#well they call it a petting zoo but it was just one enclosure with a few animals in it 😂

[ofmdee]

☺

just got home from meeting up with my best ofmd friend (and one of my best friends overall, tbh) kira, we had such a nice time, got coffee at a little cafe and then walked across the street to the farmer's market and bought fudge, which i am stoned and eating right now 😂 met her parents and saw her brother again, too

i don't really DO stuff outside of the house for fun more than a couple times a year, and most of the time when i DO go out for leisure i end up not enjoying it and just wanting to go home, and then hating myself when i get home because of how i acted at the function, but hanging out with her never feels like that and it's just like. idk there aren't a lot of ppl i can say that about, rly only my gf and like, my brother?? idk im just rly glad that we were both on twitter and she liked my sims enough to initiate a conversation with me, and kept at it despite me being BAD at small talk and the initial stages of friendship, and that was all because we both liked ofmd!!! i love this show and what it's brought me!! 😤

[aekatty]

𝒵𝑜𝑜 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒! Ft. Monster trio + Law

a/n: i’m new to posting so no judging pwety pwease. also i wrote this super late at night 🙏

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18+!! MINORS DNI

masterlist

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cw: mentions of short reader, all of the guys except law-ish sound like they’re on crack, lots of wrestling, cheesy asf, is this what u do at a zoo?!

tags ✮⋆˙

fluff but mostly humorous, literal chaos, a bit ooc(?), tried to make it gender inclusive, found this prompt through pinterest lol

zoro

when you brought up the idea of going to the zoo, warned him beforehand about the “look but don’t touch” rule

you didn’t want him to see the zoo as a training arena

first suggested that yall go to the beach instead but u declined it saying, “it was too cliche”

he would never admit it but he’s silently insecure whenever he sees you get along well with the animals (whenever he smiles at them, they run away)

a small smile creeps up at the corner of his lips as he watches you gawk at the aquatic animals section

you call the seals, “sea puppies.” he just calls them “water dogs”

purposefully makes eye contact with gorillas to rile them up (he tried to ask the zookeeper to let him inside the enclosure so he can fight them to which you slap him in the back of the head for)

gorillas see eye contact as a challenge to fight

there was an event that happened where the penguins would dive and twirl underwater to impress you

zoro threatened them by claiming that he’ll ask sanji to turn them into “penguin kabobs” if they didn’t stop flirting with his gf (they got scared and ran back to their zookeeper)

attempted to smile at the otters but got scared and swam away

got lost one time and accidentally landed in the chimpanzee enclosure. you couldn’t help but laugh as the keeper got mad at him for beating up the chimpanzees bc they “gave him the stink eye”

the crew made fun of him after coming back from the zoo with a bald patch at the back of his head.

a giraffe thought his hair was grass and you had to pull him away just so he wouldn’t be tempted to use his swords on them

got both of you guys got kicked out after he tried impressing you by using three sword style on a polar bear

luffy

like zoro, u also warned him about the “look don’t touch” rule

like a kid on sugar, luffy got excited as he became enamored with the (in his own words), “big buff animals”

kept asking you which of these animals would make a delicious meal

would point at the monkeys and go, “look, it’s me!”

for the love of god, the rubber boy would not stop cracking up at the baboons and calling them “apple butts”

randomly asked you if you would find him more attractive if he was an actual monkey

he genuinely believed you when you joked about rhinos being “dinosaurs”

“NO WAY!! I THOUGHT THEY WERE EXTINCT!”

“i was jok-“

“WAIT TILL I TELL ROBIN ABOUT THIS! SHE'S GONNA BE SO JEALOUS WHEN SHE FINDS OUT THAT I DISCOVERED DINOSAURS BEFORE HER!”

he kept stretching his face and making monkey noises at the monkeys

(they looked at him with disinterest)

he thought it would be a good idea to wrestle a bear. you got mad at him after he knocked it out with his “gum-gum pistol”

he cried at the sight of the otters because he said that it reminded him of alabasta and that alabasta reminds him of vivi

he asked the giraffes if they were related to kaku and then panicked bc he “thought he was racist” for asking that

“[name], does this mean I'm not woke :(“

you got mad at him after he decided it would be a good idea to put his head inside the mouth of a hippo. the zookeeper almost fainted as the hippo bit down on his head but you assured them that his devil fruit powers would prevent him from dying that easily

you honestly contemplated your relationship with your captain/boyfriend but his stupidity is what makes him charming (to you at least)

he kept asking the zookeepers if he can keep the boa constrictor as a pet

along with wanting a snake as a pet, he kept asking the lions if they could join his crew

got emotional at the sight of leopards bc they reminded him of pedro

like zoro, he got both of yall kicked out after he tried smuggling a lion out of the cage and named it “sun destroyer 4000”

you were more surprised at the fact that you guys didn’t get kicked out earlier

sanji

“[name], my dear, how would you feel if i took you out on a date to a place of your choice?”

“well there is one place i’ve been wanting to go to for awhile.”

maybe going to the zoo with sanji was a mistake, the flirty blonde boy would not stop comparing you to every “cute” animal he saw

for long hair: it didn’t help that he purposefully braided your hair and tied them up to look like bear ears which you look even cuter in his eyes (my headcanon is that sanji knows how to braid hair hehe)

he found it cute that you saw a bunch of reindeers and called them “a family of choppers”

if there was a big crowd of people surrounding an exhibit and you couldn’t see, he would use his height to his advantage by lifting you up to get a good view of the animals

after getting down you were wondering why his nose was bleeding until you realized he had a good view under your skirt

if you’re wearing pants, he just nose bled at the sight of your gyat

you joked with him saying that you would find it hot if he wrestled an ostrich. but sanji being sanji, took it literal and actually did it

the zookeeper yelled at him after the ostrich was left unconscious

flirtatiously asked if you would still find him attractive even if he was an animal

“no, sanji, that would be beastiality.”

felt his whole face heat up after you put on matching ear headbands with him

in response, he tried to buy out the whole gift shop

tried to convince you into buying “i’m his, im hers” shirts but you told him it was cringe which hurt his ego

for gn! readers, bro tried to buy those “im cool, im cooler shirts” cause he a lil cheesy

when you became enamored with the snake exhibit he tried to flex saying, “you wouldn’t have to worry about a snake swallowing you bc i would be there to protect you, my dear”

you compared him to a ram bc you saw him as courageous and determined for his crew

“[NAME] SWANNN, YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT OUT OF THE BLUE!” there goes your man…

almost nose bled AGAIN at the thought of you as a red panda while visiting the exhibit (you thought he was tweakin)

got jealous when you said tigers were just as cool as zoro

he compared zoro to a baboon bc he’s always scratching his ass and sniffing his hand after (wait why is this lowk a good headcanon 😝)

you found it adorable as you watched him feed the animals in the petting zoo as if he were their father

he freaked out as the goat stole the cigarette out of his mouth and ate it in front of him.

one of your fave moments of intimacy with sanji would be sharing cotton candy with him as you watched the penguins do tricks in the water

after getting back on the sunny, you decided to surprise him with a ram plushie you bought behind his back

he thanked you by peppering your face in kisses and showering you in praises

“oh my dear, [name]. you don’t need to spoil me like that! it should be the other way around!”

bonus!! trafalgar law

law asked his crew beforehand on “great date spots” to take you out on; to which penguin suggested yall go to the zoo

he never cared for the zoo but as long as you were happy he didn’t mind

got flustered after you mentioned that snow leopards reminded you of him

he bought you a snow leopard plush and you named it “traffy”

you asked him if you should buy souvenirs for the crew

you asked him if you could adopt a polar bear so that bepo would have a friend. he replied with, “no bc he’s already friends with me”

thought it would be funny to teleport you to the lion enclosure until his powers conveniently started tweaking and he couldn’t teleport you back out

you punched him in the head after you came back with scratches from wrestling them

he felt bad for the joke he did on u, so he teleported you to the capybara enclosure as an apology

compared you to a meerkat bc “you’re short but really fast on those legs.” you responded by threatening to give his sword away to zoro

made fun of you after you got startled by him in the insect section. he laughed as you slapped his hand after he pretended it was a tarantula

he likes to install fear into u by explaining different ways each animal can kill you

he would purposefullykiss you in front of the monkeys after they tried flirting with you

the zookeeper had to tell him to stop bc they were afraid that they would break out their enclosure

what pissed him off even more was the fact it reminded him of the rubber boy

after you guys get back to the submarine, the crew crowded you as you gave them their souvenirs. law couldn’t help but smile at your generosity and friendship with everyone

oh yea….he felt himself fall in-love with you again

[missterious-figure]

This is just a little design dump. Blue tiger Moon and Golden tiger Sun! (Note: Blue tigers aren't real, but it's to cool NOT to have Moon as one!)

