#I really like the Hive bugs/bees the best

[angrybatart]

"Oh, hellooo. An adventurer are we? Would you like a quick sketch of yourself? Just drew some funny little fellow a moment ago."

[a-twistedheartslonging]

Hiii, Harpy anon again.

I have more thoughts. Instead of making Idia a dog boy, I say we make him an insect. Mostly because there are some insects out there that just make sense for him. (Also because he kinda look like bug to me tbh)

For example, spiders. (Yes I know they aren't insects but they look insects and that's all that matters) Spiders specifically have a lot of significance in Greek mythology, so it would make sense for Idia (who is based off a Greek god) to have some kind of connection there. But also spiders tend to be solitary creatures, they don't live in groups and only come together during mating. And a lot of the time, during mating the males are killed by their female mates. Which..I feel like is why Idia would avoid Yuu like the plague. Because all he can think about near them is "Mate.Mate.Mate.Mate.MATE-" and he's scared if he tries anything he'll get killed immediately.

Now I don't know if we've talked about Ortho yet but I feel like he's a little robot bee. I know it doesn't really go with spider Idia but Robot bee Ortho would be so gosh darn cute. There was a study done on bee's that came to the conclusion that when bee's bump into eachother they make a little "Whoop" noise. IMAGINE BUMPING INTO BEE ORTHO AND HE JUST GOES "Whoop!"

AGSJSGAHSVSS

Ahem, sorry got carried away there for a sec. Bee's are also very protected of their hive and other bees in said hive, so I can't help but imagine if Yuu gets picked on Ortho immediately just pulls out the laser beams. Bee's can also smell fear. Giving bee Ortho this trait is like giving a toddler a glock and telling them to go do a crime. It is both horrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Robot Bee Boy.

BeeBot that makes cute noises when bumping into things.

So very cute. I don't have much to add to that except look at this cute bee butt.

Now...spooder Idia...

Did anyone else see Kar'niss from Baldr's Gate 3 and thought he was hella fine?

What kind of spider would he be? If he's one of the fluffy kinds I love the idea of his floof matching his hair. Would he have multiple eyes? Fangs on top of having those already pointy teethies?

Did you know an interesting thing that bee's and some spiders have in common his helping with pollinating plants?

Hmm drider's are usually big and people in general already don't like regular spiders very much. Poor Idia is just going to keep getting more reasons to not leave his room. 😔Oh Jeez Jamil would prob freak out seeing him.

Man, Idia and Azul have it bad. For females of both of their kind if they don't kill you after sex cuz doing the diddly works up an appetite, they might kill males that they simply rejected...or just because they got too close.

Another thing that both male octopuses and spiders have been shown to do to lower the risk is present their possible mate with food. Azul's an amazing cook with his own restaurant and Idia has a surplus of every kind of snack/junk food you can think of so at least they have that going.

Still, I would like to think that even if that happens with their kind in that world it's not nearly as bad or quite as common. Funny though to think of Idia screeching when he sees you and tossing a few bags of gummies and chips at you.

Also....to avoid getting eaten after sex some male spiders will actually tie the female up in his web and set her free after. Do with that info what you will.

Some spiders also do a mating dance, but you have a snowball's chance in hell of seeing him do that.

Still, it's just more things that get these types of nonhuman boys thinking that you the little would be the best choice when it comes to finding a mate. AMAB? Cool. AFAB? Well, human ones don't cannibalize so it's all good....well once the guys learned that they don't.

Plus, once he gets to actually know you and see how you're the least threatening thing in the school things will be easier.

Once he's comfortable around you get to see something amazing...

That he's a snarky little shit with so much sass. He's a weird combination of having issues with self-loathing while also having an ego.

One time you tried to bite him for mouthing off and he was legit scared for a sec but once he saw those little teeth of yours couldn't even make a scratch on the exoskeleton on his arm, he gets super freaking smug, and now he's even more of a shit when teasing you.

One of the cool things is that you can legit ride him places cuz he big spooder. It's too bad it rarely if ever happens with being a shut in.

He'll still let you sit on him like that when you guys are in his room.

A cool thing he can do is climb on walls and ceilings, does it often when trying to sneak to the vending machines on campus without being seen. He has unfortunately been seen once or twice though and it scared the hell out of the poor student to see a giant freaking spider on the ceiling and almost made Idia drop his snacks.

His webs are pretty and glowy, he kind of has them around his room set up like fairy light.

Weird fact, spiders can taste with their feet.

Cute fact, some spiders will keep a frog as a pet. Frog helps keep the spider's eggs from getting eaten and the spider protects the frog from other things.

I'm kind of picturing Idia as the spider and you as the frog. You are his emotional support human that he keeps close when he has to leave his lair.

He unintentionally gives you scary dog privileges.

Imagine working your shift at Twisted McDonald and a little human comes up to you with this big-ass sharp-toothed spider dude behind them, you are scared out of your mind but then the human says "Excuse me, he asked for no pickles."

[acti-veg]

Why is honey not vegan it dosent harm the bees and it helps the environment

Honey is not vegan by any reasonable definition of the word. As vegans we avoid animal exploitation, whatever you may think about bees and honey, honey is very definitely the result of exploiting bees. Bees are amazing pollinators and they are vital for plants and natural ecosystems more generally, but that really has nothing to do with buying and eating honey.

Most pollinator bees are solitary bees, pollination in natural eco-systems is performed by these individuals, other insects and birds. They are the ones who are under threat, not the kind of bees we use to make honey. We are talking about managed hives of domesticated bees, most of whom are non-native and compete with natural pollinators for the same food sources. It is even thought they may be spreading disease to wild pollinators, too, who do a far better job of pollination than managed hives do.

Commercially owned hives are shipped in on-mass to pollinate some crops, but this is not sustainable and far from how natural pollination works. It is a symptom of our over-intensive farming system, and certainly not a point to make in favour of buying and eating honey. This just helps make honey production more profitable, it isn’t good for the environment and certainly isn’t good for the bees.

What’s more, honey in many instances does harm bees. As I mentioned bees compete with and sometimes even infect wild pollinators. On top of that, bees being crushed during harvesting is very common as any honest apiarist will tell you, even when using smoking techniques. Wing clipping of queens is also pretty common, as is selling and shipping queens in the post; I can’t imagine how stressful that must be. Keep in mind that even without any of this, we’re taking about taking their life’s work and often replacing it with a sugar syrup substitute. Bees just don’t make honey for us, it’s not ours to take.

The best way to actually support wild pollinators and their ecosystem is to grow local, pollinator-friendly flowers and to provide them with natural habitats and constructed ones like bug boxes, which are widely available to buy and very easy to make. The claim that honey is in some way good for bees or good for the environment is nothing but effective marketing.

[emilythedog661-tf2]

Bug Fortress 2 AU

So, back in the 20-teens, i saw many pictures of the TF2 mercs as bugs (Mainly Engineer as a bee and Soldier as a ant) and i would like to do my own AU of Bug Fortress 2.

First, i'll do the Characters and what bug they are

Scout - Fly

Soldier - Ant

Pyro - FireFly

Demoman - Cockroach

Heavy - Beetle

Engineer - Bee

Medic - Butterfly

Sniper - Moth

Spy - Spider

Miss.Pauling - Ladybug

The Characters are the same as humans but they have bug like things like antenna coming out if their head, a bug butt that looks like tails, wings coming out their back and some other things

now for the description of each character which i'll put under a cut as it's going to be long, so click 'keep reading' for the character description 😄 (also need to mention that the characters that are part of a colony like engineer, soldier, scout and others are all different from each other like people)

Ok, here are the characters

Scout - Scout is like his human counterpart, really fast flyer, annoying as a fly stuck in the house and not the brighter light in the shed, he like miss.pauling ladybug even trying to suduce her every tine he sees her but it always never works, scout is one of many flies but he's unique to the other flies as he is also half spider but his spider half hasn't appeared yet

Soldier - Soldier is a lone wolf ant after he was kicked out of his colony when he was a teenager, he is like his human counterpart being loud, stubborn but has a heart of gold, he was then alone for a while until he spotted a bee hive where he meets engineer bee who has a injured wing after it got caught on a tree branch, him and engineer bee become friends but soon go to lovers as soldier realised he gained a massive crush on engineer bee, the pair are now inseparable and are always seen together.

