#are slugs considered bugs?

[gray-warden]

Close-up of a Creature

[counselor-elijah]

Assortment of slugs! Most likely black slugs (Arion ater) and/or Spanish slugs (Arion vulgaris)

[squuote]

love when people make the adventure line into an animal but also consider: millipede adventure line….

[the-busy-ghost]

Constantly forget that the ceiling and windows are lower in the upstairs room, and think I finally know what people over six feet feel like

[interruptingkau]

Bugsnax? No. Slug snacks.

[mariasont]

Hello baby borl can you write a spencer reid x reader where they are kind of awkward but they still are relatively outgoing but they never EVER make the first move so they just vaguely flirt with him but very awkwardly like... maybe they have an obscure favorite animal and they tell him about it and then they compare him to it and its funny bc its like.. a slug or a spider (an animal that many ppl dont like and dont find attractive)

Arachnophobia - S.R

a/n: i dont know if baby borl was a misspelling or not but i am obsessed with it and i will now be referring to everyone as that from this point forward

ALSO thank you so much for the request i <3 an awkward reader truly

masterlist

‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧

pairings: spencer reid x reader

warnings: spider! ah!, reader climbing on a chair like that's a little dramatic if you ask me, spencer being a little shit, fluffy fluff, cuties being awkward, comparing spencer to a female spider!

wc: 0.9k

"Oh my god!"

You didn't mean for your scream to be as loud as it was, it was more instinctive than anything, not having enough time to stifle it as you hopped upon the closest desk chair. Unfortunately for you, that chair happened to belong to the object of your affection—Spencer Reid, resident boy genius and pretty boy.

Pretty boy was the understatement of the century. He was the embodiment of aesthetic perfection in your eyes, a vision of loveliness that seemed almost otherworldly.

But that all receded to the edges of your brain, your gaze laser focused on the teeny tiny crawler scuttling across the carpeted floor beneath you.

"Is there a reason you're standing on my chair?"

Spencer's eyes were trained on your shoes, a frown forming as he undoubtedly considered the microbial invasion spreading from your soles to his well-maintained seat.

You couldn't say anything, mouth snapped shut as you just pointed to the hairy thing. He quirked an eyebrow, following your gesture before a soft chuckle escaped him, head shaking in the process.

You narrowed your eyes, not finding the same humor in the situation as he was. "Spencer, it's not funny. Get it please?"

"Well since you asked so nicely." He moved towards a box of tissues on his desk. But you grasped his wrist to stop him, your balance faltering, and a tiny squeal escaped you as you teetered on the edge of the chair.

His hold on your hip was immediate, the closest thing in order to stabilize you is how you rationalized it, saving you from an imminent face-to-floor meeting.

"Sorry," you said sheepishly, a low buzz spreading from your head to the spot where his hand enclosed around. "Don't kill it."

He gave you a pointed look, but then grabbed a plastic cup by the water cooler. You missed his hands on you the second he was gone.

He crouched down to where the spider was crawling around, carefully shoveling it into the cup.

"Don't hurt its legs!"

"I feel like there is a lot of protesting coming from someone who can't even put their feet on the ground right now."

That shut you up. A soft pout found its way to your lips as you folded your arms defensively. His smirk grew at the sight, and you couldn't stop the delightful warmth that bubbled up inside your chest, sticky and potent.

"Once the spider is at a safe distance then I'll come down," you said with a shrug.

He expertly secured the paper over the clear cup's mouth, trapping the spider inside. "All clear."

You watched his hands warily, your lips forming a tight line as you stayed put, eliciting an exasperated eye roll from him. 

"It's not going to hurt you."

"You don't know that."

He angled the cup towards the light, inspecting the bug with a squint. 

"It's unlikely you'll ever be bitten by a spider. They aren't interested in humans. They don't seek us out like mosquitoes or ticks do." He moved the cup in your direction. "This is just a common house spider, known scientifically as Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Completely harmless."

"It doesn't look completely harmless to me," you countered, wrinkling your nose and leaning back.

You almost lost your balance. Again. His hands found your waist. Again.

"How about you come down now?"

"Right, sorry I know you're probably freaking out about my outdoor shoes on your chair."

His hand moved to grab yours as you stepped down. "I'm more concerned about the potential of you cracking your skull."

You beamed, a wide smile lighting up your features as you planted your feet firmly on the carpet. "Eh, I'm pretty much indestructible."

