloured guitar, Max hummed along softly to a tune he was entirely improvising. Alone on the rooftop under the dark sky with the full moon being the only source of the light, the young mutant sat on his own, doing what relaxed him the most these days: creating music for his ears only. At least he thought he was all on his own

@preholocenic / CLOSED STARTER !

apollo wraps a hand around joseph’s upper, gets way too close to him than probably necessary. he’s feeling intense, to say the least. “ STOP, “ he says, voice even and blank of emotion. his heart is pounding in his ears as he stares at him from the side, most definitely looking as crazy and inappropriate as he feels. but he needed to do this, felt it in his bones. entirely UNNATURALLY.