[open] like puppets dangling on strings

[whowhatnow]

CHARACTERS: Nathaniel Horn and YOU
WHERE: Concordia
WHEN: post Big Bang, 025
SUMMARY: Nathaniel dabbles with his parasite powers and hangs around Concordia trying to deal with life.
WARNINGS:none at the moment except mind control! will update as needed

I. just let them hang where they stand

[In the hustle and bustle of Concordia, its easy to miss things. Secret trysts, forbidden deals, activities done only in the darkest of places...and what Nathaniel is doing may count for that last one. After the whole bomb fiasco, he's been hanging around, looking like he's doing nothing but lazing around like always...but, in reality, he's up to something. That whole event shook him to the core, and he's not going to pretend that everything is okay. He needs to adapt to this, just like he's adapted to everything he's encountered in his life.]

[You can probably feel the pricklings of his thoughts coming over the mental link (it feels pleasant, like he's having fun, like he's winning at something and laughing about it)- track them down, and you'll find him standing across from a man in an alleyway. The man looks like some kind of office worker, his clothes neat and tailored but not especially extravagant - he's just a cog in a large corporate machine, by the looks of it. He's staring at Nathaniel, who only grins and points down to the end of the alleyway. He speaks, but his voice holds a certain strange tone to it - it's far too smooth to be comfortable.]

Pick it up.

[The man jerks a little in place, like his body is moving on his own without his control. He walks down the alleyway, picking up what looks to be some kind of bottle. He stares back at Nathaniel, his expression confused.]

Bring it back to me.

[A pause, and the man does so, his dark eyes darting nervously in their sockets. When he approaches, Nathaniel outstretches his hand, and the man drops the bottle into it. Nathaniel lets out a laugh, like he can't believe his good fortune, and then suddenly turns to toss the bottle back into the alleyway.]

[He turns back to the man, a grin on his face as he points back into the alleyway.]

Come on, go on. Go pick it up.


II. or cut them down and let them fall

[What's work? Nathaniel certainly doesn't know. He travels the streets of Concordia like a vagabond, exploring every nook and cranny he can find. He's far more on guard since the bombing incident, and isn't willing to draw attention (no more wearing Bout-It-Out gear for him!), but still, he's unwilling to let himself get bored.]

[Eventually, it's nighttime and he has to take a break, and he decides to rest by sitting up on the roof of a small building near the outskirts of the city, staring out at the bright lights and bustling movement with a wide smile. You know, Concordia isn't half bad, he thinks. Just remove all the hassle, the fighting, the politics, and you have a place where fun lurks in the form of so many things. He can get behind a place like that.]

[He leans back on his perch, and if he senses somebody approaching, he'll greet them by turning his head over his shoulder, his wide grin glinting in the low light.]

Hey, quick question: if you could be anyone you wanted to be in the whole wide universe, who would you be? And I'm not talking about jobs, here. I'm talking about everything.


III. WILDCARD

[Want a prompt with Nathaniel that isn't up here? Just let me know! Nathaniel is all over the place and isn't hard to find, so send me a message if you want to work something out!]

Comments

[whowhatnow]

Knowing you, you'd choose the former every time.

[He grins wide - ah, Hux, always the stickler for rules so uppity and strict about everything in life. Nathaniel perches his chin in hand, his eyes almost twinkling as the cityscape before him shines within a multitude of colorful, dazzling lights.]

So tell me the latter. Like, if you could be anything or anyone in the world, what would you be? Don't be boring.

[exhuxperation]

Of course. Why have aspirations that you cannot achieve?

[ This was their gap. The sticking point between them, really. Nathaniel adhered to the chaotic side of life. Selfish and without a full regard for rules and regulation. It contrasted sharply to his own life, to put it lightly. Still, the outlook wasn't something he could completely fault. It could be useful.

Surprisingly, as Nathaniel looks up at him, Hux moves closer to the perch, taking a seat a comfortable distance away. His posture is still stiff as he glances out to the city, the neon lights flickering in patterns across both of them. ]

I'd be emperor.

[whowhatnow]

...Wow, Hux.. Here I was thinking, like, you'd answer "military commander" or something. But emperor?

[His tone makes it sound like he finds it funny, but the look on his face is clearly impressed - he had honestly expected something incredibly boring, but Hux is clearly full of more surprises than he makes it seem. Hux: Emperor. He could see it.]

What would you be emperor of? The entire universe?

[exhuxperation]

[ Hux tilts his head just enough to glance at Nathaniel, taking in his expression. There's amusement– to be expected of course– but there's a fascination. Or something that resembles it. Being so close, mentally, makes it even easier to pick out. There's nothing completely mocking underlying.

In some way, he's relieved. Nathaniel is one of the first people besides his father he's told this. ]

I am already a military commander. The ranking chain only goes so far; military rule is not sustainable, either.

[ All things he's reasoned out, over time, as he climbed the proverbial ladder. ]

I'd envisioned the galaxy I'm from. Perhaps more. [ All the core worlds and the outer rim under his control. It would've been possible, he believed it. ]

It's no longer something available to me. [ A hard pill to swallow. ] What about you?

[whowhatnow]

Well, galaxy's a nice neat goal. The universe is too big, but a whole galaxy? Big enough to be powerful, small enough to be feasible.

