#oc: dekdek

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ghost hunt and secret for cosh and dekdek pls i love them

[oc asks: not-so-nice edition]

ghost: Who or what haunts your OC? What happened? How do they live with their ghosts?

oh boy i’m gonna need a cut for this oops oops i'm sorry this got really long really fast

Dekdek is haunted by the memory of her nyityof companions that didn’t make it home. Her nyityof started uneventful enough; like other uknuks before her, she made the trek with her traveling companions — Toz Morningsun, Govi Mossyplum, and Zuzu Earlybloom — from Makafe Commune to the bustling Themis Spaceport to rent a charter ship. It was there they met Gatha, who was looking for a helping hand on her voyage, and they just so happened to have eight hands perfect for helping. Their first stop, in the Ellyt'it System one cluster over, consisted mostly of loading cargo and Gatha’s (definitely exaggerated) tales of her many adventures across the galaxy. En route to the cargo’s destination, however, they were set upon by pirates. Dekdek was in the cockpit at the time fixing a few loose panels; quick thinking by their captain saved both of their lives — Gatha stashed Dekdek beneath her shirt and pleaded with the pirate captain for mercy. They were both dead anyway if he didn’t, so it was worth a shot.

He did.

Dekdek’s companions didn’t have the same luck.

Neither Dekdek nor Gatha took their deaths well, but neither Dekdek nor Gatha particularly cared for mercy. They waited for the crew to go to sleep, planted a few explosives around the ship, and made for the escape pod. One of the jerry-rigged explosives detonated early. Gatha only just managed to snatch Dekdek up before she was shut on the wrong side of the escape pod’s blast door. Dekdek suffered burns on the left side of her body and Gatha ultimately ended up losing her right arm. It took them a year and a half to procure another ship and take it from ‘garbage’ to ‘will probably survive a few jumps’, and from there, Gatha took Dekdek home to Makafe Commune. Dekdek had all that time to move past the guilt of losing her companions. Seeing the little caves Toz and Govi and Zuzu would never return to brought it all back. Of course everyone was happy she was safe and home and alive, and warmly welcomed her very large, sad friend, too, but all the tinkering with her caregiver, Boki, and hugs from her mama, Tulo, and snuggle piles with all her neighbors and nest-siblings wouldn’t resurrect her friends.

It took a very long walk across the wilderness with Patriarch Mogi to shake the depression from her shoulders; they talked about what happened, he told her what a disaster his own nyityof had been — his companions had been eaten by wildlife on Pruna — and they concluded their trek at the memorial field: where they laid to rest the spirits of all the brave and adventurous uknuks who never made it home. It happened often, he told her, and it’s why they never forced anyone to leave on a nyityof. It was a dangerous galaxy out there for little uknuks, and everyone accepted the risk when they left the communes that they might not come home with all the pieces they left with, or even at all.

Speaking of missing pieces, Cosh also had a pretty fucked up time away from home — he’s five years Dekdek’s senior and very much the annoying older brother she always begged her parents for. He’s haunted by a lost crew, too, and he’s got a reminder that’s a lot harder to hide; somewhere out in dark space, there’s a burned-out husk of a derelict freighter that serves as the final resting place for seven of the bravest souls Cosh has ever met — and his left hand, probably. Bits of it, anyway. Rest in pieces, Lefty, you were the best companion an uknuk could ask for on cold, lonely—

Ahem.

He shrugs it off, dodges the subject, and meets every question about his past with a joke or a question of his own, and that’s how he copes with the fact that — though his crewmates would never see it that way, and it was in fact just. a horrible fucking accident no one could have predicted — it’s his fault the Stolen Star is nothing more than a charred coffin.

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

If anyone’s hunting Dekdek, they’ll be chasing a ghost for a long, long time. During the year and a half she and Gatha were trying to get the fuck home, they became paranoid, jumping at shadows and cowering any time they spotted anyone who looked a little too much like that pirate captain — just in case, it was always ‘just in case’ with them. Better safe than sorry. This does not, of course, apply to any machine she touches. No, those require a fair bit of faith and possibly a kick-start and/or a lead container. Though when you really think about it, why else would someone that paranoid rig so much shit to explode, set traps and tripwires around any hotel room she has to stay in, take things apart and put them back together just a little bit wrong?

Just in case, right?

She only lets her guard down during the night cycle, when she burrows under Gatha’s blankets to sleep.

Cosh, though. There’s a reason he checks the guns and hull’s integrity and shield generators over and over and over again. There’s a reason he makes sure Dekdek’s ‘fuckin’ experiments’ have failsafes and killswitches. There’s a reason he doesn’t sleep when Dekdek’s asleep despite also being naturally diurnal, and barely sleeps when it’s his shift. There’s a reason he doesn’t take his eyes off the system console for hours at a time — Suzo refused his request for a bucket, the germophobic bitch, but that’s why a ship never has just one engineer.

