1636/My Girlfriend Goes Here

My Girlfriend Goes Here
Date of Scene:	24 May 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Double Trouble tries to sneak back into their dorm room to recover something they missed when Nurse Meiou helped them get out. They end up catching Amy's eye, and curiosity. They always love talking about themselves. They even get what they came for.
Cast of Characters:	Double Trouble, Amanda Faust

---

Double Trouble has posed:
    Without their shapeshifting powers, Double Trouble was stuck mostly hanging out at Obsidian Tower. Nobody looked at a lizard person twice there. They fit in. But it was boring hanging around the office, and besides, when they'd left with Nurse Meiou, they had not grabbed nearly enough things.

    Which is why they put on a headband and an oversized hoodie they could hide their tail underneath and went back to campus. It was their room too, even if it was Dianora's name on the paperwork, so they had a key. It wasn't really sneaking in if they technically belong there.

    And so they crossed the campus quad to the dorms, making their way to the room that they shared with Hinoiri.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Things are... tense. Sunbreaker is out there hurting people but they aren't quite ready to take her on yet. There's a plan, but...

    She could show up at any time, and getting energy drained might be disastrous for a Puella Magi.

    Amy's not sure she could fight her, honestly. How that will probably go plays out in her head whenever she thinks about it. Pleading with Sunbreaker to stop this and the enemy-she-tries-to-befriend-turned-monster just laughing dismissively before draining her.

    From how strong people say Sunset apparently is, the resulting Witch probably wouldn't even slow her up.

    So she's tried to stay on RHM campus and not go far alone. And maybe pushed herself even more into reading her stories...

    So it is that she's looking at her phone as she comes to the girls' dorm's main door to head to dinner. She glances up, sees someone about to arrive at the door in a couple of seconds, and holds it open, giving a smile and a little nod without really looking.

    Although, with her eyes back down on her phone, as the stranger passes she sees a snake or something and... what??? What's a snake doing is that a tail?!

    Amy looks around. Is no one else reacting to this? Is it a... magic thing?

    ...Is it maybe just a really good cosplay prop?

    Man if it is that's even cooler and she wants to tell the person so. She starts following them.

    ...She was intending to follow to see if this is a weird magic thing but after a few seconds she feels kinda... creepy, stalking somebody in the dorm? So to hell with it.

    "Hey uh." The redhead calls out. "I like the tail. That's really cool."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Well shit. Double Trouble stops. They can feel it. Their tail peeking out from under the hoodie. At the thought, it swishes out and the way it moves puts any notion that it's a prop out of any onlookers' minds. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

    They turn around and look at Amy. They've got the hood up, but their eyes are still yellow and peculiarly shaped. Their teeth are still sharp. Their skin is still green. They smile, showing those razor sharp teeth, and say, "Oh, thank you, darling."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is slightly taken aback by the them you know, monster-face looking back at her, and for a split-second she could believe it's an incredible quality costume but the face moves. It's not a mask. Those are real teeth.

    So uh. what?

    Is it an alien? Amy knows actual aliens, so it could be! It could also be a real live monster, but youma don't seem capable of subtlety like whatever would require sneaking into a dorm. Also this one put on a hoodie to try and hide and she's not sure she's ever seen a youma wear a disguise, either.

    But also. They were. Polite?

    Amy can't help staring. After a moment for all these thoughts to fly through her head, one obvious thought manages to reach her mouth:

    "You're not a kemoner."

    Smooth.

    "I mean... It is really cool, but... that's not a costume, is it. What uh... Welcome to Earth? Do you uh, go to school here? I'm Amy..." she flounders a bit, unsure as to just what is happening...

Double Trouble has posed:
    They do go to school there, but not looking like that. Indeed, they've met Amy before as Dianora. But they can't say any of that because they can't compromise that identity. So instead they lie. They're good at it. "No, I don't, but my girlfriend does," they say. That's not even a lie. Their girlfriend does go to school there. "She's away on vactaion, and I left some things in her room, and was going to come back and get them."

    They glance up and down the hall and then reach out to grab hold of Amy's hand. "Come on, we're almost to her room. We can talk more behind closed doors."

    Then they turn to lead Amy down the hall the last few doors to Hinoiri's room. They put their key in the door and open it, stepping inside and then gesturing for Amy to follow them in.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh the lizard person is someone's ...significant other! "That's cool." She says, earnestly, and follows, glancing down at the hand curiously as they walk.

    "My girlfriend is from space too." Amy offers conversationally as she steps into the room.

    "Are there other lizard-people living among huma--" She covers her face with both hands as she realizes what she just said out loud. "I'm so sorry humanity decided that was a meme. That must be super-awkward for you..."

    She doesn't have Hinoiri's room number memorized, so absent other clues, she hasn't put that together yet.

Double Trouble has posed:
    Inside the room there are scorch marks on the walls and ceiling and floor. Double Trouble walks in and lets the door close behind them.

    "I couldn't tell you. There aren't any other lizard people like me, that's for sure," they say with certainty. "I am a singular phenomenon," they declare, and then they throw the hood back off their head, remove the head band, and shake out their long yellow hair. "I am Double Trouble!"

