#there is a semi-similar continent?

[vulpixelates]

for as much as i hate dming, i do still desperately want to dm like a one-shot/super short campaign set in argeriand (basically the north pole)

it's largely uninhabited but there's a single city called onntun where literally everyone there is possessed and it's smack dab on a portal to demon-land

there's just something about isolation + bitter cold that really lends itself to horror

[aurosoulart]

hello! i wanted to say i absolutely ADORE your art style, and in regards to your 'the world has been changed' piece - if it's okay to ask - i'm so curious about how you did those small rainbow lights at the bottom! is there a method or any advice/tricks you could spare? it's a small detail but i'm absolutely captivated by it

thank you so much!! 💖💖😭 it's a Clip Studio brush called Real Prism! I think I also used Prism Pens as well

for non Clip Studio users, similar light prism effects could probably be found in other brush packs or in stock texture images. brush effects and textures are your friends! just make sure to check usage rights when using any outside assets. 👍

[tribbetherium]

The Ecatoriungulidae, ungulopes isolated onto the continent of South Ecatoria when it split off from Arcuterra all the way back in the Middle Glaciocene, are a quite diverse family that have come to include among their ranks in the Middle Temperocene such species as the plains-grazing triclops, low-browsing greaserhorns, and the semi-domesticated horn-herders to name a few. And here, where tall trees with edible lower branches grow in abundance, a few have filled a niche coverging with the altolopes of Gestaltia, evolving elongated builds with lengthly necks and tongues to better feast upon a bounty many other herbivores cannot access.

The tallest of these, the slopebacked hightower (Alticaprimys longicollis) is a wide-ranging species most common in the temperate forests across the continent, feeding from the branches of the local pebblefruit trees. Most distinct are its odd proportions, with its forelegs longer than the rear, giving it extra reach in plucking off leaves with its dexterous, prehensile tongue and extended upper lip. Its unusual stature also give it a distinctive bounding gait, with a distinct "crutching" motion a side effect when moving at higher speeds.

A sexually-dimorphic species, both sexes reach similar heights of roughly 4 meters (12-13 feet) when fully grown. Where they differ is that the distinctive two-pronged horns of the species only occur in males: they are too large to be threatened by most predators by themselves, and thus these weapons have been relegated to sexual display and competiton over mates between rival males. As they compete with sideward blows of their heads, a secondary distinction is made evident: while still lanky-looking, males' necks are far thicker and more muscled than the disproportionally thin necks of the females to better wield their weaponry. While older males lead small groups of females and their young, adolescent and subadult males form small bachelor herds of up to a half-dozen once they leave their mothers' care, honing their skills in combat by testing and sparring with one another.

Hightowers range across most of the territory of both the northhounds and southhounds, and while they are too large for the small-prey specialist northhounds to tackle, they are among the various wild game that are hunted for subsistence by the various southhound populations, who typically target them by the watering hole and strike while the hightowers are forced to awkwardly bend over to drink, a period where they are most vulnerable. This has found its way into southhound vernacular, primarily the plainmanes, who use the term "a bending tallbeast" to refer to one who makes themselves an easy target, and whose folklore include tales of how the hightowers long ago dared to stretch their necks higher than the heavens and were thus punished for their arrogance and hubris by the ruling cloud-spirits to forever thirst for water they cannot reach with ease.

--------

[elbiotipo]

Notes on a South Asian Tropical Cyrodiil (and more!)

So, many TES fans know that before Oblivion, Cyrodiil was supposed to be tropical. The most striking phrase to describe it, "most is endelss jungle", says it all. The quick and snarky explanation is that Todd Howard watched LOTR, was "inspired" by it, and that's why everything in Oblivion looks sort of like a Rennaisance Fair. In any case, I think it was a huge missed opportunity, especially in a world where most popular fantasy is European inspired, to have replaced what could have been very cool tropical enviroments with what is frankly a lame "Talos used his magic" lore retcon. You can read the 1st edition of the Pocket Guide to the Empire to see what we missed.

But it's not only Cyrodiil which we missed this way… Tamriel just makes more sense as a tropical continent. While the size and the exact location of the continent is discussed by nerdier nerds than me, I think it does make sense like this, and not only that, we have a very interesting world parallel to compare it to: India. From a tropical rainy south to the cold mountains of Skyrim, Tamriel is surprisingly similar to the Indian subcontinent, and many of its geographical quirks can be explained if, instead of assuming a temperate Cyrodiil, we go all out with that concept. This is going to be a long post, you have been warned.

So with that in mind, I'll try to make a not-so brief tour (with some evocative pictures along the way) of a rebuilt tropical Tamriel, following the rains of the moonson:

The position of Tamriel, in this case, would be roughly where the Indian subcontinent is located in real life, that is again, tropical, stretching the Tropic of Cancer (is there a name for the tropics of Nirn? Interesting to think about) Here, we see our numbers pan out well: Tamriel is mentioned to be between 4000 and 3000km across east to west and 2000 and 3000km south to north. VERY, VERY roughly, there is 4000km between Pakistan and Myanmar, and 3000km from Sri Lanka to the northern tip of Tibet. Plot that on a map, and you already can see some coincidences. Now, this is a rather average continent, not Pangea sized like some imagine Tamriel to be. This does help explain why, for example, the interior of Cyrodiil is rainy and good for agriculture instead of a desert. But it also means that it's very likely that Tamriel is ruled by monsoons. Monsoons are complex, but they basically form when there are plenty of warm places for water to evaporate (the South Indian ocean), and mountains that block cool winds from the opposite direction (the Himalayas). We have a very similar situation here, with a mountainous Skyrim on the north of a tropical Cyrodiil facing an equatorial southern ocean. So, what happens are monsoons, perhaps not as strong as IRL India, but carrying rains very deep into the continent. This would feed the rivers and the rich agricultural areas of Cyrodiil, and would have some other consequences.

So let's imagine our trip South to North. In the South, in Black Marsh, Blackwood and Lleyawiin, and Pellentine (southern Elsweyr) we would find, much like in the original lore, humid tropical climates, jungle, wetlands, and my favorite, mangrooves. I would expect mangrooves to stretch in this whole area, across rivers. In fact, one of the reasons why Black Marsh could be so hard to explore and control by the Empires at Cyrodiil would be the presence of thick mangrooves all over its coast. This is the region of Cyrodiil that would most resemble "endless jungle".

