#space??

[phillipbrannigan]

Star crossed lovers

[alottodix]

y’know after you spend like 2 hours editing a fic and then realise “oh, this never saved 😄”

[dude-trust-the-cloak]

Earth is Space Australia: Biodiversity

This is my contribution to the whole thing. I was inspired by that biodiversity/dog one a while back, if this sounds familiar.

Xro’k closed the tab on their research screen, having just read the most recent contribution to the “Guidebook to Terran and Its Inhabitants,” which was the most prominent, intergalactic database dedicated to studying and archiving useful information about the ever-puzzling (and admittedly often terrifying) humans. The new document was a report by a still shocked researcher who had taken up permanent position in the human continent of “Europe.” Their designated human guide had introduced the Kardoe to the startling number of species of “dogs'' on Earth. This new information opened up a large curiosity about the biodiversity of creatures on different planets.

Xro’k, curiosity bubbling, turned to zeir human crewmate, “Adder,” the pilot of their ship, and a very nice human all things considered. “Human Adder, if I may ask, are there many species of other creatures on earth? I have just read about dogs, and it is quite fascinating.”

The human turned around to look at zem and nodded.

“Oh yeah, we’ve got a lot of different types and species of creatures on Earth. Like insects, there’s so many types that we have a hard time keeping track of them all.”

Can’t keep track of them all? Ze found that ridiculous. How hard was it to keep track of species, especially with the technological advances of this century? Xro’k clicked zeir mandibles in amusement, and closed zeir research screen completely, before turning back to Human Adder.

“Can’t keep track of them all? How many species are there, that humans can’t even document them all? It seems we have overestimated your kind my friend. What, are there two hundred species? Four hundred?”

Xro’k gave his best imitation of a human “laugh,” to let his crewmate know he was joking, but it seems that Human Adder did not grasp the fact that Xro’k was not serious, and inflating the numbers of probable species to appeal to the guidelines of humour. To-- as the humans said it-- “get a laugh.”

Human Adder offset their head and thought for a second. “Nah, I don’t think the number of species are around there. Hold on, let me look it up.” They pulled out what looked like a small, light grey rectangle with a seam or gap down the middle. Grasping each side and pulling caused them to separate, and a small, thin blue screen appeared between the thicker grey sides. Placing it on his lap, the pilot started to tap on the keyboard with their small paw-digits (apparently called “fingers,” what a odd name) and didn’t look back up at Xro’k.

Ah, human Adder must be looking into the human’s global database. When asked about the thing called the “internet” however, one of the other humans bared their teeth and let out what the human relations team had called a “laugh.” It was the human's way of showing amusement, apparently, though Xro’k never understood why a universal sign of aggression was used to convey a completely different emotion. Hm, ze would have to ask one of the humans on his team, maybe Adder or Kelsie.

But yes, human Mark had bared his teeth and laughed, and Xro’k had nervously clicked zirs mandibles, not understanding the comedy of the situation. But nevertheless, human Mark had “chuckled,” and shook his head.

“It’s not… not really a global database? I mean, I guess it is, you're technically right, but it’s a lot more. The internet’s a brutal place, it’s hard to be safe there if you don’t keep your wits about you.”

Xro’k had tilted zeir head, confused as to what human Mark was talking about. The “internet” was dangerous? Ze had never heard of a database that one had to survive before. Was it dangerous on purpose, to ensure only that humans who were smart and fit enough to use the information could access it? But human Mark continued, unaware of the confusion emanating from his crewmate.

“I mean, you can talk to people on it, some people post their own stuff, like videos and art and writing. A lot of companies sell stuff, you’ve got news reporters and journalists… There’s a lot of information and content on there, and a lot of users.” He scrunched up his already wrinkly face-- humans were so odd looking-- and seemed to take a moment to think. “You’d probably get Kelsie to explain it better, she was a computer science specialist. They know this stuff better than I ever could.”

Human Kelsie had told Xro’k that the internet was “a shit ton of interconnected computer networks,” and when ze still looked puzzled, she gave zem a large, in depth explanation. It was very enlightening, and next time Xro’k had a question about some puzzling human thing, ze went straight to human Kelsie first. Ze also had asked a better description for the internet then “global database,” but human Kelsie just shrugged. Perhaps “communal information hub” was better? Ze did not really know, and it seems the humans did not either.