"Tell that to the spider."

You tried to glare at him, but you were sure it came off softer around than edges than you intended, because you weren't really annoyed. Spencer's ease in teasing you was a recent development, it had taken ages to get to this point. The roles used to be reserved, but then you fell in love with him, and now every word you spoke had been nothing but overthought and stiff.

"He is a little cute actually." You stepped closer, gingerly at that, maintaining a safe distance just in case Spencer decided to pull any funny business.

"Well, he's a she."

"Oh, how impolite of me," you said, as you crouched down to bring yourself face-to-face with the spider.

"Interestingly, the female common house spiders are known for its problem-solving abilities when capturing prey. If the first attempt doesn't work, it will try different strategies, which shows a level of adaptability and intelligence."

"Awh, she's kind of like you, isn't she?"

You wanted to slap a hand over your face. You sounded like an idiot. His eyes narrowed, and then that charming little smile broke through, a little uneven, making him all the more appealing.

"That feels offensive."

You couldn't help but laugh, your eyes crinkling in response. "It's not, I swear, that was supposed to be a compliment."

"I'd be careful with those compliments, wouldn't want to inflate my ego too much."

Maybe tomorrow you'd tell him how you feel. Probably not.

taglist: @hotchhner @khxna

[bloo-the-dragon]

SEA SLUG MOON MY BOY!!! He’s gorgeous, thankyou for drawing him aaaa!! <3 <3 <3

I made a better moon for you @bloo-the-dragon !!!!! Hope you like it!!❤️❤️❤️

[crevicedwelling]

i have a question about bugs. bugses. most of what i know about wild animals is about mammals. and i know if you see a wild mammal in the wild you should not approach it or try to pet or feed it, you should just leave it alone. and i applied this idea to basically every animal. but i see you (and other blogs i follow) occasionally handle insects you see in the wild, like have them on your hand. how is that okay? i want to do it too now... (only if i know the species is not dangerous ofc) but does it not stress out the bug, being handled?

of course it stresses the bug out & I have some long post where I talk about this & related issues, but when you see me handling and messing with wild bugs (or even my pet ones, it’s not like captive insects are domesticated or tame) I weigh how badly I want/need to do that versus the outcomes on the animal:

I consider these questions:

does the animal need help immediately?

will handling hurt the animal even if I don’t intend it?

can anyone learn from handling this? (myself, others I’m with, followers online)

handling wild cockroach briefly for a photo? not necessary, but a good educational experience & helps others enjoy a creature they might not otherwise. she fluttered away a second later unharmed. I didn’t pick up any others of the same species that night since I already got my selfish wish to Hold Beast: the rest can be left alone.

picking up Alfonso because I need to clean his bark slab? yep, that should be fine, I’ll set him down in a moment & grab a photo first

picking up a Tenodera mantis? it’ll not be super thrilled with it but they often chill out in a matter of minutes and treat my hand like a branch. if not and it’s trying to attack or flee constantly, I’ll let it leave.

picking up a frog/slug/snail? probably not ok unless you’re moving it across a path or just holding it very briefly. their slime coat reacts poorly to human hand secretions.

in many cases your instincts are right: leave the animal alone. but I think it is worth it to handle a creature if doing so can help it or if doing so can help people appreciate it more without incurring a cost to the animal’s health.

[dallasgallant]

Tough Slang |

I’ve been watching a lot of delinquent movies (I have recs) lately and I’ve started to collect the slang common in them. This is a “dictionary” that’s useful for writing but I’d still recommend looking up period or group specific slang yourself too, consider this a starting guide.

Primarily 50s-60s , mixed with general slang and relevant words.

Baby: Term of endearment [also used in Gay context]

Backseat bingo: Making out

Beat it: Go away

Belted: Beaten; Hurt

Bent car: Stolen car

Bit: Job; Robbery plan

Blade: Knives [typically switchblade]

Blast: Good time

Bop: Kill

Boss: Liked man of authority

Box job: Safe cracking

Break it up: Stop fighting

Broad: Woman

Bug: Bother

Bugging: Freaking out; Tripping

Bulls: Cops

Bum: To get by asking or begging; Vagrant

Bunk: Sleep with ; Share a prison cell

Candy ass: Coward

Can opener: Tools capable of breaking open safe

Can: Prison

Cheese it: Stop what you’re doing; Look out

Cherry: Good looking/condition [typically a car, sometimes a person]

