#european wolf spider

[wooly-nooly]

European Wolf Spider!

Was on the wall of my house!

It's not the biggest I've seen but it's big enough to scare someone with arachnophobia! 😈

OMG WOLF SPIDERS ARE SO COOL

they are also terrifying, that leg to body ratio is unsettling, BUT SO COOL

I was curious as to whether or not there was a difference between wolf spider and European wolf spider and it turns out theres not, wolf spiders are just super common in alot of Europe

also, why do you sound like you’re about to put this in the pillow of someone with arachnophobia 🤨

[calochortus]

Sand Bear Spider (Arctosa perita) 1 of 3 by Will Atkins Via Flickr: another example of wonderful camouflage from the animal kingdom, this spider blends perfectly with the sand grains on heaths and dunes across Europe. A smaller relative of the impressive Northern Bear Spider (Arctosa cinerea).

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

There are two wolves inside me having a battle: one wolf that says I should make the mermaid form of a character into an interesting and in this case an extremely fitting animal (diving bell spider) and one that says I should listen to my heart anyway and make the mermaid form of a character my favourite aquatic invertebrate that’s also sort of sensible but not as much but it’s my favourite though (European crayfish)

[aaronsrpgs]

"Ancient World Fantasy" Reading List

(A little context to start. If you just want book recs, scroll on down to the first image.)

As I’ve been getting into RuneQuest (Wikipedia link), one striking component of the culture and community surrounding the game is that they’re very into the lore of its fictional world, Glorantha. I’m saying this as a comparison to a game like D&D, where the game is spread across tons of settings with no real sense of obligation to keep things in line with earlier editions.

Glorantha’s canon and worldbuilding has been going on since it was published in 1978 without, as far as I can tell, any big reboots. Which means that, unlike D&D, where people are bringing in all kinds of influences and doing direct adaptions of Jane Austen books and whatever, the RuneQuest game remains pretty tightly tied to the original setting. (There have been some exceptions. But not many!)

But since I run games for people who have ADHD or aren’t interested in studying up, I’ve been looking at all kinds of inspiration to drop into the game. Here are 20 novels that are roughly “ancient world” or “Bronze Age” like RuneQuest and deal with people interacting with strange gods, tight communities, and a world without fast overland travel or transferal of information.

I’m presenting them alphabetically by author’s last name.

The Brazen Gambit, Cinnabar Shadows, The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King by Lynn Abbey

I'm sorry for starting this post off with licensed RPG novels, but these are good! And I don't mean "good for licensed RPG novels." I've read tons of them, and most are so bad! But these are actually fun. Good character development in a sword-and-sorcery world. It's also an ecological apocalypse world, with godlike beings oppressing common folks, leading to a lack of technological advancement and knowledge of the past.

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bentsson

Written in the 1940s as a series of novellas, these stories take you on a tour of the Viking-era world, from Europe to the Middle East and beyond. Like a bunch of books on this list, this places them post-Bronze Age, so they're not officially "ancient world." But it gives a big spread of cultures, from the more clan-based Vikings to the bustling metropolises of Turkey. And it doesn't place any of them on any kind of linear advancement scale or whatever other gross way people "rate" cultures.

Tales of Nevèrÿon and Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany

The master of weird sci-fi and gay historical novels, Chip Delany also wrote a fantasy epic. And it rules! Set on pre-historical(ish) Earth, these books describe the stories that maybe inform the myths we tell today? Dragons and slave revolts! A sort of "What if Game of Thrones was good?" series. Lots of good stuff about how people learn and how understanding expands.

I'm not listing the third book only because it's also a historical look at New York during the AIDS epidemic. It's an amazing book! But it strays from the "ancient world" aesthetic.

Baudolino by Umberto Eco

Another novel expressly set after the Bronze Age (this one starts in the 12th century). BUT it's about Medieval people's interaction with the knowledge they inherited from the past, specifically the myth of Prester John and the works of Herodotus.

I think I keep putting books like this on the list because roleplaying in a fantastical ancient world is not too far off from how Medieval people might have worshipped and referenced works from ancient Rome and non-European places.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James

One of our best living writers! These are fantasy novels expressly set in a fantastical version of ancient/Medieval Africa. The books explore the same events from multiple points of view and are full of cool magic, awesome spirit combat, and a vast number of places and cultures that actively deconstructs most games's portrayal of fantasy Africa as a homogeneous place.

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth

I think Kingsnorth has been outted as a sort of eco-fascist? I totally believe it, so feel free to skip this one. It's a historical novel set in England in 1066, as the Normans invade from France. It's written in a faux Middle English language and focuses on the lower classes and how they try to resist the invasion. A good reminder that "Medieval culture" (and especially the Renaissance as a time that "culture advanced") is often based on certain classes of society, such as rich people and/or men.

Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness

Speaking of how class intersects with technological advancement, this book is set in the 18th century, but it focuses on Iceland at a time when it was ruled by Denmark, and the lower classes there were under an enforced poverty. It's a book about how a rich Icelander was trying to recover the stories of his people in order to create a sense of national identity and resistance. But it's also a story about how a destitute man acts like a total weirdo when he's not allowed to fish in his own waters and is cut off from understanding his place in history.

The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie

A big part of RuneQuest is people interacting with and enacting their gods. That's what this book is about! And it's about the strange vertigo that comes to people when they try to interact with the impossible timelines that gods exist on. Very good stuff.

Night's Master and Death's Master by Tanith Lee

Ostensibly set on Earth back when it was flat and demons roamed the world, which is basically RuneQuest. Sort of like a series of hornier, gay bibles? With lots of gender fuckery, fun sex, and cool monsters.

Circe by Madeline Miller

The story of the witch from The Odyssey, told from her point of view. Beautiful prose, tragic and beautiful characters, and a great share of mythical strangeness. Perfect if you want to learn how to run NPCs that are adversaries without being shallowly evil.

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

Semi-Medieval again, but low class and vague enough that it could exist throughout ancient history. The daughter of a robber grows up in a tower full of robbers and generally has a wonderful time. Lots of weird monsters live in the woods, and there's a great starcrossed romance with someone from a rival robber gang. Perfect inspiration if you're running some cattle-raiding runs in RuneQuest; this is how to make robbers fun and sympathetic.

Read the book, watch the 1984 Swedish movie (which includes a great comedic scene of full-frontal dudity), and then watch the Studio Ghibli series.

A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar

Set in a world of pepper farmers and religious fanatics who worship a mysterious inscribed stone, these books do a great job of showing how people might interact with religion, rival cults, and mystery rites. It also portrays literacy and learning to read in places where it's gated behind social gatekeeping. And once again, the prose is beautiful.

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, The Palm-Wine Drinkard is a funny, hallucinogenic story about getting drunk, stumbling through weird landscapes, and encountering fantastical spirits and people.

Tutuola also wrote My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the inspiration for the famous(?) David Byrne/Brian Eno album. I haven't read it yet, but I'm keeping an eye out!

The Green Pearl by Jack Vance

This is a sequel to Lyonesse, which I haven't read because I love staring in the middle of things. Set around a mythical British Isles when Atlantis was still above the sea and part of the group of islands. Some great wizard shit, warring clans, romance, and a wizard whose name is fucking Shimrod (in case you need more convincing).

Those are my 20 novel recommendations! I'm gonna come back to add some nonfiction, comics, and myth resources for running games in fantastical ancient worlds. You can read SpeedRune, my ancient fantasy game, here.

[poorly-drawn-cryptids-homestuck]

Bestiary

John Egbert -> Púca or pooka, is a creature of Celtic folklore, are Fae tricksters and shapeshifters, who take the appearances of horses, goats, cats, dogs, and hares. They can also take a human form, which includes various animal features, such as ears or a tail.

Rose Lalonde -> Eldritch / Warlock, A being that is strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie. As well as a warlock, one who also practices magic, power fulled by an outside source.

Dave Strider -> Harpy In Greek and Roman mythology, is a half-human and half-bird. Often sirens look harpies and are conflated. So for this au, this harpy is able to sing songs to lure prey.

Jade Harley -> Werewolf or lycanthrope, in folklore, can shape-shift into a wolf (or wolf-like creature), on the night of a full moon. Jade is also a Witch, a woman who practices magic.

Jane Crocker -> Faerie, Fae, or sprite in Celtic Folklore, is a creature with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities. and a penchant for trickery

Roxy Lalonde -> Wizard Tressym is a cat-like Monstrosity and a practitioner of magic.

Dirk Strider -> Dullahan in Irish folklore, is depicted as a headless rider on a black horse, who carries his own head. often seen as a symbol of death.

Jake English -> Bigfoot or Sasquatch, in American and Canadian folklore, is a large and hairy human-like mythical cryptid alleged to inhabit forests in North America.

Aradia Megido -> Mothra, a Japanese based Kaiju depicted as a large moth. To be conflated with Mothman, a West Virginian cryptid, for the sake of this au. Currently a Ghost, a spirit of the dead that can appear to the living.

Tavros Nitram -> Minotaur, in Greek mythology, is a creature portrayed with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man.

Sollux Captor -> Cross roads Demon, found in several folklore, religion, and literature, are often malevolent supernatural entities, who collect souls.

Karkat Vantas -> Cherub Angel, in religion, is an unearthly being. For this au they are similar to cupid. Winged beings who match make. please note that this au will NOT be referencing christianity heavily for this.

Nepeta Leijon -> Nekomata, in Japanese folklore, are a type of yokai, depicted as a shapeshifting cat with two tails. while they can take any form, they will always have the tails.

