#prehistory kin

[starscatteredsky]

Hey, i hope this isnt anything out of your range, but I am an alterhuman. Specifically, i am homo neanderthalensis — aka a neanderthal. I identify as an archaeosapien, a term coined by user draconifiedzonai on tumblr. Do you think you could help me out with any tips/gear ideas/anything else to make me feel more connected to my kin type?

tips for a neanderthal!

pt: tips for a neanderthal! end pt

get some candles or other safe flames in your living space!

learn how to hand sew, or other DIY projects to make your own clothes or jewellery! (this can count as gear!!)

go to a museum!

get outdoors! go camping, fishing, foraging, hunting, shelter building, or any other survival based or "primal" activities you connect to!

try cooking or preparing meals that use a lot of local or natural ingredients, or do things like cooking over a campfire!

style your hair wild and messy!

use things like eyeshadow and eyeliner to do messy and smudgy looks on your face! (this can count as gear!!)

learn important things to survival! things like basic first aid, what plants are safe in your region, how to use a compass or read a map, etc

spend time connecting to your local flora and fauna!

try some hobbies like rockcliming!

i hope these help you! i hadnt heard of this term and i enjoyed learning about it! - mono

[ID in alt!]

[ohthehypocrisy]

The Problem with Paradox Pokemon: A Primer (And other Probable Interpretations)

It's been a while since the story of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet had ended, and while we now know what was the hidden treasure of Area Zero, the Paradox Pokemon are still a big mystery. Like, are they really the forms of pokemon from an era beyond time? Or are they just the wild dreams born of a careless professor's obsession?

We'll most likely never know the real answer, so the best we can do is to put together all the information available to us and form a hypothesis. There are other theories abound about the true nature of Paradox Pokemon, but I won't be referring to them here, to keep my own tangent clean and distilled. You are welcome to seek them out if you disagree with my thesis, but I think one must consider all opinions first. Basically, you can believe what you want, but at the very least hear me out first.

Let's begin by debunking a common misconception about the Past Paradox Pokemon. These are the PokeDex entries for Scream Tail;

There are two key points to take away from these entries. The first is that nearly all the information regarding Paradox Pokemon is sourced from a paranormal magazine, the Occulture series to be specific. Now, the PokeDex itself is already a dubious source of information given how nonsensical it can be, but then you've got official entries sourced from a fanatical magazine that's been described as 'disingenuous' in-universe. The fact that players took the information at face value caused great misconceptions about Paradox Pokemon as a whole, such as the placement in prehistory of the ancient forms.

Yeah, a Jigglypuff from one billion years ago is one of the most dubious claims about Paradox Pokemon as a whole. Why? Because multicellular life didn't start forming on Earth at that time. Yes, the Jigglypuff species had to have come from somewhere, but certainly not 1 billion years ago. Given how close the similarities are to Jigglypuff, Scream Tail may have been around closer to several hundred million years ago, not a billion. I mean, it's evolution, in the literal sense, so of course most pokemon will have an identifiable ancestor in the past.

Speaking of which, since the Paradox Pokemon of the past come from a time where everything was still evolving, does that make the fossil pokemon paradoxes as well? Well, the short answer is yes, and no.

Yes, they are paradox pokemon in the sense that they've been brought to our time through scientific means, but the logistics make all the difference. For one, these fossil pokemon are species that have gone extinct, which is the key word here. They have contemporary families in the present day, like Aerodactyl and its fellow dragon kin, but there is no true Pterosaur in the modern age, so these fossil pokemon aren't true paradoxes for that reason. The other reason being that the method of retrieval is different, as fossil resurrection is not the same as being caught and taken through a time machine. There's a very important distinction between making a modern miracle out of a jurassic farce, and what was essentially casting a fishing line through a time portal.

Scream Tail, Flutter Mane, Sandy Shocks, they can all be considered fossil pokemon in a sense, but they definitely did not go extinct over time, for obvious reasons. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed how it is that a paradox version of Misdreavus exists but not that of Mismagius? Same goes for Wigglytuff as well, where's Screech Tail or whatever?

Well, I bring up these three because the evolutionary contemporaries in Wigglytuff, Mismagius, and Magnezone are only a recent development in the power dynamic of these pokemon. What do I mean? I mean to say that the reason why we have paradox forms of Jigglypuff, Misdreavus, and Magneton is because evolution stones didn't exist back then. They were still hiding within the earth, buried deep within the mountains, out of reach of these pokemon until humans came around and decided to dig stuff up. And whaddya know, some of those cool rocks do cool things to some pokemon when they're used together, isn't that neat?

This also means that Past Paradox forms of pokemon like Nosepass, Murkrow, or even Eevee definitely exist, which is fun to think about.

One last thing to mention about Paradox Pokemon. Everyone seems to think that all of these ancient forms all come from the same time period, and that's not necessarily the truth. In real paleontology, organisms took over the world as multicellular beings starting in the Cambrian era. This period began at around 550 Million Years Ago (I told you the dex entry for Scream Tail was incredibly uncredible) and it was when life was still figuring things out. Then you've got the evolution of plants, fish, crabs, mollusks, before eventually they started coming out of the water and got the whole ball rolling. The era of the dinosaurs started 252 Million Years Ago in the Mesozoic Era, which is where some of the fossil pokemon hail from. The Ice Age, where elephants and rhinos were all covered in hair, started around 2 Million Years Ago and is called the Pleistocene.

I'm not a scientist, but I just wanted to put it into perspective how life has persisted on this planet in different forms for years on end, and that no two eras are alike, even the ones close to each other. It's ignorant to assume the Paradox Pokemon of the Past, or the Future I suppose, all came from a single period of time, but there isn't any reason to assume otherwise. Maybe that's the Paradox, that these creatures come from an ambiguous past or future, but there's no way to know for sure. I know for a fact that these ancient creatures didn't come from 1 billion years ago, as the Occulture magazine boldly claims.

For now, we have to assume that the Paradox Pokemon all come from the same walks of life in the past, as well as the future, if only for the fact that they all share identical abilities in Protosynthesis and Quark Drive. The Pokemon TCG seems to enjoy these shots of all the Paradox Pokemon coming together. And to be honest, I love it as well. There's no reason for these pictures to go as hard as they do.

(Tumblr won't let me post a higher quality version of these images here, so go to the Paradox Pokemon page on Bulbapedia if you want to use these as a banner or something.)

Now let's move on to the future Paradox Pokemon and clear up some more misconceptions about them. In nature and in machinery, every design decision is deliberate. But what happens when both come together and forge the future of the ecosystem? What crazy contraptions will be born of the manipulation of genes and behavior?

There are two takes to consider when it comes to predicting the future. The first being that nothing is set in stone, anything can happen, and the infinite possibilities of the future means that anything and everything can and will happen, given enough time, of course.

The second take is that the future is ours to decide, which is also true. What we do today is the foundation of tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, ad nauseum until our natural lives come to an end. Of course, some things will continue to influence history long after we perish, like the accomplishments of those that came before us, such as the discovery of fire or agriculture.

I say all of this to give some credence to the Occulture magazine, despite how ridiculous it may be. Like, the idea that Iron Hands is an athlete revived through cybernetics, or that Iron Jugulis was born of a Hydreigon and a robot's love. I do not believe that any of these wild claims are legitimate in any way, but the nature of the future suggests that these are all possible, given enough time.

But to claim the Occulture magazine's content as proof is folly, since there is no way to prove any of it is real. And then you have the theory that Iron Bundle is actually a robot from the ancient past, which discredits the entire thing completely, since it and the other future Paradox Pokemon were all brought to the current timeline from a single possible future. Again, I also have no proof of that, but the fact that all future Paradox Pokemon share the same ability leads me to believe that they all come from a specific point in time in the future, one that can be predicted based on context clues.

Looking at these creatures, it's clear they were all 'designed' by a single person or entity, perhaps a company. They all share the same LED eye panels, coded lighting, and a chrome colored shiny alternate appearance. That leads me to propose the theory that the Paradox Pokemon of the future are man made creatures built in service of humanity and to restore life on earth, in an auxiliary form.

I already went on about how the future cannot be predicted, but developments in human technology do paint a clear picture for us. For one, space travel is a given, since the pokemon world can easily send a child into space to combat an alien asteroid.

Also time travel is a thing? I'm not talking about the machine in Area Zero, I mean the Link Cable system in Gen 2 where players can send pokemon back and forth to Gen 1, but the story canon takes place a few years later, so it's called time travel instead of straight up trading. Weird how we forget about this stuff...

I'm digressing. My point is, technology in the Pokemon World is far more advanced than our own. That is evident enough through the sheer existence of PokeBalls, the thing we use to catch and train Pokemon. It's not a matter of if but when humans in that world will reach an advanced enough state that they can actually make cybernetic pokemon like the Future Paradox forms.

The first step in technological mastery would usually be space travel, but cybernetic augmentation is sometimes a close second. Science fiction typically depicts an advanced neural network as a necessity to interface with the world wide web as it appears in the far-flung future. We know the pokemon are all cyberized, but would the people of the future become cybernetic as well? Anything goes when it comes to the future, but this advanced evolution of humans would probably be called Iron Hominid or something to that effect.

It wouldn't be without cause. Something would have to have happened that necessitated evolving into a cybernetic form necessary for survival. Perhaps a premature extinction event took place, taking on the form of a virulent disease, requiring iron bodies in order to preserve life on earth. Maybe an alien invasion dwindled the numbers of all life on earth, requiring a manual reboot of the ecosystem, so to speak, so humanity took to reinventing pokemon to fill the ecological niche opened up by the great war.

However it happened, all the iron pokemon we know about were built to replace what was lost. To that end, it can be assumed that, in the distant future of Iron Hominid, the future Paradox Pokemon we see in game are all extinct pokemon brought back to life through iron bodies, in the same way fossil pokemon are restored in the modern era. I mean, why not, right? They would have preserved the bones and data of all pokemon discovered, so they would be revived through cybernetic means in order to restore the ecosystem of the planet.

