#Ant Nest Life

[missedmilemarkers]

[inthecityofgoodabode]

April 2024: The Last Sunday

Trying to imitate the first person view in a video game:

There is a nest in our clematis:

[bogleech]

There do in fact need to be colony building insects that can specifically cause severe pain to creatures of any size because that is how the presence of wasps and their baby siblings, bees and ants, shield swathes of plant life from the destructive activity of macrofauna like us and other mammals. There's even trees that domesticate stinging ants. Forests are healthier wherever there are hornet nests. All of these insects are pollinators too as a bonus, yes also the ants, a pollinator doesn't have to fly :)

[decoartspacefinds]

Excited to share the latest addition to my #etsy shop: Formicarium Farm A Miniature Ecosystem for Ant Enthusiasts, Formicarium Farm Build Your Own Ant Colony Observation Station, Ants Farm  

[crevicedwelling]

here's another ant-mimicking jumping spider that I encountered in Singapore: Myrmaplata plataleoides, the weaver ant mimic.

while females look a great deal like their ant models, males (like this one) have massive, exaggerated fangs used in territorial and mating displays, which complicate the disguise. however, ants routinely carry their dead away from the nest, so it's thought that a male M. plataleoides mimics a worker holding another ant—his jaws even have false "eyes" on the ends!

his mimicry was clearly good enough to fool the ants; none of them seemed to take notice even as he repeatedly doubled back to guard his territory instead of heading further up the tree. although mimicry like this is often sensationalized as something insidious or spooky, Myrmaplata has no intention of eating the ants. rather, the spider hides among them for protection: weavers won't eat nestmates, and other predators know that weaver ants bite, spray acid, and attack in hordes. running with the ants might be risky, but he's always alert, watching their every move with his big eyes. what a life that must be, always living on the margins of a colony of hunters that would devour him, yet also keep him alive without ever knowing it

[hitmewithsomebooks]

@jegulus-microfic Feb 17 - soup

426 words

~

“Sorry, I’m babbling again…” Regulus muttered, trailing off. James smiled at him.

“I like it when you babble. I always learn so much. Like, I never knew that we blink 20 times a minute, or ants don’t have lungs, or that there’s a soup made from bird nests!” James exclaimed, sounding genuinely interested.

Regulus’s brows furrowed, his lips parted slightly in a little ‘o’. James found it rather endearing.

“You mean you… listened to all that stuff? You actually listened to what I was saying?” Regulus questioned, his tone surprised.

“Well o’ course. Who wouldn’t?” James asked, cocking his head to the side rather like a puppy.

“Quite a lot of people, actually. I can tell when they’re spacing out or not paying attention. People think I babble.” Regulus said with a shrug, but James could see that it bothered him.

“Well, clearly they’re just daft.” James sniffed, and Regulus smiled.

“You think?”

“Absolutely!” James assured him, his expression firm. “I could listen to you talk all day.” He added, his face softening into a gentle smile as he gazed at Regulus. The younger boy blinked, turning away to stare at his books, willing away the blush that threatened to stain his cheeks. He cleared his throat.

“I’m sure you’d get bored just like the rest of them soon enough.”

James frowned. 

“I most certainly would not.” He protested, chin raised to show how serious he was. Regulus scoffed.

“You want to put that theory to the test, Potter?” The young Slytherin asked, and James grinned.

“You’re on, Black.”

Over the next few weeks, they met up in the library, every day, and would start talking. Or, in most cases, Regulus would start talking, and James would watch that little spark pop into his eyes as his passion for the topic grew, a content smile on his face as he listened.

Regulus was flabbergasted. This boy, who seemed to have the attention span of a puppy (not to mention the eyes, personality, and charm of a puppy), had his focus on Regulus the entire time he talked. Every single day.

And he looked so happy while he did it. Like he was genuinely taking in and enjoying each and every word. Like he couldn’t wait to hear the next thing out of Regulus’s mouth.

It was incredibly endearing. And intoxicating. Regulus had never found someone who loved to listen to him before, and he didn’t plan on letting this one go.

Luckily for him, James planned on listening to Regulus for the rest of his life.

[transgenderer]

ONE DAY, AS I sat on a field chair in the center of Dauphin Island, the main Gulf of Mexico barrier island of Alabama, I was seized by a reckless impulse. A mound nest of imported fire ants was at my feet, and I was talking about them on camera for a television special, Lord of the Ants. I wondered, as I had many times before, why exactly are these insects called “fire” ants? I had been stung, as have a majority of people who spend much time outdoors within reach of this notorious pest. Usually, however, the attackers are brushed off quickly and the pain is local and temporary.

But I knew these ants can kill you. So, Rule Number One: never sit, stand or fall into a fire ant mound. If you’ve acquired an allergy to the venom, you might suffer the consequences of anaphylactic shock. If you are with a small child who stumbles into a mound, triggering a massive attack, the result also can be life-threatening.

So I had this impulse: with the camera running, a record potentially permanent, why not experience a massive attack— then, of course, end it quickly. I would be able to report definitively why Solenopsis invicta is called a fire ant. Without thinking about it too long, I thrust my left hand (left because I’m right-handed) all the way to my wrist into the center of the mound and held it in place for about five seconds, then pulled it out and brushed off the large number of ants already stinging it.

what the fuck is wrong with e.o. wilson

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Palmetto Tortoise Beetle: the larvae of this species produce long, thin strands of feces that are gradually woven together to form protective "fecal shields" around their bodies

During its larval stage, the Palmetto tortoise beetle (Hemisphaerota cyanea) uses its own feces to create a defensive layer known as a "fecal shield" or "fecal thatch."

As this article explains:

Most remarkable, perhaps, is the fecal “thatch” of Hemisphaerota cyanea. In the larva of this beetle, the feces are emitted in strands, which, as they build up over the course of larval life, form a loose assemblage that totally hides the larva from view.

The construction of the "fecal thatch" begins almost immediately after the larva hatches. Each larva begins to feed within minutes of hatching, and the very first fecal strands emerge from its anal turret just a few minutes later. Subsequent strands are then produced in quick succession, and they begin to accumulate around the larva's body; as each strand emerges, it is made to curve around the larva's left or right side depending on whether the anal turret is flexed to the left or right. The direction of the curve usually alternates from one strand to the next, ensuring that a nest-like structure is formed around the larva's body.

As they emerge, the fecal strands are gathered together and then cemented into place with the help of an anatomical feature known as a caudal fork. Once an individual strand has been extruded to its full length, the anal turret is rotated upward until it comes into contact with the caudal fork, and the larva then pinches off the strand while secreting a droplet of "glue," which effectively cements each fecal strand into place against the caudal fork.

It generally takes about 12 hours for the larva to finish building its very own "fecal shield."

As an adult, the Palmetto tortoise beetle has another unusual defense mechanism: its tarsi (i.e. feet) are each lined with 10,000 tiny adhesive bristles, and when the beetle is attacked, it can press its feet flat against the surface of a leaf and secrete an oil that allows it to adhere to that surface with an enormous amount of strength. The adhesive mechanism is strong enough to resist pulling forces that are up to 60 times greater than the beetle's own weight for a full 2 minutes; it can resist even greater forces (up to 230 times greater than the beetle's own weight) for shorter periods of time.

According to this article from the University of Florida:

Each of the greatly enlarged tarsi is equipped with approximately 10,000 adhesive bristles. Each bristle has two terminal pads. When walking, only a few of the bristles touch the leaf surface. However, when attacked by a predator, the beetle puts all or nearly all of the bristles in contact with the surface and secretes oil onto the pads. With the adhesive force created by the oil between the leaf surface and tarsi, the beetle is able to clamp its hemispherical shell down tightly against the leaf and has been demonstrated to withstand pulling forces of approximately 60 times its own weight for up to two minutes. This time period is sufficient to thwart the efforts of predatory ants attempting to pry the beetle from the leaf. 

Palmetto tortoise beetles are native to the southeastern United States, and they're especially common in Florida (which is why they're also known as Florida tortoise beetles).

Sources & More Info:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Defensive Use of a Fecal Thatch by a Beetle Larva (Hemisphaerota cyanea)

Earth Touch News Network: By the Power of the Poop-Shield: Beetle Defenses of the Faecal Kind

Cornell Chronicle: Fecal Defense: This Beetle Uses 'Overhead Sewer System' to Ward off (most) Predators, Cornell Biologists Discover

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Defense by Foot Adhesion in a Beetle (Hemisphaerota cyanea)

University of Florida: Palmetto Tortoise Beetle

Bug Guide: Hemisphaerota cyanea

[alottiegoingon]

hc!baby steps

sam carpenter x fem!reader

summary: where sam takes care of her pregnant girlfriend

warnings: f!reader but no pronouns used, looots of fluff, established relationship, sam and reader live together, overprotective sam, ghostface!sam hcs at the end, mentions of murders and blood but nothing explicit, not proofread

୨୧ sam could not believe when you told her you were pregnant. for the first five seconds she was worrid about money and not being prepared to be a mom but she couldn't be more excited to start a family with you

୨୧ sam would be so careful to not overwhelm you with her protection and anxiety of keeping you safe all the time. she had learned her lesson with tara

୨୧ so, instead of asking you all the time if you were ok, she would stick to you like glue. it was weird to have an extra shadow following you everywhere but you didn't mind it

୨୧ you and sam decided that moving to a safer apartment in new york would be better for the baby. a better neighbourhood with nice schools around. you thought it would be easy, until sam started being a bit too cautious

୨୧ “this one is perfect. there's plenty of natural light," you look around the fourth apartment you visited in that afternoon, hoping that your girlfriend would approve this one. it was the perfect size too

୨୧ too small, too big, too dark, too smelly, noisy neighbours, too far from work. sam could be pretty demanding

୨୧ “it's great, sure,” judging by her voice, you could tell she had found something new to complain about, “but the windows are too big, it could be dangerous," she nods in disapproval, holding tight to your waist as if you were about to fall from the windows even if they were meters away

୨୧ “the baby is not going to be alone, sam. and we can protect the windows and add some nests or baby proof locks” you suggest but she didn’t seem convinced. she would fight the windows if she could!

୨୧ "right. but what if the baby learns how to open them? or what if the safety net is big enough for our baby to go through it?”

