Just my niche stuff

Other art at bsky (same name).

[kiadony]

AU masterpost (WIP)

What in the world is this? A dumping ground for my "classic" sci-fi-themed AU for Houseki no Kuni/Land of the Lustrous manga (and its companion books; therefore, plenty of spoilers for anime-only fans) based around the idea of gems, lunarians and admirabilis coming into existence while humanity is still around, with eventual space exploration and Cinnabar and Bort as the main characters and ship. Or "cinnabort in spaaace" for short.

Where did it come from? Me combining things I love no matter if it fits or not. Originally, it was a crossover of everything with a Mass Effect AU before I decided to wrap that up and make the HnK portion its own thing with additional inspirations from other space games - ones that lean more into the exploration aspect like No Man's Sky and more recently, Starfield. Some aesthetic and thematic inspirations will also most certainly come from Half-Life games, which I consider to be my favorite fictional series of all time.

Why cinnabort? They are my favorite characters and their manga interactions proved to be enough ship fuel. Though, it only kicked in upon my re-re-rediscovery of the manga about a year and a half ago. I feel more at ease when my shipping is divorced from canon, hence this AU's creation.

Where is this going? While I don't think it will ever become a full-fledged fanfic, I hope to illustrate various bits and pieces of it beyond ship fluff.

Any content warnings? No, it's all SFW and vanilla. Might be very mildly suggestive at worst.

Who, me? I don't do much fandom engagement these days, I just draw things I like. I used to be decently active online in my teens and 20s and posted art of whatever I was into just to delete it when I moved on. I have no idea if anyone out there still remembers, say, my Indoraptor fanarts - probably not - but still, I do have a little bit of history.

Navigation:

Text posts: #au - text, best start here.

Art posts: #au - art

Shippy posts: #cinnabort

Notes:

- I'm awful at names for my original stuff so they'll be gradually coming later;

- Most gems that are named and shown in canon exist in my AU, and many have roles/occupations that are at least to some extent based on the manga and its companion books. I don't plan on focusing on them, but I might eventually put together a list of what they do. And yes, Phos gets to live happily with the others this time around;

- As the whole thing is a WIP the entries are subject to change. Think of it as a wiki of sorts. I'm also not a native speaker, so there might be mistakes and oddities.

[kiadony]

Finally got back to them, also, new seasonal lock screen :D

[kiadony]

Assorted setting notes

Companion to this.

Alternate Earth/human planet: I mean for it to have a completely different story from our Earth's, including geography, flora/fauna, countries, nations and languages (and having two moons). By the time of the meteor strike they have technology advanced enough to try to destroy it. They also employ a trade language that the majority of the population speaks; it is that language which is mysteriously "absorbed" by the biomass, allowing gems, lunarians and the admirabilis to quickly learn to speak it. Later, the ru'kara upload into their borderline magical translator tech. So in theory, character names (especially gem mineral names) would be their equivalents in that language. The only viable continent left post-strike is bigger than Eurasia, but is similar in shape in that it is stretches more from West to East than from North to South. Over the 3500 years, its topography changes more than it naturally would due to high seismic/volcanic activity; unsurprisingly, borders between various human territories and unihabitable contamination zones change even more often.

Gems and humans: Before the evacuation, most humans are aware of gems' existence, but relatively few interact with them regularly. Many humans never get to meet gems, though many have no desire to. To some, gems are uncanny at best, abominations at worst; there were even humans who captured gems, broke them apart and sold on the black market - though eventually, these gems were recovered and put back together by Kongo. On the other hand, many humans became quite fond of the gems they knew, and Dia had plenty of human fans. Gems, on the other hand, mostly understood that they were relative newcomers and vastly outnumbered, so while some held negative feelings towards humans they preferred avoidance to confrontations. While in canon gems display superhuman strength and agility - such as the ability to jump very high - I imagine that it could be in part due to exising in lower gravity (as Earth in canon must have lost a lot of mass from the additional moons forming). Since that is not the case for this AU, gems only possess some degree of super strength - mostly in relation to their small size and due to the fact that their mineral bodies don't have the same limits as human tissues (and that they don't feel pain). So in a one-on-one fight, a gem would have a good chance against an unarmed human, but they can be overwhelmed quite easily by several strong humans, and of course can be damaged (and immobilized) by most conventional weapons or sufficiently sturdy improvised ones.