But these are humans we are talking about. It can never be just about doing the right thing. Most likely, the iron pokemon restored would be revived to work in service to humans, since life on earth is delicate enough to justify controlled groups of 'wild' iron pokemon. I'm sure there are truly free grottos of nature somewhere on the planet in the future, but we also have to assume the Iron Hominids have also mastered space flight, which means plenty of planets open for terraforming, so helpful pokemon born into servitude will most likely outnumber the population of 'unmodified' pokemon.

With that in mind, we can extrapolate a clear 'purpose' each of the future paradox pokemon were designed with. Iron Treads, the big wheel elephant, is most likely used for terraforming lands and plains. One Iron Treads by itself may not be able to do a whole lot, but if you needed a big plot of land tilled and ready for farming, you can't go wrong with a mini fleet of Iron Treads chewing up the ground for you.

Iron Bundle has the ability to pull together water from the atmosphere, and then serve it chilled with its built in cooling systems. It's also one of the more expressive iron pokemon, as its LED eyes are programmed beyond the bare minimum of expression. That leads me to believe it is made to dispense water when thirsty humans ask for it. It could also be used to pull in unclean water and purify it within its body, although I think another undiscovered iron pokemon would be better suited for that role.

Iron Hands may have been built to facilitate easier construction. I'd imagine those big magnetic hands easily capable of clipping large panels and lifting them into place to be bolted in. In contrast, Iron Thorns may have been built for demolition, since it was modeled after Tyranitar, a pokemon with a reputation for destruction.

The pokemon chosen for cybernetic revival are done so with a clear purpose in mind, I'd imagine. For instance, Iron Moth would be best suited for absorbing radiation and emitting it safely as UV rays in areas that receive little or no sunlight, since this was something Volcarona was thought to have done long ago. This would also make it a perfect fit for terraforming planets that have difficulty maintaining plant life for humans to farm with.

And then you have iron pokemon built for the personal need of humans. Iron Jugulis is clearly meant to be an aerial drone, keeping security of the airspace above governmental buildings. In contrast, Iron Valiant would work as personal security, as an unfeeling machine that will not stop until all perceived threats are eliminated, something similar to what Gardevoir or Gallade would have done in the past.

This is something fanartists of the future Paradox Pokemon seem to understand intrinsically, as the deliberate designs conform to the nature of the pokemon they're based off of. Though to be fair, I've seen some stellar fanart of Paradox Pokemon on both sides of the spectrum. I'd show you some, but I don't have permission to share the art, not that I've asked. Instead, you should go and have a looksee at all the wonderful designs here on Tumblr and on Twitter.

It's just a little sad that we might not ever see any more Paradox Pokemon after this generation. I mean, they were clearly pulled in from a time machine built by one crazy professor, so it's not likely we'll see more new Paradox Pokemon show up, for story reasons. And on that note, we might not even see the existing Paradox Pokemon again either, unless they were brought in through a glitchy Ultra Beast Wormhole or Hoopa's Hyperspace Hole or something.

But you know, we might be seeing Paradox Pokemon again in a different kind of game. You all know how Pokemon loves its spin-offs, so I'd imagine we'd see a few more pop up here and there.

What about a dedicated game all about Paradox Pokemon? I might be cooking something up about that, but you'll have to wait and see.

Thank you for reading this far. Sorry if I haven't posted in a while, but like I said, I'm cooking up something based on Paradox Pokemon. It's not quite ready yet, but I should have it done by next week. Until then, sit and stew and think about Paradox Pokemon, one of the best things to have come out of modern pokemon, collectively speaking.

Until next time.

[sillysaurus]

☆ about me ☆

𓈉 ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

૮꒰˶ᵔ ତ ᵔ˶꒱Ა ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

☆ this is my agere blog sfw/nonsexual!!

☆ u can call me lucario, silly, or nothing tbh

☆ i am a boy, he/him

☆ big/bio age: 18

☆ permaregressor (?)

☆ autism, trauma, and mental illness'

☆ furry, kidfur, agerefur (whatever the sfw term is)

☆ other: aroace, gay/mlm, greyplatonic, physically disabled, punk, metalhead

☆ i post all kinds of agere content (no specific aesthetic), art, picrews, game content, cartoon content, plushies, rare irl pics, headcanons, mood/stim/outfit boards, i take requests! but please make sure to say whether its agere/petre related or not (and add some details!)

☆ kins and comfort characters

☆ posts where i give information/talk about myself/experiences/regression/vent will be tagged #personal , if you'd like to know more about me <3

☆ my instagram is si11ysaurus (my username everywhere is either sillysaurus or si11ysaurus)

☆ agere school project sideblog @agere-school and oc sideblog! @burger-bugpup

things i like!!

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱Ა ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

☆ blue! 🫐💙🩵📘🌀💤

☆ dinosaurs and prehistory 🦕🦖

☆ animals! favs: marine (especially jellyfish and cephalopods) and bunnies, i also really like pigs🐾🐇🐷🐛🦑🐡🪼

☆ outer space 🧑🏻‍🚀🌙🪐💫⭐️🚀🌠

☆ stuffies 🧸

☆ clowns/clowncore 🤡🎪🎟️🎭🎡🎠

☆ puppets, costume performers, animatronics

☆ puzzles, legos, toy food, trains, construction cars, monster trucks 🧩🚂🦕🥣🚜

☆ halloween and other spooky things 🎃🍭🦇🍿🌑🍫🕸️🍬🧟‍♂️

☆ alternative styles/aesthetics ♠️⛓️🖤

☆ weirdcore and liminal spaces 👁️🍄🖼️🔆

☆ coming of age movies/tv shows/books

☆ games: animal crossing (PC ID is 1209 6237 701), stardew valley, slime rancher, cookie run, pokemon, minecraft, my singing monsters, twisted wonderland

☆ tv: craig of the creek, rugrats, the nightmare before christmas, tmnt, clarence, curious george, octonauts, bubble guppies, summercamp island, spookiz, spongebob, alvin and the chipmunks, KND, kindergarten the musical, metalocalypse, criminal minds, we bare bears, the BFG

DNI (do not interact)

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if u are/if u interact with nsfw/kink of any kind: ddlg, abdl, ageplay, etc. post/reblog smut or anything like that

proshippers, radqueers, transID, pedos, zoos, lolisho

bigots, conservatives, capitalists, the phobes

if u have triggering themes on ur account: gore, s/h, e/d, excessive blood, etc. (agere content about horror sources is okay!)

if u interact anyways/ur account makes me uncomfortable in a way thats not listed, i will just block you

BYF (before you follow)

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please don't swear/curse on my blog

i wont put religious people on my DNI but i do have the tags blocked and i probably wont follow u if u post about it, please dont sent any religious requests

if u happen to find my main/find out who i am, please dont share (im closeted)

i am a blunt and aloof person, so i might not seem kind but i promise im trying my best to be!

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

🐇 🐰 💙 👑 🔇 🚹

[drakmanka]

Dragonkin Question Game pt 4

12. how does your draconity influence you irl?

Generally not too much, I can hide or control most of my draconic behaviors/impulses. But I do tend to act weird around doors, according to people I know irl. I do a "funny shuffle" through doors which is just me trying to keep my wings and tail from getting caught in said door. (Side note on this: I also dislike revolving doors for this same reason.) I also sometimes forget I have hands. I see them as paws and will try to make them look "hand-like" and then realize that they already are hand-like. Similarly, because my species was telekinetic and didn't have hands, I often just see my hands as my telekinesis. I've bashed my fingers while carrying things before because I forget that my hands are physically there.

13. do you feel species dysphoria sometimes?

In a word: Yes. Some days more than others, but I usually get a dose of dysphoria at some point during any given day. Some days it's awful, others it's just part of being dragonkin and I carry on.

14. what did/would your habitat look like?

My species lived together in a huge cave that is partially natural and partially tunneled and modified by us. It's sort of an underground city, lit with naturally-occurring glowing crystals.

The cave mouth resides in a cliff face about 150 (Earth) feet above the ground, with a ledge big enough for a mature dragon to land on comfortably. Below is a temperate, coniferous forest that stretches out through the mountainous region the cave formed in. There is a winding river that snakes through this region before emptying into another, which leads to a giant lake we believe was originally an impact crater from somewhere in our planet's distant prehistory. The lake exists within a vast grassy plain which the forest slowly gives way to as it marches down the foothills of the mountains.

Though we dragons largely stay within the forested regions, we also enjoy exploring our home continent and venture far and wide, even beyond the regions I've just described. Our home planet had much the same sort of ecosystems and biospheres as Earth.

15. are you territorial? can be a place(s) or other beings.

Yes and no. Myself, and my species as a whole, are by nature very territorial and aggressive. However, because of our need and desire to be with our own kin we curb this instinct starting at birth. Otherwise we would never be able to live together like we do.

Generally speaking we only become aggressively territorial when our loved ones, or our library, are threatened.

[thebowynntradition]

Bowynn Gods: Ehrlik

Ehrlik (Er-lik)  Ehrlik is a Bowynn benign Giant god of bards, historians, librarians,  history, memory, intelligence and music. He is one of the older gods that ruled the world before Anhur, created by Brea and her siblings. Ehrlik's kin roamed the world freely back then.

     There are little to no known prehistory sacred stories of Ehrlik, other than his wanderings about the world, recording events and sacred tales as they happen. These tales and historic events he put in a sacred book, the first Codex.   But it was not till he met up with a rival giant that stole his written work and swallowed it. Ehrlik slew the giant and opening the giants belly up retrieved the book. However, it was already destroyed. He swore that never again would he write the stories down. Instead, he took a rib of the giant and made it into a harp and from then on, Ehrlik kept all his knowledge to song. It was only after Ahnur built Alaway and gave Ehrlik his own place there, that Ehrlik rewrote new books. And it is in Alalway where they can be found. However, the sacred voice of Ehrlik so notes that it is best to keep the sacred text to mind and not to paper.

