Shroud'z Underground

I just don't understand how people can be so closed minded and bigoted about animals. Or people for that matter. It's just fucking nonsense. Have pitbulls had a history of being used as fighting dogs or being raised to be aggressive?? Sure, yeah. But it's literally nature vs nurture. No animal or person is born aggressive or evil. But the external influences are everything. Not to mention, there are dog breeds that are actually genetically predisposed to more aggressive behavior. Chow Chows, Tibetan Mastiffs, Japanese and American Akitas, Great Pyranese, etc. These dogs were bred for protection and guarding. They are FIERCELY loyal to their owners, almost to a fault. Again, nature vs nurture, the upbringing is everything. But these breeds are certainly harder to train out of aggressive displays, and people seem to have almost no problem bringing them into their home and around their families. Chow Chows and Akitas specifically are often labeled as a problem dogs. People gets them as puppies, knowing nothing about the breed type, and bringing them home for the sole reason that they're just so cute. Little do they know that without persistent socialization and training, you end up with a highly stubborn and somewhat aggressive dog. But yes, stiffen up and run 5 miles away when you see my very friendly, leash trained pitbull coming. Run and scream and hide, oh God, he's gonna attack you by jumping around all excited like, wagging his tail, not barking, and pawing at you for affection. Legit, the most damage he can do anyone is jumping up with too much force and accidentally nailing you in the balls, boobs or face. And sure that hurts when it happens but I'd consider it a helluva lot better than getting bit. Which he's almost trained not to do btw.

I'm just sick of it. It reminds me too much of my own experience as a black person in America, nevermind the transness. Even if I haven't been outright hate-crimed, I can feel people judging me for what I am every time I leave the house. And I hate the idea of my dog going through the same thing. Because he doesn't have the intelligence or awareness to know why people shy away from him when they see him. I can only imagine he feels dejected at these responses, not knowing what he did wrong to make someone flinch at his smile. I don't want to lash out or start a fight with every person who doesn't immediately embrace my dog. That's not fair and people have a right to be afraid of any dog they don't know. I don't know everyone's history either. If you've been bitten or attacked by a dog in your life, you're valid for being apprehensive around other dogs. But I'm talking more about the people who just take one look and assume the worst. There was one time about a year ago I let him off leash in the neighborhood. I had brought him outside to run around with his litter mate, Piggy, to play. They were both younger at the time and Hex (our dog) wasn't as well trained to be off leash. But you always have to start somewhere, ya know?? Piggy however was barely trained at all, so once the two of them got out in the yard, she took off down the street. We live in a relatively quiet neighborhood. There's not a lot of car traffic and day to day, you don't see many people walking around. However, this day there was an older woman taking a stroll and as soon as Hex saw her, he ran up to her. I was more concerned with Piggy since she had gotten into someone else's yard and I couldn't see her anymore. I didn't even have time to tell the woman that Hex was friendly before I heard her say that she would pepper spray my dog if he attacked. Again, sweetest fucking dog in the world. His tail was wagging and he hadn't even jumped up at her. Nothing in his body language even hinted at him being mildly stressed in that moment. Yet here she was saying that "I've had dogs run at me before and their back hair was all stood up and I'll do it if he does". She was lucky I was so preoccupied with retrieving Piggy that I couldn't give my full attention to telling AAAAALLLLLL the way off. I got the dogs under control and brought them back inside without incident. But I will never forget that shit. Pisses me off just to think about it again.

Idk, just needed to rant about this. Something similar happened today. We had some carpet cleaners come out to the house today and they were early. My fiance had to take him past the cleaners in the driveway to walk him down the street (he was on leash) and I saw the cleaner guys literally flinch and back up as soon as they saw him. Mind you, I said he can get excited when he sees other people. But in this instance, he wasn't even pulling against his leash to sniff at them and they acted like he was ready to pounce. I could feel my blood wanting to boil in that moment and had to stop a rant coming on, just assuring them that he wouldn't be any trouble. Situations like this make me relate to that cheesy animal merch that says stuff like "I like my dog better than people" or some shit. But lemme stop myself now before this becomes a college essay. Just needed to vent somewhere outside of my brain and my finace

