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kidasthings · 8 months ago

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Echoes of Eden by Kida

Noa x Mae - #omgisthisastorywithplot?

Chapter 2: Echoes of Eden by Kida – @kidasthings on Tumblr

Prologue

Three centuries after a catastrophic virus decimated human intelligence, turning the survivors into primal shadows of their former selves, the world has irrevocably changed. The ALZ virus, originally intended to combat Alzheimer's disease, not only ravaged humanity but inadvertently gave rise to a new dominant species: intelligent apes.

Near the ruins of what was once Los Angeles, Noa, a valiant chimpanzee of the Eagle clan, has just thwarted a power-hungry bonobo, Proximus Caesar, from enslaving his people. Guided by the teachings of a certain orangutan, Raka, who revered the nearly forgotten, peace-loving chimp Caesar, Noa believes in a world where apes and humans can coexist peacefully. However, during his quest, he encounters Mae, a human who defies his expectations. Mae, immune to the virus and possessing the ability to speak, challenges Noa's perceptions of humans as mere animals.

Together, Noa and Mae manage to prevent Proximus Caesar from seizing a cache of potent human technology by flooding an old bunker. In the process, Mae secures a crucial computer drive that enables her underground human community to reconnect with distant survivors, bridging isolated pockets of humanity; she also manages to betray Noa and his clan by leaving them to fend for themselves.

As Mae's group in Los Angeles prepares to merge with new allies from Fort Wayne, Indiana, tensions escalate. Unaware of Mae's bond with Noa, a small but well-armed scouting party from Fort Wayne comes across the Eagle Clan’s village on their way to Los Angeles to meet up with Mae’s people.

Far more adept on their own home turf, the scouting party is caught by the apes, rounded up, and held hostage. Their weapons are confiscated. Mae is called in when the scouting party never reports to the underground bunker where the rest of the intelligent humans in her group seek refuge. Caught between her origins and her convictions, Mae faces the ultimate choice during the tense encounter: stand with her human kin or protect Noa, the ape she has come to admire.

This story explores the fragile hope for reconciliation in a world torn apart by fear and prejudice. Can Noa and Mae forge a path toward peace, or will the shadows of old wars darken the future dreamed of by the legendary Caesar?

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Chapter 1

In the dense shadows cast by the towering trees that skirt the Eagle clan's village, the air was thick with tension and the faint scent of smoke from distant fires. The setting sun bled red over the horizon, casting long shadows across the rough-hewn faces of the Eagle clan and their new captives. Five ALZ-immune humans from Fort Wayne sat bound and rigid, their eyes darting nervously as they listened to the low, ominous murmurs of the assembled apes.

Noa moved deliberately among the captives, his demeanor stern yet marked by an inherent fairness. Each human he approached met his gaze with a mix of defiance and fear, but none spoke. They clung to their silence like a shield, even under the weight of Noa's penetrating stare.

"No purpose here can be good if it starts with secrets," Noa stated, his voice resonating with a calm authority as he paused before a younger man whose jaw was stubbornly set.

The chants from the simian crowd grew louder, a discordant mix of anger and fear, with proposals of banishment or worse. They remembered what happened with Proximus Caesar, the obsession with human technology and worldly knowledge, and want none of it. Noa raised a hand, called for silence, but the restlessness was palpable, a living thing that fed on uncertainty and fear.

At the perimeter of the village, a human woman keeps a low profile in the brush. She had followed a single flare that burst bright in the sky to this location. It was a habitual thing, to bypass this region when doing her rounds in the forest. Immunity to the Simian Flu had bequeathed her the role of tracker, hunter, and scout after her initial mission was completed. Brown hair, blue eyes like the sky, Mae can only watch the scene unfold with a pounding heart. Worry lines were etched deeply into her brow, and her hand reached up to clutch at something around her neck - Raka's pendant - the symbol of peace promoted by an ape named Caesar long ago.

Noa gave her that pendant. For an inopportune moment, Mae was lost in reverie.

