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thoughtfulfoxllama · 4 months

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You wanted me to spill tea, and tea I will spill:

The Word of Wisdom is fundamentally misunderstood by everyone (myself included). Let's look at the Word of Wisdom, shall we?

Let's begin with the Prohibitions, as these are the only things enforced by the Church. They comprise of Alcohol, Tobacco, Illicit Drugs, Coffee, and Tea. From the start, we can't deny Tobacco, Coffee, or Tea. The WoW only said "Hot Drinks," but Hyrum (who was authorized to receive revelation for the Church at the time) said it meant Coffee & Tea.

On the subject of Tea, Herbs of the Field. The Lord has told us to use all the herbs of the field with prudence. This is not me saying to distrust medical professionals, but they can help sometimes. I can't count how many times I've had a horrible stomach ache helped by Peppermint Tea. But it'd be dumb to reject the advancements in medicine we've made in the past 10,000 years. This is also why I support medicinal marijuana (and other things like psychedelic therapy). As long as it is used in wisdom & moderation, it can do good for a number of physical and mental issues (such as my grandmother using it for her seizures, or that veteran who used it for his PTSD)

Finally, Alcohol. The Word of Wisdom only prohibits "strong drinks" (which was defined as distilled alcohol, like Vodka). It encourages Mild Drinks (such as beer), and says we can have wine, if Mormons make it. Joseph drank wine (for pleasure, not just for ritual), Brigham owned a Brewery, and on and on. Obviously, wisdom & prudence. If someone has alcohol issues, they shouldn't drink. This fits into my concept of Zion. Drinking for Pleasure is fine, but Drunkenness is unacceptable. We need to enjoy pleasure without getting consumed by them. But since so few of us can manage that, I see why the Church went the way it did

Next, what have we been encouraged to eat. Grain (which is the Staff of Life), Fruits, and Vegetables. There are people who can't eat them (people with Gluten Intolerances & the like), but I can't argue with this. Fruits and Veggies are good

Although, wisdom is required here too. Not all food is made equal. I'm not going to go completely crazy about GMOs (we've been modifying our food for over 5 millennia), but we need to be more careful about the affects. And the flour we use nowadays is stripped of basically all it's nutritional benefits

Final is the mixed category, namely meats & animal products

The WoW never actually mentions animal products, so this is all me. Animal Products are good, and should be used. Eggs (especially considering the "eat meat sparingly" part) are an amazing source of protein. Milk is good for calcium, if you're not lactose intolerant (like I am). The Lord approves of Honey so much he constantly mentions it in association with the Promised Land(s), and specifically told the Jaredites to take bees with them. But, like all foods we've covered so far, careful. My FiL used to be Egg Intolerant, until he started raising his own Chickens, and he's had no problems with those eggs (and they taste way better, and fill me up way more than Store-Bought ones)

The Lord taught us to "eat meat sparingly," and I've seen a bunch of interpretations, from Vegans to Carnivores. All hold some merits, but no one gets it all right. I don't even think I get this one. Ryan Hinkley (a Blogger & Podcaster) said part of his interpretation is that we should do the least harm. He advocates restricting meat use to meats like Venison and Beef, because they are large enough to feed a lot of people over a long period of time (and have you ever had Venison Tacos. Try it sometime, if you eat meat). It mentions Cold & Famine, and this could be because of the extra protein, which allows you to build mass, to keep warm in winter, and last longer in famine times. In addition, if you work in agriculture (especially in the time of JS), that's the most available food you have in the dead of winter. I want to add to this the prophecy about the Sons of Levi offering a sacrifice. Sacrifice for the remission of sins is done away with, but I believe animal sacrifice will return. In Biblical Animal Sacrifice, the Meat (for the most part) wasn't burned to dust, but roasted and eaten. If I am correct, and it does return, then the reason we are to eat meat sparingly is so that when we do eat it, it's as a celebration of the mercies of God. That's just my crackpot theory though, with ideas I've had floating around for years

(And this is all just a theory. I want to try restricting my meat intake & whatnot, but I don't feel ready for that. And even if the Church said we could drink, I probably wouldn't, because I have a family history of alcohol & drug abuse)

#mormon #lds #tumblrstake #queerstake #lds church #word of wisdom #mormon hot take #you can take my hot cocoa from my cold dead hands #and i can't sleep without vanilla chamomile

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the-masquerade-council · 4 months

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We've noticed a gap in language for specifically referring to animals in systems that function like/mostly like normal animals. so I'm coining this term. I have been using it for awhile now in therapy and when talking to other we know systems.

Beastie (plural Beasties)

Refers to animal alters/headmates in systems/collectives that cognitively function in a way different than that of the non-animal altars/headmates in the system/collective.

Beasties do NOT need to be known animal. They can be anything that would be clearly identified as an animal (e.g mythical beasts, fictional hybrids, speculative animals, elemental animals, and the like)

Not all animals in systems/collectives are beasties due to the fact that the term refers to a animalistic way of functioning. Whether or not the term applies to a certain alter/headmate is intentionally somewhat vague, and and is dependent upon the context of the other alters/headmates in the system/collective.

Differs from the term non-human alter/headmate in that not all non-human alters/heamates are animals, and a lot of non-human alters/headmates function cognitively similarly to their human counterparts.

I am part of a OSDD-1"B" system, and consider myself "Endo complex", I don't care what type of system/plurals use this term. As I'm coining it to fill a gap in language. HOWEVER I would like this term to be exclusive to systems/plurals, and exclusively to refer to alters/headmates that are literally animals. So it is not to be used in contexts of pet regression, animal-hearted, otherkin/therianthropes, petplay, etc. That is just not what the term is meant to be used for.

And here's a flag just for fun

with and without symbol. symbol used here. If anyone is willing to design a unique symbol specifically for this flag I would greatly appreciate it.

Navy Blue is for aquatic beasties such as fish, sharks, aquatic mammal, aquatic invertebrate, etc.

Deep Sea Green is for amphibious and semiaquatic beasties such as frogs, salamanders, newts, caecilian, river otters, crocodilians, penguins, etc.

Forest Green is for terrestrial and arboreal beasties such as most mammals, birds, reptiles, and many arthropods.

Olive Green is for herbivorous beasties such as horses, toucans, sloths, deer, tortoises, hummingbirds, aphids, bees, and many more.

Beige is for omnivorous beasties such crows, hogs, bears, canines, some lizards, chickens, many Testudines, and many more.

Brass is for carnivorous and insectivorous beasties such as felids, birds of prey, snakes, crocodilians, spiders, sharks, most bats, some lizards, and many more.

Brick Red is for beasties that are animals that can exist in the outerworld, like the animals mentioned above. This stripe is also for beasties that are Introjects or factives of real animals.

Purple Red is for hybrid beasties which could be something possible in the outerworld like ligers, or something impossible like griffins. This stripe is also for beasties that are Introjects or faitives/fucktives of animals.

Deep Violet is for beasties that are mythical creatures such as dragons, unicorns, phoenixes, cryptids, and more. This stripe is also for beasties that are Introjects or fictives of fictional animals.

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cheapsweets · 4 months

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The aromatic Narngreg

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Initial pencil sketch, lines in dark sepia ink using sailor fude nib fountain pen, and Derwent inktense yellow paint with a water brush.

I'm getting more confident with my linework (one of the reasons I'm using pen and ink is to encourage myself to go for it, and any mistakes I'll suck up and learn from), but it's still tricky keeping the fine lines where I want to focus on detail. I'll take a look through my pens and see if I've got anything with a (normal) fine nib and see if that's any good for drawing with (much as I've loved working with dip pens in the past, the convenience of fountain pens is very compelling!)

Reasoning below the cut!

There is an animal called the Narngreg, multi-coloured, very beautiful and extremely gentle. Physiologus says of it, that it has only the dragon as an enemy. When it has fed and is full, it hides in its den and sleeps. After three days it awakes from its sleep and gives a great roar, and from its mouth comes a very sweet odour, as if it were a mixture of every perfume.

This creature is extremely gentle, and has very sweet breath, so my first interpretation was that it was definitely not a carnivore (cats and dogs not being particularly known for their fragrant breath!). However, as mentioned in the last paragraph, this creature has very prominent claws, so how to interpret this?

One of the options was to consider that it might be insectivorous, or even mellivorous; I liked the idea of it having honey as at least a large part of the diet, as I could have interpreted the 'sweet' breath more literally! Bears and mustelids such as honey badgers (no spots, but fits the black and white colouration mentioned below) both use their claws to tear into bee nests, and anteaters, pangolins, aardvarks, etc all have impressive weaponry.

In the end, I actually took my main influence from a couple of extinct animals; chalicotheres and ground sloths such as Megatherium. This informed the general anatomy (including the longer forelimbs, barrel chest and even the shape of its head.

Since we know it is Very Beautiful (Very Powerful) I wanted to jazz it up a little, hence the absolutely gorgeous mane, cool beard, and tuft on the tail. The dentition (prominent caniniform teeth) is actually taken directly from (arboreal) sloths...

