what if the Weird Human Thing was dancing? Like, smth good happens and the human just breaks out into dance and their alien colleague is just… “what. are you doing??” Next thing u kno, one alien brings in a boombox like “Klarb, klarb, look at this” (presses button) (human starts getting tf down) “i dont know why they do this klarb what is happening”
(Couldn’t resist after the above comment about what a warrior species would do if confronted with a haka.)
When the humans went to space, they took their myriad of cultures with them. As space travelers choosing to join mixed-species crews are by definition open to new experiences and cultural exchange, and given the human tendencies toward gregariousness and pack bonding through ritual, it became very common for a ship to arrive in port not only bursting with new cultural material for scholars to study but also entirely new rituals invented “for the fun of it”. Humans had a marvelous time trying to blend elements of every culture represented on board–and occasionally performances by some of their less-deadly pets–into a game or ceremony all could participate in. They were also capable of turning almost anything into an excuse to wear bizarre costumes and throw a party.
just moving along like everyone else 