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thewildwaffle · 2 months
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The Gardener - Part 8
Thanks to A_R_K on archiveofourown for this prompt about the uncanny valley.
Part 1&2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
In retrospect, Nipti supposed the situation at hand was inevitable. He’d been taking a break while working on the support beams for some vigbri climbing vines when he noticed the strange ship sitting near the edge of his gardens, right up against the wild tree line. That was odd. When had that landed? It’s not like he was right next to the edge of his lands, but he was certainly close enough that the fact that he hadn’t heard the ship come in was strange. What’s more, when visitors to his gardens came by, they usually landed their ships next to his large workshop. Deciding that the support beams he’d spent the last quarter of the cycle on were going to keep standing and doing their job, Nipti decided he’d go and intercept his latest visitors before they could trample anything. If they’d just landed near the dang workshop like everyone is supposed to, they’d come across the posted rules and instructions that Marley had set up. Then, Nipti could otherwise ignore them unless they specifically needed something from him. Oh well. As much as he enjoyed not interacting with people other than Marley, he enjoyed making sure his gardens were treated with the respect they deserved from guests. It took a while to find the new guests. They’d already wandered a bit from their ship. Nipti looked around their landing area. Nothing seemed to be disturbed. Thank the stars, their ship must have some great landing gear that didn’t create branch-breaking and petal-tearing gusts during descent. Perhaps that was also why Nipti didn’t notice the ship’s approach in the first place. The guests themselves had wandered off and were slowly meandering through the gardens, staying on the walking paths, Nipti appreciatively noticed. There were three of them. Two of them stared silently at him as he approached. The third was crouched over, looking intently at a plant that immediately sent Nipti’s alarm bells off.
“Don’t touch that!” He called out. The crouching guest turned to stare at him silently like its companions. Nipti was going to say that the plant the visitor was about to touch was quite delicate, and depending on their species, could be dangerous, but the words froze in his mouth before he could. Ah. He’d thought something like this would happen eventually. Before him stood three humans. They looked different than Marley. Taller. Paler. Their eyes were set a little deeper in their faces. There was something else that seemed different, but Nipti couldn’t quite pin down what it was. He shook his head. Of course they looked different than Marley! He may not be an expert on humans, but even he knew humans came in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, and dispositions. Still, he was worried of what Marley’s reaction might be to other humans arriving at the gardens. Would Marley be standoffish and territorial? Or maybe excited? They’d both been working on Marley’s piece of junk ship whenever they had the time or parts, but with other humans showing up, would Marley decide to go with them? It was something Nipti knew had been a possibility, but one he kept pushing from his mind whenever it came up. Not anymore, he supposed. Whatever Marley decided to do would be their own decision, and Nipti would do his best to be supportive of whatever his friend decided. “Sorry, that plant there might not be dangerous to humans, but as the gardener here, I ask that you not disturb anything while visiting,” he finally broke the silence. The three smiled at him simultaneously. Nipti tried not to shiver. Marley was always mindful of not baring teeth while smiling to not appear predatory or threatening. These three were not so inclined. Nipti wondered if their diet was different than Marley’s, as their teeth appeared to be sharper. “My name’s Garbon Nipti. I noticed you’d just arrived and thought I’d come and see if there’s anything I can do for you. There are maps available near my workshop there if you’re looking to study a specific garden or specimen.” Nipti gestured to the area in question. “We are just perusing,” one of the humans that had been staring unblinkingly at him as he approached said. Their voice was level and somewhat monotonous. Very different than Marley’s bouncing cadences. Nipti waited for a moment for them to introduce themselves as he had, but they remained silent and still. He stood there as long as he could until the uncomfortableness of it all became too much. “Okay, well, if you need anything, I’ll be working nearby.” He would have also mentioned that they could also get help from Marley, but a part of him hoped they didn’t cross paths. His stomach tied itself into knots. He shouldn’t hope that. He knew he shouldn’t, but he was so afraid that if they did, then Marley would leave with them. Nipti frowned and shook his head as he started walking back to the vigbri climbing vines. No. He shouldn’t be so selfish. He’d always known other humans would visit his gardens eventually. Their kind wandered all over the place! “If Marley does want to go,” he said to himself under his breath, “then I need to be supportive. No matter how much… how much I’d miss...”
He was so lost in thought that he nearly ran over Marley. “Woah, hey Nipti!” Marley laughed and acted as if they’d lost balance from the run-in. Nipti was significantly shorter than the human, so he knew it was just an act. Marley stood back up straight and looked Nipti up and down. “You okay? You look like you’re lost.” Nipti nearly scoffed. “Lost? I walk this path several times a day. How could I be lost?” “Lost in thought,” Marley corrected. “Like you’re physically here, trying to run me over and whatnot, but your mind is a million segments away.” “Oh,” was all Nipti could respond. He supposed he had been rather preoccupied thinking about the new guests to the garden. Should he tell Marley? He was starting to second-guess himself now. If he didn’t bring them up and Marley didn’t cross paths with them, maybe his friend might never even know they were here, let alone leave with them? The gardens were big, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Would that make him a bad friend? Was it his responsibility to tell Marley, just in case? While Nipti struggled with his options, Marley waited patiently with a cheerful smile. That did it. Nipti decided he needed to stick to his original resolve. “Marley, there’s some new guests that just landed by the wild tree line.” Marley’s head tilted a bit. “Why would they land there when I just repainted the landing pad last decacycle? Are they causing trouble? Need me to muscle ‘em outa here?” “Uh, no. No,” Nipti stammered slightly and shook his head. “I… actually, I think you should meet them. They… they’re human. They’re just back there, from where I was coming from.” Marley’s face lit up. “Oh for real? Yeah, I’d love to! I wonder where they’re originally from. It feels like giga-cycles since I’ve seen other humans. Come on, let’s go meet them!” With the “let’s,” Nipti grudgingly followed behind his chipper friend, trying to not let his glumness show and damper the mood. Life, he supposed, would just go back to normal before Marley came. The old workload, the old quiet, the old solitude. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be the same normal. He had gotten much better and bolder at dealing with rude or destructive visitors, having seen and followed Marley’s example. The habit of “jerry-rigging” different contraptions and systems had also rubbed off in some cases when proper solutions weren’t always available. And if Nipti were honest, the solitude would perhaps feel a bit more like… loneliness.
