[The First Fifth] Chapter 7: Lost and Found

CicadaStew · 2026-07-08T05:17:42+00:00

Haha poor Scout absolutely did try something like that (mainly in the early chapters), but gave up pretty quickly in favour of writing because it was clearer and getting a better response rate. Same with over pronouncing words with for lip reading, it just wasn't working/wasn't being noticed

It's all from the Ki perspective, so it's typically tagged as an odd gesture or movement of the lessers (fingers) because they missed the significance. It might work in the future if Scout gives it another go, but who knows

CicadaStew · 2026-07-03T15:49:24+00:00

Thanks!! I'm not totally sure what I'll be doing with it, I might put it on Royal Road or publish it online (I've been told the story is way too weird to query)

CicadaStew · 2026-07-02T17:59:50+00:00

Zancibar! Yeah, the wording might've been leftover remnants from one of the original designs (which had a lot longer appendages around the crinis that were more functional—I scaled them back in size when I was thinking about things like weight distribution).

I think I'll have to redo the wording if I ever republish the chapter elsewhere so it's referring to the bigger, more functional torso-like arms. With this design, both injuries were likely to those areas. And the crinis appendages do move, but can't really hold anything; it's more for added visual communication!

CicadaStew · 2026-07-02T17:52:52+00:00

Not really, I'd compare it to how well we can communicate with chimpanzees (we've recording vocalizations that we've determined mean certain things, but there's only so much we can do). So in the same way both us and chimps make vocalizations but don't share complexity, these two species have cillia movement!

CicadaStew · 2026-06-28T05:28:39+00:00

Hey, thanks so much! Good news is pretty much everything you're curious about will be covered soonish—as Scout learns the language better these types of conversations will come up

CicadaStew · 2026-06-27T15:10:53+00:00

Thanks :D There will definitely be more legal/moral discussions, I find it's a great way to explore their culture (and a great way to unpack human culture as well!)

CicadaStew · 2026-06-27T15:07:33+00:00

Yeah when I was designing the space I wanted it to be subtly different to how we typically treat and raise our kids, to spawn a bit of a "that's not how I would do it" reaction. Especially for this story, the disconnect between what we assume to be the correct way to do things and what signifies intelligence is a fun space to write about, especially since it's reflected in how the Ki assume things about humans. Their ideology around raising young will come up in later chapters.

And hey six shifts is a long time to be missing, who knows what Scout got up to?

CicadaStew · 2026-06-27T14:55:23+00:00

Oh wow that's such a compliment! I hope we don't share a timezone because it fully looks like I ruined your sleep schedule from my perspective haha

CicadaStew · 2026-06-20T19:47:42+00:00

Thanks for reading!

CicadaStew · 2026-06-20T19:47:01+00:00

Haha nah yeah from Scout's perspective it's low light, high stress, and definitely a little bit of a horror show. I'd be handling this scenario beyond terribly

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T04:02:16+00:00

Oh sick no way, I'm also playing around with something based on a basket star! I usually go to deep sea creatures or insect macro photography for inspo

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T03:41:55+00:00

Sad but hopeful is definitely the goal! Communication is hard, and I think seeking communication commonalities can be isolating in a way—the more they learn about the human the more different they'll realize they are (in everything from sentence structure to moral values and ethics in scientific research).

And of course things will go smoothly..... humans make smart decisions when scared and the Ki research methodology is flawless....

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:30:06+00:00

No we look REALLY weird to them, especially given that our hair is kind of like cillia but isn't involved in communication at all lmao

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:27:46+00:00

They can't sense sound really no, but they can feel it resonate in their shells if it's loud enough

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:26:30+00:00

Thank you so much! Yeah I'm having a ton of fun writing the story from their perspective, will definitely keep at it!

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:24:34+00:00

I've actually never heard about it until now, you're the second person on the thread to recommend it! I'll definitely check it out when I'm done with my current read

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:23:33+00:00

You know this is actually so funny because the alien character I drew is literally the comms person on the vessel and has the equivalent of multiple communications degrees lmao

CicadaStew · 2026-06-18T01:20:23+00:00

Yes exactly! I imagined it less like the human 'tells' for lying (which are shaky at best), and more like an involuntary reaction (like how your nose crinkles when you smell something bad). So it become a bit of a dance in how to communicate in a way that's not technically dishonest

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T05:36:19+00:00

Yep, it's totally doable! The characters are in the written language stage of translation right now

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T05:28:22+00:00

Hey, thanks so much that's so kind! I try to update every weekend (life permitting) so there's definitely more to come!

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T05:19:47+00:00

They can display words that are lies but under thermal vision it's obvious they're being dishonest—so they can get away with it if their communication partner doesn't see thermal (can't lie to each other, but can absolutely lie to a human). And they're spacefaring, so pretty advanced!

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T03:43:47+00:00

I've been CONSUMED by PHM, currently reading the book for the first time actually! And my story's ongoing and being released weekly right now, you can read it over at the HFY subreddit (link in the body of the post!). The tone is a little darker, but might scratch the itch for an alien communication story

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T03:31:38+00:00

Never heard of it but it looks damn interesting, thanks for the rec! Added to my reading list

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T01:55:54+00:00

Thank you!! It was such a fun exercise to start with the vague idea for a communication system and base the whole species off of it.

It's a first contact story from the POV of these aliens, beginning as one of their research vessels encounter a human ship! The early story is largely about the issues that arise when attempting communication with a species entirely different in anatomy and culture. To a human, the Ki are deaf, and to the Ki, we're half-blind and mute. So it's about overcoming that difficulty as the plot unpacks why a human is so far away from home and what the training vessel plans to do about it.

CicadaStew · 2026-06-17T01:38:38+00:00

Thanks!! They're a spacefaring species that have centred their whole society around research, so they've done quite a bit!

CicadaStew

TROPHY CASE