#but basically: bird deer

[peanut-with-wifi-access]

if Alastor's "unclip my wings" line is taken literally, then that adds Peryton onto his Wechuge

[sweeping-the-clouds-away]

random sketchbook doodles 🖋

[milimeters-morales]

okay going nap so imagine in the ACAU Miles hides and falls asleep somewhere and when he wakes up he’s covered in a few blankets and has a jacket on top of the blankets because a few citizens managed to find him and they saw he was shivering really badly

[sysirauta]

This fella is named Kali, she's a peryton. Pretty rarely seen character of mine.

[deliciouspolls]

*Basically anything that isn't a typical farm animal: cow, pig or sheep. Not including birds or fish- might include that in a different poll.

(Obligatory Note: I'm American and this is based on what's overall unconventional to eat in the USA.)

Edit: To clarify just in case, I meant to have "None of these" mean "I've never tried any four legged creature that wasn't cow, pig, or sheep".

Edit 2: I live in an agricultural area. It appears this may have skewed my view on how frequently anything else is eaten. We have the Store and the Farm and that's it.

[headspace-hotel]

My mamaw has the book right now so I won't be able to read it for a little bit but my mom read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan which is about the Dust Bowl and it puts in perspective all the environmental books I was reading from the 1940's and 1950's and the sense of agitation and intensity in them.

Everyone is like yeah yeah the dust bowl we've all heard of it, but the Dust Bowl was apocalyptic. The USA practically eliminated the bison—we are talking thousands of square miles of land littered with bones, enormous pyramids of skulls—and committed genocide against their caretakers, and then settlers ripped up the prairie grasses (which protected meters of top soil) with plows

And what happened was, half the country became in engulfed in horrific dirt storms that turned the sky black and reduced visibility to a few feet. Even indoor environments were full of deep drifts of dirt. When it rained, it rained mud instead of water. In ENGLAND the snow was RED because of DIRT. People died from pneumonia because they were breathing the dirt into their lungs.

Even before mom started reading this book, I was reading American books about the environment from the mid 20th century, and they are animated with the zeal and terror of people who have realized that human mismanagement could make the USA literally uninhabitable. I realized, "Oh. This is right after the Dust Bowl." cause of how they talk about erosion, and I realized just how formative the Dust Bowl was in terms of environmental policy.

Reading about various wildlife species, I realized also how utterly apocalyptic the conditions of the past were for animals. Deer were almost eliminated from my state. Deer.

Why do we have the Migratory Bird Treaty Act? Because just about every large bird species almost went extinct from uncontrolled commercial hunting. We almost had no swans, no cranes, no egrets, no storks. We lost the passenger pigeons and Carolina parakeets, but we could have lost Basically Everything.

So many of the ill-conceived decisions to introduce species to this continent are easily explained by how apocalyptic this period of time was. Why did we think it was a good idea to introduce Kudzu? Because in the 1950's, erosion sparked a visceral apprehension of CERTAIN DOOM, and logging had made the whole southeast start washing away! Why were so many exotic antelopes introduced to Texas? Because every native large animal was almost wiped out!

From my other readings on the subject (Changes in the Land by William Cronon is a good one) devastating environmental destruction started just about as soon as Europeans started controlling the land, and I am guessing that if you examined the timeline of environmental disaster alongside the migrations west, it would support the argument that settlers started pushing west more and more rapidly because of land degradation and environmental disaster.

I wish this was commoner knowledge, getting to where we are now has been a journey. Environmental history doesn't start in 1970's.

It is not the case that things have steadily gotten worse over time and recently are becoming extremely bad, rather, different parts of the environment have become both better and worse in steps forward and backward, and many seemingly unremarkable things around us were earned by a vicious fight, which we can learn from and continue...

[hells-wasabii]

IM HERE IN HERE IM HERE TAKE NE PLEASE PLEASE ALASTOR X WIFE READER WHO ALWAYS FOLLOWING ALASTOR LIKE A LOST PUPPY AND DEFENDS HIM ALOT BASICALLY SHE LOVES LIKE A DOG(P.S. SHE HAS A ABILITY TO GIVE HER HUSBAND A POWER UP AND MAKE HIM STRONGER)

A/N: This was another of the ones I misread and wrote half of a set of headcanons for an actual dog demon reader, it’s okay though because now there’s extra content for Alastor but in the mean time enjoy, or don’t, up to you

Character: Alastor

Type: Headcanons (Alastor x wife!reader with a power up ability, Fluff)

When you had told him that you would follow him to the depths of hell and back, Alastor had thought you were simply exaggerating. Well, you sure showed him when you showed up in hell not long after him. When you had exchanged your vows, you had truly meant it when you had said that even in death you would remain by his side.

