vivianrvergiou

[vivianrvergiou]

mjalti // givingdirt // acknowledgments -- Danez Smith // Hubble Telescope // librarycard // source unknown // the white moths -- mimetolith

[vivianrvergiou]

Imagine an alien comes to visit and you go on a camping trip. Be it some adventure where you have to hike into the mountains to find an ancient relic or just as friends. You’re in America and you hear a blood curdling scream. The alien jumps up from the fire but you have to grab their hand and tell them to sit back down.

“SOMEONE NEEDS HELP! what are you doing?!”

They panic wondering why a human wouldn’t want to help a fellow human.

“It’s not human.”

They would be bewildered but ultimately trust you as this is your native planet and you likely know best.

You explain to them that it was likely a mountain lion. Another apex predator of the planet that can make human screams.

And depending if this was another part of the world some birds can call your name or mimic children/people cryin.

“Your planet is terrifying. How do you know the difference between your own and what wants to kill you?”

“Just do”

It’s part of our evolution. It’s why we fear the dark and monsters under our bed. We slept in trees once and predators roamed below. We can’t see in the dark but predators can. We may be super predators but we were once prey too.

[vivianrvergiou]

Aliens vs Human Instincts

Ahem. For the consideration of the Humans are Space Orcs/Oddities/Deathworlders/Australians I present: wound licking instinct.

Humans, and most mammals, are hardwired to lick their bleeding wounds because our saliva contains tissue factor - which helps clot blood - and the enzyme lysozyme (also found in tears) which helps prevent infection.

However, human saliva also contains a horrifying amount of dangerous bacteria, so it's anyone's guess whether they're going to prevent or cause an infection when they start licking up their own blood. Human saliva coated wounds have caused infections bad enough to cause amputations and deaths, historically speaking.

Now imagine you're an alien whose species does not have the wound licking instinct.

You're already scared out of your mind because you've run your limit and the human is still following you. You hit it with something sharp. It staggers, it's hand bleeds.

It reaches up and licks the blood off its hand. It consumes itself with bared teeth. It hasn't taken its eyes off you as it does this.

In the ensuing scuffle it bites you. Somehow you manage to escape. But the wound aches and burns and the infection nearly costs you your arm.

You see the human again later that day. It waves. There is no sign of death in its hand.

[vivianrvergiou]

Can we acknowledge stomach acid being fucking weird? We have pits of acid in us that sometimes comes out our very delicate throats??? Imagine an alien hits a human in the stomach hard enough to make them sick and thinks they've won, but they get melted by the vomit. And somewhere along the line aliens get convinced that one of a human's defence mechanisms is spitting acid and we have to explain that no, but we have some earth native reptiles that can.

[vivianrvergiou]

Shark ...weak?

Human: This is a shark. It is an apex predator with rows of replaceable razor-sharp teeth and it has existed since before trees, nearly unchanged. For most of human history our medical technology was not good enough for us to survive being bitten, especailly since sharks can and will eat almost anything. They're also incredibly fast swimmers and prefer to attack from below where you cannot see them coming. Luckily they live in the oceans and we live on land so there's only really danger if we go into their territory.

Alien: A place to avoid for certain.

Human: If you decide to go diving with sharks, it's strongly advised that you wear a specialised chainmail bite-proof suit over your diving suit and remain in a large metal bite cage so that they cannot get their powerful jaws around you. However, if you find yourself in the water with a shark and you do not have these protections - for example if you went surfing in shark territory with nothing but a foam surfboard that makes you look like a seal from below and a thin fabric to cover your privates, a stern little boop to the snoot will usually make them surrender.

Alien: ...what.

Human: Always remember, sharks are more scared of you than you are of them!

[vivianrvergiou]

Crews Quick Guide to Humans

Quiet humans are not defective. Loud humans are not defective. Unless there is a significant change, assume your human is operating at normal levels.

Human words do not mean the same thing all the time. Look up the study of human tone if you want to always know what your human means.

Human females will smell of blood each month. If this changes, ask your human in private if something happened.

Human males often do not know how loud they are. Asking them to lower their voice is not offensive.

Human cultures vary greatly and various cultures have conflicting beliefs. Most humans will not be offended if you cannot keep up with this.

Humans do not share a hive mind but do have several musical triggers that activate a human chorus. These triggers transcend most cultural and language barriers.

All Stabby units come with a human locator setting. Use liberally.

Ask for a detailed explanation before agreeing to join a human on any non work activity.

Be aware of human hobbies and skills. Humans enjoy company and will likely teach you whatever they know. It is also beneficial to know what your human may do should they get bored.