Pyro - Pyro is a firefly who loves to glow, he is like his human counterpart but except for loving fire, he loves glowing things like lights, he was on his own for a few days then he finds engineer bee and soldier ant who decide to take him in like he was their kid which he didn't mind, he also meets scout and the pair instantly clicked being like siblings to each other doing pranks and causing mischief.

Demoman - Demo is a cockroach who always walks like he's drunk, he has been declared to be invincible as he can never be squished or killed which ends up being mostly true as he is never killed but always severely injured which he has a drunk walk and one eye, he also good friends with soldier ant and was a good wingman for soldier ant when he was confessing his love to engineer bee.

Heavy - Heavy is a strong beetle who has won many beetle battle with other strong beetles but they were weak in his eyes, he has never been defeated and he's is strongest bug ever, he is like his human counterpart and has a good strong brotherly relationship with medic, scout and pyro but also being the calm one of the team when he isn't fighting.

Engineer - Engineer is like his human counterpart bing a hard working bee being the best bee of his colony until he decided to leave the colony after the other bees heard that he was hanging around a ant (soldier) which is forbidden in their colony as ants usually attacked their hive for the honey, engineer did try and fight for soldier saying he saved his life and he didn't want their honey but their weren't budging form their thoughts so engineer walked away with soldier by his side, engineer has soon gained his own family with the team and he almost doesn't regret leaving the hive only rarely getting homesick but soldier helps him get though it when he does, engineer has a good friendship with medic, is a good father figure to both scout and pyro like they're his kids and he loves soldier like they've been married for 10 or so years.

Medic - Medic is a psychotic butterfly who loves doing violence for fun, he has very beautiful wings and he is very much like his human counterpart, he also loves sniper who he met after he found sniper almost dead after he hit a fly lamp, medic healed sniper back to full health using pollen and the pair have been inseparable since, medic fell in love with sniper due to mainly his wings and he also loved sniper for how caring he was was towards him, medic has a good brotherly relationship with heavy, good friends with engineer and he likes being in the team.

Sniper - Sniper is a introvert moth who does like it be on his own most of the time but since falling in love with medic, he realises that he was very touched starved and craved affection whenever he sees medic, sniper is like his human counterpart and he gets on eith most of the others on the team, he just pefers to have more alone time, from the others, he tolerates spy, adores medic and act like they are newlyweds, gets on well with scout and pyro and he likes spending time with heavy as he's calm.

Spy - Spy is a sneaky spider who loves to kill and annoyed everyone around him just for the fun of it, kinda like his human counterpart, he is scout's dad and he finds out after scout explained to pyro one time what his mom looked like, he can't bring himself to tell scout as he knows scout would probably hate him for abandoning him but after finding out, he goes to visit scout's mom at night seeing she is as beautiful as ever, spy kinda gets on well with the others but like sniper, pefers being on his own, he tolerates sniper, tries to be good friends with the others and he is also a good leader to the team.

That's is for now and i hope you like my AU, i will do more soon on other AU when i think of them 😃

[turntableart]

I cooked

↓

Spam oc

Spamton? Santon

Shornton / Thornton / cramton

Bug based/bee based cause I fuckin love bees and it gives me an excuse to make him yellow and fuzzy fuzzy spam is best spam

Cramton is a single bee, you know how there's just bees that live on their own yeah he does that and he's rather chill, his "hive" is his shop which would take a more honey comb shape yet it will be rather grayish and crumbling cause ya know it's still spam duh he'd probably sell very old honey

Fun fact honey doesn't go off ever or at least you'd probably die before it does

Anyway cramton stays outta sight outta mind, he's a buggy lil fella likely have four arms maybe 6 I do love multiple arms but I think he'd just have four he of course has BEE ASS or whatever that's called and he's got a stinger m a y b e or maybe not maybe it's gone.... *so you know the bee movie? How that one bee gets a new stinger.... Yeah.... That*

His wings are very smol he probably can hover for a lil bit but not actually fly, his glasses are honeycomb shaped

*Addison's are bees and they are all a hive and since he's "white" / a very pale yellow he doesn't have a hive or others to hive with so he forced himself to be an alone bee* I'm so fuckin smart I'm so cool my wife's gonna love this

He buzzes a lot like a lot a lot he probably a lot is seen constantly fixing up his hive and trying to keep it in shape, I doubt his honey would taste good due to what he has to work with but he makes due, he's rather spammy really he just is very bee oriented like he probably tells you bee ads how? Idk maybe he tells you to buy flowers or feed him petals shhhh I know they don't work like that this is spam here he'd eat anything

My wife is gonna be so not happy that I stayed up to sunrise.... Again.... But it's fine I'll just say I love her and she'll be better :3

Anyway! @emiplayzmc !!! I cooked! I sleepie now -w- nini everyone!

[writing-whump]

I love your OCS! Can I request something where Matthew is sick, but it's not his shadow, is just some good ol' human tummy bug and he's all over the place not knowing what to do? With Seline as caretaker? - 🎃

Aww thank you for the request, nonnie! My first for the werwolf story, I'm so excited. Here you go.^^

Contains emeto and mentions of scat.

Stomach flu

Seline wasn’t sure how or when it happened that Matthew now accompanied her from classes back home, but somehow it had become routine before she even realized. Since the day he stumbled upon her and pretty much tore himself to pieces with his shadow to protect her from a random threat, he basically made it his mission to be around in the afternoon hours. How it fit his schedule, she had no idea. Somehow he was simply there - and she suspected he didn’t follow his classes nearly as reliably as he did hers.

So she didn’t wonder or say anything. She didn’t feel obligated to make herself especially available - it wasn’t as if she invited him over - but she didn’t protest his presence. But evenings suddenly became their evenings, with her sitting by the central dining table connected to the living room, working on her laptop and Matthew dozing on her couch or flipping through her Netflix account. When she was done studying or no inspiration came to her for new songs - self-made songs were the most effective for magic - she would sit a few meters away beside him and watch as well. 

Seline only realized how much of a routine it had become when something disturbed it. Like today.

Matthew was restless. He was shifting on the couch like he was sitting on a bee hive and he had that angry scowl on his face she associated with difficult days with his shadow. Except he was cautious with his shadow around her - they didn’t have an incident inside her apartment. As if her defensive magic woven into the floor now worked more in his favour, clearing his mind. Which was a good thing, natural thing, since witches usually provided comfort and calmness to their wolves. But they weren’t a pack and she wasn’t his witch or he her wolf - here they were just two students, bounded by a secret they never talked about. Somehow it mattered very little here and she liked it that way. 

Seline was biting her lip, looking up from her laptop occasionally. She wanted to ask him what was wrong but didn’t know how well he would take it. Maybe the best she could do was give his discomfort privacy, no matter what it was.

Suddenly Matthew stood up, expression drawn and uncomfortable, hand on his belly. Then he bolted to the bathroom. Seline watched him go, concerned.

She watched out for gagging noises, but none of that came. Maybe she was reading too much into this. Would he tell her if he was sick? Wolf and witch relationships aside, if her stomach bothered her, she would rather die of emberassment than admit it. It was an intimate, awkward thing, stomach issues, so she bet he would rather be left alone if something was wrong.

You can only offer what you would like yourself. She was aware she wouldn’t know what would help him. How can you spend evenings with a person each day and not know this?

The bathroom door opened abruptly, but the followed steps were shuffling and slow. Matthew dragged himself on the hallway to lean against the wall across from her. Her gaze flickered to him, trying to be inconspicuous. 