This is only a small au, I do want to do a one shot for it at some point! For now, I'm calling it the Eye of the Tiger au! Originally the peacock Moon was from Wine and Feathers au was going to be a blue tiger! But I skimped out of the idea. Now blue tiger Moon is back!!

This takes place in a big cat reserve/park. Most likely y/n is a zookeeper again, taking care of Sun and Moon.

Moon is the zoo's rarest creature, being the only blue tiger to ever be documented. He is not super friendly and isn't talkative at all. He pretty much only talks with his enclosure mate, Sun. He's allowed to wonder the park with Sun, but doesn't let people touch him at all.

Sun is also rare, being a golden tiger. He is sweet and friendly. He is well behaved, as he used to be owned by a showman. He's a chatterbox, never shutting up really. He loves to play wrestle with Moon and do tricks for guests. He allows people to pet him, too.

[ceasarslegion]

Yeah man when people started slamming that Thai zoo it kinda set off alarm bells for me regarding the zoo around the place I grew up in the gulf. The zoo I used to go too would rehouse exotic animals seized from people because there was a huge exotic pet problem in the area, and the place was trained in rehabilitating, training, and housing them, and had tightly supervised animal interactions where you could buy treats from little stands and toss them into the enclosures to watch zebras gobble up grass or what have you. They also have restaurants where you can interact with the apex predators, where one half of the table was behind the glass so they could hop up and watch you eat if they wanted, and the tiger enclosure had these little nooks in the glass where you could sit with them without them being able to get to you.

They also had this grizzly bear, who was 40 years old. Now, grizzlies live for about 20 years, so he was an old boy. He was slow and a bit lethargic and they built him his own separate enclosure with enrichment toys that were easier on his old joints so the other bears wouldn't play so rough with him. He loved to sit like a person and watch the people who came to see him, he reportedly loved people watching and was content to do it all day, so they made the platform more visible for him to see everyone and put up a sign saying that he loves to "talk," so say hi! And when you'd wave and shout "hi!" he'd happily call back to you.

On a school field trip once the keepers told us that they crush up bear painkillers in his food and mash it up a bit so it's easier for him to tear up and chew, and his old joints don't ache. They also told us that he must be very happy and well taken care of to live for so long, and we could all tell how much love they had for him and how much special attention they paid to him.

And then an american tourist took a photo of him and spread it around, claiming he was an abused animal who should be euthanized. And everybody just believed them because the zoo was in the middle east, saying that his enclosure was "too small" (it wasn't, it was specially built for a bear with limited mobility), that he was being forced to interact with people (he wasn't, the zoo responded to the social behavior he willingly participated in), and their proof was the photo of him sitting and looking up at them. And I suddenly had to see a bunch of westerners who would probably call the entire gulf a dangerous war zone calling for him to be put down for his own good, acting like this bear was so hard done by and knew nothing but suffering and likened him to a circus animal being forced to perform for human amusement. And acted like anyone who visited could full on pet adult tigers with no supervision because of the animal interaction aspect

This is a photo of the bear watching his visitors when he was alive (he was put down a few years ago, not in response to the whole Thing, but because his painkillers stopped working and he was in pain and distressed):

And this is the one that was spread around claiming he was abused (the shaved patches were from vet treatments and the grate he's looking through is his food slot. He's asking for snacks, not "forlornly looking through his jail bars"):

Anyway, that's what this whole Moo Deng shit reminds me of.

[welp-back-on-my-bs]

ike prince zoo to husband AU

- you have three pets at home Yeves(yellow cat), Rio, ans Silvio

- you found Rio first, saving him from the streets, he likes to lay in your lap and cuddle you alot

- then you went to a pet store and bonded with Yeves then a bit later Silvio

- Yeves is often in accidents, falling off of everything, tripping iver things, etc. It's amazing he is still alive

- Silvio and Rio often bark at eachogher and play fight. You do get worried about Rio, bit soon after he trots ived to you and cuddles you. Silvio is a bit of a gaurd dog and protects you, and steals treats when he can get away with it. He also barks and growls at any of your guests and won't let woman (outside of you if you are one) pet him

- at the zoo you take care of alot of differnt animals

- there is the Albino Tiger known as Chalavier, you call him Chev, he dosent really let people hang around him. You're one of the only ones he does, witch is cool, you walk with him, and feed him. He dosent ever seem interested if you ever play with him, so you leave it be. Aparantly thjbgs went bad with the other tiger so they have been seperated

- Clavis is quite the graceful and playful leopard. He likes to jump on you and give you a bunch of kisses and is a bit cuddley. He clearly takes pride in whatever you gift him and is sure to eat it in view of other animals

- Nokoto is also quite the affectionate little animal. Although he is a bit more likely to show that affection in private areas. He tries his best to leave his sent on you. Loves to chase you and play tag

- Luke literally is the most affectionate and vuddley bear here. You tought the other animals were cuddley. When it comes to hibernation, he tries to take you to his cave to hibernate with him. It is dangerous for others to try to free you, but you can make a trade for your freedom

- Leon the Lion. Makes sence for a lion. He is quite the elegant and sweet one, with a beautiful dark Maine. He has never really shown who his favorite keeper is, but sometimes gentley bites your sleeve so you can stay longer

- Jin is a beautiful and elegant Eagle. He often flies over the zoo as the animals aren't going to attack him, and he won't attack them either. He has good manners, but mainly lands on the female employes

- Licht is a quiet and unassuming wolf. He often stays away from his keepers. He is a rescue from another zoo afterall along side of Nokoto. He gets along well with all of the animals surprisingly. He dosent allways eat, but you have been the first one to get him to. You do worry about him and just kinda hangout in hos enclosure sometimes just to let him get used to you

- Sarel is this beautiful big Eatern king snake, he was the first zoo animal witch took a likeing to you outside of Leon maybe. He likes to hang out on your shoulders and let you talk to kids and others about him and his species.

- Gilbert is the other lion this time with Melanism. He is black and quite beautiful really. He is quite playful with you, but is a bit nippy. He is often isolated and not allowed to sotalize with the other animals within the zoo due to a big fight with Chev causing him to lose an eye.

- Keith is another rescue from another zoo. He isn't really allowed to sofalize with the other animals due to being prey. He is another enclosure you do hang out in. Only Licht is allowed to play with him because Licht dosent eat animals he knows, any dead ones given to him. Keith is quite the sweet deer, most of the time. There're times where he does get aggressive and a bit bucky. You don't blame h8m tough and give him space and respect. He does his best to keep you safe while in his enclosure.

- one day you wake up to "hey! I'm hungry- are ya gonna feed us or what?-"

"Heyyy be nice to our human-"

"Whatever- they need to feed me since I'm the only one here who can actually take care of us outside of them getting the food!"

"Please shut up you two. They should get their beauty rest."

- what in the hell is going on????

[reborrowing]

snake tank (part one maybe?)

little snake lady can have a borrower. as a treat. ~2100 words cw: captivity, dehumanization, neglect, cruelty, violence, fear, pet…treatment? - I don’t want to call it pet trope because that implies sentient pets are normalized and this is weird and awful in-universe as well. not actually vore! idc if you interact from that side of tumblr, but you'll be disappointed if that's what you're hoping for

Poe

I threw myself against the glass one last, futile time as I heard the door on the far side of the study creak open. My fingers nearly brushed the lip of the prison I’d been placed in, nearly caught onto that ledge that might let me pry open the lid and make an escape. I was still in the air when I felt his eyes land on me. My fur stiffened as his heavy footsteps approached. His towering form blocked out what sunlight had filtered through the closed window as he sat at his desk.

“You quit that, now. You know you aren’t getting out. Unless you’d like to try speaking with me again?”

I turned to face him rather than wait for him to spin the jar I was sitting in. I slunk to the floor, drawing up my knees as if they could shield me from his . He looked annoyed this time, rather than intrigued. I shook my head and stared at my hands. It wasn’t as if I would want him to dump me into his cold hands even if he wasn’t upset. I was bruised enough.

