#wibar

[raisonbron]

roman fanart from wibar- i imagine the crew as slightly more animalistic!! Roman is fun because I imagine him as shifting frequently between bipedal and quadrupedal. His clothes were loosely sketched, but I think they’d be made of a dense sort of fabric to not get shredded by puffed up scales, and very loose on his shoulders/neck/tail where I imagine his scales stand up the most. @delimeful - hope you like him!!

[delimeful]

Hey Lime, it's been a while since I actively looked up your fics for a reread, but I just want you to know I've been quietly hyperfixating on your aliens for actual years! When I watch new shows, I think about how I would communicate themes and meanings in the visuals to different alien species in your fics. Not a day goes by where I don't imagine different aspects of alien biology and technology and cultures, and even when it's not of one of the species you wrote about, those are always at the core of it all. And despite all that, you still surprise me with each and every fic you write. TEOBA, WIBAR, WIBAR: What If... thank you so much for sharing your amazing works with the world, it has quite literally shaped me as a person, I think!!

Anyways, one of the concepts I find endlessly fascinating is the Vidi, and I wanted to ask: if Virgil was very present in the current moment, could he give Logan (and maybe others) a live interpretation of the current situation? Let's say he'd sing an English song as they initiated the Vidi, could he give Logan al translation? And I think you once mentioned that the memories from the Vidi are only as sharp as you remember them. Could you technically stitch memories together then to show something? Like, let's say you remember the specific classroom where a biology teacher always gave lessons, but you don't remember their face or voice. Could you stitch the memory of sitting at your specific spot in that location together with the information you know about a biological process to explain that to an alien?

Anyways, hope you are doing well and thank you again for sharing your works with us!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

aww, nyn, i'm honored! it means so much to me that my silly guys could have such an impact... i love writing sci fi and i truly hope i get to keep doing it for a long time.

as for the vidi...

i think for the first question, "could a vidi provide something like real-time translation," the answer is probably not. the effect of a vidi isn't so much direct meaning as it is understanding, and this is accomplished through the same pathways we build memory on-- if virgil wanted to share the human lyrics of a song, he'd have an easier time focusing on a strongly formed memory of listening to that song, and even then, after the vidi ended, logan would still be left with more of an impression of the song than the exact lyrics. think about the way you process things while asleep: often the underlying feelings of a dream or nightmare are understood without clear details, and these impressions tend to fade upon waking. a vidi theoretically functions in a very similar way.

this sort of leads into the second question, which proposes exerting a certain level of control over one's recollections to present a scene. it might not be as clear cut as your example, but my answer is yes, you could accomplish this. i mean, our minds are already entirely capable of creating mismashed or unreal versions of events, either through extreme cases like confabulation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confabulation) or the more common false memories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory). imagining things is also a skill that comes in handy for compiling brain stuff like this.

However! i do think that trying to construct a rigid scene rather than sharing a more general and loose-flowing stream of information can come with its own hazards. for example, falsely believing afterwards that your biology teacher was the one to teach you that fact, or later remembering the face of your teacher as closer to a completely different person who told you those facts. these risks likely wouldn't be as prominent for ulgorii, who are structured for vidi sharing without as much memory degradation or incorrect processing of information, but for humans and other species without those adaptations, it's a real hazard! its why interspecies vidi sharing is a learned skill that only some ulgorii have mastered.

also dude while i was researching this-- did you know they figured out how to give mice false memories? is that fucked up or what? cough ulgoriian villain gaslighting arc cough cough

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

can i ask about 8 & 9 from your au list? i love hearing about wibar spinoffs :D

Ahhh of course!! Both of those AUs originate from what I call the Deceitus Vortex, aka my friend @ghostkittypog and I got a little obsessed with an Alien!Janus au and since in WIBAR, Janus hasn't been introduced yet, we were like "What if WIBAR? But Deceitus!Janus?"

