#but then meets an actual xenomorph

[anonymouseal]

Made a few xenomorph OCs a while back, those are Venus (the queen) and Stella (the deacon), they're dating :)

Also that's the only fandom i'll probably never get out of lol

[oceanxveiined]

 Genshin Verse Side Muses:

*Mentions of abuse, dysfunctional families, manipulation, torture, violence, experimentation, ableism, transphobia, and death, not necessarily all present/to various extents depending on each bio, ahead.

1) Chang Da’Lun (500+/appears 23): Half-Adeptus, born some time before the Cataclysm. He can shift into a smaller birdlike form at will, though it does take a bit out of him to switch back. It doesn’t stop him from shifting into it on his own or a friend's whim though.

          His father was a Yaksha named Wuye, alias Caligo, who had inevitably become consumed by his karmic debt and became more akin to a malevolent demon. Though admittedly, the adeptus had already possessed quite the cruel streak, even long before he’d fallen. Being driven mad by the karmic debt meant his slaughters turned to fellow adepti and humans alike, which had also grown to be far more frequent and brutal. Each consumed opponent led his power to grow as he’d absorb their vitality and any abilities they possessed.

          By contrast Da’lun’s mother, Anhe, had been fully human, having been with a group of treasure hunters who’d taken her from her family in ransom when they’d strayed too close to the maddened Yaksha’s territory. When they had realized and tried to sneak away, she risked her life to draw Wuye out and betrayed them all in a desperate bid for freedom and power. She offered them all to be slaughtered and devoured by the corrupted Yaksha, as well as to offered to lure more to satisfy his bloodlust for incentive to make him spare her own life. She even offered to be his mate as well, to let herself be used by him as he saw fit, sparing no expense to give anything and everything she could to ensure she survived this encounter. He conceded out of convenience, taking her as promised and continuing his slaughters about Wuwang Hill with her aid.

          Anhe delighted in having his favor, even with how terrified of him she’d been at first, growing more and more sadistic herself with every massacred he’d rend, every death scream that filled her ears while she remained unscathed. The thrill of power and having a mate so powerful to keep it was too alluring and far too intoxicating, she would never dream of ever parting from him.

         Only for her to end up alone and powerless anyway when the former Yaksha was killed shortly after the birth of Da’Lun.

         Much of his childhood had been Anhe relentlessly tormenting him, using him as a scapegoat for how her life had fallen apart and due to having been affected by his father’s karmic debt as well ( both in her continued presence alongside him up until that point and in stubbornly lingering at his lair where the miasma was all concentrated rather than returning home with him gone ). Da’Lun took the abuse without protest, wholeheartedly believing her and his own guilt. He spent his whole life striving to ‘make up’ for his existence, in bringing her gifts and attempting to make her life easier every way he could. To protect and provide for her as his father had intended.

         It all came to a crashing stop when his mother at last succumbed to the cursed energy infesting their home. Or so he tells himself and anyone who ponders of her fate, not wanting to admit he himself had killed and devoured her. It had been when she’d tried to end his life first and the resulting corruption of them both had his adeptal nature spiraling out of control during the struggle. His Electro Vision had been what had ultimately murdered her, bestowed upon him during his struggle as she denounced and cursed him, which he hadn’t realized until the morning after.

         Plagued with guilt and fear, and knowing he must have taken on her share of the karmic debt's influence, his father's ability considered, he traveled Teyvat to distance himself from his former home for a few years. For 500 years, he witnessed beauty and horrors alike throughout it all, before he decided to settle some time in Sumeru. His main aim had been to learn all he could on humans and their histories ( learning from each Darshan over the course of the centuries he’d spent there, changing his appearance every time he’d reapply ), as well as to pass the time in a way that would not aggravate lingering traces of his father’s influence. It was while he learnt from the Amurta Darshan when he met Danae. With time to spare, and admittedly intrigued by the utter madness of her ideas and her equally frenzied determination to see such impossible fantasies made reality, he signed a contract to assist her in any endeavors she may undertake for them, as she would his own, per its terms. They would maintain it dedicatedly before briefly parting ways when her illicit studies were discovered.

         He himself remained at the Akademiya mere weeks before deciding his life had dulled too much without her odd ideas and eccentric ( not to mention at times exceedingly cruel ) methods, setting off to travel again in search of her. Traveling through his homeland, he would come to meet Ozzy, whom he would follow to Mondstadt, after he’d found him interesting company, especially when the man would encourage him to not feel so wary of the karmic debt’s influence. There, he would become a founding member of his gang when it resulted that the man’s interest had been likewise piqued and thus given him the invitation to stay.

          Ozzy was able to locate and drag Danae into his business thanks to Da’Lun’s scheming and using the terms of their contract to rope her in.

         What could he say? He would be a fool to let one of his favorite toys go. Just as he would the chance to see what would come out of putting so many volatile little components together.

           Surely the end result would be most spectacular indeed.

Oswald “Ozzy” Beauregard / Ásvaldr Bjornsson (appears early 20s): One of the remaining survivors of Khaenri’ah, though he keeps that card very close to his chest, having fled the nation after the surviving the Cataclysm. Only Da’Lun is actually aware of said fact, due to their shared longevity and closer bond compared to many of the others. If asked of his origin, he will always give the half-truth that he is of the Sumeru region. He currently gets a kick out of pretending to work for himself at his little tavern named Fleur de Nuit, from where his gang operates under the guise of a legitimate business.

         Stricken with immortality, Ozzy tends to push the limits of what said immortality will do for him, especially since his perception of pain and danger has been skewed severely by his curse. For the longest time, he had wandered about the desert and Sumeru’s forests, picking fight after fight using the very Abyssal energies he’d been corrupted with. Even with no formal combat training outside teachings he learnt as apprentice mage ( these very learnings being the reason he was was to maintain his appearance as it was, without succumbing to the curse of wilderness ), his increasingly frenzied manner tended to allow him to prove a match for the hilichurls, Eremites, and Treasure Hoarders he encountered, leaving brutalized corpses and wreckages in his wake, and plenty a scar to mar his own body. Some of which healed worse off than others due to his inability and gradual lack of real want to properly care for himself. Eventually, he would be found and formally taken in by the Fatui when he had too grievously injured to fight them off.

Not that he would have wanted to even if he could, considering how much they piqued his interest.

        He had been with them long before Danae had joined, having willingly surrendered himself to be experimented on by Dottore out of boredom and curiosity to see what the man could get out of it. As well as a vain hope to possibly stave off his Erosion and keep his mind with the Abyssal energies eating away at it when his own treatments would prove increasingly inefficient. Needless to say, Ozzy’s sanity had still taken quite the toll throughout the centuries he’s been alive, and the outright torture he faced through the time he’d been with them had truly not helped in the least. Especially not while being injected with god remains had steadily twisted up his mind, more and more. The Abyssal energy he’d already been afflicted with had ironically been what helped keep himself through it though, allowing him to fully assimilate the god’s lingering energy into himself and steady his condition.

         When Danae had decided to desert the Fatui, she broke Ozzy out from containment and left him an experimental Delusion to have him serve as a diversion so she could escape, figuring he would have some exploitable grudge that would prompt him to seek vengeance. And he served his purpose well, slaughtering Fatuus after Fatuus he encountered with the three tail-like, bladed chains he could manifest from it. He did so with great delight and utmost zeal, damn near like an animal in frenzy. But in truth, he really cared not for getting even. He rather merely wanted enrichment, as he called it.

         While Danae had figured the Delusion would simply kill him in the end, his own longevity and the god remains he’d assimilated allowed him to use the Delusion so freely without truly debilitating consequences, though still at certain cost to his body after particularly prolonged usage. It severely aggravates the place with the god remains had been injected, low at his right side where the Abyssal energy was at its highest concentration. Due to it also being the place of his most severe wound and one of the ones that truly never healed properly, it leaves him feeling as though something had been gouged right out every time he’d stop its use. Still, in the moment of that first use, all he could think of was the thrill of the fighting and being able to run about, free at last. To this day, that very thrill is what keeps him using it, even knowing the painful consequences.

         The euphoric high he felt back then lead him to completely destroy the location all together, both in his own kills and in tampering the delicate machinery that would consume the rest of the location along with it in the ensuing explosions. He himself made his getaway before the destruction caught him up along with everything else, after finding and bringing along a fellow victim ( not that he consciously saw himself as such ) of the Fatui experiments.

         After hearing tales of Monstadt, her homeland, the idea of a nation whose Archon had no real say in its ruling appealed to him greatly, Thus, he would hijack and man a Fatui ship to gain leave off Inazuma, heading to the Southern side of Liyue, and making their journey back to Mond that way.

         Ozzy’s aim in making the gang had solely been to collect interesting people to surround himself with, nothing more nothing less. Something to help stave off ennui and keep his mind sharp; a little pet project he could maintain or ruin at his leisure when the time came. It only became a formal organization incidentally, but he finds it a decent pastime to run it and especially the business he and Da’Lun came up with as a front. Especially when he genuinely ended up attached to a certain select few, though he maintains it is only out of how entertaining the lot of them are, themselves and with him.

          Due to past experiences, particularly what he witnessed during the Cataclysm, he has a mild to severely violent visceral reaction to fire based abilities; which is only worsened by his love of deliberately avoiding triggering his own phobia and habit of gambling with extreme stakes, typically involving fire in some way.

         What sort of gambling man would he be if he let something like that stop him, after all?

Elisabeth “Eliza” Merrimack (18) - A Mondsadt-born girl whose family lineage traces back to the Imunlaukr clan, after the clan had broken up due to a schism. Originally Visionless, she would gain a Dendro Vision ( chronologically set late in the events of the Sumeru Archon Quest ) and take up Catalyst-based combat.

         The eldest daughter of her main family at the time, she had a horse riding accident in her youth that left her paraplegic, exhibiting little to no movement in her legs even after treatment at the church. The fact that it had taken them some time to get her there, seeing as she had been lost for days, was probably behind it. Regardless, her family despaired at the incident, frantically trying everything they could to heal her, even as the church insisted nothing could be done. Even as she herself tried to reason it was alright; that she didn't need to be, having accepted their verdict when her family could not. And they never truly did.

         When she was fifteen, the Merrimacks ultimately accepted an offer from the Fatui to aid them ( though in hindsight, Eliza couldn’t but wonder if it had been seen as an excuse to have them take her off their hands ), and carted her off far from home. Betrayed at her family giving her away so easily, especially after she realized they would not check up on her or visit, Eliza at last fell into despair after seeing what awaited her at the hands of the Fatui. Her parents had been lied to, after all–Eliza had not been taken in to receive care, instead becoming subjected to experiments with god remains like every other subject they got their hands on.

          And no one would be aware of that to come save her. Assuming they would even care to try if they did.

         Things began to change years later after meeting Danae, who was assigned to oversee her. To be precise, Danae had at first been in charge of her post-op treatments, ensuring the effects of the experiments didn’t disrupt her vitals and in keeping her alive overall. They began to know more of each other and interact after the then Fatuus had been promoted and would have her as an exclusive subject, due to her ideas and personal project.

          Even with how callous Danae could be, she and Eliza eventually came to get along well due to Eliza coming to understand Danae’s wordless gestures and tough-love care after the former had begun to get attached to Eliza. Said care usually being in the form of snuck treats and material comforts. It wasn’t until later on in their friendship that Eliza learned it had been because she reminded Danae of her younger brother, that she had specifically requested to oversee her treatments because she wanted to help her like she'd intended to help him. Learning why and how she intended to do that did embitter Eliza rather than endear her though.

That said, they truly became each other’s first real friend and confidante after Eliza had been–even if gruffly–encouraged by Danae to start speaking up for herself and the first thing Eliza did was tell her off for thinking she ought to ‘fix’ her and any other person, for that matter. It had been a gut reaction based on Eliza’s own resentment of how her family regarded her as well as the god remains in her acting up due to her agitation.

         Still, even while the burst of temper had startled Eliza, it had been enough for Danae to not only respect the girl, but also to begin to doubt her own goals. Most notably, it was enough to prompt the Fatuus to pick up her old ideas anew rather than continuing the original experiment plan she’d had altogether, choosing to help make amends in fashioning Eliza a special wheelchair to take her out for enrichment. Not that Danae would ever admit that’s what it had been for, even in present day, but Eliza understood and was grateful for it all the same.

            The day Danae broke out, she had actively tried to reach Eliza to bring her along, but was unable to in the chaos she’d wrought and severely underestimated. Thinking her dead, she prioritized her own survival and left without a second thought.

           Eliza hadn’t realized she’d been abandoned once again, rather had been merely confused by the happening and chaos around her. She patiently awaited Danae to come, trusting the Fatuus to soon fill her in and protect her if need be. Instead, it was the newly freed Ozzy who had found Eliza and offered to bring her along after having slaughtered her guards and in hearing her request to see the stars outside before he ‘put her out of her misery’ had moved him.

          And especially because she then tried to cut his throat the instant he got close enough to try and carry her.