(Rice fields in India, what I imagine most of this Tropical Cyrodiil would look like)

However, as any lore person knows, Anequina, northern Elsweyr, is arid desert. Does this mean a contradiction? Far from it, we have a similar example in IRL India: the Deccan Plateau, which has a semi-arid to arid climate. This can be easily explained by higher elevations up to a small mountain chain separating it from Cyrodiil to the north, and the fact that little rain would reach behind this "Anequina Plateau" would make the region of Kvatch and Anvil more dry much like in canon, in this case, more scrublike. This highland desert would not be as harsh as Elsweyr is usually concieved, maybe, but its driest regions might justify places such as Dune. (On that matter, it always bothered me to read about the "cities" of southern Elsweyr and there being only two or three there. If I had to redesign it, I would move some from the north to the south).

(the Deccan Plateau in India, it gets greener or drier according to the monsoon)

Keeping on our tour of Tamriel, the Topal Bay and the very rainy Black Marsh funnels the rainy monsoon from the south towards central Cyrodiil. Here we find the endless jungle of the Nibenay Valley. But unlike the rainforests of Elsweyr and Black Marsh, these dense forests and rich river plains are mediated by the monsoon winds, with dry seasons alternating with copious rain. This has huge effects on agriculture and culture in general, as agriculture is defined by the rythms of the rain. Keeping with our South Asian theme and the 1st edition of the Guide to the Empire, Cyrodiil would have huge extensions of rice paddies, as well as terrace farming and much hardier crops in the highlands, instead of the… well, almost absent agriculture we saw in Oblivion. The food, clothing, architecture and overall culture of Cyrodiil would be very different with this. The original Pocket Guide said some of its main exports besides rice and fruit are moon sugar and silk. Moon sugar in Cyrodiil, can you believe it?

Another thing I imagine Cyrodiil would be famous for would be fish and seafood, well, river food. Rice plantations can host fishes and crustaceans to get some extra protein, and well, what about mudcrabs? Hell, as preparing muddy soil is vital for rice cultivation, no wonder mudcrabs are considered a nuisance. Imagining critters in gameplay in such an enviroment also makes my mind roam. Tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, and this is not even getting into the more mythical creatures you could find, instead of endless wolves… Rice cultivation is also more labor intensive than other crops, and it also has a deep impact on the terrain, "terraforming" so to say, huge expanses into paddies and terrace farms. This level of cultivation also requires an established infraestructure of irrigation. While this does not necessarily means a centralized goverment, as farmers can build it and maintain it by themselves, the rise of an empire, i.e., the Empire, will also increase the complexity of these systems, adding canals, dams, reservoirs and more ambitious projects, like we see in India and China. I am sure some people more knowledgeable about those cultures can comment more.

While this Cyrodiil is a tropical/subtropical region covered in "endless jungle", some parts might indeed resemble the rolling hills and grasslands you see in Oblivion. Deforesting jungle for pasture is something very common around the world (some have joked this mass deforestation was later in canon explained as a gift from Talos lol) and you can see the results, like in tropical Australia and my closer Mata Atlantica, do superficially resemble temperate pastures in say, Europe. Until you notice the palm trees, of course. But yes, I can see the Nords being a mostly herding people (more on that below) bringing their sheep and cows to the tropical lowlands and, well, deforesting to make space for them.

(ranches in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, notice the palm trees)

Imperial City just so happens to be built in an island in the middle of several river crossings, in what seems to be a swampland. The first thing that came to mind when I read that was Tenochtitlán. The districts of Imperial City would have been built over the centuries on artificial islands on a shallow lake, using plentiful mud and organic matter to make fertile chinampas. I believe this would make for a striking sight. Instead of just a city in the middle of a empty island, you would see the White-Gold tower and the rest of Imperial City rising from Lake Rumare, surrounded by rich farmland and its districts joined by walkways. (much like the old descriptions, actually, could you believe I wrote that without reading them?)

(Reconstruction of Tenochtitlán... and I just noticed, it's surrounded by (volcanic) mountains too, much like Imperial City)

Much like the Pantanal is one of the sources to the Paraguay River (which merges with the Paraná and then the Río de la Plata) IRL, here, the swamps of central Cyrodiil would be the source of the Niben. This does raise an interesting question, where is the source of the Niben? Is it Lake Rumare? No, I believe it would be several smaller rivers all the way from Bruma and even Skyrim. These small, violent mountain rivers eventually flow into the Rumare wetlands and only THEN in the placid great Niben. You DON'T want to be caught in one of the mountain valleys in rainy season. This does raise the question; won't the developments upriver, like Imperial City itself and the surrounding farmland, affect the course of the river downwards? There's plenty of water from the rain, but a more developed Cyrodiil might indeed have to grapple with this, supposing, for example, they manage to dam the river.

Looking west, we got the Colovian region, said to be composed of drier highlands and cliffs in the early Pocket Guide. Probably cut from the rain because of the Anequina Plateau, this is indeed more arid or "mediterranean", though I actually see it as more Australian. Maybe some of the drier parts near Hammerfell, resembling Argentine Cuyo and the northwest, would be a distant cry from the wetlands, having thorny dry forests and dry valleys, where yes, you could plant wine. The wetter cloud forests (much like the Yungas in South America, the place where the rain reaches last) could maybe be the home of the last pre-Imperial cultures of Cyrodiil. Fascinating places.

(Jujuy, Argentina. Just *near* are the Yungas cloud forests, where the last rains from the Atlantic meet the Andes, making for some AMAZING places)

Given that I mentioned enviroments near to/on the Andes IRL, let's talk about potatoes. Potatoes are unique crops, because they are the only ones who offer such calories and also be planted in cold enviroments like Europe. Or Skyrim. The discovery and spread of potatoes would cause demographic shifts on people living in cold areas. And they also originated in a unique enivorment IRL: the Andes, actually with possible hybridization from the Magallenic foresWHAT I MEAN, is that potatoes are very important and have been domesticated in very specific conditions. The Wroghtgarian Mountains would seem like a perfect equivalent of the Andes at the first glance, but they would be very different. The Andes, located between the Pacific Ocean and the greater Amazonian region, are very, very unique enviroments. These mountains, however, are in between inner seas. Something like the Atlas or the Alps? In any case, if there is some people who would appreciate hardy tubers that can grow in mountainous places, they are for sure the Orcs, or perhaps the Reachmen. Maybe an hybridization even between them?