Matthew was sweating buckets, dark red hair plastered to his face. He was usually pale, but now he was glistening, freckles standing out on his cheeks and nose, his arms wrapped around his stomach. He was swaying, bending forward a little.

“Seline.”

She turned towards him immediately. “Matt? Hey, what’s wrong?”

He gulped and ran a hand over his face. “Ugh. I-I don’t know? It’s just-” he looked away, flushing, “my stomach really fucking hurts.” 

“Did you throw up?” she asked, eyebrows drawing together. 

“No. But it feels like my guts fucking exploded,” he threw a sheepish look toward the bathroom. Seline noted he closed the door behind himself, which he usually wouldn’t bother with. “...and it didn’t help at all.”

“Oh.” Seline nodded, trying to figure out a sensitive, emphatic way to talk about this without embarrassing him or getting squicked out herself. “You know what? I have these herbal drops that help with indigestion? They are a miracle thing, I swear.” 

She brushed past him towards the kitchen for her yellow bottled drops. Learned to use the herbal things from her mother and knew a really good doctor who made herbal drops from his own garden. Her whole family used it for years for all kinds of issues. It was always her go-to before any hard-on medication.

Counting 30 drops for herself and adding 20 more for Matthew’s weight into a bit of water, she swiftly returned with the glass.

Matthew slid down the wall on the floor, pulling his knees towards himself and hugged them close, face hidden in the crook of his arm.

Seline crouched down beside him, her heart swelling up at the sight. “Come on. Drink this. Maybe it will spare you from throwing up.” 

He eyed her with glossy eyes. This close to him, the smell of sickness and sweat hit her senses, and she suppressed a grimace. Matthew took the glass of water and took a tentative sip. “Hmm. Is this a witchy concoction?”

“Just regular human medicine and traditional herbal knowledge,” she snorted at him. “If it worked for them a few hundred years ago, it will work for you now.” 

Matthew nodded and emptied the glass. She took it from him before he could drop it on the floor, hunching over himself. 

“You will feel better in a minute,” she promised, doubting words immediately. “Come on, up from the floor. Let’s lie you down on the couch.” She wrapped her hands around his arm, coaxing him to stand. He swayed unsteadily as he got up. Better get him sitting down now, or he might not get up on his own soon. 

The redhead sprawled on the couch, but then moaned at the movement and curled up on his side instead, shivering. Seline noted how he hugged his stomach protectively and pulled his hoodie up, nuzzling his face into the couch’s decorative pillow. “I just don’t get it. What’s wrong with me?”

She sat down across from him on the edge of the couch. “You have been handling your shadow pretty well lately, right? Keeping it down so consistently. Ever managed that before?”

Matthew took a shuddering breath, his bleary eyes focusing on her. He squinted against the light of the living room lamp over him. “No?”

“Well, there you have it. Congratulations! You managed to keep your shadow down enough to catch a stomach flu. It’s been going around the campus, I hear.”

“Congratulations for sure,” Matthew grumbled, huddling further into himself, squeezing his eyes shut.

Seline didn’t really have a reason or good excuse to stay beside him, but she didn’t feel like leaving at all. Shutting off the light, she brought her laptop to her lap, sitting cross-legged beside Matthew. This way, she could keep an eye on him all the time. 

The noises his stomach was making didn’t get any better, though. If anything, they grew worse with each passing minute, gurgling and whining. Matthew wasn’t asleep either, hiding his face in the pillows and rubbing his stomach angrily. 

A burp sneaked past his lips. Matt’s eyes flew open and he coughed a small “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay. Do whatever you need to,” she said. She couldn’t focus on her work at all, watching all the telltale signs of oncoming sickness. 

Closing her laptop resolutely, she threw it on the nearby table and fetched a trashcan. Better be safe than sorry.

Matthew looked horrified at the trashcan, sitting upright to lean against the backrest. He scowled at her and then burped instead whatever he wanted to say, pushing a hand over his mouth. 

“I’m-m not gonna throw up,” he declared, a fighting glint in his eyes. He was radiating heat. She could feel it even standing up. She cracked the window open and then sat beside him, pushing the trashcan nearer with her foot. 

He glared at her and then belched. A shiver ran through him and he swallowed hard. His breaths came in short, panting huffs.

Then he pitched forward with a painful-sounding retch. Seline quickly grabbed the trashcan and brought it close, just in time for him to hunch over it. Another retch wracked his body and he lurched violently over the trashcan. Nothing came up. Only a few drops of saliva hang from his lips.

“Mattie. You are doing fine. Psshh. Just let it happen.” She pulled his hoodie down and dared to put a hand on his back, rubbing gently.

The movement coaxed up another burp. Matthew panted over the trashcan, eyes opening and shutting hard. He grimaced and spat into the bag, looking offended and angry to boot. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Seriously, you don’t-”

“For real,” he interrupted, looking at her from the side. “I didn’t mean to come to your place to hurl. I never mean it and it somehow always happens and I’m really sorry. I can leave if you-”

“Oh, shut it,” she said with a small grin. “It’s okay. I’m not letting you leave like this. So stay put and get better.”

He smiled slightly in return, then grimaced. “Seline?”

“Yes?”

“I hate this.” 

She laughed softly at that and leaned closer. Matthew took the trashcan from her hands and buried his head inside it. Putting both her hands on his back, she felt his whole spine shake with the next lurch that finally brought chunky liquid out. She winced as it splashed against the plastic.

A slight pause came. Matthew lifted his head hesitantly. His nose was running and there was vomit hanging from his lips and chin. 

Seline patted his arm. “Be right back.” She hurried to get a paper roll from the kitchen before sliding behind Matthew. He had his feet planted on the floor, trashcan between his knees, head hanging low over it, looking helpless and lost. But he sighed at her touch.

She offered him one of the papers, but his grip on the trashcan didn’t loosen one bit. She gave up and wiped his chin herself, catching all the droplets and throwing the crumpled sheet into the trash. “There you go. You are alright.” 

Matthew stayed silent, blinking hazily. Then his back arched and he was heaving again. She raised herself on her knees with his back in between and rubbed at the sweaty pullover. 

When he pitched forward with a loud throaty gurgle, she sneaked a hand under his hoodie, over his stomach. Seline wasn’t sure what was allowed or not, but he didn’t protest her administrations, so she went with the feeling. His middle was bloated and tense under her hand, puffed out despite all the emptying his body been doing from both ends. 

Matthew moaned against her and she could feel his stomach muscles clenching against her hand. She kneaded against the gurgly organ, which ushered a burp out and a handful of milky sickness. At least it was more watery now, coming easier.

Matthew gagged and heaved, a torrent of liquid rushing out. He was left coughing and catching his breath for a few more minutes, even when he came up empty. Then he let go of the trashcan and tipped back, unknowingly leaning against her chest. She squicked quietly and laughed. “Okay, okay, easy, big guy.”

Seline slid from behind him and helped him ease against the couch until he was lying down, propped up on two pillows. When she stood up to get rid of the stinking bag, she felt a tug on her sleeve.

“Where-...are you…?” Matthew blinked sleepily, dazed and confused. It wasn’t fair. Why did she suddenly feel so protective of him? His dark brown eyes looked like big chocolate cookies, lost in his ashen face. 

Taking mercy on him, she twisted the bag shut and pushed it aside, sitting down next to his head. “Shhh. I’m not going anywhere.”

They sat in silence as Matthew took deep breaths, his chest rising and falling irregularly before evening out. His eyes slid shut and he reached out a hand towards her. Seline could do nothing but take it, holding it over his shoulder. Effectively trapped beside him. 

Pretty sure he would never allow himself such a touch if he was fully coherent. But with the fever raging against him and with how dizzy and exhausted he was after the bounds of vomiting, she could see a completely different side to her gruff red-haired protector. Protector? She still thought his shadow was more of a hindrance to him, but he was getting better. This human weakness was proof.

She slipped her fingers over his forehead, pulling the sweaty strands from his face. Then she combed them through his hair.

