#also no centipede makes webs

[wishful-thinking64]

To quote pilot Moxxie, "Excuse me, WHAT!?" I'm sorry, what do you mean CENTIPEDE!? He has this whole spider motif with all of his constant webs and she's saying he was supposed to be a centipede!? What reverse gymnastics is Viv trying to do here??? While I'm not exactly happy at the thought of Mammon being another spider character, that makes way more sense than him being a god damn centipede!

Okay, so I just learned that Mammon's full demon form is based on a centipede... A centipede.... A centipede.

If he was suppose to be a centipede, why doesn't he have a long, multisegmented body? Why the web motive in the theme park? Jesus Christ Vi' is just pulling shit outa her ass again.

[eldritchshapeshifter]

Oh Helsknight is Hunt coded. Oh Helsknight is Slaughter coded. Oh no he’s Desolation coded. No no he’s Flesh coded.

No /hj

that bitch /aff is Stranger and Corruption coded

I take no criticism.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Humans are not perfectly vigilant

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then PROVIDENCE (Apr 12), and beyond!

Here's a fun AI story: a security researcher noticed that large companies' AI-authored source-code repeatedly referenced a nonexistent library (an AI "hallucination"), so he created a (defanged) malicious library with that name and uploaded it, and thousands of developers automatically downloaded and incorporated it as they compiled the code:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/

These "hallucinations" are a stubbornly persistent feature of large language models, because these models only give the illusion of understanding; in reality, they are just sophisticated forms of autocomplete, drawing on huge databases to make shrewd (but reliably fallible) guesses about which word comes next:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922

Guessing the next word without understanding the meaning of the resulting sentence makes unsupervised LLMs unsuitable for high-stakes tasks. The whole AI bubble is based on convincing investors that one or more of the following is true:

There are low-stakes, high-value tasks that will recoup the massive costs of AI training and operation;

There are high-stakes, high-value tasks that can be made cheaper by adding an AI to a human operator;

Adding more training data to an AI will make it stop hallucinating, so that it can take over high-stakes, high-value tasks without a "human in the loop."

These are dubious propositions. There's a universe of low-stakes, low-value tasks – political disinformation, spam, fraud, academic cheating, nonconsensual porn, dialog for video-game NPCs – but none of them seem likely to generate enough revenue for AI companies to justify the billions spent on models, nor the trillions in valuation attributed to AI companies:

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

The proposition that increasing training data will decrease hallucinations is hotly contested among AI practitioners. I confess that I don't know enough about AI to evaluate opposing sides' claims, but even if you stipulate that adding lots of human-generated training data will make the software a better guesser, there's a serious problem. All those low-value, low-stakes applications are flooding the internet with botshit. After all, the one thing AI is unarguably very good at is producing bullshit at scale. As the web becomes an anaerobic lagoon for botshit, the quantum of human-generated "content" in any internet core sample is dwindling to homeopathic levels:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/14/inhuman-centipede/#enshittibottification

This means that adding another order of magnitude more training data to AI won't just add massive computational expense – the data will be many orders of magnitude more expensive to acquire, even without factoring in the additional liability arising from new legal theories about scraping:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

That leaves us with "humans in the loop" – the idea that an AI's business model is selling software to businesses that will pair it with human operators who will closely scrutinize the code's guesses. There's a version of this that sounds plausible – the one in which the human operator is in charge, and the AI acts as an eternally vigilant "sanity check" on the human's activities.

For example, my car has a system that notices when I activate my blinker while there's another car in my blind-spot. I'm pretty consistent about checking my blind spot, but I'm also a fallible human and there've been a couple times where the alert saved me from making a potentially dangerous maneuver. As disciplined as I am, I'm also sometimes forgetful about turning off lights, or waking up in time for work, or remembering someone's phone number (or birthday). I like having an automated system that does the robotically perfect trick of never forgetting something important.

There's a name for this in automation circles: a "centaur." I'm the human head, and I've fused with a powerful robot body that supports me, doing things that humans are innately bad at.

That's the good kind of automation, and we all benefit from it. But it only takes a small twist to turn this good automation into a nightmare. I'm speaking here of the reverse-centaur: automation in which the computer is in charge, bossing a human around so it can get its job done. Think of Amazon warehouse workers, who wear haptic bracelets and are continuously observed by AI cameras as autonomous shelves shuttle in front of them and demand that they pick and pack items at a pace that destroys their bodies and drives them mad:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

Automation centaurs are great: they relieve humans of drudgework and let them focus on the creative and satisfying parts of their jobs. That's how AI-assisted coding is pitched: rather than looking up tricky syntax and other tedious programming tasks, an AI "co-pilot" is billed as freeing up its human "pilot" to focus on the creative puzzle-solving that makes coding so satisfying.

But an hallucinating AI is a terrible co-pilot. It's just good enough to get the job done much of the time, but it also sneakily inserts booby-traps that are statistically guaranteed to look as plausible as the good code (that's what a next-word-guessing program does: guesses the statistically most likely word).

This turns AI-"assisted" coders into reverse centaurs. The AI can churn out code at superhuman speed, and you, the human in the loop, must maintain perfect vigilance and attention as you review that code, spotting the cleverly disguised hooks for malicious code that the AI can't be prevented from inserting into its code. As "Lena" writes, "code review [is] difficult relative to writing new code":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773779967521780169

Why is that? "Passively reading someone else's code just doesn't engage my brain in the same way. It's harder to do properly":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773780355708764665

There's a name for this phenomenon: "automation blindness." Humans are just not equipped for eternal vigilance. We get good at spotting patterns that occur frequently – so good that we miss the anomalies. That's why TSA agents are so good at spotting harmless shampoo bottles on X-rays, even as they miss nearly every gun and bomb that a red team smuggles through their checkpoints:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/23/automation-blindness/#humans-in-the-loop