          After convincing her he did want to bring her along, not kill her, she at last conceded and let him take her away from the wreckage of the lab. Eliza's tales of her home nation had been the reason Ozzy had chosen to settle there, and she was more than happy to return with him, though flares ups of the god remains in her did pose some problems both were unsure of how to handle. Not that he trusted anyone in Teyvat to be able to take care of her as they should, especially considering how she’d ended up in the Fatui’s hands in the first place.

         Still, she is grateful he took it upon himself to allow her to stay by his side as his ward, even while she couldn’t offer him much in return in terms of fighting skill, money, or knowledge besides that of her home. When he founded his gang, she did find purpose in aiding with the logistics aspect of running the front for his gang, using the learnings of her youth. Without her, it would have fallen apart from the start, Ozzy would always say, leaving her giddy with excitement and her heart full. After finding and enacting a solution to quell the unstable god remains in her ( taken place post-Sumeru archon quest, story-wise ), she would start taking a more active role in the gang as aid to their resident healer. In addition, her wheelchair would be adapted for combat, to suit her needs and her Vision’s abilities.

          She is well aware that elemental concentrations worsen the god remains' extreme and dangerous flare ups, but she still constantly insists upon staying with everyone else in the gang and utilizing a soothing device relying on Elemental energy anyways. She’d rather spend it in comfort and with her friends, even the lot of them encourage her to when she frets what could come out of it ( even Ozzy telling her the risk of that danger is exactly why they are so comfortable was a twisted solace that wound up giving her more confidence to accept her wants to be with them ). Once the traces of god remains in her would be sealed off enough, she is able to head out with them with her wheelchair from that point on, as well as set at ease her fears of hurting them. She still feels chronic flares up of pain due to her affliction, but with less risk of it going out of control and killing her dear friends, she can bear it a lot easier.

          After all she’d been through, this was nothing. Nothing, in the face of being able to smile and delight in her life to the fullest once more.

Durene (19): Hailing from Natlan, Durene is a demigodess, born from the union of a mortal man, Jevaun, and a nature godess Jaladri, whom he had ensnared with a talisman along with several of his friends and fellow warriors when her tempests had threatened their home village. She had fallen for him when he had been watching over her, and had been the kindest of her captors, eventually conceding to be his wife after enough time in his company, as well as certain courtship of his had won her over.

          Even while bound to human form, Jaladri had been content in their union at first, up until her husband began to get exceedingly paranoid and possessive of her following being imbued with several of her blessings that granted him great strength and renown in his tribe. She began to grow miserable, cursing Jevaun and unable to do much to fight him as he was, as her powers had become considerably weaker compared to his over the years, especially after Durene’s birth. And it didn’t help that it was especially so because the man kept her away from the sea, an important source of vitality for her. Still the goddess did not fault her daughter upon her birth, teaching Durene the ways to be a soothsayer and healer so she could properly go through the initiation process and her actual training in the village once she was of the apt age. At the same time, Jevaun had taught Durene the art of war and trained with her every chance he got, hoping his daughter could bring him renown and glory with her exploits in the yearly games.

          Durene took to both her learnings quite well, eager at the thought of being able to contribute to village and her family this way. She particularly excelled in serving as an herbalist and healer, though she did work hard to improve her skills when it came to divination to impress her mother. It always did seem to put Jaladri in a far better mood whenever she did, as well as when she would listen to her mother’s tales of gods and places she’d been, of her life prior to being confined to mortal form. Of their Archon, and her great deeds. More than anything, she loved singing for her mother, songs she learned from her and the others in the village, seeing how her voice seemed to bring the goddess some semblance of solace, when she felt her weakest.

         At twelve years old, Durene had bonded with a Koholasaurus she'd named Aje, who helped her gather materials from the seas and magma caves, often keeping Jaladri company whenever Durene would gather from the land, or while she worked to make her treatments or to preserve her supplies. Around that time, she also learned the full story of her mother’s plight. Horrified and moved, she would elect to repay her mother all she’s taught her in concocting a clever plan to gleam out from her drunken father the location of each piece of the talisman needed to complete the needed ritual and free the goddess. With this knowledge, Durene was able to find and bring them to her mother with Aje's aid. The goddess would aid her in completing the necessary steps once it had all come together. As her bonds would break and her strength returned, Jaladri lamented being unable to take her child with her. Promising to return with a means to ascend her as soon as she could, the goddess would transform into a pillar hundreds of crabs that would scatter into the sea and leave Durene standing alone at the outcropping. Bittersweet and all-too brief as their parting was, she felt content in knowing her mother would be happy at last.

          The good mood would not last long, as Jevaun flew into a deadly rage in realizing what had happened when he awoke to the sounds of a howling sea storm after she returned home.

          His rage did not frighten her, even as he demanded answers. Did the she not care about their village? Of what the goddess would do to them, now that she was free? Of why she’d been confined to mortality in the first place?

Durene truly cared not, insisting Jaladri had borne and suffered enough under his suffocating hold. If they were all to be destroyed in her vengeful wrath, it was for the slight they’d done against her, and thus truly fair.

          Her answers would brand her a traitor in the eyes of her father and, to his claims, their people. To ensure the goddess wouldn’t completely destroy them, he killed Aje and locked Durene away, making made sure Jaladri could never find her and that no one else would in turn ever think to help free her, as no one else would be aware of where she'd 'disappeared' to. As far as anyone knew, she and her Saurian companion had been killed while gathering materials.

          She couldn’t say how much time had passed since he’d left her there. Days, then weeks, then months went by languishing in her prison, in the presence of no one else but her father, whenever he would stop by to bring her food. If her refusal to concede to his pleas to betray her mother and attempts to break out didn’t enrage him enough to leave her to her own devices the next few, that was. It wasn’t until she’d exhausted every desperate, rage and grief-stricken attempt at escaping that Durene formulated a proper plan to escape.

          The next time Jevaun came to see her, he found his daughter seemingly unresponsive. The man freed her from her bonds and frantically attempted to wake her, only to find his daughter conscious after all, taking advantage of his closeness to grab hold of him. The man was only able to catch a brief glimpse of her newly bequeathed Anemo Vision mere moments before she would sap the breath from his lungs. Her face, twisted in every trace of hatred and resentment she felt towards him, was the last thing he’d ever see as he would succumb. Durene would hold no remorse for her actions, even as the village people would come to find her and try to seize her in retaliation.

          Escaping their clutches and leaving them to the mercy of her mother’s wrath, Durene would take to travel about Teyvat as a wandering soothsayer, making a pretty coin on divination and healing. Truly, that whole time she had been seeking a way she may ascend to join her mother, sparing no expense wherever she may go. She'd even forged a binding vow for herself, giving up her tongue, and thus ability to speak in exchange for power. Through her journey, she fostered a particular resentment born in her in Sumeru and the way the Akademiya had gone about managing knowledge at the time ( such as the reason they had rejected entry for her, thinking her to be of the desert folk ). Which lead to her resolving to ensure that place would be the first she may pay a visit to once she reached her goal, to tear it asunder for the offense, seeing as its god would surely not be able to match her when the time came.

          It was in being found by Ozzy in Liyue and being requested to come with him, Eliza, and Da'Lun along the way that she came to have company once more. The final founding member of his gang, she would happily settle in Mond with them. But by no means does this mean she had given up on her goal. With Da'Lun and his influence, as well as the addition of Danae later on, Durene would find use in the team’s members to further seek the information she required for her own ultimate goal. Who knew, perhaps she would just need to be a little more patient, just a little bit longer.

           Well, fine by her. That, she had plenty practice in.

Jaeda Purmizra (18): The daughter of an affluent family in Sumeru and the most recent addition to Ozzy’s gang. She joined them after running away from home and continuously hitching rides on caravans then later merchant ships that guided her to Dorman Port in Mondstadt. From there, she hid among a lucrative-looking delivery, which lead her to Ozzy’s tavern, where she would be promptly caught for having stolen foods from the convoy and attempted to make off with other items to try and sell in the main city. Danae had nearly left her bound and at the complete mercy of Treasure Hoarders as punishment, had Eliza not intervened and personally pleaded her case to Ozzy. He accepted to take Jade in as well, only because he knew it would anger Danae in the process, and because he was intrigued by her Vision in particular,

          Born male and then named Jahar, Jade had been the family’s sole heir and was raised into the role accordingly ( read: impossibly strict ) by her mother. It was thanks to a young servant girl who tended to her every need that she even began to experiment with and realized her actual gender identity. All because the girl had wanted to play dress up and needed a friend to help her, not realizing all the decorum she was breaking in daring to ask the heir, of all people, such a thing.

          It had been quite the relief in realizing it, though, even when she hadn’t been actively searching for it. But to her, it meant everything from then on. And it meant despair, as she continued to masquerade as her mother’s precious only son and heir. She didn’t want to upset her mother, after all, especially since the woman banked so much of her bid for power as head of the family upon her. So she kept that her little secret, playing with the girl and growing up happily alongside her over the years.

         Up until she and the girl had been caught playing.

         The girl had been punished severely for her ‘crime’ and Jade was forced to bear witness to the bloody ordeal for humoring her. Only after the girl was left near death did Jade face her own punishment, the horrid humiliation her mother enforced upon her before an audience of the woman’s closest friends and advisers.

          The anger she felt in seeing the life dwindling in her friend’s eyes and the cruelty she faced ignited a single-minded determination to make every last person in the room pay for her beloved friend's pain, enough to for her to black out, coming to only when her mother had screamed.

Snapping back to consciousness, Jade felt bloodcurdling horror and cathartic relief in realizing she’d burnt her mother’s lovely face beyond recognition, every other cruel person who’d participated in her torment left as naught but charred corpses in her wake. In spotting the gleaming, blood-red gem clutched tightly in her hand.

          She didn’t stay long, stealing her friend away and running away from home with an intent to bring her along. They could make a life together away from them now, she was sure of it. She had a Pyro Vision after all, she was no longer powerless to protect them!

            With the severity of the girl’s wounds though, her friend had little time left. With her last breath, the girl made her promise to live life for the both of them and to be happy. To stay safe, and never let anyone dictate how she may live her life ever again.

          That day, Jahar died along with the servant girl. In his place and bearing the name of that girl to carry on her memory, Jaeda would set off to find that happiness she’d promised.

Mako du Raie (16): A Visionless young heir to a prolific merchant family in Fontaine, and the member who had joined the Snake-Eyes gang before Danae and Tua had. His father, Benshi, had been a doushin from Inazuma and met Mako’s mother, Marie, while she learnt the trade from her father, prior to the Sakoku Decree being fully enacted. Mako is their illegitimate child, though he was claimed to be his mother’s younger brother to save face for the family. As such, he was raised primarily under the strict watch of his grandmother and even stole the title of heir to the family from Marie, due to the story they’d given him.

         He took to his studies like a fish to water, being quite bright and precocious for his age. And in his eagerness to pursue his grandmother’s approval, he went far above and beyond the efforts his mother had ever put into her own. The family agreed he was definitely a far more suitable heir than she as a result, though he avoided his mother’s jealous wrath by asking she be involved in everything he did. Like this, the woman’s temperament was appeased, her going as far as to even take credit behind his talent and boast of him to all who would meet them.

          In all honesty, he would have been content enough handing her the reins of the family, had a business venture to Mondstadt not changed his mind entirely. His mother’s boasting lead to drawing Ozzy’s attention, the man having been seeking a nice, convenient little liaison for his gang’s front. With the boy being as young as he was, not only would he be easy to exploit, but his talent and influence would absolutely prove worth the effort to draw him in, just as he'd hope.

          As such, Da'Lun would be the one to meet and gain his trust. To persuade him to join Ozzy’s gang as their merchant contact. And, to ensure Mako’s position and control over his family’s affairs, Da'Lun would even go as far as to encourage Mako to eliminate each and every family member that could possibly stand in his way of managing it all himself.

           Mako couldn’t help but give in, even with how complacent he’d been before. Even being fully aware of the horrific task he would have to taken on to ensure his control over the family's business and finances. All it took was being given the affection and doting he always wanted, rather than lauded praises for his potential and saccharine-sweet yet ultimately empty words he knew better than to believe. It took one friend, who cared and spoiled him so, to make him turn his previous wishes of simplicity and contentment from before and pursue a more ruthless ambition without a qualm. Even as he gazed into his mother’s dulling eyes, frozen in horror and anguish, he would only feel a strong sense of satisfaction as he stepped over her without a qualm. As he would make his way over to Da'Lun, who would fondly ruffle his hair with genuine praises aplenty before carrying him back to Ozzy’s little haunt.

           He knew full well he was to be used by Ozzy’s group, having realized it early on in Da'Lun’s attempts to worm his way into his heart. But once he’d met with the others in the gang and Ozzy himself, there was no longer a single trace of lingering doubt in his heart that his brutal choice had been in his best interest. Looking at the lot of them gathered to see him, all varying shades of proud of what he’d accomplished, no matter how horrific, he determined the excitement and validation that came with what they did was a lot better than living his life within conventional rules.

            Where else could he feel like he was at the top of the world like this?