Chicken: Coward

Cool it: Calm down

Cooler: Prison

Con: Convict; Swindle

Copped: Had the cops called on; Ratted out

Cranked: High; Drunk

Crash: Stay/sleep at someone’s place

Crazy: Deranged ; Enthusiastic about something

Cut the gas: Get to the point; shut up

Deck: Box of ciggerettes; To punch

Dibs: Laying claim on something

Dig: to understand; to like something

Dive: Low down place

Flat: Broke

Flip: Panic

Freak out: Wild/irrational reaction or behavior

Fry: Executed by electric chair

Fuzz: Police

Gas: Fun or cool

Get bent: Get lost; Go fuck yourself

Get lost: Go away

Greaser: Young man with greased hair, usually of lower class , gang affiliation or juvenile delinquent

Hang: Gather together with no expressed purpose

Hang loose: Relax; Take it easy

Happenin’: Exciting/Lively/Busy ; With the times

Heat: Police

Heater: Gun

Headshrinker: Shrink; therapist

Hip: With it; Understand; Cool

Hoodlum/hood: Trouble maker; Criminal

Jam: in trouble; Cram something

JD: Juvenile delinquent

Jive: Agree with someone

Jug: Prison

Jumped: Attacked without warning; Beaten

Keen: Eager; Enthusiastic

Lay off: Leave alone

Lifer: Someone serving a life sentence

Loaded: Drunk; Armed [Depending on context]

Lone it: Do something on ones own

Loiter: Stand or wait around without purpose; hang out

Man: Colloquialism for emphasis or familiarity 

Neato: Neat; Excellent; Exciting

Nance: Efféminent guy/Gay

Pack: Carry some sort of weapon

Pad: Where someone lives

Pansy: Efféminent guy/Gay

Paper shaker: Cheerleader

Pops: Affectionate term for an older man

Punk: Hoodlum

Rat: to tell on

Reefer: Weed; Marijuana

Rod: Gun

Rumble: Organized fight

Scram: Go away

Scum: Despicable person

Shiner: A black eye

Sock: Punch

Skin: Fight with no weapons

Slug: Bullet ; Hit

Stay cool: Remain calm ; control yourself

“Give some skin”: High five or handshake

Spill: Tell information

Split: Leave ; Get out fast

Square: Uninteresting person; Someone never in trouble with law

Stuck: Stabbed [in context]

Sucker : Gullible person; Someone who was conned

Swingin’ : Exciting ; Hip ; throwing punches [in context]

Tanked: Drunk

“The man”: Figure of authority keeping systems in place [Oppressive] ; One who maintains status quo

Turf: Territory

War council: Meeting between organized gangs to work out issues or plan a fight

Waste: Kill

Weed: Cigarette

Whipped: Beaten

[8-dermestid]

HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY

(🪳/ 🐌 / 🐛) more thoughts and full spreads with (extra wee doodles) under the cut!!!

Pilbert Caterpillar (🐛)

- i really like pilby…. a while lot i think they are incredible, their autism. yaya.

- i wanna draw a bunch of regretevator characters chowing down on burgers and things i think pilby would order a whopper every time even tho it nearly sends them into a coma every time

makes me lol every time, i love bugs so i may consider adding more insectoid traits in the future…

Split (🐌)

- oohoho…. wahaha, listen….

- snails (/ bugs / insects / other small critters) communicate with pheromones nd things… Bive + Split can do this too

- sometimes they tap their antennae against each other nd just know what the other is feeling without having to verbally communicate

- great for autism nd bein nonverbal sometimes i live for nonverbal communication, i wish antennae were real on people…

- if i ever did a more critter-oriented design for Split it would def be based on the Pacific Banana Slug (Ariolimax columbianus) or mayhaps even the California variety… i just need her to be based on a bug, fat, yellow slug. that is all.

- as for the burger post i think Split would order one of those bug, fat burgers that always falls apart after about three bites, sooo much sauce (she likes brown mustard)

Bive (🪳)

- I just keep making her coat longer, say goodbye to her feetsies waahaa

- assigning her a cockroach!!!!!!!! she would be the madagascar hissing cockroach (G. portentosa)…. i like the idea that she just shrieks when being touched, such a howler

- she eats like a messy beast, ketchup and mustard all over her coat and chin, eats with her hands bc she does not trust forks

- She is so autistic and psychotic, i love this bug, her antennae buzz and flick around as she walks and ooh… mayhaps i will give her a cane or some other mobility aid

[tulipe-rose]

More Skk shenanigans because it's been awhile→

Hc: Chūya dislikes insects.

