OC: Tammy (she/her)
Species: Shulker
Universe: Minecraft

Hello, a voice whispered gently.

Her eyes went wide. “W-what?”

Eyes. She had eyes.

She supposed she'd always been able to see, but she'd never really been aware of the fact that she'd had eyes.

She had a lot more than eyes. She had a shell. She had hands, and legs, and skin, and a nose-

She smacked her hands on her face. Pain. That was what that feeling was.

Oh, no, don't do that, the voice laughed. Don't hurt yourself.

She realized she could stand and did so. Her legs wobbled. She knew for a fact that she hadn't had legs before.

A hand that wasn't her own closed around her upper arm, steadying her. She looked up into the face of- an enderman? No, a Watcher.

Watcher… so that was what they were called.

The Watcher smiled.

“Who are you?” she asked, even though she didn’t even know who she was.

I have several names, the Watcher said. You may call me Azdhid. Who are you?

She hesitated.

Who was she?

“I’m a shulker,” she said. “I teleport and shoot bullets.”

The other shulkers do that, too.

“I know,” she said.

That’s hardly a way to introduce yourself. Where is the individuality?

She shrugged. “I don’t have a name.”

That’s okay. You’ll find one, with time. You’ve only just acquired this form, after all.

“Did you turn me into… this?”

The Watcher nodded. You’re the first, at least in this world. You will not be the last.

“The first what?”

The first free mob.

“Free…?”

The Watcher sighed.

She suddenly felt defensive. “I just barely started existing like this, you can’t seriously expect me to know everything!”

I know, the Watcher said. I don’t expect you to. It’s just hard to explain.

“You can try,” she suggested.

The Watcher smiled. You’re already developing a personality… that’s wonderful. We Watchers like to experiment. We like to see what we can do. My personal fascination is mobs. Why are they so loyal to their code? If I gave them a chance to live their own lives, would they take it?

She looked down at herself. “So you turned me into… this.”

The Watcher - Azdhid - nodded. I can change you back, if you wish. The point is a choice. I don’t want you to be trapped in a form you don’t want to be in.

“No…” she mumbled. “I like this, actually.” she turned around, pulling away from the Watcher, and stared down at her hands. “It’s weird. But it’s new.”

You still have your code, Azdhid warned. Should you choose to stay in this form, you will have to also choose to fight it.

“Why didn’t you take it away?” she asked.

I don’t have the power to do that yet without turning you into a Watcher yourself. Watchers do not have code, that’s what allows us to manipulate it. All things in Minecraft except Watchers have code.

“Oh,” she said. “So instead of just following my instincts and staying with my code, you want me to get a life of my own that’s not dictated by that.”

I want you to have that potential, yes. But I can’t control whether you break those bonds or not.

“I want to,” she said immediately, without thinking. “I didn’t even know I wanted to, but I do now.”

Azdhid’s smile widened. Let’s start with the name, shall we?

She hesitated again. “I’m not sure. Could you pick one?”

Azdhid raised her eyebrows. I want you to choose, remember?

“Oh,” she said, and fell into thought.

She looked around the room. They were in an End City, in the small room at the top of the tower. There were some bookshelves in the corner. Outside the window, she saw Void and endstone and purpur. None of them really gave her any ideas.

She was distracted by her reflection in the window. She still had the yellowish skin of a shulker, and pieces of a shell on her head, back, and shoulders. She had high cheekbones, black eyes, and was wearing a similar robe to what Azdhid was wearing.

“Can you just pick it?” she asked. “Please?”

Do you really want me to?

“You said you can’t force me to choose.”

Azdhid smiled. If you insist, I think you look like a Tamblin.

“Tamblin,” she mumbled. “Can it just be Tammy?”

Of course. It’s your name.

“Tammy,” she repeated, testing how the word felt in her mouth. “Tammy. Yeah, that feels right.”

Tammy, then?

Tammy nodded and turned back to Azdhid. “My name is Tammy.”

Hello, Tammy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Tammy felt some sort of strange warm feeling. It took a minute for her mind to put a name to it. Joy. Elation. Excitement, maybe?

“What should I do now?” Tammy asked, anticipating whatever would come next.

That's the beauty of it, Azdhid chuckled Whatever you want.

~~~

It had been three months since becoming… whatever she was now, and Tammy was bored.

“What if I helped you?” she asked Azdhid.

Azdhid’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. What?

“With your experiment. I could help other mobs change too. So you're not doing it on your own.”

Azdhid frowned. Her hands glowed, and a purple holographic screen appeared in front of Tammy.

Tammy took a step back. “What's that?”

Your code, Azdhid replied, scrolling through lines and lines of letters and numbers. You're not supposed to want to help me…

Tammy folded her arms. “You said it was my choice!”

It is! It's just… not what I was expecting. Your code is all the same…

“Because I want to help you! Maybe it's in my code to be loyal to you, but it is my duty as a shulker to protect you and I choose to do that.”

I thought you wanted to not be influenced by your code? Azdhid closed the window and focused on Tammy.

Tammy shook her head. “No, that's not it. I want to be able to choose what code I follow. My code wants me to hide in my shell until an endbuster comes along, but I don't want to do that. My code also tells me that my shell is a tool and a part of me, so even if I don't do what my code wants me to do with it, I still have it, don't I?”

Azdhid blinked. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Tammy rolled her eyes. “My point is that I can't suppress my code. You said so yourself that it'll always be a part of me. So I might as well work with it and use certain parts on my side rather than tossing all of it away.”

Azdhid stared at Tammy.

Tammy squared her shoulders and glared at her.

Finally, Azdhid sighed. I suppose. But you may get hurt.

“It's my choice,” Tammy reminded her stubbornly.

Azdhid pinched the bridge of her nose. Yes, it is.

Tammy smirked. “At your service, my Lady.”

Okay, if you're going to help me, you will not call me that.

Tammy placed a hand over her chest dramatically. “But it is only fitting!”

Azdhid rolled her eyes. No.

“If you insist, my Lady.”

Azdhid gave up.