Do not be too concerned over what humans ingest, so long as they do so willingly and with the full knowledge of what they are ingesting.

Unless you hear a human say something along the lines of ‘I hope this works’ or ‘here goes nothing’, assume they have a working knowledge at the attempted task.

If you hear a human say one of the above phrases, take cover as it is likely too late to stop or report them.

[vivianrvergiou]

Ok so in a human-are-space-orcs setting, humans are also going to be weirdly (or terrifyingly, depending on your point of view) good a booby traps: improvisational engineering, breaking rules, defending their homes/pack bonded crewmates/pack bonded ships, general mayhem and chaos, and sheer bloody-mindedness. Imagine the how aliens would react to Home Alone, Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner and Coyote, etc. “When attempting to capture a human ship or settlement, be extremely warry of anything that appears abandoned, or defended only by ‘unarmed’ ‘non-combatants’. There is no such thing as an unarmed human. There are only humans who have done a better job of concealing their improvised weapons. See files “Jackie Chan” and “Kevin McCallister”

[vivianrvergiou]

“Haven’t you heard?”, the crew’s Historian purred, delighted on the news. “Humans pull off the skins from their bodies all the time!”

The Engineer trembled around her unusual form, all four of her arms grabbing the table with anxiety. “Pull off their skins?!”, she asked, horrified. “Like the taru when the two suns rise in red?!”

“Oh, didn’t you hear me?”, the other continued. “They do that all the time! When they wake up, when they go to work, when they come back from it. A new skin for every moment!”

The Engineer became smaller, old instincts of alert kicking in. “How can they regenerate their skin so fast?”

“I have no idea!”, the Historian told them, spinning around their chair and drinking a large glass of water. “Must be because of that harsh planet they came from. I heard the ground roars from time to time to wreck everything… It becomes angry. I think it tries to eat the creatures so the planet’s core can keep itself warm”.

“Awful”, the smaller one whispered. “But why do they keep pulling off their skins?!”

“Oh, I think it’s all for show. They don’t have a time for mating, you know? Must be because they are looking for someone to be their partner. Or maybe it’s all shows for strenghts, to prove one is better than the other. These humans didn’t take long to get out of their planets, like us. They are still more of an irrational animal than an intelligent creature…”

“Oh, shut up with these stupid legends”, the crew’s sole human shouted from behind. Both Historian and Engineer jumped from their seats, looking at the Psychiatrist. “And stop watching videos of artists pulling off their makeup! You’re scaring everyone off me, you foolish storyteller! Come here, right now, and I’ll show you what pulling a skin off is like-!”

—

If you want to see more of this, consider buying me a Ko-Fi, commissioning me or just taking a look at my writing!! Thank you, and have a lovely day <3

[vivianrvergiou]

Had a humans are space orcs thought

So you know how humans almost universally like to pet animals no matter the size. (Yes I might want to pet a lion and I am not going to apologize for that. Well what if that is a trait that is unique to us/our planet?

Bounty hunting alien group with their new human crew mate lands on a planet to secure their target. After a brief search, the group encounters a guard dog... of sorts. A beast taller than a moose and built better than a bear snarls and growls, bearing its fangs. All members of the group back away slowly and ready their weapons. All, except the human who suddenly gets excited.

"Oh you're so vicious aren't you? Who's a vicious beast? Whose a vicious beast? Yes you are." The human says.

The rest of the group stares in disbelief at the human, who must have lost his mind. Wondering if they should intervene, but also kind of terrified of both the beast, and now, the human.

The beast leans in, inches away from the humans face, letting out a deep growl. The Human reaches up to pet the it, who quickly leans away, wondering what the furless bipedal is up to. Determined to pet the new animal, the human continues. His hand catching up to its head, he starts to scratch behind his ear.

The beast relaxes, experiencing a joy it never thought it wanted. A few minutes go by, and the beast lays down, relenting to the humans pets. Before long, it shows its stomach, not knowing why just reacting to a primal instinct it did not know existed.

"You want some belly rubs!" The human exclaims, rubbing the beasts belly.

Leg kicking away, the beast gets lost in the bliss for a few minutes, until the alien captain finally speaks up.

"Human, What are you doing. That beast is dangerous!" The captain barks.

"Are you a dangerous beast? Whose a dangerous beast?" The human exclaims, continuing to pet the beast.

"Human!" The captain shouts.

"It's fine! See he likes it." The human defends.

Not believing what they are seeing, the rest of the party continue on to find the target, leaving the human to bond with his new pet.

[vivianrvergiou]

I remember, at one point, seeing a “humans are space orcs” post about how we can eat so many things, and the idea never really left me.