This returns me back to Bruma and Skyrim. Some people (who make those excellent Oblivion mods) imagine Bruma with a Tibetan flavor. Personally, I imagine it more like Pakistan or Afghanistan, with lots of mesas and plateaus and valleys. It would look dry and rocky with some very fertile valleys by snowmelt, but it would look like a snowy wonderland on winter, indeed, Pakistan and Afghanistan are very snowy. Eventually, of course, ending up in the great barrier of the Jerall mountains and finally, Skyrim.

(the Alps? Skyrim? No, this is Kashmir on winter!)

In this scenario, Skyrim would be a quite dry place… or would it? There is no need for the Jeralls to be a straight line of peaks like the Himalayas. They could be a more "broken" series of mountains, like the southern Andes, but in any case, the rain from the south would clash into the higher mountains. Indeed, that is what actually happens in the Himalayas, the foothills of the Himalayas are some of the rainest places IN THE WORLD. These small valleys are something very unique and not very well known part of the world IRL. I can imagine the Skyrim equivalent would be as unique too, hard to navigate and live in. The forests of the Rift and Falkreath would be mazes of windy forests valleys, each with their own unique secrets under a perpetual fog and drizzle. This is a very interesting enviroment to imagine, where again, some of the older cultures of Tamriel could still live.

(forests of Bhutan, note how the humid valleys stretch into the distance before the cold Himalayas begin)

However, what does Skyrim look like once you cross the border with Ralof? I imagine some sort of more fertile Tibet, not as high as the Tibetan plateau, allowing for forest and alpine tundra. This is mostly because, while Skyrim is high up, I don't imagine as a plateau, but rather a series of broken mountains like the North American Rockies, which makes sense when you account for all the volcanic activity (there is another super-volcano down in Skyrim but nobody notices). I imagine that Skyrim would be a primarily herding pastoral land before the introduction of hardier crops such as potatoes, and even then. Nord culture would be very interesting reimagined like this; hillforts guarding herds of sheep and cows. It would also create a clash between the very, very agrarian south and the nomadic herding north, with High Rock and Hammerfell a gradient between the two.

But here we enter a problem; if we are operating on a level where Cyrodiil is roughly at the same latitude of India, wouldn't that make Skyrim too far from the poles to allow its tundra like climate, even with elevation? No doubt. Tibet is only as cold as it is because it's the roof of the world and far from any ocean. The northernmost tip Skyrim, like Tibet, would be at the latitude of Turkey, Korea or California, which can get quite cold, but not to the level of what we see on Winterhold or Dawnstar (Solitude sounds familiar, though). What's more, having an ocean up north would only moderate the temperature. Cool currents often don't bring cold per-se, just decrease rainfall. This would end with a very temperate and pleasant Skyrim instead of tundra. Which is on its own, interesting to explore.

Could Nirn be going through an ice age, like it's implied with the dissapearance of Atmora? Possibly, but it would imply revising everything I said before, as ice ages decrease rainfall and mess up with weather patterns all over the world. A colder Nirn would explain a lot, though.

I decide I will stop here, I haven't even touched Valenwood (though its subtropical forest seems rather coherent to me), High Rock (the most boring part of Tamriel IMO), Hammerfell, Summerset Islands (if you don't have tropical elves in your setting, you're a coward), or whatever the hell is going on Morrowind. But I hope you enjoyed this worldbuilding exercise and how to make sense of Tamriel's crazy geography. Next time, I'll try to play with tectonics and see if we can make it even more interesting.

If you liked what you read and would like more worldbuilding, consider tipping me on Ko-Fi and send me stuff to talk about, or just send an ask! I'm the kind of guy who reads encyclopedias and RPG manuals for fun, so I have plenty to talk about about everything from fantasy to science fiction to speculative evolution and alternate history!

[entelodante]

I am rethinkin' Mirum's faux mammals and this is a good representative of their basal condition. Not THE common ancestor but a more 'primitive' design. They are what the platypus is to the human, still in the group and has a lot of key features, but weird. More info below the cut as always!

Vulpwhal are a part of the group of cynodonts that inhabit Mirum, which I want to just call "faux-mammals". They are NOT mammals since they do not produce milk, but share enough common traits that they are hard to distinguish to the average person. MAIN difference is that Mirum's faux-mammals have weird ass teeth. Basically they have 6 incisors on top, 5 on the bottom, 1 pair of canines(only on the top jaw), and 2 molars in the back. Their canines are normally tusks, but in the Vulpwhal they are mostly used for feeling food swimming through the murky silt of the water they feed in. They have a big gum filled indent in them that is a stand in for whiskers. Their semi aquatic lifestyle is also a hint as to how they ended up in Mirum, their group was once much more numerous with various ocean going species. But now these fellas are all that remain, with all their other relatives an ocean away. But these guys get along pretty well, filling a niche similar to a seal while spending much more time on land. They inhabit the rivers and estuaries of a more temperate continent where they are a symbol of nobility! They also lay eggs, something that most faux mammals have developed out of. Like Stows for example pop out already walking around, while Histin have a much more altricial phase. These guys come out more ready to walk around, but spend a few months with their mother to grow before they head out on their own. All in all p fun lil dudes, wanted to just get the baseline down for BIG changes. But also wanted to make a modern day beastie. These guys are not exceedingly common, but they aren't endangered by any means. Also bonus rug for markings/proportions.

[rei-ismyname]

Storm used to get naked a lot

Magneto definitely has the longevity (pun intended) when it comes to on-panel nudity or semi-nudity, but Storm had many moments early in her publication history. They're pretty racist, tbh, the implication being that an African person wouldn't have the same understanding of the social contract dictating 'don't be naked in public.'

This one isn't public but it's got a similar vibe of otherness. 'Imagine myself back in Kenya.' As an aside, my disability makes showering a lengthy trial. I'd love to be able to do this.

Jean is Living with Misty Knight and keeping her Marvel Girl identity secret, so she asks Ororo to change out of her X-Men uniform. There's a flash of lightning? Cool trick, but yeah she's butt nekkid and Jean is aghast/horny/who knows? Ororo is like 'We all good?' and Jean nearly chokes on her drink (sure ;) It's not really explained, but I feel like it's meant to be read as 'African woman doesn't understand nudity taboo.' An excellent what if? would be 'What if Storm's nudist/body positivity became an X-Men thing?' I think it'd be good for everyone who consents, though it'd make it a lot harder to run a school.

