#living airplane

[cathartes-aura-shitposting]

tiny F-22. what crimes will he commit?

[vees-strangeworld-omniverse]

ARGONUS INFO: the common size classification system (for planes)

(NOTE: description copy-pasted from DA where i normally post my works. any context that is missing here on tumblr can be found on my DA [linked here and on pinned post] )

because one day i decided to make this because worldbuilding. also, kinda wanna have this be a little short.

so, yes, in a world where the main inhabitants come in such a wide array of sizes, there needs to be some kind of system to differences between size classes.

now, contrary to what many would believe (and the discrimination people would pull off), the Common Size Classification system (CSC) is used to give the proper size-appropriate accommodations, such as housing, clothing, food, facilities, etc.. basically making it so that things aren't too small/big to the individuals. 

the elkinets use the same exact measuring systems/units as we do, ie feet/meters. however, they have an extra unit of measurement, known as "hectors" (imperial) and "poles" (Metric). every 10ft is considered a Hector (Hecs), while 4 meters is considered a Pole (Pol). this is something that makes is easier and more convenient to measure an elkinet.

now, when it comes to the size of argonian aircraft, the primary factor is height, however things like length, weight, wingspan and whether the individual is a pygmy/dwarf, are also taken into consideration as well. even though they're listed by letter, they are also commonly listed by color for many of the non-English-speaking countries that don't use the English alphabet.

so, here are all size forms of size classes and some example so the aircraft that fit there. (also take note that this drawing isn't meant to be 100% accurate, this is just to get a general gist of things)

LARGE AIRCRAFT

A-class / red class (Giant) 190ft or more (58m+)     the absolute largest size group. commonly called "giants", not many aircraft exist in this size group, however it is still a considerable large number. the most well-known of giants are the an-225 mriyas, c-5 galaxies, a380 and 747, however other aircraft of similar size are places here as well (h-4 hercules/spruce goose, an-124, stratolaunch, ect).

B-class / orange class (lesser giants) 120-170 ft (37-52m)     just below A-class is B-class, where aircraft are definitely giant, but not quite as big as the former. while larger airlines are the type species for this group (777, a340, dc-10, ect), there are many other aircraft that comfterbly fit here. such aircraft would include many general cargo/transport aircraft (an-22, c-17 globemaster, ect) and some of the largest bomber species (B-52 stratofortress, xb-70 Valkyrie, b-36 peacemaker). 

MEDIUM AIRCRAFT

C-class / yellow class (halfways) 80-110ft (24-34m)     C-class as well as the next one down are considered "Mid-sized" aircraft, with C-class being considered "true middle". again, many aircraft fit into this category, with one of most notable aircraft of C-class are the c-130s. other aircraft, like the 707s, some mid-sized bombers, ect., are included here as well.

D-class / green class (greater commoner) 40-70ft (12-21m)     the lower end of mid-sized aircraft. D-class aircraft contain larger business jets, larger fighter jets, and small bombers, but other aircraft fit here as well. interestingly enough, the U-2 dragonlady, despite having a mass more closer to that of a standard fighter jet, are usually placed on the mid-upper levels of D-class due to their lengthy legs giving them extra height.

SMALL AIRCRAFT

E-class / blue class (commoner) 20-30ft (6-9m)     E-class aircraft are what non-argonian residents call the "Human-sized" of the planet, which checks out considering that the aircraft that are used as a human analog fit directly in this size class; most fighter jets, most small civilian aircraft, ect. 

F-class / purple class (smainxian) 10ft or less (3m / less)     the last and smallest end of the system, f-class citizens contain all of the smallest citizens on argonus. prior to the arrival of humans and other smaller sophonts, only the smainxian aircraft (smallest manned aircraft) and many drone species existed in this category, alongside some outliers as well. however, F-class nowadays is perhaps one of the most diverse size class, if one where to include the many other sophonts that live on modern argonus.

now some extra notes:

-pygmy elkinets are often put in the next lowest size class.

-mix-sizeclass housing (no surprise) does exist for multi-species families/groups/couples. these are just modifies homes, and sometimes kelxverns and other shifters will choose these instead of actual shifter-friendly homes because they're often cheaper to rent/buy.

-while on the topic of shifters, it's a bit of a mess when it comes to exactly what size class they're put in. most of the time they're considered a "multiclass" citizen, which means that all of their different forms/sizes are taken into consideration.

man, i'm smelling the G/t side of me coming out.

[cathartes-aura-shitposting]

this is curse. this is extremely cursed and i'm here for it

TU-144 gf be like lemme droop the snoot into that pussy babe

[baltharino]

Airplane! (1980)

[disgracefulthings]

Shang Qinghua, walking along a street with Shen Yuan: What was that?

Shen Yuan: What was what?

Shang Qinghua: That dude just came up and proposed to you??