They were getting close to where Nipti had left the new garden guests. They must have wandered a bit down into the Quilb orchard. Nipti reflexively tensed. Those orchards had some very rare specimens, some of which native folklore claimed had mystical properties. Nipti didn’t put much stock into the latter, but he still prized those trees and the flower buds that were about half a decacycle from blooming. “I hope they’re still staying on the paths,” Nipti muttered, mostly to himself. Marley came to a stop at the overlook of the orchard. Nipti stopped as well, scanning the area. He quickly spotted the three figures through the foliage and pointed them out. “There they are.” Marley didn’t move. “Uh,” Nipti was sure his friend had seen them. They were hard to miss. Marley was staring right at them. After a moment, Nipti put a hand on Marley’s arm. “Is something wrong?” Maybe this whole pause and staring thing was some strange human custom. If it was, it looked like it was working. The figures were now starting to move closer and he could see the pale faces with their deep-set eyes staring back up at them.
Before Nipti could even register what was happening, Marley had scooped him up, turned, and ran back the way they had come. Nipti wasn’t that much smaller than a fully grown human, but Marley threw him up over the shoulder and sprinted away like he weighed nothing. Nipti’s arms scrambled on Marley’s back, trying to get leverage to steady himself enough to hold himself up to see just WHAT THE FREWAN WAS GOING ON?! “Marley!” Nipti cried out and nearly got smacked in the head by an overgrown bush as the human in question banked hard on a sharp turn. If Marley heard him in the mad scramble, there was no response given besides heavy breathing and a jostle as Nipti’s weight was readjusted mid-stride. Nipti looked back behind them. The other humans weren’t following, or at least, it didn’t look like they were. He couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t giving chase. But why would they? Why would there be a need to chase? Why was Marley running? Marley only slowed down once they reached a utility shed Only then did it occur to Nipti - humans have a stereotype of being foolhardily brave. Whatever his friend had seen from those other humans had really spooked Marley. The type of adrenaline that comes from being mortally afraid started seeping into the corners of Nipti’s brain. He said nothing more as they ran into the shed and shut the doors. Neither said a word as they bunkered down into the best hiding spots they could manage. Marley took a spot somewhat near the door, under a small window, and would periodically and discreetly peek out to check if they’d been followed. Thankfully, there was yet to be any indication that that was the case.
It felt like an eternity before Nipti finally found his voice again. “Why were we running from those other humans?” Marley kept staring out the window, scanning the area silently for a moment longer. “Those weren’t humans.” “What?” Nipti frowned. Not human? He hadn’t really met other humans besides Marley, but it’s not like they’re super easy to mix up with other species. “Well then, what are they?” Marley’s gaze turned from the window to look back at him, confused and thinking. “I… I don’t know.” “They looked human.” “Yeah,” Marley whispered and said nothing more. They sat watching and listening. The silence was starting to get to Nipti. He felt like he was being hunted, and he needed to do something besides just wait to be found. It was only now that Nipti noticed how the small hairs on Marley’s arms and neck were standing straight up. “Hey, come on, please. What’s going on? Do we need to call for help?” Marley took a shaky breath and nodded. Nipti reached for his pack and had a small moment of terror as he reached in and couldn’t immediately find his comm. After shuffling around some twist ties and a pair of shears, he found it in a side pocket. He quickly messaged the closest neighbor he knew. Thankfully, they messaged back right away that they’d come over. She was a large biet, so hopefully if those humans-that-weren’t-humans were still around, they’d be intimidated away by her muscular bulk and large teeth.
It took a while for the neighbor to arrive, making for a long and tense wait. Even though she was the closest in proximity, Nipti’s gardens were so sprawling, that she was still quite a distance away. Nipti nearly jumped when his comm sounded an alert of an incoming call. “Hello?” Nipti noticed a bit of a tremble in his voice. “Hey Nipti, it’s Glenna,” the biet’s voice sounded a bit tinny on the old comm’s speaker setting. “I’m here. I don’t see anything out of order, at least I don’t think I do. There’s a small ship over here by your main warehouse, but I’m pretty sure it belongs to the family of duibs that I saw meandering around a few mentiks ago. Your gardens are looking great! You’ve expanded a lot since I was here last. Where are you at now?” Nipti took a deep breath. “We’re in a small shed out near the edge of the gardens by the wild tree line. Do you see any ship over there?” “No, there’s nothing out there,” came the response. “Are you okay? You seem a bit shaken up.” “I… I am feeling a bit shaky, yes. Thank you again for coming over. I’ll be over to you soon.” Nipti looked up from the comm device to Marley. Marley looked out the window again then back to Nipti. “They’re gone?” “Apparently. We… we should get out here.” “Yeah.” Nipti had never seen his friend so subdued and skittish. They both walked as if their heads were on swivels as they went together back to the main warehouse.
Despite not wanting to talk too loudly so as to draw attention from any unwelcome, unseen entities, Nipti had to know something. “How did you know they weren’t human? Are you sure they weren’t?” Marley didn’t respond immediately. “I… I’m not sure how I knew, but I just knew. There was something about them that just set me off. It was like they were straight out of the deepest depths of the uncanny valley. Like, they looked almost human, but there was something about them that felt wrong and dangerous.” Marley’s conviction felt strong to Nipti. So they were sure the mystery visitors weren’t human, but he wasn’t sure what the “uncanny valley” was or what that meant. Finally, they started to hear the bright and cheery tones of normal garden visitors. Even though Nipti had always preferred his solitude, he felt a rush of relief at seeing non-”not-human” guests wandering through flower beds and trellises. The relief was even stronger when he finally caught sight of Glenna. Welcoming pleasantries and introductions were polite, but short. Glenna was curious to know more about what was going on. Nipti insisted they go inside for a drink first. Glintsi flower tea for him and Glenna and peppermint for Marley. Recalling the day’s events took only a few minutes. Both Nipti and Glenna shared a particular interest in what Marley had meant by describing the visitors as being “from the uncanny valley.” It wasn’t some geologic location, but a psychological theory that the more something or someone looks human, the cuter humans think they are, up to a point. There was a space somewhere between “almost” and “completely” human that “cuteness” dropped significantly and instead freaked humans out. Usually, it was with robotics and inanimate objects. When it happened with living things, it made the uncanniness so much worse. “Well,” Glenna finished her cup and sat back, “from what I know about humans, you should trust their instincts when they say something is off.” She turned to Marley and smiled. “I know Nipti likes his space and privacy, and I honor that, but I worry about him sometimes. My family and work keep me too busy to really do otherwise anyway. So, I’m glad you’re here. You seem like good company, and with all the visitors coming in and out of the gardens, well, I’m glad he’s not alone.” Marley smiled and agreed.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with more tea and exchanging stories. The sun was nearing the horizon by the time any of them noticed. “Oh, I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late,” Glenna stood up. “I need to get back. I promised my son I’d help him bake some hirtan tarts tonight. If you’d like, I could bring some by tomorrow?” Marley nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yes, thank you. And if you’d like, I could make some dishes I’ve been working on for my little cafe. You can tell me what you think.” “That sounds lovely,” Glenna smiled and started walking toward the door. “It was nice to meet you, Marley. And Nipti, if ever you need help, please don’t be a stranger, you don’t have to do everything all alone, you know.” “That’s what I’m learning,” Nipti returned the smile and bid farewell to Glenna with some additional thanks for coming over.
