#Lisa the Teuth

[super-ion]

Lisa's story

Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

Context: this is my ttrpg character from the homebrew system Outside Us Nothing. Lisa is a giant squid/fungus/tentacle monster that lives in the walls of the ship. The ship has just arrived at an enormous space whale that is infested with members of her species, including her long lost sibling. At the very end of the most recent session, she links up with their sort of mycelial network and finds herself in a sort of dreamscape in a (presumably) human mental projection. I can't stop thinking about what if a Lisa was a people, so I ended up spending a couple hours on picrew trying to figure out what she would look like.

~~~

She is standing alone in the void, surrounded by stars.

She has the stereotypical build of a born freetraveler, suggesting a childhood spent in low gravity and an occasionally sparse diet. She's a bit too tall, a bit too skinny, her limbs are a bit too long for any planet born Terre.

She very unambiguously resembles the woman from the picture she keeps next to her orchid collection, with bright blue eyes and a splash of freckles across her face, but there are subtle hints of others mixed in. If you've spent any time looking at her group photos with the various crews of her childhood home, you might see features from the various human presenting individuals. Looking closer at her face, you even see hints of Kara, mercy and Order.

The roots of her hair are a dirty blonde, but most of it has been bleached and dyed a bright purple. It's shaved on one side and the rest is slightly ragged, as if she had cut it herself. Her nose, her brow, both her ears are pierced with various rings and studs. One shoulder pokes out from her oversized hooded jacket to reveal her twined roses interwoven with the beginning of that old Terre poem, suggesting that she bears all of Lisa's tattoos, rearranged to fit a human body. Around her neck is the chain you've seen her wearing in the common area, the one holding the tag from her first ship and the pair of Teuth fangs, one from each of her siblings.

Logically, you know she's never worn clothes in her life, but her wardrobe has every appearance of being both well worn and well cared for, somehow utilitarian and flashy all at once in the freetraveler style you see at least once in most ports you visit. Beneath the extensively patched and repaired jacket, she wears a tank top bearing a faded logo of an obscure entertainment vid series. Her pants have too many pockets and the torn knees reveal fishnet tights beneath. Finally, to complete the ensemble are a pair of scuffed, sturdy workboots that wouldn't be out of place set alongside the boots belonging to the rest of the crew (at least, the crew members who wear boots).

She's staring down at her hands, her fingers, her chipped and mismatched nail polish with an expression of mixed wonder and horror.

Something catches her attention and she looks up. From whatever vantage point you have, you can't make out what she sees, but the wonder and horror on her face intensify at the sight of it.

She swallows nervously. She knows exactly who it is that wants to talk to her and she is dreading this conversation.

~~~

It is picrew, so the styles are all over the place, but I feel like each one captures her vibe.

[super-ion]

Lisa's Story

Part 4 (sorta)

Lisa is my character from the homebrew ttrpg Outside Us Nothing (it's great, go check it out!). I would describe her as a giant tentacle monster with a heart of gold who lives in the vents of her space ship. I've written a couple little ficlets about her over the course of the game (part 1, part 2, part 3) but there was a moment in our out of session roleplay chats that really made me want to draw it.

So, context, Lisa briefly reunited with Gwen, her long lost sibling, who has not had an easy life since they ran away from home, and ended up joining a cult. The conversation didn't go super great and the cult group mind thing tried to enslave her crew and ended up killing one of the aspects of the PC that Lisa is in love with. So, between sessions, they had this moment where they comforted each other in the ship's airlock and I was thinking that Lisa would definitely want to capture the moment in a picture, which led me to make this:

(The last time I took any sort of art class was 20+ years ago, so I'm amazed by how well this turned out)

So anyway, Lisa's dealing with some angst and drama right now, so here's a little bit of lore to drop with this:

On the wall in the common area that is proudly labeled "Lisa's Garden", scattered amongst her orchids are dozens of photographs: posed and candid shots of her crewmates and passengers, both past and present; planets and nebulae and star clusters; star ships and stations; cool mushrooms she's found around the ship. You might notice that she's notably absent from most shots. The only exceptions are three framed photos, displayed separate from the rest.

You saw one on the way into the common room: a group photo of the current crew that she insisted on taking and displaying under the stenciled name of the ship so that it is the first thing any visitor sees.

The other two, she keeps next to the pulsating mass of flesh, eyes and tentacles - the little bit of her that she doesn't hide in the vents.

One photo is another Freetraveler crew. A tall Terre man with dark skin, very clearly a born Freetraveler had his arm is slung over the shoulders of a Bawalang, whose bright patterns on their chitinous exterior were very obviously the inspiration for some of Lisa's tattoos. Slightly apart from the rest is a grumpy looking Harrisi, feathers ruffled in agitation as if he'd rather be elsewhere. At the center is a short Terre woman, planet-born with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she's smiling widely as she grapples with a trio of juvenile Teuth, trying desperately to get them to hold still long enough for the photo. One is slung across her shoulders, trying to gnaw on her braided hair; another sits in her arms, cuddling affectionately as she peers curiously at the camera; the third is hiding behind her legs, clinging and almost terrified.

