#how many vegans have abused their meat eating pets by forcing veganism on them? too fucking many

[wolficake]

vegans will tell you youre evil for eating meat and then go home and call themselves alphas online, ive witnessed this firsthand and its the funniest thing

why should you have the right to end an animal's life for a meal that lasts you minutes that you will inevitably forget about

[toytulini]

Aghg one of my fb friends from highschool who i thought was p cool suddenly made one of those….militant vegan posts…“if u still eat meat how can u say u truly LOVE animals?” someone commented “humans are omnivores?” And she was like “how so?” Shes a fucking nurse im just. Aaaaaagjggg. I might try to look up sources and explain to her but i feel this is gonna end up intersecring with fatphobia shit amd she is/was bigger than me, im definitely not fat and i have no fucking clue how to approach the situation of trying to spread body posi education, as a tbin person, specifically to fat/larger ppl with internalized fatphobia? Augh

[weaselbeaselpants]

Shout Out to all the vegans who aren't insane. There's actually a lot of them out there

and I hope they're all having a nice day =)

To be honest, while I'm all for humane farmers (shameless promo for @dairyisntscary, they’re darling and I get to lookat cute cows when I see their blog) but if they made a milk substitute that doesn’t make me sick, I’d be all for quitting dairy. I’d still eat eggs though. My point being:

veganism is not inherently unhealthy, sickly, or even prompted JUST BECAUSE people want to help animals. Some people just honestly like the lifestyle. And good for them.

Vegans and vegetarians should not ever have to feel like they made the wrong decision or that they shouldn’t have meat+dairy eating friends. We can all coexist so long as we all fight cruelty to animals- the road to which is going to involve a LOT of trial and error (and 0 PeTA). The fact is some people (like me) can’t go vegan where other people can’t eat dairy or meat. You shouldn't badger people about the ‘right’ foods that will magically ‘fix’ them. No food does that. Let people live how they want if it isn’t hurting them or others. Don’t EVER shame indie farmers and rescuers for keeping and caring for the animals they love. Alternatively, it’s good to do research and not make blanket statements about how something “can’t be” cruel. ((Ex 1. Sheep don’t shed their wool. It needs to be shorn and most farmers in the US are good about this. Australia and New Zealand’s wool on the other hand? A LOT of abuse goes down there esp with genetically modified animals. Be wary of buying wool from Australia. Ex 2. For all the Joe Exotics and SeaWorld’s of the world, there are absolutely wonderful wildlife sanctuaries and zoos that need our support. Zoos are possibly the one inhumane form of animal husbandry that has evolved to be about the animals and not the people keeping them.)) I get mad for my stupid veggieSis and cool vegan friends when the arbitrary ‘good guy’ in this argument has to be the meat eater. I get mad at people hating Lisa for turning vegetarian in The Simpsons when the episode where she does so is so obviously critical of the meat industry. You guys deserve your representation.

You know what you also deserve? Literally anyone who’s not ThatVeganTeacher.

Katie Karen is the epitome of the worst possible kind of vegan and the reason actually sane vegans don’t feel comfortable sharing their diet/lifestyle. They know people will associate them with Katie. They’ve been hurt too many times by vegans like Katie who shame them for not being vegan “enough” or using her diet -their diet- to trash talk their culture, beliefs, and sexualities.

No nonJew has any right comparing meat industries to the holocaust. If something involving the treatment of animals speaks to the humanity in you; like it did for Robbyne Kaamil who wrote a song comparing her enslaved ancestors to Lolita the killer whale; make what you will. And yet it IS sick to proudly value animal’s lives over human rights. We are animals too and intelligent animals care for their own first a foremost ((elephants, dolphins, parrots, pigs, primates)) before we care for the animals around us. We should care about the animals too but people always come first.

Not that Katie cares about animals herself, fyi. Any decent dog or cat owner knows their pet can’t turn vegan with them. Raise a freakin’ pig if you want an animal to go vegan with you. Katie is abusing her dog, Bella, by forcing Bella to eat vegan food that she can’t digest because she’s a fucking dog. Bella should be taken away from Katie and given real dog food. She’s a carnivore.

One of the most disgusting things about Katie is her treatment of minors and people younger than her. I pray to god she’s lying about being a teacher because jeezus christ. That woman would make me hate myself if I were in Elementary school. She shouldn’t be allowed near children especially when she makes comments to teenagers like this:

Katie is a gatekeeper. Everything in her life has to be about her and her brand of veganism. She is a walking, talking PeTA advert. She makes life so much harder for vegans as well as Animal Right's Activists. She’s a living example to people who hate vegans why they think all vegans are bad and her call for veganism is ultimately all about her and not the feelings of anyone else.

I feel like this is an important post to make because any time there's this kind of discourse about creepy vegans or PeTA or whatever it HAS to invite some pos eating meat just to stick it to the big-bad vegan-crazies like Katie. You're doing nothing but adding more fuel to the fire and you need to be taken out of the arena. No one wants you here - farm-guy who thumbs up next to the cow carcass he's strung up and mutilated just so you can see a creepy vegan's reaction. You're creepy too.

Both avid meateaters and devout vegans have disturbing alt-right racist ties that are worth addressing BY the people who share their diet. They need to be taken down a peg and not just by people that'd hate them regardless of their politics. They need to be taken down by their contemporaries.

This post is for those vegans who are done with people like Katie and want to save her poor dog. I want more vegans coming out of the woodwork and roasting her with their vegan enchiladas- served with a tall glass of oat milk.

This is a vegan-friendly blog.

This also a kosher-friendly blog and vegetarian friendly blog. This is a being-a-decent-dog-owner-friendly blog. I am not irredeemable by respecting these people as well. I'm irredeemable if I support abuse, neglect, and bigotry, which is what Katie supports.

[mychemicallyimballancedromance]

DCU Pop Culture Spirits Correspondences

All of this is UPG

Batman

Herbs: nasturtium, sage

Crystals: apophyllite, nuummite

Colors: black, blue, rainbow (remember the rainbow batman comic? that was during the homoerotic batman era)

Foods: mulligatawny soup, french onion soup, cucumber sandwiches, well done steak

Animals: bats

Gods: Athena, Hades

Activities: In my opinion Batman is a Scorpio (although he could be a Virgo. But Virgo feels too Sherlock), fight for  justice, help fix the foster care system, help orphans, adoption. Anything to do with the night and the color black, watching crime tv, study psychology (even as a hobby), doing experiments, work with and create technology

Joker

Herbs: Water Dropwort Hemlock (be extremely careful with this plant, as it is extremely toxic. It's like a real life Joker toxin. It will force it's victims to die with a smile)

Crystals: sodalite

Colors: green, purple, maybe yellow

Foods: i feel like Joker is a chocolate person, stolen food (you know how you steal fries from your friends and for some reason it tastes better than your own? It's like that)

Animals: hyenas (even though they're Harley's pets), honey badger maybe?

Gods: Loki

Activities: putting a Joker or The Fool card on your altar, pranks, going to the circus, in my opinion Joker is a Pisces. Joker is definitely part of the lgbtq community (he was originally supposed to be gay and wear dresses, he even offhandedly mentioned past boyfriends. But he wasn't allowed to wear dresses so they made Harley Quinn. MAKE JOKER GAY AGAIN. Also he has repeatedly flirted with many males, the most popular of which being Batman. and in New 52 he admitted to being in love with Batman) so take that as you will, Halloween clown props on your altar, you could play carnival music for him, watch stand-up comedy and comedy shows

Zatanna

Herbs: idk

Crystals: idk

Colors: black and blue

Foods: tacos

Animals: rabbits

Gods: Isis, Hecate

Activities: Backwards spells, accidentally doing something major and people can feel it's affects for years to come, practice magic tricks like pulling a rabbit out of a hat or card tricks

Superman

Herbs: anything to do with justice

Crystals: anything to do with justice

Colors: red and blue

Foods: beef bourguignon, pretzels, anything homemade

Animals: probably a dog or something like that

Gods: Jupiter

Activities: become a boy scout, care for your parents

Dr. Fate

Herbs: i know next to nothing on Dr Fate than just the basics so can one of you guys who decide to work with him get back to me on this?