The evacuation: Between the initial planning, the ru'karan ark ship needing decades to reach alt-Earth and coordination needed, the entire process takes up over a century. While many humans and admirabilis don't get to live long enough to see it, it gives everyone plenty of time to prepare. That includes preserving DNA of as much of the planet's fauna and flora as possible, as well as recording and archiving history and any important data in addition to Kongo's knowledge. Kongo also gathers the Shards and thoroughly check the remaining biomass pools to not miss any new gem births. The biomass is also gathered and brought along; as the suitable material for gem formation (that is, pure minerals containing inclusions) is very limited, most pools are rendered inactive after just one or two gem births, the diamond pool being a notable exception. Some older humans and admirabilis choose to stay on the planet to die where they were born, while gems and lunarians all leave.

[kiadony]

Brought to you by downtime at work, an uncooperative fountain pen and the cheapest drawing album in history (as my good ones are all at home), a snippet of the siblings' backstory as per this.

The moment Dia sees the aftermath of Bort's disastrous mission which left them beaten, humbled and with their long hair damaged beyond repair and having to be cut off. Despite their strained relationship, Dia couldn't bring themself to gloat, even internally; although it was gradual, in the end, the siblings managed to find more common ground and become supportive of each other. Also, Bort learned the value of tactical retreat. The blotches on their body are biomass grafts, done by Kongo; after a while they integrate fully, barely leaving marks.

[kiadony]

Lunarian history

Unlike gems who are born over the course of millenia from multiple biomass pools, lunarians all share the same birthplace - the one impact crater on the bigger moon - and emerge in the span of a few decades. At the time of the meteor strike, humans have a fully autonomous mining operation on the Moon; as the disaster puts their tech level back centuries, they became unable to access it. Lunarians discover it, and thanks to their uncanny learning capabilities manage to make use of its equipment and resources to build their own civilization. They also send multiple signals to alt-Earth, and one of them manages to reach Kongo (who has a built-in receiver). With the help of humans, Kongo puts together an antenna powerful enough to set up at least some form of communication with lunarians, though it is very sparse due to atmospheric interference.

Centuries later, lunarians manage to build their first shuttle to travel to alt-Earth, though they find out that its atmosphere is too dense for them to exist comfortably. Instead, Kongo, accompanied by Red Diamond, go to the Moon with them, finally establishing a connection. Aechmea, the first lunarian to be born, acts as their leader, and both parties agree to exchange resources, tech and knowledge as much as needed. Red decides to become a liaison between lunarians and alt-Earth's inhabitants; eventually, they retire and stay on the Moon until the evacuation. They are succeeded by younger gems, the most resent to take up the position being Phos. Thanks to not having any threats to their well-being, lunarians are free to dedicate themselves to arts, crafts and research. Among other things, they develop various items for gems such as light-trapping foods and drinks and aid gems with body conditions like Antarc (a freezing suit) and Padparadscha. They also cooperate with gem and human scientists and engineers to help stave off the harm of alt-Earth's environmental hazards. Some of them try to figure out the exact workings of the biomass, to no avail. Lunarians are the ones to first discover the admirabilis fighting for survival in the ocean, although ultimately they are unable to do much to help them. They are also the ones to receive and respond to the signals from the ru'kara, leading to the eventual cooperation between the races.

All the while, gems and humans (the latter requiring space suits) are free to visit the Moon, and some gems choose to stay there to live in peace. That includes Cairngorm who ends up marrying Aechmea. As the conflict between the races doesn't exist, there is no need to develop the tech to turn gems into lunarians - or the other way around, which could have been theoretically possible with the biomass. When the evacuation plans are made, lunarians actively participate by using their shuttles to transport everyone to the ru'kara ark ship. They also build their own mothership to stay on in the meantime; although technically they don't need to leave as the Moon remains perfectly viable for them, they decide that everyone sticking together is more beneficial.

[kiadony]

The romance

Follows up from this.

