#crab spider? spring

[textless]

[lost-harts]

June 2021

[nattousan]

i love people's willingness to get hype over dumb shit.

I was driving home today and pull up to a light. As i'm slowing down i 👁️👁️ lock 👁️👁️ eyes with the dude in the car next to me. I spring into action, this is the moment I've been waiting for.

Now, something you must know about me is I drive around with several small plastic 🦀crabs 🦀 on my dashboard, One: for the whimsy of it all and two: on the off chance i encounter another driver who i think could benefit from witnessing them.

This young gentleman was one such someone.

As i pull up, as previously stated, our eyes lock and I hold up one☝️ finger☝️

Perplexed by my unprompted gesticulation, the young man rolls down his window, "what the devil could this perfect stranger be about to tell me?" he might have been thinking.

I present a singular dashboard crab, green and brown, homely but not without its charm.

I study his reaction, grinning encouragingly. He's nodding, obviously intrigued by my plasticine crustacean.

I wag my finger and shake my head, removing the crab from view. Confusion again, but he leans forward, invested. I have him now.

I grab my second dashboard crab, a rotund white and brown crab, easily the most beautiful of my crabs as it sports large discernible claws of an attractive size and silhouette.

✌️ TWO ✌️ i tell him.

He's cheering now, and rightly so, as these are delightful little beasts that anyone would be happy to encounter. But now comes the clincher, time to seal the deal.

My finger wags once more. He's awestruck, I have him completely enraptured. If a car had come and smeared us both into the pavement we would not have noticed, so wrapped up in my display were we.

I bring out my showstopper: a bright pink spider crab with delicately long legs the likes of which had never before nor since been seen in mid afternoon traffic.

As emphatically as i can express, I display all three of my dashboard crabs to this man, three fingers pressed triumphantly to the glass.

the guy is losing it in his car, mouth wide in what i assume to be a primal shout of crab derived excitement. His arms are pumping so vigorously its shaking his stationary vehicle.

We sit there, sharing in a moment of mutual jubilation, and then the light changes, and we move forward in line. He drives off, honking his horn in rapturous exultation,

and we part ways, exactly the same perhaps but changed nonetheless.

🦀

[unkn0wnvariable]

Running Crab-spider

A metallic sheened male running crab-spider, sitting in the sun on a buddleja leaf.

[thecupidwitch]

Elements And Their Correspondences

Earth

Direction: North

Time: Midnight

Season: Winter

Color: Green, brown

Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Ruling planets: Venus and Saturn

Tarot Cards: Pentacles, Coins

Tools: Pentacle, salt, stones, dirt, crystals, wood, flowers

Cystals: Emerald, Jet, tourmaline, quartz, onyx, azurite, amethyst, jasper, peridot, granite.

Animals: gopher, bear, wolf, ant, horse, stag, deer, dog, cow, bull, bison, snake, worms, moles, voles, grubs

Herbs: Oak, cedar, cypress, honeysuckle, ivy, primrose, sage, grains, patchouli, nuts, magnolia, comfrey, vetivert, moss, lilac, lichen, roots, barley, alfalfa, corn, rice.

Rules: Grounding, strength, healing, success, stability, sturdiness, steadfastness, foundations, empathy, fertility, death, rebirth, wisdom, nature, animals, plants, money, prosperity.

Water

Direction: West

Time: Dusk

Season: Fall

Color: Blue, Indigo, Sliver

Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Ruling planets: Moon, Neptune, Pluto

Tarot Cards: Cups

Tools: Ocean, sea glass, cup, bowl, seaweed, hag stones, cauldron

Cystals: Moonstone, pearl, silver, aquamarine, amethyst, blue tourmaline, lapis lazuli, fluorite, coral, blue topaz, beryl, opal, coral

Animals: fish, snake, frog, crab, lobster, eel, shark, dragonfly, seahorse, dolphin, sea otter, seal, whale, alligator, crocodile, beaver, octopus, penguin, salamander, turtle, starfish, koi, coral, barnacle, manta ray, manatee, jellyfish, nautilus, heron, duck, geese, crane, swan, water birds, ammonite, dragons, serpents

Herbs: seaweed, aloe, fern, water lily, lotus, moss, willow, gardenia, apple, catnip, chamomile, cattail, lettuce, kelp, birch, cabbage, coconut, cucumber, comfrey, eucalyptus, gourd, geranium, grape, licorice, lilac, pear, strawberry, tomato