He was certainly surprised to see you when you finally did show up. He had half expected you to be in heaven if you didn’t help him with his serial killings. The thing is though, is that you had been. Alastor was smart, that much was fact, he easily could have gotten away with his crimes, but even he was not perfect. No, whether he realized it or not, you had a hand in his crimes, giving him alibi should he need one, you helped him not get caught.

This translated well into your own abilities in hell. (small side note, because of the mutualistic relationship, you could potentially have a bird-like appearance or attributes. Kind of feeding into the fact that he’s a deer. Ya know, science and nature and stuff.) Your actions in life had given you a power-boosting ability, one that while it could be used with other inhabitants of hell, works best with Alastor.

Imagine the radio demon's surprise when suddenly one of his attacks absolutely obliterates an enemy. How… interesting? He had been sure that he hadn’t used that much power, careful not to expend all of his energy on such a lowly foe. But when he turns to see you close by, reaching towards him, the gears in his head start turning

That’s how you came to be in his fights as well. Before he had thought that the notion was foolish, but now, he wasn’t so sure. Even when you didn’t have your boosting ability activated, he found himself fighting harder to keep you from being injured in battle. He couldn’t have his darling wife getting hurt on his watch after all.

You were constantly by his side, your loyalty to your husband unwavering even in the face of death and destruction. Honestly, some would even go as far as to compare such loyalty to that of a dog. Alastor would likely take this as an insult, being quick to silence those who dare to insult his wife.

That’s not to say that he doesn’t see the resemblance, however. He doesn’t necessarily mind it, either, should you hang around, or in some cases, on him. You’re one of the very few whom he doesn’t mind the contact. He might even venture to say that he even enjoys it! You are his wife after all.

[niteshade925]

April 13, Xi'an, China, Shaanxi Archaeology Museum/陕西考古博物馆 (Part 2 - Shang and Zhou dynasty):

A 1:1 replica of a Warring States period (476 - 221 BC) horse chariot that was unearthed in an ancient tomb in Gansu province. The original artifact was made of lacquered wood, decorated with gold, silver, bronze, turquoise, and other semi-precious stones; it's basically the "Lamborghini" of its time. This replica was just sitting in the hallway in between exhibition halls, and it's very big:

Another one of my favorites, which is also one of the stars of the museum. These are called xizun/牺尊, which are animal-shaped bronze wine vessels (notice the lid on its back). This particular pair is "deer-shaped", but also has patterns on the sides that look like bird wings and paws that look like those of predators. Ugh they are so cute...🥺

A Western Zhou dynasty (1046 - 771 BC) "lunch box" made of bronze, called a luxu/录盨. It was found inside of a Western Han dynasty (202 BC - 8 AD) tomb, indicating that even Chinese people from 2000 years ago had an interest in collecting artifacts from earlier times

More bronze food/wine vessels from Shang dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC) and Zhou dynasty (1046 - 256 BC). Top one is called a gui/簋, bottom left is a gu/觚, and bottom right is a jue/爵. The tall-footed wine vessels can be used to warm up wine before drinking, by heating it with a small flame placed between the feet.

This is what a complete set of bronze vessels from Shang/Zhou dynasties looks like. This particular set, called "fanjin and thirteen vessels"/柉禁十三器 (translated as "Altar Set") is currently at the Met. This diagram below gives the name of each vessel:

Bronze chariot decorations with turquoise inlays. The bronze would have looked golden back then

A little bronze dragon. Cute.

Late Western Zhou dynasty pendant made of jade and agate beads called a yupei/玉佩, and from what I can gather, this one should be part of a necklace, which would be one heavy necklace indeed. I feel like a lighter modern replica might go well with sweaters though:

Left: necklaces, bracelets, and armlets from Spring and Autumn period (770 - 476 BC). Right: another jade and agate yupei from Spring and Autumn period, but this one was probably supposed to be hung from the waist.