Cinnabar and Bort meet for the first time when Cinnabar makes their way to the diamond siblings' residence in hopes of finding Kongo. While Cinnabar knew of the diamonds' reputation, Bort was unaware of Cinnabar's existence due to the accident and is surprised to see a completely unfamiliar gem who isn't a newborn (let alone their senior). Cinnabar is initially wary, unsure that anyone who isn't Kongo would accept them, but Bort (at least partly thanks to Kongo teaching them to assist gems in need) offers Cinnabar to stay at one of the residence's guest rooms for as long as they need. While Bort is busy with their farm and research work, Cinnabar starts feeling like they need to do something in return to not be a freeloader. Bort suggests they tend to Kongo's temple while he is away; when Cinnabar sees the temple in disrepair Bort explains that Kongo's been oddly neglectful of it but that he always allowed renovations. Bort themself just never had enough free time for it and the other diamond siblings are away. This sparks Cinnabar's interest and they start learning crafts that might help with restorations, using both the archives at the residence (books and videotapes containing parts of Kongo's knowledge) and later libraries and museums in the nearby city where Bort takes them. There, Cinnabar also meets some other gems like Peridot and Zircon. As they get more and more into restoration, Cinnabar renovates an unused greenhouse at the residence as well and begins growing flowers there - seeing untouched wild flower meadows on their journey being one of their fondest memories. Eventually they find that making various decorative items, especially with flowers, is what brings them the most joy. Bort suggests they make it their line of work once they are done with the temple.

All the while, the two hang out together, finding common ground in their love for nature and often watch archive videos together. They end up admiring each other's dedication and passion for their respective occupations. Cinnabar is appreciative of Bort's confident, straightforward encouragements, while Bort grows to like Cinnabar's kindness and humility. As Cinnabar recovers from their past traumas they become more outgoing and cheerful, eager to make new friends; Bort puts them into contact with more and more gems until they feel completely at ease and decide where they want to get started with their florist/decorator job. At one point, Cinnabar helps Bort to put out a fire at the farm/lab.

Upon hearing that Kongo has arrived at the capital city (where most gems live, including their leader/representative Euclase, and where the Moon shuttle landing pad is), Bort and Cinnabar travel there, and Cinnabar stays behind as they find a work opportunity there. As Bort leaves however, both realize that they already miss each other. They think of how much they enjoy each others' company and made each others' days brighter. Once at the residence, Bort calls Cinnabar and asks if they can meet up at the earliest opportunity, with Cinnabar readily agreeing. While Bort is as usual confident in their feelings and intentions, Cinnabar is anxious and hopeful that they can truly be together. When their meeting happens, both dress up for a date, with Cinnabar styling their hair into curls; as they see each other, mutual attraction becomes apparent to both. After catching up they find a secluded spot where Bort immediately confesses, and Cinnabar confirms they feel the same, and the two agree to begin dating.

While they don't hide their relationship they don't advertise it either; eventually others gems learn about it, with Dia being both happy for their younger sibling and annoyed at not having been told right away. At a later point, Dia hires Cinnabar to decorate for their wedding to a human lover (a big event due to Dia's celebrity status) and takes note of their passion and skill, the two gems bond as well, even if Cinnabar finds Dia somewhat overwhelming. Bort and Cinnabar continue to meet up in their free time, occasionally traveling together to places relatively undamaged by the disasters; as it becomes apparent that the conditions on alt-Earth are only getting worse, Bort (along with all other scientists) starts working harder and feeling the pressure of their efforts ultimately being futile, while Cinnabar continues spreading joy with their work but feels useless on a larger scale. When the evacuation plan is complete and Bort decides to stay until the latest stage of it to give their jellyfish the best end they can, Cinnabar moves to the diamond residence to be with them. They both say goodbye to the jellies, their bond strengthening further as they support each other. In the end, Kongo, having done one final pilgrimage, picks them up and they all leave for the ru'karan arc ship in a lunarian shuttle.

On the ark ship, Bort continues their scientific works and begins studying xenobiology in preparation for the upcoming Project Homebound. Cinnabar, wishing they could contribute more, decides to try becoming an expedition pilot, which Bort supports, although only after ensuring that this is something Cinnabar genuinely wants, not just feels they must do. Upon arriving to the superstructure the two start living together at one of the standard apartments. Cinnabar opens a flower shop together with a human woman and begin attending the flight academy, aiming for the highest qualifications possible. With the support from Bort and their friends, old and new, they manage to graduate after years of rigourous studies and training.

Before Project Homebound can start officially however, Bort and Cinnabar are privately contacted by the higher-ups and are sent to investigate a mysterious signal. What lies ahead for them? We'll see!

