#a pillbug story

[smashpages]

Out this week: A Pillbug Story (Black Panel Press, $19.99): 

Allison Conway combines humor and terror in the story of Millie the pillbug, who tries to enjoy her summer and figure out where she fits in during her very short lifespan.

See what other comics and graphic novels will arrive in comic shops this week.

[sorribu]

rory infodump!!!!

i had more info abt her than i thought lol

(this takes place four years post canon so everyone is four years older)

story summary: rory and her brother rhys are attacked by a large number of eggmans badniks after being chased out of their homes. rory gets badly injured and rhys gets caught by eggman separating him and his little sister.  

rory gets found by knuckles who takes her to the others to get her injuries treated. once concious, rory is desperate to find her older brother practically fighting the group as they try to get her to rest. after a meltdown rory explains what happened to her and her brother the others convince her rhys is going to be ok and that they will search for him and get her to finally get some rest

blablabla they try to look for rhys they cant find him for a LONG time

meanwhile rory usually sicks around with knuckles and sonic, since they remind her the most of her brother. knuckles and sonic sort of mentor her and help her improve her fighting skills. she also becomes friends with tails because of theyrw shared interest in engineering

rory and rhys reunite after six months and rhys is in REALLY bad shape. 

rory and rhys spend the next month and a half unable to leave eachother for more that 15 minutes without panicking due to the fear that theyre going to get separated again

after she and rhys are reunited they are taken in into sonics found family consisting of him, knuckles, amy, and tails

tails starts to see rory as a little sister(even though hes only a few months older) and end up spending a lot of time with her and rhys, they cause a lot of trouble for the others

other little bits:

rory is 12 rhys is 14

rory and rhys were chased out of theyre town after it was attacked by a horde of eggmans robots leaving them without a home for years

they become a pain in eggmans ass as they continuously fight him to get their homes back

rory and rhys have many scars from theyre battles and their shells are littered with scratches

rory has a scar by her right eye from being hit in the head during a fight and rhys has a long gash across his shell that he refuses to explain where it came from

rory has a hyperfixation on bombs and are constantly making different kinds

during her fights she prefers to drop bombs and curl up into a ball and roll away, she is fine if she doesnt get away in time since her shell protects her for the most part

she has many burn scars from accidents with bombs

sonic taught her how to spin dash

knuckles teaches her close combat fighting 

rory enjoys spicy foods while rhys cant handle spicy foods at all

rory is always getting in trouble for making rude comments about others

rory has once made a rocket launcher out of some badniks and scrap metal from a run down building

rory tends to be really childish and is often getting in to minor arguments with rhys (as siblings do)

ill write more later:P

[smellslikebot]

some ppl online complain about raccoons and rodents busting into their compost bins to steal food scraps, but my open pile is undisturbed a day after adding crab shells and pumpkin so i must be doing something right... Hohoho......

[palustrine]

Friendship ended with my simpy new pal over me asking him not to call me pretty so he had a tantrum and blocked me everywhere... bratty boy behaviour tonight

[blackblooms]

irredeamable development retrospective. Part 1: shadow and light This is gonna be pretty messy since what came before or after gets all tangled up when you go back this far, but the earliest project that can be identified in the file is a game about controlling a specter where you could take control of all kind of people or creatures and use their unique attacks and movement ability to navigate the world.

We got humans, cats, snake, ants, succubus, and my beloved mitons, a race of giant rolly polly pillbugs.

Aniway, the story eventually developped into being about a rivalry between two specters sibling. Nox and solaria. They also each came with a unique appearance for each race they could control. Through, i sadly never did make their mitons form...

The idea behind the game was that each chapter, you would awaken as one of the two and try to usurp and destroy whatever the other had built in your absence. Nox eras were more focused on primal cults of fear and darkness while Solaria would make grand empires to worship her. There was a back and forth between the two but time and technology would progress with each era. All i got left when it comes to how the world would have been laid out is this line map that shows the general ways the area connects and the ideas of how certain locations could change depending on the era.

There were also plans to introduce a new antagonist later on with Cain, a new, much more powerful specter that forces the sibling to make a truce. His backstory was that he used to have a similar rivalry with his brother able, but eventually ended up destroying him and is now deeply sad and alone.

So how far did it go? The game pretty much didn't get out of the conceptual phase. Got around to code the possession mechanics and a few of the races' movesets, but that's about it. Anyway, you`re free to get inspired by or even steal anything here. I have way more ideas than i can actually use and everything in these old projects has either been abandoned or altered so much that it's now something completely different. See you next time for the next chapter of our retrospective. Capitalism, IN SPACE!