୨୧ "is our baby a genius or the ant-man?" the joke relaxes her just enough so you can see a shy smile growing on her lips. “i’m sorry, i just want us to be safe.”

୨୧ “i know, and i’m very grateful for you,” you hold sam’s face, stroking her cheeks, “but i promise that we are going to be safe. i’m okay, the baby is okay and you’re okay. it’s all good.”

୨୧ “i may be worrying too much again,” she admits, leaning into your touch, finally relaxing

୨୧ “just a little, yeah,” giggling, you draw closer to kiss her

୨୧ sam wouldn’t panic over every single thing that happened, at least not out loud, so it was very easy for her to get anxious about her own feelings

୨୧ trying to not make you anxious as well, she would just swallow all of her worries away and hope for the best but you’d always notice how the look in her eyes changed when she’d get nervous

୨୧ “what’s going on, baby?” you’d often comfort her with reassuring words, tender touches and lots of kisses, making sure that sam knew you were completely fine and always by her side

୨୧ sam would be the perfect partner when shopping for baby itens. she’d be sooo happy to pick some adorable baby clothes or whatever you needed and would even try to find matching clothes for you three

୨୧ no matter how many things you had bought, she’d carry all of it and would beg you to not carry any weight or move an extra muscle

୨୧ “give it to me, love, i’ll do it,” sam grabs the water bottle from your empty hands, fighting for her life to open it and carry all off the at least five bags in her arms while doing so

୨୧ “are you sure? cause you already have a lot of-“

୨୧ “it’s fine. i can do it, don’t worry,” she offers you a comforting smile that lasted about a second before going back to duel with the bottle, cursing it while trying to balance the bags

୨୧ you had the weirdest cravings ever and when going out for dinner once, you asked the waitress if they could bring you tuna and ice cream for dessert and it took a weirded out look coming from the woman for sam to intervene

୨୧ “yes, she asked for ice cream and tuna. do you have any?” and she’s all over her like 😡🙄

୨୧ at the supermarket, you were by the sweets section trying to choose a chocolate you liked for a movie night with sam and you gasped when you found your favorite one for sale

୨୧ you were ready to grab one or two when sam showed up with a different cart so full of it that a few ones were about to fall

୨୧ “oh, god,” you mumble, widen eyes incredulously staring at the mountain of candy

୨୧ “i know right? i’m so glad they have your favorite” 😁😁

୨୧ sam would get some good hours of sleep at first but as the baby’s arrival date was getting closer, she would spend almost the entire night just watching you sleep and making sure you were 100% safe and sound

୨୧ sometimes you’d wake up to sam whispering the most adorable shit ever to your belly and calling herself mommy. you were dying there, trying not to bawl your eyes out, but you pretended to be asleep every time, not wanting to interrupt the moment. eventually you’d fall asleep again to the sound of her voice and gentle touches

if ghostface was out there,

୨୧ sam would be extremely overprotective. no going out alone, no talking to any neighbors, no answering phones or getting too close to windows. doors would always be locked. if she could, she would lock you in a tower just like rapunzel

୨୧ sam had to leave for work but leaving you alone was the worst of her nightmares, so she found a way

୨୧ “don’t you think this is a little too much, sam?” you ask, frowning at your girlfriend as she introduces you to a intimidating strong guy wearing a suit. you could swear that he had a gun hidden in there but wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did, sam protectiveness was no joke

୨୧ that was supposed to be your new bodyguard, who would follow you around everywhere. including the shower you were about to take

୨୧ “don’t worry, gorgeous,” she grins, assuring you. “he’ll stay outside”

if sam was ghostface,

୨୧ she would kill everyone that had been rude to you. literally. even the slightest unusual look or barely rude tone would be a great reason for anyone to make it to her list of names

୨୧ if she was ghostface, that waitress that was surprised by your weird tuna-ice cream order would definitely have a surprise visitor waiting for her at home later

୨୧ while shopping for clothes for yourself, a miracle now that everything was about the baby, a woman refused to let you have the last gorgeous dress of your size, even calling you a bitch when all you did was ask her if you could have it

୨୧ sam was furious and you had to hold her back to avoid the other woman to get beaten up and the police to get called

୨୧ the very next morning, you woke up to the news of the same woman found dead in her apartment, her exact face showing up on your tv

୨୧ "what the…" you immediately get up from the couch as you heard the news, looking back at sam who was at the bathroom taking a shower or something. "sam, come here! i think that woman from yesterday got killed.”

୨୧ "really?” she yells from the bathroom, fingers firmly rubbing the blood out of a small cut she had on her cheek, that would later be covered with makeup.

୨୧ "that's awful,” she quickly walks out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body, stopping right next to you. “i mean, i wouldn’t be surprised if her attitude was what got her killed" she casually comments, eyes attached to the television

୨୧ "sam!" you slap her shoulder and she groans in response. "the woman was killed, don't say that."

୨୧ "you’re right, im sorry," she smiles, reaching her free hand towards you and holding your chin to turn your face to hers so she could place a kiss on your forehead. "it’s a shame she can’t use that dress anymore.”

[snoopledrooplecheesedoodle]

Love Bugs: Insect Dorm Leaders x Reader Part 1

It's yandere so don't read if you don't like. Also, to all my requests still working on them, I just needed a small break from Jojo's. This is my opinion on what insect they'd be, and I'll probably write full stories for each of them. If you think something fits them better, just let me know. These are scenarios that are not going to be part of the main story. Reader is gender neutral. They get a little long but hey enjoy.

Riddle: Fire Ant

How could this have happened? You were having a nice day in the park, which turned into a nightmare. Ginormous fire ants swarmed the park and attacked anyone they saw on sight. Frantically, you ran to find a place to hide. Quickly ducking behind a tree as a group of the loyal foot soldiers skittered by. Peeping around the corner, you prayed that those horrid carnivorous ants were gone.

Voices in the distance. You duck back and sink to the base of the tree, praying to the Gods that the voices don't come closer. If only the Gods didn't hate you so much. "Dueceeeee, this is so boring! Why didn't Riddle send someone else out here?" The voice held a childish yet bored tone to it and it sounded human. Could they be humans? "Quit whining it's an honor to be assigned such an important task for the King." The other voice sounded just as youthful as the first but with a more responsible air. King? What King? Your curiosity got the better of you as you peeped back around the tree to see who was talking.

To your horror you saw two men which look human from the head down to the torso (minus the antenna). From the torso down they had the body of ants... fire ants. Your luck got worse by the minute as the blue haired one spotted you. "Oi, you get out from behind that tree!" You yelped at the harsh tone and did the only rational thing. Run. Run far and fast. You could hear the sound of your heart pounding in your ears as you escaped certain death.

Almost.

"Gotcha" You squeak in surprise as you feel a pair of arms circle around your waist. You thrash in the redhead's arms as he laughs at your pitiful attempt to escape. "Nice try but you're nothing but a puny human compared to- ow!" You bit down hard on the closest bit of flesh that you could find. When it came down to it, you were going to fight for your life. Even if it meant biting the strange hybrid that was holding you. Running the opposite direction, you again find yourself captured by the redhead's blue companion. "Argh that little bitch, I ought to eat them for biting me." You trembled at the threat as the redhead glared daggers at you. "Quit whining, we need to report back to the King our findings." Duece stated before lifting you over his back and walking in the direction they came from. Ace chuckled a little, a sadistic glint filling his red eyes. "Yeah, let Riddle decide what to do with them. I can't wait! Oi, you hear that bitey? Riddle's gonna destroy you." The jeers do nothing to comfort you as you continued to scream and kick against the man's hard exoskeleton.

The duo arrived at a site that made your eyes widen with fear. An ant's nest that looked almost like a mountain. Thousands of ants and ant hybrids were moving in and out of the mound. The sight alone made you very queasy. That's it for humanity, if there were more of them inside. The duo holding you hostage crawled past the fellow ants who all drooled hungrily at the sight of you, causing you to shiver. You were going to be torn to pieces by a bunch of hungry ants. You silently sobbed as you lamented your fate.

Skittering through the corridors, the duo made it to their destination. Your ears were met with a joyful squeal as you heard someone skitter closer. "Ah that human you have is so cute! Can I touch it?" Even though the voice was friendly the dehumanizing way he treated you scared you a little, causing you to actively try and wriggle away from the excited voice. Another voice spoke. "Riddle won't be two pleased that you brought a human into the colony. You know the rule-" "Yeah, yeah no human shall dwell in or know of the colony. We just thought he might like this one as a trophy of sorts." The redhead spoke to the unknown voice with confidence oozing from his words. The ant he was talking to sighed. "Alright, I'm only allowing this since he's in a good mood from the hunt. Just don't be surprised when you find yourself headless." With that the two moved forward allowing you to see who the two were talking two. A green haired man with glasses who looked nervous, and a ginger who gave you a quick wink before returning to his post.

Inside the room you could hear the skittering of the ants and a single voice that rose above the others and gave out commands. "You two take those bodies to the food cellar. I want them to be preserved for future meals." The voice ordered in a serious tone. So much for a good mood. "Hey your majesty." The red head drawled out as they stepped before the King's humongous throne. An exasperated sigh came from the top of the throne. "What a pleasant surprise to see my scavengers come back empty handed. Weren't you supposed to look for survivors?" The man you have yet to see had a voice dripping with sarcasm. Duece knelt before the king causing your body to slide and fall off the man's shoulder. "Apologies your majesty, we were searching for more survivors, but we got a bit distracted." Duece hesitated at the end of sentence. The King falls silent before retorting. "Distracted? How?" Cue you lifting your head, a little disoriented from the fall. All of the ants gasped as the supposedly dead human rose shakily to their feet. You looked up at the throne to see an adorable man sitting on the dirt throne.

He had short red hair that blended in well with his antenna making the heart shaped antenna look like his hair. A crown of leaves and flowers sat atop his head, and two wide stormy grey eyes stared down at you with interest. His plush lips pulled a neutral look on his baby face as he looked at the scene with indifference. A ring of giant soldier ants with spears formed around the three of you, ready to tear the rule breakers apart.

