It's based on the prehistorical fact that these subspecies coexisted and interbred in Europe, before Neanderthals became extinct (except for their genes). I'm trying to fit with the things we know about them, with little creative license: Both species made tools and some rudimentary clothing.

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Neanderthals *may* have developed speech, Sapiens were certainly *capable* of it by this time, but the book won't have dialog as such. The characters will use names. I might give the Sapiens characters a few words of Proto-Indo-European. But not using language means... no language barrier.

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There will be some clothing, but it would be absurd and prudish to put everyone in loincloths, so the characters will commonly be naked. There *will* be sex here and there, and those scenes will matter-of-factly show what they're doing. It won't be porn, but it also won't be censored.

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I've only done a first draft of character designs (the sketches above). I haven't gotten as far as scripting. I'm still working out what the story beats will be. There's the obvious boy-meets-boy stuff, some interaction with each other's family, and various crises along the way.

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I know how their story ends, but I haven't decided how much of it to tell. It will *not* be a gays-must-suffer tragedy. It's a romance, but you can end those at either "happily ever after" or at "death do us part". I'm leaning toward the latter, because... I think it's sweeter.

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