#ant bag beetle

[kuhliloaches]

[zootzar]

Dib stop tweeting about zim

OG listed below

[piplupod]

also fungus gnats or no-see-ums have come indoors while i had the (screened) windows open down here to try to get in a little fresh air, and now I keep getting tiny bugs in my face every so often no matter what room I'm in and idk which they are bc they look so similar so idk how to get rid of them other than just keep trying to kill any that I spot in here and never open the windows again 😭

[not-your-lifeline]

Just saw a tiny spider(smaller than the pinky nail) trying to drop down into a soapy water while I was taking a bath.

So I was like: 'NO, idiot. You'll die if you drop from there.' And moved it between pipes under washstand, and it crawled up there and started to build a nest. Hope you catch lot of fruitflies and mosquitoes.

When I first moved into this house 2 years ago, it was so filthy and full of cockroaches and moths and expired foods and trash from previous tenants(which was a old woman with dementia), but since I began ignoring spiders and only moving them into dark, narrow places without killing them, cockroaches and moths completely disappeared after about a year.

I haven't even seen a single carcass since then, and I've only encountered live house centipedes(scutigeridae) and spiders in this house. No other pests. And guess what? They BOTH eat cockroaches and moths.

And the fact the tiny spider I just moved was a baby and a offspring from other bigger spider, means they're doing well in some places I can't reach in this house somewhere.

They're literally keeping this house clean and I'm grateful for it. I've always been fond of arthropods since I was little. Thanks to them, I don't have to stress over trying to convince the landlord to call the extermination service.

I don't know the exact species of them, but sometimes there are transparent or light green colored spiders instead of usual dark, furry ones. I think it's really cute.

[joy-yet-again]

BONE COLLECTING 101

i highly recommend checking out the bone collecting + vulture culture + taxidermy subreddits because the people there are much more knowledgeable than me. but here are some methods of processing a carcass!

note: all of these methods will work much faster (and stink less) if you skin and gut the animal first, but it isn't necessary. also, check your local laws - it is illegal in many places to collect bones from birds, bats, and marine mammals

1. maceration: For this method, you place the carcass in water and flesh-eating bacteria will dissolve the flesh. this is the best way to preserve a whole skeleton without damage although small bones might be lost when you dump out the water. i tried this on a frog and some of the bones also seemingly dissolved(?). skulls may fall apart and have to be glued back together. warning, this STINKS!! do not do it indoors. the water also needs to be warm. you can use an aquarium heater to heat the water if it's cold. i use adolph’s meat tenderizer to speed up the process (the bromelain helps break down flesh) and do a 50% water change weekly to manage the smell (don't do a full water change or else the bacteria colony will die off). use a closed lid to prevent flies from laying eggs but don't seal it tightly because gasses can build up. a whole, unskinned chipmunk took a little over a month to decompose using this method for me. do not use cold water! the flesh-eating bacteria cannot survive in low temperatures and it can cause the development of corpse wax which is very hard to get rid of.

2. open-air decomposition: this is the fastest method in my experience. leave the carcass out and let the bugs handle it. it took three days for a young rabbit to be almost entirely defleshed when i tried this. the cons are: it smells, the carcass may mummify (can be prevented by spraying water on it), and scavengers may get to it. i avoided scavengers by placing the carcass in a small animal trap, but i've seen people use chicken wire staked to the ground, overturned milk crates/laundry baskets, and dog cages for larger animals. i recommend using a metal cage because a determined scavenger may chew through plastic/chicken wire or dig underneath something that isn't completely enclosed.

3. insects: iirc many museums use a colony of dermestid beetles to clean their specimens. very efficient. i’ve also heard of people using mealworms but they sometimes damage the bones. unfortunately dermestid beetle feces smell horrible and upkeep can be a pain. they’ll also wreck your house if they get loose. if you live in like, texas you can place the animal near a fire ant hill and it’ll get picked clean quickly too (ants may carry smaller bones away).

4. burial: the least messy and smelly (and gorey) method, but it takes a very long time. it can also be hard to find the animal afterwards because soil moves. scavengers may dig it up. i haven't had success with this method - every animal i buried could not be found afterwards even though i marked the spot where i buried them. very small animals can be buried in a flower pot (regular watering may speed up decomp) and placing the carcass in a mesh bag can help prevent the loss of small bones.

my personal method: I’ve had the most success with placing the carcass in a small animal trap and allowing insects to do most of the defleshing. Then, I macerate the bones to remove any remaining flesh. note that neither of these methods remove fur so you will have to sort through the fur to pick out the bones by hand.

PROCESSING BONES AFTERWARDS:

1. degrease the bones by allowing them to soak in a mixture of dish soap and water. i change out the water when there's visible grease in it and continue water changes until it stops getting murky. larger/greasier animals like pigs may need to be soaked in ammonia instead of dish soap.

2. whitening: do not bleach or boil! this damages the bones. soak them in hydrogen peroxide until they're whitened to your liking.

[zatrippit]

miscellaneous bugs volume 2

all bugs found in north island, new zealand.

gisborne cockroach in various stages of molting to become an adult.

two species of bag moth.

rainbow ant queen founding chamber. if you look closely, you can see her hiding.

drone fly. do not look up photos of their larvae.

garden orbweavers. bottom right is clutching a leaf beetle.

grey house spider.

ants made the unwise choice of nesting under a tile i had placed aside while gardening. they quickly moved out.

seed bug!

southern ants deploying many majors (the ones with fat heads) to tear apart insect exoskeleton.

teeny baby snail!!!

meant ants raising their abdomens in their aggresive fighting behaviour, mad i lifted up the mail box flap.

longhorn beetle.

little tim :)

that's all for now.

[kitakyushu-division]

“Grief is a form of growth that in gradual excess becomes graphic and grotesque.” —Criss Jami

Introduction 🪲

Kokoro Kuju (空呪心) also known as Beelzebuz is an artist and second member of Kitakyushu Division's VIVA⭐️RIUM. An artist of endless talent and skill, he is known for his surrealist and grotesque art, may that be of his illustrations or his statues, they actively post them on the platform PROFILE.

Last year, he was involved in a controversy online with a now-deleted artwork and a former follower of his and now, he has entered the DRB in search of not only a brand new darling, but also a particular ‘landmine boy’ he was once cordial with.

link to picrew used

Appearance

Kokoro is a young man in his early 20s, he has porcelain colored skin and is of an effeminate build. He has amethyst colored eyes and his waist-length, deep red hair is formed into four drills, two in front of his face and two behind. His ears are pierced on his lobes and industrials, both of his lobes have the earring of a bloody pair of scissors and for his industrials his right piercing is a knife and the left is a bloodied fork.

His usual get up is a frilly black blouse with puffed sleeves whose edges fade to white and look like fly wings, a dark gray corset, and a white tiered skirt with a print of flies on it. He wears white torn tights and wine red Mary Janes whose soles resemble human teeth.