As cute as it would have been to draw a Narngreg all curled up and sleepy, it made more sense to draw it having just woken, and giving its 'great roar' - the lines could be indicating the sound, it's sweet breath, or both!

When other animals hear its voice, they follow wherever it goes, because of the sweetness of its scent. Only the dragon, hearing its voice, is seized by fear and flees into the caves beneath the earth. There, unable to bear the scent, it grows numbed within itself and remains motionless, as if dead.

I took a look at some of the other artists interpretations of this challenge after I'd drawn my piece, but before writing the description, and it seems like I've undergone a similar thought process to @coolest-capybara (though I feel like she's gone all in on the idea, whereas I only referenced it), by having some of the creatures from previous challenges appear. I skipped the birds (more down to time and how best to respresent them, because most of them were on the small side), but we can see a Kraegrat scenting the air, and further back an elephant from the Choglaem illustration. Raising its titanic head from behind a wall of trees, we can also see the Choglaem itself, though it doesn't seem very impressed; time to 'flee into the caves beneath the earth' methinks...

The Narngreg is a beast dabbed all over with very small circular spots, so that it is distinguished by its black and white colouring with eye-shaped circles of yellow.

I suppose three colours (black, white and yellow) counts as multicoloured... 🤔 I wanted to go for a more straightforward line drawing with this one, so didn't consider the colouration too much, but since the yellow markings were such a key part of the description, I wanted to include them. I went with more stylised eye shapes, rather than going with actual circles, mostly because it seemed a little more naturalistic this way (and more fun!). I tried to get the markings to wrap realistically around the body, but I'm not sure how successful I was there. On the baby, I opted for yellow dots rather than the adult markings, to link it to the adult but show a clear difference between them.

The female gives birth once only, for a good reason. Once the three young have grown within their mother’s body until they are strong enough to be born, they hate having to stay there any longer. They scratch with their claws at the womb which is laden with its fruit, as if it prevented them from being born. The mother, overcome with pain, pushes them out and after this the seed which penetrates into the scarred and distorted womb does not take root, but flows out again unused. Pliny says that animals with sharp claws cannot bear children often because they are badly wounded internally by the movement of their young.

I think that's a pretty big assumption Pliny old chap, any observation to back that up? 😜 Obviously the main thing we learn here is that these creatures (inlcuding newborns) have prominent claws, with (as previously mentioned) heavily influence a lot of the other design decisions. Thinking about it, I probably should have drawn three babies rather than just the one! (The rule of threes seems very prevalent amongst bestiary authors!). The baby is rolling around and having fun, since it doesn't need to worry because every creature (bar dragons) loves it!

As I'm sure @maniculum has already spotted, we also have some typical African (specifically, Egyptian) flora scattered around too... Those trees are fun and I'm definitely going to use them in the future!

#narngreg #maniculum bestiaryposting #bestiaryposting #my art

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xxlovelynovaxx · 8 months

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Ah. "Animals rights" bullshit okay. Being animals that are not obligate herbivores and eating the flesh of other animals because of it is "oppressing" non-human animals. And they called out my comparing it to anti-choicers because "murder is different than death" okay well anti-choicers think abortion is murder. I don't happen to consider a human killing an animal for food murder any more than I consider an animal killing another animal for food murder, especially when as you pointed out yourself some people can't survive without meat.

Or is it a contract killing/hit on every animal You've ever eaten to survive? Are you just not a murderer because you paid not to get your hands dirty?

Like yeah it's fucking NATURAL. Humans aren't some wondrous ascended beings that don't crawl through the dirt. We fuck and fight and survive and yes, part of that survival for many is KILLING.

And it's good that you don't think people should be forced onto veganism because that would be as bad as the people who want to force all animals to eat synthetic meat and hunt via robots or whatever but my gods can you imagine telling someone who has been a vegetarian by choice for years for animal WELFARE purposes (not rights) who is vegan for disability reasons that they are "justifying the oppression of animals" and "killing animals for food is murder" when you literally can't go vegan for health reasons yourself? Okay murderer. Guess your life matters more than those oppressed animals.

Like sorry I'm going full "you're an asshole and I despise you and I'm genuinely sorry for myself that I thought we could be friends".

Like yeah the anti-choicer metaphor wasn't perfect. But it also got you to cut right to the heart of the matter. You are so divorced from humans as part of the ecosystem and food chain you genuinely believe we have some moral duty to not kill animals (but only animals, not plants or fungi, which are also living and have some measure of sentience) and to hold ourselves separate from the biosphere to the greatest extent possible.

That's just ecofascism 101. Are we gonna do the "any form of hunting or land management, even responsibly by indigenous stewards using traditional practices is bad" next? Or are we gonna avoid that one because you hopefully know better than THAT and simply think that removing humans from ONLY one part of the consumptive chain is ✨different✨?

For reference:

Also where does "choosing to die" come in to this? I wasn't talking about euthanasia, I was talking about withdrawing the life support provided by a human body if the owner of that body stops consenting to providing it, therefore depriving a fetus dependent on that life support for survival of said survival. I'm pretty sure the fetus doesn't have a choice in the matter. (Whether or not it's "alive" doesn't have much to do with anything since it's been made pretty clear that medical autonomy in terms of mandated use of your body's parts or resources is unethical at ANY point. Even if you ARE killing it, we've determined that's the most ethical option.)

Also if we're going to make bullshit oppression claims why don't we talk about transspecies people who are obligate carnivores?

#literally I'm not a fucking legalist but no I don't believe murder in the sense of nonconsensual killing is always wrong #like self defense. hello.#like maybe my moral system is just built different but to call it oppression and make me out to be some kind of bigot?#come on. that's bullshit and you know it.#we're literally not talking about rights being taken away. also this is why animal welfare is such a better concept than animal rights #stop anthropomorphizing animals!! stop treating them like furry humans that can't speak!!#literally somehow both a veganism centrist and an 'animal rights' person at once #go yell at people for literally having a moral-spiritual belief system that encompasses eating animals as neutral somewhere else #oh and btw don't EVER fucking moralize any kind of food related consumption around me again that goes for everyone #meat is neutral. sugar is neutral. artificial sweeteners are neutral. preservatives are neutral. plants are neutral. fish are neutral. etc #some of these may be unhealthy for a given individual and their production under capitalism may be fucking harmful #but conceptually they are neutral and there are ways of making them physically so by changing the harmful systems #you can keep feeling bad about your oppression of poor animals or w/e. or maybe you don't feel bad idk #I happen to find that far more harmful than humans who want or need to eat meat - doing so - will ever be #thanks for the mask off moment where you decided it was actually okay to moralize food and survival #I'm so happy to say goodbye forever #(note: if you know who this is don't fucking harass them. I have them blocked and am being a bit nasty *bc* they can't see it)#(I don't want them to suffer. I just think they're a monumental asshole. gods know I'm one too.)#(let people be assholes 2k23 lol)

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titleleaf · 1 year

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Experiments In Early Victorian Skincare: Bone Marrow Hair Oil

(You can find previous posts on this topic here -- next up we've got some white salves.)

Okay, ngl, this is the part of my self-imposed mission that I have been considering with the most trepidation. Not because marrow oil is objectively, in some way, less clean or more gross than the other rendered animal fats used in hair and skincare products of the era -- I found the process of buying and preparing to handle these marrow bones to be surprisingly unsettling. Not anything about the purchasing process or sourcing beef bones, either, which was as normal and cordial as any other specialty meat purchase I might make -- all I can chalk it up to is looking at the bones themselves and being acutely aware that… hey… crack open my own femur and you'd find marrow there too. [CW for a lot of animal meat, bone, and fat to follow if you're squeamish or prefer to avoid it.]

Marrow holds a horror for me that I find hard to understand in any other terms than the knowledge that I, too, am made of meat -- fittingly given The Terror's themes of subsistence cannibalism, arbitrary European squeamishness, and the smudgy line between human and animal. (In the butcher's shop, one of my friends saw my squeamishness and leaned over to whisper "just pretend you're in The Terror!", so that's where my brand is at right now. She didn't even know about this whole project, just that I'm a ghoul.)

To get the marrow out of these bones, I effectively made the most gross, boring bone broth imaginable -- I pressure cooked the frozen marrow bones (maybe eight-inch lengths of some long cattle bone, around two and a half pounds) in six cups of water for four hours and let the pressure release naturally. When I opened up my Instant Pot, all the remaining shreds of flesh had cooked off of the bones and it was already looking rich and oily The smell of boiled bones isn't gross or repulsive in any way, but it doesn't smell exactly good either, and I made it worse by immediately splashing myself with still piping-hot boiled bone water. The first thing I realized after cussing and tending to the burn was that the remaining liquid was seriously fatty -- the few places it had splashed besides my bare hand were already congealing with milky-colored oil -- and that the cooked marrow slid out of the cylinder of bone all in one piece, no prodding necessary. The bones looked… about like I'd expect boiled beef bones to look, after growing up in a household full of big carnivorous dogs who liked to chew on bones and antlers and stuff, but the inside structures were surprisingly delicate and lacy.