Shen Yuan: Oh! That was one of my friends. My friend group has an inside joke where they 'propose' to me, and I reject them. It's actually pretty funny

Shang Qinghua: I don't know bro, he looked pretty sad to me

Shen Yuan: My friends are very talented

Shen Yuan, side-eyeing Shang Qinghua: Well, almost all my friends

Shang Qinghua: WTF bro...

[charlotte-queen-owl]

Me wtih literal eyevags: What if Shang Qinghua had Minecraft Creative Mode as his God powers in SVSSS

[cathartes-aura-shitposting]

blobfish plane lookin

Do you have that animatic you did of someone very solemnly holding a small airplane like the blobfish sculpture set to dramatic music and it cuts to a news broadcast showcasing the plane?

You posted it a long time ago I think on Twitter and I keep thinking about it but haven't been able to find it.

[scumvillainess]

another post of me cooking on twitter (i refuse to call it x)

[sicklyworm]

*Shang Qinghua just trying to pay his rent by making a shitty novel*

Shen yuan for some fucking reason:

[shrimpchipsss]

read Living With a Tiger by x_los !

[cathartes-aura-shitposting]

i fully supports cross-dressing airplanes

I saw a beefy guy on Twitter posing in a red dress and had to draw it with QANTAS

[cathartes-aura-shitposting]

THE ARGONIAN MYTHOS: a basic overview pt 1- in the beginning, the three gods & airplane religions

(NOTE: description copy-pasted from DA where i normally post my works. any context that is missing here on tumblr can be found on my DA [linked here and on pinned post] )

[and an additional note: i'm not a particularly religious person and their may be some bias, so please feel free to scream at me in tags or whatever if i accidentally make a genuinely offensive remark]

So…

Argonus now officially has religion and mythology to it. I mean, I've been worldbuilding on the actual fauna and the elkinets themselves for a while. What better way to expand upon this universe than to give out the mythos they believe and worship? I think it’s time for it. And oh dear lord, it is LOOOOOOONG!!! Why? Because I wanted to get rid of some of the major myths which most mythologies/religions have, plus it’s really fun to worldbuild an entire mythos...

So, without further ado, here’s [PT1] the mythos in its entirety (or at least the somewhat “basics” of it…),

IN THE VERY BEGINNING…

So, like all other mythologies, there’s a story about how the world and universe was created. Our planet argonus is no exception here, having the creation of the planet, sun and moon.

Once up many, many, many eras ago, argonus started off as nothing more than a smooth, round pebble floating in the pitch black void. Then, all of a sudden, the pebble started to form and shape the mountains, valleys and hills, and cracks began to form, releasing out all of the water and lava on that planet. From the cracks, two beings appeared: out of the lava came a bright, blazing crow named duzliv (The sun), and from the waters came a blue, swirling owl named magmor (the moon).

From there, the two birds immediately got to work, dumping some of their feathers onto the planet. The shaft and veins of the feathers became the trees and shrubs, and the fluffy afterfeather became the grass and flowers. It wasn't just feathers that shaped life on the planet, either. On every single feathers were mites, fleas and ticks. Those tiny, insignificant creatures would become all of the fauna of the planet: wolves, deer, birds, fish, and snakes. The mites that came from duzliv became the beings of the day while the ones from magmor became the creatures of the night. The only animals absent where the aeronoids (don't worry, they’re coming soon).

Once argonus had all of the life it needed, magmor and duzliv took a well-deserved break, before figuring out what to do next. Since they had all of these newly-created beings, they needed a way to control them all. Not only that, but they needed a place for the animal’s souls once they died.

It was duzliv who suggested they have children. Magmor, whilst not too keen on creating more life, knew that their children will have their parent’s god-like abilities. So, the owl and the crow had three children, and each of them controlled a specific role: one for the sky and the newly-created afterlife, one for the ground and the life that lived on it, and one for the waterways and the underworld. It would be here that this is where we meet the three major deities….

THE THREE BIG GODS OF ARGONUS

(and their worshipers)

After laying her eggs, all three of them hatch out, and immediately go to work, fulfilling their roles on argonus. The three gods, all of which had the head of a bird that fairly represented them, went along as as followed:

OGRIN:

the first and strongest of the children to hatch. He’s represented as an white airliner with the head of a brown-colored eagle or hawk (commonly the former), and he’s the sort of zeus analog. He not only is in control of the weather, but he’s also in control of “Aethorna”, the heavenly places where all the “good souls” go.

Aethorna is held up by clouds that only the souls of the deceased can see. This afterlife looks similar to the overworld of argonus, except that all plants grow lush green all year around, and the stars are visible regardless of daylight or not. The souls don't just include elkinets, but also all the animals as well.

Ogrin himself is a rather happy, carefree person who absolutely loves to eat, party and drink. However, like all other deities, if he's angry he often creates havoc in the forms of tornados, lightning and floods. He’s also often a total casanova, and like Zeus he goes after various beings to make sweet, sweet love too and have children with. These beings were often either other deities, mythical creatures or even just a regular elkinet. However on rare occasions during thunderstorms ogrin will accidentally (or purposely) strike an animal which will create a monstrous being, either the animal itself turning into one or later giving birth to the beast.