[jinniebit]

Honestly can't believe it has already passed 1000 days since I've decided to stan these 8 dorks haha My experience as a stay has been nothing but incredible even tho I thought I was "too old" to stan a new group (clearly I was wrong)

So to celebrate this I've decided to open my gif requests but with a twist hehe I want you guys to tell me the moment or just the era (if you don't have an specific moment) you became a stay and I will make a gifset for you ^^

Can't wait to know more of your stay stories hehe

And last but definitely not least a special mention under the cut to those who made my stay life even better! Love you guys <33

@chanstopher 🔹 @soonhoonsol 🔹 @hanjesungs 🔹 @seo-changbinnies 🔹 @bangzchan 🔹 @yonglixx 🔹 @xuseokgyu 🔹 @agibbangs 🔹 @chanrizard 🔹 @hyunchanz 🔹 @babycatlix 🔹 @hyunjinz 🔹 @ambivartence 🔹 @wooobinz 🔹 @jinhyun 🔹 @cherry-heartss 🔹 @hanjisungz 🔹 @skz-films 🔹 @juiceofmoons 🔹 @snug-gyu 🔹 @ughbehavior 🔹 @winterfloral 🔹 @yenah-on-top 🔹 @yang-innie 🔹 @missyedits 🔹 @lee-minhoe 🔹 @minhosblr 🔹 @lovenee 🔹 @strayklds 🔹 @oiminho 🔹 @quokki 🔹 @brightermorepls 🔹 @minchanz 🔹 @changbeens 🔹 @hongamon 🔹 @boba-skz 🔹 @leenope 🔹 @thnx4thefish 🔹 @happysmilebtr 🔹 @pillbug-hanjis 🔹 @lixence 🔹 @woodziecup 🔹 @ggthydrangea 🔹 @haenglixie 🔹 @yangjeongin 🔹 @wahgifs 🔹 @wisteriya 🔹 @noonaracha

[lilcreaturethingfromthewoods]

Psycho pass is a very deep, well-told story about justice, society and the importance that lies in the choices we make for ourselves. The best fight scene is a tiny robotic pillbug fending off a swarm of evil wasp drones

[spybrarian]

Twenty Fanfic Writer Questions

Tagged by @storyspinner91 a while back but I was in Australia!

Who'd like to play? I've tagged a few people in the questions themselves, but maybe also... @onlyshestandsthere, @expensivefate, @jayenator565, @commanderbuffy @geek-and-nina if you like?

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 

19, which feels *wild*! 19!!

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 

221,606

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Willow! Just Willow, these days. Tanthamore have my heart.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

one night at the start of the end of the world - my Shattered Sea one shot, tender tender Tanthamore, and there's only one bed, and it's the birthplace of pillbug Kit, and the fic where I worked out how much I liked writing them looking after each other. I'm glad this one is other people's favourite, too.

more than just survival - my multichapter canon story about Jade as she grows up, from when she was a kid in Tir Asleen to what happens after they return from the quest. Also a 5+1 (five times Kit made Jade blush and the one time Jade got her back).

The Pieces - kinkverse modern au short stories, a collaboration with @acre-of-wheat and @swashbucklery. I've written The Spider, The Mile High Club, The Maintenance and The Holes.

kiss me, kill me - my Bone Reaver Jade au, Jade busts into Tir Asleen to kidnap the princess and ends up getting got herself, in so many ways.

I scream at your chest for as long as I must - a post canon one shot, just after they return from the quest. Jade grieves for Ballantyne and Kit learns how to walk with her though her grief.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I like to!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 

I don't know - I can tell you my darkest premises (probably the very canon divergent the cellar door is an open throat aka the barbed wire, Kit Jade and Elora in a dungeon au) but even the ending of that one finishes with a glimmer of hope.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 

Huh, I think with most of my fics I tend to go for hopeful endings over happy ones. I think my most *satisfying*, hopeful ending I wrote was Samaras (an Architect of Catastrophe story) that I wrote as a present for @wigster07. I'm really, really pleased with that one. It's about rebuilding after tragedy.

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

I haven't, and am very grateful for that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

Do I ever?! What kind? What *kind*?! The gay kind. Aside from the aforementioned kinkverse, I've also got a canon based smut series (my kissing fics!) called There's not a step we can take that does not bring us closer where Kit and Jade are inventing all the different ways they love being together.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? and 11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope and nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Also nope - although Juliette made [Podfic of] one night at the start of the end of the world where she read this fic GORGEOUSLY! It's there for download if you want to listen.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

I've collaborated! I haven't done a true co-writing thing for this fandom but, there's the kinkverse series in which I'm in deep cohorts with Acre and J, the singing cowboy fic I wrote into J's (cowboy) take me away (tanthamore rdr2 au). I love them both - they push me in new directions, and the feedback loop of inspiration is an utter joy.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Tanthamore, hands down

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? 

I plan on finishing them all. Yes even Wyrm Jade/I'll be the sweetest thing to ever scare you, yes I know it's been a hot minute. I do have genuine plans to finish.

16. What are your writing strengths? 

Coming up with phrases/images that people remember, that's probably the part I get a kick out of the most. I think my pacing and character and words in general are all pretty good, but writing callbacks to earlier in the story, or getting the foreshadowing right, are two of my favourite things to play with.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I get repetitive - mostly I manage to catch this in edits, but ho boy do I know how to say the same thing over and over.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? 

