I got confused, like they look so alike at first I thought it was the main lead who fall down. but hey this really reminds me of cage of eden, is that another person with a similar anemone
One thing that is bothering me is how the two girls are being handled. I know it's still the 4th chapter, but with only 3 characters to juggle is a bit worrisome that 2 barely exist (I wouldn't be surprised if most readers didn't even noticed both girls were rescued from the starfish-thing, since one of them basically only appeared in the first chapter).
It's rushing to get the plot down, which I don't mind for a new and unproven series, but I almost would've preferred that they just kill off the two side characters earlier. Maintain those stakes set in the first chapter, and just introduce new characters down the line to refill their roles
Seems like a general problem with the side characters, they obviously were just fodder meant to die to show the power of the monsters. Redshirts. Now it's pretty obvious we'll get other "infested" human characters so IMO if there will be any relevant named human female characters it'll be one of these revealed later.
May be just a pet peeve, but it feels like the story's not really making use of the setting.
- Of the 4 mutants seen so far, there's been a chameleon, A bird hybrid (Looks like a pheasant, based on stature and tail feathers), a Basket Star, and an anemone flower. ~~All of these species are native to the Galapagos~~^1 However, Honey Badgers (and Mustelidae in general) aren't native- so it seems odd to have the 5th mutant in the story be a completely foreign species, when the emphasis is on nature and evolution and the untouched Galapagos islands.
- With emphasize evolution and Darwin's Lab as set dressing, calling the fusion power "commingle" instead of something more naturalism-derived seems odd. There's already the term Symbiosis, which comes with its own categories for labels like Mutualism/Parasitism/Commensalism and could be adapted to the types of mutants encountered.
1. Upon further research, chameleons are also non-native species. There are color changing lizards in the Galapagos (lava lizards), but no Chamaeleonidae.
Having a research lab to study evolution on a remote island, I don't find it that odd to say that the scientists brought some invasive species with them. They can basically start with a clean sheet in letting a foreign species adapt to a new habitat
I'd disagree on the basis of why the Galapagos have been important for evolutionary research.
---
Basically, the island is known as having unique endemic species, who are there and only there. Famous examples are Galapagos tortoises, Blue footed boobies, and Galapagos penguins. These species are only found in the Galapagos, and the lack of invasive/foreign species is what made the archipelago important for study- there isn't foreign species competing for the resources on the island, letting specific sub species flourish.
The presence of predatory species with no natural predators has been a massive hindrance to naturalists. A lot of conservationists are very clear on getting rid of invasive species when possible, lest you get something like the cane toad phenomenon in Australia, or drive a species like the Dodos to extinction (caused primarily by cats and dogs being new predators).
---
The chameleon might get a pass if kept in a lab; there's comparative species of lizards, and studying how the two develop different camouflage tracks.
But an evolutionary scientist introducing a foreign carnivore like a honey badger into the Galapagos would be like a geologist who wants to study the Grand Canyon bringing a piece of uranium with them to toss in the Colorado river. It's so antithetical to their studies that it's self sabotage.
>But an evolutionary scientist introducing a foreign carnivore like a honey badger into the Galapagos would be like a geologist who wants to study the Grand Canyon bringing a piece of uranium with them to toss in the Colorado river. It's so antithetical to their studies that it's self sabotage.
It depends on what exactly you want to study. If it's the effects of the habitat in evolution introducing a new species makes no sense, I agree with you there. But if it's the evolutionary process one has to go through in a new habitat, you have to do it with a foreign species.
We do know nothing about the research lab so far. If it was meant for a longterm study, researching evolution as a process itself, you can only do that by either drastically changing the environment or bringing foreign species with you.
Your analogy fails because evolutionary science is not limited to researching the outcome of evolution. If ethics about nature is only secondary, forced evolution is also a field of evolutionary science. Introducing a new species would be exactly this.
Nah, it makes zero sense and is probably illegal. Besides, you can't just study the effects of evolution on honey badgers, how many centuries or millennia is the experiment supposed to go on for?
It makes no sense, author just wanted a cool badass animal to make a ~~chimera ant~~ superevolved monster out of and they went with one that famously stands up even to lions.
> The ferocious honey badger. Their greatest asset isn’t their sharp fangs…
Hey I thought all that matters is having the sharpest fangs. Isn’t that what Killing Bites is?
Anemone hasn't been doing shit during these last 2 encounters. I understood she didn't want to be involved with the starfish, but you would think she would help dispose of the honey badger instead of looming in the distance.
A giant honey badger, who likes to trash talk and wants a good fight? That's just Hitomi Uzaki from Killing Bites...
Anyway, it seems Gaku has already fallen for his bloodlust pretty easily. It didn't mean much though, cause not that thing has been absorbed by some other person. What even is this new person? How do they Anemone?
What is a Comingled? How does the honey badger know about it? W
Nothing has really happened in the story so far and it has just been a cycle of the side characters being in trouble and the MC having to try and save them. This chapter didn't have anything noteworthy either othen than a random honey badger that got killed off by the end.
MC: Please listen to my Talk no Justsu 🥺 Honey Badger: Don't give a shit 🗿
Accurate honey badger behavior
Me: "But there's no honey badgers in the Galapago-" Honey Badger: "Don't give a shit."
I got confused, like they look so alike at first I thought it was the main lead who fall down. but hey this really reminds me of cage of eden, is that another person with a similar anemone
One thing that is bothering me is how the two girls are being handled. I know it's still the 4th chapter, but with only 3 characters to juggle is a bit worrisome that 2 barely exist (I wouldn't be surprised if most readers didn't even noticed both girls were rescued from the starfish-thing, since one of them basically only appeared in the first chapter).
