Symbols of Power

About the literature

 

He talked with the beasts, the birds and the fish (Konrad Lorenz, edited in English as "King Solomon's Ring")

When I was probably still in elementary school, an adopted aunt gifted me this book, of unpretentious edition, knowing I would chomp down on any kind of content related to animals, and she wasn't wrong: this one changed my life.
Nowadays, I will not pretend the author was a good guy, or that the book's content was scientifically sound at all.
However, it is undeniable that it awoke on me the love for etology and for the idea of communiccing with animals, being in that wat the basis of the main concept around my fantasy world where everything revolves around the relationships that people make with the other species that populate it.  

Pet Shop of Horrors (Matsuri Akino)

The manga Pet Shop of Horrors narrates the relationship between the protagonist and the fantastical creatures in his pet shop, and how he resolves (or causes) issues by communicating with them.
The main "antagonist" creature in my world, the tetsus, are based on the chinese mythology's taotie or totetsu.
The name of Symbols Of Power most important tetsu, Dinner, was originally inspired by the chapter of this manga centered around these creatures, called Dessert.