theclipper_tlv | First Change

[Video]

[The video that comes up looks...off, somehow. The subject seems normal enough: human male, with spiky blond hair and eyes the color of a clear summer sky. And grinning.]

[It takes a moment to realize that, while the video comes through right-side up, the spikiness of the hair is more from the fact that his head is hanging off the seat of a couch with his legs up over the back.]

Good morning, campers!

And for those of you who have just arrived? Welcome to the Clipper! We have fun and games!

[And if anybody is wondering if that's a reference? The fact that he hums a riff of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'n' Roses will clear that up. Well, if they recognize the song, at least.]

[The picture goes fuzzy for a moment as Jason does a somersault from the couch, landing in a crouch and shaking his head.]

Whoo, headrush.

Anyway. My name is Jason Schuyler. [Pronounced 'Skyler', because Dutch.] I'm one of the Assistants here on the Clipper, though I haven't been here for THAT much longer than you newbies.

I run a dance class most days in the Common Room, so feel free to drop in and participate. I subscribe to the Elle Woods school of happiness: exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy.

[Ignore that the rest of that quote is about happy people not shooting their husbands. He knows THAT part is a lie.]

I also, occasionally, turn into a wolf. That's entirely under my control, so if you decide you need something to pet, give me a little bit of warning. It takes some time and I'm kinda stuck that way for about six hours or so afterward. But I'm happy to do so to help the general happiness quotient.

And even without that, I've been told I'm a good ear if anybody has something they need to get off their chest. Just come and find me.

[Spam - OTA]

[Those looking for Jason will mostly find him in the Common Room, either lounging on one of the couches or sometimes playing one of the VERY G-rated video games. Or dancing.]

[Assistants can sometimes find him in the Treehouse. Usually listening to music while keeping an eye on things.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't have to. I'm the one who controls who I make a werewolf and you're not one of them.

[A small pause, then--] Also, I'm pretty sure that would get me demoted and I definitely wouldn't be able to shift then.

Oh my god, who CARES?!

You can turn into a wolf and you're not sharing that with someone who really, really wants to! What if I just snuck up on you when you were sleeping and dropped my neck onto your open fangs? They wouldn't demote you for that!

[He sits back, taking a deep breath through his nose, holding it and letting it out through his mouth. Which Louise might recognize as somebody trying hard not to lose their everything at her.]

Louise. I've said no. Whatever reasons I may have for it are my own, but I ask you now to please respect my lack of consent in this issue.

Stupid consent issues.

FINE, Jason. I won't use your blood to make me into a wolf. You beautiful idiot, I just wanna slap your face off.

You're thinking of vampires.

[It still gets a small laugh out of him as he shakes his head.] You're not the first one, kiddo. Doubt you're going to be the last.

Seriously, though. This is the sort of thing to wait for until after you've finished growing. Shifting involves all of your bones breaking and reforming when you go either way. That takes a toll. I'm not kidding when I say it'll stunt your growth.

Shyeah, whatever. I bet Anita would turn me into a vampire if she knew a guy...

So I'll be a short werewolf! Big deal, I can get in and out of places you big dogs can't. I'll be USEFUL.

[If it were possible for human ears to perk up and swivel, Jason's would have done just that. He's able to, just, keep from laughing.]

[Mostly by making it sound like a bit of a coughing fit and clearing his throat.]

We don't need short werewolves. We have enough of those. And getting in and out of places we can't is one reason why we're friends with the wererats.

[Okay. It doesn't work QUITE like that. Conservation of mass is still a thing and wererats are still pretty big. But it SOUNDS better when faced with Louise.]

Shut up. You guys have wererats?!

What the HECK, Jason!

Oh yeah, there's a lot of weres in my world. My best friend is a wereleopard. We have werelions, weretigers and werebears. Oh my.

[He had to.]

We also have werehyenas, werefoxes...not many of those. There are some other were cat types in the southwest and other parts of the world back home. I'm sure there are others I've not heard of, too.

Wow. Okay. Guess somebody has to brag about coming from the coolest freaking world in existence.

It'd be a little more impressive if people weren't people.

[Jason lifts one shoulder and lets it drop in a move that he absolutely has picked up from Jean-Claude. Not that Louise would know.]

There's a lot of places in the US where weres are still classified as vermin and can be shot on sight.

Jason. Jason.

Shh. Stop trying to make animal transformation uncool. You're not gonna do it.

[That gets another snort.]

I might be able to find a wererabbit. And somebody named Tim to warn people away from you.

Jason, I swear, if you try to stop me from turning into a were-anything, I will kill you and wear your wolf skin around.

You couldn't because weres turn human again as soon as they die.

Seriously, though. You haven't seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Heard of the Rabbit of Caerbannog?

You mean that old movie that dads like quoting from? Yeah. I know it.

Never accuse me of that again. I'm a nerd, not a dad.

You're a ginormous nerd. GOD, werewolfism is so wasted on you!

Well, it wasn't my choice, so take that up with...other people.

[Note to self: never let Louise near Raina.]

What other people?

The person who bit me. It was an accident.

[Again, truth. It was an accident...that he lived. Raina hadn't cared that much either way.]

Some accident. What, did you wipe out on your bike and they were like "Hey, I'm lying here with my mouth open, fall on my face"?

Nope. [An absolute pop on that P.] But I'm also not going into the fine details, either. Suffice it to say that me ending up as a werewolf wasn't in either of our plans when it happened, but I've embraced it.

But that's what I want. I want to embrace it!

[He leans forward, elbows on his knees.]

Are werewolves common in your world, Louise?

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