This one is forced as hell. Nightcrawler realises Storm is swimming naked in the pool, and tries to hurry everyone inside so nobody sees her. If I'm being generous he means well, but it's still a little uncomfortable. Not pictured - Kurt talking to Storm; Storm giving a fuck. Because he loudly told everyone to get inside, Storm does too (why wouldn't she?)

Nightcrawler - 'Too late.'

Colossus - 'By The White Wolf?!?'

Banshee - 'Oh dear.'

Wolverine - 'Nice tits, darlin.' (paraphrased, lol. The look on his face tho )

She doesn't understand what the hell these weirdos are on about, and complies with Piotr's suggestion that she wear his shirt 'if you insist.' (Boo, double standard. Free the nipple!)

Ororo still doesn't understand, so Xavier (who's been listening? Watching? telepathically takes what's barely subtext and makes it text.

'What may be customary in your land is not in this one.' Yikes. Ororo spent a lot of her youth in various parts of Africa, but her childhood proper was spent in New York AFAIK. She's a US citizen This is her land. I consulted a bunch of African friends who've been to Africa and have family there - Nudity is not common in their experience. Same rules as most places. It's a very stereotypical portrayal of backwards Africa - as if it's a homogenous country and not a massive continent.

He continues 'For the sake of group harmony, I suggest in future you use more... discretion.' I wonder what word he was going to use instead of discretion. Professor X is the undisputed patriarch here, so naturally the most patriarchal stuff comes from him (especially in the 60s/70s.) I'd actually love this to be revisited and have it be revealed that she just likes being naked and it has nothing to do with her being from Africa. Maybe with a lightning bolt upside his bald head. Aside from the scene where Xavier recruits her, I don't think there's any Ororo naked in Africa scenes - she understands the concept of clothes. Ugh.

She was just trying to swim, it was these bozos making a big deal of it. It's also just plain weird that this came up multiple times with multiple writers. Same editor, though I think. Expecting progressiveness from Liberal Marvel is folly, but this just feels like policing women's bodies, and a black woman repeatedly in the same way. 'Stop ogling and objectifying the poor woman,' would be much more appropriate.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Textbooks on biology and forestry make it clear that large parts of Europe would naturally be covered by dense forests. The textbook narrative is that our ancestors felled the forests, drained the swamps and cultivated the heathland. In other words, they created the varied landscapes of meadows, heaths and grasslands that characterized our cultural landscapes before the advent of modern agriculture. But new research from Aarhus University suggests that this is not the case. Elena Pearce, postdoc at the Department of Biology at Aarhus University, and the lead author of the study explains. “The idea that the landscape was covered by dense forest across most of the continent is simply not right. Our results show that we need to reassess our view of what European nature is," she says, and her colleague and co-author Professor Jens-Christian Svenning continues: “Nature during the last interglacial period – a period with a mild climate similar to today, but before modern humans arrived - was full of variation. Importantly, the landscapes harboured large amounts of open and semi-open vegetation with shrubs, light-demanding trees and herbs alongside stands of tall-growing shade trees.”

[...]

According to calculations from the new study, somewhere between 50 and 75 per cent of the landscape was covered by open or semi-open vegetation. And this is most likely due to the large mammals that lived at that time, explains Jens-Christian Svenning. "We know that a lot of large animals lived in Europe at that time. Aurochs, horses, bison, elephants and rhinos. They must have consumed large amounts of plant biomass and thereby had the capacity to keep the tree-growth in check," he says and continues: "Of course, it’s also likely that other factors such as floods and forest fires also played a part. But there’s no evidence to suggest that this caused enough disturbance. For example, forest fires encourage pine trees, but mostly we did not find pine as a dominant species.” Although the research group cannot be 100 percent certain about the extent to which large animals were behind the open areas, there are strong indications that they were. Firstly, large animals such as bison have exactly that effect in areas where they are still found in European forests. Furthermore, beetle fossils from the last interglacial period also show that many large animals lived at that time. “We have looked at a number of finds of beetle fossils from that time in the UK. Although there are beetle species that thrive in forests with frequent forest fires, we found none of them in the fossil data. Instead, we found large quantities dung beetles, and this shows that parts of the landscape have been densely populated by large herbivores," he says.

[anxresi]

A Short Zoe Rant Cos I Is Bored

The ONLY way Zoe would’ve been remotely acceptable in the show is if she’d been introduced MUCH earlier.

Like, the very first season.

Show her as a ‘counterpoint’ to Bully Chloe as one who is actually bullied, and how being raised in a completely different country & continent can influence one’s behavior & outlook.

Maybe she can have a few cameo scenes until she’s a full-time regular, show her chatting on the phone to her dad, sending letters to her sister etc.

Then, when she eventually DOES turn up later, give her more personality than ‘feel sorry for me, oh and btw I’m a lesbian’. Not everyone has to fall hard for her the minute she appears, and if you ARE going to make her a superhero, don’t give her the miraculous in her second ever episode!

And Mr Astruc wonders where these accusations of favoritism come from, when all this coincides with Chloe’s sudden descent from being a semi-complex character to a raving lunatic sociopath? Anyway…

Have Zoe perform some actual function in the show: like, give her a pivotal role in her sister’s redemption. Let her have some negative traits, apart from I-don’t know-how-special-I-truly-am (a common trait of badly written Mary Sues). Don’t let the finality of her character arc be a single pink streak in her hair(!) (talk about lack of ambition).

A few other ideas: Give her a girlfriend crush who ISN’T Marinette, because not everything has to revolve around Baker Girl. Quit putting words in the mouths of other characters how ‘perfect’ she is to manipulate and influence the young audience, it’s distracting and annoying.

Basically, the only thing I’d keep about her in her current incarnation are her shoes, which are pretty groovy TBH. Everything else can be ditched, including her name (Too close to ‘Chloe’ idk… I think something like ‘Arabelle’ would suit her) and design, (again, too similar to Baker Girl)

But, as anyone with half a brain cell would’ve figured out by now, she was only created as a flawless counterpoint to you-know-who so Mr Astruc and his lovable team of hacks wouldn’t have to do any real development on Chloe… they gave us a ready-made, blandly nicey-nice ‘cute’ replacement to just simper away in the background without doing anything of value and contributing the grand total of nothing to the dynamic of S4 onwards.

