#oh the wasp..

[dimetrodonz]

i see the wasp on the length of my arm

[windkonig]

society has ingrained in all of us that bugs are bad and evil and scary and they Bite You for no reason and Sting You For Fun and I would like to challenge every single person that reads this to try to step back and challenge those thoughts. CHALLENGE that knee-jerk reaction to kill every bug you see. REALIZE that killing it doesn't have to be the answer. it's fine to not want bugs in your home. but I see so many people whose FIRST choice is to kill it, even though it'd be easy to just cup it and toss it outside. why?

one of the greatest things that got me over my extremely intense arachnophobia was knowledge. learning more about the thing I was afraid of made me realize, "oh, they're just little guys trying to get by too" and I stopped killing every spider I saw.

and it's like. no, that wasp didn't sting you for fun. it stung you because it felt scared or defensive. no, the spider in your shower isn't trying to kill you. spiders need water to live too.

you don't deem a scared dog/cat evil for biting you, do you? then why are we demonizing insects and spiders for feeling scared? they are so, so small and we are so large. they don't know anything about us, they're just trying to live life. they didn't know they built their web in a bad spot. they didn't know they built their nest next to your door. please, show some kindness to these tiny creatures. I understand you can't let infestations happen or wasps build in your walls, but whenever possible, try to put bugs in a cup and take them outside. yes, even wasps. even black widows. if you want tips for safely capturing bugs, I'm always around to ask.

also, to those who say things like, "x bug eats other pest bug, so they're okay" why? why does something have to benefit you to deserve to live? shouldn't all creatures have a chance at life, even if they're ugly, even if they don't benefit you, even if they do something you don't like? what gives you the right to decide to take the life of any animal just because ahhh it looked scary? please. all I ask is you try to be kinder. it's okay to be scared, it's not okay to pointlessly kill things.

[dykesadie]

they swarm to his bisexual swag next question

[bretzkysbs]

(with apologies to Eric Carle)

[tj-crochets]

Starting a new post because the other ones were getting long, but the first few HST blocks are sewn and trimmed down to size!

I have a long way to go lol

[seabeck]

"spelunking is so scary" I say as I belly crawl into a mine from the early 1900s that has been nearly forgotten, 8 miles from my car, no cell phone reception

[skrunksthatwunk]

actually i'm still thinking about the moral orel finale.

he has a cross on his wall. do you know how much i think about that bc it's a lot.

a lot of stories ((auto)biographical or fictional) centering escape from abusive/fundamentalist christianity result in the lead characters leaving behind christianity entirely. and that makes complete sense! people often grow disillusioned with the associated systems and beliefs, and when it was something used to hurt them or something so inseparable from their abuse that they can't engage with it without hurting, it makes total sense that they would disengage entirely. and sometimes they just figure out that they don't really believe in god/a christian god/etc. a healthy deconstruction process can sometimes look like becoming an atheist or converting to another religion. it's all case by case. (note: i'm sure this happens with other religions as well, i'm just most familiar with christian versions of this phenomenon).

but in orel's case, his faith was one of the few things that actually brought him comfort and joy. he loved god, y'know? genuinely. and he felt loved by god and supported by him when he had no one else. and the abuses he faced were in how the people in his life twisted religion to control others, to run away from themselves, to shield them from others, etc. and often, orel's conflicts with how they acted out christianity come as a direct result of his purer understanding of god/jesus/whatever ("aren't we supposed to be like this/do that?" met with an adult's excuse for their own behavior or the fastest way they could think of to get orel to leave them alone (i.e. orel saying i thought we weren't supposed to lie? and clay saying uhhh it doesn't count if you're lying to yourself)). the little guy played catch with god instead of his dad, like.. his faith was real, and his love was real. and i think it's a good choice to have orel maintain something that was so important to him and such a grounding, comforting force in the midst of. All That Stuff Moralton Was Up To/Put Him Through. being all about jesus was not the problem, in orel's case.

