Okay, so we’ve talked about inanimate objects like Stabby the space roomba. Fair enough, the aliens think, after adjusting their mental frameworks a little. It moves around, it’s got some intelligence, humans just aren’t very good at distinguishing ‘animate’ and 'inanimate’ and will pack-bond with anything that moves. Weird, but okay.
But then:
Human Sashi: What are you doing??!
Alien fusid: …Eating the first meal of the day? I believe you call it 'breakfast’?
Human Sashi: No, I mean… you’re using my cup!
Alien fusid: Dishes were provided by the space station.
Human Sashi: Well, some of us brought our own – my friend doesn’t like them; too standardized. But that’s not what I was talking about. That’s my cup!
Alien fusid: I apologize, but it looks exactly like the other cups.
Human Sashi: No it doesn’t.
Alien fusid: …What?
Human Sashi: It’s got a chip in the corner, see?? I mean, it’s fine, but just… don’t do it again, okay.
Alien fusid: I had the strangest interaction with a human today.
Alien Wimu: The humans are quite odd. What occurred?
Alien fusid: It had pack bonded to a cup.
Alien Wimu: …a cup?
Alien fusid: Yes. It is a regulation cup, but it has a chip. Apparently, we are not to touch it.
Alien Wimu: …
Alien fusid: …
Alien Wimu, meditatively: The humans are certainly very, very odd.
A human in need
I probably won’t be on here for a while because my life is honestly starting to fall apart and I’m really really scared of what’s next. I’ve never felt so frightened for my future, and I may need to go in the next month or two
Okay, so going off the whole space Australia thing, imagine aliens would think of ACTUAL AUSTRALIA. Humans are batshit insane, we do some crazy shit, but a decent amount of us are shocked by the mere concept of living in Australia. That place is no joke, it’s a death trap of a continent that somehow became a badass country. You don’t fuck with Australia.
Alien: what is a kangaroo?
Human: oh, it’s an animal from Australia. They hop around and the carry their kids in pouches. They may be cute, but don’t get them angry, they can kill you.
The…the human is actually WARNING them of something? The human is AFRAID?
Human: that’s just Australia for you, though. Literally EVERYTHING on that continent can kill you, so I guess it’s not THAT off. Be careful if you ever go to Australia, though. It’s a very dangerous place.
And this all of the aliens avoid Australia at all costs because if the fucking HUMANS are scared then it must be the most dangerous and frightening place ever.
Another humans are weird space orcs idea because I really like thinking about it. What if aliens have no idea how to hide their emotions? Like, they suck at poker because they can never keep a straight face or anything. or, on a darker note, their ship is hijacked and they can’t keep the fear out of their faces, but all the humans look cold and emotionless to them. Other aliens hating having to bargain with humans becase we can bluff and keep our emotions in check so well, but when they get frustrated it’s all over. Pirates threaten the space ship and they send the human to do negotiations, and the pirate talking is super confused because no matter what threat he makes, the human just doesn’t seem to be fazed one bit.
Someone please, feel free to add to this, I love to see what else people come up with!
@space-australians
Been seeing a lot of these Humans Are Space Orcs posts around- which is good, because I love them- and I started thinking: in sci-fi stories, humans in the future often have a bit of genetic engineering- like disease immunity or faster healing or even just a lack of body hair.
And I had a thought- what if that’s just us? What if we’re the only species to engineer ourselves like that? Imagine how freaked out they’d be;
“You’re telling me that you alter your own genetic code?”
Or take it a little further- we’re the only species to use vaccines. Every other race just toughed it out and evolved past it, but humans injected ourselves with weakened diseases to make ourselves stronger.
Or even further back, when people used to drink poison to gain an immunity- imagine that reaction:
“OH MY GROP THEY DRINK POISON TO GET STRONGER THAT’S IT FUCK THIS PLANET I’M OUTTA HERE”
You have captive extraterrestrials on your planet?
agent: this is area 51, where the aliens live me: cool agent: and over there is area 69, where the aliens… uh… me: what agent: …. me: what do they do there
You set off explosives. Recreationally. Somehow I lack the capability to be surprised by you anymore.
Alien: Despite this being a Level 27-F deathworld, I have had a pleasant time here. Thank you for your persistent invites, Human-Dave. However, I am concerned. There are packs of humans gathering here at this large body of water, but isn’t it time for their circadian rhythms to knock them unconscious?
Dave: *unfolding two chairs* Yeah… But all the alcohol will do the same job soon enough. *reaches into a cooler and takes a beer out as he sits down*
Alien: Um… Are those humans over there supposed to have access to those missiles? They’re not in any uniforms; in fact, they lack the usual amount of clothing humans tend to wear.
Dave: Fireworks, man.
Alien: *as soon as they hear “fire”* Excuse me?
C r a c k l e
C r a c k l e
C r a c k l e
*everyone at the lake begins drunkenly bellowing and chanting “USA” in disturbing unison, and someone falls off the back of a truck*
Alien: So, this is how I die.