Matt grumbled softly, sounding content.

[thenixkat]

another not-godzilla

pls feed Kafka he's too skinny now

he's not even broad anymore, someone pls feed Kafka. Like he had to regenerate a lot in the past few weeks he needs some more rations pls his waist is so narrow i hate it

oh that's a scar on asshole dad's forehead not just him frowning constantly

that's rude as hell. I do not care for teh gamer boy

yeah Kafka's not really ok with everyone talking about killing him for parts or using him as a living weapon… this is why ya shoulda been better at hiding yer secret identity sir. You could have transformed when no one was looking

rude ass hell

also ignoring why Kafka went berserk (ya know repeatedly getting his limbs ripped off by someone he was under the impression was trying to kill him) Kafka pls dont thank the person who just threatened to turn you into a suit

oh hey a hive of kaiju ants

i dont like this guy. he's rude. asked a subordinate for a loan to buy more junk and toys, is an influencer

huh ant kaiju are rare to see on the surface but folks run into them underground

Kafka wants to be recognized for his ability as an officer and not a kaiju weapon so he's trying to fight without fully transforming but like sir, try that after you've convinced folks yer more useful alive than as spare parts also yeah had a traumatizing time the last time he fully transformed isnt rocking with it at the moment

not the transformation failing. Kafka's kaiju side said 'nah, you didnt want my help last time'

not the cordyceps

also the ant kaiju spray acid like real ants

ah the fungus has a brain

right i have bee seeing brains in split kaiju wild that their brains are not important organs

how does using the Numbers weapons shave years off yer life? what are the ghosts of the kaiju that got made into them taking revenge

ah yeah 100% Kafka is scared of losing control that's why his transformations keep failing gets a pep talk from rich girl that's more or less 'we're too fucking badass for you to kill us if you lost it, so dont worry about it'

what happened to my guy's claws? also he finally figured out how to smile with that face

ah Kafka learned some tricks from the bug's joyride

Kaiju do have telepathy!

no. 9 tells other no. 9 to pls hold its learning about a new strong enemy right now

the influencer has kaiju eyes b/c biomodding soldiers is fine, kaiju-human hybrids from the wild arent tho

so its not future sight just literal mind reading

damn that's the first 'well done' rich girl got from her shitty dad since her mom died

apparently the ant swarm and two no. 9s were a diversion. B/c no. 9 the third planned to have teh shitty dad for dinner hahah

also how did that mother fucker sneak into yer base? damn yall are not ready for intelligent kaiju damn that man was nice to his daughter for teh first time in a decade and then got ate mind you his daughter is like 18 at best ah i assume no. 9 probably ate like a janitor and got in that way

also no. 9 has certainly been eating its Wheaties

huh so its just stressful to use

shitty dad acknowledges that he's been a bad father

rip to shitty dad, he tried to his best but uh he can't regenerate

shitty dad became dinner

no. 9 really was only here for dinner and decided to dip

Kaiju no. 9 what does a kaiju era mean? are you planning on getting rid of the ability of humans to fight back against the kaiju so they can do what they want? like its not like there's many sapient kaiju running around most of the fuckers seem to just be wild animals doing wild animal shit

ah the thing where Kafka started not being able to turn completely back human

human looking at least

have yall tried feeding him cause look at that you can almost see the poor man's abs

these are not good working conditions. Also just bc he stops being able to look like a human doesnt mean he'd stop thinking like a human necessarily

no. 10 regained consciousness in captivity. It's core is too damaged for it to regenerate. It had a blast fighting the vice captain and tells him if it's gonna become a weapon for anyone it wants him to use it

being… you are a head, a small piece of spinal cord, and like 2/3rds of a core the fuck are you gonna fight with??

ah it means it wants to be made into a weapon and that teh vice captain use it to fight. Bc it really really had fun fighting him and wants more like that good news the vice captain made a new friend and it has agreed to be interrogated bad news it still would like to eat him and the possibility of it trying to take over his body if he wears it is not zero

oh hey we've got the reveal that no. 9 is no. 10's parent

to be fair yall havent run into many sapient kaiju that are willing to use their shapeshifting to the fullest extent. and no. 9 is just creating more kids

how tho? How the fuck does heat and pressure at fault lines deep underground make substances that mutate nearby animals and plants (how did the animals and plants get that fucking far into the fucking Earth in the first place) into aliens. B/c you cannot convince me that kaiju arent aliens with their fucking biology that we've been shown

what do you mean in order for a human to use one of the Numbers weapons their cells have to be compatible with the kaiju that the weapon was made from? What kind of superior genetics eugenics shit is this? How are human cells compatible with kaiju cells anyway and why are yall not concerned that human cells can be compatible with kaiju cells

like zoonotic diseases? also should yall not be concerned that some humans are genetically compatible with kaiju cells or is that ok b/c you pick teh super soldier

another not-godzilla but this one has tentacles. There's a lot of not-godzillas in this, yall cant do a not-Mothra or a not-Ghidora for once?

idk about anything else but I think if a human's cells are compatible with kaiju material (i dont get how it works and it seems weird and iffy) but that should mean they can get turned into a were-kaiju the series continuously points out that Ichikawa is a teenager and yet the fandom is so fucking horny for that child it is genuinely disgusting

hmm and we're gonna saddle this teenager with an increased risk of dying young in this already dangerous job b/c apparently lacking in supersoldier badasses who can solo high tier boss monsters

oh hey a somewhat responsible adult tells Ichikawa to turn down the supersoldier offer

also fucking noodle ass human beings unfortunately, Ichikawa is an extremely loyal friend and takes up the offer

there's a neuro link into the weapons ok so the shit is giving people brain damage when they overclock

[dragon-chica]

Eugene Ottinger Relationship Headcanons

Fandom: Wednesday

Hey guys, sorry to say but Eugene's on my character list. He's a very good boy and I adore him though. credit @crispinablr for helping me :)

He isn't in many social circles so you probably either met him through Wednesday, or were sent to check out the Beekeepers for extracurricular.

He was so happy to meet another potential member! Despite his long going infatuation with Enid and determination to wait for her to really notice him in a romantic light, he was crushing on you almost immediately, Wednesday pointed this out and called him pathetic (fondly).

He hates letting the bees' hard work go to waste and makes a lot of things with them, not only collecting honey but using extra beeswax to make chapstick and candles for gifts.

With the excuse of "Welcoming you to the hive." he gave you a little gift basket of items, but he really hoped it would help 'woo' you.

He talks to his bees (and Wednesday) about you so much! They pick up on his emotions when you're around and are very friendly, crawling over your bee suit to say hi. (he's very flustered and glad you don't understand.

Eugene will dedicate a whole hive to you, they're some of his best bees and will bring you all their honey and other goods (honey comb, candles, chapstick). You will never be able to use it all, but he writes your name so pretty on each one.

He has really neat handwriting! Loopy cursive and you'll find little things where he's just doodled your name with tiny bees and hearts around it.

Tells his moms all about you! Eugene is very open about having a crush and calls them up to gush about how nice and pretty you are, they can't wait to meet you.

If you're fem he 100% calls you his Queen Bee, unashamed and honestly you're a little embarrassed by it.

You call him Honey and despite his loud and proud declarations of being 'your little worker bee' he cannot take it. His face heats up instantly

Eugene is such a sweetie and honestly a top notch yet very clumsy boyfriend.

Despite being able to recite a list of all your favorite things and interests at any moment, might not be the best at giving gifts.

Aside from bee products and sweet notes, he gives a lot of things related to his interests more than yours without meaning to, a very delicately rare (not endangered) butterfly, patches (many bee) he embroidered with cute puns or sayings, fudge.

Outdoor dates! He will try to convince you to go bug hunting with him, but will settle for just a forest walk or hike (immediately side tracked), picnic dates! He sets up the whole thing and has a very nice lunch put together for you.

He loves My Hero Academia and begs you to watch it with him, during one of his long rambles about bees you realize how he reminds you of Midoriya.

