Scene #2817: Halloween Henshin

Owner	Pose
Rashmi Terios	It's inching close to Halloween, and while many typical activities of the holiday aren't done in Japan, enough foreign-born students attend Radiant Heart that the local shops ringing the campus have developed a similar tradition for the younger students (and those older ones who don't mind looking childish); The Ghost Parade. Be in costume, present your bag to the person sitting outside the shop with a 'Trick or Treat!' and get your one (1) promotional candy, and a discount on anything you get in that shop, and move on. Usually, most students will simply run the line until they get to their favorite place, then burn out their pocket money there. Rashmi doesn't so much mind looking childish on occasion, and Entrapta needs to have some fun in the wider world too. So, after a bit of discussing with Setsuna, Rashmi shows up at Entrapta's door with a big old sack slung over her shoulder and a cheerful KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Entrapta-chaaaan, it's me!"
Entrapta	The door opens. There is...nobody opening it. In fact, it actually creaks, and the inside is ...did someone give her an Addams Family reruns download or something? Because it's creepy inside! Of course it's never that, Entrapta leaps up from where she's working and sprays parts all over the dark room! One lands in Rashmi's hands, actually, it looks like a little blinking LED and battery. "Rashmi!" Her voice, still as too high and weird as ever (but we love her anyway) sounds both surprised and happy! Which is totally why she immediately trips over something and goes down with a THUD. She springs back up as if nothing has happened though and comes over for a HUG! "It's been a while! I have no idea! You're holding a bag, is this a kidnapping? I haven't been kidnapped more than..." She pauses, trying to count. The fact that she has a list of kidnappings is concerning. "Four times. What are you here for? I'm building a matter stasis module."
Rashmi Terios	There is, of course, the moment of surprise and confusion as parts spray everywhere, and especially one landing right in her open hand, followed by the eager-puppy tumbling and bumbling approach, which gives her time to brace for the ballistic hug. Which is returned with warm laughter and a squeeze. "It has been a bit, are you doing all right? And no this isn't a kidnapping, just... There's something fun happening tonight, I thought you might like to take part in? If you're at a pausing point though, I don't want to risk making you have to start over. Here..." Walking into the room, she sets Entrapta down on the nearest open spot on the floor, then hunts for a good place to deposit her bag. "So... Every year the businesses around the school put on a little event for the kids; you dress up in costume, and go from shop to shop getting candy. It's based on a tradition from another country, and it's just... honestly, pointless fun? Which is sometimes the best kind of fun."
Entrapta	"Oh I LOVE convoluted sociological constructs!" She's really getting used to the language, if not the proper contexts. Though to her they may seem like...exactly what she said there. "Oh it's fine, it's fine. All it actually does at the moment is sit there and judge me for not getting it working, so it can wait." She brushes a part off of her shoulder. That was probably close to an insult, and to an invention? This must be quite muchly frustrating her. So! "A costume! I have no idea what that is! I know the word, but it has so many variables!" She bats at Rashmi's hair, and something that was crawling in her room gets knocked out of it. Okay, there also needs to be some form of tidying done later. She's probably used to having servants. Though this time of year a spider is the least of the scary. Calming down a bit now that she's thoroughly greeted her Sempai, Entrapta says more simply, "Do I look weird enough already?" Honestly all she'd have to do is lower her visor on her welding mask and she'd be golden...
Rashmi Terios	"...You've been working on this for awhile, haven't you," Rashmi says... And then Entrapta baps something out of her hair. Her smile freezes, and the brief full-body shudder that climbs her outline doesn't seem to knock more than a few hairs out of her plait. "...Thank you Entrapta-chan and no to experience the full value of fun you need a costume. Because without dressing up as something you're not, you're not trick-or-treating, you're just asking strangers for candy," she says with a laugh. "Which probably wouldn't get you the results you wanted, so best to not. Is it okay to turn the lights up a little bit? I brought a bunch of costume stuff, and we can pick and choose what we want to wear!" Pausing for a moment, she furrows her brow, convinced she missed something. Then; "Oh! Right! In this context a 'costume' is a kind of clothing made specifically to represent a different being, whether real or imaginary or magical. There's actually a good amount of overlap with the last two, especially in Japan."
