#birds and cats and ferrets and frogs definitely would

[finrays]

Me, watching my roommate’s cat chatter at a mockingbird: …both of your species would commit the most heinous war crimes against each other if you had the thumbs and capability.

[k9emote]

NEW ANIMAL IDENTITY TERM. ANIFAUX. COINED BY US (k9s)

ANIFAUX - Someone who has some sort of deep rooted connection to an animal(s). These individuals feel out of place in their body, and that they would fit better as a species other than human. Their behavior, love style, and personality might reflect this behavior naturally. Anifauxies may have had a deep rooted connection to their anifauxtype since childhood, or could've discovered recently. They differ from therians and otherkin in the way that they know they are human and don't have any religious beliefs around their identity, but that feels fundamentally wrong. Their mental state more often than not reflects their anifauxtype, and though they may shift to a heavier anifaux regression, the constant animalistic view on the world never truly goes away.

if you relate, find out your anifauxtype below

How does this differ from Therians?

We made this because Therianthropy/Nonhuman/Otherkin just didn't feel right. Some Therians aren't religious, and I can see how other nonhuman identities are similar! We just made this term because those didn't feel right. It feels as if god accidentally put an animals brain in our body (though we don't believe that, it's just a heavy identity feeling.) It's definitely something to do with our mental disorders that make it hard to socialize with people. But Dogs? Cats? Befriended instantly. We love like a dog, our physical behavior reflects canines, yet we know we're human. But "human" is just wrong.

TERM LIST

- Anifaux , General Term

- Anifauxtype , Specific Animal

- Anifauxies , Members of this Term

ANIFAUXTYPES

- Canidfaux (Dogs, Foxes, Wolves, Coyotes, etc)

- Felidfaux (Domestic Cats, Lions, Jaguars, etc)

- Leporidfaux (Rabbits and Hares)

- Ursidfaux (Bears)

- Avianfaux (Birds)

- Chirofaux (Bats)

- Rodenfaux (Hamsters, Rats, Ferrets, etc)

- Amphifaux (Frogs, Salamanders, etc)

- Arthrofaux (Spiders, Scorpians, Butterflies, Bees, etc)

- Vertefaux (Sharks, Fish, Rays, etc)

- Procyfaux (Raccoons, Ringtails, etc)

- Reptilfaux (Snakes, Turtles, Bearded Dragons, etc)

- Hyaenfaux (Hyenas)

- Ungufaux - (Sheep, Goats, Deer, etc)

- Mustelfaux (Weasels, Badgers, Otters, etc)

The way this naming system works is based on the scientific groupings of animals. If you don't see yours - look up your anifauxtypes scientific grouping, shorten it, and slap faux on the end. C:

[gnome-friend]

So; I think a few of the color identities don't quite match up with the creature types. Here are my thoughts:

First, these color identities are not based primarily on the philosophical ideals of each color, since most non-human animals are probably motivated by the green ideal of survival, with some having white or red goals and very few having blue or black.

White ☀️ is the color of structure and working together. As such I think that especially social creatures are best represented by it.

Blue 💧is the color of elemental air and water. So creatures which regularly fly or swim are associated with it.

Black 💀 is the color of the night, perfect for nocturnal creatures.

Red 🔥 is the color of elemental earth and fire, and while there aren't many fiery forest creatures; there are lots who burrow.

Green 🌳 is the color of plant growth, and forests are defined by trees. So I believe that tree-climbing creatures best belong here.

Using these modified color identities, I have an alternate "guilding" system for small forest creatures -

☀️💧 Is a good fit for songbirds; the bird creature type is way too big but this would be a reasonable creature type size. These birds make territories and sing during the summer and form flocks to cache and search for food during the winter. WU is primary in flying, which is perfect for these little winged friends. They have a complex inter-species social structure by which they warn each other of danger and discover food, and many migrate through the seasons.

☀️💀 Does work pretty well for bats. The microbats of holarctic forests are nocturnal and usually roost together in caves or tree holes. White is primary in flying and black is secondary, and lifelink has gone on a lot of bats historically due to association with vampires (obviously no vampire bats in these sorts of habitats, but not too great of a stretch).

💧💀 Is a kind of tricky color combination. It could be good for raccoons, frogs, or corvids, but I think we really need a spot for raptors. Owls are nocturnal and, along with hawks and falcons, are the main aerial predators of the forest. Since blue is primary in flying and black is secondary, and flash is a good mechanic for representing surprise attacks on unsuspecting prey, this color combination is where these birds fit best.

💧🔥Otters, which MTG has placed here, are not particularly common in most forests, while frogs (including toads) are very abundant. While true tree frogs are common in tropical forests, in the holarctic far more frogs burrow than climb. As such, a UR color identity fits slightly better while allowing GU to be a much better fit for another creature type.

💀🔥One creature type which is widely ignored but which makes up a huge fraction of the small mammals in the woods are shrews (along with moles and hedgehogs). These tiny predators rest in burrows during the day and search voraciously for bugs and worms at night. Menace (and deathtouch on the black ones given their venom) would work well as keywords for them. While "insectivorans" or "eulipotyphlans" would be the taxonomic names for this batch, I think some more recognizable name would be needed.

💀🌳 I don't know why the trend of black-aligned squirrels began in Unstable, but squirrels are neither "evil" nor for the most part nocturnal. A much better fit would be cats, including wildcats, lynx, and bobcats. Magic has typically used white for cats, but this is based on anthropomorphized lions, not small cats like these. But as nocturnal, climbing, predators of rodents and songbirds, cats fit quite well in this spot.

🔥🌳 There is so clearly a better color pairing for raccoons (see below) that I don't know why they were put here. I think a better option would be weasels (also martens and ferrets). They're impulsive and excitable burrowing and climbing predators who would do well with haste.

🔥☀️ I think that mice have been put in a good spot, but that this should include voles and rats as well. It's definitely odd that rats and mice are considered wildly different yet tigers and housecats are all "cats." Anyway, small ground-dwelling rodents do tend to spend most of their time in burrows and some species are social. RW is also the best color combination for making lots of tokens, which can symbolize these critters' high reproductive rate.

🌳☀️ While very few tree-climbing species are particularly social, squirrels do their best to be organized, which is another white trait. These abundant arboreal rodents could create food tokens for storage, and, while all forest creatures are vigilant, diurnal ones who spend their time out in the open have to be especially so.

🌳💧 And finally there's GU, the colors of curiosity and exploration. While raccoons are nocturnal and there would be some justification for putting them in UB, I think their constant poking into anything interesting really exemplifies the philosophical color identity of GU more than most non-human animals can. Saboteur abilities would go very well on them.

I realize that I skipped rabbits, badgers, lizards, and snakes, but these creature types tend to be rarer in temperate forests than most of the others listed and it's impossible to fit everything.

So to answer your question, probably a UG raccoon.

Tired: Whats your Ravnica Guild?

Wired: Whats your Bloomburrow Fursona?

