Virgil probably has to throw out his old skin after a molt, so just picture:
He’s walking into the kitchen like ‘sup up Thomas’ as he holds a mass of floppy flesh and puts it in the bin. Or one of the other sides opens the bin to see Virgil’s flesh just chillin inside. Only the Dark Sides know that Virgil molts (Janus has had to stop Remus eating it) but none of the light sides know…so they’re in for a surprise.
Also what about his hair? Is there just a little floof attached?
Normally I wouldn’t do this because this book is so not 101, and is probably immensely traumatizing* if you haven’t already desensitized yourself, but if you want any kind of background/deep back story on this war I HIGHLY recommend Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder.
*it opens with Ukrainian toddlers cannibalizing each other during the Holodomor and only gets less chill from there.
Here are some disturbing animal facts cuz i’m a nerd (be careful when reading):
Baby koalas eat their mother’s poop to get the bacteria that helps them digest eucalyptus, they’re also known for eating dirt.
The reason people haven’t domesticated zebras is because they’re highly aggressive and they cause the most amount of accidents at zoos. If a male zebra wants to mate with a female that has a foal with her, the male proceeds to drown the child in front of the mother while she desperately tries to defend it.
Giant petrels eat baby penguins, usually entering through the back while the defenseless parents cannot stop it and just watch their chick slowly die. They also spit their highly acidic gastric juices out of their mouth if threatened. If you see one with their head covered in red you’ll know it just finished violating their meal.
Dogs kill more people a year than a single shark does it’s entire life.
Giant anteaters are blind and attack by slashing wildly at anything that moves, and their claws are used to break through ant and termite mounds, which are as hard as cement, meaning they’re one of the only animals a jaguar will hesitate to attack.
Hyenas got really bad rep because of The Lion King, only seen as hungry scavengers, but in reality, they are even more efficient predators that lions are.
Male otters are aggressive and are known to “do things” to members of their own species (other animals too), and then murk them, this includes their own pups. Otters are also highly vicious critters that can take out fully grown caimans and scare away jaguars.
Male chimpanzees are known to rip each others balls off when they fight.
Orcas are known to play “volleybal” with any other sea creature that’s unfortunate enough to be near them for no apparent reason, they do this by launching them with their tail several feet in the air until they perish. This includes seals and mantarays, the orcas don’t even eat the animal afterwards, they just stay there, watching the corpse slowly float down into the abyss.
Animals like lions, bears and most rodents, are known to cannibalize their children.
“Good.” He motioned for Alastor to keep a hold on Striker as he prepared to untie the imp from his bonds, walking over to frisk him of his weaponry, putting away his Hellphone after sending the text to Charlie and Vaggie.
“Both the Radio Demon and I hail from the South in our respective past alive lives, so that hospitality better be genuine or you will be terminated.”
[ALASTOR]
“Such a mouth on this one… Kind of cute.” Alastor tries to make some small talk, still insulting the imp. Holding down on the Imp’s shoulders to keep him from moving or to struggle.
“Indeed, and I am craving some southern cooking tonight…” he playfully threatens.
[STRIKER]
Striker kept his cool as that threat was making his own stomach churn. Yeah, he knows why this demon was down here in the first place. Yikes, he heard other cannibals were more subtle than this guy.
Gorn are taste telepaths. Similarly to the elves from the Divinity series or space marines from 40k, they can get psychic impressions of thoughts, memories or skills by consuming the DNA of animals or humanoids. This is why they prefer meat from animals that lived well and died quickly. Ritual cannibalism is the standard way of showing respect to a deceased loved one, a fallen enemy or an executed convict (if considered rehabilitated). A part of the person will live on in society, their contributions are acknowledged and honoured. A person who does not get eaten is denied an afterlife, doomed to be forgotten, and forever separated from society. This is reserved as the highest form of punishment or a last resort.
When first fighting Humans, prejudices about the Gorn - cold-blooded killers, cruel savages, worse than animals - psychically affected the soldiers eating fallen enemies as a post-battle ritual. Even worse, Humans are one of the only species that cause neurodegenerative disorders in Gorn when consumed. This means that Gorn units that fight Humans will eventually turn into the bloodthirsty, sadistic killers and cannibals their enemies saw them as. When infected Gorn are given standard funeral rites they pass the double threat of psychic insanity and prion disease on to their mourners.
Once the effects of exposure to Humans became clear and study of the causes became impossible, the Gorn drew their conclusions: Humans cannot contribute to society, cannot enter the afterlife, have no souls. They are to be killed on sight, communication with them is forbidden. Any Gorn that has been near a Human needs to be executed and the body burned - a great yet necessary evil.