Kanaya Maryam -> Vampire, in European folklore, are undead humanoid creatures that subsists by feeding on the blood of the living. often able to shapeshift into a bat. and unable to go out in the sun.

Terezi Pyrope -> Dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. This one is a western dragon, often depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire.

Vriska Serket -> Arachne / Jorōgumo. In Greek myth, Arachne is a woman turned into a spider by Athena. In Japanese myth, Jorōgumo are often yokai of a half woman half spider. please note Vriska is not a yokai nor is she Arachne... she is simply a half woman have spider creature, likened to these two examples.

Equius Zahhak -> Centaur, in Greek mythology, is a creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse

Gamzee Makara -> The bogeyman is a creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters. In this case, they look like a clown.

Eridan Ampora -> Selkie, in Celtic and Norse mythologies, are creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms. For this au, Eridan is part seahorse instead, and often takes the form of a elf instead.

Feferi Peixes -> Leviathan. A very large sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. Feferi is also likened to a mermaid / siren, when not the size of 10 whales.

[fangswbenefits]

So, some spider sex facts!

The biggest one is that all things considered, being a male spider kinda sucks for most species. Their lives consist of desperately try to fuck, and then die pretty soon after. (Sometimes the female they just mated with just straight up eats them. It's not super common though. Also the size of male vs female is absurd. The guys are so tiny)

Courting rituals vary between species, so you'll have orb weavers who pluck and tap rhythmically on the webs in an attempt to indicate a. That they're not prey and b. Try to get the female to accept them. If successful the male will pat and stroke the female before sex. Wolf and jumping spiders rely on sight and will wave their pedipalps (the organ male spiders use to initiate sex) in a sort of dance to see if the female is interested. The european nursery spider will actually search out a female, go and catch a fly (or sometimes grab a pebble) wrap it in silk and present it to her so he can have sex while she's eating.

Female spiders actually have spots inside their body for storing sperm, so they actively get to choose which partner gets to fertilize their eggs. Multiple partners common, though some females simply have sex with the same mate repeatedly. Some species will actually make noises while having sex if the male is doing something she doesn't like, and he'll respond to it eagerly since it ups the odds of being chosen as sire to the spiderlings.

Going back to the orb weaver family specifically for a moment, sometimes the silk threads of a web is infused with pheromones from the female that gives wandering males an idea of her health and maturity.

Uh, there are more facts but I'm v tired and need to sleep dkfkdkwjjfj

Thank you so much for your service, my friend 👀📝

[absoluteocellibehavior]

The Web Avatars and Their Corresponding Spiders

This is an idea I came up a little bit ago when scrolling through the TMA wiki. So, many of the canon Web avatars are already associated with certain spiders like Annabelle Cane as the Black Widow or Raymond Fielding's episode being called "Recluse" for a Brown Recluse. So, what if each Web avatar (and some specially marked non-Web Avatars) each had a spider associated with them. These spiders manifest in places that the avatar wants them to be and gives them a general sense of what is going on in the room that they are in. The more advanced avatars will be able to control them more and take in more information from their spiders. Here is the list so far (I will avoid putting pictures up for those with arachnophobia, but I do recommend looking them up as they are all so cool): Orion Cerebri - Pretty Orb Weaver Thea Brooks - Sheepy Jumping Spider Barnabas Lukas-Bennett - Regal Jumping Spider. Manphy Lukas-Bennett - Tiny Blue-Faced Peacock Jumping Spider. Cillian Fanshawe Callaghan - European Nursery Web Spider Dr. Jonathan Callaghan Fanshawe - Skeletorus Peacock Jumping Spider Father Ignis Callaghan - Cross Orb Weaver Father Edwin Burroughs - St. Andrew’s Cross Spider Adonis - Dancing White Lady Spider Venari - Huntsman Spider Annabelle Cane - Black Widow Raymond Fielding - Brown Recluse Jasper Alder - Ant-Mimicking Jumping Spider Nell Keelin - Peacock Jumping Spider John Doe - Sparklemuffin Peacock Jumping Spider Arthur Lester - Bunny Harvestman Charlie Dowd Detective Noel Finley - Tuxedo Wolf Spider Kayne - Long Horned Orb Weaver

As always, I would love to talk about the relation of these spiders to these characters. If you want more of the funky things me and my friends have added to the TMA universe (and other podcasts as well), please check out the tag #ocelli expansion pack !

[edennill]

RoP S2E1 reactions:

Why is Sauron already pretty? What does he even need that for with orcs? I doubt he's that interested in good looks when he's not trying to trick elves or men.

Okay... that speech is ridiculous; what is he even trying to convince the orcs of? Although I guess they did serve morgoth under duress so maybe he does need to gain either their confidence or fear.