Azorius Birds ☀️💧

Orzhov Bats ☀️💀

Boros Mice ☀️🔥

Selesnya Rabbits ☀️🌳

Dimir Rats 💧💀

Izzet Otters 💧🔥

Simic Frogs 💧🌳

Rakdos Lizards 💀🔥

Golgari Squirrels 💀🌳

Gruul Raccoons 🔥🌳

[fool3]

Thinking about what I would and wouldn't keep as a pet, and the circumstances for them. Obvious ones: cats and dogs are a yes. Fish yes if they are under a certain length (probably six inches or under). Only birds would be parakeets. Larger parrots such as Macaws I am against owning as pets because they live up to 80 years, and it's sad when they're owners get too old to take care of them so they are given to a shelter.

Bunnies are a tough one. If you live in an apartment then definitely no. If you live on a farm then yes. If you have a rural house then maybe, don't keep them in a cage, bunnies should run around, if you're backyard is big enough and secure enough then sure. Bunnies are a no for me then.

Guinea pigs yes, ferrets yes rats yes mice yes. Lizards a foot and under yes, things like monitor lizards are a no.

Snakes are tough because they come in a variety. Really the only one I would own is a ball python. With a good enough enclosure. Tarantulas are a yes if you have a good enclosure, frogs yes if you have a good enclosure good enough enclosure, small turtles yes, tortoises no. Salamanders and geckos yes if you have a great enclosure. Lemurs, foxes, any cat other than a house cat no. Even if you have a farm. Horses, donkeys, cows, obviously yes (if you have a farm).

Not any primates at all. I think that's all. Anything else is a no. Scorpions yes if you have a great enclosure. No eels or sharks or crabs. Ok now that's it.

[derangedpepper]

just some random amphibia headcanons

marcy: they/them/xe/xeir/xem/nya/nyas (im an idiot so i mostly use they/them for marcy), asexual lesbian, afab non-binary, sleeps like a cat (not as long, but like xe look like a cat when they sleep), gets like 2 hours of sleep a day on a good day, has adhd and autism, was OBSESSED with danganronpa when it came out. like. all they thought about was danganronpa and it was nyas longest lasting hyperfixation. xeir favorite animal is a bird (for obvious reasons) and their second favorite is horses, has ridden a horse twice, terrified of the ocean, lil sneaky goober. wonders how literally anything tastes (anne once had to stop them from eating a lava lamp, but i mean can you blame xem??) has broken like every bone in their body. pre-amphibia they said poggers. now nya says froggers. booksmart lifedumb. whenever they see someone with neopronouns they have to resist the urge to use the neopronouns. is one of those ao3 writers that is gone for like a year then returns with the weirdest story ever. once forced sasha to binge the entirety of mlp including the movie, and now hes traumatized (in a /nsrs way dont worry (but i mean they are traumatized in a /srs way too)) commits piracy and various other crimes a ton (somehow they havent been caught. wtf.) has conversations with their alt accounts on the internet (same). gay for sasha and anne. anne: she/her, pansexual, transgirl, literally if a mouse squeaked she would wake up and she hates it. loves cats and frogs. LOVE watermelon like its amazing cmon you should try it (totally not anne boonchuy speaking to you rn), dislikes grayscale, third favorite animal is ferrets cause theyre little noodles, gets overwhelmed by noise easily (anne same), falls for rickrolls and deez jokes (and stuff like that) SUPER easily, she smells like a wet towel (but in a good way). enough said. literally always loses her shoe, no matter if its pre- or post-amphibia. wants to dress like a pirate at times and does. once accidentally commited piracy and cried about it for a month. gay for marcy and sasha (no i did not almost write anne) sasha: he/she/they, but mostly he/him, bisexual, genderfluid, wakes up right when marcy goes to bed (5 in the morning), goes to the gym, enough said. will cry if he sees a toad. they are angy but uwu on the inside (im so sorry for saying this but theres no better way to describe it), ate wood as a child and i think this affected how he turned out. despises koalas, even before she discovered how bitchy they are. favorite animal is definitely a dolphin. rickrolls everyone, tells deez jokes, literally just anything you can think of. yes he has 69 in every user she has. afraid of horses but wont tell anyone (especially not marcy). i thought of the "is afraid of horses" thing before i was like "marcy made them watch mlp" and i actualy forgot i had headcanoned sasha as terrified of horses. gay for anne and marcy.

[imaginesmatsu]

If sextuplets were animals, what would they be?

osomatsu - prolly a cat tbh. a friendly but lazy cat. he likes to be around others and will maybe cuddle, but mostly he just likes to lay in the sun

karamatsu - i guess he's also kind of a bird guy? (written after todomatsu's lol) uhh hm. peacock is obvious but it does Fit him tbh. horse too - got the long flowing mane, basic charming abilities..... big stallion type imo.

choromatsu - frog is obvious... but also........ he is an opossum :) the american kind bc that's what i grew up with . they are also very clean and very busy nighttime animals. they are also very cute and i would like to give them many pets. (also i think that possums would like anime)

ichimatsu - controversial but honestly maybe a snake or a spider, definitely more of a lone/non-pack animal. they don't do much other than be alone and eat, and i think that fits him nicely :)

jyushimatsu - dog is obvious, but also ...... ferret! very wiggly, hyper, loves to be Exist. also ratties tbh. loves company, loves cuddle, loves to run on big wheel... what isn't Jyushimatsu about those animals?

todomatsu - could also see him being a rat, because of the social/cleanliness... but tbh i see him as bird. a dove mostly - pretty, clean, well liked... a dove is definitely a todomatsu animal

[volfoss]

Team Bucciarati pet headcanons:

(long post under the cut)

Giorno Giovanna:

He would definitely have pet frogs and in his big office, probably a really big terrarium

I think he'd have probably a few frogs but I can see him having an Asian painted frog and a reticulated glass frog

He would be the actual best frog dad and I can see him letting them just chill on his shoulder during meetings

Would probably get random frogs off the street too so his frogs don't get lonely

He'd name them slightly goofy names or let one of the gang name them

When Giorno gets overwhelmed from work, he'll just put some gloves on and hold the frogs for a bit

He has a lot of experience caring for them, because as soon as he realized he could have a pet, he went into research overdrive

Gio is also in change of taking care of Coco Jumbo, and dotes on the turtle a lot! At this point his entire room is nearly a terrarium.

Pannacotta Fugo:

Pannacotta really admires ferrets because of how smart and mischievous they are but didn't feel like he could take care of one because of how he struggles to control his emotions

He brought it up offhand after Narancia got his gerbils and Narancia had no hesitation to help Pannacotta care for a ferret in exchange for help with schoolwork

They went to a lot of pet stores until they found a rescue with a few ferrets left

The second he laid eyes on this adorable white ferret who was napping, Pannacotta's mind was set, this was the pet for him

The ferret immediately snuggled right up to him when he held it

The whole way home (Giorno drove), he was brainstorming names

The first night, he woke up panicked as Purple Haze was out and just watching the ferret, but watching the ferret run around the large enclosure that the gang worked together to get built

PH seemed oddly peaceful but that didn't help Pannacotta feel less worried that it was out, but as the night went on, he found that spending time and playing with the ferret made him feel more comfortable around it in general

Narancia Ghirga:

Definitely a gerbil and probably begged Bruno to take him to a pet store to get one which then turned into two because he couldn't resist the two he found

He would probably keep one or both in his pockets around the house and sneak them little scraps of Bruno's cooking at the dinner table

His favorite thing is seeing them use the toys he got for them or when they sleep on top of each other

Would probably name them adjectives, like Stuzzichine or Coccolone and give them semi ridiculous nicknames

Would keep them on his lap when the gang has a movie night and loves when they fall asleep on him

Trish Una:

Trish really likes lovebirds and has an affinity for birds which she found out when Giorno made her a bird out of paperwork for her birthday

She had to go and get another one so they could play with each other. The trip to the rescue had involved the entire family since no one wanted to turn her down when she looked that excited.