"Lena"'s thread points out that this is as true for AI-assisted driving as it is for AI-assisted coding: "self-driving cars replace the experience of driving with the experience of being a driving instructor":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773841546753831283

In other words, they turn you into a reverse-centaur. Whereas my blind-spot double-checking robot allows me to make maneuvers at human speed and points out the things I've missed, a "supervised" self-driving car makes maneuvers at a computer's frantic pace, and demands that its human supervisor tirelessly and perfectly assesses each of those maneuvers. No wonder Cruise's murderous "self-driving" taxis replaced each low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged technical robot supervisors:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

AI radiology programs are said to be able to spot cancerous masses that human radiologists miss. A centaur-based AI-assisted radiology program would keep the same number of radiologists in the field, but they would get less done: every time they assessed an X-ray, the AI would give them a second opinion. If the human and the AI disagreed, the human would go back and re-assess the X-ray. We'd get better radiology, at a higher price (the price of the AI software, plus the additional hours the radiologist would work).

But back to making the AI bubble pay off: for AI to pay off, the human in the loop has to reduce the costs of the business buying an AI. No one who invests in an AI company believes that their returns will come from business customers to agree to increase their costs. The AI can't do your job, but the AI salesman can convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI anyway – that pitch is the most successful form of AI disinformation in the world.

An AI that "hallucinates" bad advice to fliers can't replace human customer service reps, but airlines are firing reps and replacing them with chatbots:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know

An AI that "hallucinates" bad legal advice to New Yorkers can't replace city services, but Mayor Adams still tells New Yorkers to get their legal advice from his chatbots:

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/03/nycs-government-chatbot-is-lying-about-city-laws-and-regulations/

The only reason bosses want to buy robots is to fire humans and lower their costs. That's why "AI art" is such a pisser. There are plenty of harmless ways to automate art production with software – everything from a "healing brush" in Photoshop to deepfake tools that let a video-editor alter the eye-lines of all the extras in a scene to shift the focus. A graphic novelist who models a room in The Sims and then moves the camera around to get traceable geometry for different angles is a centaur – they are genuinely offloading some finicky drudgework onto a robot that is perfectly attentive and vigilant.

But the pitch from "AI art" companies is "fire your graphic artists and replace them with botshit." They're pitching a world where the robots get to do all the creative stuff (badly) and humans have to work at robotic pace, with robotic vigilance, in order to catch the mistakes that the robots make at superhuman speed.

Reverse centaurism is brutal. That's not news: Charlie Chaplin documented the problems of reverse centaurs nearly 100 years ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)

As ever, the problem with a gadget isn't what it does: it's who it does it for and who it does it to. There are plenty of benefits from being a centaur – lots of ways that automation can help workers. But the only path to AI profitability lies in reverse centaurs, automation that turns the human in the loop into the crumple-zone for a robot:

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/01/human-in-the-loop/#monkey-in-the-middle

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Jorge Royan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munich_-_Two_boys_playing_in_a_park_-_7328.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

--

Noah Wulf (modified) https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thunderbirds_at_Attention_Next_to_Thunderbird_1_-_Aviation_Nation_2019.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[owlcomics101]

Bug hybrid!Task force 141 x Human!reader

Bug hybrid AU LETS GOOOOO-

Warning: Bugs/insects/arachnids, sfw (I am a minor), fluff, bug shenanigans,

Let’s bug out y’all (I’m sorry please stay-)

Moth Hybrid Price:

-One of his moth antenna‘s are damaged leaving him unable to fly (He can glide though)

-Sometimes he eats your sweaters if you accidentally leave them in his office or quarters (He immediately apologizes repeatedly and tries to buy you a new one)

-During mating season he gets all fluffy like a moth (he’s gonna need help with shaving…)

-And yes, he can’t resist any form of light but only at night (Price is obsessed with Reader because their eyes shine bright from any light’s reflection)

Funfact: Moths are actually pollinators and feed off of nectar just like their cousin the butterfly.

Tarantula hybrid Gaz:

-Has the lower half of a Tarantula (Like a centaur but spider)

-Large Tarantula pinchers that can poke out of his mouth (Eating is messy for him. Poor Gaz)

-His bunk is completely covered in webs

-Has the urge to constantly make small webs to impress the reader

-During mating season he fluffs up like Price and also does a little mating dance (He’s only done it once on accident in front of the reader)

-Has Venom but it is weak when inflicted on humans (Some can have serious reactions depending)

-Likes to wrap the Reader in webs like a burrito (Blink twice if your endanger reader)

Funfact: Tarantulas can get severely injured if they fall from great heights (Be careful with your eight-legged friends)

(Centipedes honestly terrify me-)

Centipede Hybrid Ghost:

-Cury antennas (They twitch and move around)

-Lower half of a centipede (Like a centaur but centipede)

-His legs make little click sounds when he walks (Sends shivers down the spines of anyone who hears it)

-Disgusted of himself. Ever since the team’s transformation he’s honest to god disgusted and horrified of his appearance (Reader sees through that and helps him through it)

-Coils his lower half around the reader. Being the only remaining human of the task force he’s very protective of them like the others are.

-During mating season he gives off a foul Oder and makes webs to impress the Reader like Gaz does (They get very competitive with each other)

Funfact: Centipedes are not harmful to humans. In fact they help keep the pests away like cockroaches, moths, flies, silverfish and termites. They also do not make webs or nests indoors. (As much as they terrify me they do take care of the pests)

Praying Mantis Hybrid Soap:

-Has the mantis arms under his normal arms at his sides and cute antennas on his head. (And he has the Mantis tail. I believe it’s called a Metathorax?)

-Hunts like crazy (His urges constantly puts him in hunting mode)

-He’s always bringing back everything he hunts to the Reader (Makes him even happier if you eat what he gives you in front or him-or pretend to)

-Able to fly/glide for a short distance

-For mating season….uh….lets just say mantises are very horny

Funfact: Mantises can turn their heads a Full 180 Degrees. They have very flexible a joint between the head and prothorax that allows them to swivel their heads.

