#demivolute

[humansbgone]

I have a couple questions about your super cool world (love your work!)

Can Macravolute arthropods see/smell/perceive their "normal" sized counterparts with the naked eye, or do they need magnifying tools like we do for microbes?

Are Macravolute cells (blood cells, muscle cells, neurons, etc) the same size as non Macravolute cells and there's just more of them to make a bigger body, or do they have the same number of cells all scaled up make the body bigger?

Magnification tools are indeed required for macrovolutes to see protocules, which is why their discovery is fairly recent! General Formicosan macrovolute regard for "protocule theory" is about the same as for evolution in 1950s America.

That said, they *can* smell their protocules. The faint smells of people where there were none were historically attributed to the trickery of spirits!

Scaled up! There are gigantic demivolute versions even of some single-celled organisms, as we saw with the diatoms on the bladder Diatom, in Gregorsa's lecture for episode 5. The Unknown Nature enables a *lot* of things that should be physically impossible, not just where it's related to gravity!

[feyfeya78]

How my yumesona (Fey) illustrates themself is far, far different from how she looks like

(This is one of the only instances where I actually draw her as a demivolute)

[humansbgone]

The latest episode you can really see the irregularities in Vera compared to standard homo-sapien body plans/structure. Her just moving about seems stiff and (me just guessing) uncomfortable, like moving in the style of her non-macrovolutes human brethren is not at all how her natural locomotion is meant to work.

As aways you made another fine episode!

Thank you!!

Vera's problem is actually a little the opposite of being stiff--she has to force herself to stay rigid! On top of that, she's hunching over trying to make herself seem smaller, and because staying upright for extended periods is hard for her...and, because of the chronic pain.

[humansbgone]

Why are the macrovolutes/demivolutes and their normal counterparts classified as the same species?

Do macrovolutes classify things differently from humans?

Because genetically, at the level of their own chromosomes, they are! The bolecore and Wolbachia are what create the difference, together with the influence of the Unknown Nature. That's how a protocule cow can give birth to a demivolute cow, as seen in Sophodra's Tips #2!

[humansbgone]

The second scene, which is by far the hardest, is now DONE!

Not only that, but the remaining props are (mostly) set up for the third and fourth scenes! I've also begun animation work on the third scene!

Finally, my assistant Claire has finished up the 2D assets! (Sadly, she doesn't have any art accounts online to show off at the moment.)

Here, we see Vera throwing down with a cow.

Over the weekend, I'll try to finish up work on the third scene. Next week, I'll go to work on the fourth and fifth scenes. They're both short, so they should both be finished in that time. After that, all that remains is a medium length scene, a very long scene, and a very short scene. Luckily, they're all pretty simple! Then, it's just Gregorsa's stuff, leaving us still on track for an August release. Awesome. Until next time!

[humansbgone]

Are we gonna see cephalopod demivolutes at any point? They're already an outlier from other invertebrate grouos in the real world due to their larger sizes and higher intelligence.

I have plans to show them (briefly), but I've had to cut a lot of content. Hopefully I can fit them in!

[humansbgone]

Since macrovolutes live much longer than their protocules by some amount, what about demivolutes? Particularly, for example, something like cows. Would a demivolute cow live longer, shorter, or the same length as a non-demivolute cow? To be more specific, would it be reasonable to expect a greater lifespan from Vera? (besides the inherent superior survivability)

There is wide variety across demivolutes, with macrovolutes actually just being a certain type of demivolute (in the way that humans are animals)!

Most demivolutes do have longer lifespans than their protocules. Mammals and birds, however, are an exception. The bolecore works extremely unpredictably for them, wreaking havoc with their biology and often incurring significant health expenses in return for greater pseudo-evolutionary fitness. For them, the lifespan is generally decreased.

[humansbgone]

@oriantheartist has also given us art of everyone's favorite ungulate!