That's it. You weren't going down without a fight. You turned towards the nearest guard and sunk your teeth into the fleshy part of his arm. He dropped his spear out of fear and surprise to clutch his hurt arm. You grabbed the spear from the floor and wasted no time charging at the guards. Even though the ants were bigger and stronger than you, you fought for your life. Slashing and jabbing at the soldier ants. Duece and his redheaded friend joined in the fight for their hides, beating back the soldiers. As you fought, it became very clear that this was a losing battle. One of the soldiers manages to knock the spear out of your hand and leaves you defenseless. This was it; you were going to die.

Instead of the sound of the spear piercing your internal organs and the feeling of pain attached the sound of clapping echoes through the chambers. From up on the throne Riddle is clapping with a smug look on his face, like an Emperor watching his favorite gladiator win. "Well done human, you have thoroughly impressed me." Riddle stood from his throne and waved his hand. The guards and all other ants nearby bowed low to the ground as the King approached. Up close you were able to see that he was much shorter than most of the ants here but commanded the room with his royal presence. You keep eye contact with the King and glare at him, causing a wicked smirk to appear on his face. "I must say of all the humans I've met you have the most spirit." He grabs your chin in a crushing grip. His gray eyes meeting your (e/c) eyes. Even in the face of the most powerful ant here, you refused to back down.

Riddle laughs at your defiance before leaning in close enough that your foreheads touched. "Let's see how long that spirit lasts." He blows warm air into your face causing you to flinch back. Riddle's amusement drops as he addresses the duo you came in with. "See to it that those two are locked away until I can come up with a fitting punishment." Some of the guards nod before dragging the ragged and confused duo away. Riddle turns back to you and smiles. "Good news you'll remain with your life." He turns to the ginger in the hallway and snaps his finger. The ginger comes in obediently. "Bad news is, your life in mine now." With that last statement the ginger urges you through the door and away from the King's watchful gaze.

Riddle returns to his throne and sighs happily, for the first time in a while he's found something worth his time. A human, a toy, and perhaps in the future a queen. Riddle chuckles to himself at his musings. However, he does know...

Every King needs a Queen

Leona: Ant Lion

Curiosity killed the cat.

Was that how the phrase went?

It must when it slipped through the elders' lips with such ease. They would always say it directed at you, with their judgmental looks and wagging fingers. However, you never paid any heed as these geezers were just looking out for you because you brought them food.

You were an ant, a worker ant specifically.

You were also a curious little insect.

Ever since you were a larva you dreamed of joining your siblings, friends, and neighbors to help scavenge for food and fight off enemies. However secretly you also selfishly hoped to go out and see a little more of the world you called home. Sure, it was dangerous for you to wander too far from the colony, but you were strong. All ants were strong and if only they would just use it differently. It was always "We're strong to protect the colony" or "We're strong to gather food" never anything about the individual.

You sighed as you worked with five other ants to carry a leaf back to the colony for supper. Your job was to fetch and deliver, no questions asked. The colony needs food and without you, it gets no food. You are important yes, but you only get to see a small part of your world. The part the scouts deemed safe and plentiful.

There was a job you wanted. Part of the scouts. The ones who risked their lives and explored the corners of the world in search of food and places to expand. In your dream like state, you almost dropped your part of the leaf which caused the team to groan at you. "(Y/N) you're not focusing." Neema complained. Neema was a close acquaintance of yours and the only one who didn't outright chastise your dreams. She was a dark-skinned beauty with short frizzy hair and almond eyes.

"Sorry, just thinking." You replied staring wistfully off onto the savannah. The sun cast a radiant glow on the acacia trees. Trees that you never climbed. There were watering holes that you never swam in, beasts you never faced. So much to do in your short life and you were wasting it picking up stupid leaves.

"Hey, I know as soon as we get back to the colony, we can help sort the food, that way we get first pick." Neema's dark eyes filled with joy at the mention of food. "All you think about is food." Was all you could say at your friend's childish remarks. "That's what ants think about food and work." Neema beamed proudly. She was the definition of everything you were not. Hardworking, food focused, and successful. In fact, you two might have been friends if that was all you cared about.

But it wasn't...

You had snuck out of the colony for some fresh air. During dinner time it can be a little chaotic. There were thousands of your people getting food. You had worked all day picking up leaves and sorting food, that you weren't hungry when it was time to eat. Sick of the sight of food.

No not you, you wanted to see the sun set over the savannah and the thousands of twinkling stars. Feel the gentle caress of the wind on her face and antennas. To breath the fresh air and not the hot and sticky air in the colony. You wanted freedom. More than anything. However, you knew an ant alone cannot survive for long. God you were so frustrated! Why do you feel like this when no one else does?

You wanted to cry your frustration out, you wanted to run. Where? You didn't know but you sure as hell didn't want to be here. With no other thought in mind, you ran.

Everything was a blur around you as you ran without a care in the world. Screw not being able to survive on your own, you wanted to thrive. Even if you lived just one more day, you want to live freely.

You should have watched where you were going.

Thump! You rolled straight into a sand pit, hurting not only your pride but your legs a bit. You twitched your six legs to see if they were in operating condition. Your middle and back ones were fine, but your two front ones hurt like hell.

Great, just great.

Things just couldn't get any worse.

"Hmm...what could have possibly ruined my slumber?"

Crap

You remember what the elders told you about sand pits, if any ant was unlucky enough to fall into one. Also, more importantly what hid in them. The sand began to rustle beneath you, causing your fear to rise. You needed to get out of here. Away from the Ant Lion. As he yawned and stretched you climbed with all your might on your four working legs. The sand was so uneven that you kept slipping back in with tears in your eyes.

Flick

Sand was thrown in your eyes causing your vision to blur. You cried in pain as more sand was thrown at you. You slipped further and further down the trap towards the waiting jaws of your predator. "Tch stop struggling herbivore, it's no use." You screamed at the lazy voice that was closer than you were comfortable with. Standing on all your legs to try to escape, you yelp in pain and fall back down. You tried blinking the sand out of your eyes to see the face of your killer.

Green eyes.

A handsome man with green eyes and tan skin stared down at you. He was much larger than you and stronger by the looks of it. His long dark hair flowed down his back in waves. You would have thought the man was an ant like you, except the lack of antenna. As well as the two sharp looking pincers in his mouth.

"Hm, you're a lot cuter than my usual prey. Tell you what, you agree to become my pillow and I won't eat you till morning." You could only squeak as you felt a strong pair of arms wrap around your soft torso. A sharp thing poked you in the neck back causing you to freeze up. "I need an agreement little ant, otherwise I might be tempted to eat you right here and now." You nodded swiftly causing the Ant Lion to purr and burry you both into the sand. Before you were completely submerged you hear him speak.

"I might just keep you after all because..."

You're too good to eat

Azul: Diving Bell Spider

You wished you had listened to your mother.

You wish you hadn't been so stupid

So naive

So kind

It was too late now as you were trapped in the lake with a man who claimed to love you ever since you showed him kindness all those years ago.

You were a cute and bubbly kid known for a kind heart and loud voice. Being the bundle of energy you were, your parents often sent you outside to play. You especially liked playing outside your family lake house. Swimming in the lake, chasing ducks, and catching fireflies at night were some of your favorite things to do. However, one day you met someone you firmly wish now you never met.

You had snuck out of the lake house early in the morning while your parents were still asleep. Hoping to get some early morning swimming in before breakfast, you tore over to the lake in your swimsuit. You jumped off the dock and began to playfully splash around giggling with joy. You stop splashing about and just let your tiny body relax, floating gently on the lake surface. As you absorbed the sounds of nature you heard the sound of...crying? You popped your head above the water and listened intently to find where the sound was coming from. Searching high and low, you were unable to locate where the sound was coming from until you noticed a small figure underneath the reeds.

It was a small boy but unlike you he was only a few inches tall. From the waist up he was a pudgy little boy with silver hair and blue eyes. From below the waist he had the body of a spider. The boy noticed you and shrieked in fear. "Who-who are you?" You beamed down at the boy with a friendly smile. "I'm (Y/N)! Wanna be friends?" The boy eyed you suspiciously before crying some more. "Why would you want to be friends with a fat, stupid, spider like me?" Your eyes softened at the boy's harsh statement. "I don't think you're stupid." The boy stops sniffling and stared up at you, blue eyes filled with hope. "You don't?"

"Nope!" You chirped cheerfully offering your hand to your new tiny friend. He hesitated once more before carefully climbing onto the palm of your hand. You lifted it up to your face so you could see your friend better. He bashfully tried to hide himself from your curious gaze. Nodding your head satisfactorily you smiled at the boy in your hand. "You're the prettiest kid I've ever seen!" Your words cause the boy in your hand to cover his face in embarrassment.

"What's your name pretty new friend?"

"Azul."

"Nice to meet you Azul."

"You too (Y/N)."

You and Azul hung out every day since the day you met. You'd come to the lake and Azul would wait for you on the bank. Then the two of you would play all sorts of games together. Azul showed you all kind of new and cool places near the lake that you had never seen before. You really liked hanging out with your new friend. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end as Summer came to an end. Your family was going to move back to your regular home for the school year, which meant saying goodbye to your friend.

"Azul I'm not coming back tomorrow." You stated sadly which caused the little spider great shock. "Why?" He sounded so heartbroken at your words. "I have to go home." You state sadly unable to look at your friend out of guilt. "I thought you lived with the humans in the house?" Azul's voice was wavering a bit as he tried not to cry. "This isn't my real home; my real home is far away from here." "No!" The little spider boy clung to your thumb like his life depended on it. "You can't leave, I love you." You patted the poor boy's head gently.

"I love you too Azul, you're my best friend." Azul's eyes lit with hope at your words. "Then you'll come back soon, right?" You smiled and nodded. "Yep, totally will!" "Promise?" Azul stuck his pinky out childishly. "Promise." You giggled booping him gently with your pinky.

Many years had passed, and you were now a grown woman. You had forgotten all about Azul and the promise you made to him. Instead, you were focusing on your last Summer of freedom before heading off to college. You brought a couple of friends and your current crush (c/n) with you to the lake house.

