#enough to be able to communicate

[doctortoothless]

Sign Language should be taught in schools. And I'm ecstatic they had an episode where The Doctor learned Sign.

DOCTOR WHO — THE WELL (S41E03) ››› Rose Ayling-Ellis as Aliss Fenly ››› Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor ››› Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra

[serpentface]

A braithuvi horse at rest under the close protection and watchful, scary, pale-eyed gaze of her herd's guardian, a dírgrahdain. Both are landraces developed within the Highlands. The ancestors of braithuvi (and other Highlands native horses) were brought overseas by the ancestors of the Hill Tribes, while the dogs were obtained from native livestock guardian landraces used by proto-Wardi tribes. Each have become distinct over their centuries of living in the Highlands, and dírgrahdain are have a particularly unique place in the cultural schema.

Braithuvi are a woolly horse breed (and one of many, wool horses are widespread, second only to camala in value for textiles) that are also somewhat specialized for milk production. Their meat is relatively poor (other horses are preferred), but they produce high yields of milk and thick, continuous growths of wool.

Horses are not as culturally significant as cattle to most in the Highlands, but are still highly valued animals that are critical to subsistence. Few plant-based textiles can be produced in the Highlands, and almost all in the region are made with braithuvi wool. They can eat a greater variety of forage than cattle, more efficiently converting energy intake from pastures into milk and wool. Their milk is considered to be the very best of all livestock, and is usually what is used to make the prized murre beverage.

Dogs have a very small specific place in the cultures of the Hill Tribes as utilitarian working animals (specifically for livestock and occasionally as home/village guardians), and rarely ever fill other functions. The practice of keeping dogs purely for companionship is virtually nonexistent (though affectionate bonds between people and their herding or household guard dogs will be fairly common), and their meat is considered worthless. Most dogs are not elevated within the cultural schema, and tend to be merely appreciated as useful, loyal animals. Livestock guardian dogs are an exception to this, and tend to be of more significant cultural import. They are animals that exist to protect the herds on which all subsistence depends, and thus have an elevated cultural status and roles in religion and folklore as uniquely protective entities.

Dírgrahdain are the key livestock guardian dogs in the region, and the only natively developed LGD. Their name means 'lion dog', both in reference to their maned appearance and their ability to fend off and even kill the largest of predators. The dogs are characterized by tall, long-legged builds, deep chests, a curly tail, thick hair (and a thicker winter coat), and a shaggy mane. Their bodies tend to be thinner and lankier than their fur coat suggests, but still well-muscled and powerful. Their coloration can vary wildly, but a black mask with a brown or reddish body like this is most typical. Unnerving, pale eyes are prized in these dogs, with the belief that they not only intimidate predators but are uniquely potent at fending off malicious spirits.

The dog's exclusive function is to protect livestock. They are used primarily for the defense of horses, which are small and very vulnerable to predators (lions, hyenas, king hyena, wild dogs, jackals, nechoi, and even eagles can be threats), though some dogs will usually be posted up with cattle herds to deter raiders.

Pups are most commonly born in the field among their herds. They will be carried in their master's coat while still nursing, but will be allowed to join their mother in her duties from the moment they are strong enough to follow. Dírgrahdain live with their herds day and night. Most will never see the inside of a home, and most seem to prefer it that way. They form close and protective bonds with their charges, and will thoroughly integrate themselves into the social fabric of the herd.

These dogs are not human-oriented, and will usually only form bonds with people that they have imprinted on as puppies (and will merely be cool and polite to those met later in life). They are highly aggressive towards strangers, and introductions must be done incrementally and with great care. This is desirable, as this trait makes them an excellent line of defense against livestock raids. Their loud, booming barks can alert of intruders from a great distance, and they can often successfully intimidate khait, causing some mounted raids to end in humiliating failure. Dírgrahdain are often killed in raids, either to fend off the attacking dog or to silence it before its master can be alerted. This is not outright dishonorable, but not something one will be commended for. Cattle raiding culture here values swiftness, stealth, and strategy- such smash and grab tactics are seen as brutish (and will often result in harsher retribution).

Like most LGDs, they primarily defend their herds by displays of aggression and power, using their loud bark, fearsome growl, and powerful bodies to chase and intimidate predators away without physical contact. Even so, it is necessary for all working dírgrahdain to be willing and able to physically confront predators when necessary. A well-trained, well-bonded dog will defend their herds with their very life, and is often effective in combat against even very large wild predators. Their dense ‘manes’ offer a degree of protection from wounds to the throat, and may be supplemented with spiked collars.

