#we are from incompatible species

[gaphic]

strategizing like a 4-star general on how to explain to oleg why adina's sexy dance class makes me uncomfortable without making it seem like i'm weird about sexy dancing

[nqathan1]

I found humans are space orcsblr.

I have always liked Humans are Space Orcs. It is funny.

But so many posts are like

Alien: *notices weird thing about human* Alien: *asks about it* Human: *responds as if normal activity* Alien: wtf

And I just can’t help but unsuspend the universal translator disbelief. Like, yeah, it’s easy to say you could change one sound to another so that aliens who physically couldn’t make human language sounds can still communicate, but consider:

Aliens who can’t make noises at all.

Aliens who can’t see so sign language isn’t a thing.

Aliens with no sense of touch so even haptics are impossible.

Imagine aliens who communicate by smell (something that happens on earth with some animals) or taste. Aliens who sense different kinds of radiation and communicate that way. Imagine humans are completely incompatible with alien species because we don’t have the organ that senses gamma rays. Like, we take ears for granted because everything on earth can hear (if not disabled). But in the void of space, there is no sound—what if no one is listening, not because they’re not there or because they don’t care, but because we’re talking at a blind person in ASL?

There are so many cool options for communication for aliens—temperature, pressure, microwaves, electric signals, you name it. Like, imagine a species that communicated by the physical sensation of wind.

And, like, you might think, “how could an alien communicate in radiation? There’s radiation all around and we don’t sense it. Plus, there’s so much of it, there’d be no way to tell it apart from natural radiation!” But then consider. We communicate in vibrations of fluids. There’s vibrations all around, and we can sense them all—yet we still manage to pick out human sounds from nonhuman sounds, and distinguish between!

Imagine in head.

Alien, learning how use a sound interpreting machine, being excited with being able to identify a human sound from a mess of nonhuman sounds. Then, realizing that not only can we do this effortlessly, we can tell one human’s sounds apart from another, even if we’ve barely met them. We can make patterns of this incomprehensible gibberish, much in the same way our alien can determine which of their friend’s protons are being reamalgamated.

Then.

Humans have their own unique “voice” in other alien languages, much in the same way aliens would still make sounds just from moving around. Or reactions we didn’t even know we had because we can’t sense them, like alien purrs they couldn’t tell they were making because they don’t have ears.

Just something to think about.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Do you have any thoughts on how to make a character half-alien and also half-human like Spock or similar characters in a way that makes scientific sense? Like, how two parents from different planets could produce viable offspring?

first a note on some vocabulary relating to hybrid species.

non-viable means the hybrid offspring couldn't survive gestation, or it wasn't possible for them to be conceived in the first place. it could also mean that a hybrid baby was born but had such bad health issues from being a hybrid that it didn't survive infancy. rabbits and hares are an example of this, where they are technically related species but they cannot produce viable offspring.

viable just means the conception and gestation were normal and an actual living baby was born and can grow to adulthood, assuming they're healthy. being a hybrid is not the main source of any major life-threatening conditions in this case, and in some cases being a hybrid may even create a better outcome. example: mules. a hybrid between a horse and a donkey. it is said to have the best traits of both parents.

it is not, however, fertile, meaning it cannot have more of its own offspring.

a fertile hybrid is one that can go on to have more offspring, like a wolfdog. wolfdogs are not good pets, but people like the idea of them, and since it's possible for wolfdogs to keep having offspring, they may be further bred to have less wolf genetics and more domestic dog genetics, maintaining the idea of a wolfdog with a higher chance of it being a decent pet. (still not a great thing though, really, we already domesticated wolves into dogs, we really don't need to reverse-engineer domestic wolves.)

so what's the actual difference here? why can wolfdogs have more babies, but mules can't, and rabbits and hares can't even conceive a viable hybrid at all? this article says the main difference is chromosomes:

tldr:

Different chromosome numbers: If the parent species have different numbers of chromosomes, the hybrid offspring will inherit an uneven number, preventing proper pairing during meiosis.

Chromosomal rearrangements: Even if the chromosome numbers are the same, differences in chromosome structure (e.g., inversions, translocations) can disrupt pairing.

Gene incompatibilities: During meiosis, specific genes from each parent need to interact correctly. In hybrids, incompatibilities between these genes can disrupt the process.

so an alien/human hybrid may be infertile for these reasons, even if they're clearly a viable hybrid. big difference there, between viable and fertile. it's a little easier to be flexible about a hybrid being viable but a lot more difficult to say they could be fertile. they'd need to be closer related or just have the most coincidentally similar genetics.

and then for an absolutely wild real life example of two animals that are not remotely related to each other being able to have hybrid offspring, we have the sturddle fish! a cross between sturgeon and paddlefish that were accidentally created during an experiment that kinda relied on the idea that these two fish were so genetically distant, there was no way they'd create fertilized eggs with viable offspring.

oops.

I cannot find any more recent followups to say whether or not these hybrids turned out to be fertile, but it was speculated that they would be infertile. This does however give every scifi and fantasy writer a little more flexibility in creating unexpected hybrids in their own worldbuilding lol. sometimes we do have to handwave things a little bit, based on how realistic and grounded in reality our worlds are supposed to be. as long as you can just say that the chromosomes are close enough, you can handwave a lot of fantasy and alien hybrids.

but for the added realism, most of them should probably be infertile, as that's just statistically the most expected outcome.

come to think of it, i don't actually know if any Star Trek canon has stated whether or not Spock is infertile. Though I'm pretty sure it's at least canon that the Vulcans and Romulans are closely related enough to have fertile offspring. I think I remember a detail in one of the modern Star Trek shows about them coming back together in the future and becoming a combined people species. So that's neat.

[marlynnofmany]

Apparently reblogs are off for the cool post about aliens that have a billion babies and wait to see which survive, and that's a pity, because @lillyjen had some great ideas that are worth sharing:

Makes me think of species that go to one specific place to breed, because the young need very different conditions than the adults. And the journey is often arduous & perilous, & the time you're able to spend there is very limited. And nowadays breeding isn't a death sentence (though it probably requires a recovery period), because they're intelligent enough to overcome most of the pitfalls, but since breeding requires those very specific conditions, as do the offspring prior to maturation, you still can't live there. There's monitoring equipment, nowadays. Plus a research station, of sorts. But the incompatible environment means there is very little adults can do to intervene (though they do try - the bulk of their resources are probably reserved for emergencies, though, since they're limited). I think a species with this kind of maturation cycle probably wouldn't have the same communication in juvenile & adult forms, too, so it would be like monitoring a wild animal population in more ways than one. Sort of "I am intelligent enough to recognise these creatures as my offspring" but also "we are entirely seperate species until they reach their first maturation". (Might also be a case of "one of our kids", i.e.: this is where x community goes to breed, therefore these are the kids that belong to those people. They get sorted into homes based on how many survive, & who has what resources. They're aware of genetics & direct descent, but it's just not something that really concerns them.) #most examples of this kind of breed em & leave em I can think of are marine based #reasons for inhospitality: #eggs need a certain temperature #adults die with prolonged exposure to that kind of heat #infants thrive in the heat #(no need for internal temperature regulation) #but once they reach a certain mass it becomes too hot#plus there's not enough food #OR #breeding season follows feeding season #which follows patterns of boom & bust #we lay our eggs in the barren places because we cannot afford to carry them with us #(& modern attempts to try have shown that the conditions are too variable & they die) #& there are no predators that will eat them in the barren places #unfortunately #that also means there's nothing for the offspring to eat once they've consumed their eggs #(probably some cannibalism on the way out of the barren places…) #we bury our eggs in the sacred grounds #(which science tells us has a specific blend of temperature & minerals that are absorbed through the soft shells #& is nigh impossible to recreate artificially) #& must wait for our offspring to return to us #since treading on the sacred ground defiles it #(risks disturbing it's delicate environment) #etc

This makes a lot of sense! I didn't think that there could be reasons for the adults to not stay in the area itself, aside from predators. But if the region itself is inhospitable -- or in danger of damage from the adults -- then that is an entirely valid reason to simply wait for the hatchlings to make their way out and join the rest of society.

I'll bet there are some very interesting social structures for how those self-sufficient feral children are welcomed into society, too.

[zoetica]

Hybrid Futures: Human Adaptation in Symbiotic Ecosystems // Transcript + Slides.

Zoetica Ebb, 2025 

A transcript of the presentation about the paper, Hybrid Futures: Human Adaptation in Symbiotic Ecosystems, delivered on Friday, April 11, 2025 at The Adventures of Matter: Beyond the Boundaries of the Living and the Nonliving as part of International Vectors Conference.

zoetica@gmail.com zoeticaebb.com

Hybrids

I’ve been studying bio-glitches, xenohybrids and psychogametous life-forms for the last decade at The Institute For Psychogametous Life. The main findings are presented in Chimeric Herbarium, published in 2022. It’s an archive of art and documentation from the lost Novy Mir mission. I’ll give you a brief introduction today.

Here you can see a few examples of the xenohybrids that I’ve been studying:

An aquatic predatory symbiote

A flowering organism with a 2-stage lifecycle

An aquatic metamorphic parasite

And a cave-dwelling temporary symbiote

Xenohybridisation

Xenohybridisation is our future as a species. Some might even say the process is well underway. How do we know if we are looking at a xenohybrid? To determine this, we need to understand least-interaction boundaries.

Least interaction boundaries

To analyse any system we must define what’s inside and outside. The boundary should be the smallest bubble that still contains all the essential parts and their interactions. This means the exchange through the boundary is minimized. 

An ecosystem, whether it's a tiny mossy rock or the entire universe, is defined by this boundary of minimal exchange.

Now, imagine two organisms, each a self-contained world defined by its own least-interaction boundary. As they merge, more and more information, matter, and energy flow through the boundary between them. 

Least-interaction boundary 

Least-interaction boundary: the perimeter around a system where the flux of energy, information, and matter is minimised, i.e. its most contained state

When intertwined to the point of such codependency that separation means death, we can only think of them as a single organism, and the unified least-interaction boundary contains them both. This dissolution of boundaries is at the core of the hybridisation process.