And seeing as how S4 is generally seen by a lot of people as the beginning of a steep decline in quality of the show, I guess she’s in good company.

Welcome to the dumpster fire, Zoe. We have cake! 🔥 🧁

[ntls-24722]

Redoing the info post! Again! This'll hopefully be the last time I make these refs, not because I fully plan for these to stick (ofc, i hope these designs stick, but for as long as i fixate on this world I'll always be tweaking these designs) but because from here on out i'm probably just gonna be tweaking this world and just.... not making more refs LMFAO

Anyways, this is homo mousike, the Music Man-themed speculative biology project I made on accident. I didn't make homo mousike with the intention of spec bio'ing music man into various species, it was the result of me looking too hard into the tiniest bit of lore that i made for these music man "cave paintings." Which is why they all look so weird and not exactly like the music men they're based off of - I quite literally ripped them right out of the cave walls, which is exemplified even more by their original designs.

HOMO MOUSIKE

On an alien planet known as Bolur, there are 3 different sophont species that have just started their history together on a hot, arid continent. There's a fourth sophont, but they don't know about them at this present. By pure coincidence, in the future, all 3 have named their species "music man" in their own languages due to their fossils being reliably found with prehistoric instruments.

The Debu are the ones based off of DJ Music Man. They are part of a clade known as "mountain cows", massive, beefy hexapods that, despite their size, still climb up cliffsides to carve out their own caves with their hooves. Their species have had human-equivalent intelligence for almost 2 million years, but they haven't meaningfully moved past their stone age due to the lack of need. However, unlike our idea of caveman life, Debu have been sedentary and domesticating plants and animals - they just haven't widely utilized metal.

Due to the heat and their bare skin, they roll in mud to use it as sunscreen, and this has interestingly inspired them to be very big on makeup. Their frontmost teeth, which are set apart from their molars in all "vertebrates" on this planet, have fused together into a pair of tusks, which they were originally supposed to be using to eat trees. But Debu are opportunistic, and will eat anything that won't kill them - including the other two aliens. They also don't speak through their mouth but instead through their noses, and therefore their nostrils are two toned for the reason that our lips are: in order to follow the "lips" when speaking.

Their species evolved tool use to make instruments on account of it helping them attract mates, and the tool use + growingly social behavior got them to the level of sapience that they're at now. Debu as a species are exceptionally opportunistic and resourceful, and are well versed in anatomy and medicine even in their stone age.

The Zebramen are based off of the original Music Man. They, and the following zebraelves, are part of a clade known as "spitting monkeys," arboreal and eusocial octopods who have glands on their butt for shooting slime at you! Zebramen and zebraelves are actually in the same genus and can even hybridize - they have a lot in common, and I often refer to them simultaneously as "zebrapeople." Speaking of, zebrapeople have actually been able to semi-dry their slime into making silk instead, so this group is actually the most spider-y out of any of the Music Men.

Zebramen are 8 feet tall and walk only on their 6's - they're the only Music Man whose feet actually differ from their hands. They're stupid fast, though very similar to humans where they are used to running long distances. They're just beginning to use bronze and they live as nomads, stewarding their massive communal herds and living in carriages drawn by cloe-mena. Their sapience began when they left the trees and started domesticating animals, and this is reflected in their tools; Early zebraman tools were instruments, aids in communicating across a massive flock. Zebramen religions are overwhelmingly animistic, as their lives depend on their animals and, well, so did their sapience. Many of the animals zebramen herd today actually co-evolved with them.

Zebraelves are in the same genus as zebramen, and share a lot of cultural and morphological similarities since these two species have been in contact with eachother since their appearances. Though, they do have some stark differences: Zebraelves are only around 2 feet tall while zebramen tower at 8 feet. Zebraelves have angled pelvises, and are able to go from hexapodal to octopodal depending on where they're walking on. Zebraelves' stripes are also generally only shades of brown and black, while zebramen can have the added colors of pink and red to their palettes. Their spinnerets are longer and tufted, since they're used for expression, and zebraelves are also generally a lot fuzzier than zebramen. But what might be the most striking difference is their way of life - Zebramen are communal, sure, but zebraelves are outright eusocial, having a "hive" structure with very drastic dimorphism.

(details on this... another time)

Inventing and playing music actually wasn't all that instrumental(lol) to the zebraelf's evolution towards sapience, but it was found to be important for their cohesiveness - remains of instruments were found during periods of assimilation, when colonies began to cede into one another and they started celebrating about it. It's a little touching that their species was named after their celebration of peace

[findroleplay]

— mdni. twentyone plus. they/them.

hi hello! currently looking for some very specific fandomless content. i'd love to write darker themes (🍪, incest, non/dub con & more). romance, angst, drama, and other heavier themes. nsfw is a must! (50/50 to 70/30 - plot/smut ratio.) kinks can be discussed in private!! i'd love to explore some specific dynamics / plot ideas. i write semi lit to advanced lit, 3rd person! usually i stick between 2-4 paras! i'll colorize what I'd be fine/would like to write from the dynamic! (high preference will be bolded) god x sacrifice (!!!) — cult themes, sacrifice, potentially gore content. eventually some romance themes, god falling in love with the sacrifice, or something similar. (heavy, heavy nsfw. dead dove.) sailor x siren — a sort of enemies/unlikely friends, imprisonment maybe? romantic themes immediately, but willing to discuss more. knight x royal — sworn protector, loyal to a fault. this can be possessive? knight or royal over the other. honestly just the vibe is enough. royal x royal — arranged marriage. they can hate each other, they can not want this, they could have been ripped from lovers for this marriage or traveled to different continents to be married off. eventual love, but a slow burn, probably. dragon (shapeshifter) x rider — exactly what it says. this one is a little more vague? tamed dragon that was claimed by someone unlikely? wild dragon? feared beast? unlikely friends here. bonded together. have to co-exist. romance eventually or outright. conqueror x war prize — some opposing royal conquers a kingdom, steals someone (general, another royal, hero, etc) away. keeps them. (this one is heavily nsfw) possessive, enemies to lovers, slow burn. romance eventually.

pirate x royal/highborn — pirate meets a proper. enemies to lovers, can be protecting said muse, stealing them away, anything really here. it ends in romance. we can work out the details. monster x human - monster and their favorite human vibes. love this trope. more than happy to explore any themes here. that should be all... we can come up with other ideas in dms! if any of these sound like your vibe, like and i'll reach out!!

