Here he was, properly alone for the first time in months, allowed to do what he wanted with himself for a few precious days. And the only thing on his mind, no matter how much he tried to ignore it, was pleasuring himself.
Left on his own by his captors, Halsin does not get the much needed break he hopes for
What, the forest-dwelling entities with imperfect human mimicry who insinuate themselves into groups of hikers? Yeah, we had one of those. Clocked it immediately, of course. Honestly it kind of fell in that so-inept-it’s-kind-of-charming range. We just played along until it’d had it’s fill of marshmallows and shambled back into the treeline. We might have been violating some kind of killjoy wildlife contact best practices but what the hell, can’t plan around every little thing. Why, what happened to you guys
these tags are gold omg
It’s a misconception that the mimics are hunting humans when they trail along at the back of hiking groups.
In fact, the creature you’ll find suddenly walking beside you and acting as if they’ve always been there is almost certainly a juvenile, as the adults lose the ability when they reach reproductive age.
Recent studies suggest the forest mimic is less like a preying mantis (mimicry as a hunting strategy) and more like a cuckoo (mimicry as a protective strategy for their young). Adult forest mimics will leave their offspring near a group of hikers while they forage during the day, and retrieve them near trailheads in the evening. Groups of hikers provide safety from predators and allow the parents of the species the freedom to forage more widely.
For this reason, the traditional advice to never let a mimic into your vehicle is still very important, as this would separate the young mimic from its mother. If a juvenile forest mimic does follow your group to the parking lot, you can keep it entertained with trail snacks, dad jokes, and simple goofs. The mother will usually collect them shortly before sunset.
When you notice the woods around the trailhead go silent and feel a sense of nameless foreboding, find an excuse to avert your attention from the juvenile so it can sneak back into the forest to rejoin its mother, convinced it’s fooled another party of unsuspecting humans.
surprisingly wholesome takes from the cryptid community here
I think Seven of Nine would approach Tuvok like ‘I am unaccustomed to being alone but the other crew members keep trying to socialise with me and I don’t care for it. I’ve judged you the member of the crew least likely to engage in meaningless social interactions. I would like to spend some time with you.’ And Tuvok is like 'that is logical. You may join me in my quarters this evening.’
She comes over and stands motionless by the wall while he sits and works on his reports and personal log. After 3 hours she’s like 'that was satisfactory. I will join you again next week’ and he’s like 'acceptable’.
It’s a major event in both of their social calendars.
eventually Tom Paris notices Seven coming and going from Tuvok’s quarters and goes to B'elenna like 'I think Tuvok and Seven are having an affair’ and she’s like 'Tom that’s ridiculous, it’s Tuvok. he’s the least likely person in the universe to have an affair. There’s no way.’ and he’s like 'no no I’m telling you they’re having an affair. you gotta talk to Seven woman on woman and get the dirt’ and she’s like 'ugh fine’
so she comes back to him like 'I spoke to Seven and she says she likes to spend time with Tuvok because he doesn’t try to make conversation’ and he’s like 'see they’re having an affair. no conversation straight to business.’ and B'elanna is like 'Seven literally never lies because she used to be a borg’ and he’s like 'okay well borg don’t have affairs either’ and she’s like 'what would it take to convince you that you’re wrong? hacking into the security feed of Tuvok’s quarters?’ and he’s like 'yes. let’s do that.’
so they hack into the security feed of Tuvok’s quarters and stand there watching the entire recording of Seven standing by the wall while Tuvok silently reads a book and afterwards Tom is like 'honestly? this is a lot weirder than if they were just having an affair and I’m very uncomfortable.’