This one is known as the Rui Gong ding/芮公鼎 or "Cauldron of Duke Rui", which is a bronze tripod ritual vessel (known as ding/鼎). It is inscribed with the text "内(芮)公乍(作)铸口宫宝鼎，万年子孙永宝用", which roughly translates as "Duke Rui cast this treasured ding, may his descendants use it for ten thousand years to come".

More bronze vessels. The top two are ding/鼎 vessels. Sidenote: notice the right one......does it look familiar? I'm pretty sure the rectangular ding is one of the inspirations for the design of TotK's temple of time. Also note the design patterns...I'm fairly certain these are the inspiration for TotK's aesthetics. TotK's Zonai script is also clearly inspired by Seal script/篆书 (I do want to make a post on this but my hands are pretty full atm)

Gold decorations on accessories:

An (incomplete?) bianzhong/编钟 (bronze bell set) and bianqing/编磬 set. The pentagonal stone chimes on the bottom are part of the bianqing.

A paper that studied the oldest face cream found in China (link to the article on Nature for those who have access).

Wadang/瓦当 (decorative roof edges) from Warring States period featuring various animals and mythical creatures, and their moulds:

[turtlesandfrogs]

Ok, now I'm really concerned that how to prevent rats isn't common knowledge like I thought it was. So, to anyone whose parents/guardians/adults didn't teach you, here's the basics of prevention*:

Rats, like you, need three things: food, water, and shelter. If they don't get these things, they don't bother sticking around. Access to food is probably the biggest draw, and the one you can do the most about.

Rats eat the same foods you do, and the same food that most pets eat. You don't want them to have access to this food, so:

Don't leave dirty dishes laying around, the smell will attract rats. Don't put leave dirty dishes in your bed room, or under the couch, or in your car, or whatever. Dishwashers are great, but if you don't have a functional one, and you're low on energy/executive function, at a minimum cover your dirty dishes with soapy water instead of leaving them out. Rats can't eat soapy food.

Work to minimize food waste, because the smell of tasty food in your compost or garbage will attract rats.

Don't put food scraps in your indoor garbage unless your garbage can is rat proof. Take it outside asap, to a rat-proof bin.

When composting, if you're composting food that would be attractive to rats (grains, fats/oils, dairy, meat) it's best to: bury the food down in the center of the pile, try out bokashi composting, or have a rat-proof composter. Generally people do tell you not to compost dairy and meat, but I do know that some people do it anyway.

Keep your grains & legumes in rodent proof-containers. Glass jars, metal trash cans, etc.

If you have dogs, put their food away at night. If you have birds or other animals that eat a seed-based diet, then it pays to make their food/enclosures inaccessible to rats as well. Cats are rat deterrents so leaving dry food out for them is probably the one exception.

Clean up spilled foods immediately.

If you have fruit trees (like those apple trees everyone has that were planted 3 or more decades ago) and notice that something besides a deer is eating them, it's really best to pick all the fruit. You probably can't eat it all, so giving it away is a good option. Compost the rotten/icky ones fallowing the advice above, or dig a hole and do some trench composting.

Rats also need water, which is another reason to make sure you don't have any leaks anywhere, and to not leave beverages out in open containers.

Beyond that, thoroughly looking around your house, inside and out, to make sure there's no access points. Vents can be covered with wire mesh, holes the size of a dime need to be patched (because mice exist, too). Keep vegetation clear from around the base of your house, and make sure there's no trees or shrubs growing close enough to your house that a rat could make the leap to your roof. Keep an eye out for tunnels near your house's foundation, because they will tunnel underneath.

Also, while I'm at it, for the love of your house's structural integrity, DO NOT store wood piles against your house. Termites people!!!

And yes, there's a reason why cats are such a common pet. Not only do they hunt rats, the very smell of a cat is enough to deter rats. Do not just get a cat for rat prevention though, only get a cat if you're going to provide it a good home and are able to take on the additional care tasks without over extending yourself. Getting a housemate that comes with a cat is a great alternative to getting your own cat (and I'm only halfway joking).

*because prevention is much easier and much less terrible than dealing with an infestation. Prevention is so, so, so much easier than getting rid of them, particularly because once they're there, they'll start eating other things that wouldn't have been enough by themselves to draw them in.