Genetic Engineering 

Some of you may be familiar with this famous early xenohybrid: Alba. She was a genetically-modified glowing rabbit created by artist Eduardo Kac and geneticist Louis-Marie Houdebine. Alba caused quite a scandal among the public and was seen as some kind of abomination. It probably didn’t help that Kac described Alba as an animal that did not exist in nature.

So what is a xenohybrid?

Xenohybrid (definition) 

Xenohybrid: an entity resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms with disjoint evolutionary paths

All the organisms I’m studying intertwine with another entity for a substantial part of their lifecycle tо surpass their innate limits. When the two parts are genetically incompatible, we call them “xenohybrids”.

Desiderium papilionem 

Our current research revolves around the study of an ecosystem on Chimera, the 11th moon of the gas giant Eesa-7 in NQ3. This ecosystem has distinct wet and dry seasons, and numerous lakes in perpetual tectonic flux. A few of these lakes are deep and stable, while most are small and only fill with water during the moon’s five rainy seasons. The ecosystems of individual lakes are simply not big enough to support large aquatic predators, making it necessary for them to move from lake to lake to get enough nutrients.

Take the Desiderium papilionem: a large aquatic predator that evolved well before the small lakes formed, during the time when a large central lake dominated the landscape. It had to adapt. To access the diverse nutrition from multiple lakes, it hybridizes with a native dry-land organism. This symbiont seeks out the Desiderium in a mutual instinctual process which appears to have co-evolved. 

The Desiderium uses a retrovirus vector to introduce a DNA-modification sequence. This alters the partner for better aquatic performance by adding hydrodynamic features.

The adaptation allows the composite organism to hunt deep-water species and to thrive across a wide selection of lakes. This composite organism is the apex predator of the lakeland ecosystem.

Desiderium papilionem xenohybrid 

This is a fascinating and efficient process, particularly when we consider its versatility. We’ve learned that it’s not exclusive to the co-evolved local quadruped.

One example is the ordeal of Julie Tsaselski, Chief Science Monitor from the Novy Mir expedition. After total equipment failure, there was no going home. To survive in this harsh alien environment, and perhaps to sate her scientific fascination, Tsaselski personally underwent the Desiderium symbiosis. Sacrificing some of her humanity, she took the place of the local land organism, gaining aquatic breathing and jet-propulsion.

Desiderium papilionem +Desiderium papilionem xenohybrid 

Usually, the Desiderium papilionem procreates by exposing its gametes to the water-borne pollen of other Desideria. Fertilised gametes develop into seeds and shed when the wet season ends, completing the cycle. 

CSM Tsaselski’s new gills aid this process, undulating to draw the genetic material into her repurposed lungs to maximize pollen capture.

The mission log reads: 

“In the downpour, Tsaselski’s new gills unfurled and throbbed subtly. Their sticky filaments ensnared drifting pollen, inviting it into the moist interior of her transformed lungs. Her breath, a deliberate invitation as it drew the pollen towards her, guiding the precious genetic dust into the receptive spaces inside.”

Although Tsaselski's transition was a drastic, and perhaps partially forced adaptation, the resulting composite organism presents a perfect example of the surprising possibilities of xenohybridisation.  

Sometimes, profound restructuring is imperative.

Mutual Assimilation 

Let’s look at another one of our case studies: the entwined organism resulting from lab assistant Kira Sirotkina and a Lenticus somnium.

The Lenticus keeps its prey alive while detached gastropods digest the prey’s soft tissue. Then, the Lenticus uses the prey as an incubator.

Sirotkina engineered a retrovirus to make her DNA hack the Lenticus, but the experiment did not go according to plan. Her soft tissue hybridized with the Lenticus, replacing her muscles and ligaments with functional alien-botanical equivalents. 

The log reads:

“The lake. It replays in my mind, that revolting tableau. Entry was textbook, the embedding, a brutal surprise. But it’s the feeding that haunts. The gastropods erupting from her skin. The initial screams, then this peace. Sighs mingled with wet tearing. Kira’s face – a flicker of something akin to contentment, even as those things dissolved her arm. Pleasure blooming in the abyss of pain. Muscles spasming, tissue being consumed, yet a soft exhale. Her prognosis was always grim, but this euphoric decay? None of us were prepared. All we can do is observe, but the lake… It’s stained with something beyond blood now.” 

Records indicate that the resulting hybrid took residence in the shallow part of a nearby lake. It was observed coming back to Sirotkina’s duties on multiple occasions.

Note that in the schema from the archive, there is no sensible boundary to draw between the two organisms that formed the new entity, showing the hybridization process is complete.

It's human nature to become less human 

As Sirotkina and Tsaselski cases demonstrate, it's human nature to become less human. We seek out change for the sake of change, and hybridisation, once possible, becomes inevitable. 

It’s a necessary adaptation to a rapidly changing world, reflecting the fundamental principle that ecosystems thrive through interaction and recombination. 

Mergence with other life forms demonstrates a deep integration that fundamentally alters what it means to be human - yet nothing is more human than to seek it.

Bio-glitch

Bio-glitch: unpredictable and often disruptive biological event such as recombination, mutation, and hybridisation

Alien matter becomes integral and inseparable within the biological makeup of these new life forms, urging us to confront human identity in a world where the boundaries of "human" are increasingly porous. 

Technological and medical advancements, bio-glitches, and the potential for multi-organism merging, beckon a new era of directed evolution, where hybridisation transcends our “natural” limitations.

Behavioural hybrid 

Behavioural hybrid: A complex of two or more physically separate bodies which cannot thrive and propagate without all its parts.

Aberrant Plexus 

Here at The Institute For Psychogametous Life we have an entity that survived by using something that was already here - humans.

The Aberrant Plexus is an alien mycelium and a colony-organizer-manipulator. It’s theorised to have arrived with the capsule carrying the Chimeric herbarium archive. 

Without its expected symbiotic partners, this xenomycelium has done something unexpected: it's keyed in on the fact that we're a social species. Our ingrained tendencies to connect, communicate, and cooperate? The Plexus seems to be leveraging that.

It exhibits a sensitivity to and influence upon the social dynamics of human subjects within its containment perimeter. Its exploitation of pre-existing social structures suggests a sophisticated strategy for environmental adaptation.

Humans start to operate in unison 

It’s clear that social interaction with the Aberrant Plexus drives its whole life cycle. How it grows, fruits, spores, and even seems to evolve.

And the researchers here are figuring out how to make it respond just by trying things out. It's a feedback loop: what we do changes the Plexus, and then how the Plexus reacts changes how we interact with it - and with each other.

We've seen the Plexus influence personnel to form incredibly tight-knit, almost collective groups. Over time, these individuals start acting more and more in sync, to where they seem less like separate people and more like parts of a single organism.

The least-interaction boundaries between the humans are obviously diminishing. The pronounced cooperation necessitated by the Plexus’ "interventions" is fostering an unusual degree of interdependence and synchronized action amongst the research team.

This looks like a real case of behavioral xenohybridisation, where the mycelium is making deep social connections happen without any physical merging.

Early data suggest that the Aberrant Plexus might be aiming for something bigger: a radical way to integrate our social structures into its own operating system.

If this behavioral manipulation precedes a deeper, non-invasive hybridisation, we must figure out what it's ultimately trying to achieve.

Humans are Hybrids 

Our cells house the remnants of ancient viral infections and the DNA of once-free bacteria, the mitochondria – a primal form of biological merging. 

Most of us carry Neanderthal DNA, an echo of interbreeding with another human lineage. 

This inherent capacity for internalizing the "other" – a biological imperative for adaptation – now extends beyond our history. As our interconnected world accelerates, the lines fade. 

Just as early life bio-glitched its way to complexity through symbiosis, we too are driven towards hybrid futures, a consequence of our inherent adaptability and the planet's interconnected signal-processing network. 

Gaia Hypothesis 

The Gaia hypothesis posits the entire planet as a self-regulating interconnected system, a vast network where all living and nonliving components are interdependent. Through the lens of xenohybridisation, this planetary ecosystem could be argued to fit the definition of a global-scale hybrid.

Hybrids with open reproduction cycles 

To understand the scope necessary to study our further evolution, we must also look at lifeforms with open reproduction cycles.

A life-form has an open reproduction cycle if it requires another life-form or hybrid-partner to reproduce successfully.

Lifeforms with open reproduction cycles 

Cavendish bananas are extinct without humans - they’re seedless and humans clone them.

We are used by viruses that are inert on their own, but their RNA reprograms our cells to replicate them.

And in obligatory mutualism, the yucca moth and the yucca plant are reproductively codependent: the moth pollinates the flower and lays eggs inside, where the larvae are fed and protected by the plant.

Psychogametous lifeforms 

Psychogametous lifeforms also have open reproduction cycles. They replicate and evolve by leveraging other entities to transmit and reinterpret symbolic information. 

First articulated in the Chimeric Herbarium, the term describes extraterrestrial organisms exhibiting this model, suggesting biological systems can utilize cognitive and cultural pathways for reproduction. 

Unlike memes or word viruses, these lifeforms physically manifest after informational transmission, encoding their reproductive information into symbols for human cognitive propagation and adaptation.

Desire drives reproduction 

Study: dissemination of psychogametous life forms 

The Desiderium papilionem shows an impressive ability to adapt. A successful xenohybrid in its native environment, it’s also prolifically psychogametous. Its first non-biological manifestation was a drawing, reproduced by the hundreds in the Chimeric Herbarium. The manuscript then replicated in readers’ minds, coaxing them to find collaborators to propagate some of the drawings as graphic designs, and later, clothing. 

As an exosymbiote, the clothing physically transformed their temporary hybrid partners, altered their self-perception, and raised their confidence. Consequently, the Desiderium spread further by fueling desire, and thus reproduction through made-to-order objects. 

This spread eventually resulted in its next form: the digital model. The model then became a physical, infinitely reproducible sculpture made by the artist Peachthief who grew a digital Desiderium from cyber-seed, and used a 3D printer to make a physical specimen.

Each cycle occurred through a distinct human or group, and evolved into a different form, better adapted to its new habitat every time.

This evolution continues.

