Alternate house mascots
Jun. 30th, 2019 02:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI decided to use my Beasts of Albion cards to draw four alternatives as house mascots for a Not Hogwarts
and got Snake again.
Which irritates me, because they don't just have Bird as one of the options.
Great Britain only had three snake species when the cards was made anyway (one of which turned out to be two species according to 2017, said one page).
So the book mentions Adders without calling the card Adder, and then doesn't mention Grass Snake or Smooth Snake.
Adders are the only poisonous ones, which makes them swish and show offy.
But the grass snake Natrix Natrix has a defense mechanism of smelling really bad, bleeding from the mouth and nose, throwing up, and playing dead. Which I'm sure you can agree is a very different playbook. Does the Beasts of Albion pack offer it as an alternative for your guiding spirit? Does it heck, even though death and rebirth is a mentioned theme. Sure shedding your skin is great wnd all but what would you think of a snake that was leaking bad stuff from both ends and then just... got up and slithered away? That's even better at death! ... just really messy.
I do not know what the smooth snake does.
Probably just talks its way out
*badum tish*
Ooh, wiki says it's a constrictor. But subdues not kills. Hows that work? I would have to follow links and find out.
But that's three very different wisdoms if you're doing the lessons of snake. Bite, constrict to subdue, or play dead and leak. Whole different approaches to life.
... I think I've complained this complain before, but it remains irritating. How is 'snake' one symbol when they are so varied?
ooh, smooth snakes have a coronet. crown shaped scale on top. pretty cool.
though one of the referenced web pages say it is heart shaoed or like a butterfly. also cool.
but now I have visions of snakes with marks on their heads like my little pony.
and they've got a long stripe of eyeliner.
ah, their main defence mechanism is just their camouflage, which is good enough it can take three years of surveys to know they are there... so that works nice.
oh neat, can live to be thirty.
Grass snakes can swim proficiently. Don't know about the others. Grass snakes eat frogs and toads. Smooth snakes eat small mammals and smaller snakes. Adders eat rodents and amphibians.
Every single page about the Adder points out many bites are to the hand, and can be avoided by not picking up the live venomous snake. ... one page also said most bites are to males...
*sigh*
Mustelids feeding on adders is mentioned again. They're bitey then.
... I am being distracted by Cool Snake Facts again
and have not even looked up the other three cards.
Oh look, Weasels. That's... also a bit on the nose for a Notwarts.
And the book mentions as one entry weasels, stoats, and ermines, though to contrast the symbolism associated. Doesn't mention ferrets even though they too are long skinny mustelids. Boring.
huh, the wildlife page for smooth snakes lists mustelids polecats weasels as among their predators.
how clear are theses distinctions anyway? aha, wiki reckons weasels are the whole genus Mustela, which includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. That explains that, the stories aren't going to get clear if it's a category. It reckons it's a British vs US english issue, with brits being more precise, meaning mostly least weasels.
Least Weasels are in fact gingers, at least in these British pictures. They use olfactory marking. And have litters of about half a dozen. They are small but fierce. They go white in the winter, which is becoming unhelpful when there's no snow. There's a lot of variation and subspecies. Moves by jumping.
They can hunt things much bigger than they are and kill by biting the back of the skull or upper neck, dislocating vertebrae. Large prey typically dies of blood loss.
They mostly eat rodents, but when scarce eat more birds.
When prey is abundant they might only eat the brains! Oh that's gross cool.
But they are small and lots of things eat them, like foxes, stoats, polecats, owls and buzzards. Some snake species prey on stoats, but wiki doesn't say British ones, just far away sorts.
Weasels were mythology famous for killing basilisks, but personally after reading the english to english translation issue, I'm wondering what language that was written in and how many mustelids it might be. If really the small ones, pretty cool. ... or not, cause Pliny says specifically weasels have lethal effluvium and kill it by their odour! Lethally stinky!
... as a house mascot for teenage boys...