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT YOU COULDENT GET ANY WEIRDER!!!???
Xylo had just finished making a fresh batch of poison to fill the Alpha Squadron’s blow darts before they left to explore the hostile planet of Dran’dal. Made from a plant the humans had introduced them to, the substance was highly lethal if shot into one’s bloodstream, or ingested. Xylo was about to pour the substance into darts when the ship’s resident human wandered in. She had obviously been looking for something, and her eyes lit up when she saw the steaming liquid in the beaker in Xylo’s hand. “Yo, Xy. Can I have some of that?”
Xylo went still and turned toward the human quizzically, but handed her the beaker. “Of course?” It came out sounding like more of a question than a statement, but the human had bonded with everyone on board the ship, so there was no risk of her doing something with lethal consequen- Xylo’s thoughts were cut off by alarm as the human raised the beaker to her lips and downed the contents. They scrambled for the comm at their hip, desperate to call a medic, but they knew it was already too late. Still, somehow the human rushed towards them.
“Xylo, what’s wrong?” Her forehead creased in concern, but not for herself, Xylo realized. She was concerned for them.
They tried to keep their voice from shaking as they answered, “You just drank an entire batch of poison. How are you not dead?”
A flash of confusion flashed across the human’s face, before she started laughing. Xylo stared. They had long gotten used to the human habit of using signs of aggression as an indication they were happy or found something humorous, but there was nothing humorous about ingesting poison.
“I’m sorry for scaring you,” the human managed to say after they had calmed down. “But that’s not poison, not to humans anyway. We call that coffee. A lot of us drink it every morning because the caffeine helps us stay awake.”
Xylo’s blank stare slowly changed to shocked horror. “It’s the caffeine that’s poisonous…”
My take on humans are weird/space orcs/Australians
Humans succeed in long endurance running and overall stamina. While some species have better senses, stronger muscles, and faster acceleration, none of them can last as long as a human when running (it was also ancient humanity’s hunting method: outlasting prey). What if humans can run at a constant speed for a prolonged period of time that would otherwise cause other species to fatigue easily?
S’kron: human George you must rest, you’ve been running for quite some time
George: nah I’m fine, this is normal for me
S’kron: normal? You’ve could’ve died from running that long!
George: I was jogging and it’s not bad, keeps me active, you should try it sometime
S’kron: running for an extended period of time is your idea of exercise? Are all humans like this?
George: well some can run faster and some can run longer I’m considered average.
S’kron: average? You mean other humans are faster?
George: yeah we have running is a sport for us it’s called sprinting and we do it around 100m or over in laps
S’kron: a sport? You must be insane to be running for that long!
George: no its true we even make obstacles known as hurdles to jump over whilst running
S’kron once again reread human physiology and learnt that humans were the best overall runners on their planet, he brought these findings to the rest of the crew, to their shock.
At that moment the guide to humans book was once again edited with a new note: do not challenge humans to a running contest, for you will surely die a slow, exhausting, painful death
Ayup, jumping on the bandwagon
So, humans are weirdly aware apex predators with crazy survival instincts (though sometimes we seem like we might not have any)
There’s been talk before about predictive behavior and pattern recognition, but what about the ley lines?
And liminal spaces?
We will swear up and down about not messing with the Fae, have so many stories about things that happen, of those you do not speak of lest they take it as in invitation
And disassociation?
And gods beware if of what happens when a damn human dissociates while walking in a liminal space, taunting things their alien companions are hissing at in fear and worry; ‘where did you pick up this human, why did you let them off the ship for krellnak’s sake put that back!’
Humans using peripheral vision to dodge incoming attacks and casually throwing an incendiary device over their shoulder into the enemy without looking, grabbing an injured companion and walking (seemingly) calmly to a med clinic.
Humans who sit for hours or weeks alone in their quarters, refusing to give an explanation afterward
Yanking smaller alien partners up with one hand before they step in something unpleasant
Warning about incoming attacks or foreseeing something, their alien friends staring in wonder and confusion because how could they possibly know about that? Being treated with suspicion at first because of worry about double-crossing spies, human rolling their eyes and explaining yet again about gut feelings, and instincts
Another human pulling aside the commander to explain in whispers about humans who do have abilities, who practice the Craft
Humans explaining about different religions, about those who don’t follow one faith or another, ones who shrug and point at the windows and smile, saying, “Well, we found each other, other life among the stars, who knows what we might find next? Isn’t it exciting?”
Restless humans who pace along the viewscreens, impatiently badgering technicians about how far they’ve gone, where are they going next, how does that work?
Humans who, once they’re on planets, fall to their knees and stay that way for hours, and no, they don’t require a medic, they just want to stay here for a bit.
Humans who are constantly exploring everything, being called up and questioned about their whereabouts, how did they even get there? They shrug, saying they were learning
“Learning what?” Asks the alien leader
A smile, baring teeth that remind them that humans are omnivorous predators. “Everything we can.”
I am not an alien scout looking to learn all I can about humanity before the inevitable invasion.
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