Home of Rhett & Link fans - the Mythical Beasts!
RandLer Lore
Fellow mythical beasts:
You may have seen my drawing "If Randlers Were Real". I had a lot of fun with the "field biologist's observation journal" approach, and it led me to wondering -- what else do we know about our mascot? I'd love to do more drawings/journal entries in this style, but need more information to go on, and don't want to commandeer the creativity. Perusing the original discussion thread about the RandLer didn't produce much beyond the original winning concept drawing (here).
Things a field biologist investigating the elusive RandLer might wonder about:
- Are the wings vestigial (meaning it can't actually fly, like emus and kiwi birds)? They don't appear to be large enough for to support it's weight.
- If the wings are functional, how functional are they? Can it fly, or merely glide?
- The tail tuft and wings are colorful -- is that true for all RandLers, or only mature ones or only males?
- When do the antlers grow in? Do they shed like deer antlers?
- What is its environment? Lots of people I've talked to seem to think a forest of some sort. Is it even constrained by environment?
I'm curious what other mythical beasts think! Maybe your thoughts will inspire my next drawing (whenever that happens).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Eaton (Fire Wolf) on
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Here are my ideas.
Wings are not used for flying but for cooling off and stability.
The rainbow colors on the wings and tail appear mid life. So that the young 'uns can survive better.
The antlers arrive very quickly. Right after birth they grow.
So those are just my thoughts, but you can consider adding them to the RandLer Lore.
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Permalink Reply by Lilian Brandon (Tachyonic Raven) on
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I too was thinking that the rainbow colors would only be present on a mature RandLer, with an immature one being plain brown.
I like the idea of wings being used for stability and cooling. To me they are too small to be any good for flying, but I couldn't think of other uses. The tail is so thin that it might not be as functional for balance (as a squirrel's is), so the wings serving that purpose seems sensible.
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Another thing I wonder about is, how *unique* is the RandLer? Is it a mythical beast like the unicorn, which we talk about there being many of, or is it like Bigfoot, where you only ever hear of one? Ie, is it THE RandLer, or are there multiple RandLers?
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K-ModPermalink Reply by Victoria (Centauromadoose) on -
- I've mentioned this before, but I think the wings are vestigial. WAY too small to be functional.
- My personal logic thinks that only males having the colorful wings and tails, as a method of attracting the females in the species. Then the females are plain brown or something so that they don't attract predators. Like peacocks and cardinals! It may also apply to young RandLers as well, in that case -- like fawns that lose their spots once they grow into adult deer.
- I think it would be interesting if there were different types of RandLers...that way, there may be different species that are native to different geographical areas and thus environments. In a way, that would be in keeping with the origin of the term RandLer, because R&L fans exist all over the world (thus RandLers would, too). That could get complicated pretty quickly though, haha.
- My immediate thought was that there's definitely more than one RandLer in the world. If there weren't, then any discussion about males and females and babies is totally moot. But does that reduce its mythicality? And if there's only one, is it male or female? (Does it matter?) Hmmm....
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K-ModPermalink Reply by Gumbo123 on -
DIET - - several options to consider
- My initial thought was that he's a vegetarian. But with a very restrictive diet - - like a koala that only eats eucalyptus leaves or giant pandas that dine primarily on high fiber / low nutritional bamboo.
- Because mythicallity burns a lot of calories, might be like a hummingbird. Have a fast breathing rate, a fast heartbeat, and a high body temperature. They must feed every 10 minutes or so all day, and they may consume 2/3 of their body weight in a single day. A major part of a
hummingbird'sRandLer's diet is sugar, nectar / honey.
- 100% jelly-filled & powdered donuts. No chocolate glaze, please.
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K-ModPermalink Reply by Gumbo123 on -
HABITAT - - Where does the RandLer live / sleep?
- he might burrow like a rabbit, but antlers are hard to get into a hole.
- he has wings, so could live in a nest at the top of a tree like a bird, but that depends on what you decide about the wings' ultimate functionality - - - raccoons and squirrels make nests too, but the RandLer doesn't look like much of a climber to me
- he rents a 1-BR efficiency apartment, but has to sneak in because they have a strict "NO BEASTS" policy
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Thanks, Gumbo! It's nice to see them all alongside each other. I only have two L's in my name though.
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My thoughts:
- I think the wings are vestigial too; I'm not sure they're even big enough for gliding. I like Andrew's idea of them being used for stability along with the tail.- Young RandLers are all brown, color on tail and wings appear as they reach full maturity (ie during the "adolescent" stage). Both genders have color though.
- Antlers grow in fairly soon, before full coloration. So, by the time they are old enough to venture outside the nest the antlers are fully grown in, but their colors are still plain.
- Also about antlers: if you look at the original concept art very closely, you'll see that the antlers have *little holes* and can function as flutes. I think RandLers are musical creatures who play music when people aren't looking. The antlers shed yearly (grow back pretty quickly) and they use their shed antlers to make mythical sounding flutes/recorders.
- Habitat: I'm thinking RandLers are somewhat like mice in that they can be found anywhere, but generally live along the ground. Not in a burrow, per se, but in some sort of nest of twigs and leaves hidden away. Forest /rainforest-dwelling RandLers would nest in the underbrush, for example, while ones in the prairie or savanna would make nests under particularly thick patches of grass. And near human civilization, they make nests out of odds-and-ends in hidden corners, or rent those ground-level 1BR apts, but always out of of sight of people. ;)
- Diet: I think I'm with Gumbo on the diet being high-calorie and very sugary. I think they eat pretty much anything sweet they can get their hands on. Berries, nectar (for drink), fruit, honey, even jelly donuts and candy bars.
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Permalink Reply by Blue (Wolfugus Imperius) on
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Here's my thoughts:
The mystical randler can be found in its natural habitat, in the treetops, where it tends to jump and fly around to it's content. The randler sleeps up to 5 hours at a time, helping its natural growth. It's mating dance is similar to the interpretational dance done by Rhett in that episode of gmm. They tend to hold a mixed range of behaviors, varying per each randler. Other details are yet to be found by scientists.
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I like the GMM reference! :D
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