[He lets out a boyish laugh - ah, talking about taking over the galaxy so casually, it's so strange, in a way. And yet, it's something he enjoys - he's finally seeing Hux as more than an uptight stick of a man, and he appreciates the insight.]

Aw, really? [He pouts, slightly, like he's disappointed by that answer. No Emperor Hux in his lifetime, huh? The question gets him a pause, and Nathaniel thinks over it, before giving a shrug.]

Nothing in particular, but... [His voice is lower, quieter.] My own person. Someone who will never be controlled by anyone. I mean, I was on my way to that, but...

[A huff.] I guess I'm stuck with you guys, now.

[exhuxperation]

[ No thrones or kingdoms for him, as much as that sounds antiquated. But, it wasn't something too far off in his mind– Palpatine had declared himself emperor only thirty years before. Well, a little longer than that. The point still remained. It had been something to aspire to. His destiny, to finally unite everyone under the banner of a new empire once more.

Now everything is sideways.

He turns his head some more to keep his attention on Nathaniel. Something about his answer (or was it a confession) seems like he's almost reluctant to say it. That if it's said too loud someone will notice. ]

We are all controlled by other people and by rules and regulation. You will find where you fit and where you do not. Some find it quicker than others, some search for long periods of time. Just because we are here doesn't negate that, hivemind or no.

[ Strange to be talking about individualism when his life has rotated around shedding that. About becoming part of the whole. But if the individual isn't strong, where does that leave the rest of them when they pool their resources? ]

[whowhatnow]

I don't want to fit. Like, at all.

[He says it almost curtly, the word suddenly heavier than his light tone seems like it shouldn't carry. His eyes glint with something darker - but he attempts to hide it by drawing a hand up to his face, leaning his cheek into it.]

I mean, a part of me does want to fit. It will always be there, but if I could, I'd cut it out.

[He lets out a laugh.] Though that sounds morbid, with our little parasitic deal, right? I guess I don't have the heart to go that far. I say I want to rebel but in the end, I can't really fully accomplish that. I'm stuck.

[exhuxperation]

[ Hux doesn't say anything as Nathaniel explains himself.

Rebellion. Rebelling. It's supposedly a trait of those younger. Teenagers still looking for themselves. Even in his regimented life he found ways to act out against his father's wishes. Or against the rules of the academy. All of that seems so far away and fruitless at this point, but he remembers how thrilling it had been then. Considering how much Nathaniel bucked at the first sniff of order, he sounds like he's been trying to break bonds for a while. ]

What are you rebelling against? Yourself and your upbringing or what the outside presses onto you?

[whowhatnow]

Ooh, playing psychologist on me now? I should've lugged a couch on the way here, it would really help you and I get right to the heart of my issues. Plus, I'd be like, super comfortable.

[Jokes, jokes. So many jokes. So many ways to deflect the topic, soften it, try to make it something it isn't. It's a nice little defense mechanism he's built up for himself. Smile and laugh and ignore the dark things. It's better that way.]

[But even so, he's gone too far down this conversation path to really track back, and Hux and him are practically in each other's mind far too much to be comfortable.]

I used to be a drone. Not literally, mind you, but...just imagine, you're born and have everything set out for you. You're a cog in a machine. You know nothing beyond being a cog in a machine. You follow rules to ensure you do what you were meant to do. You're choking to death and you don't even realize it.

[He doesn't miss it, that life. He doesn't miss it at all. How could he? It's like a blind man saying he'd be fine with losing his vision again after seeing the sun for the first time.]

Honestly, me breaking out of that system? All because of dumb luck and curiosity. Nobody's ever escaped it. Nobody except me.

And I'm fine keeping it that way.

[exhuxperation]

[ It's a deflection– he recognizes it from countless officers, commanders, troops. Not always the most encouraged habit, since he'd rather have information forthright, but everyone dealt with things in different ways.

(His way was tight-lipped silence).

Nathaniel continues and Hux becomes very suddenly and uncomfortably aware this is where they meet and split all at once. He's been intent on keeping an eye on Nathaniel while he talks, but he can't. His vision tugs out towards the city as the words spill over: you're born and have everything set out for you. Expectation a weight, a pressure, something that's squeezed the air out of his lungs in quiet internal panics.

Getting away from it all, from Nathaniel's view is like the sun coming up for him. Like manacles being unwoven from his neck and limbs and allowed to go where he wanted.

Hux thinks of his father, thinks of his rank and how none of it matters anymore. It should be more crushing, like it was when he first got here, but now it's being replaced. ]

Congratulations on living. [ How you want is the unspoken ending. ]

[whowhatnow]

[He opens his mouth. Then closes it. No quip comes out, no witty saying...honestly, deep down, those words are...touching. It's weird, especially since they're coming from Mr. Law and Order over here, but at the same time, it's not like anyone ever praised him for what he did. He was a traitor to his race, a cuckoo to humans. This is...unexpected.]

[He draws his knees up to himself, just silent for a while, before he murmurs out:]

Thanks.

[And another long pause. He can sense the thoughts flowing through Hux's mind, so he speaks up again, glancing over at him.]

Are you living the way you want, Hux?