#and since I like the space alien interpretation

[worstloki]

Loki's favorite Sabaton song?

(Can't be Swedish Pagans because that's Thor's favorite)

i don't listen to music so this is not a good question for me but also I don't think the bros would listen to stuff with heavy Christianity symbolism and the paganism would be like. a gag for them?

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 | Crossed Lines

Some things are better left unsaid.

Tags/Warnings: Alien!Jungkook, Human!Reader, dystopian AU, space/Sci-fi/cyberpunk-esque, Enemies to lovers, Angst, Violence, Drama, romance, adult, angst, potentially triggering content, mentions of prostitution, fluff??, injury, I'm sorry for this one don't hate me

Length: 3k words

There is no taglist for this fic.

-> Masterlist

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You never really thought of Jungkook as the jealous type- and maybe you're interpreting his foul mood entirely wrong too.

But you've got a feeling that his clear displeasure is mostly due to the very tall and very charismatic Alien who's been all over you ever since you woke up.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't need help eating her food, Jin." Jungkook growls, eyes a vibrant green with a little red swirling around sometimes, as he watches you on the lap of the tall Alien currently feeding you. Jungkook's arms are crossed and he honestly looks ready to tear someone's throat out- and while you're still learning what the colors of his eyes might mean, you're starting to somewhat connect certain colors with certain feelings.

"Pah, just let me enjoy this before you take her away again!" The man named Seokjin whines, pulling you a little closer. "I can't believe you found such a sweet thing.. you don't even want her, just leave her here with me!" He complains, and Jungkook's eyes turn a little hotter in color, orange burning bright as his anger seems to rise. Why that might be you're not sure- you don't understand why he's not letting you stay here either. Seokjin seems like a nice person, and Yoongi, a cat-like Alien who'd taken care of you while you were resting, told you that the three of them are all very good friends. So why did Jungkook suddenly change his mind?

"Shut up." Jungkook barks under his breath, turning his face away. "…she can stay if she wants to. Who cares." He mumbles more or less, and at that, your heart skips a little uncomfortably. In a way, you knew he wanted to get rid of you sooner or later- but to hear it too, makes it all the more real. Maybe deep down, that small hidden innocence in you had thought he was warming up to you- but maybe that was just your imagination after all.

So you shrug, and look down at your plate of food, shaking your head when Jin offers you another piece to eat.

"I can't believe that you're worse than me, Jeon." Yoongi says, shaking his head in disappointment. "That was mean, even for my standards." He mentions from his spot near the only window in the small metal shed Jin lives in, his tail swaying a little. "Humans are sensitive. You can't just say things like that." He says, before he adjusts his position, crossing his legs.

Jungkook however just scoffs, and refuses to look at you.

You truly want to say something, but your voice just comes out horribly strained, making you cough- so you just leave it, trying to clear your throat, as Seokjin holds the inhaler you got from Yoongi to your lips.

Only that the hand is.. tattooed?

One look upwards and yes, there he is- it's actually Jungkook who acted so fast, eyes a slightly stressed pale blue, as he carefully helps you use the plastic container with the medicine inside, face a mix of worry and annoyance. You just let him, for now- and decide that maybe, this is his actual issue. You're now sick, you're gonna use up a lot more resources, let alone the cost of your medicine and everything. You're no use for him, only baggage.

Jungkook sighs, sits back down before he puts the inhaler away into his canvas bag. "If she wants to stay, she can, I guess.." He says, crossing his arms again. "If she wants to come with me, she can. It's whatever." He huffs, and Yoongi sighs to himself, while Seokjin chuckles.

"Well, I guess that's as much of an invitation as you'll get, little thing." He shrugs, looking down at you.

And this time, you don't feel like running after Jungkook like a lost dog.

So you just quietly shrug, and eat the rest of your meal.

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You're still hiding in Seokjin's bedroom, upset and saddened by the fact that Jungkook is truly preparing to leave you behind, when you hear someone walk through the pearl curtain that disconnects the bedroom from the main living area of the little house. "Here." He mumbles, throwing something on the bed- a plastic box, a rubber band around it to keep it shut, you guess.

You don't react, but you hear him sigh, as he sits down on the mattress, bed dipping down a little under his weight. "At least look at it, so I know I didn't buy the wrong shit." He huffs, and you roll your eyes, before taking the scratched up box, pulling the rubber band from it. And inside-

-are two, different colored knitting needles, a small pair of scissors, and two balls of grey, thick yarn.

"So?" He urges, and you can hear him play with the keychain in his hand a little. Is he nervous? Or just impatient?

What is he really thinking about you?

Why did he buy this, if he didn't at least mildly care about you?

You turn around towards him, and tap his shoulder to gain his attention- which you get, as he turns a little towards you- clearly caught off guard when you hug him. You want to see something- you need to check if your instincts are correct with this.

And when his arm- admittedly rather awkwardly- wraps around you and pats your back, you get your answer.

So you get up, put your clothes and the plastic box into a bag given to you by Jin, and stand by the pearl curtain quietly, nodding outside.

"Are you sure?" He asks, not getting up yet. "Jin's a good guy. Yoongi visits regularly, and he's got a human partner. Knows all about human health." He explains. "I mean, the planet's climate sucks, but it's at least somewhat peaceful." He says, and you just roll your eyes, and cross your arms. "..guess that's a no." He sighs to himself, though you don't miss the warmth in his eyes as he gets up, and takes your bag from you, walking out to say goodbye to Yoongi and Jin- well, mostly Jin. Yoongi just.. quietly bumps his head against yours and Jungkook's, before he simply leaves.

But Seokjin? He goes in for the hug, and it's honestly a little funny how annoyed Jungkook seems at that.

"You'll have to stay in contact!" Seokjin whines. "I need to know she's okay, and that she eats well, and that she's not getting lonely, or sad, or-" He rants, and Jungkook groans, clumsily taking your hand in his to pull you closer.

"Yeah yeah whatever, I'll look after her just fine." He argues, before he turns with you to walk off- letting you wave to Seokjin for a bit, before he tugs on your hand. "Look ahead. You'll trip otherwise." He scolds, though he keeps holding your hand-

The moment you're both back on the ship, he immediately runs an entire scan of the system and Ship's interior- telling you that he doesn't trust the mechanics on this planet too much, and that he wants to make sure they didn't leave anything here that doesn't belong. What exactly he means by that you're not sure- but after noticing how he even physically searches your room for anything off, especially the camera up in the corner, you're starting to have an idea of what he meant by that.

and it feels oddly kind, the way he keeps you both connected with a surprising tender amount of strength.

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"Do you want to stay here or come with me?" He asks, and you shrug, taking a blanket from the bed with you to instead walk closer to him. "…I really made you clingy now, didn't I?" He sighs to himself, looking at you a bit annoyed- though the faint pink-ish hue of his eyes gives you hope that he's just trying to act tough, and not genuinely upset over the fact that you'd like to keep him company from now on.

If Yoongi was correct, Jungkook simply has trouble attaching himself to others- the cat alien had told you that he didn't have the greatest upbringing, and that it left him with permanent scars.

Scars that one might not be able to see, but they're still there.

"Alright, let's see.." Jungkook mumbles to himself, as he logs into his system's autopilot, taking over the controls as he reads through all the info flying past on the screen. It's impressive to you how quickly he can seem to soak up any information practically flying past him, and it shows you just how long he's probably been doing this.

Yet, now that you think of it, you're not actually sure what exactly Jungkook does for a living, besides selling cargo here and there. But then again, should you really question it? He's putting food on the table, and gives you a safe place to stay. Better not ask too many questions, you tell yourself.

So you instead sit down somewhere near the windows, studying the pictures of the faded paper instruction manual that came in the plastic box of knitting stuff- the language foreign to you, though some words seem to click in your mind. It doesn't seem too hard to do, and considering that you've tried it in the past, it's not that difficult to pick back up where you left off years prior.

And the entire time, you don't even notice Jungkook occasionally watching you, the sight of you happily occupied with your new present doing something special to him. After all, usually, to his kind-

gifting things is considered something only mates do for one another.

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"Hey- come here for a second." Jungkook says one morning, urging you a bit closer as you enter the command center where he already sits in his usual seat, though he doesn't seem as relaxed as he's been these past few days.

Your throat has been healing well, and the entire ship by now is filling with your little animal shaped knitting work- one better than the last, after Jungkook had picked up some other colors of yarn for you at one re-fuel stop. It's been a good handful of days now- and you feel like you're actually getting comfortable with the Alien. "I'll be turning course today. I'm.. gonna leave you with Jin for a while." He says, and you instantly furrow your brows in confusion, unsure what's wrong.

"Why?" You ask, voice still a bit raspy, but it at least doesn't hurt as much to talk anymore.

Jungkook just sighs, looking away. "It's not for long, just a few weeks. I'll pick you up before the seasons change-" He explains, but you won't have it.

"That doesn't answer my question." You say, clearing your throat after somewhat getting that small sentence out. He runs his hands over his face.

"It's.. urgh, fuck!" He groans out agitated, and it's honestly both funny and a little unnerving to see Jungkook so.. embarrassed.

"I'm-… It's mating season for my kind." He huffs out defeated, arms crossed. "And since you're a female, it's kind of.. distracting." He explains, and you take that info in for a second.

And Bolku people are a proud but reserved kind, only really staying in pairs, never in groups. But Jungkook doesn't quite fit the visual characteristics, apart from his eyes- so maybe he's a hybrid too?

"Oh." You simply answer, unsure what else to say. Well, you didn't really think about that- but yeah, you remember reading something about Bolku people's.. well, mating traditions, so to speak. Not really because you ever thought anything of it- it was just interesting to find anything to read back on earth, and when you stumbled upon a common book about foreign galactic humanoid variants, you read through it.

It's how you know that Seokjin must've been some sort of human-Shairo hybrid; with his tall body and caring nature, but otherwise rather human appearance. The short, thick and scaled tail gave him away, mostly, and you read in your book back on earth how his kind has a problem with gender in their kind. They're mostly male- females are incredibly rare to be born for some unknown reason.

What's interesting now however, is how the past few days and Jungkook's actions during them, change in nature to you. The gift of the knitting stuff. The blankets he kept bringing to your room. The way he'd cuddle you throughout the journey through Cryon- all of it suddenly feels odd to you now that you know he's near his kind's mating season.

Does that mean that those weren't acts of kindness? That you weren't making any progress at all? That he was just..

..acting on instincts?

"I can just stay in my room again for the time being." You shrug, and he notices the way your posture and tone change. He's become quite good at reading your body language and subtle hints here and there- be it the tone of your voice, or the way you avoid eye contact, or how you'd change topic if he was to talk about something that made you uncomfortable. And right now, it seems as if he said something that made you almost.. defensive. And he's not sure what.

"No, I don't want to.. lock you in there again." He shakes his head. "You're not a prisoner anymore. Or anything similar." He denies.

"Then what am I?" You ask, looking at him- and he can't help but feel a little called out by you.

"That doesn't matter." He responds, but that's not enough for you anymore. You've become bold- mostly because you're not scared of him any longer, and because he's slowly, unknowingly, nurtured your will to survive back to life.

"It does to me." You croak out, coughing right after, making him cringe as his eyes turn a concerned blue hue. But he knows not to try and do anything right now- you're on edge, and he feels as if he's arguing with a cornered animal right now, any wrong move or word enough to set you off.

"Then what do you want to be?" He asks instead, making you look at him with a gaze that just screams uncertainty.

You don't know what you want to be. Especially not what you want to be to him.

When you came onto his ship, you didn't care what happened to you. You'd given up, you were ready to take whatever was thrown at you- but now you actually want to live. You want to be alive, and most importantly, you want to stay with him, and stay on this ship, and stay in this little space where everything seems okay. The amount of safety you feel here has spoiled you at this point, causing you to feel protective over it.

You don't want to stay with Seokjin, no matter how sweet and kind he is. He isn't Jungkook, and he isn't this ship.

"I don't care!" You huff out at him, moving to sit in the middle of the control center, grabbing your blanket before you throw it over your head, and hiding underneath it as you sit down facing the large window, face barely exposed. "I'm staying." You growl to yourself, and Jungkook can't help the slight amusement tickling in his chest at the fact that you're starting to pick up on some of his own behaviors.

Though your growl is anything but intimidating. It's cute, but nothing dangerous at all.

"It's just for two weeks. Three at max." Jungkook sighs, turning on the autopilot before he walks closer, tip of his boot gently tapping your back. "Hey." He calls out, but you don't answer. "I'm talking to you."

"And I'm not." You respond, pulling the blanket close so he can't see you as he crouches down next to you to catch a glimpse. "You'll leave me there."