Like, humans will eat almost anything so like by as it isn’t a living, breathing creature. And this isn’t even fully true (mostly bugs are eaten alive, I think)

And on top of that, we can and will eat anything raw so long as it doesn’t kill us. Hell, we’d eat something raw even if we knew it could kill is. We can regularly eat stuff that’s supposed to kill us and walk away smiling.

I mean, what’s going through a guys head that makes him look at a pufferfish and think “that fish looks tasty! Now how do I make it no lethal?”

Humans, man. We will eat anything.

[vivianrvergiou]

Inspired

Humans are Space Orcs...

But, we know alien planets are weird like weird weird. But they tend to be the an exaggerated thing of what we have on earth. Like the planet made of lava or diamonds or storms or whatever.

And lets consider that aliens live there. And they have lived there ever since who knows how long. And they have adapted to it and thrive in it and sometimes they cant go out of their own planet because they would probably die for whatever reason.

But Humans are made to adapt and survive. We are the ones who lives in a deathworld where a mixture of all this different planets is what we call home. We adapt and we live. And when we suddenly come to land in their home base where no other have yet to do so. We find ways to survive.

We are called deathworlders and space orcs by so many for this very reason. We live, we die but we never give up until we succeed.

We are curious about so much, we feel far too much, we care far too much , that we would do anything just to satisfy those needs.

We have imagined so many scenarios hypothetical and mysterious. All are then proven to be right or at least helpful when the time needs be.

Humans are called deathworlders for a reason because we are diverse and we adapt and we would be damned not to make something out of it.

[vivianrvergiou]

Mitsuhide Akechi:

Route + Romance End + HC Post Epilogue

Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Interrogation Interrupted 

Plots and Plans

Love and Lessons

Sweet Reward

Sparks and Flame

Dragon and Kitsune Squabble

Secrets Between Friends   

Mitsuhide and the Mystery

Curiosity

One Kind of Temptation

Vulnerable

A Fun Lesson

Kitsune Haunting

Kitsune Dawn   

Rehearsal  

Staying in Character

Comfort  

Kitsune’s Work

Farewell to Beauty

Butterflies

The Fox Path  

A Little While Longer     

Journey’s End

Intended Consequences

Alarm Bells

Bellflower Blues

To Catch a Fox

Traitor

Right

Loyalty

Not An End

Peace

Reunion

Interlude

Fox Hunt

An Uncertain Alliance

Future-speak

Keeping Secrets

Mad Dogs

Unexpected Gifts

The Greatest Harm

Strength

Siege

Following Orders

Base Villains

Trust

Tears of Joy

Delicious SFW / NSFW

Hero’s Welcome

Loyalties

Lunch with Friends

My Favorite Place

My Home Is Your Home

Old Friends, New Adventures

Adrift

Fake It Til You Make It

Kitsune's Day Out

Friends and Frenemies

Uncomfortable Questions

In the Spotlight

Bonding

Middle Ground

Double Dating

Stuck on a Feeling

Obligation

Promises Made

Belief

Will and Skill

Errand Boys

Heroes

Wanted

Deals

Cat and Mouse

On Vengeance

An Optimist

Cold Comforts

Enemy at the Gates

[vivianrvergiou]

Every so often, Barbatos and Mammon converse. Usually this doesn’t happen, because Mammon is afraid of Barbatos, but sometimes, in a split second of gathering whats left of his braincells, he utters words to Barbatos that the time demon never thought he’d hear in his life.

It was a meeting, and Mammon was running late. Lucifer and the rest of his brothers had been there, along with Simeon and the other two purgatory hall members. Upon finally arriving, the others had been chatting quietly, and Barbatos had opened the door for him.

Mammon, being the utter dumbass he is, decided right now was the time to say something witty and clever, so he thought to play around with Barbatos’ name and thank him using the alias ”Barbie”. However, Mammon didn’t always get things right.

He casually thanked Barbatos, and a brilliant moment of word association, he casually utters the words; ”Thanks baby” and walks off to his seat.

Barbatos was taken aback. Diavolo stared, smiling but mouth agape. Simeon and Luke, shocker into horror. Solomon and Asmodeus chukling amongst each other, bewhildered. The others were just frozen in disbelief.

Barbatos, being equally smart and witty, decided to drop a name bomb of his own; ”You’re welcome, dear” he says.

Chaos ensues.