Rules: emotion, intuition, psychic abilities, love, unconscious mind, fertility, self-healing, reflection, lunar energy, deep feelings, curses, death

Fire

Direction: South

Time: Noon

Season: Summer

Color: Red, Orange

Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Ruling planets: Sun, Mars

Tarot Cards: Wands or Swords (depends on belief system)

Tools: Athame, candles, swords, wands, dagger, lamp, flame

Cystals: Carnelian, red jasper, bloodstone, garnet, ruby, agate, rhodochrosite, gold, pyrite, brass, fire opal, lavastone, tiger's eye

Animals: Lion, snake, coyote, fox, ladybug, bee, shark, scorpion, horse, mantis, tiger

Herbs: Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, basil, cacti, marigold, chilis, garlic, mustard, nettle, onion, heliotrope, hibiscus, juniper, lime, orange, red pepper, poppies, thistle, coffee, jalapenos, lemon, cumin, saffron, coriander

Rules: Energy, will, destruction, strength, courage, power, passion, lust, sexuality, anger, war, new beginnings, protection, loyalty, transformation, action, movement, achievement, creativity, desire, willpower

Air

Direction: East

Time: Down

Season: Spring

Color: Yellow, gold, white, light blue, pastels

Zodiac: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Ruling planets: Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus

Tarot Cards: Wands

Tools: Feather, wand, staff, incense, broom, bell, sword, pen

Cystals: Amber, topaz, citrine, jasper, agate, pumice, alexandrite, amethyst, fluorite, mica, clear quartz

Animals: Birds, flying insects, spiders, bats

Herbs: Bergamot, lavender, marjoram, peppermint, sage, dandelion, bluebell, clover, frankincense, primrose, lemongrass, pine, aspen, yarrow, violets, vervain, myrrh, dill, anise, aspen

Rules: Intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, logic, thought, communication, truth, inspiration, intuition, memory, creativity

Tip jar

[castillon02]

Wade was on the couch, shoveling frito pie into his facehole, when Spidey crawled through the window, paused, cocked his head, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. 

Not Spidey’s usual M.O. 

Then Spidey made a lip-zipping motion at him and dropped from the wall to the floor. His shoulders and calves had tightened, and his movements jerked instead of slinked, his body ready to spring into motion. 

Hot. Mildly alarming, but hot. Spidey had sensed something.    

Wade moved over to the front door to secure their exit. Katanas: check. Guns: check. Frito pie: check. He kept eating. 

Spider-Man did a slow three-sixty, peering around the room, and froze with his eyes narrowed in the direction of Wade’s newest purchase: a Deadpool-themed boombox that Wade had found on Etsy. It had arrived just that morning. 

Wade was going to leave such a negative review if it turned out that his boombox was actually a bomb. Not one star—it had a tape deck, a CD player, and an AUX hook-up, and Wade was all about that retro shit—but definitely negative. Maybe two stars; who couldn’t appreciate the pun of a boombox that went boom? 

Spidey advanced on the boombox and ran his fingers over its surface like a snob testing the furniture for dust. Attached to his fingertip on the upswing lay a red square about the thinness of a gum wrapper and the breadth and height of a motherfucking electronic bug. 

“Christ on a pogostick dildo,” Wade muttered, setting his frito pie on the Javelin anti-tank missile launcher that had been delivered along with the boombox. 

He’d used his last bug detector as a bludgeon, and he kept going out to get a new one only to be distracted by one of the Big Apple’s tempting offerings: people to shoot, Spideys to please, tacos to eat, Spideys to please… Actually, maybe it was kind of appropriate that Spidey was the one helping him out here, given that he’d been so distracting. 

And given that… 

Heh. 

His name was Spider-Man. 

And he’d found a—

Found a b—

Wade made desperate crab pinching motions at Spidey. 

Spidey interpreted his hand signals like a boss and crushed the bug into itsy bits between his freakishly strong spider-digits. 

Wade squealed. “Holy exterminator, Spider-Man! You caught an actual-fact bug in your not-so-actual-fact web! Fly swatter, more like spy swatter!” 

“See, this is why I don’t tell people.” Spidey scratched at the back of his neck. 

Wade put his hand to his chest and batted his eyes even though only the bottom half of his face was visible. “Awww, and you told little old me?” It always made Wade’s heart grow three sizes when Spidey showed him one of his spidery secrets.  

Spidey shrugged. “I figured you’d want your ‘Workin’ 9 to 5’ serenades to be private.” 

