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bethanythebogwitch · 1 month

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Kaijubiology: Mothra and the Elias

Intro to Kaijubiology

Godzilla biology

Monsterverse inspired, but incorporates the Toho movies and other giant monster media.

While Godzilla is unquestionably the most famous of all hyperfauna, likely the most beloved by the general public is Gigatinea mosura, commonly known as Mothra. This is due to the fact that, more than any other kaiju, Mothra is known to intervene on humanity's behalf when other kaiju threaten us and is response to ecological disasters. For her power and influence, Mothra has been given the title "Queen of the Monsters" in common parlance.

Gigatinea mosura is a species of insectoid hyperfauna bearing a strong resemblance to insects of the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). All known members of the species are female and reproduce through parthenogenesis. Upon reaching adulthood, a Mothra will lay eggs (usually one, but occasionally more) and can lay additional eggs shoudl an existing egg or larva be destroyed. In the larval stage, Mothra resembles a large caterpillar with a brown, undecorated exoskeleton, small compound eyes sunken into the head, and a set of mandibles that open and close vertically. Inside the mouth are silk glands that can produce a fluid that can be ejected from the gland in a powerful stream. This fluid rapidly condenses into a sticky and extremely strong silk. This silk spit is the primary means of defense that larval Mothras have. They will attempt to immobilize a threat in silk before fleeing. Larval Mothras are self-sufficient from birth, but will typically associate with and be protected by their mother. Larval mothras consume large quantities of both vegetation and radiation in preparation for metamorphosis. When not in the presence of an adult, larval Mothras will metamorphose as soon as they are able to. An adult can direct larvae to remain in the larval form, possibly as an adaptation to prevent competition or prevent metamorphosis until conditions are optimal for it. Metamorphosis begins with the larva using its silk glands to build a cocoon for itself. Metamorphosis takes place over the course of several days, though the process can be hastened at the cost of internal energy stores. Even while in metamorphosis, the larva appears to remtain some awareness of its surroundings and can continue to communicate with other hyperfauna using its bioacoustics.

An adult Mothra resembles a moth or butterfly, but has similar mouthparts to that of the larval stage. The most notable feature of an adult Mothra is her wings. The wings (two per side) are brightly colored and each individual's wing patterns are unique. This implies that there is some unknown mechanism that results in greater genetic diversity between parent and offspring than would normally occur in parthenogenesis. The wings are also bioluminescent. Patches on the wings can produce light in many colors and varying brightness. It is believed that at least some of the colors and patterns are used for communication or to express mood. Fascinatingly, there are multiple variants or morphs of adult Mothra that are specialized for different circumstances. The determining factor for which morph a larva will metamorphose into appears to be epigenetic, triggered by differing circumstances during the larval and cocoon stages of development. Known morphs are listed below. Elias art suggests the presence of more morphs that are not known to modern science.

-The morph most commonly observed is referred to as the primary morph. This stage features short, grasping legs and large, rounded wings more specialized for sustained flight than speed and maneuverability. The primary morph is believed to be the one a larva will metamorphose into when conditions do not require a more specialized form. Most abilities possessed by the primary morph are also possessed by other morphs. Like other winged hyperfauna, Mothra can cause windstorms created by flapping wings. he wings can also grow and release scales in the form of a brightly-colored powder. These scales have a soporific effect on most kaiju when inhaled. Additionally, primary morph Mothra has been shown to be capable of releasing scales with other effects. On one occasion, a Mothra assisted with the cleanup of an oil spill in the Atlantic Ocean by releasing scales into the water that bonded with the oil and triggered a chemical reaction that caused the oil to clump together and become buoyant and non-reactive, greatly limiting the damage caused by the oil and making cleanup easier. Another ability shared in all forms is an outgrowth of Mothra's bioluminescence that allows her to project a beam of ionized particles from the base of her wings. The Elias people's term for these beams is "god rays" and they are used as a long-range weapon. The primary morph is less able to use god rays than other morphs, often only being able to perform the action once before requiring time to rest.

-The combat morph appears when a metamorphosing larva is exposed to hostile kaiju. This morph is specialized for combat and speed, but is not as durable as the primary morph. In this morph, Mothra's body is slimmer, the legs are longer and possess sharpened grasping edges, and the wings are angular. This is also the only morph which retains the silk glands of the larva. The combat morph is also able to use god rays more effectively than the primary morph and has a stinger that can extend out of the abdomen. The stinger delivers a venom that is believed to have intoxicating and soporific effects on other kaiju.

-The armored morph also appears when a metamorphosing larva is exposed to hostile kaiju. It is unclear which stimuli trigger the armored morph to appear instead of the combat morph and vise versa. As the name suggests, the armored morph possesses a seemingly metallic armor over the body and leading edge of the wings. In addition to providing extra stability, the armor also appears to be able to reflect "beam" type attacks from other kaiju, such as the Gojira genus's a"atomic breath". The armor makes this morph slower than the other morphs, but it is extremely durable even by kaiju standards.