Stoats is also called short tailed weasels or, in ireland, weasels. so again, we're not seperating them any time soon. and they're the ermine ones, in their winter coats, being a whole extra symbol. They'rw like big weasels with a black tail tip. But they smell different.
Stoats are the ones that are bad bad in New Zealand.
Stoats is noxious thieving bastards in a bunch of story, but ermines is purity. Humans, judging morals on color, go figure.
Weasel words and sneaky conniving gets mentioned a lot. Not a lot of nice around for weasels.
Wiki says ferrets are domesticated polecats. I am learning things today.
And that polecat secretions are particularly foul smelling.
... sometimes it only cripples its prey by piercing its brain and brings it home alive for storage.
... nature is way nasty.
Associated with promiscuity.
Kills vermin, but probably also poultry, so everyone's annoyed of it.
Domesticated a couple thousand years ago.
The actual name actually means thief, because they take things away and hide them.
A group of ferrets is a business or busyness.
Still have the scent glands, which allow them to recognise the scent of individuals.
Ew, the US takes their glands out before selling them. The UK considers tjat mutilation.
Just love your stinky pet or get a sort that doesn't stink, honestly.
They are bitey meat eaters only
and will only try new foods in the first six months of their life before getting set in their ways.
... females that are in heat too long without breeding can die, as their heat suppresses other necessary biological processes. Like they get anaemic and die. Unless bred.
*blinks*
Ferrets were used for centuries for hunting things down holes
and more recently for running cables.
... wiki doesn't mention that, but a quick google for ferrets cables finds news articles going back twenty years, so it's not new. one if them is apparently an april fool but i dont see what the fool is if it has been true.
https://www.geniusstuff.com/blogs/business-ferrets.htm
Ferrets are good.
So that's three reputations one very similar looking animals.
However only one sort is famous for being put down men's trousers.
... *sigh* ...
humans!
The internet is so cool, you can start by randomly selecting an animal and then whoosh, facts!
So that's my morning so far. Hope you all have nice days.
and got Snake again.
Which irritates me, because they don't just have Bird as one of the options.
Great Britain only had three snake species when the cards was made anyway (one of which turned out to be two species according to 2017, said one page).
So the book mentions Adders without calling the card Adder, and then doesn't mention Grass Snake or Smooth Snake.
Adders are the only poisonous ones, which makes them swish and show offy.
But the grass snake Natrix Natrix has a defense mechanism of smelling really bad, bleeding from the mouth and nose, throwing up, and playing dead. Which I'm sure you can agree is a very different playbook. Does the Beasts of Albion pack offer it as an alternative for your guiding spirit? Does it heck, even though death and rebirth is a mentioned theme. Sure shedding your skin is great wnd all but what would you think of a snake that was leaking bad stuff from both ends and then just... got up and slithered away? That's even better at death! ... just really messy.
I do not know what the smooth snake does.
Probably just talks its way out
*badum tish*
Ooh, wiki says it's a constrictor. But subdues not kills. Hows that work? I would have to follow links and find out.
But that's three very different wisdoms if you're doing the lessons of snake. Bite, constrict to subdue, or play dead and leak. Whole different approaches to life.
... I think I've complained this complain before, but it remains irritating. How is 'snake' one symbol when they are so varied?
ooh, smooth snakes have a coronet. crown shaped scale on top. pretty cool.
though one of the referenced web pages say it is heart shaoed or like a butterfly. also cool.
but now I have visions of snakes with marks on their heads like my little pony.
and they've got a long stripe of eyeliner.
ah, their main defence mechanism is just their camouflage, which is good enough it can take three years of surveys to know they are there... so that works nice.
oh neat, can live to be thirty.
Grass snakes can swim proficiently. Don't know about the others. Grass snakes eat frogs and toads. Smooth snakes eat small mammals and smaller snakes. Adders eat rodents and amphibians.