DHETOS:

Dhetos was the second to hatch out of the clutch. Depicted as a green or camo prop aircraft with the head of a chicken, she’s the land goddess that's in control of the overworld as well as the ground and the life that lives there (both of air, land and sea). She lives in a lush land under the mountains (often just called dheto’s land) where you can find any animal living there in peace.

Dhetos is a more stern person that takes her job seriously. She not only is capable of controlling the plants and animals around her, but can also create lifeforms of her own. This not only includes normal animals, but also the beasts and monsters that roam the planet. While she is commonly praised for the upkeep of creating new life, she’s also capable of taking it as well. As such, it’s not uncommon for stories to have the hero call upon her to take care of a dangerous beast the hero themselves are incapable of defeating.

Dhetos, despite being an all-serious person, does have a soft side when it comes to cooking and music. If one can please her with their music or food, then she’ll let them into her home.

XORTAN:

The final child to hatch, Xortan is depicted as a black seaplane with the head of a waterfowl (Most commonly a mallard or some kind of duck), and is the god of all waterways as well as the Underabyss, which is essentially the argonian version of hell or the underworld. This underabyss is located in only the deepest, darkest pits of the ocean, where all of the “bad souls” would go.

[tumblr edit: in much of the mythos, xortan is often depicted as a "regular' aircraft with webbed/lobed feet, though in modern times he'll also be depicted as a true seaplane. regardless, he always has a waterfowl head]

Despite being the ruler of the underworld, xortan himselfs is not a horrible tourture-loving person, or at least in most versions. In his satchel he carries all of the destinies and fates of every soul presently on the planet, which are often in the shape of gemstones or orbs. What he does with the orbs once the soul has died will be the outcome. For example, if he destroys the rob, that soul goes to aethorna. Another outcome for one’s soul is for the orb to be tossed onto land so one can be reborn as an animal (note: not always Xortan’s doing, sometimes it’s Dhetos that’s in control of reincarnation). Reincarnation, in argonus, is often likened to purgatory, except it give the soul another chance to end up in aethorna. However, he can also come up with unique punishments for each and every person that has done things too horribly to be given second chances.

Xortan as a person is somewhere in between that of dhetos and ogrin. He’s not a super carefree person, but not a super serious one at that. If anything, he’s depicted as a rather apathetic but reasonable person.

While all elkinets believe in these three gods and most of the big mythos surrounding them, who they choose to worship can depend. In this case, there are five major “religions” on argonus. Here are these religion, in order by popularity/commonness:

Ogrinism:

one of the most popular of the religions, it has its roots in Ben Ital in eastern eroon, were it spread and became a mainstay in most of eroon, l’russ and the planet’s western/orthidox culture.

considered the christianinty of argonus, ogrinism is the worshiping of ogrin himself, and is very similar to christianity: above-cloud afterlife god good, below-earth underworld god bad. Therefore, you worship Ogrin so you have the chance to go to aethorna and avoid Xortan as much as possible. Dhetos, on the other hand, is more of a neutral character that’s neither 100% good nor 100% bad, but just does what she needs to do. Ogrinism has two major version: Light and Solid.

Light ogrinism:

the most common and widespread version, is the idea the ogrin, whilst a powerful being, is a flawed character. he makes frequent mistakes; sometimes he recognizes it almost immediately, othertimes he only realizes it later either on his own or whenever his sibling point it out. light ogrinist still sees Xortan as an important person when it comes to death and were the souls go. Thus, while nobody likes him, the light ogrinists still respect him for the job he does. in some stories, Xortan has even helped his brother out in fixing the mistakes he has made.

airplanes that are into light ogrinism tend to understand that everyone is flawed, but as long as one is able to fix the mistakes and let ogrin into their lives, they'll let said flaws and mistakes go by. they give some care to the animals, as they know that they could be the souls of the ones who messed up and must retry life. They believe that the most common animals are often wild animals like deer and bears, as well as common pets like stunnits, dogs and cats. They believe that most major crimes like murder, arson and buglury are sins. However, like mentioned, you can still end up in aethorna if you change your ways and let ogrin in your life. Even if he doesn't let you in, he’ll still have his brother reincarnate you to give you a second chance.

Solid ogrinism:

on the other hand, solid ogrinism is the older, more extremist version of ogrinism. here, ogrin is viewed as "flawless, perfect and all-knowing". instead of being viewed as being no better than a mortal, he is instead viewed as the idealistic being to look up to. And of course, because of this, anyone who DOESN'T follow that path is considered "unholy" and "a heathen". not surprisingly, in solid ogrinism Xortan is 100% bad guy, and all who ends up in the underabyss are all sinners that 100% deserved it.

