thinking about how Humans Are Space Orcs stories always talk about how indestructible humans are, our endurance, our ability to withstand common poisons, etc. and thats all well and good, its really fun to read, but it gets repetitive after a while because we aren't all like that.
And that got me thinking about why this trope is so common in the first place, and the conclusion I came to is actually kind of obvious if you think about it. Not everyone is allowed to go into space. This is true now, with the number of physical restrictions placed on astronauts (including height limits), but I imagine it's just as strict in some imaginary future where humans are first coming into contact with alien species. Because in that case there will definitely be military personnel alongside any possible diplomatic parties.
And I imagine that all interactions aliens have ever had up until this point have been with trained personnel. Even basic military troops conform to this standard, to some degree. So aliens meet us and they're shocked and horrified to discover that we have no obvious weaknesses, we're all either crazy smart or crazy strong (still always a little crazy, academia and war will do that to you), and not only that but we like, literally all the same height so there's no way to tell any of us apart.
And Humans Are Death Worlders stories spread throughout the galaxy. Years or decades or centuries of interspecies suspicion and hostilities preventing any alien from setting foot/claw/limb/appendage/etc. on Earth until slowly more beings are allowed to come through. And not just diplomats who keep to government buildings, but tourists. Exchange students. Temporary visitors granted permission to go wherever they please, so they go out in search of 'real terran culture' and what do they find?
Humans with innate heart defects that prevent them from drinking caffeine. Humans with chronic pain and chronic fatigue who lack the boundless endurance humans are supposedly famous for. Humans too tall or too short or too fat to be allowed into space. Humans who are so scared of the world they need to take pills just to function. Humans with IBS who can't stand spicy foods, capsaicin really is poison to them. Lactose intolerance and celiac disease, my god all the autoimmune disorders out there, humans who struggle to function because their own bodies fight them. Humans who bruise easily and take too long to heal. Humans who sustained one too many concussions and now struggle to talk and read and write. Humans who've had strokes. Humans who were born unable to talk or hear or speak, and humans who through some accident lost that ability later.
Aliens visit Earth, and do you know what they find? Humanity, in all its wholeness.
1K notes
·
View notes
I want Harley and Jason to crowbar Joker
Jason already gotta crowbar joker tho really I think Harley should be allowed to just straight up merk Joker and DC writers should actually read under the red hood and realise that joker isn't that big of a deal to Jason's story
159 notes
·
View notes
ALSO to further prove my point about CTs not knowing much Mando’a—literally the book series where it’s made canon that any of them know Mando’a at all states that CTs don’t have access to the culture. The ARC Nulls/Alphas and the RC clones do, but not the rest.
AAAND later on there’s this:
THEY ONLY KNOW A FEW WORDS Y’ALL. And they respond to most of it in Basic (aka Sicko earlier in Triple Zero responding to “Vor’e” (thank you) with a simple “you’re welcome” instead of “ba’gedet’ye”)
They pass down a few things, but NOT THE WHOLE CULTURE AND NOT THE WHOLE LANGUAGE
PLEASE allow clone troopers’ own culture to develop! This is so so important! Don’t just rely on Mandalorian culture—they were raised so differently! Let! Them! Have! Their! Own! Culture!
44 notes
·
View notes
Cannot bring myself to start the latest Dungeon Crawler Carl book because lowkey this series is propping me up like i'm soggy cardboard and the next one isn't out until fucking July and I just don't know what I'm gonna do without these idiots until then.
26 notes
·
View notes
The coolest thing about reading a Stephen King book is finding all of the little mentions of other books inside it. Reading Pet Sematary now, he mentioned Cujo at the start and just now he mentioned The Shining (except not the book, he quoted the movie, which is infinitely funny to me considering he hated it lmao). I’m sure there have been other ones I’ve missed since I’ve only read a few of his books (Shining, and Carrie, but I know the story of Cujo, Outsider, and Mist). I can’t wait to do a reread later on when I’ve read more
19 notes
·
View notes
y’all,,, i’m gonna be thinking about pet sematary for a long long time
7 notes
·
View notes
man. I’ve only had my service dog for about two years and one thing I’ve noticed is the abled people and even other disabled people around me who don’t use highly visible aid/accommodation—including my own family who spend time out and about with me and my dog—do not understand the sheer level of harassment I receive doing normal mundane activities. And how degrading it is??
I had conversations with two different family members recently. About improving how I tell people no when they ask to interact with my dog. They suggested I add “sorry” and “he’s working” to my “no thank you” so that these strangers invading my space don’t feel let down so hard.
and I promise you they meant well, that’s just when I fully realized they don’t get it at all. Like, I went on a popular (no pets allowed) hike during a fairly busy time a few days ago, something that at the time was only possible for me by having my service dog. I was on the trail for around half an hour and was gawked, gasped, and stared at, loudly pointed out and cooed about by what was probably 30 or so different people. Most of them grown-ass adults. It felt constant.
It’s not that pointing and going “omg a doggy!” necessarily makes you an asshole, it’s the fact that 10 other people will do the same thing when I’m just trying to get groceries.
I just wish abled people would think about how they interact with working service dogs more. Because it’s absolutely weird and uncomfortable. Do you ask every person you see using a cane if you can borrow it because “it’s so cute omg I have a stick just like it in my backyard!” ? Do you touch wheelchairs without asking or tell them “Yeah I bought registration online I hate leaving my couch at home.” I’ve seen people wait until they thought my back was turned to pet him, had total strangers trauma dump about their dead pets, watched a lady take a picture of my dog while he was mid-piss and go back to her car without acknowledging me at all???
I know these example are not necessarily exclusive to service dog teams and that there are definitely people who have done those things. Y’all see how fucking bizarre it is?? It happens even more when he’s vested, because I swear some people view service dogs in public as an opportunity for THEM to have this “magical experience with a real working dog” /s.
Like I’m not a dick about it but I’m not apologizing for not letting people touch my service dog and it’s wild that I’m expected to placate strangers in the first place.
14 notes
·
View notes
the problem with having a cat with anxiety as bad as yours is you come home to him being spooked and hiding and suddenly have your own version of a panic attack over how he might be sick (so you call 5 vets in the area and know you're gonna WFH tomorrow just to MAKE SURE he's legitimately just scared and not dying HELLO)
6 notes
·
View notes