Crystals:

Colors:

Foods:

Animals:

Gods: Anubis

Activities:

Catwoman

Herbs: catnip

Crystals: anything shiny and valuable, gold

Colors: black, red or maroon

Foods: idk, probably cake or something like that, fish

Animals: cats

Gods: Bastet

Activities: Catwoman's sister was tortured to insanity, so she would appreciate you going to mental wards just to hang out with them and become friends with the people there, volunteer at animal shelters, rescue stray cats, collect gems, stand up for friends who have experienced the worst from humanity

Harley Quinn

Herbs: rose, lemon balm,

Crystals: Golden calcite

Colors: black, red

Foods: cake (her first appearance was her jumping out of a cake. it was supposed to be Joker in a dress, but that wasn't allowed), anything sweet like candy, cotton candy, bubble gum

Animals: hyenas

Gods: Ate

Activities: Volunteer at youth shelters or shelters for the abused, go to the circus, watch circus themed shows, something to do with the clown called harlequin, you could put an athame on your altar to signify her cutting her ties with the Joker, doing/watching acrobats, study psychology, lighthearted comedy

Poison Ivy

Herbs: any and all plants (she prefers fresh herbs and fresh potted plants)

Crystals: Aragonite sputnik

Colors: red, green

Foods: mainly eats fruit, vegan foods, sometimes eats meat but not often as it doesn't help the environment

Animals: Don't think she has any

Gods: Gaia/Gaea, either Freyr or Freyja, Mother Nature

Activities: She has a soft spot for children (as you can tell from the No Mans Land arc) so helping and protecting children, do anything you can to help protect the earth

Wonder Woman

Herbs: bay leaves, rose

Crystals: anything to do with justice and love

Colors: red, blue, and white

Foods: i have no idea

Animals: eagles,

Gods: any of the Greek gods. Most likely Aphrodite, as in her original origin story it was Aphrodite who gave her life. Also Artemis, and the Roman goddess Diana

Activities: Justice, lawyer,

Robin/Dick Grayson

Herbs: probably oak

Crystals: idk

Colors: black, blue, red, green

Foods: pizza (teen titans)

Animals: robins, birds

Gods: the Oak King

Activities: I can't really think of any activities. Probably acrobats, you could put feathers on your altar

The Batman who Laughs

Herbs: combination of Batman and the Joker

Crystals: Combination of Batman and Joker

Colors: combination of Batman and Joker (far more batman)

Foods: idk, probably combination of Batman and Joker

Gods: Loki and Fenrir (chaos and destruction), Athena (cunning and wit)

Activities: The Batman who Laughs uses tarot cards a lot. Every time we saw him in the Dark Knights Metal he had some kind hero themed tarot/oracle cards (they're more oracle cards but in the art style of traditional tarot)

Let me know if there are are any other characters you want correspondences for. I was gonna add Bat-Mite to this, but i thought i had too many Batman characters in this

[lary-the-lizard]

My family raised over a hundred chickens and between 50 to 75 turkeys every year until I was thirteen then my mom bought and cared for 15 hens so we could get their eggs. Every day between the ages of 6 and 11 I went to my cousins to help on their farm. I fed the calves, helped milk the cows and cleaned their cages.

I watched calves being born, I watched my brother stick his entire arm up a cows ass to fertilize her eggs. I learned to give calves medicine using formulas and syringes, I had learned to force a tube down a calves throat when it would refuse to diminish it’s milk after being separated from its mother.

I fed my own families chickens and turkeys every morning before school and checked on those birds twice throughout the day and fed them again before super. I owned some bunnies that I’d breed myself and then raised their litters until they were old enough to sell.

I did all this and still became a vegan.

Small farms like my cousin’s treat animals pretty well. We did our best to never harm them and to give them the most comfortable life we could afford. But every fall, one a day known to my family as butchering day, we got up freakishly early and dressed in our most ugly worn clothes to go kill and de-feather and gut the chickens and turkeys. I’m not critically traumatized by this experience. I was also part of some of my cousin’s butchering days but butchering a pig or cow is very different. I mostly got to cut up and package the meat instead of spilling their intestines and skinning the creatures.

But, a lot of people don’t care about the animal itself when it comes to eating it. While it’s alive we enjoy befriending it, petting it and even saying sweet things to it about how soft its fur or feathers are. I used to claim a chicken out of the dozens and it was my special chicken all the way up to butchering day. I am a slightly more sensitive kid so even after the animal was cooked I would wonder if I was eating my friend tonight or if I did last night or if J would next week. After they’re cut up and packaged they all look the same.

When it comes to milk, the animals aren’t hurt that much. There was the rare occasion an utter would bleed but we would let that teet go until the bleeding stopped but that was more for the milk than the health of the cow.

I became a vegan because I learned that dairy products and meat are unhealthy.

I became vegetarian first because I just live animals. I couldn’t stand the idea of befriending one type of animal and deeming others infurior and soulless. I couldn’t help but see things when I looked in their eyes. Even the creepy ass pigs and chickens. They’re okay eating each other but that’s just nature. We can’t expect human level intelligence from any animal. That doesn’t mean that an animal does care for things or that they fucking deserve to die.

Meat and dairy products contains fats that our bodies can’t process properly. They get stored up, blocked, stuck in our bodies and thus we get fat. We get diabetes and in some cases cancer. We don’t need dairy products or meat for any reason. We have access to everything we need for our nutrition without the healthy risk. Nuts and seeds and grains contain all the protein we need and the calcium. The one thing that is more tricky for vegans to get is b12 and we can still get that from plants.

And our vegan foods aren’t that expensive. Getting our hands on all the nuts and grains and seeds Ian difficult and it doesn’t cost us as much as buying a prime cut of ribs or a nice steak.

Also, it’s not our fault how some quinoa farmers treat their employees. We can buy our quinoa from other places but we don’t expect every person that sells us our food to be as kind as us, though that would be preferable. But if we’re doing this ethical thing than I’d like to shift our focus a little to the meat farmers. They don’t treat their animals well, they don’t meet those animals needs. While in cages. Those animal trip over carcasses and bite each other to having breathing room. They’re fed food that shuts down their organs rather than food that sustains them. They’re pens are dirty which makes it easy to get sick. There is no kindness in that. But wait, these are animals, not humans.

I will always support those of my own species more than those that aren’t. The way the US treats imagrants is horrifying! I don’t stand for it and I do everything I can to make life better for them. That means that I sign petitions, vote in their favor, give money to foundations, organizations and charities that are making changes for the better of imagrants, and buy food ethically farmed and sold. And every vegan I know does the same.

The way that our country treats animals is cruel. We can’t point fingers at every farm and declare that they all are being abusive in how they raise their animals. We can say for sure that animals have been bred for our benefit and many of those traits we benefit from are actually harmful to the animal. We can say that killing an animal is unethical to us. But we can’t make people see from our perspective. Everyone that becomes a vegan gets there on their own.

