#I love my millipedes so much

[artsyaxolotl]

Certified Cutie Patootie

[ratbugs]

little buddy

[noideer]

Meet my sons,

Curly and Moebert

Moebert is my chocolate desert millipede, and Curly is my yellow-banded desert millipede.

They are very sweet, love their cucumbers, and enjoy cudling together all curled up beneath their lamp!

[littlewigglers]

Do you plan on getting any non millipede friends

I do! I’d love to get some more isopods and raise some beetles from larva again. I’d also LOVE to get back into fish keeping my faves are bettas, shrimps, corydoras and kuhli loaches! Maybe a snake or gecko further down the line? But those are what I know the least about and would be most hesitant to get as I want any creatures I get to have the best care I can give them.

I’d say the only creatures on my never list are spiders, roaches, centipede, anything else that moves overly fast or has a bad bite/is venomous/poisonous. Probably turtles too just due to their life spans.

But millipedes and isopods are what I’m able to keep right now as I’d have to get some new tanks for anything else, as well as all the research I’d need to do to be comfortable keeping them.

Oh also I do have two cats I just don’t post about them here, and I plan to possibly get a third next year but we’ll see :3

[kaifish-pond]

hubs says i can build a bug shed in a couple years :D I'mma get millipedes!

[blujayonthewing]

'I need to make him more weird and less cool' -- me about a man who talks out loud to literal wild garbage rats

[smileheart110]

Revenge

REVENGE

Its Sunny's turn to be a lil shit

Where did he get the millipedes?

[junabuggy]

Ticci Toby headcanons⁉️

A/n: Back and writing for my childhood crush?? Yes, yes I am.

Warnings: None !!

──★ ˙ ̟ 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?

🪓☆ Bro LOVES animals and insects, especially the ones that most people dislike

🪓☆ Such as centipedes, millipedes, possums, raccoons, snakes, beetles (especially weevils omg) and spiders + many many more

🪓☆ MIDWESTERN EMO BOY!! Guys PLEASE just look at him it makes sense

🪓☆ He has a few freckles and moles :33

🪓☆ The type of person who’s kinda quiet until you get to know him, grows more comfortable with you over time :P

🪓☆ He can be kind of a sarcastic jerk sometimes though ngl 😭

🪓☆ NOT a morning person

🪓☆ Hypersexual

🪓☆ Plus due to his CIPA it’s one of the few things he actually can feel.

🪓☆ Likes to go on walks. And I’m talking HOURRR LONG ONES

🪓☆ Toby’s love language is for sure either quality time or physical touch 💯💯

🪓☆ Besties with Jeff and Jane and is like an annoying little brother to Masky

🪓☆ He’s pansexual !! If there’s a hole there’s a goal 🙏

🪓☆ Tried to pierce his ears by himself once… Yeaaahh they got infected the next day

🪓☆ Absolute LOSER but I love him dearly so it’s alright <3

🪓☆ Waffle jokes and whatever aside, he enjoys both waffles and pancakes equally, not really much of a preference there.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ◟( ˃̶͈◡ ˂̶͈ )◞

ᯓ★ 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐲

[spockandawe]

And finally, more crochet! After I finished the rocky horror lips, I felt this vague urge to clear out patterns I'd acquired and never made, and when I looked at my ravelry stash, obviously shuttle the shongololo was the first thing to catch my eye. Yes, it was a free pattern, not money I'd spent going to waste, but come on. IRRESISTIBLE.

I did do some modifications on the fly, because it's written for dk yarn (and a lot of it), and i have very little dk, but SO much worsted, including the variegated stripe yarn I was absolutely determined to use for the body. I think I multiplied recommended hook size by 1.5 all over and just went for it! Checking the gauge? In THIS economy?? But it was a huge success, even though I VASTLY underestimated how much material it would take and despite intending to use up my stash, I had to re-up on supplies multiple times (between yarn, stuffing, and breaking my hook, it was like. seven trips). I must inform you that there's so much material in this thing that when I tossed it onto this bed, it rolled off the other side and sounded like a body hitting the floor. It's huge, and it's HEAVY.