Bonus:

(Roach is Roach)

Cockroach Hybrid Roach:

-He has the Roach antennas, and roach arms/legs under his normal arms (He has the roach tail as well)

-Fucking indestructible. (Can literally survive radiation)

-Can literally eat anything (that’s from a living organism

-Cuddles. He’s clingy and always wants a cuddle from the reader after a long mission. (I honestly don’t blame him with the shit the task force goes through on a daily basis)

-Reader is very worried about Roach despite his indestructibility and always panics if he gets hurt during a mission. (He enjoys the attention)

Funfact: Cockroaches like to cuddle. Cockroaches like feeling something solid against their bodies. That’s why they hide in cracks and crevices or even your stacked towels and linens.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

No Tears for the Southern Black Widow

Latrodectus mactans, more commonly known as the southern black widow, is the most common species in the black widow family. While it can be found throughout North America, they are found most often in the southern United States. Within this wide range, L. mactans enjoys a variety of habitats. They prefer areas that are close to the ground, dark, and sheltered; in the wild this may mean dense brush or under logs, while in inhabited areas they may be found in basements, log piles, or under trash lids.

In addition to being the most common black widow, L. mactans is also the largest member of the family Theridiidae. The females are larger than the males, averaging at about 8-10 mm (0.31- 0.39 in) in length and weighing about 1 g (0.04 oz); however the male's legs are generally longer than the females. Both males and females are black, with small thoraxes and extremely large, round abdomens. The female can be distinguished by the iconic red hour-glass shape on the underside of her abdomen, while the male has 4 pairs of red and white stripes on each side of his abdomen.

The southern black widow is mainly solitary, spending most of its time in or near its web. Only the females live long enough to build a web for catching prey, and are the sole source of black widow bites. While bites do require medical attention, no human fatalities have been reported since 1983.

During the day, females hang in the center of the web to expose the bright red warning on their abdomen; when startled they drop to the ground and play dead. Though the webs they construct are haphazard-- the stereotype of cobwebs-- they are extremely strong and are capable of catching woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, other spiders, and occasionally small mice. Once an animal becomes trapped in L. mactan's web, the spider envenoms its prey and wraps it in a thick cocoon. After the animal dies the spider injects it with digestive enzymes and consumes the resulting fluid. Despite their strong venom, the southern black widow can be victim to several predaotrs; namely wasps, the brown widow spider, praying mantises, and large centipedes.

The southern black widow mates primarily in the spring and summer. Mature males build small webs and deposit semen along the threads. He then coats his mouthpieces-- palps-- with sperm and sets out to find a female mate. To court her, he vibrates the threads of her web until she is receptive. On rare occasions, a displeased female may eat the male. Afterwards, if he survives, the male leaves the females web and dies soon afterwards. From just one encounter, the female can store enough sperm to last her a lifetime of reproductive cycles.

After fertilization, the female builds a small web where she lays her egg sac, which can contain up to 400 eggs. She guards these eggs until they hatch about 20 days later, and immedietly disperse to establish their own territories. Until they become fully mature, at about 90 days old, juveniles have no venom and are extremely vulnerable to predators- including adult black widows. Typically only about 30 individuals from a single clutch survive to adulthood. Once mature, males can live for only one year, while females can live up to three years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN has not evaluated the southern black widow, but due to its large range and population size it is considered stable. It is able to adapt to most habitats, and thus the species' only threat comes from extermination via pest control.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another organization benefiting Palestinians, I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Photos

Mark Kostich

James L. Castner

Meghan F. Murphy

[onenicebugperday]

@thrones-of-buer submitted: I asked on reddit what Mango was doing and someone said that Mango is possibly trying to make a sperm web, Just want confirmation since the pede community on here tends to be bigger/more active. I legit thought they were dying for a second.

Also, I'm unaware of Mangos sex so this is probably also gonna confirm it as well.

Doing a little dance. I've never kept centipedes personally, and I don't know much at all about their behavior. @crevicedwelling might have more insight.

[thedisablednaturalist]

If you are someone who hates bugs and kills them on sight (except for those that can actually cause considerable harm) please..just..take a second...think before you act. Does that bug need to die? Are you killing it just to feel better?

Yes, phobias are real. I have arachnophobia. And it's taken a long time for me to get to the point I'm at now where i can hold jumping spiders and be sort of near wolf spiders. I still struggle but to be in a field where you're outside a lot, you have to get comfortable with spiders sometimes crawling on you.

The first step is respect. You don't have to like or enjoy bugs. But you need to respect what their role is in the environment. To make it easier, think of animals you DO like and learn about their relationship with bugs. You really like birds? Well guess what a ton of birds eat. Even birds that don't directly eat bugs may eat things that do (ya know the whole food web thing). Bugs also may positively impact their environment through nutrient cycling, eating other, more destructive bugs, eating harmful molds, bacteria, or fungi, pollination, etc.

I used to be skeeved out by a lot of bugs, particularly bug larvae. Guess what I'm studying right now? Invertebrates are so interesting once you get past the initial discomfort.

Many of us believe invertebrates = gross/scary. This needs to stop. Invertebrates are going extinct so fast and because everyone hates them we don't have enough research to even know how many we are losing. Pesticides/herbicides have completely wiped out a significant portion of the invertebrate population, and that's along with other things like pollution, ocean acidification, invasive species, etc.

We are losing spiders. We are losing centipedes. We are losing tiny flies. We are losing worms and beetles and bees and wasps. We are losing butterflies and fireflies. Some invertebrate species only exist in one small pond or cave. Some have never actually been seen and some have only been seen once. And its affecting all of us. Fish are disappearing from streams because there's nothing to eat. Amphibians are disappearing because there's nothing to eat (and bc of chytrid fungus). Bats are disappearing because there's nothing to eat (and bc of white nose syndrome). Pangolins, axolotls, red pandas, armadillos, woodpeckers, monkeys, salamanders, these all have diets that are either partially or only fulfilled by bugs.