Trish took a while picking one out, as she needed to make sure that they would get along with the bird at home, but she settled on a very cheerful peach-faced lovebird

The entire ride home, the bird was leaning into her head pets and being generally noisy

Trish likes to sing or hum and the birds will chirp along with her

When she works on schoolwork, the birds will perch on her shoulder often times to try and get her attention, which makes schoolwork take a long time. She absolutely loves doting on them

Trish takes the absolute best care of them and gets them the finest things!

Guido Mista:

Dog has 3 legs bc luck

Guido adopted a stray Doberman Pinscher on his way back from a solo mission without telling anyone, other than Giorno who was about to head out when Guido was sneaking into the base

Obviously he couldn't just leave the poor thing there when it was looking at him with those eyes, and he was fairly certain that the actual zoo they had in their base would not be helped by a big dog, but he wasn't going to let Vivian ( he had already named her after the main character of his favorite movie) limp around with no home

Giorno helped smuggle her in since barely anyone else was home, and sent Narancia off to get some dog supplies while he helped Guido get Vivian settled

They helped get her all clean, which was difficult with her tail wagging at a rapid pace, and water was all over the bathroom by the time that they were done

The two of them got the dog all comfy on Mista's (very ugly and questionably patterned) bedspread and she snuggled right up to Guido the second he laid down

The Sex Pistols love the dog too, and find themselves resting on her when she sleeps since Vivian is so warm and riding on her back when she's being played with

Guido is already used to giving the Pistols food, but now he also has a dog (although he doesn't give her a ton of human food) to feed

It doesn't take too long for the rest of the group to realize there is a big dog, especially when Guido trains Vivian a lot during the day or is outside playing with her

Giorno has offered multiple times to make a leg for her missing leg, but Mista insists she's fine without one (and he won't admit that the tetraphobia makes it hard to think about her having 4 legs instead of her 3)

Vivian gets along well with the rest of the pets, thanks to a lot of training and steady introductions to everyone else

Bruno Bucciarati:

He and Leone have had cats for years, although he's constantly the instigating force to bring new animals in (including all the kids pets), he has a massive soft spot for strays

He's the very best cat dad and has blankets quite literally everywhere possible to give the cats as many options to lay and built cat ledges for their windows so the cats can bask in the sun

Has a lint roller in the car because the cats love, love, love to lay on his clothes when he sets them out for a shower. He learned his lesson with his lingerie and does not have that set out after one of the cats clawed into it and destroyed it

Bruno can and will walk the cats if the weather is permitting

He just started bringing the strays home one day, and Leone didn't notice until the 2nd cat started clawing up his pants while he was wearing them

Bruno, in contrast to Leone's bad names, gives the cats some extremely cheesy nicknames and has no shame using them in public

One of the strays that they brought in initially was a very young kitten, and he stayed up all night (ignoring the meeting/job he had the next day) to care for it and make sure it was alright

He SPOILS these cats rotten and they have multiple cat towers around their room because of that

The cats also have customized collars and they are all color coordinated

Bruno really relies on the cats if the memories of somehow surviving the fight become too strong, as the cats can really sense when he's stressed and huddle around him

The cats really like to bat at his zippers, so he makes sure to change out of his suit when he knows he'll be home for the rest of the night

Leone Abbacchio:

So. Many. Cats.

As much as Leone gripes about the fur on his clothes, he loves when the cats come in and keep him company when he's winding down for the day with a good book

He swears he doesn't mean to keep adopting cats but they tend to show up at the base or Bruno sneaks another one home

He has a few blankets piled up under the windowsills so the cats can lay there, but often finds them all on his bed or trailing behind him

He tends to feed strays when they come but tries to not get attached

Has the actual worst names for them and refuses to change even when the rest of the family judges him for it

He often wakes up surrounded by cats or having one lay on his face

Leone and Bruno have had cats for years so are practiced cat dads by now

The kids often will just come and grab a cat if they need a stress reliever

Leone will not admit it but he wakes up early to feed the cats wet food and tries to be stealthy about it

As for cat breeds, most of theirs aren't purebred, but their cats that they know for sure are breeds are semi close to being a Bengal and a Cornish Rex

He keeps toys for them in his bedside table to make sure they don't wake him or Bruno up in the middle of the night with wanting to play (they do anyways)

If he's sitting anywhere, there's a very high chance there's a cat on his lap or laying on his chest if he's reclining

All of the cats are incredibly attached to him and when he's on a mission, they'll wait in a group at the front door until he returns

[miscecanis]

HC: pets certain dynamics lean forward to most

!!! this is so interesting!!!!

alphas:

dogs! alphas are unabashedly loyal and similar in their own respects to dogs. i think they would desire a pet that would listen to them, one that would be by their side no matter what. also, dogs like to play hard, and i see alphas wanting a pet they can tussle with and do physical activity with if it’s something they like. also, i think they’d really love training and teaching commands.

ferrets! going along with the theme of playful alphas, i think they’d really enjoy a hyperactive pet like a ferret! always chasing them around and they’d just have toys all over their house lol. imaging an alpha walking around with a lil ferret around their neck is so wholesome aahhh!! and ferrets can be adorable lil snuggle buddies too, which i’m sure any alpha would appreciate (even though they may never admit it.)

horses! again going along with the active theme as well as the desire to train, i think alphas would love having a horse. perhaps using them to compete in racing or jumping or sports in general, or maybe even just riding for the pure desire of feeling free and adventurous with the wind in your hair and all with their personal companion. plus alphas wouldn’t mind the upkeep of a stable!

snakes! alphas would be drawn to snakes maybe for the fact that they just look epic in general? or perhaps that they’re dangerous? or maybe as a warning to others that they’re not afraid of anything. or honestly, they just want a snake because SNAKES ARE EPIC!! instead of a ferret scarf around the alpha’s neck, imagine a long ball python? epic.. also they’d probably name them something silly like “noodle” or “george” tbh. they’re not afraid of their little buddy, and their snake probably has an awesome decked out enclosure that’s themed all spooky-like. they’d probably have more than one snake too bc let’s be real, snakes are so fun and cool.

betas:

birds! especially talkative birds! betas would love to just sit with them and have tons of conversations and teach them to say new things. imagine a beta walking around with a parrot or little parakeet or cockatiel on their shoulder? 🥺 my heart !!! their birds would only sleep in a cage at night, bc the rest of the day they’re just hanging out. they’d probably hand build them an epic cage too.

hamsters! for whatever reason i am feeling that betas would be drawn to hamsters! they are so tiny and cute. i could totally see a beta being like “psst, wanna see what i’ve got?” and pulling a hamster out of their pocket. it would totally help them attract omegas, who would be all like “OMG!!! A BABY!!! ITS SO TINY!!!!” and like... YES. also, they’d find such joy in decorating and designing a massive enclosure just for their little buddy.

