#elk yaps

[three-eyed-elk]

the salmon!

lots of fun thoughts about these guys

[three-eyed-elk]

always welcome to!!! i’m just not great at keeping up communication…and i’m a little offputting sometimes and, mmm, but mutuals always welcome to!

reblog if it's okay for your mutuals to message you and create an actual friendship, not just interactions

[three-eyed-elk]

Jedidiah is very mantis to me

images from pinterest glasses by me

[three-eyed-elk]

maybe i’m projecting but…how do we feel about BPD elijah volkov..what’s the fandoms stance on this one..

[taxideermied]

What is "prey rage"?

Thanks for the question! And sorry that my answer is so long. I like to yap and this has been on my mind for a while. This is coming from anglophone USAmerican observations, for the record, I don’t and can’t speak in absolutes on this issue as it applies to other countries and cultures.

But in therian and non-therian spaces both, there is a general tendency to characterize prey animals as passive (innocent, helpless, harmless) and predators as active (hunters, killers). And this notion is harmful and unhelpful across the board, but especially, in my opinion, when it comes to large ungulate species.

Most of us (USAmericans) are extremely alienated from the beef, dairy and pork industries, and are unlikely to interact closely with cows or pigs. Given the general cost and land requirements of equestrian hobbies, the same goes for horses. Deer are somewhat present in the collective consciousness but usually as pests or a road hazard or a hunting season. The fact that these animals are capable of violent self defense is obscured, almost on purpose, in a land of friendly milk advertisements and Disney cartoons. You don’t want to think about Bambi goring someone, do you? That might make you buy less merch.

And to be fair, I do think it goes deeper than that. Humans anthropomorphize reflexively. Predator species are often more charismatic and their relative rarity and ecological importance makes the study and documentation of individuals much easier. Predators are usually independent, and when they’re not, they often exist in family groups, lifestyles that are not only approachable but downright appealing to the USAmerican mindset. These animals are framed as intelligent (as it relates to a human way of thinking) and active ecological forces that keep prey animals (necessarily passive in comparison) in check.

So the prey species become largely secondary. Since humans are at the top of the food chain, it’s difficult to properly conceptualize life for animals that are predated upon. They eat (mindlessly), they reproduce (mindlessly), and they are killed (mindlessly). If humans have deigned them worthy of conservation, they become not just mindless, but sin-less creatures uniquely devastated by climate change or habitat loss (a characterization that also hurts predatory species). Their passivity is a virtue in need of protection and, if it’s not obvious, the idea that these animals are as equally capable of killing as they are of dying sort of throws a wrench in the whole well-meaning paradigm.

Elk and bison injure people annually at Yellowstone, and still humans wander up to them as if that outcome is a complete impossibility. And yes, the public is largely uneducated on animal behaviors, but I hear a lot less about tourists toddling off towards bears and wolves, don’t you? It’s like that gif of that biker guy holding his arm out to a horse clearly displaying every “fuck off” warning sign in the book, and the guy gets bit. It’s not just that he doesn’t know horse body language, it’s as if he can’t conceptualize the idea that a horse might feel threatened and lash out and hurt him. Because horses don’t do that. They’re literally nice.

Obviously, prey species will defend themselves, violently, explosively and “no holds barred” if necessary, because the other option is usually death. And this defense, by design, will fuck up humans or any other predatory species.

Granted, prey “rage” is an unhelpful anthropomorphization of this behavior as well, but in my defense I was talking about myself.

I’ve talked before on this blog about how I value kindness and compassion, and partly why I value it so highly because it is often against my nature entirely and is something I have to actively work at. If I feel I have been wronged or hurt my first instinct is the kind of kick-your-lights-out, kill-or-be-killed reaction an elk has when a wolf is latched onto its hock. I have to get them back, and it has to hurt.

Now I can recognize that that is a self destructive and unhelpful impulse (there is no wolf latched onto my hock), but I do believe it is informed by my “prey brain” (among other aspects of my nonhumanity). It is unhelpful to characterize me as innocent or incapable of harm on account of my deer-ness, and I will always reject that sentiment. Further, is damaging to discuss deer and other prey species as wholly sweet and innocent even and especially in therian spaces, and that was largely what I was getting at with my original post. Hope that has answered your question lol :>

[three-eyed-elk]

THIS, PAIRED WITH MY DPDR IS AWFUL. THIS YEAR DID NOT HAPPEN FOR ME

ADHD time blindness be like "oh, today is the 30th? that's fine, December is still next month, that's forever away!

...what do you mean tommorrow?"

[riskyalt]

im just constantly confused by why Dream KEEPS roping Quackity into everything, like Q has said absolutely nothing, why is he at fault...??

[daylilifiedsundrewdrops]

Archive of Alternate Realities CW: Tumblr nerfed the quality

Tales whispered by a hundred lost souls >>>>

A Guardian Angel closest to humanity, and a small little calf in winter.

The Warm Sun in a Summer Serenity.

The sharpest snowflake in the ice.