The speech makes a poor impression overall. Neither intimidating nor frightening, makes a B-movie impression.

"Many of you will die" xd

Sauron combing his hair back though lollll

Why, oh why is Sauron kneeling!!!?? This is not an European monarchy. That orc is no one to him.

I will admit that the setting of this conversation in the Forodwaith is logical. Figures the remnants of Morgoth's armies might be lying low in the North.

Ides of March!

Oopsie. Now he desintegrated.

What would Sauron even need to have blood for?

"What's that" "Probably the Watcher in the Water (wrong but nvm)" "Phew I thought it was a spider" "I'd prefer a spider" "Maybe you're right"

"I've done evil." Oh wow. Genius, are you.

You wouldn't be that understanding if you knew it was Sauron lol.

Chosing good /s

Lil bro: Did they just gallop all the way from Eregion??

Not-gil-galad my beloathed

"archhhh" lol :/

"Last leaf will fall" bullshit

Poor attempt of paralleling Elwing imo, but kudos for trying .

Sauron caught by orcs? Ridiculous, but good riddance at least.

Are you Moses or something

"There is some evil upon this land that fools our path." Or you're just bad at finding one. "Panic is the fools meal..." (Who just brought up some mysterious evil? The full quote is ridiculous btw.)

You don't have to eat — ah, okay. The wolf trick is smart enough.

Cirdan isn't half-bad. For once.

"You do your father proud" 🥲

Eeesh the wandering song was integrated into the plot so clumsily...

Nori has a good actress but I hate the Harfoot plotline.

Don't bastardise the words of Galadriel's song :(((

The elves have neat clothes though. Except the strange veiled women.

WHY is the tree glowing??? I don't think I have to explain why this is so weird in this context.

Phew, it stopped.

Is Mirdania even a plausible female elvish name? Seems like Mirdan with a weird ending.

[variksenpesa]

SUFFER DOES THE WOLF, CRAWLING TO THEE

Variksenpesä

Welcome to the crow's nest. I'm a Finnish pagan and shapeshifter. Call me Varis or Crow!

Basically DNI if you're easily creeped out, but also don't interact if you're a creep, and no Endos. I'm not offended if you block me.

I'm a side blog for @koirankusema666 and I'm going to talk about the more darker and uglier side of my nonhumanity on here. Beware, I talk about spiders and other bugs, and some unpopular food instincts as well.

My pronouns are she/it.

Kins:

- Arachnids, especially black widow spiders and scorpions.

- Bugs in general.

- Corvids, especially hooded crows.

- Snakes, especially common european adders.

- Scary and Eldritch horror goats and sheep.

- Black or melanistic animals in general.

These are animals that can mentally, emotionally and physically represent me. My mascot is Mephala, an evil goddess from the Elder Scrolls series. I like goth aesthetics. I am a crafter by heart. I like taxidermy, bones, magic and the metaphysical world. I believe I'm some sort of a hiisi, or evil Finnish spirit.

Tags list:

Spiders, Arachnids, bugkin, tw spider, tw scorpion etc...

I can also tag about random things like blood, bones, taxidermy, wet specimens, dead bugs and animals!!

Decay, mushrooms, honeycombs may also get brought up. As well as

Darkness, death and satanism and such.

Physical nonhumanity

Please do NOT reality check me. Engaging in my delusions will not led to any harm. I have frequent contact with healthcare professionals.

[basaltbutch]

You mentioned that you've pulled counts spiders out of your hair. Any highlights? Any tips for spider removed technique?

yeah bc i insist on having long and curly hair despite being an outdoor worker so shit's always getting in my hair, especially during any overnight trips where im sleeping outdoors. usually its leaves/twigs/moss/bits of desert but living things also often wind up in there!! having long hair is an excellent shield against mosquitoes and biting flies so those end up in there the most often + it makes it really easy to kill them.

as for highlights, jumping spiders are always a pleasant treat to find, and ive had one or two really big wolf spiders. last trail i worked on i had a snakefly with really pretty iridescent wings! top one ever has been a european praying mantis, i love those guys a lot and it was funny to look over and see one chilling in my hair.

as for spider hair removal—or handling in general—something to keep in mind is that we are many magnitudes bigger than spiders—our bodies are whole landscapes compared to theirs, and imagine if the mountains started moving to pick you up or swat at you. you really want to go slow and methodical with any small critter, with no sudden movements. if they're tangled in my hair i like to use one hand to cup them gently & prevent them from jumping or skittering off and making things worse, and then another to untangle them.

[dadmareau]

Please please please tell me all the nicknames for Nightmare's lackeys and who's who

I'd do the fairytale renditions of each, but I'd get wayyy too carried away LOL. I may change these at any time, but I'm planning on certain theme of death throughout the figures-however, it's not my specialty and I don't want to butcher them, so I may stick to more well-sourced or well-known figures of fairytale/folklore.