Without warning, a strong hand gripped her shoulder, yanked her from the shadows. Mae stumbled forward, dragged into the open. Her breath caught as she was thrown unceremoniously to the ground before Noa and his human captives. Dust and small stones bit into her palms as she caught herself, and a small grunt escaped her lips.

The sudden appearance of the human - a known and not particularly fondly remembered human - amongst them drew shocked gasps and murmurs.

Noa’s eyes widened in recognition, then narrowed in a complex tumult of emotion. The last time they parted, it was with a promise of peace, and yet here she was, thrown at his feet, disrupting the fragile balance he had fought to maintain.

Mae’s chest heaved as she pushed herself up slightly, her voice raspy but resolute as she met Noa's gaze. A single word hangs between them, charged with layers of meaning, a plea, a greeting, a reminder of shared dreams and bitter realities.

"Noa."

In that moment, the world narrowed to the space between them. Noa stood motionless, the voices around him faded into a distant hum. His heart fought a fierce battle within, torn between his duty to his clan and the undeniable pull he felt towards this woman who embodied both the past they shared and the future they might still forge. He can see Caesar’s pendant, an encircled diamond, as it swung from Mae’s neck wildly.

She still had it.

It is a symbol of ideals that suddenly seem so distant in the face of palpable tension and looming conflict.

The standoff stretched out, every breath, every silent plea, every hope and fear suspended in the dusty air of the dying day.

“Noa,” Mae tried again, defeated. She pulled herself up to stand on shaky, coltish legs. The Eagle Clan scout that initially seized her did not reach for her again as Noa lifted one hand to stay him.

Noa closed his eyes, as if in contemplation.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked, as he reopened his eyes and shuttered his gaze.

Mae’s lips thinned out into a seamless line, and she cut a gaze over to the trussed-up humans attached to poles in the center of the village.

Noa nodded, once. He did not need much more than that as he added, “They approached our borders. We do not yet know their intention.”

The five Fort Wayne humans, still tied tight, share deliberate looks of fear between themselves. There is clear intelligence writ into their faces. They are not gagged, much to the chagrin of some of the villagers, as Noa would not have it. Still, they are oddly quiet. A few cast curious looks at Mae, no recognition in their eyes. The only woman in the group chewed her lower lip in frustration. Her blonde hair is cut short in a severe bob.

“Let them go, Noa.” Mae stated boldly, taking a step forward. Two other apes, positioned parallel to her, moved to intercept her advance towards the hero of the Eagle Clan. Once again, Noa lifted his calloused palm and gritted his sharp canines.

“Follow,” he told her, indicating something or someplace to the left with a sharp jerk of his head.

There is a short murmur of indignation from the gathered villagers, save for a small group which consisted of Soona, Anaya, and Noa’s mother. They appeared stuck in a shallower tumult of emotion. Noa’s mother took a step forward, unsure, but Soona placed her palm on the female ape’s furry shawl-covered shoulder and stopped her.

Mae’s eyes followed Noa, capturing his unique profile in a blink, and then dipped her head and hesitated. It is always that hesitation, caught between following an ape and leaving her kind behind, but with a reluctant glance at the captives she turned to follow.

He led her to a towering edifice of wood and natural materials that might be described as a tree house. Far above them, hawks circled in the sky, their soaring shadows blotting out the last rays of the sun. They landed at the top of the tower, a dizzying height, and screeched down at her.

Noa ascended a small ramp and stepped past a woven flap of material.

Mae did the same after taking a moment to peer backwards over her shoulder to ascertain the serious faces of a few apes herding her to the entrance.

Once inside, the darkness enveloped her, and the woman became hyper-aware of a dual pair of reflective eyes that watched her in the darkness of the interior.

“You came back,” he said, voice rough with something like emotion.

“Not by choice,” she quipped, and then stepped sideways away from the shaft of light thrown down by the door.

“Why?” It’s a simple question for a complex answer, and she wasn’t ready to answer it.

“I saw a distress signal in the sky,” she replied easily, eyes skating over the shadows and shapes in the interior of the newly rebuilt tower. “I had to see for myself. It looked like a human flare.”

“A flare?” he questioned; voice flat.

“It’s a human thing,” she sighed.