rats! just like hamsters i feel like betas would just love rodents in general? rats and betas to me are a lot alike, in that they are very curious and smart, inquisitive and always wanting to know more. they also love to explore, and i could totally see a beta with their little rat buddy exploring new places. their rat would have a tiny harness and omg 🥺 !! it would just be so cute seeing them walk together and explore new things.

frogs! betas are definitely frog people, they would love making little hats for their frog and building them an awesome enclosure. they would love blogging about their frog or posting cute pictures of them on instagram! they’d probably have a whole youtube channel dedicated to their frog if i’m being entirely honest lol!

omegas:

cats! i definitely see omegas as more cat-like in general and i think they’d mesh best with kitty friends. cats are very snuggly and would appreciate a cozy nest, to be curled up at the omega’s side as they read a book or play a video game. they’re pretty laid back and don’t require as much upkeep, but for me, i find cats to be very playful and loving! they’re a little purr machine too- and when an omega and a kitty are laying together, believe me when i say they’ll definitely be purring along with each other... like how sweet is that 🥺!! omegas like to play, and i feel like cats are a good balance between playful and peaceful, which is great for an omega.

bunnies! i think omegas would also be really drawn to a cute and tiny pet that requires a lot of care. omegas like to care for others, so an animal like this which takes a lot of work would be great! plus bunnies can be really cuddly and playful too! they’d more than likely let them free roam and would take lots of pride in decorating the house for their bunny, or bunny proofing it. they’d treat them like their lil baby and take super cute pictures of their bun. also, omegas are similar to bunnies in the way of their sensitives and softness, so i think they’d just genuinely mesh well.

geckos! omegas are drawn to cute things. and what’s cuter than a gecko? or any tiny lizard as a matter of fact? i mean come on!!!! they’re so tiny and adorable! omegas love pets they can hold, so as long as their lizard doesn’t mind being held sometimes, they’re super happy with one. they might be squicked out about the bug part (for some lizards), but they still really enjoy having them as a pet. they’ll most definitely show it off. they’ll probably sit there watching the lil thing all day long with just an “owo” face, so enthralled with its cuteness and little activities.

guinea pigs! tbh i think omegas would be really comforted by those soft little squeaky noises that guinea pigs make. guinea pigs are very similar to omegas too in their shyness and such, so i think it would be easiest for a guinea pig and an omega to become friends and trust each other. their guinea pigs would be so pampered and loved, and have places to hide all over their house!

[brandstifter-sys]

🐾 - What pet do you think each of the sides would have?

Let’s start with the obvious

Patton would have a frog and a puppy or two (dozen) or maybe a hypoallergenic cat. He would love all the cute fluffy animals and would want to take care of them all, but he doesn’t have the space or know-how for some.

Janus would have a snake, but he also seems like the type to have a cat or a gerbil, or a mouse. Obviously he would keep his snake away from them. He would probably get a kick out of having a rodent scurrying around his desk while he does some work, or snuggling in an old pair of gloves. 

Virgil would have (does in canon) a tarantula, probably a pinktoe female cuz they’re chill, probably a desert blonde too, and a blue one, just give him spiders. I can also see him with a chameleon or a guinea pig. He’d definitely have a ferret, something that’s as feral as he is, probably with like a panda coloring. If bats were good house pets and not belfry dwellers, I could see him liking bats.

Logan would have some kind of fish

Now for the tough ones:

Roman probably has like a bunch of pets in the imagination, like too many to name. Like Barbie only princely. Dogs, cats, horses, birds, a micro pig, chickens, cows, a hamster, just to name a few. He would love them all to death, but the one pet that would stand out would be a phoenix. It’s just a great symbol for him, fight me.

Remus, well, if we wanna skip any and all zombie pets, would still have a lot and may that shouldn’t be pets. Of course there’s the obvious kraken, possums, raccoons, bats, black cats, and at least one horse, because c’mon they’re epic and it’s the imagination. But he is particularly fond of rodents, rats, gerbils, hamsters, ferrets, chinchillas. He has a ferret with dark fur under its eyes that made a nest out of Virgil’s old hoodie. Shh

[dohmaverse]

Time for oc pet post (stratah edition)

Xanthi & melahn: there is definitely some kind of royal menagerie full of weird critters. Probably mostly populated with animals people offer to nix as gifts. Just fuckin unicorns & goats & exotic birds & shit. Melahn HAS to have a jaguar or something. Might possibly be his familiar. I mean familiars are kinda archaic but he's a biologist & a soulcrafter its kinda his niche as a mage & also very sexy of him

Maurice: idk does michael count? Probably had a dog when he was younger & loved it more than anything else in his life but he's really not home often enough to justify owning a creature for companionship

Kayto: definitely has a pet for her own sanity but i am having trouble picturing what it would be? A cat? A ferret? Fish? Bird?? Maybe she just chills in the menagerie but i feel like she would want something of her own

August: no pets, her living quarters are full of delicate equipment she doesnt want anything to chew on

Innit: his mom has cats & possibly a chinchilla. He cleans up after them & will tolerate them but tbh he hates animals

Silky: keeps snails, maybe frogs. Fascinated by the slimey

Cadence & Darren: Darren keeps a fish tank, they are super soothing to watch/ take care of. Kinda like gardening but with more white noise. Cadence enjoys them too but its much more Darren's thing.

Yvette: does lin count

Silvia & hands: no pets because silvia has mixed feelings about pets as a concept & also hands just...would be so bad at pets. She WOULD try to fight them.

[c0smicsalt]

all the pet asks :3c

🐾 25 pet asks

   ...The worst.

dog - would you consider yourself loyal still to your best friend from two years ago?

   Honestly, as long as they aren’t someone who’s hurt me before... I’d really welcome anyone back from my past. I’m just someone who does their best to be friendly and kind as much as I can to those who I meet, so...

   Yeah!!!

cat - do you bite your nails?

   Too much. I think I was biting them earlier today, actually.

hamster - what’s your favourite sport?

   I don’t even really like sports!!! At all! The closest thing I’ve got is soccer and hockey respect. That’s....about it.

rabbit - favourite vegetable?

   Hmm.... Would it be too stereotypical for the animal-ask to say carrots? Cause I’ve loved those since childhood; ranch dressing ‘nd carrots would never betray me.

fish - when did you learn to swim?

   Fun fact!! I actually don’t remember!!! All I can tell you is I loved to swim with floaties when I was a kid...but then I almost drowned. Either because they were faulty or I took them off and didn’t put them back on, misjudged where I jumped (right where pool slides into the deeper side), and, well....

   I did eventually learn, though. Favorite form of exercise, swimming!

rat - favourite children’s tale?

   Ooooohhh, this is a good one... Hmm..... All I can specifically recount from my childhood is “The Story of Ferdinand”. I could see that red cover in my mind’s eye even now.... What a trip!

mouse - are you more outgoing or shy?

   Shy, by far. Kinda getting better about getting out of my shell, but...shy is still my overwhelming trait. Can’t handle new people, my dudes!!

tortoise - how old are you?

   21! Old enough to drink and old enough to avoid it at every turn, HAH!

gecko - have you ever been rock climbing?