I'm not fluent in anything other than English so I haven't used dialogue in other languages in any of my fics - unless you count the Ancient Angoran in 'kiss me kill me'.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Dragonball Z, an epic written by hand in double spaced lines over several exercise books ;)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? 

I'm really proud of 'one night' and 'more than just survival' but there is a special place in my heart for Let's take a knife and cut the world in two and its follow up there is light somewhere (it may not be much light but it beats the darkness) - my Exorcist Jade/possessed Kit au. The strange not-canon, not-modern, some-mix-of-the-two world that I made for that one is my *favourite*.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Worm Fanfic Recs

No rankings at play here, just my favorite fics that I think other are really good. There are fics I like that aren't listed because I have a bad memory, but everything here is something I really really enjoyed. I have biases obviously, this isn't objective.

The Fics

Our Private Crises - A nailbiting murder mystery with unique and well done POVs from a different character each chapter. The mystery and reveal at the end were stellar, and it got me attached to characters I never thought I'd care for. 29k words. Complete.

It's Cold Out There Every Day - Missy is trapped in a time loop on her birthday. Genuinely stellar characterization, it has the best Missy and Aisha I've ever read and its such a creative and well executed premise. 41k words. Complete.

Tilt - Unpowered homeless girl Taylor fakes a thinker power to get in the Wards and secure housing. She's even more self destructive and self deprecating than in canon. 10/10 characterization for a slew of POV characters including Taylor, every ward but especially Sophia, Rachel, Lisa, and a ton of other characters. Despite not going through all of what canon Taylor went through, this fic nails her character better than pretty much any others. 220k words at time of posting. Updating consistently.

Tear Apart, Stitch Together - Taylor triggers with Shatterbird's power and kills thousands. Short and sweet, everything that's there is great and it wraps up well I think. 13k words. Complete

Memories of a Simurgh Victim - The Simurgh attacks Brockton Bay. Has two storylines, one following Taylor and one following Amy and Vicky. Among the most fucked up things this fandom has to offer, a terrifying showcase of the Simurgh and her power. 62k words. Taylor's story is incomplete but the Amy and Victoria story is done.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Pleasures - Cherish altpower Taylor tries to consensually fix Amy's incest fetish. A trainwreck I can't look away from, the worlds first psychological horror romcom. It's so fucked up and so amazingly funny, and has good well written characters. I don't like Pillbug and I'm not a big fan of altpowers, but this fic is still one of my favorites because it's so damn compelling so definitely check it out if you actually like either of those things. 211k words at time of posting. Updating consistently.

Roots - The Slaughterhouse Nine attack a small town with a roster of OC capes, but something is very off about the place. POV shifts every chapter, and the OCs are interesting and unique. The S9 are also wonderfully characterized here, I've never had a fic make me sad for Crawler of all people. 67k words at time of posting. Ongoing. Criminally underrated.

Roma Fade - Ciara and Fortuna both try to grow past who they were as capes and find themselves as people in a small town post Gold Morning, having found common ground posing as moms to a recovering Taylor. I'm sure fake dating would never end in real attraction, that would be absurd. Incredibly gay, incredible characterization for everyone, the best post-GM fic around in my opinion. 87k words at time of posting. Ongoing but currently on hiatus.

Case - Lisa and the Simurgh start a detective agency. It's just great humor and a lovely story and wonderful despite being short and deceased. 14k words. Dead.

Silence is not Consent - Taylor intervenes and saves Victoria from Amy and gives her a place to stay, Victoria massively struggles dealing with what happened. Amazing characterization, Victoria's POV is unique and incredibly well done, and her seeing Taylor from an outside perspective is interesting. Be warned that this is a very heavy fic emotionally, but it's really fucking good. 212k words at time of posting. Updating consistently.

A Word - Altpower Taylor is obsessed with writing a story. I don''t know how to describe this fic honestly it's hard to do justice, but it has perhaps the best conclusion to Gold Morning I've seen in a fanfic. 11k words. Complete.

Scarab - A fantasy AU where powers are thought to be magic, and the Faerie Queen takes an interest in Taylor. Filled to the brim with creativity and passion, this fic is teeming with fresh ideas and interesting depictions of canon characters. The worldbuilding is great as well, no other fic on this list has a map, so this is clearly a cut above the rest. 139k words at time of posting. Updating consistently.

Swallowtail - Ok I lied this one has a map too. Taylor with an incredibly interesting stranger power joins Faultline's crew. There is a truly astounding amount of AU elements and alternate powers for canon characters, it feels like a new world while still being recognizable and distinctly Worm. Has a large amount of alternate POVs and the first arc can be rough, but it's creative and amazing. 360k words. Ongoing but currently on haitus.

Soliloquy - Ex-Slaughterhouse 9 Taylor is in prison, bitter at the world and herself and especially her clone who saved the multiverse. A heavy fic about someone slowly recovering and becoming a better person when they're convinced it can't be done. Made me cry. 71k words. Complete.

