[b]Pink![/b]

John reminded her a lot of Monk. It made him a lot more relatable to her than most humans, they often changed their colours without doing anything nearly as convenient as altering their expression.

"I'd never hurt these lizards!" Pink protested in a way that did not address the subtext of Fiona's complaint. "I just..." she trailed off, wilting. "No. You're right, there's no way it'd be safe. Thanks for reminding me." She gave a determined smile. "But if I work hard, I'm sure I'll get there!"

She was trying her best not to make Fiona feel bad. It wasn't her fault that Pink had no idea how to handle any amount of pushback. Nobody had a responsibility to humour her unintelligible ideas and drives.

[b]Yellow![/b]

"I think," said Yellow, "that any drive that is so profoundly [i]basic [/i]as to have a one-word summary is unworthy of the individual and the world. It's such a childish concept, to make everything the same colour, and promoting that kind of weak shit is why you keep getting eugenicists showing up no matter how many times you punch them. You think a better world is [i]basic[/i]? Can you even [i]articulate [/i]what a better world looks like?"

She's fired up again now. "Tell me your definition of 'better'. Do you define it as the presence of Taco Tuesdays? Do you think the world with free Taco Tuesdays is better, and that is boring, and so that the very concept of improving the world is therefore boring? Have you put any thought into the bureaucratic structures that provides the tacos, the ability to finance that project in perpetuity, how to stop corporations from inflating away minimum wages using the justification of free tacos and thus rendering the entire paradigm an entirely subsumed aspect of the dominant society? Do you think that committing to the ideal of beauty and covering everything in rose petals absolves you of the greenhouse-industrial complex you'd need to commit to the production and maintenance of those roses? Do you want a true machine god to solve existential problems, [b]divine [/b]problems or do you want a blundering idiot deity who you respect for processing you into a paperclip?"

[b]Red![/b]

She half considered flinching. It would have been really cool to see Crystal pounce. But that's not quite the right move, so she discards it and stands firm instead. Luckily she has a filter for that too.

"Sophie? She showed me how to become a monster," said Red. Synthmuscles bunched in her legs, colour darkening a shade, deep as Blood. "You want to see?"

Her hands spread out to the side. Her illuminated joints smoulder. Her fingernails twitch and curl into talons. She's neither predator nor prey but something weirder, something mythical and perilous. In the intensity of that stare is the implication that she's thinking about getting through that armour with claws and teeth. A monster cannot be hurt even by the forest's king, only a paladin with heart full of fear and courage might stand a chance.