Nipti waited a few moments once the door was shut before turning back to Marley. “Okay, you’re going to tell me a bit more about the uncanny valley. What the frewan happened in humanity’s past to create a need to know what’s almost-human-but-not-quite?!” Marley blinked and shrugged. “I don’t know.” Nipti waited for more info. Marley looked like they were deep in thought, and needed a bit of time to gather all the thoughts running around their head. “It might have come from hard-wiring in our brains to avoid dead bodies or extreme illnesses? Like, they look human, are human, but something’s obviously wrong and they could be contagious or dangerous. I mean, it’s just a theory, but it does make logical sense to me.” Nipti nodded. It did make sense. “But,” he drawled after a moment of thought, “the visitors today didn’t look like dead bodies. I really thought they were humans. I mean, they looked different than you, but they really looked like they were human?” The unsettled look Marley had earlier that day returned for just a tik. With a shake of the head, Marley stood back up and started gathering up the used tea cups to wash them in the sink. “Listen, I’m not a psychologist, I don’t know why they freaked me out so bad. I don’t know what they were, but I hope I never see them again.” Nipti fully agreed.
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thewildwaffle · 5 months
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Will this fit in your treat bag?
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Trick or treat?
👻
Oh dear, don't you know? You are the sweetest treat here!
Stay spunky little spooker 🎃
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thewildwaffle · 5 months
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Tattoo
This was written in chunks of when I actually had any drive to write in the past few months, which wasn't often. I tried doing a bit of editing, but my brain demands to move on to the next short. I'm just happy my brain wants to write again, so who am I to argue?
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The shop was not as dark inside as it looked. Sillik was glad for that. As a duib, his eyes were well-adapted to the bright sunlit mountains of his homeworld, and he managed just fine with the medium-light of the city that Human Ernesto had been showing him around.
It wasn't the human's hometown, that was on the other side of the continent, and the crew they were both part of only had a relatively small radius to go while on surface leave due to time constraints. Thankfully, it was a city that Ernesto had visited many times before, and so was very familiar with all the best places to eat, relax, and otherwise explore. Sillik, Ernesto, and the others in the group they’d been spending the day with only had a few more hours before they needed to be at the spaceport to report back for duty. With full bellies after having had a delightful meal at a small local cafe downtown, they were in no rush as they meandered down the wide sidewalks lined with flowers and lovely shrubbery.
“Woah,” Sillik stopped walking and nearly got run into by Human Carol who had been walking directly behind him, “what is that building?” He pointed to a small brick building a few doors down from where they currently were. Not very out of the ordinary in and of itself, but it was the decoration of the building that had pulled Sillik's attention. The brick texture of the building was completely covered in a base coat of black paint with complex and intricate white and gray patterns swirling across the structure like they’d been poured on and across the whole of it. The grayscale was interrupted by strategically placed pops of color in the form of stylized animals, flowers, and characters that Silllik did not recognize.
Painting the building, with its brick-and-mortar texture would have been hard enough, but whoever had done it had gone beyond. This? This was beautiful! This was art!
Without waiting for an answer to his original question, Sillik approached the building in an almost reverent state of awe. The closer he got, the more he could make out the fine details the artist must have painstakingly minded when painting. It appeared to cover all the building, or at least all parts he could see from the street. How long had it taken to do all this?
Sillik almost didn’t notice when the rest of the group caught up with him. Someone, probably one of the humans, let out a long arching whistle sound. “Oh my stars! Look at the name!” Ernesto laughed as he walked up to the front door. “Tatu Shop?” Carol followed his gaze to the white sign above the door. “What’s so special about it? They just misspelled tattoo, or what?” “No, it’s a pun.” Ernesto pointed to some of the colorful animals painted around the shop. They had long pointed faces and looked like they were built out of armor. “Tatu is Portuguese for armadillo.” “Punny!” Another human, Steph laughed. “So it’s a pet shop?” Sillik asked. It made sense, he supposed. The art of the building was so interesting and happy-looking, and it was widely known that pets often made humans happy. Ernesto laughed “What? No, they do tattoos here. As in body art? It’s a play on words.” He turned back to the sign above the door and hummed to himself. “I’ve actually always wanted a tattoo. Just a small one on my arm. I’ve had the design in my mind for years.” Steph made a show of checking their comm device. “If it’s not too big of a design, they might be able to do it before we have to be back. We still have four hours, but keep in mind we’ll still need to walk to the spaceport shuttle.”
Ernesto frowned. Normally the look of having a scrunched-up brow and the corners of their mouths turned down means that a human is unhappy - usually upset, worried, or angry. But Sillik had been around Ernesto enough to recognize that this particular frown was one he made when he was thinking very hard about something. If he continued doing it long enough, he might stick the tip of his tongue out of his mouth as well. “I’m gonna do it,” Ernesto finally blurted out. He gasped a bit like he was surprised at his own declaration. “Oh my stars, I’m… I’m gonna do it!” He started walking into the shop, the rest of the group following after shooting each other amused looks. Sillik followed, a bit confused, but happy to see what tattoo Ernesto was so excited about getting.
That was how Sillik ended up in the fairly well-lit tattoo shop. He got himself comfortable in a chair off to the side as Ernesto talked with the tall human behind the front counter. The others joined him, except Carol, who paused a bit behind Ernesto while wearing the same frowny-thinking expression on her face. “Carol,” Steph laughed lightly, “you thinking of getting one too?” “Hmmmm…” Carol tilted her head as Ernesto turned to look back at her, “Uh, maybe not right now, actually.” She shuffled over to the line of chairs as Ernesto followed the tall human behind the counter and to some cushioned chairs where Sillik assumed the body art was done. He watched intensely. Thankfully the shop was small enough that he could clearly see everything. The shopkeeper, who must have also been one of the shop’s artists handed Ernesto a clipboard of papers for him to sign. One of them must have been for him to sketch out the design he had in mind. From the way Ernesto explained it as he drew, it seemed like it was indeed very simple. If the artist had even an ounce of skill that the painter of the building had, Ernesto’s “tattoo” should look lovely.