and i know i'm mostly assuming that orel ended up in a healthier, less rigid version of christianity, but i feel like that's something that was hinted at a lot through the series, that that's the direction he'd go. when he meditates during the prayer bee and accepts stephanie's different way to communicate, incorporating elements of buddhism into his faith; when he has his I AM A CHURCH breakdown (removing himself from the institution and realizing he can be like,, the center of his own faith? taking a more individualistic approach? but Truly Going Through It at the same time), his acceptance (...sometimes) of those who are different from him and condemned by the adults of moralton (stephanie (lesbian icon stephanie my beloved), christina (who's like. just a slightly different form of fundie protestant from him), dr chosenberg (the jewish doctor from otherton in holy visage)). his track record on this isn't perfect, but it gets better as orel starts maturing and picking up on what an absolute shitfest moralton is. it's all ways of questioning the things he's been taught, and it makes sense that it would lead to a bigger questioning as he puts those pieces together more. anyway i think part of his growth is weeding out all the lost commandments of his upbringing and focusing on what faith means to him, and what he thinks it should mean. how he wants to see the world and how he wants to treat people and what he thinks is okay and right, and looking to religion for guidance in that, not as like. a way to justify hurting those he's afraid or resentful of, as his role models did.

he's coming to his own conclusions rather than obediently, unquestioningly taking in what others say. but he's still listening to pick out the parts that make sense to him. (edit/note: and it's his compassion and his faith that are the primary motivations for this questioning and revisal process, both of individual cases and, eventually, the final boss that is christianity.) it makes perfect sense as the conclusion to his character arc and it fits the overall approach of the show far better. it's good is what i'm saying.

and i think it's important to show that kind of ending, because that's a pretty common and equally valid result of deconstruction. and i think it cements the show's treatment of christianity as something that's often (and maybe even easily) exploited, but not something inherently bad. something that can be very positive, even. guys he even has a dog he's not afraid of loving anymore. he's not afraid of loving anyone more than jesus and i don't think it's because he loves this dog less than bartholomew (though he was probably far more desperate for healthy affection and companionship when he was younger). i think it's because he figures god would want him to love that dog. he's choosing to believe that god would want him to love and to be happy and to be kind. he's not afraid of loving in the wrong way do you know how cool that is he's taking back control he's taking back something he loves from his abusers im so normal

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

THE ADVENTURES OF PANTHERA NOIRE - “HEROE’S DAY PART 2″ and NEW UPDATED / REDRAWN DESIGNS! WOOOOooo and... MORE??? 

Okay enough strange talk, hi! It’s me! It’s been a little bit! But I just wanted to waddle in and say the next chapter of Panthera is aLMMMOOOOST done and I wanted to commemorate the end of Panthera season 2 with some new art! 

We’ve come a long way since the first chapter, including a long ass period where I buried myself in another fandom for my health but I’m really proud of how it’s gone. SO HERE ARE OUR HEROES! And... are those some VILLAINS...? How spooky~! I hope you enjoy next chapter (coming soon) and I hope you enjoy the rest of your night/day!

Extra! :

No Jacket Panthera ALT (it’s summertime in the fic I don’t blame her)

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

OH. okay so normally i dont touch discourse with a 20 ft pole, but this has been niggling at my brain tonight and i finally realized why

the people who are mad at qbbh for the memory loss and “dodging consequences” dont understand that he doesnt want to dodge consequences. Like they cant know that, they werent focused on him when he was literally feeding himself to the soul vultures and planning his eventual imprisonment and also. The Many Many Many hints he made towards suicide/sacrifice/Just Fucking Dying.

ccbbh is a subtle roleplayer, he’s been building this shit up for two whole months- it was day FIVE of the eggs going missing that he resolved to do whatever it took (hurting his friends) to get the eggs back. It was day three that he followed in dapper’s footsteps and started feeding himself to the soul vultures (and gaining a Massive headwound beneath his hood in the process- you can only see it if you go on namemc and remove the layers). He’s got impaired judgement. Even the memory issues arent a new thing- i cant remember exactly when they started, but one of the first big moments i remmeber was september 30th where he spent an hour falling into a delusional frenzy searching his base for cameras that he forgot he asked aypierre to plant.

The super murder of purgatory and the memory loss afterwards probably all feels very sudden for people who havent been following his story, but as someone who has been- all of this has been true to character. The only cheap swings he’s made have been combat-based in purgatory, and even the motive for those was built up in rp.