Tusitala / Tua (20): Originally hailing from a coastal village in Natlan then migrating to and eventually settling in Liyue due to his father’s relentless pursuit of riches and lack of interest in the wars that ravaged their nation, Tua had been a Treasure Hoarder well before his coming of age. He is rather proud of the fact, too, often boasting of his own successes compared to other factions, especially after he’s fought his way through a group of them in a show of his own Natlanian battle prowess. 

At first it had been at his father’s urging that he joined and stayed with the Treasure Hoarders they’d met up with on their way to Liyue Harbor. It was only to serve as something to make for a side hustle while his father took care of other business dealings at first ( taking care of logistics for that gang while Tua himself got to take on the more dangerous aspects, as he also managed an artifact appraisal business with things Tua and the gang would bring in ), then it became Tua’s sole obsession as his own greed grew, right along his addiction for every victory and bounty he secured them.

         Tua was quite content with this life, thinking himself the luckiest man in the world to have this chance. Even if he did have to surrender near all of his share of their spoils to his father, to quell the man's avarice ( and to ensure the man didn't try and take it all from him, by force or outright theft ). But with what he was allowed to keep or what he managed to squirrel away to pass off as such later, Tua would take to decorating himself handsomely to show off his successes. As such, he’s got several piercings ( many of which he did himself ) along his body, as well as bits of gold embedded in his skin, particularly about his shoulders. He also has a few tattoos to commemorate his victories and his comrades, which glow whenever he uses his Vision.

          Speaking of, his Geo Vision came to him during a show of his conviction to protect his Treasure Hoarder ‘family’ by all means and any costs. In this case, it had been in protecting them from a squadron of Milileth by the skin of his own teeth then later its aid, having chosen to cover them on his own to ensure they could make off with a particularly rich score. Because of it, he became quite popular among them, with the lot thinking he would lead them to the greatest successes and eventually take over rival gangs and become their overall leader.

          The thought strongly appealed to him, enough that he resolved to make it a reality. As leader, he would have a greater right to a bigger share of the spoils, and he could be independent enough to break away from his father, too. And of course, being able to protect his closest comrades and look after them with greater responsibility and authority. That was his greatest desire above all else, one he would swear before them during the celebration of his blessing by the Lord of Geo.

          Though he did eventually fail to keep his promise to them when a conflict with Fatui, and severely underestimating them, left his group all slaughtered or near death, himself included. With his last lingering traces of full consciousness, he lamented not being strong enough to protect them all, and expected to meet his shameful end along with them.

          However his survival had been ensured when Danae had stumbled across the massacre. Though initially focused on eliminating the injured and resting Fatui and with her own hatred of Treasure Hoarders having her near ready to ditch them all as it was, it was due to her having determined his potential usefulness upon noting his Vision that prompted her to nurse him back to health.

          Deliberately leaving all the others to their fates, as she didn’t need them.

          When Tua would ask later after awakening, she would swear they were all goners by the time she had found him. That Tua had supposedly been the only one strong enough to survive because of his Vision.

          Grief would take hold, but he wouldn’t linger on that feeling too much. Not enough for it to consume him, anyways. Not when his savior made him an offer to come with her, a suggestion to carry on in his comrades’ names and honor their memories in continuing to plunder and seek the treasures they'd so craved. Feeling both indebted to her and a thrumming need to protect someone once more now that he was without a family ( he dared not return to his father nor join up with a new Hoarder faction after such a harrowing defeat ), he would choose to follow Danae to Mondstadt.

          Along the way and upon reaching their destination, they would take up mercenary work and end up wrapped up in the group they currently associate with now, after participating in an attempt on the young head of the Snake-Eyes gang alongside others like them. Said hit actually having placed by the young head, Ozzy, himself, using it as a ploy for recruitment to test if Danae had been worth Da'Lun's recommendation to his group. Tua likewise making it out alive alongside her and having demonstrated his immense strength and capabilities had been the icing on the cake. He was more than happy to accept the offer to join after that, no need for incentives or anything.

          Well, okay, maybe the pay grade and further chances to seek riches while with them was a pretty good incentive. That, and being able to take part in a whole new gang he could protect and grow stronger with helped convince him, too. There was something reassuring about being able to protect them them of all people, those who didn’t need to depend wholly on him and could defend themselves should his strength fail them. But would still rely on his skills to add to their own, and truly ensure they would all be okay. And he will make sure they would be. He refused to lose any one of 'his own' ever again, swearing the very same oath he gave his late comrades before.

          He will protect his newfound family, with all he has. Whatever it takes.

Mason Ennosigaeus (17): Sidon’s actual biological child. He was stolen away from his family by Morjena when she had found out of his existence, snatching him during the chaos she'd set off after tricking Eremites into looting the caravan the man's wife had traveled with on her way to the main city. It was a move meant to ensure Danae had no competition to being the man’s heir, especially after the woman and her attendants had been killed in the ensuing struggle. Danae was supposed to kill Mason upon being left with him, as Morjena had thought she’d thoroughly beaten the heart out of her. When it turned out that she hadn’t and even wound up with an attachment to the boy, Mason became an opportunity for Morjena to ensure Danae stuck around, regardless of the abuse she faced, regardless of how much harder she became to control the older she got.

           Mason himself was frequently abused by Morjena while Danae was gone and quickly came to rely on the latter for everything. Not that it necessarily meant he was entirely helpless. His weak constitution left him frail as it was, sure, but in truth, Danae never failed to endlessly dote on him every chance she was home to see him, even going as far as to sacrifice her own meals for his sake. She would even forgo sleep to guard him against Morjena as best she could, and when she did, she would deliberately sleep in a way that if the woman pulled anything, she would be the one to take the brunt of her mother’s abrupt assaults. Every little thing he could ever want or need and THEN some was his at his command, and without hesitation. He need only ask. She couldn't offer him comforts like reassurances and gentleness, but this, this she could do for him. And he was wholly all for it, appreciating the one good thing he had amid the horrid life he was stuck in.

             Inevitably, her boundless devotion and their environment twisted him up as badly as it had her, albeit in a different way. The one who truly wound up heartless and cruel, through and through, just as Morjena was, had been him.

          He may come off as shy and unassuming but in truth, he is twice as vicious and self-serving as Danae, behind the gentle demeanor. He is the one person who can ask of her to do anything at his whim, no matter what it is, no matter how hurt she would end up in the process. And he's used that, time and again to sic her on whoever it was he so chose, be it strangers for his own amusement or even people he's realized she started to get a little too close to, in selfish need to ensure she wouldn't start giving away her loyalties. To test that she truly did mean her loyalties to him, and act accordingly if she hesitated or doubted. In his eyes, he still needed her to survive, after all. Especially after an encounter with hilichurls had nearly taken his life, and had cost him his legs just above his knees, even after being rushed to Birmastan.

          At the same time, he is also the person others could use to strongarm Danae into damn near anything if they hold him captive, as any threats to him lead her to be all to eager to comply for his safety ( though woe betide those who lose him as a bargaining chip at any point during ). He is the One and Only Thing she has left to lose, but the feeling is not mutual. It hasn’t been from the moment she’d left him at the Akademiya on his own.

          Even having been left in the lap of luxury when she'd been forced to flee, being torn from her side and the endless doting, from his greatest asset, left him stewing in a resentful rage. His bitterness and broken heart earned him a Cryo Vision amid the enraged outburst within his room, gleaming enticingly within the wreckage of her final gift to him. That Vision, however, he deemed the greatest gift of all, and one he thoroughly believes was the Tsaritsa’s personal wish to him and show of support.

         As such, as of earning his Vision, he swiftly abandoned the idea of staying at the Akademiya. Instead, he sought to join the Fatui, using his power as incentive to be kept of use to them alongside the Cicin Mages. Though he was sure to mask what he did, telling Danae he got to travel for his studies so she never suspects. So her constant stream of money and gifts from afar never end, having them brought to him by agents he roped into his whims that happened to be stationed in Sumeru.

          In learning she had also once joined the Fatui only to abruptly disappear, he knew before any of the lot that she was still alive, and elected to keep this fact to himself, to ensure none of his comrades could seek out and find her. However his intentions are far from protective out of any genuine concern. He has full intentions to personally hunt her down and make her face the full consequences for abandoning him. And the Fatui, too, of course. But if possible, he would like to be the one to bring her end himself. To look her right in the eyes as he would use his Vision to make of her a pristine statue for himself to keep.

         Maybe then she’ll actually keep her promise to never leave his side.

[thagomizersshow]

Ranting about how JP is not a good critique of capitalism made me want to talk about a sci-fi monster movie that is an excellent AND highly relevant exploration of anticapitalistic themes: Alien (1979).

First I want to say that if you haven’t seen Alien, please do so before I spoil it for you. It’s not just one of my all time favourites, but also one of the greatest pieces of science fiction ever created. For real, please go watch it.

The biological aspects of Alien are often the most talked about themes in the movie, which is fair, because they’re simultaneously very interesting and in-your-face. Most viewers remember the movie for the gory sexual imagery, not for an authentic depiction of class struggle. I actually wrote a video essay a while back that I never made about how our innate disgust and resulting fear of parasites/parasitoids is the primary driver behind the xenomorph’s ongoing popularity. I’m not immune to this aspect of Alien’s eternal intrigue, that’s for sure.

However, there’s one narrative element that makes Alien ripe for class analysis, especially today, and that is the film’s portrayal of artificial intelligence.

AI in Alien is consistently shown to be hostile to the crew, but not because of a glitch, like HAL in 2001: Space Odyssey, or because they decide to rise up against their oppressors, like in Terminator. No, what makes Ash, the android, and MOTHER, the ship’s AI, so threatening is that they are doing exactly what they were programmed to do — whatever it takes to ensure corporate interests. In this case, they are programmed to ensure the survival of an extraterrestrial monster at the cost of the crew.

The audience isn’t privy to all the things that Ash does to meet this goal, but at the very least he breaks quarantine protocols, does a shitty job of watching the facehugger, lets Kane join the rest of the crew for a meal (when they still don’t know what it did to him!), plays dumb once the xenomorph is on the loose, and attempts to murder Ripley when she discovers his mandate. If it weren’t for Ripley being a determined badass, Ash might’ve gone unnoticed until the whole crew was dead and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation had their mitts on the alien so they can cause another catastrophe.

This horror, that you will encounter AI whose programming doesn’t care if you live or die, is what makes Alien’s take on the subject so relevant. Dipshits like Elon Musk or some shitty tech journalist might try and convince us that ChatGBT scary because it can fake being human, as if Skynet is right around the corner.

No, the real horror of AI is that the people in power (our bosses, our politicians, etc.) are going to use it to exploit us, just like how they use everything else.

In the end, it takes being skeptical of things that seem trustworthy for Ripley to defeat Ash. The audience finds out from the Nostromo’s captain, Dallas, that Ash was a last minute addition to the crew, as chief science officer. This is a role that inherently engenders trustworthiness in the face of the unknown, especially for a crew that is basically a bunch of working joes. It’s not unbelievable to conceive this was purposeful by Weyland-Yutani to make Ash above suspicion. That, combined with literally naming the ship’s AI MOTHER, of all things, shows that the company is deliberately weaponizing aesthetics to foster a positive relationship between the crew and their AI agents.

Alien serves as a reminder to be vigilant as we enter the AI boom, because these programs will be used to exploit us, and corporations WILL try to cloak this purpose behind relatability, convenience, and trust. The AI we encounter is more likely to be Ash or MOTHER than it is to be Data or Skynet.