What is considered a sin varies depending on the era and who you ask. A common joke/theme [in modern times] is “anything can be a sin if you try hard enough”, which can range from something major to something so small and trivial. The more common sins are some of the same as what we would expect from our world’s conservitive extremists: abortion, premarital sex, anything NOT heterosexual (gay marrage and such), and basically all other religion that aint ogrinism. Many have even claimed that things like veganism and animal right/welfare are against the religion because, of course, even just being reincarnated as an animal means you sinned, and therefore animal right/veganism is just giving sinners what they want. Solid ogrinist also believe that all sinner that get reincarnated turn into livestock and any other animals that are killed for their body parts. Solid ogrinism is often what gives the entire religion as a whole a bad reputation, which may also be the reason why few elkinets are solid ogrinist in modern times.

Omnyism:

while ogrinism is often touted as the most popular, omnism comes very close second, having almost the same amount of people if not possibly more due to how widespread it is. It is primarily practiced in most of northest amerigia, nylus and sonias (excluding l’russ). It’s believed to be the first religion, as it encopasess all three aspects of the argonian afterlife, that is aethorna, reincarnation and the underabyss.

Omnyist worship all three of the gods, because to them they are all important and vital to their ways of life. All three of them not only give you land, food, water and all other natural resources, but they also tend to choose how you spend your afterlife depending on what you did wrong in your living years. Examples for each god include the following:

-Dhetos: the goddess dhetos was in charge of reincarnation in this religion, and people were reborn into animals that she saw fit for what they did in life. People would often be reincarnated because they committed a crime against the natural world. Examples of said crimes include things like wasting resources (commonly food), bringing unnecessary harm to animals, destroying land for pure greed, ect. However, not all the time was a complete punishment; sometimes she’d take pity on certain individuals and reincarnate them into animals close to home like pets. In many of these stories, these people were often forced to do the crimes and in reality were actually good people.

-Ogrin: not surprisingly, if you were a very good person, it was ogrin who’d take your soul in. This is most commonly relegated to people who proved themselves to be worthy of a good ending. The gods can tell whether you’re genuine or just acting good, so simply just doing good things isn't enough. You need to show kindness, great leadership, compassion, empathy, and basically show that you are a good plane all around. If you succeed, ogrin will let you in into aethorna.

-xortan: if you ended up on xortan’s doorstep, you’ve obviously messed up in life. And by mess up, you REALLY did. Elkinets who ended up in the underabyss have done nothing but the most horrible of things, like murder, warcrimes, genocide, ect. However, people who weren't good nor bad also would go to the underabyss, and they can appease him by singing a song, giving him food/goods, or just making him a little happy. However, often this is just to make sure he’ll send you to aethorna, as xortan already knows you’re not guilty of anything and he just wants you to humor him.

When it comes to the hatred of non-ogrinistic religions, solid ogrinist sometimes consider omnyism the one true exceptions to this rule, since omyist do technically still worship ogrin and therefore are at least “on the right track”.

Dhetosism:

Dhetosism is the third most common religion on argonus. It is commonly worshiped throughout southest amerigia, astra and the amerigia-navaloon gulf.

Dhetosism, as the name would suggest, is the worship of the land goddess Dhetos. It is often confused for omnyism, mainly because of the similar beliefs for one’s outcome in the afterlife. Here, the goodest of elkinets go to aethorna and the worst of elkinets go to the underabyss. However, only the worst and best of people go to their respective places. The people who weren't those two extremes? Well, they’re in Dhetos’s hands [paws] now.

Like omyism, dhetos is the one in control of reincarnations, and not just that but is their ruler once reincarnated. Here, dhetosist believe that one starts their life as an elkinet, but when they pass on they begin the process of reincarnation after reincarnation. They go through several cycles of rebirth until eventually they become that very best/worst being and end up in aethorna or the underabyss. Every time they die and have to be reborn, they end up in Dheto’s land for a bit, often no more than a day.

Sometimes the souls get to choose what animal they get reborn as, others believe it’s up to Dhetos and her helpers to choose what animal one becomes. In either case, all animals are under the ruling wings of the bird-headed goddess, and must worship and respect her. Dhetotists believe that worshiping her while one’s still an elkinet gives them a headstart in the reincarnation process by being on her good side, and thus possibly being allowed to choose what animal they become. It’s often cited that, whether by your choice or Dhetos’s, the good (but not best) planes get to become wild birds so they still fly like they could when they were elkinets. Meanwhile the bad (but not worst) will get reincarnated into aquatic animals like fish and leeches.

It’s a common misconception that all dhetotists are vegetarian or vegan since to them, most if not all animals are the souls of elkinets. While true to some extent, whether dhetosist eat meat or not depends on the ability to obtain more plants than animals for food (aka where they’re living).

In places that make it difficult or impossible to grow or obtain sufficient amounts of plants, for example, dhetotists will still eat animals for food with the exception of birds. However, if they DO live in areas where they can gather/grow enough plants to sustain themselves, then they will avoid meat with the exception of certain holidays as well as scenarios where it’s unavoidable. In any case, all dhetotist will refuse to kill and eat any wild birds since those are the souls of good people on the path to reaching aethorna. They are, however, allowed to use poultry birds for their eggs since it’s a common belief throughout the argonian mythos that a life doesn't start until the egg hatches (though nowadays some dhetotist will also refuse to consume eggs or milk if they can).

