#without any communication

[silverstar5000]

Anyone else wants to join in?

[roppiepop]

Who’s coming to the cookout?

[deikshen]

Hanahaki AU where, unexpectedly for everyone, Mobei Jun begins to cough up petals.

Shang Qinghua is IN CRISIS. WHY? WHO DOES HIS KING LOVE? In the original plot, Shang Qinghua did not put any love relationship for him... Partly because Mobei Jun was created and designed as his favorite, and partly because it wouldn't be right to take any of the potential wives from the Protagonist's harem. So it wouldn't make sense for Mobei Jun to be so in love that he's capable of GETTING SICK WITH THAT UNRECIPIENTATED LOVE.

Shang Qinghua has no idea.

Mobei Jun feels himself to be a pathetic being. He's courted his spy for years, and at this point, he can only accept that the human will never reciprocate. However, why would accepting it mean getting sick like that? The ridiculous yellow flowers that Mobei Jun keeps coughing up are going to choke him soon, but there is no solution. Mobei Jun can't tear the emotions from his chest, just as he can't beg his spy to love him. He doesn't love him.

He... He doesn't, does he?

At some point, before Mobei Jun's Hanahaki worsens, Shang Qinghua is the one who starts coughing up petals. He wakes up one day, angry and jealous of Mobei Jun's beloved, that despicable being who does not take carefully the heart of his poor king, and starts coughing.

He coughs and chokes as the first petals pass through his throat. These are frosty petals of ice that wound his throat with every fierce coughing fit all day long.

And Mobei Jun has so many questions.

[benevolenterrancy]

au where Li Yu teaches Prince Jing modern CSL, based on @skygemspeaks's au over here because after seeing how eagerly Li Yu takes to teaching him pinyin in bk4 I think they both deserve it!

[bacchuschucklefuck]

while teen while goblin while aroace while injured while doing your best

[bonefall]

[ID: Ask from @storiesandsquirrels, transcribed in alt text]

also: link to Cow Lore

There's one major misconception here I've gotta correct before answering earnestly; Holsteins do need Super Duper Food. This is one of their major problems as a breed, you need to give them high quality feed for high quantity, low quality milk.

But! That said! These are valid questions that deserve real responses. In spite of the quick correction, I actually want to answer them as you phrased them because I think it would be more illuminating. I'm going to try and summarize them as I go along;

Question 1: "Why wouldn't we want to use The Most Efficient Cow?"

The simplest answer is disease. My ""prediction"" came true, and bird flu has mutated to spread extremely easily through the infected udders of Holsteins. No one has died of bovine-contracted HPAI yet, but with Brainworm Bobby and his love of raw milk in charge of the CDC...

well. my last prediction was prophetic. let's hope this one's not.

Minmaxing a breed for one specific purpose always means intensive inbreeding. Like I mentioned, 9 million Holsteins are genetically equivalent to 60 individuals. A more genetically diverse population is one that will be better at preventing disease outbreaks, and reducing their severity when they do.

And what even is the Most Efficient Milk Cow? If you're only selecting for pure milk production to drive down its cost, you get a breed of cattle that lacks every other important trait that would make it good livestock;

They get sick more often, due to inbreeding depression and lack of physical fitness, requiring more antibiotics and veterinary care.

They are bad parents who will need more human intervention to birth and raise calves

They won't be good grazers, meaning they need a specific food grown for them, increasing how much "functional" land is actually dedicated to cattle husbandry.

Their carcass won't yield as much meat, so more cattle have to be raised and slaughtered to meet demand.

Their bodies will burn out much quicker than a healthier animal, meaning you need to replace your livestock more often.

When it comes to living beings, "efficiency" is "fragility." It's not a stable system to begin with.

Even with the pure logic aside, just, step back here and look at the situation with a heart. We'd be making unhealthy, short-lived animals lacking critical instincts to lead good social lives. AND we probably haven't even fixed the "less land" problem, just shifted the land off-site.

For what? For more milk? We have SO MUCH milk we don't even know what to do with it!

