mental link

[whowhatnow]

[This little mental nudge comes from Nathaniel Horn, someone who is, oddly enough, not at all used to making these kinds of things on his own. Still, he's been thinking since the bombing a while ago, and this is a good chance to let everyone know what's been on his mind.]

(So........ladies, gentlemen, people in general, let's talk about monsters. Spooky beasts. Creatures that go bump in the night. Those things. They all exist in one form or the other. Lots of terrible tales about abominations that want to like, rip you apart and suck out your eyeballs or something. Anyways, they exist! And how do I know they exist?)

[A pause for dramatic effect here.]

(Because I am one. Annnnnnd I don't mean the whole "something is crawling inside of me, alas I'm like the worst person ever" kind of monster. And honestly, I'm not a monster, but an alien, but...semantics! Anyways, if you see a big hulking flesh thing that looks like it crawled from your worst nightmares sometime, please don't try to destroy it like right away. It might be me. And I wouldn't like that. Just say hi over the mental telephone before doing anything rash.)

[There's a long pause here as he tries to piece together what other points he wants to make. It looks like he didn't think all of this whole mental speech thing out beforehand.]

(Anyways, uh...are all of you human? For the most part? I don't think there's anything like me among the broods...unless I'm wrong. So like, if you have any questions for me to answer, or want to share examples of big spooky monsters where you come from, just, like, tell me? Honestly, I think I'm pretty good-looking no matter what form I take, but I know most of you guys don't like seeing things like, I dunno, teeth growing in different places outside of human mouths and stuff, so I just wanted to give you a heads up. I don't transform often, but it could happen. Just be aware, and all that.)

Comments

[quivers]

( Soooooo, shapeshifter. Skrull? )

[whowhatnow]

(I've heard that from Mr. Nova Man, and no, I'm not a Skrull. My race thinks invading people is like a big waste of time because they think they're the bees knees of the universe. So nah, I'm not remotely like those guys. I'm a Karnonian.)

[circumspector]

( I think you're amazing. )

[ got you back. ]

( But, I promise, you'll never have to worry with me. )

[whowhatnow]

[clutches chest...angel u are 2 good to him]

(Aw, to hear those words...goodness, Angel, you always know what to say. But, I mean, you haven't seen what I really look like...you sure you'll still be saying that if you see it for the first time?)

[headinjuries]

( Uh. Did I bring this on? )

[ What with the whole ARE YOU A SKRULL bit and all. ]

[whowhatnow]

(Nah, man, it's just been something I've been thinking of a while! Since like, I thought the risk of me being shot at because someone didn't recognize my whole deal is...pretty high when I thought about it. Just thought I'd do a PSA. No big deal.)

[unsea]

( Human, ) [ but SUPERPOWERED!!! ] ( There were plenty of - monsters in my world, though.

Some were considered mere myth. Some were - ah, )

[ An image: his hand on the broad head of something decidedly unreal. ]

( I thought I had seen you, back during the bombing. )

[whowhatnow]

(Oh, do tell, do tell! Give me all the details on the creepy- )

[He just got the image. The feelings returned are of wonder and delight.]

(Whoah! Now, that's a monster! You met that thing? Now you HAVE to tell me everything. Don't leave me hanging!)

[A slightly nervous laugh comes over the link.]

(Yeah, that was...not quite my finest moment. Kind of had to change to protect myself, guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought...)

[adamance]

( Tell me if anyone takes issue with this. It may be important for us to know. )

[Lexa is still getting a read on the new recruits, one at a time.]

[whowhatnow]

[You can almost hear the click of his tongue.]

(Aw, Lexa, I think people will be chill with it, but...yeah, sure I'll let you know. I don't want someone going on a monster hunt because they can.)

[cur]

[ Well, this definitely isn't something he was expecting to get into. If it were anything other than in his head, he'd very tactfully ignore it. As is, he tries to focus on his curiosity and let it drown out anything more complex — worry, disgust, fear. It's only partly successful. ]

( Are you violent when you're transformed? )

[whowhatnow]

[Well, well, well. Nathaniel isn't disappointed by this - quite the contrary. He was wondering when such nice little emotions would come out - even though he doesn't understand Lupin's reasons for feeling the way he does, he just jumps to the natural conclusion of ah, humans always are wary of what they don't understand.]

(Not at all! I'm still the same old guy no matter who or what I turn into. I mean, chances are I'll turn into my lovely true self when worst comes to worst so I can protect myself, but I'm hardly always going to be violent. Why, worried I'll turn into a man-eating machine when you aren't looking?)

[wrackful]

( So do you prefer ripping people apart or sucking out their eyeballs? Or is a both at once deal every time. )

[whowhatnow]

(Are you kidding me? I'm a total "stab and then decapitate" kind of guy! Much more satisfying.)

[Is he really joking? WHO KNOWS]

[sensitively]

[ Rey is familiar with monsters, foreign and from Jakku — but rathtars are what immediately come to mind with his description, and within the mental link there's a flashback of her encounter with them aboard the Eravana. ]

( ...Have you ever hurt anyone, in the form you take? )

[whowhatnow]

[It's automatically apparent that he likes the look of them, through the feelings coming over through the mental link - they're certainly up his alley in terms of things he's familiar with. He approves!]

[There is a bit of a pause before he tries to find a good answer to her question - there's a bit of squirming here, discomfort, like he's been caught with his hand halfway down the cookie jar.]

(Uh. Well. Y....es? But before you judge, seriously, it's all been self-defense! Which is why I'm making this whole announcement! Like, I'm hardly one of those people eaters they have in the movies, just don't try to hurt me and I won't hurt you.)

[deployed]

( So what should we do, if you transform? )

[ At least attempting to be pragmatic about this. Getting together a course of action seems like the best way to prevent accidental monster hunting. ]

[whowhatnow]

(Well, don't try to kill me. Or hurt me. Besides that, make sure nobody else gets murder-happy on me too. That's about it! I'm still the same old Nathaniel no matter what I look like.)

[decommission]

[ Oh! He... kind of knew this. ]

( I guess humans must've looked pretty weird to you at first, huh? ) [ All not tentacle-y and stuff. ]

( I think my Earth's pretty average. Haven't even gotten to the space travel part yet. )

[whowhatnow]

(Yeah, honestly, you guys are kind of boring in terms of looks. Inside, though, your organs and systems are really cool! Definitely a lot of adaptations that you guys keep hidden...

And yeah, you all on Earth have a lovely and very active imagination when it comes to imagining how traveling in the universe works, but you guys haven't progressed enough to go to actual space travel. It's kind of sad. You're missing out on a whole lot.)

[greentech]

( When and where did you get a human form, anyway? )

[ Asking the important questions. ]

[whowhatnow]

[]

(Just, uh, copied it off a guy I saw once.)

[He's not technically lying.]

[batmotif]

(Why your current form?)

[Oh, did someone already ask this? Was it an uncomfortable question? Does anyone think Bruce actually cares?

He said he was open to questions, so questions he shall have.]

[whowhatnow]

[wow thanks bruce wayne good to know u care]

[But that's fine, it's not especially prying, so Nathaniel is more or less okay answering this question all casually:]

(Uh...I have this current form to fit in with you guys? DUH. Plus I can actually fit through doors like this. It's great.)

[He's pretty big in his true form, which makes for awkward moving around in places waaaay too small for him.]

[inflori]

( I can't believe you're actually scared of these losers. )

[whowhatnow]

(Pfffffffft. Me, scared? I'm saving myself the annoyance of trying to shapeshift around a few bullets lodged in my body, that's all.)