Hybridisation: an inevitable consequence of human nature 

Humans are especially susceptible hybrid partners for life-forms with open reproductive cycles. In this, we find convergence with posthumanism, where the human is “permeable to other natures, other matters, and other cultural agents,”. Being human already involves surpassing the boundaries of human “nature”. 

As we navigate a future where the very definition of "human" is in flux, I propose the ability to adapt to rapid and extreme levels of change as a defining aspect of humanity. 

Matter with Agency 

Our current definition of 'life' is inadequate. It doesn't account for entities like viruses, which exhibit a clear drive for self-perpetuation. The nature of psychogametous life-forms, AI, and 'uploaded' cyborgs challenges traditional biological definitions. “Matter with Agency”  is a more encompassing term for entities with inherent directives.

These are matter possessed of agenda, driven by an intrinsic will to perpetuate. This raw self-directed imperative is the core of a useful definition of life. Beyond metabolism and reproduction, life is the hunger, the relentless push to be and become more. And in that primal drive lies a power that eclipses old notions of biology, a power that whispers of futures where the boundaries of flesh and code, organic and artificial, living and something more, dissolve into a new reality.

In striving to transcend humanity, we only redefine it 

We reshape ourselves and our environment. Our drive to adapt and connect, already evident in our biology, is now amplified by technology. 

Hybrids are an inevitable consequence of human nature. 

We crave the beyond. 

We're accelerating this process, seizing control of evolution. We're directly manipulating matter with agency into new biological forms and fusing technology with our minds and bodies. We're merging with bacteria, viruses, and sometimes even with each other. This reflects the essential human drive to transcend limitations and push beyond the boundaries of our nature. 

We are matter with agency. It’s human nature to become less human.

Aemulor fictus 

I’d like to touch on a type of hybrid we haven’t talked about yet: a hybrid mimic.

The Aemulor fictus is a parasitic predator whose reproductive strategy exemplifies a sophisticated form of parasitism. This flowering organism, with its striking morphology, actively seeks out and infiltrates the bodies of organisms from other species. Through a rapid cellular replacement process employing Pouyannian mimicry, the Aemulor fictus commandeers the host's form and sensory outputs.

Aemulor fictus hybrid mimic 

The resulting short-lived hybrid mimic attracts pollinators through tactile, olfactory, chemical, and even audiovisual signals mimicking the host. It operates with limited functionality and ultimately decays. 

This parasitic takeover achieves pollination, pseudocopulation, and genetic dispersal within hours, not generations. It’s a direct exploitation of the host's biological systems and even its cognitive functions for the sole benefit of the Aemulor fictus. 

The mimic's eventual decay further underscores the parasitic nature of this interaction, utilizing even the host's decomposition to attract secondary pollinators.

Aemulor fictus and Aemulor fictus hybrid mimic 

One final log entry for today from the Novy Mir mission, documenting the fate of Second Pilot Polina Kaihua: 

“The crimson bloom erupted on Polina’s chest, its bearded flower twitching obscenely. Her eyes shimmered sugar-cataract pink. Viscous tendrils snaked out, anchoring themselves in flesh - a blooming corruption. A flicker in the gaze, a wrongness in the posture, a low murmur in the voice, broadcasting some kind of demented siren call. A puppet learning new strings as the flower pulsed, its stigma glistening with threat. Flesh rewritten cell by cell, to lure unseen pollinators to her: beautiful, terrible, and irrevocably lost.”

Adapt or Vanish 

Although Kaihua’s fate is a cautionary tale, it doesn’t change our future.

Our fundamental drive to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing universe compels hybridization. "Life is artifact-making," and this extends to the molecular level, where organisms engage in codemaking processes that shape their evolutionary trajectory. 

While the outcomes of such hybridisation may be unpredictable, they are inevitable. Embracing this fact, understanding the principles of ecosystem interaction, and acknowledging the semiotic agency of all components within the network will be crucial for navigating the new phase of human evolution.

Mergence with other life forms isn't a hypothetical scenario; it's an unfolding reality driven by our inherent desire to redefine what it means to be alive.

Thank You + Glossary

Least-interaction boundary: the perimeter around a system where the flux of energy, information, and matter is minimised, i.e. its most contained state

Bio-glitch: unpredictable and often disruptive biological event such as recombination, mutation, and hybridisation

Xenohybrid: an entity resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms with disjoint evolutionary paths

Behavioural hybrid: A complex of two or more physically separate bodies which cannot thrive and propagate without all its parts

Hybrids with an open reproduction cycle: lifeforms requiring a hybrid-partner for successful reproduction

Psychogametous lifeform: an entity that encodes its reproductive information into symbolic forms, using cognitive systems to transmit and reinterpret that information, thereby triggering propagation

[surreal-souly]

I was thinking about what the sage and Ena said about bodies. The sage said something along the lines of being present in multiple bodies/lives at the same time, and then Ena talking about the "bathroom" not being enough for their bodies.

Maybe they are connected. The Ena one is probably because it's like each one has multiple split personalities/minds in one body, but what if that's the case, along with also being part of Ena as a whole, as in all the Enas that exist or existed.

I was thinking of how each ena is ena but split into different enas. The more unstable or incompatible an ena has become from the original or from their original they split (probably unlikely the case).

probs it's something more like being clones/just being a species that's somehow connected with each other, because they can also very well be independent beings/entities (.....wait I suppose the split ones could also very well be/become independent. I confused myself now lol)

Also seems like the past, future, and present being the present/happening at the same time happens with Ena and maybe other characters/in this world in general. At the hub, we can already see a mannequin lying down. That ended up being the one that she burst out of after being trapped within the lonely door. Since it was there since the start, I think that would mean she has already gotten trapped while she was also just arriving to the hub to start her job.

Based on the credit ending scene. The void containing mannequins is similar to that from the great runas. What if they are the same? Seems like each door is a gateway from different doors that were closed and ena got trapped in or corrupted in. Maybe the color of the void is like depth/levels. It was a darker in bbq but lighter in great runas. It could be the same void space but at different levels.

When Ena looked into the genie's memories of what could of happened she was experiencing the memories directly. I think that would mean she was experiencing the action of another ena that had completed those actions or was in the middle of doing those actions as our ena was experiencing the memories of those actions.

This reminds me of the power of potluck. At the start, Ena enters the door, but then at the end, it's like she never went in there and was instead experiencing a memory of another Ena or herself completing those actions coherently. Since Moony talked about why Ena didn't run after ringing the bell. So far, it seems like none of the enas even remember being there or technically they do, since they experienced it through memories? lol.

Something I found interesting is that bbq ena struggles with joy by not enjoying it, or at least it seems that way. The meanie side gets stressed by experiencing joy. While our blue/yellow ena struggles with understanding joy ....me thinks......

uhh I forgot what my thinking process was.... Hopefully this made sense .......to some degree even just a tiny bit lmao

Edit-

Okay idk why my mind didn't register moony saying not going in to the wrong place in potluck but the spiral scene still makes it seem as if Ena just stood there. Maybe it was like both things happening at the same time were Ena did go in the door for the many times she already went in but also Another Ena or herself was also just standing their experiencing the memories of the Ena entering the door.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Danny, Security Chief

Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<Open File>

<{Possible Security Threats}>

• Theta Raider attack; 23% likely

• Grite of the Sed

• Elizabeth Collins^

~Addendum: Liz Collins and 3 possibly hostile infant alien lifeforms she’s keeping as pets~

<{(expand file?)}>

Security Chief Danny Ducane had started keeping a list of possible risks to the Noah after the disastrous mission to MX13, off the main servers of course. He kept it on his private computer in his quarters, away from prying eyes and probes, something like a journal more than an official log.

He clicked the expansion and began to dictate:

“While the Sed man Grite has been relegated to inactive duty aboard the ship, the situation is becoming increasingly complicated. Several times I have seen the other Sed crewmen in compromising places, though it seems inauspicious to the rest of the security team. After I caught Communications Officer Soane observing me leaving the Bridge, I’ve also seen Kor and Taren, both engineers, in odd locations around the ship where there has been no request for repairs or upgrades. I’ve kept my findings to myself out of fear of accused paranoia, and my own self policing. I’m positive they’re watching me. But whether or not they have ulterior motives or are just pissed I fired their buddy, I’m still not sure. Further investigating is required.

On another note, my information request was confirmed by Admiral Townes. Despite the fact that the Noah was human made, with GAIL assistance, and that the experiment was posed by the Quintins in the first place, the Sed representative on the GAIL council apparently made a big stink about the Sed not having any command positions on board. Townes said they wanted the Captain position, Security Chief, and communications lead all filled with their own species, but the requirements weren’t met by anyone they’d selected for the mission. Therefore they just ended up as grunts under these ‘lesser’ species. Sounds like a bunch of political posturing, they got what they got and threw a fit anyway. Townes said they don’t take kindly to orders from races they deem… incompatible. So there’s that too, I guess, bigots in space. I’m just hoping we can hit the halfway mark and get relief personnel before this thing we got brewing goes nuclear. Signing off.”

Danny clicked the computer off and stretched his arms above his head, his back popping twice. Between alien encounters and solar flares, the ship was getting more… noisy. Active. Danny didn’t like it. Boring was best. Boring meant nobody was dying. He’d had had a feeling in the pit of his stomach for the last dozen cycles or so, something was coming.

And it was probably gonna piss him off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny made the bridge at 0900 hours the next morning, slapping his ball cap on his head and a cup of coffee in his hands. He nodded to the bridge crew before turning to the captain, who looked at him with his ant like head cocked to one side.

“Chief Ducane, I believe it’s your day off duty, is it not?”

“It is, yeah, but it’s not like I can leave the ship unattended. Anything could happen,” Danny said, raising his cup to gesture.

“Speaking of, anything new boss?” he asked.

“Actually yes,” Skitch said, his multifaceted eyes catching the light and glowing like an oil slick. “We got an alert about an hour ago, something breached our forward perimeter for a minute before jumping away. We think it was a ship of sorts, but the scanners couldn’t tell anything definitive before it ran away.”

Danny thought for a moment, taking a sip of coffee.

“Could be pirates,” he said finally, “but if it was an hour ago and they haven’t come back, they probably aren’t a sizable force if a ship this small scared them off. Still, I recommend putting everyone on tactical alert for the time being, just to be safe.”