[vivianrvergiou]

there is so much love to be found in the mundane: the clink of mismatched mugs crowding the countertop, buying bruised fruit at the market to make sure everyone finds a home, the gentle rocking of the washing machine syncing up with your heartbeat, rubbing your legs together under fresh blankets like a little cricket, the perfect crunch of an exceptionally crisp chip, jumping straight into a rain puddle and getting a good splash, that first soul-deep stretch after waking up, tucking your face into your favorite sweater and feeling the world slow to a halt, even just for a little bit.

[vivianrvergiou]

Not all of us could afford therapy, so drop one that you have learned from your psychologist. You don't know; you might help someone.

[vivianrvergiou]

Will and Skill

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfic, approx. 1600 words. This scene takes place well after the events of the romantic epilogue.

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Belief

Mitsuhide left for the university the next morning. As silent as the rays of the morning sun, he opened his lover’s bedroom door and slipped in to give her a goodbye kiss and to leave a note on her table. She didn’t wake, but smiled as his lips brushed her forehead. The sight of her, disheveled and vulnerable, made his heart ache. He would rather spend the day at her side, but even here, he had responsibilities.

He and Sasuke were the only two with clear heads after their night out drinking. Even his little mouse and her mother were sleeping off celebratory drinks. He exchanged a knowing smile with the ninja as they crept out silently.

“I admire your skills,” Sasuke watched as he latched the door without making a sound.

“As I do yours. Are you sure you-”

Sasuke shook his head. “I like my job and my boss. But thank you.”

Mitsuhide smiled. He’d known the ninja would refuse but felt he had to ask. “How is your research into the worm hole progressing? You haven’t spoken about it in some time.”

“There have been other things to talk about.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Besides, I’ve been spending time on a-a side project. One that is equally important. To me.”

The kitsune warlord’s smile went sharp and thin. “Shingen Takeda.”

“So you know then.”

“That he was ill, yes.” Mitsuhide tapped his chin lightly as if considering, though he’d already realized the ninja’s aim. “You hope to heal him.”

Sasuke tensed, saying nothing.

“I would go a step further and say you intended to perfect your invention, using our trip as a test. Then you planned to bring Takeda to this time for treatment. But the worm hole refuses to be opened as you need it, so now you plan to bring the medicine of this age back to Shingen.” Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow. “Ambitious.”

The ninja gave a dry, humorless laugh. “Yes. I don’t know how much good it will do. I am a physicist, not a medical doctor.”

Mitsuhide shrugged. “Any chance you give him to survive his illness is one more than he would have.”

“Yes.” Sasuke studied the distant horizon. “I would appreciate you not mentioning this to . . . to the chatelaine. I don’t want to darken a joyful time with my -”

“I don’t keep secrets from my little mouse. But if she doesn’t ask, I won’t mention it.” Mitsuhide’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t expect to keep it from her for long, though. She is perceptive.”

The two men fell into a companionable silence for the remainder of their trip to the university. Once there, Sasuke left for the medical center, while Mitsuhide set off for the dorms. His ‘scholarship’ students were doing well, and it was time to fulfill a promise.

The three boys shared a room, and they were still asleep at this early hour. Sprawled across their beds, clothes in a pile, barely even stirring as Mitsuhide opened their door. He clapped his hands once and the room erupted into chaos.

The whistler - Itsuko, got tangled in his blankets and fell to the floor. The bag-grabbing Souta managed to jump up, but faced the wrong direction. The talker of the group, Daiki, was the only one to get up facing Mitsuhide, but the pillow he brandished was far from intimidating.

“If I was a thief, you’d be left with nothing but your short-pants,” Mitsuhide sighed. “And if I was an assassin, you’d all be dead.”

“Grandpa’s got skills,” Daiki laughed.

Itsuko sighed. “I was having the best dream.”

Souta tossed a shirt at Itsuko. “Dreaming of noodles again?”

“It’s not just noodles! It’s the world’s best ramen.”

Mitsuhide sighed. “Dress and meet me outside. Today, I will train you.”

Soon enough, all three boys met on the front sidewalk. Mitsuhide looked them over. He’d worked with less. The only uncertainty was the will behind those wary smiles. A man, any man, could learn to fight. Could be taught to weigh and measure, to look for subtle cues. But you could not teach a man to know what to fight for. Faith in a leader, an ideal, a religion . . .

They walked to a park, a place screened from prying eyes. The whole way there, the boys chatted about their classes, their majors. Under the sarcasm and complaints, Mitsuhide detected a certain pride. They claimed to hate school - but he could tell they were pleased with their accomplishments.

“Now. I want you to try to hit me. Don’t hold back.” Mitsuhide stood across the small clearing and beckoned them on. This was always the first lesson. The most important part of any fight.

