Making Long-form Webcomics Is Like

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Humans are space.. pets? (Entry 11..?)

Masterpost

Ah, wow, this notebook has been through it, huh?  

This is Captain Crow.  It has been…  Well, as I established in past entries, it’s hard to track time here, but, it has been a significant amount of time since I last documented my findings here.  Some things have changed since my last entry.  I’m unsure how I’ll go about summarizing it.  This notebook is nearly out of pages, and my old pen dried up a while ago.  If I can recall correctly, it ran out of ink shortly after my last entry, while I was trying to illustrate a page for my hashed-together field guide of what I’ve learned of this planet.  I lost this notebook shortly after, much to my dismay.  You wouldn’t think such a thing would be possible, given how sparse the furniture is here, but I made the mistake of taking it with me when the Lumarians took me outside after my last entry, and as fate would have it, I ended up losing it out there.  I was just trying to make documentation easier, but in the end I ended up preventing it all together.  Ironic. 

Now, this whole thing has been transcribed, I’m sure, to be read elsewhere, but if it’s being read in it’s original state, I’m sure you can see that these pages are well worn with dust, and being written on with something akin to charcoal.  I found this notebook just today, blown up against the side of the fence of this yard, and I’m filling these last few pages with a writing utensil I’ve crafted myself with the resources available- It’s not that the Lumarians don’t provide ample enrichment, they just don’t seem to be able to provide specifically the things I actually want or need.  I am lucky it doesn’t rain here, or this whole thing would likely be in a completely unreadable state.

Given how little space I have, I cannot write in detail the experiences I have had since my last documentation.  However, it is safe to say that it has been more of the same of what is written here- Most of my days are spent inside the ‘house’, or roaming the yard (they let me out freely now- the fence is not scalable nor can I go under or through it; I did try), learning what I can about this planet.  Without the ability to document, I’ve been committing what I can to memory and continuing to attempt to communicate my desire for writing supplies to the Lumarians.  Unsuccessfully.

I suppose it could be considered a good thing that things have been uneventful.  It gives me more time to put together a more thought out plan of escape.  Hopefully I will be able to find a new form of documentation, either after I make my way out of this place or by somehow making something from what I have.  The Lumarians are trying to provide me with enrichment, but their idea of that is a stuffed animal of a dog and a ball of yarn.  Also, a screwdriver, for some reason?  I’m not sure where they get their ideas of what humans like from.

Running out of paper, 

Captain Crow.  𓅪

{Authors Note Below}

Hhahaaha heeyyyy guyss..... I have no excuses. But I come bearing an entry! And a lore excuse for the gap in them!

I apologize immensely for the super long wait. However, I do live by the principle that late is better than never! I figured, rather than letting this thing fall to the void out of embarrassment at my absence, you guys would probably prefer something, even if it's been ?? Two years since the last real content?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I have some things planned for the next entries and I do have a projected plotline for this whole thing, I just need to get it written. I appreciate the patience of everyone who's stuck around this long and showed so much enthusiasm under my last post, even though it didn't contain any real content for the series.

See you in the next one!

{Taglist <3}

(you can comment or message me to be added or removed!  Thank you all so much for your support!)

@fishtale88 @anactualvelociraptor @sorcerersucker @ace-cat-nerd @thatquietkid108 @arataya @klltsun-25 @librowyrm @und3rta13tra5h @felicityroth @crystalalice @walk2574 @spindler-spider @automated-engineer @soren1830 @funfey @opened-rootbeercan @sataninsparkles @demon-cat-goes-woof @alwaysaslutforfic @tyltos @wolfdragonzjedimaster @questionmarksys @armourawk @nerdneeniya @princessaurax @leavemealone-s2 @d-cs @the-one-and-only-vic-lociraptor @lavendermenacetime @somesortapunk @villain-obsessed-word-nerd  @cherallasakura  @catvulture @hornethacker @girl-of-the-sea-and-stars  @lesser-lights27 @catslookingforthemanager  @mybigfatspoonielife 

Hello all!! I wanted to thank you for all the support I received on my last post! I do plan on doing more with this idea, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! While I'm working on the next couple of entries, here's my little sapient guy & the mini comic I doodled that loosely inspired this story :)

Shiloh loves to go urban exploring :)

Humans are space.. pets?  (Entry 2)

Entry 1 

Apparently, humans are in high demand as pets on this planet.  My crew & I were picked up and separated from one another in a matter of hours.  I suppose this isn’t a bad thing, it makes research easier the faster we infiltrate the households of these sapients.  However, it was somewhat surprising.  