So essentially, Deceitus are a race of bug-like aliens operating under under a collective hive mind and have a similar structure to bees in that there is a "Queen Bee" that is viewed as a Leader of a Hive and all Deceitus underneath them are known as "Workers" and are seen as non-sentient, merely extensions of a Leader's will and might.

They tendency to invade and decimate other alien species due to an evolved hyper sense of distrust and aggression towards outsiders to their hive (stemming from centuries of generational trauma). They have the ability to absorb DNA and shapeshift, hence the moniker "Deceitus." In their true forms, they can range from 5-10 ft in size depending on if they are a worker or a leader, as well as some differences between hives. Workers use it/its pronouns, Leaders use they/them pronouns but generally as a whole Deceitus are very gender-neutral.

In terms of their involvement in the WIBAR verse, we decided they were supposedly wiped out of existence over a thousand years ago and are seen as a cosmic urban legend of sorts. Unbeknownst to the known universe, Deceitus hid away to less developed planets. Poor Earth not only has dealt with alien abductions, they also get invaded by giant alien bugs.

So the premise for Number 8 "WIBAR Except We Self Indulgently Place Deceitus Janus There" is that it takes place sometime after Making Adjustments and before Let My Mind Reset.

Janus is a worker Deceitus who is aware of humans/Earth through hive mind Deceitus shenanigans but hasn't actually visited Earth personally. Somehow, it gets stranded from the rest of its Hive, on a planet way off course from their usual routes, injured and alone.

It takes shelter into a space vessel that turns out to have a human inside and being the crafty critter it is...it decides to take on the form of a human and attempt to garner sympathy from the Human.

Simple, easy, solid plan except for one issue--it is unaware that humans are not like Deceitus and generally do not look exactly identical.

So, imagine being Virgil who hasn't seen another human for almost a whole year and once you do, it's something replicating your likeness to an unnerving degree and not only that, but it's speaking English to you.

"What are you?" The worker blinks. There is no way, it can't have figured it out this swiftly, "What do you mean, I'm a human--" "The fuck you are," It bares its teeth at the worker and even though hive has reported humans show teeth to one another in a positive manner it is uncertain if this is the case here. It shouldn't have happened this quick…it can't fight in this state, can't flee. No no no. It sags a bit, swaying on its feet. "I am a human, I have no earthly idea why you'd think otherwise." "No idea, really?" Virgil says with a strained laugh, "how about let's start with the fact that you stole my fucking face?" “That—would it not be possible for fellow humans to have the same features?” It has no idea that Virgil is finding its appearance like peering at uncanny CGI of your own face. It is wrong to see it crumple in uncertainty. It is possible this face stealer truly doesn't know. After all, unless it was toying with him it would be really stupid to try fooling him with his own face. "I mean, technically? But I know I don't, so." Leader would instruct it to get back to hive at all costs. Worker doesn't know if it can kill the human…if it wants to do that. "Oh…I definitely knew that." It says, a cold shudder encapsulating its body. It is pushing itself to maintain this form with its injuries. It doesn't know how many humans are within this ship...surely this human has a hive. It can't surely take on a single human, let alone a few dozen. “Yeah… Clearly… Uh. You can just turn back you know. Into whatever alien version you are .. I'm pretty…used to alien bodies? Wouldn't want you to pass out or anything if that injury is...bad…” Perhaps this human is a leader? It would explain why it knew immediately. It would be wise to heed its words for now. Janus's body molds back into its proper self, the gash in its carapace and its right second arm bent at a weird angle. Smaller cuts are scattered throughout his body. It is a few inches taller than Virgil but it ends up kneeling from the pain and exhaustion. Virgil's eyes widen at the state it's in, letting out a gasped "Holy shit." The carapace bits is like Logan's but—there's fluff too, kind of like a bee? Floofed at the connecting neck, wrists, ankles…way bigger than some bee though, wow— And also kneeling from presumably pain. Shit. What is he supposed to do? This isn't one of his crew, it's some stranger but they're hurt? What does he do? It doesn't seem like it's faking these injuries. It seemed to think the best way to get help was to pretend to be human, probably doesn't have anywhere else to go…fuck. Which is how he gets a delirious bandaged up alien sprawled across his lap, drawn in by the warmth and soft touches.

