#Cal would probably get along with Sym well too now that I think about it

[shwoo]

In I was a Teenage Exocolonist, Dys and Cal should've interacted more. It's not out of character that they didn't, with Dys's gigantic trust issues, but they have very similar and strong opinions about ecology. I think they would've been friends.

Dys is like

"What no one here understands is that we're part of this planet," Dys says, looking up at the colony walls. "Like it or not… this planet is a system. We can't just hijack it." "That's what humans did on Earth," Dys continues, "and look where that got us?"

And Cal is like

Cal is sitting on the garden fence, his feet laced through the slats as he balances a container of cut-up watato on his lap. "Heyya, [player character]!" he calls out. "Time for a break? Come on over here, help me finish this." He skewers a piece of watato on his fork and 'drives' it towards your mouth. "Beep, beep! Open up for a timely reminder that we've made ourselves a part of this planet's ecosystem and have to deal with the consequences!"

I hope they at least talk more in endings where that's possible.

[restlessreveries]

Been feeling a bit rough today so I’m gonna yell about things that makes me happy.

So, scrambled headcanons about introductions/reactions/futures of Sym living in the colony after the negotiated peace ending. Because the game doesn’t elaborate nearly enough on this and I feel robbed. 

(Yes I will assume a romantic Sym/Sol relationship here because I need the happy brain chemicals and that is a threat.)

Cal: Let’s start by kinda easing ourselves into this by starting with the character that I’ve got the least to say about. ‘Cause let’s face it, Cal and Sym would just get along. Probably be agriculture buddies. Sym’s got a lot to teach about Vertumna’s flora and fauna and Cal is there for it.

Anemore: Probably a rough start, let’s be fair. She did lose her brother to the Gardeners’ attacks so she’s probably not exactly eager to jump into a deep friendship. I reckon it takes some years even in the best of cases before she starts feeling at ease around this weird purple guy. 

Then kind of out of the blue to everyone else, she beans him in the head with a sportsball (maybe a little bit harder than needed) and calls for him to return the ball and get on the court ‘cause they’re a player short. She doesn’t go easy on him from there though, but it’s a start and maybe it helps a bit that she gets some lowkey revenge by destroying him at sportsball.

In endings where she and Vace stuck with one another for too long she probably appreciates his support in helping look after the kiddos and just, you know, being a friend who is emotionally invested and supportive which she’d kinda need after Vace.

... I kinda like to picture a bit of a lowkey Sym/Nemmie thing but let’s store that thought away...

Tangent: Oh boy, um... gods I don’t even know how this one would go. I reckon it’s a really slow and rough start though, especially depending on if Dys went through with becoming a Gardener and isn’t there anymore. And then we’ve got the guilt of her almost having engineered a plague... I’m not sure if they ever get close tbh, but she might appreciate his expertise in all things Vertumnan and maybe share some soft comforting moments down the line where he’s helping her actually see the beauty of all the weird stuff that’s out there on Vertumna in a way that gives her more of an understanding of Dys’s perspective. On that topic...

Dys: You know, I said Cal was gonna be the one I had the least input on, but... I mean, they know each other already. They’ve got a good functioning thing. I’m not sure how Dys would take to Sym taking a much more active interest in human life by moving in there and hanging out with a wider crowd. 

Maybe that other Sym/Dys/Sol path ends up elaborating a bit on this? But I don’t know... I kind of assume Dys goes the Gardener route eventually regardless.

Marz: She’s designing a new outfit for him within an hour of being properly introduced. I will stand and die by this line of thought. Honestly, I think she’d take fairly well to Sym, appreciating his attentiveness and questions as taking an interest in her life (which she always craves) even if she writes it off as just mantaining good relations with the Gardener’s representative because she’s into politics now, this is important. But yeah, she’s going to teach Sym about the finer more sophisticated points of humanity (or at least what she deems such).

... And I kinda like to headcanon that the kid she ends up having as a surrogate is for Sol and Sym to raise. “RAISE NONE OF YOUR OWN” GAME I SWEAR!. LET SYM BE A DAD! (obviously not genetically but you know what I mean)

Or you know what? People fuck about with their genetics so much in this game I bet they could add some Vertumnan DNA as an augment if nothing else. Tang can make it work. She owes me a solid favor anyway.

... Okay um, let’s get back on track.

Tammy: Bit of a rocky start since she’s kind of scared of everything Vertumnan. This lasts until about 4 seconds into the proper introduction when Sol mentions Tammy by name and Sym immediately starts going on about how much he loves her work and how splendid her craftsmanship is. Truly amazing, unmatched even. Tammy (and probably Cal) are confused as fuck until Sol, who is hysterially laughing, managed to share that they’ve been sneaking him Tammy’s baked goods for years now. +10 to Tammy’s confidence.

Also, you know, turns out Sym loves kids, him and Tammy will 500% bond over that. Even if she’s a little bit hesitant at first. But the kids just adores him too so hey, +1 babysitter too!

Rex: Once Rex is over the harsh realizarion that Sol beat him to getting with an alien I can only imagine that they get along well. It’s honestly kinda funny to imagine Sym being the one shamelessly flirted with and kind of unable to keep up with it. Wouldn’t surprise me terribly if they get casual with one another down the line in the case of an open to poly Sol.

Nomi: Gods above and below, I’m almost scared of the thought of these two hanging out together. You know they’d get along well. Sym might not match Nomi’s boundless energy, but I have no doubts he’d take well to their interests and have hour long discussions about anime and games. Sym trying to roleplay in that one game would be hilarious too, I bet he’d go actual ye olde english since he’s got recordings of human history.

Vace: ... I kind of like to imagine Vace coming face to face with Sym in a non-violent scenario and being faced with an intense existential crisis in that he finds Sym unmistakably hot and that he’s now got an alarmingly real interest in xenobiology that he just doesn’t know what to do with.

On a more realistic note, he’d probably be upsetti about a xeno living in the colony and tbh he can die mad about it.

Geranium & Fluorescent (aka dad and mom):  Kinda shook, understandably. I mean, their kid has been dating an alien for a while now. How do you deal with that? I don’t even know, it’d probably take a while for it to even sink in.

I will however share the thought of Geranium trying to sit Sym down to give him the shovel talk and Sym being all excited about it because he’s seen this scenario in literature and it’s gonna be so fun to actually experience.

Flulu checks on them an hour later and finds that the nerds have just devolved into fanboying about plants, both Vertumnan and Earthen(?). Facepalms and has to try to do it right herself, but let’s be honest, the moment is kinda ruined. Things run pretty smoothly from there on then though.

... and this is unrelated to any canonical thing but just, if you’ve read this far and didn’t skip the Marz section. I like to imagine that a Sol/Sym kid is named “Noctem” just so Sym gets to see Noctilucent’s reaction on finding out that a human kid got named after him (them?).

And much to Noctilucent’s frustration, it’s strangely difficult to hate the kid.