The other day I went to my local grocery store and had to pick up some deli meat. I approached the counter and asked for a pound of ham and a pound of turkey.

While I waited, I looked at all the different kinds of meat there. Turkey, chicken, beef, pork, salami, and so on.

It took me a moment to understand what I was actually looking at. Animals. I'm so used to looking at the meat in the deli and meat departments as nothing more than globs of protein that I often forget what these sources of food truly are. The same can be said any time I eat chicken nuggets or pizza with pepperoni on it.

It isn't my intention to be impolite to these creatures. I just forget. We all sometimes forget.

It simply takes a strong heart to remember.

I may never know what it is like to be an animal. I dream of it as many do, wondering what it would be like to live in an open plain where I could live off of grass and enjoy the gentle breeze. I dream of looking to the sky and wondering what clouds are, and having a moment of triumph protecting myself from a predator such as a wolf or a coyote.

I dream of life as simple, not so complex as I understand it now. I know that to some, that would be an odd request - to refuse wanting to learn vast amounts of knowledge rather than wanting to understand anything and everything. I'd rather be able to live off of instinct than knowledge.

I begin to realize how many chickens, turkeys, cows, and pigs lose their lives to feed our country. I think about all of the grocery stores, fast-food chains, and restaurants there are in America. It's impossible to even imagine.

My order of ham and turkey meat is handed to me. And as I place them in my shopping cart, I look back at the packaged globs of protein behind the glass there. I simply forgot what you were.

I may never know what it is like to be an animal, but I do think that those behind the case would prefer their bodies be used and eaten than go to waste.

Another work in progress, and this will be a great opportunity for you to create some new creature ideas. Anirapio's homeworld, Ibuzon, is home to many feral creatures that her species preys on. While sadly all animal life on Ibuzon ultimately goes extinct, little is known about many of the species who live on the jungle planet. That's where you come in!

I'd love for you guys to design some alien creatures to inhabit Anirapio's world. There really are no limits, and as for designing them you can either write a paragraph description or do artwork (or both), whatever you prefer. Just post in the comments and I'll update the dictionary! The only things you need to keep in mind are that Ibuzon is a dense jungle world and that the Daog (Anirapio's species) are dominant much like humans are here on Earth.

Also Spore-based screenshots are fine for showing your creature off





The Achak has a nimble body, slender much like a wild dog, but has small, delicate feathers that lines the body. It has a snout much like an anteater, and similar to the Earthen species, it uses its long tongue to lick out nectar from the otherworldly flowers on Ibuzon. It has four eyes in total - two large and two small, one of each on either side of its snout. Its snout is lined with a few horns that was its only means of protection. It has paws much like a cockatiel or a chameleon, used to climb trees and stalks effectively.

Related to the Rock Hound Event.

This will be another opportunity to fight more of the rock hounds, and the Endless Forest deer will get some unlikely help this time. If you'd like to participate, let me know. Anyone can join in.

Participating/Planning on participating:

Cay Lynn
Illrose
Kahlan
Nathaniel
Phion
Roe
Zera

-----------------------

"Dig faster! I think we've found something here!", Iugulare's voice ordered. She watched as Anirapio and Nekumbra dug deep into the ground near the Ruins. The dragon and spider-doe huffed with each stroke into the ground, and little by little a massive skull was uncovered. "That's enough. I'll take over from here.", the stoat spoke, and climbing down into the ditch that the other two had dug, she studied the newly found bones.

"Interesting...this is another wolf skeleton like the rock hounds, but...", she began, Anirapio finishing her sentence, "It's huge compared to the others. This must have been the leader."

"Leader? I'm confused, I thought those 'alpha' rock hounds were the leaders.", Nekumbra questioned. Iugulare looked over to her, [=darkgrey]"Mhmm...those ones were high ranking, but even they bowed down this this one.

I know I have some stuff that needs to be done, but I just haven't been really inspired to work on them (Iugulare's Origin and a writing request)...

So uhh...anyone got anything specific they'd like to see me write? I know that's pretty vague and selfish but I'm literally out of ideas right now.

[center]WIP bio, realized he never had an official one done.





Name - Blixt
Pictogram - Hat with Feather
Species - Stag

Rival - Dond

Appearance -



Green luchador mask
Kirin pelt
Candles in antlers

Deep scar underneath mask going from forehead to jaw.