"I thought you wanted me to leave you?" He wonders in an oddly soft tone, but you can't help but feel as if this too is just his instincts, and not actually him.

"Shut up." You respond, and he laughs.

"You kind of sound like me." He tells you, sitting down in front of you with his legs crossed. "Doesn't fit you- so stop it." He argues, pulling on the blanket- but you got a steel hold of it. "Come on, stop being a brat-"

"No!" You bark out, scooting away from him a good bit.

"I'll pick you up again." He sighs. "Promise."

"Your promise is empty." You mumble, finally giving in as he manages to pull the edge of the blanket enough with his fingers to expose your face.

"How so?" He wonders, face clearly confused, and somewhat upset.

"Cause you said it!" You argue. "I'm distracting you because you're like- horny or whatever. That's not you. And when your.. mating season is over, you'll just.. leave me with Jin." You say, looking at the ground.

"How come you humans always get so horribly attached to things so easily?" He mumbles, as if he's mostly talking to himself- eyes distant as he looks at you, hands in his lap. "Attach yourself to Jin. Not me."

"Why?" You ask timidly, unsure what he's getting at. You're not even sure yourself what you're thinking of him. You don't know why you're so attached to him.

"Because he's.. a better fit." He shrugs. "He's nice. Knows human social norms, since he's partially human as well-"

"So are you though?" You ask, testing the waters, and the way he tenses up, eyes flashing a pale, unreadable color, gives you the answer you were looking for.

So he is a hybrid too.

Suddenly, his face seems angry, jaw clenched and tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he looks to the side, eyes a blazing red as he gets up and walks away. "I changed my mind." He says, tapping away on his control panel. "Go stay in your room or whatever. I don't give a shit." He growls, and for some reason, you suddenly feel guilty.

So you quietly leave, door hissing shut behind you-

before it clicks, small display near it offering only a single, pulsating message.

[Locked by Administrator]

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[my-writings-and-musings]

What if the reader ACTUALLY ended up getting pregnant by soundwave? 👀 How would the cassettes react to the fact that they're going to have a baby sibling soon? Feel free to write this 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

Wwwwwwweeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllll I might just have to give this a try anon, I definitely haven't been thinking about it since that last ask... (Or applying the same thought to other bots that you can totally ask me about at any time if any of you are so inclined)

I hope you all enjoy, and if you like my writing style you can always commission me!

All three of the minis still had their own unique expression of frozen shock when Frenzy finally went silent, leaving you to sit awkwardly across from them at the breakfast table. Soundwave knelt at your side, his demeanour tense but supportive as the quiet continued for several agonizing moments. It was Laserbeak that found his voice first, shaking his helm as if he was trying to process the information but simply couldn't. "How's that even possible?!"

"You're WHHHAAAAAATTTT?!"

Even without utilizing her sonic scream, Frenzy had the walls shaking for the entirety of her outburst, though such a reaction was more or less what you'd expected given the news you and Soundwave had just dropped.

"From the look of it, I'm due in seven months." you answered simply, unwilling to admit that was a guess at best. Based on your symptom you could reasonably estimate you were about two months in, but there was no way to know if this was going to proceed like a normal pregnancy, and it wasn't like you could swing by a doctor's office for answers. Soundwave settled his claws on your shoulder in a gesture of support.

"Known phenomenon. Scattered historical records." Soundwave answered for you, his explanation only somewhat shorter now than what he'd given you when everything had come to light. He'd also been able to translate and show you some of the texts describing the process, which included an explanation as to how Cybertronian gametes could "read" the genetic information of other species and interpret it to match their own anatomy, allowing for reproduction between vastly different beings. The little one within you now would be fully Cybertronian, but still related to you thanks to the wonders of alien biology. You wondered briefly what features of your own might be recognizable; your smile, the shape of your eyes, the proportions of your limbs...

"Well... When's the little one gonna get here?" Laserbeak continued as the others remained silent. Ravage was tense in his chair, optics narrow and audials pinned back in deep thought whilst Frenzy still found herself incapable of getting her jaw off the floor.

Giving the minis a date seemed to make the news that much more real, and the three exchanged looks, silently discussing their feelings on the matter with expressions alone. Too many emotions passed between them for you to identify even a fraction, but you caught a considerable amount of uncertainty from all three, which we to be expected. Frenzy finally spoke for the group, crossing her arms as if she was seated at a negotiating table as she tilted her helm for a pointed question. "Are we gonna have to share a room with them? It's already pretty crowded with the three of us."

"Search for more spacious dwelling; initiated." Soundwave replied quickly. The question was one the two of you had asked yourselves, and though searching presented its own dangers, you had concluded it would be far from ideal to have a growing family in this crowded bunker. In a mere month your mate had crossed hundreds of miles in his search, and the list of new potential homes grew each time he returned. Said information was relayed to the minis in a succinct summation of his activities. "Several possible locations located. Scouting to continue."

Hearing of a new home caught the interest of all three, an understandable reaction considering their limited space at present, and also seemed to turn some of their surprise to anticipation.

"Well, if we can get somewhere with a little more elbow room... I'm on board." Frenzy said as she returned to her more casual sitting posture, looking more open to the idea now that she had some time to process and could imagine the fun that might come if it. Seeing a smile pull on her lips gave you a great deal of comfort, and you felt your shoulder relax in Soundwave's grasp. The music loving femme tapped her chin as she pondered the possibilities. "Something beachside would be pretty tight."

Matching her energy, Laserbeak added his own two cents, equally excited at the prospect of moving from their cramped abode. "I could go for something up in the mountains, nice to have open air under the wings."

You prepared to reply with a list of the places Soundwave had scouted, but Frenzy scoffed at Laserbeak's suggestion before you could speak, returning to her old self with impressive speed. "Boring! How are we gonna have fun in the middle of the woods?"

"If the bitlet ends up flying, where else am I gonna show them the ropes?" he replied, holding up his wings like hands in his exasperation.

The comment took you pleasantly by surprise. Moments ago they'd been so shocked you couldn't really tell if they were at all on board with the new family member, but Laserbeak was already planning for including the little one, and Frenzy made it clear she was doing the same with her retort.

"How can I take them to rock concerts if there aren't any?" she asked in equal exasperation, making you smile at how she was also planning for their future sibling. You were confident now their initial reaction had been purely one of shock, and now that it had faded they were all proving more than amenable to the idea of a little brother or sister.

"They can fly there!" Laserbeak replied as the silly argument intensified, the two minis squabbling over the best places to live for the sake of their interests as well as their future sibling. Ravage remained removed from the entire discussion, but you found his posture far more relaxed, and when his gaze met your own for a second time he was far from displeased. The Felicon looked to you for a moment of consideration before giving a nod, his way of indicating that he too was fine with this most unexpected turn of events. You nodded back in appreciation. This little one may have been unplanned, but they would be anything but unloved.

"Arguments unhelpful." Soundwave sighed as the petty squabble grew lightly physical, juvenile slaps being traded by Frenzy and Laserbeak as they debated whose idea for a new location was "obviously" superior to the others. You chuckled lightly and gave his servo a pat, certain this chaos would hardly compare to what your little family would be dealing with in just a few short months.

[electronickingdomfox]

Star Trek TOS slash bits (Season two)

This is my personal rundown of all the slash scenes in TOS season two. I've omitted episodes when I didn't find anything remarkable in them.

-What I count: lingering touches or affectionate looks, clinginess, actions that show a strong concern/familiarity with each other, suggestive scenes...

-What I DON'T count: friendly gestures (like smiling or looking amused when someone says something funny), scenes taken out of context, physical proximity just because there's not enough space...

I'll try to illustrate some scenes when necessary, though screenshots usually don't do justice to it.

For season one analysis go here.

Metamorphosis:

There's no slash per se, but the episode has an underlying theme of love being independent of and transcending the sex of two individuals, or even their species. Spock comes off a bit more narrow-minded than the others, since he only considers the possibility of the Companion being in love with Cochrane once he learns the Companion is female. However, Kirk and McCoy had already reached this conclusion long before they knew the Companion even had a gender. And then there's, of course, Cochrane's indignation about men of the future being so open-minded, and having "no notion of decency and morality". An attitude that Spock defines as "parochial". And McCoy's take on it: "There's nothing disgusting about it. It's just another life form, that's all. You get used to those things." (And may I say, good for him to be used to alien entities entering him, considering the whole katra affair years later...)

It's been pointed out that Kirk's heartfelt speech about the Companion being unable to join "the man", is actually a revelation of his feelings for Spock. Personally, I think that's too much of an extrapolation. Even supposing that Kirk's talking in part about himself here, this may be just because of his inability to have a long-lasting relationship with anyone (not just Spock). Something that the show has already established firmly at this point.

Friday's Child

Spones Spock finds Eleen holding McCoy's hand, and McCoy quickly removes his hand, as if embarrassed for being caught cheating by his boyfriend. Unlike other times, when Spock looks amused by men flirting with women, this time he seems rather disappointed. Besides, this episode was written by D. C. Fontana, the same writer who introduced the concept of hand-touching as a specially intimate act for Vulcans.

There's also the scene where McCoy tries (unsuccessfully) to teach Spock how to hold a baby, which mirrors the one where he teaches Eleen the same.

Who Mourns for Adonais?

Spirk When Kirk regrets that Spock can't come with the landing party, it seems as if Kirk's mind was wandering in an altogether different place.

Amok Time

Spirk Many instances. For starters, Spock's hand gets really trembling when Kirk approaches him, and later when he grabs his wrist during a confrontation. Notice that this kind of nervousness happens mainly when Spock is approached by women (potential mates), as when he throws Chapel's soup, or when he hears Uhura's voice through the intercom. Later, Kirk is willing to risk his career to save Spock. And once in Vulcan, Spock breaks through the plak tow to beg for Kirk's life, even if he shouldn't be able to even speak in that state. Then there's, of course, the fight itself, which could be interpreted as a placeholder for sex, considering all the suggestive imagery, and the fact that it resolves magically Spock's pon farr.

As for the outcome of the fight, Spock refuses to "live long and prosper", after seemingly killing Kirk. His reaction upon finding out that Kirk's alive wouldn't be so noteworthy if Spock was a normal human. However, such an open smile is very, very rare for Spock. McCoy (like any good shipper) notices at once his unusually intense emotions.

Spones There's another character that elicits a trembling in Spock's hand, while getting physically close for a medical check-up. A clue: it's not Chapel.

The Changeling

Spirk Kirk grabs Spock very tightly after Nomad's mind assault (and probably accidentally, Shatner squeezes Nimoy's pec so hard, that he hurts him).

Right after this, Kirk still holds Spock for a very long time, until he's sufficiently recovered.

The Apple

Spirk Spock jumps illogically in front of Kirk to save him from the poisonous flowers, and almost dies as consequence. This earns him a reprimand from Kirk, who points out that he could have just shouted a warning. Apart from this, Kirk compliments Spock's appearance with the flower bracelet.

Mirror Mirror Spones McCoy risks being left stranded in the mirror universe to save Spock's life. And it's not even HIS Spock! Kirk acknowledges how important this is for the doctor, and grants him those extra minutes. Right after, mirror Spock corners McCoy against a wall, and forces a mind meld on him. While Bones behaves quite submissively. It's both suggestive and disturbing.

In the end, McCoy says that he liked Spock better with a beard, since it gave him "character". After his similar scene with Kahn, it seems that McCoy just has a thing for "bad boys".

The Deadly Years

Spirk Kirk makes a videocall to Spock while half naked, so his tits are right on his face. Unlike the similar scene in "The Corbomite Manouver", Kirk doesn't have a particular reason to be half naked here, and he's calling Spock specifically.

And this may be a bit far-fetched, but while flirting with his previous girlfriend, Dr. Wallace, Kirk compares her with his First Officer.

McKirk Kirk is quick to point out that McCoy is growing some white hairs, in a good-natured way. And he's a bit flirtatious while the doctor reprimands and checks him.

Bread and Circuses

Spones Pretty one-sided on McCoy's part. He's touched by the fact that Spock saved him in the arena, and tries to make amends and open his heart to the Vulcan. However, he fails to get a "genuine, warm, decent feeling" from Spock, and gets very hurt by his indifference (one could say, he feels "scorned"). After this, he lashes out at Spock in a specially vicious way.

Then the scene transitions to...

McSpirk ...once McCoy and Spock both admit how worried they are about Jim.

Meanwhile, Jim is in no danger, but fooling around with Drusilla. And later, he seems ashamed to tell them about his affair with her. Of course, there's also the fact that Merik and the Proconsul know immediately that putting Spock and McCoy in danger, would be the best way to blackmail Kirk into cooperating.