I let the vile bone water cool and thanked my lucky fucking stars I wasn't having to eat plain bone water. My plan was to let the """""broth""""" cool in the refrigerator and then skim the fat from the top, discard any lingering meaty solids and liquid runoff, then melt and filter the rendered fat.

I poured it into a casserole dish to maximize the surface area and promised myself I would wait. I did not wait. I waited like, 4 hours, then broke the cooled layer of fat on top like a pane of ice, picked it off with a spatula, melted it down, and poured the resulting slurry of rendered fat and lingering meat debris into a jar. Including the slurry of meat debris, which rapidly sank to the bottom.

The oil… honestly was much less gross than the bone water had been. It's a nice rich yellow color when liquid and relatively odorless; what smell there was felt weirdly comforting, and then I realized I associate the smell of simmered bones and breaking-down collagen with Amish-style pot pie. (Not incidentally, also a dish that through long-term simmering transforms left-over bones and any lingering shreds of meat on them into a rich fatty broth.) It's hard to imagine a Victorian housewife or thrifty cook balking at any part of this. If I'd been born in 1815, this whole process would have been second nature to me, not a harrowing meat ordeal but a part of the practice of domestic economy. Kind of cool stuff.

I re-heated the oil in a water bath, filtered it through a coffee filter because I can't find my fucking cheesecloth and wasn't super relishing the thought of reusing fatty cheesecloth-- this may have been my undoing because it required several layers' worth of coffee filtering to keep the weight of the hot oil from just blasting through the seams. I was able to extract around four ounces of liquid fat, nearly halved, but a more efficient filter setup could have saved a good chunk of that. My hands got good and lubed up during the process and I really felt a kinship with Ishmael in his A Squeeze Of The Hand rhapsodies, as well as a genuine horror of how much cleanup this was going to take. Straight, I'd say this stuff is uncomfortably rich, and I don't know how easily it'd be absorbed into the skin.

(from Beasley's General Receipt-Book)

What to do with around four ounces of clarified beef marrow? I ended up going wit Beasley's recipe for marrow oil instead of the promised fluide de Java, not wanting to tinker with melting down wax, but not having a frame of reference for "the desired consistence" threw up a hurdle -- seeing it alongside hair oils it seemed reasonable to wager we're going for a consistency slightly more substantial than almond or olive oil alone. but still liquid at room temperature. (Liquid at polar temperatures, harder to say.) I went with a 1:1 ratio of clarified marrow to sweet almond oil, scented with clove bud, cedar, and sweet orange -- I had to go back to up the amount of fragrance after realizing quite how aromatic the marrow still was. (If I had my druthers, I love the smell of clove, but among essential oils it's particularly touchy due to its eugenol content so I kept things below the IFRA threshold for dermal use. If you make any kind of fragranced product, from apparel to solid perfume to baby wipes, you should check out IFRA's standards.

Some of the recipes I see in other texts suggest that the yellowness of marrow-based hair oils is a distinguishing quality, which might explain the use of olive oil in Beasley's fluide de Java recipe; at room temperature the mix has a pale yellow, cloudy consistency while remaining freely liquid. Frankly it still smells uncomfortably beefy. Later writer Arnold J. Cooley could have given me a better sense of the ratio of marrow to almond oil for a marrow-oil hair treatment -- he recommends 3 parts marrow oil to 8 parts almond.

If you're interested in somebody absolutely spilling the tea on the state of the Victorian hair oil retail market, his chapter on it is a treat. In particular he has a low opinion of fluide de Java:

If I were making this over again I'd probably hew to the Cooley measurements, the better to stretch the amount of marrow, and up the fragrance even further -- but I'm already dreading using this stuff on my hair.

#unnamed terror fandom beauty project #amc the terror #historical cosmetics #(hair care in this case)

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bees-tornado · 7 days

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7 and 24 for Bernie?

Okay, apparently it's only been two weeks instead of over a month, so that's timely enough for my standards I suppose! Let's do this. (the ask game in question is this one)

7. Is there a piece of clothing you think [character] is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

I'm kind of fashion-illiterate and I don't have much of an ability to mentally visualize clothing, so I might not be the best person to answer this, but I'll give it a shot!

I think it's pretty reasonable to assume that since she usually spends her time doing leisure activities inside, Bernie would generally opt for comfortable, casual clothes, like the hoodie she's often seen with. However, the hood could also be a matter of comfort for when she knows she'll have to be out and about. If you ask me, considering her aesthetic sense and love of needlework, I could easily see her regularly modeling pretty dresses and floral patterns and in-progress pieces in the comfort of her own space.

24. What's your favourite thing about [character]?

Okay so I've been thinking about how I want to answer this one for a while now. Maybe I'm taking this far too seriously, but there are a lot of things about Bernadetta that I appreciate or that mean something special to me, and it would be difficult to choose just one thing without wanting to say another. I could, of course, cheat if I really wanted to and give a whole bunch of answers, but I think if I let myself go too crazy then I'd be at this forever and this ask would never see the light of day.

Honestly? The best, most all-encompassing answer I can give is that she's cute. After all, I guess that was my first impression of her from way back before Three Houses came out. She loves stuffed animals. She has a little hedgehog case. She makes dolls of her friends as gifts. She can be lured out of hiding with the promise of cake. She attempts to pawn off her unwanted food on Yuri. She calls herself Bernie (even though the fanbase calls her that too, I cannot stress enough that most other characters rarely, if ever, call her that. it is her nickname for herself. she has dubbed herself Bernie). She gives herself even more elaborate nicknames when she's feeling confident (Botanical Bernie, Bernadetta the Invincible, etc.). There is at least one instance of her making puns off her own name. She has all these charming inflections. She makes this one giggle-adjacent noise in Hopes that gets a smile out of me every time. She loves flowers. She sings in the greenhouse. She geeks about carnivorous plants. She's just incredibly cute and charming, and even if it's not the deepest reason, that's definitely part of what makes me happy whenever I see her on screen.

Thank you so much for the ask, I hope you didn't mind the wait!! I love getting the chance to talk about Three Houses characters, especially Bernadetta, so it made me really happy to get this in my inbox! :] 💜

#thank you again!! :)#my asks

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script-a-world · 1 year

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Submitted via Google Form: Follow Up to Nutrition

This is a follow up to a previous ask.

Oh boy. The diet question. Actually, diets are often be super important for my plotlines. (Also a lot of this is going to be for myself too, readers are second. A deep dive into nutrition is important for me.)

Like, surviving on strange lands. My characters of all species (and there's a lot more that are going to be background) obviously need to find food. They all need nutrition that suits their own needs. What if one character actually prefers to die if they are a vegetarian and there's only meat. But look, the opposite way, like humans, we can survive as vegetarians or we can eat meat. How about carnivores that can NOT survive on vegetables and herbivores that can not surivive on meat. OR what about some omnivores that, can survive one way, but might have a deficiency. How severe might that deficiency be. So, some storylines might be trade offs. Do you give the only vegetables to herbivores, what if in order for an omnivore to be healthy they need the vegetable, or they might possibly have to leave the person somewhere, or be unable to contribute as a group if deficiency takes their toll on them but they might get better and survive? So due to lack of vegetable, will they actually let a herbivore die/be underfed in order to let the omnivore survive but may be a bit sick especally when there are so many reasons why they should keep someone. Maybe the omnivore has better skills they need?

Even saying herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, is just as an example of required nutrients, so that could be replaced with so much more. Like seriously, they're going to need to decide if there's anyone that is just simply nope, they'll never survive. Like some random koala got lost in the north pole. Yeah.. nope.

Other parts of my story may be full of food trade between species. Again, plotlines of lack of resources but another species may have what they need. Definitely going to need to figure out what each needs to survive on and whether there are any competing needs. And then there's always the case of just simple travel to a new place. They're going to need to find food that suits them, figure out what they can have, what they can not have and with different species that will be different. So yeah, maybe they ate a strange food because it seemed suitable. But on further questioning or examination, actually, it's not suitable because of different food needs you couldn't get all requirements out there. When sometimes you don't realise you had to ask something because it's not very known. (I'm not sure I explained this last bit quickly but I saw fiction that did just this but I found it a random plug in just to give drama - that is what I meant when I said making up whatever)

Wootzel: I would strongly suggest taking a look at the link about pigeon diets from my last response if you haven’t already. Apologies if you have! I just wasn't sure, based on how you responded.

Even with all the detail, we’re still just slightly confused about what you’re asking. My best guess currently is that you don’t have much background knowledge about how nutrition works, so here’s a really basic rundown by someone who does not study nutrition seriously, so readers, please bear with me if anything I say is wrong or grossly oversimplified.

Almost every animal species on Earth requires nutrients that can be split into just a few categories, if we’re simplifying.