     Ehrlik is seen as an old god, of grandfather or even great grandfather status. He is said to be large man in height with long white hair and beard. His eyes are a deep sea. One can look into his eyes and yet never see the end of his age or knowledge. His robes are white and gray, well wore out from all his travels. In his hand he holds a mighty staff. If not a staff, he holds his harp. When not in his humanoid form Ehrlik is seen as a great white mammoth. Sacred offerings to Ehrlik are the traditional incense as well as manuscripts, musical instruments, scrolls, books and ones sacred Codex.

[beyond-abyss]

Secret History of the Four Geese/Dragon Wars (draft one 1-24-23 & draft two 2-6-23)

The proud race of drakin (“dragons” to the uneducated) were whipped into humility by the ugliest creatures to ever soil the worlds: geese. Just over 100 years of conflict, specifically 103 years and 4 months, were sufficient to strip the mighty drakin of their sense of security. Being one of the largest and most respected races in the seven worlds, drakin thought they could explore freely. Drakin thought none could make them feel pain or regret. They were wrong. Destiny delivered the ultimate humbling in the form of the Four Geese/ Drakin Wars.

~*~

Long ago, in prehistory, geese and drakin shared a common ancestor. Great and ferocious lizards evolved into creatures such as crocodiles, drakin, and geese. As time went by, the drakin ancestors found other realms, and began to indulge in magic. They consumed magic, and delighted in the ways it changed them. The geese ancestors, however, thought it repulsive, and vowed to stay true to their roots. Geese remained vicious and feral, while drakin soaked up the knowledge of the many worlds.

Over time, thriving in the realm of Fyre, drakin society developed. One of the first changes noticed from consuming magic had been the drakin's ability to breathe fire. The innate magic which permeated everything that remains too long in Fyre soaked deep and helped remake drakin as passionate people. The drakin used that inner flame to ignite a passion for crafting. They made great cities of metal, and machines molded to their needs once they discovered the second change, an ability to shift into smaller humanoid forms. The drakin were ever curious, craving more, always. They invaded other lands and took what they wanted. The more magic a drakin consumed, the more it could change and learn. Hunger so intense nothing could sate the drakin drove them to push to other realms, blinding them to their own mistakes.

In a simple realm, the drakin found their ancient kin, geese. The drakin called for a reunion, and thus doomed us all.

The geese gathered in droves, amassing in numbers never before seen. When great numbers of drakin come together, they tell stories to one-up each other. The territorial instinct is one of boasting among drakin. Among geese, however, the territorial instinct blazes hotter than any flame on Fyre. In great numbers, the geese communed and concluded that everything should belong to them. They feared no one, as the geese believed their will was the only will worth spreading. The universe told them so, as expanding civilization such that the drakin had constructed gave way for ideal flat lands to roost upon. Inviting the geese to share in the successes of their ancient kin was a mistake few would live to regret.

The mass of geese cornered the mighty drakin during a celebration, pushing the large lizards from their own homes with hissing and posturing, terrifying the startled drakin. Being an intelligent people, the drakin tried to negotiate. But the geese were savage and unruly; They would not be ruled. Drakin could not converse with the beasts, and drew back to discuss what to do. Meanwhile, the geese began to multiply, thriving in the cities with central lakes the drakin had been forced from. When drakin began to build anew, giving up on their former capitol, more geese invaded the new city. The drakin couldn’t get them to leave, and soon their numbers grew again, emboldening the defilers further! With a city's worth of geese, they truly were beyond fear or humility. The geese began to kill drakin who tried to stay in their homes. They would slam themselves into windows at all hours, and three elderly drakin who hadn’t fled died of shock.

And so war began.

The first war was child's play: merely an advanced game of tag. The drakin built machines to knock down the very cities they'd built. The geese mocked their efforts every day, retaliating by shitting all over the machines until they ceased to function. Next, the drakin assigned their six warriors to dig tunnels and collapse the geese's dwellings. The geese then followed the drakin through the tunnels and screamed nonstop. The drakin warriors could not find them all in the maze they themselves had built, and so the honking was ceaseless. Most of the drakin became disheartened, and after a full year of this childish warfare, the drakin gave up and moved further away.

The second greatest mistake in all of drakin history.

For eleven years, the drakin built themselves a new city far to the south. They were bitter about the geese taking two of their fine cities, but they reconciled themselves by sending explorers to find and gather treasures of the highest quality. The drakin also began the habit of shapeshifting to enter unknown places and stay for a short time to gather limited knowledge. (This new habit was to come in handy eventually.) To the north, the hordes of geese left alone had exponentially increased their numbers, and were desperate to spread out. So they flew south.

Eleven years of peace ended when a literal shitstorm rained down upon the drakin of the south, tainting their newfound treasures and killing some of their young who drowned in feces. Drowned. The drakins' collective fury would not allow them to back down again!

Their six warriors took wing and burned the cities of geese in the north. It would have been devastating… if the drakin had realized that geese could hide underwater. If they had realized that the layers and layers from years of shit coated the city enough to repel flame. The drakin, thinking their foes dead, began cleaning up their southern city. Suddenly geese shot up out of the sewers, hissing and posturing. The drakin roared back and the invaders scattered back across the plains, towards the molten mountains. The drakin warriors who had burned the north gave chase… only to find an ambush awaiting them! A cloud of geese descended upon the warriors, slamming them down and biting all over, clinging and not letting go. The drakin warriors tried to eat the geese, and began choking on feathers as more forced themselves down the drakins’ throats. All six warriors passed out from wheezing.

When they awoke, the drakin warriors were deep underground, below a lake, trapped beneath a waterfall. They could not make fire for the water slamming down upon them. They could not move in the mud/ feces mixture trapping their feet. They could not open their wings in the narrow space. Mocking them, the geese played in the waterfall, covering the drakin warriors with feathers. Day and night, the geese honked and screeched and hissed. The drakin warriors thrashed and tried to find the exit, but always the geese were in the tunnels and crevices, biting and hissing. The drakin ate the geese harassing them to survive, when they could catch them. One warrior refused, and died of starvation. Another warrior fell ill from the constant damp and all the shit they waded through, and died. For two months the drakin warriors struggled, and finally one named Bijan decided to crawl up the waterfall and endure the pain of slamming rapids, close space, and no air. He found his way out, and sent flowers down the waterfall to urge his comrades to make the same journey. One warrior drowned in the attempt.

The drakin had not been a people of war. They had only the six warriors, now reduced to three. Bijan led his remaining warriors home, only to find the war continued. Geese were everywhere in small pockets throughout the southern city. Drakin killed them daily, but there always seemed to be more. Bijan told the council of what he and the others had endured. They made a decision: Extermination. United as a city for a whole week, all drakin sought out and killed any goose within the city. Then they gathered to plan how best to repel these monsters from their world.

The third war began quietly six months later. The drakin used habits they'd learned in other realms to start a kind of spy war. The drakin sent newly trained warriors, led by the survivors of the previous war northward. The 14 drakin were shifted into animal forms, but were swiftly driven from the edges of the northern cities as hordes of geese chased them away. Next they approached as humans on carts, and the geese did not seem to care until they stopped to eat, at which point the geese descended and stole the food, but left the "humans" alone. That gave the drakin an idea. They again approached the northern cities, but left carts of food a bit to the west. The geese found them and devoured them. The drakin-humans left another food cart, but even further west. Circling geese found it and descended again. The next day, a party of geese were wandering out west, even though the drakin hadn't placed a food cart. The drakin spy warriors returned home with a plan.

For the next twenty years, shifted drakin would leave food carts westward, luring the geese away. The feathered beasts began to settle further and further from the northern city. As they spread out, drakin warriors would attack the cities, burning and killing hundreds of geese. Over the years, the 14 warriors and ordinary drakin would purge any other geese who crossed their path, ignoring the westbound group. The plan began to work. The geese collectively moved west toward the food, and abandoned the two cities that were constantly under fire. Slowly but surely over twenty years, the massive geese population was being corralled across the plains westward, toward a portal off of Fyre. The drakin made sure to scorch the land behind the geese, prompting them to keep going and never return.

But… After twenty years, their plan hit a snag.

The geese had been corralled so far west they'd reached a wall of mountains and a small lake. The portal was just on the other side of the mountains, but the geese liked the lake so much they wouldn't leave. So the drakin spent six months constructing a half-moon wall a good distance from the lake so that the geese could not go east, north, or south. The 14 drakin warriors guarded the wall in shifts for the next 70 years.

The fourth war was the shortest, but the most bloody of all. Over the many decades, the drakin warriors would burn any goose within sight of the wall, and yearly fly toward the lake and burn everything. They thought they were controlling the geese population, and definitely keeping them away from the rest of the world. But after 7 decades, the geese population had absorbed the magics of Fyre, as had the drakin of ancient times, and being in such close proximity to the portal caused them to mutate at an accelerated rate. Hiding in the mountains along the lake, demon geese had been spawning.

On the drakin warriors' yearly fly-by to burn, the youngest warrior spotted something in the lake. An enormous, drakin-sized goose with spines protruding from its back took wing and slammed into the company. It began to breathe fire and halt the drakin in their path. Four of the warriors told the youngest to return to the wall for backup while they stalled this new beast. She did so, and the two warriors there had to decide which of them would fly back to the nearest drakin city and assemble the remaining seven drakin warriors on leave. The young warrior was selected, as she had firsthand information. One drakin had to remain on the wall, and the other, Bijan, went as backup to his comrades' aid.

Arriving at the lake an hour later, having flown the fastest he could, Bijan saw one of his warriors was dead, guts spread across the recently scorched land and dangling from the mouth of the goose-monster. The other three were dodging the beast's tooth-filled maw, and having to bat away swarms of little geese clinging to their faces. Bijan slammed into the monster, and it let out a shriek so loud it caused a rock slide on the nearby mountain…or so he thought until another such giant monster emerged from the mountain valley. The newcomer let out a burst of fire that had the four drakin retreating. The two beasts which matched the drakin in size and flame still had all the fury and fearlessness of regular geese. They spread their wings and hissed, and all the tiny geese swarming the air and the ground did the same. The drakin warriors hesitated from the raw terror which an area alive with hissing caused. Bijan let loose his own flame, interrupting the horror, and psychically ordered the remaining three warriors to retreat. The two great beasts chased them only a short distance, but for the drakin Bijan, they would pursue his mind forever.