   I have not! Nor do I really want to! The closest I’ve ever been... You know those fake, climbing walls? Well, I do remember an occasion (a festival or something like it) where it looked cool, I wanted to try...barely made it two steps up before I got nervous. Gave me one of those stretchy...yo-yo, spike-ball-things that lit up in a bunch of flashy colors.

   The more you know!

guinea pig - how’s the relationship with your parents?

   Uhhhh, not too stellar, honestly. Stepdad is the worst of it; don’t really like him all that much and I’ll avoid him whenever possible. Might have something to do with him being one of those religious people and believing conspiracy stuff. Mom is...alright; better than stepdad, anyways! Does her best, but.... Eh, she’s a mom, whattya gonna do?

   My dad is...well, he’s a mess, but I still love him all the same. Him and mom are the reason I love games and gaming so much! I wouldn’t have a 3DS if it wasn’t for him!! He’s a really cool guy, but.... Oft out of luck.

ferret - what’s one thing you cannot stop buying?

   Fandom merch, LMAO. I simply cannot resist buying that for cosplay or this thing cause my fave character!!! Maybe this thing, cause- pffftt- why not, it says Limited Edition, so--

   I wanna get into buying clothes more, though. I wanna dress super cute in the future, so-! Gotta live up to that, yo! (I don’t know how to fashion, though, so wish me luck. :’> )

hedgehog - favourite wild animal?

   Wolves and snow leopards! ....Any big cat, actually, too.

gerbil - what do you like most about your physical appearance?

   I almost didn’t know what to say for this, but then I remembered! I was just talking about how proud of my eyes I am... I think they’re actually pretty wonderful and I wanted my mom to see if she could get pictures of them sometime~

budgie - do you sing in the shower?

   If I know the song? Yeah!!! Hell, I’ll even hum along if I’m listening to some video game music... I love singing in the shower. :3c

tarantula - when was the last time you hugged someone?

   Pretty recently...? I think? I get hugged quite a bit, but returning hugs is less my thing. I’m just...still super awkward about being clingy, even though I absolutely want to be clingy.

snake - do you enjoy horror movies?

   Uhhhhh for the most part, no. Big no-no. Horror movies will either make me question my life or get terrified, so-!!!!! No thanks!!!!!!!!

chicken - favourite cake flavour?

   CHOCOLATE. But there’s also this mint-chocolate cake that I like....and I’m really loving black forest cake these days~!!

chameleon - if you had the ability to change one aspect of yourself, what would it be?

   Hhhmmm... That’s a good one.... I’m somewhere between general appearance...or an aspect of my personality? Namely, my depression. :/

   But I’ve lately wanted to be more...flexible with my appearance, too. Specifically with my hair, but there’s a few other things I wish I could change, too..... Make me like Tonks from Harry Potter please.

frog - are you good at any sports?

   Ooooohhh, definitely not. Well, maybe, but I prefer not to do them, if at all possible. Getting hit in the face with a soccer ball and basketball on two different occasions kinda does that to you.

stick insect - fast runner or slow runner?

   Very fast runner. Sprinting is the best! Wears me tf out, but I enjoy the rush.

centipede - how old is your oldest living relative?

   ....You know, I’m...not sure....... I live in my own world, majority of the time.

snail - do you salt fries before eating them?

   I don’t eat fries unless they’re salted, so.... Yeah. (But there has been a few occasions where I eat them plain just cause I’m that hungry. Otherwise, no. Salty fries forever.)

parrot - favourite colour?

   I don’t really have one anymore!! Uh, but I guess I like green, white, black, and red...?

chinchilla - night owl or early bird? or both?

   Night owl waaaayyy more than anything else. It’s practically how I live my life!

crab - what’s the best thing about the beach?

   Hmm.... The view and the sounds, probably. Being at the beach can really be so pretty and I love the sound of the rolling waves...... It’s all so nice~!

[monsterlovinghours]

Of the pet-asks... EVERYTHING! or just the ones you most want to answer ( ´ᆺ` )

I LOVE YOU WOW i highkey really love it when I get to answer all of them aaaah 😍😍😍dog - would you consider yourself loyal still to your best friend from two years ago?Absolutely! Both of them.cat - do you bite your nails?I did when I was younger, but I thankfully broke the habit.hamster - what’s your favourite sport?Idk, I'm not really into sports. If I had to pick one, I'd say hockey.rabbit - favourite vegetable?I actually really love lima beans. fish - when did you learn to swim?When I was like...six, I think? I took swimming lessons every summer when I was a kid.rat - favourite children’s tale?God, do I have to pick one? Umm...the Princess and the Pea.mouse - are you more outgoing or shy?Shy, definitely. I have very little confidence and a whole buttload of anxiety.tortoise - how old are you?26!gecko - have you ever been rock climbing?No, oh god I do not possess the upper body strength to haul my fat ass up a cliff.guinea pig - how’s the relationship with your parents?Pretty good! My stepdad is amazing, and while my mom and I aren't as close as I'd like, we're still friends and I like spending time with her.ferret - what’s one thing you cannot stop buying?Makeup, God help me. At least I don't even buy the expensive stuff.hedgehog - favourite wild animal?Owls, probablygerbil - what do you like most about your physical appearance?My eyes. I've always thought I have very kind eyes.budgie - do you sing in the shower?Oh my god yes. Though to be fair, I sing everywhere.tarantula - when was the last time you hugged someone?Couple of weeks ago when we went to visit my friend in Lincoln.snake - do you enjoy horror movies?OH MY SWEET JESUS LORD YESchicken - favourite cake flavour?Red Velvetchameleon - if you had the ability to change one aspect of yourself, what would it be?My body type. Like half of my self esteem issues would be solved if I liked what I saw in the mirror.frog - are you good at any sports?When I still played, I was pretty good at volleyball.stick insect - fast runner or slow runner?How about no runner? centipede - how old is your oldest living relative?Liiiiiiiiike 97?snail - do you salt fries before eating them?Sometimes. parrot - favourite colour?Purple!chinchilla - night owl or early bird? or both?Night owl, definitely.crab - what’s the best thing about the beach?The waves. The constant motion, the sound, the coolness of the water. It's mesmerizing.

[vickypritchardblog]

Research 4 - Isle of Wight Zoo (ECTIP)

https://isleofwightzoo.com/ 

The Isle of Wight Zoo, is unique for its location as it is found inside of an old fort, known as ‘Sandown Fort’, which is based along the Isle of Wight coastline. The zoo was once family owned, but recently it became part of a charity, ‘The Wildheart Trust’ which helps “make a meaningful impact on the health of the natural world while actively improving the well-being of animals in human care.” The zoo has a variety of animals within it, but they specialise in tigers and lemurs, as stated on their website. 