Building blocks for our bodies: the stuff we physically need to create more cells and tissues. This is mainly proteins! You could also consider calcium to be in this category for those with skeletons. (Again, this is a heavy oversimplification. LOTS of stuff goes into our physical bodies and sticks around. But it’s much more protein than anything else).

Fuel: This primarily takes the form of sugars for us earthlings. Carbohydrates are complex sugars, and this is where a lot of human energy comes from. Cellulose is an absurdly long chain of simple sugars, which humans can’t digest but other animals (herbivores, mostly) have special digestive systems for. Fats are kinda just another form of sugars; they’re a little harder for the body to use than carbohydrates, but very energy-dense, so many species use fat as storage for extra energy. Carbs and simple sugars aren’t usually used the same way by bodies as fats, but they aren’t unrelated either; they use similar building blocks.

Micronutrients: These are not used in significant proportion to create structures in the body, but are important for metabolic processes or to replenish essential nutrients on a smaller scale. Animals use the sodium-potassium pump to move nutrients across cell membranes, and need those in various quantities to keep their bodies working.

Some species need a certain sort of compound or protein in their bodies and are able to make it if they consume the building blocks. Some can’t make enough, or can’t make a specific molecule at all, and therefore must consume it to survive. An example: Humans can create taurine in our bodies, given adequate amounts of the building blocks (amino acids, which are the components of proteins). Domestic cats can only make very little taurine; their usual diet of prey is rich in taurine already, so why should they need to synthesize it? On the other side, cats can synthesize vitamin C, but humans can’t. We eat plenty of fruits and get vitamin C from them, so our bodies lost the ability to synthesize it.

So, every one of your species needs to consume building blocks/protein, fuel, and micronutrients (or at least, the components of those micronutrients). In what quantities? If the diet is protein-poor, like that of a grazer, the animal will need to consume a lot of material in order to get enough protein. Grazing also requires being able to break down cellulose, since most grasses and plants tie their sugars up in long strings that many species can’t digest.

As I mentioned before, avoidance of toxins is also going to play a huge part in what these species can or can’t eat. Many plant species on earth have evolved SOME kind of chemical or physical deterrent that makes them either unappetizing or straight up dangerous to species that would eat them. In turn, species have evolved to ignore those toxins. There are so many toxins out there that I would hazard a guess that there are more plant species that are toxic to at least one animal than there are plant species that survive simply by growing faster than they can be eaten.

And within every single one of these nutrients… there’s a range. Every animal needs some amount of protein, but there’s a lower and upper limit to consume while still being healthy. There are also variable periods a species can spend without a nutrient without suffering. Growing, or building muscle, requires more protein, and a lot of activity needs more fuel. Some body processes will fly out of wack or shut down when deprived of their essential micronutrients.

This is about as far as my knowledge extends, so from here you’ll have to research deeper in order to get to your deep dive level. “Bioavailability” is a word that will be your friend if you haven’t been using it already. Humans could munch on grass all day long, and even though grass is made of LOTS of sugars, they are not bioavailable to humans because we can’t break apart cellulose in order to use those sugars. A human eating lots of grass would get sick because grass is a crap source of fuel for us. A cow who dined on chicken for a week would get sick because the gut microbes of cattle are good at consuming grass, and the body would struggle to use the resources in meat. (There are probably a lot of reasons for this. I don’t know most of them).

Also, look at detailed nutrition requirements for different kinds of domestic species. Look up “Essential nutrients for [animal]” and then read about why they need those things. As you learn more about this and pick up on the patterns, you’ll gain the understanding needed to decide which requirements you’d like your fictional species to have.

Tex: I think Wootzel has answered quite a few points in your ask, so I’m going to putter about a bit, starting with breaking down one of your paragraphs and giving line-by-line feedback on it:

“Like, surviving on strange lands. My characters of all species (and there's a lot more that are going to be background) obviously need to find food. They all need nutrition that suits their own needs.”

It’s good to know in retrospect that you intended a multiplicity of species, as that does change the scope a bit, especially the note about their nutritional needs being different - this implies to me that there’s species of different ancestors (like you see in a lot of sci-fi, humans being primate ancestors, another being a lizard ancestor, etc, etc).

How did this group of individuals (I’m assuming it’s a group of individuals) get on this strange land to begin with? Were they already traveling, and this was an unintended destination? Or were they not intending to travel at all, and their arrival at this “strange land” a surprise for them? If the former, being already traveling, did they already have food stored on hand?

“What if one character actually prefers to die if they are a vegetarian and there's only meat.”

I would like to make a small note that “vegetarian” (Wikipedia) and “vegan” (Wikipedia) diets mean different things from each other, and that such diets vary by culture (Wikipedia).

If you mean “vegetarian” as in “diet based on the refusal of meat, dairy, and egg products”, then - at least for a primarily Western context, “vegan” or another, more specific term than “vegetarian” might better apply to that character.

“But look, the opposite way, like humans, we can survive as vegetarians or we can eat meat.”

I’m going to provide two links here that are excellent references for the human diet and human nutritional needs

Human § Diet - Wikipedia

Human nutrition - Wikipedia

“How about carnivores that can NOT survive on vegetables and herbivores that can not surivive on meat.”

This is a bit of a rectangle vs square argument - herbivores generally have a physiology unsuitable to digesting meat and other animal products, whereas carnivores can sometimes digest plant products (i.e. cats eating grass for digestion, versus cows whose digestive system gets upset if they eat something other than plants).

As a note, the animal kingdom in particular is not so quickly nor easily categorized into two distinct groups of diet. What the stereotypical definition is of a “carnivore” is more closely aligned to that of an “obligate carnivore”, as in “obliged to eat meat” due to their physiology.

Opportunistic carnivores, on the other hand, are those animals that usually do not require the eating of meat, but can if their diet is restricted based upon resource availability, such as the Galapagos land iguana (Wikipedia), Liometopum apiculatum (a type of ant, Wikipedia),

“OR what about some omnivores that, can survive one way, but might have a deficiency. How severe might that deficiency be.”

Here’s some more links:

Herbivore - Wikipedia

Hypocarnivore - Wikipedia

Mesocarnivore - Wikipedia

Hypercarnivore - Wikipedia

Scavenger - Wikipedia

List of feeding behaviours - Wikipedia

Consumer–resource interactions - Wikipedia

List of abnormal behaviours in animals - Wikipedia

Ingestive behaviors - Wikipedia

“So, some storylines might be trade offs. Do you give the only vegetables to herbivores, what if in order for an omnivore to be healthy they need the vegetable, or they might possibly have to leave the person somewhere, or be unable to contribute as a group if deficiency takes their toll on them but they might get better and survive?”

This is plot, and under very technical terms not our wheelhouse. On a worldbuilding note, this is psychological rather than physiological question, and comes down to each individual’s culture and history to see how they react to starvation. I’ll list a few things to read for that context:

Starvation - Wikipedia

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 - Wikipedia

“So due to lack of vegetable, will they actually let a herbivore die/be underfed in order to let the omnivore survive but may be a bit sick especally when there are so many reasons why they should keep someone.”

This… hmm, seems to be coming from the tautology of “survival of the fittest” (Wikipedia), and its correlating Social Darwinism (Wikipedia), which is a can of worms to debate with. It’s a distressingly prevalent idea that one must survive by putting down others, and while thematically and situationally may sometimes be the case (thrillers are a popular genre), survival in many genres of story-telling requires a cast of larger than one in order for group starvation to be an issue.

“Maybe the omnivore has better skills they need?"

Plot-wise, if the character you’ve designated as the omnivore has some qualities that the others in its group have agreed-upon as having merit toward survival (i.e. “worth saving”/”worth living”), then that’s something you would need to write in.

Which does bring me to an additional question - there seems to be an underlying reason as to why your characters are debating in the first place who gets what food. It seems like there wasn’t already a protocol in place for disasters like this (food rationing protocols, preserved foods already available, plans for reuniting with civilization, hunting/foraging/basic agriculture, etc), or is this a subject that was looked over in your worldbuilding?

#google submitted #nutrition #species

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psychicdreamfriendoperator · 2 years

Note

Not me sending an ask but then ignoring the ones in my own blog 😳umm.. how about some Halloween headcanons with agata? Like what he would do, how he feels, his costume, etc. anything else you’d like to add too 🧙‍♀️🦁

All’s well — I’ve been sitting on an ask since Nov 2021 myself haha

Hope you enjoy! Agata’s fun to write for because he's the youngest lion pspsp

— Psychic

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General Halloween Headcanons

Halloween is one of the bigger holidays in the Beastars world: there's something very captivating about being able to just dress up and pretend you are someone else, if even for a little while.

It isn't uncommon for smaller herbivores to dress up as stronger herbivores, and vice versa.

For carnivorous animals, Halloween is one of the only days where it's acceptable for them to be scary and threatening — claws and fangs are sharpened.