The Pale Knight - Cross (usually accompanied by a white horse)

The Wolf - Horror (also the Clever or Patient Wolf)

The Headless Horseman - Dust (LMAO)

Killer's is still undecided, but likely the Fox.

If Error is mentioned, probably the Spider.

If Ink is mentioned, probably the Coyote.

Since three out of four of the Gang have a (if I am correct) European origin, I may change Killer from the Fox to match. I've been looking into Celtic and Irish folklore for any trickster spirits associated with death, but I've still yet to really delve.

Ink and Error are unrelated to the Gang. But I do note that Anansi the Spider is a good favorite inspiration for Error. The Coyote for Ink fits particularly well for being a trickster and creation mytho.

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

hii! saw your matchmaker-thingy js now and instantly KNEW I had to try it out lmao. I’m kinda scared

I’m abt 156cm tall (5’1” I think), have brown eyes n brown hair and am mixed (Vietnamese-Swiss-English), I got like a short wolf cut. I have some scars on my hands and legs, some sh scars on my forearms and stretch marks on my thighs.

Uhh idk I can talk abt literally anything (deeptalk>>>) & am an animal lover. my first language is German, I also speak Swiss German and English (obvi) but also a bit Vietnamese and Norwegian. I grew up with mostly Asian culture, together with European culture and really love rice, duck, seafood and summer rolls. My social battery goes low rlly fast but I love being around the ppl I trust, my love language is physical touch. If not lazy, I can do absolutely crazy shit but I don’t like illegal stuff or shit o could get in serious trouble for.

I’m bisexual n female (she/they) but rather lean towards men, I love to draw and sketch and paint and all that stuff, also like crystals and taxidermy (only non-animal abuse (idk the word) stuff yk) and books. My hobbies r drawing, reading, writing, and I wanna start with boxing or some other martial art soon. I used to play hockey, and also play the guitar (acoustic)

Also I self-diagnosed w autism n probably(?) social anxiety since my parents would never let me get tested 👍. If u take me on walks, I WILL take any cool shit that I find and take it home. No, this old cassette is not trash, it is a treasure.

My music taste is absolutely everything but the stuff that I don’t like, but my fav artists r the Neighborhood, The Weeknd, Lil Peep, TJ Beastboy, the Crane Wives, Alex G, TV Girl, Flawed Mangoes, McCafferty and the Front Bottoms

My fav colors r black, green and blue, also I think with the ppl I’m comfortable around I WILL constantly be touching em in some way like hand on shoulder or elbows/knees touching yk. Sometimes energetic, but when my social battery has run out you can drag me through a hangout.

DC, sbg, tadc, spider-man and CoD fan, also if you’re racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic or transphobic, please go fuck yourself 🫶🏼, I support/accept furries and therians and cosplayers, Satanists and pagans/wiccans as much as Muslims and Christians, Jews as well as Hindu or Buddhist ppl

I LOVE js going outside to hangout n do dumb shit, play fighting>>>, n maybe pick flowers

Soo that was it lmao idk if this is informative or just bs

Also ty<333 if u actually make a match for me

(Also because you write so much you get an analysis)

Your DC Universe Ship: Jason Todd

Explanation: starting off with your appearance, I think that he would find you very attractive and I think as kind of a head canon of myself I think that he finds shorter people attractive because I don’t know. I feel like he just likes to kind of feel like he has that power maybe or I don’t know. I just think he makes it think it makes you look adorable even if you can very well kill someone I just I don’t know. I think he really likes having a shorter partner, additionally I don’t think he would mind Scars because he has plenty of his own. I think he would definitely find stretch marks that might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that Jason Todd would definitely stretch marks attractive. He thinks it’s insanely cool that you can speak multiple languages and would probably want to try and learn some of them that he doesn’t know himself. I also think that he can maybe speak a little bit of German aside from English and I don’t know I just think he seems like the type of guy that would learn like a little bit of language like German or Russian. You can talk about anything and you talking about things with him out the opposite he doesn’t really talk as much about that kind of stuff and I don’t think that you guys would be really compatible in that way because you could get him to talk about anything which is something that not a lot of people can do so congrats. He loves it whenever you make food for him or whenever you can recommend different restaurants or things because I think he’s definitely a foodie and would appreciate having different culture food. I think that he’s has a pretty high spice tolerance. He gets the social battery thing but he’s slightly hypocritical, because whenever he wants alone time, he gets it. But if you want it…. He may just follow you around and hope you don’t notice.  but in terms of your social battery running out for other people he would completely understand and most likely you would have trouble dragging him to Social events. I think that he would find your hobbies fascinating, and I think that he would love watching you do taxidermy and the whole process of it. He would ask a lot of questions about or is Benny as he’s interested in asking and I feel like he would also love the fact that you’re an artist because he’s never really been much of an artist himself. I feel like he’s more if he would be anywhere in art I feel like he would be more musician and, he loves the fact that you can play the guitar and thinks that it’s really cool. If you ever expressed interest in martial arts several and is the equivalent of a belt and most of them because he was shoved so much martial art training whenever he was trying to become Robin so I’m sure that he would be happy to teach you, but he would totally make fun of you if you messed up like in a teasing, friendly, loving way, but still. He would think he was as if you could somehow win against him in a fight. He probably let you win, but I don’t know. I think he’d find that hot. He also really likes reading and writing. I think he likes reading way more than writing but I think he’s probably written poetry before that he’s never really shown anyone and he’s like embarrassed of it but you know I think he really does love reading and would totally like read the same book with you if he was interested in it and talk about it with you. I think he thinks it’s pretty cute and also pretty cool that you find just random stuff off the street and it’s like treasure to you. I just think that he really values that in a person, especially because he grew up on the street and knows more than anything that materialism isn’t always where you find your treasure. I think he wouldn’t mind your music taste, and like some of it, but he definitely is more leaning into like Dad rock type of things and I think that he could still enjoy some classic TV girl though I don’t think he’d be like super big about music, but I definitely feel like if you were playing a song that he didn’t like as much he would instantly turn on like the rock station or something.