I have decided to do some research on the Isle of Wight zoo to see what animals and interactive interpretations/experiences they already have to offer their visitors.  Animals;  Knowing what animals the zoo has is important to our group as we need to know what our interactive interpretation is going to be based on.  Animals the zoo has to offer are as followed; 

BEES: - Bees 

BIRDS (X3 species):  - Tawny Owl  - Ducks - Cockatoo

FARM ANIMALS (X5 species): - Goat - Pig - Ferret - Guinea Pig - Rabbit

INVERTEBRATES (X4 species):  - Giant African Land Snail - Giant Millipede  - Malagasy Hissing Cockroach  - Stick Insects 

REPTILES (X6 species): - Royal Python - Corn Snake - Crested Gecko - Madagascan Day Gecko  - Standing Day Gecko - Spur-thighed Tortoise 

AMPHIBIANS (X2 species): - Mossy Frog - White’s Tree Frog

FISH (X1 species): - Koi 

LEMURS (X7 species): - Black and White Ruffed Lemurs - Ring Tailed Lemurs  - White Fronted Brown Lemurs  - Red Ruffed Lemurs  - Mongoose Lemurs  - Black Lemurs  - Grey Mouse Lemurs 

LIONS (X1 species):  - African Lions 

MONKEYS (X4 species):  - Vervet Monkeys  - Spider Monkeys  - Capuchin Monkeys  - Common Marmoset 

SMALL MAMMALS (X8 species):  - Meerkats - Wallaby - Coati  - Raccoon  - Porcupine  - Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec  - African Hedgehog  - European Hedgehog 

TIGERS (Breed Not Specified On Website):  - Tigers 

Notes: 

Interactive Experiences currently at the Zoo; 

A VISIT WITH OUR PRIDE -  Experience a private tour behind the scenes of the African Lion enclosure at the Isle of Wight Zoo. It is a unique 30 minute opportunity for amazing, up close photography of the lions. The minimum age requirement to take part in this experience is 16, the prices are; £50 for one person, £90 for two people or £130 for three people. 

JUNIOR KEEPER EXPERIENCE -  A three hour experience made for children aged between 8-16 years old. This is an opportunity for children to take part in an active role as a zoo keeper, and help with everyday activities such as; cleaning, feeding, food preparation, animal care and enrichment. Adults must accompany their children but are not allowed to take part, they can take photographs however. Prices are; £150 for one child or £225 for two. 

LEMUR EXPERIENCE -  This is the chance to interact with lemurs at the Isle of Wight Zoo. Lemurs are one of the most popular animals at the zoo, and this experience allows people to help feed them and watch them climb - in some cases they may climb on the visitors. The experience costs £50 per person and lasts 45 minutes, you must be 8 years old or over to participate - children must be accompanied by a paying adult. 

TIGER EXPERIENCE -  A 30 minute tour of the tiger enclosure, where visitors will learn about each tiger and their story. This is a unique opportunity to take photographs of the tigers up close. You must be 16 years old or over to attend and the experience costs £50 per person. 

UNDERSTANDING BIG CATS -  The ultimate experience for cat lovers - visit tigers behind the scenes and learn a deeper understanding of their activities, behaviour, adaption and conservation. Allowing visitors to gain more knowledge of the rescue and rehabilitation work undertaken by the trust at the zoo. The experience costs £100 for one person and you must be aged 16 or over to attend - those under 18 must be accompanied by a paying adult. 

ZOOKEEPER FOR A DAY -  A full day experience - 10:00am - 16:00pm, of being an assistant zoo keeper, helping to clean, prepare food, take care of the animals and help with enrichment. Although the animals mentioned on the website are not definite, there is a possibility to work with; meerkats, lemurs and tigers. The visitors are not allowed to pick what animals they work with/look after, it is decided for them on the day. You must be 18 or over to participate and it costs £195 for one person. 

New ideas  These experiences are not free and cost a lot. I think the zoo would benefit greatly from an interactive interpretation that is free to the visitors, that is engaging and informative. Something for young children would also be beneficial that they can interact with, as the experiences that are already offered by the zoo, are to children 8 years and older. 

What next?  Next our group is going to create a mind map, brainstorming all of our ideas we have for this project. Once we have all of our ideas, we will choose the best idea that will be effective for the zoo and will be the most beneficial to make based on our groups skills and knowledge. 

[variantia]

🦁 for ALL of them because favorite animal is the most important question anyone could ask, ever, clearly

Symbol Muse Asks | accepting!

🦁= My muse’s favourite animal

(( *cRACKS MY KNUCKLES I actually don’t usually do asks with more than three muses but this is a question of the utmost importance ))

          ❝ Man, this is embarrassing. I actually have two favorite                 animals… my iguana, Geode, and my snake, Ramen!                  Haha, see what I did? Takin’ the question literally.                  Score one for Big A and her scaly buds! ❞

          ❝ Dunnae, animals aren’t usu’lly fond o’ me in gen’ral.                  Mice aren’t tay bad, Ae guess. ❞

          ❝ Actually… I kind of prefer plants to animals! Heh. Um –                  I guess if I had to pick, I’d pick ladybugs! They’re really                  cute, and it tickles when they walk on you! ❞

          ❝ Ta be ‘onest – starfish. ‘S funny, ain’t it? Bu’ ever since                  I got Braith, ‘ve been seein’ th’ appeal ta li’l geckos like                  ‘im. ❞

          ❝ All the animals on Earth are really interesting. I suppose                  my favorite would be… hummingbirds, I think they’re call-                  ed? They’re so tiny, but so fast…! ❞

          ❝ I don’t really know enough about Earth’s fauna to have                  a good frame of reference. But my pet axolotl, Nova, is                  very adorable… so… my answer would be axolotls. ❞

          ❝ Don’t actually have one. Unless Pearls count. ... Do                  Pearls count?? ❞

          ❝ Dogs, of course!! More specifically, pugs – like my                  sweetheart Butterscotch! ❞

          ❝ I’ve… actually never thought about that before. Uhm…                  snails are kind of cute? ❞

          ❝ Horses – mechanical and biological. ❞

          ❝ Bats! It’s kind of stereotypical, haha, but it’s the truth.                  I like rats, too! ❞

          ❝ I’m… not much of an animal person. There’s a kind of                  bird that visits me in the winter sometimes… a snow                  bunting. They’re actually beautiful! So… I guess those? ❞

          ❝ My absolute favorites are rabbits! They’re just so sweet                  and adorable. ❞

          ❝ Do you even have to ask? Ponies!! ❞

          ❛ I don’t really have a favorite! There’s something cool a-                 bout all kinds of animals. ❜

          ❝ My definite favorite are frogs. But I really like owls, too. ❞

          ❝ My favorite animal… is Gilbird!! He’s almost as awesome                  as me! ❞

          ❝ Definitely. Not. Birds. I don’t like animals at all. Especially                  not birds. ❞

          ❝ Cats! They’re so cute and sweet, right? ❞

          ❝ Uh. Cats, I guess? Tigers, specifically, but… my little                  tabby runt acts like he’s a tiger, so… ❞

          ❝ Ah… all animals are great. I love every kind of animal,                  really. I guess birds and squirrels are my favorites, just                  because… it’s easiest for me to talk to them. ❞

          ❝ Fish. And birds. I heard of a thing called a flying fish;                  that sounds pretty cool. Right now I’m kind of sick of                  water and stuff, though, so I’m just putting all my fo-                  cus on my pet macaw, Ran. ❞

          ❝ Uhhhh… honestly I’d say Bitties, but they’re not really                  animals, hah! I just love them so much. When I was                  younger, I had a hamster, so… hamsters? ❞

          ❝ Chameleons. I like their eyes. ❞

          ❝ Octopuses! … Octopi?? Oh, and SHARKS! I like the feel                  of octopus tentacles… and sharks are just… cute. ❞

