Tardigrande (tar-dih-grahn-day)

Tardigrande is a giant water bear kaiju that ventured from Antarctica and now lives deep within the Mariana Trench . It is one of the most durable and resistant creatures to ever exist.

Physical Description

Body Features

Tardigrande is one of the most unusual looking kaiju. The top of its body is covered in compact scales like that of a pangolin, a strange tail fixture, hair-like filaments jutting through openings in the scales, and three strange worm-like probosci that jut from its mouth.

Special abilities

Like all other kaiju, Tardigrande also possesses an advanced healing factor, able to heal broken and damaged body parts that would be unsalvagable for normal animals. The massive scaly hide allows it to shrug off conventional human artillery and stand up to more unconventional mecha weaponry. Its regenerative healing abilities plus the advanced amniotic-addled DNA - combined with the general resistance of being a tardigrade - has made Tardigrande immortal, only killable via starvation or another kaiju.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

• Species description: Milnesium atlas
• Biological basis: Tardigrade
• Diet: Pantovorous

A Seed of Creation had lodged itself deeply within a part of the land that would eventually become Antarctica millions of years later. The great amniotic fluid had nowhere to escape to, and - thus- it collected and marinated beneath the earth, its only host a series of tardigrades that had become trapped within. On account of their highly resistant nature, the micro-animals flourished and evolved. They grew stronger, more resistant, and larger in size over millions of years, the shifting climate keeping them in stasis. As they grew, one began to eat the others until it was all that remained.

The giant tardigrade was discovered when Majestic  12 began exploring Antarctica after World War II in their effort to find and study kaiju. President Lyndon B. Johnson took the discovery very seriously, fearing their technology would fail to keep the creature contained in the event of a serious environmental shift. His concerns about climate change were met with skepticism from his cabinet, but - nevertheless - the United States  government began to reform its approach to environmental conservation. On the private side, President Johnson ordered Majestic 12 to make the kaiju's containment facility airtight and colder than the ice around it. Strategies consisted of pumping liquid nitrogen to keep it sedated. What little amniotic fluid they could reasonably remove and keep the kaiju sedated was sent overseas for study.

It remained contained and isolated until the 21st Century when an ecofascist terrorist group assaulted the facility, inadvertently freeing the creature and setting it loose upon the world.

Sexuality

DNA testing seems to show that Tardigrande lacks the ability to asexually reproduce like many tardigrade species are shown to possess.

Intellectual Characteristics

It is a rather apathetic creature, living on its own and regarding little around it. Conventional human weapons hardly phase it, and it merely seems to wander without any real goal. Cities are destroyed simply for just being in its way rather than out of aggression. Even around other kaiju, it seems to care little, often staying out of their way or even ignoring them. Only when it is attacked will it spring into action and quickly revert back to a calm state once the crisis is over.

Environmental Impact

While it leaves massive destruction in its wake when provoked, its influence on the environment is profound. Its feces is high in protein - both natural and amniotic-addled - and benign nuclear isotopes that - after being absorbed by the soil and filtered into the water - cause immense population booms in the flora and fauna inhabiting its region. Flowering plants and trees will grow wildly, and animals experience high birth rates. Environments in its wake are considered to be some of the cleanest and most immaculate places. Tardigrande eats anything in its way when hunger strikes regardless of quality - plant, animal, machine, waste. Entire landfills are cleaned and spotless after it finishes. Cities are stripped of most debris after battles or rampages. However, it does not discriminate between organic and inorganic material, having been known to even eat unfortunate humans in its way. Despite the boom of animal and plant populations, Tardigrande helps maintain a balance by eating available resources. Smaller, normal water bears flourish in its wake and help keep the environment clean. Because of its indiscriminate appetite, it has been pivotal in cleaning up pollution and litter left in the ocean. The Great Pacific garbage patch no longer exists thanks to its efforts.

Miscellaneous Information

The discovery of Tardigrande was one of the key linchpins in pushing the United States towards environmentalism. President Johnson cited its presence in private papers as one of many motivators in fighting against rapid climate change, believing that keeping an orderly and clean world would keep kaiju and cryptids content and at bay.

This was a sentiment shared by President Richard M. Nixon who pushed for even more environmental reforms and protections. Classified Nixon tapes revealed he had a sort of obsession with the kaiju, checking up with Majestic 12 almost weekly on its status at the Antarctic facility. The redacted tapes showed he had some sort of intense fear of Tardigrande, feeling it to be a greater threat than any other kaiju out there because of how resilient regular tardigrades were.
The name "Tardigrande" was a portmanteau created by a Latino secretary as a placeholder and inside joke within classified Majestic 12 documents to the White House, but the name ultimately stuck and became the official label for the kaiju.

Gallery

tardigrande.png

Commission of Tardigrande from rochasaurus.

Water bear kaiju of the Mariana Trench.

View Character Profile

Current Status

Alive

Current Location

Mariana Trench

Age

Prehistoric

Date of Birth

Cretaceous Period

Circumstances of Birth

Accidental exposure to great amniotic fluid

Birthplace

Antarctica, Earth

Current Residence

Pacific Ocean, Earth

Sex

Unknown

Hair

Dark filaments jutting through the scales

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Brown and pale tan

Height

60ft

Related Historical Events

• 1973 CE
  The Nixon Tapes