Question 2: "Isn't an overabundance of cheap milk a good thing?"

no.

Under the infinite genius of Capitalism, thousands of gallons of milk just gets poured into the sewer daily because there's too much of it. Transporting it to a processor would cost more than it's worth, sometimes the processors turn milk away because they don't want to overproduce products, and even the US government can't subsidize every last drop; it still has 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in various caves and warehouses across the country.

The price of milk cannot get any lower because it's already being sold below the cost it takes to produce it, and yet, we're still here literally pouring it down the drain.

[photo from bill ulrich who photographed a farmer dumping milk back during the pandemic. this isn't even a recent photo. this happens every time there's a milk surplus. im using this photo because i like the farmer's cunty little pose. look at him. "just ain't right"core.]

And milk being dumped into the sewer is more than just wasteful. It's a biohazard.

Milk doesn't stop rotting when it's dumped. If you live downstream of a milkhouse, improper milk disposal reeks.

It's full of nutrients, too, which causes diatoms, cyanobacteria, and other types of algae to go into overdrive-- causing a Harmful Algal Bloom event in the water, or HAB.

HABs are horrific. There's HUNDREDS of different types. They can suck up oxygen and create "dead zones" which kills all aquatic life, they can poison the water supply for an entire town, and some can even cause toxic fumes that make it hard to breathe on land.

Now, listen, I don't want to scare you into never dumping out rotten milk or anything! It's that on an industrial scale, it's REALLY REALLY bad if a farm overproduces milk-- especially crummy milk that can't be made into decent cheese or other dairy products.

In fact, if we did produce milk on a smaller scale, it would be better for everyone! Unless you're a Milk Guzzling Fiend like I am, you probably wouldn't need to buy a whole gallon at a time. In countries like Italy, it's sold fresh and in smaller containers, and you're just expected to pick it up as you need it.

This is why milkmen used to exist, and still do in places that are cool; they'd deliver your supply fresh from the creamery. Less waste, less stress! The "subscription model" is actually sooooooooooo much better for milk production, since it helps to stagger out those "surges and drops" of demand that leads to milk dumps.

Question 3: "If the cow eats less, doesn't that mean less land for pasture, which is a good thing?"

There's a lot to unpack within this sentiment. It's actually based on a couple of common assumptions on a few levels, which are incorrect in fascinating ways. Challenging this means opening up your worldview on how complex keeping livestock actually is!

I'll start with the simpler part;

You could cut fresh pasture out of the equation entirely and shove a cow into a concrete pen with a food box-- but are you counting the land growing the fodder?

When you grow corn the way that we do on industrial farms in the US, it's unbelievably destructive. Unending oceans of monoculture. Fogged with pesticide, pumped full of fertilizer which causes HABs like dumped milk does, sprayed with thousands of gallons of wasted water.

When you look at this image, I need you to understand you are looking at a dead zone. Like a suburban lawn, just because it's green doesn't mean it's good. Nothing grows here but corn and pests of corn, which gets poisoned and dies without returning any of that energy to the ecosystem.

This is usually what is being given to "grain-fed cattle," either when they're sent to a feedlot to hit their slaughter weight, or when they're lactating so they need the extra nutrition. It's also so nasty it's inedible to human beings.

Now, a lot of cattle farmers will just supplement their cow's diet, doing a mix of pasture feeding (much cheaper) and grain feeding (quicker gains). But the facts on this are clear; pasture-kept cattle result in LESS emissions and need LESS total space than cows in confinement.

In fact, there were a LOT of benefits!

Overall gas emissions from the cows dropped by 8%

Ammonia pollution was down by 30%

Not needing to run farm equipment for fodder planting and harvest reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 10%

Rotated crop fields didn't sequester carbon; but the newly converted perennial grasslands store as much as 3,400 pounds per acre.

The outside cows did produce less milk volume, but the milk they did produce was higher quality. So, looking at all the benefits here, it's clear that pasture is actually something that should be embraced for ecological reasons, not rejected.