Journey to Babel

McKirk It's just a little thing, but Kirk and McCoy seem to be dressing in the same cabin.

Spones McCoy is eager to learn anything about Spock's childhood from his mom, specially the embarrassing details. And he beams with joy upon finding out that Spock used to have a "teddy bear".

A Private Little War

Spirk At the start of the episode, Kirk is so worried about Spock's injury, that he snaps at the bridge crew in frustration. And he goes back to sickbay to check on Spock's condition, despite having been there a few minutes before, and having just called McCoy about it. His looks at the unconscious Spock say it all:

McKirk Bones is very caring towards Kirk for most of the episode, specially since the latter is injured several times. And he's also quite worried about the possibility of Kirk being really enslaved by Nona. Apart from this, there's his gentle caressing of Kirk's naked chest...

Spones McCoy is reluctant to leave Spock and beam down to the planet, after having just said that doctor M'Benga could perfectly take care of him. At the end, McCoy is overjoyed to find out that Spock is alright (it's remarkable that Kirk, instead, doesn't react visibly to Spock's voice). However, the Vulcan dismisses McCoy's reaction, once again embittering him.

On the other hand, what the hell was going on between Kirk and Tyree!?

All that talk about them being "made brothers", and Tyree's refusal to tell his wife about their past... Nona seems even jealous, and says she's also "his sister" (kind of putting Kirk in the same level as Tyree's wife). McCoy tries to make Kirk reconsider his strategy of arming both sides, by reminding him that Tyree could also die in the war. And during the final fight, Tyree is about to crush Kirk with a rock, but Kirk's intense stare makes him recover his sanity.

The Gamesters of Triskelion

Spones Despite all the bickering going on between Spock and McCoy in this episode, the following exchange reveals that McCoy is actually eager to meet Spock's expectations:

SPOCK: I would welcome a suggestion, Doctor, even an emotional one, as to where to look. MCCOY: First time you've ever asked me for anything, and it has to be an occasion like this.

Spock looks at him surprised, together with comedic music in the background. At the end, McCoy finally smiles, when Spock accepts his help to rescue the others.

Obsession

McKirk Very similar scene to the one in "Balance of Terror". McCoy enters Kirk's cabin while he's in bed, and tries to comfort him, saying that he wasn't responsible for the deaths aboard the Farragut. However, the argument gets intense, to the point that Kirk warns the doctor not to push their friendship.

The Immunity Syndrome

Spones There's a lot to unpack here. At first, Spock and McCoy are competing for the (dubious) honor of entering the amoeba. But then Spock makes McCoy understand how truly dangerous the mission is, when he asks him to wish him luck. McCoy is taken aback, and can only do so, shyly, once Spock can't hear him anymore.

Later, he seems sorrowful when Spock reminds him that he should have wished him luck. Still, McCoy doesn't want to believe that Spock is dead:

KIRK: What's on your mind? MCCOY: Spock. Is it me, Jim? Am I so sentimental that I just have to keep believing that he's still alive in that mass of protoplasm?

At the end, McCoy is so happy to find Spock alive, that he blurts out an order to rescue him, forgetting he's not the Captain, much to Spock's amusement. The doctor seems a bit embarrassed, and he feels the need to berate Spock afterwards, in true tsundere fashion. Meanwhile, Kirk seems to be having a lot of fun with all this.

By Any Other Name

Spones McCoy holds Spock for a long time, after he's shocked while mind-melding with Kelinda, even when Spock is already up and walking. A bit later, he's still concerned and hovering over him. He also keeps Spock in his arms when the latter induces a trance on himself, and in general, he's very close to him whenever they're in the same scene.

For his part, Kirk's fight with Rojan is rather suggestive, specially since he gives him a long speech while grabbing him like this:

After this, he takes him by the shoulders in the typical "Kirk embrace", usually reserved for women he's about to kiss.

Return to Tomorrow

Spirk At the end, Kirk is devastated when he thinks that Spock has died. So much that Sargon, having understood how important Spock was to him, had saved his conscience beforehand, so he could be revived.

Patterns of Force

Spirk The kinky episode. First we have Kirk's uniform fetish, when he regrets that Spock's uniform isn't as attractive as his. And then, of course, the prison porn scene. A half naked Spock climbs on top of a half naked Kirk, while the latter sweats and screams "Oh my goodness. Beautiful. Oh Spock, Spock!". Has to be seen to be believed.

I'd be almost tempted to include the bit where the nazi guards catch them all inside a closet, under the pretense that McCoy was drunk, if this wasn't taking things too out of context.

The Ultimate Computer

McKirk McCoy comforts Kirk when the latter is feeling insecure about losing his command to a machine, and assures him he's not being unfair at all. Later, McCoy comes to Kirk's quarters to have a drink together, and makes a toast for him. Then Kirk... recites poetry to McCoy.

The Omega Glory

Spirk A redshirt is seriously injured and lying on the floor, and yet Kirk quickly forgets about him and is like "Mr. Spock! Are you alright!?"... But Spock is just standing there, looking perfectly FINE.

Kirk and McCoy's worry is justified later, once Spock is injured for real, but here is kind of hilarious.

Summary

Spirk: 9 out of 26 episodes Spones: 9/26 McKirk: 5/26 McSpirk: 1/26

Season one was the Spirk season, but in this season Spones has gained a lot of ground.

[alienssstufff]

still on the topic mariana during the birthday stream when slime said "i wish mari- my bitch wife was here" how we feeling about that

DEAD. DYING.

Ever since JuanaFlippa’s deaths q!Slime’s feelings for q!Mariana are SO FUCKING COMPLICATED I hate himmmmm. And this slip up isn’t the first time q!Slime has done this either he’s so dead set on putting this front that he hates his wife he resents her for killing their daughter he can’t even bare to say or even look at her name (him hovering over Mariana’s waypoint multiple times). But at the same time he can’t bring himself to hate Mariana completely because of his devotion for family values. Whether he wanted to or not he still loved (loved) her, he quietly says her name to himself when he’s alone he leaves a space by the bonfire beside him, he keeps the battle axe close to his chest which now resides on the mantle by JuanaFlippa’s gun representing the trust he ultimately has for Mariana to be beside their kid because who else but her would be able to understand that kind of trauma of falling in love. “He’s all I’ve got.” his feelings for Mariana aren’t black and white he can’t just pick a side to believe in when she’s there in both the bad and good of his memories.

The name slip at the same time is an interesting one like it could be interpreted as a Slime resenting Mariana reducing her to just this title, or him feeling so out of touch with her the ‘bitch wife’ pet name (weird ass pet name but one with affection nonetheless) feels so alien to him he’s reverted back to first name basis.

[insanelyadd]

A little family dance party. :>

Fun fact this is the first appearance of Crescent's actual cap. I normally draw her wearing his Grand Huntsman cloak but I wanted to show she also has the normal, standard-issue hat like the rest of them. Also I think I did a real good job with the hands in this. Been really improving on that lately. B)

Had some alternate versions of this picture in mind, like one where there's planets and moons behind their heads like halos because I've been thinking about how Collectors (the species) have a lot of thematic similarities to Angels, like how they come down from the heavens (space) and bring people back up with them.

Was talking to a friend about it and also my HC that the modus operandi for Collectors is when they arrive on a planet they enlist the assistance of any sapient species by insisting/convincing them that they're gods/divine beings to be worshiped and given offerings in the form of plants/animals/any living thing that doesn't fall into those categories. Not specifically an Angel parallel there but you see the connection right? Continued rambling about their parallels to Angels, Aliens, and Eldritch Horrors under the cut because I love talking about them.

Another angel parallel is I interpret the "Clean the Planet and Scorch the Air" thing as like. The Cleaning is them taking as many samples as quickly as possible because this planet will never be able to support life again and then burning the whole thing and any stragglers. Anyways my point with the angel parallels is this is like the Rapture (at least the pop culture version of it that I'm familiar with, the worthy are taken to the skies above and everyone else has to live out a literal hell on earth). I'm mostly familiar with Christian interpretations of angels so if anyone knows any angel parallels they have that are more specific to other religions (that have angels and/or similar beings) I'd be interested to hear.

Anyways the other versions I had planned was one where they look more stereotypically like Aliens because by definition they are space aliens. I feel that one is pretty straight forward. Like, we usually interpret aliens to be technologically advanced to an incredible degree, so they're more of a magical take on aliens than what is typical, but they are living creatures who come from space, and since it's kind of implied they're straight up from Space Itself and do not have a home planet that makes them aliens on every celestial body* they go to (*since moons could theoretically support life it would be untrue for me to restrict where they go to as "planets").

And the final version where they would all be looking angry with more monstrous features to emphasize that they're Eldritch Horrors. I used to say Cosmic Horror but I have since learned Cosmic Horror is what they do, not what they are, since cosmic horror is the horror of how helpless humans are in the face of the grand, uncaring universe, so a meteor coming to destroy the planet and kill us all is also cosmic horror. Meanwhile eldritch horror is specifically the horror with the focus on powerful, godlike creatures beyond our mortal comprehension. Like these dorks.

[galactiquest]

Feral for affection uncanny vash or knives.

🌻have a good day

Hi there Sunflower Anon! I'm going to call you that, especially if you come back again with another sunflower. Thanks for the ask!!

I've seen the uncanny Vash and Knives stuff blow up in popularity. I Was there. Though sometimes I feel it's disingenuous to call them uncanny--that's our human interpretation of their forms. Maybe something more along the lines of primal? Well, syntax aside, I think it's a super fun idea to lean more into the alien ideals of Plants. I have plenty of my own headcanons for how the two look and operate, but, let's not focus on that right now. Let's just get affectionate!

Vash and Knives x Reader: Affections (Uncanny ver.)

Content Warnings: General uncanny or possibly unnerving content ahead. Features like multiple eyes/limbs/etc. are discussed, and there may be an implicit body horror to it. No violence, though! Just cuteness aside from all that!

Vash

I think Vash is pretty hesitant at first to show you any sort of uncanny parts of himself. I mean, we already know how he feels about his scars--he really doesn't want to scare you off, especially once you two have become close.

But if you can slowly and gently coax him out of his shell, if you can convince him that yes, you'll love every part of him, no matter how ugly he may think those parts are, he'll eventually relent.

And at first, it's just a few features that pop out. It might be reflective, glowy eyes in the nighttime, or fingers that have grown out just a little too long for the average man, or even a few spiny scutes along his back.

Once he's comfortable, though? He lets it all hang out. Not like that--he just allows his true form to come through. And there's lots of limbs and even some sharp edges to deal with... But if you're patient, you'll find he's maybe even more affectionate like this!

Cuddles end up the best because now instead of two (sometimes one, if he has the prosthetic off) arms around you, it's six (more like five!) and you are ever-so-tightly squeezed against his body. He also has a very comfortable temperature, so you never have to worry about being too hot or too cold. It's just right!

Purring. Yes, I know it's cliché, I know that it's mentioned in every imagine, but come on. It's so cute. I don't think it's like animal purring, though, maybe more like an engine. Or perhaps more akin to a larger cat purring. Less cutesy, more... well, rumbly. Sometimes it makes his whole body vibrate.

With his extra appendages, he loves to tickle you. Prepare to be bombarded with tickles. He's able to dance across your skin so fast that you can barely catch him in time to try and swat him away.

Kisses! He tries to be so careful with kisses since his jaw can unhinge and all that. And lots of teeth get in the way. But if you don't mind that... Or perhaps, if you're into that... Well, you can definitely start experimenting. But he's still as gentle as possible.

Knives

Now this is someone who's not afraid to show you their true self. Knives is going to quickly reveal his primal form to you. If you can't learn to get comfortable with it, he's obviously not for you. (It begs the question as to why he keeps a more humanoid form too--maybe it's just easier to get around in human-sized spaces with?)

No matter your initial reaction, I think he's going to make some kind of comment. You get scared? Typical human. You like it? Disgusting. You act as utterly neutral as possible? Don't lie to yourself. There's seriously no winning with him.

But with whatever charm (or perhaps sheer persistence) you give, the two of you are a pair now. And if there's one word to describe how he acts with you? It's protective.

If you two are ever out and about, he's got a sharp, bright wing curled over and around you, shielding from peering eyes. On the outside, it's all points and blades (and knives?) but on the inside, only for you to see, there's some softer, more downy feathers. Just so you won't rust up the blades, whatever you say, Knives.

His conscious self isn't keen to showing affection, but his subconscious body sure is. Expect a few tingly vines trying to wrap around and hold your hand, or a tail-like appendage that rests on your waist/shoulders, or a wing tickling your cheek. He swears he isn't doing it intentionally.