Chūya can handle them decently, but overall feels disgusted by them, especially beetles; he draws his tolerance there. His life's mission was to not let Dazai find out; he'll never hear the end of it. Chūya's efforts were futile either way, because c'mon, this is Dazai Osamu, the information will always circulate back to him one way or another. Once Dazai's in on the little secret, he suddenly picks up the hobby of bug collecting, which was easy since his shipping container was easily infested, and his most prized possession is a dung beetle he carries around everywhere. Chūya refuses to let Dazai have his way, and wills his entire body to pretend like it's not there until the day Dazai brings a slug to one of their stealth missions while knowing damn well it's not considered an insect, but brought it anyway, and Chūya ended up throwing the nearest object at him, which exposed them to their target; in short, this mission took longer than it should've.

Bonus: Dazai isn't the biggest fan of insects either, he just enjoys gaining reactions from Chūya.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: aquatic insect larvae

This Wet Beast Wednesday is going to be different than usual. Instead of an in-depth overview of a specific species or group of species, I'm going to give a general overview of aquatic insect larvae as a whole and then showcase some groups of insects. I'm going to focus on insects that have an aquatic larval stage and terrestrial adult stage, saving adult aquatic insects for another post.

(Image ID: a group of mosquito larvae. They are yellowish bugs with long, slender bodies, no visible limbs, small heads, and feathery appendages from their rear ends. From the back of the abdomen, a snorkel-like appeadage attaches to the surface of the water, using surface tension to allow the larvae to hang from the surface. End ID)

Insects are basically the most successful group of animals in the history of life on Earth and have adapted to live in just about every terrestrial habitat. It should not be much of a surprise than that they have also moved into the water. More specifically, fresh water as almost all aquatic insects inhabit fresh or maybe brackish water. Only the water strider genus Halobates are truly marine. Some species of insect are aquatic for their entire lives, some are primarily terrestrial but able to swim, and some are aquatic only for their larval stage of life. These aquatic larvae species are generally agreed to have evolved from fully terrestrial ancestors. The adaptation of partially returning to the water has evolved independently many times in many different clades of insect and so different species use different strategies and adaptations. It is possible that aquatic larvae evolved in response to high competition for resources on land. If multiple species are competing over the same resources during their larval stages but one of those species manages to adapt to a whole new environment, that species will now have abundant access to resources the other species are unable to get to. Because of the very different lifestyles required for aquatic and terrestrial animals, aquatic larvae often look very different than their adult forms.

(Image: an aquatic beetle larva. It looks nothing like an adult beetle, instead being a long, slender insect with no wings, multiple body segments, and two hairy appendages at the base of the abdomen. End ID)

Aquatic larvae serve important roles in their ecosystems. Many are herbivores or detritivores that consume algae and bits of biological material, helping recycle nutrients and clean the water. Some are predators that hunt smaller invertebrates or plankton. Importantly, aquatic insect larvae provide a major food source for larger fish, invertebrates, birds, and so on. Some species can be considered keystone species, vital to their ecosystems. Many species are highly sensitive to changes in their environment, allowing them to act as indicator species for the health of their ecosystems. The trio of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies are very commonly used as indicators of pollution as all three are highly sensitive to pollutants. A stream with few mayflies, stoneflies, or caddisflies but plenty of less sensitive species is likely to be polluted.

(Image ID: a collage of aquatic larvae of multiple species in the order Diptera (true flies. They vary from slug-like to having multiple distinct body segments with legs, to looking like maggots with long tails. End ID. Source)

Mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) are among the oldest lineages of winged insects, bearing traits that they first flying insect also had. Juvenile mayflies are technically not larvae, but nymphs. The difference between a larva and a nymph is that nymphs look much more like the adult stage than larvae do. Mayfly nymphs lack the wings of adults, but have external gills growing from the sides of their abdomens. Mayfly nymphs can be identified by three appendages called cerci that emerge from the back of the abdomen. They are bottom-dwellers that typically live under rocks and other objects or amid plants. Most are herbivores, feeding mainly on algae. Months to years after hatching (species dependent), mayflies will float to the surface and go through a molt to a stage called the subimago. Uniquely among insects, mayflies go through two final winged molts. The first is to a not sexually mature stage called the subimago, then they quickly molt again into a fully mature imago stage. These molts happen in sync, resulting in hundreds to thousands of mayflies appearing all at once and swarming together to mate. Famously, adult mayflies exist only to mate and die. Their digestive systems are non-functional and few species last past a few days.