"Come on (Y/N), what's taking you so long?" Your good friend Bess asked stamping her foot in exasperation. You laughed at your friend's impatience. "I'm coming, don't worry." You eagerly walked out of the bathroom in your new bathing suit. "Wow (Y/N), wait till (c/n) gets a load of you looking all good." You blush at Bess' compliment before rushing past her. "Last one off the pier has to make lunch." "What no fair!"

The day was perfect. You spent plenty of time with your friends and even flirted a little with (c/n). (c/n) flirted back with you causing your heart to soar at the thought of them liking you. After you finished dinner, you went out onto the pier to relax a little bit. You sighed in contentment for the day and the days ahead. The sound of crickets and frogs lulled you gently into a state of calm. You yawned and stretched a little. Hmm you must be tired, time to go to-

You woke with a crick in your neck and back and well everything. Sleeping on the pier was not a good idea. Not to mention the mosquito bites you had accumulated throughout the night. Well, time for some breakfast. You went into the house to start fixing breakfast. The smell of fresh pancakes and bacon ought to wake Bess and the others right up. When you finished, no one came outside of their rooms.

Strange. Normally someone would be stirring at this point. Oh well they can fix their own breakfast. You ate in the silence of the house which gnawed at you. Alright, something is wrong. You walked up to Bess' room and knocked. One time. Two times. The third time you let yourself in. No one was in that room. In fact, the bed was freshly made like no one had even slept in it. You checked the other rooms of your friends. Empty. Worry and pancakes were not a good mix. Finally, you came to (c/n)'s room which laid empty but with a note on the bed.

"Come to the pier tonight darling."

-A

Okay, who was pulling a prank on you? It was not funny. Safe to say you were showing up at the pier tonight to give someone a piece of your mind. First, she had to clean the plates and then hatch your plan.

You came to the pier at night as the note said. However, you didn't see a single soul there. Another bothering thing was that your friends and (c/n) hadn't returned from wherever they went. You might as well sit down and wait for the mysterious Mx. A to show up.

"Oya careful where you sit." You jumped back as a dragonfly flew up from where you were about to sit. "Did you just t-talk?" The dragonfly person in question just smirked and flew close to your face. He had teal hair, and one eye was gold and the other was olive. A black piece of hair fell to the right of his face. "Yes, I did t-talk have any q-questions?" Your face paled at this site. Fairies weren't real and yet there was a tiny man in front of you with dragonfly wings.

"Jade stop teasing Giaganto so much, I want a turn too!" A childish voice whined out and a second dragonfly man zoomed over. He looked almost like a mirror image of the first man except he had his hair piece on the left and different eye shape.

"My apologies Mx (Y/N) you're just so fun to tease. My name is Jade, and this is my twin brother Floyd." Jade spoke while doing a little bow. The other brother, Floyd, had a lazy grin on his face. "Hiya Giganto, Azul's been talkin about ya all the time!"

"Azul?" That name sounded...familiar. Where did you possibly hear that name from? The two dragonflies smirked at each other before turning to you with wide grins. "Yeah, he heard all about your little troubles Giganto!" Floyd said in a "sad" tone while circling your head. "Yes, your dear lost friends who abandoned you." Jade responded, making himself comfortable on your right shoulder. You were insulted at Jade's implications "They didn't abandon me... they just must have gotten lost." You finished your sentence not too confidently. The twins caught onto that and grinned deviously at the other. "Lost indeed but not forever." Jade responded sitting elegantly on your shoulder.

"You know where they are?" You asked hesitantly, not fully trusting the twin dragonflies. Floyd stopped zipping around your head and settled on your left shoulder. "Not us but Azul knows, he knows everything you could ever want to know." There was that name again that you were having a hard time placing where you heard it. "Could you take me to him?" The twins chuckled to themselves like you said the funniest thing. "Of course." They responded together, Chesire grins on their faces. You then followed the devious dragonflies to the place they led you.

You found yourself in the lake swimming towards the small "island" of lily pads. The water was murky and dark at night making it hard to see what lay at the bottom. "Come on Giganto, he's right here!" Floyd flew ahead with his brother Jade in tow. Lucky bastards got wings while you had to swim in your clothes.

Floating towards the first lily pad you could see the figure of a man spider hybrid waiting calmy on the leaf. He smiles as he sees the twins approaching with you following behind. "Welcome Mx. (Y/N) I've been expecting a visit from you." "You have?" The spider nodded his silver locks bouncing. "Yes, I do believe you have a problem. All with problems on this lake come to me." Azul's smile was practiced as he reached his arms up towards you to come closer. You lean your head down to his level. He smiles, satisfied with your obedience as he saunters closer to you. "Your friends have gone missing have they not?" You nodded. "Well, I happen to know where they are." You perked up at the spider's confidence. "You do?" Azul smirks at your answer and pats you nose affectionately.

"I know where they are and how to bring them back." He states with a businessman grin. This was perfect. Though Azul seemed sketchy he looked like he was telling the truth. "However... this kind of deed comes with a price" You deflated at his words. What could the spider possibly want? "I don't have a lot of-" Azul places a hand to your lips "I'm not asking you for money." His eyes darken with greed as he places both hands on his walking stick. "What I want is you." Huh?

"My what?" All three insects chuckle at your naivety. "Not any of your possessions just you. See I've been very fond of you for years now and I feel it's only fair that you fulfill your promise you made all those years ago." Promise? What promise? Your eyes reflected your confusion, which caused anger to cloud Azul's blue eyes. "You don't remember...after all these years of patiently waiting." He chuckles bitterly to himself and looks back up at you.

"I suppose it can't be helped, you're a busy person. I'm a busy person so I'll cut to the chase. Be with me and your friends can go back to living their normal lives. Choose your own freedom and well...your friends will never see the light of day." He springs the ultimatum on you causing your eyes to widen. "What did you do to my friends?" Azul glances at you in a lovesick way before planting a kiss on your nose. "What I had to do to get you back where you belong. With me." You glared down at that swindling. lying, no good crook. He stole your friends and lured you out here to become his giant pet. However, Azul held all the cards, and you were forced to cave into his demands.

"Fine..." Azul perked up at your acquiesce. "Wonderful! You won't regret it. I'll treat you so much better than any human ever could my little jewel." He then turned to his lackies and nodded causing them to fly away. "First my friends." You said in a demanding tone. "Already taken care of my dear. They've been returned to their beds as if none of this happened." Azul responded adoringly, stroking your cheek, causing you to shiver in disgust.

"What do you plan on doing to me?" You asked the spider who giggled giddily. "Loving you for the rest of our lives but first, getting rid of that height advantage." Azul pulled out a vial from his pocket and handed it to you. "I've been working hard to make this ever since I met you. It's a potion that will make you, my size." Great he was prepared too. Well, a deal's a deal. Reluctantly, you threw the tiny vial down your mouth. Nothing happened for a while before you felt like you were falling in midair. Landing straight into the lake. Without wasting a second, the spider greedily grabbed you and dove into the water. You were losing air quick as you dove deeper into the lake. He cooed over you as you lost conscious. Before you went out you heard him whisper.

I love you very much my treasure.

Kalim: Peacock Butterfly

The desert's an unforgiving place for many. You being one of them. After losing your caravan and family you wandered the desert aimlessly in hopes of finding them. However, each day grew hotter and hotter, and each night grew colder and colder. You were tired, hungry, and so very thirsty. Not only that but desperate for somebody, anybody to talk to.

You would sleep during the day in caves or even bury yourself in the sand. Then when night fell, you'd search once more for your lost family. At this point you were searching for someone, anyone to save her from dying of hunger and thirst. One morning the sun was so harsh that she couldn't sleep through the day. Why not carry on?

You were reduced to crawling through the desert in hopes of finding some form of shade and water. Scanning your small view of things, you couldn't find anything. You were losing hope and vision as blurry spots began to dot the corners of the world. That's not good. Wearly standing up you spotted up ahead an oasis. Was this a mirage? You didn't care as you used your remaining strength to run towards this haven. You had to make it. You had to make it. Your vision began to become smaller and smaller as the oasis grew closer and closer. You practically threw yourself onto the ground of the oasis and landed in some bushes. Safe at last. You could taste the water now. However, as soon as you tried to stand up, you promptly fainted.

You awoke lying on something very soft. Was this heaven? Opening your eyes, you saw you were on a very comfortable and stylish bed. The room around you looked like something you would see in a Sultan's palace. Heaven was rich. However, you were not alone as a woman wearing an abaya came in and made a low bow. This was already a little strange, made stranger by the pair of wings on her back. "Are you an angel?" You asked the woman. The woman giggled and shook her head. "Not unless the honored guest wishes for me to be." Guest? "Guest?" You repeated your thoughts aloud to the woman.

"Master Al-Asim found you unconscious and brought you here. He's been very worried for your health ever since." The woman took a cup from the tray that lay neatly on the bedside table. "You must be very thirsty." You didn't have to be told twice. You snatched the cup from the woman and greedily drank the cool and refreshing water. Felt like bliss having some liquid. The woman refilled your cup, and you drank. This repeated for some time until you were satisfied. You immediately laid back down on the pillowy softness of the bed.

Wait a minute. You shot up from the bed and stared at the woman. "You have wings!" The woman chuckled at your astute observation. "Indeed, I have." That response floored you. "How?" The woman looked confused. "I was born with them Master..." "(Y/N)" You responded. "Master (Y/N) it is a pleasure to humbly serve you." All of this was happening to fast. People with wings? Master? "You can call me (Y/N) Miss..." "Esmat Master (Y/N)." Darn Esmat was stubborn.

You two spoke for a while. She told you that the Al-Asim Oasis was the biggest Oasis in the desert. Supporting hundreds of thousands with its bountiful water. Since the Al-Asim Oasis was created and maintained by the Al-Asims they were the wealthiest and most powerful family in the entire Oasis. Their oldest son Kalim Al-Asim was the one who found you unconscious and brought you back to his family home.