[giuseppe-yuki]

I HAVE A THOUGHT oh btw it's the original wolf!reader anon who's also the anon that sent in the ask about the groupchat hehe ANYWAY BACK TO MY THOUGHT

Ollie's gf is a bear. But not just any bear - a bear CUB. Like she's just a little cub and everyone is like: OLLIE WHY DO U HAVE A CUTIE PIE WJFNEJFJEJJFJD

Paul Aron's gf is a bird that likes to nest in his hair because it's so fluffy

Going down the Prema pipeline now but like - Dino's gf is obsessed with dinosaurs and wishes with all her heart that she can turn into one... And then she finds out that she can turn into a komodo dragon. She goes: welp, that's the closest I'll get!!

I have so much more omg 😭 but yeah too shy to go off anon for now

helloooo wolf!reader anon! i'm always down to chat :)

my thoughts under the cut!

pictures credits from pinterest :)

that would be perfect for ollie's gf to be a bear cub. i imagine she's clingy like a bear cub too, and it would be common for her to just scamper towards ollie when she needs some love, and to crawl up his long legs. unfortunately, more often than not, ollie would end up with the legs of his sparco racesuits and sleeves of his alpinestars fireproofs accidentally ripped up from her long claws. not that he minded, though. he would just pick her up both of his hands and give her a big smooch on her nose. at first, the prema manager in charge of racesuit distribution would be pissed the constant ruined clothing, but like everyone else, she would fall into the loveable bear cub spell and then spoil ollie's gf rotten. ollie has not only protective boyfriend instincts, but also fierce momma bear-like traits too. god forbid someone tries to harm his girlfriend- they always seemed to have their balaclava's ripped up and radio headphones cords cut before a big race!

i like the idea that paul aron has a songbird!gf. many of the f2 drivers joke that paul is like a princess with a feathery friend, just like george russell and his deer. nevertheless, he takes pride when his gf flutters around his head, singing the most beautiful tunes, or when she nests in the fluffy blonde ringlets on his head. when the jokes go to far, he knows that she doesn't hesitate to dive bomb the offending person and attempt to peck at their eyeballs.

it's not a secret that dino's gf loved dinosaurs. her phone case and background are pics of dinosaurs (she makes sure that a polaroid of her boyfriend is visible from her phone case at all times, though), she takes great care in putting up dinosaur string lights around the driver's room, and she knows every line from jurassic park. hell, even her boyfriend's name is dino. when she found out her special ability, she was over the moon. komodo dragons were basically mini dinosaurs! when she went out in the paddock, some people might have found her scaly, amphibious outer layer scary, but dino loved every bit. when he had bit of spare time from racing, he made sure to research every page on google and read every book on komodo dragons from cover to cover to make sure he could best take care of of his gf when she shifted. in return, she used her scary nature (and toxic/venomous spit) to piss off irritating reporters or touchy fans.

not to worry! thanks for the thoughts :) i've seen other blogs do emoji anons, so if you feel comfortable, you can pick out an emoji to use as your signature so you don't have to repeat yourself every time you send in an ask! 💕

[hi-sierra]

Okay okay I'm behind on posting about my various adventures this summer, but let's just skip a few for now bc I wanna post about my most recent one:

Glenn Pass. 12,000 feet of elevation.

Kings Canyon is one of several glacially carved granite valleys in the Sierra Nevada. Several other, smaller valleys feed into it, including the paradise valley and Bubbs creek.

The Rae Lakes loop is a short but brutal route that starts at the floor of King's canyon, takes you up one of those side valleys, over the crest of the High Sierra, and down another valley.

To get across that divide, you have to cross the notorious Glenn Pass. Not only is this the highest point on the Rae lakes loop, it's also one of the highest points on several massive through hikes, including the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

Now. The JMT and PCT people may have it rougher than me overall due to the sheer length of those hikes.

But.

Their campsites for the previous days are around 10,000 feet of elevation.

I made the BRILLIANT decision to hike from 7,500 feet, 10 miles up and over Glenn pass at 12k feet, and then down to upper Rae lake in one day. It may have been the single most physically challenging day of my goddamn life.

But holy shit, it was it worth it.

This route absolutely floored me. My original intention here was just that this was my "final check" for the High Sierra trail- in terms of difficulty and conditions, it's basically identical, except half the length. I packed as if I was doing the HST, and used less than a third of my consumable stuff, so I feel more than ready for it.