[ppnuggie]

　　　　　　XENOMORPH KING x gn reader

　　　　『　king ,, gender neutral reader 』

　　-> xeno king hcs | meeting him

　　— fluff ,, sfw ,, yautjas are in this universe ,, featuring my ocs panther (yautja talked abt later on in the hcs) & king (the xenomorph ,, briefly mentioned)

　　— here are the hcs :D this is kinda somewhat an introduction to meeting king and more hcs will come soon ,, introducing his brothers of sort ,, im making their refs slowly 😭😭🫡 so hopefully those will be up before i decide to actually turn these hcs into a story n stuff

| • it was an assignment from your higher ups ,, heading to a lesser known "shake and bake" colony located on a distant planet where the habitable zone was way out from the sun surprisingly

| • usually habitable zones for planets would be in the middle ,, but this one was farther out ,, though it also made it more dangerous to be on

| • the winters were hot and the summers were cold ,, temperatures would get quite extreme but for the most part humans could somewhat live on there

| • you were sent with a team of two other scientists ,, along with an android ,, to examine and study the planet more

| • it was on one of your more routinely walks and expeditions around the more countryside of the planet that you stumbled upon something that hadnt been picked up before by scanners or drones

| • abandoned and trashed ,, a lab that was quite dark and gruesome to look at stood in the middle of nowhere on the barren planet

| • you werent too sure of what happened there ,, though it was evident it wasnt anything good judging by all the dried up liquid stains ,, the broken glass and scratches all over the wall

| • some of the furniture and walls looked melted ,, like somewhat poured lava on it and left it there

| • alone on this expedition ,, you took your notes and marked the location on a map of the planet ,, making a mental note to come back soon

| • the more you looked around the more frightening and on edge you became ,, finding skeletal remains of creatures you werent too sure what they were

| • vials were stored away in a broken down freezer ,, or you assumed so based on their labels in an unknown language and strange color

| • there were vials with many strange colors ,, making you second guess if it even was blood inside them ,, vials storing blue and green and orange

| • none looked indigenous ,, as the most the planet had to offer were these strange rodents that burrowed in the ground most the time ,, almost like those naked molerats from your own home planet ,, except these ones werent as terrifying to look at

| • though the more on edge you became the more curious you got ,, wondering what happened here exactly

| • documents were spilt on the ground ,, scattered about and dirtied up ,, some ripped apart and some with strange prints on them

| • without much of a second thought you took them ,, hoping that maybe you could decode the foreign language and figure out what was happening in this place before it became abandoned

| • you gathered what you could of the place ,, taking a few of the vials and gathering photo evidence of the area

| • while doing so ,, you werent aware of the fact you were being watched ,, stalked and observed by an unknown creature in the vicinity

| • when you got back to the base and showed your findings your crewmates were interested ,, the android apart of your team quickly recognizing the language in the documents

| • it belonged to these creatures called 'yacht-ja' ,, or something of those sorts ,, but he wasnt able to provide much else about the documents other than that

| • you planned to go back to the lab the next week ,, wanting to gather as much information on the area as you could before you left the planet and headed back to the mothership

| • after all ,, you were here for only research and study ,, all your findings on the planet would be taken back aboard the mothership for examination and peer review from other scientists aboard

| • the goal was to gather as many samples as possible ,, document as much as you could ,, and return to your station to head to another planet and repeat the process

| • packing a large lunch in case you stayed longer than expected ,, or did too much running around and had little food ,, you headed off back towards the lab with storage for as much information and to store as many samples as possible

| • your camera was ready ,, taking as many pictures as you could whilst also grabbing more vials from the lab itself ,, storing them away in your vehicular device to take back

| • you didnt pay too much attention to the time ,, more focused and fascinated with the lab around you ,, documenting all the rooms and trying to map out exactly how big it was

| • though something about the place did feel uneasy ,, almost like you werent meant to be here at all in the first place

| • not focusing too much on the feeling you continued ,, going through all the documents and photographing the bright green stains on the wall from who knows what

| • there were a few times you thought you saw something in the corner of your eye ,, almost like a figure yet when you looked there was nothing there ,, like a ghost was playing tricks on you

| • the longer you stayed ,, the more uneasy and skeptical you became of the place ,, not feeling the once comforting and interest as last week

| • when you had finished you gathered your equipment to head back to the base ,, noticing how cold and dark it had gotten and hoping you'd be back in time before the base was put on a lockdown for the night ,, usually for safety precautions as not much was known about the nightlife on the planet

| • unbeknownst to you the scene you would come back to ,, a foreign ship not of any human making was perched ontop of some of the houses whilst the rest of the place was up in flames

| • those yautja creatures you'd been told about earlier had visited ,, wreaking havoc wherever they went as they quickly went through all the humans living there ,, killing them quickly

| • with the base nowhere in sight you didnt bother sticking around ,, heading away from the place and into the countryside once again

| • though it wouldnt help ,, being followed by one of the creatures as they latched onto your vehicle and slashed at the metal and tires ,, quickly putting an end to your escape a few miles away

| • dark skin clashed well with his bright purple stripes ,, large scar over his eye and covering his body in general ,, with a bright colored chest

| • he didnt stare for too long before trying to get at you ,, chittering something in his language as he slashed away at your windows

| • adrenaline filled you ,, now positioned in a fight or flight situation and your gut told you to flee at that moment ,, crawling over the passenger seat and exiting out the door as you made a run for it into a nearby forest

| • it wasnt too difficult for the yautja to keep up ,, right on your tail as he ran after you

| • though his chase would be cut short ,, a large creature coming from out of the bushes and tackling him

| • too worried you'll be next ,, you didnt bother to stop and look back ,, continuing to run even though your legs burned and your lungs were on fire from how much cold air you were breathing

| • somehow you ended up at that same lab ,, almost like it was tied to you now that youve discovered it

| • it felt like a scene from coraline ,, where she walks away from the house and towards where the old well would be except it all turns white

| • though there wasnt no white barren land here ,, just the same abandoned lab

| • you weren't complaining though ,, as you'd rather be somewhere sheltered than out in the open ,, making your way through the maze of rooms and hallways before settling in a far away one

| • you collapsed to the floor ,, panting heavily as you shivered ,, sweat gathered at your forehead from the running and sudden near death experience

| • your eyes felt heavy ,, drowsy and exhausted yet you stayed awake ,, keeping guard and not trusting yourself to sleep in this place ,, not when there was too much happening

| • without your knowing ,, you had fallen asleep and left defenseless in the room ,, the creature that had taken out the yautja had followed you there

| • it gazed at your sleeping form ,, noticing your unconscious shivering and making a decision in its mind

| • curling its tail around your body ,, warmth slowly started to surround your body ,, somewhat ceasing your shivering

| • it could only wait for you awaken ,, resting its head on the cold ,, harsh ground as it kept you company through the night

[toomanybrainrots]

Hello! If it's okay to request/ask, A transformers animated request. TFA Autobots x Human Reader, can be Romantic/Platonic

Reader, A very normal human, who keeps moving out, every time they get to a city/town/place, because of different species of aliens keep appearing (Yautjas, xenomorphs, anodites, friendly ones, hostiles, neutrals, etc.) and they either befriended it and/or deal with it

They also have albums or pieces of stuff that's given or dedicated to or from their alien friends and they've been visited by their alien friend(s) and sometimes with Alien's friends/family

Now, this is an interesting request. Thank you for the request dear anon, here is the transformers animated x human reader that you requested

Note: this can be read as romantic or platonic, but I wrote this with platonic in mind

TFA Autobots with a Human Reader that's friends with a lot of aliens

Finally, after moving out of your last place, you can finally get a break from aliens. Don't get you wrong, you liked your alien friends...but, sometimes, it's a bit exhausting meeting aliens every time you moved.

Thankfully you managed to get a long deserved break in Detroit. Sometimes, your alien friends visit, and you welcome then with open arms into your apartment.

You thought you weren't going to see another alien again...that is, until one day, you were out getting groceries and saw the alien outside...with alien robots... "Fuck." You muttered under your breath as one of the robots get you out of the way

Optimus Prime

When you first told Optimus that you've befriended aliens before after you had gotten to know the Autobots, he was a bit inclined to believe you

That was, until you showed him your photo album filled with photos of you and your alien friends/family

To say he was shocked was an understatement

He was curious by the aliens you called your friends, and asked you questions about what species they were. He had only read about some of them back on Cybertron, but most were unfamiliar to him

Admittedly, he kinda wanted to see them up close.

He didn't anticipate that his wish would come true

Optimus stared at the creature infront of him - well, alien infront of him.

Optimus couldn’t believe the sight. You were talking with an alien— well, another alien — as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

He’d never admit it outloud but he felt himself jump slightly as you introduced him to your alien friend, trying to ignore the immense staring from it(them?)

Eventually, he gets used to your alien friend(s) as they visit more often. He even befriends some of them himself!

Of course, he’s still wary sometimes but he’s on friendly terms with them

Your alien friends are, in turn, also friendly with him, and don’t dislike him at all

Ratchet

Ratchet didn’t believe at all when you first told him. He just thought you’d gotten crazy

To say his jaw dropped when you actually showed him evidence was a complete understatement

He didn’t think you had actually befriended some of the aliens, even making some of them family. He’s seen a lot through his life but this, this was the first time he’d ever seen it

He recognized some of the species you had befriended, he’s seen his fair share of aliens too during his time. Because of that, he’s bewildered yet again when you say you’ve befriended one of the dangerous ones.

Safe to say, you’ve earned his respect

When he first saw one of your alien friend’s visiting, he was alarmed at first

It was the middle of the night. The others had already slipped into recharge, and the only one awake was Ratchet. The gurmpy medic thought he was alone as he worked in the medbay, grumbling about how untidy it was after Bumblebee had messed it up.

Then, he heard a loud thud and an undescribeable sound. His electro magnets pop out of his forearms, incase of self defense

He walked out of the medbay, looking around until his optics landed on a shadowy figure. He prepared himself as the figure walked out the shadows. However, he quickly came to a realization when the figure - ahem, alien, fully became visible.

He let out a sigh. Your friends really needed to pick a better time to visit.

Your alien friends and family didn’t like him at first, due to him scolding them each time they visited in the middle of the night. But eventually, they grew to respect him when they realized he simply cared for you - in his own grumpy way

He also grew to respect your alien friends and alien family, as they genuinely cared for you

He isn’t friends with them, but he is on okay terms with them

Prowl

Prowl, like Optimus, he was inclined to believe you when you first told him

He’s read about a few alien species, as Yoketron most likely taught or told him about some, and while a few you mentioned were friendly, the other most were not that friendly

You managed to convince him after you showed him your photo album

He asked you question after question, wanting to know more about the aliens you grew to think of as friends and family

He found himself wanting to talk to them. He only saw your bond with them through the photos you showed him, but he could tell you all were close

His wish came true after you introduced him to your alien friends

You watched as Prowl and your alien friend talked animatedly. Prowl was clearly curious behind that visor, and was asking your alien friend questions left and right.

Thankfully, your alien friend didn’t seeme to mind - actually they looked like they were enjoying answering the Autobot’s questions

You couldn’t help but smile as they continued to talk. It warmed your heart to see them getting along so smoothly.

Your alien friends and family like Prowl. He’s respectful with his questions, good mannered, and has a kind demeanor. He’s definitely their favorite

Prowl’s on very good term with them, as they sedate his curiosity by answering his questions

He’s friends with some of them and is on very great terms on them

Bulkhead and Bumblebee

Bulkhead and Bumblebee were very fascinated when you told them you had alien friends and even alien family

They’ve never read about other aliens, let alone seen one themselves - so when you show them your photo album their optics light up like kids in candy shops

Bumblebee is pointing out things left and right and chatting your ear off, very eager to know more about these cool aliens

Bulkhead’s also pointing some things, but he’s more meek and shy as he asks you questions

When they actually meet them, they’re definitely looking at them with sparkles in their optics

You let out a sigh as you watch Bumblebee chat off one of your alien friends ear off, their annoyance evident.

Thankfully, Bulkhead wasn’t as bad as Bumblebee, as he was shyly asking questions - to which, your other alien friend happily answered.

You were just glad they hadn’t annoyed them. Though you can tell Bumblebee’s stepping on thin ice

Your older alien friends definitely take up the roles of the auncles. Teaching Bulkhead and Bumblebee all about their culture, fighting techniques, and teaching them other things that they were tuaght during their youth aswell

Most of them are on good terms with Bulkhead, as the gentle giant’s demeanor was often endearing to them

Bumblebee’s on thin ice but they endure him for you

[darkenedreaper]

Pairing: Ellen Ripley (Aliens) x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Slight angst

A/N: Slight sad angst, let me know if you want more story to this

Summary: When you return with Newt, how will Ripley react when she sees her old lover.

Distant Lovers

You and Ripley had gone through all sorts or stages in a relationship, although you never really officially disclosed to one another what you were exactly. You were in a relationship, but it was never confirmed by yourself or Ripley, you both just went along with it because you were happy in each others company, happy in each others arms at night, happy in each others steamy embraces, and happy in the company of one another on a romantic level. You and Ellen had both gone through the first attack of the Xenomorph on the Nostromo, and you pushed through the aftereffects. You stayed as a team, and grew close on the Nostromo. It could be said the Nostromo is where your ‘relationship’ started. You stayed together on the ship back to Earth… that was until you were approached by Burke and asked to go to LV 426, as all of the colonies had gone down. You and Ripley promised one another you wouldn’t go, but it wasn’t until you were awoken by her as she had a nightmare, you both called Burke saying you’d join, to do one thing and one thing only; wipe the fuckers out. It was going as good as it could’ve done until you were separated. Ripley was pulled off to join the Marines, give them a talk, and meet the crew. You were pulled off to command a higher unit of the Marine Corps. When you and Ripley, and the two teams met up tensions were high. You caught on to a man named Hicks making eyes at Ripley, not to mention that both the Marine squads were squaring up to one another. As you, Ripley, Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, Newt, and the other surviving Marines were welded into an office on LV 426, tensions grew higher, even between you and Ripley. You got into small irrelevant arguments, you bickered, and you seemed to grow apart for the time you were in there. It didn’t help that Hudson was panicking and Vasquez and Drake were shouting at him. Hicks and Ripley had gotten closer. For the time spent on the plant you isolated yourself away from Ripley, she was hurting you by spending precious time with Hicks. She spent a lot of time with Newt but that was alright, Newt was a scared little girl who saw Ripley as a mother. You were hurting because she had shut you out, turned to someone else for reassurance and care. You didn’t want to spend time with her, so any time that was spent together it was filed with bitter arguments. Some of those arguments got nasty and personal. It left a hatred between you and Ripley, maybe it was because of the situation and the people around you. Most of the arguments and insults you know were taken too far, but you were both stubborn and fought fire with fire. You and Ripley didn’t speak, you didn’t sit in the same room as one another, you didn’t fight side by side; and it felt like she had abandoned you, abandoned you for a potential family life with Hicks and Newt… or so you thought.

