Challenge #02574-G017: Art Supplies of Mass Destruction
A havenworlder has a human as a godparent and they love to teach there godchild stuff like survival tips, human pop culture and other things the child’s parents would rather them not know. – Cheshire
Having a godparent, goodparent, or other form of honorary family member is such a Deathworlder concept. Grown Deathworlders are aware of the fragile nature of mortality and have culturally instituted the concept of spare parental figures. This comes in handy for Havenworlders who are, culturally speaking, just realising that the larger realms of space are not made to be nurturing and protected spaces. Having a theoretically-unstoppable gung-ho guardian for your progeny seemed like such a brilliant idea.
Such thoughts are the foundation stone of many epic outcomes. Most of them become legends that make the listener wonder if they’re supposed to think it’s a good idea or a bad one. For instance, Prrit had a Human goodparent, who they knew as Untee Gar. Their Untee visited frequently, and took them off on adventures.
Humans usually make excellent goodparents because they understand what frailer species can tolerate, and will avoid anything directly harmful. Thusly, Prrit grew up thinking ever Lyssoq was introduced to the same knowledge their Untee Gar taught them. Thusly, when they entered a more… formal schooling environment, there were surprises for everyone involved. Starting with the fact that little Prrit had absorbed wholesale the art of making and launching paper ‘wasps’.
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Challenge #02573-G016: Cultural Exchange Program
Harvest festival, feast time, Thanksgiving, people have a lot of reasons for sitting to celebrate this time of year. A time to give thanks for what one has in their life, to remember what it is they are thankful for. But, for some, it was just a time to put out a feast and be a glutton, and enjoy it! A person had been researching the Vorax, in fact, their entire race, learning their culture and their ways. Learning that the Vorax was not the race itself but the warriors amongst them. Learning of the farmers, the workers, the entire system the best they could. Then, as it came time for the feast festival, an invitation was sent out to as many as they could invite. They’d saved up a rather impressive amount of Time for this. The food they’d gathered was food they knew the Vorax could eat, and the humans they invited, friends and family, would enjoy as well. The drinks, mild intoxicants that would not inebriate either side but were also completely safe for both sides, along with juices and water, was provided, and the large series of tables were set out. Then, on the appointed day, they awaited the arrival of their guests for the Feast of Giving Thanks. And smiled, the doors to the large place wide open, looking forward to this moment. – DaniAndShali
Contrary to all the opinions of those originating from the United States, and their deep-time colonies, Thanksgiving is not a universal concept. Many mistake otherwise ordinary harvest festivals for their unique phenomenon of Thanksgiving. The spirit of egocentrism is strong in many Human cultures. Such an egocentric Human has found out about the Thranityr… the species who are the origin of the Vorax.
There were, of course, the travelling raiders called the Vorax. There were the farming caste, the Chakkyn. The manufacturing caste, the Thekkar. The Honyk were the builders, and it went on and on. Each with their own language, each with a tenuous peace with the other castes. Each with a rather… interesting relationship with any neighbouring Humans and their colonies.
Galactic Society often uses the fact that Humans willingly make alliances with Vorax as definitive evidence that Humans, as a species, are insane. Humans point to this conclusion and accuse Galactic Society of being a bunch of ignorant bigots. Some things cannot possibly change, but Human Kon is determined to at least try to change things anyway. His bright idea? A shared festival feast. Food, after all, brought people together. The festival, chosen with typical Human egocentrism, was Thanksgiving.
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Challenge #02572-G015: Inappropriate Topic
It has been lingering in my mind for a while. Every waking moment it come across my mind. I feel like I’m gonna get my ass beaten if I say it out loud. But why my crew mates look like anthropomorphic animals?!? – Anon Guest
There are times when it seems like the Universe was made by a lazy creator. The truth might seem stranger than that fiction. Convergent evolution means that beings suitable to a specific gravity and a specific purpose means that they will wind up looking very similar indeed. Caninoids look like dogs, Felinoids resemble cats, the variety amongst avian life forms is astonishing and yet, so very, very similar to known birds. It goes on and on.