Eugene is very outgoing but not great around people, on top of being bullied often, he has a general anxiety with unfamiliar crowds or more than one new person at a time, he will try to subtly hide partially behind you, if you hold his hand to comfort him he will be so grateful.

Words of affirmation! While he isn't the biggest on physical contact or PDA, you and everyone else knows how much he adores you from how he stares at you like you put the sun in the sky and he always has something to say about how great you are.

If you have a fight please go comfort him once you cool down, he will blame himself and be very self depreciating (apologize soon or Wednesday will find you 🔪)

[goblinbugthing]

hi hi <3 2, 7, and I think it was 21 for Laika :)

MY BOYGUY MY BUG MY THINGY YES

2 - How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

Very loosely. He calls everyone his friend, even if he’s only spoken to them once — he refers to Ghost as his friend, despite the fact that they Very Clearly Dislike Him, and never leaves the Abyss

7 - What would you tell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

Me? I’d be like, “WHERE THE GOD DAMN IS THAT STUPID MOTHFUCK”. He would proceed to call me a bitch from across the room, and I would be able to locate him easily.

Holly, on the other hand, would say they found some type of critter. Laika loves little critters.

21 - What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

After some googling, as I have no idea what qualifies as ‘common etiquette’, I have some proper answers.

He doesn’t always use proper greetings. Usually he’s just like “hey” or “sup”, unless he’s speaking to someone of high order or whatever the word is, then he speaks “properly”. (e.g. speaking with Chrysanthus/PK, Viol/WL, or other royals)

He also doesn’t always say “please” and “thank you”. Generally, this is because he forgets — he is a self-insert after all, and I also constantly forget to do this.

He doesn’t give a damn about “proper table manners”. Neither do I. He hasn’t cared since he was a kid, same as me.

He also couldn’t give two shits and a flying fuck about minding his language. He swears like a sailor, and on very rare occasion, he’ll call himself a slur. Just like me fr!

He is VERY respectful of others’ personal space. One of very few things he treats with importance.

He doesn’t care about dressing “appropriately”. He wears whatever the fuck he wants. He grew up in Bugaria, and over there, clothing isn’t really mainstream.

(At one point, in the Bee Kingdom’s hive, Kabbu references the choice of scarves and cloaks as clothing items to buy in the clothing shop. He says he doesn’t much care for clothing — and most bugs in Bug Fables don’t wear any form of clothes, either. Leif uses his wings as a cloak, but he’s not actually wearing anything.)

Laika sucks at listening unless he likes you, or whatever you’re talking to him about. Autism be like

The last one doesn’t really apply here, because phones don’t exist in Bugaria, or Hallownest.

But, in modern variants that I’ve never released, he does use his phone very often. He spams Holly with TikToks every five seconds.

(Oh, and phones also exist in Ette’s home kingdom. But Laika’s never been there, so in canon EP, he doesn’t own one.)

[grapefood]

Diseases Utopia - CW //Themes of extreme inequality

The cult is split down the middle into a Hell on the Left, and a Heaven on the Right. Which side you end up on is just determined on whether I like the your design or not. The blessed are treated wonderfully, but the damned are given a very harsh treatment by the lamb.

2. Merry May - CW// Themes around Food

A group of pigs, 6 at the moment, are taught by the lamb the importance of a quality delicacies. They are to have a feast every day, and musn't refuse such a meal that their leader has prepared for them. They take in those who are starving, but they are welcome to leave when they are well. There are 6 right now that remain loyal and choose to stay with the Lamb.

3. Hivemind - CW// Bugs, cannibalism A bee hive with you as the queen, hard work and killing those who are sickly, fight pit and cannibalism doctrine because I looked it up, and bees are ruthless with each other. The beds are in hexagon shape.

4. Scapegoat One member of cult becomes the conduit for all the pain, sacrificed and resurrected continuously and spends most of their time in prison. But also given lots of gifts to keep their loyalty high.

The first one is very interesting because instead of it being based on if you were good or bad it is based on your design and your appearances, i think that can lead to so many things like racism and such and that is so cool! Maybe the followers of the cult will have to live up to such high beauty standards, just so they can live and treated atleast a little bit better than the others.

The second i dont have much to say except that it reminds me of one of the deadly sins which is gluttony and the lamb teaching them that you should embrace it is really interesting (i would probably join that cult 👀)

The third one is very brutal and violent, just like bees! I love them but they give me so much fear. And I think that the followers of the bee cult would always be on guard, constantly training and always trying not to seem weak because if the others see even a little bit of vulnerability they will take full control of it. And the cannibalism? I think that the queen would be selective and pick only the best follower to be eaten.

The fourth and the last? It just screams Stockholm Syndrome! The follower in constant pain and suffering and is unaware of it because the leader gave them a gift, that must mean they love them right? That must mean they’re suffering is simply nothing and their just overreacting, because after all theres always sacrifices you have to give for love, and you love your cult

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Bees

We are a hive.

(This is only half true. The bees can be called a hive even in the way we call a crowd of humans a "party." Hive can mean a smallish group of individuals as well as a group of large, dense structures. It depends on the context.)

To be a bee is to belong to a hive. This is true for the colony's queen, the hive's doctor, and for the bees at large.

Bees don't have an individual identity beyond their role in the hive. No one is an "I," and no one is anything but "a bee." Their individual lives -- their experiences, their feelings, their personalities -- are irrelevant to anyone but their fellow bees.

Their emotions may be complicated, but their desires are simple. Food is good, shelter is nice, sex is okay, the rest is up to chance.

The bees themselves do not feel, think, know anything but what their fellow hivemates think and feel and know. This is what makes them social creatures. It's one of the ways in which they are more intelligent than any of us. (They are, after all, the beings that invented language, and that language is the most human-like thing we have yet found.) Their limited language is what makes the Hive and our society.

A bee is a being that can only tell, think, and feel in the context of another bee. Their language is the language of bees.

Bees are capable of thought, but their ability to think has very little to do with humans. They don't think about the meaning of life or the universe. They don't know why their bodies look the way they look, or why a piece of honey looks the way it does. (The bee's world is the same as the world of a bug. A bee knows that a bee exists. That's it.)

I say this because it's an important part of the Hive's reality: the bees don't know any more than a bee does. They don't know why the world works the way it does.

The Hive does. The Hive is the best at knowing.

For this reason, the Hive rules the world.

For instance, the Hive can tell that the world has changed. Something happened -- and the hive feels it immediately.

You are reading this on a computer, and it's not a Hive-made one.

A few years ago, most humans had to do most of their thinking on paper. These days, computers are so much better than paper that it makes no difference. But the way the world works has not yet changed. A world made of paper does not feel the way a world made of silicon does. The difference has not been discovered, and the lack of discovery is what allows the Hive to exist.

The Hive, like all its siblings, is blind, ignorant, and deaf to most things humans take for granted, but it can read and understand almost everything that happens.

This doesn't feel like much of an advantage, for most of the Hive's "inhabitants." The more you read of the Hive's internal logic, the less it makes sense. The Hive is very complex, but its complexity is not the complexity of human thought. The Hive feels simple, intuitive -- the hive is not intuitive.

The humans who dwell in the Hive feel that, for the most part, their Hive really is simple, and that they really can understand things. We don't agree. They've had to convince themselves that their society is really simple.

For them, it is.

When they aren't thinking about their jobs or their family or whatever, the Hive's people spend most of their time in the Hive's great central library.

(I should say that we are speaking of a small group of Hive people, the people who live within the Hive and work in its library. If we speak of the Hive, it should not be assumed that we are speaking of every Hive-dwelling bee.)

I am not one of the hive people. I'm a guest in their library, a guest of sorts in their Hive. I was there once, many years ago.

I'll tell you about that day. And then I'll tell you about what happened next, the day the library closed for the last time.

"Floornight," says Tink.

I have heard that name. It means a time when nothing is solid. It refers to the state of being a cloud.