But the results are undeniable! Holding two stands of multicolor yarn with the same gradient pattern and just making sure they never sync was SO cool. And the underbelly is a velvet yarn that's sooooo so soft, I love it so much. However, 132 legs. That was... unfortunate. But I'm a creature of fleeting memory! And when I recovered a little, I started thinking about the short pillbug version of the millipede, and I started thinking about my yarn leftovers, and, well, here we are. I used one strand of a different gradient yarn to mix it up a little, and also, to avoid even more shopping trips, but oh man. OH MAN. This pattern is something I probably won't do again, but it is very, VERY fantastic

[valeechtine]

Ok enough being a hater I'm gonna be a lover for the rest of the day

[onenicebugperday]

Somehow got globular springtails in my millipede tank despite not putting them or anything untreated in there and I love them so much 😭

[star-anise]

Ask I got on my sideblog but am answering here:

Hi there! I know you're a therapist and I have a question: I saw some people arguing on Twitter about the impacts of trauma. There was a therapist among them, and they had a masters degree in social work, they post about it often. They say that people who have experienced trauma hurt other people because it benefits them or gives them pleasure, and they are disconnected from empathy and sympathy. That seems wrong, but maybe it's not? That's all, thanks!

Ooof, yeah, that's... complicated. It's technically true, but also frequently used as a lie.

Trigger warning: Child abuse, child grooming, interpersonal violence, trauma (childhood & intergenerational), true crime, totalitarianism

Because basically, that describes MOST humans who decide to hurt other humans on purpose without a strong ulterior motive. That's not a trauma thing, that's a human thing.

I babysit for a family with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. When the 1yo does something to upset their older sibling, and that sibling winds up and smacks them, that's the same basic thing. It benefits them (makes 1yo go away), brings them pleasure (having an outlet for their anger is very satisfying), and they're disconnected from empathy (they're often surprised and confused when the 1yo is crying, because they're 3 and THEY feel fine and they don't really understand yet that other people's feelings really exist) or even sympathy (understanding that if you hit someone, they will probably be upset). That's something we adults have to watch out for and intervene in, because empathy and impulse control take time to learn.

But as for where trauma figures into this... how to explain.

There's this old logical puzzle about categories, where you say things like:

All dogs have four legs*

A dog is an animal

And then the catch is that you can't extend that to say

All animals have four legs

*RIP to all the tripods and legless animals that apparently aren't dogs anymore for the purposes of this logic exercise

Animals obviously include fish and millipedes and whales and snakes and jellyfish. The number of legs an animal can have is HIGHLY diverse, and will eventually lead to a debate on what the definition of "leg" is.

So there is this common thing we see:

Some people are much more violent and aggressive than other people

These violent and aggressive people have almost always experienced some form of trauma/abuse/neglect

And the link people are really prone to thinking is:

People who have experienced trauma/abuse/neglect will go on to being violent and aggressive with other people.

This is incorrect. To some degree, I can see why it's widely believed - after all, way more people tune in to learn about a serial killer's abusive childhood than for the more common story, which is survivors of trauma slowly going about their lives in ordinary undramatic ways.

Because the thing is, trauma is REALLY diverse. Humans are inherently varied and a bit chaotic, since we can choose very different ways to live and operate, and trauma splits that variability like a prism turning light into a rainbow. Only about 30% of abused children grow up to be abusive themselves. The other 70% choose very different lives.

And yet. My eternal question is: WHY is this such a meme? Why do so many people with a shitty childhood flinch at the 30% statistic and think, "Is that me? Am I destined to be a monster?" Why does this story have legs, when so many other facts about trauma have way more empirical backing and usefulness and get very little attention?

I submit that there is one group that fucking LOVES the idea that traumatized person equals abuser. One group that pushes it into the discourse, in international media or around the family kitchen table, with great ingenuity and gusto.

Abusers.

They love it for two reasons. The most obvious reason is: It absolves them of their actions. "It wasn't ME who hit you, it was my childhood trauma!" A veritable classic excuse that takes their agency out of the equation. And it really can be hard to tell when it's a good excuse and when it isn't!

Reason two is the more insidious one: It cuts their victim's sense of goodness, worthiness, and moral certainty out from under them.

