#a wild pet

[goblin-writer]

The Cafe and the Storm

Rain thundered against the tall, arched windows of the café. A smattering of characters occupied the tables and three staff worked diligently. Soft jazz piped in from the scattered speakers, very nearly drowned out by the whirring of the coffee machine and the rolling thunder. Everyone diligently stared at their cups, books, and newspapers, not interacting with the world around them. Seeming entranced by the scent of coffee.

The pools of light that were cast by the hooded lights made it seem as if people clustered in islands, separated by dark waters. And the deepest waters, the ones avoided by everyone’s eyes, pooled around a simple wooden door. They had all not seen the figure dressed in macabre white as they walked in.

And they made the greatest effort to not hear whatever was being said in that room.

The running of the coffee machine stopped again and everyone looked up at the relative silence. Nobody ordered more and yet the machine whirred to life again at the barista’s ministrations. Those that were unfortunate enough to have left their cups unfinished found themselves paired with a cold liquid and an itch to leave. But nobody moved.

For a while.

Then a chair scraped backwards and a man stood, placing his bowler on his head, and nodding to the staff, stepped out of the light and toward the exit.

The wooden door cracked open and the customers focused back on their coffee. The man whirled at the sound.

“Do you intend to keep us here?”

There was no response as silence stretched onward. Those nearest the cracked door heard a quiet splash. The man smiled, and nodded.

“Thought not.” And made his way to the exit.

A wave rippled in that darkness and a flash of lightning briefly illuminated what looked like a whale, cast entirely from ivory as it launched itself through the air. And the man disappeared. Once more the café was cast in darkness. The lightning showing that whatever the creature was, it was gone.

Patrons and staff alike were stunned. Their silence ore brittle than before, despite the cacophony from within and without. And the coffee machine fell silent again. Nobody looked up as hushed whispers filled the pools of light. Something had to be done. Could they break their way in and subdue that figure in macabre white? Should they make a run for it?

Would any of them survive?

The building shook with another peal of thunder. Sounding like the deep chime of a bell.

“We need to leave!” one voice hissed.

“No, we need to stop whoever went in there.” another insisted.

“We can’t leave the light.” The barista said. Breaking the agreed upon volume and snapping all eyes to them, “We’ve been moving around back here the entire time, but always in light.”

Murmurs of assent sounded all around as everyone relayed what they had seen. Before the reality of their situation set in. They could not illuminate the entire café.

“We don’t need to,” a woman, with a wide hat put away a book, “We just need to light that door and the darkness around it.”

A young man, dressed well stood on his table, taking a pair of gloves and grabbed the light, pointing it at the door. From within they heard a hiss and the door shut, firmly. They could do it.

But, they realised, they had to either head toward the exit, and leave one person behind, or try to break into the other room and stop that macabre white figure.

A smaller group opted to flee. The larger to fight. The rational being that whatever was in there had to be stopped. And so the two camps consolidated under different islands. Staff crossing over and joining their respective factions.

The larger went to engage, guided by the lamp above the others table. They tore the door open and poured in, reporting a small room, empty except for a desk and a few boxes. Until the door snapped shut and the screaming started.

And then it stopped. A dozen voices, cut off at once. The smaller group had started fleeing. Only the woman with the wide brimmed hat stayed in her seat, alongside the young man who lit the path of the smaller group.

The woman heard a soft splash and side, pulling her hat lower as something surged up, taking the table and the young man. Leaving the group in darkness, and her showered with splinters. The group scrambled to the exit and pulled on the door, finding it not only locked, but barred with a heavy stopper. Again, they felt a surge and again voices screamed.

And again, they stopped. The woman smiled and walked toward the door, bent down, and pulling out the stopper. That white figure rose from the darkness behind her. It did not move closer

“Next time try less screams.”

---

Thank you @flashfictionfridayofficial for a delicious prompt. Wanted to try writing something not in any established setting of mine. Hope you enjoy

[kii-tty]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Introvert adoption

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[wilimia]

Maybe botw Link is just allergic or smth

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the commentary I'm seeing about this has been of the "But--but--I would do the same thing because I don't want anything bad to happen to the deer!"

Look. I love wildlife, and I love getting to see deer, coyotes, and even the occasional black bear in my neighborhood. But they are here because there is good habitat nearby with lots of natural food sources, not because I deliberately put out food for them to eat. I respect them as wild animals with whom my relationship is very different compared to the domesticated animals I take care of every day. A deer is not a sheep or a horse; a coyote is not a dog.