The warriors regrouped at the wall and told their story, mourning for their fallen friend. It would be a week before the youngest warrior returned with the rest of their soldiers, so the drakin on the wall spent that time devising strategies.

Just before reinforcements were due to arrive, three of the giant geese beasts wandered up to the wall. The drakin warriors belched flame and hurled boulders, causing the giant geese to retreat some, but not far enough. They hissed and honked for a full day before the other drakin warriors arrived and beheld the terrifying trio. Together as 13 soldiers, the drakin attacked the three beasts, wrestling with teeth and wings, trying to avoid the spines of the geese-mutants. The beasts knocked one drakin out of the sky and trampled him, snapping his neck. The drakin slaughtered the three monsters, but their victory felt hollow with another warrior's death.

They rested and rallied, determined to wipe out the scourge of geese on this realm once and for all. The drakin left none behind to guard the wall, striking as an overwhelming and united force. When they arrived at the lake, there were four of the giant beasts, in heat, and angry at being disturbed. The 12 drakin fought hard, but closer to the lake, they had backup. Bijan was locked neck to neck with one monster when a flock of regular geese slammed into his eyes and mouth, some of them flying into his throat and choking him. Distracted, the giant goose monster lashed out with its serrated, saw-like tongue and stabbed Bijan in the shoulder, much too close to his heart. If his fellow drakin warriors hadn't intervened, three of them tackling the beast off Bijan, he might have died. But, their other comrade might have lived. The youngest warrior, having lost most of her backup, was left open to a fatal attack. The goose monster bit her throat, sinking rows of teeth in, not letting go no matter how the other warriors battered it. Foolishly, she thrashed about, and the goose's grip caused damage beyond healing. She opened her mouth, trying to breathe, to cry out, but only blood came up. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell. The goose clamped to her throat was dead also, but still hadn't let go.

The four geese monsters were defeated, but the warriors' number had been reduced further, to only 11.

The drakin set a camp close by the lake to lick their wounds. At the rising of dawn, they flew around to scout, and found multiple cave entrances where the mutated geese had likely come from. Half the drakin waited at the cave mouth, while the other half went in, shifted to animals to see in the dark. The cave was a labyrinth strewn with feathers and shit. Eventually the shit was so thick they could go no further, and returned to their company. They conversed, and decided on how to end the goose threat once and for all. Five warriors would guard the cave entrance, hidden. Three would circle the mountains to the north, three would circle south, killing any geese and sealing up all other cave entrances. It took a week and a half, but it was done. One more drakin was killed sealing a southern cave entrance, taking the hideous giant goose with her under the rocks.

Finally the plan was ready. The 10 drakin warriors were going to divide one last time. Two warriors would shift and sneak down into the cave as human or beast, and then find the heart of the mountain. They would need to become drakin to ignite the mountain's heart and turn it into an erupting volcano. Then they'd have to fly out before they were consumed by magma. Meanwhile the other eight would guard the cave mouth, distracting the geese, drawing them away from the deeper parts so the other infiltrators could succeed. When the lava came, the drakin would be positioned above the cave entrance to burn off the wings of any geese beasts trying to escape.

The plan almost worked. Bijan and one other entered the cave as human, squeezing through crevices for days, ones they had been noting over the last week. They made it down and ignited the mountain into a volcano. Lava burst everywhere and the two drakin flew up and out, only to discover the geese had more mutants than they'd thought. One drakin had been dragged down into lava with several geese monsters, drowning in molten death. The others fought hard against 17 giant geese!

The battle raged for six whole days, and a drakin fell each day. On the sixth day, ash in the air, lava still glopping out of the mountain, only Bijan and another of the original warriors remained. The last goose monster fell, torn to shreds by drakin claws, and the air was finally silent. The smaller geese had died within two days of the volcano erupting, and now an eerie silence covered the land along with the ash. Bijan and the one other surviving drakin limped home for a full day, as their wings were shredded. They were met at the wall by civilian drakin, horrified by the mess that was their remaining warriors. A medical team prepared to treat the drakin warriors, and the two curled up together, exhausted. {...We won,} the old drakin whispered to Bijan's mind.

{We did, my friend. Our people are safe,} Bijan replied psychically.

The older drakin hesitated. {No. We must scatter them, eradicate them…so that no one discovers the wrath of gathered geese.}

{We will, my friend. Just rest for now. Let's just rest…} Bijan felt his mind wandering, having had no rest for days.

{... I'll never…rest…again,} the old warrior spoke to Bijan's mind, and then he moved no more, still curled around Bijan.

The healers arrived and cast their spells, but it was too late. He had succumbed to his wounds. There was only one drakin left to tell the tale of the epic month-long war at the edge of the world. Many days later, his most serious wounds treated, Bijan Scarscale left the great wall as the last surviving warrior of the Four Geese/ Drakin Wars.

[23-cups]

Elder Scrolls History: Dawn Era

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Introduction

The Dawn Era is the period in Elder Scrolls history that ranges from the creation of the universe, to the creation of Mundus, and ends with the transition of Ehlnofey to Men and Mer throughout the world of Nirn. There are many varying beliefs about what happened during this time due to various religious teachings and stories, and it's unknown what truthfully happened as even time followed an incomprehensible path during this era. This is one period of time prehistory, the other is known as the Merethic Era. 

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Main Theory

Before the universe was Chaos, and from this nothingness, rose the twins of order and chaos, named Anu and Padomay respectively. Their interplay brought about Aurbis, the universe, and other beings began to form from the Void. 

Aurbis is the grey center between Anu and Padomay, and contains the realms of Aetherius and Oblivion. The Aurbis was turbulent and confusing, and et’Ada asked for ways to make the Aurbis more stable.

The two of them birthed their own souls into Anui-El and Sithis. They did so, so that they could self reflect. They are then believed to have also birthed their own souls creating Auri-El and Lorkhan. Auri-El brought with him the concept of time, allowing for Aurbis to stabilize and for the et'Ada, or original spirits, to form their own identities, and become the divine.

Every religion on Tamriel worships pantheons of the et’Ada, though the specifics range, almost every religion contains Anu, Padomay, a Dragon God, and a Missing God.

Anu and Padomay created various realms for the et'Ada to inhabit, but they struggled to keep up with the demand, and not everyone was content with what they got. Lorkhan asked for help from other et'Ada in creating a new plane of existence that would come to be known as Mundus, the mortal realm. He proposed that they would rule over this realm with a population of their creation.

He managed to gain the support of some et'Ada, but many were uninterested. It's believed that Lorkhan knew that creating Mundus would take from the forces of the et'Ada, as they were not eternal beings like Anu and Padomay, however despite this, lied to them and tricked them into giving up parts of themselves to create Mundus anyways.

Et'Ada who helped Lorkhan to create Mundus are known as the Aedra, and those who refused to help are called Daedra, though these terms aren't used until Mer create them to better describe their ancestory.

The Daedra are more attuned to Oblivion than the mortal realm, hence their lack of care for humanity, and Mundus.

After learning of his trickery the et'Ada removed Lorkhan's heart and made it into a stone known as the Heart of Lorkhan.

Learning of his trickery many et'Ada fled Mundus. The first to do so was Magnus, who fled to Aetherius, tearing a hole between the realms allowing magic to flow into Mundus.

Other et'Ada decided to stay and only returned to their realms at the end, these are the deities in most pantheons, specifically the Eight Divines, and they bound themselves to the new plane becoming the planets.

Some regard the loss of immortality as artistic, others regard it as war, and others still, as romantic marriage, and parenthood, parenting spirits dying to give way to succeeding mortal races.

Lorkhan, once a planet like the others, lost his divine spark, which fell to Nirn as a shooting star, and split him into the two moons of Nirn. 

One group fully surrendered their divinity forming the Ehlnofey, who began to roam Nirn and eventually diverged into the various Men and Mer races.

Before leaving, the remaining Divines created the Adamantine Tower and decided Lorkhan's fate. At the end of the Dawn Era, Lorkhan was permanently bound to Nirn when his heart was ripped out and shot with Auri-El’s bow into Tamriel, creating Vvardenfell, the Red Mountain Volcano. then the remaining gods left and thus began the Merethic Era.

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Padomaic beliefs

These are beliefs of those who worship chaos, rather than order. Their pantheon usually includes Sithis and Daedra, who’s connection to Mundus is insignificant to their existence.

According to most Padomaic beliefs, Anu and Padomay were static, incapable of thought, will, or intention, they were simply words to describe the order and chaos pre universe. They believe instead, that Sithis was the first being to come out of the Nothing, and they believe him to have created everything through his manipulation of Anu and Padomay.

Anui-El is believed to be a Demon who was selfish and wanted to become eternal like Anu, and so selfishly created realms of everlasting imperfection and labeled themselves the Aedra, claiming to be false gods. 

Sithis couldn’t stand to have their selfishness tarnish his universe and so he created Lorkhan to destroy everything, and using their weakness and vanity, Lorkhan befriended the Aedra, slaving them to Mundus, calling them the gods of this world, and taking away from them. 

They learned of his goals and betrayed him, cutting out his heart. 

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Yokudan Beliefs

Satak was the first Serpent, the Snake who came Before and the worlds rested on its glittering scales, but it was so big that there was nothing else, so it coiled around itself and the worlds slid across each other. The worlds had no space between them and called for something to save them. 

Akel made himself known, the Hungry Stomach, inside the serpent because of course there was nothing outside of the serpent. Satak could only think about what it was and it was hunger, so it ate and ate and there was soon enough room to live in the worlds, allowing everything to begin. Since everything was new, mistakes were often made, and most things ended quickly or were not good enough, and gave up on themselves. Some things would start, but were quickly eaten as Satak got to that part of its body. 