"Oh, my I forgot to tell the young master that you are awake. Please forgive me Master (Y/N) it has been very lovely talking to you, but I must go." Esmat left leaving you unsupervised in your room. Well you guess you could just-

You heard hurried footsteps approaching your chambers followed by cries of worry from people in the hallway. A white-haired boy burst through the door. His red eyes lit up with delight as he flew over to you with a goofy grin. "You're awake, oh I just knew it!" Suddenly, your world goes topsy turvy as you collapse onto the bed with the energetic boy hugging you. The boy in question's multicolored wings fluttering with happiness. "Kalim don't crush them!" A voice behind you spoke another. This guy was part man part scorpion with long dark hair and dark colored eyes. "Sorry Jamil, I'm just so happy to see them awake." The boy sheepishly responded while still laying on top of you. This boy had no shame. "Um Mister Al-Asim sir, could you please get off of me." Kalim looked at you and smiled. "Just call me Kalim..." "(Y/N)" "Ooh cool name!" "Yeah, Kalim can you get off me please?" The boy looked confused before realizing he was still on her.

"Oh, sorry about that!" He then hops off and stands in front of you with a grin. He was practically floating with how fast his wings were fluttering. This guy was always happy huh? "How are you feeling?" The man behind Kalim, Jamil you think asks you. "Fine, just a bit disoriented." You answered causing Jamil to nod. Kalim smiles and bounces on his heals. "We should totally have a feast to celebrate you waking up. Jamil start preparations immediately." Jamil rolls his eyes at the boy's commands but scuttles off. Leaving you and the hyperactive butterfly boy alone.

"So those wings are real?" Kalim smiles. "Yep! Wanna touch them?" You nod as you are curious as to what butterfly wings feel like. Reaching you hand out to touch them you graze the top gently. Kalim hitches a breath. "Was that okay?" You asked worried you hurt your savior. "Oh yes it's just my wings are very sensitive. It felt nice though." You continued to gently caress Kalim's wings which caused pleasant shivers for the Al-Asim. The two of you stayed like this for a while before your stomach began to growl. Very loudly waking Kalim from his trance. "Oh, are you hungry? Let's check on Jamil and see how the feast is going!" The white-haired butterfly boy grabbed your hand and ran out of the room.

The Al-Asim house was practically a palace with many workers bustling about and completing their daily tasks. Many pointed and whispered at what an odd couple the Al-Asim heir and his "special guest" were. However, Kalim was completely ignorant to all that happened around him as he continued running towards the dining hall.

The dining hall was massive and very luxurious, you looked around to see servants bustling around with plates of food and placing them down at the table. Kalim urged you to sit beside him on the soft looking pillows beside the table. Excitedly Kalim began placing food on the plate in front of you encouraging you to taste a bit of everything. Asking you how everything was and becoming increasingly more pleased with each response. "It's all made by Jamil. Isn't he the best?" You nodded once more before turning back to your food eagerly. He then began asking about you.

"Where are you from?" "Huh?" You asked the boy who had stars in his eyes to repeat himself again. "Well, you're not from around here because you reacted so weird to my wings." You scoffed at his reasoning before smirking. "You seemed to be enjoying it when I was petting them." Kalim's cheeks turned bright pink at your words. "Well, you were very gentle with them." You chuckled at his reaction finding him cute. Friendly and cute. "To answer your question, I'm from the desert beyond the Al-Asim Oasis." Kalim's ruby eyes became wider at the knowledge. "I knew it! You'll have to tell me all about life out there." Kalim squealed focusing his whole attention on you. It felt almost like you were an elder telling the children tales about the times of old.

"What would you like to know?" You asked smiling gently at the boy. "Anything and everything especially about you!" You blushed at the last part of his statement. "Well, I lived in a caravan with my family, we never stayed in one place for long." Kalim eagerly took in the information you gave him. You smiled as you recounted memories with your family and friends on the caravan. Days playing in the desert, trading the goats you raised, and dancing around the campfire at night. The whole time Kalim stared intently at you with a large smile on his face. "I miss my family you know." You finished bitterly as the memories were all you had left of them.

Kalim's eyes softened with worry. "What happened to them?" You looked away from those sympathetic eyes in pain. It was bound to come up at some point, but it didn't take away the weight from it. "A sandstorm, the caravan encountered a great sandstorm. By the time it was over I was left alone, separated from my family and everything I've ever known." You couldn't stop the tears that began to pool in the corners of your eyes. It hurt so bad to be lost and alone. Dying in the desert didn't really matter as much as dying alone in the desert did. You felt a pair of arms wrap around you and Kalim's soothing voice hushing your worries and whispering encouragements in your ear. You went limp in Kalim's embrace, too tired to cry or do really anything anymore.

You woke in the middle of the night, feeling pressure on your chest. You looked over to see Kalim lying beside you with his head on your chest. What happened besides you breaking down, you don't remember. The haze of emotions clouded your judgement and memory. You tried not to shift to quickly to your feet, to avoid waking the boy. Speaking of Kalim, he looked so peaceful with a gentle smile on his face as opposed to his rambunctious one. Is this guy ever not handsome? Wait handsome, what are you thinking? A groan stops your panicked thoughts as the aforementioned boy opened his eyes sleepily.

"(Y/N)? What are you doing up?" He asked with a yawn. "I couldn't sleep. Why are you in my room?" Kalim hummed before snuggling back into your chest. "What do you mean, we're in my room. You were struggling in your sleep so I thought having someone with you would get rid of the nightmares." Well, that got your attention. Looking around you saw that you were in fact not in your room. This room was bigger and ten times more luxurious than your personal guest room. Kalim settled down right back where he was, drifting back to sleep. "Hey, get off me mister!" You lightly pushed away the sleepy man, who barely resisted it. "Nooooo, you're so comfy." Kalim whines while trying to crawl back to you. You stood up and walked away to the doors that led out to a balcony to get some fresh air. Hearing nothing but whining coming from Kalim.

The cool desert air felt refreshing on you heated skin. For a not so big man Kalim produced a lot of body heat. Looking around the Oasis you could see the lights of this small metropolis glow and felt amazement. Never have you seen a sight like this before. "Looks pretty cool huh?" Kalim surprised you from behind, he looked at you smiling. "Wanna see it from above?" You were already looking from a balcony so how much higher could you get. "You mean from the roof?" You asked the man, only for him to chuckle. "No silly I mean in the air!" Kalim states cheerfully while flexing his wings. He couldn't possibly mean... you turned your attention back to the innocent looking boy. His red eyes gleamed in the moonlight as he offered you a hand "Do you trust me?" Should you take it?

He did mean flying. You had excepted his outstretched hand tentatively. Wasting no time, Kalim picked you up bridal style and jumped off the balcony. You screamed in terror as you both plummeted towards the ground. There was no way he or his wings were strong enough to hold you both. Squeezing your eyes shut you expected to become a stain on the Al-Asim immaculate courtyard.

"You're not going to be able to see anything with your eyes closed." Kalim chuckled. You're not dead? Opening your eyes, you see both Kalim and you soaring through the air. Completely fine. Looking down you see all of the Al-Asim Oasis in its splendor. The glow of the lights in the buildings, the majestic fountains, the night bazaar with its multitude of goods. It all took your breath away. "Cool, isn't it?" Kalim jovially replied staring at your look of awe with glee. "Come on, let me show you the best part."

You stayed with Kalim after that day and the day after that day. Each day filled with excitement and new things to do. You really were starting to think of Kalim as a great friend, a little brother even. Even still with all the fineries and stability this couldn't last. You were incredibly homesick, which only got worse with each day. Sure, you had access to all the food you could ever eat, fine clothes, and servants at your beck and call. However, you longed to return to your family and simple life you had before. Then there was Kalim, sweet Kalim. He was sweet and cheerful, always wanting to know how you were doing. Always with you. Always. In fact, he became touchier and clingier with each day. You didn't mind that so much but were you wrong to want some time to yourself too? Were you wrong to want to talk to someone else sometimes?

These thoughts continued to rack your brain as Kalim ran up to you a threw his arms around you. "Hey (Y/N) what's up?!" You smile at Kalim and ruffle his hair. He eagerly leans into your touch. "Oh nothing, I was just thinking about things." "What kind of things?" "None of your business." Kalim pouted at your answer before lighting up. "Jamil and I were going to go to the bazaar, wanna come?" You immediately nod, you need something to take your mind from spinning any further. Kalim smiles and starts dragging you towards the door.

The bazaar was busy on that exceptionally hot day. Many people rushing around buying things from the multiple vendors. The scent of spices and savory meats filled your nose as you walked through, causing you mouth to water. There were fine rugs, jewelry, and beautiful clothes. That wasn't even half of what was there. Anything you stared at Kalim asked if you wanted it. "No Kalim I'm serious, this must cost a fortune." Kalim placed down a bag of gold coins like it was no big deal. "If you want it, you should have it, anything you want should be yours." Kalim went around buying out the entire bazaar for you which made you a bit uncomfortable. One because he was wasting his family fortune on you and two because Jamil had to carry all the stuff he bought. You needed to distract him with something quick. "Oh Kalim, I think there was a kebob stand a little way back. Let's check it out." Kalim immediately grins and runs off in that direction by himself. "Kalim!" It worked a little too well. Jamil groans and mumbles something under his breath. "I'm so sorry Mx. (L/N) but Kalim can't be unattended, so I have to go." Which led to you being completely alone.

Well, you're back to square one, all alone and this time in an Oasis. You should catch up to the duo ahead of you. That way you aren't completely alone. That way...no that way. Ugh, if only you hadn't stupidly forgotten which way to go. "(Y/N)?" Huh? You turn around to see someone very familiar to you. "Samir!" You immediately jump on the man in front of you. Samir was your childhood friend and even your crush. With beautiful long dark hair and light brown eyes who wouldn't fall in love with him. "We've been looking for you everywhere." Samir replies returning your embrace with as much vigor. "Well, I've been looking for you too! How's mom? How's dad? How's everyone? Where's everyone?" Samir puts his hands up in surrender. "Woah, woah settle down. Why not ask them yourself." Your parents were here? "Take me to them." Samir complied led the way.

Kalim was a wreck. He came back to the spot he left you only to find you had disappeared. No problem, you're probably just looking for more stuff you want. Wait you don't have any money on you! Oh no what if you get hungry? What if you get bored? He's not there to help you. "Jamil, we need to find (Y/N) now!" Jamil sighed as Kalim continued to freak out. "They'll be fine. You on the other hand need to return home, your parents are back today." His parents were back, today?! This was great news he could tell them all about (Y/N) and how great they were. Maybe even convince them to let (Y/N) stay forever. Kalim felt himself becoming giddy at the thought of spending the rest of his days with (Y/N). He liked them ever since he found them, but now it felt different. Anyone who brought up their name brought butterflies to his stomach.

