I want to ramble more about Au stuff and explicitly Evronian Headcanons
Mostly about the slow-blink one I mentioned underneath the Animatic I made
And about Gorthan and Everett in general because they're on my mind again. A lot. Lmao
(Spoiler Warning for Masked Feather Au I suppose. But who knows when I'll ever write those fics)
After Gorthan and Everett return to Earth, after first having met, they fight a lot. Nobody likes the other, not really. Everett hates that Gorthans a Evronian, or rather, hates that said Evronian is suddenly living in the Ducklair Tower with him. Though he probably hates even more that he didn't stop him.
Evronians are dangerous, everybody that knows them, or what they are, knows that. Gorthan himself doesn't make a mystery out of that. He's very open about being able to kill him. And not being opposed to do so. All that's holding him back is something close to politeness. I'd say respect, but he himself isn't aware of that yet.
Gorthan openly antagonizes Everett. Nothing big, minor things. Annoying things. Things that drive the other up the wall. Gorthan's a military scientist. He has figured out Coronian technology pretty quickly. Especially in a Tower surrounded by it. (And a certain AI always happy to help)
So it's only a matter of time until he appears in places he shouldn't have access to. Yes, that includes Everett's personal floor/apartment. Yes, it did almost give him a heart attack the first time it happened. And probably the next few times too. Evronians can be very, very quiet.
They sort of work together on projects, less at first, more later. But as said, they do fight. Repeatedly. And I don't just mean verbally. I mean physically, mentally, all of the above. Either because Everett eventually snaps (my guy is very much depressed and pretty much constantly sleep deprived) or because Gorthan will just attack him.
We should mention at this point that Gorthans case does involve mental mutations, aka developing emotions, like stated in the Pkna comics. Emotions that Evronians don't naturally have. And he definitely isn't used to.
They're not exactly like those other species, like humans experience, but they will get there eventually. For now, it's mostly just feeling that come with actions, that previously were much more faint or non-existent. That often ends with internal confusion, which itself manifests in anger and frustration. Even if he wouldn't know to call it that. Experiencing something is one thing, naming it the other.
So they fight. Coronian blood and the blue Evronian equivalent spilling on the floor. Usually until both of them are left bruised, bloodied and with broken pride. Nobody wins, ever.
Because not only are they of equal intelligence, they match in strength too. Not in the same categories, but ultimately? Yeah.
Gorthan of course overweights tones when it comes to physical strength and speed. He frankly fights like some animalistic learned how to use high tech weapons. Not that he's using weapons here. Evronian bodies are mostly made out of pure muscle mass, with very little fat. Which makes them very strong, but also surprisingly heavy. Even if they don't fight like they are.
But Everett isn't exactly weak either. Because that man is a telepath, with Telekinetic abilities. Do you know how strong Telekinesis can be if used correctly? Gorthan is getting slammed into walls here. Level Delta has dents in his shape its walls by now. If you know you know.
And that is not mentioning he essentially got a training montage in what is essentially the monastery from Doctor Strange. Teleportation, shields, etc.
All this to say, they're equals. Very much to the dismay of both of them, when they're eventually forced to realize that. The fighting dies down afterwards. And they settle into something close to coexistence. Mainly peaceful. Uno's just happy they stopped trying to kill each other.
(What did I wanted to talk about? Ah yes slow-blinking)
Everett isn't used to Evronian customs. Especially not at first. Mainly, because it doesn't interest him, he has different things on his mind. So he never asks what they mean. Not until much later, when you could call what's between him and Gorthan almost friendship.
Doesn't mean he doesn't notice certain things though. They freak him out a little.
Evronians are hunters by nature. Even if they rarely get the chance to indulge in that nowadays due to the structure of their society. They can stand unnoticed, unmoving, for hours, just observing, tracking movement. They may not experience emotion, but they can smell them like blood. And as mentioned, they are very quiet despite their weight. You almost never hear them approach, unless they want to.
It's not unusual for Everett to be working on something, only to turn around hours later, nearly jumping because Gorthan is standing right behind him, hands folded neatly behind his back, watching him, seemingly unblinking. He did not hear him approach. He never knows how long he's been there.
Then eventually, when get get along a bit better, or rather with less serious arguments between them, the slow-blinking starts. Everett doesn't notice at first, when he does it mostly just leaves another question mark. Gorthan pausing when he sees him, blinking slowly, sometimes one eye at a time, then continuing as if nothing happend. Everett doesn't know this is very much a conscious action. Not conscious as in actively thinking about it before doing it, but being aware of it. The same way we raise a hand to greet strangers, or give a short nod in passing. You don't think about doing it (usually), but you're aware you're doing it.
Slow-blinking in Evronian culture signals trust and companionship. Or at least something close to it. When you live in a society without emotions and everyone ultimately behind the same goal and following orders, trust isn't exactly a necessity. (Nor do I honestly know how much of it is emotion and for that, non-existent) That thought doesn't mean there can't be people of similar rank that you like more than others, or connect to somehow. The action is used similar to a short nod, a greeting or acknowledgement and only among members of the same rank, who are/consider themselves equals.
Evronians possess a nictitating membrane, a second, see through eyelid, as it's also sometimes found on earth in some species, like reptiles or birds. For that, they do not usually need to blink, at least not visibly. Any action of closing ones eyes, not being able to see, all be it just for the fraction of a moment, is a moment where one is vulnerable. Vulnerability isn't something you tend to show often. Especially not on Evron.
Around the same time, a little later maybe, is when another thing would start to happen. (One I haven't fully fleshed out yet, but am planning to, because the picture is just too funny in my head) Everett would wake in the night, only to find Gorthan standing next to, or sitting on his bed, staring at him, watching him. That too, would've almost given him a heart attack, if he hadn't stopped questioning these things at that point. That for him, didn't make it less infuriating.
He argued with Gorthan to let him be, the other never responded. He never left when told. Everett must have passed out again eventually. When he woke in the morning, the Evronian was gone.
This would continue to happen, Everett eventually stopped fighting it and went back to sleep. He hadn't killed him yet, and he was happy about the little sleep he was getting. So he caved and ignored it mostly. Until one day Everett would wake to find Gorthan now laying on top of him, like a very heavy, very much unmovable blanket. And weirdly, he seemed to be asleep himself.
The same Creature Scientist who claimed his superior species didn't need to sleep. If Everett had remembered at that moment that he did possess Telekinesis and could've lifted him, he would've likely thrown him off him. He didn't. Maybe he was too perplexed for that. Or maybe just too tired.
Gorthan wasn't aware of it, nor would he have words for it for a very long time. But he did feel lonely. Evronians aren't social creatures, not in the way humans or Coronians are. They don't build emotional connection, they're unable to. But that doesn't mean they don't have connections at all. Mostly because they're also, usually, never alone. They live in a society with a clear purpose and structure, surrounded by others of their kind. Their civilization holds standards, sports and inventions. Rules to follow, duty to fulfill. Gorthan didn't have that anymore. In his mind, for the longest time, he was the last Evronian. Made not easier by now actually feeling what that meant.
Because at the end, if you were to take a ant out of it's colony, and place it far away on its own, wouldn't it be lonely too?