So Virgil has no idea how he's explaining this to the crew, who left him on the ship while they went to collect supplies/information. Meanwhile Janus is making self-satisfied chortling noises, leaning into the human's pets of its floof. It is fully convinced Virgil is the Leader of his hive and it somehow earned this leader's direct care and attention, still successfully in fooling the human somehow.

The Crew arrive to find their Deathworlder somehow procured the trust and adoration of a creature of horrors, a monstrous entity he somehow tamed?? Virgil gets told the Deceitus are supposed to be vicious mindless creatures...clearly not the case just like it wasn't with him.

Fun hijinks ensue with language barriers (Janus doesn't know common, just English), Logan having a telepathic buddy, Patton curiously optimistic about another deathworlder buddy, and Roman having none of the personal trauma regarding the Deceitus but still!! The stories!! The fact Virgil tamed it surprisingly easily...

As for 9. That WIBAR AU with Kid Virgil Except Also Baby Deceitus is There, this one is an AU of The End of Being Alone

Essentially, Deceitus young are expected to be Workers are soon as they develop wings, enter baby Janus who has a small defect with its wings and gets lost/abandoned on the same planet that Kid Virgil happens to be on. It is starving and unsure of how to forage for itself and upon seeing a young human, decides to present itself as an adult human in the hopes of gaining its trust and therefore access to its food.

Virgil doesn't instinctively trust this strange adult human, it takes a few attempts by Janus. Seems weirdly bad at lying and naïve about things...Virgil has to teach this dumb dumb adult how to camouflage and hide his human traits better.

There's something there...Virgil doesn't know what it is, until they're thrown in danger one day and Janus sheds its human form to protect Virgil.

Janus is injured and feverish from infection...expects to be abandoned by Virgil but instead the human stubbornly keeps giving it food and trying its best to tend to its wounds. Virgil was told not to trust any alien, but the Humlits are good and while Janus did pretend to be human (something an evil alien would do) he did protect Virgil and tries rejecting food for Virgil's sake so, he has to be good.

Virgil is much more squirrely and guarded when he encounters the others in this one since he is hiding away Janus and is unsure if he trusts them to not hurt Janus.

At the same time, more inclined to take their food as is needed for Janus. The others probably think there's some food insecurity going on there, given Virgil's tendency to keep the food for "later" and not always eating it directly in front of them.

Eventually Virgil gradually gets closer with the others and Janus's condition is only worsening, so eventually has to reveal Janus to them in hopes they'll provide help. He is hysterical when he is told they will need to bring Janus to the ship to receive proper care.

Eventually acquiesces and in the process, learns his friend is a kid just like himself. Janus vehemently denies this, given Deceitus's societal views of viewing them as adults as soon as wings are developed. Fun hijinks occur such as Janus having a similar fascination with Logan as Virgil does with Roman....alien who has a carapace and multiple limbs like himself and also telepathic = strange weird type of Deceitus?

[satanic-worm]

I'm watching star trek and it put me in the mood to draw wibar, so here is a little ampen Patton for you @delimeful :)

[nonbinary-octopus]

I am a boookbinder!! I have bound a book! With my own two hands! It exists in physical real space now, and I can read it! In my hands!

watch it burn and rust by @delimeful

[anartisticexpression]

Inspired by the fic “Watch It Burn and Rust” and all its AU spinoffs by @delimeful I just sat down one day and started drawing Ampen designs for the Sides, as you do!

Heh, good luck trying to be intimidating Janus when you’re just a fluffy little guy!

Ko-fi / Red Bubble / Commissions

[art-that-im-scared-to-share]

Art of how I imagined Ampen Patton from @delimeful wonderful WIBAR au!!!!!

[lovelycatdraws]

Inspired by this video

This version of these characters by @delimeful