(Image: a mayfly nymph on a rock. It is a yellow bug with no wings, a long abdomen, and thick, grasping legs. Three long, hairy cerci emerge from the back. Along the side of the abdomen are multiple pairs of white, feathery gills. End ID)

Stoneflies (order Plecoptera) also have nymphs and can be quite difficult to tell apart from mayfly nymphs if you don't know what to look for. One of the biggest differences is that their gills are located by the base of the legs rather than along the abdomen. Like mayflies, stoneflies are some of the most primitive winged insects, but mayflies are Paleopterans (the earliest wings insects) while stoneflies and most other winged insects are Neopterans. The main difference is that Neopterans can flex their wings over their abdomens while Paleopterans cannot, and must hold their wings either out to the side or up in the air. Like with Mayflies, many adult stoneflies have nonfunctional digestive systems and exist only to mate and die.

(Image: a stonefly larva. It looks similar to a mayfly larva, but has a shorter abdomen, gills along the base of the legs, and only two cerci. End ID)

Caddisflies (order tricoptera) are the builders of the aquatic insect world. These larvae (most species anyway) can produce silk from glands near their mouths. These are used to make a variety of structures made from silk and various other materials including sand, silt, plant parts, shells, rock, and so on. Different species will seek out specific materials for their structures. There are a few types of structures, the most common of which is a tubular case that is open at both ends. The larva can carry the case with it as it crawls around and can retreat into the case for protection. The larva can draw water into one end of the case and out the other, allowing oxygenated water to flow over the gills. By moving around in the case, the larva can draw in more water. This allows the larvae to survive in water that is too oxygen-poor for other larvae. Other species build different structures including turtle-shell like domes or stationary retreats. My favorite structures are nets built with an open end into current. The current naturally brings detritus and micro-invertebrates into the net, where the larva can eat them. Caddisflies also pupate into pupa that have mandibles to cut their way out of their cases and swimming legs. Once developed, the pupae swim to the surface and molt into their adult forms. This molting is synchronized to ensure the adults emerge in swarms and can easily find mates.

(Image ID: a caddisfly larva in its case. The case is a tube composed of pebbles of different colors stuck together with silk. The head and legs of the larva are merging from the front of the case. End ID)

(Image: a caddisfly net. It is a structure made of silk shaped like a tube that is wide at one end and tapers toward the other. It is curved so both ends face the same way. End ID)

The order Megaloptera consists of alderflies, dobsonflies, and fishflies. All three have aquatic larvae, but their eggs are laid on land. Most species lad their eggs on plants overhanging the water so the larvae fall in once hatched, though a few lay eggs near the water's edge, forcing the larvae to crawl in. Meglaoptera have the least amount of differences between larva and adult of all holometabolous (pupa-forming) insects. The largest differences between the larvae and adults is the larvae lack wings and some species have leg-like prolegs. All species are carnivorous as larvae and feed on other invertebrates.

The adults don't look any less creepy

(Image: two hellgrammites, the larval form of a dobsonfly. It looks somewhat like a centipede with three pairs of limbs and a long abdomen with multiple pairs of leg-like prolegs. The head has no visible antennae, but does have a pair of powerful pincers. End ID)

Order Odonata consists of dragonflies and damselflies. These are powerful predators both as nymphs and adults. As nymphs, the juveniles are shorter and stockier than the adults, with no wings. The nymphs (or naiads) breathe through gills. In damselflies, these gills can be external, but dragonfly nymphs have their gills located in the anus. Damselflies can swim by undulating their gills, but dragonfly nymphs are restricted to crawling. The nymphs are voracious predators that will feed on anything they can catch. Most of their diet consists of invertebrates, but they will also attack small fish, tadpoles, and even salamanders.