Souta didn’t need to be told twice. He charged at Mitsuhide, and flailed as the kitsune side-stepped out of the way and let the boy crash into the brush.

“Next?”

Itsuko rolled his shoulders. “I got this.” He came at Mitsuhide more slowly, lunging at the last moment.

Mitsuhide grabbed his arm and pulled him past. The boy’s momentum brought him to the same place as Souta.

Daiki grinned. “Let me guess. Lesson one, don’t get hit?”

“Very good.” Mitsuhide smiled back. “Now I want you to practice this.” And he proceeded to teach them how to read the body to predict the strike. They practiced for hours, getting bruised and scratched, sweaty and tired. It wasn’t any different in this time than his own, the warlord thought. With everything else that changed in 500 years, there was still no other way to truly learn to fight.

“Aren’t you afraid you’re going to teach us all this and we’ll just go back to jumping people in alleys?” Daiki asked as they settled down to take a break.

“Yeah,” Itsuko nodded. “I was thinking that too. “You don’t know us. We could just -”

“Disappear. And take off with a bunch of university property while we’re at it,” Souta chuckled.

Mitsuhide nodded. “Of course you could. But I don’t think you will.” He studied their attentive faces and wondered that they could not see what he did there. It wasn’t mind reading, but in their posture, the tension of their jaws, the set of their eyes he could see how much they needed him to believe they were honest. That they were worth his time. They wanted him to see how much effort they put into his requirements, like children in need of reassurance from their father.

“Why not?” Daiki settled back on his heels, trying to look relaxed.

“First, because you would not try so hard for something you plan to abandon. Second, because I can see that you enjoy the life you have now. You’ve made friends in your program. Joined clubs. Which means,” Mitsuhide took a breath, “you just need to find what you believe in.”

“Pffft.” Itsuko laughed and rolled onto his back to stare up at the sky. “I believe in a full belly. Being warm. Having a place to sleep.”

Daiki nodded. “Getting rich so I don’t have to slave at some desk job for nothing.”

“I-” Souta looked down at his hands. “I was thinking. Guys like us never get a chance. We don’t fit in at school. Don’t take the exams seriously because we figure we’ll fail. We grow up poor and we stay poor. I want . . . you know . . .”

Mitsuhide watched the boy stumble on his words, knowing this was Souta’s moment to begin understanding his ideals.

“So what, you’re going to be some social crusader? Take all the poor kids to school?” Daiki laughed.

“No. But maybe, if I can finish my degree, I can teach. I can be there for guys like us. I don’t know. I guess it’s stupid.” Souta’s hands clenched in his lap.

“It is a beginning.” Mitsuhide gave the boy a pat on his arm. “Now come on. We aren’t finished yet. Next, let’s go over how to hide your tells.”

***

Kyubei sat across from Mitsunari. Between them several maps lay on the floor. Rivers, roads, mountains, and cities were all marked. Ports and sea routes too. The battle against the shogun’s men had begun in earnest.

The first battle was a victory, if bloody. Uesugi forces made the difference, riding in just as Masamune was almost overwhelmed. Now Ieyasu and his trained vassals were seeing to the injured, while Nobunaga drew up plans for the next attack. They couldn’t sit back and wait for Ashikaga’s men to come to them. Supplies were short and the situation was not improving.

“Over land transport is taking too long. And it’s not any safer,” Mitsunari sighed. “The more men we pull to guard caravans, the slower the travel. The less resources arrive too, since so many have to be fed for the trip.”

Kyubei nodded. “We have to make use of our ports. There’s no other option.”

“The ports are a worse prospect. The Mouri clan either pillage our ships and steal them, or burn them.” Mitsunari traced his finger along the coastline of one of the maps, stopping at a river entrance.

“My sources say that is the port the Mouri return to. I think they have a shipyard there,” Kyubei gestured.

“One source.” Mitsunari tapped his finger on the spot. “That might be lying.”

“I don’t think he is. Ranmaru has no reason to deceive us about this. He says he saw it when making deals with Motonari for guns.” Kyubei frowned. “We could try to ambush them here. Burn their shipyard.”

Mitsunari nodded. “If there is a shipyard. If that is their base. We would still need to get enough men close to the port, enough of our own ships to blockade. Our forces would risk being set on fire and we would lose what navy we have left.”

“What if we made a boat you couldn’t light on fire?” Kyubei’s tired mind struck on an impossible idea. “A metal boat. An iron giant.”

Mitsunari’s violet eyes glinted dangerously. “What an interesting proposition.”*

*Based on real history Tekkosen

[vivianrvergiou]

Nadia tale CG (FULL IMAGE)

and Prakra backgrounds