There’s an old story about a god - no one can say for sure which, or who - looking down at the planet wearily, observing all the hatred and war that was occuring on the lands they had so lovingly created - the love they had given to the people seemed to be shunned. In an attempt to remind them of the beauty and importance of love, the god created Lieblingstiere - a race, a trait, a gene - something to spread through the populations to act as the lord’s servants, to spread love and joy wherever they went, and to be punished for spreading misfortune and sadness. And so they descended onto the Earth, to act in God’s will, heavensent with a mission to restore love to the world.
But that’s just a story, and most people these days don’t believe in fairy tales...
Lieblingstiere (leeb-lings-teer, German - “favourite animals”) is nothing more than a gene. It is less so a species or a race so much as a trait in and of itself. The Lieblingstiere gene is able to bind itself to any living species - transforming said species into a Lieblingstiere. Lieblingstiere can be expressed in humans, kemonomimis, anthros, ferals, aliens, and other species as well*. As a result, Lieblingstiere tend to generally live as long as the species they are hosted into - a Lieblingstier who has bonded to a human codex will live around 80 years, whereas a Lieblingstier who has bonded to a dog will live around 15. In the case where the gene bonds with an immortal species, the longest a Lieblingstiere can live in any regard is for one century - at this point, their ink will dry up and they will perish.
While the Lieblingstiere gene can bond with any species - it is extremely recessive, usually not making another resurgence until 4+ generations have gone by. It is almost unheard of for a Lieblingstier to have a Lieblingstier child, and with few exceptions, a Lieblingstier is often the only one of it’s kind that it will know.
Due to it’s extremely recessive nature - very little is ever known and propagated about Lieblingstiere within the communities in which they may arise. Children growing up typically have to learn about their traits and abilities on their own - without any advice or guidance, or via extensive research into “old wives' tales”. Because of this, Lieblingstiere are often isolated and ostracized, which makes them exceptionally vulnerable to cracks and early deaths.
Many view being a Lieblingstiere as a curse.
Lieblingstiere communities are not unheard of, however, and in large cities, it is possible for groups to come together to connect over their shared heritage, pooling their knowledge together to define who they are as a people.
*Make sure you have permission before hybridizing a CS with Lieblingstiere traits!
♥ Magic
All Lieblingstiere possess magic - though many of them do not realize it. Each Lieblingstier has two different abilities - a normal ability, and an ability only accessible while heartbroken.
Normal magic is the reason why most Lieblingstiere don’t realize they have magic at all - it is extremely underwhelming. Lieblingstiere have quirks that are always either neutral or mildly positive, but nothing extremely beneficial, and usually just improve life for the others around them. For example, a Lieblingstier would not be able to grow plants with a flick of the wrist, move through time, or fly through space, but a Lieblingstier might be able to always smell of roses, have a very acute sense of time that leads to them being extremely punctual, or just be particularly good at jumping. The most common types of Lieblingstiere magic are mood boosters (whether it be active through something such as touch, or passive through a sent or a particularly charming smile!), enhanced empathy, and increased skill proficiency. Their magic is not limited to these - but their normal state magic is always either completely neutral or beneficial. No Lieblingstiere in a normal state possesses an ability that allows them to harm or negatively affect another person. Due to this, Lieblingstiere do not have abilities that passively increase their strength, accuracy, or anything that might be used in a fight.
Normal magic is also accessible when lovesick - it does not alter it at all.
Heartbroken magic is where Lieblingstiere magic becomes dangerous. Heartbroken ink is typically designed to be used in self-defense, and puts the Lieblingstier in great risk - though a heartbroken Lieblingstier could absolutely use their magic antagonistically. The Lieblingstier becomes able to channel their ink into a weapon, with which they are able to fight back. This can manifest in a myriad of ways - whether it be ink congealing to become a hard and sharp weapon, raining down like a hail of tiny spikes, solidifying around the target and sealing them in, or passive magic - such as overwhelming the target with the same emotions as the Lieblingstiere is currently experiencing. Regardless of how the magic is expressed - it is always taken from the Lieblingstier’s current ink supply, and ink spent on heartbroken magic is ink that is spent and unable to return to the Lieblingstier. A Lieblingstier is able to make use of ink that was very recently lost, however - a Lieblingstier who was recently cut and bleeding, or has been crying, would be able to use that already expelled ink to attack with.
A Lieblingstiere that has expressed itself in a species that already possesses magic - such as a Lieblingstier dragon, will be able to access the species’ magic as well as their unique Lieblingstiere magic - which usually makes the species’ magic more useful, and the native magic is discarded. A Lieblingstiere who has bonded to, say, a human, however - only has their silly and largely useless Lieblingstiere magic to rely on.
♥ Reincarnation
Perhaps some evidence for the wives’ tales of Lieblingstiere’s creation being true -- Lieblingstiere can have a bad habit of coming back. A Lieblingstier whose life is cut short too soon - especially by violent or cruel means - has a high chance of coming back to life. There is no limit to how many times a Lieblingstier can be reincarnated - if they keep meeting unjust, sudden ends, they will continue to be reborn. Not all reincarnated Lieblingstiere remember their past lives - and these memories tend to return as they age - but it is not uncommon to at least remember the previous death, and past loves.
Reincarnated Lieblingstiere, however, rarely resemble their past lives, and are not guaranteed to be born in the same place as they died - they can come back to life anywhere and in whatever form. Reincarnated Lieblingstiere can also introduce the Lieblingstiere gene to an ancestral line that did not previously possess it - as the family they are reincarnated into do not need to carry the gene for their soul to be reborn in the child birthed.