OMG THE FIRST BLOG BUNDLE!! But its... missing one artwork? Is it the one I accidentally deleted? No worries, it'll be in the next blog bundle!! Which will probably take a month or more to finish because we have so many projects and work to do for school..

Oh, obligatory extra art- Angelica Icon!!

Ms. Maddy actually got a preview of her blog fanart! Hi Maddy <3 I'll make an apology for this horrid art!!

I'm not tagging them. I'm sorry, they don't deserve to see this... Thing And now a word from Haven Winnie!

I don't understand why I'm in this museum. Someone help me. What is happening?

Okay, Shut up Winnie <3 I'll give you a companion soon!

[clownakai]

Akam Princess Mononoke AU with Shuuichi as Ashitaka and Rei as San. That is all

[three-eyed-elk]

me when the camp is both here and there

It has come to my attention that people have been using my mspaint doodle as a reaction image- and I'm flattered however I realized I didn't sign it so I made a signed version. Use this one instead please and thank you!!

Drawn while listening to Malevolent, but can apply to a wide variety of horror podcasts or listening experiences. I'll tag a few for safe measure

[starryandpied]

starry what is a headcanon that you have about the top lore

Oooh, I have ✨questions✨ about the lore. You see, I think way to much about the societal worldbuilding side of things. My number one question: how the fuck does Dema function?!?? On like a how the fuck are people eating and where does the electricity come from level. Cause like, on the map, it doesn't look like there's farmland. And I don't know if there's any significant industrial sector either. So, I guess my headcanon is that Dema relies mainly on trade from across the ocean. My headcanon is that there are other cities somewhere out there. Do they know about the depths of the Bishops' control, and vialism? Maybe. As far as electricity goes, my headcanon is that most of the big neon lights are powered by souls, and the small personal ones like we see in nico and the niners could be powered by a small generator that the person has to maintain. Part of their wage would go to buying fuel for it.

My other big question comes from the "hijacked religion" description of vialism. It implies that there was a religion before that vialism is a warped version of. Now, this gets into my own worldbuilding, a little more au than headcanon, but I call this old religion vayalism. Aka worship of the goddess Vayal.

In my own version of trench, I imagine an ancient stone temple built into the highest mountain; that was abandoned for many centuries, and later reclaimed by the Banditos. I imagine that this would be sort of a central fortress for them, and a stable base of operations, at least as far as storage goes. This temple was once used for the worship of a small pantheon of gods that included Vayal. Vayal was a goddess of decay, and the holy cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Her followers were taught not to fear death, because it was just a natural part of the cycle of life. The Bishops took this idea, and twisted it into worshipping death, craving it, when this is not what Vayal ever taught.

Some other gods I came up with were Sahlo, who is the goddess Banditos are calling to with the phrase sahlo folina. I figure she would be some kind of goddess of hope, or miracles, that could guide aid towards people. Her symbolism would center around flowers and the color yellow. Another is Kassha, the god of righteous war. His color would be red, and his chosen warriors wear red, or paint red around their eyes. The red Banditos, the active warriors, are dedicated to him.

[three-eyed-elk]

sargent doodle

[styxtheladd59]

Chat look at my fursona.

I think they’re pretty cool ngl

[three-eyed-elk]

GUYS GUYS GUYGS GUYSGUSYGSUSYSG

pleaaaaase go give this artist some love, they’re one of my absolute favourite artists…didn’t know they had tumblr until now.

jumping up and down spinning in circles

"Zen Heron" approx 12"x12" acrylic and wax pastel on reclaimed wood

Made as a gift for my parents. ❤️ It was good for me to snap back into heronland; I got pleasantly lost in those feathers. Prints!

[fox-yapping]

gonna get called cringe for this but a messy list on things that make me think i'm some type of (poly?) therian,,

first the animals i think i used to be, male red fox, male elk possibly whitetail buck not really sure, female mountain lion, (not really sure) male american black bear, I'm half guessing with most of the genders here a lot of stuff is still fuzzy,

a lot of this probably isn't gonna make sense but i still have a prey drive and a want to hunt, i still want to bury my food when my done with it too, (usually just putting it wrapped up underneath a pile of clothes is enough tho)

and i swear i can almost remember hoisting myself up a tree, my arms on either side of it with my claws digging into the bark, i think that might be from the mountain lion. I'm not sure though could be the black bear.

and i really really want to do the thing where two bucks or two bull elk lock antlers and push each other intill one gives up. i can remember doing it. also i can mimic a bull elk mating call pretty well and it makes some part of me insanely happy.

i still want to growl and snarl at things too when I'm startled or upset,

last thing before i start rambling too much, i get phantom limb feelings a lot with antlers, or paws, or tails, or sharp teeth and claws,

a lot of this probably doesn't make sense but if anyone wants to try to guess what i am go ahead I'm still trying to figure it out because i haven't been "awake" for that long.

[persy-r-bozo]

A wolf's howl!. Oh how pretty they are.

Wolf howls are actully poems and songs, it takes years to fully be able to translate them.. but it's Worth it!

My only regret is that I won't live long enough to hear a thousand more.

-Elm. The great elk.