Sillik spent the next few minutes just looking around at the art painted on the shop’s interior walls. It was the same style as the artwork outside but with different designs. There were a few more of those “tatu” creatures that popped up here and there. It was a fun design overall. He might just look into getting something done himself. Maybe not here, but back home. After all, who knows if the paints they use in a "tattoo" is safe for duib skin?
“So what made you second-guess yourself on getting one yourself?” Steph questioned. Sillik turned back to his companions. Carol steepled her hands to hold them under her chin and sighed. “I want one, but I’m not a hundred percent sure what I want. That, and I really, really don’t like needles, so that’s kind of the big issue.”
Needles? Wait. Not paint? What kind of body art is a tattoo that needs needles?! Sillik’s head shot toward Ernesto and the tattoo artist sat together in the chairs just as a buzzing noise started up. Sillik saw the artist holding a small gun-looking device up to Ernesto’s arm, and Ernesto wincing slightly as the point of the device made contact with his skin. Normally, Sillik considered himself very level-headed, which was a good quality to have when you worked closely with humans on a regular basis. Even still, he felt his jaw drop as shock spread itself across his face. Was there a needle on the point of that gun thing? Had Ernesto been injected with something? Thoughts flashed around his brain as he stared. “Carol, Steph,” Sillik kept his voice from squeaking, “what, exactly, is a tattoo? What’s going on?
“Oh,” Steph chirped cheerily as ever, thankfully unaware of just how distraught Sillik felt at the moment. “Tattoos are ink drawings that are injected into the skin. That makes them permanent.” Sillik stared at her, then over to Ernesto. “But… but doesn’t that hurt?” “Yeah,” Carol looked over to Ernesto like she was searching for something. “He might have given him some lidocaine cream, but I’m not really sure. Don’t a lot of tattoo artists not like using it?” She asked Steph. “Depends,” Steph looked over to Ernesto and the tattoo artist who was already doing good work on the design. “I doubt he bothered, the arm is one of the least painful places to get a tattoo.” “Isn't the most painful place the armpit or something?” “Why would someone get a tattoo in their armpit? What would you even put there?” “I don’t know, I can think of a couple really funny ideas.”
Sillik gaped at them but then turned back to watch the tattoo process again. Ernesto wasn’t crying out. He looked like he was in pain, but he had personally seen the human get injured in what seemed to be much “smaller” incidents and had had much bigger reactions. Like when he stubbed his toe three cycles ago. What is the deal? Humans and how they react to pain in different ways is so weird!
Steph must have noticed his attention had gone elsewhere again and thought it funny to add, “You know, this method of getting a tattoo is much less painful than it used to be, back in the day.” Of course it was, Sillik thought. Still, it was something that he felt needed more of an explanation, so he looked back at her and waited for her to continue. “There were two different ways, at least that I know of. One was with just a really sharp needle dipped in soot or seal oil or whatever and then the person giving the tattoo just poked you over and over and over to get it all under the skin.” Steph enunciated the “over and over” part by miming holding a needling and poking at Sillik like she was an old-timey tattoo artist. “Another way,” she continued, “and in my opinion, this one seems like the most uncomfortable way to do pretty much anything, was pretty much sewing the tattoo into your skin, with a needle pulling along a thread that had been dipped in dye. And again, the dye back then was either soot or seal oil or what have you.”
Thank the stars Sillik had been serving around humans for a couple of solar cycles now. If he had learned all this from the start, he would have thrown up. Though he felt like if he kept watching Ernesto getting his tattoo, there was a good chance of that happening still.
He spent the next hour or so staring at his feet as thought of why humans do the things they do until Steph and Carol decided to take pity on him and offered to take him to look around at the other shops on the street while they waited. Carol put a hand on his shoulder as they guided him out of the shop, “Don’t worry about it Sil, like I said, I don’t like needles either.” Sillik nodded as they stepped back into the sunshine on the street. He didn’t say anything about how he didn’t actually have an issue with needles. At least not for medical uses, for which he was used to seeing them. But injecting ink deep into your skin? Something about the idea just made him shiver. He wished Steph hadn’t told him about how tattoos used to be done. He’d never get that out of his brain.
Why can't humans just do normal, painted-on body art, like sane people?
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thewildwaffle · 8 months
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A scene in adding somewhere in Abduction:
Wenona, bouncing her leg. Simmo gets annoyed and asks her to stop. Wenona does, for about 20 seconds and then starts again. Simmo puts a hand on the table in front of Wenona, as the bouncing leg is making it shake.
Simmo: Can you stop that?!
Wenona, stares at her without blinking: Physically? Yes. Mentally? I would rather die.
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thewildwaffle · 9 months
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In my humble but correct opinion, the most idiotic Disney villain is Edgar. Seriously dude, you could have inherited the money, the stocks, the mansion, everything. Yeah, sure technically it "belongs to the cats," but what do they care about all that?! Just keep their cream bowls full and their piano tuned and they'll be more than fine. You could have been living the life with 4 fancy pets in the heart of Paris.
Order extravagant meals every day. Oh no, the cats can only eat a bit of it? Guess the rest is Edgar's.
Buy the nicest furniture and softest beds. Oh the cats usually stay in their favorite rooms with the furniture that already has their scent and familiarity? Guess Edgar can make use of it. Besides, the cats' caretaker needs to take care of himself with some extra downy pillows for his back, am I right?
Straight up idiot.
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thewildwaffle · 10 months
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You
I recently had someone who opened up and shared some things she'd been dealing with lately. A lot of it dealt with her not knowing who she was anymore, especially after so long of living for and serving others while not taking time or care for herself. I wrote this for her, but I wanted to share it because I know that all too often, her struggle is a very common one. Knowing yourself, and can sometimes take time. It certainly can take a bit of effort and investment, but I promise you, it is worth it! It is the first, and possibly the most important step towards loving yourself.
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How does one define one's self?  What questions must one ask?  Are you the sum of all your roles?  Or are those just parts you've cast?
What does it mean to know one's self,  when who one is can change?  When life moves on to different roads  and your reflection seems so strange?
How does one live for who they are  when they felt that they have died under the stress and loads they bear  with their own needs pushed aside?
"Who am I?" Well that depends.  Who do you choose to be?  Your self is built in part by choice  and part discovery.
It may take time to make new friends With one's self and get to know Just who you are and who you'll be, But what a worthy friend to grow!
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thewildwaffle · 11 months
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What do you use to animate humans are space orcs animatics?
It's a combination of different things each time. Usually I've go about making layers and parts of characters, backgrounds, or basic loops in Procreate then animate them with After Effects.