Unlike his brother, he's not a super affectionate guy, as stated above, so don't expect much in the way of kisses. Unless the two of you are alone, and he's in a better-than-usual mood. Then his cravings might get the better of him, and he might just tackle on top of you to bite a chunk out of you--I mean, get a few sloppy kisses in.

Overall? In front of others, relatively distant. Behind closed doors? You're becoming his. Tight tendrils keep you close at night, teeth nibble at the nape of your neck, the sharp edges of leaves or feathers tease your skin but never come too close. He's too precise to actually ever hurt you.

End Notes: I think their "true" forms are something akin to an insectoid/angelic/plant-like mix, where it's sort of indescribable, archaic, tangled and messy. Maybe I ought to draw them and show you all...~

Also, there REALLY need to be more 1998 Knives gifs, or I'm about to pony up and just make a buttload of my own.

Okay, last note. Sorry this took me a while! I just moved back into college and my first week was busy! (^人^)

[rocket-our-baby]

No Dreams were prettier

a/n: ₊✧˚﹕︶︶︶﹕૮₍ ⸝⸝´ ꒳ `⸝⸝ ₎ა﹕︶︶︶﹕ ˚✧₊

You can find out more about me & pls read my disclaimers here.

Masterlist here

Rocket x fem!reader oneshot

Can be interpreted romantically or platonically (personally I like the one where they’re in-between and figuring it out before confessing; please feel free to read it the way you want.)

Just a fluffy oneshot to hopefully brighten up your day or soothe any of your acute/chronic/pms pain <3

Yes I wrote this when I was very very sick lmao like literally when I was cold sweating from the pain but nonetheless no particular warnings apart from mentioning of pain, except for extra pointless fluffs ahead behold

The title of this is kinda foreshadowing to what I hid at the end of the fic, and it works both ways ✵彡

English is not my native language (I just read tons of fanfics to keep on truckin’ and now here I am, still alive)

Ok the foreword wouldn’t necessarily be any longer in my future posts it’s just, this is like my first official fic posted here on this blog over the past decade since I deliberately avoided SNS so, kindly bear with my oversharing and thank you for stumbling upon here!

Hope you enjoy <3

╭────── · · ୨୧ · · ──────╮

𝒩ℴ 𝒹𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂𝓈 𝓌ℯ𝓇ℯ 𝓅𝓇ℯ𝓉𝓉𝒾ℯ𝓇

info: rocket/f!reader, 3.1k words, 99%pure fluff, sfw, oneshot

summary: You’re sick, and Rocket is worried. He tries not to show it by acting rationally, but it’s very obvious.

note: is possibly one of the chapters in the domestic fluff slice of life series between rocket, the best pilot in the galaxy and the best captain any Terran girl can ask for in space; and the reader, a Terran from Terra living her not-so-normal life in space, with a talking raccoon.

╰────── · · ୨୧ · · ──────╯

banner edited by me ✵彡

“Hey,, Rocket… I could use some help… I guess”

Without turning around, Rocket glances up at his back and raises an eyebrow in curiosity, his paws still automatically tinkering with whatever new tools he’s fixing.

“Yeah? What's goin' on, doll? You sounded… weird.”

…only to find you in extreme pain and distress.

“And looked weird.”

Your face in agony, pearls of sweats forming on your forehead, your eyes barely focusing on him, nor are they on anything frankly.

“I’m feeling… bad… like a stomachache bad…”

You sound weak and breathy, but you slowly approach him in small and stumbling steps, both of your arms hugging yourself tightly applying pressure to your stomach, your fingertips digging deep into your soft flesh, bearing the pain and preventing yourself from screaming. Cold sweats all over your body, your voice weak, lips and face pale, as you sit — more like fall — down near him all of a sudden.

Rocket's eyes widen in shock, quickly setting his stuff down and rushes over to help you.

“Whoa, hey, hey, doll, y’alright?”

He gently places his paws on your shoulders to support you enough to sit up, as you give in to his embrace, finally feeling a sense of relief. Looking at you up and down, he nervously assesses your condition and instinctively sniffs for any blood, checking if you’ve had any wounds.

“How long have you been feeling like this?”

He certainly doesn’t sound like his usual self. That snarky, sarcastic, smartass cocky bastard.

“Around half an hour I guess… there’s no one on the ship right now and I’ve been shivering uncontrollably,,”

You let out a weak chuckle and smile bitterly at your own reply.

“I didn’t want to bother you cuz it’s your free time as well, but it’s becoming unbearable… as if my stomach is burning like hell and twisting… like there’s an alien inside ready to burst o-”

“Uh-huh, yeah I know I know.”

Rocket cuts your reference there and sighs in concern as he takes your forehead in his paw to check your temperature. He’s heard this before. From Stark from a kid from Terra called Parker, or something. He doesn’t care right now. All he can focus on at the moment is you, and your well-being.

“But girl, this is definitely not just some minor thingie. How's your appetite? Any vomiting?”

He furrows his brows, trying to figure out what's wrong.

“Not so great…I’ve just been drinking some water. A constant urge to vomit but nothing.”

As Rocket checks up on you closely, he notices your brows furrow in affliction, your lips pale white, your hands slightly shaking and your body shivering but also sweating due to the discomfort. He tries to avert his worrying gaze by turning to examine your body, but it doesn’t escape your Terran instincts.

“Okay... ‘kay, alright. How's your breathing? Any chest pains, difficulty catching your breath?”

He presses his ear near your chest to check your breathing rate and your heartbeat, his paw moves to your abdomen, pulling your shirt upwards to feel your skin and applying some pressure to gauge your sensitivity and any possible organ ruptures in that area.

“Yes, other than feeling like my stomach has become your bomb storage and they’ve all been exploding simultaneously this whole time, it’s alright… still alive I guess.”

You let out a slight sigh feeling Rocket‘s touch on your belly, half-chuckle at your half-joking reply despite struggling to merely keep your eyes open.

Rocket chuckles a bit at your snarky remarks, but then his face turns serious again as he continues observing your condition. Not saying anything, he grabs you by your waist and supports you to walk to a nearby sofa and gently helps you lie down. That’s an order, he said, just for you to chuckle weakly. Not that you’re gonna complain about any of it tho.

“Hmm, okay... this certainly doesn't sound good... d’you have a history of stomach problems? Anything that I’m unaware of?”

He shifts his body to the side, feeling for your liver with his left paw, and keeps applying slight pressure to your abdomen with his right.

You breathe weakly, as you continue to shiver feeling the endless twisting of your organs, but you seem to look a bit better now that Rocket is rubbing gentle circles on your stomach. Your breathing is slowly stabilising compared to a few moments before.

“Yeah I guess… since I was small, I’d often experienced stomachaches whenever I was nervous… or stressed. But this is not supposed to happen when I’m now an adult. I mean, I haven’t been that nervous for quite a long time. Not even when fighting monstrous aliens alongside you guys, y’know.”

“With us, you mean.”

You chuckle softly and weakly as he said that sternly.

The sudden flush of torturing pain causes your brows to furrow tightly again, sweats forming in the creeks of your frown, your eyes on the verge of tears.

“But my stomach has always been weak, to be honest… there’s no Terran food out here, y’know.”

You tell him the honest truth but still insist on playing around a bit in spite of how much your body aches, hoping to ease the atmosphere and not to worry the raccoon too much, given your current state.

It pains him even more to see you like this — always saying you’re okay, joking around to lift your crew up, pretending to be fine.

Rocket’s facial expression softens as he nods in acknowledgement, still monitoring your condition and applying slight pressure on you hoping to make you feel better, his fingers lingers through your soft skin and tracing gentle circles, careful not to hurt you even more.

“Huh... doll, don’t die on me just yet tho, this could be anything from an infection to an organ rupture, but it’d better just be one of your nervous stomachaches. Well, maybe when you see me.”

He smirks and turns to grin at you playfully, all the while continuing to feel for your spleen, and then shifts up to your chest to feel your lungs and heart.

His gaze remains locked on you, watching for any changes in your breathing patterns or expressions.

“Let's just hope it's nothing too serious. Hey, any drinking these days? And how have your bowel movements been lately? When’s your last ‘code red’?”

You blush slightly when his left paw reaches you chest to feel your heartbeat, his claw in your cleavage. You can’t help but smile softly at how serious he looks and sounds when checking up on you.

“Hey Rocky…I didn’t know you’re also a medical doctor apart from being an awesome mechanic and the best pilot in the entire galaxy.”

You grin playfully, looking at his beautiful bright brown ambers. As if they make you forget the pain - for just one second, you thought you’re gonna lost in his hazel eyes which has seen a lot in the universe, maybe more pain that you do, than you’ll ever do, maybe more than you can ever fathom.

For a second, the physical pain you’re experiencing becomes nothing more than noticeable, as your heart aches so much it drops just from the mere thought of what he has endured.

Rocket chuckles softly and lightly taps your forehead with his free paw, just to make sure your mind isn't wandering off too far from the situation.

“‘kay doll, let's not get carried away. I'm not anywhere close to a medical doctor, I'm just here to make sure you don't keel over in the next few minutes. Now stay still and answer my question, will ya? That’s another order.”

“Yes, capt’in.”

You giggle softly, can’t help but smile at him and reassure him there’s (prolly) nothing wrong with your cycles nor daily intakes. Since when did your period elevates to code red btw? Or is it just the colour..?

You don’t even have the energy to wander around anymore in your mind and decide to close your eyes again. Despite the constant distractions…of… his paws.

He continues to feel your chest and your abdomen, occasionally glancing down at your bare stomach to see if the pressure is bothering you or not. You notice how his ears perk up at any noise from your stomach and his whiskers twitches when he’s sensing any discomfort from you. You can’t help but indulge in the feeling of his touches, the smooth motions of his paws, keep thinking how cute he is and admiring how attractive he looks when he’s working on something seriously. Especially when that something is now you.

As the burning of your stomach brings you back to the reality, you chuckle softly at his snarky response, one thing again that you secretly love him for.

“Well… and here I’m just buttering you up to be my teddy bear for the day.”

You smile weakly and sweetly despite your very pale lips.

“And I also love the feeling of your soft paw on my chest.”

You giggle softly, and flash him a wan smile before another flush of pain comes in.

Rocket smirks and chuckles at your flirty comment, but only briefly before continuing his examination.

“Yeah, okay, that was cute and all, but you're the one with an excruciating stomachache, so let's stick to the task at hand, shall we?”

He presses down slightly harder on your abdomen and then listens to your gut for any signs of trouble.

“I just wish I had a stethoscope handy right now...”

He sighs and then leans down to place his ear over your abdomen, listening for any noises that might indicate something suspicious.

You smile at his seriousness and chuckles softly when the soft fur of his and his whiskers touch your now exposed skin, tickling you a bit but also soothing your pain. Maybe it’s just a diversion, or maybe it’s just you craving the feeling of hugging a teddy, or maybe you just wanna hug him… so much.

“It’s alright, Rocket… You’ve helped me a lot already.”

You just can’t resist the urge, as you slowly reach your hand to scratch his head and the spots behind his ears, smiling lovingly at him.

“And y’know, I think… this could help.” You gesture the current action of his by your chin, clearly indicating that you’re feeling better when Rocket is lying on your tummy.

It takes all of Rocket's willpower to stop himself from giving into the urge of just burying his face in your soft, warm chest, instead he remains sitting upright while listening to your gut. After a few seconds, he raises his head and looks at you.

“Yeah, I think it definitely helps. Your stomach's not roaring as loud as before, so that's a good thing. And that slight pressure seems to make you feel better as well.”

He looks down at you, the hint of a grin on his face, still holding back the desire to just bury his face in your neck. He’s got some more serious observations to do, as he pulls away and sits up.

You fake a playful frown.

“Hey, and there I was buttering you up to be my cuddly teddy bear for my not-feeling-so-well day! Ouch-!”

You chuckle softly at your own half-joking reply. But you do mean what you said.

“More like nearly-dying-from-no-missions day to be frank, dollface.”

He lets out a sarcastic chuckle and shakes his head.

“Come on, do you expect me to actually jump on your chest and snuggle up with you?”

He glances down at your stomach again, pressing down slightly. He should be focusing on this right now. Yes, this, not that.

“Still feel okay? You still in pain?”

His voice is a bit softer and quieter now, and you know he is still concerned about your wellness.

“Hmmmm… yes, if you’re not lying on top of me and if you still don’t snuggle with me and be my fluffy cuddly teddy bear/ heat pad for the day right here right now, then yes, very painful.”

