Uploaded: 3 years ago
Views: 1,048
File size: 660.71 KiB
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Resolution: 1188x1700
Comments: 52
Favorites: 25
Prepare for more worldbuilding babble...
Next up on random furryverse lore, we have the NOPREY collar. Quite a bit of info is already there in the "ads", so there isn't much more to explain. They are the only officially registered, government funded prey protective collar provider, and the only trusted name in keeping prey people from being eaten.
As you can see from the small print at the bottom, getting a "long-term" collar - for prey who wish to have a career, family, etc, is quite a process with plenty of checks and tests. A petty crime, dropping out of school, or even having poor genetics might bar a prey from the protection they want. This is partially because NOPREY is mostly run by predators (not to mention the governments who fund them; very few prey politicians...). This has lead to much controversy over the years.
They were established, and patented their protective collars, in 1733 - though plenty of rough, rudimentary collars existed centuries before this. As the industrial revolution took over, demand for NOPREY collars skyrocketed, once it was realized that prey could make up a large chunk of the needed manual labour force, as factories sprung up all over the globe - including those for the millions of collars required year by year!
Today's collars are highly modernized, with a GPS locator, vital scanner, and a vial of lethal arsenic, all to keep preds from eating NOPREY's clients. Holding button one sounds an alarm; the second one places an emergency call to the company's in-house SWAT team - whose response time tends to depend on the status of the client, and value of their collar; button three is for emergencies, as it releases a stream of poison (not a mist) to be absorbed by a pred's stomach. So long as the prey manages not to swallow any, it's a matter of waiting to be rescued from a pred's corpse (if they weren't vomited up in the process). So, obviously, wearing one of these basically guarantees no pred would try to eat you. Of course, there are several "incidents" every year...
Prey who end up killing a predator with their collar cannot be held responsible for the death, but this was only made law in 1968, after MUCH lobbying. Before then, several prey people had been charged with the manslaughter of the predator who swallowed them, as the pred's family would have excellent lawyers. Today, with all the laws and tech firmly in place, prey people with NOPREY collars can walk confidently in public, knowing they are safe. Sneered at, perhaps, but safe.
Of course, there is also a short-term offering from NOPREY. A light silicone collar that can be applied in special stores, or in-home visits for vulnerable prey who can't leave their home/town/colony without one. Prey choose their 8-digit password (using just 1, 2, & 3) after putting it on. Entering the password again (after holding all three buttons until it beeps) will sever the wires in the back, and split the band, rendering the collar useless (the vile of poison would have to be shattered through several layers of steel and glass to be any danger).
The short term model is extremely popular. It can be purchased by any prey (not cheap, of course), but is more often bought by preds who want it for a boyfriend/girlfriend, or any prey they're otherwise saving for a later date. The ad doesn't mention that these collars DO expire after only 30-40 days. Many prey don't read the fine print, and are shocked when the "NO" on their collar fades away one day. Even more shocked are those who don't notice, are eaten by a pred who DOES notice, and are stuck in a belly wondering why their stupid collar isn't working! Deactivated collars are so secure, they can pass safely through a pred's digestive tract.
As I said, NOPREY is pred owned, and it definitely shows. Interaction with their prey clients is somewhat patronizing, and the company seems to emphasize "waiting for that special day" rather than "live a life and not get eaten". Even their ads usually feature happy looking prey people discarding their collar and being swallowed. Their main pitch is to have prey want to wear one before getting eaten, not want it to pursue a life apart from being eaten. There's a lot of controversy surrounding this, but there's little other choice.
The ads also frequently mention knock-offs and fakes, which exist in droves in the black market. Some actually have working poison vials and alarms, but many are easy to simply claw or bite off someone's neck. A keen-eyed pred may notice someone in a "NOPRAY" collar and take advantage. There are even trap collars sold by pred gangs to fool prey; no poison, and the GPS is only there to tell one sneaky pred exactly where to catch their next meal! So, the official, expensive - or difficult to be eligible for - NOPREY is the only safe guarantee.