(Image ID: a dragonfly larva on a rock. Its head is similar to that of the adults, but the abdomen is much shorter and broader and the legs are longer. It has no wings and is brown all over. End ID)

The groups of insects I covered today (plus the stoneflies) all have exclusively or near-exclusively have aquatic larvae while the adults are terrestrial. In other groups, aquatic larvae may be present in some species while others have terrestrial larvae. For example, a great many members of the order Diptera (true flies) have aquatic larvae including all mosquitos, while other members of the order have fully terrestrial larvae. In addition there are species of beetle (order Coleoptera), moth (order Lepidoptera), lacewing (order Neuroptera), and scorpionflies (order Mecoptera) that have aquatic larvae and some species of the true bugs (order Hemiptera) have aquatic larvae and aquatic adults, including water skaters, water scorpions, and giant water bugs. Aquatic insects are so prevalent that it is rare to find any lasting body of water that doesn't host some aquatic larvae or adults. Even incredibly stagnant and filthy water can host aquatic insect larvae, as shown by the notorious rat-tailed maggots, who love stagnant water and breathe through snorkels. Many species require very specific conditions and there are species of insect who exclusively grow their larvae in specific streams or lakes. Because of this, conservation of these bodies of water is vital to their survival and pollution, damming, and other factors can destroy whole species.

(Image: an aquatic moth larva. It looks very similar to a green land caterpillar, with none of the fancy elements many land species have. It is translucent and wrapped around some aquatic plant stems. End ID)

[strange-calathea]

I was just about to Google "do stairs slugs eat spiders?" Like I genuinely was considering the pros and cons of having one as a pet and then I had to take a second to go wait,,, those aren't real. Google won't know.

Anyway if they ate spiders and other bugs I would keep one as a pet

[fabuloustrash05]

Do you think the salamanders have like their own traditional foods on their home planet and if so, what do you think their favorite ones would be like? (Bonus if you wanna: their favorite earth food)

Considering while in space we see do see the galaxy’s types of food occasionally in the space arc, like for instance Bellybomb’s buffet.

As another example these muffins from the first ep of S4, you can eat them and they are sold to eat but they are also sentient.

For real life Salamanders, their average diet is bugs such as crickets, slugs, earthworms etc. Some other salamanders also eat types of small fish or even other creatures like mice, shrews and frogs.

For Salamandrians, they can and have eaten sentient creatures. It kinda seems to be treated as a common normal thing in space for all aliens. Newtralizer was seen eating a Kraang in his first episode and Mona Lisa even threatened to eat Bishop after he insulted her.

So in the galaxy, I’d assume Salamandrians eat what all other aliens typically eat that we’ve seen in the show, but they probably also have their own versions of meals a normal Salamander eats. Maybe giant versions of bugs that they eat like humans would eat a steak or burger. What I have in mind is that bug meal from Emperor’s New Groove

As for earth food, I like to think Mona can easily eat Earth’s food. If the Turtle can naturally digest pizza, even though real life turtles should not be eating pizza, then I think Mona can also eat and digest earth food. I think her favorite foods would be hot chili peppers. I headcanon that Mona can easily withstand spicy foods so she enjoys spicy/hot foods. For Sal, he’d be a soup guy. He also adore Mikey’s cooking. Newt probably would enjoy a good steak.

[demonicbaby666]

Drabble idea - JJ talking care of reader while she is sick 🤒 just all the fluff and feelings 🥰

Sniffles

One shot | Criminal Minds Masterlist | Masterlists

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: JJ x fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Words: 1.3k+

A/N: Thanks for the req nonny, hope I provided you with the fluff you wanted. It's written more comically and is a little too long to count as Drabble, but what can I say, I got a little carried away with the banter. Hope you enjoy! 💜

Hell. That was the only way to describe what your body was putting you through. Head pounding, nose stuffed with tissue and a throat that fell victim to a brutal attack of never-ending coughs, trying hopelessly to get whatever felt like it was stuck in there out. 

You’d taken refuge on the sofa that morning, knowing if you went back to bed, there was a high possibility you may never make it out again. Though the idea of withering away and meeting your final demise sounded tempting, someone would probably miss you. 

At what point you fell asleep to the tv playing reruns of god knows how many shows, you had no idea. All you knew was there was a muffled ringing coming not just from inside your ears, but from somewhere in the apartment. The door. 