Akel soon caused Satak to bite its own heart, but even then the hunger did not stop, and then Satak shed its skin to begin anew, the old world died and Satakal began. Realizing the pattern they were in and their part in everything, things began to take names, like Ruptga and Tuwhacca. They looked for their kin as Satakal ate itself over and over, and the strongest spirits learned to bypass the cycle by moving at strange angles, known as the Walkabout, striding between the worldskins. Ruptga was so big that he was able to place the stars in the sky so weaker spirits would also be allowed to live through the eating. The practice became easy for the spirits and became a place for waiting, known as the Far Shores, a part of Aetherius for the RedGuard afterlife. 

Ruptga got many children through the cycles, becoming known as the Tall Papa. He continues to place stars for other spirits but there were too many, and so he made a helper from the detritus of past skins, and created Sep, the Second Serpent.

Sep has too much of the Hungry Stomach left in him, multiple skins meant multiple hungers, and he could not think, sometimes he would eat the spirits he was meant to help, but Ruptga would reach in and pull them out. Finally tired of helping Ruptga, Sep gathered the rest of the old skins and balled them up, tricking spirits to help him, promising them it was a way to reach a new world, by making one from the old. These spirits loved this, as it was an easier way of living, and there was no more jumping from place to place. 

The spirits on the skin balls started to die, they were too far from the real world, and they found it was too far to jump to the Far Shores. So those who were left pleaded with Ruptga to take them back, but he refused, and told them they must learn new ways to follow the stars, and if they could not they must live on through their children, as they had in the old ways. Sep needed more punishment though, and so Ruptga squashed him and the hunger fell out of his dead mouth, the only thing left of the Second Serpent. The rest of the new world was allowed to strive back to godhood, but Sep could only slink around in dead skin or swim about the sky, a hungry void that tried to eat the stars.

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Cyrodiilic Beliefs

Shezarr described to the gods something new. He described to them becoming mothers and fathers, responsibility and great sacrifice with no guarantee of success, but he spoke so beautifully and moved them to tears. So the Aedra gave birth to the world, the beasts and beings and made them from parts of themselves. This birth was painful and the Aedra did not retain their youth, strength or power.

Some Aedra were disappointed and bitter, angry with Shezarr and with creation, and felt he had lied and tricked them. These Aedra, gods of the Aldmer, led by Auri-El were disgusted with their feeble selves and believed that everything was spoiled forever. They taught the Elven race to suffer nobly with dignity, and said to seek vengeance upon Shezarr and his allies. 

Other Aedra looked upon creation pleased, they were the Gods of Men and Beast Folk, led by Akatosh, they praised and cherished their wards. They have suffered and are forever diminished but the mortal world was seen as glorious, and filled their spirits with hope. They taught the mortal races to live well and cherish, beautify and honor. 

The Gods of the Elves are, for this reason, seen as dark and brooding, and the Elves are never satisfied with their mortality, and proud and stoic despite the harshness of the world. The Gods of Men are seen as tender and patient and Men are loving and joyous, ambitious for greater wisdom. 

When the Daedra Lords heard Shezarr they mocked him and the other Aedra for cutting parts of themselves off, and losing them, and claimed that they, the Daedra were much smarter, for creating a new world out of themselves without cutting it off, and letting it take out from them. 

The Daedra then created the Daedric Realms of Oblivion, and the ranks of lesser Daedra. For the most part the Daedra Lords were pleased with this arrangement, for they had worshippers and servants, and paid nothing for it. However they often looked upon Mundus with envy, for mortals were foul and feeble, and more interesting and surprising than the lesser Daedra. So it gives them special pleasure to seduce mortals, stealing them from Shezarr and the Aedra. And the Daedra bragged that not only did they lose their power, but the Aedra could not even keep their creation on their side.

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Khajiit Beliefs 

They are clearly derived from Aldmeri pantheon and beliefs, their creation myth including reference to ancestor cats by and the original little mates. Ahnurr and Fadomai gave birth to all the great spiritual children including Alkosh the first cat, Khenarthi, Magrus, Mara, S’rendarr, and a second litter following, with Merrunz, Mafala, and Sangiin, among others. Ahnurr did not want more children but Fadomai was persuaded to birth one more litter, containing Azurah, Nirni and the moons. 

This angered Ahnurr who fled to the void, and Fadomai fled to the Void to birth Lorkhaj. Before Fadomai died, she gave Nirni a gift, to birth her own children.

Nirni went to Lorkhaj asking for a dwelling place for her children, and he gave one but at the price of tricking his siblings, forming the mortal plane and trapping many there with him. Nirni gave birth to her many children, various human and mer, though Azurah had also been given a gift by their mother and was given permission to take one of Nirnis children and reshape them to her own liking, as long as they were fast, clever and beautiful. So she chose a group of forest dwellers and formed the Khajiit. Nirni was furious and asked her sibling Y'ffre to punish the Khajiit.

He turned their grasslands into desert, and their forests into poisoned marshes. Though the Khajiit were protected by Azurah who taught them the secret of the moons (Lunar Lattice) and how to change their shapes to survive. The forest dwellers who stayed true to their mother Nirni became the Bosmer and were given the lush forests of Valenwood as their home. 

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Anuad

An annotation of the Annotated Anuad.

Anu and Padomay wandered the Void, and the interplay of Light and Dark created Nir, Anu and Padomay were amazed and delighted with her, however she only loved Anu, and Padomay retreated in bitterness. 

Nir became pregnant with Anu’s child, the Twelve Worlds of Creation, and before giving birth Padomay confessed his love to her, and when rejected, beat her in rage, causing Anu to cast Padomay outside of Time.

Nir gave birth to Creation and died from her injuries, and in grief, Anu hid inside the sun and slept. 

Life flourished on the twelve worlds, and eventually Padomay was allowed to return to Time. but in rage he swung his sword and destroyed the worlds. Padomay and Anu fought, Anu attempted to fix the worlds and forged the remnants into Nirn.

Padomay struck Anu and the two of them were cast outside of Time forever.

The only survivors of the old worlds left on Nirn were the Hist and the Ehlnofey. The Old Ehlnofey hid in a small safe pocket of the world, and kept their traditions alive and strong, while the Wandering Ehlnofey wandered the rest of Nirn.

The two groups eventually met up, and the Wanderers were expecting to be accepted by their kin, however instead a war broke out between the two, and sunk much of Nirn under the seas, leaving only Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda.

The Old Ehlnofey realm became Tamriel, and the Wanderers were divided amongst the other continents. 

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Names by Pantheon

This specifically is about what can be deemed important to this post, as more alternative names and histories will be involved in separate posts.

Anu and Padomay are known by many different names, some of which imply that they are the same as their birthed souls, respectively other names for the pair include: Anu-Padomay, Aniel-Sithis, Ak-El, Satak-Akel, Is-Is Not Ahnurr-Fadomai.

Auri-El is the Mer name for the dragon god of time, but he is also known as Akatosh in the Nordic pantheon, and Alkosh in the Khajiiti pantheon.

The Aedra and Daedra are called Gods and Demons by the Nords, as Aedra and Daedra refers to the ancestral relation between them and the Mer.

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Misc.

It is believed that Orismer were created during this era, though it's unsure when.

The Dragon God is always related to Time and is revered as the First God, known as Akatosh, Auri-El, and Alkosh.

The Missing God is usually called Lorkhan, worshipped nearly as equal as his Dragon counterpart.

Most Humans see the plan to create Mundus as an act of mercy, as this is why they now exist, while most Mer see it as a cruel deception that destroyed their connection to immortality and the spirit plane.

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[tyrantisterrorart]

Godzilla Gang Revised: Atomic Era Titans

Today’s installment of the Godzilla Gang: Revised focuses on kaiju whose species originated in the (fictional) atomic era of earth’s prehistory - relics from a forgotten age of radiation eating monsters!

Anguirus: an armored reptile that is perhaps one of the most durable kaiju on record, and the most loyal ally of Godzilla II.  Though he isn’t the most deadly kaiju around, Anguirus is noted for surviving a great deal more punishment than almost any other monster, withstanding blows that would kill a weaker creature (including one particularly brutal instnace where the reptile’s lower jaw was almost completely torn off), and fighting well past the point that most other monsters would retreat.

Gorosaurus: a large atomic reptile that superficially resembles a theropod dinosaur.  One of the most laid-back kaiju on record, Gorosaurus is an agreeable sort who rarely picks fights with other monsters, though when pushed into a brawl he proves to be a capable combatant.  He’s on good terms with most of the kaiju in the Monsterland archipelago, though his closest friends are Anguirus and, oddly, Mothra.

Jikanryu: an ancestor of Gorosaurus and ally to Dagojira, Jikanryu is a celebrated figure among the Hotua people, for he figures in one of their creation myths.  Legend says that long before humanity walked the earth, a shining dragon fell from the sky and threatened to destroy the world.  The goddess Inagos rose to fight it, but the dragon’s strength was too much for her to face alone.  So the great earth beasts came to her aid: Dagojira, Jikanryu, and Mesuzala.  Together the four monsters destroyed their three-headed foe, though Jikanryu and Inagos were both lethally wounded in the fray.  Inagos reincarnated as her three daughters - Mothra, Battra, and Leopirax - but Jikanryu was lost forever.  The Hotua vowed to never let his sacrifice be forgotten, and were ecstatic to see that Mothra had rediscovered one of his kin - perhaps Gorosaurus is the Time Dragon reborn?  (Based on both the Time Dragon from The Godzilla Power Hour and Devil Dinosaur from Marvel Comics.)

Mesuzala: a closely related species to Anguirus, Mesuzala holds the record for being the longest-lived kaiju on record that doesn’t cheat by reincarnating.  He isn’t merely a descendant of the creatures from the Atomic Era - he’s a survivor of it, having fought side by side with Dagojira against the alien dragon Tricephalon.  Though far from spry, there’s plenty of fight in the old monster yet, and he has come to view Godzilla II as a worthy heir to his old battle brother.  (Based on Methuselah from the Monsterverse.)