Every single page about the Adder points out many bites are to the hand, and can be avoided by not picking up the live venomous snake. ... one page also said most bites are to males...
*sigh*
Mustelids feeding on adders is mentioned again. They're bitey then.
... I am being distracted by Cool Snake Facts again
and have not even looked up the other three cards.
Oh look, Weasels. That's... also a bit on the nose for a Notwarts.
And the book mentions as one entry weasels, stoats, and ermines, though to contrast the symbolism associated. Doesn't mention ferrets even though they too are long skinny mustelids. Boring.
huh, the wildlife page for smooth snakes lists mustelids polecats weasels as among their predators.
how clear are theses distinctions anyway? aha, wiki reckons weasels are the whole genus Mustela, which includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. That explains that, the stories aren't going to get clear if it's a category. It reckons it's a British vs US english issue, with brits being more precise, meaning mostly least weasels.
Least Weasels are in fact gingers, at least in these British pictures. They use olfactory marking. And have litters of about half a dozen. They are small but fierce. They go white in the winter, which is becoming unhelpful when there's no snow. There's a lot of variation and subspecies. Moves by jumping.
They can hunt things much bigger than they are and kill by biting the back of the skull or upper neck, dislocating vertebrae. Large prey typically dies of blood loss.
They mostly eat rodents, but when scarce eat more birds.
When prey is abundant they might only eat the brains! Oh that's gross cool.
But they are small and lots of things eat them, like foxes, stoats, polecats, owls and buzzards. Some snake species prey on stoats, but wiki doesn't say British ones, just far away sorts.
Weasels were mythology famous for killing basilisks, but personally after reading the english to english translation issue, I'm wondering what language that was written in and how many mustelids it might be. If really the small ones, pretty cool. ... or not, cause Pliny says specifically weasels have lethal effluvium and kill it by their odour! Lethally stinky!
... as a house mascot for teenage boys...
Stoats is also called short tailed weasels or, in ireland, weasels. so again, we're not seperating them any time soon. and they're the ermine ones, in their winter coats, being a whole extra symbol. They'rw like big weasels with a black tail tip. But they smell different.
Stoats are the ones that are bad bad in New Zealand.
Stoats is noxious thieving bastards in a bunch of story, but ermines is purity. Humans, judging morals on color, go figure.
Weasel words and sneaky conniving gets mentioned a lot. Not a lot of nice around for weasels.
Wiki says ferrets are domesticated polecats. I am learning things today.
And that polecat secretions are particularly foul smelling.
... sometimes it only cripples its prey by piercing its brain and brings it home alive for storage.
... nature is way nasty.
Associated with promiscuity.
Kills vermin, but probably also poultry, so everyone's annoyed of it.
Domesticated a couple thousand years ago.
The actual name actually means thief, because they take things away and hide them.
A group of ferrets is a business or busyness.
Still have the scent glands, which allow them to recognise the scent of individuals.
Ew, the US takes their glands out before selling them. The UK considers tjat mutilation.
Just love your stinky pet or get a sort that doesn't stink, honestly.
They are bitey meat eaters only
and will only try new foods in the first six months of their life before getting set in their ways.
... females that are in heat too long without breeding can die, as their heat suppresses other necessary biological processes. Like they get anaemic and die. Unless bred.
*blinks*
Ferrets were used for centuries for hunting things down holes
and more recently for running cables.
... wiki doesn't mention that, but a quick google for ferrets cables finds news articles going back twenty years, so it's not new. one if them is apparently an april fool but i dont see what the fool is if it has been true.
https://www.geniusstuff.com/blogs/business-ferrets.htm
Ferrets are good.
So that's three reputations one very similar looking animals.
However only one sort is famous for being put down men's trousers.
... *sigh* ...
humans!
The internet is so cool, you can start by randomly selecting an animal and then whoosh, facts!
So that's my morning so far. Hope you all have nice days.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 01:08 pm (UTC)