If a mother dog kills a predator, it is often customary to open the carcass and lead her puppies to feed on it. This is thought to teach the pups to be fearless against their enemies, and that they will grow up to be uniquely powerful and brave adults. Pups are given names upon reaching adult size, and ones who have consumed the flesh of predators will get unique names related to their mother's kill, or epithets as supplements to a given name (the exact details of this practice culturally varies). One might encounter dogs in the Highlands named things like Lionsbane, Hyena-killer, She Who Bites Jackals, Lion-Fed Shaggy (Lion-Fed being the honorable epithet, Shaggy being the dog's name, possibly given by a very small child)

The mere gaze of a dírgrahdain is said to fend off malicious spirits, and their thundering bark can scare away even the most dangerous of mountain devils. Their shed hair is needle felted into little dolls (usually into the form of dogs themselves) and placed into the cradles of infants and worn as charms by children to protect them from harm (both mundane and supernatural). Manes taken from dead dírgrahdain have uses among some of the Hill Tribes, and are typically only allowed to be used by their masters (unless recieved as a gift). The most prominent usages are being worn to fend off evil spirits and predators while traveling alone, and some traditions involve placing the manes around the necks or across the bellies of women in labor as a means of spiritual protection for mother and child during birth.

The Hill Tribes and Wardi both identify the same constellation along the ecliptic as a dog. In the case of the former, this stellar dog is identified as Mak-Urudain, a gigantic dírgrahdain with fur the color of flame and eyes as bright as stars, who is the eternal guardian of the Celestial Fields. He allows the souls of the worthy dead to pass into the afterlife and for esteemed ancestors to descend back to the land to guide the living, while preventing malicious spirits, devils, and the dishonored dead from entry.

One Bernike tale describes her attempting to fly into the Celestial Fields to steal the heavenly cattle who graze there. She took the form of a golden eagle, pretending to be an ancestor returning from a sojourn to the world of the living in order to get past the guardian hound. Mak-Urudain was not fooled for long, and led her on a long chase through the night sky before capturing her and hurling her out of the Celestial Fields.

She was never able to even touch the ground of the Fields (much less take any cattle), but had just enough time to take a single seed of heavenly grass in her beak. She returned to her mountain (missing most of her tail feathers and much of her pride) and planted the grass in her then-barren slopes. This is why the grass on Bernike's mountain is so tall and abundant and why cattle there grow so fat and healthy, like all cattle will in the afterlife. The howling winds heard from the mountaintops are playfully suggested to be the barks and howls of Mak-Urudain, calling down from the heavens to keep the witch grounded in the world of the living.

[novella-november]

Here's some worldbuilding advice, mainly aimed at fantasy writers, but scifi also applies:

Do your characters (or a beloved companion animal/transportation creature) have wings and fly a lot?

Cool!

Are your winged characters who fly a lot ambush predators who rely on stealth to take down prey? Like owls?

No?

Then here's a fun world-building thing to think about:

How loud are their flapping wings, and how do your characters communicate with each other when they're flying if it is too loud to speak normally, (assuming your characters are not telepathic?)

Do your characters have a unique form of sign language they use while flying in line of sight of each other? How do they draw each others attention to sign to them?

Do they use a series of whistles and chirps made with the mouth to communicate?

Do they have bells, or drums, or some other percussion-based system of communication?

if you answered 'yes' to any of the above three options, you can break it down even more:

Is this flight-language something everyone is taught/knows, or do only specialized groups use it?

Are there different flight-languages or dialects between different communities/settlements? How about age groups?

Is it something that is used commonly during non-flight situations as a way to casually abbreviate speech? Or is that seen as taboo, rude, unlucky, 'low-brow', or sacrilegious?

In what situations could your characters use this form of communication to their advantage?

anyways here's a little BBC documentary clip demonstrating the sound + size difference in owl wings in flight vs other birds :D

It's a fun watch even if you're not writing about winged characters, just some fun, neat science!

[whump-galaxy]

The Villain finds their Sidekick in an awful state. Half dead, breathing shallower and shallower breaths. They cradle their Sidekick, terrified of attempting to seek medical treatment. What if the authorities don’t treat Sidekick’s injuries? What if they just arrest the both of them? What if they leave the Sidekick to die?

They nearly jump out of their skin at the hand on their shoulder. It’s the Hero’s Sidekick. Having witnessed what the Hero did, they abandoned their team.

Now they want to help.

[scoriarose]

The Language of Love

If you are already convinced snakes are incapable of love, this post is not for you. But if you are open to the possibility that maybe they do, and maybe they love us too, this post explores that thought. Perhaps snakes feel it differently, perhaps they feel it the same humans do- though even humans experience love, be it platonic or romantic, differently from individual to individual. Different people also show their love in different ways as well! Yet still even with a divide between species most of us have felt love from our furry and feathered friends. Perhaps our scaly friends are also telling us they love us, we just might not understand.

