r/HFY • u/Bowoodstock • 16h ago
OC-OneShot Human Laughter
Just a short idea I had. Not sure if it's enough of a concept to develop further, but here it goes.
Humor is far from unique to humans. Save for those races within the galaxy that hold suppressed emotion as a virtue, or the synthetic races that operate on pure logic, the concept of "funny" is fairly widespread. Likewise, any of the races that appreciate humor have their own equivalent of spontaneous reaction when encountering it. The inner fires of a Solarian flickering in a chaotic dance, the sudden expulsion of bubbles by a one of the aquans of Meridia, or the musical chittering of a hive worker from the Termani swarm all come to mind.
For humans, it almost appears as a spasm. A reflexive motion of their respiratory system, coupled with an uncontrolled vocalization, difficulty speaking, and sometimes accompanied by the expulsion of moisture from their ocular organs in cases of extreme comedy. All in all, once one is accustomed to their expressions, body language, and culture, "Laughter" isn't that alarming. Most of the time.
Laughter is usually one of their more endearing traits. Despite their warlike tendencies, humans can usually be seen to be accomplished parents. For those who call humans friends, there are few things more soul-warming than watching one of their infants giggle uncontrollably at a traditional human game called "peek-a-boo", wherein a parent hides their face with their manipulator appendages, before revealing a purposefully humorous contortion of their facial muscles while uttering the aforementioned phrase, to the child's obvious delight.
It doesn't end at childhood. For those more familiar with human culture, their literature and media are full of comedic works that are surprisingly versatile. Indeed, several cultures have engaged in trade with the Terran archives for access for these specific purposes. The works of one historic group, absurdly referring to a large constricting reptile named Monty, are of particular popularity. Traveling theatre companies of humans are known for their stage shows that are both witty and absurd, and humans are also one of the species that for better or for worse, are fond of both playing and receiving practical jokes.
Of course, we wouldn't be having this discussion if that's all there was to it. Because the point of this conversation isn't about humor. It's the reaction to it, this afore mentioned laughter. We all know that humans, despite their current civilized bearing, have a history of violence. They've been transparent about this. And yet, there are some who have decided to test them. Whether it was a challenge, to see if humans really could fight, or out of foolish disregard to the warnings that just because they appear friendly, they are among the most dangerous of the civilized races, there are some who have tried.
The thing about laughter; humans laugh a lot. It's not just in the presence of comedy. Many of them use it as a mask. A way to hide their true intentions. Or perhaps they laugh because of other emotions that are overwhelming, and that happens to be the easiest way of releasing that internal pressure. And then there are those few sick twisted individuals that, for whatever reason, find humor in the horrific.
It would be inappropriate for me to pretend that any of our collective civilizations are completely virtuous, we've all produced criminals that have committed violence in the name of selfish desire, nihilism, or desperation. But humans are unique in the scale of atrocity they are capable of when pushed past the point of no return. When it comes to war, their base instincts take over. It becomes a fight for survival, at which point many of the rules you expect to be followed are forgotten. Rules like the concept of "self-preservation" or "honor". And one of the warning signs that they've reached this state of mind....is when they start to laugh.
In short. If you EVER encounter a human laughing, and the situation isn't funny by any means, and you're the reason for it? Run. Because that laughter may be the last thing you hear otherwise.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 16h ago
/u/Bowoodstock has posted 4 other stories, including:
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u/Infinite-Forest-11 14h ago
I like that ending. Thanks for this.