TWNY - Post-GM Taylor finds herself in the world of RWBY with a pair of moth antennae. Multiple POVs, all very interesting despite me knowing nothing of RWBY. Probably the best characterization of Taylor in any post-GM crossover fic, she's heartbreaking in the recent arc, and it feels like the fic has barely scratched the surface of what it'll eventually cover. Also it's very gay. 136k words. Ongoing.

The Great Escape - Eidolon is struggling after his reputation is destroyed and Cauldron is revealed, and then the Birdcage opens. Amazing use of seldom seen characters, great POV with Eidolon, well done and interesting fights, has String Theory. 107k words. Ongoing but currently on haitus.

Happiness Is Inevitable - NSFW. The only damn erotic mind control Simurgh smut in the fandom somehow. Besides the porn (which is a lot of the fic, who woulda thunk it) the story itself is actually pretty interesting and has a lot of creative parts, and it has better characterization than most fics. 29k words. Ongoing?

Oneshots

Break me so that I can be whole - This accursed fandom is tragically bereft of QA / Taylor fics, but this one shot is great, love an eldritch take on shards. Probably fucked up but I'm not actually a good judge of that so be warned. 1.8k words.

Book Worm - Dragon helps teach Taylor how to read and speak and understand language post-GM. Bittersweet and lovely. 2.5k words.

Defiant Didn't Dox Saint For Nothing! - Taylor goes back in time and the first thing she does is kill Saint because he sucks. Cracky but I like it, fun little oneshot. 1.6k words.

Ruling Ash - Glory Girl flees Brockton Bay during the Slaughterhouse Nine and ends up living with Damsel of Distress. Cute, and Starsong before Ward is very interesting. 2.8k words.

My Sunshine - Leviathan goes worse and Brockton Bay is destroyed. Taylor and Victoria survive. Very somber, but well executed. 3.4k words.

Cherry on Top - A character study of Cherie Vasil, showing how she went from running away from Heartbreaker to joining the Nine. Extremely well written, absolutely incredible depiction of her character. It depicts abuse and actions typical of Heartbreaker and Cherie, so be careful reading. It's a lot emotionally. 12.7k words.

Devil in a New Dress - NSFW. Shatterbird / Reader, I'm not explaining myself on this one. Neat Shatterbird characterization, hot, pretty fucked up so be warned. 1.7k words.

[cutsiewitch]

I feel like a bottom feeder of the worm community, I have absolutely no media standards whatsoever.

Worm scratches the carnal urges I have for a unique and interesting power system and a bunch of mentally ill gay people to torture and ship, but I dont notice much else. People will point out the subtleties and themes I miss and I go “oh wow thats so cool, I never thought of that” and then go straight back to shoveling Alt-power stories and Pillbug(Skitterpan) fics down my gullet. I am almost certain a LOT of my worm takes are completely wrong (Amy dallon could be redeemed and is a product of circumstance, Aura theory, etc) but tbh I don’t have enough power to understand higher concepts.

[blimbo-buddy]

a serious idea building off the more humorous "do bugs have weed" i wonder if they could use certain mildly poisonous plants or mushrooms to recreationally get high....some bug cultures would prob be super open and encouraging of this while others would hate it and see it as distasteful, theres also the possibility of bug substances not having the same or as strong of an effect on one species as they do others. im overthinking this anyways! food for thought

You know I might actually consider that. I thought about it for a minute and worried about realism but then I remembered this is a story where the bugs can talk, have societies, form religions, forge weapons, etc. The realism was lost from the moment of the story's conception

Some bugs, due to their small size/mass, can either only ingest recreational mushrooms with a strict limit or straight up not eat it at all due to it being extremely dangerous to them. Bigger bugs can easily ingest a larger amount of it through most forms, although it's typically through eating it

Mosquitoes, Flies, Fireflies, Worker Ants, Workers Bees: Can't ingest psychedelics without risk of extreme health issues, going comatose or in some severe cases, death

Worker Wasps, Earthworm, Ant Queens, Moths, Butterflies, Bee Queens, Pillbugs, Slugs, Wasp Queens, Hammerhead Worms, Smaller beetle/spider species: Can ingest psychedelics decently enough but only up to a certain point if they go past their limit, they're likely to become incredibly sick

Cockroaches, Dragonflies, Spiders, Cicadas, Beetles: Can handle psychedelics incredibly well compared to the other bugs. It rarely poses a threat to them

You are right though in that some bug kingdoms don't view these psychedelics very well (Usually more common in bugs that cannot ingest psychedelics), a great example of this is the Ant Colonies

Both from a safety standpoint and also cultural/societal standpoint

Ant culture puts a great amount of pride and effort into their work, what they can do for their colony and more importantly, for their Queen

An ant who is both sick and high from consuming psychedelics is seen in a bad light, in some extreme cases, the ant will be killed off

I'd have to look in a bit more with different kinds of fungus in california that are psychedelics. I should note that everything I just said, also applies to bugs and the effects that cannabis has on them, not just psychedelics