Halloween also serves as a fun way to pick on social norms, and give commentary on pressing social issues: it's not uncommon to see herbivores dressed up as the most recent predation victim as a sort of statement.

In spite of all this, the Black Market doesn't really do Halloween; or at least, the gangs don't. (Not officially, anyway)

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Agata’s Feelings on Halloween

Having been raised outside of the Black Market, Agata had some exposure to Halloween.

When he was younger, his mother liked to dress him up as the ‘threatening lion’ Agata’s father never quite was.

But outside of that, Agata has never participated in any sort of Halloween event, but by God, he wants to change that.

It's just his luck that this year, the Shishigumi isn't as busy around Halloween. It gives him a good excuse to leave the Black Market and explore how people celebrate the holiday.

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Agata’s Exploration [Prose]

Agata wasn't used to riding in the back seat, but Dolph insisted that he did. Something about how the passenger side seatbelt was broken, and how he didn't want to be pulled over for something as stupid as that.

With a low sigh, Agata rest his head against the hard, leather seat. He and Dolph’s eyes met in the rear view window.

“Kid,” Dolph said. “Your stop is coming up soon.”

Agata nodded at that, and Dolph’s eyes drifted back onto the road.

Looking out the car window, he could see that the storefronts were decorated with all sorts of things: paper cut-outs, fake skeletons — one store even had a fake re-enactment of a predation.

It was almost frightening how looser everyone became when Halloween was involved; doing something like that was a major no-no any other time of the year.

Catching his reflection on the window, Agata began to stare at himself. Really stare at himself, and look at everything from his face to his dark mane. Idly pulling at his mouth, he lamented that it was too late to grow out his fangs.

But that was fine — it wasn't like he was going to get a costume or anything. No, he was just going to look around and see what was for sale…

“Uh, Dolph?” Seeing the older lion not stop the car made Agata lurch forward. “You missed my stop.”

Dolph made a low noise of disapproval. “I can't park in the middle of the road, now can I?”

“Park?”

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Agata + Dolph’s Exploration

Dolph really didn't plan on sticking around with Agata.

At most, he planned to give Agata some extra cash (nothing much, just an extra $200 or so — Halloween costumes could be expensive, and what if Agata got hungry along the way?) and then return to the Mansion.

That being said, Dolph is glad he decided to walk the streets with Agata: the younger lion’s curiosity is infectious.

Agata never got the chance to grow up properly, and it's so obvious that Dolph can't help but feel guilty whenever Agata stops walking to stare, or examine or touch a Halloween display.

It's mostly due to Dolph’s insistence and not-so-subtle nudging that Agata considers getting a costume at all.

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Agata’s Costume

Agata wants something simple: so, no fur-dyes, or styrofoam horns, or anything of the sort.

He’s metaphorically dipping his toes in. Even though he wants to have fun this Halloween, he’s still the youngest member of the Shishigumi. And while the other lions probably wouldn't say anything, or even care ... well, what would they think?

Agata’s low self-esteem threatens to get in the way, and while Dolph can't handle the root cause, he can try to make Agata feel a bit more confident in his decision.

Dolph winds up dragging Agata to different stores, and encouraging him to try on simple costumes: the ones that are just outfits with as few accessories as possible.

In the end, both Dolph and Agata wind up paying for mobster costumes. They already dress like they're part of a gang (because they are), and it just feels "right".

(Agata thinks it's hilarious that they went to so many stores, just to wind up dressing up as themselves. Dolph finds it more amusing than hilarious)

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Conclusion

As Agata and Dolph walk back to the car, they receive many compliments on their realistic mobster costumes.

Neither of them were wearing their store-bought costumes yet.

All in all, it's a successful outing. Though it isn't discussed, both Agata and Dolph agree that they'll be doing the same thing again the following year.

Agata believes he’s too old for trick-or-treating, so honestly, maybe he could hit up a club next Halloween? Or go to one of those adult costume parties? Either outing sounds like fun to him.

#beastars #beastars agata #beastars headcanons #beastars imagines #beastars dolph #i like making dolph a psuedo-father figure to agata #i diagnose him with dad :)#ask

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the-world-annealing · 1 year

Text

Witnessing Orcs: Diet

The main source of food that the carnivorous orcs consume is, of course, wild game. Rabbits and deer are common parts of the diet, but orcs have no qualms going after larger, more dangerous beasts also. Bison, aurochs and boars are all hunted when available, regardless of the threat they pose to individual hunters. Orcs have no qualms hunting predators, as some human cultures do, believing that such hunts are a proof of strength and will be rewarded with more game next season. Complementing the diet are various waterfowl and fish.

Children, though barred from wielding weapons, might set small snares, craft nets and fishing lines, and scour rocks for edible bugs, sharing the scraps they so obtain among their peers. They will also climb trees to search for birds' nests: something their older peers are typically too bulky to do. During my own childhood, I myself earned much of my favor with the other children in this manner.

After a successful hunt, the beast is butchered where it fell. No part of a kill goes to waste, except for the eyes, which are considered to contain the soul. Consuming eyes is considered a sign of madness and a risk of opening oneself up to possession, and so these organs are simply tossed away, free for either Gruumsh or Yurtrus to claim as they see fit.

All other parts are taken: fat, muscle, organ meat, skin, even the prey’s pre-digested stomach contents: if it can serve as food, it will. Killed game can be preserved by smoking and curing it, but this requires access to both salt and firewood, so more commonly it is simply cooked or dried before being taken back to the larger group. In cold climates, food may be buried in snow to preserve it.

On the rare occasion that the kill exceeds the hunting party’s carrying capacity, the excess is wrapped in skins, then submerged in water or buried underground, out of reach of scavengers and largely protected from rot. The partially fermented meat is then recovered later: still palatable and no less nourishing. Water is the preferred medium for such actions, but if none is available, a short ceremony to dedicate the skins to Gruumsh and Luthic is considered to protect the food from the worst of the rotting dirt’s taint.

Orcs are not quite true carnivores, and can digest several fruits and seeds without much struggle, but tend not to consume these plants even when they come by them. Retaining and transmitting knowledge of edible plants is hard, especially for those with the short lifespans of orcs, and only rarely is meat so scarce and fruit so plentiful that an expanded diet would be worth the risks. Generally, orcs consider plants and vegetable matter to be universally unreliable and poisonous things, ingrained in rot and dirt, whose deep-running roots suck up buried taint.

Orcs with access to human food quickly embrace the wide variety of preparation methods and flavorings found in their cuisine. They lack the human preference for sweet foods, preferring strong spicy, sour, or salty tastes. Most vegetable products they reject outright for reasons stated above. Of animal products, they cannot stomach milk and cheese, pay little mind to honey, and eagerly consume eggs, which adult orcs can otherwise only rarely obtain. The many strange beasts that are found in the sea they eat without pause, even when wholly unfamiliar with them: once during my travels I was served a strange, snake-like fish, utterly black in color, and found myself hesitating before it, but my orcish tablemate appeared wholly unbothered by its unwholesome appearance, and was in fact already halfway through her plate.

Last, I must discuss the more unsavoury sides of orcish food habits. I shall go right ahead and say this: yes, orcs eat those they slay in combat, and yes, they will even eat their own dead. It should be understood that orcs simply do not ascribe the same worth and dignity to a corpse that humans do, and are in fact very puzzled when humans exhibit concern over their practices: do they not both agree the soul has moved on? As they say, the dead cannot own what they cannot use: this applies to weapons and treasures, but corpses all the same. Conversely, the human tendency to take the dead and put them underground uniformly horrifies orcs, who interpret it as a calculated act meant to deny them food at best, and active sacrifice to Yurtrus at worst. When victorious in battle but unable to butcher the dead, some orcs make a point of removing and taking the eyes of the fallen, ensuring that those at least are not buried. Humans, for their part, can only interpret such acts as willful desecration of the dead.

(Next chapters will be about interaction with nonhuman and human people, perhaps with a little break in between to describe the orcish epic tradition)

#witnessing orcs #orcs #worldbuilding #cw cannibalism #cw food #we're back babyyy #d&d

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bstrdwulf · 8 months

Text

Being A Fern;

How did it happen?:

In the early months of being nonhuman online, i decided to have a name purely for my nonhumanity so i took the name inferno and shortened it to fern. After a while i grew used to the name fern and started to prefer it to inferno, honestly sometimes i forget that it isnt my proper "human" name, and i developed a connection between me and ferns. At first it was just seeing a fern and going 'hehe thats me lol' and being a nonhuman called fern 'im not a human im fern' started to blend together to become 'im not a human im a fern'. This was just a side thing for a while just a label that didnt have much effect on me but then i got thrown into an episode of identity confusion and the name fern was the only thing that properly stuck. I was now fully a fern.