The Rodan Family: Consister of Rodan, Soran, and Firadon, these three volcano-dwelling flying reptiles are wild cards with self serving attitudes.  Consisting of a mating pair and their hatchling, they are led by Rodan, the female, who is by far the most aggressive of the lot.  Soran, her mate, is a bit more chill when left to his own devices, and does the bulk of nurturing their offspring, Firadon.  Rodan is part ally, part rival to Godzilla II, fighting with him almost as much as she fights alongside him.  Like godzillasaurs, Rodans are capable of weaponizing some of their excess radiation in a fiery beam spat from their mouths, though theirs is not as strong as a godzillasaur’s nuclear breath.  (Soran’s name comes from the Rodan expy from Dark Horse’s Godzilla comics, while Firadon’s is just a mangling of “Fire Rodan.”)

Quetzotyl: a distant relative of the Rodans, Quetzotyl is partially covered in scales and partially in strange proto-feathers.  These aren’t for flight, however, but rather to resist flame, as they have a chemical structure incredibly similar to asbestos.  Quetzotyl can even shed these feathers as an offensive weapon, inducing coughing fits on any kaiju that opposes her.  Like her Rodan relatives, Quetzotyl can spire atomic fire, though hers is even weaker than her more armored cousins.  (Inspired by Q from Godzilla: The Series as the unseen Quetzalcoatl titan from the Monsterverse.)

Varan: an even more distant relative of Quetzotyl and the Rodans, Varan is incapable of true flight, but CAN glide for great distances.  A haughty and proud monster, Varan was worshiped and feared as a vicious living god by the Ainu people, who called him Baradagi.  This suited him well, but his skirmish with humanity quickly proved he was far from divine, and Varan was eventually coralled onto Monsterland.

Baragon: a subterranean monster and distant relative of the godzillasaurs, Baragon may be small for a kaiju, but makes up for it with pluck and a creative application of her skill set.  The burrowing monster can dig trenches and other traps for its larger enemies, using their own size against them before finishing them off with her atomic fire breath.  Though she can be a deadly enemy, Baragon is a sweet-tempered creature that is more playful than ferocious.

Terravor: notable for having one of the strangest digestive systems of all earth kaiju, the Terravor doesn’t simply absorb radiation, but actively feeds on and digests minerals themselves, breaking them down on the atomic level in its bizarre guts.  This proved a problem when it woke up in the modern day, as it turns out the refined metal humans use to make their cities, vehicles, and other inventions is INCREDIBLY delicious to the monster.  (Based on the Earth Eater from The Godzilla Power Hour.)

Burtannus: a colossal armored kaiju, Burtannus is a juggernaut on land, albeit a slow one.  She is more vulnerable at sea, where her armored bulk and natural clumsiness puts her at a vast disadvantage.  Thankfully for both her and the world, Burtannus is a “live and let live” sort of monster, content to care for her offspring in the distant regions of the world.

Mokembe: also known as Mokele Mbembe, Mokele, and M&M, Mokembe is a vast sauropod-like kaiju found in the jungles of Africa.  This ancient reptile sports gills like many of the amphibious kaiju of the Atomic Era, making it a capable combatant both above and below water.  (Based on the Mokele Mbembe kaiju described in the novelization of Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019.)

Chitanosaurus: another distant relative of the godzillasaurus species, Chitanosaurus is even more specialized in an aquatic lifestyle, to the point where it’s incredibly uncomfortable moving on land.  Far more timid than its fire-spitting godzillasaur cousins, Chitanosaurus is comfortable living in the sea and feeding off of schools of fish, far from the prying eyes of the modern world.  (Yes, I chose one of the alternate/incorrect romanizations of “Titanosaurus” solely to differentiate it from the real life dinosaur.  Yes, that’s a little pretentious.)

Cryptodus: a distant relative of Chitanosaurus, the Cryptodus is specialized for life in the deepest parts of the ocean, completely removed from sunlight.  Though fearsome in apperance, these fish-eating kaiju are not particularly aggressive on their own, though if one was to force them to fight they would be fearsome enemies indeed.  (Based on the Cryptocleidus from Godzilla the Series.)

Levianess and Nessie: the kaiju in the heart of Loch Ness, Levianess is a massive sea reptile that has laid dormant in the lake for centuries if not millenia.  Nessie, her offspring, is a bit more lively than her mother, and responsible for all the “monster sightings” that have occurred over the years.  No one was aware of Levianess until Nessie was caught by an unscrupulous scientist, at which point the ancient leviathan finally revealed herself to the world in a violent rampage to reclaim her lost child.  She has since proved a fairly benevolent creature, defending humanity from more vicious monsters on a few occasions, and even accepting her relocation to the Monsterland Archipelago without much fuss.  (Based on Nessie from Godzilla the Series and the unseen kaiju Leviathan from the Monsterverse, whose den is located in Loch Ness according to its blink and you’ll miss it mention in Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019.)

Maguma: a reptile who coincidentally resembles a walrus, Maguma is a strange creature, capable of living on land, in the water, and most bizarrely, inside magma.  This reptile is incredibly heat-resistant, though it ironically suffers greatly when exposed to cold (the resemblance to a walrus is really very superficial).

NEXT TIME: PARASITES AND SCAVENGERS OF THE ATOMIC ERA

[katherine1753]

I was tagged by @slow-burn-sally​ thanks friend :D

your name and then what you would have named yourself

Katherine. I’m not sure, something shorter or that can only be spelled one way lol. 

astrological sign (sun/moon/rising if you know them)

Cancer. I have no idea what sun/moon/rising means. I was supposed to be born during Virgo though if that means anything?

when did you join tumblr and why?

......2010. To follow some fandom artists I liked on deviantart and some youtube people. I’ve been here a good long while.

top 5 fandoms

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Terror, The Untamed, Good Omens, uhhhhhh either Star Wars or Sherlock idk I’m very focused on the other four right now haha

top 5 favorite films

I don’t knowwww um The Holiday, Ocean’s 8, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Shining, Beauty and the Beast

go to song when you wanna Feel something

Wildfire - Marianas Trench

what’s your religion or faith if you have one?

I was raised Methodist so I guess that? 

a song that makes you feel seen

hmmm probably something else by Marianas Trench tbh 

if you could have any career

Wellll I love my job, I’m a kennel manager/dog groomer(mostly), maybe the same thing but paid better lol. I mean I’d love to be like a singer or artist or something but I’m thinking realistically here. I’m doing absolutely nothing with my degree/s, so something in those fields would be nice too...

do you have a type?

I don’t think so? I’m mostly into women and I just like any of them. As for men, at least fictionally, I like men who look like they’re straight out of the 1800s, ready to faint from scurvy or tuberculosis or something. Or the dark brooding type. Would I like any of them as regular human beings? I have no idea. As for everyone else, *shrug*? idk just someone who’s nice to me

what does your heart/soul yearn for

a HUG. freaking hugs. physical touch. Stupid covid. My best friend and I have seen each other at a distance a few times this year because it’s our 20th year of friendship and I can’t even hug her and it physically pains me that I cannot. 

if you had to describe yourself in 5 words

quiet, creative, tired, indecisive, good-with-animals

favorite subjects in school

in high school, band. in college...most of my major classes? uhhh Celtic Prehistory and Archaeogeology are standing out at the moment. 

where does your soul feel most at home

somewhere with woods/mountains/moss

top 5 fictional characters:

ahhhh I’ll limit myself to one per fandom: John Segundus, Thomas Jopson, Dana Scully, Wen Ning, Belle

top 3 moments in a show that made you ugly cry

Nicole and I just finished the Untamed so I’m going with that: 1. When Wen Ning yelled all the truths at Cheng and it was a huge massive reveal that I predicted but all of the pretty men were crying and it was emotionalllllll. 2. like the entire rest of the show ummm the long lost cousin/child/nephew reveal 3. The ending. “...Wei Ying.” if you know then you KNOW

the earth, the sun, the moon or the stars

earth

favorite kind of weather

basically now? Fall. Any of it. 

top 3 characters you kin with

ummmm idk Guillermo de la Cruz, Lan Zhan, can I say John Segundus again? 

favorite medium of art

pencil/pen/marker. Something on a paper!

introvert/extrovert/ambivert

oh introvert for sure. 

a favorite literary quote

“the Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite” - Piranesi

some of your favorite books:

and suddenly I’ve forgotten every book I’ve ever read. Piranesi, Gideon the Ninth/Harrow the Ninth, Neverwhere, Good Omens, And Then There Were None

if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I’m in GA, I like GA, somewhere by myself. 

if you could live in any time in history when would it be?

as much as I love historical periods, probably now. Medically I wouldn’t have done so well otherwise lol 

if you could play any instrument masterfully

I think piano or guitar would be the most like...useful? I was pretty decent at clarinet. 

if you have one, what mythological god or goddess do you feel a connection to

Idk, I’ve always thought Hades was cool 

and lastly, favorite recent selfie in your camera roll

my hair is a completely different color now but this was from a couple weeks ago. It’s a decent one!

[tenpointstoq]

Okay just hear me out

I am a slut for modern AU’s more than most, buuuut, what about prehistory AU’s

Geralt is using fucking flint, he makes his own weapons and the types of monsters are closer to strange old gods, the dying remnants of creatures that helped forge the earth humans are now just settling upon.

Jaskier collects stories, song is only rather recent and he works with both, weaving together tales to share the stories to each new clan he meets, his kind are rare but dearly beloved, for without books the only way to learn of what happens in their strange new world is from these precious story tellers.

Ciri is the daughter of the most powerful clan in the small set of clans throughout the region, while hunting one day Geralt saves her father and as it goes in the story he promises all he can, that which he does not have yet, but when the two return home he will give. Geralt takes it because he cannot work for coin, he trades in this and that but his people are newer, the magical folk of the lands are still shrouded in so much mystery and mutants like himself are even more misunderstood.

