#sci-fi-is-every-thing

[ryllen]

no, but pinecones is really beautiful isn't it ?

[hannahbarberra162]

Fully Human (Sci Fi AU, Marco x Reader, dark, dead dove, non con, humans as pets)

18+ MDNI | on Ao3

Summary: Humans had been the best incubators ever found; their little bodies seemingly designed only for sexual reproduction. They had no horns, hooves, claws, scales, fangs, armor, or venom - only smooth skin, soft hair, and tight holes. Too bad their species went extinct many cycles ago.

You are a few credits away from being able to afford the medicine you need for your sister. Everything is going to work out just fine and you'll be able to get back to Lafftale.

Until Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates finds out you're fully human.

A/N: You might be thinking "Hannah, *another* work where someone gets kidnapped by the Whitebeard Pirates and taken to the Dick?"

I would answer "yes."

Lore heavy in this chapter, the sexy stuff really kicks off in the next. Just roll with the sci fi tropes, I'm not world building from scratch here.

Thank you to @tryingandfailingtowrite for beta-ing this for me <3

Marco walked down the dim hall of the dingy merchant ship, his eyes on his data pad. He was nearly done taking stock of the meager but helpful supplies they’d requisitioned from the ship. Thatch would be pleased, Marco thought, since the ship evidently dealt in trading spices and foodstuffs. The merchant ship had the misfortune to be within magnetic range of the Moby Dick , the Whitebeard Pirates’ main ship. It was their standard operating procedure to board all foreign vessels and raid their stores for anything useful. Since the little ship wasn’t aligned with Whitebeard’s territory, they were fair game for the taking. The Pirates would leave enough supplies for the ship to get to its next location but other than that they’d take whatever was deemed useful.

The 4th division had raided the merchant’s wares after putting the few crew members in containment cubes. The crew hadn’t put up a fight so no battle had taken place; the few beings that worked on the ship were merely being restrained to prevent any annoyance that might occur. Whitebeard wasn’t in the business of causing undue damage to ships or beings, especially not those on the periphery of his territory. All Marco had left to do was to scan all the beings on the foreign crew for their human DNA percentage and he could go back to his own division. 

Along with taking supplies, it was standard procedure to scan all foreign crew members for their human percentage. Humans as a species had been extinct long before Marco was born, but a few creatures in the galaxy had high percentages of human DNA. The higher the human DNA (hDNA), the better chances were for the being to be compatible for reproduction across species. Creatures with hDNA were in great demand but the availability was incredibly low.

Humans had been the best incubators ever found; their little bodies seemingly designed only for sexual reproduction. They had no horns, hooves, claws, scales, fangs, armor, or venom - only smooth skin, soft hair, and tight holes. It was like the universe had made them for fucking, every curve and line of their weak bodies enticing to all species across the galaxy. Once the first human had been found, their planet had been quickly raided for humans in their fertility window and sold across the galaxy as incubators and sex pets. 

Unfortunately many humans did not survive the transition from their planet to another. One of the issues was that humans were delicate, only able to tolerate a very small range of temperatures and conditions. Most had died quickly, unable to bear the harsh conditions into which they were sold or placed. As more humans were taken, other species learned what humans needed for survival through trial and error. 

And humans made for incredible incubators. Almost all races were compatible with humans, the females able to carry young from an incredible range of alien races. The birthing process was messy and complicated but many found the process worthwhile. Many alien races were saved from the brink of extinction by mating with human females, their children slightly weaker but able to carry on their genetic lineage. Human males were mostly kept as pets; they were less commonly used for mating but it did happen from time to time. 

Those who did not need humans for incubation found they made excellent pets if kept within narrow life supporting conditions. Humans were amusing, social, crafty, but ultimately foolish creatures. It had been determined that they did best when they had a singular master controlling their lives and issuing commands. Many aliens came to love their human pets, elevating them nearly to the status of a partner. Alas, full blooded humans did not last long in the universe.

The problem was that so many humans were taken and sold off to different races that no one thought to let the humans reproduce with one another to create more humans. Not only that but pure blooded human children took an incredibly long time to develop into adults, needing tending long after most species would be considered matured. No one wanted to spend the time or effort breeding humans with one another, everyone wanted humans for their own ends. 

Which meant that after only a few short galactic cycles, all the pure blooded humans were gone. It was said that the Galactic Government had a small cohort of humans that they kept for themselves but Marco had never heard of anyone actually seeing the humans. Those born of humans were later mated themselves, leaving each subsequent generation with a lower and lower hDNA percentage. Many beings had some hDNA in them, but not enough to make a significant difference. 

