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bahoreal · 10 months

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evolution is so fucked up like. every single mutation is random, animals dont decide "damn id like a longer neck" one of a herd suddenly gets a slightly longer neck due to a random genetic mutation (that in mammals occurs at an average rate of 2.2 × 10−9 per base pair per year. thats 0.000000002.2 mutations a year. "per base pair" makes it confusing but basically for every cell which has dna and replicates, for each of those base pairs, there is us a 2.2 × 10-9 chance of that base pair being different in the new cell) and for it to be passed on it cant be a somatic mutation (mutation in any cell that isnt a reproductive cell) it has to be a mutation that occurs during reproduction/crossing over or a mutation during production of new gametes (reproductive cells) AND it has to be a mutation that directly affects an exon (coding region of a gene, there are parts of genes called "introns" which are removed before the mRNA coding a protein starts to code that protein so a mutation in an intron does nothing) AND it has to be a significant enough benefit (or coincide with another generational event like a bottleneck) for that trait to spread to every single animal in the species (most mutations are neutral or negative). and there are other barriers like transposons (which can sometimes aid bigger evolutionary trait changes by inserting themselves into a region of a gene that would. e.g., suppress a protein coding region so suddenly that region is coding for a protein) AND genetic redundancy (organisms have multiple copies of the important genes so if one gets knocked out by a transposon or a scientist the organism can still grow and live) like. things still evolve???? in positive ways???? i cant express how wild that is to me. evolution.

#this is like.. my transcription + evolutionary genetics + plant genetics courses all condensed into one text post #its also one of my pet peeves when people are like evolution decided - no it didnt. the organism decided this was a beneficial trait #and evolved it - no it didnt. evolution is a random game of chance played against every odd you can imagine over millions of years #like i didnt even touch genetic drift here #anyway. i would like to give people the benefit of the doubt and go 'i can see why people dont believe its real' but like #i don't think people who dont believe in evolution understand it to this depth to think about how batshit it is that evolution actually #exists you know. the anti evolution talk is more 'how did monkeys become people? those are different things.' and not like #the odds of developing a CORNEA??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME????#also i pulled the stat from a random paper i googled i dont remember statistics lol

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clanoffelidae · 9 months

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Now that I’ve mentioned it I wanna infodump about my alien dragons bc I haven’t talked about them in a long time and mentioning them just activated the neurodivergency

Doing everything in brief bc I’m on mobile and also have to work on moving today which I. Haven’t done yet. But I WILL-

Anyway. The basic premise for them is I wanted to tell a story about aliens living on Earth for so long people didn’t realize they weren’t originally from Earth. The fact that their biology is similar enough to an Earth organism to be mistaken for one by people without genetic sequencing or looking through the evolutionary lens at things (not realizing they seem to have no common ancestors) is the whole point.

The fact that they can breathe Earth’s atmosphere, the fact that they can consume the food that grows on Earth to meet their dietary requirements, the fact that they have surface level similarities to Earth life is all intentional! Because their story is that a ship crash lands towards the end of the last Ice Age, enough survive that they manage to gain a foothold on Earth, but soon enough they themselves have forgotten their own history, and now both humans and dragons believe that they have always shared this planet. Dragons have their creation stories, they say they were born of a giant, metal egg that flew in the heavens and spewed fire; that’s why they’re scales are as tough as that metal egg’s shell, that’s why they fly just like the egg, and that’s why they can spew fire as that egg that bore them; but those stories are the only remnants of their history.

But I also wanted them to still be alien, to still be such that a reader would look at them and the assertion that they are from Earth and start to see that things aren’t what they seem, it’s just the characters who never question it, because that’s the way it’s always been. Dragons have been here as long as human history recalls. But the reader can start to see that things might not be what they seem. (But neither side is hiding the truth, because neither side knows.)

And so we have the dragons. No special name, no special words to refer to them, they’re just dragons. In this world the mythos of dragons isn’t mythos, they’re right next door and you can go talk to them. Stories of dragons aren’t of mythical beasts, they’re stories of heroes of legend, just like humans.

Of course, the reader would quickly notice that they don’t quite line up with our classical ideas of dragons.

For one, they’re human-sized. They typically walk on four legs, but will often stand up on two to work with objects or even just have conversations. Standing up on two legs has the same social connotations as standing up from sitting; you might hang out on four legs with your friends, but if someone you want to be respectful towards approaches you you will stand up on two and straighten up unless invited to return to four. Of course, there are exceptions. It is not unheard of for groups of solely dragons to walk on all fours even in formal settings, though it is not the norm. Not the majority, but not unusual either. With humans present, however, it is considered quite rude to remain on all fours in a formal setting (barring, of course, obvious physical maladies necessitating it).

Dragons have opposable digits like humans, although they possess six rather than five, having a thumb on either side. They have similar ranges of dexterity and so both species are fully capable of using one another’s tools and machinery. Dragons also have lips dexterous enough to allow human speech, and so can speak human languages with no issue. Their digestive systems can also process human foods, including dairy; dragons themselves nurse their young.*

Their eyes are often noted to be exceptional, one of the most blatant indicators of their non-Earth origins to those looking. Their eye structure doesn’t match that of any known species.

