#better dead than fed is a horrific mindset

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

The Bronx Zoo has just released Flaco's necropsy results.

He was not thriving, as the people championing the ideal of "freedom" claimed.

He was poisoned.

He was sick.

He was suffering.

"Freedom" would have eventually killed him. A building just happened to do it first.

"Postmortem testing has been completed for Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that was found down in the courtyard of a Manhattan building a little over a year after his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo was vandalized on February 2, 2023. Onlookers reported that Flaco had flown into a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on February 23, 2024, and acute trauma was found at necropsy. Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists determined that in addition to the traumatic injuries, Flaco had two significant underlying conditions. He had a severe pigeon herpesvirus from eating feral pigeons that had become part of his diet, and exposure to four different anticoagulant rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City. These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building. The identified herpesvirus can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey including owls infected by eating pigeons. This virus has been previously found in New York City pigeons and owls. In Flaco’s case, the viral infection caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many organs, including the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, and brain.   No other contributing factors were identified through the extensive testing that was performed. Flaco’s severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors—infectious disease, toxin exposures, and traumatic injuries—that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting."

The naturalistic fallacy kills animals in horrible ways. The romanticism of what humans want to think of as a "free, wild, pure life" cannot be allowed supplant the reality of injury, sickness, and death. Releasing captive animals (or keeping them from being recaptured) because it's "better" for them to suffer untethered than live a healthy, safe, captive life is inhumane and horrific.

Flaco's life didn't have to end in pain, sickness, and suffering.

Flaco's death didn't have to be tragic.

But once the idea of "freedom" entered the chat, Flaco's fate was unavoidable.

[gunnrblze]

I hate that Rorke took Logan, yes. Put him through all that horrific torture and brainwashing. Turned him against the only people he had left, flipped his world upside down. However, there’s something I can’t help but be appealed by with this overall scenario. ↓

Maybe it’s the dynamic I think they’d have, the “leader and their dog that follows them endlessly” trope that always hooks my ass for some reason. I think Logan would learn (be forced into) a new flavor of loyalty. That more vicious type, the morally bankrupt type. Assuming he’s treated the same way Rorke was, he’d leave the pit and all of that torture believing the Ghosts/his family somehow betrayed him too.

I have no doubt Rorke would cook up some big lie to help Logan believe it. That those men betrayed him, and by proxy, also betrayed Logan. That his father and brother did so as well. Elias backstabbed Rorke, “lets his men die to save his own ass”, and not only did that make him a shitty lieutenant/soldier, but also a shitty father.

He’d no doubt use Hesh as a tool, I think. A tool to further Logan’s changing beliefs. Why didn’t Hesh save him? Why hasn’t he come for Logan? Tried to save him over himself? We can obviously tell from Hesh’s character that he’d easily sacrifice himself for Logan without hesitation, but I think Rorke would have him believing the same thing he believes about Elias, that he saved himself and let Logan take the brunt of it.

So if he can’t trust his brother or teammates, if his father was a sham in the first place, who does that leave? Rorke.

I imagine they’d be inseparable, bonded by a type of abuse that not many have been through, at least not in the way they had. And there’s something appealing to me about it. About Rorke, in a twisted way albeit, getting something good out of all he’s been through. Do I think the dynamic with him and Logan would be very controlling? Yes. Without a doubt manipulative and deceitful? Yes. But I think it’d be almost healing (again, in his own twisted mindset lmao) for Rorke to take Logan on as a sort of project. To train him to be a Ghost killer rather than a Ghost himself.

And after all the brainwashing, Logan would no doubt be blind to reality of course, and I think he’d follow Rorke without hesitation. In the same way that he followed Hesh blindly, went anywhere his older brother did, I imagine he’d do the same with Rorke. Rather than being bonded with Hesh through brotherhood and the war/enemy they were fighting, he’d be bonded with Rorke through that torture and “betrayal”, through the new enemy.

And given how similar Hesh and Rorke are, the parallels within their characters personalities/goals/motivations, I think Logan would see Hesh in Rorke. Not only would he be forcibly tied to him now, but he’d see his brother in this man, and I think it’d only unintentionally help draw him in.

I think Rorke would no doubt treat Logan like a son, in a way. His soldier, his bred killer, ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. In fact I think he’d make himself a surrogate dad of sorts. The opposition he had with Elias would continue on for him despite the man being dead I think, and it would only continue to fuel him. After all, that’s what started all of this, that was a turning point for him. He’d not only use it to his advantage in manipulating Logan, but I imagine he’d also be willing to take Elias’ place in a way, whether that’s expressly his intention or not. Quite literally just an “Elias wasn’t shit, but I am the shit” type mindset. He’d already told Elias he believed himself better than the man while he was beating the dogshit out of him, so I do think he’d have that type of “I could be a better father than your own father was” mindset. And as much as I hate it, I also can’t help but enjoy the idea (don’t kill me for this lol)

Fed Logan would be a complete monster too. He was already very good, trained by some of the best there was, but after being taken and beaten down by Rorke? After being primed by him? Yeah…as much as I’d like to root for the remaining Ghosts, I’m not sure how much I believe they’d successfully take down both of them given their track record already. Although I think the federation having been largely defeated would put a dent in Rorkes performance/operations, I still think he’d dominate the fight now with Logan on his side. But I also think Hesh could fight god with his bare hands after allat so who knows lmao

They’d be inextricably connected, Rorke would make sure of that. And despite them fighting for the wrong cause and coming after our beloved good guys, I think Fed Logan and Rorke would work so well together that I almost can’t even hate it completely.

[deepbreakfast]

I was so heartbroken when I read about this poor owl. There is a difference between releasing a wild animal after it has been healed from its injuries and releasing an animal that was born in captivity. Nature is beautiful but it is also deadly.

The Bronx Zoo has just released Flaco's necropsy results.

He was not thriving, as the people championing the ideal of "freedom" claimed.

He was poisoned.

He was sick.

He was suffering.

"Freedom" would have eventually killed him. A building just happened to do it first.

"Postmortem testing has been completed for Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that was found down in the courtyard of a Manhattan building a little over a year after his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo was vandalized on February 2, 2023. Onlookers reported that Flaco had flown into a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on February 23, 2024, and acute trauma was found at necropsy. Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists determined that in addition to the traumatic injuries, Flaco had two significant underlying conditions. He had a severe pigeon herpesvirus from eating feral pigeons that had become part of his diet, and exposure to four different anticoagulant rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City. These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building. The identified herpesvirus can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey including owls infected by eating pigeons. This virus has been previously found in New York City pigeons and owls. In Flaco’s case, the viral infection caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many organs, including the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, and brain.   No other contributing factors were identified through the extensive testing that was performed. Flaco’s severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors—infectious disease, toxin exposures, and traumatic injuries—that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting."

The naturalistic fallacy kills animals in horrible ways. The romanticism of what humans want to think of as a "free, wild, pure life" cannot be allowed supplant the reality of injury, sickness, and death. Releasing captive animals (or keeping them from being recaptured) because it's "better" for them to suffer untethered than live a healthy, safe, captive life is inhumane and horrific.

Flaco's life didn't have to end in pain, sickness, and suffering.

Flaco's death didn't have to be tragic.

But once the idea of "freedom" entered the chat, Flaco's fate was unavoidable.