The community is close-knit and close together, with no form of transportation other than walking that I can see.  If I had to make an estimation, I would say this species is technologically at the same place humans were around the early 20th century, although it is rather difficult to tell with everything being so different and I’m not sure that comparison is even a fair one to make.  The terrain here is almost entirely flat as far as the eye can see, and the ground isn’t particularly rough or hard to traverse.  I suppose this species may not have any reason for vehicles at this point in their societal evolution.  

The structures they live in are fairly modern in terms of appliances and comfort.  They appear to be a mud brick composite on the outside, but the inside of the building I was brought to is clean, sleek, and modern.  It stands out in stark contrast to the world outside, which is mostly red sand with spots of what resembles grass.  I hope to further study the sparse ecosystem when I get the chance.

Currently I have no such chance, as I am stuck in the human equivalent of a cat carrier.  I agree with the half of my crew that believes this treatment is somewhat demeaning, and I can’t quite get behind those (who shall remain nameless) who think it’s cute that these sapients view us as animals.  It’s all for the sake of science and survival though, I suppose.  

I’m not sure what the two sapients who picked me up plan to do with me, or why they’ve left me in this… box for so long.  I haven’t gotten a good look at these individuals yet either, and frankly, I do feel as though I am failing at my job as a scientist with these lackluster observations.  I can only hope to redeem myself as time goes on.

They’re coming back into the room they’ve left my cage in-  I’m going to hide my journal for now and update as soon as I can.  Perhaps if they’re coming to let me out I’ll find a suitable hiding spot underneath some furniture; just like the cat they seem to think I am.  --Cpt. Crow

Entry 3

Humans are space.. pets?  (Entry 4)

Masterpost

Captain Crow here to say, there is a way to clean off the sand, and it is very unconventional and VERY startling when you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.  I’ll start from the beginning, but just know on a planet where water is scarce they will find other ways to do tasks that usually require water.  

After my last entry, I decided it would be a good idea to try to explore my environment some more since the sapients were not posing any immediate threat to me.  I still brought my swiss army knife just in case, and though I will not specify whenever I’m carrying it because that would be redundant, just assume it is implied.  I won’t risk my own safety by leaving it behind anywhere, plus it’s useful for things other than defending myself anyway.  

I emerged from my hiding spot once again to face the sapients, but instead of paying them any mind I just scurried along back into the room I started in.  (It seems to be the equivalent of a living room.)  There really isn’t much to see, unfortunately, at least not from my vantage point.  From the doorway of the room I just left, which I assume is the bedroom, I can see the ‘couch’ I hid under earlier, a table, and a sort of kitchen area.  All these descriptions are generalizations of course, and comparisons to objects that I personally would recognize.  I could be entirely wrong in my assumptions of what these objects are or what they’re for.  The table and couch are relatively uninteresting to me at the moment, as they appear to just be solid blocks of material shaped for their purpose.  The kitchen area captured my interest the most, so I decided to try to explore it first.  

It really is interesting how many ideas are universal.  Drawers, for instance.  They’re simply a tray with holding space and a handle, and they slide into a space that’s out of the way.  They’re also perfect for opening up into a set of makeshift stairs.  These drawers are a little wobblier than human-crafted ones, which gives me the impression that they slide on an alternate system than the wheels & tracks that we use.  If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say some sort of magnet system.  This has its benefits for me though, as the drawers were amazingly easy to slide open.  I managed to climb up onto the counter with little difficulty.  I considered taking off my boots out of politeness but decided against it in case I needed to make a quick escape.  I wandered along the counter and tried to memorize my surroundings to write here; and here is my recollection to the best of my ability.

Knives are another universal thing, though I would’ve had an easier time using the ones I saw as swords, rather than their intended purpose.  There was a set way up high out of reach, on a sort of magnet strip.  It seems like magnets are a cornerstone of kitchen architecture on this planet.  There was cabinet space above me, but I couldn’t open any without the likelihood of hitting myself in the head.  The counters are made of black stone.  I noticed some appliances that I cannot name the use of as I have no idea, but I can tell you there were appliances that were there.  It looked like four, but honestly, a couple of them probably could have fit together somehow.  