Even after humans themselves went extinct, their descendants still carried on some of their genetic capabilities, particularly around reproduction. So the higher the hDNA, the more desirable a partner would be for mating and reproduction. Anything above 20% was highly sought after, though exceedingly rare. It had been many galactic cycles since humans had gone extinct and the percentages dropped with each subsequent generation. Females would boast about their hDNA numbers as long as they weren’t too high. Beings with high hDNA percentages over 30% ended up getting trafficked into slavery and sold to the highest bidder unless they could find a mate who could protect them from such a fate. 

Marco didn’t have great hopes for high hDNA percentages given the crew members he saw in the individual cubes. Containment cubes were a useful tool used widely in the galaxy - able to be sized to almost any size of cargo, nearly unbreakable walls, able to be moved with a hover pad, and the walls could be made transparent or opaque. Most ships used them for their intended purpose of storing and moving supplies. The cubes weren’t initially designed to store living beings but the off label use was extremely helpful. 

Still, when ships would be raided, it was common to access everyone’s hDNA percentage. Whitebeard was firmly against the slave trade but he wasn’t above keeping beings for his own purposes if the need arose. Whitebeard was unique among the Emperors in that he specialized in collecting strays - most of the Commanders were the last of their kind of species, Marco included. Pops had always encouraged his crew to try and multiply their numbers, and humans were their best best. Unfortunately no crew Marco had ever scanned had anyone with a hDNA score over 20. 

In his youth, Marco viewed every scrap of information he had found on humans. He was completely fascinated by their kind and had thought through how he’d take care of one before many of his sleep cycles. It had been his dream to find a full blooded human and become their master, to have someone to take care of who would depend on him for everything. He also fantasized about mating a human female in order to continue his dying species. Marco spent hours pouring over documents, images, and videos of humans that had been taken before their untimely demise.

Oh, the videos. Marco had watched every human mating video he could find, fisting his cock and imagining he was the one plunging into the female humans. The females were diminutive and soft, their skin easily marred during a rough taking. Both sexes made incredible noises when aroused, the sounds never failing to make Marco hard. But what he really enjoyed watching were videos where the females were brought to orgasm themselves, their tight holes clenching around the partner they’d been given. It was not always a given that the female came in the vids. Most species did not care one way or another for the pleasure of female humans since it was not a requirement for successful breeding. But Marco searched video archive after archive, looking for vids where the female was lost in herself, completely succumbing to the sensations her partner brought to her. How he wanted to see a human's little face scrunch in pleasure as she milked his cock. It was one of his most enduring fantasies, lasting longer than any other. 

Alas as he got older, Marco realized the naivety of his quest but his heart still harbored a secret wish to find a human and mate them. It was why he personally scanned all foreign crews despite being the Commander of his own division and a physician besides. Sighing again, he looked at the small row of containment cubes stacked on top of one another.

Various common species were present but Marco still dutifully scanned them all. Marco pointed the device at the first cube, which seemed to contain a calm looking Kumate. It was also important to scan and determine what races every being was in case of an aggressive species, you couldn’t just tell by looks alone. 

“Two percent human. Kumate.” 

Marco had a knack for correctly guessing what most beings were after scanning and meeting so many for years. Moving on, Marco scanned the next cube with a bored looking Torino inside. Marco suspected they’d been raided before, it was all part and parcel of running merchandise outside of the Galactic Government’s system. 

“Five percent human. Torino.”

Marco was feeling bored himself as he scanned the next cube. It looked like there was a sweating Three Eye inside, laying on her stomach in the small rectangular prism. Marco considered the female, who was steadfastly avoiding eye contact with him. She was much more agitated than her counterparts, moving about as much as she could within the small container. It was too bad she was a Three Eye – they outwardly looked the most similar to humans but couldn’t be crossbred since the males had three pronged genitalia and the females had a matching vagina. They could only reproduce with each other and weren’t often found without another Three Eye since the race preferred telepathic communication. Curious.

“100 percent human. Human.”  The robotic voice chirped. Marco stopped in place and looked at the scanner. 100 percent? Not possible. After shaking the device, Marco scanned the cube again. The Three Eye inside had gone pale and wasn’t moving around anymore.

“ 100 percent human. Human. ” Now Marco was sure the scanner was broken. He pointed it at himself and activated it, waiting to see if it said he was 100% human too.