For accessories he wears a black bonnet with white frills, black bows and beetles, a dragonfly ring on his right middle finger, a choker with a fly pendant, and lastly, a white ita bag full of nothing but merchandise of a half-moth half-man character ranging from small plushies of said character to countless acrylic stands and can badges of different shapes and sizes.

Name Meaning

Kokoro (心) - Heart, as in the feelings kind of heart

Ku (空) - sky

Ju (呪) - curse

Nicknames and Aliases

Beelzebuz - MC Name

Edgelord - John

Koko - his aunt

Kid - Ikko/Raiden

“The Artist of the Devil”

Biographical Info

Gender - Male (goes by he/they)

Age - 20

Birthday - August 6

Star Sign - Leo

Ethnicity - Japanese

Hair Colour - Deep Red

Eye Colour - Purple

Height - 5’4”

Markings - Scars on the legs, anatomical heart tattooed on the chest

Piercings - Lobe, industrial

Family -

Mother (Deceased)

Father (Deceased)

Aunt

Voice Claim: Kanon Sakamoto (speaking) dongdang (singing/rapping)

Fun Facts

Occupation - Surrealist Artist

Division - Kitakyushu

Team - VIVA⭐️RIUM

Position - Second Member

Favourite Food - Grilled intestines (preferably chicken or pig)

Least Favourite Food - Grapefruit

Likes - Gore, bugs, animals (eating them), filling up his ita bag, getting lots of likes on his art online, getting to see [REDACTED], the Sweetheart Killer, Ikko Hitosei

Dislikes - Not being able to see [REDACTED] either in person or online, his followers not liking his non-art posts(ie. him posting about what he just ate), getting his art called weird, Felix nagging, missing limited edition merch of their favourite character

Image Color - Carmine (#D70040)

Hypnosis Microphone

Kokoro’s Hypnosis Microphone is a ceramic white stand mic. The mouthpiece is a white and gold teacup containing the face of a person whose mouth moves in sync with Kokoro as he raps, the stand is a ghastly white arm holding onto the teacup, this arm is really long and the stand ends on a saucer with fingers underneath it.

Kokoro’s speakers take the form of a gigantic gold picture frame filled with 5 bugs: a beetle, a butterfly, a moth, a dragonfly, and a fly. They are all not in a good condition, the butterfly has stunted wings too small to support itself, the beetle is missing one wing and half of its limbs, the moth lacks its head, the dragonfly has its wings torn, and the fly looks halfway eaten by ants. Each bug holds a spherical speaker in their arms.

All the 5 bugs are stuck in the frame but whenever Kokoro activates their mic, the bugs break out from the glass on the frame, this leaves a few shards on the bugs.

Kokoro’s rap ability, Cut Open, makes the target hallucinate being cut open and bleeding on one of their body parts, and if they do believe in the hallucination then they get weakened and that leaves them open to be attacked by Kokoro and/or his teammates.

Their rap themes revolve around things people usually find gross— bugs, coagulated blood, mold, you name it! And to Kokoro, they find these gross things as their own art, even to the point of obsession. If not that, he gets to rap about social media, his dependency on likes, and how he fell in love with a certain somebody all thanks to that. As the rap battle goes on, Kokoro makes it unbearable for their opponent(s) to get to listen to their rap as it gradually borders toward graphic.

Personality

Offline, Kokoro is withdrawn and constantly brooding, preferring to keep distance from others, sometimes even towards their teammates. He is uninterested in things he considers trivial.

When talking about his art or being online however, Kokoro is very enthusiastic and it gets really hard to keep up with him. When he gets inspiration for his art he’ll start making it asap, even when all he has is just trash on the sidewalk somewhere outside home.

He is obsessed with social media, likes and shares determine his happiness and self-worth and when he thinks his posts aren’t doing well as he thought he gets upset about it. Speaking of socmed, that was also where he fell in love with [REDACTED] and he frequently checks that person’s page with every hour, minute, and second he could get, sometimes even trying to gain access to private information about them; the problem is that he doesn’t know such behaviors aren’t considered good for either himself or the people around him.

In the end all he wants is to gain attention for both his work and as himself, especially when that attention comes from that special someone.

Background

<???>

Trivia

His birthday is the death day of murder William Kemmler, being the first electric chair execution

His mc name is a reference to the FAKE-TYPE song of the same name

His late parents are doctors and he says that their field became an inspiration for a lot of his art

Speaking of his art, he did receive temporary bans on PROFILE and other platforms for some of his more graphic work

He frequently watches Kaiji’s livestreams on his free time or when working on art

When their bedroom is viewed at a certain angle, it forms a face

[deadpuppetboi]

Goretober Day 10: Insects/Bugs

When a person dies, his or her body begins to deteriorate.

After a given amount of time, the skin will turn pale, the inner organs will shut down, and the bones will be the only thing remaining.

And the soul will finally depart from its fleshly confines and enter the afterlife.

Elizabeth does not have such a choice.

Removing every piece of clothing she wore revealed the rot and rotting from within. Dried fluids plastered from random locations, some larger than others, but capable of rusting or cracking over time. They were all crammed haphazardly into a large trash bag since she couldn't wash them off no matter how hard she tried.

They were all worn down by time and the extreme temperatures that rained down on the planet. The bright sun would fade the colors, the cold would ice over the fabric, the rain would drench the garments, and the wind would blow the garments in all directions if not correctly strapped.

All she wore was a thin gray T-shirt under a thick black sweatshirt, ripped blue jeans, mismatched socks, and worn-out black boots a size too big. Everything she had was either found in the trash, given to her by a kind stranger, or rummaged through a donation box. They were all utilized to not only shelter the woman from the elements but also to keep the general public from seeing the scars of her history.

And it was all crammed into the trash bag, tied down, and thrown away or burned because they were no longer useful to her.

The woman walked into the shower and turned on the faucet while tying the bag together. The water erupted from above, wrapping her in a frigid embrace before the warmth engulfed her. She could feel small arms and legs crawling from all around her at the decaying areas of her body. They were the only things that kept her from believing she could ever be human again.

Insects and bugs of all types escaped through the breaches in Elizabeth's skin, either trying to avoid drowning or exploring what had happened to their home.

Beetles crawled from her hands, maggots crawled from her torso, butterflies crawled from her stomach, cicadas crawled from her back, flies crawled from her legs, and mosquitos crawled from her feet. The warm shower water strikes them all, causing them to tumble to the dull ground below and flow right down the drain. Elizabeth said nothing as she reached her hand into the cracks in her skin and scooped out the bugs from within. Grabbing what she could and yanking them out, she dropped them down the drain and watched them drown in front of her.

She felt no shame, no anguish, and no sympathy for the small intruders who had further shattered her body and made it their new home. Even though she had fought for many years to keep them out, eventually giving up in a heap because of how much energy it would drain from her, she now had had enough of it all.