-The aquatic morph has only been observed by science on one occasion, when Infant Island was threatened by the amphibious kaiju Dagarah (Okaenodraco dagarah). The aquatic morph is the most different from the other morphs. The four wings are arranged differently and are too small for flight. Instead, they act as fins, allowing for swimming. The body lacks the fur that other morphs have, instead having smooth scales to reduce water resistance. The legs are small, resulting in slow movement on land. The head has armor plating which is streamlined in a way that reduces water resistance.

Unlike most hyperfauna, which have extremely long lifespans, Gigatinea mosura rarely live longer than four years once they reach their adult forms. Because they lay eggs after reaching their adult form, there will always be another generation barring the death of the larva before more eggs can be laid. Presumably the species was more numerous prior to the interior earth mass extinction and therefore at less danger of extinction due to the death of the larvae. All known Mothras have originated from the same place: Infant Island, located to the east of the Philippines. Infant Island is a wellspring of interior earth radiation, making it a prime habitat for hyperfauna. Indeed, several of the recorded battles between a Mothra and another kaiju have apparently been territorial battles with the other kaiju seeking to claim Infant Island for themselves. Infant Island is currently a place of concern to conservationists as the only known remaining habitat of the species.

Mothra's existence was revealed to the world at large in 1961 when billionaire Clark Nelson arranged a trip to Infant Island, the inhabitants of which had until then only been contacted a handful of times. He ultimately abducted several of the native Elias people and took them back to his home in Rolisica, a small and notoriously corrupt nation in the Indonesian islands, where he treated them as zoo animals and exhibited them off to guests. Because of his political and monetary power in Rolisica, police did not intervene. Mothra, still in her larval state, swam from Infant Island to Rolisica and travelled through the island. While footage and testimony from the event indicate Mothra did not actively attempt to cause any destruction, but ultimately did so as a consequence of her sheer size. The larva ultimately cocooned herself and emerged several days later as an adult. By this time, riots had begun and the Nelson estate was stormed by a group consisting of civilians, police, and former Nelson employees. Nelson was killed in the struggle and the captive Elias were freed. To get Mothra's attention, a group pf people painted the symbol used by the Elias to represent her on an airport runway. Mothra landed on the runway and the captive Elias were presented to her. Mothra allowed the Elias to climb onto her and carried them back to Infant Island. In the aftermath of the incident, Infant Island was declared a no-go zone by international agreement, to prevent a possible future attack by Mothra. The only exception are scientific expeditions with the permission of the Elias. Since then, Mothras have left Infant Island several times. These are often to confront another kaiju or to prevent or help repair ecological disasters. Of all known hyperfauna, the Mothras are the most benevolent to humans, actively going out of their way to avoid collateral damage and even acting to prevent human death for seemingly no benefit to themselves. They also tend to avoid killing other kaiju if given an opportunity to avoid it. It is not clear if these are traits the species developed in response to their long association with the Elias, or if these traits were what drew the ancestors of the Elias to the species.

Gigatinea mosura is one of the four known alpha species: species that can command the obedience of other hyperfauna species. The other alpha species are Godzilla (Gojirasaurus collosseus), Gamera (Hypertestudine pyrovoria), and Kong (Titanopithecus kongii). A closely related species is Gigatinea battura (Battra) and a more distantly related species is Micromosura fairi (fairy Mothra), a species of subkaiju that resemble miniature primary morph Mothras reaching up to 38 centimeters in length. The Elias refer to these as "Mosura fai'rii", meaning "little Mothra" and often keep them as pets while protecting them from their natural predators, the garugaru (Microdraco garugaru).

Mothra is central to the culture of the native people of Infant Island, the Elias. The Elias worship the species as a goddess of life and rebirth and refer to the species as Mosura. The common name Mothra comes from a poor transliteration of Mosura. In Elias belief, there is only a single Mothra who is reincarnated through her larvae. Some scientists hypothesize that the species has a form of genetic memory that allows memories to be passed down from parent to child. Mothra is viewed as a goddess of life who protects the delicate balance of nature and who taught the Elias to live in harmony with the natural world. Mothra is believed to speak to the Elias through a pair of identical twin priestesses called the Shobijin, meaning "twin beauties" in the Elias language. The Elias people have an unusually high incidence of identical twins and twins are considered special. The Elias believe in reincarnation and believe that identical twins are the result of Mothra choosing to incarnate the same soul twice at the same time. All identical twin girls are sent to the Shobijin for instruction, though only one pair will be chosen as the next Shobijin. The Elias believe that the Shobijin can commune with Mothra and there is evidence that some form of communication between the Elias and Mothra is possible, but how this is done is not currently known. The relationship between the Elias and Mothra is almost identical to a trend often seen in interior earth cultures where a culture will bond with and be protected by a kaiju. Examples of this are the Iwi with Kong, Seatopi with Megalon (Gigicoeloptera subterra), and Muan with Manda (Kairyu manda). It is currently hypothesized that the Elias are descended from an interior earth culture that migrated to the surface, possibly along with a population of Mothra. Other hyperfauna also feature in Elias beliefs, most prominently Battra, who is seen as a dark mirror to Mothra who wishes to return the world to a state before humanity appeared. Another piece of evidence that the Elias are descended from an interior earth culture is the use of a cultural motif found in several known interior earth cultures: an unknown winged kaiju with three heads. The Elias refuse to speak about this motif with outsiders and seem to fear the symbol. Anthropologists refer to the three-headed kaiju motif as monster zero.