I go outside in the summer, and don't even have to use bug spray anymore. I remember getting chased by swarms of nats and mosquitos. Nights glittering with hundreds of fireflies. Now I only worry about mosquitos in the spring by the water. Even then I have maybe 5 bites at most, when before I used to be covered in bites from being outside. Before I was born, windshields used to be COVERED in bugs when you went down the highway.

Please, you don't have to like them, but please make an effort to change your initial reaction. They are earthlings just like us. They don't deserve to die because they aren't cute. We need more funding and research. They are getting wiped out and people think that's a fucking good thing. Stop using bug zappers. Try using bug repellent that doesn't have DEET in it (only use it if absolutely necessary), take the bug out in a cup and piece of paper, use methods other than pesticides to get pests out of your garden. Yes sometimes you need to kill a tick or get the termites or ants out of your house. Sometimes a venomous spider gets in your house and it's not safe to handle them. Sometimes they are killing your plants and you need to get rid of them. But a harmless millipede who's one defense is to literally curl into a little spiral and is completely harmless? Does it really have to die?

[rw-repurposed]

Purpose Organisms

These are some of Chasing Wind's purpose organisms within his facility ground.

All of the creatures below have some of their population within the Green Sanctuary as a preservation method created by the ancients.

Brawler Shark - This brute hunter species lives within the Azure Lake and the Swampland Region and is a rival predator of the Leviathans. This shark can swim faster than a Leviathan and is more aggressive. However, due to their speedy metabolism, they have to continuously hunt or they will be weakened.

Bumper - This herbivore creature is big and can run fast for its size. They like to bump into things which is how they got their name. Their herd lives across the Plain Outskirts and the Green Sanctuary Region.

Duck Puff - They're spore puffs but ducks. They're adorable and they can swim. If you throw them they'll squeak, puff, and die. They live a very fragile life which is why they reproduce in abundance. They roam all across the facility ground.

Hipmole - This species of hippo likes living under the mud and can dig underground. Despite their huge form, they are capable diggers and cause a lot of sinkholes. Most of them live underneath the Old Mine Region.

Hoppimu - They were originally used by the ancients to transport people between places. However, now the Hoppimu live in herds on the open terrain of the Plain Outskirt and the Agriculture Complex. Some of them were domesticated by the Scavengers.

Horned Lizard - This lizard variant has horned heads and limbs, making them dangerous and well-protected from harm. They charge like green lizards and roam across the facility ground.

Jumpfox - They are a long relative to the slugcats and came from the same ancestor organism. However, instead of crawling on pipes, they evolved to learn to jump and live in the high terrain of the Upstream and Mt.Everhigh Region.

Kelp Turtle - This humongous turtle species grew up so big and so slow that kelps grew on them over time, which is how they got their name. They are valuable as transport across the water, especially in the Swampland and the Azure Lake where they became prey to the Brawler Shark.

Monkey Spider - As their name suggests, this spider species can swing from pole to pole due to their tail. Which can also spew out webs. These creatures live within the heights of the Giant Forest Region.

Needlefish - This organism likes to thrust themselves towards and stab their attacker. Best not to disturb them. They act as sporadic as a Jet Fish so you have to be careful around them. They live mostly in the Azure Lake where they can swim around freely.

Plainfish - They're just plain ass fish. What do you expect? They do nothing just like a regular fish. They live within all sorts of water regions.

Queen Spider - This humongous toxic spider lives in the depths of the Giant Forest Region. She is the queen of all spiders as she birthed all kinds of spiders from her eggs. She rarely leaves her nest and when she does all the spiders follow her commands. There is only one Queen Spider known today.

Shadow Owl - They hunt at night and can see in the dark. Just like the vultures they have mechanical parts built into their body. They're able to use thermal vision with their camera lens eyes. These creatures soar high above the facility ground and create nests on high grounds such as the Giant Forest and Upstream Region, even on Chasing Wind's superstructure itself.

Slither Snake - This snake slithers on all terrain, even walls and underwater. Once they grabbed their prey, they squeezed them and injected their prey with neurotoxins. Like the centipedes, they come in 3 sizes. These snakes live within the Old Mine, Swampland, and the Garbage Disposal Region.

Spewing Crow - This bird likes to make noises and spew projectiles on any creatures they find able to be bullied. Best to throw a rock or two at them to chase them off. These creatures annoy everyone from above and they all nested in the Upstream Region.

Spikehog - Pretty self-explanatory. Spike and hog. They live in the density of the Giant Forest to avoid being hunted. If they ever do, they would roll towards their hunters with their spikes.

Starfish - They see everything. They are everywhere. They live in every region.

Swamp Hog - These hogs live in the waters of the Swampland and Garbage Disposal Region and enjoy most of their lives floating above water doing nothing at all. Quite a simple and content living situation.

Toucan - Well it's a Toucan, isn't it? It has 4 wings now so that's something. They are pettable like the lizards and they live solely within the Green Sanctuary due to them having no survival instincts.

Wool Deer - It's a Wool Deer, what more do you want? It's Rain Deer but Wools. And they come in all shades of wool color. THEY ALSO HAVE RAINBOW COLORED VARIANTS. They live within the Agriculture Complex, Upstream, and Mt. Everhigh Region.

And that is some of Chasing Wind's own purpose organisms before his repurposing arc started. I might add more in the future.

Character List

[aka-indulgence]

📓?

Um………….