A key thing people forget, particularly some of the more troublesome humans, is that simply going vegan isn't gonna appease dhetos (because like said, dhetotist do eat meat a whole lot). It is, instead, just simple common courtesy towards the reincarnated souls to abstain from meat whenever possible, allowing the soul a chance of dying from more natural causes. As a matter of fact, it’s considered an even worse crime against dhetos to go vegan for nothing more than personal gain and superiority (I can name a few of them on twitter and a certain former tiktok user). Dhetotist believe that if you’re horrible towards your own kind, you’re most likely horrible towards the animals you’re so called “protecting”.

Xortanism:

A much smaller religion, xortanism’s origins come from the islands of the indus island ocean, including the indus islands themselves.

Given that the underabyss is set in the deepest of oceans, it would make sense that in islands surrounded by water they’d worship the underabyss god himself. More accurately, though, xortanist believe that everybody is pre-destined to end up in the underabyss, as very few can really get up to aethornia. That is, unless you’re an animal, in which case ogrin will more than likely accept you in. Thus, instead of appeasing ogrin, they instead focus on xortan and making sure that he instead, give them that second chance in the form of rebirth so that they have a higher chance of going to aethorna when they die again.

It’s not just any animal that the elkinets get reincarnated as, though. Specifically, it’s the waterfowl or galliformes that xortanist believe to be the souls of the reincarnated. A Lot of people think that xortanist sacrifice these birds species just to get them to aethornia quicker, however that isn't true. Instead, the elkinets have a specific bird called the “rebirther”, as well as a male to make sure. They believe that, If a member of the village dies, the first chick to hatch from the rebirther is the soul of the deceased. Once the chick grows up, they get sent to the families of the deceased, where they are treated just like family, and are kept from being killed for food.

[tumblr edit: this act of avian rebirth is commonly done by the native villages of the indus islands. with xortanist outside of the indus island (and especially in first-world countries) it is not unheard of for the disease's family to be given a waterfowl-shaped object, such as a plushie, statue or figurine.]

This is also the only version where xortan doesn't have the head of a duck, but rather it's that of the xortan goose (aka xortan swan), a species of swan native to guinea centura.

Nullinism:

nullinism is a rather new kind of religion that’s particularly become evident in groups affected by religious extremism. It’s kinda unclear where or when it originates, but some suggest it comes from south n’gola from elkinet that have become exiled from their villages.

Nullinism can often be likened to agnosticism or sometimes atheisms, in that no one god is truly responsible for your outcome after death, and you're in control of your own destiny. It’s the opposite of omnyism, and that you don't worship any god, rather you go about life the best way possible and see what happens afterwards. After all, you don't know what happens until you’re dead. Most often, nullinist believe that life is nothing but a constant cycle of death and rebirth, until you eventually end up on either Ogrin’s or Xortan's doorstep. All that the gods do is make sure the planet is functioning so life can continue.

Although humans tend to call it the argonian version of atheism, it’s not actually that since, unlike atheism, they still do believe in the afterlife, just not in the ways others see it.

join me on pt2, were we discuss other facets of the argonian mythos..

[vees-strangeworld-omniverse]

ARGONUS INFO: the other aeronoids

(NOTE: description copy-pasted from DA where i normally post my works. any context that is missing here on tumblr can be found on my DA [linked here and on pinned post] )

[this image is best viewed when opened in a new tab.]

[re-upload due to original being re-blog from main]

edit 11/21/23: i changed the native range of most avibells; instead of originating in nylus/sonias, most avibels will come form the eastern hemisphere with some species in the western hemisphere. i figured it'd make a bit more sense given how diverse gliders actually are.

AAAAAND like with the elkinets, i go more into detail about the other members of the order aeronoida.

the aeronoids are the other species of "living aircraft" on argonus. alot about their biology is similar, if not the same as the elkinet. if you want more details on that (and the elkinets themselves), look at this post here [tumblr edit: this leads to the DA post, not the tumblr one which you should be able to find via the search bar]. but, i'll go over the basics:

1-they're entirely biological, with the exception of their semi-mechanical engines.

2-sometimes there exist pygmy versions of them, usually due to lack of resources. a-however, pygmies tend to be more common due to purposely breeding them.

3-colorations is usually based of respective aircraft's, though can be almost anything. a-and like with the elkinets, there's only colors, patterns and markings.

4-hybrids can exist, and have similar statistics of getting a hybrid as the elkinets (primarily with size differences between the parents) a-however naturally speaking, it only exist within two parents of the same genus. b-there tends to be a higher chance for a hybrid for the other aeronoid species, regardless of the size difference.