She was certain she had some semblance of organs inside her body that were still functioning. She could feel her heartbeat beneath her fingertips, the expansion of her lungs with each breath she drew, and the shape of her muscles as she tore them apart to get the others out. But that didn't matter; all of these horrible parasites had to go, and they had to go forever, no matter what.

Spiders swarmed her ears, ants swarmed her gaping mouth, crickets swarmed her eyes, and bristletails crowded her skull.

All of them, out.

Elizabeth grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and did her best to wash what hair she had left. As she tried to wash it out with the products, a portion of it ripped off of her scalp and fell into the drain. She just stared at it blankly before moving on to the body wash, fiercely scrubbing whatever filth and insects might be clinging to her rotting flesh with the loofah.

She managed to tear at her skin as she scrubbed, adding to the mess as parts of it dropped off and into the drain below. She paused before beginning to scrub again, this time with a softer tone, attempting not to expose her skeleton to the public. She'd already experienced that awful problem, and she didn't want to go through it again.

When she was finished, the woman turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, fresh steam streaming off of her.

Elizabeth stepped into the mat below and groped for a towel to wrap herself in. Stepping in front of the mirror, she brushed her slender palm across the glass, revealing her somewhat pale expression in the reflection.

She appeared tired, if not exhausted, by this moment.

Wrinkles adorn the corners of her eyes and the corners of her mouth. Chapped lips were linked to wounds that would never heal. And her eyes, despite the fact that one was missing, gazed back at her as if she had perfect eyesight.

Elizabeth Afton was a shambles of her former self, but there remained a glimmer of hope within her. Still capable of igniting the fire within, of satisfying the determination she's been missing all this time.

She shifted her attention to the new clothing she'd been given, hastily drying herself as she worked to put them on. As loose and uncomfortable as it looked on her small figure, she had the thought that she would be forever thankful to wear something soft and comfortable to the touch.

The woman stepped out of the restroom and into the kitchen, her gaze drawn to the figure carrying two steaming cups of coffee in each hands. He was a huge man, not particularly overweight, but of medium weight, with sections of his skin sagging with age. He had vitiligo on his skin, making him look like a cow, which Elizabeth suddenly remembered.

She was such a rude child, expressing anything that came to her without hesitation. Despite this, she was kind enough to show the man how much she loved cows by drinking a complete cup of milk in front of him. When she was finished, she smiled broadly and displayed the milk mustache on her upper lip, leading the older man to laugh.

That memory was just as it was now, a memory of a past she hoped could have been different.

Her delicate footsteps creaked on the wooden floor, forcing the elderly guy to turn over, his gray dreads bobbing. When he gazed at the woman, his eyes opened, and a warm grin flickered across his face. He extended his hand to give her the cup of coffee, and Elizabeth walked forward to take it in her palms, the warmth soothing her icy hands.

"Are you ready," the older man inquired quietly, adjusting his glasses.

Elizabeth offered a firm nod, taking the unoccupied seat next to the older man.

Henry Emily opened the page in front of her, exposing a design for a new animatronic. One animatronic that is so specialized and detailed in its task that no other could compete. One that Elizabeth would have to assist Henry in building and guiding to the proper location and opposing figure.

Elizabeth glanced at the name as she slipped her coffee.

L.E.F.T.E.

[littlemissagrafina]

Beautiful Boy

My gift for the absolutely darling @sdottkrames for this years @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Summary: Tony had stood his ground despite Peter's protests. "You and I both know that it's not easy for you to get sick, Bud, and that when you do, it hits you hard. You'll be down for the count for the next few days and I'm not having you push yourself and feel even worse just to stick to our schedule. We have the whole summer, Kid, let's get you better and then we can see about doing another trip but in a different area or whatever."

Read on AO3

Tony had leant over and ruffled Peter's hair in greeting, listening to his rambling intently as he pulled out onto the road. He would occasionally ask questions, somehow keeping track of each change of Peter's train of thought, but once they had mostly cleared the busy city streets, the rambling was mixed in with periods of comfortable silence as well as Tony's own brand of chatting through his own thoughts.

Tony had picked the teen up as soon as the last school bell had rung for the year. He had their bags packed and secured in the trunk, a takeout bag already waiting on the front seat when Peter had opened the passenger door.

It had set the theme comfortably for the rest of the road trip, easy conversation flowed as the highway (and the occasional gravel or dirt road) stretched out in front of them. They jumped from one topic to another, ranging from whatever site they were going to see to fun facts from the area they were in. Tony would have a fun memory of almost every stop they had made along their trip, recalling both the funny and downright stupid things that he and Rhodey had gotten up to on their own road trip years before.

Said memories were the entire reason for Tony and Peter's roadtrip, the teenager having let slip that he had never been on one when Tony and Rhodey had been reminiscing one weekend. Tony had the plan mapped out in his head before the weekend had been over and the next thing Peter had known, it was the beginning of summer and Tony had picked him up; the older hero all but bouncing in his eagerness to share all of the places he still remembered with fondness from his first road trip.

They had moved from one place to the next, sometimes staying in hotels but often laying down the seats with their sleeping bags spread out on, or even, on a few occasions, sleeping outside under the stars.

There was an almost terrifying amount of junk food, snacks, and diner food. An even bigger amount of souvenirs, pictures, and new memories to go along with it. Peter, Tony had found, had an almost alarming love for pebbles, the teenager finding the 'perfect one' at every stop and keeping them all in a pocket in his backpack.

(One or two had even made their way into Tony's pockets as little gifts and Tony made sure to keep track of every single one.) 

They watched sunrises and sunsets from coastal cliffs, drove more inland and explored more forested areas, laughed at the tourist traps but still went along on every overpriced activity. Tony laughed until he got a stitch in his side when Peter had slipped off the log he was sitting on while they were roasting s'mores when a bug landed on his arm. Peter had retaliated by recording Tony while a beetle crawled up his arm, managing to capture the exact moment the man had realised it was there when it creeped up his cheek.

Peter took pictures of everything that caught his eye, whether it was the brilliant pinks and oranges of the sunrise over the waves, lightning arcing across the night sky, or the deserted ant heap he had found during a hike, the millions of tunnels visible from a piece that had broken away from the rest of the heap.

They took selfies too. Some with backdrops at tourist stops and something with trees or beaches in the background. A few featured them in the diners that they had eaten at. 

Tony's favourite was one they had taken at an old retro style diner, the neon lights glowing in the background and milkshakes sitting in front of them. Tony's had been a double chocolate one piled high with whipped cream and melted chocolate drizzled on top and Peter's (to Tony's horror) was a blueberry cheesecake monstrosity that had been mixed with so much blue food dye it had stained Peter's tongue blue for two days afterwards.