I hate the way that humans manipulate nature and hurt animals. But I don’t stop to give a sermon to every person I see in the meat aisle. I hate advertisements that condone eating and buying meat. But I can tolerate it because this is the world I live in. I can’t tolerate people shaming vegans and vegetarians. I get that we can be fucking annoying and I think that we need to change the way we advertise. It’s like those Christian billboards forcing hell or heaven on you. But the snide posts we get from non-vegans is disgusting. Just because someone cares passionately about something you don’t does mean that they’re weak pussies that don’t know anything. Some of us didn’t know these things about farmers but that doesn’t justify dragging everyone through the dirt. There are ways to offer information to scared ignorant people that doesn’t dehumanize them. And you don’t know all the reasons a vegan chose they’re lifestyle. So many people assume that all vegans are the same people with the same beliefs and habits. It’s getting to the point in some places that people have come out to their friends and families about becoming a vegan. And I can say that because I am a homosexual.

Vegans are people with big hearts who wish to do good in every way they can. They changed their entire lifestyle to help a cause they see as worthy. We feel things deeply and want to support health and success. We want to see everyone prospering. We get scared if the harm we see happening and sometimes we say things too quickly instead of letting our emotions pass through us first. But we are stupid skinny bitches. Give some respect to the sacrifices we’ve made. What have you given up for a cause that actually changed the way you live your day to day life? What research have you done to justify it? How many perspectives have you looked from so you can care for those outside your community?

[finsterhund]

Service dogs “are not here to serve us” rebuttal

Hardcore vegans are known for hypocritical stances such as forcing domesticated obligate carnivores to eat vegan food, thinking sheep don’t need to be sheared, and turning a blind eye to the fact that many animal-free products from developing countries only come over to North America because of unfair treatment of workers. Recently the spying algorithm of my google phone sent an article my way that highlighted some animal rights organization’s preposterous instagram post against service dogs.

The post reads as follows:

The default position of veganism is to reject the use of non-human animals. This includes ALL uses, including service animals.

The key word here is “use.” They are not, and never were, here for us to use. Non-human animals owe us absolutely nothing.

Yet some believe humans do have the right to have certain animals and individuals serve us; therefore, they domesticate them for this purpose. But domestication does not involve consent by all those involved, and there is unequal power in the relationship. Just because individuals CAN be trained to serve us does not mean that they SHOULD.

When we adopt non-humans as our companions, we can save them from further exploitation. To continue to use them as tools for human purposes after adoption goes wholly against vegan principles. Therefore, we remain opposed to the use of animals (such as dogs) for human service, even if the animals were NOT bought from a breeder.

Service dogs and the like are still a WANT and not a need. And regardless of treatment, the use of any animal for service promotes the idea that animals are here to work for humans rather than to exist in their own right as individuals.

If we haven’t already made the point clear, under no circumstances should ANY non-human be used at the hands of humans.

Let it be known. I used to be a hardcore ARA back in the day, and I still have strong opinions for animal welfare. I am notably however, not inherently opposed to humans consuming meat, as we are opportunist omnivores so while we should be working towards humane and sustainable food sources, I think we should still be allowed to evolve out of eating meat at our own pace as a species if we are going to abandon it altogether. Forcing an animal to conform to a dietary restriction they don’t in nature is inhumane, and humans are animals. I also do not believe in full on animal rights. The difference “rights” have as oppose to “welfare” are basically concerning things like body rights, personhood, etc. I do believe in implementing animal rights under certain situations and contexts however, and this does involve dogs. I might touch up on this at a later date.

The relationship the human species has with the domestic dog is unheard of on the same level in any other lifeform on Earth. Tarantulas are known to keep tiny frogs as pets, and we have certainly domesticated many other animals, but a symbiotic relationship as in-tune as humans have with dogs is currently unparalleled. There are many factors that go into this. I for one think that cats are fully capable of developing similar bonds if we didn't normalize letting them run outside unsupervised for days at a time and intermingle with feral colonies, but that’s neither here nor there. Dogs had a head start, and a key factor was that unlike cats, their ancestors shared a similar ecological niche to humans, had nearly identical social structures, and lived in extremely tight-knit familial groups like we did. These similarities would put the perfect ground work in place. There are fossil records that indicated that early man cared a lot for their sick or injured family members, with individuals who wouldn't have been able to have offered anything of working value to their family for the entirety of their lives, based on the state of their injuries were cared for far past when they would have otherwise survived if left to struggle. This behavior is also seen in domestic dogs and their wild relatives. Note: the whole “alpha male” thing were unfounded studies that turns out were done on extremely stressed individuals forced to cohabitate with strangers in captivity and aren't valid.

Dogs have evolved to eat the same food that we do, we significantly changed and altered their physical bodies so they’d be suited to a whole variety of different roles in our society, dogs have evolved to have more specialized eyebrows so that they can better physically communicate with us, and some new studies in their early stages even suggest that we may even have some sort of a proto-psychic bond with dogs. Or in the very least they have evolved to be extremely aware of our feelings based on tiny facial expressions or specific scents. Still no small feat. Particularly sharp breeds mimic human speech based on vocalizations they associate with excitement or praise. Dogs can understand specific words and tones of voice in our language, follow our line of gaze and direction indicated by hand gesture, and generally have cognitive abilities akin to a five-year-old. Dogs are known to empathize with us when we express negative emotions and are well documented for pining for deceased human family members and waiting for them for the remainder of their own lives. Dogs do not understand the concept of death, but they understand the concept of losing us. While there are many animals conventionally smarter than dogs, this bond cannot be replicated to the same extent with them. To a dog, their human is family. To be protected at all cost. Dogs LOVE us. And it’s a pure unconditional love. Flawed only in how innocent a dog is. Unable to understand concepts like good and evil. This is extremely serious. I cannot stress how one-in-a-million, incredible, sacred, and rare what happened between us and dogs is. It’s the most beautiful thing to me that exists on planet Earth. It’s one of the only things that makes me think the universe is more than just cold and unfeeling. If there is anything that could be possibly used as proof of a higher power in this universe it’d be this. Of all the things left up to chance in this universe, humans and dogs found each other. Anyways, sorry to go off. It’s just something I’m extremely passionate about.

The point I’m making of course, is that dogs are just short of actually being members of our own species, and having a service dog is basically the same thing as asking your kindergartner to get the newspaper or pick up the TV remote you accidentally dropped.

In fact, for many service dogs the tasks they’re trained to perform aren't just basically things like those examples, they’re literally things like those examples.

So lets get some misconceptions out of the way:

“Dogs don’t like working”

Dogs love making us happy. They love helping us. They feel accomplished when they have a participating role in our lives. Especially true for working breeds, it’s actually recommended that dogs get some form of training or work exercise as part of a daily or weekly routine for their own mental enrichment. As well as exercise. All breeds generally associated with service dog and guide dog work have extensive histories of performing tasks for humans. And they love doing it! Retriever breeds are literally named after the fact that they came along to retrieve downed prey animals for their humans. This is basically “fetch” with a purpose. And fetch is the most well-known way we play with our dogs in existence. Retrievers are a popular choice for service dogs because their selectively bred “gentle mouth” and retrieving instincts make them the perfect candidate for a pupper who picks up things you dropped, and can bring you a pill bottle, phone, or emergency pager in a pinch. Dogs who also have the body strength for it get exercise and mental enrichment from performing tasks like balance assist. Just like how sled dogs LOVE sledding. Once again, you've likely heard cases of maltreated sled dogs, but the possibility for being exploited doesn't change the fact that if it’s responsibly managed, these dogs enjoy this line of work. In fact, if you have a sled dog and they don’t get to exert themselves physically, often times by needing far more walks and play, they’re going to be bored and miserable. The dog likes and wants to do these things for us. We just have a responsibility to make sure it’s not hurting them. A person can enjoy their job, and it’s only if something happens like they’re not making a living wage that it becomes exploitative. Dogs are the same. So long as they enjoy what they’re doing and it’s not causing them any issues, they’re probably going to have even more enriched lives for doing it!