-

[arredusworld]

Loongs speculative biology is breaking me a little bit

im adding Loongs (Chinese dragons) to Arredus right, cuz they look cool, are cool, and i refuse to be euro-centric in my fantasy worlds

problem, the way i want to go about it is ruining my life (hyperbole), see part of Arredus is to have implied speculative evolution to back up the speculative biology, and Loongs are making that really hard

lets examine this depiction, scales are seen along side whiskers on the snout, spikes along the back, (presumed) feather coverage on the tale and face, and ears

this creates some issues, see the scales assert that this is a reptile of some kind, the (presumed) feathers make it likely that this is a dinosaur, but thats a guarantee, maybe lizards on Arredus have feathers, maybe its in the class of true dragons, or maybe those arnt feathers at all, and are instead real weird scales, tho considering all the more detailed art ive seen depicts it as fluffy-

-like this, <sidenote, there is so much ai slop of eastern mysticism out there> and while i acknowledge this is a modern piece of art, it appears to be representative of wat ppl think Loongs look like

<another sidenote, some art depicts the dragon with horns but this is inconsistently done so whether its s thing is up in the air>

one more thing b4 i begin speculating is that this project has no respect for modern preconceptions of the fantasy u know and love, only science and even thats a vague impression, so if that means making pegasus a dragon that convergently evolved to look like equines with wings, so be it

with that said lets get into my ideas for how to get this thing to exist at all, firstly lets talk environmental pressures, Loongs are suppose to be water gods of some sort and closely tied to alligators, turtles, and fish, so it is semi-aquatic, and being from china in our world, its likely accustomed more specifically to lush jungle environments

next lets talk niche, every animal in an ecosystem has a niche, wats this guys, well clearly its an apex predator, i dont think this needs much elaboration

next is its behaviors, and again i think its fairly intuitive to say Loongs are ambush predators, like cats and alligators, also most likely making it a solitary animal

finally for the hard part ive been procrastinating on all post, wat friggin animal is this at all, the first thots are obviously a reptile of some kind, if the non scaly bits are feathers, than its a dinosaur, most likely a dragon, however his native land is in Lushia, a continent with very little reptiles at all

another option is to make the Loong a mammal of some kind, maybe a monotreme, which would make it fairly distinct and also give me more freedom to be creative, or a feline, very similar in lifestyle of a jaguar (reminder that these nightmare animals are not only good but happy swimmers)

the issue i run into repeatedly is that no answer makes me happy, while a feline is my fave of the choices, it raises more questions for me, why is its snout so long, is the "scales" just fur pattern? or did this feline specifically evolve armadillo fur, if so why, if its a monotreme, wat does that mean at all, its a neat idea and allows it to lay eggs still but is that all that important? do all monotremes have beaks? does the Loong? is it bioluminescent like platypuses? if its a reptile, why is it one of the few on this continent? it didnt fly over like the dragons did, unless this is a dragon who lost its wings, if so why? why not evolve fin like wings to help swim like sea serpents? if its not a dragon, wat reptile is it? it has to be a dinosaur of some kind thats where feathers are from, but its clearly not any other dino other than a dragon, which circles us bacc around, and wat about them ears, are they false ears like the horns on a horned owl? if so why did it evolve that other than to look cool? does it even look that cool?

in short the Loong is making me tear loong strainds of hair out of my head, so here poll, decide ur thots and please tell me more in the replys/notes/watever else you wanna use to communicate with me

[luxudus]

A Spectember art piece that took me most of the month to make. Showcasing a Batesian mimicry ring found in China some 7-10 million years in the future.

    The northern snakeheads have diversified into several families of amphibious fish that are all highly successful in the Chinese subtropics. Overall, they now possess primitive feet derived from their pectoral fin.     One such species is the Violet Deathhead (Rutrumaput pharmaphyrous). A species of semi-aquatic and semi-fossorial snakehead that uses its shovel head to dig up a wide variety of prey. What makes the Violet Deathhead stand out is its iconic purple, black, and orange patterning used to warn predators of its potent venom-tipped rays.     The Violet Deathhead's infamy would spread throughout China's ecosystem. Its colors became an iconic warning of certain death. Something so iconic it spawned a variety of mimic species, all possessing the same patterns to ward off predators.

    One of the first notable mimics isn't a snakehead or a fish altogether. But a sailfin lizard. Its ancestors rafted here from the Philippines during a particularly nasty southwest monsoon. They became so successful they spread across the entire continent.     This mimic species is known as the Shamfin Lizard (Zhonghydrosaurs purvexicauda). They are a species of arboreal herbivores with a slight tendency to feed on insects.     As their name implies, their tail takes on the same purple, black, and orange patterns used by the Violet Deathhead to present itself as such to trick predators. They even go as far as to develop fake eyespots on their back to match the model species' heads.

    With as much speciation also comes the weight of extinction. And it is no different in this ecosystem as well. During this period, many species of Cranes and herons had to migrate away from China or go extinct altogether. However, this opens a new niche for an unexpected group of birds to flourish.     The second mimic species is the prism-winged Stiltit (Hydorbaino porphypteros). They are a species of wading piscivores that descend from the white-browed tit warbler.     They retained their ancestors' coloration but now for a new purpose. It's now within their underwing and patterned in the likeness of the Violet Deathhead's sail.

    The third mimic species is the Mockfry Mawed Moth (Stekoprosteros mimeofry). They are species of flying pollinating moths that retain their proboscis into adulthood. They are surprisingly social and live in large flocks their whole lives. As their genus name suggests, their resting state has their forewings erected upward, unlike other moth species.     They possess similar colors and patterns to the Violet Deathhead but seem to mimic their species' young. The moths and fry are around the same size and live in large groups. Plus, Deathheads have their iconic coloring during their entire lives.

    The final mimic species mentioned isn't a vertebrate or even an animal. Instead, the Fool's Death (Coleus teleinephos) is a species of Eudicot flowering plant. The stem of the Fool's Death grows into an arc, with the upper stalk resting in the giant leaves of the plant's base.     The Fool's Death's signature green and purple leaves allow it to mimic the patterns of the Violet Deathhead. And since their ranges overlap the most of all the mimics. The Fool's Death is surprisingly the most effective at being a mimic as it gets avoided most of any of the mimicking species.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Yale Environment 360:

Here in Burnt Corn Valley, smack in the middle of the Navajo reservation’s vast Black Mesa region, the hilly land both craves water and is brutalized by it. The sandy Arizona soil cracks under a punishing August sun as red-striped blister beetles search for moisture across its baked surface. Cottonwood trees and sagebrush rise from deep gullies carved by floodwaters that, during the intensifying summer monsoon, sluice off surrounding mesas and wash away fragile topsoil — reminders that with climate change, even quenching rains harbor powers of destruction.