In FACT, it should be EMPHASIZED. Because, this is the mind-blowing part,

Pasture can ALSO be an ecosystem.

In fact, I'm a Warrior Cats guy who once did a deep dive on moorlands just so I could write WindClan better. There are entire biomes that only exist because of grazing, and British lowland heath is one of them!

Keeping cattle in a sustainable, ecologically sound way is going to look different depending on where in the world you're doing it. So many earnest, good-willed people have bought into the lie that humans are a problem, and that everything "associated" with us becomes a barren wasteland as if we are tainted. YOU are not the problem! The problem is, and always has been, exploitation. Unsustainable relationships with the land we're part of.

Indigenous people in Europe, Asia, and Africa have been keeping cattle for thousands of years. In North America, cattle can be used to maintain ecosystems that have been badly affected by the colonial eradication of the American Bison. In South America, Brazil specifically has been making incredible advances with highly efficient integrated crop-livestock-forestry farming.

Generally, pastures here in the US are not as intensely managed as an equivalent crop field. Some people fertilize them, or water them mid-summer, but absolutely not to the same extent as industrial corn farms. Cattle are typically rotated between pastures, allowing each to re-grow before they come back to graze again.

Obviously, yes, overgrazing can be an issue. Not every open space should be converted into a pasture, and the destruction of other environments to turn into cow land is a problem. But that is an issue of bad land stewardship, not the mere practice of keeping livestock.

Bottom line, though? Cattle who can graze and survive outside are better for the environment than cattle that can't.

...but hey, you know what Holsteins happen to be really bad at?

EVERYTHING. GRAZING.

They are notoriously terrible grazers. They can't do megan THEEEEE thing that cows are known for. Fragile frames, a lack of fat to keep them warm outside, increased demand for food, distaste for any rough forage, horrible mothering instincts, the list goes on. Holsteins are a NIGHTMARE to try and keep outside all year round compared to other breeds.

(especially heritage breeds, like the Milking Devon, Florida Cracker, or Texas Longhorn. Between these three, you'd be totally covered in 80% of American climates.)

I've already explained why it's not actually very good or important that we minmax milk volume, but even if that was actually something we should value, there are so many downsides that they would absolutely not be the dominant cow breed in a truly "efficient" system.

"Less cows means less cow food and cow land" is sound logic, but Holsteins are not the right cow for that job.

Question 4: "How could this be done in a way that doesn't increase cost of living?"

I'm not sure how to answer this question, simply because I'm not Bonestar, Leader of AmericaClan. Wish I was. I would rule tyrannically.

It's worth noting that Brazil is the second largest producer of beef in the entire world, AND the number one largest exporter of it, AND only puts 30% of its land to total agricultural use. The USA dedicates over 50%. And also Brazil is net reducing its amount of agricultural land while increasing output.

It seems clear to me that the USA actually has a massive food waste and resource distribution problem, to the point where the price we pay for stuff is actually wildly disconnected from the actual value of the goods and labor.

I think the way that us Americans tend to frame our conversations on these topics as "growth" vs "cuts" instead of asking how to minimize waste by making existing systems more efficient prevents us from solving problems. We're also just... really culturally resistant to the idea of anything being more "expensive," even if it ends up costing us a lot more money in waste or mismanagement later.

Penny wise and dollar foolish ass country.

Question 5: "What can we personally do about this?"

I mean, I wasn't making a call to action in Cow Lore, I was just explaining to one of my regulars why I don't like Holsteins LMAO. Since you're asking though...

I don't think we can change the wider trend in the dairy industry without actual government intervention and regulation, though, and that's very unlikely in the current political environment. they just sent random dudes to Ausalvador-Birkenau and when the Supreme Court said "bring this specific person back" they said "nuh uh." fellas I don't think we're getting better dairy regulations in the foreseeable future.

So I think the most productive thing to do is focusing on supporting small farms and heritage breeds. Get involved in your community garden or heritage society if you have one.