“I don’t have anything else to say. Sir,” I said.

He rolled his eyes.

“There's no one else!" I insisted. “It’s just me, the others ran away months ago, I’m the only one left.”

It wasn’t the truth, though by now it was close. The Copper family had moved out after Mellie reported that the master of the house was now collecting dangerous, exotic pets in his showroom. It was just the most stubborn of us left, or the most foolish.

“What to do with you, then?” the master of the house hummed.

He tapped a finger on the glass thoughtfully, right behind my head, in case I needed the reminder that my skull was no larger than the tip of his finger. I grimaced and looked back up at his face, where his wide lips twisted into a grotesque smirk. I closed my eyes as they curled back and revealed his teeth. My stomach twisted as he kept talking.

“My …friends tell me your kind is more trouble than you’re worth. But perhaps I could get some entertainment out of you?”

“Let me go, please. I’ll leave. I won’t bother you again,” I begged.

“Oh, but I do believe you owe me, little thief. How long have you been squatting here, hm?”

I slumped and curled in on myself. I had thought maybe, just maybe, if this guy cared for a zoo of strange animals, he might have a thread of compassion hiding in his oversized heartstrings. I’d—god, I had bet my life on it, hadn’t I? And now I was going to pay up.

Entertainment.

~

Hecate

A hand lifted away the log that I’d been curled up under.

I flinched awkwardly at the sudden light, then rolled to face the front of my enclosure. The man liked it when I “looked” at him. I couldn’t tell if he knew I was blind or not. All my eyes told me was that there was a large, blurry shadow standing over the tank. It could’ve been a tree, for all my eyes could understand.

I knew it was him though. I could sense his blazing warmth through other means. More importantly, I could smell him.

The hands. The nice hands. The man. Hugh Morton.

I smelled something else, too, something new. Another person, maybe? I listened intently for another heartbeat, another guest. I didn’t want to be shown off right now. I wanted to go back to sleep.

His hand reached back down to ruffle my hair, then run a rough finger across my scales. He rumbled something about feeding and I slumped back down to crawl back to bed. I wasn't hungry enough to want to fight and for all the good these hands did, they never killed my meals for me like the last ones did.

"Don't be so fussy, Hecate, I’m giving you a treat,” he chided. The ground shook as he flicked a finger against the glass wall. “You must get bored lying around in there all night.”

I huffed and and backed into a better position, against the side of one of my ceramic caves. I was still nursing a bite on my flank from my last dinner. 

I licked the air as Hugh slid open one half of the wall. I frowned. The prey was not a creature I knew. Hugh’s hands dangled a warm shadow by a long tail, then flicked it into the soil and the prey squeaked as it landed. It didn’t smell like a rat or any other rodent I’d encountered before. It did smell afraid.

It already understood it was being hunted. I didn’t like that. Scared meals fought back. I had scars to prove it.

Hugh scoffed in annoyance as the creature scrambled towards the opening in the glass. He knocked it back into the enclosure several times while I waited for a chance to strike.

“Don't make me break your legs," Hugh sighed.

The creature stopped moving. Strange. Its little heart was hot and hammering. Was it trained? Why would anyone take the time to train food?

Maybe it was afraid of Hugh’s voice. 

I took advantage of its stillness and lunged. It turned to run in the split-second before we collided. It slammed into one of my open arms. I fumbled as it flailed, then got myself curled around it anyway.

It felt strange against my scales. Not furry. Not naked. Synthetic. Was it wrapped? Humans wrapped their food, but not mine. They used those crinkling papers. This was wrapped in something soft.

Was it clothed?

I hesitated in my confusion and the prey bit back. Something long and sharp stabbed in between two ventral scales. I flinched, hissing, and the prey slipped away. It left the sharp thing behind, but it didn’t bleed. I put a hand on the sharp thing and realized it wasn’t a tooth. It had some kind of handle. Plastic. The point was metal. Some kind of tiny knife? I swayed uncertainly and let the little creature run.

What was he feeding me?

~

Poe

It had never occurred to me that there might be peoples other than humans and my own kind living in this world. I wish I had the time to found out.

The caged creature I had been placed with was, as most things were, comparatively massive. Its front was that of a vaguely humanoid woman, small, but still at least twice the size of my own top half. Her eyes were vacant and unfocussed. She was pale, fat, and lined with scars that told me she had much more experience than myself in fighting. 

The bulk of her body was what truly scared me. She was a python that trailed lazily across the near half of the terrarium. She was coiled, so I could only guess at her true length, but her girth was easy to make out. I regularly crawled through tunnels narrower than this snake, making it all too easy to understand what would happen to me. That the master of the house had returned my thumbtack seemed like a joke. I had no prayer here. This would be a cruel combination of all the worst deaths I'd been taught to fear—caught, crushed, and consumed.

Entertainment!

I wanted to refuse him the satisfaction. I let myself lie down and cry as the master of the house threw me back into the dirt with an unambiguous threat. I might as well. No one else would know to mourn me for weeks, even months.

It would turn out that my inborn will to survive was stronger than my desire to spite the host I'd lived under for so many years. I rolled out of the way, only a split second two late, as the snake woman pounced. She caught me in the crook of her elbow then shoved me into a wall of scaled muscle. The python whipped around me before I could take a breath. I barely had the space to think, never mind resist. It was sheer luck that wedged my thumbtack between two plates of her underbelly.

And it was enough. She spasmed and let go of me.

I fell forward into the dirt, coughing to refill my aching lungs. I don’t think she had left any part of me unbruised, though didn’t waste time taking inventory of my injuries.

“Hey, don’t let it get away now, girl, get up!"

I scowled up at the master of the house as I pushed onto my feet. There was nowhere for me to get away to, not while he was leering over the open door.

I didn't understand him.

I didn't understand how a thinking creature such as himself, with all his power and all his resources, would resort to blood sport for entertainment. The study I'd spent my life beneath had a beautiful library. Page after page told of the world's endless mysteries, of beauty and majesty and life for him to go out and pursue. And he would choose to spend his time watching some monster eat me alive.

I saw the snake-woman moving out of the corner of my eye. My stomach twisted at the utter silence of her movement over the dirt even before she started sliding towards me, and then it was like a switch went off in my head. Gone was higher thought, blown away by the sheer force of the ancient instinct to run.

The terrarium was full and well-decorated, with plenty of greenery both faux and alive as well as several dark spaces to hide. I doubted any would shelter me, this place had been built for her. 

I had nowhere to go and I ran and I ran and I hit the glass and I ran and there was a branch so I climbed it and I reached the ceiling and there was more glass and I turned around and there she was crawling after me and I jumped and her hand brushed my leg and I kicked and she fell  around me like an avalanche and it was over.

Her long body surrounded me and as soon as I moved, she struck. Walls of scales encased me again and this time, no tack would save me. Everything went dark.

Several seconds passed. She loosed her grip. I heard the master’s muffled voice droning through her flank. I took a breath and shuddered. Long minutes of silence passed and the knot she’d wrapped me in fell away. 

I admit I didn’t know much about snakes, but she didn’t seem to be very good at this.

I sprung to my feet, desperate to get at least a few inches between us again, but her hand wrapped around my face. She grabbed the back of my shirt’s neckline with her other hand and I thrashed as she pulled me off the ground.

Slowly, her palm pulled away from my face. She rubbed two fingers over my eyes, traced the curve of my nose, and drew a thumb across my lips. I bit down as hard as I could. She barely flinched, just wiped a little blood off on the side of my face.

“Beb?” she croaked.

Her blank eyes narrowed in concentration as her tongue flicked out of her mouth and brushed against my nose. Tasting me. Her lips twitched. I felt cold.

“No, please! Please, please, please, kill me first, please,” I cried.

She tilted her head to the side. Her tongue flickered twice more and both times I flinched. She babbled something in a tortured voice. 

“Please,” I begged. “If you can even understand me, please, just kill me before you eat me. I don’t want to suffer.” 

She frowned and hissed several times. My blood trembled through my veins. She slowly shaped her tongue around some word I did not know. She patted my head and sighed, then set me gently on the dirt beside her and slithered away.

~

Hecate

The prey had the face of a person.

The little thing was clever enough to talk, but not smart enough to understand me. They were small like a hatchling. They ran on legs like a bird. 

They screamed and cried so I let the little one have some space, whatever they were.

I hoped they would come back to me. They were very warm. Like the sun, but in a person. Like food. Like Hugh.