This portrait of climatic havoc belies a softer reality, though. Farming once thrived in this parched region and could once again — if the right practices are adopted. Exhibit A: The crops on Roberto Nutlouis’s 12-acre Sliding Rock Farm, in his reservation hometown of Piñon, a five-hour drive north of Phoenix. “The corn is actually pretty big and thriving,” Nutlouis says. He believes — and both Western science and the lived experience of his Native elders affirm — that the traditional rock and stick structures he’s built on his property, which help store water and prevent erosion, have a lot to do with it. These structures, similar to those used by Native peoples long before Europeans arrived on the continent, are not only delivering water to crops (the broader, 27,000-square-mile reservation has the highest reported rate of food insecurity in the U.S.). They are also restoring Nutlouis’s watershed and those of his neighbors, helping to sequester carbon, and reviving this high-desert ecosystem. It’s all part of a bigger effort among a range of local and regional grassroots organizations to build back the reservation’s fragile, depleted ecosystems and bring greater sovereignty over food, water, and health to its communities.

Diné (the Navajo name for themselves) are well aware that climate change is making the weather on their semi-arid plateau weirder, wilder, and more destructive. Depending on elevation, precipitation in Black Mesa averages 6 to 16 inches a year; recent heat extremes — the Navajo government declared a state of emergency in 2023 due to soaring temperatures —mean that the scant water evaporates more quickly. Climate models predict the region will experience increasing droughts that decimate plant life, part of a growing trend of human-caused desertification across the globe, as well as higher-intensity seasonal rainfall, which can sweep away crops and roads. The ecological health of the reservation has also been weakened by deforestation from timbering operations and from overgrazing over the years.

Still, this season, Nutlouis, 44, has been able to skip his usual two-hour roundtrip drive to a reliable well to haul water home for his corn. His crop is healthy and hydrated because his land still holds last winter’s snowmelt. Clearly, his heavy labor over the past 20 years — during which he has built woven brush dams, gabions (wirework cages filled with rocks), earthen berms, concrete spillways and trenches, limestone aprons and walls, and stone-lined “Zuni bowls,” which stabilize eroding streambeds — is paying off.

[mariacallous]

Hello, this is Kostyantyn Nechyporenko. I’m a researcher at the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit.

In this issue of The Witness, our newsletter about Russian war crimes, I’ll talk about how Russia exploits poverty in Asian and African countries to recruit soldiers for its war against Ukraine.

On Aug. 1, 2024, the Indian government told its parliament that it knew of eight Indian citizens who died in Ukraine while serving in the Russian army. The exact number of Indians serving in the Russian military is unknown, but the government knows of 63 Indian nationals who "have sought early discharge" from the Russian army.

At the first glance, this news may seem strange. Russia’s population is almost three times bigger than Ukraine’s – why would Russia look for soldiers abroad?

Moreover, why would it recruit soldiers from the other side of the continent and spend resources on logistics instead of finding "volunteers" nearby, from the countries that are culturally closer, where people may speak Russian and have even served in an army that is similar to that of Russia?

Russia doesn’t limit itself with India. In June, the Kyiv Independent published a video of a questioning of a Nepali POW who fought for Russia in Ukraine. Russian special services send hundreds of people to conduct secret or semi-secret recruitment in dozens of countries. Ukrainian military intelligence has said that Russians are recruiting citizens of at least 21 countries for the war in Ukraine.

The list includes post-Soviet countries, as well as Serbia, and a number of countries in South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This list is probably not exhaustive, as videos and photos of alleged citizens of Somalia, China, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Ghana participating in the war on the side of the Russians have surfaced.

What do we know about Russia’s international recruitment and why it’s conducting it?

The recruitment is active in the countries where Russia can afford to not care about locals’ discontent, where there won't be even a diplomatic note of protest or condemnation.

It is telling that the reaction of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry to Russian recruitment of its citizens was to propose to set up a "joint committee" with Russia to address the following issues: "payment of compensation for the deceased and the wounded, the plight of the uncontactable Sri Lankans, and the possibility of voluntary returns." Despite the obviously abusive attitude towards the Sri Lankans in the Russian military, the statement has no hint of resentment or dissatisfaction.

One might think that the point of international recruitment is to give the impression that Russia’s war is supported by a large number of countries. However, there seems to be not enough publicity to support this version. There is no evidence of a systematic public campaign by the Russian state and Kremlin-controlled media that would highlight that volunteers from around the world are joining their fight.

From what I've seen, most videos and photos of foreigners in the Russian army show that Russian recruiters tend to target poor and embattled countries.

Syria is the most appalling example. After years of brutal campaigns in support of the Assad regime, Russia is taking advantage of the country’s dire economic situation, lack of essential goods and staple foods, and many Syrians struggling to provide for their families. Some public sector employees, for example, can earn as little as $20 a month. For many Syrians, the promise of a soldier’s wage of $300 to $3,000 per month is very tempting. In addition, recruiters often promise non-combat roles, "work in the rear," or even "guarding facilities" thousands of miles away from the combat zones. Often, it’s deliberate deception.

Those who accept the offers risk ending up in so-called "meat assaults" – this is what Ukrainians call Russian tactics in which waves of infantry with little or no mechanized support attempt to wear down the defenders of Ukrainian fortified positions with continuous attacks. Such tactics are not uncommon in the Russian army, known for its blatant disregard for casualties.

This is exactly what happened to one of the Syrians who was lured to Russia with the promise of "guarding gold mines in eastern Siberia" and a tempting salary, where he quickly found himself in the ranks of the Russian army. In an audio message to his uncle, he describes how he was forced to walk over the bodies of killed soldiers and how horrified he was to see scorched earth and burned trees on battlefields.

Technically, such recruitment isn’t a war crime. But if you ask me, exploiting poverty, dire living conditions, and unemployment to send people far from home to die in an unprovoked and ill-motivated war is not just predatory recruitment. It is a crime.