When I first got my girl Scoria, if I could tell her only one thing it would be, "I love you." When I held her, I wondered if she understood how much I cared about her, and would do anything to protect her. When I pet her, I wondered if she knew how amazing I thought she was and enjoyed spending time with her.

And then I started watching livestreams of wild snakes, and how they act toward each other. (The above still is from Project Rattle Cam!) When the babies see a trusted adult, they slither all over them! How many times had my girl happily slithered all over me going no where in particular? I imagine that my finger petting her soft as a feather was probably quite similar to another snake greeting her in such a way.

Sakura is much more shy, yet wants to form a bond with me. I see it when she fights her fear to vibe with me. Sometimes she'll sit for hours at the edge of her tank nearest me, not wanting to come out, but just be near me.

Snakes like rattlesnakes and garter snakes will vibe peacefully with each other, with baby rattlesnakes sleeping near the adult rattlesnakes they trust to keep them safe.

Perhaps, when our shy snakes sits with us, facing their fears they're saying, "I'm scared, but I want to be closer with you." And maybe when our snakes slither all over us, going nowhere in particular, like their wild counterparts do with each other they're saying, "I'm so happy to see you! You're my favorite to be with!" I wonder if they could tell us one thing it would be "I love you, best friend!" And it's okay, best friend. I love you too, and already know. <3

[moldy-flowers]

Idk I just hate when people get offended when someone says "Sasuke was mentally unstable" Like okay 1- he broke out into genuine LAUGHTER and I dont understand how you can't be a little weirded out by that and 2- Being mentally unstable isn't like??? A bad thing???

Like??? Being unstable or mentally unwell is in no circumstance a bad thing. You're sick. Would you refute it with the same vigor if I said he had the flu too? Like idk it might just be me but Sasuke finally breaking down makes so much sense for his journey. Like I get people who just explain it away or don't like that hc. But people who outwardly get offended and hurt by me saying he was unwell like? Its really not that serious and it says a LOT about you that you can't handle your favourite character being sick.

[inksandpensblog]

Still fascinated by how much hate Mitsi gets for the whole "dead fem-coded loved one backstory" thing and all the hangups surrounding that when Purple's mom is arguably a much more egregious instance of the thing everyone is upset about Mitsi for but she ultimately got a pass because...idk, she was The First?

[zoieru]

good morning / happy timezone cuties >///< (you are cute, this is non negotiable)

a new week !! new possibileries !! I'm in that strange limbo right now where I've just finished a large art piece and had a small break and now need to choose what to draw next !! It's both exciting and a bit disorienting lol, but the inspo will strike me 😌✍️

To bless your day, please enjoy some cat!zoie x cat!dazai ~ this is actually a sort of section of our story that ive thought of, genuinely being turned into cats for a few days - maybe i write it or explain it some time

[fruit-fairy2]

Whenever someone gives me food I always feel obligated to eat the entire thing in front of them so they know I appreciated it so if I were a tiny it’d only take one well-meaning human giving me an entire cookie and it’d be over for me

[lynxgriffin]

Eldritch speaking Kris gave me the image of, once they find Asgore and Toriel, they start cursing them both out in eldritch language by accident, and Ralsei has to intervene, but it's also in Eldritch, and neither Toriel nor Asgore know what they're saying

It might stop being threatening and then end up a little comical! They don't even comprehend that they're being insulted!

[heartmaddie]

i think when i write my streamer au i want yn to be a vlogger more than a streamer. she'll kinda be like mandy's iphone

[act11as]

I deeply envy people who're able to actually formulate their thoughts into coherent writing in a fast and efficient manner

[weweantica-old]

before and after trying out that pinterest “hack” of painting the chicken wire black. it really does look so much better — and the further away you are the more dramatic the effect. I had spare paint anyway so this was totally worth it.

[wasabikitcat]

community college is so funny because half of the teachers are like "For this class you need to use lockdown browser for all quizzes and tests. You need to buy this 70 dollar textbook, and all papers turned in must be in APA format with a title page even if they're only 500 words long. I will not accept late assignments. Also you have a minimum of 4 assignments a week." and the other half are like "you don't need proctoring for the final exam I trust you. here's a download link to a pirated copy of the textbook. as long as your writing is coherent and demonstrates an understanding of the material I literally could not care less what format you use. I can't figure out how canvas works so I'm not giving you due dates, just make sure it's turned in before the grading period ends. your only weekly assignment is a forum post with a minimum of 100 words."

[mylove-thresher]

liking a character so much that you get shy as soon as you see them or hear their voice or see anything that references them in the slightest so you gotta hit that

and curl your hair around your finger and giggle and kick your feet

[iguessitsjustme]

Ter stop talking over and making decisions for Dee challenge 2k24. Y'all ain't even friends at this point you're just the annoying coworker go away