After the events of the Queen Xenomorph and her offspring were annihilated during the explosion of LV 426, more problems rose. There wasn’t enough room on the ship back to Earth for you and Newt, there was only a shuttle available. Ripley had actually spoke to you for the first time and begged you to take her place on the ship while she went with Newt. Part of you thought she was pleading for your space in the shuttle to protect the girl should anything happen, but the stubborn part of you knew she was pleading for your space to protect you. Although you and Ripley didn’t speak for a long time, she still showed she cared for you. She’d save you a seat in the office area whether you took it or not, she’d leave a cup of coffee where you were sitting, she’d secretly check your guns were loaded and you have enough ammunition, she’d check you had your helmet, armour, and even torch. She’d glance at you from across the room trying to read you, trying to tune in to what you were thinking about. She wanted to know if you were thinking about her, about the Nostromo, about the Xenomorph, perhaps you weren’t thinking about anything at all. But she wanted you to hold her and you tell her your thoughts, just like you used to, to calm her on the nights she woke up after a night terror.

So you assured Ripley that you protect Newt, that you wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and that you would both return safe. Newt clung on to Ripley when they were parting but the girl knew she would be safe with you. You gave Ripley a last look, she did the same. You both seemed stuck in place, you both wanted to hug, kiss, hold even shake hands at this point. But you wouldn’t move. So you have her a wink with a small smile and took the girls hand heading to the shuttle. Rather than heading straight to the ship, Ripley held back until she couldn’t see you both anymore.

Both the Marine ship and your shuttle were travelling directly back down to Earth for the first time in years, everyone would be in hyper sleep and the Marine ship was the first to arrive. The company had set up a large private housing estate for the Marines, yourself, Ripley and Newt to settle down into for the time being, and to settle in back down on Earth. You and Ripley had seen the house you’d been assigned to, it was the house at the bottom of a straight walk-down street. It was a beautiful house with steps leading up to it sat in the middle of a row of houses leading down to it, it had big front double doors, and bushes on the sides, it was a home to go to.

You and Newt had woken up from hyper-sleep to find you had a matter of hours left before you grounded to Earth. You had made contact with Ellen’s ship but only to find out that it had grounded 4 weeks before you have. The company had told you that Ellen had settled into the house, she was eagerly waiting for your arrival, but she was scared. She didn’t want a phone call that told her you and Newt didn’t make it, or something happened to the both of you. You tried to make contact with Ripley but that didn’t work as you still hadn’t grounded. You had about an hour left before you grounded and the same events with the first Xenomorph in the shuttle had happened with you and Newt. The monster was hiding in the vents, it had tucked itself in. You hid Newt in the uniform closet with her plastic doll. You didn’t try and flush the thing out, as it would most likely end up on earth. As it appeared to be sleeping in the vents you had snuck around it to push the alarm on the shuttle, which alerted the coma only lives were in danger… and it wasn’t long before Ellen caught wind of it. The alarms went off, the lights were flashing, the alarm was sounding, and it woke. You did the best you could to try and fight it with a pipe you’d found, without being burnt alive by it’s acid. Newt had started screaming from the uniform closet, making the aliens target; Newt. As the alarm had been set off, the shuttle was put into an automatic descent, making you, Newt, and the Xenomorph head straight for Earth at a rapid pace. By now, you had been thrown over all sorts of controls and buttons, you tried to light its tail on fire. You managed to stick a police through its arms jamming it into the vents as you got Newt strapped into a chair to brace her for impact, and the alien was frantic as it had practically ripped its own arm off to get you. You had managed to light its leg on fire, eventually the rest of its body catching on fire. As you made out the buildings from your rapid descent, you hugged Newt, protecting her from the incoming impact, and you prayed that the alien would die, burning alive before the oxygen tanks blew.

As the shuttle smashed into the ground, the backend of the shuttle had blown up, seemingly the oxygen tanks did catch on fire. You figured you were unconscious for a few minutes, but as soon as you woke you looked around for the threat, seeing as some of the shuttle had melted and had acid dripping from it you took the hint it had blown up. You quickly unstrapped a groggy Newt and made your way out of the wreck of the shuttle. As you got out there were people, lots of people standing around you. There were crowds. The sunlight hurt your eyes, and you shielded Newts. You and Newt had dust and dirt and ash all over you. You were bleeding from your eyebrow, lip and nose from the crash and the attack of the alien, that was why as you walked away from the crowd people were shouting if you needed help and who you were. After picking Newt up and carrying her bridal style, you made your way to the private estate which you had memorised the directions to. Newt only had a small nosebleed, and dirt all over her, but she was tucked into your neck. It was a short walk, and early morning, so you had hoped to have dodged the news vans and reporters.

It wasn’t long before a Marine caught whiff of the breaking news on the tv channel which he had just figured out how to use. All the Marines had gathered in Ripleys home, where they all anxiously waited for your arrival. Ripley stared in shock at the screen, she stared in shock at the mess and state of the shuttle crash. She tried to search for you on the news, wondering if the camera would pan to 2 survivors… but it didn’t. So she waited and waited, looking outside the porch windows, holding tears back.

As you turned the corner to start walking down the straight run to your new home you could vividly make out at the bottom of the private estate, you mind went blank for a while. But you knew you’d see Ripley, and thinking about Ripley made you question. Did you she miss you? Did she want to start things up again? Did she want to get married? Should you ask her? Should you leave her? Should you question her and Hicks? Should you be living with her? Your mind stopped asking questions when you got closer and closer to the house you made out that Ripley was waiting at the double doors, you saw her breath in the class, rapidly breathing, she had saw you. She saw a limping figure carrying a smaller figure, covered in dirt, and ash. She saw from her doors you were bleeding and you were hurt. As you continued to walk, Newt popped her head up, seeing Ripley open both double doors. You saw Ripley walk down the steps and you felt Newt wriggling to leave your arms, you stopped walking and gently put her down. You stood still and stood in your place watching as Newt cried out “Mom”, running to Ripley as Ripley did the same, running to her little girl. They met halfway in the street, but they were so far away from you. You held back, wondering if you were welcome. But you watched your two favourite girls hug and sob at their reunion. As Ripley out Newt down she turned to you, still with a tight hold on Newt. She looked at you and took in your appearance, she saw you were weak, hurting, tired, but she saw a look in your eyes that mirrored how she felt. She wants to run to you and she wants you ti pick her up in your arms and hold her, she doesn’t want you to ever leave her again. Although you could barely hear her, she said “thank you”. You stood in place, like the soldier you were. You were going to move forward… but Hicks running to the front door, looking down at Ripley and Newt caught your eye. Your heart dropped, why was he in your house? Did he not see who brought Newt home? How long had he been in yours and Ripleys house? Did she spend nights with him? Did she rest in his arms.. his in hers? And so you gave a tired smile to Ripley, dropped your head down, turned around, and made your way away from them. Made your way to where?… you didn’t know.

Masterlist

Writing Info

Do ya’ll want a part 2?

[yanderes-galore]

Greetings, may I ask for one Yandere Xenomorph??

Sure, I'll do a singular concept then one with more than one ^^

Yandere! Xenomorph Concept

[Focuses on the most common Xenomorph, Drones (Warriors, Lurkers, Soldiers, etc.)]

Pairing: Animal/Pet-like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Stalking, Obsession, Drooling, Biting, Hormones/Pheromones, Monster cuddling, Forced pairing, Kidnapping, You're treated like a "Queen" due to their biology, Murder, Blood, Jealousy, Possessive behavior, Scenting.

While Xenomorphs are more social creatures, it is possible to have only one obsessed with you.

For example, you could meet your Xenomorph on a ship like Ripley in the first movie.

That or encounter one in the wild by pure accidental luck and regret it.

They can handle their own when they're alone, so one could stay away from their nest for a long time.

Xenomorphs are also excellent stalkers due to their stealth.

A Xenomorph would watch their darling from a distance before approaching.

Using the ship scenario, you'd hear the vents creak and the heavy footsteps.

Sometimes they'd hiss or chitter... sounds faintly heard by you.

You would most likely have a Xenomorph Drone of the Warrior/Lurker variant in this concept. (I take other types, too.)

These are Xenomorphs with a humanoid host (usually human) so their actions resemble human behavior.

Warriors are usually blue and around nests.

Lurker Drones are usually quieter, have smoother heads, and have a black color.

Xenomorphs vary in size and color, so these are just examples.

I'm mostly focusing on common drones with human hosts you'd encounter.

All Xenomorphs are clever and quite intelligent.

The type of animal the host is may change it some, but most of the time they learn fast.

They'd watch carefully to see what you do, maybe even mimic it.

If they see something you do that they like or think is useful, they'll repeat it.

For example, affection.

They would probably mirror what you like.

That is... once the screaming and fighting stops-

While I personally believe all Xenomorphs are "female" due to laying eggs, you could call them whatever and they'd go along with it.

"Good Girl", "Good Boy", "Good Alien"...

They just accept the strange name you give them.

Even more so if you actually name them.

Which won't be for a long time, as you'll mostly be running from them.

They get upset when you run from them... which is why they chase you.

Which you understand as danger.

Xenomorphs don't really understand love.

It's a very complex emotion for them so they just... try to learn it from you.

Even more so if you found them as a chestburster and took care of them.

Or showed them just enough affection/kindness when they were younger-

Now, other than their queen, you're the closest to them.

Unless you met them not part of a nest, like on a ship, then you feel like their queen to them.

Their affection comes off aggressive.

They'll push you over (easy as their average height would most likely be taller than you) to nuzzle into you.

They'll sit on top of you before drooling all over you, chittering and wrapping you in their tail.

If they can, they're dragging you everywhere.

You're a huge comfort to the beast... feeling your strangely warm body against theirs soothes them.

Xenomorphs may bite their darling, not to hurt you though.

Mostly it's a strange desire to mark you in some way.

It gets the message across to other Xenomorphs with pheromones.

May save you from facehuggers and other Xenomorphs in the same hive, too.

They do not handle time without you well.

Once attached, they refuse to let you leave.

They will not sit and wait easily.

Your Xenomorph will hunt you down to follow you if it has to.

You'll hear constant whining when you are not around.

Xenomorphs are also territorial and possessive.

Any humans (or rival Xenomorphs from other hives) will be met with hissing and a bitter end.

It's scary... the Xenomorph who liked you so much now hunched over a corpse...

Body covered in blood and loud hissing leaving their mouth.

They can be quite tanky even as drones, too.

Simple handguns won't do much against it, you'll need something more automatic.

Good luck getting near a weapon when they're around, though.

They actually enjoy physical affection.

The foreign sensation of your warm hands petting their skull and body makes them chitter in a strange purr.

Next thing you know the murder machine is rolled over, allowing you to touch them while drooling.

Speaking of being clingy creatures due to being social... they will act different when transitioning to a queen.

You'll know your Xenomorph is ready to molt and grow when they act so worked up around you.

The rub against you, cooing while pulling you towards them.

They are incredibly affectionate due to this sudden hormone change.

It passes when they are unable to find royal jelly, but if they can somehow...

Your Xenomorph would become a praetorian, although you can keep them as drones if they are nowhere near a hive.

Trust me, keep them as drones, they are easier to deal with.

Your Xenomorph would also keep you somewhere where they can cover it with nesting material.

Abandoned areas, caves, holes, etc....

Anywhere they can cover an opening with resin and take care of you.

They love to nest with you.

As this Xenomorph is really removed from normal Xenomorph culture when they spend most of their time around you... they try to learn from you how to make you happy.

They don't eat, but they see you eat.

Which makes them look for food before bringing it back to the nest they made.

Try to eat it, will you? They got it just for you!

Then there's entertainment... they don't understand it.

They'd rather spend hours wrapped around you, hissing softly to soothe you while they enjoy your warmth.

Strangely... they'd really want to raise another Xenomorph with you?

The theory is because they're parasitic social creatures, they would want to raise more of themselves.

They'd think you'd enjoy that too.

Not you as a host, but they'll push in random hosts to make you "choose"

They also don't understand why you don't lay eggs....

How else do you breed?

Don't... don't answer that, they wouldn't understand anyways.

They'd be rather loyal to you.

Their species worships a queen, to them, you are their queen.

Which makes them listen to nearly everything you say.

But queens must stay in the hive, right?

To them, you belong here in their nest.

So you must stay.

Stay here forever with them while they take care of you as a Xenomorph should for the hive.

[monstersandmaw]

So as well as working on another grumpy monster for Patreon (male shire centaur x female reader this time), and Oats the Biker Dad Kelpie Part Two, and a few other projects, I've just started a 'reverse harem' yautja thing. It's not actually yautjas - they're the same thing as I did for Big Red's multi-chapter story a while back, which was basically me taking my yautja barbie dolls and putting them in my sandbox. No actual legit yautja lore applies - I just borrow what I like and make up the rules as I go :)

But anyway, there's a young hunter who's been sent to earth to make his first kill of their 'enemy' (discount xenomorphs). The fem. reader is a biologist studying frogs in a remote, nondescript forest, and gets snatched up by some drug runners. The not-xenomorph comes across their camp that night though, and starts killing the drug smugglers, then the not-yautja arrives and starts killing too. He finishes off the humans, sets the biologist free, then gets into a spot of trouble with the not-xenomorph. After dispatching the not-xenomorph, he collapses, gravely injured, and the human saves him.