You might also notice the luxury models are leather - which is cow leather, as cows are just regular animals here. All ungulates - hoofed animals - are just normal animals like on earth, and the industries surrounding them are very much the same. There are no cow, horse, deer, giraffe, or hippo people, or anything in between. There's meat & dairy farms, horseback riding, hunting, and zoos though! Basically only animals that had separated fingers and toes became people; I'll expand on this with a line-up pic of the different classes of species later. Note that there do exist larger version of hoofed animals here that make excellent preds, and many are star performance eaters - but I'm getting ahead of myself.
How do you guys like the collar design? Took me a while to decide on it, especially since it will show up in multiple stories. I hope all that text is easy enough to read, and thanks for reading through my long descriptions and history. Let me know what you guys think!
Please login to post a comment.
Posted by VoidInVoid 3 years ago Report
I suppose in this world that the term "copycat" can be taken literally when it comes to rival manufacturers.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Mmmm, yes it would! Though, almost all animal related phrases from our real world are touchy & controversial specist slurs here, so that one might not be said - or perhaps spitefully!
Posted by VoidInVoid 3 years ago Report
I imagine the dirty talk can be quite specific.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh yes, dirty talk is another area altogether - an anything goes area for some. A pair of aggressive preds might have a very rough and mouthy sexual experience, especially if they both just swallowed someone!
Posted by TheHungryTiger 3 years ago Report
That sounds like a challenge
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Well, very high risk, but high reward if they're some good prey!
Posted by ChaoskampfNunc 3 years ago Report
I do enjoy myself a nice furry world where prey are seen as second class citizens who are to just accept their fate as food, a fact that is even purposefully romanticized by predators
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
What better way to keep the prey citizens in line and avoid uprisings than to convince them to love their role? Sell the idea of being eaten, with clothes, candy, and collars. Ingrain it into them so much that avoiding their fate feels as though they're doing something wrong. Make it seem like getting eaten will be the best and most exciting thing they'll ever do. And it's worked out well for the pred population - prey may be smaller and weaker, but vastly outnumber their preds...
Posted by ChaoskampfNunc 3 years ago Report
When prey girls talk about planning their special day at a friend's sleepover they aren't talking about weddings that's for sure :p
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Hee hee, nope! They DO have pre-dinner parties - that is, groups of prey who want to get eaten all at once rather than each of them going missing unexpectedly. They have their last hangout, then plan out or purchase the ideal scenario to have themselves eaten together!
Posted by ChaoskampfNunc 3 years ago Report
I do so enjoy the idea of a cute, succulent girl looking forward to being eaten who is devoured by a predator when she "isn't ready" and having what was supposed to be the best, last moment of her life ending up falling short of her imagination...
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh ho ho, I like that! On a risky outing involved in their dream plan, getting caught and being all pouty about getting eaten the wrong way by the wrong pred!
Posted by ChaoskampfNunc 3 years ago Report
Precisely, great minds think alike :p
Posted by TestAccountPleaseIgnore 3 years ago Report
This is an amazing concept. Not much else to say.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Well, thank you very much!
Posted by VampireBunny 3 years ago Report
I like the creativity.
Sad to see there's no sheep though. Who will beep beep then?
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Thank you!
Haha! Honestly sheep were one of the animals holding me back on this decision - and I'll admit, wanting to see those "Beep Beep, I'm a Sheep" girls getting eaten was a big part! But, I gotta draw some lines in my lore to make it all fit together. At least the lamb chop and wool industries run as usual, without any controversy!
