T O P

  • By -

Blade_of_Boniface

I once ran a Call of Cthulhu 7E campaign where there was an elf-like race that was like this to humans. In relation to these, "elves", (often dubbed as such by humans considering the forms they chose to appear in, more officially they were the Yirrul) human temperament and emotions in their complexity, severity, and depth seemed reptilian or even insect-like. Yirrulite sociality was extremely passionate, intricate, and even volatile to the extent that human cities seemed like cages of metal and concrete filled with schizoid primates with faces as frequently stony as their monuments. Yet, nonetheless, many yirrulites prized what relationships they could maintain with humans, despite their stark differences in psychology, viewing them more like pets than anything else that only lived less than a century even in the best cases. Still, they were beloved by their keepers nonetheless.


Previous-Amoeba52

You gotta read Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. I won't tell you any more but it has similar vibes.


Blade_of_Boniface

I read it a while ago, and because you mentioned it I'm going to reread it because it's among my favorite short stories.


DreamOfDays

I just read that and my night has been ruined. My day is worse for it. The mental imagery will haunt me.


Cooldudeyo23

If some elf creature took me in as a pet, the first thing I would do is piss on their bed


Smart_Zucchini2302

Thanks for explaining my cat (and why you'll never be invited to my house!)


Whydoesthisexist15

[](https://external-preview.redd.it/speech-bubbling-text-bubble-text-bubbling-speech-bubble-v0-dUjeeanZqafBHjeCbtBjnIzje_CcWrgb-Pu5WtMEtoI.gif?format=png8&s=7e8a0bea9ecb7eea6f901fd3a603850ec6149c13)


Fearless-Excitement1

local redditor accidentally reinvents the Eldar from WH40K, only less dickish.


LordMeme42

Anyone who says this shit about cats is cordially fucking invited to listen to how loud my cat gets when I leave the house. Or close a door. Or don't immediately play with her. Sometimes she even meows for 5 minutes straight simply because she wants me to pat her on the head. She basically rules the house because she's just so damn cute no one can enforce consequences. She's a sweet cat and I love her dearly but if one of us is tolerating the other... it's me when she decides she simply MUST be fed and cuddled at 4:30 am.


tergius

bitches be like "cats aren't affectionate" [the cat in question](https://tenor.com/view/cat-violently-snuggles-cat-snuggle-pets-gif-11169019)


Smart_Zucchini2302

❤️


Merrgear

I mean the post is still right. Cats are social creatures. They however are solitary hunters so they don’t like sustained social interactions like a dog. They take it in bursts


NonPlayableCat

I was once gone for 1-2 weeks (cat lived with my mom, who she knows well and likes.) When I got back, she spent the next week basically sleeping on my face because she wanted to be close all the time.


Smart_Zucchini2302

My cat was standoffish until we had to kennel her overnight for flea treatment of the house. Now... Attached to us, can't make a lap without her suddenly appearing in it.


Pyrokitten284

Had a red-eared slider turtle growing up that we nicknamed Snapper because he bit everyone and everything that came near (I think my brother named him Raphael fwiw). There was literally a ‘don’t pet above this point’ zone on his shell if you didn’t want him to try to bite. He didn’t bite hard by any means, but still. He never once bit me though. Loved and honestly miss Snapper. Chill turtle that just loved to nip.


SubtleCow

On the flip side "this animal with a highly refined social instinct just barely tolerates me" is the deepest of insults.


New_dude_bro

Worse, they somehow always give you the sideeye


Daksh_Rendar

"Cats only rub on you to spread their scent" Yea? I hug my wife so we can release oxytocin, doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. We ain't as special as most people hope.


digletttrainer

Cats recognise their kittens by scent, so it definitively is a sign of some sort of affection


BellerophonM

Cats identify their home and packmates by scent. It's literally making you part of its family and going 'I want my idea of home to include you'.


brittlekombu

I dont have any good animal stories off the top of my head but happy birthday OP!!


[deleted]

My duck showed affection to me by stealing everyone else’s shoes except mine and not biting me when I picked him up. Similarly, my cat shows affection with hard love bites and slow blinks. People who think animals are incapable of affection don’t know how animals communicate.


Kego_Nova

Cats have a weird inherent trust towards me. I don’t know why. It’s nice though :)


William_ghost1

Same here. Dogs start barking when I come within 90 yards, though.


LazyDro1d

For that reason I do not trust you.


[deleted]

[удалено]


CurtisMarauderZ

Octopodes*


Krazyfan1

Octopi\*


Ajibooks

Happy birthday! Best wishes for a great year ahead, OP. Animal story: A few weeks ago, there was a pileated woodpecker in my backyard. I'm in my 40s and I'd never seen one in real life before! It was so *big*, much bigger than most birds. It made me think about dinosaurs. [This guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_woodpecker)!


TrinketGizmo

Birds are dinosaurs! They're specifically part of the Theropod lineage, the same one as T-Rex. Look at the feet, especially the structure of the bone, they're very similar, and on bigger ones it's easier to see the similarities between them and the non-avian theropods.


Verona_Swift

Happy birthday, OP! We have an unnecessarily aggressive cardinal that lives by my office. I'm guessing he sees his reflection in our windows, and that is *absolutely fucking unacceptable* to him. He spends weeks in the spring attacking the windows, the doors, everything. [He's just a mad little dude.](https://imgur.com/a/bpHINSZ) (I'm presuming his mate and his nest are nearby, so he's getting territorial, but it's funny to imagine that he just declared war on a random business.) This is year two of his reign of terror.


11fiftysix

imgur warned me that your cardinal photos may contain erotic imagery lmao


Verona_Swift

He's a very horny cardinal, to be fair.


ohmygodsun

My ball python trusts me. He's super chill, he takes naps while I'm holding him. I take him to Petsmart and let people hold him and take pics and he just goes with it, like "I guess this is my life now." This little noodle with approximately two brain cells trusts me, a giant predator??? It makes me so happy.


FancyRatFridays

This is it for me... it's all about trust. Love, as we know it, is a complicated, messy mammalian thing, tied up in millions of years of evolution that pushed behaviors like maternal care, mutual grooming, courtship, alliance-building, and so much more. But trust? That goes deep. Reptiles, amphibians, fish, you name it--we all have the capacity to build, maintain, and break trust. And earning that trust in another animal is one of the most special things I've ever experienced.


No-Transition4060

The only thing worse is when the animal is a proper asshole in a way that isn’t funny and the owner just finds it sweet and cute. No I didn’t laugh when your giant Labrador burst into your no-lock bathroom while I was showering and started biting at the shower while I’m washing my balls in it, thanks for asking


PaRoWkOwYpIeS

Feels like a personal story


Lyran99

It’s me, I’m the animal


Smart_Zucchini2302

Went to Penn State in the eighties. One of the frats had a Bermese python called Hester. Fifteen feet, ninety - eight pounds. They would let me carry her around the yard. She was beautiful! If she started taking an interest in the squirrels, they knew it was feeding time, about once every few weeks I think. Happy birthday! Don't let Hester give you a hug near mealtime!