People who do things like try to tame deer or, worse yet, try to raise a fawn or other young wildlife like pets are robbing those wild animals of their natural existences. We've already wrought our own preferences on the landscape to a severe degree, tearing the wildness out of it to create lawns and farms and subdivisions and strip malls. When we then dismiss the wildness of these animals and impress our own desire for connection on our terms on them, we are harming them.

I've already written elsewhere about the difference between "tame" and "domesticated". No matter how docile that deer seems, it is never going to be as (relatively) safe and tractable as a domesticated sheep or goat. It will always be more unpredictable, and more likely to lash out suddenly at a person due to fear, or hormones, or protection of young.

These animals need their wild instincts to be intact if they are going to survive without being dependent on us. They need those instincts in order to find mates and keep the gene pool stirred up. Their instincts keep them safe from danger, including humans. And their instincts never totally go away, no matter how much we may try to tame them otherwise.

This is why a good wildlife rehab is going to minimize handling of the wild animals they care for, especially those that are going to be able to be released back into the wild. The less comfortable these animals are with humans, the better their chances of surviving in the wild and having fulfilling, natural lives. Wildlife that retain their wariness of humans are less likely to end up falling prey to hunting, or being killed as nuisance animals when they get too aggressive in seeking food or otherwise coming into conflict with people.

The person who painted "pet" on a fully grown white-tailed buck and put a collar around his neck may have felt like they were doing that deer a kindness, but they have likely robbed him of the chance to just live a natural life as his own, independent being out in the woods and fields. He might be out there, sure, but perhaps he won't mate because he imprinted on humans. Or maybe he will end up shot by a hunter in spite of the precautions because he's just too friendly and those antlers are worth taking the shot.

There will always be something missing from this deer's life because of the arrogance of someone who thought they could own and keep and control a wild-born animal for their own enjoyment, instead of allowing him to come and go as he pleased. Honestly, it reminds me of King Haggard from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, whose response to seeing something beautiful was to capture it and keep it rather than simply enjoying and remembering that magical moment:

"I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first I felt it I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull I must have them, all of them, all there are. For nothing makes me happy but their shining and their grace. So the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns, my unicorns, it is like that morning in the woods and I am truly young, in spite of myself."

That's how I feel about people who are willing to drastically alter a wild animal's behavior for their own selfish benefit, even if they think they're being kind. I know I'm fighting a bit of an uphill battle in this, but I'm rather stubborn that way.

[luna-lovegreat]

I want. Four to get appreciation. Because

Four gave a ton of unnoticed help when Twilight was injured

The fight with Wild was difficult, and I know we're all concerned about his negative view of the shadow crystal

But Four did something that no one else really thought of to help- He took care of Twi's stuff

From the beginning he told Twilight to not worry about them

So Four took care of pretty much everything but the others (that Sky and Wars handled)

He took care of Epona

Which is so very important- he took care of Twilight's horse. After her arrival at the stable Four followed up on her

And for Epona, a horse so attached to her human, having some company can help so much for reassurance

He took care of Twilight's stuff

He got Twi's shield- his bags and equipment, and organized it into one place

And he was worried. He obviously found the shadow crystal while handling Twi's stuff, but his negative reactions to it were out of concern.

Also- because of his placement in this scene

I'm fairly convinced Four was ready to start cooking before Wild showed up (since he's beside the counter with food supplies). At the very least he had the basket of fruit out for everyone -but he was literally standing with food behind him- he thought of everything

And he did housekeeping!

Wars payed for the inn, so Four took care of the inn

Realistically these boys were probably not too concerned with tidyness. Four got all of Twi's things on one table, and took care of the room they stayed in

Organizing tables and Twi's things, having food supplies ready, and opening the curtains- overall he was the one tidying up the inn

Four helped in a huge way! He took care of Twi's horse (Epona is so important), his equipment and shield and bag, as well as the other rooms in the inn

Four filled in all the little tasks that others didn't think of. He helped in ways that were needed, but not obvious

There's a lot of problems with the shadow crystal and with Wild, and I don't know what's gonna happen in the future

But don't forget this- don't forget that Four was one who stepped up in an almost unnoticeable way

Don't forget that when everyone was barely holding it together, Four visited Twilight's horse and took care of his things

No matter what develops in the future- this amount of care shown is important ya know?

.

Art and comic from Jojo @linkeduniverse au :)))

[honeycombhank]

The little guys just crawled up there and that was that..

[mydemoniccat]

He looks like a miniature panther 🐈‍⬛

[fluffygif]

Precious bunny 🥰

[smudgeandfrank]

I was planning on getting so much drawing done tonight... Guess who had other ideas. 🐱😳

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Acquire BNUUY

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[turtleblogatlast]

Something I think is cute is that - y’know how Raph’s eyes are more on the yellow side?