That’s about all I managed to commit to memory before one of the sapients came into the room and saw me on the counter.  It looked stunned for a moment (probably at the stairs I had made out of the drawers, mostly), then I assume called for the other, as that one came into the room as well.  I made a run for it, aiming to jump down off the counter and run under the couch again, but the shorter sapient was too fast and caught me in mid-air.  I fussed for a second, trying to pry my way out of its paws, but the struggle was fruitless and its bigass fingers were concealing my knife.  I decided to save my energy to bolt as soon as I got a better chance.  

The sapient seemed as startled to be holding me as I was to be caught by it and looked to the other for guidance.  While they were busy staring at each other in bewilderment, I sneezed at all of the dust that had been shaken out of my uniform when they grabbed me.  My uniform is supposed to be blue, by the way;  at this point it was closer to a dusty reddish brown.  Spaceship crashes on sandy planets tend to do that to clean clothes.  

Neither of the sapients seemed to know how to react to my sneeze at first.  Then the taller one seemed to connect the dots between the dust and me sneezing and began to chatter with the one holding me. --  I still have no idea how much knowledge these sapients have of humans.  Only time will tell if they are able to provide sufficient care or if I'll have to fend for myself entirely.  I only hope they don't keep me holed up in a situation where I'll be unable to care for myself. 

They seemed to at least make the connection that dust = sneeze and sneeze = bad.  I guess that's one way to communicate I need a shower.  They carried me over to the other side of the counter, across from the one I had infiltrated, and set me in a basin built into the stone.  It resembled a sink, but there was no faucet, and the entirety of the bottom had little tiny holes- think like an air hockey table.  I did try to scramble out, as I was not particularly interested in the idea of being stuck in a glorified splash pad, but the sapients stopped me from getting out long enough for me to realize this was probably my only shot at getting a shower, even if I would end up sopping wet and miserable for a while.  I resigned myself to sitting down and looking pathetic as I braced myself to be sprayed with water.  

That is not what happened though, interestingly enough.  It didn’t occur to me until this moment that on a desert planet like this they probably wouldn’t use water to wash things if they could help it;  instead of being soaked with water, I was instead shocked by a burst of air from above.  It did sufficiently get a lot of dust off, to be fair to this odd design.  The basin itself was somewhat of a modified vacuum system, sucking all the dust away as the sapients blew it out of my uniform with an air hose that had previously been embedded in the counter.  

I explain all of this fairly matter-of-factly in hindsight, but I can tell you that in the moment I was not nearly as levelheaded.  I will admit to startling and jumping up, trying to climb out of the basin multiple times while I was still figuring out what was going on.  It’s a very scary experience to suddenly feel like you’re falling and the floor is trying to suck you up when you aren’t expecting that exact sensation.  I wish I could say it was over quickly, but it was not.  The sapients had to pick me up to try to get all of the dust out of my uniform, hair, and beard, and though they were gentle, it was still rather dehumanizing to be handled like a kitten getting a flea bath.  Although I suppose I was behaving like one, so, fair play.

After they had finished with the air-bath, they set me down on the counter.  I stood there bewildered for a moment, still processing the experience I had just had and the scientific part of my brain working out the mechanics of it all.  While I was pondering how my life had led me here, they sprayed me over with what I assume was some sort of disinfectant and then toweled me down.  Oh, the indignity.  As soon as they released me again, this time onto the floor, I ran off to hide and journal all of this.  I am thankful that they have a way to wash me and my clothes at the same time though, I suppose.  Although I would prefer it if they weren’t involved at all.  

So now I have caught up on writing down my experiences thus far.  I will be looking more into this technology and seeing if it’s possible to utilize it myself without the sapients' input, or at least to replicate it for the settling of desert planets in the future.

End of Entry.  Capt. Crow.

Entry 5

Humans are space.. pets?  (Entry 10)

Masterpost

It’s noon number two.  The Lumarians are back.  I jogged four laps around the house and then fell asleep under the couch earlier.  Then I woke up and jumped up onto the storage unit again and realized I’d left my journal up here.  That could’ve been bad.  Good thing I was the only creature in this house.  Speaking of creatures; the Lumarians have shown me what lives in those enclosures out back.  They also seem to have procured some human energy drinks while they were out.  I’m not usually one to drink lots of caffeine but I’ll take what I can get here.  It was next to my food so I drank it.  What do they put in here I don’t know.

Before dinner (I’m calling it that because noon number two is closer to pretend nighttime and this meal was nearer to noon number two than noon number one.) the Lumarians took me outside to show me the yard again.  They got home closest to what I’m gonna call 5 pm because that makes sense to me.  I’m trying to clear up my timeline because I realize now I’m writing very fast and it’s kind of hard to read.

