If only our furry ancestors could see humans now.
this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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But they can?
Those are cousins. Our closest living relatives are chimps, who are less like us than more distantly related apes. We're the last species of human because we out competed everyone else in one way or another. Rodents are similar to our first ancestors, but not exactly the same.
Basically all mammals in the Old World have had to deal with ancient humans for millions of years. Those humans used tools and dominated ecosystems for a solid chunk of that time. A ton of mammals have probably evolved to be terrified of us specifically. We've been dangerous for a long time.
Now we wield godlike power that far outpaces our intelligence. We're real life eldritch horrors to other animals, bringing apocalypse without even trying. It's hard for us to not cause accidental extinctions by simply inhabiting an area.
When humans first settled the Americas, it was probably an awful experience for most animals living there. Imagine if they saw a femboy with an AR-15 prancing around in a maid outfit without a care in the world. It'd be like encountering Cthulhu.
Not sure I get the femboy with the AR-15 analogy.
The femboy is incomprehensible and terrifying to a mammal who's ancestors never encountered anything like it. It's a bipedal creature with hair only on top of its head and covered in a colorful or patterned material that's alien to anything you've ever seen. If anything approaches or attacks the creature, it instantly inflicts lethal injuries without even touching them. All you hear are deafening sounds and it's opponent is dead. The incomprehensible, the powerful, and the terrifying: an eldritch horror.
I chose a femboy because they're usually more hairless than most women and often wear outfits that look nothing like animal fur or feathers. They're not that confusing to humans, but are unlike anything in nature. Also, guns are basically magic staves and wands of death to animals.
Halo: Anniversary, the HD re-release commemorating the 10 year anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved, is 12 years old.
Before HRT
After HRT
I keep waiting for the discovery that they've got the wrong arms for this thing
Too much evidence for that, thanks to how many almost complete t. rex skeletons we have + the fact that almost all giant carnivorous dinosaurs had tiny arms. However, there's a non-zero chance they were fluffy in at least some places, and a high chance they were incredibly fluffy as chicks, given how fluffy one of their close relatives is known to be.
Also they weren't even the most extreme example of tiny arms
Is there an evolutionary explanation for why they had short arms? I was being rather flippant, but this is actually fascinating.
I think PBS Eons actually did an episode on this. Iirc long arms would get in the way
Edit: found it!
So my takeaway from this is that if I had an enormous tail implanted for counterbalance, I could also have my arms shortened in an act of extreme body modification.
(But seriously, that was super interesting. Thanks for posting.)
Beefy arm T. rex would destroy me