Jaskier hears of the Witcher and decides to seek him out, to find this man with eyes the shade of the moon on the night of the solstice, with hair the color of lightening and the child of destiny who travels with him.

Even with just clothing of animal skins and tanned leathers Jaskiers always got bloody flowers in his hair because he could make anything cute, he doesn’t need silks to do that. His mind is an amazing library of stories he has been collecting since he was a small child, kept by the folk of his clan after the death of his mother in childbirth. Their groups healer had passed on years before and it is rare that another came through their area. Used to being displaced he takes to the Witcher’s lifestyle easily, he watches as Geralt teaches his young charge how to make spears, to hunt, to skin animals. The nature of it all is something else to Jaskier, never having anyone to teach him as he grew up, it warms his heart to see this.

Then at the edge of the world they meet elves, they have magic, a type that seems freer and wilder than the little humans have been able to manage. Though over time they would learn otherwise. Jaskier drinks in every moment, even as Geralt worries over what this will mean, knowing how badly he is received in the small communities he visits even after he has rid them of the vermin attacking their kin. He doesn’t want Jaskier to share his tales, the elves kept to their part of the world and the humans to the other.

Watching the world form would be the greatest tale Jaskier could imagine and he writes songs that follow for hundreds of years onwards. Words that become the first to be inked into the original books. The tales of the white wolf, the Girl who could call the world to its knees, who flashed through time like lightening and as he grows too old to travel, in a home Geralt has built for them all, Ciri returns to share with him the beautiful books she has found that have his words printed in gold. She reads his words back to him as he settles against Geralts chest, always so solid, so warm, his hair is so long now it falls in a curtain down his back, tickles Jaskiers cheeks as his eyes slide shut. Tears prickling the edges. His songs, for that is what they called them, his ballads of truth had become something else so many lifetimes past his own. Geralt’s scarred fingers are gentle as they stroke through his hair, his eyes never leaving his lovers face, Ciri’s hand resting on her fathers linked fingers, the family that spans so many lifetimes, forever bound by a shared history, the very first history of their world. She doesn’t tell him of the wars with the elves, his tales of them locked away in his mind, of the wild hunt, of the man she met one day, with eye’s the color of the sea, his voice curling through a crowd in tune with a lute he held with such precision. The touch of a sirens magic weaving its way through his words. Words that came almost too easily to him.

She had no way of explaining how it came to be. That her human father was both a part of her entire past and yet the most distant of futures, but in the haze of dawn as Jaskier was tucked into bed and Geralt moved to check the fire she watches with relief, knowing the heartbreak he father would suffer would not last forever, for it seemed destiny would never quite be done with the Lark and the Wolf. Their lifetimes were bound for this eternity into the next.

And one day, when she returns to find the moss eating it’s way along the crude rock carved in place on the hill Geralt place over her fathers grave she lays a garland of yellow flowers upon the grass, her green eyes bright “He waited for you once song bird, the wolf is a creature of the deepest strength and love, he will again.”

And so it is, that the Lark and the Wolf are caught forever in time, from the very first sparks of life that brought the raging fires of humankind to their world, until the end of all. It is with that surety that Ciri lives through so many lifetimes, for to know that the truest loves can never die, she is given a strength greater than any magic could ever gift her

[mogai-zone]

Hi! I'm Moss, can I get a pronoun validation using 🦴/🦴s emoji pronouns? Well, less validation and more testing them out to see if I like them. I'm super pro MOGAI and kin, and I love love LOVE prehistory! (The Cambrian Explosion, guys, cmon, awesome)

This is Moss! 🦴 is trying out 🦴/ 🦴s pronouns to see if they fit 🦴. 🦴 is pro mogai and kin which is super cool! we love mogai here hehe. prehistory is also an interest of 🦴s which i think is so cool?? 🦴 is right when they say the cambrian explosion is awesome. i hope 🦴 has a great day!

- Sonic

[theoppositeofprofound]

Reasons I think Finwe, Ingwe, and Elwe we born after the awakening of the elves at Cuivenen and bear little to no relationship to Imin, Tata, and Enel (aside from largely being a part of the same clan groups). 

Elwe has siblings. Nothing in the elvish origin story supports siblings being a part of the picture. Similarly Ingwe has “close kin”. 

If Elwe were Enel he would be married. He is not. 

Several generations have to have passed between the initial awakening and the journey, simply for there to be the numbers to support what occurred. I mean they lost a significant number of people to Melkor’s fear aura and kidnapping, then split into 5+ groups (various Avari clans, Nandor, Sindar, Teleri, Noldor, Vanyar) on the journey. That suggests a population of at least thousands. 

Even assuming each elf couple had 3-4 kids, it would still take a few (3-4) generations to reach a stable pop of 2000+. At that point regular born elves would far outnumber those who had been spontaneously generated.

Having relatively few of the initial First Elves travel into the West helps support the idea that the Calaquendi were taking a bold and unexpected step in choosing to follow Orome. If the original elves were all totally on board with going to Valinor, it would make the choice to leave home much less difficult for the elves of the East. 

It also helps preserve the sense of mystery surrounding the events of Cuivenen, and gives elvish prehistory a bit of remove from modern events.

Similarly, an extra generational level between Finwe and Elwe and the First Elves helps allow for more cultural advancement to have occurred before they reached Valinor. 

It would also probably put Miriel at just the right point chronologically to help develop fiber crafts- young enough to innovate using older tools (we have to assume it took the elves a sensible amount of time to figure out basic tech, so awls definitely required a few thousand years concentration) but still early enough for there to be lots of room to work with. 

Also, Orome was canonically terrifying at first. The elves were “filled with dread”

If I had to pick people to go on a trip with a weird forest nightmare who may be the cause of all our suffering, I would not pick the only leaders my group has! I would let some dumbass kids go. Underneath the title of ‘ambassadors’ that’s exactly what Elwe, Ingwe, and FInwe come across as- elf teenagers just dumb enough to put their hands up when Orome asked for volunteers, who subsequently found themselves with a knowledge and power they didn’t expect. 

These are some silly beans who got in a shady van in the woods, fully aware that they were probably going with an axe murderer, only to see the Face of (a small) God. That arc is a lot more interesting than ageless leadership

the line “who afterwards were kings” can imply that it was only the position of kingship that was created after the trip to Valinor, but can also just as well suggest that these were three nobodies who were suddenly raised to power. 

While it is possible Ingwe, whose group chose entirely to go to Valinor, is equivalent to the ancient Imin, the chances that Finwe and Elwe share the same roots are slim. Most likely the ancient leaders of their kindred chose to stay in the East because that’s where their homes and many of their people stayed. 

[tkwadeblog-blog]

"Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Spelldrive (A Neat Idea)" by T.K. Wade

Ever heard of a show called "Invader Zim?" It was a children's show which originally ran on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2002. It was extremely weird and... actually fairy violent for a TV show with its age group. Not really much of a fairy tale which is why I never brought it up. It's basically a lot of comedy mixed with an unusually well-developed story.

Anyways, the whole reason I am bringing it up at all is because of a fairly neat idea proposed in the episode called "Gaz, Taster of Pork." The show introduced something kin to its universe called a "spelldrive."

A spelldrive is a portable computer with a number of magic spells stored on its hard drive. Each spell uses a number of "power points" to cast any one of its spells. The computer's maximum power points seemed to be three. So basically, the user simply picks from a list of spells, and if he has the required number of power points left on the device, he can cast the spell without any mystical knowledge at all. The latter was apparently taken care of by the devices programmer which likely happened in ancient times--prehistory probably.

Where I am sure the spelldrive was capable of being recharged, by the time it was found in the show, there was no known way to do so. So if you used any of the remaining power points to cast a spell, you would never get those points back and the spelldrive would become useless forever.

The spelldrive is what I refer to as a very neat idea. It's almost sad that "Invader Zim" was the only one to really utilize this idea at all. It heavily suggests the possibility of a technologically advanced prehistory or at the very least a misunderstood ancient history. It is also not all that implausible.

In fairy tales, there is the concept of enchantments. Any object can be enchanted to behave in a certain way. A door can be enchanted to make the next person that touches it paralyzed. Mystical traps can be set upon the floor by way of enchantments. Have you ever considered what enchanting a computer would do? Someone who was both aware of technology and the mystic arts might be able to make the two work in tandem. The computer becomes a critical part of the spell.

Not everybody understands the mystical arts. That was often left to the adepts at the craft. This is why you usually see one wizard within the court of a king. But there seems no reason why the wizard should be the only one to be able to use those arts. The wizard would take a computer and program in a number of spells. He would put a portion of himself inside of it and allow the user to choose where that force is directed. In reality, the wizard would be casting the spell, not the user of the spelldrive.

I am sure the spelldrive's main purpose would be to assist people in high places along so that the wizard would not have to be in multiple places at once. But imagine if you were a child that happened upon one of these devices. You open it up and are presented with a long list of powerful spells. You have three power points loaded in and can choose any one you want. What would you do? Would you be mischievous and experiment, or would you return it to the wizard and play it safe?

The concept is quite fun but it also seems very dangerous. For one, you would be aligning yourself to the powers of someone greater than you. It might lead to unexpected consequences. Also the wizard might not bee too happy with you fiddling around with his spelldrive. If he can place a piece of himself within a computer, what do you think he can do to you? The idea is very neat but also very scary.

I just got to give "Invader Zim's" creator Jhonen Vasquez a lot of credit for being creative in this case. When I first saw that episode, I confess that I wanted my own spelldrive. I did not really think of the consequences of all. They just sounded like a lot of fun. It is probably best I never got one though. All my friends might have ended up talking animals or something. They would have never forgiven me for that.