Out of universe notes: the different morphs are my way to incorporating the different forms Mothra has taken in the franchise. The primary morph is the classic Toho Mothra, the combat morph is the Monsterverse Mothra, and the armored and aquatic morphs are forms taken by Mothra Leo in the Rebirth of Mothra movies.

In the original movie, Rolisica is somewhere in Europe. I moved it to Indonesia largely to give the larva a shorter trip and let its entry to the city be a surprise as it can swim instead of walking across Asia in a world where Kaiju are known about and feared. If Rolisica was in its movie location, the larva would have been seen and attacked by multiple militaries long before reaching the city to pick up the Elias and its arrival would not have been a surprise.

I debated whether I wanted to have the people who live on Infant Island be the Elias (Rebirth of Mothra name for the Shobijin) or Houtua (from the anime trilogy). I ultimately picked Elias mostly because I liked Rebirth of Mothra and didn't like the anime movies, but I think my Elias would take a lot of inspiration from the Houtua in terms of dress, body art, etc.

Gigatinea (tinea means moth) is a shout-out to Gigamoth, a scrapped concept for an evil twin Mothra that was later revised into Battra.

#speculative biology #worldbuilding #mothra #godzilla #monsterverse #elias #shobijin #rebirth of mothra #kaiju #kaijubiology #battra #fairy mothra #garugaru #dagarah #mothra leo #parthenogenesis #moth

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bethanythebogwitch · 2 months

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Kaijubiology and the interior earth ecosystem

Monsterverse-inspired, but incorporates Toho movies and some other franchises.

Godzilla biology

Hyperfauna, known colloquially as kaiju, titans, giant monsters, etc, are massive organisms native to the interior earth dimensional space that can gain nutrition by absorbing radiation from their environment. The field of kaijubiology and study of the interior earth is young so quite a bit is still unknown about these organisms and the nature of the interior earth. Life appears to have existed both within the interior earth and the planet's surface for over a billion years. As many interior earth organisms are similar to surface life both in morphology and what limited genetic information is available, it is currently hypothesized that abiogenesis occurred either on the surface or in the interior and then spread to the other location. Interior earth life has a major advantage over surface life: the presence of effectively limitless energy in the form of interior earth radiation. This radiation promotes biological function, allowing interior earth life to develop faster and grow to sizes vastly greater than surface life. While on the surface the primary source of energy for life comes from the sun, in the interior earth the primary source of energy is interior earth radiation.

At some point (the fossil evidence is not yet clear on the exact time period), kaiju and subkaiju (a colloquial term referring to hyperfauna that do not reach 50 meters in height or length as adults) began to travel to the surface through the many tunnels connecting the surface with the Hollow Earth. While many species likely only visited the surface for brief periods, some species and individuals set up permanent residence. In prehistoric times, the levels of radiation on the surface were considerably higher than they are now, allowing for kaiju to sustain large populations on the surface. Species that are now known only from a single individual or small population once roamed the surface of the world in vast numbers. As the surface became less radioactive, most of the surface kaiju populations either returned to the Hollow Earth or died out, often leaving only exceptionally hardy individuals in hibernation across the planet. However, very few of these hibernating kaiju remained dormant for the millions of years that have passed, most would wake up and travel the planet for periods of time before returning to hibernation. Sightings of these kaiju inspired many of the legendary creatures and deities that can be found in the countless religions and mythologies from around the world.

While the various species of kaiju and subkaiju are highly diverse, some common traits can be found amongst all of them:

All kaiju and subkaiju are able to feed off radiation absorbed from their environment. Many kaiju subsist mostly or entirely off of radiation, supplemented by the consumption of other food sources such as other kaiju, hyperflora, or geological elements. Subkaiju are more likely to regularly consume external food as their smaller size means they can more easily sustain themselves without needing radiation. For this reason, subkaiju are far more common than true kaiju and form a more recognizable food web.