          ❝ Rabbits, for sure. But bears are cool, too. I’m not GREAT                  with real animals, sooooo… I’ll stick to my animatronic                  buddies here. ❞

          ❝ This… may be a little surprising, but… I actually like butter-                  flies. Not moths – butterflies. ❞

          ❝ I don’t know enough about Earth to have a favorite animal,                  unfortunately… ❞

          ❝ Fish tend to be my favorite… mostly because they’re                  quiet where other animals can be awfully noisy. I will say,                  however, Citrine’s dog and Amethyst’s reptiles have                  grown on me a bit. ❞

          ❝ You have to ask?? FERRETS! Not to brag or anything,                  but I’m the best ferret mom ever! ❞

          ❝ Goats are really cool! We have a goat on Sealand. Some-                  times I get to ride him, and he doesn’t even mind! ❞

          ❝ Oh, birds are really cute. When I was little, my mama                  had a parakeet who’d sit on your shoulder and give you                  bird kisses and sing all day long. ❞

          ❝ In the real world? Nothing. But in the Nightmare Realm,                  the eyebats. They’re actually pretty cute and sweet                  when they’re not turning people to stone. ❞

          ❝ Mongooses, all the way! They’re so cool. Snakes are also                  very interesting, too… in a scientific curiosity sort of way! ❞

          ❝ All the animals on Earth are fascinating! Honestly, I just                  love anything that’s alive! ❞

          ❝ Frogs! ❞

          ❝ I don’t think I have a favorite. Hn – well. Anything two-                  headed is pretty interesting to me? ❞

          ❝ Definitely frogs. ❞

          ❝ Ohoho, any colorful animal is bound to get my attention! ❞

          ❝ Geez, uh… sea anemones are animals, right? I like those.                  An’ cats, too. ❞

          ❝ R–R–a———bbits. ❞

          ❝ I like all kinds of animals! Dogs, cats, snakes, birds, fish… ❞

          ❝Huh… do I have a favorite?? Uhhh… koi fish! They’re cute! ❞

          ❝ Psh. I don’t like animals, an’ animals don’t like me. ❞

          ❝ Oh, oh!! Hamsters! I really like the hamsters! Oh,                  bunny rabbits are cute, too, though… ❞

          ❝ Hehe, bunnies, of course! ❞

          ❝ Snakes. Definitely, definitely snakes. ❞

          ❝ LIZARDS!!! Lizards are the best and I’ll punch any-                  one who says otherwise!! ❞

          ❝ Uh, if I had to pick… pigs are pretty cool, actually.                  Lived on a farm when I was younger; pigs are real-                  ly sweet and smart. ❞

          ❝ Oh, geez, I dunno… one time, Sour Cream brought                  home a hermit crab from the beach an’ we made ‘im                  a pet. I liked that little guy. So, uh, crabs, I guess. ❞

          ❝ SPIDERS!!! ❞

          ❝ U-Um… I don’t think I have any f-favorites… ani-                  mals don’t really l-like me… ❞

          ❝ Believe it or not, turtles and tortoises! There are a                  few desert varieties, and I actually still have the                  turtle that I got for a pet as a child. Her name’s                  Sherī, and, hah, that’s what I get for letting Karura                  name her! ❞

          ❝ … Ugh. None. Animals are organic, and they’re all                  disgusting. ❞

          ❝ Ehm… b – birds? Is that what they’re called? ❞

[whatsjungkooking]

25 pet asks!!!!!

🐾 25 pet asks

dog - would you consider yourself loyal still to your best friend from two years ago? - yes definitely

cat - do you bite your nails? - never

hamster - what’s your favourite sport? - to play, badminton but i like nearly every sport

rabbit - favourite vegetable? - broccoli 

fish - when did you learn to swim? - omg i have no idea HAHA

rat - favourite children’s tale? - i havent actually thought if i have ever had a favourite, i dont mind any anyway

mouse - are you more outgoing or shy? - around friends outgoing sometimes a bit quiet, around people that ive just met/dont know or in areas i dont know, very much shy

tortoise - how old are you? - 20 THATS SO WEIRD TO WRITE DOWN

gecko - have you ever been rock climbing? - not proper outdoors stuff, just in a sports hall

guinea pig - how’s the relationship with your parents? - the best

ferret - what’s one thing you cannot stop buying? - not one thing but clooooothes, maybe tshirts?

hedgehog - favourite wild animal? - panda

gerbil - what do you like most about your physical appearance? - my back still lol the top bit and my arms

budgie - do you sing in the shower? - if there is nobody home yes

tarantula - when was the last time you hugged someone? - yesterday?

snake - do you enjoy horror movies? - secretly yes...

chicken - favourite cake flavour? - chocolate

chameleon - if you had the ability to change one aspect of yourself, what would it be? - always my confidence

frog - are you good at any sports? - badminton mainly

stick insect - fast runner or slow runner? - fast

centipede - how old is your oldest living relative? - i have no clue

snail - do you salt fries before eating them? - i only have fries when i go to TGIs or nandos and theyre already salted so, usually tho no because i was brought up with having as little salt as possible

parrot - favourite colour? - blue

chinchilla - night owl or early bird? or both? - a tiny bit of both but more so early bird

crab - what’s the best thing about the beach? - the sounds and smells

[askkrenko]

Why Aetherborn are what’s wrong with Magic: the Gathering

or

A discussion of creature types and their role

Screw this card in particular.

This is a stupid card that should not exist, not because I don’t feel that Design and Development made a bad call in specifically creating it, but because I feel that Design and Development have consistently made bad decisions throughout Magic’s lifespan that necessitated this worthless piece of junk taking up one of the rare slots in Aether Revolt.

So what do I think this bad decision is? Adding Aetherborn to the game.

I hate “Aetherborn.” This is not to say I hate the race; they are a unique and interesting people. This is not to say I hate their design; they look cool and make for a non-standard black race. This is not even to say that I hate the name; Aetherborn is a cool and evocative word. What I hate is this. Right here.

I have, in the past, spoken about how 234 is too many creatures types in the game, and that was shortly before Aetherborn existed. While 235 is not, specifically, my tipping point, the introduction of a specific lord for this creature type of a mere sixteen members exemplifies my problem.

The first question to ask here is “Why do we have creature types?” When Magic: the Gathering was first created, eighty eight creatures had creature types, and the rest were artifact creatures. Most of these types did literally nothing as far as gameplay was concerned. In Alpha, only Wall, Goblin, Merfolk, and Zombie had any mechanical effect. The rest were effectively dead text on a card. Still, the design was clear from the start. Any creature’s type could begin to matter in an expansion, and it wasn’t long before other types began to count.

The problem, ultimately, is that in the vast majority of games, a creature’s type simply doesn’t matter. Tarmogoyf would be just as good were it a Bear or a Goat, and even Birds of Paradise almost never gets to take advantage of its particularly common creature type of Bird. Still, these words are on nearly every creature printed throughout the history of Magic: the Gathering, so what decides what creature types get benefits and what don’t?

