#hostilepopcorn

[chimeride]

Hello! I would love to see your take on the Worksop Bestiary Scitalis some day. Your art is lovely!

Scitalis, the 172nd Known One

[useless-denmarkfacts]

[champawattigress]

Thoughts on Poecilotheria? Terrifying or dream pet (or both lol)?

can y'all send some asks that are like “thoughts on ______”

I actually received a P. metallica sling as a freebie when I ordered my adult female Tliltocatl vagans (I forgot to mention to the seller that while I appreciate the idea, I don’t really like receiving live animals as “freebies”), and while I did end up giving it to another tarantula keeper in the end, it did make me a little less skittish about the genus as a whole.

I mean, I’m pretty open about the fact that I’m not an Old World species keeper if I can help it. I’m head over heels in love with my P. cambridgei (the Psalmopoeuses are basically the closest I think I’ll ever get to keeping old worlds, even if they’re technically new worlds), but he also scares the piss out of me at least once a month. Honestly, I think the Poecilotheria species are fine as pets for the right kind of person, but I feel I’m just not quite there yet. 

[whitmerule]

hostilepopcorn replied to your post “hostilepopcorn reblogged your post and added: ...”

why must you hurt me D:

I do it out of love. :) 

(So we’re in the shortages that lead up to the outbreak of WWII and her last remaining servant has abandoend her to move out of London in case the Germans attack...)

Rum Tum Tugger makes his human cry three times. The first is when he stops complaining about not getting cream, and stops eating the food that she offers him because he’s finally understanding she needs it more, and he starts bringing his wild-caught food home instead to show her ‘it’s okay, don’t feed me, keep that last strip of meat for yourself’.

He doesn’t understand why she cries. He was trying to help.

The second time she cries is when he proudly brings home a whole roast chicken (okay, maybe a leg of it, a whole one would be hard to find) and puts it on the table in front of her. He got M&R and Mistoffelees to help him get it, but M&R aren’t allowed to come into his house and even Mistoffelees is only allowed to watch from the window. So both toms see her pass through various states that they can’t really understand - confusion, consternation, sudden recognition that her cat actually really does understand that she is hungry and that’s why he’s been shoving dead mice at her for days but also, oh shit, in an attempt to feed her and provide for her which she should be doing for him he has taken the meagre rations of another nearby family. She is an utter failure of a human being and has to try to find the family and apologise and make amends. She tries to tell him off but she’s too distressed to sound properly angry, and he is bewildered and hurt and tries to sulk but is too genuinely confused and sad to sulk properly. (Mistoffelees has to go outside and tell M&R that it didn’t go well, maybe they should just... slink away... Rumpelteazer sniffs and says humans often get angry when they see what you stole, and Mungojerrie says that we TOLD him so.)

RTT is sad for longer than Munkustrap and Mistoffelees think is allowed so they Plot to Fix It. The human won’t eat cat prey like mice. She won’t eat human food. Well, there’s a compromise. 

They work out how to catch squirrels, pigeons, and ravens.

The third time she cries is when RTT - cautiously, ready to run away and sulk again - presents her with two squirrels and a big fat pigeon. But this time it’s good crying. And she and her equally poor and hungry little old lady neighbour pluck and dress the animals, and save the skins and feathers because make do and mend, and RTT (with occasional help from the other cats because finally he has admitted maybe it’s okay to ask for help sometimes) keeps up a regular supply.

And that night he does accept a cuddle.

(ETA: hey @statisticalcats, I just noticed you too like RTT with his little old lady human, come join us in my evil headcanon.)

[kinstincts]

hostilepopcorn replied to your post: “hostilepopcorn replied to your post: “I am actually in communication...”

Thanks for answering! Now I'm wondering... Maybe a transdermal implant surrounded by magnets could allow for bigger horns? :o

Hmm, I’m not sure if the magnets would be able to be strong enough, but it could be an option! I don’t think there have been any magnetic implants in scalps yet though, to my knowledge. I think it would be a difficult thing to do because it would run the risk of migration, on top of the fact that magnetic implants actually need to be replaced over time because they lose their magnetism after a while. 

There was actually a guy in the mod groups a few months back who was trying to brainstorm ways of adding larger horns, but all of the posts got deleted because he threw a hissy fit every time somebody told him what he suggested was impossible lol I kind of wish the threads were still around because there was a lot of info in them. 

hostilepopcorn replied to your post: “hostilepopcorn replied to your post: “I am actually in communication...”

Or we could just lobby for the medical industry to figure out how to weld horns directly onto our skulls haha. I half-heartedly looked into xenotransplants today and it's like... We're SO close to having developed ways to reliably transplant animal organs to humans. But I know it'll likely never move beyond organ transplants. In one experiment they transplanted a hamster limb to a rat, and it rejected within two weeks. I just want a tail, is that too much to ask for?? D:

Oh I feel you on the tail. I think at the moment the best option we have are cosplay tails! I just found the Tail Company and now I really want one!! 

[bogleech]

That rhino tick reminded me of Ixodes heathi. Both species are in the same pickle. I wonder how many other parasites are critically endangered because their host is, but we're unaware because they're 'just' parasites.

yeah if a bird or mammal is endangered, especially, there’s probably several unique parasites going down with it. Almost every “warm blooded” vertebrate has one louse, usually at least one mite, and one or more worms totally exclusive to it!I think the record for unique parasitic arthropods on one kind of animal is, of course, every species of sloth.

[echeydraws]

A practice portrait of my dear friend @hostilepopcorn in watercolor ☆

[animorphsecretsanta]

Space Deer Struggles to Understand Human Courtship Ritual Called 'cuddling... ling... dling'

from @hostilepopcorn for @save-the-andalite-vecols !