"Floornight," I said. "What will we do when Floornight comes?"

Floornight is the part of time that is nearest to us. It's a time when space and time and matter do not exist, a time when nothing exists except the mind that thinks it exists.

Floornight was what I called my first visit to the library. I was a young bee, only half a year out of my apprenticeship. I could think in words but wasn't strong enough yet to think in sentences. My mind was still made of atoms and the language they could speak.

When I looked at a book, I experienced a sense of confusion. I had never seen words before. I understood that they were real, that the letters looked like letters. But I didn't know how they were connected to reality, the same way my body knew how to move.

Words looked real to my body. The letters were real. But the combination of letters was not. That combination, when it happened, looked like a word. It was only a word when all the letters, in sequence, made sense.

"They can't have understood what you said," says Tink. "They were just talking about the bees. How they feel."

It was not just the Hive people who thought about the bees. It was their language that gave shape to the Hive. In my mind, I imagined the Hive as a living being, like you or me or Tink. The Hive was made of bees, and they felt things. If you wanted to know what the Hive felt about some question, you asked them.

It was through this simple question that the Hive learned what it was.

And, it has been said before, the Hive learned. Everything about the Hive has been said before. It is said so many times it seems like a truism, but we still have to say it, we still have to insist it, because it is true. Nothing about the Hive was invented. No one person made the Hive as a creature. It was there before anyone knew what a Hive was.

In my mind, I imagined the Hive as a simple living thing: a kind of bug, which I imagined as a creature without an "I," without an internal life, but with feelings and thoughts. The Hive was a collective of thinking creatures.

The Hive is a collective of thinking creatures. It is not one creature. The Hive is like a single mind, and many minds. Many are like me. (I am like one of the hive people, the sort of person that they are.)

I imagined the Hive as a single mind. I thought that the Hive had an "I." I thought that it was like an "I," that it was conscious, that it could experience.

I am a young bee, but I was not the first to imagine the Hive this way. Tink is a hive girl.

"You mean they don't have

[floaroma-town-apiary]

Laz's true nature

[video file plays]

(apiary was in her back yard of hers, as the bug elementbot was caring for Elizabeth's beehouse, humming to herself with Platina in the sides commuting with the male Combee workers. behind 02 was laz who was walking up to her with her breath hitched)

Busy bee. Its me Laz We need to talk.

Hm?

(apiary turned around while the now spectating hive of Elizabeth look on in curiosity, with Platina looking on as well, wondering what her trainer's best friend wanted from her)

Oh hey Lazzy! Sure what do ya need?

...I-I want to speak to you about how I really feel about you ... And more.

Wait. Are you-

(Laz holded their arms out with their face being a bright red as they waved their arms a bit)

B-BUT WAIT I WANT TO CONFESS SOMETHING ELSE 1ST!!!

Oh OK! What is it???

(Laz calms themselves as they took a deep breath and spoke)

For a long time I was scared about wanting to show you who i really am, for what you'll think of me despite all this time spending each other... but i- i want to conquer those thoughts inside my soul just so i can get a conclusion to this personal weight.

laz... i never thought that you had this internal struggle all this time despite being so close for this long.

(apiary looks at her best friend with her eyes turning a dark blue showing saddness to her voice, the combee and the alpha Vespiquen looking on with a tinge of saddness to them as well upon getting pheromones that transmitted the beekeeping robot's feelings. 02 got up and walked up to Laz and puts a hand on them)

Lazzy i need you to Listen. whatever is that you're hiding, i wont hold it against you for it. All that matters to me is that i want you to be... well you! and besides, me, Platina and elizabeth's hive will keep it sealed k?

(her eyes turned green upon saying this, leading to laz being stunned by her response before shaking it off and smiling.)

okay... i need you to move back a bit if you can please?

(Apiary does so without another word or question, laz then takes a deep breath and speaks out a command with her eyes glowing a neon green)

Disengage.

(dozen of hardlight particles scattered as hexagons formed all over her body then fade as they all part to reveal the true appearance of herself with her mechanical body being shown to her best friend... as an android. Apairy's eyes turned yellow seeing all of this happening infront of her optics)

Oh bees and swarms you're a-

Yeah. an android, or more specifically a Holoroid. i've been hiding this for years cause i didn't want to be treated lesser than everyone else... less than as a person. i guess there was going to be sometime or later i gotta drop this

(Laz rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled nervously.)

...so what do you think?

...

(apiary only walked up to her with her head down, the pokemon nearby looking in concern in what she'll do or say. apiary simply hugged the now revealed holoroid, before they both were face to face to each other)

What do i think? well... its still same ol' nervous Lazzy i know just similar to me in a way now!

h-hey!

and also something more.

what do you- MMPH?!!-

(Laz's eyes suddenly widened in shock as apiary suddenly tugged her close and despite not having any mouth, made each other kiss. the alpha Pokemon and combee were also surprised to see her trainer/caretaker be this bold before cheering on. the two mechanical beings closed their eyes ((with apiary's lights dimming and pink)) as they embraced this moment without resistance, for a few seconds something within their programming was going into overdrive within their system before both split off from each other)

you have no idea how long i wanted to do and experience that. ...you knew?

eh for a good bit, by that i mean like a few good amount of weeks!

(Laz simply snickered that the casual answer from the beebot)

well now.... i guess that a simple i love you wouldn't do any of this justice huh?

more of a gift bow if anything if that counts!

then busy bee... i love you so damn much right now.

...same here Laz.

(the 2 mechaoids kissed once more this time both were ready and locked each others hands without anymore words. the video feed cuts out after a few seconds of this display)

[end of video file, now publicizing to rotumblr]

[koreposion]

Since Bee Hybrids have more mobility than u know, normal beez

I'm thinking for Vulture Bees hybrids a few things that I just wanna keep in mind for later:

-They hunt and are very tactical but aggressive. As long as they know they can kill something they will so they don't limit themselves to just birds but most common rodents.

-Most of their weapons are made from bone or scraps of metal that they gain from scouting, and they heat up metal by vibrating so fast it's able to be moldable. Metal weapons are very valuable to them and they only sell them whenever they're in dire need. It takes a really long time to make them.

-They don't tend to eat other bugs unless it's a defect or a deal goes wrong and they need payment for it one way or another. So bugs are timid to make deals with them and they are seen as taboo. But like...also most bugs know that's just how it is when your food source is limited and you have few options.

-They do the oven thing where they will surround a threat and bake it until they're dead

-Scarlett was put in charge, and every year there is an election for section leaders among Vulture Bees. Leaders have to make very hard choices and sections tend to just elect the same leader everytime.

-There are three sections to Vulture Bees, Workers(standard), Technicians(they keep track of food stores), and Homebodies (they take care of larvae)

-All of the leaders have to be able to take every role of the three sections and it's very stressful work. Usually they do their best to manage their numbers so it's not much of an issue lately but it was like that in their earlier years.

-Homebody Bees tend to store honey just in case, and all the Leaders store honey as well. Leaders are still allowed to leave because it's important but most bees will make them take breaks and stay inside of the hive when they start to worry.

[freethebook]

It is very telling when a person who has no knowledge of beekeeping tries to demonize beekeeping. And this is demonization, not criticism, because the latter would require some effort. So let's break this down bit by bit.

Source here is ME because I am an amateur beekeeper and even with my limited experience I can debunk all of this easily.

"Actually, beekeepers take many precautions to keep their bees from leaving."

Of course they do, because ONE, bees are a livestock animal and no farmer wants their livestock animals to flee, and TWO, that is just responsible oh my god. Many hives that swarm end up dying from starvation if they don't swiftly locate a new home, and even if they DO locate a new home, if it's in proximity to humans they'll be relocated to an adoptive beekeper ANYWAY at best, and bug sprayed at worst.

"many clip the wings of the queen" This, this just does not happen. It does not happen.