Skitch nodded, antenna bobbing.

“Good idea. Now please, go rest. The medical staff told me you humans have to sleep for at least 10 hours a cycle or you don’t function correctly, and you barely get 6 with the amount of work you do.”

“Don’t worry about me Captain,” Danny said, laughing, “I’m perfectly capable of functioning on just 6 hours, even less with enough coffee.”

“Regardless, this is your assigned rest period. You’re supposed to relax today, so I don’t want to see you until the next cycle,” Skitch ordered. “You’re no good to the ship if-”

One of the consoles started beeping, cutting the Captain off. It was coming from the long range scanners, the communications officer cycling through the information as fast as she could.

“Sir, we’re picking up a distress call from the other side of the system, a merchant vessel is under attack!”

“Who is it?”

“Signal corresponds to a Muruzian ship the GAIL has on file, they’re taking fire.”

“Helmsman, set a course, best possible speed!” Skitch ordered. “Chief Ducane, your off day is canceled.”

“Way ahead of you captain,” Danny said, downing his coffee and turning his cap around. “Let’s go to work.”

Danny turn on his heel and booked off the bridge and back towards the lift. As he moved, he unclipped the comm-link from his hip and made the call:

“Attention Alpha Team, we have a situation. Body armor and weapons, meet in the hangar bay in 5 minutes. Bravo Team are on call for support and possible rescue. We are heading to aid friendlies and fuck up enemies, move your asses.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny hit the hangar bay in 4 minutes flat, even after making a stop at his quarters to grab his personal kit. Homet, Coola, Ritz, and Hayte were all there, strapping on their gear with solemn looks on their faces. Danny knew Homet had seen a firefight before, but the others had only fought in simulated battles. Danny trusted them to do their jobs, but worried what the job would do to them in turn. In any event, he could always step in to cover them.

Get your head on soldier, Danny thought, you lead them into it and out. Burn bridges after you crossed them.

“Ready in 60 seconds people, the bridge said the distress signal cut out so the enemy probably took over the controls. We have friendlies under attack so we’re gonna lend a hand. Now remember, the Muruzians aren’t exactly a sturdy race, and they look avian in nature,” Danny explained, showing an image on his data pad of the species. They looked like bipedal birds, with long legs and necks, plumage around the head and base of their extremities. Short wings extended from their backs, with a span over 3 meters across at their full length.

“These are civilians, not soldiers, so it’s up to us to save them. Readings on the aggressor’s ship indicate it’s probably pirates, so shoot to stun anything that shoots at you first. Seriously. Just stun. We don’t have a full crew manifest for the Muruzian ship so no spray and pray, got it? Don’t want anybody the Muruzians are friends with to get shot just ‘cause they don’t have wings.”

“About half of that didn’t make sense sir, but set everything to stun and let loose right?” Hayte said, smirking.

“Just stun anything that isn’t a tall turkey, got it?” Danny said, stepping into the shuttle. “Fall in, we’re going for a ride!”

The security force piled into the shuttle and the hatch closed behind them, pressurizing the cabin. The pilot got the all clear from hangar control, and the bay doors opened up in front of them. Danny heard Hayte behind him quietly ask Homet what a turkey was, and then they were off, into the void, hurtling towards a firefight.

“Alright guys, here’s the plan,” Danny began, “scans show their shuttle bay is wide open, so we’re going in there and securing a beach head. From there, we sweep floor by floor with scanners looking for life signs while going up to the bridge, taking out any hostiles we find or rescuing any of the Muruzians we encounter. We find anyone, one of us escorts them back to the shuttle bay for safety. Bravo Team is gonna be right behind us for recoveries, so once the friendlies are safe we regroup. Got it?”

“Got it sir,” Coola answered, though there was a slight stutter in her voice. The others didn’t respond, just nodded. Homet cocked his rifle, the weapon whirring as it powered up.

“Good to go, Chief,” he said.

“Okay, let’s do this right people,” Danny said, sending the same orders to Bravo Team through his comm-link. The shuttle was almost to the bay, and Danny could see the Muruzian ship in the distance, blocky and oblong at the same time, almost kind of egg shaped. Its thrusters were dead and dark. Just beside it was another ship, maybe a fourth the size, but clearly built for speed and maneuverability, almost like an arrow head in shape, though still smaller than the Noah.

Their shuttle came to a stop inside the Muruzian ship’s bay, just inside the air field generator. The pilot gave the signal, releasing the hatch. Danny was first out the door, sweeping from side to side with his rifle, head on a swivel. There was already another shuttle in the hangar, arrow shaped like the enemy ship. This was how they got in it seemed. They hadn’t seen any lifeforms on the scans of this area, but you never know what technology could miss. What you didn’t know could so easily kill you. The rest of them poured out of the shuttle and began securing the bay.

“Clear!” Homet called out, followed by the Quintin siblings, then Hayte.

“All clear!” Danny called, clicking on the radio in his ear piece. “Bravo Team, the beach head is secure, make your entry and prepare to receive injured friendlies and restrained enemies. We’re moving out.”

Alpha Team formed up at the exit, Homet on point with Danny right behind him. Hayte was in the rear, calling out possible life signs with the scanner, and the twins on lookout, just like they trained for.

“Got three signals on the next floor chief,” Hayte said as they made their way through the hangar floor. “But I don’t know how we’re going to get there, the ship doesn’t have stairs or any lifts.”

“Yeah, the Muruzians are an avian species,” Homet said, “they just fly and glide between floors.”

“Well they have to have maintenance shafts somewhere,” Danny said. “Somewhere they can stand and move between levels. Broaden the scan parameters, find any space that can fit us that can get to other floors.”

Hayte clicked some buttons and held the scanner up high above his head. Behind them, the Bravo Team shuttle landed in the hangar.

“Got something Chief, 20 meters ahead and to the left, service shaft. Looks like an air duct, but we can even get Homet in there if he crouches.”

“Good. Let’s move people,” Danny ordered. The team booked, staying in formation. They made their way down the hall toward the shaft, then pried open the doors. The duct went upwards at a 45 degree angle. Danny and Homet turned and gave a look to the other three, the lizards and the monkey.

“When we get back to the ship,” Danny began, “we’re gonna have a talk about the abilities of different species, okay?”

Going up was slow going. Danny’s legs were aching before they were halfway up, and Homet’s fur was making friction a problem. The Twins and Hayte had to brace themselves behind him and push while the Doun used the exposed skin on his hands to try and get traction. It took significantly longer than Danny wanted, but they had no choice.

Finally, they made it out the top end, Danny and Homet tumbling out onto the floor.

“Well that sucked,” Danny said, forcefully bending his spine back into shape. The more limber species on the team simply stepped out into the hall, trying to keep from laughing at their two more burly teammates.

“Get back in formation,” Danny ordered. “Bunch of kids, I swear.”

They made their way through the ship, Hayte directing them with the scanner. Finally they came up on a door and the Indoprime stopped them. He pointed to the door and held up 3 fingers on his furred hand.

“One Muruzian bio sign,” he said reading the device. “Two others that read as Tulane.”

“Crap,” Danny said. The Tulane were pretty well known for their techno-dependencies. They augmented themselves with whatever they could salvage from raid runs in other systems, so they didn’t have any real average appearance to attribute their species to anymore. Just lots of metal and weapons wrapped in flesh. A race of cyborgs.

“On three,” Danny said quietly, hand on the door. Homet got into position, the others behind him.

1…

2…

3!

Danny threw open the door and ducked aside as the big burly Doun charged in, his thermal suit making him a tank with tusks. The Tulane didn’t even have a chance to fire, Homet and Danny stunned them the second they were in line of sight. The team poured into the room, clearing corners and spreading out to cover any possible angle of attack.

They the coast was clear. Danny lowered his rifle and walked calmly over to the friendly alien bird. They appeared to be female, with light gray plumage and darker accents. Their beak was shaking, but despite that, Danny realized that if they stood up they’d be as tall as he was.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“SQUAWWK!” Said the Muruzian, and Danny waited a moment for the translator to kick in.

[Who are you? Are you here to help us? Please save us!]

“Don’t worry, we’re GAIL officers from the ship Noah, we’re here to help,” Danny said, trying to calm them down.

“Bawk? Squawk.”

[What? I can’t understand you, they destroyed my translator]

“Shit,” Danny said. “Ritz, give her your translator, Coola can interpret for you.”

The Quintin man gave the alien bird lady his device, then made a hissing sound. The Muruzian synced it to her ear.

“Better?” Danny asked.

“Much,” she said. “My name is Lith, thank you for coming. The Tulane came out of nowhere, we were boarded before we knew what was going on.”

“How’d they get on board?” Homet asked.

“They fired a directed EMP burst, completely fried our ship. We got back-up power going for life support, but that could go out any minute.”

“Okay Lith, we’re gonna get you to safety, but first you gotta tell us how many crew you still have on the ship so we can save them too,” Danny said.

“There’s only 50 of us in the flock, but some of them were in the hangar when they boarded. They… didn’t make it.” Lith gave a very sad sounding chirp. “The others were locked on the cargo decks. The only reason they didn’t get me too was because I was hiding. They left them in cargo and brought a few back up to the bridge.”

“Okay Lith, these two” Danny pointed to the twins, “are gonna get you to the hangar bay where our friends are gonna keep you safe, okay? All you gotta do is take a quick slide down that air duct over there, alright?”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Lith said, squawking. Danny sent a quick message on the comm-link, ‘one incoming friendly, more in the cargo bay with hostiles, go get them’, and they were off. The twins taking Lith down and Danny, Homet, and Hayte continuing forward, securing the floor.

After a few minutes, Ritz and Coola were back, and the three of them had swept the floor for any surprises. Finding none, they moved on.

Another duct led up to the next floor, and Danny wasn’t having it after that. His legs and back ached, and watching the younger teammates effortlessly climb up was annoying. He was almost thankful when they encountered the band of Tulane pirates. At least it’d be longer now between climbs.