“ Eight point five percent human. Phoenix. ” the scanner read out loud. Now Marco’s brow furrowed even more. That was his correct percentage and species, so why was it malfunctioning on the Three Eye? Marco hummed and tapped the top of the containment cube with his finger. It was connected to the controller cuff around his wrist – they’d procured some shipments of the newest cuffs available and Marco hadn’t had time to look through all the features yet. Even so, he could use it for something as simple as containment cubes. The cube hovered and awaited his movements, programmed to follow behind him. Even though Marco had no doubt the issue was a simple scanner malfunction, his blood was pumping with the fantasy that he’d found a human.  

Your POV

You were so fucking screwed.

You’d joined Nacl’s crew precisely because he didn’t look too closely and didn’t ask you any questions beyond if you could lift 50 weight units. You thought you would work with him for a few galactic cycles, make a few credits, and move along to bigger and better things. Namely, getting more resources needed at the Outpost before heading back home. No one had told you to go on this mission, in fact they'd forbidden you from going. So you had commandeered one of the two working space vessels and taken off into the void before anyone could stop you. 

And things had been going great for a while - you learned some of the more recent technological advancements you hadn’t seen on the Outpost, you worked, and you’d even been able to taste something you’d been wanting since childhood - chocolate. You had a few credits to your name and you only had a few more to earn in order to afford the medicine you needed. Then you could head back to the outpost and put this whole stupid misadventure behind you. 

Until the fucking Whitebeard Pirates showed up out of nowhere. 

You weren’t completely unaware, you knew it was a possibility. But you thought it was a possibility in the way that a star exploding was a possibility, or like being sucked into a black hole was a possibility. The Whitebeard Pirates didn’t bother with small fry like Nacl’s ship, or so you thought. They fought the Galactic Government, other Pirates, and generally protected the planets under their control. You thought you would be safe, your identity hidden behind a shoddy Three Eye disguise.

You weren’t.

Not when you saw Marco the Phoenix personally scanning your crew members, the device reading out everyone’s species and hDNA score. He looked similar to his wanted posters but they didn’t do him justice. He was incredibly tall, his bird-like legs ending in sharp talons that clacked against the floor as he walked. He had a rather aquiline face, his mouth almost beak-like. His arms were normal but ended in taloned hands, unlike your own blunt fingers. But his most grabbing feature were his eyes - large teal eyes with a dark ring around them. Even though you didn’t want to attract his attention, you couldn’t stop yourself from staring at their beauty. Eventually you broke your stare and looked back down at your hands.

He was humanoid in this form, but he had others as you’d seen on various video feeds. Marco could also change his anatomy and turn into a full Phoenix, a deadly opponent on the battlefield. The Whitebeard Pirates were a favorite among your crew to watch on vids and you were glad that at least you knew who you were dealing with and how strong they were. 

You’d gone into the containment cube without protest, trying to copy the demeanor of your crew members. The Silk Road didn’t have the same kind of fancy equipment as the pirates did, they only had hover cubes that functioned as basic storage units. Fred the Torino said that they’d been raided before and if there was no fighting they’d be left in one piece. You thought that meant the Whitebeards would free you once they’d finished taking the spices and food the ship had been transporting. You hadn’t expected the First Division Commander Marco to personally be scanning the crew for hDNA percentages. You didn’t even know they had mobile hDNA scanners. 

Technology on Lafftale Outpost was old and outdated, transferred from person to person as the need arose. You weren’t up to date on the most recent technology and it had almost cost you your cover several times. The Silk Road, Nacl’s ship, was a technological wonderment to you and you had to fake understanding of many things before you got the hang of everything.

But now it was all for nothing. This stupid fucking pirate was going to scan you and take you and sell you and you’d have to be a sex pet or breeder for some disgusting jelly alien or a tentacle alien or they’d freeze you to death or serve you only raw food you couldn’t eat and your sister was right you should have listened you-

Ok, you needed to calm down before you hyperventilated. You took a deep breath and held it in your lungs, expelling it slowly. You weren’t completely out of options. You’d just have to wait and plan your escape before they sold you at the nearest slave auction. There were a few escape pods still on the Silk Road, you would need to get to one before they figured out exactly what you were.

Except it looked like he was taking you to their massive ship.

Fuck.

Marco POV

Marco had the containment cube trailing behind him to the next available transport beam, his mind mulling over the facts thus far. The Three Eyes was even more agitated than before, testing the containment unit for any faulty design that would open the hatch and release it. It wasn’t possible but he did give you credit for trying. You still hadn’t spoken to him, which was understandable. He had a fearsome reputation in the galaxy, his bounty in the billions. Many creatures were scared to be in his presence, even though he wasn’t particularly aggressive unless provoked. 

