Went out for lunch with a guy I've only met twice, and he asked about my bison pendant. I just said that if I were an animal I'd be a bison, I relate to their resilience and stubbornness, it's kinda like a spiritual thing.

Later in the day, he commented about my not wearing a jacket in December and I jokingly asked if he'd ever seen a bison get cold (and then said something about my ADHD meds making me overheat).

And wouldn't you know it, a while later he himself made a joke about me being a bison, completely unprompted.

The bison has no pragmatic excuse for its horns. The bison doesn't kill to survive. Killing is not in its nature. The bison's horns are like swords, only there to hurt others in the name of self-defense, or to spar in the name of pride.

Humans fear the wolf's fangs because they understand the effectiveness of a pragmatic utensil. But humans are not the prey of wolves.

I can't speak for other animals, but if my bison feelings are correct, this is basically the bison anime waifu:

The family photo album: "You're playing baby-cow in the kitchen cabinet"

What do you mean I could've pushed away my theriotype at one point?? It feels like such a simple matter of fact statement nowadays - I'm a bison, I've always been a bison, I will be a bison until I die - that I forget it wasn't always like that.

When I made that comment I'd only been awakened as a bison for 2-3 years (and a gnoll for 1 year; Ben wasn't even in the picture yet). And looking back, I do recall reinforcing my bison traits and deliberately holding onto it.

But it feels like it was a completely different person who made those decisions. And in a way I guess it was, since the person who made those decisions wasn't a bison in the integral unshakable way I am now.

This is what the American prairie used to look like.