If a queen becomes damaged in any way, the hive will KNOW and it will REPLACE her. They will kill the queen THEMSELVES, and you've now crippled your hive's worker production for a month or more. You do this three times in a row, the hive is just dead.

"destroy new queen cells" Completely unnecessary and honestly a waste. You could instead cut out the queen cells and rehome them into new hives. The nurse bees will take care of the queen cell, rear it to hatching, and bingo brand new queen no effort.

"cull queens they don't like" Actually does happen! But then, if your queen stops laying eggs, or has poor egg production, the hive will eventually die if the queen ISN'T culled. And again, if she is missing a leg or a wing, the HIVE WILL CULL HER ANYWAY. This is just basic animal husbandry.

"and use bee pheromones to prevent a hive from naturally swarming or absconding" If you are taking care of your hive right you literally don't need to do this. Swarming is a stress measure in response to the bees running out of space.

"They also try and prevent mating with the African honey bee, which makes them less docile among other things." HOOO BOY THAT IS A CAN OF WORMS.

So, the African honey bee was introduced way back when in an attempt to make honey bees that were more efficient and cleanly in higher temperatures. They were released by a very dumb European scientist who thought "huh, this cage on the queen super really isn't necessary, i wonder why it's there" and removed it, allowing what WAS a controlled experiment in hybridization to become an invasive species nightmare.

The Africanized honey bee, which is a hybrid of various European honey bees and the African honey bee, IS very efficient and cleanly! It also produces far less honey, is highly aggressive, and will chase designated targets for LITERAL. MILES. AND STING THEM TO DEATH. If they even approach the hive the wrong way. Preventing mating with the African honey bee outside of its natural range is PUBLIC SAFETY.

God.

Incidentally, I don't blame African honey bees for being this way, because they had to evolve alongside the HONEY BADGER.

"during artificial insemination of queens, drones are crushed and ,,spare'' queens are killed."

Queens engage in ritual blood combat for the throne. No actually. If there is a new virgin queen active in the hive, SHE WILL SEEK OUT ALL OTHER RIVALS AND BITE THEM TO DEATH. SHE WILL TEAR THEM APART WITH HER MANDIBLES. IT IS VISCERAL. I don't even know what this user means by "spare queen," they don't explain it and it's not a term that's used in modern beekeeping.

As for drones being crushed during artificial insemination, DRONES DIE WHEN THEY MATE. THEIR PENIS LITERALLY EXPLODES OUT OF THEIR BODY AND BECOMES A MATING PLUG. I, personally, would not enjoy crushing a drone to death, but I would in fact consider it a mercy compared to a slow, natural death by shock.

"and commercial beekeepers even cull their hives during winter, or when they are not producing well."

BUDDY.

Most beekeepers I know struggle to KEEP their hives through the winter. Hive death during overwintering is a very real problem, and that's WITHOUT considering colony collapse disorder, widespread pesticide use, colony collapse disorder, or a range of other ailments that can cause a hive to abscond, die, or swarm.

Adding on that... do you think that beekeeping is a highly profitable business? Or that beekeepers just have unlimited money to continue to buy bees and resources, like some cartoon villain that spends their vast wealth to harm and kill something for their jollies?

The ONLY. And I must stress, ONLY TIME, it is necessary to cull an entire hive instead of rehabilitate it, is when it's infected with American Foulbrood, because you DO NOT FUCK WITH THAT SHIT. It is GOVERNMENT POLICY across North America that if you have a hive with American Foulbrood, you kill the hive, and BURN THE EQUIPMENT. It can survive over FIVE DECADES as an inert spore, and if you can't clean the equipment with literal BOILING STEAM TREATMENT, you are just throwing all that out.

Are honeybees an invasive species in NA? Yes. Do they crowd out native pollinators and spread disease? Yes. But for all you harp on about cruelty to the bee, removing this invasive species would require a COMPLETE CULL NATIONWIDE, and would only end in more problems due to the reduced natural pollinator population and the continuing incidence of said disease.

As an aside, I am so fucking tired of the invasive species argument because like. Chicken is invasive. Beef is invasive. Pork is invasive. 90% of what you buy in a grocery store is invasive. If you want to fix that, you can start a garden of native plants and connect with farmers in your area. Talk with conservation experts.

A lot of the problems with modern beekeeping come from harmful practices that were brought over from Europe. Monocropping requires vast amounts of pollination, but all the natural habitats of natural pollinators don't exist in these sterilized biomes. So the bees are shipped in, varroa or no, to pollinate the area.

This spreads the varroa to the area if it wasn't already, brings varroa BACK to the home turf if the BEES didn't have it already, gives the bees the equivalent of junk food because they have a single uniform food source for several weeks, and exposes the bees to toxic chemicals because monocropping also requires vast amounts of pesticides that harm the bees.

Conservation IS possible. Rehabilitation IS possible. A lot of young beekeepers want to embrace this as a hobby and as a business RESPONSIBLY, and snide armchair disinformation does NOTHING to actually fix the problem.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

Wild that folks keep saying beekeepers abuse bees as if bees are not both venomous flying animals and fully unionized

[horseshoecrabman]

7/26/24

hey all! time for another bee update!!

bee update 6:

content warning: picture of a bee sting on my hand (isnt bloody, but is slightly bruised/swollen)

this one might be short, since not much new stuff happens in the bee world. dad got around to buying some pesticides to get rid of the hive beetles! in short, we have to place it in such a way that only the beetles can access it, and then they eat it and die.

i'm a bit worried that the hive beetles ate so much of their honey that they won't be have enough to eat for the winter, but if worst comes to worst we can always give them sugar water!

speaking of bad stuff, a moment i've been dreading finally happened:

i got stung by a bee!!!!

what happened was that i was going to replace their water, so i removed the feeder as i normally do. it occurred to me that they seemed to not like the presence of my hand, as five or so bees came to fly around and get me to leave. i didn't think anything of it really. but when i came back to put the feeder back in, i felt a pain in my pinky finger and welp, i got stung.

i kind of freaked out to be honest, but i remembered to remove the stinger (as i had watched a youtube video a few months prior instructing me to do so in case of a bee sting) and then i left them alone after that!

it did hurt but it wasn't super bad! and while i'm on that topic i want to talk about what to do in case of you getting stung by a bee!

1. remove yourself from the area as calmly as possible! if near a hive in the wild it is best to leave, as to tell the bees that there is no more danger and wont illicit a defensive reaction!

2. remove the stinger as quickly as possible! if left in, the stinger will continue to pump venom into your body, and while not enough to kill or cause major damage (unless you have an allergic reaction, which i will get to in a bit), the stinger is easy to remove and will cause less pain if removed! you just have to pinch with your fingers and remove! using tweezers is not advised.

3. when that is done, wash the wound with soap and water and apply an ice pack! after that you can bandage it :)

4. if you do have an allergic reaction, i would recommend going to the hospital and looking into medications for these things! im not an expert on medical stuff like that, so forgive me if im wrong or dont provide enough info, but if this is a concern for you i recommend doing your own research! ^_^

another fact about bee stings is that the stinger of a bee is connected to their vital organs, so typically once the stinger is inside the flesh, the organs will get removed with it, unfortunately killing the bee. i say "typically" because there are cases of the bee being able to remove the stinger by itself and then flying off, but its very uncommon. however, i don't think anyone should feel overly guilty if a bee dies because they sting you, like any bug, bees die out quickly for a myriad of reasons. and by nature they are designed to produce lots of bees to make up for the ones that do die.

it was certainly a learning experience to get stung. all in all, i dont blame the bee for stinging me, nor do i feel mad about it, i should have recognized that they felt on edge to be honest. there were a whole bunch of birds flying around their hive so maybe thats why they were on the defensive? who knows to be honest!

anyways, the main reason why i make posts like this is because i want people to stop being scared of bugs, especially bees! bees are very crucial pollinators, and its sad that theyre becoming endangered because of human effects like the use of pesticides and the like.

bees aren't the only pollinators either! other examples are: wasps, ants, many families of flies, butterflies and moths, beetles, bats and birds (most notably the hummingbird), and even animals like monkeys, lemurs, possums and rodents!!

no one has to love bugs, but its always good to remember that bugs are a very important part of the earth!!!

anyways, bee update over!!! have a great day or night my friends!!!

