Video

[stretchy_girl]

Hello dear imPorts! My name is John Smithson and I work on an ongoing project at the New York City Zoo. I am in the middle of writing a paper which looks into the types of Megafauna which have gone extinct in this world but which might still be extant in others.

So, does your world have dinosaurs, mammoths, giant scorpions, terrible predators or any other creatures that might be considered monstrous? If so please describe the creature(s) as best as possible below, and we will have one of our best digital artists create an image and add it to our database.

Thanks for your co-operation imPorts. We hope that you come visit our zoo sometime soon!

[OOC: Should anyone call the zoo to ask about the project they will be told that nobody by the name John Smithson works there and there is no such project. Curious huh?]

Comments

video

[h2no]

Oh, shit! We got those everywhere, which one do I even...

[hook line and sinker my dude.]

Okay, so Drapions are the giant scorpion things, they're like just a little taller than a kid? Super poison!

Re: video

[stretchy_girl]

Ah then you're just the type for this survey, thank you for responding.

[Ugh she hates pleasantries.]

Perhaps if you tell me how it differs from a scorpion and we can go from there?

Re: video

[h2no]

Uh, I'll draw it, hang on.

[20 minutes later archie sends this. the colours and some smaller details are off because he can't remember what they look like exactly, but it's mostly accurate.]

See? We'd be here all day.

Re: video

[stretchy_girl]

['John' has other things to do in the meantime, but when the image comes through he peers at it with interest, studying it with a shapeshifter's scientist's eye for detail.]

I see, a most impressive beast, how big does it normally get and is that some kind of dermal armour?

Re: video

[h2no]

Biggest I've ever seen was about 5ft big. It's a carapace. That's the biggest scorpion I can think of, the thing it evolves from ain't so impressive.

Re: video

[stretchy_girl]

I see, a fearsome creature then, a Drapion you say? We'll add it to our database. Are there any others you can think of?

[5ft barely rates as big in Gemini's book, but there's nothing to stop her becoming a larger version of the creature...]

Re: video

[h2no]

Tyrantrum! It's a dinosaur!

[ Video ]

[drivesadesk]

Well, I hope whatever you're working on, it turns out better than that butterfly garden.

I'd contribute, but nothing from my homeworld is going to be relevant to the history of any species that used to exist in yours, seeing as I'm not from Earth.

Re: [ Video ]

[stretchy_girl]

That was another department, but yes I hope so too.

But thank you young man, I think I can say that any contribution you'd like to make would be of interest to us. Our project does have a Xenobiology section, so if there's anything you'd like to send...?

[ Video ]

[drivesadesk]

And what exactly are you intending to do with this information? Do you have plans to actually recreate these creatures, or...

Re: [ Video ]

[stretchy_girl]

[In a manner of speaking yes, courtesy of her shapeshifting powers.]

Good heavens no! Such creatures would be far too dangerous. No, we're simply looking to create a database out of scientific curiosity, and so that we can build bridges between imPorts and ourselves.

[ Video ]

[drivesadesk]

Well, I'm going to trust you to be more responsible with this information than whoever was in charge of those butterflies.

But yes, we have a lot of interesting species on our planet. For example, there's this sixty foot serpentine creature that spits out acid to digest it's food and then drinks it up...we're immune to the acid, of course, but there are other species that aren't. It has long, whisker-like protrusions coming from it's face that can feel around and even grasp things to a certain extent.

Re: [ Video ]

[stretchy_girl]

I'm grateful for your trust. [This face was specifically chosen to generate that very feeling.] I assure you we are a research project only, there is no practical side to our work.

This creature sounds incredible, sixty feet did you say? That is a remarkable size. Is it similar to any Earth snakes in appearance and colouring or does it appear entirely...alien?

[Gemini's not interested in the whole acid spewing thing as it's not something she can imitate.]

[ret2go]

I can transform into an elephant, a harpy, a giant spider, and a mermaid. Does that count?

Oh, and a crab.

[stretchy_girl]

[Another shapeshifter hmm? Interesting, the mention of a harpy being what captures her attention primarily.]

How simply fascinating! We have some elephants and indeed crabs here at the zoo, but we certainly don't have any harpies giant spiders or mermaids. Could you perhaps get a friend to take some pictures of you in those forms and forward them to us?

[ret2go]

Well... sure, I could, but...

...wouldn't it just be easier to show you on the network thingamajig?

[stretchy_girl]

Of course, whatever is easiest for you.

[ret2go]

[She sets the camera down on a table, stepping back so that more of her body is visible in the angle.]

Let me know when you're ready!

[stretchy_girl]

All ready my end!

[She pretends to fiddle with buttons to make it look like she's recording.]

[Video]

[faithfulson]

[ Luke had debated responding to this for a long time, mostly because his knowledge of big creatures and how much they could kill you was pretty limited. But... well, what the heck, if someone was curious about it. ]

There are a lot of predators in the galaxy I'm from, but I'm not entirely familiar enough with ones off my home planet to give a good description.

I can tell you a lot about krayt dragons and womp rats, though.

Re: [Video]

[stretchy_girl]

Hello young man! Thank you very much for responding to this survey. It would probably be best if you stick to the creatures you can best describe otherwise we won't get anywhere.

[And bore her out of her mind in the process.]

These krayt dragons sound very impressive, why don't you start with them?

[Video]

[faithfulson]

Well...

[ He paused a moment, thinking on how to describe them. ]

They're huge; they could probably take up a whole block in Heropa. Big teeth, horns, lizard-like... they've got a nasty temperment, and will pretty much try to maul anything that gets close. They're mostly cave dwellers though, so as long as you don't go near their cave or their night time hunting grounds, you're fine. That doesn't keep people from hunting them, though; they produce pearls that are pretty valuable from what I understand.

They can just kill you, though. They're probably the least threatening thing on Tatooine.

Re: [Video]

[stretchy_girl]

A whole block you say? This sounds like a most dangerous creature. [And an incredibly useful shape to take to sow a little chaos, although no hint of that malicious thought appears on Smithson's bland features.]

What is the Earth animal that you would say is closest to them?

[She's already putting together a mental picture, but it never hurts to have as many details as possible. A raised eyebrow is her immediate reaction to that last statement, staring at Luke with more than a little surprise.]

There are animals even more dangerous? [How did this farm boy even survive?]

[Video]

[faithfulson]

I'm not sure... I'm not that familiar with Earth animals yet. Maybe crossing a tiger with... um... the big grey things? With the long noses? Only without the nose.

[ Luke put a finger to his nose, a thoughtful look on his face. ]

Well, there's always the danger of accidentally walking into a Sarlacc Pit if you're travelling the Dune Sea. They're pretty huge... basically holes in the sand lined with teeth and tentacles. Once it grabs you, you're pretty much dead. Apparently it takes a thousand years for it to digest what it eats... I dunno how true that is.

Probably the most dangerous are womp rats, though. They're about two meters long, and travel in packs of twenty or so. They're mostly opportunistic hunters, but once they latch their teeth on you, they don't let go, even after death.

[ There's a casual air in his tone; dealing with monstrosities like this is just a Tuesday for him. ]

Re: [Video]

[stretchy_girl]

Ah you mean an elephant?

[That seems the closest to what he's getting at, although a tiger crossed with an elephant is hard for Gemini to get her head around, but deeply interesting nonetheless.]

I'm very glad that we don't have any of these Sarlacc's here. If they live in a pit presumably they are stationary creatures, which use their tentacles to pull in their prey? Unlike these womp rats, which sound absolutely terrifying!

[Gemini's never been an outsized rat before, but now that she thinks of it she can only imagine the terror that would cause. Thank you Luke.]