Heavily considering, far longer than appropriate, army crawling to the door, you settled on unceremoniously flinging your frail body upright, trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to ignore the black spots that painted your vision. As you trudged over to the door you made a silent promise to yourself, if the disturber of your peace fell short of a good enough reason for ringing your doorbell when you were on death's door, you’d subject them to the very same torment you were going through. One cough, maybe a little sneeze would do the trick, it was only fair. 

“I swear, if you’ve lost your cat again Phil, I’ll-” you croaked out, latching onto the door handle - which would require sanitizing now, great - and pulled it open. 

“No missing cats,” JJ chuckled, continuing in a hushed tone, “though I am curious, what exactly were you planning on doing?” 

Nope. Not happening. 

Mirrors, unfortunately, very much existed, which was why you sure as hell knew you were one sight to behold. A neighbour seeing you in a heavily stained dressing gown, hair thrown into a messy bun, and not the cute kind, that'd be fine, normal even. Well, you’d like to think normally you didn’t look like someone who’d contracted some type of bug, but JJ seeing you like this. Very much not the same. So, you did the only thing you could. 

You shut the door in her face. 

“You’ll get sick.” You shouted, your voice sounding far too similar to that of a dying pelican, or any dying creature for that matter.

“Number one. You’re letting me in because I’m your girlfriend and it’s my legal obligation to look after you. Number two. I know how to break down a door. Number three. If you don’t let me in, I will break down your door.” 

“You gave me three points that were not relevant to what I said. You’ll. Get. Sick.” 

“Sorry, let me try again. Number one, you have ten seconds to open the door before I kick it down. How was that babe?” For someone stuck on the other side of a door, waiting to take care of a walking germ factory, it was quite astonishing to hear how peppy JJ was. 

Well; it was decided. It seemed there wasn’t ample room for negotiation, your front door’s life hanging in the balance and all. Knowing she wasn’t going to give up anytime soon, you hesitantly re-opened the door, peeking your head into the small open space. “If you could avoid looking at my face, that would be amazing.” 

“Oh shush, I’ve been face to face with a rotting corpse, more than once.” She stepped forward, foot pressing the door more and more ajar until there was enough space for her to slip in, during which you slugged back to the sofa and threw a blanket over your head.

“I’m not sure that was as comforting or reassuring as you wanted it to be.” It was true, comparing one’s likeness to a dead body wasn’t exactly flattering, in fairness, it may have been accurate; nevertheless, it remained a deflating thought.

JJ took her shoes and coat off, knowing where to put them, then walked over to join you, “Show me that face of yours.” She teased, pulling at the blanket. There she sat, next to you - looking stunning as ever - trying to rip away the one shred of dignity you had left. In your books, it seemed a direct declaration of war. 

“Would you stop that!” You pleaded. Too disoriented from the journey to the door and back, there was little fight left in you, making it too easy for the blonde to yank your fortress out of your weak grip, taking the single morsel of pride you had left with it to the floor. 

“There she is!” She beamed.

“I don’t think I like you anymore.” It was the fact your sulking face reached only her chest, warming it with pure adoration, that JJ remained impartial to the comment. Finding it more amusing than hurtful. 

“Well, that’s a shame, because I still like you and I’m not going anywhere. Guess you’ll just have to suffer in silence. Though, knowing you, you always have something to say.” She poked.

Disregarding the bantering jab, a traitorous smile crept onto your lips. The sight of your dishevelled face led you to believe JJ would run for the hills. She didn’t. In fact, she’d taken it upon herself, in her own way, to reassure you she felt the opposite. The declaration stunning you into silence, involuntarily gawking. 

“Are you going to let me look after you now?” She asked, trying not to laugh at the expression written all over your face. “If I get sick, you’ll just have to repay the favour and look after me.” 

“Then I’ll get sick again.” 

“We’ll be in an endless loop of domestic bliss then, won’t we?”

“Sounds heavenly.” You sardonically quibbed, earning yourself a swift elbow to the ribs. For dramatic effect, you let out a loud groan, which by no means did JJ buy, “There’s got to be a rule against that.” rubbing your ‘injured’ side. 

“I didn’t read the new edition of the ‘How to Look After Your Sick Girlfriend’ handbook, I go by the old rules.” She humoured, thinking it was quite a good comeback. Which it was, but she couldn’t know that. “It did mention something about snuggling up on the sofa though.”