Wade settled one hand on his cocked hip and put on a country accent. “I ain’t never got no shame over Ms. Parton, Websy.” 

“I was also trying to avoid mentioning the Nickelback.” Spidey gestured at the CD organizer next to the boombox, which was open to Now That’s What I Call Music! Volume 10. 

Now That’s What I Call Music! Volume 10 had Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” on it, and after the Britney Spears and JLo songs, Wade had definitely planned on belting out the “I SAID I LOVE YOU AND I SWEAR I STILL DO” and “SCREAM ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?” lines extremely loudly and emotionally, possibly before shooting himself. Not his ideal recording to have in the hands of his enemies. 

“Your sacrifice is appreciated, Spidey.”  

Spidey gave a sloppy salute. 

Wade narrowed his eyes. “Hang on. How do you know which songs are on that CD?” 

“Oh wow, some frito pie! And what’s that? I think my spider senses are tingling…” As he darted towards the window, Spidey webbed Wade’s bowl from the missile launcher to his hand. 

Wade wouldn’t be fast enough to catch him; instead, he lunged for the boombox and frantically inserted the CD. “Don’t think I don’t know what your 2002 jam is!” He mashed the skip button.  

Spidey hovered near the window, about to be hoisted by his own curiosity. “No way,” he said. “There’s twenty songs on that CD. No way you guess right.” 

“Oh, yeah? Well, listen TO THIS!” Wade stopped the disc on song 15. 

A piano melody started to play. 

“Oh my god,” Spidey said. He dropped the bowl onto the counter and his face into his hand.   

“Makin’ my way downtown, walkin’ fast, faces pass, and I’m homebound!” Wade sang along with Vanessa Carlton. He pointed at Spidey and walked over. “Starin’ blankly ahead, blankly ahead, making my way through the crowd…Take it, Spidey! Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh—”  

“And I need you!” Spidey stifled a laugh. 

“Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh—” Wade shoved the frito pie spoon, microphone-like, into Spidey’s hand. 

“And I miss you!” Spidey sang into the spoon. 

“Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh— chorus time, go!” 

Spidey leaned into the spoon. “AND NOW I WONNNDER…IF I COULD FALL…INTO THE SKY…” He tilted the spoon at Wade. 

“DO YOU THINK TIME…WOULD PASS ME BY…” 

They sang the rest together: “CAUSE YOU KNOW I’D WALK A THOUSAND MILES IF I COULD JUST SEE YOU…TONIGHT.” 

“Hey,” Wade said after their duet ended. The dulcet sounds of Celine Dion (song number 16) faded into the background, helped by his hand on the volume knob. “Could you check my bedroom for bugs, too?” 

Spidey sighed. “For electronic surveillance, Pool. Don’t get any ideas.” 

Wade crossed his heart (and his fingers behind his back). 

“But,” Spidey said, “even if the rest of the place is clean, maybe we should check the Switch for bugs too. You know. With the very advanced spider technique of playing it.” Spidey fidgeted. 

“Going once, going twice, SOLD, to the Deadpool with the color-coordinated boombox!” Wade mimed banging a gavel. 

Pretty good for a day in which Wade had been considering shooting himself to a Nickelback soundtrack. And Spidey ate all his frito pie, so he didn’t even have to deal with any gross leftovers! 

The next day, Wade did some investigating and posted his Etsy review: This seller attached an electronic monitoring device to the product, BUT someone threatened their family to get them to do it, so, what can you do, ammirite? Took out that trash for you btw, np. The CD player, tape deck, and AUX all work great, the speakers are nice and loud, and the design is chef-kiss. 5 stars for immaculate engineering, 0 stars for being unwilling to sacrifice the lives of your friends and loved ones for a faceless customer with a poop emoji in their username, 5 stars again for being bribed into letting me be a repeat client despite all the bloodstains. Looking forward to the Spider-Man-themed iPod with webby wired earbuds!  

Author's note: for those who don't know what frito pie is, it's basically corn chips with ground beef and cheese (and assorted miscellaneous) on top, kind of like nachos. Regardless of its status as a family dish, it is an absolutely bachelor kind of meal.

[cryptidclaw]

Cryptidclaw's WC Prefixes List!

Yall said you were interested in seeing it so here it is! 

This is a collection of mostly Flora, Fauna, Rocks, and other such things that can be found in Britain since that’s where the books take place! 