He’s definitely a “ I’m driving so I can control the radio” type of guy. I think it would take him a while to grow comfortable with touching in a relationship, but you’re usually the one exception to someone who will he allows to touch him and you’re the one person who quickly gained his trust to which is an unusual trade for him, but I feel like you would be kind of the one exception as to a person he would feel comfortable with being physical because he knows how much you enjoy physical contact, and that it’s your love language. I don’t see him as a generally like physical person, but I feel like you could change that like with you it’s different. He also thinks that the fact that you pick flowers is very very, very, very cute and would probably be reluctant and say that he doesn’t like it, but he very secretly likes it whenever you make him like a flower crown or something or put a flower in his hair. He also arguing over shit and I feel like you guys definitely have a lot of arguments turning into make out sessions type of relationship and play fighting with. Also turn into make out sessions. I mean, y’all are just like all over each other all the time and the rest of the family has to stand there like 😑 but you guys don’t like flirt with each other you guys like tease each other and that’s how you flirt so that’s that’s just the vibe I get from your relationship anyway I ship it

and I’m so sorry for taking this long to complete this. I’ve been really really really really really busy and yeah, I had to shut down my shit asks for a bit because of the fact that I was getting so overwhelmed and getting so many so I really hope this did it justice!!! Much love Pookie bear ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Are There Evil Animals?

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/are-there-evil-animals/

There’s a great discussion over on BlueSky about animal species unfairly seen as villains. Folks are posting pictures of species that we feel get a bad rap (I chose to highlight the gray wolf and snakes.) Ironically, I also had a note in my calendar, placed there months ago, to write about whether there are good or bad animals. So–today’s theme is whether there really are “evil animals”, and what makes them separate from “good animals”.

Please keep in mind that I am coming from a western perspective as an American of European heritage, and cultural views of various animals vary from species to species and culture to culture. And, of course, individual people within a community may disagree. But let’s stick with general trends in western viewpoints. Also, I am not going to wade into the issue of invasive species and whether they are “good” or “bad” from a moral sense, though I did get into clarifying what makes a species invasive a while back.)

There are certain animals that seem to draw the ire of people more than others. Spiders and snakes are two groups that are frequently relegated to the undesirable group of “creepy crawlies”, are the subject of many people’s phobias, and are all too often killed simply for existing. I’ve seen people post pictures of their pet snakes and spiders, only to have others reply “If I saw that thing anywhere near me I’d kill it”–something I bet they’d never say about someone’s beloved pet dog or cat. Slugs are seen as gross and slimy, bats will supposedly fly into your hair, and even pet domesticated rats will get looks of revulsion.

While all large predatory animals have seen their numbers plummet in the past couple of centuries due to overhunting, gray wolves and coyotes face extra-venomous persecution. Barry Holstun Lopez’ classic work Of Wolves and Men, and Hope Ryden’s God’s Dog: A Celebration of the North American Coyote, both explore in detail how these canids are not just controlled, but gleefully slaughtered by those who proudly display “smoke a pack [of wolves] a day” on their trucks and hang rotting carcasses of coyotes they’ve shot on fences alongside roads. The reintroduction of wolves in particular has been hindered by the protests of those convinced their livestock will all be killed and their children carried off. And Ryden’s work tried to counter the sentiment of all too many people that “the only good coyote is a dead coyote.”

