#given that for many animals on this planet the female of the species is usually larger than the male

[brothermouse]

Bro u cannot hit me with ideas like Femboy Adam AND God maybe hatched from an egg in the same post????? I feel like I've been shot.

Excuse me, I'm a child of God, I can do whatever the h*ck I want. Premortal me fought and died for my right to choose to assault you psychically.

[sinisterexaggerator]

Weequay religion:

Here are some things I just learned today, and that I thought I would share! Some others are things I made up myself, which are labeled as such.

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Sant was the Weequay religion. It was complex, with many deities. Among them were the moon-god Quay and the thunder god Am-Shak. Quay was their chief god: indeed, "Weequay" translated to "Follower of Quay". Each of their cities was centered around a shrine of black, polished stone, known as a thal, where the Weequay made offerings of food and valuables. Their religious code prohibited building thal off Sriluur, so off-world devotees were obligated to substitute animal sacrifices (usually large animals like banthas). A holiday devoted to Quay was the Month of Plenty.

Main deities: CANON/LEGENDS

Sri'quay was one of the deities of the Weequay religion. She was described as "the Mother," and created a number of children, including Luur, the great warrior.[1]

Sri'quay'va was one of the deities of the Weequay religion. He was described as "the Father," and upset the balance in the heavens by creating a number of worshippers. When Sri'quay, "the Mother," created her own children, Sri'quay'va because jealous, and created his own child, Quay'va, who had power over fire.[1]

Luur was one of the deities of the Weequay religion. He was believed to have been created by the goddess Sri'quay after Sri'quay'va upset the balance of heaven by creating a number of worshippers. Eventually, Luur was challenged by Quay'va, a creation of Sri'quay'va, and killed.[1]

Ruul was the life goddess and the twin sister of the warrior Luur. She helped to watch the prison of Quay'va.[1]

Uuru is the water goddess. The bandigo are said to be her servants who live and gather at a freshwater lake in Temptation Canyon.

Am-Shak was the thunder god of the Weequay religion, Sant. He was the brother of Quay and helped to watch over the prison of Quay'va.[1]

Quay'va was, according to Weequay mythology, a female warrior priestess who was created by the god Sri'quay'va and given power over fire. She killed the warrior Luur before being imprisoned by Quay.[1]

Raquor was a deity worshipped by Weequay and is named the “night god.” Raquor'daan took their name after it, as this God was supposed to take the form of a Dark Wolf when he traversed the wastes of the planet Sriluur.[2] Raquor was the brother of Quay and helped to watch over the prison of Quay'va.[1]

Quay was the moon god in the Weequay religion. He also served as the chief Weequay god, and shared his name with the moon of Sriluur, the Weequay homeworld, and was known for killing the warrior priestess Quay'va.[1] The name for the Weequay species means "follower of Quay.”  Weequay took to worshiping a child's toy which generated random answers to questions posed to it, simply on the grounds that it was small, round and white and bore a passing resemblance to the moon. They believed that Quay inhabited each sphere and was replying to their questions.

Main Deities (NOT CANON / MADE UP BY ME FOR PURPOSES OF FIC)

Rauk is the god of Death, misfortune, and bad luck. Hondo is born under his sign, but instead of it being an ill-omen, he is granted immunity from these dangers and is protected by the god.

Liiaon is the goddess of agriculture, and sacrifices are made in her honor to be blessed with a bountiful harvest. Weequay women also pray to her when they are trying to become pregnant/have their eggs fertilized, as to have many children is common among their kind as they are a clan based society and work together in tight-knit groups.

Lytenae is the goddess of wind, air, and wisdom. She is the favorite sister of the moon god Quay, as his priests often pray to her in turn, hoping to gain her favor and be blessed with the fundamental knowledge to answer all of life’s hard questions, such as its meaning and purpose.

Known Holidays:

The Month of Plenty was a Weequay holy season that honored the moon god Quay. Temples on the planet Sriluur which were dedicated to Quay had an open skylight in their roof, which allowed Weequay priests to track the moon's progress during the month.

Interesting tidbit to work into my “canon”:

The Thal where Weequay lay their offerings is black obsidian. Luur’s fatal wound poured BLACKENED BONEGLASS. To me, this proves that I am correct in saying Weequay blood is black, like oil.

[clonedchaos]

Happy Sea Otter Awareness Week! 🎉 🦦

Who knew? It’s Sea Otter Awareness Week!

I’m honored to share a birthday week with one of my favorite animal species, and I wanted to take a bit of time to yap about them— I’m an animal caretaker at heart, what can I say?

So what are Sea Otters exactly? They’re carnivores for one, mostly preying on hard mussels, crustaceans, and even urchins. They’re intelligent enough to use tools such as rocks or their sharpened canines to break open these hardy delicacies. Have you seen the action before? It’s adorable!

Pretty practical for an animal without opposable thumbs, huh?

Speaking of their prey, did you know sea otters are actually known as a keystone species? Kelp forests thrive in the ocean, producing around 50% of the earth’s oxygen! Cool, right? Unfortunately, purple urchins love to chow down on the bases of kelp, causing them to break off and die. These forests provide shelter, oxygen, and food for its diverse species that call it home. Without them, the ecosystem itself falls apart.

Fortunately, sea otters find no problem in having an urchin feast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Sea Otters also lack blubber. Instead, they have millions of tiny hairs clustered together to help them thermoregulate their bodies. Their whiskers, called vibrissae, help them detect prey that they might not otherwise see with their eyes. This is due to vibrations in the water.

Sea Otters also give birth to one pup at a time, given the high demands and dangers of the ocean. Fun fact— the mother will sometimes wrap her pup in kelp like a seat belt and leave to find prey. That way the little one won’t wander off and mom knows they’ll be right where she left them.

The bond between mother and pup is strong. They’ll even take in orphans and raise them as their own in rehabilitation scenarios.

Usually, males stay apart from the females, while the females stay with the pups. Sometimes they’ll aggregate in one area and form what we call “rafts”. They hold hands so they don’t float away from one another. :)

You can typically tell females apart from the males if the otter has scratches on her nose. For some reason, the males typically bite the female’s nose for courtship purposes— definitely not a way to get a girlfriend in our society, but it works for the otters I guess.

Sea Otters spend about 10% of their day— or around 2 hours— rubbing oil onto their fur. This oil is made in their sebaceous glands and is completely natural. It serves to keep their fur water proof; the water rolls right off! Many birds have similar behaviors.

Perhaps the most silly fact I learned about them was that sea otters have “armpit pockets” to store extra food in.

Human adaptations are so lame in comparison imo.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be an animal learning session if we didn’t talk about the sad reality of our climate and the planet. Sea Otters are threatened by oil spills, boating accidents, and habitat loss; amongst quite a few others.

With such a rapidly warming climate, toxic algal blooms can spring up on the coasts; in part due to fertilizer runoff entering our oceans. These blooms are toxic to many species, sea otters included. This messes with their neurological functions to the point they forget to do basic necessities to keep themselves alive.

So, do your part to limit your carbon footprint by recycling, eating sustainable fish, using non-chemical fertilizers, keeping our beaches clean, and please DO NOT APPROACH A SEA OTTER!

Yes yes I know they’re adorable, believe me. But it is literally illegal to touch or disturb one. Keep our furry friends safe and admire from a distance.

Enough with the doom and gloom, have some silly little sea otter pictures:

THEY USE THEIR STOMACHS AS TABLES, STOP— 😭😭😭😭😭😭