HERE YE, HERE YE, ONE AND ALL‼️

GATHER CLOSE AND LISTEN YE WELL‼️

DO NOT BUY THE DOG FRIENDLY CO HARNESS AND LEASHES‼️🗣️😤🐶

If you're a dog owner and you spend any time on the internet, then you've surely heard about or seen this harness at least once. It advertises itself as being safer for dogs because of its minimal strap design and shape. Specifically for dogs who pull too hard. Which is an issue I have with my dog. The biggest gimmick of this product is the front D-ring, which alleges to reduce pulling when the dog is leashed from there. As opposed to a ring on their backside like most typical harnesses. So you can imagine my surprise when I finally decided to look at their website, and the front D-ring isn't even attached to the actual harness. You have to pay an extra $12 on top of the cost of the harness itself, just for the D-ring. And since we're here, let's talk about prices. Because there is no actual way that a dog harness made up of 3 straps of material is 40 fucking dollars. And as you can see, everything is marked down for a holiday sale right now. So that harness BY ITSELF is usually about $50. I mean, does it even still count as a discount when the product is still so expensive??? I don't care how much it says I'm "saving" if it still costs over $100. And don't get me started on the bundles and leashes. I mean, I attached pictures for a reason so I kinda don't need to go on about that. I think you get the idea. This shit is too expensive for what it is. The pricing is predatory as hell. It's just a big crock of bullshit. Don't buy this harness or any of their other products unless you legitimately have money to throw away. So yeah, that's my two cents about that.

So, I'm a wolf therian. A black sea wolf to be specific but really any wolf. I mean, I'm really a chimera of lots of creatures, but a wolf or dog most often I guess. I don't do quads barely at all, and the heat of the season makes going outside for any amount of time unpleasant. The biggest way I feel connected to my species is through singing, especially with friends. I just wanted to share this therian playlist I made for myself. Maybe it could be inspiration for someone to make their own. Or just be a cool listen for anyone interested idk. I'm also open to suggestions for additions to this playlist. I don't listen to it often cuz sometimes the shifty feelings I get make me sad, but I'm always looking to expand my playlists and musical horizons :3

1. Do you ever have dreams about running on all fours??

2. Does it ever feel so right to run like that in your dreams that it genuinely breaks your heart waking up to your human body??

I've been having dreams like this for years. Since I was maybe 16 or so. And it always feels like I disconnect from a truer part of myself when I wake up from these dreams. Even if the details fade over time, I can never forget them. Especially since a lot of these dreams involve me being chased or pursued by some mysterious figure/group/entity. I've only had one dream like this that was peaceful. More recently, I had a dream where I was running on all fours, and I specifically remember having to dig my nails into the ground to get more traction. The phantom feeling of claws and dirt under my nails has been haunting my hands and the back of my mind on and off since.

So yeah, anyone else have dreams or experiences like this??

Note: I mention dreams about running because that's my experience but feel free to chime in about flying or swimming dreams or whatever you dream that might correlate to your theriotype

When I first got him, he was a quiet cat. But after I moved in with my fiance and their cat (Smudge), he found his voice. After a while, he took to meowing very loudly when he wanted food. It was cute at first but got old quickly. Especially when he nags me about it. We eventually got into this routine where whenever he's hungry, he goes over to the cabinet where his food is kept, leaps onto the stool next to the cabinet, and meows as long and loud as he can. More so when I get within range of the cabinet.

Now, a bit of context. All the cats in our house are food motivated/obsessed to a degree. Smduge was actually the first to be visibly food obsessed and I used to tease that he was a cosmic fatass. The reason this worries me about my cat is because he wasn't always like this. Smduge has somewhat of a history being excited for food. With Nevermore, it feels like a switch just kicked on one day. And now this obsession is so strong at times it genuinely gets on my nerves and in the way of things. I literally trip on him sometimes just making my way to the cabinet for something and he runs over thinking he's getting food.