My experiences:

As im photosensitive ive never really wanted to spend long amounts of time in the sun so one of a plants most noticeable features, photosynthesis, has never appealed to me. That being said ferns do well in low light. I enjoy the slow movement of plants and often just want to sit by a tree and let the wind or rain hit me, i would love to be huddled with other plants at a forest floor. The idea of being a house fern has crossed my mind but it feels so lonely to me especially if im sectioned to a pot by myself, i want to be able to reach out to other plants roots. Trees feel sort of like a guardian to me and i enjoy spending time with them and chatting to them. Some ferns can also be considered weeds as they tend to get into places quickly and are difficult to get rid off, im definitely one of those ferns. I have a habit of getting into places i shouldnt and am fairly stubborn a guy.. what can i say im a weedy little rascal.

What now?:

Most of my nonhuman identities are that of carnivorous animals, so a plant type is definitely pretty strange to me and for it to have developed so quickly by complete accident. Im interested to see if i can develop a herbivore type on purpose, i feel like it should be easy enough to attempt but i have no clue if it will properly work or how it will compare to my accidentally developed types.

#fang barks #plantkin #fernkin #havent proof read but fuck it whatever #rambles

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easterncoyoteenthusiast · 1 year

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Attitudes Towards Coyotes

Coywolves can live successfully in a variety of habitats (for related information, see my post on range/diet). The primary sources of mortality in the majority of these environments are anthropogenic (i.e., trapping, shooting, car accidents, and poisoning). Poisoning remained a widespread method of predator eradication until 1972, when its use on federal lands was banned in the United States; the use of household rodenticides is, however, still allowed.

Though a portion of the general public has become sympathetic towards these animals in recent years [1-2], deliberate killings still occur on city margins. An example of this was discovered during a 2005 study of a pack of coyotes in eastern Massachusetts [3]. Activity and movement patterns in this study were typical; the coyotes did not kill local pets or physically endanger citizens, but rather increased their nocturnal behavior to avoid people and displayed territorial behavior towards transient individuals. Even so, sightings of the individuals in this pack—Maeve, Jet, and Cour—led to some upset.

All three individuals were found dead during the study; in each case, the cause of death was ruled an anticoagulant pesticide (Brodifacoum, a second-generation poison and active ingredient in some forms of rat poison). Because all three displayed no abnormal behavior in the week leading up to their deaths and all died in less than a week, it is likely that, rather than having eaten poisoned prey, they were purposefully dosed at high concentrations.

Public support for the lethal management of carnivores has noticeably declined over time. Jackman and Way surveyed Cape Cod voters to examine “knowledge of and attitudes toward current coyote hunting policies and practices in Massachusetts” [1, p. 188]. Knowledge was largely limited, with only 40% being aware that Massachusetts has a hunting season for coyotes and 14% being aware that there are no bag limits—meaning a hunter can kill as many coyotes as they want. Responses to the survey indicated that only 23% supported the no-bag limits; the “only group to include majority support (62%)” [1, p. 190] comprised frequent hunters, who represented only a small percentage of the sampled public.

Anyone wishing to determine shifts in attitude towards and/or awareness of coywolves should consider the use of surveys à la Jackman and Way [1]. I wanted to incorporate a survey to determine whether residents of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania (where I am currently based) had noticeably different stances, but I did not give myself enough time to get IRB approval and properly analyze data. I would also recommend a potential partnership with an ecologist and/or biologist. Because I am an anthropologist and have little background in those fields, I was therefore somewhat limited in my view/understanding.

References:

[1] Jackman, J.L. & Way, J.G. (2017). Once I found out: Awareness of and attitudes toward coyote hunting policies in Massachusetts. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 23(2), 187-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2017.1397824

[2] Way, J.G. (2021). Coywolf: Eastern coyote genetics, ecology, management, and politics. Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, Barnstable, Massachusetts. www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/Coywolf/

[3] Way, J.G., Cifuni, S.M., Eatough, D.L., & Strauss, E.G. (2006). Rat poison kills a pack of eastern coyotes, Canis latrans, in an urban area. Canadian Field Naturalist, 120(4), 478-480.

TL;DR:

Coywolf mortality is largely anthropogenic

Attitudes towards coywolves have improved over time

Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have no bag limits on coyotes; Pennsylvania has no set hunting season

#coywolf #northeastern coyote #eastern coyote #canis latrans var.#canis latrans x canis lycaon #western coyote #canis latrans #eastern wolf #canis lycaon #alternative senior thesis project #anthropogenic mortality #predator control #carnivore management #activity patterns #movement patterns #hunting practices (MA/PA)#ecology #anthropology

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dailybeastarsthings · 2 years

Text

Chapter 46 – For One To Show No Fear

The end of the year was rapidly growing near and thus animals were all looking for partners to kiss at midnight. This was also true for Pina, who was schmoozing with one of his many love interests.

‘Your horns smell really nice today’ he said to his girlfriend.

‘Thank you, I waxed them with honey to give them that extra shine’ she replied, smiling and blushing.

‘Well, I’m crazy about them’ Pina said smoothly.

‘You’re in the Drama Club, right? Do you like it there?’

‘Well, not to brag or anything, but I was given a huge role for the New Year’s performance. Are you gonna come see it?’ he tried to impress the girl, who was sitting on the edge of her seat in excitement.

‘Of course! Who are you gonna be?’

‘I’m gonna be the handsome youth who gets his soul stolen by the Grim Reaper. I’ll die at the end!’ Pina said cheerfully.

‘What, you’ll die?’ the girl asked in confusion. She expected something more exciting.

‘That’s right’ Pina said as he rested his head on his palm. ‘Tell me, Riona, if I died for real, would you mourn me?’ he asked as he leaned in for a kiss.

‘I think I’d laugh’ Riona replied coldly, blocking Pina’s lips with her palm, smiling sourly. ‘Who the hell is Riona!? I don’t think a guy who can’t even remember a girl’s name is even worth a funeral!’

With that, the girl jumped up, kicked Pina in the shin then stormed off. Pina looked after her in silence. He then sighed and shook his head before he headed to rehearsal in defeat.

‘Well, I did it again…’ he thought. After all, it was not the first time he messed up the names of his partners. ‘Girls really know how to hit you where it hurts. Now I’m too traumatized to remember names. Maybe I should just lay low until things get sorted out? Never! I just have to get it together then get back to action!’

Pina entered one of the restrooms on his way to the Drama Club. As he was walking inside, he thought about how the new casting for Adler was breaking the mold. A carnivore reaping an herbivore’s soul was way too realistic. Some might say its portrayal was taboo. Yet, all things considered, Pina was happy with his role. Suddenly, he heard a clank from behind then a shadow blocked all the light above him as he was about to relieve himself. He looked up, only to be greeted by the sight of Riz’s smiling face.

‘I’m looking forward for today’s rehearsal’ he said with his usual sugarcoated voice.

‘Oh, wow, you surprised me!’ Pina replied with forced cheerfulness. ‘But I think I’ll be leaving now. I’m not comfortable with peeing next to a murderer you know’ he said as he started to walk away.

‘I’m going to settle things with Legoshi at New Year’s’ Riz said, smiling.

‘I did figure out something was going on with him with the way he looked today… I was not expecting this, however…’

‘Oh, but that’s not all’ Riz continued with a shadow growing across his face. ‘You’re a part of this, too. You’re the only one other than Legoshi, who knows what I have done. So, when I’m done killing Legoshi, I’ll let all my emotions loose and devour you from head to toe.’

Pina was shocked by Riz’s words, he, however, didn’t want to let him rain over his parade and crush his mood.

‘From head to toe you say? I wouldn’t do that if I were you… These horns are clearly in the way and I really don’t think they taste very good’ he said with glee as he pointed towards his head.

Suddenly, Riz leaned in and sucked on Pina’s index finger. The Dall sheep was terrified as he felt the bear’s teeth and tongue playing around it. His leg’s trembled in horror until finally, what seemed to be a never ending moment, Riz let go of his finger with a slurping sound. Pina closed his eyes in fear, expecting a blood fountain emerging from the place of his late index finger, collapsing onto the floor.

‘Sorry about that’ Riz said, smiling, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘I couldn’t help myself. Your fingers smelled like honey.’

With that, he left to partake in the rehearsal. Pina gasped as he sat up to check his hand and how bad the situation was.

‘They’re all still here! Thank goodness!’ he thought in relief before falling back to the tiles. ‘Who would’ve thought? I’m relieved to the point where I find myself lying on the filthy bathroom floor. I’m more desperate to live than I thought… I’m perfect for the guy who dies tragically at the end.’

After collecting his every ounce of energy and strength, Pina stood up and walked to the auditorium where the others have already been waiting for him. He quickly changed than joined the rest of the acting group. Sanu called for him shortly.

‘Okay, we’re going to start practice now’ he said. ‘Are the lights ready?’ Legoshi nodded. ‘Is the sound good?’ Fudge raised his thumb to show everything was fine.

‘Pina, you don’t look so good… Are you okay? Do you remember your lines?’ Juno asked in worry. She was not only worried for his club mate though. With this play, her reputation as an aspiring Beastar was at stake.

