[fanfic] Life at Sea

[prueturner]

Fandom: Farscape
Rating: T - Teen
Characters: Zotoh Zhaan
Wordcount: 656
Summary: Ficlet. A short look into what I think life would be like for Zhaan if they were nonbinary. For senmut

Their name is Zotoh Zhaan, and they are a ninth-level Pa’u. They are, additionally, a fugitive. None of this seems to surprise the human, John Crichton, as much as the fact that they are neither male nor female. In turn, Zhaan is surprised to find that Crichton has never met an individual like themself, but there are a lot of things about Crichton that surprise them. For one, Crichton seems to be a very rigid person, which is not something that they associate with scientists. Their understanding of the world is ever-changing, certainly things are the same on Crichton’s planet? He does seem more easily flustered than most people that Zhaan has encountered in their life. They decide to accept this, because for as flustered as Crichton gets sometimes, he is, overall, kind to them and eager to learn about their life the way he is eager to bite into the space he finds himself in and understand.

They feel that Aeryn Sun would be very much the same way, but Zhaan is all too aware of the restrictions the Peacekeepers impose on their people. Frankly they would have been surprised if she welcomed any of them with open arms, coming from a society that seems to limit everything. Zhaan has never liked the Peacekeepers, the way they stick their noses into everything just to shape things into incorrect molds, order over expression. Teaching Aeryn is also learning from Aeryn, the way the woman guards scraps of information and hides things so close to her chest. They pick up on the little things, when to avoid topics, when to ask more questions.

Sometimes, Zhaan takes moments with Moya to discuss, drifting through the ship and holding their hands to her walls, comparing her notes on the Peacekeepers to Aeryn’s. A Leviathan’s emotions are so, so much stronger, the history and pain that Moya has felt almost overwhelming. At times Pilot beeps in through the comms to ask Zhaan to stop talking to her as it is “quite distracting”. They know he is feeling all that Moya feels, bringing up the memories of the Pilot before Pilot, memories of joy before Pilot, memories of freedom before Pilot. They let him have it. That is a private conversation, one for Pilot with his infinitely long words and for Moya, with none, only emotions, thoughts, memories.

As Crichton and Aeryn are similar, so are D’Argo and Rygel, which is a statement Zhaan is certain would lead both of their fellow fugitives to sputtering outrage, no matter the truth hidden within it. Beliefs and culture exchange when you have been around as many galaxies as the three of them have, and although there are certainly parts of their adventure where Zhaan finds themself lost, something in between the lines that they cannot understand, they know that D’Argo would lay down his life to defend them, and they would do the same for him. They know that in his own way Rygel is willing to swindle and cheat in a way that favors them rather than harms them, as long as they are still around for him to hurl insults at at the end of the day, because a Dominar would never show affection to a peasant like them, as they are frequently reminded.

Being Zhaan is something that comes naturally, no matter what the observers think. The peace is what takes work, letting people talk long enough that they can understand each other. There are planets with societies like Aeryn’s, stamping out anything that does not fit into a certain mold, and societies like John’s, limited, but, if Crichton is any indication, willing to grow, to learn, to accept. They are not a flawless being, they know this much for certain, but onboard Moya they are themself and they flourish, basking in the joy that comes from having so many people who support them, and who, in turn, they support.

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