They bond a bit while he heals, but not long after, his squad comes to get him, and she meets the rest of the gang: an elder who's quietly affectionate and fond of his crew, the medic who's sweet and shy, the big muscle of the group who's surprisingly gentle, and the scout, who's a bitter bastard. Oh, and they all kind of seem to be mated... which she discovers when she accidentally walks in on the big guy getting very aggressively railed by the scout...

I can't wait to introduce you to them, but I'm busy for the rest of the day now and I'm not around tomorrow, so hopefully I can finish it on Thursday, if it doesn't turn into another mega monster story like Big Red's did.

[faytelumos]

Into the Black With a Matchstick, pt 6

Did I go back to Part 5 and ruthlessly change a pronoun to fit my last-last second change-of-mind on a new character?

Yes. Yes I did.

@c00kieknight, @hypersomnia-insomniac, @infuryborn, @jxm-1up, @kittilumpo

@midnight--architect, @robinparravel, @theo-in-the-toaster, @thepotatoofnopes, @those-damn-snippets

@mr-orion, @rfallfish, @tildeathiwillwrite, @thelazywitchphotographer

first previous

---

When Adina had first woken up after the jump away from the Skel, she had been too confused as to where she was to even stand. She had expected to see the bunkbeds from the training facility, to look around and see blue, concrete walls, to see Patricia in the bed to her left.

Instead, she was in a claustrophobic, cold medbay, with John seemingly dumped over the gurney next to her, facing her, his hand slipped off from the drip control of her IV. It had taken her twenty minutes to climb out of bed, and she'd let John sleep.

She ran ship-wide diagnostics, checked the status and population of the stasis chamber, and was halfway through double-checking inventory when there had been an unsettling, crackling sound over the PA system. For a horrible moment, she expected to see a Xenomorph slowly creeping around the corner towards her.

"Doctor Adina Ramirez," the computer had said. But then it didn't elaborate. Which just creeped her out even more.

"Y-yes?" she'd uttered, looking around, the vacuum-sealed peanut butter and jelly meal in her hand the only weapon she had to defend herself with.

"This is the Ghost from the Arkinu vessel speaking," the computer had said. Adina blinked, looking to the hallways, then behind herself, then at the speaker above the door. "It is nice to meet you."

"Uh," she uttered. "You… too. I didn't realize you could transmit into our PA system."

"I am actually tapped directly into your computer," it said. "I am aboard."

Adina froze. That was the creepiest thing yet.

"Can I show myself to you?" it asked. It spoke in the familiar voice of the computer control, but it didn't match the cadence or word choice. She briefly considered how unwise it was to say yes. But then she was more scared of what would happen if she said no.

"Okay," she uttered, her voice trembling.

She waited. It took her a long moment to notice the hallway was glowing slowly brighter with a faint, blueish light. And then a floating, sheer… blob filled the hallway.

It looked like water with some milk splashed in, just enough to fog it up. But her brain told her that if she touched it, it would feel like chiffon or fine lace. There were tiny sparkles of light suspended in it, like fruit chunks in jello, or like glitter in plastic, and they faded in and out gradually as it moved closer.

"Wow," she breathed, taking a step back. Whatever it was, it was big. It had come into the room now, but it still filled the hallway, too.

"I hope my countenance does not distress you," the computer said. Adina huffed a laugh, smirking, looking up and down and through the thing.

"Be not afraid," she muttered to herself. She leaned forward, trying to peer into it as curiosity started to win out. She couldn't see any organs, or any solid internal structures at all, for that matter. Was this thing like a jellyfish? It seemed a bit more like a huge amoeba. But there was no way something so big — and so intelligent — was single-celled. Or was there? Who was she to say what limits there were on life? She was in outer space traveling faster than the speed of light, and this was the third intelligent species of alien she'd met today, and it was talking to her through her ship's computer in perfect English. "Wow," she breathed.

"Are you well?" it asked. Adina nodded, putting a hand on her cheek.

"I'm good," she said. "I, I actually have a lot of questions."

"Please, ask."

Adina nodded, fidgeting with the meal pack, deciding where to start.

"You're a Ghost?" she asked.

"Yes."

"As in the spirit of a living thing?"

"No," it said. "That is… a translation inconsistency." It shimmered, the little lights suspended in its body rippling in waves. Adina took a slight step away, eyes wide with awe. "You do not have a good word for my kind," it said. "But for your sake, perhaps a better word to use would be, 'robot'."

"A robot?" Adina muttered, touching her fingertips to her lip. Then her eyes blew wide. "So you're not organic?"

"Partially correct," it said. "Technically speaking, my kind are silicate-based lifeforms."

"Woah," Adina breathed. This blew everything she knew out of the water. Theoretically speaking, complex silicon-based molecules like DNA would be more stable at high temperatures, far too high to be standing in the room with the thing right now. Was that part of why it seemed so ephemeral? But then wouldn't that make it even less stable? But clearly, it was fine at this temperature, so maybe her understanding of chemistry was wrong? Or just ignorant. And were they robots because they used silicon instead of carbon like a microchip, or was there more to it? And what was the line it was crossing between robot and lifeform? Did they eat? Reproduce? Were they more like nanite colonies? Was that an ignorant conclusion to draw? What did it mean anyway by robo—

A sliver of shape slipped towards her, like a tiny tentacle pushing out of a thin membrane to reach for her.

"Would you like to touch me?" the computer asked.

Adina looked down at the offered… appendage. It wasn't very dense with the lights, or even very opaque. She rubbed her fingers on her palm, the vacuum-packed meal heavy in her other hand, gauging how clean her skin was.

"I have oils, on my skin," she said. She looked up, but with no eyes, it was difficult for her to find a point to look at it. "Some species, even on our planet, find human touch to be caustic…."

"You will not hurt me," it said, reaching slightly further out. "And I will not hurt you." Adina nodded, then looked again to the appendage, which was easier to focus on than the mass of tiny lights suspended in the hallway and most of the room.

She set the food down, and then slowly reached out with both hands, cupping them together. The Ghost reached down in a smooth arc, and it laid a length of the little tentacle across her palms. It was light as air, almost too light to feel. She carefully held it with one hand, and then caressed the length of the tentacle with her other pointer finger. It was dry and smooth, and she pet it again, trying to figure out its texture. It was difficult to tell. She gently ran the back of her finger over it, but the hairs on her skin didn't help.

"Do you, ah," she uttered, and then she looked up at no part of it in particular, "do you mind if I touch you with my lip? I won't bite you, but there's a chance that I have germs—"

"I cannot contract organic diseases," it assured her. Then it moved, sliding the appendage up along its surface smoothly, until it was level with her mouth. She blinked, then leaned forward and grasped it gently. She rubbed it slowly against her bottom lip.

It was completely and utterly smooth. Moreso than hairless skin, than polished stone, than glass. It almost didn't make sense. She blinked, marveling, and carefully let go.

"Wow," she said again.

"I have questions of you, as well," it said.

---

Rest had concluded, and Paxie considered Gunnery Sergeant Appi's words carefully.

"Popular opinion on my planet would dictate that you do not trust these people," she said in her rasping voice. Her environment suit was thin for casual wear around the ship, and the translation protocol speaker was as crisp and clear as any. "The end of their legacy is nothing but war machines and poisons in the land itself."

"You think these Humans are from that time?" Paxie asked. Appi lowered her nose, her large eyes sharp.

"Based on what I could see of their ship, yes. The construction resembles one of their more formidable weapon-vehicles."

"Do you have any record of an ideological shift?" Paxie asked. They didn't want to believe Ramirez and Harrison were war-like. They seemed nice, despite their self-abuse.

"Their archeological record is full of weapons for thousands of years," Appi rasped. She flexed her claws subtly, but Paxie could see the agitation she was trying to hide. "Admittedly, it is difficult to decompress their legacy. But, Admiral…" Appi looked directly into Paxie's eyes. "This species was the sixth major extinction event of our planet."

Paxie resisted the strong desire to pin their ears. It was their job to know and accept the facts. But this was an ugly revelation. They had hoped the Human people were a miracle, a sample of the past so distant it could only be extraordinary. But according to Appi… they were destruction.

Perhaps Paxie should have expected as much, with the way they treat their own bodies.

"Thank you, Gunnery Sergeant," Paxie uttered with a nod. "Your insight is deeply informative."

"I'm sorry it's so morose," Appi said, nodding back. "I know this is an awkward situation."

And it was. If Humans were going to be harmful to the Federation or any planet they were hosted on, then it would be better not to offer them citizenship. But if they were legally an orphaned species, then the Federation had no choice but to home them.

This was exactly Uten's luck. They were never going to get a second chance at First Contact.

"I appreciate your candor," Paxie uttered. Appi flicked one ear.

"Speaking of…" she said. Paxie perked their ears. "This species, though long extinct, does represent a significant keystone in our planet's behavioral sciences," she said. "If it isn't too bold or unorthadox, I would like to meet them."

Paxie nodded. "I'm sure we can arrange that," they said. "They may be curious of you, as well."

"I'm sure," Appi rasped.

---

There was nothing special to do to prepare for jump to end, apparently. Adina was expecting to have to buckle in, but it seemed all she and John had to do was brace a little bit. After a moment, everything seemed to tug to the left and keep moving, as if they were set down on some slow-moving track. And then it was over. The deafening, unnerving stillness was gone now. It had been so long that Adina had convinced herself it was part of space travel.

John delicately maneuvered the ship to dock properly with The Water's Kiss as Adina went down to decouple the resuspended pods. She… wasn't looking forward to it. But it had to be her. Because John was close friends with one of the unresponsive engineers.

She stepped into the stasis chamber and stopped. She had seen this place before, of course, when she climbed out of her pod earlier. But she wasn't exactly properly aware of her surroundings at that point. And before that, everyone had climbed into their pods in the big research building on Earth. So she'd never gotten the chance to truly familiarize herself with the real thing.

The pods were arranged in a honeycomb pattern, and several motorized platforms could move side-to-side and up or down to handle each pod as they were carefully ejected. Either during wakeup, or during… removal. Adina climbed onto one of the platforms and looked up and across, spotting the six lights that winked a slow, desolate red.

The two xenobiologists happened to be nearer the door. Everyone was arranged alphabetically, but these two both had D names. Adina got the platform in place and locked it with the stiff lever before turning to the first pod.

"RESUSPENDED" it said across the screen at the feet of the pod. It was a polite way of saying, "Died on wakeup, but at least they're frozen again now." Adina really hoped these aliens had tech like Star Trek, and could just revive people with a couple pleasant clicks and beeps. She used the screen to shift the power from ship-side to battery-side, keeping an eye on the switch that would do so manually if the computer had trouble. But there was no issue. A low-pitched beep signaled the change, and another beep declared the systems were running properly off of the new power source.

Adina grabbed the big release lever for the pod and forced it down with a grunt. The pod trembled, but was otherwise fine. She took up the grab bar around the bottom of the control panel and slid the pod out, mindful of the wheels that automatically folded out as it got closer to the end. She locked the wheels once it was in a good position on the platform, then moved on to the next pod.

By the time she had locked the fourth pod in place, John had docked with the Xoixe ship and the xenomedics were on board. She had paused for this pod, reading the name again. This one was John's friend.

Thinking about it… they didn't want to try to revive him first. The first attempt was the most likely to fail. But that also meant they couldn't risk the two xenobiologists. They should probably both go last, in fact. Then there was another engineer, and another biologist. Both of them were better trained and qualified in their fields than Adina and John, which was why the computer had tried to wake them up, first. Adina let out a shaking sigh, bracing her hands on the grab bar.

Raj Joshi. She'd read earlier that his GPA in university had been .2 higher than John's. It was probably why he had been picked first. She didn't want to think about how John could be mentally punishing himself right now, especially if the aliens couldn't revive him….

"Captain Ramirez?"

Adina looked behind herself suddenly. Paxie was in the room with her, standing upright on two thick legs. They looked a bit like a bear, or maybe a tiger, the way they held their arms. Adina hadn't realized their hips could make the adjustment to standing upright. Paxie blinked their four eyes at her, which were currently about level with her shins. She blinked back, marveling at just how big the Xoixe was.

"Yes?" she managed, unimpressively.

"Do you require assistance with this task?" Paxie asked. Their voice was… soft. Still deep and throaty, but gentle. They weren't looking at any of the pods.

She looked to the pod array again. Once she loaded Raj, she'd just have the one left.

"N-no," she said. She turned and met Paxie's eyes. "Thank you."

"Do you require company?" they asked.

She watched them, surprised by their gentle tone and how steadily they held themself on two legs. Faintly, she wondered why the Xoixe bothered walking on all fours if bipedalism was an option.

"That might be nice," she finally said.