The group they encountered could not be said to all be the same species at first glance. For one, one of them was half the size of the other nine, and had a blaster for a hand. For two, the tallest of the group was see through, as in it looked like his torso had been replaced with bionics without any casing. Danny could see the wiring hanging down where organs should be as well as the wall behind it. Danny could see the thing’s ribs and spine, dripping what looked like motor oil.

Wow, fuck that noise, Danny thought.

“Light ‘em up!” Danny said, taking the opening shot. The first cyborg took the stun directly to the face, dropping like a sack of rocks. Homet took the next two, the energized bolt frying their circuits as they went down. Then it was all out war. Both sides fired wildly, but the Alpha Team had the element of surprise. The whole skirmish lasted less than 30 seconds. The last three took multiple stuns, twitching on the ground. Their cybernetics sparked and whirred, which would have been concerning if they weren’t pirate scumbags.

“Bravo Team, I got a present for you. 9 stunned hostiles, second floor from the hangar. Send medical and mechanical assistance. These guys are gonna stand trial for this, so make sure they don’t die.”

Danny turned back to his team, but something caught his eye.

The Tulane had jump packs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh I’m keeping this!” Homet exclaimed as they made the leap to the next floor, a whopping 20 meters up from the floor they’d left the unconscious pirates. Danny said nothing, but grinned at his friend. This was significantly easier on his back.

Plus it made him feel cool as fuck.

They made it to the next floor in record time, and cleared it just as fast. It seemed the center of the ship was hallow, a long empty shaft spanning the length of the ship, allowing the Muruzians easy access to the whole of the ship by flying or gliding to any floor they chose. Alpha Team was making use of it as well now, the jump packs strapped to each of them. Danny almost lost his cap at first, but by the sixth floor he was a natural at it. It was just like parachuting through the air, only in reverse.

They encountered a few more small groups of Tulane, but Danny took them out almost effortlessly, and with extreme efficiency. The rest of the team hardly had to do anything, Danny was systematically taking out every hostile they came across. If things kept up like this, he could keep everyone safe.

All in all, things were going well.

That was, until they reached the bridge.

The doors to the bridge looked as if they’d been blown open. They hung there, half retracted into the wall, wrenched into the room from what looked like concussive force. Danny could hear yelling in an alien language even from out in the hall, but they were too far away for his translator to make any sense of the words. He held his hand up and made a fist, signaling everyone to hold. They formed up on the entrance on the left side of the ruined door. Danny ducked his head and peeked in.

The Muruzian crew were huddled together in the corner, the Tulane looming over them with blades and blasters. One of the birds was kneeling in the center of the room before what appeared to Danny as just a hulking mass of metal on legs. Then he realized…

Aw fuck me

…it was a battle suit. Hydraulic muscles encased in oversized metal plating. Like a tank with an attitude. Danny had only seen one once before, during Academy training. He’d watched, uncomfortably scared, as a soldier in such a suit had punched a Humvee through a concrete wall.

The Muruzians never had a chance.

Neither did they, in all likelihood.

“Is that what I think it is?” Homet asked.

“Yeah,” Danny said, swallowing.

“What would a human say right now?”

“Fuck works.”

“Fuck then.”

“Stuns won’t get through that plating. And the birds aren’t gonna last a second if they decide to just wipe them out. Any plans?” Hayte asked.

The rest of the team just looked at him blankly.

“Fuck,” Coola said, unhelpfully shrugging.

Danny looked back into the bridge room, desperate for anything that might spark an idea, even a bad one would work.

4 hostiles.

1 in a tank.

Lots of friendlies.

Danny looked up above the battle suit. The roof had taken damage, the remains of a light source hanging from the ceiling. Wires sparked and embers fluttered down.

Maybe that could work?

“Okay, here’s the play. Twins and Hayte, take out the 3 by the hostages. Keep to stuns in case you miss. Homet, watch their backs. I’m gonna swap to scattershot and shoot the ceiling right above the suit, try to dislodge those wires and zap the bastard. That’ll distract him or drop something heavy on him, either works. Okay? On 3.”

Coola and Ritz looked like they wanted to protest, but he wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Danny counted.

1 prayer.

2 prayers.

Fuck it.

3!

Danny burst into the room first, screaming and shooting, which was fair since he’d probably get ripped to shreds first. The rest of the team came in a beat later, ducking to the side and firing at the pirates. It took one extra shot to knock out the guards, as Danny fired boiling plasma buckshot into the ceiling. There was a quick BOOMF!! as a an electrical explosion fried the wiring in the roof. Sparks and melted carbon rained down on the battle suit, and Danny could hear muffled screaming coming from the inside as the super heated shrapnel made its way into the seams. The battle suit flailed its arms and spun around to face them, weapon raised. Homet dove left, firing into its side, doing barely anything. Danny went wide to the right, trying to confuse it. Everything was moving in slow motion to him, himself included. The battle suit, his teammates, the scared Muruzians. Everything except his brain. That was firing on all cylinders, adrenaline coursing through his body, his mind desperate to come up with a way to get everyone else out alive.

His back felt heavy.

And then he realized, there was a better way.

Danny charged the battle suit as it turned to face him, firing as he ran. When he was right on top of it, he dropped and slid between its legs. It bent over to look for him, but Danny was already climbing up its back, strapping his jump pack to its side and wedging his rifle under some wires on the other. He brought his fist down on the pack, and the Tulane shot to the side, throwing Danny to the floor.

If Danny couldn’t take out the suit, all he had to do was scramble the guy inside.

“EVERYONE GET DOWN!” He ordered, quick as he could before the suit slammed into the side of the wall, crushing the plasma rifle and detonating the small core that powered it.

The sound was deafening, even with the battle suit taking the brunt of the explosion. It sounded like a train had rammed into the side of their heads going at full speed. Danny got thrown into the opposite wall from the force, as well as several of the Muruzians and Homet. The rest were scattered across the room, battered, bruised, and some a little burnt. But everyone was alive, including the three Tulane they’d stunned, which was a small miracle in and of itself.

“Chief, what’s a human word that’d work for right now?” Ritz asked, lying on his back in the corner with a giant bird man on top of him.

“Fuck still works,” Danny said.

“Fuuuuuuck then,” Ritz groaned. “I think my tail is broken.”

“What the hell were you doing Ducane?” Homet asked angrily. “No real plan, and then that?”

“Yeah, not pushing back on that one,” Danny admitted. “That sucked, and I’m sorry. But how else do you take down a battle suit?”

Danny walked over to the wrecked suit crumpled in the wall, pulling his pistol just to be safe. The thing sparked and a motor somewhere creaked, but he couldn’t see any signs of life coming from it. He banged on the head with the butt of his gun. It clanged dully.

Then the arm shot out and clamped around Danny’s waist. He could feel his bones grinding together under the strength of the metal claw wrapped around him. Hot metal seared his skin where his armor and clothes got burned away.

Danny shouted in alarm before the suit pulled him in, putting him face to face with the Tulane. The helmet visor flipped up and Danny was looking into the eyes of the raider inside.

Damn was he ugly.

Half melted orange flesh poured over the cybernetics in their face, their eyes bloodshot and twitching in all directions. Pipes and wiring were sticking out of their deformed neck. They tried to croak out words but the translator didn’t register it as a language.

Danny panicked and unloaded the whole clip into the Tulane’s face. At that close a range with no barrier, the ballistic force of Danny’s Terran firearm splattered the alien’s brains across the wall and much on Danny himself.

“FUCK!” Danny screamed. “God damnit, I didn’t… he caught be by surprise, I didn’t mean to fire lethals.”

“You killed a pirate Ducane, nobody is gonna be too upset about that,” Homet said. “What we are mad about is that you ran in half cocked without working out a plan with us.”

“Chief, you charged right at a battle suit with no way to survive it,” Coola said. Ritz and Hayte were tending to the Muruzians. “You completely disregarded any help we could’ve given you. Fuck!”

“Okay I think we’re over using that word now,” Danny said, prying himself out of the suit’s grip. He wiped his face, trying to get the blood smears out of his hair. “Truthfully, I didn’t think of that until the fight had started, but… yeah, okay, you guys are right. I should’ve got back-up first.”

“You do all this work for us Chief, training us like Terran soldiers, but then you don’t let us be part of the team when it counts. Why not?” Coola crossed her arms and looked him in the eye, her tail whipping back and forth angrily.

“I don’t know…” Danny started, but Homet cut him off.

“Chief, this is the first real combat situation we’ve all experienced together, and I have to say, we failed as a team. You did almost all the work, which isn’t to say you did a bad thing, but we don’t need Ducane the Destroyer right now, we need Chief Ducane to lead us, to make the plan and to trust us. Better, we need the Chief Ducane who trusts himself, who knows he did a good job training us.”

Danny wiped his hands stained with purple blood on his pants and looked at the team, his team, and realized they were right. He trained them, he knows their strengths and weaknesses, and knew he’d done a great job at turning them into marines.

So why had he taken on so much himself today?

“You humans don’t need to save us every time, you know?” Ritz said, walking over.

“You’re right,” Danny conceded. “I got it in my head that it was my job alone to keep everybody on the ship safe, including you all. I can see I need to work on that.” Danny nodded towards the Muruzians in the corner. “Let’s get them down to the shuttles and get back to the ship, yeah?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Noah was ordered to stay in the vicinity until a relief ship could come and take care of the Muruzians, their ship, and take the Tulane into custody. The bird peoples were given guest quarters on board the Noah until then, taking several hours for them all to get processed and translators. Danny was back in his office, going through the metric ton of data they’d taken from the Tulane ship when Homet walked in.

“Sir… Danny, I think we need to talk.”

Danny looked up at him and sighed.

“Look, I heard you guys loud and clear, no more solo acts, promise.”

“No, I don’t think you’re really hearing us. You took on everything by yourself today. I might’ve been on point, but you were still somehow first in the door. Our job is to keep the ship safe. Our job is to walk into the fire. Your job is to get us out the other side. And you can’t do that every time with this wanton disregard for your own well being.” Homet took a breath.

“I talked to the Captain,” he said.

“Homet, what did you-”

“Tomorrow it is mandatory you stay out of your office and take a real day off.” Homet grinned at him. “Captain’s orders.”

Danny just sat there looking at him for a minute before busting out laughing.

