my fav trope is like, nonhuman characters not understanding human needs/customs but still being super supportive of their human companion
“look what I found while exploring this planet’s surface!” “kilrak please I’m trying to sleep” “ah yes your human circadian rhythm. *stage whispering* I am supposed to be quiet during this time in your rhythm, yes?”
“the book I purchased on ragnok V says humans require physical touch when upset. therefore, I shall engage in a ‘hug’ with you.” *supremely awkward five-armed hug ensues*
*human sneezes* “OH MY GOD SIL’EEN GET THE MEDIC OUR HUMAN IS DYING”
“this pamphlet I received recently says that humans require companions and packmates in the form of small earth creatures. you should have told me this before we departed earth, but it is no worry. we will have to stop at the next trade planet to get you one of these ‘cats’ or ‘dogs’.”
imagine the aliens really purchasing a kitten for one of their rough and world-weary scifi badass human companions and watching in helpless wonderment what ensues
“she’s been cuddling that small animal for the past fifteen minutes just going ‘kitty, kitty’. did we – did we break our human?”
a more seasoned alien puts one of their tentacles around the younger one as the rest of the team gathers to watch their human make kissy noises.
“no, kilrak,” the alien says. “we did good.”
“Human-Steve! I have heard that today is the anniversary of your hatching! According to my human culture pamphlet, it is customary to set a sugary pastry on fire while chanting your species’ growth incantation and presenting sacrifices wrapped in shiny paper. I am afraid to ask, in case this ritual is sacred and this request therefor insensitive… but may I be allowed to participate? It sounds much more fascinating than molting.”
“Human Steve, I have read about your ritual dance called ‘The Hokey Pokey,’ performed mostly at mate-bonding celebrations after the guests reach an elevated level of intoxication. But Human Steve, how do I know WHICH left foot to put in, put out, and shake all about? I do not… Human Steve, why are you laughing?”
“Human-Steve, you are… you are eating, but it is not one of your ritual fueling times. Are you dying? Is everything alright? Have you not been receiving enough sustenance? Do I need to get you better things to eat? Human-Steve, why are you trying to hide that food?”
“Human-Steve, my research has informed me of a grave oversight in your care that I, as your companion, have made! Thus, I have gathered collections of fictional human literature to read aloud at the time of your bed. Which is more to your liking: “The Care and Keeping of Cacti” or “1001 Crossword Puzzles?” Human-Steve? Human-Steve, I am serious.“
One of the things I love the most about this post is how “Human-Steve” makes me think that there is also an alien called Steve in the squad, and I just imagine the first meeting and introduction where there is the human guy introducing himself as Steve and then there is this huge blue guy with like 5 legs and bug eyes and apparently Steve is like a completely regular name on his planet too in some intergalactical coincidence
that was off topic sorry.
I’ve never met an alien named Steve, but someday I’m gonna go to space and meet a whole bunch of aliens, I mean way more aliens than I know now, which is really only what, half a dozen. Not counting hostile invaders I’ve had to repel, we only met briefly and we didn’t exchange names.
But if one of the new aliens is named Steve that’ll be great, won’t it? Because when you share a name with someone I feel like you automatically have to be friends.
Unless the alien named Steve is a jerk, like a genocidal dictator, in which case I’ll probably have to kill him in single combat. Which could also be fun.
So no downsides to aliens named Steve, really. Either we’re pals or I get to be a gladiator, which sounds like fun in the short term.
Me and @copperbadge are instant buddies! They even helped me learn how to play the ukelele!
AND if you ever turn supervillain I promise to kill you in single combat!
Just kidding it’s way more likely I’ll turn supervillain and I definitely could not defeat you even if I had two buddies with me.
A friend of mine once described a story in which a human visits a planet of robots who attempt to make him feel at home. Shortly after arriving, he notices a tv set in his quarters and turns it in. A robot appears on screen, saying “In the News today: the human has turned on his tv set.” The human subsequently finds there are only two other channels – one has a robot reading a thesaurus, and the other has a robot attempting to trisect an angle as trombones play in the background (that one turns out the be the comedy channel.)
Mooncustafer 