“Training is abusive”

Proper training is positive reinforcement. There’s some idiots who think that physically punishing a dog is a good form of training, and I’d like to recommend them this to read. Service tasks pretty much MUST be trained with positive reinforcement. In order to encourage them to perform these tasks. Not only that, but training is a form of mental enrichment. Every dog, regardless of whether they’re a family pet or a working animal should have some form of obedience training. It’s good for them! They feel accomplished. It’s a fun bonding activity to do for a few minutes a day. It is possible for a dog to “burn out” (trained too hard too fast resulting in frustration and giving up) or “wash out” (when interactions are inconsistent, leading the dog to be confused and not behave as indicated) so there are incentives in place to ensure that training is well-paced, moderate, and isn't frustrating to the dog. Proper, positive, and well-paced training is a perfect way to add a healthy routine to a dog’s life and strengthen their bond with you. It’s enriching. In the same way that a crossword puzzle on your commute to work is to you. Dogs like making us happy, they like challenge, and they like accomplishments.

“Dogs aren't consenting to the tasks they are performing”

Remember when I said how routine and doing things to make us happy strengthen our dog’s bond and enrich their lives? Remember how I said that many tasks dogs are trained to do are basically playing but with a purpose? Remember how I said that training for service work is entirely positive reinforcement and dogs are incentively encouraged to do their tasks? This is where animal rights vs animal welfare comes in. The notion that animals should have the exact same rights of personhood that humans have is what the angle these people are going with is reflecting. They see dogs being “tricked” to do things. As them being exploited. Even though these things are fun and enriching for dogs. If a task is something the dog can naturally do, and willingly wants to do, or wants to do to show us they care, they are consenting to it. If I really like my friend’s character so I draw them gift art am I being exploited because they’re getting free art? No.

“Service work is harming the dog”

There are situations where a task could be unfit for a particular breed: ie a lean, thin dog who isn't equipped for pulling being made to do a related task, but this is a problem in an individual situation, one that trainers would look into extensively. A happy and healthy service dog is a service dog who is also ensuring their handler is happy and healthy. There’s no reason that somebody would force a dog to perform a task they physically can’t do, because that would just make life hard on both dog and handler. Professional trainers and laws being put in place are also strongly against this sort of thing. We have publicly available guides all over the place to explain which dogs may not be suited for service work based on temperament or size. It ultimately comes down to the individual, like every situation involving neglect or cruelty. Other issues such as not having your dog wear shoes when they spend a lot of time walking on hot pavement, not ensuring your dog has access to cleanliness, food, and medicine, etc. are not issues exclusive to service dogs. They’re issues for dog husbandry in general. Training organizations and certain parts of the world (Like BC!) will pretty much ensure that the dog is at peak health, or they’re taken back. In BC service dogs must look healthy and clean, pass health examinations from a vet, be up to date with shots, and be sterilized. Otherwise they can’t be a service dog. That’s stricter laws than the ones in place for pet dogs. In this situation a service dog has more protections towards their quality of life than a pet dog does.

Now lets dissect the instagram post point by point:

The default position of veganism is to reject the use of non-human animals. This includes ALL uses, including service animals.

1. note how they say “non-human animals” because veganism loves to kick issues with farmers in developing countries under the rug as I previously explained. 2. INTERSECTIONALITY! Humans ARE animals. You should care about the wellbeing of all animals and nature. This includes humans, especially humans being exploited to provide food. 3. I’m also disgusted by their (repeated) claim that service animals are “used.” As if my massive explanation that dogs do this because they love us isn't pretty obvious if you've spent any portion of your life with a dog.

The key word here is “use.” They are not, and never were, here for us to use. Non-human animals owe us absolutely nothing.

AGAIN WITH THE “USE” I’m about to bite you. I suppose if a child wants their parent to read to them or hug them the parent is also being USED? Dogs don’t owe us anything. Yes. 100% agree. They aren't being forced to do these things because we feel they owe us. They WANT to do things for us. Out of the goodness of their hearts. Because they feel accomplished. Because it enriches their lives. Because they LOVE us. Damn it.

Yet some believe humans do have the right to have certain animals and individuals serve us; therefore, they domesticate them for this purpose. But domestication does not involve consent by all those involved, and there is unequal power in the relationship. Just because individuals CAN be trained to serve us does not mean that they SHOULD.

Yes, it is pretty unfair that many animals were domesticated for our use. But I’m gonna explain it as gently as I can; dogs and humans have a symbiotic relationship. Domestication, like with cats, started out as an accident. Then we started providing for each other. Here we see the consent thing. (refer to my “dogs don’t consent to service tasks” rebuttal. The term “service” IMO is outdated. They’re not serving us like slaves, they’re aiding us like you’d help a loved one who needs your help. And again, training is ENRICHING for dogs. It’s fun. it helps them feel accomplished. It stops them from being bored. If a dog wasn't consenting to being trained they would burn out.

When we adopt non-humans as our companions, we can save them from further exploitation. To continue to use them as tools for human purposes after adoption goes wholly against vegan principles. Therefore, we remain opposed to the use of animals (such as dogs) for human service, even if the animals were NOT bought from a breeder.

For someone keen on arguing for the rights of dogs you really are just going to refer to their role in our lives as “tools” huh? A symbiotic relationship where a dog does nice things because we let them know that we’d want them to isn't them being a tool. It’s them showing us compassion and caring for their family. Also LMAO at the breeder part. Comes out of left field.

Service dogs and the like are still a WANT and not a need. And regardless of treatment, the use of any animal for service promotes the idea that animals are here to work for humans rather than to exist in their own right as individuals.

“A WANT and not a need” oh my god. Fuck you. Living with a dog should be a human right, and living with a human should be a dog right. We exist because of each other, we are made for each other. Our evolution was influenced by each other. There are people who’s lives are made infinitely more livable because of the compassion and care their dog gives them, even if they’re not doing tasks. Dogs pretty much need humans in their lives to have quality of life. I’ll give you a hint. Dogs do exist in their own right as individuals. Individuals who bond with and show their love for their families by doing nice things for them. Why the hell is this so hard for you to understand? Dogs derive enjoyment and accomplishment from the symbiotic relationships we share. Not only that, but based on this instagram post I’d say dogs also have significantly more empathy for others than you do (to be honest I think that’s the case 90% of the time when it comes to humans), because they can understand helping someone out of the goodness of their hearts but you don’t.

If we haven’t already made the point clear, under no circumstances should ANY non-human be used at the hands of humans.

USED USED USED. If you’re so bent out of shape about this why don’t you just rally against keeping dogs as pets in the first place? (some of these people are. I've seen it) I mean, a symbiotic relationship with any sort of power imbalance is in and of itself “use” by your definition. 

Reading this instagram post I’m genuinely concerned if this person has ever been in the same room as a dog before. It’s just really insulting.

Growing up as an abuse survivor, all the dogs I lived with were so empathetic. They knew I needed someone to comfort me, to keep me safe, to let me know everything was going to be okay. They knew. The amount of information that could be transfered between our gazes was astronomical. A dog wouldn't come to you in your darkest hour, when you've beginning to lose your voice from how hard you've been crying, and stay with you for hours on end if they didn't love you. Love is about doing things for each other. Willing sacrifice. Empathy and compassion. If you teach a dog ways that they can help you even further, of course they’re going to want to do that. No matter how messed up and grim our society becomes we’ll always be there for each other. It’s the only constant we know. Humans have an obligation to protect this sacred bond but the fact that some people are so convinced of shit like this is just heartrending. Dogs want to do things for us just as much as we should want to do things for them. And when many of these things bring enrichment to their lives, there really isn't a reason not to let them and help them understand a little better.

In conclusion:

[tamboradventure]

How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020

Posted: 2/17/2020 | February 17th, 2020

After years on the sidelines, sustainable travel has made its way to the forefront of the travel industry. Environmentally friendly travel is now one of the fastest-growing movements in the industry, and I, for one, welcome this trend. It’s an incredibly important topic that I’ve been writing about for years.