I also have other Prefixes that have to do with pelt colors and patterns as well!

Here’s a link to the doc if you dont want to expand a 650 word list on your Tumblr feed lol! the doc is also in my drive linked in my pined post!

below is the actual list! If there are any names you think I should add plz tell me!

EDIT: I will update the doc with new names as I come up with them or have them suggested to me, but I wont update the list on this post! Plz visit my doc for a more updated version!

Animals

Mammal

Badger

Bat

Bear

Beaver

Bison

Boar

Buck

Calf

Cow

Deer

Elk

Fawn

Ferret

Fox

Goat

Hare

Horse

Lamb

Lynx

Marten

Mole

Mouse

Otter

Rabbit

Rat

Seal

Sheep

Shrew

Squirrel

Stoat

Vole

Weasel

Wolf

Wolverine

Amphibians

Frog

Newt

Toad

Reptiles

Scale

Adder

Lizard

Snake

Turtle

Shell

Birds

Bird

Down

Feather

Albatross

Bittern

Buzzard

Chaffinch

Chick

Chicken

Coot

Cormorant

Corvid

Crane

Crow

Curlew

Dove

Duck

Dunlin

Eagle

Egret

Falcon

Finch

Gannet

Goose

Grouse

Gull

Hawk

Hen

Heron

Ibis

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestrel

Kite

Lark

Magpie

Mallard

Merlin

Mockingbird

Murrelet

Nightingale

Osprey

Owl

Partridge

Pelican

Peregrine

Petrel

Pheasant

Pigeon

Plover

Puffin

Quail

Raven

Robin

Rook

Rooster

Ruff

Shrike

Snipe

Sparrow

Starling

Stork

Swallow

Swan

Swift

Tern

Thrasher

Thrush

Vulture

Warbler

Whimbrel

Wren

Freshwater Fish 

Fish

Bass

Bream 

Carp

Dace

Eel

Lamprey

Loach

Minnow

Perch

Pike

Rudd

Salmon

Sterlet

Tench

Trout

Roach

Saltwater fish and other Sea creatures (would cats be able to find some of these? Probably not, I don't care tho)

Alge

Barnacle

Bass (Saltwater version)

Bream (Saltwater version)

Brill

Clam

Cod

Crab

Dolphin

Eel (Saltwater version)

Flounder

Garfish

Halibut

Kelp

Lobster

Mackerel

Mollusk

Orca

Prawn

Ray

Seal

Shark

Shrimp

Starfish

Sting

Urchin

Whale

Insects and Arachnids

Honey

Insect

Web

Ant

Bee

Beetle

Bug

Butterfly

Caterpillar

Cricket

Damselfly

Dragonfly

Fly

Grasshopper

Grub

Hornet

Maggot

Moth

Spider

Wasp

Worm

Trees

Acorn

Bark

Branch

Forest

Hollow

Log

Root

Stump

Timber

Tree

Twig

Wood

Alder

Apple

Ash

Aspen

Beech

Birch

Cedar

Cherry

Chestnut

Cypress

Elm

Fir

Hawthorn

Hazel

Hemlock

Linden

Maple

Oak

Pear

Poplar

Rowan

Redwood

Spruce

Willow

Yew

Flowers, Shrubs and Other plants

Berry

Blossom

Briar

Field

Flower

Leaf

Meadow

Needle

Petal

Shrub

Stem

Thicket

Thorn

Vine

Anemone 

Apricot

Barley 

Bellflower

Bluebell

Borage

Bracken

Bramble

Briar

Burnet

Buttercup

Campion

Chamomile

Chanterelle

Chicory

Clover

Cornflower

Daffodil

Daisy

Dandelion

Dogwood

Fallow

Fennel

Fern

Flax

Foxglove

Furze

Garlic

Ginger

Gorse

Grass

Hay

Heather

Holly

Honeysuckle

Hop

Hyacinth

Iris

Ivy

Juniper

Lavender

Lichen

Lilac

Lilly

Mallow

Marigold

Mint

Mistletoe

Moss

Moss

Mushroom

Nettle

Nightshade

Oat

Olive

Orchid

Parsley

Periwinkle

Pine

Poppy

Primrose

Privet

Raspberry

Reed

Reedmace

Rose

Rush

Rye

Saffron

Sage

Sedge

Seed

Snowdrop

Spindle

Strawberry

Tangerine

Tansy

Teasel

Thistle

Thrift

Thyme

Violet

Weed

Wheat

Woodruff

Yarrow

Rocks and earth

Agate

Amber

Amethyst

Arch

Basalt

Bounder

Cave

Chalk

Coal

Copper

Dirt

Dust

Flint

Garnet

Gold

Granite

Hill

Iron

Jagged

Jet

Mountain

Mud

Peak

Pebble

Pinnacle

Pit

Quartz

Ridge

Rock

Rubble

Ruby

Rust(y)