Like this lovely little cave in the back of the tank. I curled up and burrowed into myself for a cozy rest.

I hoped they wouldn’t try to kill me.

[clatterbane]

I forgot to actually post about it, but we went to Ystad Djurpark last weekend, which was kinda fun. (Their site.) It's actually way the hell out of town down this country road, so I still haven't seen Ystad itself yet.

It is a fairly small private zoo with a decent number of domesticated animals and some petting zoo setup. We were both fairly impressed at how good the conditions for the animals looked overall, which is always a relief especially dealing with smaller private zoos. The enclosures were roomy, and looked well planned out.

We didn't end up staying as long as either one of us would have liked. It wasn't the easiest going in a wheelchair. All the paths are gravel, and that part of Skåne is a LOT hillier than here around Malmö. Which I really enjoyed seeing, because the creepy flatness kinda gets to my head after growing up around here--but, not so much trying to wheel my decrepit ass around on gravel.

About to head in. That was not, in fact, the entrance. That was down and around up to the side. That turned out to be the Gator House, with some other smaller reptiles/amphibians.

Mississippialligator!

There were more than a few of them. They did have a decent bit of indoor space, away from the goggling humans. But, they seemed to enjoy basking under their sun lamps out in the open while we were there.

I did not end up getting that many photos. I was mostly too busy trying to wheel myself around under kinda difficult conditions, and eventually my shoulders and one elbow started yelling enough that we had to call it a day before we even got to the servals or the bison. Ah well. At least the weather was glorious. Also on the plus side, they did have at least one decently accessible bathroom that I was in. Apparently have at least one more.

I am not wheeling myself back up after going further down there. Even with a little human power assist, which I kinda hate but needed to ask for at a couple of points after that elbow started up. You can just about see some camels down under the awning down toward the bottom, where some humans are. I decided that was close enough for right then.

We can go back, and at least I did have the sense to call it quits before actually doing myself an injury. Regrouped, got some ice cream, and decided to haul ourselves back out to the Volvo.

But, a few more pics along the way.

Not sure that wasn't an accidental shot. But, pretty soon on the way in.

A dwarf bearded dragon who kept mugging at us.

Hard to see their fur there. But, we both seemed to be enjoying the shade under that tree. A Hungarian wooly pig who did have a really neat-looking coat texture.

[darkseraphscorner]

King's Row

Seraph's house.

Neph looked up from playing with Spike, seeing an exhausted Noelle and Gir walk in. "You two look like shit, hard day heroing?"

Gir looks away, but Noelle squeezed her shoulder. "Her first therapy session, Vanguard offer it to all Preatorians, to deal with the temporal slip and the stress of a new world, Gir also has some issues to get over, don't you Gir."

The Olympiad Guard nodded. "My brain is broken, the Therapist thinks it is a detach, as my body was grown fast, the brain struggles to keep up with all the input."

Neph's face softens. "Sounds like you need something to take your mind off it, like a therapy pet."

Noelle gasps. "Oh I could never afford to get government clearance on a companion animal."

Neph blinks, them remembers, Preatoria was extremely strick on animal ownership. "Guys, this is Paragon, you don't need to fill in government paperwork to own a pet."

Gir and Noelle look at each other, the lightbulb clicking on.

"But how would we even star-" Gir started, but was cut off as Caroline ran into the room.

"Wegoingpetshoping?" The teen said breathlessly, before grabbing Gir and Noelle's hands and dragging them to the door.

"Well that solves that Spike." The cyborg chuckles as they leave, patting the Bulldogs head.

Atlas Park

Spencer's pet emporium.

Caroline practically bounced as they entered the pet store. "I love this place, it is like a mini zoo, all sorts of pets from around the world, even digital pets for the tech savvy."

Gir and Noelle follow her, looking around in awe, there where more animals here than the two had ever seen in Pretoria combined, animals hooting, hollering and cheeping.

"It... It is a bit loud." Noelle said, rubbing her ears.

Caroline waved a hand. "That's just the animals asking you to take them home, now I'll let you wander and see what you like."

Gir found herself gravitating to the reptile and amphibian section, marveling at the root of colours on display, in her short time being alive, she had never seen anything like this.

Meanwhile Noelle was examining the birds, smiling at their songs as they flittered in their cages.

Caroline smiled as they wandered off, the look of wonder on their faces amazing. Eventually both came back. "So.... Find something you like?" Caroline asked, both women nodding. "Good, I'll find a staff member to help us."

King's Row

Seraph's House.

Neph was still on the couch, Spike now asleep on her lap as she heard them come back, Gir near hidden behind a glass enclosure and supplies, while Noelle carried a simple box. "What ya get?" She asked.

Gir giggles. "I got a Packman frog, he is fat and full of love." She declared proudly before heading to her room.

Noelle blushed and held out.... A Roomba.

Neph tilted her head. "If you wanted a cleaning bot... Why not just get a clockwork? There are tons of them now with nothing better to do."

Noelle frowned. "Neph that is very insensitive, I work with several clockwork, it would be rude to own one." She says before carefully applying a pair of googly eyes to the Roomba.

Neph shrugged. "Kay, not exactly what I call a pet, but you do you."

Noelle nods and heads to her apartment, humming as she carries the Roomba home.

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

I witnessed something kind of heartbreaking and kind of infuriating today, so here's a vent about it

Trigger warning for animal cruelty, and for... just a really fucking sad situation, I guess

Also, the events here are not entirely in order, it's been a fucking emotional roller coaster of a day and I'm writing this at... well I don't remember what time it was when I started but it's 5am 6am now, I had to get it all out into words outside my head and there was only so much editing I could do on my current level of brainpower, so some of what I say in here will make more sense once you read further

Things had been going well enough. Unexpectedly well, actually. We had planned to see my grandparents this weekend and we took one of our dogs with us and stopped for coffee on the way and just generally made a day of it, got to the campground they're staying at and got to hang out with them and their puppy and my aunt and uncle and baby cousin, we all had lunch and my granddad took a few of us out on the boat to ride around the lake, which I had been looking forward to

All in all it had been a really nice day

But someone had the idea to go check out the campground's petting zoo, and well, things went pretty severely downhill from there

We were walking around the back of the sheds beside a more open enclosure, I was sort of lagging behind so I hadn't seen yet what was causing a disturbance, but I caught up to my grandma right as she was about to call the management of the place, saying it looked like a mama goat was in distress and asking if they were aware

Basically what this lady told her over the phone was "oh yeah we know, she's probably not going to make it, she just had triplets and there's not really anything we can do" and I guess she was like, grossly nonchalant about it, based on my grandma's description

I hadn't heard it all, just enough to know there was something going on with a mama goat, she wasn't doing well, and that the management knew about it

I think I hadn't fully processed it yet, as I was missing chunks of context and I hadn't actually seen it for myself, because I thought vaguely "oh that's kinda sad," but once I took in the full situation?

When I tell you I was devastated-

I got past the clumsy wooden walls to the open part of the pen, where there was a goat lying on her side, seemingly unable to move but for a feeble kick of her legs every now and then and the rolling of her eyes. She had collapsed- presumably- outside her shelter, in the hot, bright sun, left unshielded from the elements and unable to even get any water to cool down, as she lay slowly dying out in the open for all to see, alone but for the tiny, fragile kids that depended on her for their own survival. There was a small tub of water in the pen, but the nanny couldn't get up to walk over to it, and it was too tall to be of any use to the kids. I watched one of them push at it, trying to knock it over with his itty bitty head.

My mom, who's been a major animal person since childhood, was very much not ok with the whole scene (neither were the rest of us, but she sort of led the way). She went into the pen, along with me, my sister, and my aunt, while my grandma kept trying to figure out if anyone who worked here gave a shit about the animals in their care

There's a gap here where I lost track of what everyone else was doing. I was busy approaching the little goat by the water tub, tipping it enough for him to get a drink, and then fending off his repeated attempts to eat my shoelaces. He was a hell of a cute little guy, and trouble right out the gate. I was a bit caught up in his adorable antics for a moment, but the instant attachment I felt toward the little guy would end up making the rest of our time there all the more painful as I considered his bleak future through a lens of irrational, protective affection. I scooped him up in my arms so he'd stop chasing my laces and we could focus on the more serious problem at hand without tripping over him

Her baby in my arms, I turn my attention back to the suffering mama goat. My mom dips her cupped hand in the tub of water and offers it to the nanny, to one of the kids, and we follow her example. I stand between the nanny and the harsh sunlight and arrange first my sister and later my aunt to stand beside me and cover her body more effectively in shadow, offering her some small respite in whatever ways we can.

