whatisright | IC Inbox (Drift Fleet)

[Now that the fleet's back up in the air and out of harm's way, now seems the perfect time to initiate Operation Justify Makeover. This corpse look that Justice is having ain't working anymore.

Riona walks side by side with Anders, heading towards Justice's room. She's lugging a small mirror along, assuming that Justice doesn't have one of his own. They've got a rough idea between the two of them of how Justice should look. Of course, the spirit has say in this, too, though Riona's not sure just how much he's going to really care about his looks.

Grinning at Anders, they approach the door and knock. No need to call out; Justice will know it's them right quick.]

Here's to hoping.

[Justice knows who it is. He's polishing a dagger when she knocks, perking at the combined presences of Anders and Riona. His first thought is that there's something serious that needs his attention, though he's not sure what it would be since the Vieziri are dead and Anders has mostly recovered.

He sets his dagger aside and opens the door, perpetual frown creased in concern.] Riona. Anders. [It's a short, abrupt greeting, but he's using their names, so it's warm by his standards. He glances down at the mirror in Riona's hand, and he arches a single questioning eyebrow at her.]

[Anders is more than happy to take this thing into full swing, it was definitely an improvement over the activities taking their time previously.

Plus, this was desperately needed at this point, a real priority.

He and Riona sweep up the hall like a force of nature with a mission and it barely stops at Justice's door. As soon as it's open and the spirit has greeted them, Anders has a hand on Justice's shoulder and is pushing their friend back into his own room and out of their way so they can follow.]

Justice, my friend, we're here to help you. You need saving from yourself, you just don't realize it yet.

[Get ready for a ride, Justice.]

This 'corpse look' has to stop.

[Riona's trying so hard not to laugh. Poor Justice, he has no idea what he's in for.]

I'm afraid Anders is right. This is nothing short of a crisis that needs to be remedied immediately.

[She moves into the room behind them and shuts the door.]

Fortunately, we know just what to do.

[Justice's eyes widen a fraction in surprises and confusion as he's pushed back into the room, then he softens in understanding.] You intend for me to change my appearance.

[They had both brought it up independently when he arrived, so he supposes it had only been a matter of time. He's not against it, necessarily. Maybe it will make things easier if he doesn't frighten people so thoroughly every time he meets them.]

I assume you have a new form in mind for me?

Something like that.

[It wasn't like they'd been able to draw it out, so they'd have to just do the best they could with description.]

Riona, it seems our friend is willing enough, would you like to do the honor of starting our little project?

[He offers to take the mirror from her to hold up while she 'worked.']

I humbly accept the offer.

[She hands the mirror to Anders, then gently turns Justice towards the mirror so he can see what he's doing.]

Well, first thing's first: the skin. It can't be looking so gaunt and sickly. It needs to be a healthier color and full, like mine and Anders.

[Justice isn't used to being the center of this kind of attention. Aggressive or unsettled attention, sure, but this kind of eager excitement to do something new? It's different. Not bad, though.

Justice glances between Anders and Riona uncertainly before looking at the mirror. He doesn't want to take Kristoff's face, nor does he want to look closer to how Kristoff looked in life, so making his skin look more alive without slipping closer to Kristoff may be tricky.

But he closes his eyes and considers. Kristoff had been a very pale man. He burned easily, and the effect made him look menacing in dim light. Justice can take on a complexion that differs enough from Kristoff's to be comfortable.

The change is... strange. His features become indistinct, like one is looking at him through smeared glasses cut for an old prescription. Blue light glimmers just under the surface of the blurry mass that's meant to be skin.

But that only lasts for a moment. The next moment, his skin is smooth and loses its sallow pallor. His cheeks have plumped somewhat with a ruddy hue, and he doesn't look so dead.

Then he opens his eyes, and they're still covered in silvery cataracts, glowing softly in the dim light of his room. Instead of looking at the mirror, he looks at Riona and Anders instead, trusting their judgment more than his own.] Is that better?

[Anders couldn't deny watching the whole thing was fascinating, it wasn't like he'd ever seen a spirit do what Justice was doing. That said, they were far from over, even if this was already a vast improvement.]

Much! You actually look like you ought to be walking around.

Now the eyes, you look like you're blind, in the best case. Can you make them...maybe a blue? Or at least something with an iris and pupil.