It doesn’t take much to cause a catastrophic failure in space.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Let’s lighten things up a bit, huh?

Dekdek chews on her thumbclaw in her sleep. Her street cred would be ruined.

Cosh cheats at cards every fucking time. Rees still hasn’t figured it out.

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Failure, Future and Guilt forrrr Vigo and Dekdek pls?

[oc asks: not-so-nice edition]

failure: What's your OC's greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

I don’t know if it’s really a failure, but Vigo’s kind of the oddball of her family; the rest of them are tech-whizzes and chronic tinkerers, but she could never really get the hang of it. Everyone knows, it’s no secret that her younger sibling, Caf, changes her ringtone every time she goes home and she’s just sort of resigned herself to xer mercy. Dekdek and Cosh have taken up the mantle of harmless pranking when she’s back on the ship.

On the opposite end of the tech spectrum, Dekdek’s had more than a few of her improvised explosives detonate early, the worst of which was the one that fucked up her left side and cost Gatha her right arm. Gatha might have moved past it, but Dekdek definitely hasn’t.

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

For Vigo, it’s dying early. She knows it’s possible and she’s got too much shit to do to put herself in situations that increase the likelihood of it.

For Dekdek… ending up alone again. Not being welcome home the next time it happens. I think rigging shit to explode is her coping mechanism at this point, so she’s not taking all of the steps she could to avoid it, but. She’ll always be welcome home, even if she doesn’t think so.

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

I swear Vigo is like the least tragic of my characters. She’s definitely tripped over Dekdek and Cosh and stepped on Liki’s tail and one time she threw Roki across the cargo bay because xe was all wrapped up in a heavy duvet and weighs fucking nothing — she’s clumsy, and sometimes she’s in a rush, and those are things she feels a little guilty about. She doesn’t ever run from her feelings, though, and guilt is no exception to the. Acceptance. She makes up for it, too, even when whoever she’s slighted isn’t bothered by the accident (although Roki may have milked that shit a little much, but that’s okay, xe can have a little fussing and spoiling, as a treat).

Dekdek’s never going to forgive herself for Gatha’s arm, tbqh. Definitely accepts the guilt. Wallows in it, even. Gatha’s long since forgiven her — hell, she got a sick fucking cybernetic arm out of it, it’s got a goddamn shotgun attachment.

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Happy Blorbo Blursday! Your blorbos replaced The Plastics from Mean Girls, who is who?

NOPAL THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES

So, who are the plastics assholes that have been banned from every space chilis in Xatal?

That one there, that’s Cosh Pepperjacket. He is one of the dumbest motherfuckers you will ever meet. Dekdek once asked him to reply to a text for her while her hands were full. He asked her how to spell “o-k”.

That shifty one? That’s Rees Vidhesh. He’s totally NOT rich because he spends his paycheck the second those credits hit his account. Anyway, Rees knows everybody’s business. He knows everything about everyone. That’s why his pockets are so big: they’re full of secrets and shit he shoplifted.

And mischief takes a uknuk form in Dekdek Jumpycup. Don’t be fooled, cuz she may seem like your typical fluffy, wrench-wielding, whisker-faced little potato, but in reality? She’s so much more than that. She’s the mastermind! The star! Those other two are just her little workers. Dekdek… how do I even begin to explain Dekdek?

Dekdek is flawless. She has two degrees in engineering and a silver tooth. I hear nobody will insure her because she’s so prone to bodily harm… of other people. I hear she makes explosive devices. For fun. Her favorite movie is security footage. Of what? Yes. One time, she met Councilor Krron on a shuttle. And he didn’t even report her for stowing away.

One time, she punched me in the face.

It was awesome.

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“I’m gonna write a short silly post about the space lizards,” I said.

Four hours, thirty browser tabs, two glasses of sweet tea, an entire (formatted) conlang dictionary, and what I can only describe as a wiki page later,

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It's not blursday anymore, but if you feel like it, may I send your excellent questions back at you? I'm very thrilled to get to know your OCs, and I must know which of them is which. :D

On the camping trip, who’s:

Over this shit before they even leave, but ends up having a decent time

Doing their best to set up the tent, unsuccessfully

Swooping in to save Mx. Bad-at-Tents from themself

Absolutely not fucking trusted with fire, go over there on the naughty step log, don’t even look at the matches

Actually getting the fire going

Whippin up some chow and guarding the marshmallows until it is TIME for marshmallows

The Keeper of the Bug Spray, and the First Aid Kit, and the Map

Thank you!!! -@oh-no-another-idea

YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO THROW MY QUESTIONS BACK AT ME!!

So, let's set the scene: The hardworking crew of the Rae'dinnah are at each other's throats, so Suzo decides it's time for a ✨group bonding activity✨ and what better way to bond than being stuck together in the wilderness for three whole days. His arboreal ass is perfectly content to sling a hammock up in a tree and take a nap in the sunshine.