She heard him padding closer to her, his eerie eyes backlit by whatever reflective photo-sensitive cells nocturnal animals possessed. More of his face came into detail. After he stood about a few feet away, he stopped.

Mae froze.

“You have ... it,” he informed her quietly.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

A hand reached out, seemingly disembodied in black space, and she felt the immediate lift of the small weight at her neck.

“Do you ... still believe .. in what it stands for?”

Her answer is the same as before, the same empty mantra. “I-I don’t know, Noa.”

A huff, a sigh. The weight on the back of the cord returned and he stepped back.

“Let them go,” Mae demanded, again.

He did not reply, not right away, but he did give her a long look. It was hard for her to discern in the dim dark, but it might be a soft rebuke. “I have to know … why they are … here.”

Mae’s mind shut down, because she wasn’t ready, or can’t tell him that. Her group of survivors had been expecting the Fort Wayne scouting party for months now. The underground bunker housing her people was the last of its kind for hundreds of miles. They had not come across any other intelligent humans in that time, so this must be the group they awaited. Mae was not an idiot; she had seen the sentry apes rifling through a small stockpile of guns on the ground when she was roughly manhandled to the ground.

She trusted Noa situationally, sure, but did she trust him with this?

There might have been a flash of hurt on his face but the dim interior concealed it well. “They belong with me,” is all she can muster.

“Tell the truth,” he parried back. There was a frustrated edge to his voice, nearly a growl.

“I am telling the truth,” she quipped stubbornly.

“Mae,” he refuted quietly, moving so fast that he is suddenly in her space again, too much and too soon. She gasped, caught off guard. His fingers found Raka’s necklace again, still around her neck. He was staring hard at it.

“Tell … me.”

Her tongue is nothing but a slug in her mouth, unable to form words. Noa had never been this close before, taking up her space, her attention, her very being. Caught between one moment and the next, she shook her head in utter disbelief. She could see his features more clearly, the craggy brow, the dark-light eyes, the slight downturn of his mouth beneath an inhuman nose. For a second, he gripped the pendant around her neck tightly, as if he wanted to hold it for some length of time, and then released it yet again to step past her.

Their shoulders brushed, and Mae forgot to breathe.

His voice carried over from somewhere behind her, close to the entrance. “If you will … not speak … they will.” A rustle of fabric against fur, and he is gone.

Within the crude tower, Mae lets out the breath she held in a slow whoosh.

Noa.

#mae #noa #monster romance #kingdom of the planet of the apes #mae x noa #nomae #planet of the apes #kotpota #rise of the planet of the apes #noamae #owen teague #freya allan #fanfiction #enemies to lovers #kotpota mae #kotpota noa

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billcipherisntreal · 5 months ago

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tanadrin · 1 year ago

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Hey... sorry if this is too much, but im a baby trans and ive been struggling to grasp the concept what gender is, everytime i try to look for a definition i only find the vague basics like "its what you identify as!" Or i find bigoted shit from trasphobes. If you have any recommendations of essays about gender from trans people who dive deeper unto the concept it would really help. Sorry if im bothering you i just dont really know who else to ask 😅

i don't know how helpful i can be. i have a very instrumental view of transition--i.e., if you think it might make you happier than you are now, you should give it a try and see. i think a lot of pointless verbiage is spilled on trying to nail down difficult-to-elucidate questions about purely internal experiences, about the distinction between gender and sex, and about what all this gender stuff means anyway. i think that stuff can be interesting to discuss, if you like that sort of thing (and i do!) but that loading yourself up with a lot of gender theory isn't actually useful for figuring out what you should do vis a vis your gender presentation and how you identify.

for those latter questions, i think the answer is simple: what makes you happier? when you imagine a given gender presentation, or your body being different in certain ways, or people calling you by a certain name, does that sound appealing? doesn't matter why. if so, go for it! and frankly this advice is quite agnostic of whether or not you're cis or trans. people should adopt the identities that feel most conducive to their happiness. you do not need elaborate theoretical justifications for any of it. anyone who demands an elaborate theoretical justification for how you dress or what name you choose to use or anything like that is an asshole whose opinion you can safely ignore. i guarantee you they are selective in this demand, and are only using it to try to find an excuse to be a dick.

that said, you want a definition of gender, and i guess i can try.