Lately, I've been trying my hand with FlippaClip, which I've been liking so far since it lets me import audio, which Procreate's animation feature does not (hence me taking the layers into AE)
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Friends With Monsters - Part 3
This chapter was inspired by a prompt from a user on ao3. Part 1 Part 2
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If the HWSS Concordia wasn’t the largest ship in the Galatea Trade Alliance, she was definitely one of the most beautiful. Or at least she was to her captain. He saw a lot of himself and his crew reflected in the craft that carried them through the stars. Species from multiple star systems worked, ate, and relaxed side by side with other beings that they might otherwise never come into contact with. It was the same with the ship. Engines crafted on one planet, atmospheric systems designed on another. Raw materials mined from various locations, and technological marvels collaborated on by multitudes of alien engineers. Such a harmonization took work though, and quite a lot of it. And that was true for both the ship and its many parts, and it was certainly true of the crew. Two of the three troublemakers from earlier seemed to be taking the captain’s warning seriously enough. Stern hadn’t had any issues with them in the following two moors since their discussion. In fact, they’d been model crewmates, at their stations right on time or even a bit early for their shifts, helpful to the new recruits, neat and tidy in their down-time, and most importantly, respectful of all crewmates, especially Medic Fehl. The third, unfortunately, couldn’t seem to set aside their prejudices as satisfactorily as the captain ordered. As they had been warned would happen, they were dropped off at the nearest spaceport. Stern alerted proper authorities and requested that they be disciplined and stripped of rank. He doubted it would actually get that far. But he’d push for a demotion at the very least. Such insolence, disobedience, and bigotry should not be tolerated.
In any case, Captain Stern had rid his ship and his crew of a snag in their otherwise smooth machine. “Captain,” a voice from behind pulled Stern out of his thoughts. Stern turned to see Arzhi Fehl walking up behind him in the main corridor. The tall arzhi covered ground quickly with his long strides. The medic nodded respectively and did his best to look demure and gentle as possible. It was strange body language to see from a body so large and battle-capable. Stern did his best to hide a frown. He wondered how much of that body language was just how Fehl normally acted, and how much was learned behavior so as to not scare his arzhi-weary crewmates. “A pleasure to see you Medic Fehl,” Captain Stern returned a polite gesture as greeting and smiled softly. “I’ve been meaning to come down to the med bay to see how you’re settling in. Does the equipment down there meet your standards and expectations?” Fehl nodded. “Everything is great, not just in the med bay, but everywhere. This is one of the finest ships I’ve ever served on, Captain.” “That’s high praise, thank you.” Stern paused for a bit, carefully watching the arzhi’s expressions. “And what of the crew? I hope they’ve been helpful and welcoming?” A flicker of emotion flashed on the medic’s face ever so quickly. It looked like it might be some combination of frustration or sadness or something in that vein. It was replaced with a gentle, resigned smile almost immediately. “More so than what I’d expected, actually. All things considered with my people’s history, things have been much more smooth and calm than what many of my previous constituents thought I’d experience while joining a Galatea crew.”
Stern nodded. He understood what Fehl was meaning without saying. Besides the first few solar cycles, the crew’s interactions with the new medic had greatly improved, but if one looked closely enough, it was clear there was still a strain. A little tightness to a smile here, a subtle tensing of shoulders there, etc. There were only a few members of the crew who were either totally at comfort with the medic or at least good enough actors to pass as comfortable. “I see,” Stern nodded, keeping his expression neutral. “As you said, all things considered, I’d say there’s been quite a bit of improvement with the crew, and I expect that to continue in the coming cycles.” Fehl nodded and glanced down the hall in the direction he’d been walking before, then back to Stern. “If you’re not busy now Captain, you’re more than welcome to join me. I was on my way to the mess hall for a meal now that I’m on standby.” Captain Stern was about to answer when a growling sound from his stomach answered for him. They both laughed for a moment before Captain Stern answered in the affirmative and the pair started walking together down the hall. They walked in comfortable silence for a bit before Fehl spoke up. “I’ve been doing more in-depth research on each species’ needs aboard the ship, especially humans since I’ve not worked near them before. I came across some interesting articles about basic needs.” “Oh yeah?” “Yes, apparently humans require physical touch to help maintain mental health?” Captain Stern nodded. “Yes, and unfortunately many humans, especially those who join off-world crews, often develop symptoms of touch starvation.” “Ah,” Stern nodded. Touch starvation. It was something that, in the early days of human inclusion, many crews often overlooked how important physical touch was to human mental health. It was only after cases of high blood pressure, digestive problems, and anxiety became rampant that preventative measures were made commonplace on ships that hired on humans. He thought back to his human mother. When he’d first left to begin his academy training, he’d been worried about leaving her alone. She’d been “on her own” to use her own words, for several years before she’d adopted Stern, but she assured him that she wasn’t alone. She had a close-knit group of friends and extended family that she could keep companionship with while he was gone. Stern knew she’d be fine with them. He’d been brought along to many family gatherings and outings with friends throughout his upbringing to know that his mother would certainly not be lacking the physical contact and important touches that the human psyche needed. Though she may act like she had been touch-starved whenever Stern was able to make a visit, what with all the embraces and kisses he’d receive as soon as he walked into his childhood home.