The matrons of my family are fighting the good fight with the campsite workers, over the phone as well as in person- once someone finally deigned to show up- much more calmly than I possibly could have done, but it's obvious to us my mom is furious (as she should be).

As for me, over the course of all of it, taking in the scene- the ailing creature at my feet, the knowledge that she wasn't expected to survive, that her and her kids were virtually being left to starve or succumb to illness or bake to death in the sun, that these babies might watch their mother die and wither away beside her, all while some dirtbag humans who either had no fucking clue what they were doing or just didn't care and in any case had no right to possess these animals practically stood by and did nothing but bitch at the witnesses with hearts- I was crying. I kept crying, on and off and on again. I kept having to look away just to get control of myself. At one point I was slipping dangerously into a fit of public sobbing and had to bite down so hard on the skin of my wrist that I'm pretty sure there are still marks now, almost twelve fourteen hours later.

The woman who eventually showed up reiterated that the nanny had had triplets and that there wasn't much they could do, and when my mom tried to argue with her, she started pulling shit like asking my mom if she even had any animals of her own, suggesting she didn't know what she was talking about, and stating that "sometimes nature just has to take its course"

First of all, my mom has had animals most of her life. Maybe not farm animals, but still.

Second and more importantly in terms of relevance and knowledge, our next door neighbor literally raises goats. My mom is always home and talks to this woman a lot; she's seen and heard plenty about these goats and their care, and has in fact helped birth new kids when one of the goats went into labor while the owner was MIA.

She also had done her research and prepared and overall been very aware and responsible when one of our dogs had a litter of puppies, and under her prepping and care all ten puppies and their mom survived and were healthy.

So like. Don't fucking say my mom doesn't know what she's talking about, when you literally leave your animals in a state in which they don't even have access to the most basic of necessities for survival and she actually does have a background with the type of situation at hand.

Also, our neighbor's goats have had multiples and been ok with a little bit of assistance when necessary, so them suggesting that her health was a lost cause purely on the principle of her having had triplets is highly suspicious and their general evasiveness, nonchalance, and obvious oversights make it seem pretty damn clear which party doesn't fucking know what they're doing

And, what the fuck do you mean "nature just has to take its course???" Like yeah ok sometimes things go wrong sometimes animals get hurt or sick and they die and that's just a part of life, but this isn't the fucking wild, this is a setting where you have chosen to be responsible for these animals, their lives and welfare literally depend on you and it is your responsibility to take that seriously and to provide for them and not to just let a mother fucking suffer a slow agonizing death and let the babies starve.

If you really have tried treating her like you say (doubtful) and if the owner/boss of the place is really a vet (highly doubtful), then why the hell are you allegedly unable or unwilling to put the poor thing out of her misery? No seriously they told us the owner was a vet, and then turned around and told us they couldn't euthanize the goat when my mom said that that would be the more humane thing to do. Literally the least you could do here, and as my dad pointed out, even if for some reason their "vet" boss didn't have access to the necessary drugs, they could just shoot her. It would be quicker, it would be over

Someone was sent out to carry the goat to the office (for some reason? I don't know what their plan was from there) but she wasn't strong enough to carry her that far, she said she'd have to wait for so-and-so to get back so he could carry her instead, but in the meantime she at least dragged the nanny into the shade of the shed. It would probably be her final resting place. We found a smaller container elsewhere in the pen and filled it with water for the kids, but it won't do them much good on the 2 feedings per day the office promised us they'd be receiving (newborn kids need to be fed at the very least 4 times a day).

Unfortunately we had predetermined plans set for that evening that involved other people, so we couldn't stay any longer, we had to get home. Before we left, my sister and I carried the babies into the shed to be with their mother for however much time she had remaining, my mom rushing us, getting snappy in the way she has a tendency to do when she's distressed and taking her anger out on the wrong people, because it's socially acceptable to be impatient and harsh with your own kids but it's not to cuss out other adults in public, even if they really deserve it. I could barely speak but I croaked out a "we're coming" laced with a reflexive returning bite, my own defensive tendency to the pattern. I tried to plant a kiss on the furry head of the kid I was holding but I was shaky and I think I missed; I whispered to him "I hope they don't let you starve," bit back another sob, set him down and walked away

I think this whole thing was like. A canon event for me. I just really genuinely don't understand how someone can be so indifferent to the lives in their care, when we- a random group of strangers who hadn't known any of these goats even existed until then- were so thoroughly caught up and distraught over their fate that we stood with a dying animal and did whatever precious little we could with none of their alleged credentials or experience or resources. Where are your fucking ethics? Where is your humanity? It is your job to do something about this and yet you sound like you're mad at us for trying to get you to do just that. God I want those goats to be ok, and I also want that petting zoo to be shut down and all the animals relocated to homes that will actually care for them. But life isn't fair, and that isn't what will happen, and chances are those babies are going to lose their mother- if they haven't already, by now- and then their lives, and the people responsible will just continue about their own, unchanged. How can you be unchanged? You probably knew those goats' names. I didn't have even that much information and yet I cried for them like they were my own. I will never understand you, and I don't want to

[ohyondermemphis]

WIP Lines Tag Game

Thanks for the tag, @luxvespertine!

Rules: share 7 (or more) lines of a WIP you've been working on

———

Well, I am getting old af. But these WIPs are even older.

1.

A Silence of the Lambs AU that just feels like I'm watching the movie but with Tomarry:

“You drew these yourself, sir?” He follows Harry’s line of sight, unblinking, that slow slide of a smile that still looks ill fitting on him. Voldemort hums, walks slowly closer to him. Harry tenses, jittery but desperate to not show it, this close and it feels like a predator closing in. 

He’d been to the zoo once, long enough ago that it’s not a clear memory, but a snake had reared up in the cool dark of the enclosure, swaying eye to eye with him for breathless moments. He feels very much the same now. 

2.

Jumping on the Regulus bandwagon, Fem Harry/TR/RB, semi-incestuous Black family drama:

“You fuck him and call it family.” She spits it out, like it could absolve her from her own guilt, like how she dug her fingernails into her palms every time she looked at him. 

He smiles, bright and charmed by her vulgarity, crosses around the desk to stand in front of her, tall and much more impenetrable than she could ever hope to be. His hand, long and wand calloused, touches the curve of her cheek, her hard jaw. He whispers lover soft into her ear, “What do you call it when I fuck you?”

A jolt, but he’s always hit below the belt. 

“A mistake.” He laughs, low and amused, forever amused by her, she’s always ten inches tall in front of him. 

3.

Tomarry Arranged Marriage AU - my absolute favorite - with a gush of A/B/O:

Customarily, before mating, the alpha will supply all and sundry for the omega. He is to come to his alpha with nothing but that which the alpha provides. Harry isn’t surprised that Voldemort is such a traditionalist. 

So, Harry sits on his bed, sleep deprived and nervous. His fingers twitch on his bare thigh, and his door remains locked even though there have been knocks. He murmurs an affirmative to their low voices, ambivalent to any concern now that the contract is signed. The words are binding, his people are safe, his family and friends even more so. Magic is shining her light on Great Britain again and he isn’t even the first war bride in the last century.

4.

Witcher!AU - High fantasy with UST and knives to throats.

“He’s but a boy.” Tom arches a brow, arms folded and already bored with the older men’s theatrics. The clash of swords outside, that beautiful melody of steel against steel, reaches longingly into his ears. How long has it been since he pressed blade to blade with Barty, with Bella? How long since he had felt more human than monster? 

The answers aren’t in Dumbledore’s bright blues. Nor are they in the basin, with its blood and gore, where two emeralds fade into the bones that rattle in its depths. 

“A boy.” Sardonic, he turns to Gellert, his mentor, one hand holding his cheek and long legs crossed. His smile is all sharp teeth. He knows Tom will say yes, his pet seer isn’t needed for that, at least. 

5.

Fem!Harry/Fem!Tom, Hogwarts!AU - Grief fic sliced with slutty interludes.

Tom puts her arm up, quick, silent, stopping Harry in her tracks. She licks her lips, eyes on Tom, feeling that reckless, that daring more than usual tonight. “You’ll let me go, won’t you, Tom?” She becomes boneless, lost lamb. Tom’s eyes eat up what little light there is in this secret, furtive alcove.