[jrantehq4-blog]

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[themonsterblogofmonsters]

Monsterblog Recommends: Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children Series

Previously - Monsterblog Recommends: Aviators (Musician)

Now, I read some things when I was a teen that I probably should have waited a few years to read. This isn’t entirely because of the content - though in this case, it certainly is a factor - but in part because a lot of what this series covers and does isn’t stuff that a teen perspective is necessarily the right one for.

Luckily, I reread this series later.

Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children Series [SPOILERS AHEAD]

[gods i love these covers]

1. What the hell is Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children Series?

Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series is the tale of a Cro-Magnon girl in Central Europe from when she was orphaned as a child to her eventual adulthood and settling in what is now France. Shortly after being orphaned she’s found by a migrating group of Neanderthals, looking for a new home, and adopted by their Medicine Woman. Thus, the girl, Ayla, is raised by Neanderthals and spends most of her childhood and teenaged years with them, before eventually being forced to leave when the previous leader died.

That’s the first book. The next follows Ayla as she struggles to survive on her own in a valley, while also matching to the tale of Jondalar, a Cro-Magnon from what is now France as he travels across Europe to meet other groups and learn new skills. Their stories converge when he gets mauled by a Cave Lion not far from her valley, and then we follow as Ayla treats Jondalar - she was the daughter of the Clan Medicine Woman - learns his language and eventually agrees to leave her valley with him.

The next book follows Ayla and Jondalar with the Mamutoi - the Mammoth Hunters - as they overwinter with them and learn from them as well. This one is where you get a lot more interpersonal stuff, and an idea of how Cro-Magnon - the first anatomically modern humans - may have seen their contemporaneous but decidedly different kin. 

The stories are... richly written. I’m not usually a fan of this style - I have issues reading George R.R. Martin’s ASOIAF series for this precise reason - but because this series is about prehistory which is one of my extremely specific special interests, I adored it. There’s a huge amount of information - what the environment is like, what foods they harvested and how they cooked it, what animals were around and how they hunted them, tracked them, co-existed with them, tanned their hides and butchered their bodies. How they made tools and.... look lets go to the next section ok?

2. Why I’m recommending it.

Oh Jesus fuck, the worldbuilding. Look, you know how this blog does worldbuilding? You know how this blogs like... entire fucking premise is worldbuilding? You know how I liked to mix and match and theorise for my worldbuilding?

Blame this goddamn series.

[yes, this one]

Not only did Jean M. Auel do her research (as best she could given when she was writing) she also did some fuckawesome theorising as to how stuff could work. We know, for example, that we Homo sapiens sapiens have some fragmentary neanderthalensis DNA. Now: how did that get there? Was it willing partnership? Was it conquest and rape? Was it just the way of evolution and its not Neanderthal DNA so much as just shared DNA? Was it more complicated than just those or some combination of them? We know that Neanderthals did a lot of flint knapping with primarily stone tools - but we also know that later members of genus Homo used bone and antler as well. We know Neanderthals went extinct - but why did that happen? We know humans in history migrated, but how much? Is it possible that a black African Cro-Magnon might make his way north or a white Cro-Magnon travel to Africa and marry there, returning with his son when she dies? Fuck it! Why not! One of the Mamutoi is black, and its just... a thing thats there.

One of my favourite examples is... well its like the old fandom theory that Charlus and Dorea were James’ parents. We had little information on them, but Charlus and Dorea were on the Black Family Tree. They had one son. Their dates fit. Later on, we learned this wasn’t the case, but, then and there and at that time, it was the most likely solution we had.

When Jean M. Auel was writing, we didn’t know if Neanderthals could speak. Like, hyoids are delicate and can indicate to what degree tongues can move and so vocalise, but also we had very little idea of their social complexity and genetics and physical structure beyond what little we could glean with the archaeological techniques of the time. So, Jean M. Auel, working from that went “well... if they couldn’t speak, how might they communicate?”

Well... how do those who don’t speak communicate? Sign language. How do those who can’t speak but can vocalise somewhat speak? Well, look at primates. They sign, they use specific vocalisations and indications, they use body language constantly...

And so Jean M. Auel created a language for the Neanderthals of her books, using body language and hand signs and certain vocalisations. For their rituals, they dropped vocalisations all together. Their sentence structure changes so they don’t even use names. It becomes this one would ask and this one knows and may this one speak and some strange flowing poetic thing because they no longer even vocalise but appeal to the spirits of their animistic religion. 

We know they could speak now. We know that now. But when she was writing Auel worked within what was known and theorised a way things could work.

And it fucking works.

3. Less Good Things / Trigger Warnings

Oh gods um, ok.

Orphaned child, severe injury, treating various injuries, serious inbuilt social issues, rape even though its not immediately known of/treated as rape, though the sense of violation and trauma does come through, childbirth, sex... uh quite a bit of quite explicit sex, death of various characters in various and sometimes gory ways. .. I mean hell, guys, its prehistory during the ice age when amongst the various megafauna around as well as Smilodon there were Cave Lions and Cave Bears and Direwolves and Woolly Rhinos ffs. 

For what it is worth: Ayla is not orphaned for very long before being found and adopted and cared for. Severe injuries are (mostly) presented in the context of them being treated - Ayla is, after all, being raised by the Clan Medicine Woman, Iza, and so she learns how to treat everything from toothache to broken bones to helping with childbirth and laying out the dead.

The social issues are... complex. Its not that they’re never criticised, or never confronted, its that they’re all a part of showing how different groups would have seen things differently and how, to some, this is a burden, but to others it simplifies. The Clan - the Neanderthals - have very strict gender roles, but in doing so it encourages social cohesion; no man can survive on meat alone and needs the female foragers to provide that aspect of the diet, no woman can clothe herself easily without a hide to tan and so relies on the men to provide that. They work in concert ... but there are still issues. Even amongst the Others - the Cro-Magnon - there are issues in different areas based on rulership and culture, such as how sex is viewed and interacted with. Amongst the Clan its a fact of life, barely noted. Amongst the Others its practically sacred, and bringing another pleasure with willing consenting sex is considered to be a way of worshipping their primary goddess - the Earth Mother, modelled on such figurines as the Willendorf Venus.

[i love these prehistoric carvings like GODS these things are hundreds of thousands of years old and were made by human hands and look! look at it! its right there!]

As for the rape... the rape is there. Amongst the Clan its.... its complicated. I don’t... particularly want to dig into it. There’s a complex interplay of social expectation, and how the Clan treats sex, vs ability to consent within that framework and character’s individual responses to it. Under certain frameworks you could argue that all of the Neanderthal women are rape survivors, but the story goes out of its way to show that there’s more nuance to it than that. The women don’t really tend to initiate sex but they can and do indicate and hint at it to those they’re interested in... but that doesn’t mean that then men always listen and that they won’t sometimes demand it of a woman who doesn’t want it. Some of the Neanderthal women are never raped so far as we know. Others very much are. 

This is then made more complicated and confusing when Jondalar is introduced. He’s from a culture where rape is utterly totally and completely abhorrent, where the very idea is effectively blasphemy. And, on the one hand, to Ayla this is something which she can appreciate and think of as good - she knows and has seen the violation that comes from having no choice. But, simultaneously, she’s also seen those who have worked within structures which give them little choice and yet still chosen and been happy. Who have got what they sought and had long and happy and fulfilling lives and relationships.

Its nuanced in a way that I don’t think is very easy to discuss online or on a place like tumblr, where people want things to be clear cut.... but it isn’t, in this case, and so its very hard to talk about. It can be argued that, due to the gender roles of our society, all sexual interactions are inherently fraught. Societal pressure makes it hard for anyone of any gender to say no... or sometimes to say yes, when they want to. Is any sex in our culture free of the risk of it being rape when toxic masculinity makes men feel unable to say no or talk about their no being ignored and, simultaneously, women feel they either have to refuse sex to remain “pure” or that they can’t because then they’re not being a “good girlfriend”?

Its nuanced in a way that fucks people up. Nuanced in a way that requires every situation be thought over and discussed individually. Nuanced in a way that may well give you a headache to think on.

But, I think its a nuance worth talking about, and I think that is why it is worth reading this series.

4. Spoilers and Further Points

I’m going to take the time here to say again what I said above. This series had a huge part to play in how I handle worldbuilding and combining known facts to create new things. I think, for many, it may help you do the same. This series, alongside Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver, and Mary Renault’s... everything? (rec post to come on her) had a huge part in how I handle Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, and creating headcanons to mesh with what we know of our world and what we know of the fantasy world we’re working in. 

They’re also an excellent jumping off point for personal research - you read them knowing that they’re not completely accurate or even maybe thinking that they are largely accurate and they provide you with huge swaths of information which you can research more on or use as a starting point.

I mean... most of us by now know that the idea of a genetic memory is largely bollocks - some traumas can have significant impact on genetics, but memories aren’t preserved in genetics. However, Jean M. Auel uses it to explain aspects of the Neanderthals because at the time, while extremely out there, it wasn’t yet utterly considered impossible and also.. literary license! have fun.

There is a single semi-spoiler that I haven’t hinted at yet which I do wanna talk about here, because I don’t think it necessarily fits into the above section as well.

There’s a well-known trope in media, which is Pretty = Good, Ugly = Bad.

This series plays with it. Ayla and Jondalar are presented as very very very stereotypical uh... arguably “Aryan” people - blonde hair and blue eyes and all that. And they’re the protagonists and seen as being good.

But there’s also the Neanderthals who aren’t pretty by modern human standards and of whom some - such as Ayla’s foster father, Kreb - would even be ugly... but by and large they’re not presented that way. 

There are some which are - Broud, for example. But there’s also some amongst the Others who are and so its.... complicated. Many of the kind ones are, if not pretty, not ugly, and many of the ugly characters are bad, but there is also a subversion of this - many Others see the Clan as ugly and vice versa, but they both paint with too thick a brush. Amongst them individuals may be good or bad and part of the story does work to show that, though I think it does fall short here.

5. Further Reading

Haaa, I mean the whole fucking series?

But, other than that, you can find more information at the Wiki page for the series, which is Here, and you can find more about the books and the author at her page over Here.