    Then they laugh, "But it's not usually a problem. I don't usually go out looking like this. I'm a chameleon. I usually look human out in public. But," they say, and gesture around to the scorch marks. "She drained my magic before she left."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Yeah scorch marks are a pretty clear clue! "Wait, is this..."

    Hinoiri's room.

    Amy does know what floor it's on. It exploded that one time!

    At Double Trouble's introduction, she looks properly enthralled. DT's manner makes her subconsciously want to applaud, although she doesn't because that seems like a weird thing to do just for an introduction.

    A chameleon. Who usually looks human. As that gets through her head, she can't help looking excited. "You're a shapeshifter?!"

    A look they probably see every time they tell that to someone who has known for as long as they can remember that if they could have any superpower they would pick shapeshifting because it's the coolest one.

    A look which then falls to sympathetic worry as the rest of it clicks. "...And you're mode-locked?! Ohmigosh are you okay?" She walks around Double Trouble, trying to get a quick look from all angles, to get a good look at the tail and looking for and noting any other nonhuman details.

Double Trouble has posed:
    They give Amy a good long look before walking over and dramatically flopping over onto to Hinoiri's bed. They leave their own bed alone. It's Dianora's. They're not Dianora's themfriend.
    
    "It. Is. Dreadful," they say, their forearm thrown across their forehead dramatically. "If I were back on Etheria, not shifting would be an annoyance, but nobody would give me a second look. But here? Here I can't even manage to hide my tail long enough to sneak into my girlfriend's dorm unnoticed, apparently."

    They push up onto their elbows, looking at Amy, and say, "You're taking this all quite well. I'm guessing you're a sparkleskirt."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods along. It must be dreadful. And here on Earth, there are additional problems. "You could tell people you're a-- if you got a costume mask to wear over your face you could say it's a costume, and the tail's a sophisticated robotics project or something."

> I'm guessing you're a sparkleskirt.

    Amy blinks. She... didn't think about what she was giving away, here. "Well... I mean..." She rallies, and stands tall... stands short... stands up straight again, "Well, it's how we should be! Like, respect for all intelligent life has been a moral value in our fiction for decades! How could anyone fail to understand such a simple concept?"

    Beat.

    She slumps her shoulders and drops back out of 'friendship speech' to a drier tone. "Yeah okay we're a species of mostly bigots who apparently haven't learned anything over at least the past 14 millenia. But, like. Some of us are good."

    She takes a breath and lets it out as she straightens up again. "...Yeah, the veil doesn't help. If not for that... Even if I didn't have magic, my feelings would be the same. I'd just be more... surprised."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble just rests there on their elbows, watching as Amy struggles with saying something in response to their casual observation. Their lips press together into a thin smile. They are clearly enjoying this.

    Then they blink. With their second pair of eyelids. The ones that come in from the side underneath the ones every one expects to be there.

    "My dear Amy-chan, I haven't even been here for an entire Earth year, and I can tell you that that is not actually a simple concept for most humans to grasp," they say, shaking their head a little. "Individual people can be motivated by all kinds of things, but groups? Populations? They're motivated by fear, and people fear fear what they don't understand."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks at the strange way the alien(?) blinks.

    And, again, looks rather crestfallen as the failings of humanity are pointed out by an external observer. "Yeah... damn, I wish it weren't so. I wish the ones who let fear rule them could just go to their own planet and stop ruining things for the rest of us. At least you've managed to find one of the nicer places, the academy I mean... no wonder you're here enough to leave some stuff."

    She perks up a bit. "Hey, and you're dating a human so at least you found one good-- oh right she's not, nevermind. Although it doesn't sound like her people are very nice, either..."

    But... the presence of an alien does offer one last hope, which Amy looks to Double Trouble for: "Are all intelligent species like this, or is it just humans?"

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble shifts on the bed, pulling their legs up underneath them, sitting up, their tail wrapping around their waist. "I don't know. They seemed nice enough," they say. "But her mentor, Sora? Terrible mentor. She really messed Hinoiri up." There's a gesture at the scorch marks again. They shake their head and sigh.

    Then Amy asks that question and they laugh. "There is no such thing as a perfect intelligence that makes no mistakes. It takes effort to be kind and respectful, and it's not hard to mess it up." Then they shrug. "But I've hardly met every intelligent species out there. Do you know Adora? Has she told you about Horde Prime?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at the assessment of Sora. She quirks an eyebrow at the laugh, and... takes some comfort in the evaluation that at least as far as Double Trouble knows, many kinds struggle with kindness. "Yeah. I know her, I mean. And you..." she snaps her fingers but not actually, she never learned how to do it right, and points. "You mentioned Etheria, right! You're from the same place as Bow and Adora and Catra... well, same place, a zillion different timelines, I guess. So what brought you here?"

    Amy scratches the back of her head. "Uhhh... if she mentioned a Horde Prime, I... don't remember? It's been awhile, and like... I do not have, a perfect memory. It would be super handy if I had a computer in my head to remember every detail like that, but... I've got a lot crammed in here as it is..."