Your agitation steadily increased as he approached the transport beam in the next supply room, your three eyes wide and fearful as you watched cargo being beamed aboard. Thatch was overseeing the taking of the cargo and hailed Marco as he came up. Thatch himself had a high hDNA percentage, a fact he kept carefully hidden. Humans weren’t known for their fighting abilities and he didn’t want to appear weak, especially as a Whitebeard Commander. The rest of his DNA was comprised of a warrior species, complete with scales, forked tongue and muscled tail, but Marco understood why he was one of the few who knew Thatch’s secret. 

“Whatcha got there? A Three Eyes? Cute, but why are you taking her?” he asked, looking you over in the cube. You bristled and tried to hide your face from his perusal. You were cute, Marco thought to himself, but that didn’t have anything to do with it. 

“Abnormality on the scanner. I want to examine her more closely on the ship. Come by after you’ve completed your duties if you’d like,” he said, making sure his tone was casual. Marco did want to talk to Thatch but didn’t want to make his findings known in front of anyone else. Besides, the most likely outcome was that she turned out to be a Three Eyes and Marco sent her on her way with an apology and put in a ticket to have his scanner adjusted. 

The cube trailed behind Marco as he stepped into the beam. The being had all three of her eyes trained on the beam, crouching as far back in her cube as she could, which wasn’t very far. Her face drained of blood and she looked like she was going to scream, though she still hadn’t spoken to him. Strange , Marco thought, transport beams were invented by her race. She should have been well familiar with them. Just one more mystery to solve, he supposed. 

He had the two of you beamed to the port closest to the infirmary, walking briskly after the beaming was completed. You were panting heavily, as if relieved that you’d made it through without disintegrating. Marco’s gut was telling him there was something unusual about you, and he’d been on the Grand Line long enough to trust it. He was going to discover whatever secrets you were hiding.

Entering into his private lab in the infirmary, Marco turned to you as the doors locked behind him automatically with a tiny snick. You were scanning the room, likely looking for an escape route. Marco watched you for a few moments until you realized all his attention was on you. You stilled and licked your lips, watching him closely.

Marco leaned over and tapped the cube with his left hand. It turned vertical so your feet were now by the floor of the lab. A quick tap in succession and the cube’s hatch opened, dropping you to the floor with a small thud. The cube folded itself up until it was the size of his talon and placed itself within the inventory in his controller. You were watching the proceedings like they were magic instead of the commonplace technology available throughout the galaxy. The Three Eyes were technologically advanced, he was certain you would have seen this kind of thing before.

After the cube was gone, your eyes snapped to him, as if you finally realized you were trapped in a room alone with him. Marco nearly smiled, you telegraphed your thoughts and feelings so clearly he didn’t need to be from a telepathic race to understand your next move. Marco leaned against an examination table as you fidgeted in front of him. As a powerful Commander, he was used to making others uncomfortable with his presence alone. He was going to use that to his advantage.

“Why does my scanner show that you’re one hundred percent human?” Marco asked curiously, his eyes roving over your smaller form. 

“It’s broken,” was your quick reply, the sound of your true voice detectable even as your words were translated. Marco’s head tilted slightly – your universal translator was external? He hadn’t seen one of those since he was a child many cycles ago. They’d all been replaced by internal translation units for a long time. External translators were faulty and finicky and internal ones were cheap – why were you using one?

“It functions correctly on your crew mates and myself. So why not on you?” he continued. He stood up, his talons clacking against the metal floor. He advanced towards you, watching your every movement with his sharp eyes. You swallowed and took a step back for each of his steps forward until your back hit the wall. You were fairly short, the top of your head only reaching to the middle of his chest. Not uncommon across the galaxy, but further settling in a suspicion Marco was more seriously considering.

Marco reached for your arm, feeling your wildly racing pulse as he took your slim wrist in his hand. He removed a thin metal bracelet from his controller and Marco snapped it on your wrist before you could react. You licked your lips and stared at it, as if unsure what it was. 

“A few more tests and I’m sure I’ll be sending you back to your crew,” he said quietly, watching you squirm against the wall. He should really have backed up to give you space but something in him liked having you underneath his body, your body heat radiating onto his front. Your scent alone had his cock hardening, you bore a scent that he couldn’t quite place. He wanted to sniff you all over and find the source, lick it off you with his tongue. The smell was yet another abnormality since Three Eyes tended to smell like mold, especially the females. Whatever it was, you were making him harder than he'd been for many cycles.

“Is this mandatory?” you asked, your eyes looking anywhere but his face. Your translator gave your voice a metallic tinge, Marco wondered what you’d sound like without it.