“Jackass, you had me worried for a minute there. Alright, fine, less coffee, more beer, yeah? You come get a drink with me after your shift. You’re in charge of the kids then.”

“Aye aye, Chief,” Homet said, joining him in laughter. “You humans might be the weirdest species I’ve ever met, but even you guys have to rest every once in a while.”

“Only when you make us, apparently.”

[amber-tortoiseshell]

Is there a scientific explanation on why we almost have albino everything except horses? Like there's even albino donkies. Is something with the genes that cause all different types of abinism incompatible with life w horses?

Hm, i'd argue cream dilution can count as albinism, since its gene, SLC45A2 is also the OCA4 gene that causes albinism in some animals (and humans too). Sorry, i have to share now this preview from the SLC45A2 installment of my color genes across species collection:

And cream dilution does cause reduced pigmentation in both skin and eyes.

But yeah, it's not completely whiteness. Honestly my guess would be it's just dumb luck, considering there are real pure whites (dominant whites), but i don't know about horses, so i don't know.

[indignantlemur]

hello! I was wondering are there any etiquette rules for andorians that would confuse humans and vice versa? Thank you.

Hello, Skygirl! Sorry for taking so long to answer - still a bit broken, so typing is a bit uncomfortable!

To answer this question, first I'm going to break down what etiquette actually is. I'm going to keep it pretty simple, because literal tomes have been written about the nuances of etiquette in various cultures, and I'd rather not rehash the last five hundred years of social standards across the world.

Etiquette is defined in the Oxford dictionary as "the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group." This code is usually determined through a combination of majority opinion, traditional values, religious proscriptions, and social hierarchies.

From there, etiquette can be further divided into categories of politeness and manners, and business etiquette.

Politeness and manners basically come down to self-regulation to follow a social code of conduct by following normative behavioural standards and being, overall, pleasant company. A person has good or bad manners depending on whether or not they can adhere to these social standards, and an individual may have good or bad adherence to different types of manners relating to hygiene, courtesy, and social norms all at the same time. So, hypothetically, you could have a perfectly polite person with terrible hygiene and a weird disregard for others' personal space. Or, conversely, someone with impeccable hygiene, middling social awareness, and absolutely terrible manners. Literally any combination is possible, and one can see this just by looking at the folks who surround us every day.

Now, business etiquette is a little different in that it's much more goal-oriented and involves the necessary adherence to ethics and norms required to successfully facilitate transactions and generate profit. Business ethics can vary quite a bit between corporate bodies, and it's difficult to standardize a universal code of conduct because of the unique nuances each culture has regarding business, which usually results in a kind of culture shock for all of the parties involved.

A common example is the practice of napping at work, which in Japan is often seen as a sign of something called "inemuri" - earnestness and dedication to one's work, resulting in one working so hard that one is exhausted and falls asleep at their post. In North America, however, napping at work (when not on your break, and sometimes not even then) is a good way to get written up and fired. The two approaches are somewhat incompatible, as you can clearly see.

So, looking at all of the above, I think we can pretty confidently say that there are definitely going to be some things Andorians and Humans trip over when dealing with each other - after all, it still happens regularly within Human cultures, and we at least have the benefit of at least being the same species!

So! What would some common sticking points be?

In terms of politeness and manners, I could easily see Humans stumbling over the highly ritualized customs of the Andorians. Andorians society has developed over time to be very rigid in structure and social norms in every day interactions as a means of preventing internal conflict, which often gives Humans the impression that Andorians are cold and unfriendly. In truth, Andorians are only cool and distant with strangers, but their demeanour and a lack of expressiveness in their faces (due to chitin) makes them seem stoic and really quite unapproachable to the uninitiated even well past the initial introductions and early acquaintanceship.

Additionally, while Humans and Andorians largely agree on standards of hygiene and personal grooming there are a number of differences in how some of these things are treated within the different cultures.

For example, Andorians would sit and soak in mineral hot springs all day, if they could reasonably get away with it, to the point of conducting family meetings and minor business while soaking - unlike Humans, Andorians do not easily overheat and faint, nor does prolonged exposure to high heat bother them overly much. This habit of languishing in the water for hours on end is something which Humans tend to find excessive and, when it comes to meetings, inappropriate. Additionally, Andorians are fastidious about bathing prior to soaking, and forgoing that step is considered not only rude but incredibly unsanitary - a step which some Humans skip, or roll into a single event with soaking, to the horror of the Andorians. Adding further complications to such things, the Human tendency in certain cultures to view all nudity as inherently sexual baffles Andorians, who frequently soak together in familial, bonded, or mixed groups and see no issue with such things.

Similarly, grooming each other is often a sign of trust and affection amongst Humans and therefore not something we allow strangers to do outside of specific circumstances (barber/salon, wedding prep, etc.) As a very social and physical species, Andorians have no such compunctions about contact with others ranging from family to work colleagues and acquaintances. Andorians are very touchy and mean absolutely nothing by it most of the time, but they don't always remember that Humans do things a bit differently and have different ideas of what is and is not appropriate.

Cosmetics as part of personal hygiene and grooming can also be a point of confusion, as Andorians are fond of using brightly pigmented colours around their eyes and mouths across both sexes, even in professional environments. Humans, meanwhile, primarily market cosmetics at women, using products ranging from subtle to neon, and such a strongly gendered association would be considered bizarre on Andoria to say the least.

In terms of personal conduct in social situations, Humans can find Andorian customs to be extremely rigid and difficult to navigate without prior research. Andorians use a number of visual and verbal cues to indicate who they are, what Clan they belong to, and their station in society that are lost on most Humans who haven't taken the time to prep in advance. An Andorian can tell at a glance what most Humans need to play 20 Questions to find out. In fact, the very act of inquiring about these details inevitably irritates the Andorian being interrogated for information which, to their mind, should be quite obvious.

On the opposite side of this dynamic, Humans are infuriatingly vague to Andorians at times. Unless a uniform is involved, it is remarkably difficult to discern whether one is speaking to a social subordinate or superior when conversing with a Human and often times lower ranking and higher ranking Humans conduct themselves in the same manner.

And in terms of business etiquette, Andorians are very formal during business dealings and are not generally receptive to friendly overtures, which they regard as deeply suspicious - and small talk falls under friendly overtures.

When Andorians enter into a business meeting, they are there to reach an agreement, exchange goods and/or services, and leave. They do not want to be friends, they do not want to hear about your children or have you ask about theirs, and if they wanted your opinion on the weather or decor they would have asked for it. Honestly, when dealing with Andorians on mercantile matters, it is best to stick to business topics only until such a time as it is concluded. Discussing business over dinner, as some Humans are wont to do, just doesn't fly with Andorians; dinner is dinner, business is business, and never the two shall meet.

In the workplace, Andorians find they their work days and deadline schedules are not fully compatible with Human ones; Andorians work on a 36 hour day, requiring very little sleep at a time, and Humans function on a 24 hour day. Andorians receiving deadlines from Humans, such as "I need this done by the end of the day" often have to double and triple check if that means today-today or tomorrow-today. And Humans never seem to be available to cover shifts, since they always seem to be sleeping! It's very frustrating for both sides.

Hope this helps! If you have anymore questions, do let me know!

[goes-whump-in-the-night]

served fresh daily

Synopsis: Nyma gets served for dinner.

Content Warnings: mer whump, captivity, bound, pleading, threat of dismemberment, knives, cannibalism-ish (consumption of a partially humanoid species), implied noncon & abuse

Author's Notes: Did I watch a video on how to filet a fish while writing this? Maybe so. Anyway, happy whumpy Mermay - Nyma may be back if someone feels generous enough to take home the leftovers <3

Nyma had been lying on the wooden board, her body stretched out beneath burning bright lights, for only a few minutes, before humans started filtering into the room. For hours before that, she had been stuck in a small glass tank, not even long enough to accommodate the full length of her tail.

Cramped in that unerring darkness, the merfolk had been left with only her own thoughts to keep her company, each one taunting her with worse and worse scenarios about what would happen to her when those cutting nets and calloused hands came for her once again.

After all, she had been raised on horror stories from her people of what could happen when they were stolen away from their home waters.

Stories of merfolk put on display or used as living trophies to impress on others their captors' wealth and prestige.

Stories of merfolk kept for the personal company and satisfaction of humans, regardless of how incompatible they may be.

Stories of merfolk washing up shores, mangled and bound in human trash, left to slow and painful deaths at the hands of the elements as they begged the uncaring tides to take them home.

Nyma had considered all those possibilities and more, coupled with every warning her mother had ever given her about venturing too close to the surface ringing in her mind while she had awaited her fate.

And yet the reality she was confronted with was somehow worse than any of those.

"Welcome - come, sit, make yourselves at comfortable!"

Nyma stared up helplessly at the human who had addressed the arriving ones - a tall, broad man in pristine, white clothing. With the four, thick plastic bindings holding her in place on the board - one each for her tail, hips, and neck, and one pinning both her wrists above her head - she was limited even in how far she could look around, but she could see the knife in his hand, flashing against another blunt piece of metal as he spoke.

He was smiling too.

"Mostly returning faces here - I love that, it means we're doing our job right - but a few new ones too," the man said. As he did, a pair of other humans emerged from behind him, a small stack of white plates in each one's hands.

While they moved around the table deftly, setting a plate down in from of each of the arriving guests as they sat, the man in white continued on, "I suspect all of you have an idea of what you're here for - this isn't the kind of restaurant you wind up in by accident after all - but let me walk you through what exactly will be happening for dinner tonight, so everyone can enjoy the meal without any unpleasant surprises. And don't worry, if at any point you feel uncomfortable, you're free to step away and your portions will be reserved for you."

Nyma tried to speak then. She tried to beg, Please - please let me go, I don't want to be here, please, don't do this to me -

But above the water, all that came out of her were some high frequency shrieks that incited laughter and amused chatter from the humans sitting around the table. The closest one, a woman in a slip of a glittering golden dress, was bold enough to reach out and experimentally stroke the skin of her bound arm.

"Ah yes, a timely reminder - if your table would prefer not to hear from the entree over the course of your meal, we do have the equipment to gag her mouth," the man offered to his guests. "A personal choice, of course. Some prefer to dine with fewer interruptions, while others believe it heightens the experience to hear their cries."