“Oh hello human Muriel,” Fehl broke Stern’s flashback. The hallway they’d been walking through merged with another and they’d run into one of the humans on the crew. “On your way for a meal?” Fehl asked casually. Stern was silently impressed at how well the arzhi had picked up his friendly conversational tone. He still had his overall gruff and menacing cadence and aura, but that was more to do with that was just how arzhi body language and how they naturally spoke than anything the medic was consciously trying to do. “I am,” Muriel’s wavy hair bounced with each step, and as she leaned forward slightly to see around Fehl’s large shoulders. “Oh hello, Captain. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” “Not at all. We’re all just on our way to lunch if you’d like to join us?” “Oh? Sure, that sounds nice,” Muriel smiled gently. Stern nodded and continued walking, but he had to admit that something felt off with the human. His duties as captain kept him busy, but he did try to keep tabs on how each of his crewmembers were doing. Muriel was normally very energetic and happy, but over the past decacycle or so, there was something about her that seemed to be off. While Stern pondered on that, the three walked in relative silence for a few moments before Muriel broke it. “Oh, thanks for the idea about the vitamin D, Fehl. It’s really helped make a difference.” “That’s great to hear!” Fehl rumbled and nodded his large head. “I’m glad my research paid off. Have you felt like you’ve had more energy? “A bit more, yeah…” her last word dragged on a bit and both Fehl and Stern waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, Fehl stopped in the hall. Both Stern and Muriel paused after a few steps and turned back to look at the medic who looked like he was a bit hesitant to say what was on his mind. “Human Muriel, I hope I’m not over-stepping anything, but I’ve recently learned more about humans’ need for physical touch and what effects touch-starvation can have.” He bent down slightly to be more on her level height-wise. “Have you been able to make meaningful physical contact with any of the other humans or members of the crew?” Muriel just stared and blinked for a bit before finally shaking her head side to side. “Do you mind if… would you like a hug now? Something tells me you may need one.” More staring. More blinking. Then finally Muriel, looking between Captain Stern and the concerned medic in front of her, slowly nodded her head up and down. As carefully as he could, and with as much grace as he could, Medic Fehl moved in closer to embrace the smaller human figure. Humans are by no means fragile or dainty, but in the arms of a hulking arzhi, Muriel looked so small, although not uncomfortable. After only a few seconds, Muriel seemed to return the hug in full force with tears forming in her eyes. Before they could fall down her cheeks, Muriel’s breathing began breaking down into sobbing. Medic Fehl pulled back quickly and immediately started to scan over Muriel as if looking for injuries. “Oh I’m so sorry!” Fehl stumbled out, “Where are you hurt? Oh flarg!” Muriel only shook her head and between sobs and hiccups that she was trying to get back under control, she sporadically was able to get out that she was fine. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but Stern knew that she meant she was physically fine.
Thankfully, Fehl, as a well-trained medic, was level-headed enough to listen to the pair of them explain that he’d done no harm in embracing her. “That’s a relief,” Fehl sighed deeply. “The last thing I need is to create some sort of incident with anyone on the ship, or with humanity as a whole!” He worriedly checkout over Muriel once again. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?” “I’m sure,” Muriel gave a chuckle through the tears that were still running rogue from her eyes. She wiped them away again and sniffled for a moment, trying to regain composure. “You… you give really good hugs though. I think I… I think I really needed that. I… I just…” Muriel’s face scrunched up a bit as she was again trying to fight off tears from falling. Fehl glanced at Stern, who nodded silently and smiled encouragingly. After a moment, Fehl stepped closer to Muriel and placed a large hand on her shoulder. “You know, I’m trained in matters of physical health, but your mental health is also vital to your overall wellness. If you need to talk, or if you ever just need… a hug… you can always count on me.” Muriel nodded and slowly leaned into the medic’s chest. Fehl, with only a nanotik’s hesitation, wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. It only lasted a moment, but eventually, Muriel sighed, or maybe yawned, Stern wasn’t quite sure and pulled back to stand straight again. She glanced down the hall behind them, but they were still the only ones in the hall at the time. Her stomach growled and broke the silence, which made the three of them chuckle quietly. “I think that’s our cue to get to the cafeteria,” Stern turned back toward the direction in question. The other two followed along happily. Lunch was great. Stern had made sure the kitchen staff was top-notch when he’d hired them. Others in the crew filed in as their meal breaks came up. Seeing the captain and a human sitting next to Medic Fehl, a few others approached to sit at their table, and soon a lively conversation was started, to which Fehl seemed to participate comfortably. Over the next few cycles, Stern would notice a few more humans visiting the medical bay while he was walking by on his breaks. He’d check in to make sure there wasn’t something concerning going on that he hadn’t been made aware of. Thankfully, it turned out it was nothing he needed to worry about at all. If anything, it was a huge win for his plans of getting the humans to help improve the medic's social standing on the ship. Apparently, word had gotten around that Medic Fehl gave really good hugs.
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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I have an announcement to make (it explains why I've been so slow to write or animate or anything.) Don't worry, I'm not quitting my writing or anything like that!
I am pregnant! That's right, there will be a little waffle on the way (an eggo, if you will)
Between pregnancy hormones and not being able to take my adhd meds, being focused on my of WIPs (writing, animation, or drawing) has been dang hard, and creative blocks have been multitudinous. Thankfully I broke through a block while writing and animating with friends, and so far I haven't gotten stuck again yet (knock on wood) so hopefully, I'll have some more humans are weird stories up soon, and a new video also soon. I really appreciate the comments and ideas you guys give, I copy and paste them all into a doc so I don't lose them.
We are expecting our little boy to be born in July, and so far we're all happy and healthy. My hope is that everything stays that way and that you all are doing well too! Stay funky you cute human, you!
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Earth Report 0016 - CPR
This is from a prompt from a user on aO3
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As part of the medical and health-related topics in this section of reports, I would like to make a special report on the topic of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. I’ve covered several “first aid” topics in previous reports, and will likely cover more soon as I continue to study humans, but this particular technique stood out to me in a way that I knew I had to make a report dedicated solely to it. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR for short, is an emergency technique that can be performed on a human whose heart has stopped beating. Such a condition can be lethal for humans as they only have one centralized heart. The human heart is a fascinating organ. While strategically contracting and releasing different valves on average over 100,000 times a day, the human heart pumps nearly 3 solaric fluid plinks of blood every mentik. It is, without a doubt, made of some of the most tireless muslce tissue I've ever heard of. Historically, heart problems and diseases are the leading cause of death for humans. I realize that may surprise many. Out of all the crazy things humans do, get into, eat, etc. it’s their own vital organs that most often “do them in,” (a common human euphemism about death. See Report 0005 for more about euphemisms and idioms.) When a human’s heart stops beating, they enter what’s known as “cardiac arrest.” In such a state, their heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body. For those who know even the basics about human anatomy, it is easy to see just how dangerous and life-threatening this is in only a matter of minutes.
In an effort to save the lives of others, humans of all ages and backgrounds are commonly given basic training in CPR. After ensuring trained professionals are alerted to the medical emergency at hand, checking for a pulse (or lack of), and making sure the afflicted human is flat on their back, the human administering CPR stacks their hands, fingers laced, on the sternum of the afflicted human and administers hand compressions with the sturdy base of their palms.
I’ve attended a training on CPR. The instructor demonstrated how to perform it on a replica human torso made out of rubber and plastic that they call a “dummy.”
If you are even remotely aware of how strong a human can be, you might have some idea of the shock I felt when the instructor told the class to use as much of their body weight as they could to compress the afflicted human’s chest at a depth of nearly 1-2 inches (7 solaric micronills)!
What this means is that the human administering CPR is pushing so hard that they are basically trying to squish the non-beating heart in a pulsing pattern to replicate its natural pumping action and get the heart itself to start beating again on its own.