Posted by VampireBunny 3 years ago Report
That's a decision I would not be able to make. I love sheep way too much to leave them on the cutting room floor despite the inconsistency. lol
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Ah, I suppose I love sheep too, but they don't make my top 10; I guess I was willing to let them go - or maybe one will show up in some capacity
Posted by 2good2btru 3 years ago Report
I like to imagine preds collecting these collars to show off, the more protective the collar, the stronger the bragging rights are. Some preds might even have the same collars as their prey, just to show that this isn't their first rodeo. X3
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh yes, definitely these collars could be among a pred's "trophy shelf". They would be a bragging right no matter how the situation went down - either they convinced or tricked a prey that didn't intend to get eaten - or swallowed one and talked them out of pressing any buttons - or they'd have to hack or destroy the collar somehow, before it signals. In any case it's proof of a meal you put effort into!
Posted by 2good2btru 3 years ago Report
Makes me want to see a family were the Dad is a pred and his trophy room has several collars from different prey, with his wife wearing a special one that he gives to his lovers to preserve them, and when he decides to eat them, he has a ceremony when he removes the collar to put it on his next special prey, with him often taking a final photo with their faces just outside his mouth as he moves on to his next victim/lover.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
That is a fun one! I'm glad my ideas are inspiring others to come up with fun scenarios that are likely to happen in this world, so many fun possibilities!
Posted by 2good2btru 3 years ago Report
I don't mind helping out with writing such stories and possibilities, sadly my artistic skills are not very good.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
I've got dozens of ideas already, but never know if someone might have a good idea for a pic or short comic
Posted by sevensix 3 years ago Report
If anyone cracks the vitals signal's encryption (it is encrypted, right?), the rest is easy. Buy a collar; take it apart; program it to spoof your target's signal. Bring target to Faraday cage. Activate decoy transmitter and discard it; ideally in an unsurveilled high-traffic area. Trigger poison; wash it off; enjoy meal.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Mmmm, a complicated method, but rewarding if it scores that perfect prey!
Posted by PixyNeko 3 years ago Report
Really cute! I like how this setting has a lot of details that seem almost wholesome at first glance with darker undertones when you think a second. Like, great giving someone a way to say they don't want to be eaten, but the restrictions are concerning and that it's a collar like someone would give a pet has interesting implications. I love how much this seems to be a world that wants to sound like everything is fair on the surface but is really being run by preds who might view most prey as cute treats or pets in the long term.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oooooo yes, you're seeing right through the candy coating on this pred-poisoned world! The elite ruling classes of preds make certain their system and media keep prey people in the proper mindset to know their role and like it!
Though, the fact of the matter is, if millions of prey animals weren't eaten every day, they'd overrun the planet in a matter of weeks, given their ridiculous birth rates. Preds not only love the control and power, but are terrified of what would happen if prey populations got out of control.
Posted by PixyNeko 3 years ago Report
I never really thought about if you really kept the rabbits breeding like rabbits in such a setting lol. Makes a lot of sense, would be all kinds of different political tensions.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Rodents are one thing, but if the insect population were to take over, and become the ruling class? Reworking society into worker colonies? We couldn't have that! Good thing even some prey mammals and reptiles also eat the bug people, which keeps their population to a reasonable minimum.
Posted by PixyNeko 3 years ago Report
the first thing that pops into my head is how there are countries that have a whole industry around fried and candied insects as treats and just the thought of if that'd still exist. I guess I wonder how the food industry looks in a world like that. Maybe I'm overthinking it now lol. Though now I'm also picturing a market for prey that like the idea of being made into pre-prepared treats heh - if you're going to get eaten anyway and don't really care by who, might as well make some cash for your friends or family at the same time, especially if its a company that promises to make sure you have a good time when you do hehe.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
That's a good idea! I was already thinking there'd be different ways prey could donate themselves to pred grocery stores. Like there's bins of untouched prey, but areas with candied or battered prey, maybe some decorated up special - they would sell for a lot more, so perhaps this could include funds to the prey's family. Actually, an in-demand prey family could sell their children, once they're of age, as food for the family income. Sounds cruel, but tis the world this is!
Posted by Thatangryorc 3 years ago Report
Another really fun and logical concept ^_^ The detail you put into the history and even things like lobbying and legal complications, brilliant <3 It was always clear you were a great artist, but your writer brain is obviously exemplary aswell!