---

It took multiple trips to get the pods onto the Water's Kiss. Once they were gathered in a small atrium, Paxie asked John to come out, too. Adina watched him closely as he stood away from the pods. He wasn't looking at any of them, which was probably for the best. He had him arms crossed tightly beside her as he watched Paxie.

"As you know, we were able to locate your planet in our current star maps, accounting for celestial drift," they said. Adina and John nodded. The Ghost had said that much, at least. But they were a bit more tight-lipped about the rest of it. "The planet that you lived on is now known by the name Areterra." Adina felt a swell of relief in her chest. Earth was still okay? Maybe they could get back to it. "However," Paxie said, and Adina almost shied away. It sounded like a very heavily loaded "however." "Areterra was able to produce a second space-fairing species after your kind went extinct."

Oh.

Humans had gone extinct, then.

They were truly the last of their kind?

And she was in charge of them.

26 million years…. It had really been 26 million years.

She felt light-headed. John looked down to her, concerned.

"This complicates the matter," Paxie explained. They were using that soft voice again. "There will need to be a meeting and case to decide which jurisdiction your people fall into, and how any future repopulation will be handled." Adina nodded, trying to take deep breaths. She was tired of fighting against her stomach. "For now," Paxie said, their tone kind as ever, "I wanted to introduce you to Gunnery Sergeant Appi, a Mauilen. I hope you will all find kinship in a shared planet."

Adina took another long breath and looked up to Paxie. Then she looked down, following their gaze to a small alien she hadn't noticed earlier—

Adina gasped, grabbing John's arm suddenly, eliciting a hiss from him. Adina didn't know exactly what sound was trying to escape from her throat right now, but she was sure it was a squeal.

Standing in front of them, at no taller than a two year old, was a big-eyed, wide-pawed, thick-furred cat in an environment suit.

"Oh my God," Adina whispered.

"No way," John breathed.

What kind of cat was it? How did it evolve to still be so recognizable over such a long stretch of time? Its coloring was whitish-gray with heavy black peppering around the eyes and speckled up the forehead - snowmelt camouflage? Its paws were broad like a lynx or a Pallas' cat, or a snow leopard. But with the suit on, Adina couldn't see any details of its morphology.

She realized she was staring. She let go of John and crouched down slowly.

"Sorry," she said, keeping her voice soft. "I just… our people, we.… we called you cats in our day."

Appi moved slightly. Maybe their ears moved under their helmet.

"We existed in your time?" they asked. Adina blinked, thrown off by the rasping, direct tone of voice. It was still high-pitched to her, still clearly from a small throat. But the authority in that voice was unmistakable.

"Uh, er, not you, exactly," she explained. She cleared her throat, aware that she was using a voice she might employ in a conversation with a child. No, she should treat this creature like any other scientist. "We had many species of feline - that is, a Family of carnivores with similar traits." John got down, too, squatting and resting both of his elbows on his knees. Appi looked between the two of them, and Adina caught sight of their pupils contracting and expanding. "The ones most, uh, humans were familiar with were… companions."

"What were they like?" Appi asked. They looked Adina in the eye. It stole her breath a little. Those eyes, they were huge. And there was something deeply, hauntingly intelligent about them. There was something she badly wanted to label as "human" to them.

"They were wonderful," Adina muttered. She blinked slowly. "For a lot of us, their company was more of a comfort than another human's."

Appi considered this with a twitch of their lip. They looked away from Adina, to John.

"You have a different opinion?"

Adina looked at John. He had his lips pursed behind the helmet. Adina widened her eyes, bracing for something awful.

"I… never met a cat I got along with."

Adina scowled. Appi nodded their head, lowering their chin and evaluating John. Their look was decidedly shrewd.

"We'll see if I break your streak, then," they rumbled quietly.

Adina got a chill down her back. She mentally shook herself. It had been millions and millions of years. The fact that this creature even looked like a cat was an anomaly. She should know, as a biologist, that she had no way to predict this animal's — this person's — behavior or thought patterns.

She half-listened as Paxie explained how things would go from this point. To say she was reeling was a gross understatement. Maybe she shouldn't have been. It hadn't been confirmed, but she'd known this was possible. That they were all that was left. That humanity had gone extinct and were every bit as history now as the dinosaurs had been.

They got the resuspended pods into the ship's medbay with the help of several more aliens. Nobody had asked John to help, which Adina was glad for. He stood in the hall as Kime and another alien stood together, likely gathering personal data from the pods.

"How are you doing?" Adina asked softly. John just shook his head.

"I'm not worried about me right now," he sighed, rubbing his forehead. Adina nodded, looking down. She was. But she had to be. She was… wow, she was the matron to all of humanity right now.

"I'll see what I can do to help," she whispered, putting a hand on his arm. He nodded and patted her gloved fingers weakly. She stepped away, reluctant. But he didn't meet her eye, so she turned and went back into the alien medbay.

"Captain Ramirez," Kime asked.

"Yes?"

"Is it possible for us to have some yet-living subjects to study?" Adina blinked. The medbay was already a little crowded with this many. "Seeing their parameters may increase the odds of survival for these six."

"Oh, yes," Adina said, nodding. She blinked harder, frowning, looking down. "Yes, of course. That makes perfect sense." She should have thought of that when she was already in the stasis chamber.

"May I go with you?" a small, raspy voice said. Adina turned and looked down to see Appi standing close behind her. She smiled, and she fought back the urge to bend down and pick Appi up like a baby, or like her cats back home….

"Yes, please," Adina said. "I'd love the company."

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, finals of the minor bracket

Propaganda:

For Root and Shaw:

Canon queers. They start out as enemies (Root even threatens Shaw with a hot iron during their meet cute), they even both kidnap each other at some points, but they end up ready to sacrifice everything for the other. Shaw is a self diagnosed sociopath, who is only on the side of ""good"" because she's bored and they've got a cute dog. She has no qualms about killing or even torturing people. Root is kind of unhinged, torturing and killing people in order to find and then protect a Machine that she thinks is a god. Eventually the Machine teaches her the value of friendship and life (kinda), but she's still a psycho at heart. They work so well together, even if they're like a four alarm fire.

For Lord Hater and Commander Peepers :

Lord Hater is the self-proclaimed "universe's awesomest evil-doer", an immature, attention-seeking manchild with electric powers and a short temper. He rules the Hater Empire with Commander Peepers as his second-in-command (technically third, after his beloved pet spider-xenomorph, but who's counting), however it soon becomes *very* clear that the cunning, remorseless, hardworking Peepers is the *real* brains behind the empire. Peepers might be frustrated at Hater's incompetence at times and isn't above manipulating him to reach an end goal, but he'd never dream of usurping him because, well, he's really gay and in love with him (as much as he can be in an early-10s Disney cartoon, anyways). Hater might take Peepers for granted a lot of times, but as his oldest friend and closest confidante he's the one who Hater is closest to. Whether it's invading other planets or kicking puppies for fun, these two are *delightfully* terrible jerks and the epitome of gay wrongs. 

Commander Peepers is both Lord Hater's right hand man in villainy AND his jilted stay-at-home-wife-guy (Also in villainy. Hater is really good at getting distracted from productive and efficient villaining.) Lord Hater was the greatest villain in the galaxy thanks to how well he and Commander Peepers worked as an evil team to run the Hater Empire!

Lord Hater conquers planets and is such an edgy bastard. Peepers is the actual brains behind the operation. Peepers is often pushed aside by Hater, they are besties and yet Peepers is always pining for this guy who will never notice. Peepers is so horribly gay for him if you watch the show he wants his stupid boss so bad. Peepers is so scared of him season 1 but then starts yelling BACK in season 2 and has to deal with him like a babysitter or something and yet STILL idolizes him and that’s just such a fun dynamic. His password is H8RNP33PRS43VR (Hater and Peepers forever). They are so evil and everyone fears them and they are villains and they are gay and the side of the fandom that draws them as a married couple that needs counseling is absolutely correct. The fanart of Hater openly liking him back is wonderful but I swear you don’t even need that. They are so gay and villain you have to love them they are

Villains that conquer planets and do evil stuff, my favourite characters, not really canon but they are the best :)

[orange-s-mario]

SUPERGIRLS

Super-Girl

A superheroine wished into existence by Jimmy Olsen

2. Queen Lucy of Borgonia

the queen of a fictional latin american country named Borgonia. She became queen because her parents died, and a Count named Norvello, kept her hidden from the public, in the hopes that she wouldn't steal the hearts of her citizens and allow him to quietly rule the country with an iron fist.

3. Linda Lee Danvers/Kara Zor-El (Earth-One)

The original that sacrificed herself to save the multiverse/remaining people of the surviving universes. She was brought back in "Many Happy Returns" but then goes back to original Earth-One. I think she's now alive somewhere because of convergence??? She also showed up as Linda Danvers's guardian angel and visited Deadman on Christmas. She's met the original legion

4. Ellie Leeds

She was the first to discover Supergirl's arrival, but was exposed to X-Kryptonite and fell into a coma. When she awoke years later - after a chance meeting with Supergirl - she started exhibiting Supergirl's powers, and also believed she was the Girl of Steel.

5. Louise-L

the Supergirl of the 5020th Century; She traveled back in time, to prevent the goals of some villains named Toxus and Tal Belok

6. Matrix/Mae Kent

Matrix, a protoplasmic creation of an alternate universe Lex Luthor. She's met the reboot legion

6/7. Earth-Angel of Fire Supergirl

Linda Danvers, who fused with Matrix to become an Earth-Angel

7. Linda Danvers

Linda and Matrix unfuse and Linda goes on an adventure to find Matrix. I think she's met one of the legions?

8. Ariella Kent

Linda Danvers's daughter who was saved from the pre-crisis multiverse, and now exists in the future. She has pre-crisis kryptonian level powers

9. Cir-El

thought to be Superman's daughter from the future, but was actually a personality grafted onto a separate person made by a future version of Brainiac to ensure that version's existence

10. Linda Lang/Kara Zor-El

The Post-Crisis version of Supergirl, I think much of the weirdness in her origin was because of Kryptonite poisoning? She's met threeboot legion

11. Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers

The New 52 and onwards version of Kara Zor-El Supergirl, they showed much more of Argo's history in this version

12. Kara Zor-El/Karen Starr, First Supergirl, later Power Girl

The New 52 Earth 2 version of Karen Starr, she has a similar origin to post-crisis and new 52 Supergirl where Superman grew up before she arrived on Earth, but like Earth-Two, the Superman and Lois of her world basically adopted her. She became Power Girl due to getting stranded on Earth 0

Karas

See Linda Lee Danvers

Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr (Earth-Two)

(*sigh* also known as Paige Stetler) from Earth-Two, second Kara introduced, for a time, she was Atlantean. She is the only survivor of Earth-Two, except something something convergence :

3. Kara from Superman/Aliens

The third Kara introduced, she is from a space colony named Argo (not the Kryptonian City, but instead from a planet named Odiline) that got destroyed by Xenomorphs, She and Superman tried to save the last Argonians, but they failed

4. See Kara Zor-El/Linda Lang

5. Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr (Earth 2) (Post-Infinite Crisis)

A Power Girl from Earth 2, which seems to be a universe much in-line with Earth-Two, although there are differences here and there

6. See Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers

7. See Kara Zor-El/Karen Starr

Honorable Mention Kara (She hasn't interacted with main continuity): Kara In-Ze

the DCAU version of Supergirl. She comes from Krypton's sister planet named "Argo," she was adopted by the Kents, but then decided to stay in the future in the legion

Laurel Kent, despite not being here for Supergirl or Kara reasons, she is here due to Supergirl and the legion

She was initially introduced as Clark's descendant. For some reason, despite being in the future, Legion of Superheroes had tie-ins for event annuals. Superman editorial (presumably because of Byrne) wanted to get rid of all kryptonians, so guess what happens during Millenium:

anyways. the reason she is on this post:

Andromedas

Laurel Gand/(was called Andromeda pre-5YL) (5 Years Later)

Due to editorial mandates, Kara was erased from the legion's history. Laurel Gand, a distant relative of Lar Gand takes her place. She basically has the same history as Kara except Khunds keep on trying to kill Daxamites

1.5/2. Laurel Gand/Andromeda (SW6)

A time paradox duplicate of Laurel Gand.

3. Laurel Gand (Earth-247)

She's a literal xenophobe now. She gets better and becomes a nun to atone

Misc?

Sensor Girl

(so she doesn't actually count, but it was noticeable enough to mention)

Lesla-Lar

Lesla-Lar was a kandorian scientist, who was an orphan that took the last name of her best friend Zora Vi-Lar. She was killed by phantom zone criminals she released, but then became a ghost where she still troubled Supergirl. Her initial plan was to replace Kara as Supergirl Also Lana Lang with a helmet

The helmet supposedly gives superpowers to those who wield it - but it does not. Superboy tricks Lana into thinking it does due to Clark wearing the helmet while bullets bounced off of him

[my-darling-dove]

Uhhhh so i had a dream about xenomorph/yautja looking aliens… and now I might make it real

⚠️Also beware kinda 18+ themes ahead⚠️

So my dream did kinda have a story line, that ended up a little bit on the spicer side towards the end. And keep in mind that this entire post is trying to keep it as close to my dream as I can, so the plot’s gonna be a little choppy and weird

Basically aliens just kinda appeared, but weren’t really doing anything??