Well, you know who also has slightly yellowed eyes? Donnie.

While Raph’s are more yellow, I think it’s cute that this is something that they share and I don’t see it pointed out too often?

It’s also something they both share with Draxum and Splinter’s current form (though again, these two have much more yellow sclera than the boys do.)

But yeah, I like that there’s this little detail that ties Raph and Donnie together, even if it’s small.

[batbabydamian]

DC August 2024 Solicitations - Comics Featuring Damian! 🦇

THE BOY WONDER #4 of 5

8/7/24

Written by Juni Ba

Art and Cover by Juni Ba

Variant Cover: Valentina Napolitano

Damian Wayne may have been struggling to live up to his father’s legacy…but the last thing he ever wanted was to be returned to the clutches of his grandfather, the Demon King. But when his worst nightmare comes true, can he rely on his mother to defend him? Or has he lost her forever to the same horrific legacy he’s tried to escape?

BATMAN AND ROBIN #12

8/14/24

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover by Simone Di Meo

Variant covers: Juan Ferreyra, Vasco Georgiev (1:25), Simone Di Meo (Batman 85th Anniversary)

Years ago, Bane killed Alfred Pennyworth right in front of Damian. And now, on Dinosaur Island, there is nothing stopping Robin from getting his revenge! Except his father, Batman! And the giant dinosaurs, of course.

DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V #1

8/14/24

Written by Matthew Rosenburg

Art and cover by Otto Schmidt

Variant Covers: Jae Lee, Steve Beach, Homare, Riley Rossmo (1:25), Nikola Cizmesija (1:50)

The smash-hit series returns! It’s the dead of winter, and any hope for a fragile truce between the Green Arrow-led human heroes and vampire queen Barbara Gordon’s army has been dashed by Damian Wayne and his guerrilla fighters. He’s the only one fighting back against the bloodthirsty hordes, leaving Green Arrow with a choice: Does he stand and fight or sacrifice the boy in the name of peace?

WONDER WOMAN #12

8/21/24

Written by Tom King

Art by Tony S. Daniel and Belen Ortega

Cover by Daniel Sampere

Variant Covers: Tony S. Daniel, Jorge Fornes, Julian Totino Tedesco, Guillem March

Meet the new dynamic duo! Wonder Woman teams up with the unlikeliest of allies, Robin, on a top secret mission to save their fellow heroes. Will Damian and Diana’s quest to break into Waller’s Gamorra supermax prison be a successful one? Or is it all part of a more elaborate trap for Wonder Woman and her new sidekick?

SUPER-PETS SPECIAL: BITEDENTITY CRISIS*

*Damian mentioned in summary

7/30/24

Written by Tony Fleecs, Alexis Quasarano, Michael Conrad, Dan Watters, and Kyle Starks

Art by Mike Norton, PJ Holden, Sami Basri, Chris Mitten, and Kyle Starks

The Super-Pets are back—and this time, they’re all BITE! Haley, the beloved bark-out star of NIGHTWING, finds herself to be a fish out of water when she arrives on Kent Farm. As our big-city mutt tries to adjust to country living, she’s shocked to discover a kennel of courageous critters is already waiting for her! Bitewing, meet the SUPER-PETS—and you might want to hold on tight because things are about to get hairy! Also featuring—stories of misch-woof and mutt-hem! The dark side of the dog bed! The many pets of Damian Wayne! You’ll have to squeak it to believe it!

[bunjywunjy]

hey Bunjy what do you mean the bear's getting euthanised? T__T

black bears are naturally very shy, but they are large predators that can and do attack humans occasionally with fatal results. states with black bears are in a constant battle to keep those bears from LOSING that shyness and getting too habituated to humans.

a bear that's habituated to humans through eating garbage or being fed by idiots who think that bears are just big cute dogs will eventually lose all its fear of humans and begin to associate humans with food, at which point it may start to break into buildings with human occupants, and attack human pedestrians. obviously this is terrible and carries a HUGE danger to anyone in the vicinity of these habituated bears.

so generally a bear will get three strikes before it's considered to be so habituated to humans that it absolutely has to be euthanized for everyone's safety- the first two strikes see a bear sedated, tagged, and relocated to a wild area far away from humans.

however.

the bear in that video was already demonstrating the highest level of human habituation, "entering a building where a human is present without fear", so it probably won't be long before it DOES start attacking humans outright for food. again, this often proves fatal to the human involved, because it's a fucking bear.

so in this case, they may just skip right over the first two strikes since this behavior is so far along, for the safety of all humans in the area!

basically, every human who fed this bear and treated it like a big cute harmless adorable toy is now responsible for its death. please just leave the goddam wildlife alone.