The other photo is the same woman, a bit older, laughing and scrunching her eyes shut as three adolescent Teuth attempt to shove birthday cake into her mouth. The ruined cake reads "happy birthday mom!"

Then one day, after the incident with the Teuth on the space whale, another framed photo appears: a figure seated at the edge of the open airlock, wrapped in tentacles, silhouetted by a nebula in the distance.

[super-ion]

Lisa's Story

Backstory for my ttrpg character in Outside Us Nothing

Part 1

Part 2

Lisa settled disconsolately in the service junction that served as her room. The space that had once seemed so cavernous could barely contain her any more. She gathered up her tentacles and closed so of her eyes except for the few she pressed close to her viewport.

It was unambiguously her viewport. The only way Jo was taking this one from her was over her dead body.

She focused on the tiny twinkling lights that drifted among the stars, each one another starship, tiny little worlds like her own home.

The problem was her home felt smaller and smaller every day.

She watched the pattern of life, picking out the local haulers, the fast couriers, the corporate and freehold security patrols. All of them were headed somewhere, either to one of the ice giants in the outer edges of the system or the local freehold or one of the five kerama points somewhere out in the black.

She didn't turn or open any of her eyes as the access hatch swung outward. Even if she didn't instantly recognize her mother's scent, she was the only person who would interrupt Lisa's alone time.

The terre woman settled in next to the viewport and wrapped one of Lisa's tentacles around her, squeezing it tight with her arms.

She didn't speak, just watched the ships with Lisa.

It didn't take long before Lisa couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I mean... Is Jo okay?"

Harper sighed and gave a tiny smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes.

"Jo's fine. No permanent damage. They're more surprised than anything. Must have been some fight though. You wanna talk about it, kiddo?"

"No," Lisa replied sullenly. Then a moment later, she added, "okay yes. Jo's been growing into forward observation. I went to get some star sightings and all of the best view spots were just totally covered and they told me they needed full field of view or something and I should go take sightings elsewhere and... well... I got upset."

"You know Jo takes their job very seriously," her mother said gently. "A pilot does need to be able to see where they're going."

Lisa didn't respond, she just tried to hunch up even more, wishing she could just shrink the mass of herself down into something smaller.

"And I would probably be remiss in my motherly duties if I didn't point out that you technically started the fight. I admit, I'm a little shocked. You're usually the gentle one."

"I thought Gwen was the gentle one," Lisa replied, instantly regretting bringing up her sibling's name when her mother flinched.

"Gwen is... fragile is the word I think I'd use," Harper replied eventually. "They never could stand up to Jo the way you can."

Harper gave the tentacle another squeeze.

"You know Jo's worried about you, don't you?" her mother said. "We both are, even if they won't admit it."

Lisa finally tore her gaze away from the viewport to stare incredulously.

"What does Jo have to be worried about?"

"If you'll permit your mother to answer a question with another question... Why haven't you started rooting yet? I'm no expert, but a Teuth your age, your size?"

Lisa shifted uncomfortably. Her mother claimed not to be an expert but she had made it her life's mission to learn as much about the Teuth as possible for the sake of her adopted children.

"I... I don't know, I... uh... I guess I feel like I'm not quite ready."

"Wrong time or wrong place?" Harper prodded.

Lisa was grudgingly reminded once again that nobody knew her quite like her mother, as if Jo hadn't teased her constantly for being mommy's girl.

"Oh, my sweet little Lisa," her mother said. "You were born with the stars in your eyes. All three of you were in your own way. You love being out here in the black, but you never loved this ship the way Jo does."

Lisa made a derisive snort, earning a playful swat from her mother.

"You know what I mean," her mother scoffed.

Lisa did, in fact know that her mother was talking about Briar Rose the starship and not the social liaison heuristic that had taken up residence in the ship's mainframe when it joined the crew a few decaperiods prior. Jo had become deeply infatuated with it, earning Lisa's endless teasing.

"My point is you love the people," her mother continued. "We have a good crew here now, but it's not the crew you grew up with. I know it's not the same without Srviin or Zuberi."

"Or Gwen?" Lisa asked softly.

"Or Gwen," her mother added with a tiny quaver in her voice.

Harper sighed and reached into her pocket to produce a bar of chocolate. Lisa made a tiny gasp and started to reach for it greedily, but paused.

"What's that for?" Lisa asked suspiciously. "It's not my birthday."

"No, it's not," her mother said with a slightly sad smile. "It's just... well, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you and Jo about... I've been thinking about leaving too."