People are calling for consequences, but he has alrwady been experiencing self-inflicted consequences for months. The blue on his usual outfit is blood. This recent memory loss isnt a restart to get away with the atrocities - it is yet another consequence of his egg-protecting complexes and the ways he punishes himself for failing them.

he is NOT a moral character. he’s a demon hiding in plain site. he has eaten people. he has killed people. he understands the cruelty of his actions, and the consequences of them for the loved ones of his victims. but it matters when that harm is being done to his loved ones. he’ll still do it, because he will do anything for the eggs, but it matters, and that means that he has already started the process of self-inflicting those much-demanded consequences

[plumbus-central]

Somehow managed a great "tails gets trolled" face for rick from this comic I made at work.

Minnie's trying to prove that rick was just as much of a 14yr old back then as morty is now

[bitchfitch]

there's these purple flowers I pass when I go for my morning constitutional (checking my mail) and every single time I pass them I think "I should come back and take a picture of those once the sun is up!" and every time I go back out to get a picture of them I'm reminded why I haven't gotten a pic yet. They fucking close up once it starts getting hot and it's hot like 20 hours a day here. so have these pictures of some green bits and the impression of purple flowers instead

[buffdyke]

i completely understand being afraid of wasps and spiders, they can potentially hurt you, but if you come up to me spouting some bullshit about how they all need to die i will lose every last ounce of respect i had for you

[angelbambisworld]

Oh boy I love cheating on my rockstar crushes with other rockstar crushes. If cheating was an Olympic sport I'd be going for the gold, baby!

[mjrtaurus]

Dragon ruminating over the fate of Portgas D. Ace and how it started even before he was born with hundreds of women and babies from the South Blue being butchered just on the chance one of them was carrying the Pirate King's child. How he distanced himself from his own son for years out of the fear of this happening. He's seen how much hatred the world has towards children whose parents have been deemed criminals and now he has two more to fear that happening to. Gabriel probably won't be welcomed in Alabasta for years, if ever.

Aside from being physically identical to their clone fathers, Gryphon and Gabriel have already been unleashed upon would-be rebel nations by the World Government before their deprogramming. Some islands don't even have any concept of what cyborgs are, so they were seen as demons. And seas knows somebody like Vinsmoke Judge would love to reverse-engineer them to have more advanced clone soldiers who can fight from the earliest age possible. Dragon is so scared for the future of these boys, and Kuma's son, and all of the Seraphim.

It’s something that comes up in conversation with Crocodile after a few drinks.

Crocodile, like Nico Robin, is probably one of only a few who understand the horrors of what’s weighing on Dragon’s mind.

If it hadn’t been for Whitebeard claiming him as his own flesh and blood at God Valley, Crocodile would have been killed. The World Government wanted Xebec and whatever heirs he might have had dead, and it didn’t matter how many innocent children were murdered in order to get that done.

One of the things Crocodile had used his Warlord status to obtain was the records on this extermination. He didn’t have the clearance for it, true, but he did have plenty of money to pay off a few crooked archivists who did.

Of the dozens that had been slaughtered, only two had belonged to his half-siblings. A little girl who had only been five, and a baby boy who hadn’t even seen a year… every last one of the names listed had been a child that had been stolen from their bed, a home raided, a mother imprisoned, and a life snuffed out.

There was a damn good reason he stayed Portgas D. Ace’s execution.

It was the same reason why he and Dragon sent Luffy away to live in peace, far away from the cursed legacy of his fathers.

And now Gryphon and Gabriel were to be met with the same hostility from the World Government, and with far less sympathy from the civilian populace.

They knew Gryphon could endure with their support, he was a strong boy. It would be rough, but he could make it. But Gabriel? Poor Gabriel that wanted nothing but to make friends and play and be happy? No soul was more doomed to break under this senseless cruelty than his.

Crocodile is terrified of what is to become of sweet little Gabriel- Hayati, his life- if they fail to change the world.

Would he be frightened, like he had been? Would he be lonely, like he had been? Would he be bitter? Would he be angry? Would he be lonely? Would he be monstrous?

Would he be hopeless, like he had been?

[renarin-spren]

reading a Sanderson book is like. wow I can't wait to read the most fucked up insane sibling dynamic ever

[tj-crochets]

Hey y’all! I am once again attempting to help my dad identify an animal he saw on a walk (the last one turned out to be a woodchuck despite him describing it exactly like a pine marten lol) What kind of duck has a bright red head and a mostly white body? He described it as “bright red where a mallard is green”