Not only is that generally a very rewarding thing, but it will be helpful to you in case The Situation Gets Worse. Knowing your neighbors and having real human connection is your best defense against economic recession.

Supporting the locals is always a great thing to do, which can be as simple as going to farmer's markets. You don't need to buy fancy food every day to make an impact on your community-- it can be a treat sometimes!

You could also subscribe to the Livestock Conservancy's free newsletter, where they talk about the work they're doing and upcoming events. If you're a knitter, crocheter, or any other kind of fiber artist, you could even join in on a challenge they're running where you make items out of rare wool for prizes!

Should you end up liking the work they do, you can become a member for 4$ a month, or go to one of their educational events.

Even just talking about the problem can do a lot! Did you know the Highland Cow was actually critically endangered in the USA within the past 10 years? It was the work of the Livestock Conservancy, plus a surge in their popularity, that helped to bring their numbers up. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

All that said, remember, you can't solve every problem. It's a big world and there's a lot of them. Being made aware of an issue doesn't mean you have to drop what you were previously doing-- just care a lot about something that you want to improve, and let that guide you.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Over the years Tim had lead, taught and helped countless other teens come into thier powers and said teens looked at him like he hung the stars. They admired him greatly and wanted to do something to make thier mentor/big brother figure proud.

So when they found Tims soulmate they were absolutely ecstatic.

Yeah sure, the guy was the child of evil mad scientists and apparently the heir of a creepy fake vampire supervillian but they'd seen weirder couples in the hero community. They just needed to convince him to join the heros side!

Naturally they try to kidnap Danny and he has no idea whats going on other than a bunch of kids in superhero costumes are trying to abduct him. Between his powers as Phantom, that they seem to not know about (thank the ancients that ghosts don't show up well of pictures and that he started wearing a mask) and his own parents paranoid housebuilding techniques Danny escapes them easily.

Danny figured they would leave him alone eventually, right? If not he would have to call the cops for stalking and harassment.

If that didn't work he would just set all the house lazers to stun. Worst case scenario he might have to call the Justice League emergency line and yell at them to come get thier kids.

It would also be funny if he just kicked them out as Phantom

[seasaltdevotion]

Ok so,,,

I’m baffled.

I saw a post about someone’s “hot takes” on the gods. And it was tagged in Hellenic Polytheism and such-

And just boldly claimed Lord Poseidon is a terrible person and King Zeus is worse? Like hello? Are we following the same religion?

Just a reminder, you don’t pick and choose what gods are “good.” You don’t get to decide that gods are ok or not to worship based on their portrayal in myth. The gods are not their myths. Myths were written by opinionated/biased people who intended to explain the unexplained at the time. Myths are metaphors. Myths are *myths.*

Of course there is some information and lessons that we can draw from myths but our entire religion is not centered around myth literalism like other religions are such as Christianity.

The gods are not bad. They aren’t assholes or terrible people. They are Gods and Goddesses. They are the (I don’t wanna say personification but I can’t think of a better way to phrase it) personification and guardians of nature and life and knowledge and all of the beautiful things we deal with in everyday life. They’re not big story time villains that you get to write headcanons on.

Please, please research our religion and understand mythic literalism and why it’s not what the religion is founded on. Take the time to actually learn and understand that the gods are not their myths. They’re so much more than that, and they don’t mean any ill will on their followers unless you’ve terribly wronged them or someone else in an incomprehensible way.

I’m sorry for the long post but it upsets me so much to see people calling gods that are genuinely so kind and have helped me and others through so much assholes when they are anything but that.

[unmaskingdisability]

Cars are a form of mobility aid! Your solarpunk future has to include space for people who still need cars.

Who need to arrive to a parking spot right outside the building ,and not have an alternative of walking a mile if that One Spot is full. Who need safe places to decompress or change medical equipment, who are immunocompromised and risk major health complications from the wrong crowded bus. Who get so overstimulated/in pain/exhausted walking around town that they can't attend the actual event otherwise. Who need space for their medical equipment/backup mobility aids/service dog.