In a way they could almost be likened to proto-eyes, for the whole organ is dark and light receptive, functioning similar to a pupil. In order to adjust focus and reduce the amount of light let in dragons have thick, dark membranes around the outside of the eye, that constrict to a circular opening like a drawstring bag. This opening moves and changes sizes, the eye itself remaining fixed in the dragon’s skull. The ocular membrane is not distinct from the rest of the eye’s color, the best indicator of where a dragon is looking being where their eye has a reflection rather than matte, as the matte black indicates the presence of the ocular membrane rather than the eye underneath. Many common nicknames and pet names used by dragons for humans they love; be it platonic, familial, or romantic; often involve the eyes. ‘Jeweleyes’ is the most common, akin to ‘sweetheart’, for the first dragons who grew close enough to look into a human companion’s eyes long enough to truly observe them likened them to precious gems for their multitudes of colors, both across the species and within the individual.

Dragons have three sexes, not two, and quite differing familial structures as a result. Dragons have males and females, akin to many Earth species, with the males having similar ranges in overall size to human females and draconic females conversely matching human males in this way. This, along with their scaled hides, is why many believed they must be related to reptiles in some fashion when draconic origins were first being investigated.

However, dragons have a third sex, known as nesters.

Nesters are non-reproductive, bearing no genitalia. Their size ranges are double that of the average draconic male, and they are so heavy that few are able to sustain flight after puberty. They have a front facing horn from the center of their foreheads akin to a unicorn, although it is curved like a blade. This horn sheds from time to time much like claws shed their sheathes. Nesters also grow a mane of hair-like fibers around their shoulders and upper chests akin to a lion’s mane after reaching puberty.

Nesters are the primary caretakers of draconic young, with their evolutionary purpose in times long past being to guard the children while the males and females hunted. Males and females produce eggs, but once the eggs are laid, it is the nester who takes over and broods over them, later raising the hatchlings who come from them in time, nursing* them when they are newly hatched and caring for them until they are adults. As such, they are what would be considered a dragon’s parent, with many dragons sharing the same parent, but with many different biological ‘parents’. The term ‘guard’ is used akin to ‘mom/dad’.

Long ago, dragons had only males and females, but lines that produced nesters produced more successful offspring, although the nester did not directly contribute genetics. In time, nesters became a commonplace part of draconic biology, and dragons grew to have three sexes as opposed to two.

Nesters were archaically considered the leaders of their clans, being the strongest as they were. Nesters would fight for clans not unlike male lions might fight for prides, their front facing horn being used for combat against both predators and other nesters. Thankfully, unlike lion prides, nesters did not kill any offspring present upon defeating the previous guard, as they themselves are non-reproductive. The reason they had to fight for a clan is because they require a lot of resources, they need a lot of food to remain healthy. A clan could only afford to have so many nesters before the resource consumption outweighs the protection provided when every day is a fight for survival.

Thankfully, this was long ago, and there is more than enough food to go around in the modern day. Many dragons still live in clans composed largely of males and females with a few nesters, but many also choose to live their own way, and many also intermingle with humans and their families. Gender stereotypes have also diminished, with nesters no longer being upheld as natural leaders and the voices of males and females rising to prominence. (Dragons never had much stereotyping or equality differences between males and females, only between those two groups and nesters.)

Common nester stereotypes include a mixture of those attributed to male and female humans, with nesters being seen as both child-rearers while also being ferocious combatants. To be weak is seen as undesirable, and a nester who doesn’t want to raise hatchlings might often be told they will change their mind later, especially by older generations. They are expected to be strong and brave, the last line of defense but the most powerful one of all. Thankfully, time lessens the strains of these expectations, but they have still shaped draconic society and influence it to this day.

There’s so much else I could say but I mostly just wanted to pick up nesters and show them off. Non reproductive third sex twice the size of the others whose ‘role’ is to raise the children, lead the clan, and absolutely annihilate threats that get too close.

Dragon kid to human kid on the playground: my guard could beat up your dad >:(

Human kid who’s never actually seen a nester: nuh-uh >:(

Elementary school teacher who knows nesters are like 10 feet tall at the shoulder and can lift entire cars: I have no doubt about that sweetie how about you two talk about something else-

* = Dragons produce a milk-like substance from glands in their throat that is fed to hatchlings orally similar to birds. To make it easier for them to feed without spilling it is first curdled internally to create a cheese that is then deposited into the hungry mouthes of young hatchlings. Dragon mouth cheese is my favorite form of psychic damage :)

Instead of pre-filled baby bottles there’s mouth-cheese charcuterie boards

God bless the unknowing human who thought to snack on their nester friend’s weird cheese plate

#the biggest L i ever took is having adhd but being allistic #i cant ever say ‘activated the autism’ when i get special interest activated 😔#im allistic but only on a technicality i swear 😭#sci fantasy #sci fi #sci fi and fantasy #worldbuilding #aliens #alien biology #alien species #the story is meant to kind of be ‘you open the book and think it’s fantasy but oops it was sci fi all along’#sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic and all that #and the dragons are just aliens #tbh ive had the idea of ‘what if dragons were real they’re just from another planet and went home’ since i was a kid #ive just recently started developing it to a point of realization <3 #‘this is brief????’ Yes #there’s so much else i could talk about #i went on rant entirely about their teeth once #like how dragons are naturally polygamous as a result of not needing to have both parties focused on one set of kids #so reducing the evolutionary pressure that made them resource guard mates #and how romantic relationships aren’t really a thing the way they are with humans #*usually!#dragon queers are very much a thing ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍🤎#i could also talk about their fire stomaches which is basically a heavily muscled organ in front of the stomach #that fills with flammable gas produced during the digestion process #that becomes highly pressurized #and is expelled and ignited by a hard - rock like organ in the roof of the dragon’s mouth that produces a spark #to result in the breathing of fire #how a dragon who looks ‘fat’ in having a large stomach means a dragon with a VERY full fire stomach #aka Armed And Dangerous - but i rlly gotta start moving asdfghjkl

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