“Yes.”

Your POV

You didn’t know what nearly anything in the room was for nor what any of the tests Marco was running were for. The Silk Road wasn’t very technologically advanced, which was why you were able to covertly learn along the way and fake your way through various tasks until you were proficient. Now you were trapped with Marco, in an examination room, and no closer to getting away from him or the ship. 

You startled as the thin bracelet around your hand chirped twice, a green light flashing. You watched it, trying to make sense of what it was detecting. Marco gently pushed you towards an examination table, needing to pick you up to set you on the high platform. You would have protested but your attention was drawn by the bracelet’s lights changing colors to red.

“Hey, what’s this-  ow!” you yelped a moment later. It had jabbed you quickly with a small needle. Not enough to hurt, but enough that it wasn’t a pleasant surprise. Marco barely gave you a glance as he looked down at his data pad. His was fancier than any you’d seen before but that didn’t mean much. His eyes were practically glued to the information it was spitting out even though his stance was still the same. You tried discreetly pushing the bracelet off your wrist but it tightened as you tried to get it over your thumb joint.

“It stays on. Measures your vitals, blood flow, oxygen saturation, things like that,” Marco explained absently, scrolling through the information with a taloned finger. He finished reading and looked at you, as if seeing you anew. 

“Lean back against the chair,” Marco ordered, placing his data pad on a nearby counter. You eyed the door but decided against making a break for it. He hadn’t directly said anything about you being a human or reacted in any way towards the test results. Maybe he didn’t know? Maybe the tests weren’t identifying you since humans were de facto extinct? Either way, he was much stronger than you and if all he wanted was you to lean back, it wasn’t so bad. You’d comply for now until you saw an opening to get away. 

The bench shifted before your eyes. Instead of being a bench it was now a stylized chair, almost like a dentist’s chair you’d seen once in an old human book. You put your arms on the armrests and settled your legs down, trying to calm your racing heart with a deep breath.

Until ionic cuffs bound you to the chair.

The red forcefields seemed to come out of the air itself, binding your wrists and ankles to the chair. You struggled, bowing your middle outwards in an effort to get away. Marco frowned and tapped the control panel on his data pad. Ionic bonds wrapped around your midsection, neck, elbows and knees, pulling you flush against the chair. You were completely trapped. 

“Let me go!” you yelled as the bottom half of the chair split. Your legs were now separated from one another, every part of your body immobilized by the bonds. Marco came closer to you, his taloned hand reaching for your head. You shrank back, you definitely knew what was coming next. You regretted yelling, and bit your lip to stop from crying out when he hit you. Marco’s frown deepened. 

Marco POV

Marco’s eyes kept rereading the reports as the data came from the creature’s blood. The results were conclusive.

You were human.

A fully, completely, one hundred percent human female.

Marco kept his features and body language the same as his mind raced with the information but he couldn’t keep his thoughts from straying with every errant thought that came to mind. There was so much he needed to do, so much he needed to prepare for you. The fact that he had a human, a female human in breeding range, was monumental. He’d have to tell Pops of course, right away. It would shake the New World galaxy once the news spread that Whitebeard had a human female. He’d keep it quiet for as long as he could but there was no way a finding of this magnitude would remain secret for long.

But beyond telling his Captain, Marco's mind started to race with the amount of supplies you needed.  There were so many things that humans needed for survival, he’d have to get you new clothes, he’d have to get Thatch to make you special food, he’d have to have an enclosure made for you, get special lights,…Marco quickly tapped out a list of items he’d need and orders he would need to give after he talked to Pops.

You were still struggling against the bonds of the inspection chair, but Marco wasn’t worried. That chair had held Fire Fist when he first joined the Whitebeard Pirates and he had incredibly strong pyro-enhancements. You were weak, not able to break through the thin clinical cuff he put on you earlier, much less the inspection chair. You were trying desperately to get away like an animal in a trap. Marco felt so much pity for you and even reached over to pat your head, a gesture humans enjoyed.

He wanted to reassure you that you didn’t need to be worried anymore, you had him. And Marco knew exactly how to take care of you. He just had to acclimate you to your new circumstances and have you accept him as your Master. Humans needed one creature to listen to as an ultimate authority and they often clung to the first kind being they encountered. Humans needed someone to firmly guide them, to provide boundaries, rules, tender care, and sufficient sexual outlets. You would come to understand that he was going to help you, that you needed someone to watch over you. Humans weren’t the kind of creatures that could be left to their own devices. You were lost in the galaxy, a creature that needed tending and someone to care for them. 