We absolutely need a world where Public transit and walkable cities are the default! And!! There has to be room for disabled people and our needs in your revolution!

[the-sea-anemone]

occasionally i encounter posts about people using like. language learning apps and figuring out their reading level and it's like okay yeah that probably is easier than going on internet archive sorting by language picking an article and/or textbook that seems interesting and then pausing every two seconds to look up words but i've chosen the hard road and i'm sticking with it 👍

[nevermoorsource]

Jessica Townsend recently shared an Instagram story with a sneak peek at the first chapter of Silverborn 👀

[mage-ical-character-person]

Why does he tell the player this. AND NOT HIS BIZZZYBOYS?? His boys are so scared…

Spoilers. And rambling

Shouldn’t it be the other way around if he wants us to “leave it to the professionals”? Wouldn’t it be better if he let us be afraid and not his boys?

Why does he tell the Godpoke at all? Isn’t sowing seeds of doubt and distrust the whole point of what he’s doing? He wants the player to stay out of his way and telling them stuff like this seems counterproductive. He could’ve not told us that without looking suspicious, he’s definitely got the plausible deniability on this one. No one’s seen Cobigail in years. Even she doesn’t remember for certain if she eats people or not.

SHE DOESN’T REMEMBER! Gosh, just… her genuine self-doubt over this. She’s pretty sure she doesn’t eat people… but what if they’re right, what if she is a monster? This bit breaks my heart, poor Cobi

I wonder if having her question herself that way was part of the plan.

ANYWAY! Inspekta could’ve easily told the player he doesn’t know if the blood sacrifice stuff is true or not, but considering the other letters it’s probably part of “King’s” plan, and that he and his boys are looking into it and the Godpoke should stay out of it until they know things are safe.

Again. Cobigail is not doing herself any favors. And again, Inspekta has the plausible deniability, and isn’t creating distrust towards the other gods the whole point of his plan?

She is NOT helping her case.

MA’AM!! I love you so much but you are making yourself look very guilty as far as the whole blood sacrifice thing goes. I AM TRYING TO CLEAR YOUR NAME RIGHT NOW MA’AM AND. YOU’RE REALLY NOT HELPING

Like

She even says it’s an understandable mistake to make. (After all the trouble that lie caused her… Cobi, how are you so sweet and understanding?) Inspekta could’ve played dumb. I guess his pride wouldn’t allow that, and he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make King look bad.

Or maybe a part of him recognized that he went a little too far with that one. Cobigail isn’t really a threat to him the way he perceives the other gods to be. And accusing her of blood sacrifice when she’s already been isolated for 20 years is disproportionately harsh compared to like… forging a breakup letter and sabotaging a roundabout love confession. (If you could even call it that. Those two probably would've went at least another century without admitting their feelings without Inspekta's meddling prompting the Godpoke to slap Clicky in the face with it)

Anyway now I’m imagining Hector apologizing to her after the events of the game and her responding with a similar “I can see how you would get that confused” and uh Hector saying like, “No, Cobbie, I new yew we-aren’t a blood drink-her. I lied ‘bout yew”

and Cobigail just going like: Oh…. Oh! That was a good one, then! You even had me going for a bit there! and then she does her scary face at him and tells him to never do that again or she’ll barbecue him. And then she says she’s just messing around but seriously dial it back next time.

And I dunno something like how she responds to you throwing her own jumpscare prank back at her.

Wanna draw that now. But alas I have other projects on my plate at the moment

[origami-butterfly]

Reminder for pride month that queerness is not limited to whiteness and if you erase non white queers, when talking about the community, every queer person who isn't white gets to throw rocks at you and shoot you out of a cannon 💖

[passionfruitmango]

You are offered a flower:

Do you accept?

>[yes]

[no thank you]

[hazayuka]

hazayuka comic. original under the cut.

taglist: @yumesei, @ofironandivory, @pyromaniacheart, @funkii-fox (anyone who wants to be added or taken off the list, feel free to reach out to me via asks)