[sonia-kate]

Speculations and theories after 16th episode of King-Ohger

A new episode and a new theory! Or rather expanding on previous ones. Or even more accurately, in my case, adding new ingredients to the soup of ideas and speculations

So in the latest episode of King-Ohger (16th) we learned that the culprit behind the Wrath of Gods was actually identified and they are being held captive by the previous Supreme Judge (or whatever Rita's title is). The whole thing involved the Queen to fake her death and guard the cultprit for 15 years, while her husband takes the blame for killing her and spends said 15 years in prison and they leave the responsibility of ruling Gokkan to a 10-year-old Rita. They went with all those measures, because apparently, the crime committed cannot be judged by law (or sth like that). Well, causing a world-wide disaster and slaughtering lots of people seems like something that would easily get you a life sentence or even a death penalty, without going through all of that trouble, which means that this case can't possibly be that simple. Not only the guilt can't be clearly stated, but also, the case itself requires secrecy

Now, we've been given various glipses of information about the Wrath of Gods throughout the episodes, but during narration Jerami mentioned some interesting detail. He said that after the fated event, all the countries became dependant on Shugoddom. Now that we think about what we've got so far, it all makes sense. Rita and Himeno were just little children, N'kosopa was just a ruin at the time, used as a scrap heap of Shugoddom (as Yanma said). Meanwhile, Racules would be around 16 years old at the time and prepared to rule all his life, so it feels natural that he would take the lead in the world after the Wrath. The only exception being Kaguragi and Toufu. Kaguragi was in similar age as Racules and since he managed to lead a rebellion against the previous ruler, he clearly has leadership skills. But then, what is the very next thing that happens between Toufu and Shugoddom? Kaguragi secures help for Toufu in form of Demi-Shugods from Shugoddom in exchange for his own sister! Now, the only ruler that could potentially rival with Racules has become his puppet! Seems a little too convenient, doesn't it?

Let's go back to Shugoddom for a moment. So far, other kingdoms had rather clear themes. N'kosopa creates technology, Ishabana's domain are medicine and art, Toufu is all about agriculture and providing food and Gokkan is essentially an international prison colony, but Shugoddom was quite puzzling for the fanbase as to what does it do exactly? Sure, we've known it's the first kingdom or that it's aesthetic theme are gears and so on, but until recently we couldn't exactly figure out what could they provide to the other kingdoms. Now we know that Shugoddom's primary export goods are their Demi-shugods, like the snails and spiders traded for Suzume, those flying little TVs or pillbug taxi. This brings us back to the Wrath of the Gods, as Himeno mentioned that Shugoddom didn't send their demi-shugods to help them. And, of course, there is that gigantic swarm of cicadas

One can already see where this is going. Yes, indeed. I suspect that King Red killed with poison in Ishabana! (They're all even colour coded, anyway...) Previous king of Shugoddom and Gira and Racules' father, despite not showing up in the show so far at all nor being discussed by the characters, already has his name - Corsus Hastie - revealed back from the times when the show was just starting. Now that we know that not all previous kings are dead and could show up in the show, this could point to the relevance of the character to the story.

Before we'll go to his potential motives of let's go through means. As we know, Shugoddom produces demishugods, so if anyone could produce the swarm of cicadas, someone important in Shugoddom would be the best bet (unless it's some ancient army that layed dormant for years or sth). But he'd also need GodScorpion's venom. As we know, Sasorine's soul was in Gokkan, but the Shugod itself was called by Gira in Shugoddom. In episode 13 or so, Himeno wants Gira to communicate with Scopi, but he's unable to reach it in Ishabana, and he only hears the Greater Shugods underneath Shugoddom. This suggests that GodScorpion has been lying underneath Shugoddom the whole time and if so, even without the soul, King Corsus didn't have very far from the Shugod if he wanted to gather the venom for his purposes. The problematic would be actually going underground and knowing that GodScorpion is there in the first place. That's where the Bugnarok comes in! We saw them store the Greater Guardian Deities at their HQ and Gira sensing them under Shugoddom. Also, when Jerami emerges out of Bugnarok hiding place, he makes his first appearance in Shugoddom. This suggests that Bugnarok's main base lies right under Shugoddom (unless they have more than one and/or network of tunnels leading to every kingdom, but at least them sitting under Shugoddom is confirmed). That makes any potential cooperation between Shugoddom and Bugnarok far more convenient

But if he really was the one behind the Wrath of Gods, what would his reasons be? Of course, he could have simply wanted to seize the other kingdoms, but if his motive was simply conquest, then his conviction would be rather simple as well, wouldn't it? Unless the reason would be sth like not wanting for a conflict to break out between the kingdoms, but that's rather doubtful, imo. Far more probable, imo, would be if he had some good intentions behind his actions, but it still wouldn't justify, even slightly, what he bought upon the world, because whatever he was aiming at, sacrificing some people to make it better for others is completely unjust, as the other group could have lived just fine as they were and thus the improvement would have been just a whim and not a necessity. But what if it was? What if he sacrificed one group of people to save another one? Here we'd have a typical trolley problem