A reverse harem with a Skider, a Snake, and a Skelepede Sans(es)…………

It’s reverse harem jealousy and possessiveness x11 and everyone is territorial and instinct-driven and living with their natural enemies, while their perfect mate is in the middle of all of them trying to court you. So not only are they enemies, they’re also competitors, so the likelihood of violence happening is also increased fjehgkrhf

Skider lives in the attic and webs it up, likes to stalk and manipulate the most. He likes to creep up on you and Yoink you up to the attic. Also puts up silk strings to know where you are. Whispery and generally creepy (in the way a spider is creepy, not creepy like “please don’t touch me” djhfd)

Snake loves flustering you. He’s trying to curb his instincts the most- he absolutely wants to throw hands for you and squeeze you, but you need someone Somewhat calm in the midst of monsters. Tries to coax you to relax more and is more subtly sinister in making you rest in his coils and fall asleep, then silently boasts to the other monsters that you’re sleeping in him.

Skelepede is the most volatile and unpredictable of the three and hangs out in the basement. He isn’t quiet like Skider- he likes to make his presence known, prides himself in being able to steal you from either of them. When he ‘lunges’ he’s in and out like flash, one sec you’re on the couch, the next a train of centipede rushes towards you and then you’re gone. Temperamental.

Issue is idk why they’re in a house lol

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Diplopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Animals in the class Diplopoda are commonly called “Millipedes.” They comprise the orders Glomeridesmida (“Slug Millipedes”), Glomerida (“Northern Pill Millipedes”), Sphaerotheriida (“Giant Pill Millipedes”), Platydesmida (“Flat Millipedes”), Polyzoniida (“Camphor Millipedes”), Siphonocryptida, Siphonophorida, Julida, Spirobolida, Spirostreptida, Callipodida, Chordeumatida (“Sausage Millipedes”), Stemmiulida, Siphoniulida, Polydesmida, and Polyxenida (“Bristly Millipedes”).

Millipedes are detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, making them important for cycling soil. Some species eat fungi or drink plant sap. Most species protect themselves with various chemical secretions, but they will also coil into a ball to protect their legs and vital areas when threatened. Polyxenids lack poison and a hard exoskeleton, so their defense involves barbed hairs that detach and stick to the mouths of predators.

Millipede heads are generally round and flattened, consisting of a pair of mandibles, a plate-like “jaw lip” called a gnathochilarium, a pair of small sensory antennae, and simple compound eyes. Some species have secondarily lost these eyes. Many species also have a pair of sensory organs called the Tömösváry organs at the bases of their antennae, which may measure humidity and/or light levels. Millipede bodies may be flattened or cylindrical, and they can be anywhere from 2 mm (1⁄16 in) to 35 cm (14 in) in length, and have from 11 to over 300 body segments. The segment behind their head is called a collum and is legless. The second, third, and fourth body segments are called haplosegments, and each have a single pair of legs on their underside. The remaining segments are called diplosegments and have two pairs of legs each. In some millipedes, the last few segments may be legless. The final segment is called the telson. It is always legless, and contains the anus. Some millipedes (those in the superorder Nematophora) have spinnerets as well, creating silk chambers in which to molt or lay their eggs. Though their name means “thousand feet”, only one species of centipede, Eumillipes persephone, has over 1,000 feet.

Millipede reproductive behavior is diverse. Bristle millipedes reproduce similarly to centipedes: depositing spermatophores onto webs they secrete, which are later picked up by females. Other millipedes have direct reproduction, meeting up to mate. Courtship may involve tapping antennae, the male running along the back of the female, offering gifts of edible glandular secretions, or even “chirping”. Males have one or two pairs of modified legs called gonopods which are used to transfer sperm to the female during copulation. A few species are parthenogenetic, having few, if any, males. Most species simply deposit their eggs on the ground, but some construct nests of dried feces or silk. In most species, the female abandons the eggs after they are laid, but some species do provide parental care for their eggs and young. Young millipedes usually hatch after a few weeks, bearing typically only three pairs of legs. Their development is anamorphic: adding on segments and legs with each moult. Some species can live up to 10 years.

Millipedes first appeared in the Silurian period. The most famous extinct millipedes, the genus Arthropleura of the Carboniferous, grew up to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) long, making them some of the largest arthropods ever known.

Propaganda under the cut:

What is the difference between centipedes and millipedes? Centipedes are if a tiger was small, long, and venomous. Millipedes are if a cow was small, long, and poisonous. Hope that helps.

Mentioned above, Eumillipes persephone can have over 1,300 legs!

Millipedes have a vast array of chemical poisons to ward off predators, varying between genera. Polydesmid Millipedes produce Hydrogen cyanide. Motyxia species not only produce cyanide, but are also bioluminescent.

Despite their chemical defenses, many species prey on millipedes, some even benefiting from the poisons. Some poison dart frogs eat millipedes, converting their toxins into their own poison. Some lemurs use millipedes to self-medicate against parasites, or just to get high!

Many species have formed symbiotic relationships with millipedes. Some millipedes live only in ant colonies, while many mites use millipedes for transport to new areas. The Moss Millipede (Psammodesmus bryophorus) grows multiple species of moss on its back for camouflage, subsequently aiding the moss in dispersal.

[bibibbon]

Have you ever noticed that the female characters with Mutant quirks are… not as exaggerated compared to the male characters?

Like Tsu is meant to be a frog but she barely resembles one side from a few subtle hints, and then there’s Mirko, who only has the ears to indicate that she’s a rabbit. The most with Bubble Girl is that she’s blue.

And when you compare them to the male characters with mutant quirks, it’s obvious that Hori’s sexism is once again showing since he doesn’t want any of his female characters to be considered “ugly” with one.

Hi @theloganator101 👋

No I actually haven't noticed that and thank you for pointing it out.

Now the more that I think about what you said the weirder my train of thought becomes.

Majority of the mutant female characters have minor mutations and if they do have major mutations they aren't as present or exaggerated like the male characters.

Class 1A is a good example of this. Look at the mutant male characters who all have a very expressed mutant like shoji, tokoyami and koda. Now compare this with the 1A mutant girls like mina and asui. The only male character in 1A that doesn't have an exaggerated mutation is ojirou mashiro.