After all, why destroy what you love? No one wants to see paradise paved over. We all cringe when we return to an overdeveloped, polluted destination. None of us want to contribute to that.

Being an eco-friendly traveler is simply being a respectful traveler.

As we strive to become more environmentally conscious, the questions for travelers become:

Just how do we “green” our travels?

What can we do to lower our carbon footprint as we travel the world?

How can we better interact with the communities we visit?

What changes can we make that are actually helpful?

Flight shaming people is not the answer, but do we all just stay home and quit traveling?

Fortunately, there’s actually a lot we can do as travelers to reduce our ecological footprint while contributing to the sustainability of the communities we visit.

Here are 13 concrete ways to reduce your environmental impact as a traveler:  

1. Stay Close to Home

Though the exotic is always appealing, travel doesn’t have to be about going somewhere far away. Travel is the art of exploration and discovery — and that can just as well be nearby. Find somewhere close to home you haven’t been, get in your car (or better yet, take the bus), and go visit. You never know what you’ll come across!

“X” is always the most interesting place on the map.  

2. Make Greener Transportation Choices

If you can, try to travel by train or bus. Not only does this reduce your carbon footprint but companies like FlixBus, Megabus, and Greyhound always have some cheap tickets, so you can save money too.

And when traveling by car, consider offering rides to other travelers to lower your collective emissions and cut costs. Many people will be happy to chip in for gas if it saves them time, which means you can save money and lower your carbon footprint at the same time. Win-win! That will cut your per-person transportation emissions in half (if not more). Use platforms like BlaBlaCar, Couchsurfing, and Craigslist to find rideshares near you.

Avoid flying or driving long distances by yourself whenever you can.  

3. Travel Slow

When we travel abroad, we have a tendency to rush around from place to place, trying to soak in as many sights as possible. I get that. After all, not everyone can be permanent nomads, and when you have limited time and aren’t sure if you’re coming back again, I can see why people “travel fast.”

However, not only does this raise your transportation costs since you’re moving a lot, you end up increasing your carbon footprint. All those trains, buses, and planes add up. The fewer you take, the better.

Additionally, being a good traveler not only means reducing your carbon footprint but also doing good by the communities you visit. Day-tripping brings in very little money to communities but impacts their infrastructure heavily (it’s why the city of Hallstatt in Austria is restricting day tours). So try to stay at a destination for a least a night.

Traveling to fewer destinations is good not only for your wallet and the climate, it’s good for local communities as well.

(Plus, slowing your travels will let you get to know places in a deeper way, since you’ll get to spend more time there. In travel, less can be more.)  

4. Pack Smart

While the specifics of will depend on where you’re going, there are a few things you’ll want to bring with you to help you travel more sustainably:

Reusable water bottle – Nalgene makes durable bottles that are BPA-free and made in the USA.

Water filter – Many destinations don’t have potable water, which means you’re going to be using tons of single-use plastic. Instead, bring a Lifestraw or SteriPen. These devices will purify your water so you can drink from practically anywhere, ensuring you can avoid single-use plastic bottles.

Tote bag/stuff sack – If you’re traveling long-term, bring a tote back or an extra stuff sack. You can use them for buying groceries and avoid plastic bags. At other times, they can be used to keep your bag organized.

Diva cup – This is a reusable menstrual cup. While I can’t speak from personal experience, it’s something our resident solo female travel expert packs when she travels, since menstrual products are not always available (and can also be quite wasteful).

Utensils – Travel cutlery (a fork, knife, and spoon, or just a spork or a set of chopsticks) can come in handy if you’re on a budget and plan on cooking your own meals. But they’re also useful for street food and eating out, as you can avoid plastic cutlery.

Additionally, bring a small Tupperware container for leftovers. I always find myself with extra food when I cook in hostels. This helps avoid waste and provides food for the next day. It’s an amazing travel hack surprisingly few people make use of.  

5. Fly with Fewer Connections

While I don’t believe in flight shaming, it’s impossible to deny that flying does have a hefty carbon impact. In addition to limiting your flying, try to use longer flights with fewer connections. Twenty-five percent of airplane emissions occur during takeoff and landing, which means if you fly shorter flights with more connections, your emissions will be drastically higher.

Flying direct is simply the better option environmentally, so opt for that whenever possible.  

6. Avoid Overvisited Destinations

If you can, avoid cities grappling with overtourism. You’ll find fewer crowds and lower prices, and you also won’t be putting as much strain on local communities struggling to keep up. (And, from a sheer personal-enjoyment point of view, who wants to deal with crowds or long lines? No one.)

If you do visit overtouristed places, such as Venice, Amsterdam, or Barcelona, pick a hotel or hostel instead of using sites like Airbnb. Apartment rentals drive up rents for locals and force them out of the city center. Unless you’re going to share accommodation with a local by renting a room from them (or using Couchsurfing), stick to hotels and hostels. Airbnb and similar sites really are detrimental to cities that don’t have a lot of housing.  

7. Take Public Transportation

After walking, public transportation is the next best way to explore new destinations. On arrival, head to the local tourism office to learn about the options (as well as any visitor discounts available for public transit).

If you do need a taxi, use ridesharing apps instead. Uber and Lyft have a “pool” option in many cities, which lets you split your ride with other travelers. While it may take a little longer to get to your destination, it will save you money and ensure that your ride is as eco-friendly as possible.

When it comes to longer distances, budget buses are your best way of getting around, since they usually pack in a lot of passengers. Megabus and FlixBus are two of the most popular options.

  8. Eat Local

Food that is imported has a much higher carbon footprint than locally grown food (and it’s usually not as fresh either). To keep your carbon footprint down, eat like a local. Stick to foods that are grown locally, and avoid packaged and imported foods much as possible. This will ensure that you’re eating seasonal produce, which not only is going to be the freshest but will also support the local economy. (Also, stick to organic food if you can.)

Sure, the odd Western comfort meal is not the end of the world, but the more you eat locally, the more you reduce your environmental footprint and the more you help the local economy as well. After all, you didn’t come to Thailand to eat a burger you could get at home, right?  

9. Cut Back on Meat and Dairy

I’m not saying you need to go vegan. I love meat and never plan to give up bacon. But if you’re concerned with the impact of your food, reducing your meat and dairy intake is extremely helpful. Over 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food — and the majority of those emissions are from animal products. So by cutting back on your meat and dairy consumption, you’ll drastically reduce your carbon footprint. (Avoid Brazilian beef if you can, as lot comes from cleared rainforest land. Cattle ranching is the #1 cause of rainforest deforestation in the world. Same for soy too.)

Plus, it’s never been easier to travel as a vegan or vegetarian, as there are tons of amazing restaurants out there — as well as apps to help you find them (you can download the HappyCow app to find the best vegan and vegetarian options near you).

Even if you take meat and dairy out of one meal a week, you’ll be moving the needle in favor of a lower carbon footprint and a more ethical diet.  

10. Avoid Animal Attractions

Part of traveling green is helping the other creatures that inhabit his earth. That means you should avoid any and all attractions that use captive wild animals for entertainment. The most common offenders are riding elephants, swimming with dolphins, visiting captive whales, and petting (drugged) tigers. These activities require animal abuse and imprisonment and should be avoided.

Animals are best viewed in their natural habitats. If you want to see them, go on a safari, jungle hike, or whale-watching tour and see the animals where they belong, in the wild.

If you want to be an ethical and responsible traveler, stick to taking photographs and avoid direct interactions with animals.