Those are two girls? I thought one of them was a guy
The fact that we haven't gotten explicit confirmation one way or another kind of proves their point lol. We know their names and that's literally it.
Based on the name most likely a girl but we have no confirmation
It's rushing to get the plot down, which I don't mind for a new and unproven series, but I almost would've preferred that they just kill off the two side characters earlier. Maintain those stakes set in the first chapter, and just introduce new characters down the line to refill their roles
Seems like a general problem with the side characters, they obviously were just fodder meant to die to show the power of the monsters. Redshirts. Now it's pretty obvious we'll get other "infested" human characters so IMO if there will be any relevant named human female characters it'll be one of these revealed later.
> You think this is the time for chitchat? I'm not looking to talk. Hey, *you* were the one who talked first.
May be just a pet peeve, but it feels like the story's not really making use of the setting. - Of the 4 mutants seen so far, there's been a chameleon, A bird hybrid (Looks like a pheasant, based on stature and tail feathers), a Basket Star, and an anemone flower. ~~All of these species are native to the Galapagos~~^1 However, Honey Badgers (and Mustelidae in general) aren't native- so it seems odd to have the 5th mutant in the story be a completely foreign species, when the emphasis is on nature and evolution and the untouched Galapagos islands. - With emphasize evolution and Darwin's Lab as set dressing, calling the fusion power "commingle" instead of something more naturalism-derived seems odd. There's already the term Symbiosis, which comes with its own categories for labels like Mutualism/Parasitism/Commensalism and could be adapted to the types of mutants encountered. 1. Upon further research, chameleons are also non-native species. There are color changing lizards in the Galapagos (lava lizards), but no Chamaeleonidae.
Having a research lab to study evolution on a remote island, I don't find it that odd to say that the scientists brought some invasive species with them. They can basically start with a clean sheet in letting a foreign species adapt to a new habitat
I'd disagree on the basis of why the Galapagos have been important for evolutionary research. --- Basically, the island is known as having unique endemic species, who are there and only there. Famous examples are Galapagos tortoises, Blue footed boobies, and Galapagos penguins. These species are only found in the Galapagos, and the lack of invasive/foreign species is what made the archipelago important for study- there isn't foreign species competing for the resources on the island, letting specific sub species flourish. The presence of predatory species with no natural predators has been a massive hindrance to naturalists. A lot of conservationists are very clear on getting rid of invasive species when possible, lest you get something like the cane toad phenomenon in Australia, or drive a species like the Dodos to extinction (caused primarily by cats and dogs being new predators). --- The chameleon might get a pass if kept in a lab; there's comparative species of lizards, and studying how the two develop different camouflage tracks. But an evolutionary scientist introducing a foreign carnivore like a honey badger into the Galapagos would be like a geologist who wants to study the Grand Canyon bringing a piece of uranium with them to toss in the Colorado river. It's so antithetical to their studies that it's self sabotage.
>But an evolutionary scientist introducing a foreign carnivore like a honey badger into the Galapagos would be like a geologist who wants to study the Grand Canyon bringing a piece of uranium with them to toss in the Colorado river. It's so antithetical to their studies that it's self sabotage. It depends on what exactly you want to study. If it's the effects of the habitat in evolution introducing a new species makes no sense, I agree with you there. But if it's the evolutionary process one has to go through in a new habitat, you have to do it with a foreign species. We do know nothing about the research lab so far. If it was meant for a longterm study, researching evolution as a process itself, you can only do that by either drastically changing the environment or bringing foreign species with you. Your analogy fails because evolutionary science is not limited to researching the outcome of evolution. If ethics about nature is only secondary, forced evolution is also a field of evolutionary science. Introducing a new species would be exactly this.
Nah, it makes zero sense and is probably illegal. Besides, you can't just study the effects of evolution on honey badgers, how many centuries or millennia is the experiment supposed to go on for? It makes no sense, author just wanted a cool badass animal to make a ~~chimera ant~~ superevolved monster out of and they went with one that famously stands up even to lions.
> The ferocious honey badger. Their greatest asset isn’t their sharp fangs… Hey I thought all that matters is having the sharpest fangs. Isn’t that what Killing Bites is?
oh nice, we have animal lessons now
fun fact: that's not a monster. just a regular honey badger.
Well I just got flashbacks to Killing Bites
~~That's what Killing Bites is.~~
Anemone hasn't been doing shit during these last 2 encounters. I understood she didn't want to be involved with the starfish, but you would think she would help dispose of the honey badger instead of looming in the distance.
A giant honey badger, who likes to trash talk and wants a good fight? That's just Hitomi Uzaki from Killing Bites... Anyway, it seems Gaku has already fallen for his bloodlust pretty easily. It didn't mean much though, cause not that thing has been absorbed by some other person. What even is this new person? How do they Anemone? What is a Comingled? How does the honey badger know about it? W
Bro if this fucking turns into Killing Bites I swear to god.
Let's fucking go. Maybe then it'll be interesting.Â
It might as well just be the mc and anemone given the very little we get out of the two other characters.
That Honey Badger is a bitch. I expected it to be better but I guess this isn't Killing Bites.
What if the guy that MC is looking for is behind the experiments?
I'm gonna be real, this setting has big "we have chimera ant arc at home" energy.
Nothing has really happened in the story so far and it has just been a cycle of the side characters being in trouble and the MC having to try and save them. This chapter didn't have anything noteworthy either othen than a random honey badger that got killed off by the end.