It wasn’t purely selfish that Marco wanted to become your master. Humans were social creatures, they needed a master otherwise they became despondent and listless. In your case, that would be Marco, and he’d happily take on that role. You were lucky that Marco had been the one to find you. Marco was stern but fair, part of an incredibly strong crew, and most importantly, knew a lot about humans. 

Which raised another question - where had you come from? Why had you been pretending to be a Three Eyes on a small merchant vessel? Marco quickly tapped out a message to Thatch, asking him to grab all your belongings off the other ship. They might hold clues as to your origins or perhaps contain a comfort item or two. Humans were an emotional and sentimental species and often clung to various inanimate objects during times of duress. He didn't intend to upset you but based on your reaction, he surmised you might be unhappy with his treatment of you thus far.

“Let me go!” you squeaked at him, trying to escape your bonds. Oh right, the translator. The old one was likely causing you pain or headaches in addition to being outdated. That had to go, he’d replace it with a new model soon.

Your eyes were wild as Marco reached behind your head to turn off your translator. Poor little human, so frail and afraid. Your shoulders hiked and your eyes scrunched shut, as if awaiting a blow from him. Marco frowned, he didn’t like that you had a defensive response. Where had you learned that? Who had struck you before? Were you escaping from another master? The thought of someone hurting you, a defenseless and weak human, had him clenching his fist. Calming his mind, he reminded himself that you were now his, and you’d never have to deal with such things again. He’d keep you safe from anything in the universe.

Marco’s fingers bent your ear forward to see the external translator. The site it was implanted in was red and bothered, whoever had done it wasn’t a professional. He would have to ensure you weren’t getting some kind of infection from it; the very thought of you being in pain upset him. He hummed in thought as his fingers adjusted the external box. Now it was only receiving communications but wouldn’t be able to transmit them, so you’d be able to understand him even if he couldn’t understand you. 

He would replace it eventually but truthfully he also wanted to capture some of your human language. There hadn’t been many recordings made of humans speaking to one another in their own language, so recording the words you used might prove scientifically helpful at some point in the future. In his heart, he also wanted to hear what your little voice sounded like without being translated. His memory of the human mating vids was crystal clear. Would you make noises like that?

“Don’t worry, little human. I will take excellent care of you,” he said, trying to approximate a human smile with his mouth. His species was not in the habit of smiling but he tried his best to make you feel at ease. Apparently that was not the thing to do because he got an alert that your heart rate was spiking beyond normal range. 

“Calm down. I will not harm you,” Marco said decisively. Your heart rate did not change and in fact became faster. Marco belatedly remembered that humans were notoriously bad at controlling their body functions, not even being able to modulate their body temperature, heart rate, or blood flow. No wonder your species had died out. You were squeaking rapidly to him but he didn’t understand what you were saying. He was right to turn off your translator, your voice was melodic and sweet to his ear. He couldn’t wait to inspect you and see if humans really produced all the sounds he’d seen on videos.

“I will replace your translator soon. It is causing you pain and is outdated. In the meantime, I cannot understand you,” Marco said, gently grabbing your jaw. You tried quickly turning your head to knock off his hand, but your efforts were futile. He wanted to hold you, so he would. You would come to understand that his desires were commands, not suggestions. As he held your small face, he ran a thumb over your cheek. Your skin was so soft, he’d never felt anything so smooth in his life. He wanted to run his fingers over every part of you, see if the rumors about human epidermis were true. But for now he would touch you as much as possible to acclimate you to his touch. 

“I am going to examine you and determine your level of health and sexual compatibility. Afterwards, I will contact my Captain and inform him of your existence. He will let us know further steps. Be assured little pet, I will not let anyone take you from me,” he said, watching you with unblinking eyes. You shrank back as much as you could within the confines of the bonds.

“I am your new Master. My name is Marco and I am the physician and Commander of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates. You are mine.”

[libraryleopard]

Murderbot show really making me realize how bad I am recognizing actors. What do you mean Ratthi was in Polite Society AND Arada was in The Broken Hearts Gallery. Also Gurathin was in Dune but given he looked like this

I feel it is reasonable not to recognize that actor

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Enith first developed space travel around 500,000 years prior to the modern period. This early era of space travel, called the First Enlightenment period, is survived almost solely through it's planetary colonists.

The Corldaxians of Enlightenment period had one goal- to send as many people as possible to nearby habitable planets. Ostensibly, the purpose of this was to set up an extensive empire with infinite resources so that Enlightenment period civilization could exist, as it was, forever. The real motivation behind this was the fear of what they assumed to be an exponentially growing population, and of the internal collapse of the state.