The pro heroes also show a major difference take miriko, bubble girl and compare them to gang orca, nedzu, centipede (the hero who works in nighteye's agency) and kamui woods.

There seems to be a lack of female mutants and major female characters in general which is a shame and also weird.

Now that isn't saying that there aren't less shown mutants who are male like hawks and ojirou but they are incredibly few.

Also when it comes to the female mutants who have a very expressive mutant quirk I can only think of asui's middle school friend but she isn't even present within the main story so does that even count. I mean I think you can include the woman who called Izuku a crybaby hero in the vigilante arc but after that who else is there.

I really would of enjoyed seeing other types of mutants and having our current mutant characters get some of their animal or whatever their mutant type quirk is characteristics. For example, I love the idea that miriko acts a bit like a rabbit and has super hearing or that asui's legs are naturally flexible and can help her body.

I also think that seeing other types of mutant characters like a jellyfish mutant (jellyfish are flexible, almost immortal and some poisonous so you can do so much with that as a quirk) or someone with a spider mutation (eight legs, many eyes around the body and also maybe even poison and can spin webs around). I don't know I just think it's wasted potential to not have characters like this and it might even add to the underbaked plot line of mutant discrimination or you can make it more nuanced by having something of "pretty /societally acceptable" looking mutants like hawks and miriko compared to the other mutants who have much more of an expressive and exaggerated mutation like tokoyami, spinner, shoji and chimera.

[blorboindulgence]

There's not much Gonta content out there but I like to think about him and bugs sometimes.

"Would Shuichi like to hold Turnip?" "Eh!? Is that a leech!? Isn't it going to drink my blood if I hold it?" "Oh, don't worry! Leeches eat one time a month! Gonta fed Turnip few days ago!" "You fed it... your blood?" "Yes! Leeches need little blood and Gonta has a lot. It is no problem! Leeches like Turnip are very clean and do not give infections more than regular cuts do. Leeches even make blood flow more with their venom, isn't that cool Shuichi?" "...yeah Gonta, that's pretty interesting." "So Shuichu want to hold Turnip?" "Absolutely not... but I appreciate the offer."

"Gonta saw Kirumi's uniform has webs on it, does Kirumi like spiders?" "Ah, I actually do find spiders to be somewhat charming. I know it seems counterintuitive for a maid to like such a creature that creates webs I have to clean up, but they put such dedication into weaving their intricate homes and keeping the population of other bugs down." "Gonta happy to find someone who also like spiders, most people hate spiders." "Yes, I try to move them outside whenever I find one to avoid killing them."

"OH MY GOD, THAT CENTIPEDE IS HUGE!" "No Kokichi! It not centipede, it is giant millepede!" "Does it really matter? Keep it away from me, I don't want it to bite me or something!" "It matter a lot! Centipedes mostly eat other bugs while millipedes eat greens, it not able to bite you." "Eh, really? You know it's not very gentlemanlike to lie, don't you Gonta?" "Gonta promise not lying! Most it can harm people is squirting substance that may irritate skin in self defense." "Interesting, it's still creepy though."

[iifoundjoy]

phantom headcanons

i will be adding some pictures in for reference, including some monsters from horror movies! just a quick notice :) ALSO slight nudity (attack on titan titans) okay so we all know about the normal phantom's we have right now and the weird centipede one. i was thinking about this for a while and im currently struggling to input it into another fic but i was thinking, what if there are different species of phantoms? and obviously each phantom species would reside in a different part/habitat, you know? Like for example... -rivers/lakes/ponds - phantoms would be slimmer, maybe longer? could possibly have some sort of webbed spines, perhaps like a spinosaurus, or maybe even a structure similar to that of a spinosaurus as well? you know, minus the long head. they'd probably have webbed talons and have excellent night vision or might even be blind since it very well could be dark as shit down there.

-forests/tall hills/mountains - the phantoms residing here i was thinking could fly? instead of long or tall, they'd be sort of like birds of those flying monsters from 'the silence'. i wanted to keep the blind aspect and excellent hearing. they're kind of like bats i would assume, hanging around in the trees and eating dead things possibly (im not sure if phantoms eat, i doubt it.) but just to add into the horror we're going to say that they do. they're pretty dangerous, seeing as they can fly around and have sharp teeth and a whip thing tail that very well could cut into you. but i think as long as you're quiet and don't attract much noise to yourself, you would be okay.

-forests/plains/flatlands - i imagine these are the phantoms that we have to date right now that hunted the kids down from the start. i do have some personal headcanons for these phantoms as well! i imagined them to have excellent hearing, don't ask me why. and i also think theyd have kind of shitty eyesight, don't ask me why either. i also think they would range heavily in heights and body types as well. think of attack on titan maybe? since they are in towns, i think they might just be the "shadows" of real people in town. so that includes children, athletes, short people, tall people, etc. so i think we'd have more diversity in that prospect as well. no big changes though!

i lied. this is future joy. i also thought that maybe the phantoms we've dealth with most of the story might have abnormal ones as well? again, think attack on titan. maybe these abnormals can speak or communicate in their own language, can even understand them like they did with ashlyn? or maybe some kinds are infectious, that can possibly speed up the process of turning you into one of them? and similarly, phantoms that when they hurt/scratch/bite you, the wound, instead of healing speedily like they usually do, never heals? instead starts to rot, turn black and the skin around it begins to ooze and drip, much like the skin and form the phantoms hold onto until they are in the light or wounded.

then finally, for now, we obviously have those centipede phantoms. -forests/caves/rocky features - they first appeared in the forest but it also as well as when the terrain began to morph into rocky pillars and everything. i saw someone say that this creature was formed by hundreds of phantoms morphing together into one giant monster and i personally love that idea! i personally think this phantom would either have really bad eyesight seeing as there's so many bodies morphed together and the skin might bubble/pool up kind of like a pugs and effect their vision, or they'd build up all that eyesight and max it out having some op vision instead- no in between. but either way, i lean more toward the blinder part and having to rely on hearing as well. and obviously, this type of phantom is fast, but i also imagined they'd have a hard time making quick, agile turns seeing as their body is just so big.