"What!? No! You-"

"Hey, shhh," she interrupted. "It's not like I'm going away forever. One of Xatlaasa's clutch mates is a traffic controller on a freeport and has a job offer that I'm considering."

Lisa pondered this.

"This is about Gwen, isn't it?"

Harper nodded slightly defensively.

"That's part of it," she admitted. "It's been almost a decaperiod, and there's only so much I can do from a freetraveler ship. If I take the job, I'll have access to a lot more resources to widen the search."

Lisa didn't want to tell her mother that maybe Gwen didn't want to be found. Her mother always did have certain blind spots with respect to her children.

"You said that was part of it?" Lisa asked instead.

Harper unwrapped the chocolate and broke it in half. She didn't respond until Lisa had taken hers.

"Well..." Harper said, "the truth is you and Jo don't need me looking after you all the time. I guess I'm feeling my age catching up with me and I'm ready to try settling down."

Lisa didn't respond. How could she? The foundation of her universe had just been upended.

"Lisa, my stargazer," her mother crooned. "You want to go out and make your own way, make your own family, but you're afraid of change. Consider this your permission to go."

Lisa pulled her mother close and the two of them watched the twinkling points of the distant starships together.

~~~

Bonus: Lisa art that I threw together a little while ago

[super-ion]

Lisa's Story

Part 5

Context: in the latest session of Outside Us Nothing, we wrapped up a story arc where my character, Lisa, was reunited with her long lost sibling. Through the power of love and friendship and murder, we somehow managed to save Gwen from a cult of tentacle monsters.

Jo squinted at the game board. They thought they saw a clear path to victory, but they had thought the same in the previous game of go, and the one before that, and the hundred before that. Sierra was just too good at this, but Jo had never been able to back down from a challenge.

Sierra, for their part, was staring unblinking at the board in that distant, unblinking, not-quite-there way that they looked at everything. They had their head tilted, listening to some inaudible melody, foot tapping along arhythmically.

Jo barely even liked this game, and they hated losing, but the fact was Jo was bored. It was the sad truth that self described hotshot pilot, Josephine Casseopia Bergan della Briar Rose, was stuck doing milk runs.

Meanwhile, their sister, if she was to be believed, was off living out episodes of some Freetraveler fantasy dreams. For that matter, Lisa wasn't particularly prone to exaggeration, which made her stories all the more aggravating.

Jo sighed, carefully picked up a black stone and placed it on the board. Sierra's lips quirked in a tiny smile and Jo groaned inwardly, knowing the trap was about to be sprung.

The voidworker picked up a white stone, but froze, blinking in surprise an instant before the intercom pinged.

"Hey babe," ZX736 said over the intercom. "Long range comm for you."

Oh thank the gods, Jo wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation of losing again.

"It's your sister," Z added. "Says it's urgent."

Jo paused. They were siblings, all manner of practical joke passed between them. Phrases like "very important", "deadly serious", and "critical danger" weren't at all uncommon. "Urgent" however was one they had agreed to keep in reserve. It was off limits except in situations that were, in fact, urgent.

"Yeah, I'll be there in one sec," Jo replied, "thanks love."

"Should I save the board?" Sierra interjected. The voidworker had set the stone and Jo could see the beginnings of the end.

Jo sighed, "don't bother…"

They shifted their attention away from the common area into the cockpit, where the mass of Jo had completely engulfed every surface, eyes and tentacles everywhere. It was Jo's space, their domain, closed to all except them and their wife.

"She on?" Jo asked.

"Yeah," Z replied. "She's rambling a little about… honey… I think? Whatever she wants to say might be private. I'll be right outside if you need me."

The long range comm crackled and Lisa's voice, distant and tinny, came through.

"Jo?"

She sounded like she'd been crying. Oh, this can't be good.

"Hey sis, Z said it was urgent. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lisa replied. "I mean no, not really, my girlfriend just had to go away for some indeterminate amount of time and I've just been an accessory to another war crime… but this is good news, I swear."

This raised so many questions and Jo was certain Lisa would be more than happy to elaborate, but something about her tone seemed almost cagey.

"Yes?" Jo prompted after a moment of silence that stretched uncomfortably.

"Well, um… the thing is…"

"Oh my god, dude, spit it out," Jo grumbled.

"Gwen is alive!" Lisa blurted. "I found them and we got in a fight and I thought I ruined everything but I went back and… oh gods, I thought I got them killed, but my friend saved them and…"

Lisa's words faded to incoherent sobbing.

Jo struggled to comprehend.

"Wait, back up," Jo interrupted. "You found Gwen?"

A welter of guilt surged in Jo's core. Jo was the reason Gwen had run away in the first place. To be fair, Lisa hadn't been perfect either and deserved… maybe thirty percent of the credit, but Jo had been the one to drive both of them off the ship.

"Jo," Lisa repeated, "Gwen is alive and they are on my ship right now and I'm bringing them home."