Notes:

- I never intended to ship them initially, even though they were both my favorite characters from the start, when I first discovered the manga many years ago. In fact, it is exceedingly rare for me to ship characters that aren't a couple in canon - it had only ever happened once before, and even that was mainly due to my co-writer at the time liking the ship in question. It wasn't until my latest rediscovery of HnK that I focused some more on Cinnabar and Bort as their own characters and their interactions, which I thought were nice and sometimes amusing (especially Cinnabar indirectly causing Bort's big haircut). Then I joked about shipping them and before I knew it, I was warming up to the idea of doing it for real. Mainly I like the idea of them being opposites in some ways (that difference in hardness!) but similar in others, down to potentially sharing nature-related interests. However I knew from the start that I wouldn't insert my shipping of them into the canon timeline, not even into the 10 000-year lunarian timeskip. Thus, I imagined them staying friends (and while it's very minor, I like to take them standing near each other in the group photo in Party at the End as something of a confirmation). Instead, in my first crossover-verse I mentioned in my pinned post, I had them both come back to life after Phos's prayer due to some cosmic forces (long story) and becoming a couple afterwards. It was also then that I came up with the idea of a reinforced "skin" layer for their bodies;

- Despite my undying love for Bort's big haircut moment in the manga, I decided to have it happen in a way that's inspired more by the HnK prototype oneshot. To me, Bort's hairstyle change coincides with a new stage of their life (going from fighting to raising jellyfish, something they truly love), as well as shedding the previous burdens (seriously, they must have felt such enormous relief - all that hair must have been as heavy as their body) and in this AU, it happens much earlier. Thus, Bort has a pixie cut for most of it.

[kiadony]

Giant terrestrial jellyfish

WIP/sketch.

- Their skin produces mucus that's lethally toxic to most other animals and humans, but when processed it can be made into extremely valuable medicine. Among other things, it can help repair cellular damage done by environmental hazards of alt-Earth post meteor strike;

- They are fairly long-lived and mature slowly; they are also very slow to trust anyone outside of their species. These factors combined with the danger prevented humans from domesticating them. However, Bort eventually succeeded at that thanks to being immortal and immune to toxins. Though Bort does it out of love for animals and science, they are more than willing to help research and develop the medicine, working alongside human scientists;

- Adult specimens are too dense to float. However, they are capable of absorbing oxygen through their skin from both air and water. They lack eyes; instead, their bodies are lined with receptors that detect light and movement. Their vision is different from any known species of alt-Earth, allowing them to perceive colors no others can see. They use it to communicate with each other via complex bioluminescence that is barely visible to other species. When out of visible range, they are capable of making trilling sounds with a resonator organ hidden in the tendrils to call each other. These sounds can be reproduced with an instrument to control the jellies en masse, though Bort eventually trained them to respond to voice commands;

- Their tendrils are used for absorbing nutrients from any surface they come in contact with - usually water or soil. They can store the nutrients for a long time and use them up very efficiently, though overall, they require a lot to sustain them, so one feeding session can last for many hours;

- They are hermaphroditic and capable of asexual reproduction in the absence of a partner. In a mating pair, the younger specimen is usually the one to eventually lay one large egg (or rarely two), ideally in shallow water. Newborn jellies can float, which they do for as long as their legs are too weak to walk. Once capable of walking they follow their parent until maturation;

- Naturally, jellies lived in small groups rather than large herds, with members wandering from group to group freely. As of the AU's story start however, wild jellies are extinct, with only those under Bort's care surviving. This is due to extreme climate changes and contamination, as well as emergence of new, aggressive mutated species;

- About 1 in 100 jellies are born with a hard shell, which is akin to a skin condition. It doesn't affect their quality of life; hard-shell jellies can be ridden if trained. Bort's jelly mount during AU's events is named Seris;

- They lack a brain but have something of a centralized nervous system in the form of a cluster running along the lower part of their bodies. When a jelly is nearing death from old age, the nervous system gradually shuts down starting with pain receptors, as if to prevent suffering;

- One of their known genetic diseases was making individual jellies susceptible to their peers' toxins. Bort eventually managed to eradicate this disease through gene therapy;

- When the evacuation plan from alt-Earth is finalized, Bort sterilizes the jellies so that no new ones have to be born on the dying planet and gathers as much of their genetic material as they can to potentially restore their population elsewhere. Bort also stays to ensure that the jellies get to live out the rest of their lives as happily as possible, evacuating as late as it was allowed.

[kiadony]

Been working on some big watercolor paintings, snuck in this doodle to test out shimmering watercolors. Now I have it pinned above my desk for motivation.

[kiadony]

Another random doodle that I decided to polish because I love them too much.

[kiadony]

And yet another quick addition to this. I saw a tiktaalik in Prehistoric Kingdom and got, well, inspired for better or worse.