[tumblr edit: most aeronoid groups are monotypic, consisting of a single genus, if not a super genus at the largest]

5-their engines are more resilient than a normal, non-living aircraft. they don't fly faster than 210mph. a-while on the topic of flight, aeronoids aren't always flying as their top speed. they only have their engines at full power for long enough to get sufficient air. after that, they lower the speed so that it's just enough to keep them in the air. b-however, there are two main groups that don't have engines, later on those.

6-they have a similar lifecycle to each other, though with varying degrees of each stages length. a-these lengths obviously vary depending on lifespan. 7- there are some foot variations with the other aeronoids, like their is with the elkinets a-however, these variations are usually either your standard anisodactyl feed or webbed feet. this is dependent more on the environment they've adapted for than it is the aircraft type.

8-they're around the same length as their real-life aircraft counterpart a-exact sizes vary between individuals and species b-some aeronoids, however, are smaller than their real-world counterparts now, before we can truly get into the four main groups of non-elkinets, we first have to go through the evolutionary tree first, so you get a good idea on who's related to who.

EVOLUTION AND BASIC TAXONOMY          it all starts with the bird ancestor, a sort of stem-parrot, which may have looked similar to your average passerine, or maybe a bit like a mimicoot minus the crest and pseudoteeth. after all, on my post about the mimicoots [tumblr edit: also a link to a DA post], the tomium is purely convergent to the aeronoids. the superorder would then split into two groups: the mimicoot and the aeronoids.

 there haven't been any clear fossils of an intermediate aeronoid (at least at time of posting, maybe i'll make one later), thought most people agree it may have looked like a weird theropect-bird hybrid. between the bird ancestor, the intermediate form and the basal aeronoid, a couple major things have happened:     1-the loss of feather covering the body     2-wings becoming more thicker and longer in the absence of flight feathers     3-the loss of the secondary eyes (the smaller bottom eyes that most vertebrates have)     4-the appearances of prop engines both on the back and on the wingtips.

    after the intermediate form came the basal aeronoid, which looked like a theropect with an engine on it's back. it's guessed that this basal aeronoid uses all three engines to fly, though speculatively rather poorly. that didn't matter, though, since most aeronoids later down the line would develop better flight in there own unique ways.

    the earliest group to branch off from the rest were a group that started using less of the engines in more favor of flapping their first forelimbs. these intermediate gliders would become the avibels, the aeronoids that returned to their flapping winged ways of their ancestor, minus feathers.

    the next branch would lead to the theropects, which further developed their wing engines as their primary scource of flight, as well as re-evolving them as another set of "arms". however, before true theropects came along, another group close to them would split off and start using those arms more often than their original first forelimbs, causing those forelimbs to reduce in size. these aernoids would be the elkinet ancestor, as as they further developed their wings, not only did those vestigial arms completely disappear, but also the prop blades since they started using the actual wing itself to grab and manipulate object. this would eventually lead to the elkinet we all know and recognize.     despite the multiple arms of multiplanes (biplanes, triplanes, ect), they're not a separate group as the elkinets. the multiple wings are more of a mutation that stuck around than something that was ancestral.

    the final branchoff would lead to a quadrupedal aeronoid that had lost the prop engines on the wingtips in favor of the one on the back. one group would ditch the wings entirely and become the carnivoran-like stunits. the other, however, not only lost wings but also the engines entirely. what the intermediate "flightless" form looked like is also under debate, though it may have had small, vestigial wings and a heavily reduced engines. in any case, the aeronoid would instead opt for completely gliding and loosing powered flight, leading to them becoming the rodads.

alright, natural history lesson over, time to continue on.

    most aeronoid species are relatively smart, and have been kept in captivity by both elkinets and later down the line humans. while most of them are really tame, some species have been fully domesticated. their reasoning for being kept by elkinet usually is companionship, though some secondary usages like hunting, transportation, eggs and meat are also common. in addition, their pygmy variation are also common due to intentional breeding.     aeronoids tend to fill in similar niches to other existing animals. despite this, they rarely do ever go into direct competition with other animals of the same niche, probably due to argonus's size which allow the aeronoids to take over a niche of their own in certain areas.

  ok, ok, NOW we can get into each individual (extant) groups of aeronoids.   

THE STUNNITS (helicopters)