You fake a playful pout, and chuckle softly at your own “childish” response, more like at the audacity of yourself to say it out loud to Rocket knowing that he’d not snap you back as harsh when you’re in this state, before smiling and opening your arms for him.

Rocket chuckles, but then rolls his eyes and groans as you gesture for him to come over and cuddle and heat you up.

“Seriously?”

He fakes another eye roll, and sees your almost teary puppy eyes — both from the real pain and from your mischievous idea of planning to cuddle with him.

“Okay fine, alright, if it'll make you feel better...”

He grumbles for a moment before sighing softly. Then he moves to the side, scooting a little closer to you, and then carefully lays on top of you, making sure not to move around too much in case he hurts your stomach.

“Happy now, princess?”

“Very, capt’in!”

You giggle when your wish is granted and then happily wrap both of your arms around the raccoon, feeling his rough but fluffy fur and his warm body.

“Thanks… Rocket.”

You gently pat his back with one of your hands and scratch the back of his head with another, smiling lovingly at his ears tickling the crook of your neck as his head is buried in your soft chest.

Rocket looks up at you for a sec before turning away. Your expression shows that you’re still bothered by the pain, but your face now has a shade of pink to it. Rocket wonders if it’s due to his body heat warming you up or any other reasons.

“You surely are a manipulative one when you’re not feeling well, aren’t ya?”

Sighs Rocket, as he chuckles and replies with a sly remark, regardless, he is smiling softly lying on your chest. His eyes looking at somewhere far away, as if he’s cherishing the moment and pondering… something else.

You giggle softly.

“It’s good to have someone to take care of me for once, y’know. I’m usually the one doing the caretaking… not that I don’t enjoy it tho. It’s just,, it’s a nice change of pace.”

You smile warmly while rubbing gentle circles on his back, and cuddling him a bit more, feeling his heartbeat and his fur coating your bare stomach.

Rocket chuckles softly and scoots in a bit closer, pressing his head against your neck, and allowing himself to relax on top of you.

“Yeah, no kiddin’. You're like the unofficial mom of the group, y’know.”

He seems to enjoy the moment, laying peacefully on your chest, feeling your soft arms wrap around him and your fingers playing with his fur. He smiles contentedly, letting out a deep and calming exhale of breath that he hasn’t had in more than a while.

“Y’know, doll... there's not many people I'd feel comfortable relaxing like this with.”

“Well, that’s my pleasure.”

You let out a giggle and smile lovingly at him, as you keep gently scratching his ears and massaging his neck, but careful enough not to hurt him by gently rubbing the knots around the implants and metals on his body. His muscles feel tight and tense. He surely needs a proper massage some day, you thought and note that to yourself.

“It’s really good to have you around, Rocket… really.”

Rocket shifts slightly to better allow you to reach his ears and massage his neck, not wishing to risk messing up the comfort at the moment.

He closes his eyes and presses his head further into your chest, sighing contentedly.

“...Y’know, for someone who's got a stomachache and is in torturing pain, you seem to be enjoying this quite a bit.”

You giggle softly, your hands keep patting him gently in a relaxing pace, resembling that of your own heartbeat. With him in your arms, your body is no longer quivering, you’re breathing now at a much calmer rate. You smile contentedly with your now less pale lips upon hearing him.

“Well,, for someone so rough and tough and fierce and snarky outside you surely are a lil’ soft ball for me.”

You let him bury his face into your crook, and giggle playfully but sweetly to him.

Rocket chuckles at your remark, but his gaze softens a little as you continue to pat him, still allowing him to lie on top of you as your soft body and your arms wrap around him, his body heat warming you up.

“I'd say it goes both ways.”

For once in who knows how long, he feels his tensed up body relax completely. Turning his head slightly to the side to give you access to his cheek and neck, his eyelids drift shut as you keep patting him gently, allowing himself to relax even further. You notice how the tension of his body loosen up and how his breathing has slowed down.

“I say… you should fall asleep on me like this today. You’re my personal teddy bear for the day, remember?”

He snickers at your comment playfully but then closes his eyes again, feeling safe and comfortable in the warmth and softness of your body and arms. After a moment of silence, he whispers into your chest, his voice sounding tired and relaxed.

“Yeah yeah, yeah, you win, doll. Anything for my girl.”

He lets out a slight sigh as things have eventually gone along your plan. Not that he’d complain though.

Feeling his warmth, you wonder if he’s a literal ray of sunshine. It’s as if all the pain has been drifted away by the river of warmth he radiates. To you, now, and you only.

“...I'm not gonna lie, I'm enjoying this...”

He closes his eyes and savours the moment, taking in the feeling of your gentle touch and your sweet, calming voice.

“…a lot.”

He whispered in an almost inaudible voice as he turns to you after a while, but notices how your eyes are now closed, your facial expression relaxed, your breathing has already slowed and he feels your tummy rising slightly up and down in a steady and relaxing pattern. Your lips now a lot pinker, curving in a contented smile.

He smiles to himself and sighs contentedly, as he lets himself relax on you and slowly drifts off into a dream that you two share in the incredible vastness of the galaxy, into the blooming stardust of the short-lived meteor shower shined upon the darkness of space, into the inevitability of the ever-lasting infinite universe, one that you two will be exploring together in the years to come.

“Sweet dreams, doll.”

𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬

𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞

𝐍𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐭.

fin.

♡︎s, comments and rbs are appreciated..!

hope you enjoyed it, and have a lovely day ₊✧˚﹕︶︶︶﹕૮₍ ⸝⸝´ ꒳ `⸝⸝ ₎ა﹕︶︶︶﹕ ˚✧₊

[cecilioque]

VOLO’S OUTFIT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BAD. And here is why I think so...

To begin, we are not talking about the Ginko guild design, we are talking about the “final boss” fit. We all know that Volo’s outfit is dumb, but I’m mad because it  was actually thought out and VERY symbolic in the sense that it essentially represented things Volo said/wanted.

I, like everyone else looked at this outfit and went “wow, that is dumb” and then hated on it.  Although it is not the most appealing or cool outfit, there was actually a lot of thought that went into it. I could be really over analyzing this, but here is my interpretation.

To begin with, the concept art is a lot more revealing about the intention of the design then the actual game play.  On a surface level we see Volo in what I can only assume is a Arceus gijinka cosplay.  So the hair, the stars, and color scheme are all elements of Arceu’s  design.  Cool. Good job especially since Volo had in fact never seen Arceus before.

To fully understand this outfit we have to go back to Hisui and the remains of this so called “ancient civilization”. In the Pokemon world, there is this general idea that the ancient culture was either Roman or Greek inspired. We see evidence in Legends of Arceus by the obvious column heavy architecture and use of Greek Doric columns ( one of the earliest styles of columns used for temples) and in the ruins and temple. 

The Temple of Sinnoh is obviously based off of the Parthenon. It’s funny because game freak went as far as to even mimic both Ionic and Doric styles in the Temple of Sinnoh just like the Parthenon. I will go as far to add that the Sinnoh temple is much simpler than the Parthenon due to the fact that it was not embellished with an elaborately carved frieze or any decoration on the exterior for the most part.  Bizarre when even the broken ruins have evidence of some sort of ornamentation. It makes complete sense why the game developers chose this style seeing how is is know for being very simplistic.  But it also dates it in context.  It makes the Temple of Sinnoh the first temple that was build and the others that followed were build as the civilization grew ( thus more elaborate but we can only see the crumbled remains).

I will be ignoring the Snowpoint temple because it is a weird combination of styles and almost seems alien and out of place which very much fits the Regi theme.  It is also based on the early game design which was limited and blocky for game space sake.

Ok, heavy Greek and Roman influence. Back to Volo and his obviously Greek and Roman fit.  Volo’s name itself means “I wish”  in latin and could possibly be a reference to the phrase “volō, ergo sum” (I wish, therefore I am). Very in character since it is the wish for more” and he did everything he could to achieve that.

The actual influence for the design is more Roman in nature. This bothered me because we can see that research and thought went into it, but they just simplified it. And this actually has a point.

To begin with the obvious stuff, we see that volo’s shirt is definitely toga like. It even goes so far to be decorated with a Fibula (brooch)in a way that indicates a higher rank or status.  Cool Volo, we get that you think highly of yourself. Color choice is also same as Arceus, but we also know that white togas were also used by senators and high political officers.

Next , the shoes.  These are just the basic stereotypical Spirit Halloween Greek god/goddess type of sandals you can get at your local costume shop.  This was actually the most disappointing part of the outfit for me. But it makes sense they went with the most simplified and recognizable style.  They wanted us to look at this outfit and go “ Wow, Volo has been studying his myths and recreated an outfit”. This is what you could expect someone to create with just a written description of the clothing used during that time.

The necklace is interesting because it stands out so much compared to the gold colors. I am no sure what they were going for here by making it so prominent, but it brings us to an interesting thought.  If they necklace does have meaning, it is related directly to the design/shape.  The waterdrop could be the Greek symbolism for "tears of grace” or in a sense “gods grace”. The idea that the tears of god water the harvest and provide life. Alternate interpretations could simply be water as a source of life, or a symbol or sadness a mourning.  If it is a symbol of of mourning, this might be a clue to why Volo might desire to rewrite the world so much.

Last but not least, the pants. I think we can all decide this is one of the worst parts of the outfit, and to me it is just straight up confusing for two main reasons.  For starters, the color green is so prominent when green is an accent color on Arceus.  So maybe the color has meaning itself.  But if you look at the image above, the color mainly refers to life and “the harvest” (possibly like the necklace).  It has a weird connections to life and creation itself, which probably is why it was included in Arceus’ design and makes sense as Volo essentially wants to become the creator of life in a new world.

But this isn’t the part that gets me the most. The second thing that confuses me is the fact that the Greeks and Romans did not use pants.  This was because pants were associated with non-Roman/Greek cultures (the Germanic tribes and Vikings) who they looked down upon. On top of that, the Greeks thought pants were feminine and silly.  This could also just simply be a design choice because they didn’t wanna draw Volo in a full toga and accidently make him look like Christ. But this leads to my final point of the physical outfit itself.

VOLO’S OUTFIT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD. IT’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK DORKY AND BAD BECAUSE IT WAS FLAWED! This is based on the real world cultures it was based on. And although Volo may have done a lot of research, he still didn’t completely understand ancient culture.  It’s bad because Volo made it himself. His outfit was flawed just like his ideology. It is his own interpretation of a culture that he had idolized without truly understanding that this great and ancient culture crumbled. And based off of the architecture of the ruins and temples, it never even reached a prime before it fell.

But Volo thinks its correct/cool/accurate. He is being a fool about it because he didn’t understand the bigger picture and had become consumed with this desire for power and control.  This as an idea is really cool and I find it funny that you can also wear the outfit. Its essentially mocking him. If we look at the outfit in this light, the design was a success in getting us to dislike it and evoke this distaste. We didn’t know why, but this is why.

SO IN SUMMARY, OUTFIT WAS BAD ON PURPOSE. It wasn’t thoughtless, in fact there was a lot of research behind it and yet that seems to be thrown out to simplify the design in a way that looks like someone hand made it based off of what they had put together themselves.

But this isn’t my favorite part  of the concept art.  My favorite part is the hands.

Look at his hands. Why are they in those positions? Wouldn’t it have been easier to create more standard poses?  To me the hand gestures here are just too specific. So I started digging around for what they could be on a Art history level.  I looked at Non Christian art first and then Christian symbolism within their mosaics, illuminated manuscripts, and paintings. And I found some verrrry interesting similarities.  I am not trying to make this religious. I just found some interesting similarities between old Christian art and Volo’s design.  Which makes sense if we go back to this Greek/Roman influence because these cultures eventually converted to Christianity.  And Arceus is kind of a weird goat god Jesus.

The left hand is where the biggest symbolism is.  Basically, this hand gesture has been used to indicate “the hand of god” or the “hand of justice”.  Christ sometimes is draw with a similar hand position and could be a sign of the cross, but this would also refer to some sort of divinity.  I will also note that Volo is in no way making the classic “blessing” hand gesture.

As for the right hand he is making what I assume is a Greek/Roman orator (speaker) gesture. This would mean that Volo is calling for attention. Note, that I didn't’ compare this to prophets. That’s because orators speak for themselves and prophets for god.  And Volo thinks he is god.

Under this context, in the concept art Volo is essentially saying “I am God”.  If we add the symbolism of his outfit, it only further solidifies this idea.  Volo’s outfit/concept comes together and screams “behold, I am god , the hand of justice. I will be the creator or the new world”. Which is so freaking clever because that’s literally what he tells you. 

