#but as someone from the sw fandom and specifically tcw. i find this timeline much less confusing

[irisbaggins]

This will contain spoilers, everyone!

(Edit: this was a preliminary attempt to think about timeline, so whilst I will let this stand, I'm not as happy with it as I'd like. This post discusses the one massive thing I overlooked, and is something I'm more confident in. So, regard this as like, an idea about mutation and magic, and not an actual analysis. It's an idea, a concept. Not proper analysis. Although, the idea of mutation and magic extending their lives has much potential. Just...this is not a Take Take, just an exploration)

On the topic of a timeline with Burrow's End, I think is a lot of interesting readings to approach it with. Due to this all being collaborative, timelines can be tricky to navigate, but also fun. Kenji's death is a little tricky, but Geoffrey and Tula's makes sense (at least to me). One of the ways in which it can, with regards to the kids, is the idea that they're slowly evolving to have longer lifespans. Specifically, in regards to Tula and Viola, they would be probably around the mid-life point, yet they act more like 30-40 instead of 50+. This, then, can be used to understand that their lives are slowly extending, where their life phases hit at different times than previous generations.

This is actually sort-of touched upon, with Tula's remark about "Old Big Walmer". In normal stoat terms, he would be much older than Tula, but as Aabria remarks, they're only a few litters apart, and they're not really that far apart in age. This little throw-away gag can, in fact, be the key to solve a little of the age puzzle. Had they been normal, un-evolved stoats, Walmer would've been much older than Tula. But, as they're slowly evolving and becoming much more like humans, they're also getting longer lives. What before may have felt like a decade in difference between two stoats several litters apart, now become less than half of that, maybe. Tula uses terms she grew up with, both to attempt to throw off her mother's attempts at meddling, and as a way to express her own distaste at the idea. Yet, they're not that far apart, she's only expressing ideas that she's heard from other, older stoats.

With this concept, therefore, I think that's what's going on with Lila and Jaysohn. The time of year they're in is slightly debatable, as we never got the actual month, but from Tula's knowledge, it was closer to winter at the start of the story. I suspect, if we're going to stretch the concept a little further (and depending on where the story takes place), we can say they're in the middle of Autumn, perhaps September-October if we're stretching it. Tula alludes to Geoffrey dying in Winter, either early or middle the season. In a rough estimation, if we're taking Aabria's narration of "knowing their dad only half their life" literally, the kids would be around 20 months, double that of normal stoat maturity. However, if we keep the idea of their lifespan being extended, that would extend the time between milestones as well. This could keep the kids still as kids, whilst also keeping to a somewhat coherent timeline.

It would also make sense why none of the others note this weird lack of maturity or age in the kids, because they themselves haven't noticed the change either. They're also having their lifetime extended, which makes it natural for them to not react all that much to such a change. The fact Lila and Jaysohn grew up so slow doesn't really matter, does it, when everything else is thrown into chaos with the death of Geoffrey and who's supposed to lead the Warren. Sure, the kids are being toddlers for way longer than previous generations, but that's just because Tula's fussing over them! (It could also be a symptom of Tula's magic leaking into her kids, extending their lives without anybody noticing. Food for thought)

It can also just be a trait with Ava's bloodline, stemming from the fact that we know she was born outside of the Red Warren, possibly having been exposed to different radiation. We don't know if the others came with Ava and her family, of came and joined them over time. It can also be from when Ava was hit with further radiation the day Kenji disappeared, and that has leaked into her family as well. They are, after all, not normal stoats, and there is so much radiation and magic going on within these stoats that it could be anything affecting them.

I suspect it's evolution and magic causing this trickery in age, meaning that they're all living for much longer than any natural stoat. They're evolving, becoming stronger, smarter. Of course they'll live longer.

It also implies that Ava might not be as old as she appears, but she has decided to be an old lady in her 60-70s, and she will make everyone believe she is closer to 100 just so they will underestimate her. Or let her get away with shenanigans. Nobody can call her out, after all, she's one of the oldest of them.

It does, however, mean for ten or more months, Tula has been a living undead. Half of her kids' life she has been something else. Viola saw Tula change, and thought it was only loss and motherhood that did that. But instead, it was Tula's own death that changed her whole worldview. Everything else affected it, yes, but her death was what tired her out as much as it did. She never got that peace, not that rest, that she longed for. She couldn't, not with her duty. Of course she feels like a fraud by giving Viola advice; hers cannot be compared to someone who's still alive.

It's just interesting to think about, how what may seem confusing at first, makes a little more sense when you take magic and radiation into consideration. Also how horrifying it must be to realise you age differently than your peers due to something in you making you different. Something making you more.

#text_loke #meta from loke #Burrow's End #Burrow's End Spoilers #Dimension 20 #i saw someone say something about a confusing timeline. and so i had to try to figure it out #PLEASE if you have thoughts about this feel free to add them! i love reading different takes! #but as someone from the sw fandom and specifically tcw. i find this timeline much less confusing #especially so when much of it makes a lot more sense when considering These Are Not Normal Stoats #they're Silly Little Guys #also. this is a collaborative effort. it's not one person's fault for the timeline. it is ✨ everybody ✨ #but yeah. i'm sticking with mutation and magic as my explainations :) #Burrows End #Burrows End Spoilers #also aabria if you see this. i love your storytelling and the way you do things #like. it has sparked my whole brain