I was expecting it to be pretty, but I was not expecting it to be one of the most gorgeous couple days of my life. Yosemite can suck it. The granite valleys and cliffs of Kings Canyon and the paradise valley are my new favorite glacial valley in the Sierras.

And that's not even mentioning the wildlife! I mostly recorded video of them, but I saw bears, deer, rattlesnakes, mountain kingsnakes, pikas, marmots, tons of different birds, and more that I'm probably forgetting! If there's any interest, I might start posting the videos I've taken of me talking to wildlife lol

[slut4monsterz]

yan!stray kitty ⪩ ⪨

yan!stray who's a silly orange cat with a big bushy tail :3 he might not be very big but he definitely makes up for it in cuteness

yan!stray that you first noticed when you moved into your new house. you payed no mind to him in the beginning, you figured that he was just somebodies' outdoor cat because he was very friendly, and it was best to leave him alone.

yan!stray that you start leaving some treats out for after you asked around to see if maybe he belonged to someone further into town only to be left with no answers.

yan!stray who you see eating the food you leave out for him every now and then, but other than that you two don't interact much. until you start finding dead birds and mice on your doorstep. every day. no matter how many times you throw them out and scrub your doorstep clean. you didn't think it was him at first...and then you literally caught him red handed.

yan!stray that just wants to prove himself to you!! you fed him so he has to return the favor ofc! he can be a good mate!! and he's very very strong too don't you see that? are his gifts not big enough? maybe he should try for something bigger like a bunny or a deer. humans like that stuff right? maybe you're just not impressed enough with him, he's trying can't you see that?? :((

yan!stray who always gets so sad when he sees you throwing his gifts away, why don't you like them?

yan!stray who you catch leaving a bunny on your doorstep early in the morning and you decide to go out and confront him. it was him all this time! you thought it was maybe some rabid animal trying to stash food for later but no, it was that strange cat that you only ever see eating or lounging in your backyard.

yan!stray who gets a bit startled when you swing the back door open as he's placing his new catch on your door, but he's not mad! maybe you'll finally like this one! but you did not. infact you looked even more displeased now than ever! scolding him and shooing him off of your porch, telling him to take his food with him.

yan!stray who gives you a pleading look, tearing up as he begs you to tell him what he's doing wrong. you had no idea that he was doing it to be nice, now you felt just awful...maybe if you make him something to eat it would calm him down a bit. so, you offer to take him inside and make him food to make up for the distress you caused this poor cat who was just trying to do something kind.

yan!stray who perks up immediately at your offer to bring him inside and makes himself at home on your couch while you start frying up some fish for him as an apology. silly you for thinking that he'd ever leave!! you brought him into your home your basically bonded for life now!

yan!stray who you feel bad kicking out after he's already made himself so comfortable...poor guys probably never had a home before! so you let him stay, just for the night, maybe two, or three...yea he's never leaving.

i luv this pic sm

[bluegiragi]

hello! i'm gira, i go by she/her, and i've been making fanart for the cod fandom for about four months now :) the majority of that time's been spent on the soapbox saga, which is sort of just what i call the very plot-ridden porn comic featuring ghost, soap and konig. and recently i've been working on the monster 141 au!

i'm here to address the reasoning behind how i assigned certain monsters to certain characters, particularly the POC characters as well as accusations of racism regarding me neglecting gaz in all my art :) whoever you are, if you're reading this in good faith, i thank you! i earnestly never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable from my work.

The Monster AU

i won't post the blog who brought this issue up mainly because, (realistically speaking) i think people might go after them and spam them with hate so I'm paraphrasing here. but basically..."how come all the POC in the Monster AU are assigned animal-associated monsters? Comparisons to animals can be incredibly demeaning when it comes to minorities".

I completely agree! But earnestly, I think my desire to assign every character a 'monster' that was relevant to their culture overshadowed the part of my brain that would've raised red flags about this sort of thing. There's the argument here that I could've assigned these characters cooler monsters such as Price who is a dragon, and Ghost who is a wraith, but I wanted to be respectful of all the minorities in the COD cast by giving them creatures that reflected their culture and personality.

ALEJANDRO - NAGUAL

In the Monster AU, Alejandro is a nagual, which is considered a guardian spirit in Mesoamerican culture. Typically, it's said that the nagual is the shapeshifted form that powerful men can transform into in order to do evil (although that doesn't apply in this case, Ale's a heroic lad), and can come in the forms of a jaguar, deer, dog or bird. I chose a jaguar, since it seemed to be the most common form of nagual depiction in the resources I was looking at. The 'panther mode' isn't pre-established as part of nagual mythology, but since most panthers are just black jaguars, i thought the association wouldn't be unreasonable.

