MoltenLightning
aquatic fluff nugget~
By the by, I really liked that Trigger Event. It didn't have much directness, but there was a brutal reality to what happened.
Bootlegged Body - Changer 6 (Master/Stranger 5), Thinker 3
The host's body permanently changes to be a genderless, slim, boney humanoid, with scraggly or absent muscular structure. Their entire body is hairless, including the head, and the face becomes a flat expanse of skin, with nooks where the eyes and mouth should be, and a small peak where the nose should be. Despite being effectively eyeless, noseless, mouthless, and earless, the host doesn't lose any of the associated senses, except for taste.
The host's voice in this state can be compared to the buzzing of a swarm of insects, or a "demonic cacophony of noises," layering into each other, as if a thousand voices were speaking at once.
Henceforth, this body will be referred to as the 'Default Form.'
Freakshow - primary effect
At will, the host's Default Form grows a second, composite body over itself, composed of fat tissue, muscle fibers, cells, skin of natural color and hair of any color. Their vocal cords alter themselves to any pitch, tone, and timbre the host chooses, and eyeballs, nostrils, mouth, and ears emerge, in any shape the user decides, and in the eyes' case, any color. The host grows traits and genitals of the associated gender in this state.
The host can grow organic implements which mimic synthetic implements. Things like clothing, or even simple items like keys can be produced this way, and without chemical analysis, they appear to be normal objects. If these objects are taken away from the host's body, they will begin to "die" in three minutes. Two hours after that, they will produce a smell reminiscent of rotting flesh, and six hours later, they will wither into a dry husk. In a full day, the object degrades into powder. This may be used to produce counterfeit dollar bills, though obviously they don't last long.
The host can assume their exact pre-Trigger form with extreme ease, like breathing or blinking. When maintaining this body, the host is capable of sexual procreation, eating, drinking, becoming inebriated, and even having offspring, for as long as they maintain their pre-Trigger form. If the host drops their pre-Trigger form for another during pregnancy, the baby will be displaced into the shard dimension and provided nutrients and care for there, for as long as the host is holding another form, to the upper limit of three days. The host is aware of this on a weirdly conscious level.
The host can perfectly copy any person they have seen, but only to the extent of their information. If provided with a facial photo, they can only copy the face. If given a voice, they can copy only the voice. If they see the person themselves, the host can copy everything, up to and including body language, mannerisms, and vocabulary, which is provided by the secondary effect (read below.)
Any form of genetic testing or blood testing will show that the host isn't who they look like and reveal the facade, unless the host can somehow obtain that information, like in the secondary effect (read below.)
If the host receives a Stage 2 injury or above, their fake body is torn away, to reveal their Default Form. They cannot assume any body other than the Default Form after that for a span of two minutes, and once they do, their assumed form has a random number of flaws equivalent to the size of the injury. This effect stays with them for as long as they are injured, unless the injury drops to Stage 1.
If the host dispels this effect, their fake skin sinks into their Default Form like water into earth.
Circus Make-Up - secondary effect
The host gains a Thinker ability, which they can use for up to a full, run-on two hours daily, after which they get progressively debilitating headaches, comparable to a 'bad migraine' at the three-hour mark, and agonizing pain after four hours. The host will lose consciousness from pain after five hours of continuous usage. The best way to use it would be in short bursts, but that does not remove the time limit, only spreads it across a longer timeline.
As long as the Thinker ability is active, the host will be provided with perfect knowledge of the mannerisms, body language, and vocabulary of the target they are copying, limited to their own impression and knowledge of the target. The mimicry borders on being perfect and will fool even good friends or family members who see the target on a daily basis, but the host will not gain any knowledge about the target that they, themselves haven't discovered, so a "I will ask you each a question, a question to which only the real X knows!" test will accurately prove the host to be the fake.
In addition, if the host can find tissue from the target they are copying and eat it (or, if in the Default Form, stick it on their skin,) they can perfectly mimic its genetic makeup during any future transformations.
Laughing Clown - minor effect
The host heals their wounds at 2.5x the speed of a baseline human and bleeds out at 0.75x the speed. The host still feels pain, but they are less mentally influenced and 'scared' by it and can ignore its effects slightly more.
It's Me - minor effect
The host has a permanent, subtle Master/Stranger effect. It increases people's trust toward them, and their belief in the host's fake disguise, by roughly 12% average. This does not work on Master and Thinker parahumans.
Noctis Cape - special effect
A relatively rare side-effect of the parahuman condition, appearing in less than three percent parahumans. It removes the physical and mental need to sleep, but the host can still sleep if they desire it. Its causes are unknown.
Manton Limit: Self, organic tissue, human.
Lethality: Not lethal, but can help you gain people's trust, so you stab them in the back when they least expect it.
Data: Polytomy ++++++++++ ++++++++++ ++++++++++ ++++++++++ (40)
Polytomy: "A shard specializing in the area of infiltration, espionage, acting, and social-oriented stealth. Very experienced and sophisticated in its specialty."
MoltenLightning
If you think this power is the very meaning of irony, you are correct. The shard thought it'd be funny, and weirdly, it fits. Bianca isn't an exception to being a freak, the damage is still there and one could say it's far worse, it's just that now she can hide it as she pleases, to appear perfect.
The Trigger Event is, at the very core, a Changer Trigger. The revulsion related to body image is a centric concept here, but the core is surrounded by Master and Stranger elements of the host fearing what will happen if other people begin feeling disgusted by them. The main effect reflects this by twisting the host's body into what was described. The sudden and unexpected shock, the inability to process what happened, reaching a critical mass in such a short period of time with a degree of delusion and even insanity, has resulted in the Thinker-side effect of the power.
Note the fact that when assuming the pre-Trigger body, Bianca regains the ability to have children. Her desire, at its core, was to not be a freak, and the so the shard granted her the ability to have a normal life. It's just that this "normal life" is a brittle facade, and the "freak" is always there, lurking underneath it.
Also, the dice said that you will gain Noctis status. It's an effect available to pretty much all shards, which they apply to their hosts when they believe that particular host's ability to participate in parahuman conflict would be "damaged by sleeping."
Lots of eldritch horror in this one, and Polytomy is enjoying it.
holy. jeez.
I both love and hate it lol
I could see Bianca being very upset with this ability and struggling to ignore it in favor of a normal life haha,,
But totally freaky and interesting!