Entrapta	Her own smile never falters. This is Entrapta after all. "You've known me for a while," she says about the first question. "Maybe better not to ask silly questions." Huge grin, eyes happy. Oh yeah, she's living the dream. She taps the tabletop with a fingertip, then says, "Penelope, lights up. You can just ask her to do things, you know," she says as the lights come on. The room is a shambles, of course, but shoving stuff aside is just as easy. Kick that, move those things. "Suppose I should organize in here. So, what did you bring? I'm EXCITED!" She's excited.
Rashmi Terios	"Granted," Rashmi chuckles, and sets the bag down next to the tabletop. "I could!" she says. "But this is your space, and you being comfortable here matters most, Entrapta-chan. ...Though if you want I will absolutely help you organize, later. For now, though?" The bag is opened, and Rashmi pulls out one outfit after another, held in individual dry-cleaning bags to protect them from the wear of transport. The first outfit is... mostly simple? A gold-trimmed red tunic, black leggings, red boots, gold-bordered black cloak... and the widest and floppiest hat that cosplay magic can give structure to, with a sawtooth patters and big fake-button eyes that make the hat seem a creature in its own right. "Now remember," she says, "you're the one getting first pick, and there's four in here. Setsuchan assures me we can have the alterations done before it's time to go, so if you like something best but it doesn't fit you best, we can fix that." The next costume is... more stately? But still a thing of drapery and swooshes in gold-trimmed white; oversized sleeves and a slightly military-cut dress with black leggings, and a white mantle drapes around the shoulders.
Entrapta	And that's when Entrapta does something TOTALLY NEW! She takes off her clothes. Right there, no shame at all. Then she takes one of the outfits, the first one, and pulls it on over her head. Her hair gets weirdly tangled, and she makes noises when it does, but she clearly commits to things. Also, apparently purple boy shorts? Kind of predicted, really. She puts on that hat, and has this manic pixie dream grin as the brim covers her eyes. She looks SUPER evil, red mage waiting to melt your face. And..bare legs. She hasn't got all the accoutrements yet, but she's posing. "I am the wizard Orko, fear my magical blasts!" Then she lets out the best evil laugh heard in these dorms in ages. It literally echoes. Then, slightly calmer, "Yeah, we should tidy."
Rashmi Terios	WELP OKAY THAT IS DIFFERENT, oh hey look at that interesting thing bolted to the wall! But upon hearing the hat puff down over Entrapta's head, Rashmi can't help but laugh in delight at the sheer joy Entrapta finds in the costume. And that laugh! "...Okay I have got to introduce you to Hotaru-chan, that was an amazing villain laugh and she is a connoisseur. And that looks good on you, too -- better when all of it is on, but!" Digging back into the bag, she pulls out the last two, and they are... different. The first one is an absolute motley of Victorian drapery, leather corsetry and belts with pouches galore brass scarab broaches, a wonderfully swishy greatcoat to top it all, and brass goggles! "I'll need to help you into this one, but it'll probably be worth it if you like it; Setsuchan calls it 'steampunk' and we both thought of you immediately." The last, though Entrapta would have no way to know, oddly resembles Adora's outfit, back on Etheria; Red military jacket over a white faux-armor breastplate, vertical stripey pants, and chomky boots with brass fake-armor plates.
Entrapta	And here's where it gets weird. No, it wasn't weird yet, NOW it happens. "Can I ...just..." Entrapta looks at the outfits, all four of them, and starts reaching. "It's okay if I just, do this, and ..this, right?" She's not doing the outfits. No, she's not simple like that. She's... Oh lord heaven above, she's inventing something new. It's fascinating. It's impossible. It's....HENSHIN. Her hair moves, somehow. Magic in the air, she moves things with her hair, mixing the costumes. And in moments, she starts to bear the weight. Until she begins to shine.
Rashmi Terios	"I mean, sure you can mix and match if you want Entrapta-chan?" Rashmi chuckles as she steps back, to give her kohai room. ...And Nicomachea starts to ping. Then ping urgently. Then as Entrapta begins to glow, and Rashmi's jaw falls open, Nicomachea looses a loud << BONG! >> << MASTER. ALERT. MASTER. ENERGY SIGNATURE DESIGNATE 'Etheria' GREATLY PROXIMATE. >> ...Thank you Nicomachea, that was very helpful. ...And of course, it's more of Setsuchan's hard work that has to be sacrificed, but hey... maybe henshin rules'll apply in reverse? But when the light dies down, Rashmi's shock slowly resolves to blinding joy. "ENTRAPTA-CHAN! YOU DID IT!"