"gender" has no definition. that's not meant to be a smart aleck answer. what i mean is: "gender" is a conceptual category. conceptual categories do not exist outside of our discourse about them. there is nowhere in the world you can go to lay your hands on A Gender. there is no Gender Particle. and while in most philosophical traditions we think of categories as having necessary and sufficient conditions for membership ("a human is an animal descended from the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees" might be such a taxonomic definition), conceptual categories aren't actually constructed that way. because that's not how the human brain actually works: when you're a kid learning what words mean, you don't learn "a chair is a thing with four legs you sit on." that wouldn't be accurate anyway (a horse is not a chair). you see lots of chairs and pictures of chairs and you form an image in your mind of what a chair is and when you see a thing your brain compares it to other things like it you've seen before, and if it looks like your mental model of a chair, you think, "chair."

(this is in fact how almost all definitions work in practice. even for formal scientific categories for which it seems like a traditional definition might be workable, because our terms are so specific, there are problems and corner-cases. is a HeLa cell a human? it's certainly an autonomous organism. it's certainly descended from the last common ancestor of a chimpanzee and a human being. but it's a single-celled organism that exists only in laboratory cultures, and lacks everything else we expect a human to have.)

so, uh, gender. "gender" is from the latin word "genus" meaning "kind." it is a doublet (that is, shares an etymological origin) with the words "genre" and (more distantly) "kin." obviously, a word's etymology is not its meaning. confusing the two is called the etymological fallacy. but originally when we talked about "gender" we were pretty explicitly talking about categories in general, and i think that's useful to keep in mind. incidentally, "sex" (also from Latin) has a similar etymology--it's related to "section," i.e., the creation of a category by dividing a group. though "sex" acquired something like its current meaning much earlier.

most human cultures group humans into two broad conceptual categories. this is based on a variety of traits, of which physical traits like genitals are seen as frequently foundational. some cultures explicitly create additional ancillary categories, or provide a means to move (often only partially) from one category to another. contemporarily, there has been an effort to distinguish "biological sex" (seen as what chromosomes you have, reflected by what genitals and other physical characteristics you have) from "gender" (seen as a question of social presentation).

i think this is a mistake. you might be able to spot why--biological sex is a conceptual category! most humans are xx or xy, but there is in fact a wide variety of sex-chromosomal arrangements that are possible. xx and xy are only the most common. biology is messy, and it's hard to tell how messy, because we don't routinely karyotype people. the existence of rare-but-noteworthy conditions like complete androgen insensitivity (frequently reuslting in a chromosomal "male" that is "mis"identified as and lives their whole life as a female) highlight that even within the purely biological realm, sex emerges only as two broad clusters, not as two clearly divided bins. moreover, a trans person who has been taking cross-sex hormones for many years is in a sort of willingly-imposed intersex state. so saying a trans woman is a "biological male" or a trans man is a "biological female" (especially if they have had an orchiectomy or hysterectomy and can no longer produce gametes of their respective assigned sex at birth) is sort of funny--we're privileging an (assumed) chromosomal arrangement over the biological facts on the ground. and while DNA does control a lot about how our bodies grow and develop, it can in fact be overridden! otherwise, cosmetic surgery, or hair dye, or LASIK surgery would all be exercises in futility.

"gender" is sometimes also talked about as a set of internal experiences. you "feel like" or "identify as" a particular gender. and while it's certainly plainly true for some people (both cis and trans), it seems not to be true of everybody (cis or trans), and for other people it's hard to say. not everybody has perfect access to their own feelings all the time. people get told they're lying about what they feel when that's socially inconvenient for other people. and internal states are impossible to measure or verify. they're also often pretty hard to put into words, and we mostly can access them only indirectly, by sidling up to them, or by trying to find other people whose experiences/thoughts/feelings seem to resonate with our own.

so i don't have a definition of gender for you, or an etiology, or even a very robust account. sorry! but i also think that anybody trying to tell you they do is operating from an understanding so narrow that they don't even begin to understand its limits.