It's as simple as saying, "Look at how you pushed back at me (when I was abusing you)! You're the REAL abuser here!" It's the heart of what domestic abuse researchers call DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender). It can be that simple, or it can be so complicated and byzantine it makes your head hurt.

I only really got a handle on understanding this thanks to a friend, who said she was okay with me sharing this story if I didn't identify her. I won't go into any unrelated details of her abuse, but for the record, hers is probably the most extreme case of anyone I've personally interacted with, and I used to work as a therapist and in domestic violence shelters. Her dad heinously abused her as a child. He'd also studied psychology in university. I have been trying to fathom how the fuck anyone could do what he did to her for YEARS, and I think I've got a few viabletheories.

So. She was an ordinary child, bright, warmhearted, well-behaved, and a bit autistic. A bit more naive and trusting than your average preschooler. I imagine that from his perspective, there was the convenient benefit that he often had unrestricted access to her, and he could relatively easily overpower and manipulate her.

But she had one serious downside: If anyone ever found out what he was doing to her, they would go fucking apeshit. She wasn't really prone to lying or acting out, so people would treat her as a fairly credible reporter; several other adults found her she was lovable, innocent, and endearing; and what he wanted to do to her was, I repeat, heinous.

So while he abused her, one of the things he said was: "I'm doing this because I was abused as a child. That's how it works. All abusers come from abuse. There are statistics proving it. This means you're an abuser too. See what society thinks about child abusers? That's what people will think about you, if they know that you've been abused."

And she was, you know, a child, not someone who studied psych research. He was her dad. So she believed him.

She thought that he was using his adult brain to correctly assess the truth about her as a person, for purely objective reasons. The way you'd try to teach a kid who talks with their mouth full about table manners. It's been a couple decades now, but she is still very slowly chipping away at her core belief that she is inherently awful and only her father recognized the truth about her.

Sometimes when we talk about it I have to bite my tongue because I'm sitting here trying to figure out what the fuck was going on with him, an adult man who wanted to abuse her because he'd really enjoy it. I think about him trying to figure out how to manipulate an innocent child into accepting being abused, and minimize the risk that he'd go to jail for it. And although I hate his everloving guts, I'm almost a bit impressed at his level of machiavellian audacity, to come up with a line that was SUCH hot bullshit that people have devoted their entire careers into proving it false, and yet, because it hit exactly the right psychological issue at exactly the right psychological stage and his intended victim was so trusting, he could get her to believe him enough to turn that lie into her core identity.

Praise be to G-d and Criminal Minds, he did not, in the end, get away with it. She got enough courage to tell people, and get free of him. And she is not, in fact, a horrible abusive person.

But I think what he did so very brazenly is what a lot of abusers do, in more disguised and indirect ways. Probably partly because it really helps, when abusing people, not to treat them like human beings with their own thoughts and feelings, but if one must posit that they have something going on between their ears, it's easiest to assume that everyone else responds to trauma with aggression and abuse. After all, considering the possibility that someone like them could choose not to be abusive takes all the fun and plausible deniability out of the whole affair.

But now I see echoes of that "my victims are just as bad as I am" tactic all over the place. I honestly think it's a very similar mechanism that Hannah Arendt pointed out in The Origins of Totalitarianism. She observes that violent totalitarian regimes routinely accuse their intended victims of the very act they intend to commit themselves, to justify a "retaliation" that's actually just aggression. Think claiming "Our opponents are rigging this election" as an excuse to rig an election in the opposite direction.)

To sum up: You're human. Humans can do good and bad things. It's not necessarily good to completely forswear anything violent or angry in you, but to come up with a framework of how to be assertive and get your needs met in an ethical fashion. There are times it is appropriate and even necessary to escape or fight against somebody else's will.

On the other hand, If find yourself inflicting pain on other people on a regular basis, get some support and take a good hard look at your life choices. Sometimes it's hard to figure out how to solve problems in your life without violence or aggression, and you might need some help with that. Maybe talk to a counsellor or learn anger management skills.

But in no way is it predestined, inherent, implicit, or doomed, that your experiences and brain wiring make you violent or evil. You always have the choice to define yourself beyond what was done to you.