Sure his hands are switched and lowered compared to actual real world art examples (thank you Game freak for not throwing in actual religious symbols/gestures), but I think the intention is still there.  It’s so good that I am mad.  So as much as I hate this dumb outfit, I cannot deny that it was well thought out, that the character was well thought out.

To conclude, these are my assumptions. I am not an expert on art history or religion.  If you have further insights on this feel free to share. I’d be interested with what others had to add.  I the end this could all be wrong and just crazy for overthinking the designs of a pokemon character, but it just seems too intentional to be carelessly thrown together. This is just one possible interpretation.

Though its just more evidence in my mind that a lot of love and care went into developing Legends of Arceus. Despite their limitations and resources.

[cellarspider]

12/?? Things come to a head

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⛬

We return to that shambling mass of a film, Prometheus.

Content warnings for body horror, contagion-y stuff, something that loosely be described as medical horror, It’s Been 0 Days Since Our Last Incident, and me, going on a ramble about movie gore to distract myself from The Madness.

There's a lady in this scene who's had a number of speaking lines so far–the maybe-chemist. She has a name, but it doesn’t matter.

But I'm going to call her Doctor Frankenstein.

They have just got the helmet off the head, revealing that it’s truly, unmistakably humanoid. They have noted that there are “new cells” on the head. In the business, we call that “decomposition”, but Doctor Frankenstein is not concerned with this. In fact, she immediately proposes a new plan.

Doctor Frankenstein has had the brilliant idea to plug a big cable into the head like it’s a guitar amp, and zap it with electricity to wake it up.

Yes. This is what the movie goes with.

You know, Alien included a similarly shambolic first examination of an alien subject, but it was performed because said alien was attached to a man’s face, and all they had to try and fix that was the contents of a cargo ship’s medbay, with the only qualified personnel being the corporate android who had been ordered to consider the crew expendable. The crew of the Prometheus has no such excuse.

Well, except for David, he has precisely the same excuse, but he’s not trying to poke wires in anybody’s ears.

Doctor Frankenstein calls for enough amperage to run three electric kettles (cite 3), then all the way up to two Titan RTX graphics cards before the head starts to get what appears to be a massive migraine. 

I know this expression well, migraines can feel very much like someone is subjecting me to unnatural horrors.

This is getting a little extreme, though. Yes, when the head starts pulsing, they realize they may have made a mistake. 

I’d say this was inexplicable behavior on their part, unbelievably hasty and foolish–and I will say it, actually, it deserves to be said. But in context, this is the team that did so little prep for entering the alien structure that they didn’t notice the giant fuckoff skull carved into the outside of it.

Knowing how much Shaw and Holloway read into the intentions of the Engineers from the depictions they found on Earth, they probably would’ve interpreted this as a good sign, somehow.

Anyway, they put a sneezeguard down over the head before it explodes.

Good job everyone. This is like what would’ve happened if Napoleon’s savants took one look at the Rosetta Stone and decided “maybe we should try hitting it with hammers. Surely that’ll make the knowledge fall out.”

From a horror perspective, this scene only works in two contexts: First, gross-out. Generally found in schlock, exploitation, and outsider art flicks, the tone of gross-out content can be highly variable, but there are two general trends I'd mention, which are of relevance to this movie.

First, gross-out tends to exist in that weird alternate space where lots of comedy movies do: characters will behave in unreasonable ways for no apparent reason. Within the film, this is treated as the universal norm, besides maybe a straight man character who highlights the absurdity. Gross-out is often like that, but pushes different boundaries of acceptable behavior than a traditional comedy.

This is, bafflingly, what Prometheus increasingly feels like. It feels like it's transitioning into gross-out schlock, and yet it never goes all the way.

Second: the audience for gross-out is largely self-selecting. If you're watching John Waters' Pink Flamingos, you expect things to get messy. You are looking forward to things getting messy. A head exploding is perfectly par for the course in gross-out horror. One might even be disappointed if there wasn't an exploding head.

But again, this movie was not marketed on gross-out. It was marketed as a tense, Alien-esque horror movie. If you followed that premise like I did, you're not in the theater to view a debauched spectacle, you're there for the movie to put a well-paced squeeze on the characters and your nerves, where half the horror comes from having the room to really think about how frightening the core concepts of the series are.

Does Alien involve some shocking gore? Sure does! But in Alien, Kane's fate is not there to make you laugh and exclaim "ewww!" at how far the film's gone, the film tries to make you very aware of how horrifying his demise is.

So, there's an alternate way this scene works, if you're coming in from that perspective. I don't think the movie intended this as much as the gross-out, but it's what I drew from it at the time: the scene works if you decide not to focus your sympathies on the human characters at all, or even David, and think about it from the perspective of the head. 

It’s patently impossible that what they did actually “woke up” the brain inside that skull. But if we sink to the movie’s level and entertain the idea for a moment, what in the hell have they just done to this Engineer? The last thing the head would’ve remembered was running, falling, decapitation, and then this. They just tortured this poor bastard for no adequately explained reason. There’s none! “I think we can trick the nervous system into thinking it's still alive” is the entirety of the explanation. It makes about as much sense and seems as thoughtlessly violent as anything in Mad God (2021, content warning for body horror). 

I already spent all my anger about desecrating bodies in the name of shambolic pseudoscience, I have no more rage to give for now. And similarly in the theater, I hit my limit. I’d already hit a different limit back when they landed the Prometheus on top of some archaeology, but now I’d fully given up on this movie being what I’d hoped it would be. 

The maddening thing that keeps me obsessed with it is that it keeps throwing random scraps of that hypothetical movie into the mix anyway, bouncing me like a yo-yo between scenes. 

But for right now, the yo-yo is still on the descent. Having exploded the first sample of alien biology ever touched by science, they apparently stuck some of it in a generic, science-y DNA machine. What does the DNA machine tell them? 

“DNA match”. 

The movie does not actually explain what this means. It thinks it does, but in a very vague and handwave-y way that ends up being even more hilarious than if they’d just been out-and-out wrong. Because this is what I do for a living, I want to science at this for a bit. 

But I’ve written enough about it for an entire post on its own, so that will wait until next time.

⛬ 

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

⛬ 

Citations for alt-text rambles, as well as some text-text rambles:

1. https://www.behance.net/gallery/78297841/Semiotic-Standard (contains a high-quality download for the symbols, should ye wish them for yourselves)

2. https://www.sculpturedepot.net/clay-wax-tools/product.asp?Steel_Tools 

3. Doctor Frankenstein calls for 30 amps first, then 40, then 50 in the space of several seconds. According to wikipedia, an electric kettle is about 16.6A, and a 288W high-performance graphics card would require 24A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(current) That graphics card isn’t mentioned by name, but it matches up with the wattage reported by Tom’s Hardware for a Titan RTX (cite 4). Running with two of these things, you might be able to run 4k Ultra settings on some games without tanking your framerate. They could’ve been playing video games and seen way more exploding heads.

4. https://www.tomshardware.com/features/graphics-card-power-consumption-tested 

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)#Design

6. https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/f4rf63/for_the_chestburster_scene_in_alien_1979_the/

7. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8e/2f/9b/8e2f9b0716746aac7ce5b2f369bf4082--aliens--scene.jpg

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karyotype#Human_karyogram 

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centromere 

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centromere#Telocentric 

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_banding 

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteinogenic_amino_acid 

13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_language

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

no ok @funonion001 you've made me So fucking unwell over this it needs its own post

bc i also used to be like "ah, the neighborhood's a panopticon and Home is the 'warden'" but recent updates & general things ive read changed my outlook entirely. cause like... if Home (the town) was a panopticon, then Home (the house) should be at the 'head' of it all, where they can view everything. but Home can't view everything directly - half the buildings are behind it.

however. i don't think the panopticon thing is entirely wrong, either. there's some truth in it? i'm pretty sure that the neighborhood is Home. it's like Home is the brain/eyes/heart, and everything else are nerve endings. there's this one piece of livestream trivia that i think of, in relation to Housewarming: "...everyone believes their houses are alive in their own special way". what if this is kind of literal? all of the buildings are extensions of Home, or Home is just the core of it all. one big living, breathing neighborhood. Home might not be able to see it all, but he might be able to feel it

and then yeah from the more abstract side of things - your phrasing of "all the other houses circle home" made me put my head in my hands. because there Are a lot of conclusions/interpretations of all of that. also that sentence makes me picture a pack of wolves circling in on a kill, which is. hng.

Home is caged in. Home is surrounded. Home is always being watched. Home is never not alone. everything leads back Home. Home is holding it all together.

and like... it reminds me of Clown once mentioning (loosely, im going off of memory here whose reliability is tenuous on a good day) that part of WH's story relates to the autistic experience / when does a home become a house / will your neighbors treat you differently once they see the authentic you. and that, at least to me and one of my experiences, relates to a feeling of being watched/judged every time i leave my house. or even when i'm by an open window - everywhere i can be Seen, it feels like everyone is keeping one eye on me. existing in public spaces feels like a performance. i'm hyper aware of every single movement i make and it makes me feel so inauthentic and fake and alien and its So So stressful/uncomfortable.

so that pov + Home (and by extension, Wally since they're kinda one in the same) = well! all of the above! can Wally ever relax outside of Home's four walls? they're all looking at him. the entire neighborhood surrounds him - he can't go anywhere without running into them (the buildings and the neighbors). there's no escaping their watch and/or judgement. it's as if Wally and Home are under constant surveillance, or at least it feels like it - which is half the problem. or it's the entire problem? the fear of possibility, not reality.

and then for a different (but also connected for obvi reasons) interpretation - Home and Wally are alone. they are Singular in the neighborhood. everyone else is next to each other, even the stores are paired. but Home stands alone in the middle of it all. which directly relates to Wally and Home being aware - and also together in whatever state the neighborhood is in at the time of the whrp's creation. in a town of neighbors, Home & Wally have none. and that can connect them being at the center of it all, holding their world together - or breaking it apart

also: on the neighborhood map, the path only ends at Home. it's a loop except for the bit leading up to Home's doorstep. where Howdy's Place & Eddie's Post Office are the path widens into one huge circle with no end. Walk the circuit, end up at Home. walk the entire perimeter, and you go nowhere. there isn't a path out, the path doesn't end at any of the buildings except Home. there's something in that, i think.

there's more in my brain but i can't quite reach it...

[fallout-lou-begas]

On the one hand, it is absolutely a sign of the complexion of the dev team and of the times that FNV has little to no presence of real life Indigenous people. Not "tribals." Real Indigenous nations that live in that general area like the Mojave, Paiute, Apache etc. On the other hand, I think using groups like the great khans, the unnamed "tribal" from Hanlons stories, the zion tribes, as props to hammer in on US settler colonialism in general and of the actual US state of California in particular, is pretty clever. That is, these things can be shown to the player without using the pain of Indigenous peoples, their lives and their blood, as a way to carry that message. If the massacre at bitter springs had been of Apache it would be less effective and in very poor taste, in my opinion. I think overall the criticisms are still valid, but I think theres some interesting alternative interpretations. But on the other hand, the allegory falls apart because the khans AREN'T the victims of colonialism. In the first game and onward they are chattel slave owning rapists. They are more of a criminal gang than a distinct culture. And in FNV theres the suggestion that the khans are defending themselves and are victimized in the mold of Indigenous tribes which fought the US and attacked settlers. But in reality, they are objectively in the wrong when attacking the NCR (don't deserve to get massacred, but still), and the genre fiction of the whole thing breaks the metaphor. Like applying anti colonial rhetoric to the hells angels. Like how the allegory of ghouls as a marginalized group breaks down entirely with the introduction of feral ghouls in fallout 3. While some ghouls in prior entries might attack on sight, this was only if the player got close, and they weren't really a danger. So people having this hard on about hating ghouls in fallout 1 and 2 was meant as entirely illegitimate. That allegory doesn't work after f3 since we are meant to think that at any moment, for no known reason, they can turn into a cannibal corpse. The genre fiction of it all spoils the thing. anyway, read cadillac desert.

this is exactly what i mean by the "baggage" of fallout's depiction of "tribals" and even just the word "tribal" to describe its various disparate post-apocalyptic nomadic groups, because while they can be used as you say to brush up against indigenous identities allegorically, there is a very deafening silence coming from the lack of actual indigenous people as well. it can't help but imply that these fictional groups are 1:1 substitutes for the thing they're depicting allegorically, with a mixed degree of intention and success, because there's no counterbalance or counterexample to either contrast these allegories against reality or even further ground them in it.

you run up against this a lot in genre fiction. the X-Men, for example, have served as a clumsy allegory for marginalized identities and civil rights struggles for decades, with several mixed attempts to try to reconcile its fictional symbolism with acknowledgement of what's real and literal. my own personal bugbear is that while I absolutely love Jadzia Dax in Deep Space 9, I would have loved it even more if Jadzia was a real actual trans woman that Dax had implanted itself into, or even if Jadzia Dax at least had a regular mundane non-alien trans woman bestie to queen out and compare notes with.

and yeah, the whole thing about feral ghouls being completely hostile sight with zero alternative interaction potential (and the same goes for powder gangers as cartoonishly evil victims of an empire's carceral justice system, and fiends as cartoonishly evil drug addicts, and...) is that videos games are constantly trying to stage endless combat encounters for gameplay reasons while also not making the player feel bad about slaughtering endless combat participants for narrative reasons. (and the powder gangers are only shoot on sight if you get vilified by them, but the first non-tutorial quest in the game is either helping them kill everybody in the town that just saved your life because they're harboring the guy they tried to mug, or...stopping them from doing that by killing them instead).