wild ranges:     the stunits are found almost worldwide, but are most common in the temperate and lush habitats. they can also be found in civilizations as strays/ferals. general diet:     most stunnits are generalist omnivores, but there are some variations to exactly what they eat. some of the smaller helicopters have a more carnivorous diet, as they'll hunt smaller animals and eat carrion as part of their diet. on the otherhand, some of the largest helicopter species are near-entirely herbivores, having plants as a main staple of their diet.     captive stunits are usually fed their own diet-specific kibble, though with the more omnivorous / carnivores species some good grain-free dogfood have been used as a cheaper alternative. behavoir:     most stunnits are social to some extent, at the very least they'll tolerate each other if food and water is plentiful. armed and attack helicopters have a more vulpine-like role, being carnivorous loners that only really get together to mate and raise young. larger helicopters have a more canid-like behavior. much like other aernoids, the stunnit's tail and prop blades can be an indicator of emotions. for example, their tails wag when happy or exited, or their props could twitch around to show frustration or annoyance.     stunnits raise their young in the late spring. they'll create a shallow "nest" that's either loosely made of nesting materials or no nesting materials at all. the mother will lay about 3-5 eggs, and then both parents will protect the eggs until they hatch. the babies are precocial, meaning they're born in an advanced state to where they're able to walk, run and to some extent drink/eat on their own. the parents still have to protect them and feed them until they're truly ready to be on their own.     stunnits, both in the wild and with feral colonies, have a set territory that that chase intruders off of. these fights rarely end in severe injuries/death. feral colonies tend to be less territorial. stunnits communicate with growls, howls and "groarks" (barking, but with a slight growling/roaring tone to it; best example i can give is the mane wolf's roar-barks).

additional stuff:   the stunnits get the title of "man's best friend" of argonus, and it's no secret why. they're the aircraft analog to carnivorans, more specifically bears, canines and felines. most species have been kept in captivity and used for a variety of tasks, such as transportations, guarding, herding, hunting, pest control, ect.     they have an actual full body. helicopters with a lattice tail (Like the bell 47 tail here) have an actual full tail, and like the cockpit/canopy the lattice rods are just extra ornaments. even with the skycrane, they're a more fuller body.     just like their real-world counterparts, they're incredible fliers that can hover in places, as well as dive and make hairpin turns. when they fight in the air, most of it is just them chasing eachother around, maybe even pushing eachother a few time before one of them leaves. these fights usually dont last too and and almost always ends with both parties leaving with little to no injuries.     most species of stunnits (excluding the mostly-herbivorous ones) have a serrated beak, which is good for cutting into their food whether that's be the flesh of an animals or the flesh of a watermelon.

THE AVIBELS (sailplanes and gliders)

wild ranges:    most species originally were found throughout the eastern hemispheres, with some species being native to the western hemisphere. however, thanks to the elkinets they can be found anywhere where there's civilization..

general diet:     while the avibel are considered generalist omnivores, they're more in line with being an opportunistic carnivores and have at least 50% of their diet consist of meat. most of the meat they eat are usually animals smaller than them, with their favorites being rodents, lizards, frogs and fish. the plants they eats, on the otherhand, are often fruits, grains and seeds of various plants. they've also been known to have an incredibly strong sweet-tooth from time to time, having been known to raid maple buckets and beehives for the sweet, sugary treat insides. this sweet tooth is most common in the spring.     avibels that are kept in captivity are typically content with eating a high-quality dogfood since most contain all the essential nutrients to keep the gliders happy. however, there do exist more specialized feed for avibels, especially for ones who want them to start producing more eggs. this feed usually contains a mixture of insects, dried meat, dried fruit and grains.

behavoir:     the avibels are best described as being "bootleg crows". they have the intelligence just slightly under that of actual crows and ravens, able to learn and adapt to various environments. the avibels are very social animals and are commonly seen in small groups of 3-7 (Though larger groups do occur). they're monogamous and mate for life; if one partner dies, the other will become depressed and will refuse to mate with any other glider for a while (sometimes never). avibel are expert hunters, and can be seen actively hunting small animals and insects.     these aeronoids have a decent vocal range. they made a wide variety of sound, usually consisting of hisses, screeches and "chirps", all reminiscent of various bird-of-prey. they'll also slam their tails on the ground to show anger and frustration (this is especially true to broody hens).     when raising young, the two parents will create a nest usually under a tree or any other covered places. unlike alot of other aeronoids, baby avibel chicks (which they have 1-2 of) are born both blind and deaf for the first week or two, much like some bird species. the parents swap places and take turns caring for the babies until after two months when they're ready to be on their own. sometimes the offspring will stay with the parents to help care for the next generation.

additional stuff:     unlike most other aeronoid species, the avibels typically don't have any form on engines whatsoever. instead, the go the old-fashion route and fly by flapping their wings to take off. once in the air, they'll uses a mixture of powered flight and rising thermals to stay in the air. despite their appearances as a more bird-like elkinets, they're only distantly related to them like we are to baboons.     also unlike alot of aeronoids, their beaks have sorta re-evolved into...beaks. more specifically, their beaks are curved and sharp, with the top one having a point not unlike an eagle's. the beak is much like a multitool, being able to tear, shred and cut not just their food but also really anything.     elkients have raised avibels for centuries as a source of eggs, meat and companionship, and the gliders often double as a form of pest control too. humans also took a liking to them, as their intelligence and easy tamability made them great mounts as well. however, avibels have been known to act aggressive towards humans and anyone who disturbs their nest while they're raising chicks.