For more information on animal tourism and how to avoid it, check out these helpful organizations:

World Animal Protection

Wildlife Watch

  11. Reduce Your Plastic Use

I hate plastic. It creates a ton of waste. From plastic bottles to toothpaste tubes to shopping bags, plastic sucks. I admit I’m not perfect, and I still use too much, but I’m always trying to reduce my consumption (both at home and abroad).

Avoiding plastic as much as possible is a great way to reduce your environmental impact. You can buy a reusable water bottle, use toothpaste tabs, carry your own cutlery, and travel with a canvas bag for starters.

Additionally, skip the plastic straws and cutlery and avoid getting take-out unless it comes in biodegradable containers. Straws can take 200 years to biodegrade, and plastic bags take 20. Don’t let a few minutes of convenience endanger the planet. Skip the plastic.  

12. Cut Back on Cruises

Cruises are one of the worst offenders when it comes to carbon footprints and overtourism. Taking a cruise has the same average per-person carbon footprint as flying from London to Tokyo — round-trip. That’s almost 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles)!

Thanks to cruises, carbon emissions in popular port cities can be so high that thousands of people actually die prematurely every year.

And to top it all off, day-trippers from cruises visits are overwhelming local economies, driving up prices, forcing out locals, and creating destinations that are over-reliant on tourism.

Don’t get me wrong: cruises are a fun way to travel. But if you’re looking to lower your environmental footprint, you’ll want to avoid cruises as much as possible.  

13. Take a Nature-Related Trip

Travel is one of the best personal development tools there is. It opens you up to a whole new world and widens your perspective of so many things — people, culture, history, food, and so much more.

If you want to better understand and appreciate the natural world, try taking a trip with the sole purpose of connecting with nature. Head to the Australian Outback, go diving and swim around coral reefs, visit national parks, camp in the Moroccan desert, stay a few weeks in a town with little or no electricity, canoe down the Amazon River, or spend a few nights under the stars in a field close to home.

Do something that gets you in touch with the world in a way that sitting at home with all the electricity and free-flowing running water doesn’t. I promise that when you come home, you’ll have a new perspective on why we’re all so focused on being environmentally friendly these days.

It doesn’t take much to see that we are living unsustainably and something’s got to give. Going on a nature adventure can get you to think differently when it comes to the environment and how important it is for us to treat it well.

***

Traveling in a more green and eco-friendly way is something we should all aspire to. As travelers, it’s our responsibility to make sure that, while we explore the globe, we do so in a way that doesn’t harm the planet or the local communities that we visit.

With a few simple changes, you can all become better and more sustainable travelers. You just need to take that first step. Action begets action, and the more actions you take, the easier the other ones will be.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[dzamie]

Fuckton of OC questions: Dzamie

Questions from @liaraliara‘s post here. Doing these for Dzamie, will do more for other characters eventually, whether y’all want me to or not.

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything? Dzamie Deshulian. Dzamie is one of my common pseudonyms (linguistics joke I stole from a family member), and Deshulian... in-universe, he chose that name from a Chinese word for “skill” and the French "de.” It is almost certainly pronounced wrong, but it’s his name now.

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them? Holy fuck does he have titles. Well, descriptors mostly, though he does carry the moniker of Blue Bandit from his attempts at being a phantom thief, Lord of the Yellow Hive from Equestria shenanigans, and some places call him the Reaper due to his high body count nearby (he decided to get a scythe when he heard that, though he didn’t practice using it much for a long time). Title-wise, he’s described himself as a spellsword, archmage, weaponsmaster, assassin, illusionist, and complete fucking nerd. He self-describably “moonlights as a Lesser Spirit of Chaos.”

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?  Oh man his childhood is tragic as fuck. Birthplace village burned down, his parents presumably killed or captured, and essentially left with his half-brother (HM) to fend for themselves. Managed to find their way to a really helpful... institution, for lack of a better word. Except it’s a place dedicated to teaching people how to kill dragons. HM happens to be a dragon. Dzamie went anyway, and HM sort of let dragon instincts help him survive, with help from Dzamie. Dzamie was at some point convinced to inflict an ambiguously-large amount of torture on a bunch of dragons, at first because... well, dragonslayer school at the time was fucked up, and later because science. And then people kept trying to kill him, but that’s just... that just keeps happening; it’s not a childhood thing.

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?  No strong memories. His father died in the fire or shortly after, and his mother is in hiding to keep herself alive definitely dead. No need to look for her.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults? H.M. Deshulian is his half-brother (genetics are weird when dragons are involved). They’ve always had a pretty good relationship, though strangely tempered with a mutual feeling of “I don’t want it to happen for a really, really long time, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be the direct cause of my death.”  Dzamie is HM’s favorite food, and HM is the reason Dzamie decided to increase his acid resistance to a ridiculous level.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate? Dzamie was wonderful at the technical stuff, but completely refused the “dragons are evil”-type rhetoric, so he just barely got by, eventually graduating bottom of his class (though the dragonslaying done as the graduation test was definitely the most efficient and least risky of the lot). He’s taken a few college courses here and there, but all after timelines start getting weird around him, so it’s hard to tell when or how many. He enjoys applied math

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood?  He was completely study-driven, with HM being his only friend - though, it didn’t help that most kids he could’ve been friends with would’ve wanted to kill HM on sight. Interestingly, Kenny was in his year, though they never really liked each other much.

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals?  Well, he has HM No pets to speak of. Closest there is is Smugleaf, a Serperior who occasionally lets him have her Pokeball and direct her in combat. He loves birdwatching, snakes, and a bunch of other animals.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?  Animals are generally somewhat neutral towards him, though he can regularly get pretty close to wild animals without them caring.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect? No (but he does well with them anyway), yes, no, neglectful, not too bad (just because it’s not much interaction. Facades are tough to keep up over long times)

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies? Will starve without meat. His species generally views bread as a mild poison, but Dzamie being Dzamie, he no longer has to care.

12. What is their favourite food?  Brownies, the chocolate-ier the better.

13. What is their least favourite food? Sourdough bread.

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal? Nothing in particular. He remembers being food a lot, especially for HM, but that’s not really the same.

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking? He’s amazing at cooking, especially at arguably-taboo meals (though he won’t make anything he wouldn’t eat). He has a lot of fun with it, because he “gets to play with knives and fire, and out comes delicious food.” He’s quite the showman while cooking, which can be hit-or-miss, but most people like his cooking, assuming they like the dish he makes (i.e. he obviously can’t make a PB&J that someone who’s allergic to peanuts would like).

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?  He hoards knowledge, gold, and some shiny jewels, which he blames on growing up with HM. Additionally, he keeps trophies - the left horn of each dragon he slays, and the sword of any dragonslayer he bests in combat (not usually kills, just leaves weaponless for a while. It’s a slayer thing).

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos? Nope! He likes to be on camera, but photos aren’t really his thing.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else Books: Fiction with interesting worldbuilding stuff. He tends to visit those places. Music: Anything with a good rhythm and tempo, since he often fights in time to whatever’s playing in his head. Electro-stuff is good. TV shows: No preference, really. He doesn’t watch much. Films: Same as books, though he tends to riff on the films he watches. Video games: Platformers with tight controls.

19. What’s their least favourite genres? Most things to do with rural stuff, come to think of it. 

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes? He likes the idea of musicals, rarely the implementation. Music is very important to him, especially as he can mimic male voices, and move precisely to rhythms.

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper? He kind of does. He’s pretty patient, and tends to do the silent-rage sort of thing when upset enough. Though, it’s a little bit of a tell that his magic spikes and its color turns from green (pride) to red (anger).

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back? He’s definitely the kind of person who’ll insult someone to their face, either backhanded or up-front. Either directly pointing out flaws (”Let’s get this straight, you thought coming at both me and HM unarmed was a good idea? Did you maybe think the price on his head is that big for a reason?”) or just calling them names that probably don’t make sense if not for inflection (”You absolute salmon.”). Mostly for suicidal lack of common sense.

