#i knew a guy who smelled horrendous despite showering three times a day and at the time i thought it was maybe that he was overshowering bu

[littlestarprincess]

#humans don't even talk about our pheromones that's probably weird to other species

Humans don't even realize how extensive our scent based communication is.

Sexual arousal can change the chemistry of our breath within seconds (both with onset of arousal and like. Offset? Do you call it offset???); anxiety and depression both have distinct smells (know someone who regularly smells sour and disgusting despite looking clean? They might not be doing so hot mentally! DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH SMELLING GROSS WHEN YOU'RE FRESH OUT OF THE SHOWER?? It might be your mental health rather than something inherently wrong with you or your body!) and babies secrete a scent on the tops of their heads that is what new moms are talking about when they can't get enough of smelling their kids heads. That new baby smell is literally there to encourage caretaking.

Pheromones are not even just a sexual thing. They permeate our day to day lives, and humans have no fucking idea how much information they're picking up on other humans through smell because so much of these scents are like . . . invisible to our conscious minds.

Okay so hear me out. Alien who is very close with their human crewmate, and is used to you smelling like the various products humans use for personal hygiene. This is perfectly fine, maybe they even grow an attachment to your preferred brands of deodorant and lotion, but it leaves them completely unprepared the first time they smell your unmasked body odor and realize oh yeah, humans are very sexual creatures and produce pheromones accordingly. It's the alien equivalent of seeing someone you already like half-naked and having an "Oh no they're hot" moment, except you don't even realize the effect you're having on them because you just got done training or woke up from a very sweaty nap and just want to shower.