Nyma's heart raced as the humans around the table discussed ("Trust me, you're not getting your money's worth unless you hear her." "Well, how loud does she get, exactly?") whether or not to silence her. Frightened by the woman's touch, she tried to wiggle her body, pull her arms away, thrash her tail, but there wasn't an inch of give to her efforts. She could have no way of knowing the absolute surety of her bindings was one of the selling points at this $10k a plate event.

"We'll let her 'talk' for now, and see how we're feeling after a few rounds," offered one of the diners eventually.

"Of course, happy to oblige," the man in white said, and Nyma's attention snapped back to him as he set down his blunt metal tool, and then began to point and gesture with his knife. "So, tonight, I have the honor of serving you fresh, wild-caught Atlantic merfolk. This is a female specimen, caught just this morning - "

Please! Please don't do this, Nyma tried to call to him, to any of the diners. The knife flashed over her head, and the man in white came to rest its tip over the top of her tail.

"I'll be performing a live filleting of your entree right before you, so you can enjoy your dinner at the absolute peak of freshness."

I'll go straight home - I won't tell any of my people what happened, Nyma cried, eliciting more chuckles from the crowd. Just let me go!

"You'll be served in one-ounce portions - without accompaniments at first, to encourage you to enjoy the natural flavors, then with sauces and additional preparation options made available as we progress."

You can't do this! You're monsters! Monsters, monsters, monsters! Please, I want to go home!

"I'll be serving you from the front-right flank of the subject, taking flesh in roughly one-pound increments. Of course, how much I cut tonight will depend on your appetites, but it's not unusual for a party of this size to go through 6-7 pounds."

Nyma simply started screaming, pitiful sounds without meaning - anything she could do to earn the sympathy of even one of these humans.

The man in white glided his knife down the center of her tail, rattling it against her scales. "There will be some amount of distress from the entree as we serve her, but as the research shows, mer have significantly fewer pain receptors in their tails - with some suggesting they don't even truly perceive pain the same as humans. And again - we do have the gags available if it does grow too distracting for anyone."

Her body was wracked with sobs as all the efforts seemed only to whet the appetites of the waiting diners and make them watch her even more intently. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. Seeing herself dismembered pound by pound, her living flesh prepared and consumed right before her eyes - to be made subject to such depravity and brutality -

How could even humans be so cruel?

"Obviously, there will be some amount of mer left over at the end of the night, and to avoid waste, there are two paths generally taken afterwards. We can either send her home with one of you, usually do the highest bidder if there are multiple interested parties, or we finish butchering her tonight, after which point you and others will be able to bid on the remaining flesh and have it shipped overnight. Now, before we begin, any questions?"

"Nope - just excited to see you at work again," one of the humans chimed in. "Your guys always bring in the best meat."

Meat, Nyma cried to herself. They've turned me into meat.

"That's very kind of you, sir," the man in white said with a smile. "So I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Let's all see that beautiful, red flesh."

And as he leaned over her body, and as the diners leaned in to witness his work, Nyma could only watch in horror and cry in unintelligible pain as he made the first expert decision, and the knife began to carve her apart.

[sol-consort]

I was making tiny clay cats earlier and had a great idea for an ask, but then I got busy and forgot

I think it was something about fashion with the mass effect species

Electronically sending you a fictional tiny clay cat statue

Thank for the tiny clay cat, I'll put it on the virtual table that I keep in this blog at all times, which is a real table that happened to have a unique eco-friendly design, from an eccentric manufacturer, and definitely not just two logs I lugged from the woods.

🕔

🌱🐈 🪟🏙

🪵🪵 🧺 🩲 🪤 🐁

I hope my virtual son 🧒 (common) ×1 doesn't knock it off with his virtual ball ⚽️ (common) ×1 because I won't financially recover from the purchase of the virtual gold 🪙 (rare) ×99 I'd need to glue the pieces of the broken clay cat back together in order to teach him about Kintsugi, the value of history and taking pride in the scars it leaves on ones body.

But yes, Mass Effect alien species fashion.

I mentioned before that the asari would definitely be into human fashion since we share a similar physical build.

They tend to mix up the centuries, however, wearing Edwardian era garments one day, and then full-on ancient Rome with draped tunics the next one.

To us, that seems silly because it's our history. These fashion designs are centuries old, and our first ever impressions on them were in textbooks or some other non-fashionable place. You wouldn't have a woollen toga at a strip mall where tweens naturally went with their overbearing parents to develop a sense of style.

But to the asari, all of these clothes are brand new! Just in! The latest fashion trends! From the perspective of their timeline, their society started integrating skinny jeans at the same time as robe à la française.

And the fact they live for 1000 years, the entirety of human recorded history is just two asari generations—would help them see our ancient fashion as more of "last Wednesday's"

Although many human cultures do keep their tradition clothes alive, like the hanfu being used in Chinese festives, or the Arab thawb still worn as in commonplace same as it was in 600 AD.... because what other garment is more suitable for desert climates?

Okay back to aliens, my fashion hyperfixation is showing

The asari are easy peasy, it's like two sister civilisations deciding to share their wardrobes and doubling the amount of clothes they retroactively have access to now.

You see many humans on the Citadel adapt to asari fashion, and as the game progresses, you notice asari fashion start getting influenced by predominantly human-fashion traits. Take Ryder's clothes in Andromeda for example.

The Alliance uniforms must seem ancient to the new humans with their cross-species influenced fashion trends, and I do mean ancient.

They probably view them (alongside our current modern hot-trendy fashion), like how me and you view the Victorian era fashion through a thick lens of rose-tinted glass. I wear corsets over flowy blouses, corsets, the thing that used to be considered underwear.

It's just very socially accessible now. Would someone someday wear a 2000's cheetah print thong over their military uniform in the alliance and call it fashion? Who's to say.

You see those modern two-piece suits with neon vibrant colours? The ones with precise cuts, invisible stiches, and all the pieces—down to the jacket buttons—are made from the same exact material and colour?

Someone is gonna dig that up in the year of Mass Effect and call it vintage and it's gonna piss me the fuck off, the trajectory of the earth will be altered from the massive rolls I'll be doing in my grave.

For the rest of the species, I don't see them adapting our garments due to anatomy incompatibility.

But fashion is the keyword here, because it is so much more than just clothes.

None of the asari have eyebrows, they don't have the genes for hair, therefore no eyebrows or anything.

Except, Liara, who has drawn-on (or perm tat) eyebrows.

Which is a VERY human feature, eyebrows might as well be the trademark of humanity. What do you do to an animal in animation to humanise it and make it seem intelligent?

You add eyebrows.

Liara, this rando asari scientist, for some reason, is elbow-deep into human makeup. Literally, no other asari has eyebrows or showed care for human makeup besides her.

We humans can't see our own "invisible" stripes, our faces are usually a blank canvas, which is why makeup is so fun, pretty, and whimsical. It's the same reason you'd add flowers to your hair or draw at the empty corner of the page.

Asari have their own seemingly natural face markings (unless those are drawn too) and putting makeup on top of them might seem distasteful or even tacky. Like drawing over someone's complete drawing.

But you know which species LOVES adding lines to their face? None other than space birbs themselves, the humble turians.

Humans like sunsets, birds like shiny things, and turians love glitter.

Of course, there are zero evidence of that ingame because they wanted the turians to have a metal, baddass, slightly scary aesthetic, and that's fair.

But if we're being realistic, it's just a matter of time before a turian decides to incorporate glitter into their clan face paint. It's a natural instinct for them to be the bird with the shinest, puffest, most colourful coat of feathers in the room.

Turians would love human makeup, wasn't it for the fact it's deadly toxic to them. Thanks, dextro. I mean, not like that ever stopped humans before. Remember when lipstick used to contain lead and mercury? Good time, good times.

But actually, now thinking about it, would those things be poisonous to them? Lead and mercury? I mean, they're already radioactive with a shit ton of copper in their bloodstream. Their body literally grows metal on their faces... and turian seminal fluid is poisonous to humans, meaning...

They might be able to use mineral based makeup! Which is so fucking deadly to humans, but probably fine for turians.

Although the human skin is spongey, the creamy make-up sticks to the top of it like icing on a cake. But it might not latch onto rough metal, aka turian plates.

It's also made with so many oils in mind because humans are actually very slimy, we just never notice it because our pores are so small and the thin layer of oil is hardly noticeable.

It's why bugs find us disgusting and wash our oill off of them after touching us, too bad they still need our delicious nutritious dead skincells and sweat to slurp up, so they endure it for the sake of food.

But we do, in fact, require being moist 24/7. It's where the "soft" skin feeling comes from, silly, being drenched in oil throughout your whole existence does that sometimes.

And turian metals do not, actually the oils might just bleach their shells if left to oxidise.

No, turian makeup wouldn't work if it was creamy or liquidiy like ours—even with the added lead.

My proposal: Chalk Makeup.

It's dry, it's crumbly, it's easy to remove. You ever drawn with chalk on street concrete? Would probably be the same as applying makeup to a turian.

And it has calcium! Yummy yum! Which the turians probably need a shit ton of, considering that most creatures with some kind of shell do insatiably crave it (see: sanils)

My last nugget of wisdom is that what's considered fashion to the geth/ai/synthetics in general isn't that far off from high-end, very personalised custom gaming pcs. Be it the pastel and white hardshells or the neons and glowing cooling liquids.

Hipster geth prefer the fruitger ero early 2010's aesthetic, enjoy that mental image for a while.