THE RODADS (lifting bodies) wild ranges:     rodads originate from the woodlands and mountains of sonias. just like with the two other aeronoids here, the elkinets and their civilizations have made them a world-wide city animal.

general diet:     the rodads are generalist herbivores, generally speaking. the specifics of what plants they eat can vary by the region. naturally speaking, they eat leaves, flowers, fruit, nuts and seeds, but they'll also take grass, twigs and really any plants they can get their forepaws and mouths on. they'll also take on insects and small animals occasionally. during it's waking hours, a rodad will spend at least 70% of it's time foraging for food. behavoir:     rodad's aren't the most smartest animals out there. rodads are also not very social animals, and at most in the wild they'll tolerate each other if they're enough food and water around. however, in captivity they're alot more easier to get along with each other. wild rodads are territorial, and they can be seen fighting for the best food and mating rights.      when not eating or fighting, rodads are rather slow and chill animals, and can be see climbing and/or sleeping in trees (or any other high, enclosed place), or wonder around to make sure no rival steps foot into their territory. if disturbed, they'll either run or (if in a high place) jump off and glide to safety. and if they're really cornered, they'll try and bite/scratch the threat.     they're rather tolerable around other smaller animals that don't pose much threat to them. rodads are also surprisingly good swimmers, and many species have at least some semi-aquatic lifestyles. with their combined behavior and occasional affinity for the water, some humans called they "citybaras", seeing them as the capybaras of the city.     the aircraft are ok parents. males usually make a small cavity in the ground, just big enough for a female and her clutch pf 4-5, and he'll mate with first female that comes in. after that, he'll make sure no other guys take his girl while she lays her eggs and protect them. once the eggs hatch, he leaves her to do the rest of the work. thankfully, the babies are born precocial, so there's not much to be done other than making sure they learn how to eat and drink on their own.     rodads don't make much noise. at most they've been known to hiss and softly squeak. however, during fights they'll scream and squeal not unlike that of koalas.

additional info     the rodads are the only aeronoid, both presently and within fossil records, to ditch true flight entirely. instead they use their weird body shape to glide from one place to another. they can actually glide long distances, and in addition are surprisingly good jumpers and climbers. unfortunately, they often fall prey to many predator, stunnits and avibels being a common foe.      although they have no wings, rodads still have a small, thin tail. rodads also have evolved whiskers, which they uses to sense their surroundings since their vision isn't the best. 

THE THEROPECTS (tiltrotors)

wild ranges:     theropects are strictly restrained to the jungles and rainforest of sonias. unlike most others here, feral population are actually rare and only confined to equally warm habitats. all other theropects outside of sonias are usually part of zoos and sanctuaries, sometimes as exotic pets, too.

general diet:     theropects are all around generalist omnivores. they eat anything that's edible to them, but fruits and leaves make up 60% of their diet. sometimes they'll pick up some invertebrates, small animals, and eggs to round out their diet. they're rather infamous for raiding fruit farmers and stealing the food they grow, especially during peak ripe season.

behavoir:     one of the most intelligent species of animal on argonus, the theropects are only second to their civilized relatives, the elkinets. as a matter of fact, they're the closest thing argonus gets to chimps and gibbons, since when it comes to primates no hominoids themselves haven evolved on argonus (Only lemur, new world and old world monkeys). despite the likening to chimpanzees, they're more like gorillas, being plant-eating pacifists that rather would scare it's enemies than to actually attack.     theropects are not only bipedal like their relatives, but are also very good a manipulating objects. they use both their forelimbs and their wings (or more accurately their prop blades) to grab, hold and move things. their prop blades are especially good at this, since they move very much like the elkinet's wings. they even have a bit of gecko-padding to further hold things.     the tiltrotors are very social and very good parents. they make a very simple nest to lay their eggs in. the mother usually only has one baby, rarely ever two. while the babies are born with their eyes open, they still cling onto mom (or any other females' if she's not round) for at least two years. during that time both mother, father and other members of the group will help take care of them and the mother, and later down the line teach the offspring how to survive.     theropects make a wide array of barks, screeches, whistles, coos and hisses to communicate with each other. 

additional stuff:     since argonus lacks any apes, this is the closest they got to gibbon, gorillas and chimpanzees. in captivity, they're about as pleasant to own as a cockatoo or macaw (aka don't get one unless you're very experienced). they've been used in laboratories and scientific studies, and are common info the film industry as animal actors. however, they're not all sunshine and rainbows, as they're very noisy, nippy and often can be seen stealing things from their owners. however, with enough proper love, care, toys and attention, those issues are brought down to a minimum. still, there is alot of legality issues when it comes to owning theropects as pets, so usually it's better off to leave it to zoos and sanctuaries to take care of them.

aaaaand that's it for the aeronoids! any other information regarding them will probably be in other post.

[fireflysugarpie]

cumplane meet cute where they're taken to the same hospital after their near death experiences and have to share the same room ♡♡♡

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the only Fat Albert that'll every exist in my mind

Inktober 6 a hugeman

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Lazy and Roui are two music nerds who love talking about their favorite genres and arguing about music history.

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