“That depends entirely on you, sweetheart.” Tom doesn’t do anything as crass as licking her lips, not like Harry, who has plump bottom lip caught between teeth. She leans, breathless, on the wall, let’s Tom tower over her. She seems to like it, this cat and mouse game Harry can’t stop herself from playing. 

Tom’s other hand touches her sharp collar bone again, light fingertips that trail across vulnerable skin. They haven’t broken eye contact. 

Harry pushes forward, tip toes skimming the flagstones to press her mouth against the slick smirk on Tom’s. 

6.

Again. Femme Tomarry - because there just isn't enough. Toxic domesticity (catch and release pt 2)

There’s a darling curl of a tattoo under her rib, snake and skull, that clues Tomasina to anywhere she might be. She’s had no cause to regret it, even now. 

They’ve only been split for three days, enough that the ashes of every Marlboro light still clings to the tips of her fingers, drunk on cheap fire whisky (at home) and giggle water (at the pub). She keeps her wand near her and her ears as open as she can, can’t help but watch sightless in front of her when Tom’s name is whispered behind her back. 

7.

Tomarry Hannibal!AU - Dark romance in all it's forms.

She doesn’t bring up her late night escapades the next day. All her glamours drip off like rain as she walks through his doors, so she doesn’t have to say a word. The arch of his brow, the purse of his lips, the way he can read her so well, intrinsically, intimately. 

She swallows the thought back down. 

“Trouble sleeping again?” She wonders if he’s paid by the word, if he’s energized by the charming way he disarms every warrior that enters through his gates, world weary and heavy hearted. She snorts, inelegant, unrefined, nails bitten down and dirt from where she’d worked in her garden this afternoon. 

She was off today. Twenty four hours away from the hell her job had become. Twenty four hours to drink whiskey from mugs and pet her cats and feed her owl and pretend for twelve goddamn hours that this was the sum of her life. 

Her mandatory attendance with Tom Marvolo Riddle, six p.m. sharp, every Wednesday, whether she was working or not, interrupts that blissful fantasy. 

These were the terms and conditions of her agency. Free will wasn’t an option. Not when she was her, not while she still dreamed of monsters, not while she didn’t even need to be asleep to see them still. 

.....and that's enough of that.

[cl0ckworkpuppet]

ranking things the zoo guests do/say/ask on a regular basis

for context, i work at a zoo, and people are fucking insane

"can we pet them?": 3/10. no, you can't. the signs say you can't. but I commend you for asking. If you ask after you've already pet one, though, -8/10. do better.

"i think there's a nursery rhyme about the kookaburra!": 5/10. cool trivia fact! if you actually start singing it, though, 1/10. cool you actually know it, but please stop

"garfunkel, huh? where's simon?": -10000/10. You Suck. I hate when people ask me this and I hate them personally. Because of this job I now have a vendetta against Simon and Garfunkel.

(starts playing kookaburra noises on their phone speaker): 2/10. clever, but annoying. also, doesn't work if you're trying to get them to make noise. they only laugh when no one is watching them.

"well, one of 'em over there let me pet 'em just fine!": -6/10. you did not have to tell me you did that. and just by that description, i know it was garfunkel, who is usually resting because He Is Overheated. animals laying down is not an open invitation to come pet them.

"i was just taking pictures!": 0/10. you can take pictures from the designated guest path. Stay On It.

"can we pet the swans?": just for this question specifically, -16/10. are you fucking kidding me? can you pet the swans? ask me that question again but slowly.

"garfunkel?? they need to get some spaghetti, cuz that's not quite italian enough!": 10000/10. i've only ever heard this once, and it was today from a 13 year old, but I genuinely had to stop myself from bursting out laughing on the job

"are the emus friendly?": 4/10. Australia lost a war to them for a reason.

"why aren't the animals in cages?": -5/10. first of all, we don't cage animals, we keep them in habitats. second of all, this is the Australia Walkabout. Where you Walk About with the Australian animals. You came in here for that exact purpose.

"i don't like birds": -7/10. not because you're afraid, birds are a totally normal thing to dislike. i'm just baffled why you came into an enclosure full of many many free roaming birds if you are afraid of them

"why is the swan pond so dirty?": 1/10. first of all, that is algae, and in small amounts it's not bad at all. it's pretty natural, especially for a giant pond directly in the sun. but more importantly, it is hundreds of gallons, and we cannot put chlorine in it, and it is not feasible to clean every day. we do clean it multiple times a week, but it gets especially bad after storms or heavy rain

"will the budgies poop on me?": 7/10. valid concern, actually. budgies shit every 10-15 minutes. maybe. i've had it happen plenty of times before to guests and especially myself. to answer their question, you'll only get pooped on if you stand directly under them. they don't shit while flying so ur good

"can my child ride the [emu/wallaby/giraffe]?": -284/10. i don't know what kind of cocaine you need to be on to ask me this question seriously, or especially to expect the answer to be yes, but even as a joke this question isn't funny. if i had a nickel for every time i was asked this question, i'd have a quarter

"will the giraffes bite me if i feed them?": 8/10. no, they physically can't. nor do they want to. but it's a valid question; they're pretty big animals to be feeding so carelessly. you'll probably get licked though

(does an australian accent): just because it barely ever happens, 8/10. you'd think it'd happen more often, but no. i've only ever got it a couple times. i rank it so high because hearing these guys try and fail to do an accent makes me laugh so hard

"are you a farmer?": 9999/10. little kids ask me this question when they see my safari hat. makes my day every time.

"are these kangaroos?": 5/10. on one hand, fine. not everyone knows the difference between kangaroos and wallabies. since wallabies are like a quarter of the size of roos, they're often mistakenly called baby kangaroos. plus they're in the same family and look very similar. on the other hand, do you honestly think we'd be stupid enough to put actual fucking kangaroos in with guests walking around freely without an enclosure? be for real

"do these wallabies have pouches?": 3/10. fine question, but these guys have comically large balls

"is that wallaby dead?": 4/10. no, that's garfunkel. he sleeps all the time. i promise he's ok.

"can we pet the budgies?": 2/10. you're welcome to try, but even i can't get them on a seed stick let alone touch them

"can we grab the budgies out of the air?": -999999999/10. Explode.

"don't you hate how the animals are treated in zoos?": -999999/10. you are not the PETA warrior you think you are. when executed properly, they can be really good for the animals inside of them. natural does not necessarily mean good, nor does unnatural necessarily mean bad. that's called a Logical Fallacy. some of these animals Cannot Be Released. please do any amount of research on zoos and aquariums that are not seaworld or the once in a while shitshows

"what year do you graduate high school?": -infinity/10. i am in College.

"when i was younger, budgie feeding was one dollar each, not two!": -18/10. that was in 1943, grandma. plus i'm just some guy. what do you want me to do about that?

"can i have a seed stick for free?": if you're an adult, -10/10. No. if you're a child, 10/10. No (wink and passes under table).

"can you break a hundred?": -100/10. No.

"i like your hat": 10/10. thank you! i like yours too!

"that's a cool pin you have!": 10000/10. my pins are all pronouns and trans flags. i love you.

(sees me cleaning the budgie aviary) (looks at their kid) "See that man in there? If you don't behave, I'll force you to have his job.": -infinity plus one/10. First of all, fuck you for shitting on janitorial positions. I'm sure you would prefer to not step in bird shit. Second of all, I'm not a janitor. Third of all, fuck you for getting your child to behave using fear tactics and threats. Fourth of all, I love my job. I tell these kids and parents straight up to their face that I do. That this isn't everything I have to do in my job. Some parts might be dirty, but that's okay, and no one's job is ever something to be laughed at. One kid told their parent after I told them everything I get to do in my job that they actually want my job when they grow up. That parent was furious. Good. Fuck you, Karen, for shitting on workers that only help make your experience more enjoyable. I've only gotten this three times, thank god, but holy shit. The entitlement of these people is fucking insane

anyway i might think of more later

[darkershining]

Just watched episode 25 of Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure, in which the Cures wonder how to best raise Ellee while they all go on a trip to the zoo.