[Riona finds it mildly unsettling, but yes, also rather fascinating. It's bizarre to see him change literally before their eyes, but he was. Riona smiles appreciatively as the skin transforms, and nods along with Anders's words.]

Yes, much better. You look like an actual person rather than a corpse. It's already a drastic improvement. You definitely need to do something about your eyes, yes. [She glances at Anders.] Face first, then hair? Or just get the hair done and over with?

[Justice watches their faces change in approval with his shift, and he thinks this is a good thing. He's been wanting to have a new perspective anyway. Perhaps he will change again a few months after he has seen what it is like to appear as a living, human man. But that's something to think about another day.

His perpetual frown etches a little deeper in thought as they talk about his eyes. Kristoff also had blue eyes, before they clouded in death. Justice does not want to look too similar to Kristoff as he did when he was alive. That said, not everyone with blue eyes and pink skin looks like Kristoff, so this seems like an issue that can be fixed.]

I will give you a more neutral face to begin with.

['Neutral' for the given sense of the word. Many people on the Fleet see Justice as a blind woman, and Justice doesn't think that that's the form Anders and Riona are aiming for, so instead he cobbles together the various forms that he's been given in the past while in the Fade and picks things from them. He had not often been given a fully defined face--usually it was hidden by something like a helmet or a scarf, if he was humanoid to begin with--but he's been around long enough that he can put something together.

Once again, his features blur, though it's all localized to his face and light glows beneath his skin. He changes his features into something harder than Kristoff's, like Justice's jaw and nose and brow were carved from stone. It doesn't look quite human, but it's difficult to tell exactly what pushes it just over the edge. Perhaps it's just too hard, too much of an exaggerated concept that only makes sense in dreams. Justice trusts that Riona and Anders will make it human enough to pass.

And his eyes lose the cataracts, becoming the color blue Justice is most comfortable with. Riona and Anders may find the particular shade to be familiar.]

Face first, I think. Once we're happy with that, the hair should be easy enough.

[He waits while Justice morphs his face into something 'nuetral' and he has to admit, he's surprised that the spirit does as good a job as did, considering they were asking him to work with their abstract concepts. What he makes up isn't perfect, but it's certainly a good starting point.

The eyes take him by surprise for a completely different reason. He knows it's the same color his own eyes would turn whenever it was Justice controlling their actions and words, but instead of it taking over the whole eye like some sort of cover, it's limited to the iris and creates a fairly striking visual.]

I like the eyes.

[He looked to Riona.] What do you think?

[Riona nods, acquiescing to that suggestion. Make the hair work with the face makes more sense anyway.

There is definitely something a little off about the neutral face, though Riona doesn't say anything about it just yet. Given that Justice is a spirit and that he's completely winging this, it's a decent effort. They can nitpick and change details as they go along.

It takes her a moment to realize it, but her brow almost raises when she puts it together. An interesting choice, but it's far less unsettling than from what she last remembers. Here, it just makes his eyes a pretty, pretty blue. They stand out, but not abnormally so.]

I like them a lot. Definitely would go with that. [Now with the eyes sorted out...] Strong jaw, right? So Justice, think of a jawline like Wolfe or Alistair's. More square and pronounced.

[It's a good thing that they all agree to the eye color, because Justice is very comfortable with this shade of blue.

What he doesn't want is to look like Alistair, and he definitely doesn't want to look like Anders' boyfriend. So to avoid either of those things, Justice turns to Anders' thoughts and plucks out his memory of what Alistair looks like.

Mortals rarely remember each other's faces exactly, especially if they do not spend a lot of time together, so Anders' mental image of Alistair's face should be different enough from the reality that Justice can work with it. Justice takes it as a broad stroke, and then shifts his jaw to only roughly match it. Square and strong, but not identical to Alistair.]

[Anders watches the change and considers it a moment before nodding in approval. It seemed alright to him, if Riona wanted to make an addendum, she could.]

Sharpen and raise the cheekbones just a bit, not too much, no one wants to cut themselves on your face. [He gestured to where his own cheek bones were as though to help with the visuals, but his mind had traveled to gently yet still angled curve of Nate's cheekbones.]

[Okay, this is taking shape quite nicely.]