"Kalim are you even listening to me?" Jamil asked the boy, pulling him out of his dreamy state. "Uh yeah, let's go home!" Kalim smiled happily to himself; he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with you.

You were light as air. Everything was going your way. You were happily reunited with your family with lots of tears and laughter. Your mother and father almost didn't recognize you with the fine clothes and jewelry you were wearing. However, your face hadn't changed much so they embraced you happily. "My dear (Y/N) we missed you so much!" Your mother said tearfully as tears of joy streamed down her face. "I missed you too mom, dad, how's everyone else doing?" Your father grinned and patted you on the back. "They'll be doing better when they hear you've returned." You were eager to reunite with your caravan, but you needed to say goodbye to Kalim first. After all he saved your life and cared for you for all those weeks. "Mom, dad there's someone you ought to meet."

You arrived back at the Al-Asim house with your parents and Samir in tow. Samir wanted to join you to catch up with you and thank the man who saved your life. Each of your companions' jaws dropped when they saw the sheer opulence of the manor. "(Y/N) you didn't tell me they were rich." Samir said agog to the amount of gold and marble of the main building. You preened like a peacock, happy at each reaction. "Wait till you see the inside." As you approached the front door you were stopped by the guards at the front steps. You hadn't seen their likes before. "Halt! What business do you have with the Al-Asim family?" The centipede on the left spoke, his broad frame being slightly intimidating. "I'm a friend of Kalim Al-Asim!" The guards took one look at you with your finery and stepped aside. However, they weren't so lenient with your family and Samir. "Halt! You are not permitted to enter." Each guard holding a nasty looking spear at your family. "Wait they're with me." You pleaded with the guards, but they did not relent.

"No way they are anywhere close to your status my liege. Master Kalim should be out near the fountain." Your family sadly bid you go on your own, feeling doubt with their own worth. Samir on the other had barged past the guards to join you. "Halt intruder!" You grabbed Samir's hand and made a run for it. The guards followed you two as you ran to the garden where you hoped to find Kalim. The guards were hot on your trail being more built for running long distances than you or Samir. However, luck appeared to be on your side as you burst through the doors out to the garden. A familiar mop of white hair appeared near the fountain. "Kalim!" You shouted, causing the butterfly boy to turn around with joy. "(Y/N)!" The boy screamed as he ran to you with his arms outstretched. He grabbed into a tight embrace swinging you about.

"(Y/N) where did you go? I was so worried for you but I'm happy you returned! I'll ask Jamil to prepare a feast for your return." The boy continued to prattle on happily as the guards chasing you both ran over to where you stood. They grabbed Samir by both arms and were prepared to drag him out. "Samir!" Kalim turned around to see who you spoke of and stared quizzically at the new face.

"Hello, I'm Kalim, who are you?" The guard interrupts Samir before he can speak. "Master Kalim this rabble claims to be a friend of Master (Y/N), we're simply kicking him out." Kalim waves his hands signaling for the guards to stop. "Nonsense of friends of (Y/N)'s is a friend of mine." He walks up Samir with a smile on his face. "Would you like to stay for the feast?" Samir nods as the guards let him go. Kalim smiles and ushers you away, not allowing you to talk for another second to your crush.

The feast was awkward as Kalim had you sitting beside him, and Samir was placed on the opposite end of the table. Kalim was trying to feed you himself which led you awkwardly rejecting him multiple times causing him to pout. As the servants came in with the food they halted as two majestic looking older people came in and sat at the head of the table. You guessed they were Kalim's parents and went to bow low like the rest of the servants. The older woman approached you and took your chin in her hand.

"I must say Kalim you do know how to pick your fiancés, they're absolutely exquisite." You flushed at the beautiful older woman's compliment, feeling very small in her gaze. "Fiancé?" You asked the woman almost by instinct. Where did Kalim's mother get that from? "Why yes fiancé. Don't be too shy (Y/N) we've heard all about how well you get along with our son and approve of your union." The older man spoke from the head of the table, servants tripping over themselves to serve him food. "I think you've got it wrong, (Y/N) isn't anyone's fiancé." Samir cut in which caused the older couple to glare at the man. "Who are you?" Kalim's mother asked stiffly as she took a seat in her chair. "I'm Samir, (Y/N)'s friend. We came to thank you for taking care of (Y/N) before leaving." Tension was building between the parents and your friend. This wasn't good.

The shattering of a glass caught your attention as you looked over a Kalim. He looked as if his heart had shattered in his chest. "You're leaving (Y/N)?" Kalim whimpered out like a kicked dog, causing your heart to swell with pity. "Kalim, you didn't think I was going to stay forever. Did you?" Kalim didn't answer as he lowered his head. Quiet sobs began to rack his body. "JAMIL! Take this unwanted guest away at once!" The man at the head of the table shouted fury ever present in his eyes. Jamil appeared out of thin air and grabbed Samir, who kicked and screamed in protest. "Samir!" You yelled; this was getting out of hand. If you knew this was going to happen, you wouldn't have returned.

"It's alright dear, no need to worry about him. He won't try and take you away from us." The older woman cooed as panic filled your eyes. "Us?" The woman smiled and nodded at the man at the head of the table. "We've never seen Kalim this happy before with anyone, this truly isn't something that money can buy." The man stated turning the guards near the table and nodding. The guards grabbed your arms and restrained you. "We'll take you to his room so you can begin preparations for the wedding at once." Wedding? No, they had it all wrong. "Let me go!" You shouted as you were dragged out of the dining room and into a familiar room. You were roughly placed on the bed. You ran after the guards but found yourself locked in Kalim's room. This was madness, Kalim's parents were insane! You pounded on the door till you ran out of energy. Defeated you slumped onto the floor and cried.

You awoke to the sound of the door opening, it was Kalim! Maybe he could be reasoned with. "Kalim, you've got to let me go!" You begged as you clung to his robes. Kalim wasn't looking you in the eyes. "Kalim please! I want to be with my family!" He still refused to look at you. "Kalim?" You softly asked trying to see his face. You wish you hadn't. His eyes held the most lovesick expression you had ever seen. You backed away from the boy slowly, who only followed you till you were against the bed. This wasn't good at all. "Sweetheart are you okay, you look terrified." Kalim cooed as he pressed kisses against any exposed skin he could see. "I am terrified of you Kalim. Your family is sick!" You complained as you tried to bat away his affections. Kalim continued to stay there and embrace you, while guiding you to the bed.

"You're probably just tired let's go to bed now." He cooed as he gently lay you beside him, wrapping his wings around you. You were trapped in the crazy butterfly's embrace and wanted out. The more you tried to resist golden powder floated around the air from his wings. You found yourself becoming drowsy as the pollen entered your system. No you needed to fight it off you needed to...

"Sleep my love, we have a busy day ahead of us..."

I know my parents are wrong but I'm too selfish to let you go.

[apsciencebydan]

The Amazon Ant nest which provided me with the coolest single creature I may ever find nearly 2 years ago is still there and active! I wondered if it would survive this past winter and a burn, and was glad to see both species out and about yesterday. Polyergus longicornis can no longer feed themselves, so they raid the nests of Formica dolosa ants and carry back "slave" workers to care for them. So if you find a nest, there will be two ant species in the same burrow. Usually you will just see the Formica out and about doing maintenence on the nest, but if disturbed the Polyergus and their large mandibles will come out ready to fight. Or if you're really lucky you'll catch them on a raid, which is quite a sight.

OR, if you're prepared to use your entire allowance of luck for your life, you'll catch a gynandromorph male/worker just emerged. 👀

[sailoryooons]

Request: Alpha Yoongi x omega reader. Werewolves. Smut and fluff. Dom Yoongi and sub reader. Starting with non-sexual dominance like her kneeling at his feet. Then, kind of a fear/primal chase in the woods as foreplay. Smut. And then aftercare with nesting.

❀ Pairing: Alpha Werewolf!Yoongi x Omega werewolf! F. reader

❀ Summary: Your alpha wants to go on a hunt through the woods. Who are you to deny him?

❀ Word Count: 8,727

❀ Genre: A/b/o, werewolves, supernatural, established relationship

❀ Rating: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately. 

❀ Warnings: I have never used the word scent and smells this much in my life please forgive me for I have used it a million times, alpha/omega dynamics, Yoongi chasing through the reader for fun, light predator/prey play, sexually explicit content including unprotected sex (f. receiving), breeding kink, mention of ruts, oral sex (f. receiving) not a lot of foreplay, a ton of being in subspace and hormone drunk, reader is pretty much a pillow princess/borderline free use for Yoongi, a lot of slick and soft dom Yoongi/sub reader, hint at aftercare and nesting

❀ Published: April 11, 2023

❀ A/N: Hi okay so I re-wrote this like three times because every time I did it, I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of filling this request, but I think I finally have something that I am happy with! It went in a little bit of a different place, but I hope that you like it! I am super unused to writing werewolves and a/b/o and I had such a good time dipping my toe in - it’s something I want to write in the future where I have some room to world build and go crazy on word count hehehe. Enjoy!

❀ Disclaimer: All members of BTS are faces and name claims for this story. This is entirely a work of fiction and by no means is meant to be a projection, judgment or representation of real-life people. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are not representative of real-life scenarios.

Masterlist | Ask | Milestone Event Request Fill |

Trees flash by you as you run, hands pumping at your sides, heart thundering in your chest. A pack of rabbits startle as you run by, bolting into their little dens. The earth is damp beneath your feet, still saturated with morning rain. You almost loose your footing more than once as you spring over a fallen tree, dry-rotted and full of ants.

The pine trees are packed tight, shafts of moonlight painting the forest floor in spotlights of silver as you run. The low-hanging branches catch you on your flight, needles stinging your skin but not drawing blood. Still, you snarl as a branch cracks under your barefoot, sending a sharp pang through your sole. 

You don’t stop, moving blindly toward the south of your territory. You don’t look over your shoulder to see where he is - you don’t need to. Even with a small head start, Yoongi is far faster than you are, and you swear the land changes at his command, putting tangled vines where you don’t remember them being, adding a hole to trip you up as you sprint through the trees. 