[rockatanskette]

I wonder what aliens would think of home team advantage.

I got into hockey a couple years ago to troll my best friend and immediately developed an undying loyalty to my team that goes beyond blood and water. The most surprising thing to me was when I got to go to a playoffs game in my team's home arena prior to the Sickness. Not being a sports person, I'd never been part of a crowd like that before and I could not imagine being a member of an away team skating onto the ice in front of a massive wall of their opponents' colors. It would be intimidating as hell, especially if you had literally no exposure to it.

And to an alien, it might not make sense. Imagine species who use sporting event as purely skill contests, with no social element. Sure, there's entertainment in watching, but only intellectually: watching a skilled person excel at physically demanding tasks. What if there were aliens that watch sporting events like documentaries, who build their "arenas" like black-box theaters, small and dark, and tailored to connoisseurs—and silent. It would be rude, after all, to distract the athletes from their competition.

Imagine these aliens realizing that humans also have similar physical competitions and being curious about if their two species can compare. They invite human teams into their arena theaters to compete with their own and they realize very quickly that humans are not very good at "sports." Even without the distraction of a talking crowd, the humans seem to distract themselves: they seem on edge, perhaps even uncomfortable, and while it becomes clear that they possess some skill, because they do manage to score against leading teams, they seem a far cry from the bombastic, playfully aggressive, overly competitive personalities that humans display in so many other contexts.

And then the humans are gracious enough to invite the aliens to play in their home arenas—and foolish enough to challenge them to bring their best.

"Watch out," one human player says to their alien counterpart, with a twinkle in her eye. "At home, we'll have home team advantage."

At first, this isn't so strange. They do actually have some understanding of what we would call a home team advantage, but only the contextual part: if you train in a familiar space, you will do better in that space because you are more familiar with it. But the aliens aren't worried. Earth has demanded their best athletes and with the humans' displays so far, it's clear that familiarity with the terrain will not do too much to give them an advantage.

They are provided with vids and research about human sporting arenas, which point out that they're made to accommodate massive crowds, but that doesn't faze most of the alien players. Perhaps the crowds are for educational purposes, since so many visual records show human young in the crowds—full family units in fact. It's a bit curious that they're all wearing the colors of the team's...crest? Insignia? But that's humans for you, always looking for groups to align themselves with, even if they don't actually participate. And so they don't think anything of it.

When they enter the building and hear the roaring of thousands of screams they fear something has gone horribly wrong. Some begin to panic, asking if they should leave, until their human interpreter laughs and explains: the voices are not afraid. They're excited to see their team play.

"Who?" The team captain asks, trying to regain composure.

"The fans." The interpreter is almost beaming now. They are wearing a very professional pantsuit and blouse—in the same colors as the team's insignia.

Before the aliens can wonder what rotating blades have to do with sporting events, they're pulled off to a locker room. They won't admit it, but they're already shaken by the sound of the crowd. They're used to playing in polite silence, punctuated by the occasional comment from the audience.

"Now, we know this is a very different experience for you," the interpreter says. "And human sporting events can be overstimulating to a lot of humans. So we've worked with your government to help create personal audio dampeners so you aren't overwhelmed by the noise. We've also requested that the stadium refrain from playing music or putting on any light displays. It'll just be you and the crowd."

That's not as comforting as she might think. And when the alien team comes out onto the playing field, some of them almost bolt. There are so many humans and they're...chanting? At first, the aliens worry that the chanting is for them...but then they hear the name of the opposite team in the rhythm of it and when that team enters, the resounding scream of joy almost breaks through the audio dampeners.

Not only that, the human team they faced only a few rotations ago is nowhere to be seen. Gone are the uneasy, self-conscious players from before. They're confident now, they swagger, and wave to the crowd and the crowd screams back and that only seems to give them more energy. Some of the players begin to remember, then, that humans are hypersocial creatures. Have even been called a hivemind by some, less charitable members of the alien species. But they don't put it together until they play.

The crowd transforms them. They score two points in the first half of the first round and the paper-thin defense that the aliens had broken through easily in prior games has become a solid wall. Even with the sound of the crowd dampened, the aliens can see its effects: the humans' newfound confidence brings out that oh-so-human desire to risk everything on a dangerous play and somehow it almost feels like the crowd betters the odds. But it's not just filling them with confidence and intimidating their opponents. The humans try harder in front of their crowd: move faster, hit stronger, endure longer.

At first, the team captain thinks it's just a fear of embarrassment, at failing in front of so many witnesses. But xi soon realizes it's more than that. They don't just want to not do badly in front of a crowd, they want to do well for the crowd. They want the crowd to scream in joy—and when a human scores the game-winning point they do, surging to their feet as one in a joyful scream that does break through the audio dampeners.

The alien team loses this time, and not just the game. The team captain and xir players have never had such a response to their game and while they don't need the same kind of constant social affirmation humans do, it is enviable to have a whole crowd of people get so much joy out of watching you play. Returning to the sporting theater is almost disappointing, especially when humans in the human team's colors start showing up in the audience. They don't get to yell in these spaces—some do and are quickly asked to leave—but they come anyway. The captain almost wishes to have their own audience. But that isn't done in xir culture and so they push it aside as foolish daydreams. Until they get the comm from Earth. A written message, with a visual component:

"Dear Mx. Aliens: My name is Seul-ki. It's nice to meet you! My friends and I watched the game you played against the Wildcats and thought you did well! I have watched a lot of vids of your games now and I think your team has the best defense in the interplanetary league. My friend Ashwani and I wanted to buy jerseys of your team but you don't have those so we made some. We also wanted to ask you to please let us be your official fan club, because we read you don't have one. Thanks for reading, S & A."

Attached is a picture of two human young smiling and wearing black clothing, with numbers on it. One of them wears the team captain's number and a bright intimidating smile with far too many teeth. A human smile. Xi has forgotten the old adage for dealing with humans: they will get attached to anything. It was meant as a warning, but at the moment, it feels like a blessing.

It would only be a boon to diplomatic relations, xi thinks, to include these youth in their sporting culture. In fact, xi considers with a growing excitement, perhaps xi could even invite the fan club to their home arena. It would be good to hear a crowd calling xir name.

[dingodad]

i think itz also rlly silly when ppl act like the hiveswap purplez conflict w/ gamzee being part ov an obscure cult bc like. even if we operate under the misconception most purplez arent cultistz itz not especially unusual tht a group ov like 4 trollz on a train who kno each other personally would be in the same cult. like especially with the higher castez hiveswap iznt rlly depicting Every Possible Type Of Guy within each caste az much az just specific cliquez tht are riding tht train at tht moment. i think a lot ov complaintz abt the hiveswap trollz being samey miss that context. understandably given friendsim stripz it but

i mean to be honest i understand the other side of this complaint. when a game is sold to us as an exploration of alternia, with a human audience surrogate protagonist who's learning about this alien world as we are, it's absolutely normal to think along the lines of "why would this story - and the webcomic that precedes it - only show us purplebloods who are clowns unless it was trying to tell us that purplebloods are clowns?"

making inferences and reading between the lines like that is an important part of reading any story but i think it's especially relevant when we're talking about homestuck, which is particularly economical with its storytelling and pretty much always tries to give the reader the space to figure things out on their own rather than tell us everything outright. like if we spent our whole time playing hiveswap assuming everything we saw could be an outlier we'd basically never end up learning anything about alternia at all. which to me feels pretty cheap

but along those lines ive also never really understood why people chose to interpret the homestuck trolls as all being freak outliers either lol. like i have basically assumed since day 1 that the 12 homestuck trolls were pretty much representative of their castes as a whole. the hemospectrum/alternia as a whole only even exists to facilitate the existence of these 12 characters specifically so why would that not be the case. why would purplebloods NOT all be clowns just because gamzee is

[sol-consort]

So you know it’s human instinct to help your neighbor. And canonically some species get annoyed because they interpret our desire to help as humans solving everyone’s problems for them to make them look bad. Even when that concept has basically been beaten out of us currently we’re still doing what we can to help the community or people who need it. We see people in trouble and we want to help, not to gain anything but because it’s the right thing to do.

A turian falls in the presidium lake, and turians are so physically dense that they sink, a gaggle of humans around all dive in after the turian to haul them out.

A quarians suit gets a rip and humans will rush them to the closest sterile area and help them patch it up.

A hanar becomes dehydrated and humans will sit there gently pouring water over them until help arrives to properly rehydrate them.

A random human ship, maybe a civilian ship, maybe the ship is a mailing ship. they hear a distress call out in the cosmos and despite having no armaments or defenses, the captain of the ship b-lines it for the call to help whoever they can.

Humans don’t like seeing people suffer. Even when we hesitate, even when we tell ourselves it’s not our business, that instinct is still there. We want to help them and it’s intimidating to the other species because everyone else is generally out for their own people.

I love this concept!

We've always been a community based species ever since we became hunters and gatherers. It is in our genes to be as helpful as we can. It gives us a sense of purpose and makes our brain release the reward hormones. That's why we love giving gifts to others, showing love in acts of service, or sharing compliments with whoever we can.

That's how we domesticated the dogs, cats, and even pigeons. We were so kind and helpful to them that they saw it in their benefit to form a symbiotic relationship with us. We have to prevent humans from feeding other wild animals or interacting with them just so we don't accidentally domesticate another whole wild race because we thought they could use some food and shelter.

We're empathetic by nature. We see someone in distress, and we understand how it must feel even if they're in a situation we can't relate to. We still understand the emotion. Our kids grow up thinking everything should be fair, and everyone deserves food and the best toys.

We still tell them our fairytales where goodness prevails, and people are always fair because even when we know, they'll grow up and be hit with the harsh indifference of life like we were. Because we hope, we hope that maybe just maybe they'll be better than us. Maybe they can make these fairytales a reality one day, that if we shove enough kindness and love into a child, then hopefully they'll grow up to be a kind adult who helps others.

Even our philosophies of morality always waters down to "treat others how you wish to be treated" we try our hardest each time to achieve a utopia with no suffering despite knowing humans are flawed by nature, much like an asymptote we always strive for a goal we may never reach yet we always try nonetheless. To care in the face of an uncaring universe, that is the human condition, our greatest strength and biggest weakness.

It will definitely be met with suspicion from other aliens at how helpful we can get at times, especially when we ask for nothing back. It will make them feel uneasy how fast integrated and adapted with the other species, even making space for them and accommodations amongst our own planets in case they visit.

Inviting out turian friends to visit our beaches on earth, making sure they're safe while we slowly guide them in the water. The nearby human lifeguard keeping a close eye on them and coming to the rescue the second the turian slips into deeper water and begins to sink.

Maybe a turian forgot to bring their lunch at work and all the humans nearby chip in with whatever pieces of food they can manage that are safe for turian consumption. Triple checking that they're not contaminated. Ever since that day, everyone in that office started taking turns bringing an extra lunchbox that's full of food both humans and turians can eat, seperate from their own lunch just in case the turian forgets theirs once more.

There is nothing humans hate more than eating while someone else in the room doesn't have food, we share our dinner with our pets just to make them feel included even if they already had their dinner a short while ago.

So a turian or quarian coworker not having something to eat during lunch will absolutely bring out the community instincts in the humans who will pool money and have someone run to the nearest store and bring them dextro food. Absolutely no one is allowed to be left without food.

The dehydrated hanar one is too adorable. Imagine you're in a trip with a group of people or maybe on a transport ship much like our current trains and a hanar faints because of their water levels getting dangerously low but there is no water source on board to take them to.

So all the humans give up their waterbottles and pool them together to give to the hanar. From the cute ones with stickers and charms to the sleek sporty ones with antibacterial lining and the everyday plastic waterbottles that are a little bit crinkled.