With a blue stained grin and whipped cream at the edges of his goatee, it was Tony's favourite selfie of them during the whole trip and if it was set as his background before they had left the diner, well, only Pepper and Rhodey would ever know.

They had reached the last leg of their trip before returning home when Peter woke up with a scratchy throat and slightly stuffy nose. Both Tony and he had attributed it to the overload of sugar they had been eating and cut it down to more savory and healthier foods, but when he'd woken the following day with fully blocked nose, achy head, and even more scratchy throat, Tony had put a pause on the trip and immediately turned them towards the main roads that would take them home the fastest.

Tony had stood his ground despite Peter's protests. "You and I both know that it's not easy for you to get sick, Bud, and that when you do, it hits you hard. You'll be down for the count for the next few days and I'm not having you push yourself and feel even worse just to stick to our schedule. We have the whole summer, Kid, let's get you better and then we can see about doing another trip but in a different area or whatever."

Peter still tried to protest every now and again, the guilt obvious in his expression, so when Tony pulled over at a gas station to grab a few things and fill the tank, he made it his mission to fix things. He angled himself in his seat until he was facing Peter and leant his arm on the center console between them.

"Okay, three things, Bud. You're gonna listen and you're gonna take them in because they're true and I mean it." He raised a brow, waiting for Peter to nod before continuing. "Number one – we've had a pretty awesome time where we have gone so far, and that counts for something, right?" Tony clapped his hands together "It does. Number two – your health takes priority, Peter." He held up a hand when Peter frowned and went to speak. "And no, it doesn't matter that you're Spider-Man, you and I both know that your enhancements don't stop you from getting sick and that your healing factor just makes it worse because it speeds it up. Cho even proved it when we were developing all the medications you might need."

Tony leaned forward and smoothed his hand over Peter's messy curls, letting his hand rest on the pack of Peter's neck. He winced at the slight warmth radiating from his skin. "And number three. We can do this again, Roo. There's going to be more summers, more school breaks, even when you're off being a big shot at college we can find things to do. You're my kid, Peter, and I love spending time with you. Just because this trip is over a little bit sooner, doesn't mean we'll never do something fun again. Hell, next time we can make it a whole big family event and bring along Pepper, May, Rhodey, and Happy."

"You get it? I love you Pete, and this has been so, so much fun. What I need to do now is make sure my kid feels better because I hate seeing anyone I care about be hurt or sick, least of all you. Can you let me do that?"

Peter exhaled, his shoulders drooping as he relaxed back into the seat. "Yeah. I see. I'm sorry I freak out over everything." He frowned at himself and Tony poked him in the side, amusement curling when Peter squirmed away from it. 

"No apologising for things you can't control. Brains are annoying asses when they make us overthink beyond what's needed. Now sit tight, I'll be back in a bit, I'm just grabbing a few things to help you feel better and when I'm back, you're not going to feel guilty because everything is fine. I'm not against using tickles as punishments." With that, Tony hopped out of the car and jogged over to the gas station's store. 

He was quick, grabbing an extra box of tissues and a few throat lozenges in the berry flavours that Peter liked along with a few more snacks and drinks. He made sure to keep the sugar loaded and unhealthy foods to a minimum, instead finding some fresh sandwiches and crackers in the mini bakery section the rest stop had. He loaded in a couple bottles of juices too, but nothing that had mango or cranberry knowing that Peter hated those fruits.

Tony paid and was back at the car within ten minutes and, after filling the tank, they were back on the road. He looked over every so often, making sure that Peter was eating his sandwich and sipping at the juice, ignoring the huffs each time he checked again. It wasn't hovering, it was caution no matter what Rhodey liked to say. 

Eventually Tony grabbed his own sandwich, taking bites between watching the road and Peter. He had Friday on as backup in all his cars but he was careful in any case.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked softly after Peter had stuffed their trash into the plastic bag that had become their designated trash and tissue bag.

Peter sniffed, shifting around in his seat. He grabbed his pillow and propped it up against the door and window before resting his head on it. He sat slightly skew in his seat but Tony was glad to see he was still buckled in and in a position that wouldn't be bad if something were to happen. 

But even then, Tony had made sure to put extra protection measures in both the physical and technological structure of his cars so he wasn't too concerned.

"I'm feeling a bit worse." Peter answered once he had settled, voice stuffy from his blocked nose. "I feel achy." He grumbled.

Tony felt a mixture of amused sympathy. Peter got adorably grumpy when he was sick and it often led to puppy-like pouts and grumbling over being sick in general. But at the same time, as much as sick Peter was endearing and funny, he was still sick, and Tony hated it. It unsettled him in a way that nothing else quite could. Then again, anything involving Peter being injured or unwell had a tendency to do that, so Tony was learning to go with the flow. 

Tony smiled in sympathy. "I'm sorry, Roo. I have some of your special painkillers in the glove compartment, but no actual flu or cold medicines that will help against your metabolism." Reaching over briefly, Tony pressed a hand to Peter's forehead. "You feel warmer than usual but nothing fever grade yet. Do you think you can try and sleep? It'll help give your body some strength and energy to fight it off."

Peter hummed, pressing against his hand for a moment before Tony pulled it back to the steering wheel. He settled back into his pillow and nodded slowly. "Hmm. I can try. I am pretty tired." He murmured in answer.

"Okay. Do you want the radio on quietly? Or one of your playlists?"

Peter hummed again. "One of yours? The soft rock one?" He blinked at Tony, completely unaware of the soft childlike expression on his face as he asked.

As if Tony would ever deny him anything.

"Of course, Bud."

Tony turned the radio on and asked Friday to queue the requested playlist, the opening chords to Blackbird crooning softly from the speakers as he turned his focus back to the road in front of them.

The songs switched over in the background, the playlist playing over in the background, and when Tony looked over again, Peter was fast asleep. He had turned his head into his pillow, his curls squished in all directions and his mouth parted as he snored gently.

The song switched, soft drums and guitar strings echoing through the car, the familiar voice of John Lennon accompanying it. Tony hummed to the tune, mumbling along to the lyrics under his breath.

"Close your eyes, have no fear."

[cyncerity]

okay was rereading how Tommy and Ranboo met and fun question I have is clothing.

What kind of clothing does everyone wear? Like Boggins wouldn't wear green and such like leafman and I know I've got the actual movie for reference, but like what's your take?

Like Bugfolk would surely be different too right?

Also also I just wanna know, what kind of fur is ranboos jacket made from? cause its half black half white and my first thought was: hehehe skunk jacket.

And also while we're on the the topic of clothes: weapons and armour.

What do you imagine each races preferred choice of weaponry is and made from what? Cause I'd imagine certain bug folk would have natural defence mechanisms like spiders and venom ya know? So would they still use a weapon?

Where as I kind of imagine boggins bigger and bulkier so they'd probably prefer hand to hand combat but then again also they ride bats in the movie so theres that as well as leafmen and their bows on hummingbirds.