Having some pushed per set and others not works fine for a set, a block, or even a standard, but Wizards has realized that players want lords for every creature type. Thus, they attempt to include a small bit of tribal support in every set. While this works fine for common creature types, like the Spirit and Zombie support in Innistrad, or even the mechanically unique types like Ally and Werewolf, there’s also a tendency to include tribal support for creatures when it’s their “best chance.” This includes creatures like Ishkanah in Innistrad, but also Midnight Entourage in Aether Revolt.  The problem is, with only forty five spiders, spread across the history of Magic, and only sixteen aetherborn (with a significant wait likely before any more), these cards’ tribal elements are too small for any format. Ishkanah, at least, is self contained. She is strong enough to see significant play as the only Spider in her deck. Midnight Entourage will live or die based on the strength of the other fifteen Aetherborn, and by that I mean it will die. It will die horribly, only to be used in janky casual decks and Commander decks that don’t realize Yahenni doesn’t actually die if you send them back to the command zone.

Aetherborn having a lord, however, is not the problem. It’s a symptom. The problem is that, unlike Lorwyn’s Flamekin, Aetherborn have their own creature type. If Aetherborn were instead Elementals, not only would the Aetherborn lord not have been necessarily stuffed into Kaladesh, but it would have applied to twenty one additional creatures in the current standard, plus an additional three hundred sixty creatures (and many more tokens) in older formats.

Aetherborn isn’t the only culprit, of course. With two hundred thirty five creature types, the chances of all of them mattering mechanically is particularly low, and I’d argue that any creature type that isn’t mechanically relevant or likely to be mechanically relevant needs to exist in a broader category. Some of these categories would be very broad, certainly, while others could remain narrow.

As an example of what I’m speaking of, let’s look at everyone’s favorite creature type: cat. There are 140 Cats in Magic: the Gathering, a mixture of cat people and cat animals, as well as a number of cards that create cat tokens. This is particularly high for a creature type that not a single card in over twenty years cares about, and much higher than the Aetherborn count. In addition, there are 71 Hounds, still without a card that cares about them. While I’m willing to accept that dogs and cats are very different animals in real life, do the rules of Magic really need to separate them? Could they not both count as “Beasts?” What makes Chartooth Cougar and Felidar Cub different from other Cats? Why can Skirk Outrider ride a Felidar Cub, but not a Fleecemane Lion?

It’s times like this I look to other TCGs for answers, and one that I used to play offers a much cleaner method of handling creature types. Yu-Gi-Oh! Effectively gives every monster two types: an Attribute (Dark, Earth, Fire, Light, Water, or Wind, which seem analogous to color, but functionally just work like a creature type), and a Type (Aqua, Beast, Beast-Warrior, Dinosaur, Dragon, Fairy, Fiend, Fish, Insect, Machine, Plant, Psychic, Pyro, Reptile, Rock, Sea Serpent, Spellcaster, Thunder, Warrior, Winged Beast, Wyrm, and Zombie.) Obviously, this limited list has some issues, but the simple fact is that such a short list means there are cards that care about every single Attribute and Type in the game, without the need for “choose a type” cards.  (Note: Some particularly special cards have their own unique attributes and types, but it’s a very small number.)

Last time I brought up the topic of creature types, I went through a brief list of ones like Graveborn and Efreet that could easily be folded into something adjacent to them. This time I want to talk more about casting wide nets. I’m going to talk about a few specific creature types, identifying the good and the bad.

“Bird” is a perfect creature type. It casts a wide enough net to capture over two hundred cards, appears on every world, but isn’t so large as to take more than its fair share. It’s usually obvious what is or is not a bird, and any given would could conceivably ‘push’ birds. There’s no plane where a few strong bird cards would be out of place. I’m actually a bit surprised that there are only two hundred and ten birds, though the fact that nearly all of them have flying limits design space slightly.

“Soldier” is a very good creature type, but its net could be wider. While a Soldier is definitely a concrete thing that shows up everywhere, the Warrior creature type could conceivably include all Soldiers, Barbarians, Samurai, and Knights. The sheer volume of these (over 500 soldiers and 500 warriors, plus 200 knights) would make up for a significant portion of Magic’s 8727 creatures, but that would merely ensure that support for this conglomerate type could show up in every set, and no set would ever risk being without. The bigger issue is that it’s not instinctively clear what is a Soldier, what is a Warrior, and what is a Knight. With such large numbers on both, keeping Soldier and Warrior separate is fine, but I do feel that Soldier should absorb Knight and Samurai.

“Goblin” feels like a perfect creature type, but that’s partially because it’s incredibly pushed. There are actually much fewer goblins than there are of many less popular creature types, but goblins have gotten more tribal support than any creature type other than slivers and perhaps zombies. Folding Orcs (and Kobolds) into Goblins would go a long way to support those tribes and encourage Orcs on more worlds. The Goblin type is intentionally vague on Wizards’ part, with creatures ranging from Akki to Boggarts, so using Goblin as a creature type for a few more goblin-esque things would make those things more viable.

Here’s a list of some creature types that are real world mammals: Antelope, Ape, Aurochs, Badger, Bat, Bear, Boar, Camel, Caribou, Cat, Elk, Elephant, Ferret, Fox, Goat, Hippo, Horse, Hound, Human… And there’s plenty more after that. I’m not suggesting these all be the same creature type, especially not Human, but if the cards are never going to make us care if something’s an Antelope, a Caribou, or an Elk, why are these separate types? Ungulate may be a word not enough people know, but I propose real world mammals be divided into Humans, Ungulates (which include antelopes, aurochs, boar, camel, caribou, elephant, elk, goat, hippo, and horse), and Beasts (basically anything else. Cat? Beast. Ferret? Beast. Squirrel? Beast.) This would either require Ainok and Leonin to get their own type (something that included them, minotaurs, viashino, and the weird Monger things from Mercadia) or to just be Beast with a class. Either would be fine. There are only 342 beasts.

While on the topic, we only need “Reptile,” and “Amphibian.” While I respect wanting to separate snakes from lizards, or frogs from salamanders, there’s just not enough of any of them printed for this to be useful. The total number of creatures I’d propose folding into the Reptile type is still less than the number of cats there already are. Viashino could be Reptile or whatever term is used for humanoid beasts.

And then there’s Undead. Creature types include Zombie, Skeleton, Specter, Wraith, Vampire, and other forms of undead, and the simple fact is: this doesn’t help anyone. Zombies get the lion’s share of tribal support, with Vampires getting some, and the other types never receiving any. While I accept that, at this point, combining Vampires and Zombies into one tribe would be a mess, having all Undead being labeled as Undead would make things easier on everyone. Having Vampire still be a creature type would be fine, especially with this then granting the ability to differentiate between the living vampires (Innistrad, Zendikar) with the actual undead ones seen on most planes. This would have the added effect of making the true Undead Vampires stronger by being able to fit in either tribe.

I will say that I’m fine with creature types used as flags for specific mechanics in a set, like “Flagbearer” or “Slivers.” Neither of these creature types would work properly if there were a slew of random creatures that shared their type. Similarly, some types like “Coward” exist to make a mechanic work. This isn’t the cleanest, but it’s fine.

I could go on and through the whole of the creature types, explaining how to best combine them and how to simplify them down to something both reasonable and useful, but I think I’ve made my point. There are just too many creature types, and Aetherborn not being elementals makes them worse cards and does a disservice to the elementals, who have been here the whole time and haven’t gotten their fair share of tribal support.