Like in whatever city I was in, it was cloudy all the time and rainy, and apparently the aliens decided to take over an office building. Like a whole corporate building just to be in

And the government/local authorities were like “ok fine as long as you don’t do anything weird” (which probably wouldn’t actually happen btw because you know… America)

But anyways life is fine, i was flirting with a bakery dude, and then I left to go to work (I assume) then I stop and look at the building with the aliens in to and apparently thought it would be a good idea to check it out

So I walk in i think, and the aliens are just kinda around, and i meet the main alien I think??? He was taller and more well acquainted with English.

It’s also set in a sort of futuristic setting? Like think Detroit Become Human with the white aesthetics and minimalism around the city and in buildings. The main colors are grey, blue, and white

Anyways, i talk with the main alien, and I’m like “hooo boy big alien dude awooga” then i go home

Alien dude is very gentlemanly, kinda posh for some reason? Like at some point I think he kissed my hand

At some point we were together. Like TOGETHER together, still in the corporate same building. I don’t know how to gracefully say we had sex like in an office room so this sentence is all you get

So now this whole day I’ve been thinking about big, gentle, alien guy courting me and i might make it a real fic

Its 12AM and this is probably the worst writing I’ve ever done but o still like the concept and do actually want to make this real so, let ok forward to a better written plot at some point

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

SUMMARY: Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members of the colony ship Covenant discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David, the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.

Mod Sus: Methinks I haven't seen this one yet actually, but I know the sick super cool shot of the xenomorph on its all fours and that just makes me want to watch this just for the sake of seeing more of him.

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Hewo twell me abwt bwyonicwl pwetty pwease

Warning! I might get some stuff wrong, and also I'm only covering the surface-level stuff.

Ok so once upon a time a planet blew up into three parts, so a bunch of misogynistic scientists made a big robot powered by Magical Mercury and sent it to space so it could learn how to fix their planet.

Meanwhile, inside the robot there was a massive civilisation of li'l guys, superheroes and old people. One little guy was a scientist who GLaDOS'd himself and accidentally made li'l guys sentient. One time a kaiju attacked the big li'l guy city, so the mayor summoned The Avengers to fight it, and they got to stick around for a bit, until most of them either died or went off to do their own things, leaving only Hoverboard Superman, Green Man and Murdery Ghost Lady. Green Man got mutated and turned into Green Crab Man because he fell in love with a sexy lizard he was training. Green Crab Man and his accomplice The Amazing One-Eyed Bear went back to the big city and decided to help the mayor (who was actually Satan in disguise as the actual mayor) take over the world or something. Hoverboard Superman, knowing that shit was about to get real, gave some magic rocks to six li'l guys (Angsty Blacksmith, Some Random Teacher, SCP Employee, Crash Test Himbo, Smug Carver and Astrology Twink) to turn them into the New Avengers. Also there are, like, Xenomorph Robocops I guess. After a quest to gather magic frisbees so Angsty Blacksmith could forge a face-mounted time-machine (during which it was revealed that Hoverboard Superman got turned into an old person), Satan decided to vore Green Crab Man, One-Eyed Bear and his pet bird, oneshotted Hoverboard Superman, and then got sealed in a glass bubble by the New Avengers.

You'd think this would deal with Satan forever, but then that sexy lizard and her husband (*canned audience gasping*) and also an army of spiders showed up and took over the city, and the former was, like, super hot for Satan, so she scraped a bit off his glass bubble and put it in her cleavage (I am only slightly exaggerating). The New Avengers came back to get all the li'l guys, but the spiders captured them and brought them to sexy lizard's house, where the spiders then turned them into furries. After the team met some scalies (who used to be Satan's own personal praetorian guard before he turned evil) and trekked all the way to Some Temple to meet The Key To Nongu (who can reverse mutations), Angsty Blacksmith turned evil and became the sexy lizard's catboy sub (again, only slightly exaggerating). He then turned good, the sexy lizard's husband was killed so hard that he canonically couldn't even go to the Dead Space nightmare space-station that functions as the Bonkle afterlife, and the New Avengers went to The Beach That Doesn't Make You Old and became old people the old-fashioned way; by sacrificing their power to wake up the li'l guys. But Satan was also freed...

Way-too-long later, everyone lived on a nice island. But there is... a prophecy. Namely, that 6 special superheroes will show up and kick Satan's ass. Angsty Blacksmith - who Has Visions™ - sends a weird kid (whose colours don't seem to match everyone else's) on a quest to summon the special superheroes. He does that, but loses his memory and goes on a fun adventure. Meanwhile, the special superheroes have shown up, and are fighting off Satan's possessed animals. They go to a cool temple thing and fight Satan, but then that weird kid wakes up some evil armadillos that start CLEANing IT ALL, so the special superheroes fight them, but after putting their queens in a cage, they get dunked into some Magical Mercury that turns them into super-special superheroes. But there is... another prophecy, namely that someone will become the seventh super-special superhero, so that weird kid goes on a quest with this guy and a giant crab, and surprise! Turns out that the weird kid - who I haven't linked an article about up until now because it would be a spoiler - is actually the Seventh Superhero! But boo hiss etc., Satan has sent his evil prawn-man underlings to attack the island, so Seventh Superhero beats Satan up by playing hockey at him, and everyone goes back to the big city.

A few months later, the special superheroes sail off into the west (actually the south), but no-one knows why, so six li'l guys (accompanied by Seventh Superhero) follow them and (with the exception of Seventh Superhero, who couldn't go all the way for Reasons™) they all end up on Frankenstein's Island, where Frankenstein tries to commit body-horror on them until they get saved by an insane li'l guy, who shoves them into tubes and sends them to Scary Island.

On Scary Island it was born to the collective of the dawn there are some messed-up shark dudes who have been pretending to be superheroes, but really they want The Macguffin for Reasons. Also one of them is extra messed-up, because he was split off the blue shark dude, and is chained to a giant spider in a cave. The six li'l guys (who are now Electric Superheroes because the Dead Space Space-Station Afterlife shot them with lightning) fight the shark dudes, fight the extra messed-up one and get The Macguffin, but then they go underwater and do some stuff down there (including meeting a li'l guy who turns into a duplicate of a prison warden who died millenia ago), and quite frankly I know very little about the story from 2007 to the end of 2008, so I'll just say that they get the Macguffin, but one of the six Electric Superheroes realises he needs to sacrifice himself to wake up God (no really). He does that, everyone goes back to the big city, and the six special superheroes (and the Seventh Superhero) go to some electric caves and get split up, with half of them fighting three vampire dudes and half of them fighting three bug mutants. They wake up God, but uh-oh, Satan takes over, puts God into the Macguffin, and shoots him out onto the broken up planet.

So anyway God incarnates, meets some guys, fights some guys, and takes control of a smaller giant robot, then kills Satan with the moon. A moon.

Anyway that's Bionicle, I'm going downstairs to watch Breaking Bad.

[blot-squisher]

do you think marcus would get with any of the non-included dbd characters 👀

any headcanons as to who he would get along with the most? the least?

Time for a rousing game of ~Smash or Pass with Marcus!~

Reasons will be brief to keep this from being ten pages long (✿◡‿◡)

The Killers

The Knight : Tarhos ~Smash <3 (Guards all get a pass tho)

The Skull Merchant : Adriana ✨~Not even over my dead body~✨

The Singularity : Hux ~Pass (Sorry, you just don't have the right... equipment ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)

Xenomorph ~ Smash. Hey, after Dredge, what's one more actual monster?

The Good Guy : Chucky ~ Pass. He's a doll.... Just no... (as previously stated, Chucky will be appearing in STG. I had already planned on this before he was added to DBD, therefore in STG he was never taken by the Entity)

The Unknown : Jim ~ Smash... Does this officially earn Marcus the title of Monster Fucker?

The Lich : Vecna ~Nope! He's like Wesker, but older and somehow even more insufferably self inflated

The Dark Lord (seriously? seriously? -_-) : Dracula ~ Smash! Only in human form though... Get your mind of the gutter ( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ) (but seriously, the dark lord?)

The Survivors

Vittorio : 🔥🔥🔥Smash🔥🔥🔥 (I wonder if his tattoos glow when he-)

Thalita : Pass. She isn't one to hop into bed with someone she barely knows and he's got a harem of Killers... No.

Renato : Pass. If his sister doesn't like someone, he's going to trust her judgment. Also, same reasons as above.

Gabriel : Smash. He's still making new memories since finding out the truth of his creation, he wants to take a few risks! Live an adventure of his own making! (I know his lore says he doesn't know he's a clone, but I love the idea of him figuring it out at some point and deciding he wants to make real memories and friends for himself)

Nicholas Cage : (This section could not be completed due to the mod laughing too hysterically to write out her thoughts properly)

Ellen Ripley : Pass for her, Smash for him. Marcus has seen the Alien movies too many times to count (not just for the xeno). Actually getting to meet Ripley in person would be like meeting a celebrity. He'd respect her wishes to stay away from her though. He reeks of bad decisions and danger, and the last time that happened, her entire crew died...

Alan Wake : (I know nothing about this character or franchise so this is based purely off of ✨vibes✨) Smash! He looks very haunted. Very smashable. Mhmm.

Sable : Pass. She's already got a girlfriend, thank you very much.

Aestri Yazar : Smash! Bard. Duh. ✪ ω ✪

Baermar Uraz : Smash. But only after much outrage that Marcus had hooked up with the woman he views as his mother...

Lara Croft : Smash. She finds his pathetic charm endearing. And he's surprisingly good in bed for someone who cries at the end of Old Yeller.

Trevor Belmont : Smash. He's moody and broody and needs to fucking kill or fuck someone.

[honoringthehorrific]

I watched Alien: Romulus and here's what I thought!

As always friends Spoilers under the cut!...👽

Gosh first can I apologize for not being as active recently? I've seen this movie 3 times and am just now getting to writing my review! Might as well torch me now! haha. Seriously though I'd like to stay active on this blog it's just hard to find stuff to talk about sometimes when I come away from these movies. I'd like to start this off by saying this is going to be a pretty glowing review. If you haven't seen Romulus, or any of the alien movies...What the hell are you doing here??? Get out! Go see it! If for some reason you cant get out and go see it please spare yourself spoilers until you can find it on streaming! This franchise from what i've seen so far is one of my favorites. If you love sci-fi, body horror, bad ass female leads, or slimy slithering creatures in general you should really give this one a chance.

I feel like a lot of people wanna talk about this so lets get it out of the way. Rook. The artificial person we meet when things start heating up. Obviously he is a CGI rendition of Ash's actor from the first movie Ian Holm. You may be screaming at me right now about ethics. How this took a job from an actor. How technology is bad because it's going to take work from actors. I hear you. I was on the fence about this too. In truth AI replacing human workers is a topic near and dear to my heart because it's something that worries me as an artist myself. However, Reading about how Alvarez got permission from Holm's widow. How Holm felt almost blacklisted from hollywood after so many years in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. It made my opinion of this soften. If that makes you disregard my review or even me as a person I understand. I'm happy I was able to give you my thoughts and that you gave me your time. Now, The CGI of Holm's face is....not the best? His eyes and mouth move strangely if you pay too close of attention however it was something I could easily ignore as the movie progressed. Overall however with the other effects I think this movie did very well! I loved the way the facehuggers looked and moved and we even got to see up close the egg laying...tube...thing? Forgive me I'm not well versed in facehugger anatomy. The chest burster actually having to work to burrow it's way out and the xenomorph's acid just all of it felt really great! I only very recently watched the second alien movie and I intend to watch the rest of the alien sequels in the near future so don't be upset with me! However it seems like if you've only seen the first two this one will make plenty sense. I've seen people complain about the pacing being really slow and the only thing I really have to say to that is...The first two movies, at least to me, felt equally as "slow." However I wouldn't necessarily say this is a slow movie! It kept me interested each step of the way. Usually I hate watching something that feels like it's dragging it's feet so I feel like if the movie were truly a drag someone with my attention span would have noticed. On the subject of noticing things this movie has a TON of fan service and nostalgia. There's quotes from the previous films, Visual references, and even a nod to the video game Isolation! Some people really lay on a lot of flack for that kind of thing but it's been 7 years since the last alien movie so it's kind of something I expected if that makes sense? Also If it's something I love, I'm usually a sucker for fan service! Yeah some of the quotes felt kinda off in the dialogue (Personally when Andy says he prefers the term artificial person, That felt like an off moment to me? I could be nit picking but it just felt like it didn't flow with the previous dialogue.) But over all I liked easter egg hunting on my second and third watch. In terms of characters there were some misses like Navarro where I really wanted to learn more about her but we don't really get the chance. We see and learn a lot about Andy and Raine's relationship as siblings but its hard to tell what the other's relationships are to each other until they outright say or are on their deathbeds.

Overall I liked the effects, the action, the pacing and the characters. It did fall flat in some spaces but honestly I think it's one of my favorite movies of the year next to Immaculate. 4.5/5 Facehuggers!