We used to have an issue of Smudge eating Nevermore's food and vice versa. I literally used to have to chase them away from each other's bowls with a spray bottle. To little avail. But now that we have three cats in the house, we had to buckle down about that. Now they have timed separate feeding. They eat on our schedule. So the first feeding for the day is around 12pm and the last feeding for the day is between 10pm and 12am. They all get up to an hour to eat the food we set out before we put it away. We do this several times a day. And we've been doing this for over 6 months now. Nevermore has a habit of taking a few bites and then napping the rest of his feeding time. Despite my best efforts, he does this at least once a day. And he can get very tetchy between feeding periods, regardless of how much he's eaten.

Of the three types of food we keep for the cats, one bag usually stays sitting out (with the top clipped shut) because we don't always have the cabinet space to put it away. This is Dahlia's food. The kitten food. And Nevermore has taken it upon himself to rub against and bite into this bag between feedings. Or as a way to signal to me that he's hungry. This behavior isn't totally unique to him, but he's definitely the loudest and most entitled when it comes to his food. He will literally harass me in the "mornings" when I get up, screaming until I set out his food. Or scream at me after his last feeding for more food. And then he has the audacity to eat too fast or something and yak it all up on the floor or my bed. I truly don't know what makes him throw up. It's not often but it's still concerning. And he's the only one who does so somewhat consistently. Smudge has only thrown up once or twice in his whole life and the only times Dahlia has thrown up was a hairball.

I know the obvious answer here is to take him to the vet. But I can't afford that. Not right now. But I don't know what a vet would tell me about this. If it's not a symptom of some medical condition, then it's psychological. And what do I even do for that?? We live in a basement. We're currently in the process of renovating to try and make more space, but we only have so much to begin with. If it's a boredom thing, I don't know what to do about that. He's not a playful cat. I've tried so many toys with him and he just doesn't give a shit most of the time.

Uuuuuggghhhh. I just wanted to vent/rant about this because truly, his attitude when he's hungry is unbearable. I don't know how I let this happen or how to reverse it. He's soooooo goddamn entitled, I've created a monster. Sometimes he bites me (softly) when I pet him to signal he's hungry. IT'S ENOUGH ALREADY!!!! If he's smart enough to try biting a hole through a bag of kitten food, he's smart enough to understand timed feeding and cutoff times. I just really don't know what I can do about this

Note: Nevermore = orange and white, Smduge = all black, Dahlia = black and white

Another note: despite my ramblings in this post, Nevermore is not fat or overweight. Neither is Smudge. They're both at a perfectly healthy weight. They just have terrible attitudes and eating habits 😤😮‍💨🙄😒

Not just for being a white guy with dreadlocks (I am specifically calling them DREADlocks in this instance because it is truly dreadful that anyone thought this was a good idea), but for literally everything else. And the hair too omggggg. Everything about this character is just soooooo infuriating. He's barely more than a walking plot device. And in a lot of ways, I feel like the movies would do just fine without him. He brings very little to the table in my eyes other than cringe dialogue, bad hair, and overall mediocrity. He has no personality or interests outside or the Sully family. Favorite color, who cares?? Hobbies?? Doesn't matter. Even his weird relationship with reborn na'vi Quaritch feels half baked and shallow. And don't even get me started on him saving Quaritch in the second movie. Sure that could have been a visual example of what might be a complicated relationship between the two, but what good is it if it's never mentioned in the third movie and everything he does towards Quaritch completely walks back on the idea that he cares about him??!?! And it was such bullshit how Jake basically replaced Neyteyam with Spider right over his dead fucking body. Literally how can you live with yourself or let them call you part of the family when you saved their biggest enemy???

And he's so fucking goofy in the worst way. I cannot take him seriously ever at all. There is literally a scene of him beatboxing and breakdancing in the background while Jake is talking to some science shmuck about the air breathing mushrooms in his lungs. And that fucking nickname. Monkey boy??? Be so fucking for real right now. And it's always used at the worst times. Yeah it's a dumb nickname, but Kiri never fails to call him that at literally the most serious moments and it just throws the whole thing off. Genuine moment ruiner. They should have let Neytiri kill him in Way of Water. They should have let him suffocate in Fire and Ash. I HATE HIM SO MUCH AND I WISH HE WAS DEAD‼️🗣️👹🤬🕷️