The episode begins with the Cures getting ready for a trip to the zoo, when Mashiro approaches Sora, asking if Ellee, being the Child of Destiny, should really just be eating regular food or if she should have something more fancy. Sora insists that Mashiro’s food is fine the way it is, before the two continue discussing whether there’s more they should be doing for Ellee. Tsubasa enters, wearing full football gear, admitting he somehow ended up like that while trying to work out the best way to protect Ellee. Ageha enters to find all three of them dressed in football gear, asking what they’re doing.

On the way to the zoo, Ageha tells the others that they’re probably overthinking things, and that they should just keep treating Ellee as they always have. For now, they should just enjoy the day having fun at the zoo. Arriving at the zoo, Ageha points out the statue of a dinosaur at the entrance, explaning it is the mascot for the zoo. Ellee is a bit intimidated by it, but Ageha assures her there’ll be plenty of fun animals to see.

The group start out checking the capybaras, with one approaching Ellee and Ellee guessing it wants a snack. Afterwards, the group go to check out some other animals, such as the elephants, giraffes and zebras. Sora notes that the zebras remind her of a similar animal that lives in Skyland, except the Skylandian variant is white and blue. Ellee calls out to the animals, who come closer to greet her. Mashiro starts to suspect that Ellee can talk to animals, so Tsubasa suggests they go see the lions since he’s curious about what they might have to say.

The lions are asleep, with Tsubasa noting that some lions are nocturnal. One of the lions wakes up and roars at the group. Tsubasa asks Ellee what it said, with Ellee replying the lion wants them to keep it down since they’re sleeping. The group apologize to the lions, and move on.

While taking a break from looking at animals, the Cures have lunch together. Mashiro, Sora and Tsubasa once again start discussing the best way to raise Ellee, with Ageha eventually interrupting, telling them they’re overthinking things again. Of course, she understands the situation, noting that even parents who aren’t raising a “Child of Destiny” are often wondering well they’re raising their kids and what decisions might benefit their child or not. The others calm down a bit, and decide to go check out the petting zoo once they’re done having lunch.

Elsewhere, a bull-like warrior from the Undergu Empire is doing strength exercises by lifting a large log. Once he’s finished, he decides it’s finally time to track down the Cures, having been waiting a long time to find a worthy opponent.

While the Cures are at the petting zoo, the animals get nervous when they sense the arrival of the Undergu General, and the Cures decide to go see what is going on. They meet the new villain, Minoton. Noting the similar names, Mashiro asks if he’s related to Kabaton, with Minoton stating he’s not and that he’d rather not be compared to someone like him.

Minoton turns the dinosaur statue into a Ranborg, and the Cures transform to fight it. Cure Wing uses his Mirror Pad to look up info about the tyrannosaurus the statue is based on, to see if he can figure out how they might be able to beat it, noting that the T-Rex had strong jaws. Figuring they should avoid attacking the head, Cure Sky suggests they aim for the body, but the Ranborg makes it hard to approach by breathing fire.

During the battle, all the shaking causes the door to the rabbit enclosure to open, and the white rabbit Ellee was trying to pet earlier manages to escape. Ellee spots it, and tries to comfort the frightened rabbit. The Ranborg spots Ellee and charges for her, the Cures quickly hurrying over to defend her. To their surprise, Minoton also steps in front of the Ranborg, pushing it away.

Cure Sky asks why he did that, pointing out the Undergu Empire is out to capture Ellee. Minoton explains that he’d rather capture Ellee after he’s defeated the Cures fair and square, as he has waited a while to find a worthy opponent. The fight continues, and with Cure Butterfly’s help, Cure Sky eventually manages to flip the Ranborg over by swinging it by the tail, before Cure Wing and Cure Butterfly purify it. Minoton acknowledges that the Cures are indeed worthy opponents before retreating.

After things have calmed down, Sora explains to Ageha how Ellee comforted the rabbit using the same words Sora used to comfort Ellee back when they first ended up in Sorashido. Ellee then spots a girl about her own age who seems nervous around the rabbits, and goes to help her out. Ageha notes that Ellee seems to have learned from the short story Mashiro wrote a while back, and the Cures note that while they’ll probably continue asking themselves how to raise Ellee the best they can, Ellee has already learned a lot from them and seems to be growing up to be a kind girl.

A really nice episode! We see the Cures dealing with the information they learned about Ellee in the previous episode and what they should do about that, with Ageha being the voice of reason among the group and keeping them from overthinking it. And we get introduced to a new Undergu Empire villain.

I already like Minoton. As you might be able to tell from some of the posts I’ve written on the other Pretty Cure series, I do like the villains who despite being bad guys are still these proud warriors with a code of honour that they stick to. With the Undergu Empire’s focus on strength, I guess it makes sense they’d have at least one of those in their group. Plus, it’s an interesting contrast to the previous two villains the Cures have fought so far. I wonder if Battamonda will eventually turn up again, though, since I don’t think we’re quite done with him yet.

Anyways, I’ll be looking forward to the next episode!

[philosophicalparadox]

And really it never ends well for that animal. Lord knows as a former dog trainer, I’ve seen my share of humanizing pets gone horribly wrong.

I also used to work in wildlife rehabilitation. I’ve seen the unfortunate consequences of people being too cuddly with birds in particular first hand. I’ve had the great and very anger-inducing misfortune of having to see a perfectly healthy animal put to sleep — owls, songbirds, and notably a young raccoon — because they’d imprinted on humans or missed their socialization window and could never be released into the wild.

And that is usually what happens to them — zoos can only take so many, and only under specific pretenses, and rehab and wildlife centers are the same. You can’t just pop a wild animal into a shelter, they need space and resources that are unfathomable to most people. And none of these places operate on profit, so survive on donations and the occasional subsidy. It’s expensive to build and maintain enclosures and it’s extremely labor intensive, plus there are animals you must legally be an employee to handle (large raptors, large carnivores, etc. this varies from state to state but for liability insurance most places require you to be an employee receiving a wage to be covered). Which means that these places must have a certain level of staff as well as many volunteers.

Point is, there’s just not enough. Not enough time, money, energy, space, manpower or resources to take in every single animal that is irrevocably doomed by humans who had good intentions but were either overcome by emotional thinking or woefully ignorant (usually both) and inadvertently ruined that animals chances of ever being wild again.

Most of them, like 98-99%, on a big scale, are euthanized. They have to be. It’s not fair to anybody, but hey, that’s what happens when people don’t listen to the experts or worse, don’t think to ask them.

Please, if you find an animal you think is in trouble, Call A Rehabber. DO NOT call the police — they don’t know shit and will probably kill it faster than you will, intentionally or otherwise. Fish and Game is ok, but they’re just gonna direct you to a rehabilitation center anyway.

Find your local rehabbers, know their number, and CALL THEM. They can guide you through just about anything and tell you if you need to bring the animal to them and how to do so. Or go get the animal if they have the resources.

Don’t be surprised when most of the time the answer is “leave it alone” because very often what looks like a distressing situation to us is no big deal for an animal. Fledglings are supposed to be hopping around on the ground. Baby bunnies are left in the open all the time, tucked into a tussock of grass. Mom isn’t far away, but she will be if you approach. Same with deer (except moose. If you see a baby moose, fuckin duck and run. If you don’t see mom, it’s because she’s practically stalking you looking for an opening. Don’t fuck with moose. It’s a dumb way to die.) baby coyotes and foxes wander quite a ways away from the den, and are perfectly capable of getting back by themselves most the time.

Also many animals are independent long before we assume they’d be. Hares, like jackrabbits, are able to run and eat solids almost right away. There’s almost never a time when they’re too young to be on their own. Rabbits are independent at 3-4 weeks. If it can eat solids, it’s supposed to be on its own. Others, like birds, are cared for by their parents much longer than it seems. Most birds have about a year to spend in their parents territory and can be fed by them for weeks to months after they fledge. This is especially true of birds that typically only have one clutch like owls. They feed their owlets for several months, and guide them through hunting and living independently for about a year, sometimes longer. Others like crows and pigeons are prosocial breeders where everyone takes care of the young once they fledge, so I promise that baby probably isn’t starving and is still learning to fly, so is just gonna be awkward for a while.

Again, most the time, better to just let them alone. Natures good at striking a balance. But if you’re actually concerned, call a rehabilitation center or at worst fish and game. Don’t call police, they can’t do a damn thing right in these situations most the time.