Super sharp cheekbones can be attractive, but hard to pull off. Best to play it safe.

[Once Justice finishes with that, Riona decides it's time to work on the nose.]

Okay, the nose. Strong jaw deserves a strong nose. Nothing humongous, mind. A longer, narrower nose would do nicely. Anders's is in the area of what we had in mind, if you need a starting point.

[Anders has someone in particular in mind. Justice arches one eyebrow, but while he can be the busiest busybody when it comes to morality, he tries to avoid gossiping about harmless stuff that’s none of his business, so he doesn’t say anything about it.

He changes his cheekbones, giving himself a more graceful profile, and then considers Anders’ nose critically to figure out how he can have something similar but different. He settles on making it similar but sharpening it.

Although all this fussing about details does make him curious.] Why are you so specific about details? Do you intend for me to look more than simply alive?

[Justice had expected they’d eventually help him change his appearance, but they seem far more invested in how the end product will look than he is. Why are they concerned by more than just making him look alive and not like someone else?]

[He's a bit grateful Justice chooses to stay silent, he definitely might not have, but that wasn't one he really wanted to explain.

He is impressed with how Justice seems to be able to take their directions so well, shaping what they're describing, and yet making it something all his own.]

We intend for you to put your best foot forward, as it were. Alive is all well and good, but looking...a certain way will make people who first meet you more open to getting to know you. Call it a silly human thing but, trust us, this will help.

Anders and I came to a general consensus about a certain appearance. Don't worry, it's not modeled on anyone we know. We didn't want you to just look "alive". We want to give you your own appearance, something that's yours.

[Granted, she and Anders are guiding the process, but it's not as if Justice can't just change it later if he develops a preference or idea.]

[Justice is a liiiiiiittle skeptical of the importance of a specific appearance, especially in how people treat him, but he’ll roll with it. Riona and Anders are the experts on mortal behavior, after all, and not him. If they think it’s important that he look more than just alive, then he’ll let them take the lead.]

Very well. What else would you like me to adjust?

[Anders fixes Justice with a critical eye, assessing.]

I think that's decent enough, now we just need to work on the hair.

Maybe...how about something dark? Like a dark brown or black? I'm not sure about the length or style though.

[He looks to Riona for that input.]

[As he well should, considering how fabulous her own hair is.

Riona nods in agreement at the color as she circles around Justice, imagining different hairstyles on him.]

Definitely a dark brown or black. I'd think a more swept back style, perhaps a bit on the longer side. Maybe to the bottom of the neck, though that would require taking care of the hair. Would you be willing to learn how, Justice? It's not difficult, just requires washing it and keeping it trimmed.

[Justice is feeling judged, and not in the usual way. His friends are having fun with this.]

I control how I appear. My hair does not grow unless I expect it to.

[Same with greasiness, but it doesn't even occur to Justice that that's what Riona means when she says he'd need to wash it. He just assumes she means he'd need to wash it if it became matted with mud or blood or any other mess that he may get into it. He doesn't mind cleaning that kind of thing off.

Justice shakes his head, and in a headache-inducing blink, he has thick jet black hair down to the base of his neck. He's aimed for the swept back style that Riona described, but it has the careless messiness of a person who doesn't care to know that much about hair styles.]

[Anders blinks a bit as his eyes try to make sense of hair not being there and then suddenly being there, but the feeling passes quickly.

He takes a step closer and reaches out to straighten Justice's hair out a bit. Messiness could be attractive, if it was a charming messiness. A couple swipes with the mage's fingers and he steps back again to consider the whole picture.

And he's fairly certain his heart skips a momentary beat.]

Andraste's tits... [He slung his arm around Riona's waist.]

I do believe we've outdone ourselves. [Shooting a smirk to Justice.] With your help, of course.

[In a blink, the hair is there. And in that blink, Justice's new appearance is complete. A handsome one, at that. Sure, that's what they were going for the entire time, but seeing it before her eyes really drives it home. Riona grins widely, turning to Anders as he slings his arm around her. Her hands clap together, excited and pleased with how this turned out.]

I dare say we did. We're geniuses. [She laughs.] And Justice the master builder. Take a look in the mirror, Justice. What do you think?

IC Inbox (Drift Fleet)

MAKEOVER TIME

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