[ratbugs]

your gurl just got 24 bumblebee millipedes

(and some yummy live moss snacks)

finally going to put that 40 gallon tank investment to use

[littlewigglers]

Bark 💕

[0310s]

members: leehan x gender neutral reader

genre: fluff, neighbors au

wc: 0.7k (blurb for an incoming oneshot!)

tw: insects

imagine leehan as your next-door neighbor when you move in your new unit. a month passes by and you develop a amicable relationship with him. your first, distant impression of him as the guy with a fish tank in his apartment slowly evolves into a positive one. while you wouldn't exactly say you trust him with your life, you can definitely rely on him for spare ingredients.

except the former gets put to the test pretty early—which leads to your current predicament. you've pressed yourself against the corner of your apartment, heart beating a mile a minute. you can feel a headache gradually growing as you attempt to figure out your next move. you have two choices:

plan a: you hunt down the wicked creature and dispatch of it as it casts its final breath, or

plan b: you pack up everything you own and move to the next city.

of course, you know deep down inside you would never carry out plan a—because cockroaches are your biggest fear. butterflies? their wings are pretty. millipedes? watching them slowly crawl their way from point a to b is cute. bees? even more adorable, and you're in awe of their power to sustain the ecosystem. but cockroaches? for the love of all that is holy, no. you would rather skydive than be in the same room as one. you've resolved to believe that, truly, not all insects are created equal (and roaches belong in hell).

but before you can even start shoving all your belongings into your luggage to make a run for it, a knock sounds at your door. not knowing who it is, you slowly creep towards the entrance, keeping your back to the wall in case the vile creature decides to make a run for you. once you're there, you call out, "who's there?" you try to sound unaffected, but the waver in your voice is obvious.

"it's me," the person on the other side of the door responds in a low, melodious voice. leehan! you thrust the door open and without thinking, you quickly circle him and use him as your shield. your neighbor makes a questioning hum, and you realize how rude you're being. still, you can't find it in yourself to face him like normal.

"what's this?" leehan asks amusedly, referring to your abrupt, awkward position. as he makes a move to turn around, you grip the back of his shirt with both hands.

"no!" at this, he pauses. instead, he tilts his head to look back at you, and you start rambling. "there's. a cockroach in my apartment. it's actually huge, monstrous even, like the size of my palm. i didn't know they could grow to be that big. or maybe it's an anomaly and it's actually evil and is strategizing to take me out for good. can you kill it please leehan. please, oh god."

at the end of your tirade, leehan is making a pensive sound. "so... you're scared of cockroaches?"

"was it not obvious enough!? yes, yes, yes a thousand times. please, leehan, this is literally so embarrassing and we aren't even close like that but please kill it for me."

close like what, leehan wants to ask, but he chooses not to comment on that. "alright," he sighs, "i'll kill it for you." as he tries to disentangle himself from you, you panic, taking it as a sign that your neighbor's about to abandon you for good. squealing, you wrap your arms around leehan's middle, squeezing him tight as you shake.

"leehan please don't go." as if this situation couldn't get any more humiliating, tears start dripping down your cheeks as you bury your face in leehan's back. hearing your sniffles, leehan finally understands the severity of your fear and how much his presence means to you.

in the midst of your bawling, you feel a warm hand pat your entwined arms. "it's okay," leehan soothes you, "i promise i won't leave you alone." he finally extricates himself from you as you stare fixedly at the floor, hands clutching at his. "come on, won't you look at me?" with your tear-blurred vision, you look up at your potential savior, who looks as gentle as ever. he's got a warm, comforting gaze and a steady grip on you. "i got you. do you believe in me?'

when you slowly nod, leehan steels his resolve and steps into your apartment. "now let's go exterminate this creature."

like, rb, and let me know what you think of my writing!

taglist 𓉞⋆｡˚☁︎｡⋆ @loserlvrss @lionhanie @myungjaesgf @sunnyhaki @woorcve @dorislitterbox @dearly-somber

[h3artstain]

A list of (realistic) things you can do to be more environmentally friendly

(from an earth-loving horticulture student.)