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces? He has good auditory and muscle memory, but can’t remember faces, and names are tough. He knows a lot of trivia, and has memorized a bunch of really useful dragonslaying regulations, but it can be kind of random what he remembers.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress? He sleeps whenever. Nobody’s known when or where he’s ever slept for almost two years now, save for a few times people could make guesses from him somehow waking up in a pile of dragons.

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves? It’s really hard to predict, except for puns. He loves puns. He makes a lot of them, too.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?  If it’s necessary to keep up a Facade, he hides his emotions well. If not, he smiles, sings and hums, and sometimes fiddles with knives.

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad? Not much, actually. He hasn’t cried in years, and nobody’s really known if he’s sad - even him.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared? HM deciding he’d rather not have him around. HM with a large tactical advantage over him. Manic grin, blatant rules abuse.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective?  Depends on if he likes them or not. If he does, he usually doesn’t bring it up, and warns them if something he’s about to do is gonna be really scary (though he usually does it anyway after telling them how to avoid experiencing it). If he doesn’t like them, he’ll try to abuse that fear as much as he can without letting on that it’s him doing it.

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out? “Does playing with people trying to kill me count? Because if not, all I’ve got is sparring with Kenneth and HM, and occasionally going for really long walks.

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing? Nope, but he can act it really well!

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like? He has three modes of dress: comfortable and casual, ridiculously-accurate cosplay, and naked. To sleep, generally just a comfortable pair of PJ bottoms and a t-shirt. Dzamie doesn’t usually wear makeup, but does an excellent job of dying his fur to pass for a tiger or leopard when he needs to have a non-magical disguise.

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties? Boxer-briefs, if he’s wearing anything.

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body? Lean, somewhat muscular (but it doesn’t show through his fur at all). He’s roughly 6 feet tall, and makes sure he’s very comfortable with whatever form he’s in - he’s very physically expressive, and also does a lot of things that require knowing exactly where every part of him is.

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure?  His guilty pleasure is probably making up identities to pretend to be online. His totally unguilty pleasures are a good swordfight, casual pickpocketing (though he generally returns the stuff he swipes), and being eaten, usually by HM, Smugleaf, or Sylvia.

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing? Dzamie’s good at... a lot of stuff, actually. He’s kind of a Mary-Sue. Most of my OCs for the Combined Setting are poorly-written, really, so I don’t write stories with them. He likes playing videogames, making his hoard look nice, and bothering talking with HM. And yes, he’s an amazing singer, pitch-perfect and flawless rhythm. Has trouble with female-sung songs, since he can’t just mimic those.

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction? Fast-ish reader, prefers fiction (fanfiction especially). Dzamie enjoys poetry and abhors free verse.

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had? Fuck if I know. He wishes he could learn a telekinesis spell (he’s fundamentally blocked from doing so, ever), but this fosters resentment, not admiration.

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging?  Definitely emails.

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert? “Awake and alert” is his default state, but he’s not known to turn down sugary snacks.

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship? Self-described as “complicated, or alternatively ‘straight plus also into women’” (he has a variety of transformation spells, and form affects mind). Physically, he likes... scales, tails, and forked tongues. Mentally is a bit tougher, but usually stable and steady enough to not go off the deep-end when he, HM, Dream, and/or Kenny inevitably do something... sanity-testing.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition? Dzamie doesn’t have any goals in particular. He’d sacrifice anything but his or HM’s life for, well, his or HM’s life. No secret ambitions, really.

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people? He’s not very religious, though if he had to choose he’d say he “observes” Eris (the chaos noodle, not the Greek deity), and he does tend to celebrate major Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur isn’t really “celebrated,” but you get the gist) and Christmas out of tradition. Nobody really knows where this tradition came from. He generally doesn’t really care about people’s religiosity or whatever, so long as they’re not bonkers enough to try to, say, ritually sacrifice him or someone he cares about, or to try to stop his kobolds’ “cult” at the source by killing Azurel (him as a dragon).

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most?  Definitely autumn, and heavy cloud cover (but not quite overcast). He’s pretty good in the cold (fire spells just in case) but complains about high temperatures, blaming his fur coat for his crabbiness.

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?  They generally think Dzamie’s a bit to the side of normal and sane, but almost disturbingly effective. Those who aren’t used to him find him a bit unstable, but HM, Dream, and Kenneth figure he’s surprisingly predictable - just not in ways most people are. He, on the other hand... actually, he’d agree with all of that.

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves? He doesn’t usually have the opportunity to make a good impression; most new people Dzamie meets are met amidst chaos. “Introductions” tend to range from “Hey, I don’t suppose you’ve seen, like, six kobolds run through here?” to “Hi. I’m Dzamie Deshulian, but you can call me your worst nightmare.” to “Don’t worry! This spell should last for at least ten seconds, so you should run that way before it stops working! Name’s Dzamie, by the way.” to “Good evening. I suppose I should mention a bit of a hole in your security system. It’s about Blue Bandit-sized, which is going to be a problem about two minutes ago.” to “Hi. Dzamie Deshulian. I noticed you guys used to have a dragon problem with a nifty reward. Note the past tense. Here’s her horn.”

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event? Generally hates them. Plays well, but generally expects a pretty big payoff (assassination target, scoping out a Blue Bandit target, some really good food, etc.) if he’s going to pretend he’s actually enjoying his time there.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?  He vaguely enjoys get-togethers, but often stays away from group conversations, content to just watch people do people things. If it’s a party where a lot of the guests are dragons, he can usually expect to wake up in a pile of dragons. He has no idea how this keeps happening.

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them? Tough call between his twin katanas, his Dragonslayer blade, and the mana-crystal necklace he wears pretty much all the time. The katanas are actually everywhere he goes as well, but they usually don’t actually exist until they need to.

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?  His spellbook and a bunch of knives. Everything else can be summoned, created, traded for, stolen, or... harvested, if they’re not the necklace (always on him) or his twin swords (also always on him).

[rusalcele]

jeepers creepers in a diaper

faceclaim: park chanyeol

group: exo

age: 27

race: human with custom perks

nationality: serbian

current residence: south korea

job: elite exotic pet shop worker; oversees the feline/canine/avine sectors

name: park vedran braniam

The very first word he uttered as Vedran Branimir was 'dick' and that, when his older brother pushed past their father to pick his wee self up.

Whoever said children were exceptionally good judges of character was certainly onto something — Todor was a fucking dick.

It wasn't like Todor refused to play with Vedran or share his toys with him. It was Vedran, in fact, the one hiding under the blanket, going as far as playing dead to avoid being detected by Todor and dragged to the back garden or the streets to go along his odd games, which almost always had to culminate in Vedran faking fainting so they could come to an end. Todor would simply loom over his body and poke it repeatedly with a stick until he got bored and had to go look for something else to entertain himself with.

Fucking asshole never even bothered dragging Vedran's ass back into the house, regardless of whether he was truly unconscious or not. It's the principle of it, after all.

Hell, it wasn't like his parents were anything but incredibly, boringly mediocre to justify Todor ending up being the fucking creep he was.

To put it simply, Todor was a prick for a lot of reasons, but the main one, the one at the top of the list, bolded, highlighted and most concisive one, had got to be the fact that he was a blood thirsty serial killer overly zealous in his pursuit to increase his body count.

Vedran supposes the biggest red flag Todor could've waved in everybody's faces was his obvious interest in black magic and sacrificial rituals, but alas, not everybody can possess as much common sense as Vedran does.

But with all the demonic reading his brother did, and knife sharpening and torture chamber designing, he couldn't find it in himself to start like any self-respecting serial killer and target animals; for as eagerly as he bared his teeth at any human being, he cowered at the idea of harming animals.