"Why the fuck are we doin' this now," Rees grumbles, gesturing to Sevak, "when this prickly fuck is on board?"

Because GEA inquisitors deserve a little fresh air too, of course, even if the poor zal is frantically trying to get through to a SINGLE supervisor, zuu doesn't CARE if it's poor form to abandon a posting, the captain is trying to force zuur to sleep outside -- there's a perfectly serviceable ship right there. So Sevak is over it before they even land. Does zuu have a good time? Ehhhh jury's out on that one, but zuu's happy as a clam to get the fuck back on the ship after that third day I can tell you that much.

Liki is trying SO hard to be helpful. Really, bless her heart. But she's tall for a terrestrial ix'ai at 2'10, and her frill keeps getting in the way, and she accidentally tied her tail around one of the tent stakes instead of the rope and--

Wow, wouldja look at that. Vigo's already done setting up the rest of the tents, so she saves Liki from the synthetic canvas nightmare and ends up giving the poor girl the BIGGEST (literally, miss ma'am is 8'3 and built like a house) crush. Stars bless butches.

Dekdek AND Cosh AND Rees are banished to the naughty log. Horrible little firebugs, the lot of them. They're allowed a single lighter so they can at least smoke, but only after a gratuitous amount of whining from Rees, and they have to give it back once they're lit up.

Eternal dad Suzo is the keeper of the lighter and bringer of fire to the firepit -- which Dekdek was allowed to dig. Uknuks are SO good at digging. Suzo also has the map, the first aid kit, and the bug spray, which he threatens Sevak with any time zuu starts grumbling again.

Gatha cooks on the ship, naturally Gatha is cooking at the campsite, and Roki is guarding the marshmallows so xe has something to do -- xe's still pretty skittish, after all -- until xe manages to eat half the bag while Gatha's back is turned.

Now Roki's banished to the naughty log, and Rees is granted custody of the marshmallows.

Rees eats the rest of the marshmallows.

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Happy Blorbo Blursday! Which of your OCs can handle spicy food?

--@oh-no-another-idea

Happy blursdayyyy!!

I’d say it’s about a 50/50 split? Which is, uh… still way too many to list out BUT the most notable examples are: the whole Cassi family is pretty big on spice, Dillon and Moira concern their friends with the amount of hot sauce they consume, The Terrible Trio (Dekdek, Cosh, and Rees) are constantly one-upping each other with heat, and Sawyer just straight up snacks on peppers.

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Hey! Happy blorbo blursday! Zombie apocalypse hits which oc(s) survives, which oc dies the dumbest way, and which oc gets bit but doesn't tell anyone?

Narwhal hiiiiiiiiiii

Let's see, let's see.

Let's unleash zombies in Xatal, since the (current) ragtag crew of the Rae’dinnah has the most potential for maximum silliness. They've crash-landed, no ship to escape. (Zombies in space is terrifying but warrants way more space than one post allows probably, but if you want something similar, try this and this on for size. As Jarvis Johnson says, always be pluggin.)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Cap'n Suzo's surviving -- he's arboreal and depending on the zombies we're talking about, they likely can't climb high enough to get him.

Vigo's getting bit, and she doesn't want to be a bother or risk hurting anyone, so they'll wake up one morning and she'll just be gone, along with a gun, a few explosives, and as much ammo as Vigo can carry. And she can carry a lot.

Dekdek and Cosh are going out together -- the stupidity of it depends on who you ask, but they're rigging the biggest truck they can find to explode and ramming it into a whole crowd of the undead bastards. Is it dumb and probably a waste of resources? Yes, but the explosion sure does look cool as hell.

Gatha has to be convinced not to go with them, because Dekdek is about all she's got left of her old life, but she's got family to protect. Likely goes out playing distraction so the rest of them can get away.

Rees is surviving; he's got a daughter and the skills necessary to con some rich dude into selling him a whole ass bunker for five credits and a pack of smokes.

Liki's fast as fuck boiiyyyeee sorry the audio played in my head ANYWAY i don't think even fast zombies are catching her ass.

Roki is, quite literally, an organic railgun. Good luck, zombies. Xe's also like glued to Suzo's hip so they're probably both in that tree. You'll know which one it is, there's clawmarks all the way up the trunk from where they had to drag Liki up with them by her tail.

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Happy STS! You need a housesitter while you're away. Which one of your OCs DONT you choose for the job and why?

HA! Oh man, I’ve had a bad week, this is the giggle I needed.

So there’s a few, I tend to write horrible little chaos gremlins but I think Cosh and Dekdek are at the top of that list. Cosh would start a fight with my neighbors and there might not be a house standing if Dekdek decides any of my electronics aren’t operating “efficiently.” Things tend to explode when she’s left unattended.