Sand

Sapphire

Sediment

Silt

Silver

Slate

Soil

Spire

Stone

Trench

Zircon

Water Formations

Bay

Cove

Creek

Delta

Lake

Marsh

Ocean

Pool

Puddle

River

Sea

Water

Weather and such

Autumn

Avalanche

Balmy

Blaze

Blizzard

Breeze

Burnt

Chill

Cinder

Cloud

Cold

Dew

Drift

Drizzle

Drought

Dry

Ember

Fall

Fire

Flame

Flood

Fog

Freeze

Frost

Frozen

Gale

Gust

Hail

Ice

Icicle

Lightening

Mist

Muggy

Rain 

Scorch

Singe

Sky

Sleet

Sloe

Smoke

Snow

Snowflake

Soot

Sorrel

Spark

Spring

Steam

Storm

Summer

Sun

Thunder

Water

Wave

Wet

Wind

Winter

Celestial??

Comet

Dawn

Dusk

Evening 

Midnight

Moon

Morning

Night

Noon

Twilight

Cat Features, Traits, and Misc. 

Azure

Beige

Big

Black

Blonde

Blotch(ed)

Blue

Bounce

Bright 

Brindle

Broken

Bronze

Brown

Bumble

Burgundy

Call

Carmine

Claw

Cobalt

Cream

Crimson

Cry

Curl(y)

Dapple

Dark

Dot(ted)

Dusky

Ebony

Echo

Fallen

Fleck(ed)

Fluffy

Freckle

Ginger

Golden

Gray

Green

Heavy

Kink

Knot(ted)

Light

Little

Lost

Loud

Marbled

Mew

Milk

Mottle

Mumble

Ochre

Odd

One

Orange

Pale

Patch(ed)

Pounce 

Prickle

Ragged

Red

Ripple

Rough

Rugged

Russet

Scarlet

Shade

Shaggy

Sharp

Shimmer

Shining

Small

Smudge

Soft

Song

Speckle

Spike

Splash

Spot(ted)

Streak

Stripe(d)

Strong

Stump(y)

Sweet

Tall

Talon

Tangle

Tatter(ed)

Tawny

Tiny

Tough

Tumble

Twist

Violet

Whisker

Whisper

White

Wild

Wooly

Yellow

[razehider]

a crab spider (Thomisus onustus) with her prey, a tachinid fly of some sort. these are one of several local crab spider species that hang out on flowers, changing their color as necessary to blend in, and probably my favorite as they are the largest by far. the fly itself was also massive and would've been a cool find on its own, but i probably wouldn't have been able to get a good shot if she wasn't holding it still for me

here she is the day after, presumably sated. i've seen a few T. onustus this spring but i'm especially fond of this one despite her hating my guts. this was not the only eventful meeting we had (she is still alive as of this post, these pics are about a month old), but that's a story for another time

[sitting-on-me-bum]

In Bulgaria’s western Balkan Mountains, a flower crab spider matches a spring pheasant’s-eye bloom in a color-change process that takes a few days. The arachnid is an ambush predator: It doesn’t build webs but lies in wait to pounce on its prey.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGI GEORGIEV

[crevicedwelling]

are there any omnivore arthropods or are they exclusively carnivore or herbivore?

roaches, various beetles, and isopods are the first that come to mind, but there are many, many others!

roaches, for example, are primarily adapted for digesting plant matter with a long digestive tract (termites are just a specialized family of roaches!) but many species love meat. I’ve used my Suriname and B. dubia roaches to eat the flesh off of bones for preservation. in the wild, these roaches would take advantage of carrion and other dead insects—Suriname roaches belong to a genus often found in bat caves, and they’ll spring on any downed sickly bats or fallen pups and eat them alive.

same with isopods! they can be surprisingly predatory things, both cannibalistic and eagerly eating carrion and weakened live animals. this is why any isopod larger than 5mm is a bad choice for a cleanup crew with an arthropod pet—they will devour it as it molts. many aquatic crustaceans like crayfish and crabs also are highly generalist and will pretty much eat any old organic material they can get their claws on.