i write a lot and i just love making horror more horrific 😭plus i feel like it ups the stakes and the shadow realm just a teeny bit, especially with having to figure out how many different kinds there are and how they all function. im also trying to think of a kind that relies more heavily on smell, more animalistic instead of humanoid in body as well. PLS EXCUSE ANY TYPOS THIS WAS IN A RUSH HAHA

[keikoyume]

Hello Kei, can you draw Little Nightmares blorbos as bugs from your comic? Me thinks they'll look cool😈

GOSH

Thank you so much for this ask, what a big brain move

HERE IS THE LN2 CAST AS BUGS LEGGOOOOO

Six is a jumping spider because I was looking for a relatively small and sneaky buggy that still can chase others. Mono is a cricket because crickets are cute and pretty shy (they still can be carnivorous tho).

Hunter is a net-casting spider (also called ‘Ogre-faced spider’) like… COME ON! That’s a spider that throws its web on its preys and usual they all look very pissed off ÒWÓ

Tea’ is a praying mantis. The big staring eyes, her capacity of catching any target, the bug itself that seems to have a long ‘neck’, you got it. The bullies are probably fleas and lice, just annoying little insects that jump and bother you a lot.

DOCTOR IS A FLIPPING HOUSE CENTIPEDE. It crawls very fast on walls and snatches anything that got close to it! Also, the doctor genuinely inspired me for designing my own house centipede oc (who’s also a doctor), it has come full circle.

My dear Barber is an earwig. Its pincers can be a recall of the big scissors and idk, I always imagined my own earwig oc as a ‘stylish’ character so I thought it’d fit Babs too! (earwings are omnivorous btw, I’m still trying to keep the idea that it’s a threat to others).

And finally, Thin Man is a horsehead grasshopper! Making him a stickbug was very tempting but it wouldn’t have fit with Mono being a cricket. So I chose this thin and long grasshopper instead, at least they’re both from the same ‘family’ of insect! (They also look pretty unsettling)

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

Rating Hazbin + Helluva Boss Characters based on if I could tell what animal/creature they’re supposed to be:

DISCLAIMER: This is not an attack on the creators or artists/designers for either show. I already went over the purpose of this on my first post here—I just like to review stuff.

Part 2!

SIR PENTIOUS—SNAKE—5/5

Yeah that’s a snake, man.

While I find some of Pent’s design elements cluttered, he’s actually one of the stronger designs in my opinion. I think the having his cobra hood act as his hair is fun and cleaver. It’s very easy to tell he’s a snake. Not sure why he has eyes on his tail/body? I think they could have just made them red spots but eh.

QUEEN BEE—FOX (?) WITH HONEY BEE ELEMENTS (?)—3.5/5

Bee’s a weird one for me b/c while her design is super super cluttered I can SEE how it could work, and I really do like fun cute fox and wolf girls. The ONLY reason that docked points is b/c she’s supposed to be a fox/bee hybrid (I believe?) but her “bee” elements are so minute that if I hadn’t seen her in a big beehive, I would have just assumed she was as a fox with fairy/insect elements—I wouldn’t have thought she was connected to a honey bee at all. It’s a weird case where she is VERY obviously a fox but it’s not obvious at all that she’s a bee/honey bee. I did want to give a little extra half-point tho b/c I do like her little antennae ears. They’re pretty much the only thing that screams “insect” to me.

STELLA GOETIA—SWAN (?)—3/5

I think I may be going a little easier on the Helluva cast b/c overall they’re easier to figure out what animals they are. I’ve heard that Stella is supposed to be a Swan but I’m not 100% sure. This one is def more on me, but I initially thought that she was either a secretary bird due to her long lashes and the way her hair is styled, or a peafowl (which would make sense b/c her brother is apparently a peacock?) at least I can tell that she is a bird and her colors are accurate for a swan’s. I think the reason I would never have thought of her as a swan is mostly due to her beak size and color. But yeah b/c I can at least confirm that she is in fact a bird I wanna give her a higher score.

I would rate Pilot Stella too, but I don’t think at that point she was meant to be a swan, just a vague bird demon lady. At least I hope not.

MAMMON—SPIDER (OR CENTIPEDE? MAYBE??) —0.5/5

So. Like Angel Dust. The only reason I know that Mammon is a spider is because he was shown sitting on a giant spider web.

I really didn’t think he was a spider/spider-ish looking at all and I still don’t. Even the extra eyes they add to him sometimes didn’t immediately make me think “Spider!” just that it was a demon thing. He really just looks like a jester with extra arms.

His full demon/mega form also doesn’t look very spider-ish tbh, and was what made me wonder if he was actually supposed to be a centipede? I was really disappointed by his “final form” because it’s pretty much the same as his regular form but with more eyes and what I assume is SUPPOSED to be a spider abdomen ?? But then he does kinda scuttle like a centipede at the end so maybe he is supposed to be???? But then why does he have a big spider web???

Also, and I’ll be honest, this is just me being needlessly nit-picky and it’s a small thing but it just irks me personally b/c I don’t understand the reasoning behind this but like. I HATE that his extra eyes DO NOT stay consistent.

The first time we see his extra eyes it gives him a total of 8 so I was like “oh okay yeah so maybe just his final form will be a spider/spider-like BUT THEN HIS EXTRA EYES KEEP OSCILLATING BETWEEN 3 and 4 EXTRA EYES?

These shots are only a few seconds apart like why did they give him MORE eyes when he got farther away? They’re so small that they barely seem distinct? Like if he IS supposed to be a spider you don’t have to keep giving him eyes!!! Stop, stop, he can already see!!! 😭

Maybe he IS a centipede tho? B/c he DOES seem to have the little centipede butt horns (which apparently are just their very hind legs in real life)

And he def seems to move like one in that form. Man idk. Why even HAVE him in a spider web then???