Now that was a comeback that warranted appraisal. Unfortunately, in this case, appraisal came in the form of two flushed cheeks and a timid smile, both of which JJ, kindly, chose not to mention. Out-stretched arms guided you down, welcoming you into an embrace you swore had magical healing abilities. 

There was a slim chance of smelling anything – what with having a blocked nasal cavity - yet the sweet aroma of JJ’s hair made it through, whether it was a phantom smell, you didn’t care. Not when slender fingers worked on unbinding your tousled hair, running gentle strokes through stubborn knots that unfurled under her touch, much like you did. 

“You know you didn’t have to come?” The question came from a place of doubt, had the roles been reversed, you knew with certainty, you’d be doing the exact same. Regrettably, logic did nothing to cease your insecurities. 

“In sickness and in health, right?” she softly said, smiling down with so much devolution in her eyes you found yourself battling tears. 

“If you so much as think about proposing to me when I’m in this state, so help me JJ. I will sneeze so hard on you; you won’t see the light of day for weeks.” 

Putting her hands up in mock surrender, “I’ll save the love declaration for another day as well then.” 

But she didn’t. As she diligently re-convened her girlfriend duties, lulling you into a state of tranquillity Buddha would be envious of, rendering your headache near gone, three joyous words didn’t escape your grasps. 

Your eyes fluttered shut; safe in JJ’s arms, a declaration of your own filled the comfortable silence. “I love you too.” 

Tags: @criminallyobsessedcm @aws-l @babygirlscout | click here to be added to my taglist

[bluebelly-sun-serpentine]

Hello! Some info about this blog:

COMMON TAGS:

#bluebellyphotos (original photo posts)

#bluebellytalks (text posts and reblog comments)

#flora (plant and landscape photos)

#fauna (animal photos)

#arthropods (bugs and friends)*

#invertebrates (includes slugs and bugs and other critters)*

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FAQ:

What camera and lenses do you use?

I use a Sony A7Riv (a mirrorless digital camera) and most often I am using a 35mm prime lens (the FE 1.4/35 GM) or the less fancy but still serviceable 85mm prime (FE 1.8/85). I bought them all used off KEH, which I really recommend for anyone in North America trying to spend less money on gear. The majority of the photos posted here were made using that camera body and one of those two lenses, although I do occasionally use converters and lenses from old analog SLRs. I don't post my film work to this blog, but if you want to know about analog cameras and film photography, shoot me an ask.

Where was this photo taken?

After deliberating for a long time, I made a decision to not share geolocative information with my photos unless I was making a larger text post about the area and its history. I remember the world before geotagging and instagram, and I have really mixed feelings about – on some level – reducing the landscapes and lifeways I cherish to their aesthetics. While I do trust most of you to treat the places you visit with care, I've also seen a lot of trampled superblooms and summit queues for that one perfect shot. So if I'm going to tell you where something is, I also want to include information about why that place is so special. Unfortunately, most of the time I am too tired to write something long enough to do the place justice.

How do you edit your photos? Do you use presets, and if so, which ones?

For years this has been my workflow: I import everything into Adobe Lightroom Classic, which I like for its organizational capacity more than anything else. I built my own presets, each for specific lighting conditions, weather conditions, and landscape types, which I apply as photos come in. Then I do a second pass and make adjustments on each photo. I may share preset packages at some point – I just have to get around to it. I delete a lot of work, because the Sony a7riv files are enormous. I export everything for tumblr at or below 2000 pixels on the long edge, so the file sizes you guys see are comparatively small (want a larger file for some reason? send me an ask). I do work with photoshop as well, but generally not for the photos I post to this blog. I have been considering moving everything over to Darktable, which is open source.

NEW FOLLOWERS:

I get a lot of bot followers. If your blog has a profile pic, a header image, and some text in your info section that was clearly written by a human I’m much less likely to accidentally block you. I don't need you to list identity information or post a picture of yourself (I am glad you protect your privacy). Even just changing your blog’s colors can help signal you are human to other tumblr users, but if you get blocked it's almost certainly because you looked like a bot and I was going through the motions of clearing them out. If I notice your blog posting AI content I will block you even if you appear to be human and friendly. My only real aim with bluebelly-sun-serpentine is to encourage us all to pay attention to the world around us and to celebrate what that attention can do to connect us to all kinds of life, and I feel like ai is just kind antithetical to that, so I do my best to keep it off my dash.