‘I’ll be fine’ Pina replied.

Juno was not the only one worrying about him though. He overheard others talking about him, how he only had the looks but never the talent Louis used to present on-stage. But Sanu signed for the pair to begin and so they did.

‘I’m Adler, the Grim Reaper. I have come here this evening to reap your soul’ Juno began her line. ‘If you have any last words, offer them to this scythe.’

‘If I begged for my life, would that satisfy you?’ Pina said his line while he lowered his head. He then sent a piercing look towards Juno. ‘Even if my life has been meaningless, my life is mine alone. My fear of dying is also mine alone. I won’t give you a testament… I’ll give you a heartfelt declaration instead.’ He clenched one of his fists and raised it up to his shoulder while turning towards the others. ‘You can take my life! But I won’t cower away from you!!!’

Pina panted after his line while the others were shocked at his powerful delivery of those words. Dom was so surprised, he even dropped a can full of red paint.

‘Are you alright, Pina? What’s gotten into you?’ Juno asked while the others rushed to Dom to help him clean up the spilled paint.

‘What do you mean?’ Pina chuckled. ‘I’ll go get some water. I’m parched.’

On his way to the locker room, he crossed paths with Riz, who was also amazed by his performance as well.

‘Did you see that?’ Pina asked while he patted Riz’s shoulder as he passed by him.

With that gesture, the bear’s suspicions became a reality. That powerful delivery was a declaration of war.

***

As per usual, Legoshi went straight to Gouhin after rehearsal to train for his fight at New Year’s. However, he also had the urge to see Louis to tell him about his resolution. That, however seemed easier said than done. He knew that after that incident back at the Shishigumi’s hideout, the lions would be on the lookout for him. After some thinking, Legoshi came up with the idea of crossdressing. To achieve the perfect look, Gouhin lent him one of his wife’s dresses and matching heels.

After Legoshi got dressed, Gouhin applied some makeup on him – some purple eyeshadow and peach blush to match the color of the dress. The final touch was a small floral headpiece to hide the scars above his eye.

‘I hope you don’t mind wearing this dress’ Gouhin said. ‘It must be shocking for you to learn that I don’t keep any dresses here. This one is only an exception because she was wearing this when we first met.’

‘Do I remind you of your wife?’ Legoshi asked almost absentmindedly. When he realized what he had just asked, he turned red in embarrassment. ‘Never mind, don’t answer that. I have to go now!’ And so he did, running out on the streets, looking for Louis.

***

Louis and Ibuki were sitting in their usual bar. They were almost regulars at that point. Ibuki was drinking some whisky, while Louis enjoyed a glass of plum wine.

‘What do you think would be more valuable stuffed… heads with manes or heads with antlers?’ Ibuki asked.

‘What?’ Louis turned his head towards the lion in surprise.

‘I suppose I should give you some context, huh?’ Louis blinked to indicate “yes” while he was taking a sip of his drink. ‘The clans here like to decorate their hideouts with stuffed animal heads, preferably the heads of the bosses of other clans.’

‘Do you think my small head would make for some fine interior design?’ Louis laughed.

‘I’m serious, boss! What will happen if some clan feels threatened by us and comes in with the sole purpose of claiming your head?’

‘Then you will die in my stead, Ibuki’ Louis said calmly. ‘I can’t die when things are looking so good for us. Besides, there’ll be rumors that my men ate me instead. I don’t want to sully the Shishigumi’s name.’

‘Of course. I’d gladly die for you, boss’ Ibuki said, and he meant every word. ‘Excuse me, I’ll have to use the bathroom.’

When Ibuki walked away, the bar’s entrance opened, letting in some fresh, crisp air, mixed with the scent of a floral perfume, making its way to Louis’ nostril. The clacking sound of heels soon joined the scent, too, which were headed straight to the seat next to the deer.

‘Huh, a female customer’ Louis thought. ‘Such a rare sight… But why is she sitting right next to me?’

He looked to the side to see, who he was sitting next to, only to realize that it was not a female customer, not even close. To his shock, it was Legoshi. He couldn’t help but stare, with his jaw dropping to the floor, literally.

‘Please don’t make this into a scene, Louis darling’ Legoshi said in a feminine tone. “Darling” was a word he didn’t know he would actually call him, but he liked it. It meant felt sweet for him to call Louis darling. His upperclassman on the other hand was a bit surprised. There was an awkward moment of silence between them before Legoshi continued. ‘I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but first let me tell you that, yes, I’m Legoshi. I’m sorry if my crossdressing is not the best. I came here through trial and error.’

Louis couldn’t decide which emotion he should choose in this situation. He was happy to see Legoshi, yet he was also on the verge of laughing at the poorly executed disguise on him. However, he was also quite angry at him, the memory of their latest encounter still a sour thought in him.

‘What the hell are you doing? Why are you wearing a dress? And why does it kind of look good on you? Do I seriously have to kill you to make you stop acting like a psycho!?’ he thought. ‘I love you, but I’ll do it!’

‘There’s something that I absolutely must tell you today’ Legoshi continued before they heard the restroom door opening. As Ibuki started walking back to the bar, he was shocked by the unfolding scene. Louis nervously grabbed his glass, taking a sip of plum wine, while Legoshi kept trying to make eye contact with him.

‘What can I serve you?’ the bartender asked Legoshi, snapping him out of his thoughts.

‘What would you recommend?’ he asked nervously.

‘Well, for a wolf, I’d say that the “Howling Lady” would be the best fit.’

‘I’ll have that then, thank you.’

Legoshi became increasingly worried as the lion slowly made its way back to the counter. He sure made it back faster than it would’ve been ideal, making him have to act fast while remaining calm, to avoid blowing his cover.

‘This isn’t good’ he thought. ‘Louis is getting angry with me, I can feel it. I know it looks like I’m screwing around but I’m dead serious! I want him to listen to what I have to say! What should I do?’

‘Damn it, Legoshi! Whenever I pour my soul into something, you always show up to stir up my feelings!’ Louis thought. ‘How should I use this stupid disguise to make this idiotic underclassman suffer!? What should I do?’ ‘

‘The boss is an 18-year-old male and I don’t intend on interfering with his private life, but that female is ugly as hell!’ Ibuki thought. ‘She’s twice as big as him, too. I could probably show him 10, way cuter partners for him than that female. Someone, who’s a perfect fit for the Shishigumi’s boss! What should I do?’

‘Ibuki, leave us a lone, please’ Louis instructed, breaking the cycle of thoughts, which were stirring violently around the bar.

‘Understood, boss. I’ll be waiting outside.’ Ibuki said, leaving the two behind.

Louis couldn’t believe himself. It was the first time for him to set duty aside because of his curiosity. He was interested in what Legoshi wanted to tell him, but he wanted to mess with him, too.

‘Thank you, darling’ Legoshi said when Ibuki closed the bar’s door behind him.

‘Anything for you, sugarplum’ Louis replied. Legoshi was surprised by his response, but he had to remain true to his disguise to maintain his character. ‘So, what is it that you want to tell me, sweety?’

Legoshi then proceeded to tell Louis about the results of his investigation from beginning to end, leaving no detail out. He even told him about how he French kissed Riz to gather information. They both rolled their eyes, hoping that the other would be their first kiss.

‘So Riz is the killer, which means that his stuffed-animal act was just a façade he used to get by at school…’ Louis said.

‘Exactly, he’s awful! Legoshi agreed. His voice cracked a little. Keeping up his high-pitched sound was getting harder for his throat.

‘Well, if you know he’s the killer, then hurry up and turn him in already.’

‘Why does everyone keep saying that? It’s not that simple!’

‘It literally is though.’

‘No, as a fellow carnivore, I’m going to show him justice by using force! And if I lose, then I’ll just have to let him kill me. I already got a taste from his strength. He left me with this scar. But only because I got my guard down!’ Legoshi said, trying to save face.

‘Okay, that’s not happening. I cannot let you fight him one-on-one!’ Louis said, worried.

‘I’m going to settle things with him at New Year’s Eve. I want you to be there to see our fight, Louis.’

‘Why should I?’ Louis said, trying to pull up a wall. He was simply too worried for Legoshi. He didn’t know how he would handle the fact that he was dead.

‘Louis, please…’

‘How many times do I have to tell you!? I belong to the Black Market! I have nothing to do with school anymore!’

‘I’m not telling you to return to the outside world!’ Legoshi argued while he grabbed Louis by the shoulders, turning him towards him. ‘There’s a chance that this is going to end with my death and if it does, I want you to be there to see it! Don’t you understand? I- I…’ Suddenly, he choked up. The words that almost left his mouth were the simplest, yet most difficult to say.

The two both looked at each other with eyes full of determination. On Legoshi’s side, he was determined to fight Riz either way and to make Louis turn up for the event, while Louis was determined to stay out of that completely. Finally, Louis broke the silence with a chuckle. He couldn’t take Legoshi’s serious expression with that hideous makeup.

‘What?’ Legoshi asked.