If, let's say, Bugnarok managed to plant giant cacoons (like the ones in episode 10) under every major city of Shugoddom and threaten to blow them up, destroying the whole kingdom? For example, of course. We already know that Bugnarok waited 2000 years not because they were dormant or anything like that, but because they were following Jerami's prophecy. Nothing prevents them from preparing for the foretold year. As we know, their hideout is right under Shugoddom so they could have prepared it without a problem and going to the King to blackmail him would be just a short trip as well. Add to that any of the variants of "Bugnarok meddles within Shugoddom court" theories and the king would find himself backed into a corner

Now, I don't know how would they possibly solve a threat like this in the show nor why wouldn't Bugnarok just do it with all of the kingdoms, but regardless of what the threat is exactly, it can't be really judged in an indisputable matter. As a king of Shugoddom, his duty would require him to save his people, even if it means dirtying his hands, as Kaguragi would say. On the other hand, he killed many other people to achieve that and it can't just go unpunished. What's more, revealing the threat will not only cause a mass panic among the population and may provoke the Bugnarok to fullfill the threat. Even if they don't if the king returns, they might just force him to do another horrible thing

With the king gone, the judgement remains unresolved and Bugnarok is left with no one to further blackmail. Well, except Racules who would become the new king. The question is, why wouldn't they blackmail him back at the time? Ah, yes, the prophecy that foretold Bugnarok's return 15 later. But then, why would Corsus have to disappear? Or maybe the disappearance wasn't something he planned, but was caught by the Gokkan crew? That being said, Racules being left with the country to govern, surrounded by Bugnarok spies would be hard enough, so having to also take care of his younger brother who could be used as another way to blackmail him would be exhausting

Here into play comes Gira's kidnapping. The reason why his very existance was erased, being that the information of his kidnapping would bring dishonour to the royal family always sounded like a bullshit excuse. If the situation described above would take place, though, Gira disappearing from the castle would not only ensure Gira's safety and lighten Racules' burden, it would leave Racules as the only remaining member of the royal family that would be available to Bugnarok. If Bugnarok tried to put a usurper on the throne, they wouldn't have as much support or devotion from the population like the rightful heir to the throne. What's more, power shift could raise people's suspicions and have them speculate on the reasons behind the power shift, risking Bugnarok to be revealed 15 years prematurely. To the equation we should add OhgerCalibur ZERO and King-Ohger ZERO. Those can only be used by someone with the genes of a Hastie family. Racules being the last of his family would make him untouchable to Bugnarok, if they want to make use of KingOhger ZERO

Bugnarok's involvement in Wrath of Gods is rather clear when we see Kamejim being dead-set on eliminating Shiron as soon as he left the prison. Shiron knows far too much and thus should be eliminated. If even he knows as little as who the culprit was, if it truly was Corsus Hastie, it would point everyone towards Shugoddom and could expose Bugnarok's machinations within the kingdom. Then why wouldn't Bugnarok kill him earlier, throughout those 15 years? Could be that they didn't want to draw attention to him, but if he spilled the beans they would be exposed and wouldn't be able to stop him on time. I guess it is possible that prison in Gokkan is just too well-secured to get in there. Sure, we saw Bugnarok break into the castle in episode 5, but it's possible that the cells are extra durant, as to prevent prisoners from digging their way out, and this way making it impossible for Bugnarok to reach

Why bring this up now? Well, if we remember the duel between Hastie brothers, Racules' demand regarding Gira's defeat was for him to be locked up in Gokkan. What's more, Racules thanked Kaguragi for his cooperation with capturing Gira, because if the matter didn't have international nature, Rita wouldn't take care of it. One could question whether Kaguragi was supposed to bring Gira back to Racules and decided to hand him over to Rita on his own accord, but Racules' reaction and the fact that Rita is seen investigating the case even before Gira was finally captured by Kaguragi suggests otherwise. If Shiron remained safely in his cell throughout 15 years, this suggests that so would Gira, yet not only Rita refused to put Gira into a safe cell in Gokkan, she also revealed to everyone Gira's identity as Racules' younger brother, putting both of them in even greater danger than before. No wonder that usually calm Racules lost his cool at that very moment

There are other things about Racules and Shugoddom that are yet to be covered. For example, his alliance with Bugnarok. If Bugnarok infiltrated Shugoddom, why make such a fuss about it? First of all, it's very possible that the infiltrating operation was Kamejim's doing and the meeting was supposed to have Desnarak involved. Another thing would be, that right now Racules' cooperation with Bugnarok is clear to everyone and no one is very surprised because they know that the peace negotiations took place. If they hadn't happen, it could make everyone question how did Shugoddom even manage to contact Bugnarok let alone to convince them to join forces. What's more, in current situation, it's very easy to shift the blame for the invasion on Jerami. After all, it's his silly idea of getting humans and Bugnarok to coexist that led to the disaster, didn't it? And he was the one who introduced Racules and Desnarak to each other! Because, of course, there is no evidence that the two had ever interacted between that very moment, isn't it?