Still, Russia needs more people to fight. Their tactics and strategy require many troops, no regard for casualties, and treating soldiers as “expendables.” Therefore, the search for new soldiers never stops.

One of the recruitment ads got a lot of attention on Ukrainian social media because of its somewhat comical wording and lack of consistency. It begins with the words “Contract work for real men in Moscow” and ends with “The women are back in action! Recruitment in Rostov-on-Don has opened for you!” However, those who mocked the ad missed a very important part: the ad promised a one-time bonus of 2.3 million rubles (about $25,000, a great deal of money for Russia) for signing the contract. This shows how much the Russian army needs more recruits and how unwilling the Russian leadership is to intensify the mobilization at home. Foreign mercenaries are a different case — they can be paid less, and there are no political consequences at home if they die or get seriously wounded.

As I was writing this newsletter, the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali sent a letter to the UN Security Council condemning Ukraine's alleged support for rebels in the Sahel. Following the successes of the Tuareg rebels in their battles against the Wagner, many Ukrainian military bloggers have speculated that they are being supported and perhaps even trained by the Ukrainian special services. Whether this is true or not is hard to say now. But Mali and Burkina Faso are definitely on the list of countries where Russians actively recruit soldiers.

This war may be taking place on the territory of just two countries in Eastern Europe, but it has truly global implications.

[zerogate]

Advances in modern medicine have regularly allowed people to “come back from the dead,” as it were, and many who do report extraordinary visions and experiences from their trip to the other side. A Dutch study of 344 people who survived cardiac arrest found that between 12 and 18 percent had deep and affecting experiences on the threshold of life: meeting dead loved ones, being ushered through a tunnel of light, existing outside of their bodies, and being filled with love and bliss. The life review is one of the most powerful and comforting of these visions. It is characterized by the conviction that you have sweeping knowledge of all things and can simultaneously reexperience your entire life. “When my expansion was over, I was everywhere, I was everything at the same time,” one woman recalled. “I was the sky, I was the ground, I was the trees, and I felt the wind blowing in my leaves, I was the sea and I was also my parents, my friends, people I had not met before but who, at that point, I knew because they were part of me.”

A former wildland firefighter named Ken Senn told me that he suffered an abdominal hemorrhage while hunting with his son in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. His son, Caleb, had already dislocated his shoulder trying to help his father over rough ground, so the two men were forced to spend the night by a fire in subfreezing temperatures hoping rescuers would find them before they died. Ken was semi-functional from blood loss and Caleb was deep in shock from an unreduced shoulder. At dawn, Caleb set out to try to make it to a road. “After Caleb left, I was at peace because I knew he was going to be okay,” Senn said. “But I knew I was dying. And that was when the mountains started to move, started to ripple. And I realized that the entire world was alive, everything was alive. And I saw all these animals below me and they were all dying, and I knew I was going to die too, one day, but we were all linked. And I felt at peace because I knew my body belonged to the earth. The Angel of Death was whispering in my ear.”

The similarity with many religious experiences is striking. Renowned yogi Paramahansa Yogananda describes the moment of his enlightenment as a young student in India: “Soul and mind instantly lost their physical bondage and streamed out like a fluid… the flesh was as though dead; yet in my intense awareness I knew that never before had I been fully alive. My sense of identity was no longer narrowly confined to a body but embraced the circumambient atoms. People on distant streets seemed to be moving gently over my own remote periphery. The roots of plants and trees appeared through a dim transparency of the soil; I could discern the inward flow of their sap… A swelling glory within me began to envelop towns, continents, the earth, solar and stellar systems, tenuous nebulae, and floating universes.”

-- Sebastian Junger, In My Time of Dying

[moscahbriar]

a little family tree for a royal family! here's a brief description but will ramble more about the worldbuilding under the cut! the Geilanuard's were the royal family and monarchy of the nation Moormarig, from the continent Loscan. they lasted from Joffery Geilanuard to the last member of the family, Victora Geilanuard, who was murdered when the government was overthrown and defeated by an enemy nation, the royal family in power being the Weirgand's. this was the monarchy controlled to the nation The Republic of North Ohcea, as well as other nations, which left them to either become independent or under the leadership of someone else.

Loscan generally is very much a place with gender roles and a patriarchy, so the monarchs are not usually women. however, two women - Willa I and Victora - did end up becoming queen, simply because there were no other viable options. Willa had the longest reign, and Victora the shortest; she died at twenty-three years old.

Loscan also generally is very much a place with class. and you can guess the class of the position by looking at last names; not as possible here, but -er last names are much more "commoner" while the fancier ones are associated with the upper class. Isibeal Lanner was a "commoner", as told by her name; it was a scandal when Roubin entered a relationship with her, with the government and family disapproving. but Roubin loved Isibeal, and Joffrey loved his brother, and didn't stop the marriage from occuring. Isibeal and Roubin's children were part of the Geilanuard family, holding the last name, but they were always sort of black sheep due to their mother's heritage.

for semi conlang related - besides the -er surname ending, being akin to van- in dutch names (meaning "from" or "of" or such), you can also see some feminine and masculine forms of names. its commonplace to do legacy naming in the Geilanuard's culture, and a lot of Loscan in general. for example - Roubin is named after his mother Rouba, Edura is named after her father Eduard (and in turn an Eduard is named after her), and Peig is named after his aunt Pega, and Lairna after Lain. you can also probably guess that -a is a feminine ending, much like languages in our world.

Moormarig was a colonist nation that took control over other nations; specifically, a lot of Ohcea, especially North Ohcea. The Republic of North Ohcea (the RNO) was one of these. the government of the RNO and Moormarig were on good terms still by the time Queen Victora died; not a USAmerican revolution situation. when the Geilanuard's were wiped out and Moormarig government overthrown, the RNO kept their loyalty; however, it's not like they could be governed by the monarchy anymore, as it no longer existed. instead, they declared independence, and managed to secure it. even though they were now an independent nation, that loyalty remained; a province and island named King Peig Island kept the name, for example, and the significantly large international trade centre in the RNO was named the Queen Victora Trade Centre. many other things are also named after the monarchy and other significant Moormarigish figures.

also, small fun fact; the monarch of the Weirgand's at the time of Victora's death - and who orchestrated the fall of the Geilanuard's - is another young woman who came into power as a similar way as Victora; queen despite the patriarchy, due to no other options. her name is Raigha Weirgand!