Me [coming To Terms With A Truth About Myself]: Hm.....................................................

I saw a cicada molting this morning, and was so worried she’d get eaten by a bird (usually they molt at night for safety, she must’ve got up late). when I came back to check, she’d fallen from her perch, so I brought her inside to finish hardening.

(Neotibicen linnei)

So I had a hysterectomy today (hooray!) and I brought along my stuffed orca, Shamu, as a comfort object. And everyone i interacted with during my pre-op was like "Oh! Who's this?" so I was telling them all about him, how he's been with me since I was 9 and gone on every single vacation and road trip, and they were telling me about their own stuffed buddies (one lady said she still has hers after 40 years!) and all of this while I was signing consent forms and providing a list of the things I'd brought with me, you know, small talk.

So then a nurse comes over and goes "Okay, I've got some stickers I'll put on your things so we know they're yours" and I'm like "OK cool" so she puts a sticker on my coat and stickers on my bags of clothes and then she turns to Shamu and I'm like "oh I guess he gets a sticker too"

But no. She pulls out a hospital bracelet that's an exact copy of mine and slaps it on his tail, like so:

And i was delighted by this, so I took a picture to send to my friends, who were equally delighted, and were cracking me up with their reactions (like so:)

Anyway, they take me back and put me under, and when I awake groggily a few hours later it takes me a minute to get my bearings, so I don't notice Shamu at first. But then I realize he's tucked up next to me in the gurney, so I grab him, and my hand touches gauze.

And I'm like "huh?" so I look at him and I realize

They gave my fucking orca a hysterectomy

crabs are so gentle, they can be so kind. their claws? precise little things, so careful in the sand, so careful with food. they do what they must to live and wave their claws to express their joy to the world for giving so much to them, for giving such kindness to these creatures known as crabs. please be gentle to crabs

every year we have to say it

my most extreme kink is feeling wanted. not like sexually or anything but kinda just as a person

Sharks, orcas, wolves, mongooses, hawks, owls, eagles, big cats, snakes, piranhas, centipedes, preying mantises, scorpions, spiders, squids, komodo dragons, polar bears, sea lions, crocodilians: entire groups of life adapted to eat absolutely nothing but the raw flesh of other creatures. Our society recognizes all of these as iconic killing machines. They all occupy a position in our collective consciousness that teeters between majestic warrior hunter and grim terrifying murder monster. Embodiments of nature's ferocity. Agents of death.

Frogs: an entire group of life adapted to eat absolutely nothing but the raw flesh of other creatures. We think they're silly guys who ought to wear floppy hats perhaps