fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2079 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2079 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 057 secrets from Secret Submission Post #297.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sorry if you've explained before, but can I just ask:

Why do you post spiders every single time?

(I only ask because I'd love to look at all your pics, but I'm arachnophobic - even pics spook me. It's cool, of course, but I'm just curious as to why you post so many of them. I'm guessing you're a fan of them? :))

No problem, I don't mind explaining. The spiders are actually sort of the point. The short version of the story is that back when FS was still on LJ, there was a bit of a kerfluffle about people being scared of spiders and an anonymous user (later

cuteanimalpics) posted a bunch of pics of jumping spiders that were in general pretty cute. There were also a ton of other pics, mostly of cute kittens and puppies and so on.

From that time onward, they started to post daily picturespams of cute animals, but would end every post with a spider. The aim for that is actually just to show off various types of spiders that actually look and are pretty nice compared to other animals. Here's the thing- most spiders can't do anything to harm you, and most of them don't want to! They're tiny, humans are not their prey in the least, and when I talk about spiders and describing their personality, the worst I'll go is 'very skittish', because that's what they are- spiders are only ever really aggressive at people when they're cornered or terrified, other than that the worst they'll do at people is go 'aaaa run away'.

The point of this post is sort of to address arachnophobia, in a way. If you'll take a look at the spiders I post, they're a hugely varied bunch. There's a lot of diversity among spiders- jumpers, weavers, hunters, and so on. Being scared of spiders is understandable, but here's a way for you- if you'd like- to learn a little more about what scares you, in very tiny small doses of pictures every day. I do try to keep to relatively cute spider species, which is why there are a lot of jumpers, but other types do get their time to shine.

And as for why I'm here instead of the original poster, they had a summer job and I'm taking over for the time being. Yeah.

Ah, okay. Heh, I do agree that some of the pics I have looked at have been cute (I do actually think some species are great looking things, but still scared of them, haha).

It's funny, isn't it? Because I know, logically, they won't harm me, and won't intentionally even come near me, but the irrational side of my brain that drives the phobia doesn't care. Very annoying, really.

Got to admit, jumpers are the ones I can't stand at all (though as I said, the pics do make them look adorable in a way). I think the main problem is just how small they are - they look utterly different close up to what they do far away. Also, as you've mentioned, understanding them can help.

Thanks for answering :)

I can vouch for it working, actually. While I haven't had to confront any of the dangerous ones (funnel webs and redbacks) or huntsmen, which are just freaky even if they are non-dangerous, I've got into the habit of a) looking at the spider pictures regularly, and b) being much more relaxed about spiders here.

Just recently, I was in the shower and spotted this... tiny little one on the side. Just left it alone, where previously I would have flailed a bit and squashed it immediately. It was having trouble on the wall, which had got very wet, so I let it get on my fingernail so I could transport it to a drier shelf. I would have NEVER done that a few months back.

It's sort of like free picture therapy, heh.

I'm glad that posting the pictures has helped some of my fellow arachnophobes, and I'm not asking you to stop posting them (if only for that reason), but if truth be told I've had more bolt-awake nightmares of spiders in the last few months than ever before. Ad-blocking helps a lot, but sometimes I scroll too fast and then even Ambien doesn't help. It's not your fault or the spiders' fault, but that's how it is.

Really, for me to like a spider it must meet at least two of the following criteria. It must:

A) be fictional (this is not optional).
B) be on fire (see Smudge the heroic and loyal fire-spider of Jim C. Hines' Jig the Goblin trilogy).
or C) go "Nyar!" and be about to eat a character I despise (see the webcomic Girl Genius).

[ SECRET POST #2079 ]

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