All kaiju produce bioacoustics, extremely low frequency sound waves that can travel across the planet. Most surface animals are not able to hear these sounds, but kaiju can and use them to communicate. Most of this communication consists of territorial signaling or mate attraction, but some kaiju are intelligent enough to use more complex forms of communication. Studies on hibernating kaiju have shown that even while dormant, they are still capable of picking up bioacoustic sounds and responding.

Kaiju practice a strange form of interspecies dominance hierarchy in which most kaiju will recognize and submit to a stronger individual, known as an alpha. Most kaiju will only submit after some form of dominance is established, which is usually done either via threat displays, or, should both kaiju refuse to submit, a battle. These battles are known to end in the death of at least one participant should neither combatant submit. Known alpha kaiju active currently are Godzilla (Gojirasaurus colloseus), Kong (Titanopithecus kongii), Mothra (Gigatinea mosura), and Gamera (Hypertestudine pyrovoria).

All kaiju are known to constantly emit radiation in various quantities. This radiation is generated within energy-generating Yamane organs that act as biological nuclear reactors. Kaiju deprived of an external source of radiation are able to sustain themselves for long periods of time using their internal radiation, but will eventually require an external energy source or they will starve. Curiously, this radiation has immediate negative health effects to humans and other surface organisms, long-term exposure will actually begin to have beneficial effects. Many sites of kaiju battles have seen rapid growth of new plant and animal populations triggered by the leftover radiation. Some kaiju species have evolved to weaponize their radiation, most famously the Gojira genus and their “atomic breath”.

The interior earth dimensional space, often shortened to the "interior earth" and colloquially known as the "hollow earth", "Agartha", and a variety of other names, is a phenomenon akin to the sci-fi description of a pocket universe. It consists of a universal space distinct from the universe the planet exists in and is of unknown size. It can be accessed via wormholes that exist within fixed locations around the earth's surface. These locations are usually underground, leading to the misconception the the earth is hollow and the interior earth dimensional space is literally within the planet. These wormholes allow for interior earth radiation to reach the surface and allow for objects or organisms to pass between the surface and interior earth. Locations with wormholes are often described as wellsprings and are hotspots of hyperfauna activity and surface-dwelling kaiju will periodically visit them to absorb interior earth radiation. For unknown reasons, wormholes are found more prevalently around the Pacific Ocean and the north and south magnetic poles.

The interior earth consists of two surfaces suspended facing each other. Geological studies indicate that both surfaces have curvature consistent with each other, giving the impression that the interior earth consists of the surface of a sphere suspended within a larger, hollow sphere. It is currently unknown what would happen if one were to drill indefinitely through either surface, but both surfaces show clear signs of geothermal activity indicating the probable presence of a mantle and something akin to a planetary core. Gravity inverts between the two surfaces, meaning that if one travels far enough above the ground gravity will stop pulling them toward one surface and will start pulling them to the other. In between the two surfaces is a region of consistent microgravity where objects can float. Travel between the surfaces is done regularly by flying hyperfauna and via mountains large enough to connect both surfaces. Colossal crystalline structures are found throughout the interior earth. These crystals emit light in a consistent cycle, providing light for photosynthesis and creating a day/night cycle.

The interior earth is inhabited not just by kaiju but by humans. These humans are believed to have migrated into the interior earth from the surface via wormholes. It is not currently known if interior earth humans are descended from a single migration event or if there were multiple separate migrations. The majority of interior earth human cultures are extinct, known only from archaeological remains. Several surviving ones are known, most prominently the Iwi, who are also known to inhabit the surface's Skull Island and worship Kongs. Worship of kaiju, often a specific species or individual, is common among all interior earth cultures. Interestingly, some of those who do or did appeared to have methods of communicating with specific kaiju, who will then protect the humans from other kaiju. Known examples of this kind of human/kaiju relationship include the Iwi with Kong, the Seatopi with Megalon (Gigacoleoptera subterra) and the Muan with Manda (Kairyu manda). The Elias people of Infant Island have an almost identical relationship with Mothra, leading to speculation that they are descended from an interior earth culture that migrated to the surface. While all known interior earth cultures currently possess pre-industrial age technology, there are some indications that now extinct cultures may have had more advanced technology.

The interior earth ecosystem is apparently recovering from a recent (within the past few thousand years) mass extinction. Many of the largest hyperfauna species were driven to extinction of vastly reduced in numbers during this event, to the extent that many species are now known only from a single individual. The same event is likely responsible for the extinction of the majority of interior earth human cultures and the survivors losing much of their previous technological advancements. The cause of the mass extinction is unknown. Curiously, many ruins of interior earth cultures dating to this time depict a common visual motif: that of an unknown winged kaiju with three heads.

#godzilla #monsterverse #speculative biology #worldbuilding #i guess this is a series now #kaiju #hollow earth #iwi #kong #mothra #gamera #megalon #manda #elias #shobijin #king ghidorah

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