[kiadony]

Silly thing following up this silly thing.

[kiadony]

Alien observers: the ru'kara

The official HnK guidebook is written from the point of view of unknown alien observers who even contact lunarians at some point. I took that idea and ran with it.

Their name is a scramble of Karura - to retain a bit of all that Buddhist theming from canon. Fittingly, I plan to give them avian looks, though being aliens, they only happen to appear like this rather than having actual birds or dinosaurs as their ancestors. They aren't mammals either, but they do give live births. They are naturally long-lived, even moreso thanks to technological advances: some individuals live up to a thousand years.

Their civilization was in part built on ruins left behind by unknown predecessors. Ru'karan scientists managed to establish that those weren't evolutionary ancestors, but their identity, origins and disappearance remained a mystery. However, there was evidence of the predecessors being able to travel to space - prompting the ru'kara to dedicate some effort to developing deep space exploration tech. This led to them inventing prototype faster-than-light engines and disovering alt-Earth via unmanned probes, where they established contact with lunarians; though it was sparse due to technical limitations.

Unforunately, just as major ru'karan nations came together to truly invest into deep space travel, they found out that their own terraforming efforts set off an irreversible process that would render their planet uninhabitable in just a few centuries. Therefore, they instead focused on building a superstructure in space that could sustain then long enough to potentially find a new homeworld to live on. While the construction went well, millions of ru'karans perished in natural disasters that started occurring earlier than expected; as such, they were left with plenty of extra space onboard the superstructure.

Ru'karans and lunarians kept in contact as much as they could - with lunarians keeping the other races updated - and upon learning of alt-Earth's worsening condition, they devised a plan to equip one of ru'karan ark ships with stasis chambers for humans and admirabilis to evacuate everyone safely and bring them onboard the superstructure as well. In exchange, ru'karan officials expected cooperation and help with finding a new home planet - the mission receiving the name Project Homebound. The ark ship Starsailor, helmed by a veteran pilot named Zolani, was the first to be equipped with a state-of-the-art hyperdrive and solar sails to cruise between jumps. The trip took several decades; lunarians took it upon themselves to bring everyone on board using their own lotus ships. Starsailor returned with the lunarian mothership in tow (literally), with the five races now learning to live and work together.

Ru'karans built a massive water section for admirabilis to live in, and lunarians made their mothership into their main dwelling, as it could retain the lack of atmosphere they were comfortable with. Otherwise, they could wear breathing devices to be able to talk when visiting the others. Humans and ru'karans could comfortably coexist in the same atmosphere and gems could live anywhere. A new governing body is formed from representatives of each race; technology and scientific knowledge is conglomerated. Ru'karans work with humans and admirabilis to restore genetic damage to the two former alt-Earth races caused by contamination to ensure new generations are born healthy.

Notes:

- Starsailor as a ship name is a reference to the real-life music band. Its actual name would be a ru'karan word;

- Ru'karans have borderline-magical translation tech which they end up sharing with everyone. Also known as plot convenience.

[kiadony]

Just doodling more of them because they make me happy.

[kiadony]

Random shippy arts that are meant to take place in the AU but have no story relevance otherwise.

[kiadony]

The first pic I drew for the AU, which is meant to take place shortly after Cinnabar reaches the West end of the continent, where Kongo and the diamond siblings live (though, most of them don't stay at home - Bort is the only one who consistently does since their giant land jellyfish ranch/research lab is there too). The two moons were originally a canon reference (I know there are six in total there, but not in a single shot), but since realistically another moon wouldn't have enough time to form in the AU's timeframe, I decided that alt-Earth naturally has two moons - though only the big one is the Moon where lunarians live.

This is in a similar vein, with a greener environment where I wanted to draw some ruins.

This one is meant to take place on the yet-unnamed superstructure. It's not quite as detailed as I wanted to be but I kept it as a concept pic.

[kiadony]

Character notes

- The diamond siblings are born on the West end of the continent and raised by Kongo personally. Red Diamond is the first one as in canon, with Green and Yellow following in relatively quick succession, and Dia and Bort being born much later. By then, Red, Green and Yellow are living on the Moon, away from the struggles of humanity.