Yoongi isn’t magic, of course. He cannot change the lay of the land any more than you can, but he walks among these trees and hills every night. Plus, you’re frantic in your runaway, your human instincts bluring, somewhere between wolf and person. 

Run, little omega, Yoongi had whispered, pupils blown out, scent heady and hypnotizing. You’d only just come through the door to find him standing in the living room on the edge of pre-rut. Run and don’t let me catch you. 

Except Yoongi is going to catch you. You can hear the squirrels in the trees chattering angrily at him as he crashes through the woods behind you. He doesn’t have to be quiet - he is the top of the food chain here, he has nothing to fear. And neither do you, really. You’re a predator too, a wolf born and bred in these woods.

There is only a single thing you are prey to and he is laughing manically behind you as he hunts you down. 

Movement to your right catches your eye. Yoongi’s trying to cut you off, coming from the west of the woods to intercept you as you scramble south. You snarl and change direction, swerving southeast to put distance between the two of you. 

“Ah, come on, omega!” he hollers behind you, voice closer than you expect. You move faster, desperate to outrun him.

This far south of your house is a ravine. You know that if you slide down the side and run east, you’ll end up in Jungkook’s territory. A place your’e definitely not allowed to go, especially right now. You throw caution to the wind anyways, making a line for the ravine, singularly focused on making the slide down. 

You never make it, Yoongi slamming into your side and knocking you off your feet. You scream as you go down hard, but not hard enough to do more than jar your bones. Yoongi takes the brunt of your fall; you pressed against his chest, his back hitting the ground hard before he rolls. 

Gasping for breath, you claw at him, scraping to move from where he has you pinned. He laughs, catching your hands in one fist and slamming them above your head. His grip and the sound of him snarling your name has you snap to attention, going boneless. 

Yoongi is panting heavily against you, filling your space with his scent. Your eyes flutter as your chest heaves, trying to catch your breath. Every inhale has your sense flooding with Yoongi’s scent: pine and sage, edged with something heaver and muskier. 

Alpha near rut. 

It makes your head spine and for a second, your vision of him goes a little blurry. He lets go of your hands but you don’t move. He knows you won’t, pinned under the heavy weight of him as he straddles your waist, sitting on you. 

Blinking the heaviness from your eyes, you look up at him and it feels like the world stops. 

Yoongi’s round face is framed by dark, black hair. It’s a little damp with sweat, clinging to his brow bone. His feline eyes are sharp and wild, pupils dilated with the frenzy of the hunt. A single, dark scar mars his right eye. You used to feel a pang of guilt looking at it, a reminder of what being an alpha had cost him. 

Now, though, you think of it fondly. You’ve traced it hundreds of times with your fingers, know every smooth and knotted surface of the injury. Yoongi is beautiful with and without it, lips glossy as his tongue darts out to wet them.

“You smell so good,” Yoongi growls, leaning down. You hold your breath as he leans toward your neck, nosing the scent gland there. Stars burst behind your eyes and you shiver underneath him, let out a whimper. He laughs, the sound low and scratchy in your ear. “Could smell you all the way from the house.” Yoong’s hands runs down your hips, skirts your thigh, and slips between your legs. He presses his fingers against your jeans. “Could smell this perfect little cunt for miles.”

A high-pitched whine leaves you as Yoongi presses harder, fingers providing the barest amount of friction. The ache between your legs is growing painful, your stomach twisting in arousal in response to the smell of him, the touch of him. An omega responding to their alpha in pre-rut, nearly on the brink of instrictual frenzy. 

Forming coherent thoughts is difficult, especially when you’re mind is in a state that’s more wolf than human. That’s the struggle with werewolves, toeing the line between human and animal. Instinct and choice. Your body does not choose to respond to him on a chemical level, but you don’t mind. It’s Yoongi. Your Yoongi. Your mate. 

“I told you not to get caught.”

You huff, irritation stoking you. He mouths at your throat over your gland, making you nearly pass out. “You’re faster than I am.”

“That isn’t true.”

Yoongi distracts you with a wet, hot lick over your mating mark. You let out a loud moan, not even trying to hide it this time. He laughs as you squirm under him, silenced when he growls your name. “Is that true, omega?” He asks, mouthing at your jaw. You can hardly understand his line of questioning as your thoughts and feelings blur. “Am I really faster than you?”

For a few moments, you don’t respond. Everything feels heightened, the sound of Yoongi’s voice buzzing against the corner of your mouth as he brushes his lips across your skin, not kissing you exactly. You’re hyper-aware of the smell of him, threatening to drive you into madness. Feel the way his hips press to against yours. 

“Omega.” Yoongi’s voice is final. 

“No,” you admit. “You’re not faster than me.” 

“So you let me catch you?” 

“I thought about it.” Yoongi nose bumps yours. Your eyes flutter shut as his mouth barely touches yours and you speak against his lips, “But then I decided I wanted to win.”

“And you were running to Jungkook’s hmm?” You wince and he hums, knowing he’s right. “Bad omega. Little wolves running into another alphas territory while they’re being hunted isn’t a very good idea, huh?”

“Would you have followed?”

“Of course I would. You’re mine. I would follow you into a fucking fire. Little Jungkookie’s territory is nothing.”

It’s a simple declaration, but you know what it means for an alpha to boldly claim he would enter another wolf’s territory, to break a line of demarcation. You can’t help but smile, leaning your head upward to press a kiss to his lips, hungry and tired of running from him. 

Yoongi lets you, though you feel the shape of a smirk through the sweet taste of his mouth, warm against yours. Yoongi sinks his hips heavily against yours and you moan into his mouth, spurring him further. Your hands remain where he left them, outstretched above your head as he licks into you, no longer content to let you kiss him the way you want. 

His kisses consume you. He takes your breath away, hand leaving the apex of your thighs to snake up your front, loosely gripping your throat. You feel dizzy. He doesn’t squeeze, doesn’t do anything but rest his hand at the base of your neck, fingers pressed lightly to the sides of your throat. 

It’s comforting, having him smother you like this. You get lost in the wet tangle of his tongue, your skin burning up from the inside out. He rolls his hips into you, but it’s not enough. You need him, a fire sparking to life that burns hotter than you can manage.

A feverish need comes over you. Yoongi senses the shift. His kisses turn to bites, teething gently at your skin as he works you out of your clothes. You still haven’t moved your hands and when he glances at them, he grins. 

Your eyes are only for him, shrouded in darkness as he pulls your pants down, then your shirt. Your eyes are sharp in the dark, able to see the rippling muscle of his arms and shoulders. The dusty nipples, the swells and planes of his chest and stomach. See the way his gaze is fucked out when he’s barely touched you, shuffling down your legs, hands skimming and grabbing the soft meat of your thighs. 

“Look at you,” he murmurs, eyes dragging from the wet smear down your thighs, to your hands above your head. You whine under his gaze and he grins, feral and sharp. “So obedient for me.”

“You like hands above head until you say so.”

“I do.” Yoongi bows low, grabbing your legs and hiking them over his shoulders. Your world spins, feeling his breath on your cunt as he makes a low sound in his throat. “Fucking wet, just how I like it.” 

Yoongi licks a sloppy path up your pussy and you gasp, head digging back into the grass. It’s almost painful, the need for him pulsing between your legs. He hums, sucking at your clit hungrily. Your toes curl and you hide your face in your arm, the urge to squirm away from the stimulation strong.  

You’re an exposed wire under Yoongi’s tongue as he eats you out, messy and wet. He laps at your hole, eager to taste you, nose pressed against your clit, teasing. You whimper his name, thighs clenching, fisting your hands together as you fight to remain still. It’s nearly impossible, this stillness he’s asked of you. You want to reach down and thread your fingers through his hair, want to dig your nails in and scratch, want to pull him close and shove him away.

The sounds he makes are obscene, alternating between sucking loudly and flicking his tongue against your throbbing clit. It’s pleasure-laced pain. You want him to fuck you, to sink into you as deep as he can until you can’t do anything but take it. But you like this too, the way Yoongi’s tongue works your clenching hole.

A high-pitched keen leaves your mouth. He looks up at you, eyes half-lidded as he sticks his tongue out, making a show of licking your cunt top to bottom. Your tongue is heavy in your mouth as you mumble his name, speech slurred. 

“Hmm?” he asks, grunting against you as he works you closer to an orgasm, which hovers in the distance. He looks up at you again, sees the tears lining your eyes. “You can touch me,” he murmurs, saying the world between lush licks between your folds. “Greedy omega.”

And so what if you are greedy. Yoongi gives you everything you want. He makes a grumble about it, rolling his eyes and sometimes acting like it’s a little inconvenience, but you know he loves it- loves this. Loves letting you get away with things when you ask sweetly.

Yoongi’s hair is silky and a little sweaty as you run your fingers through it, nails scratching at his scalp the way he likes. His moan is muffled against your pussy and you wriggle beneath him. It feels so good, your stomach in knots. Your limbs begin to tingle and you feel that tight, squeezing feeling in your core, clenching hard. 

You squeeze your eyes shut. Dig your nails into Yoongi’s scalp and he growls at the pain. You think your breaking skin, nails turned into claws, limbs shaking as your orgasm tightens and tightens until it feels like you can’t breath, like the world is going to crack in half. 

And then it breaks. Your orgasm floods out of you in a rush, your muscle spasming so hard that you scream. Heels digging into the dirt, fingers tangled in Yoongi’s hair, head whipped to the side, cheek pressed into the ground and eyes squeezed shut so hard you see colors exploded behind your eyelids. 

Heavy-limbed and feeling drunk, you drop your legs open a bit. Yoongi’s hands are on your hips, flipping you over. You don’t have the strength to hold yourself up, hands buckling under you, face pressed to the back of your palms. He says something that you can’t hear, your head still swimming in the clouds. 

Every one of your joints feels melted, unable to lock together to support your weight. It doesn’t matter. Yoongi does it for you, lifting you up so that you’re on your knees, thighs spread wide. Air cools the wet mess on your legs. You realize you’re dripping past your knees. 

Yoongi’s palms feel like fire on your flushed skin. He wraps and arm around your waist, pulling you back to his chest, the other looping under your arm so he can grab your neck firmly. This time, he does squeeze, fingers placed perfectly on the sides of your throat. 

