Thinking about yesterday's post, re: Grocky and Adrian and potential rock divorce 😂 I've got this dumb scenario rotating in my mind so now you get to hear it lol
Things on Erid have more or less settled. Their sun is healing, the biodome is built, the human is stable and thriving. He is so very grateful for the fact that Erid at large built him a home, created food for him, is taking care of him. Now that he isn't half dead anymore he is so happy to offer his knowledge and expertise. He is a really good teacher, and the kids love him. He is so passionate about scientific pursuits, and there's basically a constant stream of Eridian scientists flocking from all over the planet to be able to speak to him and learn from the knowledge of his people that he is so willingly sharing. Everything seems perfect, right?
There's one teeny tiny sticking point, though. It's the sort of thing that everyone knows but will only whisper and murmur about in badly-hidden secret rather than point at it directly.
Erid got its one hero back. One single survivor who shies away from public appearances, who could only bear to meet the families of the lost crew mates in short, painful bursts, who can barely speak of those crew mates' last words before going entirely nonverbal for hours on end.
The one hero who seems to prefer spending 90% of his time hanging out in an entirely toxic and deadly atmosphere, only a thin mesh of xenonite body armor keeping them safe. Everyone hates having to wear those things, they are so uncomfortable and feel so unsafe. But the hero seems more at ease when hidden inside one of those than in their very home planet's atmosphere.
When the alien ship first got in contact, everyone built in their minds a dream, a romantic reunion between the sole survivor and now hero of the planet, finally returned to their loving mate. It was the stuff of legends, the sort of thing you'd only thing about in fiction.
Except, you know, the hero is a ptsd ridden mess who basically threw one of the taumoeba farms at the first scientist in their path going "here, this will heal the sun, NOW I NEED EVERYONE AND I MEAN EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET TO MAKE SURE MY HUMAN IS KEPT ALIVE OR I WILL KILL EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD AND THEN MYSELF"
So, yeah, romantic reunion went right out the window, but alright. Eridians are a sturdy bunch and can roll with the punches, and Erid isn't ungrateful. The human was willing to sacrifice his life for their hero, for a planet who didn't even know of his existence. The human was ready to die to heal their sun and ALSO gifted them a machine containing all the cumulative knowledge of his people, which really, is exceedingly kind. Erid isn't ungrateful, and so if the human needs a specifically built environment and food he can eat for his survival, that's what the human gets. If the human wants to be a teacher as an enrichment activity, the human becomes a teacher.
Thing are stable and people are expecting for their hero to Chill Out soon. Any second now. At some point? Maybe?
And especially for those who work around the clock on the biodome and to keep the human healthy this is SO uncomfortable. The people of Erid are starting to wonder What Is Going On between their hero and the human. Rumors of infidelity are rampant. The poor Eridian whose main task is to ask the human feedback about the taste of his specifically made food got asked by their parent-in-law, all hush hush, if it was true that the hero was secretly getting mated with the human. It's a mess.
And like, all these eridians who are in fairly close contact with the human on a daily basis DO wonder, because their hero is very... Huh... Touchy-feely with the human. And sure, the human needs a certain amount of contact and touch to be healthy, but also his house is soundproofed because a bit of privacy is required for his mental health, and who the fuck knows what the hero and the human get up to in there? Certain not anyone on the biodome/human upkeep teams.
So they just kind of have to live with this and it's... Fine. Uncomfortable, yes, but they aren't going to say a thing, are they? After all, the human won't stay around for long. He is already halfway through the average lifespan of his species, and the wounds he sustained plus prolonged time in space likely shaved off some of that lifespan, too. Which is perhaps a bit mean to think about because like, aside from maybe possibly allegedly abetting the maybe possibly alleged infidelity the human is genuinely a really nice guy, and it's sad to know he'll be dead soon, but also that's maybe for the better. Once he is gone the biodome will just become an interesting novelty for future eridians to visit to learn about their cosmic neighbors and, sure, the hero's crashout is going to be legendary in the worst possible way, but they have contingency plans to support them and help them deal with the grief, and then things will get back to normal after that, right?
Except one day an upstart little thrum of frankly overzealous, overexcited and overachieving xenobiologists pay a visit to share great news. They've been obsessively working, blessed by the Pandora's box of research that the human so lovingly shared with Erid at large, and to show the depths of their gratitude they have prepared an Extend Your Human's Lifespan and Keep It Healthy! Serum, results a 100% guaranteed.
And everyone has to sit there in muted, private horror, thinking NOOOOOOOOOO WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?! I HEARD FROM MY COUSIN WHO HEARD FROM THEIR COUSIN WHO HEARD FROM THEIR COUSIN THAT THE HERO'S THERAPIST WAS FINALLY MAYBE GUIDING THE HERO TO MAKE THE FIRST TEENY TINY LITTLE STEP IN POSSIBLY MAYBE ACCEPTING THAT THE HUMAN WAS POSSIBLY MAYBE GOING TO DIE SOON! YOU JUST RUINED IT!
And nobody's gonna say it because, first of all: Mean. Again, the human is SUCH a nice guy, if you don't take into account that whole alleged infidelity stuff. And secondly the hero is going almost apoplectic with joy at the prospect, and if anyone says something that even remotely sounds like "maybe this isn't such a good idea" the hero is going to rip all of their limbs out one by one, no doubt.
And somewhere up in the biodome crew somebody just threw their badge on the ground, screeched "FUCK THIS SHIT! I QUIT!!!" and promptly called the divorce attorney they've had on speed-dial for XX years, by that point.