And it’s not just that either. You have to remember that the heart, being a vital organ, is safely encased in the human’s ribcage. Does this stop them? Absolutely not. In fact, the instructor clearly stated that while performing CPR, if you hear a bone snap or crack, keep going. To quote her, “It’s better to have a broken rib and be alive than no broken bones and be dead.”
Of course, the instructor also gave advice on how to try to avoid fracturing the sternum or ribs, but said that due to the nature of CPR, it happens about 30% of the time.
Beyond beating the heart back to life, CPR also includes forcing air into the afflicted human’s lungs. This happens much less frequently than compressions, and it involves the administering human to get air into the afflicted’s lungs the only way they have available - from their own lungs. They pinch the other’s human’s nose shut, seal their lips over theirs and blow. Those familiar with human displays of affection (see report 0010) may mistake this as a “kiss,” and while it is sometimes called “the kiss of life,” it is far from affectionate in any way. If anything, one might say it is more of a battle, if the opponent of their battle were death itself.
They follow up with more heart compressions and repeat the pattern until emergency medical professionals arrive.
At the end of the demonstration I attended, the instructor commented on the speed of the compressions needed. She referenced two songs, which many in the class began humming to themselves immediately and continued to do so after class. One, I thought was in poor taste, entitled “Another One Bites the Dust.” For those unfamiliar with human idioms (again, see Report 0005) to bite the dust means to die. Seeing as that is the complete opposite outcome hoped for with CPR, I preferred the title of the other song, “Staying Alive.”
She instructed that those administering CPR should perform chest compressions to the beat of one of those songs, hoping that indeed, their fellow human would be “staying alive.”
May the stars above forbid that a human ever tries to perform CPR on me, (or that I'd ever be in a situation where I was incapacitated enough to look like I needed it). Though I think that would be a quick way to go. Thankfully, they do have specialized CPR procedures for their small children and infants, as well as pets and various animals. They all typically involve a lot less... bone-crunching heart squishes.
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Quick survival tip: never trust rogue mirror people. If your reflection starts beckoning you closer on it's own, you get the heck out of there.
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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The Gardener - Part 7
Dangerous Earth Plants
Parts 1&2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 > Part 8
The Human Marley was a star-sent gift. Why, just the other day, Nipti had been able to take the first quiet peaceful evening in what must have been years just last night. Granted, that had been after a very long and very frustrating day of fixing Marley’s ship. Or at least, trying to. Again, that piece of space garbage was well beyond his capabilities of repairing, but he had at least been able to help fix a few broken belts and rewire a few fraying cables. It helped that at this point, Marley seemed to be immune to even the most dangerous specimens from his gardens. That belief was compounded when it was discovered that his human companion also seemed to be immune to a myriad of dangerous plants from several other gardens beyond the Green Gardens. That immunity provided Marley with the capability to get into otherwise tough spots and get whatever job done faster than Nipti could have ever hoped to do alone. Marley didn’t have to switch in and out of various protective gear nearly as often, and the human also seemed to have huge reserves of energy and stamina and thus needed fewer breaks.
Nipti had decided to splurge a little bit on a thank-you gift. The package had just arrived this morning and Nipti already had it picked up and loaded onto a trailer behind his hoverbike. He knew Marley was working on the ship today. He sighed and shook his head like he did every time he thought of the human’s piece of junk. No matter what Nipti said about the blasted junk heap, Marley insisted that it meant too much to them to scrap and insisted on fixing it up. Hence Nipti’s gift. He knew Marley said their supralight communicator had a fried its sensors into oblivion decacycles before arriving at the Nipti’s gardens. It wasn’t something that was vital to keeping the ship itself running, so it wasn’t very high on the (very long) list of other things to fix. Nipti had suspicions that the comm system might not get fixed at all if Marley had already put it off this long already. That was unacceptable for many reasons! What if Marley got into trouble and needed to call for help? What if Marley was going into a dangerous section of space and didn’t know because they didn’t get notified? What if Nipti missed them once they left and had no way of getting in touch?
Nipti shook his head and cleared his constricting throat. He needed to pull himself together. It’s not like Marley was going anywhere anytime soon anyway. Today was a particularly gorgeous day in the gardens. The sky was broken up by large, slow-moving clouds which occasionally blocked the sun and kept everything at just the perfect temperature. When the sun did come out from behind a cloud, it made everything it touched look like luminescent jewels. Nipti could spend all day just driving around and admiring his gardens on a day like this. He did slow his speed a bit from his normal pace, just to make the drive last a little longer. And he may or may not have taken a little detour. When he finally arrived at Marley’s ship, he didn’t see the human or hear any work being done. That’s strange. He could have sworn this is what Marley was planning on working on today. He pulled out his short-range communicator and sent out an alert. He didn’t hear Marley’s communicator ping in response, but after a few tiks, the human’s voice piped up from the speaker. “Hey, what’s up? Whatcha need Nipti?” “Oh. Uh, nothing right now. Just at your ship and thought you’d be here.”
“Ah, yeah. I was. I just thought I’d take a quick break. I was trying to fix the power core housing this morning and getting at it does not make for the most comfortable position and my back was really starting to protest.” Nipti nodded to himself. Of course that blast-drub ship would be difficult. It’s like it liked being thrown-together scrap! “So where are you now?” Nipti looked around the nearby gardens. “I’ve got something for you.” “Green Gardens. I came by to check on the roses. I noticed some were getting close to blooming the other day. They’re gorgeous, but I kind of ran into trouble with some of them.” “Trouble?” Nipti frowned. “What kind of trouble are we talking about?” He really hoped there hadn’t been some sort of damage from careless visitors, or that there’d been some sort of malfunction with the watering systems. “Nothing big,” Marley reassured, “got a bit cut up on the thorns, but I'm not bleeding anymore. I’m heading back now to get the real problem all dealt with. It's a 'me' problem, so don't worry about it. See you soon.” Nipti wasn’t sure what that meant, but Marley didn’t sound too worried, (even though they'd been cut up badly enough to be bleeding? Should he go back and pick up a first-aid kit?) He figured it couldn’t be any kind of emergency or anything like that. Whatever was going on, his human seemed to have it all under control. It took a few mentiks, but soon enough, Marley appeared on a spare hoverbike from the direction of the Green Gardens. They must have decided to work on their little “break,” as Nipti could see a few tools and torn-up plant remains in tow on the back of the hoverbike. As soon as Marley got close enough to park and dismount, Nipti could start to see what his human may have been referring to as their “me problem.”