Entrapta	She absolutely did. The outfit is a conglomeration of what was, and becomes what Entrapta should always have been. Her hair is FLOWING, moving in the air, and IT reaches out and hugs Rashmi, with the girl attached to the hair's face smiling and smart. Knowing and powerful and filled with joy. It doesn't last, the power falling away and the hair going limp and normal and still, but Entrapta doesn't look discouraged. The outfit at least looks insert expletive here incredible, all buckles and purple and science. "I have to get readings! PENELOPE! FULL SPECTRUM ALL ACCESS RECORD!" The room lights up. OH GOD DOES IT LIGHT UP. The walls open up, and hidden machines pop out. A needle takes a blood sample from her arm, she holds up for the test to be done. Flashes happen, and the floor actually rotates underneath her feet. The roof opens, and some kind of whirligig kaleidoscope shines down on the girl. What has she done to her dorm? It only makes her raise her arms, and only takes a few seconds. Then Entrapta sighs like she's just about to need a cigarette. "Damn. Did Nicomachea get anything? How do I look?"
Rashmi Terios	Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh SHE REALLY DID IT! Nevermind that the hair goes limp, when Entrapta lunges her in that amazing getup she hugs back fiercely, grinning from ear to ear. She will ask about the alterations to the school's infrastructure later, because if it was all implanted in secret, surely it can be removed without incident when she moves to Mamoru's place. Surely. 'Damn.' "Yeah!" 'Did Nicomachea get anything?' "YEAH!!" 'How do I look?' "AMAZING!" ...Rashmi might be monosyllabic for a bit. Gotta let the brain reboot.
Entrapta	It all fades, and sadly it just becomes pieces of outfit before their eyes. Not quite as awesome. Still pretty nice though. Without the moving hair and shining bits, it's all a bit less insanely sparkly though. And that's what it was. Entrapta's own sparkle. Now it's just pants. "I've got to study all the data, but I'm gonna go with the first costume for play time I think." She's NOT going as that for the Ghost Parade? Is she not ..human? Seems so. But she does dance for a bit, just revelling in a real solid win. "We invented something, and I have no idea what yet but we invented science, magical science, wiggle wiggle." Okay, her own form of reboot. To be fair, this is just another step in a long chunk of work. But it's a good one.
Rashmi Terios	"We did, you did, Entrapta-chan I am so happy for you!" Rashmi says, her voice climbing towards teakettle notes. While she doesn't quite do a happy dance herself, bouncing on her toes with fists balled up under big, shining eyes... well it's close enough." But just a moment later, it hits her; this was a real breakthrough, and Rashmi would totally have understood if she wanted to spend the next weeks poring over the data generated by this brief moment. Heck, Rashmi would have been happy to be right next to her kohai all the while. But she still wants to dress up and beg for candy, like a young child. Sometimes, it's easy to feel that you don't deserve to have such lovely friends. But Rashmi is made happy by the thought that whether or not that's true... She has them.
Entrapta	This once. This once, fate steps in. And Penelope says, "Data will require minimum of sixteen hours to process. I'm sorry Entrapta, please be patient with me." Entrapta's face falls. "Aw," she says with a voice that just got denied candy and ice cream. Then she turns to Rashmi, and says, "But...but..." Then she looks at Rashmi's face. "I'm forgetting something important, aren't I?" Well. I mean. Candy is important.
Rashmi Terios	"Play-time will happen well before that? In--" by reflex she checks her wrist, but the result is a time-stamp overlaid on her vision-processing cortex "--Four hours? You can swap into street clothes, we can get a late lunch, then come back and dress up to get candy?" Is there truly a better friend than one who will relieve you of the need to place things into an orderly sequence?
Entrapta	"I want to wear the magical wizard outfit," Entrapta says as she adapts. Her emotions are really quite fun, sometimes. Maybe she likes showing off her legs, or the boots did it for her. Either way, it's a choice, finally made. There is no better friend. Also, HECK YEAH candy! I can live with that. :) :) :)