I chose Alejandro to be a nagual because it's so in character for him to be protective of his home. The idea of him being a literal guardian spirit for all he considers his just made sense to me :)

--

RODOLFO (RUDY) - CADEJOS

In this AU, Rudy is the vessel for two cadejos, which are legendary dog spirits popular in the mythology of Central America, parts of South America and Mexico. Historically, they've been known as psychopomps (guides to help humans into the afterlife following their death) but modern interpretation has shifted to depict them as the good guardian dog and the evil attacking dog respectively.

A lot of the minute information about the cadejos tends to differ depending on the source. Like whether they're actually two separate dogs, or they're the same dog just in different 'modes', or how big they are. My personal depiction of them has them sized as normal dogs (although their spirit nature means they can move into small spaces pretty easily by just becoming immaterial temporarily) and as separate spirits that have been passed down through Rudy's family generationally.

I chose the cadejo for Rudy because although I wanted to include him in the Monster AU, i still liked keeping him as a character who was a bit more 'human' than Alejandro. I think Ale needs Rudy to hold him back sometimes, and having the two cadejo definitely helps with that. Sort of like how cheetahs in zoos have therapy dogs growing up because they're so anxious all the time! I think it also does a good job of showing Rudy's two sides as well, like he's a softie who just wants to protect those he loves, but he's capable of a lot of violence too.

--

VALERIA - GORGON

Valeria is a gorgon which, admittedly, is not part of Mexican mythology. However, I was put in a bit of a bind here, since my research didn't really reveal to me a monster in Mexican culture that I thought would suit Valeria's vibe (manipulative, elulsive) and I just felt like a gorgon would be perfect for her. Medusa's myth has her being continuously demeaned by the men in her life and is a symbol of female empowerment, which I thought was a great reflection of the implied reason that Valeria left the army was due to internal sexism. There's also the perfect parallel of how anyone who sees El Sin Nombre's face dies, and Medusa's whole 'turn you to stone' thing.

I thought i could compromise by making Valeria a gorgon but her hair would be Mexican black kingsnakes but...turns out they're actually not that dangerous. Some people even keep them as pets! So I decided to keep the visual, but make her a pit viper, a subfamily of vipers found in the Americas as well as Eurasia.

--

HORANGI - HAETAE

Horangi is a haetae (해태) which is a beast in Korean mythology that typically comes in the form of a horned lion or dog. It's prevalent in a lot of cultures in East Asia actually, although it goes under different names depending on the region - kaichi for Japan, xiezhi for China. I made Horangi a tiger variant on the creature because...well...'horangi' means 'tiger' in korean. It just made sense to me to put that little twist on it.

Typically, haetae are seen as spirits of judgement, that decide on innocent and guilty parties in disputes and punish the latter. It's also considered a guardian against fire (hence the fire immunity and cloud manipulation powers I gave him).

GAZ - HARPY

Gaz is a harpy which, I won't lie, was purely inspired by the fact that he seems to keep falling out of helicopters. But it's also because...yeah, I did neglect Gaz in the soapbox saga. But I think I neglected...everyone in the soapbox saga who weren't directly involved in the main ship. I sort of just tunnel visioned on the main three, so my exclusion of characters isn't just limited to Gaz, it was included Price, Laswell, Alejandro, Rudy, Graves etc.

I just want to make clear that my treatment of Gaz in particular isn't reflective of any inner preference against him. And to make good on that, me assigning Gaz wings of all things was to help me spend more time on him in the Monster AU! I think the contrast between Gaz being an upstart harpy, and Price being a one-winged dragon has a lot of potential as a mentor/protege relationship (and perhaps even something more) and it's why I assigned this monster to him. I really wanted to establish a connection upfront, but just making Gaz another dragon felt cheap - the harpy thing felt a little more in turn with his character :)

--

I really hope this cleared up any remaining frustrations with my designs for the Monster AU. I hope you can see that I never meant anything demeaning by assigning these monsters to their respective characters - in fact, I earnestly tried to go out of my way and be respectful to their backgrounds.