Every single one counts, everyone gives their own bottle. Some mother who apparently prepared for the trip beforehand comes in with 10 whole large water bottles that she was carrying just in case. Every human is fussing over the hanar and making sure they're well, the word gets spread around throughout the whole ship from one room to another and a steady stream of water bottles is being brought as every human who hears this immediately volunteers their own.

The adorable hanar waking up to be surrounded by a gaggle of concerned humans who are pouring water on its tentacles from a bright pink waterbottle with an anime charm.

Maybe the mass effect field of one of the hanars malfunctions, and they flop on the ground like a fish as their legs fail to lift them up, a couple of humans passing by stop and carry the hanar to the nearest hospital.

A drell struggling to breath and a human lends them their asthma inhaler, teaching them how to use it and telling them to keep it, they have a spare one afterall.

Maybe after curing the genophage, krogans find themselves struggling to fit in the parental roles. Especially the new fathers who never known what having a father is like before. They'd try their hardest to bond with their kids but find themselves absolutely clueless in certain areas.

I see humans helping the lost krogan in the baby diapers aisle to pick a brand, reassuring him that their human babies sometimes headbutt things too and giving him advice on which brand is the most comfortable and which might give them a rash so he should avoid.

Humans sharing their own lullabies and children TV shows with the krogans who didn't have the time to make any until now and they need something fast for their kids while they're building their society but the asari shows are too asari centered and the salarian ones feel insulting.

So they find the human kids shows which to their surprise, features so many nonhumans! Especially earth animals like sharks, dinosaurs and lions which quickly become a favourite amongst all krogan children. They also learn how destructive and a bit psychopathic the human children can be, and how it is just a normal phase every human goes through and feel a since of kinship with the humans. Too bad their adults outgrow that phase huh?

It's confusing to other species who aren't used to receiving kindness out of pure kindness. It's especially confusing when the humans themselves start protests and petitions against their own human government to lift the laws banning turians from visiting Earth, or the heavy mistreatment of them because of the war.

It is especially baffling when humans are ready to defend any cause they believe in, even if it doesn't involve their own kind. The Krogans are fighting for the right to get two new planets to house their new population while Tuchanka recovers? Count the humans in, we are ready to go defend them in the galactic court and everything, we will give them our best lawyers because they deserve compensation for the unfairness they suffered.

The vorcha are struggling to conduct a proper case against the asari who enslaved them because of their 20 years lifespan and the asari lawyers who keep stalling? Fuck you the humans will get involved

We will fight and pressure the asari government to negotiate with them or we will be bringing this up in the galactic court since with the humans involved, it became a council matter and not just an asari inside problem.

We are stuffing our nose in wherever we could fit it, standing in between every fight and choosing our own morale stand. Defending and helping who we deem right while condeming the unfairness.

It can range anything from one human helping an elcor pick something they dropped to whole arranged protests and petitions for other's rights.

Imagine the humans congratulating the krogans on the cure by sending them baby blankets and cute krogan shaped plush dolls they custom-made. Giving them all the baby supplies their charities could spare and sending human relief programs to start daycares and babysit the krogan kids while their parents work together on building their society.

And those humans have their own kids and bring them to the daycare with the krogans. The two species having their offspring become best friends for a moment in history as the krogan rebuilt and the humans stood at their back.

The drell who get curious about the natural deserts on earth, it quickly becomes a huge attraction for them because of how much it resembled their homeplanet. The humans quickly welcoming them and making accommodations for them and any hanar they may bring on these trips.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

One Piece Space AU

In this AU, the Grand Line is now the Grand Line Galaxy. A particularly diverse and dangerous galaxy that draws in all kinds of adventurers. There are also tons of valuable resources here that catch the attention of the Enforcers. Enforcers are this AU’s version of marines. They claim to exist to maintain peace and order.

The Grand Line Galaxy is known for having streams flowing through it that can be used for traveling. These streams are made up of a clear liquid that resembles water but has a far lower freezing temperature and is also extremely toxic to anything that didn’t evolve to inhabit it.

There are two types of spaceships here. One is the more typical version that we see in sci-fi movies, the other is the kind of boat inspired spaceships like in the Treasure Planet movie.

The boat spaceships are considered ideal in the Grand Line because they can be used to sail on the stream, thus only needing fuel when they leave the stream to dock at a station or planet. This is not only much faster than the average spaceship, but is much more fuel efficient since it can just ride the current. The current is extremely fast, you do not want to fall off.

There are no devil fruits in this AU, just weird alien powers.

Fishman are pretty similar to how they usually are in this AU. They evolved in the Grand Line Stream so they can enter it freely. Biggest differences are that they’re larger and have more alien features.

Humans do exist in the space AU, but aren’t very common to see. Aliens have been snatching up humans for experiments/labor/pleasure for a long time, so it’s not unheard of to see them about. Some humans have been able to escape what they were sold into and have established human colonies.

The calm belt is made up of vapor from the streams and consists of dense storm-like clouds that cover the entire galaxy. Absolutely no technology functions while in the calm belt, only entirely hand operated mechanisms will be able to work. There are many large deep space creatures occupying the calm belt that will rip apart anything/anyone that is unfortunate enough to drift into it. The only “safe” entrance to the Grand Line Galaxy is where the streams first begin. If you’re in a regular spaceship, it’s pretty easy to slip in through the opening. If you’re in the boat spaceship and have to enter the stream, it’s much more tedious. Due to how fast the current is, one wrong move while entering it can easily slip over the ship and tear it to shreds.

The Straw Hats

Unfortunately as a writer, I cannot name things for the life of me. None of the alien species here are going to be named, but feel free to assign names to them if you feel like it. I am also going to be including Brook and Jinbei here even though I haven’t gotten to them yet. My interpretation are based entirely off spoilers I’ve seen and cold reading, I will probably come back later to tweak these after I get to them.

EDIT: Big thank you to @emtynessinmyworld for coming up with all the names for the alien species!

Both the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny are the Treasure Planet style ships.

Luffy - Anaxdunamis

His species is known for its above average durability and strength. They can shrug off devastating blows like it's nothing and bounce back from it due their bodies being somewhat stretchy. If you pressed down on their skin, it would be tough, but have a little bit of give to it (like squeezing an eraser). Skin colors vary from orange, to pink, to red depending on the individual. Hair is very coarse and dark, it feels like a scrub brush. Their eyes are very dark, the pupils and irises are both pitch black and indistinguishable from each other (eyes do have whites). Carnivorous and have sharp teeth. Has four fingers on each hand. Relatively similar to humans in appearance in terms of anatomy. This species is considered ideal for being an Enforcer. 

Luffy himself has a light pink skin color (looks like a bad sunburn). Despite being carnivorous, he eats all kinds of food regardless. Luffy’s abilities far surpass the average member of his species. His body has more give and can stretch far beyond what it should be able to do. Possible hybrid but no one has been able to confirm it or come up with what the other species would be.

Zoro - Dynamikopis

A very bulky bipedal mammalian species with quills all over their bodies and slight snouts. Densest on the back, but are present along the arms too. No hair, just quills pointed back on head. Skin is tan (like pre time skip Zoro). Omnivorous, mostly eats meat but can also eat other things. His species hibernates for a few months out of the year due to their home planet having extremely harsh winters. Has three fingers on each hand with claws. Eyes have vertical pupils and are various shades of green or brown (like alligator eyes).

Zoro’s quills are a deep forest green color, and his eyes are a light brown. While Zoro doesn’t do the whole hibernation thing done on his home planet, he naps a lot to make up for it. His body is designed to store fat so he’s prone to having a bit of a dad bod. 

Nami

Human. 

Nami was abducted along with many other humans as an infant. The ship she was on was intercepted by pirates. The battle was brutal and ended with both ships being destroyed. A passing Enforcer ship came by, and when Bellemere (also human) found only two intact stasis pods left with Nami and Nojiko in them, she took off with them back to her home colony because she knew other Enforcers might try and sell them off.

Usopp - Savrasynkalypsis

Reptilian based species. Have a horn right above the nose, males typically have longer horns for display purposes. No hair, just some crests that point downwards around the head. Experts in camouflage, skin can change color to blend in with anything. The base skin color varies a lot depending on the environment the individual grew up in. Like most lizards, they have tails that can be dropped, but they do grow back. Primarily insectivores but occasionally eat plant based foods. Eyes are like that of a gecko including not having eyelids. Hands and feet have five digits on each and resemble chameleon feet.

Usopp’s horn is considered excessively long even by his species’ standards. Always wears a rag on his head and goggles to help protect his eyes. Despite his species not having finger pads to help climb smooth surfaces, he could climb a greased pole if he was scared enough. Drops his tail a lot, it’s usually a nub.

Sanji - Taornis

An avian inspired species. Not completely covered in feathers, flesh is exposed on the hands and feet. There are display feathers at the base of the neck that flare up for mating purposes (like peacocks). Tons of variety in colors for each individual, no two look identical to each other. They can fly but only for short distances. No hair, but there are longer feathers on their head that resemble hair. Feet are flat, not like birds of prey or anything. Omnivores, are capable of eating all types of food. They eat food raw. Have beaks. 

Sanji’s feathers are primarily blue with yellow and black highlights, beak is black. The display feathers on his neck have pink heart shapes on them. They flare up a lot. The longer feathers on his head are yellow and go down to his chin. These feathers typically stick up so this looks strange to others. Preens a lot, both with himself and any woman that will let him. His love for cooking is considered extremely odd by the rest of his species since they only eat raw food.

Chopper - Proteustarando

His species is known for consisting of the best shapeshifters in the universe. Their base forms resemble species of the cervidae family. The planet they’re from is bitterly cold, so they have thick, shaggy fur. Fur can be white, cream, light brown, or dark brown. All members have antlers regardless of gender. The antlers are very ornate and curly. Herbivores, but can eat other foods when they’re shapeshifting. 

Chopper is an outcast because while he can shapeshift to an extent, the transformations all still strongly resemble his base form. Fur is light brown with a cream colored tuft around his throat. The antlers are still pretty short due to how young he is.

Robin - Makrovotiarachne

A species once known for their immaculate record keeping that is extremely long lived. Members of this species have six arms and four eyes. The eyes are on the face where you would expect them to be, with one pair directly under the other. Their “hair” consists of very fine tendrils that resemble jellyfish tentacles. They assist with storing memory and controlling their multitude of limbs. If you were to run your hand through the “hair” it would feel like running your hand over a TV that was just turned off. Skin is various shades of blue and purple. Five fingers on each hand. The species is officially labeled as extinct after Enforcers annihilated them hundreds of years ago.

Robin is the last of her kind. There was a small colony hiding on an inhospitable planet, but after Enforcers caught wind of them being there, they were all killed with the exception of Robin who managed to slip away via evacuation pod as a child. All she wants is to find the old records and spread their knowledge to out whatever it is that the Enforcers wanted to hide. Her skin is a light purple (lilac) and has blue eyes. Her tendrils are a dark midnight blue.

Franky

A cyborg, originally human.

He remembers very little about Earth due to being abducted at a young age (5), but does have some memories of it. Definitely romanticizes it a little. His stasis pod was dropped accidentally and eventually drifted and crashed on Water 7. After the train incident, his body needed to be entirely replaced with robotic parts, nothing but his brain still remains from the original body. His appearance is much more visibly robotic compared to his One Piece design, but is still very similar in terms of anatomy.

Brook

Human infected with a parasite.

Brook was a member of a fairly well established human colony made up of people who were able to escape whatever they escaped from. He was already an adult when he was abducted and worked as a music teacher. Before he could be sold off, a group of human vigilantes took over the ship and freed everyone on board. Brook would ultimately go on to join this crew of vigilantes. During a patrol, they were sucked into a black hole and left in a destitute corner of the Grand Line Galaxy. The ship was unable to work after the black hole encounter, so all the members began dying off as resources got lower. Brook happened to be the last one still alive when a parasite slipped on board and found him. The parasite infects its host by latching onto the soul and feeding off it. It won’t affect your behavior or memories, only forces you to stay alive. Once you’re infected, you become virtually immortal. Brook wanted to join his crewmates, so he tried to starve it out, not knowing that it fed off his soul and not his body. Since the parasite only needs the soul to thrive, it is willing to let the body rot away if the host doesn’t maintain it. Over time, Brook became nothing but bones, but there are some dark tendrils from the parasite visible along his body. Still has his hair somehow.

Jinbei

Still a fishman, not much really changed. He’s a bit bigger and has eight eyes instead of two.

This AU is going to be a lengthy multichapter series because I’ve put too much thought into this for it to only be a oneshot.