Their skin was covered in half-healed cuts and red, angry-looking splotches! “What happened to you?!” Nipti stepped forward to examine the… whatever that was, but he stopped himself. Was it dangerous? Was it contagious? Marley didn’t give much of a response other than to grunt and mutter something about being “right back,” before disappearing into the ship. Nipti looked at the plants and tools that must have been brought from the Green Gardens. He didn’t immediately recognize the stems or leaves, but they did seem familiar and he had to admit that they smelled delicious! The more he thought about it, the more he seemed to remember planting these as one of the small handful of plants from Earth that were edible for garbons. Marley must have found some and decided to try out some new recipes. Just as Marley reappeared from their ship’s entrance, Nipti pulled a few small leaves off the plant and popped them into his mouth. Marley made an expression that Nipti had never seen before. “Oh my stars- Nipti! What the?! What do you think you’re doing?” Nipti stepped away from the spare hoverbike as he swallowed the few leaves he’d eaten. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d mind if I ate a few. Looks like you picked enough for a test.” He didn’t add that the plants were technically his. In reality, he should be allowed to eat as many as he’d like. Well, within reason of course. He wasn’t the one who went through the trouble of harvesting, after all. Marley stopped and stared silently at Nipti for what ended up being a rather uncomfortable amount of time. “And… and your mouth is fine still? It’s not, like, crazy itchy or anything?” Nipti ran his tongue around his mouth experimentally. “No. Why would it be? Is that what that plant does to humans when they eat it?” Marley just stared at him again for another, albeit shorter, silent moment. “No. That’s stinging nettle. Humans don’t eat it.”
Nipti noticed the small pink bottle in Marley’s hands. With a quick twist, the white cap was removed and Marley sat down and started pouring out light pink fluid and dabbing it onto their rashes. “Most humans are allergic to it. Between the fine hairs on the stems and the chemicals they release onto our skin, this,” they gestured at some of the pink-covered rashes on their arms, “is the unfortunate result of coming in contact with it.” Marley poured out more of the thin liquid and applied it liberally with a scowl. Nipti watched for a bit, intrigue mixing with worry. “Are you going to be okay?” Marley paused to look over their arms to make sure nothing had been missed. “I’ll be okay. I’m just going to be itchy for a few days.” “Is there anything I can do to help?” Deciding that all rashes had been sufficiently covered by the strange pink stuff, Marley screwed the lid back on the bottle. “No, I’ll be fine. But, um, I guess you could help me understand why you planted stinging nettle in the rose beds?” “To be honest, I’d kind of forgotten I’d planted this at all. I thought it was a lot like diosia, which is used in a lot of popular garbon dishes I liked when I was young.” He eyed the stack of plants on the back of Marley’s hoverbike. “You mean to tell me humans don’t eat it at all? Why did you pick so much then?” Marley sighed and straightened their back. “Well, I started pulling it because it was in the way of the roses. Then I remembered that it can be processed to be safe to use and has a lot of health benefits. The main benefit I was most concerned with was reducing back pain.” “So this must be some sort of historical finding then,” Nipti chuckled a bit as Marley gave him a weird quizzical look. “We’ve finally discovered a weakness unique to humanity.” “Hilarious. We should inform everyone immediately.” Nipti couldn’t help himself from laughing even more now. Marley was now pointedly ignoring him now and began shaking the pink bottle loudly before applying another layer of pink lotion onto their rashes.
“I’m not entirely sure how to process it,” Marley continued after a while, “but I mean, humans have been using it since ancient times, so I’m sure I could figure something out.” After a brief moment, Marley looked up and caught eyes with Nipti. “Just as a heads up for me, you don’t happen to have any Earth plants by the name of poison ivy, poison sumac, or poison oak, do you?” “Not to my knowledge, no. Though I’d have to double-check by their scientific name to make sure.” Marley nodded and returned their attention back to their rashes. They looked pretty well covered at this point. Both arms up to and just above the elbows looked splotched in pale pink liquid that was quickly drying in the sunshine. “Maybe taking a little break would be an easier way to help your back?” Marley leaned back to lie on the turf. “Yeah. You’re probably right.” Nipti noticed the human gaze up at their ship and sigh deeply. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get this old gal fixed up. It’s been a lot more in-depth than I’d originally thought.” Nipti held back saying anything along the lines of “I could have told you that the day you arrived,” and instead stared up at the ship with his friend. “I’m sure you’ll get it eventually,” Nipti finally broke the silence. “If there’s anything I’ve learned after knowing you these past few decacycles is that you know how to figure things out and get the job done no matter what.” Marley turned and looked at Nipti. A small smile flickered in the corner of their mouth. “Thanks, Nipti. That means a lot, actually.” Not knowing what else to say, Nipti looked back to his hoverbike. “Oh! Yes! Before I forget,” he turned and walked toward the package that was stored in the trailer he’d been hauling. “I wanted to thank you for all you’ve done to help me around the gardens.” He picked up the box and turned around to see Marley staring at him curiously from the ground. "Speaking of your piece of junk,” Nipti walked to Marley and handed over the rather large box, “I got this for you. I know you’re working on bigger and more vital parts of your ship right now, but if you think I’m gonna let you ever take this thing flying again without a proper communication system, you’ve got another thing coming.” Marley took the box and examined it for a moment before getting up and pulling Nipti into an embrace. It wasn’t the first time Marley had made some sort of affectionate physical contact, but this was definitely the most contact they’d made up ‘till now. It was tight, but not too much so, and didn’t last too long. Marley pulled away and returned their attention back to the boxed supralight communicator. “Got any time to help me install this today?” Nipti returned Marley’s smile. “Well, thanks to you, I’ve got some spare time so I can do just that.”
Next>>
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Did it actually hurt? No.
Did I say "Ow," anyway? Yes.
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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I really want to start a band called What's Her Face and the So-and-Sos
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Thank you to everyone in the notes, that was exactly what I was looking for!
Can anyone help me find something?
I remember reading some sort of article about the behind the scenes of some alien show where the aliens were little girls in costumes. The little girls made really good aliens because they, unlike the little boys, didn't start destroying their costumes but instead reeeeaaaally got into character by being weird, spooky little aliens.
I can't find it anywhere, and it doesn't help that I don't remember what show it was for or how old the show was
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Can anyone help me find something?
I remember reading some sort of article about the behind the scenes of some alien show where the aliens were little girls in costumes. The little girls made really good aliens because they, unlike the little boys, didn't start destroying their costumes but instead reeeeaaaally got into character by being weird, spooky little aliens.
I can't find it anywhere, and it doesn't help that I don't remember what show it was for or how old the show was
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thewildwaffle · 1 year
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Oh, a ghost is trying to scare you so bad you move out of their house?
Couldn't be me, I'm a delight to live with. Me and my ghost are soon to be bff's.
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