In any case, if you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them - I'd just ask you to please ask politely :)

[snapdragonessart]

Part 2 of my dragon dentition series 😊 ancients coming next! Teef info under the cut

Obelisks take inspiration from Chinese guardian lion statues, with their voluminous manes, big paws and fierce face. As such, their teeth would be similar to a lion’s dentition, with massive canines and carnassials. Although lions mainly eat land-based animals, they are also opportunistic and will sometimes eat fish and even insects. This doesn’t make up for any large part of their diet, however, and in this way they differ from Obelisks which only eat seafood and bugs. Jaguars make a better match for Obelisks in regards to food, as they eat aquatic prey more often than lions do, with one remote population of jaguars in Brazil primarily feeding on aquatic reptiles and fish.

Pearlcatchers were pretty tricky to pin down. Their body and face look almost horse or deer-shaped. Their diet is insects and plants. The only creature that came to mind for Pearlcatchers were qilins; one-horned legendary beasts from Chinese mythology. They’re fully scaled, with dragon-like faces and a body shaped like a horse, deer or goat. This seems to fit Pearlcatcher’s the most, but figuring out their dentition is another matter. There’s not really a 1-to-1 comparative animal I can base their teeth on, so I think they’d be a mish-mash of different tooth structures. They’d have larger canines, maybe like a musk deer, but the rest of their teeth would follow a more herbivorous design. They’d have large, flat molars and premolars for grinding up plants, probably similar to a horse or goat. 

Ridgebacks are basically land-sharks, no question. Their diet and face says it all. Although their snouts look more like goblin sharks to me, I don’t think they’d have those creepy mouths. Their dentition would be more like a great white; they’d have a mouth full of serrated, razor sharp teeth. Like actual sharks, Ridgeback’s would have a reserve of extra teeth in their jaws. 

Skydancer dragons present another tricky situation. They’re bird dragons, and eat plants and insects like Pearlcatchers. Although some official art shows them with teeth, I don’t think they’d actually have them. The closest structure to teeth that's found in birds is the tomia, which is the cutting edge of the upper and lower beak. Tomia is not made of enamel, but of cartilage. Seed-eating birds use this to slice through seed hulls, and birds of prey like falcons have a single sharp projection to rip meat and insects apart. Geese have tomia on their tongues, which pushes the food back towards their throat as they eat. Skydancers probably have a gizzard as well, as the tomia is not enough on its own to grind food down completely. It was hard to figure out what the Skydancer’s beak would be most similar to; out of all the more hook beaked birds, it reminded me most of vultures or eagles, although in diet they do not match them at all. Skydancer beaks are a mish-mash of different bird characteristics that I thought would fit them the most, rather than based on a single bird in particular.

Snappers are tortoise dragons, and like tortoises they’d have ridges in their beaks to help chew food. The official lore states that their beaks are “lined with molars that begin halfway down the jaw and continue all the way to the back”. Real-life tortoises don’t have teeth, so I’d imagine these structures would be like the tomia of birds. Their diet would be a mix of what tortoises and turtles eat, as Snappers eat both plants and seafood.

Spirals really remind me of ferrets, with their noodley bodies and energetic, chaotic nature. Like ferrets, they’d have sharp little canines, incisors and carnassials for shredding meat. Ferrets mainly eat meat, but will also eat bugs too, which matches up with the Spirals diet.

Tundra dragons are currently the only purely herbivorous dragon. The lore states that they have “impressive canine teeth used for combat. The majority of their jaw is set with flat, wide molars, perfect for grinding up scrub.” They’d be most similar to musk deers in dentition, with both male and female Tundras having the enlarged canines characteristic of male musk deer. The canines wouldn’t be as thin or long as a musk deer; they would be thick, robust, and fit more snugly inside the mouth. 

Last for the modern breeds, we have the Wildclaws. They’re raptor dragons, based on the Dromaeosaurids - raptor dinosaurs (velociraptors, utahraptors, etc). Like raptors, Wildclaws would have widely spaced and serrated teeth. They’d be fairly equal in shape, and would curve backwards.  Raptors were carnivorous, which fits with the Wildclaw’s meat diet.