Lopez in particular tackled the idea that wolves were specifically evil because they had supposedly been sent by Satan himself to plague good God-fearing people. And while many wolf-haters today probably don’t recognize the roots of their hatred, they still pursue the extermination of the species with religious fervor. Snakes, similarly, were maligned not just because a few of them are venomous, but because of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. The bible is full of parables and metaphors involving animals that place them in either the “good animals” category (like sheep) or the “evil animals” category (like goats.) And while western society is becoming increasingly less Christian, the cultural influences of centuries of Christianity can still be felt.

Thankfully, advances in science have offered a much more nuanced view of animals, and nature in general. We know for sure that the Earth is much, much, MUCH older than 6000 years, and that the many species that have come and gone over the eons came to be through natural selection. At their core, every species of animal (and plant, and fungus, etc.) is a living system whose most primitive purpose is to make sure its genetic material is successfully replicated. Far from making life into a strictly mechanistic process, I feel that this just makes the many adaptations species have evolved over time that much more fascinating.

Take the gray wolf, for example. Long legs help them to run swiftly, but they have solid endurance as well and can trail prey for many miles. Broad feet keep them from sinking into snow, like snowshoes, and keen hearing, sight, and smell help them to locate prey. They can dispatch said prey with sharp teeth which also allow them to shear off pieces of meat which is then broken down by an efficient digestive system. Far from being solo predators lurking in the shadows, wolves have complex social lives, and a pack is generally composed of a primary pair with their young from various years. They work together to raise each year’s pups and find food, and they spend quite a bit of time playing with each other or sleeping off a good meal. All of these adaptations work together to make an organism that has successfully passed its DNA down through many generations. It’s pretty impressive, thinking about the complexity of all of the tissues and organs and systems that go into making one single wolf, and how DNA holds the key to its own preservation and replication in increasingly complex packages.

But these genes and adaptations do not make the wolf “evil”, any more than herbivory (other than the occasional nest of baby birds) makes a deer “good”. And that’s the thing: at its heart, nature is amoral. Not IMMORAL, mind you; amorality means being not at all concerned with right or wrong, good or evil. Wolves and deer prey on their respective foods, and deer and plants have defenses they use to try to keep from being eaten. That doesn’t make them inherently bad, and they aren’t rubbing their paws (or hooves) gleefully together like some cartoonish villain as they think about killing their next meal. It’s just the way of things, ever since the first eukaryotes evolved two billion years ago and began eating other living beings.

So why, then, do we persist in seeing wolves as evil animals and deer as good ones? Well, we’re judging them by human standards, and specifically western, Christianity-influenced standards. We’re pretty biased, because we think that any species that does things we want them to is good, but those that inconvenience us are bad. We like hunting deer and we only really get annoyed with them if they eat our crops (which can also be solved by eating them.) But while wolves may eat our livestock (and the deer we want to hunt), we can’t really eat them, and so their value to us isn’t enough to keep them in the “good” category. Although wolves gave us dogs, the wolves that remain will not bow to our demands, so dogs become the only nice and respectable wolves we will accept in our lives because they directly benefit us, whether as working animals, companions, or both.

We can see this pattern among other species, too. Those that we find beautiful or useful, and which do not significantly impact our lives in any negative way, get to be good. Any that cause us problems end up being bad. Sadly, “I saw it and it scared me” is often enough to relegate a species to being a problem. Even though spiders do a great job of keeping our homes and other environments free of flies, ants, and other insects that might, say, spoil our food, we persecute spiders because we see them as scary. In the vast majority of human-spider encounters there is no way the spider could possibly get close enough to bite, and would only do so in self-defense–yet in many of these encounters the spider loses its life just for being there.

We don’t even think twice about squashing a spider or other “bug” that made the mistake of being visible. Demonizing animals as evil means that we don’t have to feel any responsibility toward their preservation. And, in fact, you can extend that whole idea of “evilness” to nature in general. Nature, until recently, was mainly seen in the west as something to be tamed and tied down, turned to agriculture, industry, and other good human-benefiting pursuits. Preserving wild ecosystems is seen as wasteful by the sort of person who only sees dollar signs. Why should we reintroduce wolves if they get in the way of our raising livestock? Why should we protect old growth forests instead of cutting them down for profit? Why should we restrict fishing to help fish populations recover from generations of overfishing, when it might mean a drop in seafood revenue?

In the end, the whole good/evil dichotomy as applied to animals is just a symptom of our selfishness. Those of us who understand the complexity of ecology also grok the concept of existence value, which I just wrote about in my last article. This concept allows us to get out of our self-centered viewpoints, showing how a species (or ecosystem) is important simply for existing, regardless of whether we can use it for something or not. I also think it’s important to drop that idea that a species can be inherently good or evil, and instead take Henry Beston’s view that they are “other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” Like them, we humans are also the product of billions of years of adaptations and evolution, no more or less amazing than any other species. We’ve spent too long trying to make the whole world dance to our tune alone; we need to give the other beings space for their music, too, and appreciate its beauty as much as our own.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[rjzimmerman]

From the National Wildlife Federation:

"PEOPLE SAY, ‘Tell me about your technique,’” laughs Karine Aigner, the Natural History Museum of London’s 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her May 2021 photo (above). “But I had no idea what I was doing.”