Double Trouble has posed:
    "I have no idea how I got here. I was busy getting ready for a theater production and then I was here on Earth," they say with a shrug, their hands held out to the side and everything. They sigh and shake their head. "It's a tragedy, too. That show will never be the same without me."

    They shift on the bed again, one knee held out to the side with the other up, their arms wrapped around it. Their tail swishes behind them. "Horde Prime was a galactic tyrant. He'd conquered countless worlds all across the galaxy. And then he came to Etheria and tried the same tricks. He ruled with fear."

    They smirk. "We showed him all the flaws in his methods." And by we they mostly mean Adora, but it wouldn't be Double Trouble if they didn't steal a little credit for themselves. They participated!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The show will never be the same. "I bet." Amy agrees. "A shapeshifting actorrrrrrrrrrthespian? Man, I remember in high school drama club, I sometimes wished I could read all the parts because others weren't putting feeling into them, but I, uhh... um, well I don't really have stage presence. Or didn't? M-maybe I should give it another try... Buh, but sparkleskirting doesn't leave me with a lot of spare time."

    Amy listens, rapt, to the description of tyranny's fall. "Ooh, nice! You know, it really sucks that Earth media always casts shapeshifters as the bad guys. Like, 'oh, someone can look like different people, clearly they would only ever use this to deceive and hurt people'. What planet do those writers live on? They can't think of anything else? Like cosplay! Or just trying different shapes to see what it's like? I mean, I guess we finally got Nimona..."

    Amy looks away with awkward sadness. "But that uh. Was a realistic, and not happy, ending..."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble's lips pull back in a wide grin and then they laugh. "Oh, Amy-chan, you're so precious," they say shaking their head. Then they slide off the bed and zip around her. They may not have their magic, but they're still fast. "Do you always think the best of people?"

    They zip back over to Hinoiri's bed and sit on the edge, lifting one leg to drape over the knee of the other and then rest their hands on their knees. They look so proper like that. It makes their oversized hoodie even funnier. "Ask Adora or Bow about me sometime. I helped take down Horde Prime because I could tell what the winning side was, but I'm not a good person, Amy-chan. Where do you think I met Hinoiri?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy turns her head, watching DT circle her. With growing unease, but she's a bit distracted by this sounding like a confirmation of humanity's fears.

    She was, maybe, a little weirdly invested in this cool alien shapeshifter? She actually looks a little crushed.

    "Oh..." She looks away. "I guess that makes sense."

    "...Wait." She looks back at DT. "But then why are you being honest about that now? Unless you're lying, but then, that would mean..." She furrows her brow trying to figure out what their game could be in that case.

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble laughs. "It's not all black and white, Amy-chan," they say. They slide off the bed and walk across the room. They grab the unicorn stuffie off of Dianora's bed, and then they turn to look at Amy. "I'm being honest because I know you're not learning anything new, except about me, and I'm not ashamed I work for Obsidian. They took me in, helped me get settled, and hooked me up with the most amazingly dramatic unicorn in the world."

    They hug the stuffy to their chest. "I got what I came for," they say. Then they look at Amy for a long minute. "I know you care about her. When this is all over? When she gets her senses beat back into her? She's going to need friends." There's a pause as they bite at their lip. They start to move toward the door, resting their hand on the handle and pulling it open, holding it there. "She'll have me, but she's going to need sparkle friends."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's not all black and white. "I'm literally a magical girl."

    Amy looks at the plush toy. Looks at DT. That's all she came for?

    "...You could sparkle too, you know." She holds a hand to her face and groans. "Okay, I hear how stupid that sounds. Still, I'm sure something could be worked out."

    She walks to and through the door, and then stops. "...Wait. You said you could tell what the winning side was. You really think Obsidian's gonna win?" She turns around. "Their leader tortured your girlfriend and is working for a demon that's trying to destroy the world. It did once already. That doesn't sound like a victory that's gonna go well for either side."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble follows Amy out and lets the door shut behind them, the plushie held tightly to their chest with one arm. They laugh and shake their head. "Beryl is not the leader of Obsidian, Amy-chan. She's on the Board, yeah, but she's just one. She's unhinged. Nobody likes working with her."
    Then they shrug. "It doesn't matter. I need Dark Energy to shapeshift on this magic-forsaken planet. That gives me exactly one place to be. I'm where I belong, Amy-chan." Then then glance both ways before more tightly coiling their tail around themselves up into their hoodie. They'd make sure it didn't get noticed this time. "I'd better get back there."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy sucks in air through her teeth at the comment about needing dark energy to shapeshift. Damn, Tsukino-san's past-mom really screwed up with that. "Okay, fair. ...I still think you could get a mask and pretend to be a kemoner until your powers come back. Um, it was nice meeting you."

    "...So what's it like having a tail, anyway?"

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble laughs and shakes their head and just starts walking toward the exit. But their tail swishes out from their hoodie and waves at Amy, and then coils back up underneath. And they call out over their shoulder. "Oh you're missing out, Amy-chan. You're missing out." Then they're gone.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Missing out??? "Aww, man... Oh uh, sorry for being weird about the shapeshifting I think it's cool!" she calls out, and then hopes no one else heard her and slinks away from people for a moment before finally making her way to the cafeteria.