Curious I am :3

Don't have to answer them all but thanks for your time 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭

ALL WONDERFUL QUESTIONS THANK YOU

ok first with the clothes: boggins wear lots of furs and weird armor-esqe things (like the shells of those spikey circle plants as shoulder guards [i don’t know what the spikey plants are called but if you google that they’ll come up sorry for my non american readers who have no fuckin clue what i’m talking about] or like bug shells as shields). bone jewelry/accessories, giant stitching, lots of sacks, bandages, belts, lots of overlayed raggedy fabrics. i took a lot of inspiration from viking type clothing. basically the boggins wear all this because their part of the forest doesn’t have much/any sun and they mostly live underground or in the trunks of dead trees where it’s very damp and cold.

as for leafmen, they don’t wear clothes. they’re perfectly built to survive in their natural habitat and since they’re basically sentient plants there isn’t really a need for clothes anyway, if you get what i’m saying. they all have different types and patterns of leaves which can look a lot like clothes and provide some extra support like clothes do, but they don’t put anything extra on their bodies unless it’s practical (like bags) or pretty (some leaf men wear jewelry).

as for bugfolk, they’re somewhere in between. most of them only wear clothes for an aesthetic or for practical reasons. Like, a warm weather bugfolk that lives in the bogs would probably wear a coat. but most of them are kinda like cartoon animals in the sense that they wear whatever clothes they want. like, think of the mickey mouse gang, and how some wear pants and no shirt, shirt and no pants, etc. that’s how bugfolk are. they just mix and match.

also thank you for the Ranboo skunk jacket comment i didn’t even think about what his clothes would be made of but yes canon it’s skunk fur now.

as for weapons, i’ve had some ideas about those too >:)

ok so first off, big folk with natural defenses probably either don’t carry weapons or carry small ones. bugfolk that can fly probably only carry small weapons as well as to not weigh them down, given that it’s almost always a better option to fly from danger than fight. ground dwelling bugfolk are probably the more bulky and tough kind of bug (ants, beetles, etc) so they are probably gonna be fine in a fight without a weapon but probably carry bigger ones to be safe. also bugs are strong, so i can totally imagine an ant carrying around a sledgehammer double it’s body weight like it’s nothing just in case lmao. but all in all, most of them probably just carry the equivalent of a pocket knife or maybe a machete or something.

as for boggins and leafmen, i actually have a couple of visual references i pulled from pinterest! most of the time they use very similar types of weapons, but created very differently and sometimes with very different purposes. Boggins, being much bigger and tougher than leafmen, create weapons that are mostly close range, giant, and pack a powerful hit. Leafmen, being more nimble and fast than boggins, create weapons that highlight their best way of fighting, which is mostly long range. Both use long (like a bow and arrow) and short (like a sword) range, though.

starting with boggins, they love using bones in their weapons. they also use a lot of belts, straps, and bandages in their weapons along with their clothes. all in all, their weapons aren’t as well put together as a leafmens, but they focus more on brutality, size, and endurance than making their weapons look pretty. all in all they make the scariest fuckin weapons ever and this is definitely part of the reason leafmen think they’re bloodthirsty monsters.

leafmen, however, have a lot more class with their weapons. it’s way more civilized, and they have more complex and harder to craft weapons. i especially like the idea that they have things like the first picture made out of vines and stuff that they can use to swing and maneuver through a fight, which a boggin can’t do cause they’re not as nimble.

the movie itself also had this little piece of concept art, which also highlights the differences well;

and thank you for asking questions!! i love putting a needless amount of effort and thought into world building so when i get questions like this i get super excited hskdlskjs

so please ask more if you want to!! i’m working on drawing stuff for the other asks but i wanna talk about everything!!

[eridanisanenby]

Atlantis Attacks

Ant Ant

Arkham Asylum

Agent A (Alfred)

Amity Arkham

Amadeus Arkham

All-American comics

Baxter Building

Bombastic-Bag man

robert Bruce Banner

james Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes

Black Blot/Blackagar Boltagon

elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock

Brian Braddock

william “Billy” Braddock

Billy Batson

Beast Boy

Blue Beetle

Boston Brand

BlueBird

Bouncing Boy

Carl “Crusher” Creel

Captain Carter

nathan Christopher Charles summers/Cable

Curtis "Curt" Connors

Caped Crusader

oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot

Captain Cold

Captain Carrot

Catherine Cobert

Cressida Clarke

Crocky the Crodile

Doctor Darrk

Doctor Destiny

Dorthy Duncan

Ding-Dong Daddy

yankee Doodle Dandy

Dinah Drake

Darla Dudley

Damien Darhk

(new) Fantastic Four

Four Freedoms plaza

Fin Fang Foom

Freedom Fighters

Freddy Freeman

Felix Faust

Guardian of the Galaxy

Green Goblin

Guy Gardener

Gorilla Grodd

Gotham Gazette

Gotham Globe

Gotham General

Green Guardsman

Golden Glider

Glorious Gordon Godfrey

Happy Hogan

Hank Hensley

Hank Hall (Hawk)

Henry “Hank” Henshaw

Hank Hall

Hippolyta "lyta" Hall

Hank Haywood

Jessica Jones

John Jonah Jameson

Katherine “Kate” Kane

Kristen Kringle

Kip Kettering

Lacie Lorraine

Loki Laufeyson

Lunella Lafayette

Lonnie Lincoln

Lois Lane

Lex Luther

Lighting Lad

Linda Lee

Luma Lynai

Lana Lang

Laura Lang

Louise Lincoln

dinah Laurel Lance

Linda Lang

Lena Luther

MasterMind

May Melinda

Miles Morales (og 42)

Meows Morales

Michael Morbius

Multiverse of Madness

MilkMan Man

Mateo Maximoff

Marya Maximoff

Mole Man

Mister Mxyptlk “Mxy”

M’gann M’orzz/Megan Morse/Miss Martian

Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi

Mary Marvel

Miguel Montez

Music Master

Mr. Miracle

Mirror Master

Mad Mod

Malcolm Merlyn

Maria Mercedes Mooney

Matches Malone

Monsieur Mallah

Nia Nal

Olivia Octavius (doctor Octopus/doc Ock)

Pepper Potts

Peter Parker(s)

Pabitr Prabhakav

Peni Parker

Peter Porker

Pedro Peña

Penny Plunderer

Quasar’s Quantum bands

Quentin Quale

Reed Richards

Rocket Raccoon

Richard Rider

Roberto “Robbie” Reyes (og 69)

Rachel Roth (Raven)

Ronald Raymond

SlapStick

Sun Spider

Scarlet Spider

Serpent Society

Super Skrull

Silver Sable/Silvija Sablinova

Sinister Syndicate

Sinister Six

Steven Strange (dr Strange)