Another yet unsolved mystery of Shugoddom and the Hastie family is GodKuwagata, it remaining dormant for years and Gira waking it up as well as Gira's ability to talk to Shugods. First of all, since we know that Shugoddom is filled with demishugods, can Gira talk to them too, can he only talk to guardian deities or maybe he'd be able to but the demi-shugods just don't talk much? Another thing is, since Shogoddom is literally State of Shugods (Shugod; -dom), could it be possible that whole Hastie family has that ability? After all, Racules still remains an enigma and he keeps his cards hidden, given above specultions, even from his closest coworkers. Maybe the ability to talk to shugods is related to the very same part of their genes that provides them with the red marks on their right temple and allows them to operate KingOhger ZERO?

But back to Kuwagon. When Gira manages to awaken it, Racules reacts by saying that it's impossible. He isn't shown to be accompanied by anyone, so we can assume that wasn't part of his act to keep Gira's identity hidden. This, together with the fact that GodKuwagata has been dormant for many years, suggests that Racules was genuinely surprised and didn't have an idea of what has happened. Again, if the theory above would turn out to be correct, it would mean that Racules has known about Bugnarok in Shogoddom's royal court, about Wrath of the Gods and circumstances of Gira's kidnapping. He's always seemed like he knows much more than other kings. He also seemed to recognize Jerami when he first appeared and Jerami's mention of history before the Great War seemed to mapke him realise something, but awakaning of Kuwagon seemed to be a surprise even for him. Again, Bugnarok weren't dormant themselves, they only waited 2000 years to reemerge because of Jerami's prophecy and thus they were able to still act and make their moves and preparations during that time. Imo, it's not impossible that the Bugnarok moles have been residing in Shugoddom for centuries. Maybe they were even the ones behind God Kuwagata going dormant or the fact that it's the only Guardian Deity without its soul being located within its cockpit

Another thing to speculate on is Suzume, she's been in Caucasus Kabuto Castle for 15 years already. I'm very curious on what did she learn over that time and what her relationship with Racules really is. Could she be in on the whole thing as well? Maybe they somehow cooperate together under Bugnarok's noses? It's worthto mention, that it's most likely thanks to her why Kaguragi decided to surrender Toufu to Racules and seeing what is about to happen in N'kosopa next week, I wouldn't be surprised if it was deliberate action to spare Toufu the same fate

What comes to mind are also flashbacks of Racules and Yanma working together in the past, contrasted with Yanma being now the one who opposes Racules the most. Coincidentally, he is the one that wasn't appointed as the ruler right after the events of the Wrath of Gods and he is the one who broke off from under Racules' leadership over the Quintet Alliance. Could Racules have done something to set Yanma against him? I mean, he sure had to, but did he do it on purpose? After all, (again, according to speculations above) the Wrath of Gods was specifically engineered to have all the other kingdoms to fall under Shogoddom's influence, that was by now in Bugnarok's grip. We remember how easy it was for Kaguragi to manipulate others in episode 4 as long as he ticked the correct boxes. Yanma and his drive to always emerge on top, as well as circumstances of his raise to power would make him the perfect target to sabotage the Alliance, if such necessity would occure. And if Alliance being led by Racules was orchestrated by the Bugnarok themselves, then it makes it quite possible that Racules purposefully discouraged Yanma towards himself, to sabotage Bugnarok's efforts. (Or maybe Yanma is on it as well? Though I doubt it)

That being said, I love all the little pieces we've been getting throughout the show and how such a complex intrigue is forming right in front of our eyes! I can't wait to see next episode and to finally see Racules back in action and working with Bugnarok, nonetheless. Many people already pointed out that Racules' evil mannerism from the preview resemble Gira's. Of course, that brings back suspicion that the two brothers used to play the exact same way as Gira did with kids in the orphanage, just with Racules playing the role of the Evil King, instead. I can't wait for more to be revealed and to see how the events unfold and what will the upcoming episodes bring to the table

Summary (speculations, not confirmed, major points)

Bugnarok has infiltrated Shugoddam's royal court over 15 years ago

Corsus Hastie, previous king of Shugoddom and Racules and Gira's father, is the culprit behind events of the Wrath of the Gods

He was forced to do so by the Bugnarok that infiltrated his kingdom and that's why judging his crime is such a difficult matter

Gira was taken from the royal court and erased from records for his own safety

Racules is in on everything: Bugnarok infiltrators, Wrath of the Gods etc.

Racules tried to imprison Gira in Gokkan to keep him safe like Shiron

Racules is forced to cooperate with Bugnark just like his father was

[sorribu]

sometimes you hyperfocus on an au for an oc amd its the only thing you can think about for days

[glampirebat]

15 questions for 15 friends

Tagged by @daggertongue 🖤

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ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?: For years people have joked I'm a Cenobite, but my namesake is Zenobia queen of Palmyra. Sin for my friends.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: As I type, I have dreadfully watery eyes and the disposition to weep at a gentle spring breeze.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?: Lol, no <3.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?: I was a baseball shortstop and Soccer goaltender, but haven't seriously played either in years.