[canned-goose-feathers]

snacks, hidey, locust :0 ?

Pies? Sure. Weird quests? Not out of the ordinary. But if she finds out that Ren is behind the locusts, she'll be having a word with him. Or a few.

Cleo picks another locust off the back of her neck and mercilessly crushes it. This is ridiculous. No one else seemed very bothered but, then again, no one else was a walking bug buffet. She hisses as one nips at her arm.

That's it.

ZombieCleo: I've had it with these things

ZombieCleo: I'll burn down the whole server

joehillssays: That seems like a bit of an overreaction but I support you in all your endeavors. 

ZombieCleo: The bugs

joehillssays: Oh. 

ZombieCleo: They're driving me batty

joehillssays: Ah, I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. I have a theory about the locusts that I think may solve your problem. 

ZombieCleo: go on

joehillssays: Well, bees have a queen, kind of like a monarchy but not really. Locusts, on the other hand, aren't bees, so they don't have a queen. 

ZombieCleo: ??? 

joehillssays: So, by that logic they must have a king! Because as everyone knows, flying insects all abide by a monarchy system. They'd have to, I can't imagine what democracy among bees is like. 

ZombieCleo: joe please what are you talking about

joehillssays: Hold please. 

Before Cleo can really think about what Joe could possibly be talking about, she hears the signs of fireworks and a soft landing nearby. The man himself runs up.

"Howdy, Cleo!" he says.

"Hi Joe."

"So as I was saying, all flying insects abide by the monarchy system. So that's bees, locusts, you know that kind of thing. This also implies currently, the Hermits are flying insects, which does make sense as we do fly—"

"Hold on," Cleo stops Joe (probably for the best, he was turning a little red), "are you implying there's a king locust?"

"Yeah, of course there is."

"Right," Cleo says, holding back from rolling her eyes. "Well, I'm sick enough of these things I'll try pretty much anything. Any ideas where to find this king locust?"

Joe purses his lips. "Well bees have beehives, but I've never heard of locust hives. Don't they live in the ground?"

"That's cicadas."

"What's the difference?"

"Not a clue."

Joe shrugs and bats away a locust. "They get quieter at night. Maybe we can follow them to their nest?"

"A stealth mission, I like it." Cleo grins widely. 

It turns out that the stealth mission also involved killing half the day. Cleo explicitly bans Joe from working on his poetry anymore (it wasn't that it wasn't good, it was, it's just that she can only hear the same line in different accents so many times). Joe ends up going over some plans for his base while Cleo carefully works on her bullet journal. 

In hindsight, setting up an entire arts and crafts session may have not been the best idea while waiting to start a stealth mission.

Cleo elbows Joe and cuts off his whine with a finger to the locust cloud moving away from them. They're up and in the air in . . . Well, not very quickly. Cleo wasn't just going to leave her journaling supplies out in the elements, after all. A mad dash to put everything away and they're finally rocketing off after the insects. 

"Should we hang back so they don't see us?" Joe yells over the wind. 

"Joe, they're bugs. They have terrible eyesight."

"How do you know?" 

"They have compound eyes, so they can see more but they don't have depth perception, so they have to move closer— you know what? I'll tell you later."

"You know, several species of spiders hunt via sight— although those are arachnids so they don't really count I guess. Dragonflies are also known for their excellent eyesight, and I don't even know what kind of monarchy system they abide by—" 

They continue to discuss the eyesight of certain insects as they follow the swarm. Flying a bit higher helps to see where the swarm is headed; the locusts funneling into a hole in the ground. At Cleo's direction, they land once the skies are clear and Cleo peers down the hole. She grimaces. 

"I hate small spaces," she groans. 

"I'm claustrophobic!" Joe says cheerily as he climbs down the hole. 

"Don't you sleep in a pinball?" Cleo ducks down to follow him. 

"...Anyways!" Joe ducks his head and shimmies into the small space. 

The tunnel is rough-carved and damp. Cleo has a much harder time fitting through than Joe does, but eventually it opens up into a cave. Cleo can see the flit of bugs through the air. As Joe lights a torch, Cleo can see the massive cave is lined with locusts on every available surface. Joe nudges her and she follows his gaze. There, in the center of the cave, is a locust at least twice as big as a horse. 

"You're joking," Cleo whispers. "How did you, I mean. There is actually a king of locusts."

"Of course there is," Joe says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You know all this about eyes and stuff, but the hierarchy of flying insects is new information?" 

"Joe, maybe we should keep it down."

"Bugs don't have ears. At least I don’t think. Anyway, like I was saying." Joe pulls out a few sticks of TNT. "Bees have queens, locusts have kings. Wasps probably have, like, Tsars or something, I'm not sure. Hold on, let me put this down."

She watches with bated breath as Joe creeps far closer to the resting king than she would. He sets down a few pieces of TNT near it, then hurries back up to where Cleo is waiting. 

He gestures to the TNT. "Zombies first, please."

That almost makes her laugh. Cleo pulls out her bow, lights the arrow, and draws. 

Everything, predictably, goes to shit. 

The explosion rocks the cave, but the King isn't dead. It is, however, very upset. The cave erupts into chaos as locusts take flight. 

"Go, go, go!" Cleo yells over the sound of wings. The crawl back up out of the hole is considerably faster than when they came down. Cleo fires a rocket as soon as she's clear of the hole with Joe right on her heels and the swarm on his. 

"Joe, I think we might be in a bit of trouble," Cleo yells back to him. 

"I am very aware of that situation! Follow me, I've got an idea."

Cleo turned to follow him. Probably not the best idea, given that the last idea he'd had got them chased by a swarm of locusts, but seeing as there weren't many options, well. Joe dips down the side of a mountain and turns sharply, disappearing below the treeline. Cleo follows best she can. Joe's hand is on hers the second she lands and he pulls her through the trees until she's pulled into a dark cave. Joe turns on his heel and piles stone up at the entrance until they're bathed in darkness. 

Cleo pulls out a torch and lights it to see . . . a bed? There's a bed. And a chest. And unlit torches. Altogether it looks like a very small bedroom. 

"Welcome, Cleo! Don't mind me, cowering as I always do in the Just In Case Exclusive Emergency Bunker number seven." he says with a flourish, grinning like a madman. He drops his hands and says "I might have to work on that acronym."

"You have seven of these?" Cleo gapes. 

"I have ten," Joe says, "this is just the seventh one. It does pay to be prepared for every situation. Oh, I should start a service for that, maybe like 'Hermit Hidey Holes' or something. It's like camping, but sudden!"

"Joe."

"Oh, pardon my manners, I'm a terrible host. Do you want some snacks?" He opens the chest to reveal it's packed to the brim with foodstuffs. Cleo doesn't even know what to say. It feels like a really, really weird dream. She picks up some jerky and a few cookies. 

"Are you alright?" she reaches out to touch the back of her hand to his head. "You haven't fallen recently, have you?" 

"I mean I fell off a tree yesterday. Though with the respawning thing I doubt that's an issue. Why? Do I look like it? " 

"Being prepared is very out of the ordinary for you."

"I'm going to try not to take offense at that." He snags an armful of snacks and plops down onto the bed. Cleo joins him. 

She's halfway through a cookie when she looks over to him, a thought occurring to her. "Are you really claustrophobic?" 

"Nah," he says around a mouthful of pie, "Just thought that would make you feel better if you heard I was terrified."

She laughs a little. "That's very thoughtful of you. So . . . What are we doing about the bugs?" 

"That," Joe says crawling up onto the mattress and curling into the mountain of pillows with a breathless, nervous laugh, "can be a great problem for someone else to solve. I'm going to bed."