ground beetles, darkling beetles, and rove beetles span a range from generalists that eat anything to specialists on fungi, plants, or animals. caterpillars can be surprisingly cannibalistic, like corn earworms in which the largest in an ear of corn devours its smaller siblings.

there’s also a lot of bugs that are more specialist carnivores that readily eat fruit, like giant centipedes! Lucinda here loved her bananas. some spiders will eat pollen that gets blown into their webs, and there’s even a species of jumping spider that only eats little nutrient packages it steals from a tree which grew them to feed its personal ant army.

in insects that molt, there can be a switch from larva to adult! many solitary and social wasps are parasitoids or predators that as larvae feed on other insects caught for them by their mothers (solitary) or siblings (social). when they mature, they mostly drink nectar because most wasps can’t digest solid matter as adults. a similar shift is seen with many flies—mosquitoes are filter-feeding larvae that mature into nectarivorous adults in which females need to take blood to lay eggs, and houseflies or flesh flies that feed on dung or carrion as maggots primarily drink nectar as adults as well.

a fun example of a shift in diet is the click beetles I’ve tried to keep. they feed on rotten wood for the first few weeks of their lives, and after gaining some size start a predatory lifestyle hunting other wood-boring grubs with sickle-shaped mandibles. after they mature, the adult beetles feed on sweet fruits and sap.

so yes, there’s no simple carnivorous/herbivorous split between arthropods. there are many omnivorous or detritivorous arthropods that typically eat a variety of foods, but more specialized predators or herbivores will also opportunistically meet their nutritional needs. and different lifestyles for larvae and adults mean that the same insect can use very different food sources throughout its lifespan!

[textless]

[amaiguri]

OC in 15 Tag Game

Thanks to the @the-down-upside-finch for the tag! It was forever ago and I think I need to redo my Tumblr intro to warn people that I do all my replies in bursts and I still love you all...

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

I will, of course, be honoring my beloved Arlasaire today with a combo of spoken dialogue and narration. That being said, I don't really write good out-of-context bangers lines lol -- everything only barely works because of the context. (I wish I was. I'm not that cool though.)

"And it was my fault! Because I wasn’t enough!"

"You don’t care about me."

"You don’t know me."

"Nesa… I warned Zal so I’ll warn you too: I’m not very good at relationships."

"…I’m not a lady. The Aftokratoria has stripped away our titles, remember?"

"I was just House d’Magnia’s ward. They took me in after a Dragonstorm burnt down my village. Fed me. Trained me. Gave me purpose."

On that first day after they found me, — back before I was “Arlasaire”— I’d been the one to kill the spider crabs chasing Lord Einharde’s second lieutenant.

"Lord Einharde embodied the House words with all his heart. “Eshew Axiom for Ascendancy.” This made him cold, but he was good to me."

His name rotted in my memory now.

"…The Arlasaire you knew a year ago would not have slaughtered anyone, if YOU had asked."

I felt the familiar knife twist in my chest. I stifled laughter. Euphoria. What a beautiful liar…

The Burned Maiden bled from the body and it was just the girl. Just me.

"And then… I fell for this priestess lady. We kissed. And then… she also tried to kill me."

"It is too cold and dark to be kind. Spring is not like this in the North. You have to actually wear clothes."

"You… like me? Are we… a thing?"

...Guys, Arlasaire's so edgy and angsty, omg. I swear, she's actually a huge softie underneath, she's just not feeling safe in the narrative... And familiar toxicity feels safe...

So YEAH! I'd like to gently tag @maiemorrae @spideronthesun @marigold-clouds @words-after-midnight @wordswrittenbynight @nemaliwrites @cee-grice @zebee-nyx @junypr-camus and @dragonprincedawn -- and if you've done this already, feel free to just link me to the thing. Or do it again! Whatever!

[imthepunchlord]

Ok so I got really bored and was re-reading some of your old posts and just decided to do this randomly

Clans:

Seasons:

Spring – Snake

Summer – Butterfly (a reference to A Mid-Summer's Night Dream)

Autumn – Bat

Winter – Owl

Rainbow:

Red – Dog

Orange – Fox

Yellow – Bee

Green – Frog

Blue – Wolf

Indigo – Turtle

Purple – Cat

Pink – Pig

Four Elements:

Fire – Rooster

Earth – Bull

Water – Fish 

Air – Ladybird (plays off the term ladybird and that idea of both wind and luck being everchanging)

Three Domains:

Sky – Eagle

Sea – Seahorse

Land – Rabbit

Celestial Bodies:

Sun – Panther (Lion/Tiger)

Moon – Deer

Mercury – Horse

Venus – Swan

Earth – Peafowl

Mars – Ram

Jupiter – Bear

Saturn – Mouse

Uranus – Raven

Neptune – Octopus

Pluto – Spider

No real context just did this for fun and decided to share it with you since your posts help me make it.