Vedran clearly remembers his brother crying with his cheek pressed against the toilet seat, having just finished retching for close to an hour, after attempting and failing to sacrifice a goat from one of the farms on the outskirts of town. It was as tragic as it was hilarious, even more so when you take into account that Todor was vegan on all days except for Tuesdays when the lunchlady whipped out her secret recipe and made the most amazing double cheeseburger with two stripes of bacon thrown in.

Todor went as far as to visit Vedran at school just to get a taste of it, long after he graduated.

Vedran did consider killing his brother, yeah, like all teenagers do at some point or another; it was just a tiny bit more justified in his case. Even so, he never believed he would end up actually going, not to mention with a shovel.

It happened in week before Halloween. Vedran voluntered to be the one to put up all the decorations and had every intention to make them as extra and ostentatious as possible. He had put together a playlist he blasted through his headphones as he got started on it, too.

It was when he was digging holes to place plastic hands in that it happened. He wanted them to look like the dead were crawling to the surface from the depths of hell, trying to grab anybody that came near. Vedran didn't hear nor feel Todor coming from behind; he didn't even think Todor would show up that night instead of going about town and murdering people to spice up this year's Halloween, as well.

So somebody grabbing his shoulders whilst Vedran was listening to a most spoopy horror playlist? A sure way to get somebody beheaded.

Next thing he knows, there's fucking blood spraying everywhere and his brother's head is merrily rolling away across their property.

He didn't feel that bad, really, once the shock wore off and everything settled in; like he mentioned previously, his brother was a fucking prick. Their parents seemed to had shared his sentiment as they quickly got over it and went ahead with the funeral prepartions without too much sobbing or mourning.

Vedran did milk the whole situation for a hell of a long time, though. God knows how many classes he skipped or how many homeworks he conveniently forgot to turn in, overstriken with grief.

Plus, he got to eat twice his weight in chocolate that Halloween, with his brother gone and children being to terrified to come trick-or-treating at his home.

However, that which is Cesare's to Cesare — not once while he was alive did Todor anything to harm him or their parents. If Vedran was to ignore the lack of empathy, terrifyingly good social skills, the black magic shit, and the, well, killing, Todor was a pretty standard older brother. Better than some, worse than others, in some aspects. A pass, let's say.

It was 4 years later, when Vedran was 21, that he truly understood how much of an actual prick his older brother actually was.

He had decided to sign up as a camp councelor for Halloween. The camp that was usually only running only during the summer had decided they were going to do something special that year and be open for an entire week, with activities all thematically surrounding the holiday.

It was all going amazingly well, surprisingly. All of those who had signed up were well into highschool and most, if not all, of the councelors were around his age. Vedran had prepared himself for lots of angry snotty children demanding ridiculous things of him, and so he was glad to had it all been for naught.

What he didn't prepare for, however, was his dead fucking brother literally coming back from hell on the night of Halloween and going on a killing spree that this time, involved him as well.

Vedran was far too preoccupied with preparing the snack bar before the bus with all of the kids returned to camp after a day spent at the pumpink farm, at the other end of town, to notice it at first. Out of the 12 councelors, only 4 went with the kids, leaving the rest at the camp to get things moving for the grand night.

By the time Vedran decided to take a small break to check on his colleagues and finally realise what had happened, Todor had already killed all of them leaving Vedran the only one still standing.

Poor guy didn't even have the time to properly shit himself before Todor started chasing him. Vedran had tried to reason with him and explain that what he was doing was incredibly rude, and that killing Todor was never his intention, though even he had to admit that it was poetic, in a sense.

Vedran was lucky his legs were as long as the petty bone Todor had inside his body, even if he was as blind as a bat, especially at night, which made him seriously regret spending so much time beating his meat to horribly pixelated adult games in his childhood, although it did help him build quite a breathing strategy.

Him being built like a grasshopper certainly helped putting a distance between Vedran and his brother, but the exicitement was shortlived when he fell into an underground bunker deep into the woods and busted his nose.

It was there that Vedran got the second surprise of his life that night, this time, in the form of a fucking baby — a whole breathing and crawling baby that actually clapped upon discovering Vedran haphazardly strewn across the cold cemented bunker floor.

It was quick thinking that quite possibly saved his life that night, spurred on by newly found paternal instincts that forced him on his feet, looking for a way to cover the hole he had fallen through from his brother. Vedran make good use of the leaves that had gathered over the seasons inside the bunker and abused the hell out of his impressive height, using a long piece of cloth he dumped the leaves on to obscur it from view as he huddled into a corner with the baby pressed to his chest as he waited until the next morning, when the police sirens blared all across the forest, from the camp where they gathered.

Todor hadn't found them, though he was close to it, a couple times.

Vedran had bullshitted his statement as much as he could, trying his hardest to avoid having them suspect him, as well as trying to dodge the hell out of a mini-vacation at the psychiatric ward. Nobody questioned the strange presence of the baby that literally poofed into existence, not more than they were legally required to. They didn't even bother verifying Vedran's claim that he was just a kid he had to babysit at the last moment for a classmate from college.

It made sense, then, how his brother had managed to stay under the police’s radar, though he all but had a neon sign above his head pointing down as him as the town’s killer mascot.

That's how Vedran became a single father. The murders faded pretty quickly into obscurity and most of the townfolks moved on with ease. Vedran smashed open the piggy bank he left untouched since his childhood along with his brother's and paid for somebody to settle the papers of the boy's custody, boy which he affectionaly called Octane.

His parents didn't bat an eyelash at the revelation he has a son, as being a parent at such an young age is obviously better than being a serial killer and this, at least, they knew how to handle.

Vedran, however, doubted he was anywhere near adequately equipped to handle Satan incarnate, as he will later find out.

Actual Satan, with horns, tail, legions of demons and all, which, in all honesty, is somewhat acceptable.

It could've been some 'Predestination' shit meets fratricide.

[ginkgou]

mai can we seriously talk about how fucking dumb people are by trying to shame people from eating dog? im really disgusted right now bc i saw people trying to petition the winter Olympics in SK bc they eat dogs and cats............ i cannot even believe it....

yeah i saw that too years ago but it’s not gonna work it’s stupid ignorant n xenophobic whites/ westerners with their noses up their ass thinking they’re better than those dumb chinks who eats cats and dogs i’ve talked about this so many times it wears me out . people who have issues about asians eating dogs willingly eat cows and pigs and chickens who people raise as pets. it’s hypocritical and supremest for people to condone eating one kind of species while banning and raging over eating another. the issue isn’t only in the fact that people are picking and choosing which species’ lives r more important than the other, its the mindset that everything asians do are backwards and stupid. they think us stupid for eating dogs because we aren’t evolved enough to tell the difference between moral meat and immoral meat (tsk as if there’s a such thing as moral meat). they think us ignorant and backwards for our herbal medicines and therapies but adopt it calling it their oriental and exotic. everything asians do westerners think it’s either magical or dirty and stupid. back to the topic on eating dogs and cats, shit im a buddhist and a vegan and i have two cats who i adore to death i don’t think humans should be eating any animals at all but i don’t got shit to say bout people eating cows or dogs or cats it’s. whatever the fuck ur culture is or how ur raised i don’t got shit to say about it bc people live their lives differently and even tho i would like them to live the way i am, i don’t expect it and i won’t force it upon them its a matter of respecting people’s choices and lifestyle. the petitioning of the olympics in south korea is so goddamn racist and hypocritical and if they got the time to be hating asians so much and wanting to save the poor dogs being eaten in south korea why don’t they do shit bout the abundance of dogs in their own countries at the pound being euthanized ? the ones abused ? forced to live in small cages until adoption/ death? like solve ur own goddamn problems first or just say u hate chinks and get it over with