Meanwhile, The IRL Version

Fruit bat noises, apparently. If you care

iNaturalist

Photos of Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) · iNaturalist

they really are just so damn fluff.

for further information, the 'pipistrelles' mentioned in the cited paper are actually Perimyotis subflavus. Which are not pipistrelles, they're more related to myotis spp. than pipistrelles; their western cousin species - Parastrellus hesperus - are more related to pipistrelles though, thus the designation of 'parastrelle', but at the time that paper was written, such designations and reclassifications were not... apologies for the tangent.

an Underland-sized hoary could be a quite effective predator, indeed; especially if they're smart about who they hunt. (tbh I'd probably fall for that ruse. they're just so damn fluffy. An Aeorestine large enough to actually hug without risking harm to the bat - and that can hug back? aaaaaaaa wish fulfillment.)

"'Come inside my hammock,' said the flier to the flutterfly..." and a hypothetical otherwise situationally-unaware/-innocent overlander has no idea of the context... or, if underlander human, they'd be raised from a young age to believe that fliers mean no harm, that a bat will always be around to catch them... a predatory flier would be such a horrible inversion of that concept.

knowledge that lives rent free in my mind: some species of bats predate upon smaller bats. hoaries in particular have been known to attack pipistrelles even during periods of insect abundancies (Karl A. Shump, Ann U. Shump, Lasius cinereus, Mammalian Species, Issue 185, 23 November 1982).

hoaries are also extremely fluffy. possibly the fluffiest bat in north america.

so, the idea of a rogue flier with the appearance and physical traits of a lasiurus cinereus could be a very effective predator of unaware or too-trusting people in the underland. and any missing people could be blamed on other denizens of the underland. who would suspect a flier? especially one so fluffy?

lasiurus species, not just hoaries but all of the lasiurini, are also known to use their fluffy tails as blankets, curling up and sheltering their front, with only their heads and maybe a bit of their chest remaining exposed. a lasiurini flier could offer such as a hammock, especially to Overlanders not used to living underground, away from the warmth of the Sun. It just so happens that that might put an unlucky individual's head in biting range, and once that individual dozes off...

i bestow this cursed information upon you to do with as you wish.

It's perfect and I will cherish this forever. Cannibal fliers and human predating fliers go into the worldbuilding.

Little Guy

Part 2 of flapflap friends, for anyone who might have wanted to see the little guy actually flap. Bats have very neat locomotion! (Also, for any nervous parties, I’m vaccinated against rabies and this little guy’s mouth did not come near my bare skin at any point. I took a glove off to shoot this video, which i wasn’t supposed to do, but there was very low risk here.)

pet da owl

ah, this bat

this particular species has such a wide range of visual appearances it's nuts. from various shades of brown with mild frosting to extra value-brand hoary or red bat.

I’ve decided that all bats fall somewhere on this horrid little graph I’ve devised. Here are some prime examples of the various Creature Varieties found in nature.

I like how when doing a threat display, some owls will adopt an extremely wide-eyed, threatening facial expression

But some other owls won't change their expression at all, and will just be like "bro really c'mon i'm very big u really want some of this?"

This. Especially in the wake of the flooding and loss of the Garden. (unless I'm getting the timeline jumbled...) An opportunity for the people of Regalia to contemplate their actions / presence and consideration of 'are we the aggressors here' is abruptly shoved aside / tossed into a figurative dustbin as the majority of their political leadership structure are literally butchered in their own territory. In what they considered safety, as much as there can be in the Underland.

And much later, out of the entirety of the council of Regalia, only Solovet and Vikus survived? Hm.

One of your hottest TUC takes.

Solavet intentionally staged the death of Luxa's parents.