— COSMETICS

Use bar soap instead of soap bottles

Use old toothbrushes for cleaning surfaces

Try exploring and researching some homemade face/body/lip products

Use ice sleeves, sunglasses, and caps instead of sunscreen (Edit: I’ve seen people say that it is safer and even necessary to wear sunscreen at all times so try to use eco friendly sunscreen instead! In my country it’s pretty uncommon to wear sunscreen often as we usually wear ice sleeves which is why I did not know this oof)

Use coffee grinds or homemade tumeric masks instead of cosmetic products with exfoliator beads

Invest in a metal ear cleanser instead of cotton buds

Try placing more importance on skincare instead of contributing to exploitative beauty companies by buying makeup

Use cosmetic products that do not contain palm oil

— CLOTHING

Try as much as possible to rewear your outfits at least twice before washing them

Actually WEAR your clothes! I know some of y’all just wear them once for your Instagram post and let it rot in your closet forever. Stop doing that!

Thrift, stitch up holes in your clothes, and use second hand clothing instead of supporting fast fashion companies like SHEIN, H&M, Zara, etc.

Cut up your old clothing into yarn and do macramè with it

Cut patches of old clothing to turn into reusable cotton pads

Learn how to knit, crochet or stitch your clothes!

If you use tampons, try menstrual cups or discs instead. If you use pads, try reusable pads or period underwear. (Trust me, it works). Also, use reusable panty liners instead of disposable ones. They may seem expensive but you will end up saving a lot more in the long run

— GARDENING

Plant seeds/cuttings in your old bottles, jars, and containers

Propagate your plants and exchange cuttings with your friends instead of buying new plants

Make your own soil mixes instead of buying soil mixes

Better yet, don’t use soil for your indoor plants and try getting into hydroponics or semihydroponics instead. This saves so much water and doesn’t contribute to mining of soil

Fertilise plants with fruit peels, coffee grinds, and tea leaves. (DO NOT use chemical fertiliser on soil)

Plant more legume plants in your garden instead of using nitrogen fertilisers. (Look up the nitrogen cycle if you need an explanation on this)

Avoid pesticides unless really needed. Try sprinkling cinnamon powder on soil or spraying neem oil on plants and soil to keep away pests.

If you have a lawn, try looking into rain gardens and consider making one

Let the (non invasive) weeds in your lawn/garden grow! They are there for a reason!

Stop killing earthworms and millipedes in your garden. This also applies to snails native to your region. They are there for a reason.

Water used to wash fruits and rice can be used to water plants

— REDUCE, REUSE

Use the caps of jars as soap holders

Use recycled paper/notebooks

Wash and dry your glass/plastic items before throwing them in the recycling bin

Keep any plastic bags for future use

Use eco friendly or reusable dish sponges

Use reusable straws and cups

Invest in a fabric cup holder

Bring a water bottle with you wherever you go

Drink more water and less sugary drinks

Bring reusable bags for buying groceries instead of using plastic ones

Always keep a folded up tote/shopping bag with you in case you spontaneously decide to buy something

— ELECTRICITY

Set a timer on your air conditioning instead of letting it run throughout the night

Better yet, use a fan instead of an air conditioner

Open your windows! Aerate your home!

Allow natural light to enter your home during the daytime, so as to avoid turning on your lights

Switch to LED lightbulbs instead of regular lightbulbs

Turn off any switches in your house when they are not in use

Collect the water from your air conditioner/dehumidifier condenser and use that to water plants, clean surfaces, steam ironing, and flushing toilets. Do not drink it though!

— INTERNET

Delete your all of your unwanted emails

Delete your inactive social media accounts

Try not to post excessively on social media and stop scrolling excessively too. This not only reduces energy usage but also improves your mental health and productivity

Try to keep to one social media app instead of having so many

Reduce your internet usage

Save your eBooks on a thumbdrive instead of on cloud

Use Ecosia instead of Google

Stop being influenced by social media trends that only just contribute to consumerism

Download music instead of streaming

Reduce online shopping

— FOOD

Reduce intake of processed foods

Reduce intake of fish, beef, and dairy

Try eating vegan or vegetarian foods at least once or twice a week

Cook your own meals instead of eating out

Bring your own food containers when taking away food from stores

Beeswax wrap instead of cling wrap!

Buy loose-leaf tea or plastic free tea bags instead of regular tea bags

Eat more mushrooms, vegetables, and fruits and drink more water

Support local farmers

And finally, educate yourself more about ecology and the environment!