Being an arthropod lover and not being able to figure out what the fuck kinda guy that’s supposed to be is driving me wild tbh 😅

Honestly if Mammon was just supposed to be a clown/jester I would have given him 5/5 b/c yeah that was immediately obvious. But it’s him being a jester-spider-centipede-thing that muddles things for me.

I would put Loona in here but I ran out of pictures for this post talking about Mammons eyes. She gets 5/5 cause. Yeah that’s a classic wolf girl.

[hestzhyen]

Insect Symbolism in the Edgy Sword Manga Pt. 2

Part 1

Hello internet void, I am back on my bullshit. It's mushibachi time once more. (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ Let's take a look at the critter powers showcased by Kyoura and Magatsumi in Chapter 42: spider, dragonfly, and centpede.

Spider

[sticky situation joke here]

Nice utility spell! We don't actually see the spider itself, just the web trapping Chihiro. I also don't have access to the raws to see what the OG text is so I'll assume it's the general word for spider ("蜘蛛", kumo).

Obviously, the legends of the tsuchigumo and jorogumo could be the inspiration here. They're famous yokai that deceive humans with shape shifting and clever traps in order to harm them. Spider webs themselves are pretty on the nose visuals for being ensnared in someone else's plans.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, spiders often represent patience and the intricate interconnected nature of life. They're also sometimes signs of good luck depending on the circumstances where you find them. I don't think Chihiro feels particularly lucky having to face off against his dad's Civilian Destroyer 9000 but hey, you can't win every symbolism roulette. At least it can't be unsheathed and used to its maximum potential!

...Cold comfort, huh?

Dragonfly

BEAM MOVE! Maybe. I want to see what this was actually going to be...!

This feels like a "sure kill" move to compliment the web ability. Good on Hakuri for sending Hiyuki in to save our MC!

Dragonflies have a lot of symbolism tied to them, so I'll only be talking about what I think is relevant to Magatsumi.

The meaning of Tonbo (Dragonfly): ton (“勝”) is victory/win in Kanji, and bo (“虫”) means insect. This is why dragonflies were a popular symbol of courage for the brave-hearted Samurai warriors (in) the Edo (Period) (1615–1868), (possibly even as early as) the 11th Century. The speed, agility, and strength of the samurai is it? Very interesting that we get samurai imagery associated with another Sazanami member! Unlike Hakuri though, I don't think it's direct commentary on Kyoura's character. Hakuri is directly connected to the bravery and persistence of the praying mantis in Chs. 19 and 30, but the symbolism of the dragonfly is tied to the sword instead of Kyoura. I wonder if this was an ideal imbued during the forging process...? Really really want the lore so I can go absolutely nuts with why these creatures in particular were used.

Similar to butterflies, dragonflies are also associated with change, transience of life, and death. They can be interpreted as the souls of the dead, or messengers between the living world and yomi. So much spirituality and death with this sword man. Butterflies, lilies and irises, and now dragonflies. Yeesh.

And lastly, they are seen as spiritual guides and protectors of children... who keep them safe from harm... Good thing the war crime sword wasn't able to murder the son of the guy who made the damn thing. (Will Hakuri and Hiyuki always be there to protect Chihiro when people use his dad's legacy against him? Hm.)

But yeah. No wonder that one didn't get to fire off. Fuck you, Kyoura and rest in hell. With all due respect.

Centipede

Thanks for making one of my most hated creatures look super cool, Hokazono. Bonus fun fact: Japanese centipedes are venomous! Even more reason to dislike them!

This seems to be an AoE knockback ability suited for defense and countering rather than purely offense. Guess each sword will have one utility, offense, and defense move each.

Centipedes have mixed interpretations. On the one hand, they are another symbol of perseverance and adaptability since they can keep squiggling and moving forward even if they lose part of their body. On the other hand, they are also bad omens associated with misfortune. I can't think of a more apt creature to represent this sword, honestly. And it's a neat encapsulation of the buildup to Kyoura's end in chapter 43.

Kyoura is nothing if not persistent even when he should be dead. He's also willing to use the premier piece of merchandise at the auction to keep going, highlighting his adaptability (in terms of running the Rakuzaichi anyway) that's been on display since chapters 22 and 23:

Thanks as always for the clarifying internal monologue, Mr. Shiba. Last image intentionally badly cropped because Hakuri is my favorite.

If Hakuri is a praying mantis, then surely Kyoura is a centipede. Venomous, dogged, flexible, and deserving to be killed on sight (mostly /jk on the last one. Mostly).

Again, the abilities demonstrated by the Magatsumi aren't necessarily direct commentary on Kyoura himself- we'll probably see the same imagery again when someone else uses the sword. Got a lot of speculation as to why this sword is so fucked up with death and spiritual flowers and critters that also have many positive connotations around samurai, strength, and resilience though... especially since it was the shinuchi of the batch that turned the tides and won the war... please give us more backstory so I can go full on tinfoil hat and red string tack board with this!

There's also the mythic creature Omukade, a man-eating yokai with the form of a giant centipede. Not sure if it has any implications for Magatsumi itself, but I like the thought of capturing the essence of monsters to make a monster of a weapon.

Not that I think there are actually yokai or kaiju in this setting; I think Kagurabachi is using these swords as a WMD allegory. Man creates his own hell on earth in an arms race despite the best of intentions and all. Or perhaps out of shortsightedness, victory at all costs, any reason you can think of. We'll have to see Seitei War lore to see if I'm right about that or not. (Please let me be right. Just once in my life, as a treat. ;_;)

I hope the upcoming arc sheds some light on all this... Chihiro's looking for answers so surely we'll learn something! For now, let us commune with the Magatsumi to endure and adapt to this week without Kagurabachi Sunday.