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toxycodone · 5 days ago

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Having fin in your kinlist is so real tho, I just binged adventure time and through out every fin and Jake clip I was just thinking he’s literally me. (Also low key fern because dude was having a whole identity crisis so like… same)

Anyway enough about character kins do you have any animal kins? When you just look at an animals behavior and go “me too”? Mines a hyena :3 they’re so silly, not really social and laugh when nervous just like me ૮ • ﻌ • ྀིა

(Totally not me wanting to spread my animal hyper fixation… also I’m that one doodle dog anon, I’m glad you liked it :3 the quality totally got ruined tho. I swear it looked less pixal-y when I sent it </3)

RELATABLE….god you get it. I love Finn sooooo much along w fern. They’re literally so….GOOOOOOOOD I LOVE THEMMMM…fern’s monologue too….man. He’s def relatable and soo peak

YOOOOO hyenas are one of my fave animals ever. I love them a lot. Did you know they’re pretty suspicious and neophobic too? I read a report where researchers put meat in a box to see if hyenas would go after it and despite it being very clearly available to them the hyenas more often than not didn’t eat the meat!! They also have specific social cues that make them like…better at solving puzzles together than chimpanzees! There’s a lot of intricacies to spotted hyenas :-0 it’s so awesome I loooove them.

I think if I had to say an animal like me?? I really love dogs. When I see dog core videos I’m like that’s so me….but also I think the behavior of coyotes and African Wild Dogs/Painted Wolves suit me too. They’re mischievous and silly but also more social creatures. :3 I really love the ears on AWDs too.

Some runner ups would be servals and minks, (specifically “domesticated” ones). In my mind I think me being a wild animal living with humans or other domesticated creatures is really spot on personality wise for me. I often feel like I’m the odd one out, annoying w/o trying, and I’m pretty needy attention wise + high maintenance.

#I love your doodle!! Idc if it’s pixely it’s sooo cute #I love animal hyperfixation I will soooo happily chat w u about this #imma call u doodle anon for rn #doodle anon #suck my ask

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informationatlas · 1 year ago

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There is evidence to suggest that chimpanzees, like humans, can experience a phase similar to menopause. Menopause is a biological phenomenon in which females cease to be fertile and undergo hormonal and reproductive changes. In the case of chimpanzees, studies have observed that female chimpanzees also go through a reproductive senescence, a period of time when they cease to reproduce.

Research conducted on wild chimpanzee populations, particularly in East Africa, has shown that female chimpanzees experience a decline in fertility and reproductive success as they age. The age at which chimpanzee females experience reproductive senescence is estimated to be around the mid-30s to early 40s, which is similar to the age range at which human females typically go through menopause.

By the way, the reasons behind reproductive senescence in chimpanzees are not fully understood, but it's believed to be related to physiological changes and possibly ecological factors.

Besides humans and chimpanzees, there are a few other species of animals where females experience menopause or a similar reproductive phenomenon. Here are some examples:

Orcas (Killer Whales): Female killer whales are known to go through menopause. The reasons behind this are not entirely clear, but it is suggested that older females, post-reproductive, play a crucial role in supporting and guiding their offspring and the larger pod, contributing to the survival and reproductive success of their kin.

Short-finned Pilot Whales: Similar to killer whales, short-finned pilot whales also exhibit post-reproductive lifespans, where older females cease reproduction and contribute to the social structure and survival of the group.

Narwhals: Female narwhals have been observed to go through menopause as well. As with other species, post-reproductive females may contribute to the group's overall fitness by assisting with the care of younger members.

Beluga Whales: There is some evidence suggesting that beluga whales also experience a form of menopause. Older females may stop reproducing and play roles in supporting their social groups.

#biology #chimpanzee #menopause #medical science #science #zoology

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sexuslexus · 2 years ago

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Orcas are very affectionate creatures and display the similar personalities and levels of affection as humans or chimpanzees! (This was found through a research published the Journal of Comparative Psychology.) Some speculate the personality traits of playful, stubbornness, sensitivity, and protectiveness may come from the fact that orca pods are very close, and these are needed to form complex social interactions. Orca pods have also been known to cuddle in what is formally known as a cuddle puddle! It is also speculated that orcas can feel complex emotions that isn’t observed in most animals such as grief for their lost ones.