DO YOU USE SARCASM?: I would *never*.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: Hair and Jewelry, how one chooses to ornament themselves. We're born with bodies to sculpt as best we can, and the ways we choose to portray ourselves speak volumes over the things we happen to be born with.

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?: Hazel, speckled green with a ring of dark blue.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?: Scary Movies. There's beauty in the vile and disgusting and few forms of media are so willing to wallow in that beauty quiet like horror. I'm a gorehound baby.

ANY TALENTS?: Jewelry making, earrings and the occasional pendant mostly, but I adore any charm with a good story to it and it's components.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: Ponce, Puerto Rico. I miss the sounds of the ocean now that I live inland.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?: I clean bones and produce and collect taxidermy of various kinds, pinned bugs, stuffed beasts, the occasional owl pellet, fur coat, or chicken foot. When I have the time to lose myself to it, I dabble in the esoteric and arcane.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?: I'd rather pet sit then have a pet of my own. It feels cruel to me to keep something living just for my entertainment, but I was offered a terrarium filled with speckled pillbugs and I must admit they have my heart already.

HOW TALL ARE YOU?: A looming 6'2".

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?: History, the immense weight of civilization and thousands and thousands of years of art and common causes and the strange neuroses that brought us here today have a stranglehold on me. Everything is connected by a spiderweb of causes and effects that are nearly impossible to fully grasp the intricate pattern of. War history was sooo lame tho.

DREAM JOB?: Entomologist, I adore insects and insect conservation, but the pesticide industry depresses me and I fear any bug bio degree I seek out will end up funneling me into a pest control career.

☆

Tagging: @omgniatheapricot, @franmadaraki, @hound-of-novitiate, @basi1isks, @gnarlybite, @razorslices , @destroyalldinosaurs , @catghoulz , @smizey , @philosaint , @transvampania , @aenysanus , @androgynous-barbie , @toxicgothsyndrome , @rarecandy

[hottakehoulihan]

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Pleasures

Characters behave recognizably canonically: Close enough. Not abandoned incomplete: Yes (regular updates) Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Yes* Do I recommend it: Yes* *If you like the premise. Also, if you can deanl with an occasional pun.

Premise: Altpower Pillbug with some toxicity because Amy is a jagged and bitter pill. Oh, and Taylor's not a bug. Taylor's got an emotion-manipulation power that reminds her of Heartbreaker and she wants to not be hated or evil so mostly doesn't use it and it's rough on her and she senses Amy's anguish and thinks maybe she can help and also vent her (use my powers) needs. ...at least in the first two chapters.

The only Worm canon characters in the story thus far are Taylor and the Dallon family, and the story does a good job of writing Amy as a caustic unpleasant person. Taylor's insanely, neurodivergently chill, and this is likely part of what broke in her when she got her powers. Despite them both being damaged goods with plenty of red flags, they're both operating with informed consent all the time. ...and I suspect that there's a possible polycule (maybe to include Dean and Vicky both, though I'm not sure what Dean's pronouns will be if that happens) maybe eventually gonna form but right now there's been nothing more than some kissing and (gasp) erotic hardcore handholding. (for real.)

Also, this is the most interesting I've seen any fic handle Carol. That's not a high bar yet, but it may be the the most interesting thing about the story and the story has multiple interesting bits. And at least two OC characters I'm probably going to sulk that I didn't get enough of because I like them too.

I'm enjoying the read. I'm gonna put it down for a bit so a few chapters can queue and I can reread the previous and read it all at once, but it's a good time.

[authorcoledipalo]

I've been wanting to talk about the rock creatures!

Here are some of the ideas that I drew for example. These creatures work off the power of the crystals that draw energy from the light around them and dig themselves out of the ground in the shape of animals! They exist to fight back against those who want to take the power of the crystals and can grow anywhere, out of any stone, and they take on the most effective form for that area. The color of the crystal usually tells you where it's from, as some places have more of one color energy than others, but you can usually find them anywhere.

Some of the other rock animals include: The rock rat, tiny little guy made out of pebbles and stones that scurry away from those who try to harvest them. The rock rat king, this monster is made from boulders and often many other rock rats that have joined to help it, often ending up being multicolored with its crystals. The rock Pillbug, this one isn't as small as it's real life counterpart, the Pillbug is a massive boulder that can destroy anything in its path by rolling over it. And finally the Rhino, this one has a massive crystal growing on it's head where the rhino's horn would be. It's very aggressive and has been captured to be used in an arena at some point in later stories...

These creatures are inspired by both Horizon Zero Dawn's mechanical creatures and beautiful rock formations that I've witnessed. What are some other creatures you think deserve to be made into rock form?

@honeybewrites