Hey guys, here is the e-mails and responses from me to Michael and Auriea on the events that went on. I thought you should know, especially those of you who use CSS.

Here's what you'll need to know:

"We have disabled css (and all HTML) on any new posts. People will have to use BBCODE to style new posts. Old posts with html/css will continue to exist so long as the user doesn't edit and save. Same goes for embeded videos. We may turn this stuff back on if there is no further problem."



So don't edit your CSS blogs for a while until Michael and Auriea decide to put CSS back up, or else you'll lose it. Your CSS will stop working if you edit your blog now. It will be a good idea to save your code, too.

---------------------------------
The full chain of e-mails -





Hi Chris,


Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Two others did the same.
We have blocked Caturday's account and are looking into disabling CSS,
which should remove the possibility to white-out pages. Apparently,
humans cannot be trusted with this technology and need to be oppressed.
Oh well.


Thank you for your concern,

Michael Samyn & Auriea Harvey.
Tale of Tales





[b]Hi Chris,

We have disabled css (and all HTML) on any new posts. People will have to use BBCODE to style new posts. Old posts with html/css will continue to exist so long as the user doesn't edit and save. Same goes for embeded videos. We may turn this stuff back on if there is no further problem.

We've fixed anything "whited out" that we could find. The script you sent, while a good temporary band-aid, won't really solve the problem.

Kinsha trained in the Forest one day, honing in on his ninja skills. He hid behind trees, scanned the area, and moved swiftly and silently. On a particular day, he happened to see something odd in the middle of an open area.

A red velvet cake sat on a plate in a patch of sunlight. Tilting his head, the ninja approached the strange object, sniffing it curiously. "What is this doing here?", he questioned. Inspecting the cake, he was very tempted to taste it, but he shook his head, "No, I must practice my discipline. I will sit here and watch this cake, and maybe I will learn it's purpose here."

So he sat and meditated by the cake. He reflected on the white icing, wondering how it tasted. But he refused to give into temptation.

During this time, Marik trotted by. Stopping, he looked over at the ninja and the cake. "A cake? Is this some kind of trick?", he questioned, and approaching, he asked Kinsha, "Is this your cake? It looks quite good..."

Kinsha shook his head, "It does not belong to me, but...", however before he could finish the statement, Marik had quickly taken a bite out of the cake. Kinsha watched as the other swallowed the chunk of it and wiped his mouth with his leg. "Mmm...a little dry. Oh well...", Marik spoke, and then walked off.

The inside of the cake was now exposed, and Kinsha was more tempted to try it now that someone else had taken a bite. But he waited, now nervous that the owner of the cake would blame him for it having a chunk missing.

At this time Quad noticed the cake there. He approached and bowed to Kinsha, then speaking, "What in the world is this?" Kinsha tried to explain to him what a cake was, but he tilted his head. Looking at the strange human delicacy, his mouth watered. "Just looking at it makes me want to try some. I know this isn't mine but since someone has already eaten some it wouldn't hurt to try a little.", he spoke, and bending down, he ate a piece of the cake as well.

Writing response for my Character Questionnaire after getting feedback that Iugulare needed more background info. Enjoy

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The surface of the planet seemed barren. A red sky covered iron-rich soil, giving a look very similar to that of Mars.

But this planet was anything but uninhabited. Many structures rose from the ground, though very hard to see. The creatures would rise up and enjoy the surface during the night hours, and during the day they stayed in their underground cities, illuminated by glowing crystals.

Venterm was a planet inhabited by creatures made of pure viral infection. But despite their nature, they were a peaceful race. The Goxi were a race of researchers, their bodies taking the shape of various alien creatures they had found throughout the galaxy. Through peaceful negotiations, the Goxi would travel to various worlds and offer moments of peace for the alien creatures, letting them sleep for short moments of time within their infectious bodies while they learned everything they could about the new species. They often brought some back to Venterm for further research. Those who did not have a host creature they infected used crystals deep within the planet to live off of. The crystals contained the perfect elements for them to use, and often their eye color was determined by the crystal they held within.

This was a safe process for the aliens who volunteered to come to the infectious world...that is, until they met Iugulare...

One of the Goxi walked into a chamber where many of the research aliens were comfortably held. They consented to the research and slept here, having beautiful dreams created by the infection as it entered into their brain.