Overall orcas are very sociable affectionate creatures when it comes to their pod. This could be because the pod is their family, as younger orcas stay with their mothers for life even after having children of their own. Even elder female orcas, or grandma orcas, stay with their pod to train and watch over young ones. Orcas are also one of the animals to live decades past menopause, (the other animals being humans and short-finned pilot whales) this is an evolutionary benefit that comes so orcas can make sure their next of kin stay alive and have all the hunting skills they need to keep their own pod alive one day.

Orcas have a sweet and beautiful love for their pod, doing anything and everything to keep them alive! While I don’t usually insert my own opinions I think it’s adorable, and I think we should use the term cuddle puddle more often! :3

#orca #orcas #whales #marine life #ghosteorca facts #sealife #killer whale #I LOVE THE TERM CUDDLE PUDDLE SM

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markhors-menagerie · 2 years ago

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🦍Markhor’s menagerie masterpost🦌

🦧Primates🐒

Primate kin

Colugos. Not quite primates, but I love them anyway.

Basal primates

Basal animals are those which are closer to the base of a particular section of the tree of life. A more traditional word for this concept is primitive. So for example, amphibians are basal land vertebrates. Here I have classified basal primates as any which are not monkeys and/or apes, including Strepsirrhini and Tarsiiformes.

Lemurs

A group of basal primates found exclusively on the island of Madagascar.

New world monkeys

Monkeys which are native to the “new world”, or the Americas. They are the only non-human primates found here. It is thought they arrived to the Americas tens of millions of years ago, when a group of African monkeys were blown out to sea by a storm. They survived the journey across the Atlantic on a natural raft of floating vegetation, and founded a new group of primates: Platyrrhini.

Old world monkeys

These are monkeys native to the “old world”: Africa and Eurasia. Also known as Cercopithecidae.

Apes

A group of large old world monkeys most recognisable by their lack of a tail. More formally known as Hominoidea.

Lesser apes

Consists of all the gibbon species, found in the treetops all across Southeast Asia.

Great apes

Includes orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. All living species of great ape have been documented using tools.

🐫Ungulates🐃

Odd-toed ungulates

Odd-toed ungulates, of course, have an odd number of hooves. They include horses, tapirs, rhinos, and their extinct relatives. They might actually be less closely related to even-toed ungulates than you’d think!

All ungulates from here on out are Even-toed ungulates:

These have an even number of hooves, and include most living hoofed mammals. Whales are technically included in this group, but they’re best left for another time.

Camelidae

Consists of camels, llamas, and their extinct relatives. They are often adapted for harsh climates such as deserts and mountains.

Pigs, hippos, & kin

This isn’t a “real” group, but I’ve put them together to make classifying extinct species simpler. This includes peccaries, pigs, hippos, and a bunch of related extinct animals. Whales are also in here, but again, are best left for another time.

All ungulates from here on out are Ruminants:

Ruminants are a group of even-toed ungulates with a robust digestive system to get as much nutrition as possible out of their food. They will regurgitate their food in order to chew it again, in a process called chewing the cud.

Chevrotains

Also known as mouse deer, these are the smallest of all ungulates.

Protoceratids

A strange group of extinct ungulates, once found in North America.

Giraffes & kin

Pronghorn antelope, okapi, giraffes, and their extinct relatives.

Deer & kin

Mostly deer, but I’ve included musk deer as well for simplicity’s sake. No, musk deer are not deer, apparently.

Bovidae

Bovidae is a group of incredibly diverse ruminants. They’re also quite complicated phylogenetically, including everything from bison and antelope to gazelles and goats.

Bovini

Cattle, bison, buffalo, and some more of their relatives.

Caprinae

A group of mountain-dwelling bovids, including sheep, goats… and markhors!

Antelope

This isn’t a “real” group as much as it is a bunch of bovids that kind of look alike. For simplicity’s sake I’ve included any bovid that isn’t in the two above groups.

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