Idk I have such a fascination with people who coddle and baby wild animals (or even domestic ones). Maybe it's not that deep but I think in some ways it does speak to a lack of maturity in empathy, which sounds counterintuitive but I think its not unlike some forms of unhealthy parenting. It's a cognitive disconnect that perhaps the way you'd like to be treated does not always translate to what others want or feel comfortable with. That maybe your reality is not universal, and an inability to place yourself in another's shoes. People hear low empathy and assume it means distant and unloving, but it can also look like lovebombing or over imposing oneself on others with a lack of boundaries. From the outside it can look loving and pampering and an incredible life, but do they ever really stop to try and get to know the other party, what it actually feels and wants? Are you doing what's best for it, or just what you think is best? Or worse, what you think makes you look best in front of others?

They call animal care professionals who ask for more restraint and less contact with said animals uncaring and cold because they honest to god cannot place themselves in a reality where a kindhearted hug could feel terrifying and a free donut could be horrible for one's survival. And I think information based arguments can fall short because they are primarily operating through emotions and what "feels" right to them. And I think some of these people may be drawn to animals and habituating wildlife because they won't ever tell them off in clean english. Idk it intrigues me

[frogsandfries]

This is bullshit and I'm fucking done.

So I guess my sister thinks the dog walker is going to call the cops on "us"--first off, don't look at me. I'm not the home owner and this has been pointed out to me loud and clear. Second, I'm supposed to be acting in the capacity of a pet-sitter, but I guess I'm also a maid. Not to mention, I'm sorry. It fucking turns out forty bucks a day to be a pet-sitter for--again--a hedgehog, two dogs, two rabbits, three guinea pigs, and four cats. Plus I still have to take care of myself, go to work at my actual job, and take care of my cats--plus do housework that my sister rarely, barely does?????

Nope. Not enough. I'm pretty fucking pissed right now. Honestly, this is almost a goddamn full-time job. Ain't no pet-sitter in the country going to do all this--bring in packages, open the packages, assemble furniture, assemble the cheapest automatic cat boxes possibly on the market, scoop shit, clean enclosures, feed goddamn near a small zoo, and go to a full-time job still.

That IS a full-time job.

If I was just any other boarder, she'd have to hire at least three people--a maid, a dog-walker, and honestly, probably two pet-sitters.

Oh and third, having been outside for the first time all week--Monday, I had heat sickness; Tuesday and Wednesday were spent trying not to get more heat sick but also get shit done downstairs so I could keep bringing in packages--if this lady is going to call the police on "us" for anything, it'll be for Capone shitting all over the garage.

Again, I've been either sick, or avoiding illness all week. I'm on not one but at least two drugs that make me more prone to heat sickness. I haven't been able to get him outside this week. Until today.

Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday were too goddamn hot to exist. What a fucking coincidence that on the first day it's cool enough to exist, the dog walker straightens to the back of the kitchen. Like, if this is the first day you can stand to do it, how do you think I feel? I'm not from around here, and worse, I am realizing what a giant fucking mistake this was.

If I wasn't here, I wouldn't be fighting off way-too-frequent bouts of derealization; I wouldn't be having fucking SAD in the middle of fucking summer. And I sure as hell wouldn't be here to point a finger to and be like, why isn't she helping.

Anyway, I'm staying up well past the time my body said it was done for the day to bitch about this.

She better either bring me a coffee or take me to get a coffee next weekend.

[polarizationvision]

Blog Prompt #1

I live in a zoo. We do not have government funding, cotton candy and pretzel stands, or a sign outside welcoming visitors to gawk at the animals on display. We do not have any particularly large or exotic animals. We do not carefully replicate the native environments of these animals over acres of carefully manicures land. We do, however, have 23 animals living under the same roof.

(3/23) Starting with our rowdiest exhibit: three adult dogs. Pawsta, a golden retriever overwhelming in his cuteness and ability to rupture your eardrums with his barks ; Princess, an protective and territorial blue pit bull; and G*psy (I prefer to call her dipstick), an 18 year old dust bunny of a dog that was named after a slur by my landlords ex- husband. These animals are a part of our facilities petting zoo, as they love (though require might be a better word) attention.

(7/23) Our next exhibit is my personal favorite: the four cats. The oldest and wisest of the cats in Saphira. She is a skittish and obese short haired tabby who is likely smarter than us all. The next oldest is Bum (short for Solembum). Emetophobics beware, because this long haired tuxedo loves to eat too quickly and throw up on any available surface. The naughty middle child of the group is another short haired tabby named Momo. Her hobbies include drinking from the toilet, opening closed doors, and demanding cuddles. The youngest child has a special place in my heart. This black short haired kitten is named Irradiated Cockroach a.k.a. Radroach a.k.a. Roachie a.k.a. Roach. I bought this affectionate kitten when I moved up here from Baltimore. She is named after an enemy in my favorite post-apocalyptic video game franchise: Fallout.

Roach is loud and codependent and I would gladly take a bullet for her.

(13/23) We also house 6 ferrets. They are in an enclosure that is larger than most dorm rooms. They are named River, Scooby, Mink, Sea, Granger, and Luna. Did you know that ferrets can clear their entire digestive tract in 3 hours and will die without 24/7 access to kibble? I sure didn't until I had to house sit and take care of them.

(15/23) There are two sisters at the house. They are a pair of elderly rats names Mars and Po. They are a vital component of the house as they eat our fruit and veggie scraps as well as our leftover toilet paper rolls. One of them recently had surgery and made sure to let her anger over the situation be known. As the Smashing Pumpkins once eloquently stated: "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage".

(18/23) There are three frogs that do not have names. It is also likely that I do not know their names. I also do not know what kinds of frogs they are, but they live in the same humid enclosure and eat crickets.

(19/23) Our most elusive animal is a terrapin. One of her favorite tricks is escaping her enclosure and being found hours later across the house in the kitchen.

(20/23) Other than the aptly name Roach, I have contributed one other animal to this zoo. He is a juvenile pink toed tarantula. He accompanied me on my trip from Maryland to Massachusetts. He was a fantastic travel companion on my road trip. Since he has shjown himself to be responsible in the past, he was in charge of the music, the snacks, and the directions.

(23/23) Our final exhibit is three ethically captured graduate students. My two roommates and I thrive off of simple enrichment (watching television), regular walks (cardio at the local YMCA), and balanced meals (sometimes salads, sometimes a plate of pizza rolls). Despite requiring separate enclosures for nesting and sleeping, we all get along quite well.

Tickets to this zoo are available upon request.

[clatterbane]

I forgot to actually post about it, but we went to Ystad Djurpark last weekend, which was kinda fun. (Their site.) It's actually way the hell out of town down this country road, so I still haven't seen Ystad itself yet.

It is a fairly small private zoo with a decent number of domesticated animals and some petting zoo setup. We were both fairly impressed at how good the conditions for the animals looked overall, which is always a relief especially dealing with smaller private zoos. The enclosures were roomy, and looked well planned out.

We didn't end up staying as long as either one of us would have liked. It wasn't the easiest going in a wheelchair. All the paths are gravel, and that part of Skåne is a LOT hillier than here around Malmö. Which I really enjoyed seeing, because the creepy flatness kinda gets to my head after growing up around here--but, not so much trying to wheel my decrepit ass around on gravel.

About to head in. That was not, in fact, the entrance. That was down and around up to the side. That turned out to be the Gator House, with some other smaller reptiles/amphibians.

Mississippialligator!

There were more than a few of them. They did have a decent bit of indoor space, away from the goggling humans. But, they seemed to enjoy basking under their sun lamps out in the open while we were there.

I did not end up getting that many photos. I was mostly too busy trying to wheel myself around under kinda difficult conditions, and eventually my shoulders and one elbow started yelling enough that we had to call it a day before we even got to the servals or the bison. Ah well. At least the weather was glorious. Also on the plus side, they did have at least one decently accessible bathroom that I was in. Apparently have at least one more.

I am not wheeling myself back up after going further down there. Even with a little human power assist, which I kinda hate but needed to ask for at a couple of points after that elbow started up. You can just about see some camels down under the awning down toward the bottom, where some humans are. I decided that was close enough for right then.

We can go back, and at least I did have the sense to call it quits before actually doing myself an injury. Regrouped, got some ice cream, and decided to haul ourselves back out to the Volvo.

But, a few more pics along the way.

Not sure that wasn't an accidental shot. But, pretty soon on the way in.

A dwarf bearded dragon who kept mugging at us.

Hard to see their fur there. But, we both seemed to be enjoying the shade under that tree. A Hungarian wooly pig who did have a really neat-looking coat texture.