Enlightenment Corldaxians sent out hundreds of colonial trolleys with thousands of people aboard, all to colonize planets their ships wouldn't reach for hundreds of thousands of years. The majority of ships used cryofreeze to keep their colonists alive for the journey, with a good bit of variation on the specifics. All of them, with the exception of the earliest ships, packed the materials needed to make a wormhole generator.

Enith had set up a wormole gate on the edge of it's system towards the end of the Enlightenment period, but it had the knowledge and ability to create them halfway through shipping the colonists. The plan was to have the colonists construct their own wormholes upon reaching the edge of their planet's solar system; then land, set up their colony, and contact Enith through a micro-wormhole com set. The ships that did not have the materials for this on their leaving had another ship sent following them.

Many of the ships did not make it to their destinations. But some did.

The surviving colonists woke up, set up their wormholes, and landed on their planets. Many encountered barely habitable planets that needed thorough terraforming to support a decent population. Some encountered planets that weren't habitable at all, or were habitable but didn't have any native life, and a rare few encountered planets with life already on it. A few of those were even met by sapient life.

The colonists were lucky that, when the first of them contacted Enith, it was once again going through a period of space exploration. The First Enlightenment had collapsed not long after the last colonists left, and Enith had been in and out of dark ages ever since. The wormhole generator, luckily, saw a fair amount of upkeep every couple of millennia and was able to be repaired. Then duplicated, then updated as Enith entered it's modern period.

When Enith was contacted by it's long-lost colonist, it quickly sent more colonists and supplies. The problem was... well... it had been 500,000 years.

The colonists were met by people who barely looked like them, who rarely spoke the same language as them, and who often chastised them for dressing or acting how they always have. They were similar, but that was all that could be said. Enith had changed and the colonists had not. Their way of life was dead and gone, and they were the only memory.

First contact had to have been funny though. I mean imagine you went to an exoplanet to colonize it and when Earth sent some more guys for you and opposite Homo Heidelbergensis pops out with a grey alien behind it.

Hilarious.

A colony ship contacts Enith every couple of decades now. Bitriem's colony was the first to encounter native sapients, and they contacted Enith around one and a half thousand years ago. Zornxia and Atiske were two other early contacts, and the most recent contact was with the Umblans.

The people who were sent to colonize Umblan are still alive in the setting of The Little Bird. Diaf is probably in contact with a few of them. But while they made contact with Enith, while they have access to the full network of planets Enith has made, they're still alone. Isolated, because everything they once knew is gone.

Humans had the same strategy.

Enith is on the Sagittarius branch, though the cluster of systems the Enithian and Teth Tias governments inhabit is just about the closet you can get to Orion.

Hán was on one of the first generations of ships to be sent towards Sagittarius. Cereza's two times great grandparents were shipped out later than her.

Earth didn't send them out with wormhole tech. No one has heard from Earth since waking up.

What would you do if everything you ever knew was just gone? Unreachable, unknowable for the rest of your life. Not just what was your life, but all of Earth. Of humanity.

What would you do if you were stranded, alone, quite possibly the last humans in the universe?

[muchmossymess]

So with the homunculi being essentially human, having all the same organs and whatever whatever— does that mean that lust had to deal with period cramps?

[thestarserpent]

Central Hamsan Union

Central Hamsa, previously known as Indian Hamsa, is a territorial grouping of the Arayanna, Pukkumoli, Ravana, and Sálbán star systems. Today, those systems host 3 nations: the Union of Rakaash, the Republic of Kulanatu, and the People's Republic of Nailanka, as well as the territory of the Salivahan Settlements, respectively. These 4 now constitute the Central Hamsan Union (CHU).

Originally, Hamsa only referred to a series of worlds colonized by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, named after the Hamsa Interstellar Cloud. SAARC colonial holdings were managed individually, yet following the Great Blackout, their governance would be consolidated by the reformed South Asian Community. The SACOM Hamsan territory was given an overall colonial authority and by the 2340s, it was granted self-governing powers. After the Secessionist War, which saw the 4 planetary systems on the frontline for much of the conflict, a gradual process of gaining independence began.

The Central Hamsan Union was formed to hasten this process and facilitate continued cooperation between the former colonies and Earth. In many ways, the CHU blends the elements of a supranational union and a dominion. A Secretary-General heads the CHU on a biannual rotation between the 4 members. A Governor-General is appointed by SACOM as its representative in Central Hamsa. Integration across many fields is further carried out by the CHU's many institutions, alongside their membership in the Stellar Confederate Union. While Rakaash remains the most dominant nation in the CHU and even across the wider Hamsa sector, holding many of the organization's governmental offices, the headquarters of the Central Hamsan Union is located in Simpasa City, Kulanatu.