Only Humans are rude enough to point this out. “Is it me, or is this entire station like a Furry Convention or something?”
Gortz spent a moment glaring at Human Diz. “As I recall, your -ah- cult of the Furry features cartoonish features including enlarged heads and emphasized eyes. Such is not the case in reality.”
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Challenge #02571-G014: Seeing to Need
They were 10 years old when the incident happened. Hiding in the woods to try to escape the abuse they endured in the orphanage, they’d come across an unusual sight. Half-buried in the ground was …. something. They didn’t know what it was, exactly, but the three outside the object sounded distressed. They went to the three and found them to be not much taller than they were and they were like very large birds. The problem had been the ship, for that is what the beings explained it to be, had been caught in a storm and they’d had to land for emergency repairs. The beings though they’d be safer if the ship was somewhat hidden in the nearby dirt cave only to have the cave collapse and the beings couldn’t dig out, they were not strong enough. The youngster thought for a long moment and asked the beings to wait. About an hour later, five children followed the first youngster carrying buckets and shovels. They’d snuck the supplies out of the garden shed while the abusive staff were having their annual poker night. By this time, most of them were far from sober.
While it took several hours, and a few rest breaks, the kids managed to help the beings dig out the ship and the beings were deeply grateful as they completed the repairs. The kids being there, for that, also was a boon as the kids, together, were strong enough to hold panels in place while they were permanently secured. With the help of the youngsters, the ship was repaired in record time. The beings then asked the kids what it was that they’d like in return. The youngsters, aged 10 to only 6, had only one wish. To leave this orphanage where they endured constant times of hunger and often were struck. Indeed some of the kids still sported some fairly large bruises. The beings nodded and said for the kids to be patient.
Not too long after this incident a much, much larger craft showed up. – Anon Guest
Everyone wanted to adopt babies. As soon as you cleared four years of age, the chances of being adopted plummeted like a rock into a pond. Tae and Ollie knew this, they knew they were more likely to age out of Foster Care than get adopted out of it. It was a fact of life just like the fact that foster homes were generally shitty places run by horrible people that viewed every kid who lived there as a paycheque. Neither of them could point to the day they learned that the world was cruel. It was just another fact of life.
Just like huddling in the lee side of a boulder in the old abandoned quarry and hoping that the Old Man didn’t find them this time was a fact of life. Just like holding their breaths as they held each other and listening to hear if his hollering was getting closer. Just like knowing when to run centred around how much the Old Man stank of cheap alcohol. This was, however, the first time that there were other small life forms huddled in the old quarry under the negligible shelter that one of the overhangs loaned them.
They looked like birds, but no bird on Earth had claw-like fingers extending from their wings. No bird on Earth had a head that big, nor such expressive eyes. No bird on Earth held on to another like Tae and Ollie held each other against the threat in the rain-soaked afternoon.
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Challenge #02570-G013: Happy For Some
Welp since I learn that cursed knowledge I’m dragging y’all down with me with your own curiosity. “Happy tapioca” isn’t all that happy – Anon Guest
[AN: Urban Dictionary holds all the answers to this mystery and I am positive the average reader does not want to know. Personally, I think it’s a waste of perfectly decent pudding, but if it floats your boat, keep it private, thanks.]
When civilisations exist in post-scarcity, the weirdness multiplies. When people can have anything that helps them feel happy… the odd corners seem to multiply. That said, some things can be difficult to arrange.
In those corners, the Niche Therapists thrive. It is difficult for many newcomers to understand the exact role of Therapists in Galactic Society. Some mistake them for sex workers, but that is only part of their training. They are there for the mental wellbeing of any cogniscent who needs them. They are trained in all forms of wellbeing therapy, psychology, religion, and positive haptic feedback.
Most often, that therapy manifests in the form of talking. Haptic therapy is most often forms of grooming or massage, or a comforting embrace. The tawdry side of things is far rarer than any might think. Those who do occupy that niche tend to learn things every day. Those who do occupy that niche often need the services of the remainder of the Therapists.
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