“Aha!” Human Adder looked up and bared his teeth at Xro’k in a smile. “Yeah, you were wayy off,” they started to say, and Xro’k relaxed. Ze was joking, of course, about the “hundreds of species,” but it was nice to know that insects were not in numbers like the “dog breeds.” Terran’s biodiversity could be staggering and frightening sometimes. Human Adder continued.

“Apparently, we know about 900,000 different species of bugs right now, but there’s definitely more out there.

Xro’k was left speechless, their mandibles wide open in shock. Was human Adder joking perhaps? While Xro’k wasn't very competent in human humour, zir crewmate was not smiling or laughing. Just looking back down at their phone, presumably reading more about the insects of Terran. But to think that there were more than 900 thousand species of insects on the human’s planet… it was shocking. Ze had never seen that kind of biodiversity before, despite traveling all throughout the connecting galaxies. Xro’k would have to record this for zir’s superiors to look over and add to the growing database about humans. That is, if any of the board even believed zem in the first place.

“Human Adder, are you serious?” Adder looked up, surprised.

“Yeah, I’m dead serious, why?”

Xro’k found zemselves unable to answer. Dead serious… holy mother of a red giant.

“N-never mind human Adder, my apologies. T- thank you for the confirmation.”

Terran really was something different, wasn’t it.

[meltmyhotchoco]

I miss drawing him sm so i just have to do it 💚  @therealjacksepticeye I love you forever <3

[theteaisaddictive]

Beauty and the Beast as a space opera?

oh man that is a Concept

belle and maurice don’t live on any interesting, far-flung planets -- they live on earth. there are opportunities for talented young engineers like belle to go to space on sponsored missions, but she always gets priced out because she doesn’t qualify for what few scholarships/funds the programmes have. then she hears about this fair, six months away, where you can bring examples of your work and all the big name reps attend -- it’s a networking dream. the only catch is that it’s halfway across the galaxy; a few month’s travel in a top-of-the-range spacecraft, and a year if you’re lucky ‘hitchhiking’ across other ships. obviously, she wants to go. obviously, she can’t. 

one night a large craft makes an unauthorised landing in the land behind belle’s house -- really more of a crash than anything else. belle is working night shift at the local,,,, uh,,,, space craft auto repair shop thing i don’t fucking know just roll with it run by, who else, gaston. so when she gets back, she goes down to investigate out of the goodness of her heart, and also because she wants to give whoever was reckless enough with their spacecraft to crash so close to a residential area a good stern talking-to -- they could have killed her father! she checks the house first, to make sure maurice is alright. he’s nowhere to be found.

she finds the captain of the ship. the man is clearly . . . not. his voice sounds human enough, and if he covered up his skin nobody would ever know. but belle and maurice, who saw him immediately post-crash, see through his torn clothes that he’s an alien; skin that glows iridescent with different colours, his blood slivery and ichor-like, talons on his hands, sharp fangs seen for an instant before he pulls his mask back on -- and a lithe, whip-like tail that he was clearly born with, nothing like the genetic enhancements that the richest of the rich like to adorn themselves with. belle marches in and demands to know where her father is, gaping in astonishment for a whole three seconds before angrily demanding what he thought he was doing, flying like that. (he doesn’t realise this at the time, but he started to fall in love with her at that exact moment) 

the captain announces that he has her father held hostage, and that as soon as his ship is repaired he’ll release maurice and they’ll never have to hear from him again -- he needs to get off planet soon, as he’s going to the fair to look for new crew members. a few weeks pass. they grow closer. belle gets an idea, but immediately rejects it; she could never leave her father like that -- and besides, she has a perfectly good job right here on earth. 

she loses said job when, just as the repairs are complete and the captain is about to take off, gaston and the townspeople start attacking because reasons. or mob song, i guess. the captain gets injured before he can put his shields up and close the doors. belle -- who is never rash, always thinks through her actions, and was told in every school report card she’s ever received that she was a very responsible, serious child -- rushes towards the ship, closes the doors, and steers the ship into the atmosphere and out into space, all while gaston keeps firing at her and maurice gapes at her from the planet’s surface below. she turns on the autopilot (an anxious little piece of software called cogsworth) and turns back to face the captain, who is just as bamboozled by what just happened as, once the adrenaline fades, belle is. 

and that is when things really start getting bittersweet and strange

[heartfullyferal]

Sinday Starter Call x

Like this and I’ll write a starter while it’s still sinday x

[heirom]

I don’t know either

space ??????