Sybil Silverlock

Susan “Sue” Storm

Spider-Society

Samuel Sterns

Sebastian Shaw

Suicide Squad

Star Sapphire

Silver St. Cloud

Secret Six

Pter Ptarker (TT)

Taneleer Tivan

Tyros The Terrible (Terrax)

Teen Titans

Titans Tomorrow

Tom Turbine

Traci Thirteen

Unus the Untouchable

Vicki Vale

Valerie Vale

Web Warriors

Wade Winston Wilson

Wallace “Wally” West

Wallace “ace” West II

Wonder Woman

Warlock the Wizard

Wizards & Warlocks

Zatanna Zatara

Zachary Zatara

Zilius Zox

Duela Dent Napier Nigma

Cooper Coen/Web Weaver

Matthew Michael “Matt” Murdock/DareDevil

Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel

Otto Octavius (doctor Octopus/doc Ock)/Superior Spider-man

Victor Von doom/Doctor Doom

Warren Worthington III/ArchAngel

Cassandra “Cass” Cain/Black Bat

J’onn J’onnz/John Jones/Hank Henshaw/Martian Manhunter

Kei Kawade/Kaiju Kid(/Kid Kaiju)

Mitchell Mayo/Condiment King

Max Mercury/Windrunner Whip WhirlWind

Red Robin/Joker Junior

Cletus Cortland Kassidy (Carnage)

Clark Kent

Conner “Kon” Kent

Chemical King

Carrie Kelley

Killer Croc

Karen Crane

Seaboard City

Total alliteration: 207

[elementalgod-aj]

Anthro Allies Remastered (Part 10)

Now the Third and Final Part of the Arthropods

Endoterygota

Emorrossa (Insect Queen)

Lord Hexagath (Insect King)

Sawfly

Buzza (Sawfly)

Team 

Stem sawfly

Horntail

Cedar wood wasp

Webbed Leaf

Xyelid

Megalodontes

Parasitic Wasps

Crimson the Abominable (Thistledown velvet ant)

The Hoard

P. Wood wasp 

Sirex Woodwasp

Ichneumon Wasp 

Gall wasp

Chalcid Wasp

Fairy wasp

Ensign Wasp

Crowned Wasp

Cuckoo wasp (Emerald wasp)

Velvet Ant (Cow killer)

Spider Wasp (Tarantula Hawk)

Tiphiid wasp

Scoliid wasp 

Mammoth Wasp

Cockroach wasp (Jewel Wasp)

Sand digger wasp

Cicada Killers

Ant hunter wasp

Bee wolf 

Aphid wasp

Eusocial Wasp

Queen Assaut

King Vespa

Prince Axe

Princess Strike

Warriors

Hornets

Yellow jackets

European wasps

Paper Wasps

Executioner wasps

Warrior wasps

Potter wasps

Hover wasps

Pollen wasps

Honey Wasp

Ants

Queen Amber

King Ore 

Prince Beryl

Princess Siafu

Special Forces

Acrobat Ant, Dracula Ant, Exploding Ant, Mafia Ant, Shining Guest Ant, Sugar Ant

Colony

Black Ants (Garden worker), Red Ants (forager worker)

Argentine Ants (Warrior), Erratic Ants (sun workers), Needle Ant (Warrior), Ghost Ant (Scout), Stink Ants (aphid and caterpillar farmer), cone ant (pest control)

Eciton Ants (Generals/Tanks), Driver Ants (Army)

Trap Jaw Ants (Trappers), Dinosaur Ants (Moon Worshippers)

Diving Ant (Swimmer), Honey Pot Ants (Food dealers), Crazy Ants (Wild cards), Amazon Ants (Raider), Carpenter Ants (Builders), Tree Ants (Warriors), Hodor Ant (Bouncer),  Giant forest ants (gladiators)

Leaf Cutter Ants (Builders), Weaver Ants (handmaidens and caretakers), Lemon Ants (mushroom growers), Pharaoh Ants (communication), Harvester Ants (harvesters), Pirate Ants (rogues), Raider Ants (raider), Electric ants (warriors), Fire Ants (Warriors), Big headed ants (Guard)

Bees

Queen Apidae

King Apo

Prince Kyle

Princess Pollen

Bee Hive

Dwarf/Asian Honey bee, Giant/European Honey Bee, Dog Bee, Sugar Bag bee (Honey makers), Carpenter bee (Builders), Bumblebee (Nectar collector),  orchid bee (Flower manager), Sweat Bee (workers), Long horned Bees (Workers), Digger Bees (nest builders), Mining Bees (Mining and Excavation)

Plasterer bee (builder), Polyester bee (cloth maker)

Carder bee (Collectors), Leafcutter bee( (Weaver), Mason bee (molder), Wallace giant Bee (blacksmith)

Pantaloon Bee (Guards)

Australian Bee (soldiers)

Daniel and Lyon (lacewing & antlion)

Xan (Snakefly)

Zip(Alderfly)

Grounder (Ground beetles)

Live wire (Telephone pole beetle)

Knock Knock (Deathwatch beetle)

Lucky (Ladybug)

Lumi-Nate (Firefly)

Adorn (Jewel beetle)

IronShell/Ira (Horned Scarab beetle)

Horns (Stag Beetle)

George Schmutz (Dung beetle)

Red Rover (Rove beetle)

Ballin (Boll weevil)

Waxer (Giraffe Weevil)

Twist (Stylops)

Twiddle (Stylops)

Harleigh (Butterfly/Moth)

Eugene (Monarch Butterfly)

Genevieve (Silk Moth)

Cassidy (Caddisfly)

Bethany (House/Horse Fly)

Pesky (Gnat/Midge) 

Zika (Mosquito)

Rome (Hover/Robber/Crane fly)

Sting (Scorpionflies)

Ichor (Fleas)

Previous/Next

(For More Information About The Earthdemons, Neo demons, The Anthro allies , the O'Kong family and more of theses characters as well as updates please visit the @the-earthdemon-hub for more)

[busterheadspace]

Breagan kid meets his daughter in an camp/school trip to another state. Breagan kid was shocked to learn that their new friend's middle name was Reagan like their mother, sadly after that they never met again. They had fun together and in home Breagan kid talk to their parents about this girl without knowing who her father was. Uhh request? Idk idk

Done.

I’m am open to request but Breagan request may be on the slow side since I am kinda burn out of the ship. You can send it but I will be slow on it. Also, don’t request anything with this Breagan kid. I don’t really wanna write more for her

Note:Request are open but read above!

The girl held onto her book bag strap as she stepped out of the bus. She looked around, the new area, a lot of trees and a big sign of a camp that her school had signed up for a trip

“Riley, dear. Go join the rest of your class.” One of the teachers said and she followed, quietly moving.  She knew how her Daddy and Mom were worried about not being with her but she told them that she was a big girl and she wanted to do all the fun things the permission slip had on it. The girl originally wanted to go on the trip but now, she was regretting her decision. She felt scared without them now.