- For the first few centuries of their lives Dia and Bort have to work as monster exterminators with the purpose of making a specific area safe for human settlements. They have a conflict similar to their canon one, with Dia being envious of Bort's natural strength and the recognition they were getting, and Bort being harsh and rather arrogant on top of that - which leads to them overestimating themself and ending up in a dangerous incident that costs them their long hair. Once their job is done however, they are both free to move on. Dia becomes a celebrity singer with a lot of love for humanity as a whole, and their human lovers in particular (that they have to outlive but they treasure their time with each) and Bort - having realized they have a lot of scientific interest in animals - becomes a giant land jellyfish farmer and researcher. Their relationship with Dia improves a lot, though they still bicker due to clashing personalities. After leaving alt-Earth Bort becomes a xenobiologist, their main goal being eventual fauna restoration and its safe integration into new ecosystems;

- Kongo is an archive machine - a repository of knowledge about alt-Earth before the disaster. He is the last one of his kind, and is seen by some humans as a spiritual guide. He lives in a temple that he tends to out of habit, which happens to be next to the diamond siblings' birth spot. After Red's birth, Kongo creates small robots named "Shards" and distributes them across the continent to observe other gem birth spots, and to educate and guide newborn gems until they can live on their own. He also regularly goes on pilgrimages where he helps humans when he can and checks upon gems;

- Cinnabar is born on the easternmost side of the continent with no control over their mercury and causes a lot of damage, leading to them having to hide in contamination zones while their Shard educates them as much as possible. At some point they are found by human scavengers that threaten them and destroy the Shard as it tries to chase them off; panicked, Cinnabar unleashes a wave of mercury that kills the scavengers and smashes the Shard's remains, rendering them unrecoverable. As a result, their birth goes unrecorded as Shards can only relay information when they are in close proximity and no others know to come by. After centuries of aimless wandering, hiding and fending for themself Cinnabar decides to undertake the long journey to see Kongo personally, hoping for his help and acceptance. They succeed at that and get to integrate into society and spend some time happily living among the others working as a florist/decorator - their control over mercury having naturally improved to the point of being nearly perfect. After evacuation, they become fascinated with space flight upon getting to know the ark ship's pilot. The pilot suggests that Cinnabar attends the flight academy in the superstructure and get qualified for deep space expeditions, which they end up doing (while running a flower shop there as their regular job).

[kiadony]

General story progression

- Human planet/alternate Earth is threatened by an asteroid carrying ~mysterious alien biomass~ and humans attempts to destroy it since they have the technology, but it's not enough - the asteroid shatters and the pieces still hit the planet (and the Moon) which leaves one continent viable and devastates humanity but doesn't wipe it out completely;

- Gems, lunarians and admirabilis are born from the biomass and surrounding materials - gems across the continent (each type of gem has their own birth spot), lunarians on the Moon and admirabilis in the ocean. Gems have inclusions acting as their autonomous nervous system (as well as long-term memory storage) and allowing them to move, while the biomass covers them like skin, offering extra protection and giving physical sensations (but not pain). It also offers limited regeneration - superficial damage can heal in an hour, but a detached limb needs to be held in place for a while for the biomass to fully reconnect. Naturally, if a gem is broken into small pieces, they need outside assistance and potentially additional "raw" biomass to be restored. Also, while gems are biologically immortal as in canon, they can die if completely disintegrated, melted and such. Additionally, while they don't physically age, their biomass "skin" gets rougher from having to regenerate the slight damage from the elements; it isn't very noticeable to non-gems but allows gems to determine one another's approximate age range. Lunarians are more or less pure biomass and they can only comfortably exist on the Moon, and admirabilis are partially made from organic remains of sea creatures. How and why the biomass made them look human and gave them consciousness is a mystery that will be eventually resolved;

- Humans struggle to rebuild and adapt for around 3500 years, but natural disasters and monsters (former animals mutated by the biomass) and contamination "reset" their attempts over and over again, while at least some of the gems try to help. Lunarians and gems cooperate too, though lunarian tech doesn't get quite as advanced as it did in canon. Lunarian entry here;

- Human tech level as of the story's present is never too advanced; the main restriction is that wireless communication is almost absent. There is no global communication network due to disasters and atmospheric hazards, and cities and towns rely on phone lines; radio stations exist but there is a lot of interference;

- Eventually, alt-Earth becomes too unstable and an evacuation plan is devised with the help of alien observers.

- The plan involves bringing over genetic material for as many alt-Earth flora and fauna species to later potentially restore their populations on other viable planets. This is obviously something that has to be done with extreme care and caution;

- Ancient alien stuff (TM) gets discovered in the process, and that includes hints at the origins of the biomass, among other things.

Additional notes here.