maskormenace | 1st hunt

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1st hunt | video

[The video starts a bit awkwardly, with the shakycam and fumbling of someone who isn't very practiced at the art of video chatting. A late-20-something woman's face is up close, clearly trying to figure out "how does I tech". After some fumbling, the camera stills and she sits back, looking a bit awkward.]

Okay. So, I guess this is what people do here. Calling the Internet using cameras.

[She looks too young and modern to be so fail at technology.]

Anyway- hi. I'm new.

Let's just say I didn't go to the, um, shitshow today- Thank God... Let's say I'm not gonna register. Don't wanna put on tights and fight crime, or whatever.

What're my options? Learn to knit? [There are at least three (3) guns visible in the video. She does not look like a knitter.] Start a [air quotes] "blog"?

I can't exactly do what I did back home- no monsters to hunt. No day job to go back to.

I kinda don't know what to do with myself.

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But since lizard people are people, then what about the lizard person who kills a lizard person for killing people?

I mean, you could fall into an infinite string of killing that way.

If it's lizard people killing other lizard people- I don't know.

[She pauses. Looks thoughtful. It's obvious this hadn't actually occurred to her before.]

I guess it would depend on the circumstance. Obviously killing is generally wrong, but if the lizard person is... being a vigilante, or avenging someone's death...

That's different.

[He looks relieved.]

Right. Just curious on where you stood on all that stuff.

Edited 2017-11-11 17:09 (UTC)

Somewhere reasonable. In my world, there aren't really harmless monsters. So ridding the world of them is the only way to make it safe- so nobody else has to lose anyone.

[With the tired, tight-eyed look of someone who's lost a lot. She looks younger than 30 but has that tiredness to her.]

It's probably not the same in every world.

Yeah. I guess if it really is that simple in your world. But sometimes things are more complicated than they first appear. Because humans are so primitive, most lizard people don't really treat them much differently than animals.

[Animals they disguised themselves as and imitated in order to control them but still...the experiments, and the fact that when it served their purposes, they were expected to kill a human who hadn't done anything to deserve it, just because they were getting in the way. At least with Jonathan, he'd actively fought against their government. It wasn't like Ozzie who hadn't even known reptilians existed when the order was given.]

[Mary nods politely.]

Oh, I see.

And by lizard people you mean yourself, right?

[Obvious question is obvious. Jonathan didn't even attempt the "asking for a friend" move.]

[He looks a little surprised that she just came out and said it, and for a second, she might notice that his eyes are yellow and pupils slit before they return to normal.]

Well, that depends. I also referenced lizard people who aren't me.

[Because by the very nature of things, he could only be one lizard person. He wasn't going to bother hiding it, though, because enough people knew he was a lizard person that she'd find out sooner or later. Heck, even most of the natives knew what he was.]

[The instant she sees his eyes, her casual, easy demeanor snaps shut. She looks definitely on alert, almost angry.]

But you are one.

[Very suspicious.]

Show me.

[Jonathan freezes. He has a deer in the headlights look. His first thought was that she'd been lulling him into a false sense of security. Letting him think she was already certain of what he was, so he'd confirm it for her. Well, it was better to establish that she might be out for his blood over the network than to risk her seeing him in his natural state in person.]

Yeah.

[And then he reached behind his head and pulled off his mask, revealing a reptilian face underneath. Quietly, still a little wary of this woman, he explained,]

There's little holographic projectors in the eyes to make my eyes look human. Aside from being especially high tech, it's just a mask.

[Her eyes reveal it- her face might look hard, but her eyes look scared. The lizard reveal seems to almost be a relief- at least, she doesn't show the surprise or grim confirmation he might be expecting.

She leans in, peering at the video closely.]

Your eyes... they're yellow, but...

[She narrows her eyes, trying to see harder.]

Can you zoom in? Um- please? I just- they- they look like something, it's probably not...

[She's being unreasonable, she knows. Dude has a lizard face. But still, those eyes- she needs to see them.]

[That was not the reaction he was expecting. His brow furrows in confusion.]

Um...okay.

[He focuses the camera in on his eye, not sure what she's looking for. All she'll see, however, are clearly reptilian eyes.]

So what are you looking for?

[She studies for a moment. It only takes her a second to realize he isn't the demon, but it takes a bit longer for her to actually mentally accept it and calm her fight-or-flight down.

When she settles back, she looks a bit embarrassed.]

Uh... not that. I'm- I'm sorry. That was stupid. There's this demon back home- it had yellow eyes. I just... panicked. Sorry.

Oh. Nope. Not a demon. Not even supernatural. I'm just a lizard person.

From space.

[Way to knock her out of her pattern.]

-from space?

Wow.

Now I've seen everything.

Can you climb up walls?

Yep. I'm an alien.

No, I can't climb walls. That would be cool, though.

Do you do the tongue flicky thing?

No, but I'm cold blooded and I hatched from an egg.

[You're super lucky she doesn't know jack about science, because if she did she'd be quietly wondering about cloacas next.]

What's being cold-blooded like? Do you have to, like, carry a heating lamp around with you?

[That's probably for the best, because his canon doesn't actually establish what he has, so I'm not sure what the answer would be.]

No, no. I have enough mass that as long as I get warmed up really well, I can hold onto heat for a while when I go out. And while bundling up won't do anything for heat I've already lost, if I bask somewhere warm, then bundle up, it might slow down how quickly I lose heat.

[She mulls over that for a minute, before-]

I can't imagine your heating bill.

Yeah, well...I'm still not that good at estimating the value of money on this planet, so it's kind of hard to tell what's high and what's not.

Edited 2017-11-16 17:31 (UTC)

Heh, fair enough.

Good luck with winter. You might need a few extra jobs to afford the heat bill.

I'm living in Heropa. I should be good.

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Video; the friendliness of this conversation makes the log even sadder

Video; it does

Video; 8(

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