“Okay kiddos. So, we’ll be sharing this camp ground with another school. All of you, please grab a red bracket so we can identify you. 

Riley took it and slipped it onto her wrist and sat down as one of the teachers told them what they needed to do. They had to collect sticks and wood for a fireplace later. Her classmates gather into pairs or groups, leaving her sitting by herself. Daddy always told her to make friends but she was scared of all the new people. It probably looked weird for her to sit by herself so she stood up and walked away

She went into the forest, looking around for something to help with the fire. Wood usually burns things right? She wandered into the forest, picking up little sticks and stuffing them into the big pockets of her jacket. Occasionally she would look at the bugs and creatures in the environment. She likes bugs. Mom would let her look at the ants and worms in the garden. Sometimes she would see a butterfly. She loves butterflies.

In fact she saw one. An orange one just a couple feet above her. Her eyes lit up and she followed it. It fluttered back and forth and she was so distracted by the movement that she didn’t notice what was in front of her. Someone’s yell made her focus as she fell backward after hitting something.

“I’m sorry!” The girl said quickly, closing her eyes and hoping whoever she hit wouldn’t yell at her. She didn’t hear anything and opened them. A girl with brown hair and bushy eyebrows stared at her.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked. Riley nodded although she was nervous as the girl stood up. The butterfly came down between the two, the girl stuck her arm out and it landed on her arm. Both of them were shocked but amazed by the small creature action and Riley immediately stands up to look

“How did you do that!” 

“I don’t know. But I think we made a butterfly friend!” 

Just as the girl said that, the butterfly flew away and both of them look sad as it flies into the sky, but the girl quickly cheered up.

“That was cool though! What’s your name?” 

“Riley.”

“My name is Eve! My school is going camping.”

“Mine too. They said I had to collect sticks.”

“Me too.” Eve kicked a rock. “I wanna have fun. Like swimming or looking at bugs. Everyone at my school hates bugs.”

“I like them!” Riley said as she crouched down, noticing a beetle. “Look, at this one.”

“There’s so many bugs. Let’s look at them all!” 

 They found another beetle, brown and big. This one could fly and Eve tried to catch it, only to fall face flat . Riley burst into a giggle fit as Eve got up

“Hey! It’s one of those water bugs!”

They tried to run deeper into the forest until a whistle was blown and they saw a teacher run up to them. They kinda yelled at them for wandering too far and too long  before grabbing their hands and leading to the camp.

“You guys are from the same camp? You have matching bracelets.”

Both of them lift their wrist up and the teacher was right. Riley had never seen this girl in her school but the school was a big building 

“What school are you from?” 

Eve responded to a different school, in another state. Away from Washington DC. It sounded far. What was Appleton? What was there? But she was happy that the girl was in the same campsite as her. 

The teacher dropped them off back in the campsite. Both schools seem to be around a big pile of wood, surrounded by stone. They didn’t even realize how dark it had become. They sat next to each other as a man was in the middle, wearing a funny outfit of a lizard.

“Welcome campers! We hope you enjoy your time here in our Camp. Enjoy our activies of swimming, hiking, and climbing! Let’s start our night with a song and some s’mores!”

The school cheered and they set the wood on fire. They girls watched as students grabbed chocolate and marshemellow and Eve gets up despite Riley wanting her to stay sitting down. She frowned as Eve headed toward some a group of students. 

She thought she made a friend but she guessed she too boring. Dad always told her she was smart but maybe she should show her smartness to make a friend. Maybe she didn’t do that. 

Her thoughts were cut short as she felt someone sitting close to her. Eve had came back and gave her marshmallow and chocolate and crackers. Her eyes widen as Eve stared at her own food

“I wish we got small sticks to melt these.”

“Oh!” Riley got her sticks out and gave it to her. Eve smiled and they watched the marshmallows burn. Eve talked about her dad camping in their backyard and the marshmallow was the best when it was black. She was right as they made the s’more. It was super yummy.

“Are we friends?” Riley asked between bites. Eve looked at her confused before nodding her head rapidly. While Riley nodded, she was very excited inside.

They sat together and talked for a while but two teachers called for them to head to their cabins to sleep. Eve hugged her before running toward her teacher and Riley slowly made her way to hers.

— 

As soon as morning came, the two rushed out of their cabins and met up where the campfire was. They two talked a bit before the rest of their school came and another activity was started. 

It was castle making. Or lego castles. The girls teamed up and tried to make a good castle. Eve gathered the blocks as Riley drew the castle out. 

“How do you draw so good?” Eve asked.

“Mom is a scientist. She works with like robots. She says that your projects need structure.. I think. I don’t really know what she means. But she draws her projects  first”

“I like it! I should do that. Let’s build that castle!” 

Riley nodded and they went to work. When the activity ended, they built a colorful castle that had an opening door and window. The teacher said it was nice and gave them a few pieces of chocolate. Both them smiled as they ate the little treats.

——

The rest of the week played out the same. They two would get up early and head to the campfire. Do their activities and go back to their cabins.

They went on hikes, Riley accidentally slipping into a river and Eve splashed her, treasure hunts, they couldn’t find the chest buried, and ate a lot of food. Both agreed that Hot Dogs were the best food they had

They would try to explore the forest whenever they had the chance to but the teachers kept them from going. Both of them wanted to find the orange butterfly again because it was really pretty.

But at last, the last day of camp came and the schools were packing up. Eve and Riley had already packed when a teacher from Eve’s school told her to come with her. 

“Come with me! You’re my friend.” Eve said, pulling her hand out. Riley saw that her school was taking a long time and followed her, taking the hand. The teacher led them to a parking lot. A man with scruffy brown hair was in front of a car. Eve’s eyes lit up and ran toward the man, dragging her friend along.

“Dad!” She exclaimed, hugging him, and letting go. The man laughs and pats her head. “Why are you here?”

“Well, we live really far so I came here to pick you up. How was camp?”

“Great! I love it! We ate s’more! Build with legos! Saw a bear!” 

Eve went on and on and the man just stood there listening to it. Riley did the same thing but she thought of leaving since her friend was with her dad.

“I think mom would like to hear all of this, my little Reagan.” 

Eve rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms but the name surprised Riley. 

“Reagan? Your name is Reagan?” Riley asked

“It’s my middle name! I don’t like it that much.” Eve whispered but her dad heard it.

“I just liked Reagan. You know, it’s kinda.. familiar to me. Not sure what makes it so special but I thought it would fit my girl.”  

“Oh. Uh, that’s nice. It’s just.. my mom’s name is Reagan. I just think it’s just funny that you have the same names.”

“Middle name!” Eve exclaimed. 

“Okay, Evee. I think she understands. Who is she?”

The girl grinned and wrapped her arms around Riley. 