At noon one the Lumarians left.  I watched the sky out the window until around 3 pm.  Then I ran around to regain my sense of self and fell asleep under the  couch.  At 4 I woke up and got back up onto the storage unit to retrieve my journal.  I hid it back under the bed.  At 5 the Lumarians came back and found me and let me outside to show me the yard.  I’ll tell the story from there now that I think I made it make better sense.

Okay, so, the Lumairans let me out into the yard again.  It’s a big space;  imagine a large backyard, and then multiply it by at least three, and then scale it up times two to account for the size of the Lumarians compared to humans.  Closest to the house they have a garden, all along the back wall where the door is.  I went to go look at it, but they gently guided me away from that direction.  Maybe there’s something poisonous growing there or maybe they just already had their plans to show me the enclosures on the other side of the yard.  Maybe both, I don’t know.  It’s almost amazing the amount of things I don’t know yet.

The Lumarians let me take the lead, perhaps to allow me my independence, but they kind of flanked me from behind to make sure I didn’t wander or run off I guess.  I wasn’t sure where they wanted me to go, but I could tell where they didn’t want me to go, so I simply made the executive decision to head for the enclosure on the left.  This was apparently the right decision, as they didn’t redirect me.  When we got to the enclosure, which still looked empty to me, they opened the gate and guided me in.  I was suspicious at this point that they were going to lock me out there, but that didn’t make any sense and luckily is not what happened.  Instead, after closing the gate behind us, they went out into the enclosure and opened a little trapdoor-gate-thing built into the ground that I hadn’t been able to see before.  The taller sapient went down into whatever space was under the ground there and returned a few minutes later with a creature-  Imagine one of those sea slugs that look like cartoon rabbits.  I think they’re called sea bunnies.  Anyway, this creature looked like one of those, except the size of my torso and less fuzzy.  It was more blobby than fluffy.  The sapient brought it over to me and let me pet it, and it felt kind of like a water balloon someone had dropped in a tub of grease.  With little blobby ears and protrusions down its back.  I suspect it has the intelligence level of a water balloon as well, as it did not react to my touch at all.

The Lumarian tried to get me to learn the name of this creature, but I was mostly focused on trying to remember and mentally document its appearance and texture to write down here.  I think I’m going to start a field guide as well, since now I know I’ll be able to get better looks at some of the flora and fauna here.  

I probably should pay better attention to the names of things if I’m going to document things, now that I think of it.  But I was distracted by the strange appearance of this creature.  It begs the question of how and why any animal on this desert planet would be so.  Moist?  I mean, when I say this planet is a desert, I mean it’s all sand and hot and dry.  It’s always daytime and so far there have been no weather events.  Maybe that’s why these creatures live primarily underground-  maybe there’s a pool of water down there or something.  I didn’t go down, so I don’t know.  Maybe I’ll explore that in the future too.  It just depends on how long I’m stuck here, I suppose. 

After I pet the creature and failed to learn its name, the Lumarians ushered me back inside to eat dinner.  Today was real food-  I haven’t had actual fresh food in months, so that was very exciting.  I’d been living off of rations, which are always vacuum packaged or preserved or dry.  But on the other hand I have no idea what I ate.  It sort of reminded me of the one time I had squid ages ago, like, raw squid.  It was a little squishier and had an interesting texture, but it didn’t taste bad and I was happy to have something with some chew to it instead of nutrient-rich blocks of nothing.  They seem to have procured some human foods as well as the native food they fed me, which I think they’re rationing out as ‘treats’.  As I said earlier, tonight it was an energy drink.  I think I’ve worn myself out at this point, but I hadn’t had caffeine in a long time before today, especially not in that amount or concentration, so I apologize if my writing is somewhat illegible.  After I finished dinner I returned to my little refuge here under the bed and wrote this entry.  Which I am writing right now.  But not anymore!  Goodnight.

-Captain Crow.

(psst, hey, you.  Yeah you.  It’s me, the author.  I want to celebrate you all supporting my story and hitting double-digits!  So, send in asks to or about Captain Crow & I’ll have him answer for you!  To the best of his ability and non-canon to the direct storyline currently.  No spoilers.  Thank you for your support and Crow looks forward to chatting with you all!)

Entry 11..?

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{Taglist <3}

(you can comment or message me to be added or removed!  Thank you all so much for your support!)