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh, you flatter me! Really it's the product of an overactive imagination, always looking for extra little details I can add to make the world feel more real. I think it coming along good though, aye? Came up with more than I thought I would
Posted by blarg33211 3 years ago Report
That is interesting... Protection, but as a form of resource guarding.
What kind of reinforcing do the collars have to stop preds cutting them off?
Also, with a cabal of wealthy preds producing these things, it wouldn't surprise me if some individuals have access to some sort of key or kill-switch to shut the collars down should a protected prey catch their eye.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Mmm hmm, and the majority of prey people are too naive to notice they're being farmed with extra steps. Those who do point it out are deemed "conspiracy nuts".
All collars have reinforced steel cables surrounding the vital sensing wires, with a set going around the bottom, and another set around the top. Notice the thick rims around the collar; one-time use is just wrapped in silicone, and the luxury ones have brass, silver, or gold rings surrounding their cables and wires. It typically would take a power saw about minute or two to saw through even a cheap model. That said, some preds are VERY strong.
The CEO of NOPREY and his board of directors possess remote collar deactivators, yes, along with some other choice staff, celebrity preds, and a few unaccounted for units. These work like an EMP, but just permanently deactivates all the collars in a small radius. So the most rich and famous people can technically eat whomever they please, collars be damned, and the law turns a blind eye to the powerful.
Posted by sevensix 3 years ago Report
Unless someone finds a way to bypass the deactivation and release the arsenic anyway. Or just hides a low-tech poison capsule in their butt. It's a high-stakes game for both sides.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Stakes are pretty high yes - though, not a lot of prey have the intellect or education for that sort of thing...
Posted by sevensix 3 years ago Report
Come to think of it, bootlegs could be useful for both sides. A prey's could work the same as an official one, but be designed to keep working after the official expiration date; or to ignore the shutdown signal. But the low-tech option is probably all they'd need. Gotta be completely sure of what you're putting in your mouth.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh yes - heck, that could extend to my idea for there being a prey bounty hunter (or several) who assassinate preds by allowing themselves to be eaten. Such a bootleg fake expired collar would be useful for them!
Posted by ZombieLord 3 years ago Report
Finally an actual way to keep other's for eating your food, sounds far more effective than just putting my name on it and hoping for the best.
Might have to invest in a few.....
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
These collars do have quite a bit of uses! If you can afford to collect a few, why not nab a group of cute prey girls together, to save for yourself? Let them safely hang out for a weekend of fun, before your private buffet dinner! And that's just one idea...
Posted by BloodPuma 3 years ago Report
The vore equivalent to a purity ring, with a bit of a chastity belt mixed in! I really love the idea!!
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Oh yes, very much like that! Especially when you closely relate vore an sex
Posted by BloodPuma 3 years ago Report
It's very hard to imagine that anyone on this site would link the two!!~~ That's what makes it so much fun~~~
Posted by sevensix 3 years ago Report
Wonder whether there's a backdoor for users who forget their passcodes; or they need to go through potentially 6561 possible combinations. Also wonder how many just use one of a handful of known common passcodes; or just leave it at the default 11111111.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
If prey forget their password, their only option is to call the swat team like it's an emergency, and hope than can cover the enormous fee to have their collar reset, and a new password chosen (prey are usually supervised as their collars are activated). Again, the company never makes things too easy for their cliets; they don't truly have prey's best interests in mind. NOPREY's customer service is a nightmare!
Posted by sevensix 3 years ago Report
Starting to think "SWAT team" is more of a brand than an accurate description.
Posted by JuniperBerry 3 years ago Report
Yeah, kind of - it's an in-house service and recovery team for their clients - I used "SWAT" for lack of a better word, but they're kind of their own thing
Posted by absolute 2 years ago Report
*Jontron impression* I'LL TAKE YOUR ENTIRE STOCK!
Posted by JuniperBerry 2 years ago Report
Hah, LOL
Would be awfully expensive!