Interesting idea on how to group them up, and I will say, this would solve some issues.

Like, Eagle should match with air elementally, but it's also far more aggressive than air is (air is more freedom, levity, communication, and ideas while eagles are tied to strength, leadership, judgement, and justice). So tying it to sky domain over air makes a lot of sense, and it nicely works off Eagle regarded as the King of the Sky and All Birds.

The only thing that gives me pause is, well, what's the relations here? How do they work off each other? What are the unique roles that each group does or what is even unique about them? Is it just working off themes that group them up and nothing else? Is there a power pyramid? And if so, what counts as powerful? Usually it'd be the smallest group, but celestial bodies would point to divinity, so should be pretty OP.

And given all of these themes, I feel the absence of a Zodiac, given they're usually tied to seasons, stars, and the flow of time. Issues though, I don't want to do the Chinese Zodiac as animula aren't meant to be tied to one specific country, and I'm not certain if I do want to include the more eastern animals. I don't want to do Greek given that would mean doing a Scorpion and Crab. I don't really want to make a crab animula, and Scprion, given symbolism and mythology, has a lot of negatives that I feel it wouldn't be considered. There is the supposed Celtic Zodiac, but I've also seen claims that it's not official and just made up, but I've also seen that we have limited info on Celts as they didn't write stuff down and we got biased views from Roman records so

I could try and do an original Zodaic but idk how well that'd even go over. And if I kept all these groups and do a Zodiac, that would be 12-13 additional animals.

Either way, there are some good ideas here on how to group of the animula, but I need something defined, especially on these group relations and why are they even in groups instead of lumped together, what roles do each play?

[yearningaces]

something that’s been rattling in my brain is nyx who’s human has a pet/pets. definitely not a dog or cat but maybe something like a bird? small reptiles? i definitely think he’d like fish and insects, probably rodents too. i love your work and hope your doing well!

NGL he vibes with rodents

Mice and rats are his besties, guinea pigs make him hop around them in excitement(think the way a cat springs around something, fumbling rolling jumping) etc

Fish, he will sit and watch, the more colorful or intriguing the more he watches. His babies.

Insects are hit or miss though

If they're out of his garden he will treat every insect like a kitten, cooing lovingly, carrying them in his lil hands if they get inside, no fear

Anything eating his herb and veggies garden will know death however

If you have a pet that's like these? They're his babies now, sorry. Co-parenting the jumping spiders and mice and hermit crab. Your children, he has the Christmas cards ready

[onenicebugperday]

@goat-yells-at-everything submitted: We were on track for spring with warming weather and budding trees.

Then the temps dropped to 0 and we got a ton of snow.

I think that's why this little friend decided to move into my bathroom.

I think they're a type of crab spider? Central Illinois. Very pretty bum markings.

Yes, it's a crab spider! Probably a bark crab, but possibly a ground crab.

[gutz4gorey]

Associations for [Sven]!

animal: Hen, Crab, turtle.

colors: dark blue, baby blue, pure white.

month: july

songs: “Kill Bill” by SZA, “Prom Queen” by Beach Bunny, “Backstabber” by Kesha.

number: 4

plants: baby’s breath, spider plant, white carnation.

smells: aloe vera, vinyl records, someone else’s sweatshirt.

gemstone: diamond.

time of day: 4:00 pm.

season: spring.

places: home, house parties, playgrounds.

food: salmon, chicken nuggets, spaghetti.

drinks: sangria, white wine, chamomile tea.

element: water

astro sign: cancer

seasoning: sea salt, black pepper, sugar.

sky: overcast.

weather: gentle rain.

magic power: healing kiss.

weapon: halberd.

social media: Tumblr.

makeup product: blush.

candy: chocolate truffles.

travel: sailboat.

art style: knitting.

fear: agoraphobia.

myth: The Golden Apple.

stationery: crayons.

emojis: 🤒💞🍼

celestial body: Moon.