@fishtale88 @anactualvelociraptor  @dyn-mellt​  @ace-cat-nerd @thatquietkid108 @arataya @klltsun-25 @librowyrm @und3rta13tra5h @felicityroth @crystalalice99 @walk2574 @spindler-spider @automated-engineer @soren1830 @funfey @opened-rootbeercan @sataninsparkles @demon-cat-goes-woof @alwaysaslutforfic

Humans are space.. pets? {Masterpost}

A little collection of Captain Crow’s entries to his data log so far to make your reading experience a little easier :) 

If you’d like to be added to the tag list for this story & be tagged whenever a new part of the story goes up, just let me know in the comments of this post or message me directly!  

Entry 1

Entry 2

Entry 3

Entry 4

Entry 5

Entry 6

Entry 7

Entry 8

Entry 9

Entry 10

Entry 11..?

Extra 1

Ask 1

Ask 2

Current tag list (Once again let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!):

@fishtale88 @anactualvelociraptor @sorcerersucker @ace-cat-nerd @thatquietkid108 @arataya @klltsun-25 @librowyrm @und3rta13tra5h @felicityroth @crystalalice @walk2574 @spindler-spider @automated-engineer @soren1830 @funfey @opened-rootbeercan @sataninsparkles @demon-cat-goes-woof @alwaysaslutforfic @tyltos @wolfdragonzjedimaster @questionmarksys @armourawk @nerdneeniya @princessaurax @leavemealone-s2 @d-cs @the-one-and-only-vic-lociraptor @lavendermenacetime @somesortapunk @villain-obsessed-word-nerd @cherallasakura @catvulture @hornethacker @girl-of-the-sea-and-stars

Humans are space.. pets?  (Entry 5)

Masterpost

As I approach what I estimate is the 14 hour mark since the crash, I find myself longing for the comforting familiarity of my ship, the Dutchess.  I know she’s in ruins now, but some part of me refuses to believe it.  Sure, there were times when I wanted nothing more to get off that muggy ship and into some fresh air, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love her.  The crash wasn’t any one persons fault.  She was just old and her hull was worn.  I was planning on fixing her up on our next stop.  

Right now I’m missing the day/night cycle in her lighting system in particular.  The suns are unwavering here, and I find it difficult to measure time or decide whether or not I should be sleeping.  There’s also no place I have access to currently that’s dark enough and also comfortable enough for me to fall asleep.  Stars, I miss those crummy cots.  What I’d do to be back on that ship.  

...

The sapients have left the dwelling.  I’m not sure how long they’ll be gone or where they are.  I’m going to take advantage of this quiet time to find a dark place to sleep.  Perhaps under their bed.  Will update after I rest.  Too tired to hold the pen.

...

I’m unsure how long I’ve been asleep for.  The sapients still aren’t back, but I feel somewhat more rested than previously.  I suppose I’ll look for a way out of the dwelling and try to contact my crew.  I wish I had a better way of measuring time.  Right now I’m relying on hypothesis and a sky that never darkens.  

...

I’ve thoroughly explored the dwelling and there aren’t any obvious escape routes.  The sapients seem to have activated some sort of locking mechanism on the kitchen drawers, so I can’t climb up there that way anymore.  I’m too exhausted to try anything new right now.  Despite sleeping (for an unknown increment of time) and consuming a reasonable portion of rations, I can’t quite muster up the energy.  I know I’m a human, and I’m supposed to be resilient and have this constant drive to escape and be free and rend and tear any obstacle, but I’m also just a man.  I’m only 46, but I feel particularly weathered today.  Maybe I got more hurt in the crash than I realized.  Or maybe I’m just finally hitting that adrenaline crash now that I’m not in fear of imminent danger.  

I shouldn’t waste paper on these ramblings.  I’ll save it for when something of interest actually happens.  Even though I doubt anyone will ever find or read these anyway, even if I do make it off this planet.

Capt. Crow.

Entry 6

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{Taglist <3}

(you can comment or message me to be added or removed!  Thank you all so much for your support!)

@fishtale88 @anactualvelociraptor @sorcerersucker 

Hi! I was just reading your humans are space pets story and I really like it and was wondering if you have a tag list that you could add me to? I don’t want to miss any updates it’s sooo good 😭💕

Hi!!! I am so overjoyed that you like my story! I don't have a tag list yet as I was wildly unprepared for my story to get as much traction as it has, but I am considering starting one for all the lovely people like you who are interested in keeping up to date :)

I’m going to make a masterpost to collect all the humans are space pets entries & I’ll have people comment to be added to a taglist for the story.  You’ll be one of the first people on there!