Everything around you feels like cotton candy fuzz, fluffy and sweet. Your head lolls back, resting on his shoulder as his teeth find your shoulder, nipping your skin. Behind you, his cock slides gently between your folds, making you hiss. 

“Gonna fill up this pussy,” Yoongi murmurs. “Gonna fuck you full, yeah?”

You nod your head. “Yeah.” The word slurs on your tongue. “Please, want it.”

“You’re already fucked out from just my mouth, omega.” 

“So?” 

He chuckles darkly. His cockhead catches your clenching hole and you whine, hands going to clutch the arm on your waist and holding your throat. “Have you no decency, hm?”

“No. Yoongi please, it hurts. Please just - please.”

“Shhh.” Yoongi places a warm, wet kiss on your jaw. “I’ve got you. You know I’ve got you?”

Words are too hard, so you nod. Yoongi places another sweet kiss on your cheek before he shuffles and thrusts into you, smooth on the upstroke. You gasp, breath knocked out of you as he slides to the hilt. Yoongi’s cock is thick and though you’re soaked, the stretch is intense, your walls clinging to him in a vice grip.

Behind you, Yoongi curses. His hand tightens, and it gets just a little bit harder to breath. Slowly, he retracts before snapping forward again, stroke slow but hard. He groans, focused on setting a leisurely and smooth pace. Every thrust of his hips makes his cock hit deep, punching the air from your lungs. With his fingers pressing against your throat, it gets harder to take in more air, making you light-headed, the forest spinning. 

It feels so good, this blooming pleasure inside of you. Every time he hits your soft spot just right, you feel closer to madness. Yoongi squeezes your throat tighter. His skin is warm and sweaty, sliding against yours, the friction making your eyes roll back.

Yoongi’s teeth scrape your shoulder. Sink in just a little, not enough to draw blood, but you feel the sting. It’s good, pleasure-laced pain. And then he’s telling you to let go, to come around him. You deny your alpha nothing, eyes fluttering shut as you squeeze tight tight tight. 

“Fuck,” Yoongi snarls. You come so hard he has to stop thrusting, your pussy clenching around him with everything you’ve got. You’re not breathing, air stuck in your lungs, blood rushing in your eyes, stars behind your eyes. “Breathe,” Yoongi pants, letting go of your throat. You suck in a sharp breath of air, flooding your lungs. “That’s it. You can take it, yeah? Can take it til I fill you up?”

“Yes, alpha.”

It’s a mumble of words. You’re not even sure if it comes out right. Yoongi holds you to him, doesn’t mind that you're boneless. Your fingers thread his where his hands grip you, squeezing as your head cradles against his neck. You nose him there, drawing all sorts of feral sounds from him as he chases his orgasm, driven to the edge while you scent him. He comes with a loud sound, maybe your name or something else. You’re not sure. 

Yoongi smells like home. Well - smells like earth and come and sweat and trees and pheremones. But his smell is there, pine and sage. Wild and gentle. Earth and cleansing. You love the smell of him, you have since you met him. 

“Rest.” Yoongi’s voice sounds faraway. “I’ve got you.” 

Weightlessness takes over. You don’t remember moving and you don’t remember Yoongi pulling out of you and picking you up. You’re drunk off his scent, hormones throwing you over the cliff and into a deep lake, where you float aimlessly. Comforted. 

Soft sheets slide against your skin. You turn your face and breathe in, smelling Yoongi everywhere. It’s warm and you smell you too. Rosemary and mint. Your scents linger together, making you feel at home. Loved. Safe. 

Something jostles you a little. You slow-blink an eye open, realizing you’re at home, tucked into the corner of your room you like to use for nesting. Blankets of Yoongi’s are piled eye and there are shirts and hoodies that belong to him. Some shirts that belong to you. Things that remind you of the two of you, that feel like you both. 

Yoongi is tucked behind you, breath puffing against your ear. His eyes are closed when you curve your head to look at him. “Sleep,” he rasps, not opening his eyes. “And thank you for the hunt. I’m not done with you. But I’m tired.” 

You smile and close your eyes, drifting to sleep in the safety of Yoongi’s arms.

[bogleech]

i had no idea that flea larvae produce silk!! what other creatures make silk, besides moths, spiders, and pinnidae? those were the only ones I knew about before lol

All sorts of arthropod groups! Lots of arachnids including pseudoscorpions and many mites use silk to make a nest or during mating, some CENTIPEDES make silk as part of their mating practices, silverfish apparently have silk glands but I forget what they use them for (it was probably for mating again), various other insect larvae including caddisflies, mayflies, weaver ants, and even antlions! An antlion has a spinneret on its abdomen and uses it just once in its life, to weave grains of sand together into just a big sphere it pupates in!

There are also webspinners, which are really cute little insects that weave silk from their big fat forelimbs to make colonies in tree bark:

[professional-jaywalker]

Vermin

a short essay about being bug hearted, and killing bugs.

I think one of the most cruel thing to love might be invertebrates. Insects. Arachnid. Worms. Pest. With any other animal, it is seen as unreasonable to want to eradicate. Some insects do manage to earn human's favors, bees (but only the useful ones), moths and butterflies (but only the cute ones), and if you're facing a true bug lover, beetles and dragonflies and perhaps even spiders and centipedes and scorpions. But not all, and it's still simply reasonable, to hate even seeing them.

I've loved bugs since I was a kid. I think it felt wrong not to, because people didn't like them, and people didn't like me. I don't think I've ever understood what in how they move felt less alive for people than a puppy. Still now I love bugs. I love mosquitos and I love botflies and I love hornets and tiny annoying ants that crawl through the windows and cockroaches and the wasp that stung me on the thumb when I accidentally grabbed a stick she was resting on when I was 9.

You cannot possibly live a human life without killing countless things. It's impossible. The most vegan, most peaceful human, refusing to walk on grass to not harm the grasshopper that didn't jump fast enough, will not be able to live a life without killing an insect even accidentally. It's something I have thought about a lot overall. I'm not vegan. I've thought about it. It would make sense, I don't see a lot of difference between my own flesh and the flesh I eat. But somehow it feels even more insulting, to be something that kills, and to pretend I don't. I eat insects, too. I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly how I feel about it all.

Maybe it makes me an hypocrite, to be so perturbed about the way people treat insects when I still eat meat. But it's, I think, in the end, the fracture between someone seeing a dead cow, and a dead fly. Most people wouldn't have the courage to kill a cow. They would feel guilt. In fact, a lot of people already hide the fact that meat is flesh and is, strictly speaking, part of a cadaver. People who refuse to eat a fish with the head. Pork, not pig. Beef, not cow. I hate that too. But insects ? People kill a fly without even thinking about it. It's annoying, then it's dead. A dead fly doesn't elicit guilt.

People expect me to be the same. Even knowing I love insects, it's seen as amusing that I acknowledge them as more than a mindless automaton, and, if I can, if it costs me nothing, avoid killing them. I have killed countless insects. I've had to, purposefully, many many many times. But it is, in fact, killing. I just want to be allowed to recognize that.

I work in a lab, on ants. We dissected more than a hundred, ovaries, poison gland, brains, understanding how they work, how differentiation happens and how they communicate it. Reconstructing brains to evaluate changes in different structures, measuring how many proto-egg each individual has post-dissection and correlation to dominance, reading articles and articles about theory.

These specific ants like shallow humid grooves for their nest. Today we tested a large foraging arena, brightly lit for the cameras, dry, wide, open, empty. Ants panic after being picked up even with the least harmful tools we have. When in an unfamiliar space, we've had them in the past run until they died of exhaustion, unable to find the entry of the nest to hide. Two of them were placed in the foraging arena to test the cameras, test if we could read the tags they have on their back. Again and again, they like to follow the walls, possibly because it feels less exposed. And again and again, they stop, groom each other, and calm down if they meet, huddled into each other.

I can't claim to know what's going on in ants brain, whether they feel things similarly to us. But it's hard not to project.

Ant tagged 16, and ant tagged 12, close, unmoving.

[crevicedwelling]

part 3 of the Lasius associate species: the parasites

rove beetles are the most speciose family of beetles and some of their success can be attributed to the development of complex chemical defenses and weapons. some species, however, have turned their chemical secretions into exploitative disguises.

this little beetle is Ceophyllus monilis (Pselaphinae), and it lives its life inside Lasius ant nests. smelling, and probably feeling (rove beetles usually are long-bodied with short legs—Ceophyllus reverses that) similar to the host ants, it goes unnoticed in the colony and can get up to whatever mischief it wants.

by that, I mean taking the ants’ resources: some pselaphine rove beetles use their chemical disguise to sit in the brood chambers and eat the ants’ eggs and larvae, but others take their manipulation to a greater degree and actually beg for food—which the ants obligingly deposit right in their mouths. their secretions also get the ants to groom them and carry them around, with some species even having a “handle” to make transport easier!

unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find much about how Ceophyllus feeds or how specialized of a myrmecophile it is. it quickly disappeared into the nest after these two photos, what a cool sighting!

[mari-lair]

i may be dumb but i cant find a post explaining the ant gon au. can u get a tldr?

I can't find it either, so I probably never wrote it😞 Here is a tldr

When Pitou attacked, Killua still knocked Gon down and left Kite behind, but in this AU Gon woke up before they left NGL. Gon believes Kite is alive so they stay on the edges of the forest planning for a rescue. Killua still has the needle so when they meet Pitou again he leaves Gon to die, the grief is so strong it leads to discovering the needle, albeit too late.

Gon has no memories of his past life, he is named Apo by the queen, so that's his name. He is a mix of gon and ant instinct at first (so he wants to protect the queen, he respects/is in awe of the royal guards and so on) but the more time he spends in the nest the less at home he feels, his growing discomfort impossible to ignore ever since seeing their training dummy (aka puppet Kite)

he feels a pull towards the idea of 'hunters' more than that of kings and queens, and when he meets killua in the forest he feels a connection and decides to follow him until he has a proper goal of his own, cause there is a lot Apo is curious about, but not enough to be his goal. Killua's goal is to get his memory back, which will eventually lead to Alluka's rescue.