[greenwitchcrafts]

January 2024 Witch guide

Full Moon: January 25th

New moon: January 11th

Sabbats: None

January Wolf Moon

Known as: Bear Moon, Chaste Moon, Cold Moon, Disting Moon, Goose Moon, Moon of Little Winter,  Moon of Strong Cold, Quiet Moon, Snow Moon, Stay at Home Moon, Sun Has Not Strength to Thaw Moon & When Snow Blows Like Spirits In The Wind Moon

Element: Air

Zodiac: Capricorn & Aquarius

Nature spirits: Brownies & Gnomes

Deities: Freya, Hera, Innana & Saraswati

Animals: Coyote & fox

Birds: Blue Jay & pheasant

Trees: Birch & Hazel

Herbs: Cones, holy thistle &marjoram

Flowers: Crocus & Snowdrop

Scents: Mimosa & musk

Stones: Chrysoprase, garnet, hematite, moonstone, onyx & jet

Colors: Black, blue-violet, grey, silver & white

Energy: Adventurous, ambitious, awareness, beauty, beginning & conceiving; business, career, conserving energy, energy below the surface, organization, political matters, potential, protection, recognition, reputation, reversing spells & spirituality

The name for the January full Moon is believed to have originated from Celtic and Old English roots, which European settlers then brought to the New World.

At one point, gray wolves were among the most widespread land mammals on our planet. According to the Wolf Conversation Center, gray wolves “inhabited most of the available land in the Northern Hemisphere.” Habitat destruction and persecution by humans have reduced their range by about a third worldwide and 90 percent in the lower 48 states.

The wolf’s adaptable nature to survive in a wide range of habitats and ability to prey on the largest mammals living in those regions made it widespread. Basically, if there are enough deer, moose, elk, caribou, bison, and musk ox, wolves can survive. Predation of domestic animals caused friction with European settlers and early Americans who aggressively hunted the wolves.

Werewolf myths can be found in ancient Greek and Roman societies, throughout European history and among some Native American tribes. In modern storytelling the transformation from man to wolf has been closely tied to the full Moon in films like “The Wolf Man” and “American Werewolf In London.”

Howl at the Moon means to waste energy pursuing something unattainable. It’s shorthand for doing something crazy. However, howling is hardly a waste of energy among wolf packs. And they aren’t howling at the Moon. The Moon just happens to be shining during times when wolves most often howl.

A wolf’s howl can be heard miles away. The vocalization helps wolves locate separated members and even communicate between packs marking their territories. One study recorded spontaneous howls and responses happen most often between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The cry of wolves doesn’t play into the Sioux name for the January full Moon, which is known as “The Time When Wolves Run Together.” Wolves do plenty of running to defend territory that can stretch hundreds of square miles to find enough prey to support the pack.

Other Celebrations

• Hogmanay | January 1st: is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) and, in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish bank holiday. In a few contexts, the word Hogmanay is used more loosely to describe the entire period consisting of the last few days of the old year and the first few days of the new year. For instance, not all events held under the banner of Edinburgh's Hogmanay take place on 31 December.

The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but it may be derived from Norse and Gaelic observances of the winter solstice. Customs vary throughout Scotland and usually include gift-giving and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, with particular attention given to the first-foot, the first guest of the new year.

• Compitalia/ Feast of Lades | January 3-5: was an annual festival in honor of the Lares Compitales, household deities of the crossroads, to whom sacrifices were offered at the places where two or more ways met.

Dionysius said that Servius Tullius founded the festival, which he describes as it was celebrated in his time. Dionysius relates that the sacrifices consisted of honey-cakes (Ancient Greek: πέλανοι) presented by the inhabitants of each house; and that the people who assisted as ministering servants at the festival were not free men, but slaves, because the Lares took pleasure in the service of slaves. He further adds that the Compitalia were celebrated a few days after the Saturnalia with great splendor, and that the slaves on this occasion had full liberty to do as they pleased.

During the celebration of the festival, each family placed the statue of the underworld goddess Mania at the door of their house. They also hung up at their doors figures of wool representing men and women, accompanying them with humble requests that the Lares and Mania would be contented with those figures, and spare the people of the house

Sources:

Farmersalmanac.com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Llewellyn's 2023 magical almanac: practical magic for everyday living

Wikipedia

Encyclopedia Britannica

[moonygryffin]

So my original design was basically a wingless peryton but because of the ibis footprints (which I’m guessing is the classic bestiary ibis-ibex mix up, but it said ibis and so ibis legs it gets) I couldn’t stop thinking of it as a deer-headed terror bird. Very cute, very furry