Aigner spotted what she thought were anthills while driving around the South Texas ranch she uses as a part-time home base. She sent some photos to a biologist friend who told her she was seeing signs of native cactus bees. Wait a few weeks, he said, and she’d witness everything from predation by wolf spiders to a new generation emerging: “He went on and on—a real nerd,” she chuckles. Aigner was hooked. An entomologist she contacted eventually helped fill in the picture. This was a nesting aggregation, in which males compete to mate with females. Those females eventually dig multichambered tunnels, lay a sole egg in each, fill the ground back in, “then walk away and die,” she says. When new females surface, the whole cycle starts over.

Aigner returned again and again, “but I had all the wrong gear. I needed to show how this bee was different from the bee we think we know, the European honey bee.” Finally, lying in the dirt, birds dive-bombing all around, her rented flash failing in the heat, she got the shot: “2,000 pictures later.” A humble description of an extraordinary moment. See more at karineaigner.com.

[elly1233luv]

Finally she's Here!:D

Full name: Petra Žukina

Name: Petra,Petals(nickname)

Last name: Žukina

Age: 25

Birth date: 29th June 1998

Species: Wolf 40%,demon 30% And human 30%

Likes: Drawing,bread,her Brothers,music,MK, Noodles,Mei,Red Son,training,kids And more.

Dislikes: Loud noises,seeing others hurt,horror movies,Lady Bone Demon,The Mayor,Jin And Yin And more.

Phobia's: Claustrophobia,Arachnophobia,social phobia And Ophidiophobia.

Weapons: fan,katana,sycthe,axe,sword,staff,Spear And Smoke bombs.

Personality: Bubbly,cheerfull,Kind,Savage,gremlin,funny,a swertheart,adventuress,calm,curious,Chill,loving,matture,mother figure And inocent.

Family: Marcos Žukina(deceased father),Ari/Ariana Milić(deceased mother),Katrina Žukina(elder sister),Kate Žukina(second elder sister),Anne Žukina(little sister) Jc the kitsune(Foster Brother),Azrael Newgate(Foster Brother),Leafy the dragon(Foster mom) And Finn & Felicity(creation's/Adoptive children.)

Facts: She plays the trumpet,she can sing but is shy about singing infront Of others,she likes to be In the rain,she is an animal lover,She loves cooking Like her brothers but is more calm & messy,she has a human disguise but uses it Being around other humans,she doesn't know much about her ancestor Of her country,she is a workaholic And she is sometimes naive.

Abilitys: Shapeshifting,she can stay in the shadows Of anyone And can turn into one just Like Macaque,she can teleport,she can controal any ability,she has the ability to control anyone Like a puppet And can use her Wings as a Shield.

Friends: MK,Mei,Pigsy,Tang,Sandy,Sun Wukong/Monkey King,Six Eared Macaque,Nezha,Chang'e,Princess Iron Fan,Mr. Dragon,Mrs. Dragon And Demon Bull King.

Enemys: Lady Bone Demon,The Mayor,Spider Queen,Syntax,Huntsman,Strong Spider,Azure Lion,Peng,Yellowtusk And Kui Mulang.

Race/Nationality: Croatian/European

voice actor: None for now

So Here she is Lady's And Gentlemen!

[lark-lomond]

what books are you planning to take another stab at?

Oh, what a lovely question! Right now I have a bunch of books on my shelf I really want to read. At the top of my list is Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. My mom recommended it to me — specifically, she said I’d more enjoy the second book (Moon Witch, Spider King), but I want to read the first one to get context. I’m told the protagonist of the second book is a morally murky woman who’s presented as an antagonist in the first one, which is ofc entirely my jam. I’m also very excited about any work of fantasy which draws on non-European mythology and folklore! I do not feel we need more generic European high fantasy — I’ve seen Enough.

In terms of books I’d like to try again: a couple years ago, I got halfway through 100 Years of Solitude and The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Both were fascinating but I just got swallowed up by grad school and couldn’t find the energy to continue them. I’m particularly excited about the mosquito one — you never realize how many pivotal historical figures died of malaria until someone points it out to you!

And ofc I’d rather read new books than old ones, but there are a few exceptions. I joined a queer book club at my local library because at the end of June, they’ll be discussing How Far the Light Reaches, a book I really enjoyed last year and want to discuss with other people. (If you’ve read it, hmu — would love to talk about it!) And if I really just wanted a comforting reread, there’s always my two favorite books of all time: The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge, and Nation by Terry Pratchett. I could read them every year and never get tired of them. Maybe I will.