‘Oh, please, your face is just too much like this.’

‘You laughed, right?’

‘Are you serious, how could I not?’ Louis said, almost rolling off his chair.

‘I’ll take that as a yes! We’ll be under the Gazura Bridge at New Year’s Eve. It’s in front of the school! I’ll be waiting!’ With that, Legoshi stormed off, surprisingly quickly for someone who was wearing heels for the first time.

‘Wait, I’m not going!’ Louis yelled after him.

A moment of silence settled in the bar, Louis took another sip from his glass.

‘Where did that big female go?’ he heard Ibuki from behind.

‘I rejected her.’

‘Oh, that’s a relief’ Ibuki replied while took the seat next to Louis.

‘Did you really think, I’d give in? She was such a fool.’ Legoshi ran back to Gouhin to wash up before returning to school. He was hopeful that he would see Louis at his fight with Riz, giving him that extra motivation and power, he needed. He was not the only one busy training. Riz was also taking some extra time, working on his condition. After all, there were only three days left until New Year’s Eve. He, however, had another trick up his sleeve…

#beastars #beastars overhaul

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winterking975 · 18 days

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I remember long ago writing this little bit of Fanfiction for Beastars a long time ago; it being my first attempt at making Fanfiction before. But as I was starting to write up the next chapter, I found myself having to start focusing on my life and dealing with my own personal issues; which made me give up on writing the rest of it pretty much. But now that I’m starting to get a better grip on my life, I’m starting to feel my old creative impulses tell me to try and finish what I started. So I might as well post this here and ask for all of your opinions on it and whether or not I should continue it. I hope you enjoy reading it either way.

Prologue: This Imperfect World We Call Ours

You can call me Michiya. And I’m a Lion. What am I doing? Well currently I’m sitting at a bar, which in spite of the fact it’s located in a dingy and pretty dirty alleyway in a pretty impoverished part of the city. It’s pretty good all things considered. Now I bet your also wondering what is so important about this. Well it isn’t. Well. The stuff I’m currently doing isn’t anyway. But what I’m about to tell you is a story. A story of how four seemingly separate threads of life entertwined over the course of an investigation into the death of a popular Herbivore businessman.

Again I probably see some of you scratching your heads when I mention that. Herbivores. What’s so important about them? Well maybe I should fill you in on all the facts you should now about the world that I live in before we go diving into this story hmmm? Well I’m going to need a drink for this so...

“Hit me with some sake barkeep. And not the weak stuff.” I muttered as I saw the Vixen behind the bar nod and start pouring me some into a glass. Every movement she made was swift and in a way. Almost kind of seductive as she flicked her tail every so often. After she was finished she was about to put the bottle back but I stopped her. “Leave the bottle. I’m expecting my girlfriend.” And it was those words that drew a look of contempt from her. But it was quickly removed as she nodded and left the bottle, albeit a little harder than necessary, on the counter. Heh trying to seduce me with your movements so I can give you my undivided attention. No doubt trying to either solicit a bigger tip using her body or maybe she was genuinely interested in me. Eh. Guess I’ll never know. And before you ask I don’t have a girlfriend. Nobody ever leaves a bottle of good sake in the hands of a single person. What? Oh right. The facts. Well.

I paused to take a sip of my sake. Ah. Good stuff indeed. Not weak but not enough to get a seasoned drinker wasted with a glass or two. Ah now. The facts. Well to put it simply. This world is full of animals. Not the typical animals your thinking of. These ones walk upright. All of them do. Save insects and arachnids. Fish as well. But uh. It’s complicated. So anyway. Back to the main stuff. So yeah. I’m a Lion that walks upright. I have hands. I have feet. I can speak in English. But I assure you I still look like a Lion, despite those three things I mentioned. So now that that’s out of the way.

Herbivores and Carnivores. You know the ones. Deer are Herbivores. Lions like myself are Carnivores. But we operate a little differently to the way you might think. Well most of the time we do anyway. See. Carnivores can’t eat meat. Shocking right? But yeah. No meat. Not allowed. Forbidden. Get caught eating meat? Instant jail time. We get all our protein from eggs and milk. Stuff made from insects is also considered okay. Yep. Life sucks. But you knew that already. Herbivores are always treated with respect. Just because they lack the hunger for meat like we Carnivores do. They hold great power and influence as well as being seen as innocent in pretty much every light. And Carnivores like me? Well we get along okay. Not as if we’re second rate citizens. We use the strength that Herbivores don’t have to do most of the hard labour. And we do it with a smile. But of course. Just because we need protein. That fabled substance that as you know, meat is a great provider of. We get seen as the bad guys in pretty much any situation involving a Herbivore. Heck sometimes we get arrested for simply raising our voices at a Herbivore. It’s crazy sometimes I tell you. Oh. And Omnivores? Yeah depends mostly on whether or not they look more Carnivorous. Like say. A Chicken. They get along fine. Bears? Just the same as Carnivores.

Another sip of my sake. But hey what can you do? Carnivores and Herbivores. We’re all destined to dance this little dance of ours. Herbivores at the top. Looking down on us. And Carnivores at the bottom and middle. Looking up at their smug faces. And as you might’ve guessed. In this world where clashes between Carnivores and Herbivores are getting more and more frequent with the recent rise in predatory attacks on Herbivores, that’s when Carnivores attack and eat Herbivores by the way. Yeah. Something has got to give. This supposedly perfect city that maintains an outlook of Herbivores and Carnivores getting along in harmony is really just a couple more accidents away from turning into an all out war between the two. And that’s how it is currently. Now I could go on more about this city and its sinful secrets, like the brothels where Carnivores can get dominated by Herbivores and the secret black market full of illegal meat supplied by hospitals and funeral homes. But I think I’ll save those for a different time. Right now. You want that story don’t you? Well okay. This story starts. Just as any other run of the mill thriller story starts. On a dark and stormy night a few months ago...

*A dark and stormy night a few months ago.*

The rain splattered against his face, wetting his fur and clothes to the point they were absolutely soaked and the sweat that was seeping out from his pores did little to help either. Yet still he ran. His shoes pounded the pavement furiously as he continued to run away from his pursuer, who continued to keep up the pace. Why. He kept asking himself. Why was this happening? It had been just an ordinary day like any other, being friendly and working hard at the business he had built from scratch. A place that aspired to be as big as the others and built on a foundation of solidarity between Carnivores and Herbivores like himself. Yet here he was. Getting chased by one of his Carnivore employees. Like prey.

His pursuer was gaining on him. He could feel the hot breath on his collar and he swore he could feel a singular claw rake harmlessly against his thoroughly soaked black suit jacket. In a fit of desperation he turned into an alleyway and continued to run. Till he hit a brick wall. A dead end. He could hear his pursuer now. Stopping. And he swore he could feel his eyes staring at him, right through him. He turned and faced his once faithful employee now his soon to be executioner. This was it. He was going to die. In a dark, rubbish strewn and cold stone alleyway. There was no way out. No fire exit stairway ladder he could jump up and climb onto and almost somewhat heroically avoid his killer. No door to a room which could hold anything from a more dangerous scenario to one of pure salvation. A few windows yes but far too high up for him to jump up to, let alone crawl inside with the time he had left. And even if he did scream for help there was no guarantee anyone would reach him before he met his untimely fate, that was if anyone was around. Nobody was in these buildings. He knew that. The state of the grimy broken glass of all the aforementioned windows and absolute silence coming from either of the buildings told him so. It was just him and his about to be killer, as well as the brick wall behind him and the decaying brick buildings beside him. He backed up futility against the wall. As if to try and phase through it like a ghost.

His killer approached him slowly. Each footstep a death knell for him. He looked around for anything he could use to try and defend himself. But nothing but old newspapers and sodden posters advertising the new buildings about to be built here. By his company. Ironic.

A brilliant flash of white from a bolt of lightning that seemed to split the sky in twain, illuminated his executioners face. He knew it well. Yet he still couldn’t believe it.

“How could you?” He spat as his assailant drew ever closer. And with each step the feeling of dread and despair in his stomach continued to grow. “I gave you everything! I gave you a job! I gave you my respect and admiration! You were dedicated! And above all, a brilliant example to show all my other Carnivore staff of what to aspire to! So why do this now?!” He demanded in a frightened and hoarse tone from his screaming. Yet his killer said nothing. Taking more steps forward. “This isn’t happening... I never even got to confess my love to...” His sentence was cut short as a tight, unyielding hand gripped his throat. His air was running out as he frantically swatted at his murderers face. But nothing. His feeble smacks did nothing to this hulking behemoth of a creature. And the last thing he saw was a brilliant flash of white as he uttered one final gargled scream. And then a sickening crunch. Followed by a series of ravenous slurping sounds and terrifying cracks. All covered by the sound of the ominous thunder and pouring rain...

Well that was my Fanfic. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please feel free to let me know what you think of it in the comments and reblogs. I appreciate your feedback immensely.

#fanfic #beastars

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