(Full flags below)

[hawkinslibrary]

y'all. i love this show

[aemiron-main]

why is he posed like a dead oblivion npc

[astrovian]

Richard Armitage for Good Housekeeping (February 2025) - My Simple Pleasures

Richard, 53, lives with his partner in London

Sci-Fi Books

When I was studying for my English A level, we were given A Science Fiction Omnibus by Brian Aldiss and I remember being intrigued by what the writers of the 1950s and 60s thought the future would be like. It sparked a love of sci-fi books.

Snow Days

Every year, as winter approaches and I see pictures of snowy mountains, my heart starts racing and I think: "When am I going to get up a mountain this year?" I love the altitude, the fresh air, the après-ski, but most of all, I love getting to the top of the mountain, looking at the extraordinary view and then skiing down. It feels a little bit like flying.

Shepherd's Pie

It sounds trashy, but I really like food you can eat with one hand a spoon on the sofa - and that's what shepherd's pie is. Even now, if I'm at a really fancy restaurant and it has shepherd's pie on the menu, I'll order it.

Trips to the movies

I go to the cinema every week. I really enjoy the collective experience; it's a bit like the theatre, where the reactions of an audience are infectious. When I saw Alien: Romulus, everyone had their hands over their faces - then we all screamed at the same time!

My Robin Hood outfits

Until recently, I still had two jackets from when I played Guy of Gisbourne in the BBC One series of Robin Hood. I recently auctioned them for charity and its nice to know they're now in the hands of fans.

Pilates

I'm a bit of a Pilates fanatic. A few years ago, I starred in the play Uncle Vanya with a brilliant actress called Dearbhla Molloy, who was in her mid-70s at the time but had this incredible physique and energy. She told me it was all down to Pilates, so I said: 'Right, that's what I'm going to do' - and I haven't looked back.

Listening to Max Richter

I still remember hearing Max Richter's version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons for the first time and I thought: 'Wow, it's like a funked-up jazz version.' I always listen to Max's music when I'm writing my books now, and I like to fall asleep to his Sleep album.

The luxury I couldn't live without... My Eames chair

When I was furnishing my flat in London, the one thing I invested in was an Eames chair, it sits in a corner of my lounge with two windows on either side so I can look out, and it's where I do all my writing.

The Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark

I first saw this film on my 10th birthday and I've lost count of how many times I've watched it since. It still stands up all these years later - the action is great, but it's also comedic and the score is fantastic.

[hurtmuscle]

finally showing off some of my kurt collection 🙂‍↕️ the poster wall has become so big i can't capture it in one photo,, also if you wanna know where i got anything specific just ask! i might make a more detailed list of where i got all my merch once i've posted more of the collection

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

<3 I love this fandub of the Energon Universe Transformers comics <3

The moment Starman kicks in with Beachcomber gazing at earth with such wonder and love

NOOOOOO MY FEEEEEELS <3_<3

Me: I JUST WANT HIM TO BE ABLE TO ROMP

I WANT HIM TO BEFRIEND CREATURES AND LIVE IN PEACE ;-;

[swampthingking]

the thought of cracking the spine of a book makes kevin nauseous. he like opens it just enough to see the words and holds the book at such uncomfortable angles to read— anything to keep the book pristine and intact. he does not let people borrow his books because he is a control freak (as a term of endearment) and does not trust them to take care of them the way he does.

and andrew is the complete opposite, cracking the spine as soon as he opens it. he annotates in pen. he dog ears the pages because who the fuck has time to find a bookmark. he throws books out of anger. he throws them at aaron for fun. he lets them get smashed and torn in his bag. he always keeps them, he just prefers them to look like they’ve been read.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

"Unreality" Jesse what the fuck are you talking about. I'm a real person urban is a real person robb wells the actor is a real person this is a real post. where is the unreality.

[portuguesedisaster]

What in the fuck did I just watched?

[scarletfish]

based on the cover art/description/*vibes*, I thought trigun '98 was going to be a more serious, lone ranger kinda sci-fi western, but it's actually genuinely funny and weirdly wholesome??

I love my two insurance girls and their cringefail, dumbass outlaw 💛

[only on ep 10 so no spoilers pls 🙏]

[trans-elrond]

any other sff novelists have a big ol' world that they use for stories and just transplant otherwise orphaned ideas there because, hey, i've already done the worldbuilding for that place, might as well put 13 plots there too??