[host-hubliminal]

>>START_LOG: HostLog_5: Subject: Host 2.3 Name: Mephone 4 Species: Mephone 4/Meeple Product | Objectmade; Nonbiological Lifeform Source: Inanimate Insanity Gender: Male Pronouns: he/him Description: Mephone 4 is an average sized touchscreen cellphone of Steve Cobs’ creation. His home screen appears as a gradient from near-cyan blue to cornflower blue. His limbs are completely robotic (Addendum/ We have no way of knowing this. We have not cut him open yet.). The pads on his digits and palms allow him to interact with his own screen and other screens. Mephone 4 has no tail. Mephone 4 is reported by Mr. Cobs to be extremely outdated, bringing him here is a risk of our own safety (Addendum/ It is unlikely Mr. Cobs cares about Mephone 4 at this time due to the extremely long period between seasons of Mephone 4’s show. That and we doubt Mr. Cobs has interdimensional tracking built into Mephone 4.). Mephone is lazy, but opportunistic, and will often bite off more than he can chew, both literally and figuratively. It is possible Mephone weighs the second most out of all the Hosts on file, with Host 2.2 weighing the most. Mephone 4 isn’t an outwardly violent individual, but it is possible he can do heavy damage if he really wanted. Known Abilities: Item generation, Respawn abilities, and Teleportation via Portals. In tandem to this, he is a functional cellular phone. Procedures to take: We have had to very legally acquire (Addendum/ The program was stolen. This information is unimportant.) and modify Meeple Hinderance Technology to suit the nerfing of Mephone 4’s abilities to prevent escape and otherwise. Whether or not this programming works in practice is unknown, and will not be known until entry of Host 2.3. It is also possible this technology is completely incompatible and will not have a chance of working, if so, we will give up on researching Host 2.3 unless we can somehow convince Mr. Cobs to give us the tech to do so (Addendum/ Who is writing these logs? And can they cut the flowery, passive aggressive shit? This is a Research Log, not a private diary.). All in all, the nerfing of Mephone 4 will probably be extremely unstable, so it is best to convince him NOT to use his powers.

END_LOG.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

How do you feel about the idea of “Evil species” in fiction in general? I k ow it’s a highly controversial topic in the Fanatsy community about the use of all evil creatures and if they should even exist at all? I’m curious as to your idea on the subject about the existance of evil being and how/ if they can even be used correctly in media?

For me personally I do beliving they have a place in storytelling and can be done well, it’s just most franchises don’t seem to think it through. The best examples of an all evil species I can think of are the demons of freiren and the orks of Warhammer. Both are evil in a sense of “they are actively incompatible with human life” and not the “mindless sadist for no reason”. Both having lore and narrative reasons that make them evil by human definition of the concept.

The demons of freiren are magical apex predators who evolved to mimic humans in-order to prey on us more efficiently. They are cruel and predatory towards humans as we are their food, not because their mustache twirling super villains. The orks of Warhammer are bio-engineered weapons built to wage endless war, however they outlasted their creators and where never programmed with an “off-switch” and run rampant as a result.

I think there are ways to do it right! I mean, my goodness, I've been playing Legend of Zelda since I was a kid and it's still my favorite video game series. I think "all of these creatures are evil because they were literally formed from evil energy and/or were crafted for this purpose and have no true sapient free will" is a reasonable explanation for cannon fodder monsters. "they're natural predators of humans" is also something I think works but I don't consider a type of Evil, per se! wolves can't help that they're the natural predators of deer. nor can they help that chasing down prey and killing it brutally is a torturous way to die. nature is just like that. it may seem to the humans that their natural predator is uniformly evil, but that's just a matter of perspective! and I think stories that explore the nuance in matters like that are fascinating (I'm in that boat myself, with my orcs and centaurs).

but "these creatures are fully sapient people who are just Evil because it's an inherent natural trait, and also they're brutish and ugly" is a lot less acceptable to me. It frequently devolves into tropes and designs that taste of racism if they're not outright racist. and it's mainly the addition of "since they're all evil, we're going to make them Look Evil" and then the designs copy tropes from previous "these people are all evil because we said so" and the trail goes back far enough that oh whoops turns out these design tropes have racist origins! like squinty eyes, certain nose shapes, hair types, skin tones, clothing styles, etc.

and for evil creatures that don't look any sort of humanoid, you end up with that "the more evil they are, the more grotesquely animalistic they look" trope and I also have a problem with that! because I think it does a disservice to the diverse weirdness of real life animals.

I know these tropes remain common now because they've been around for so long, and shape language in design is important and we've been conditioned to view certain design choices as "evil", so those shapes keep getting used!

but I do think there are better ways.

[s7arcr0sser]

Imagine a scenario where Shiv Katall gets injured on a job and doesn't have the option of going back to star command for aid so without any other choice he needs to ask Zurg for assistance while still keeping his cover

Holy shit that's so gooooddd ! I wonder if Zurg would actually be nice to him ? Cause we've seen that he seems to respect Shiv quite a bit. Like imagine treating him to dinner and stuff, and throwing tantrums at the grubs if he thinks they are embarrassing him in front of the guest or something lmaooo, meanwhile Buzz is just dying from nerves that he might be discovered AND because honestly i don't expect Zurg's minions to be very competent with medicine. Especially with someone who's different species lol

Depending on where the injury is, he'll also have to remove parts of his armor ? Which can expose him very easily.

Okay, so maybe in order not to reveal that he's vulnerable he pretends that "his ride is busted and needs time to repair it" and Zurg jumps at the opportunity like "no need ! My slaves will fix it for you !! All for your undying loyalty !" In the meantime Buzz tries to steal medical supplies without causing suspicion so he can fix himself up, but time is rapidly running out and he starts to get visibly sick. Ohhh let's add to the whumpiness, what if he straight up comes close to fainting from bloodloss or poison or something ? Imagine being THAT vulnerable in front of your worst enemy, that's terrifying

Eventually maybe he does let the grubs/brainpods fix him up, but Zurg starts to get suspicious immediately and forms a plan to backstab him ? In the show Zurg didn't have any knowledge about Buzz being Shiv so maybe it's the old classic "LIGHTYEAR! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE REAL SHIV?!" lol

On the flip side, imagine Buzz is treated to his own room, people bring him food and clean sheets and stuff, and he gets the sinking realization that he... actually enjoys Zurg's company ? Like he tries not to talk much, but maybe it's the delirium from the painkillers or maybe, just maybe, they aren't that different and incompatible, and they end up having interesting and deep conversations. Until of course it comes down to the topic of how "goodness is pathetic" and Buzz has to bite his tongue.

If Zurg is already suspicious at that point, it would make sense why he would toy with Buzz in an attempt to let him blow his cover himself. Besides the fact that he also finally has the chance to chat with his favorite adversary when he has nowhere to run. Y'know, play with your pray kinda thing lol

The whole time Star Command is kinda on edge cause where the hell is Buzz ? Nebula knows he has the tendency to disappear every now and then, and he generally trusts him with it, except this time he was sent on a Shiv mission and the stakes are unimaginably high. And Lightyear cannot safely communicate with anyone from planet z.

It kinda depends where in the timeline we put it but maybe it would make more sense if that's all pre-Team Lightyear? So maybe Warp helps him out in the end while he's still playing ranger but just decides not to tell Zurg the truth for whatever reason lol

Yyyeah maybe you can tell but i liked that idea lol

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What would happen if another member of someone’s House wasn’t readily available for a blood donation if a transfusion was needed incredibly quickly? I know medical technology is unimaginably advanced on Gallifrey, but can blood be made artificially outside of a hospital or lab setting?

What blood could be used on a Gallifreyan in an emergency transfusion?

Gallifreyan blood transfusions are typically only safe between members of the same House due to incompatible protein markers.

However, in an emergency, a Gallifreyan might not have the luxury of waiting for a perfect match, so here's what could work:

✔️ Human blood – Surprisingly viable, with an estimated 50% efficacy. Gallifreyans can process and recycle much of the trash in human blood, though long-term transfusions could lead to oxygen toxicity.

✔️ Other species' blood – Compatibility varies wildly, but in theory, some alien blood types could work. Unfortunately, I'd have to go through every single species' potential biochemistry to give you a specific answer and let's just say information in Dalek bloodwork is limited.

✔️ Animal blood – While highly unlikely, if a Gallifreyan's system is desperate enough to filter and repurpose human blood, a similarly structured blood might have some emergency utility. (Not recommended unless you're literally out of every other option and feeling extremely experimental.)

🧪 Can Blood Be Made Artificially?

🔬 Officially: We have no records of such technology being widely used.

🤔 Unofficially: That doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Gallifrey's medical science is centuries ahead of most species, so it's entirely possible that a skilled bioengineer or advanced facility could synthesise blood in an emergency.

That said …

⚠️ Is it safe? Unknown. ⚠️ Is it stable? Hope so. ⚠️ Is it legal? Shrug.

Translation: This is a creative decision—if you want it to be possible, then it probably is.

Related:

💬|🫀🩸Are there blood groups in Gallifreyans?: Classification of Gallifreyan blood types, including shobogans and outsiders.

💬|🫀🩸Could a human receive a blood transfusion from a Gallifreyan?: If a human could receive blood from a Gallifreyan, and its benefits.

📓|⚕️🩸 Gallifreyan Bloodwork

Hope that helped! 😀

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[rotworld]

I LOVE WETWORKS! Scp-like stories are always fun and exciting and we rarely get to read stories about the task forces' time on the ground. Its always a delight to read the creativity in your work! Theseus is obsessed and mean in the best of ways. A question though : is there a reason Theseus or even his species is so attached to their handler? I imagine its not for breeding purposes, can aliens even copulate with humans?

(the piece in question)

this comes up somewhat, but theseus is atypical. breach lifeforms being obsessed with a human is basically a survival and hunting strategy. it doesn’t end well for the human.

breach lifeforms come from another dimension so they’re initially incompatible with reality as we know it. if they’re not careful, they’ll just fizzle out. to prevent this from happening, they “imprint” on the first human whose face they can clearly see, stalking and threatening them for days or weeks. this intense focus will keep them from losing cohesion while they gradually become a physical being, and before they’re able to consume regular matter, they feed on the fear and paranoia they cause their target. once they’re fully physical, they devour their human. breach lifeforms that successfully go through this whole process are said to be “fully coalesced” and are much more dangerous.

the agency that manages response and neutralization teams had partially weaponized this process by using humans who were imprinted on as bait. eventually they wondered if they could take this a step further and “tame” a breach lifeform by harnessing that obsession. the goal was to fully coalesce the breach lifeform through alternate means while keeping them controllable through their imprinted human. theseus is the first and only “success” so far, though whether or not he's controllable is another matter entirely.