“She’s my friend! Riley! She’s so fun! She can draw! She even likes bugs!”

“That’s nice. Thanks for being my daughter’s friend, Riley.” The man held his hand out for a shake and Riley shakes it. She was really happy with what Eve had said but then heard a whistle and a loud voice for her school to line up.

“I have to go..” Riley mumbled and Eve whined. She held onto her for a little longer until she let go and grabs her friend.

“You’re my best friend. Okay. Forever and ever!” 

The word best friend made her even happier and Riley gave her a big smile. Then Eve pointed to the right and saw the butterfly. Both watched as it fluttered beside them for a few minutes and then flying off. The teacher kept calling and Riley had to let go. She waved goodbye to the both of them, and ran back to where her school was. 

 She was happy she made a friend.

— 

The bus dropped her off at her house and she was surprised to see Mom and Daddy home.

“Riley!” Dad ran up and pulled her into a big hug. She giggled and hugged him back. Mom was behind him and once dad put her down, she ran and gave her one too.

“How was camp?” Mom asked as they went inside their home. Riley happily talked about her friend and the fun they had.

“That sounds really cool!” Brett responded as she finished her story. He was cooking lunch now.

“Yeah. Her dad came and we saw this butterfly again. I think I’m going to name it Lola.”

“That’s a nice name. So, do you have Eve’s phone number?” Reagan asked

The girl’s face dropped. “No. I don’t.” Her expression turned sad. “Will I see her again?”

Her parents looked at each other, a little sad before offering a smile.

“I’m sure you will. Beside, maybe next year. You’ll see her again.”

And that’s what made their daughter happy. “Yeah! I wanna go next year! I loved camp! I love everything about it!”

And Riley went go another tangent about the camp. They didn’t mind though. To her mom and dad, they were happy that their daughter was coming out of her shell and made her first friend. They were especially happy knowing that she was enjoying the childhood that they never had and would do anything to keep it like that

[secret-bug-pain-blog]

Febuwhump, Day 8 - Panic

AO3 mirror here. This one kept getting out of hand. We finally cut it short, but gods, we'd probably end up with a whole short story if we let it keep running. This one's a lot rougher than usual, but might be extended should we have the time. It's also... sixteen days late. Gods. Well, at least it's done.

It had been a few weeks since the Explorer’s Association had welcomed a temporary visitor into their ranks.

Leipephilene was an explorer from a faraway land, or something of the like, if you believed what she said. A goliath beetle, according to Stratos. From somewhere similar to him. She had a matte, dark orange shell that shone in the sunlight, her head and thorax covered in striking black and white markings. She carried a sword that would be tall on anyone else and was just mid-length on her, a bag full of trinkets and tools, constantly clinking with things for purposes no one quite knew.

As far as Mothiva was concerned, she was a liar and a cautionary tale about not believing everything someone said just waiting to happen.

She knew a thing or two about window dressing. She was an expert, after all. Performance was her bread and butter, as an idol – you played your part well, or you got knocked out of the running, and presentation was a good chunk of that. Of course, she knew her act well. She’d had time to learn it, years of experience playing her role, and even more years of experience perfecting it.

Leipephilene – if that was even her name – was far worse of an actor. The beetle fumbled with basic niceties, even with a script, clearly making up details about names and places on the spot. She fiddled with her warhammer like it was a toy, flicked through the settings on things like any weapon wouldn’t take her finger off handled incorrectly, kept her space unorganized and barely tried to disguise that her knife almost never so much as left its sheath.

Even besides that, she couldn’t keep her story straight. She paused before revealing even the most basic of details, left holes and inconsistencies in her tales that even the most dull-minded of bugs could pick up on if they paid the slightest bit of attention. It only made it the more infuriating that the other members of the association seemed to eat it up.

Mothiva disliked her.

It didn’t help that she didn’t even have the common courtesy to answer to a name, after giving one. Even Leif usually picked up after a few calls, and his name wasn’t half as unwieldy to pronounce. It wasn’t as if having one was an obligation one had to fulfil. Mothiva herself only had a name because of the convenience it lent to branding. No, she had to pick a name that was a nightmare to say – and a pain in the ass to wrangle with.

Thankfully, she was leaving soon.

Less thankfully, Mothiva had to attend whatever she had planned on her way out.

Mothiva sat on the chair with a huff, feeling Zasp settle behind her. Stratos and Delilah had been early, surprisingly, though considering the duo, it was probably more likely that they’d just decided not to move from the afternoon’s nap. Team Ant were settled somewhere on the couch, and Team Snakemouth, unsurprisingly, were chattering each other’s ears off about something or another. She was sure she could listen in on them, of she cared to do so. From what little she could hear, it sounded like nothing of value, something about moving the couch, or whatever.

She was half-certain that the furniture had been rearranged, thinking about it now. Sweeping her gaze over the floor, she was sure that chair had been closer to the centre of the room, and wasn’t that table-

Her train of thought was interrupted as the door creaked, and her head shot up only to see Levi and Celia.

Late. Of course.

Well, at least the beetle of the hour didn’t seem to be doing any better. Nearly no sign of her, even after so long waiting. Of course, she had to add more inconvenience to the pile. Mothiva leaned back in her chair and sighed, listening to Zasp’s wings buzz as he shifted his balance. All that fuss over something important, and of course she couldn’t even bother to show up.

Click. Click. Click.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” an all-too-familiar voice said.

Mothiva turned to see Leipiphilene step into the room, hammer strapped firmly to her back. Team Snakemouth quieted down, abruptly. Mothiva saw Vi’s antenna prick as Leif sank back into his chair.

“It’s quite all right, Miss. We’re glad to have you here. It must be quite important, to draw you out so soon after that mission.” Kabbu spoke before anyone else, open and honest and half an inch shy of leaning down to bow at her claws.

Suck-up. Of course he launched into the compliments. Not like there was anything to compliment, with the bug he’d picked up on. He must’ve been one of the suckers to accept her offer of assisting missions, then. Dense bastard.

With how the moth had returned looking bruised to hell and back, her help was less than useful.

“It has been fun to work with you,” the bug agreed. “Especially after these past few days. But I’m afraid I must bring something to light. All of you have been deceived.”

Mothiva could sense the wave of tension travel through the explorers at the declaration. Confusion, worry, disbelief, questioning what she was talking about. She narrowed her eyes at the goliath beetle as Zasp shifted nervously at her side. Just what was she about to tell them?

“One of the beasts I hunt has hidden itself within your ranks.”

Shock flared outwards through the ranks. Mothiva only narrowed her eyes further. Of course. Her “hunt”, which she’d been ever so vague about. This all stunk of a scam, something made up to trick uncautious bugs into throwing away their money. Just making up an enemy that could be anything convenient to her, telling scary stories about it until bugs would pay her anything to chase it away, and reaping the rewards. She caught Delilah shifting uneasily out of the corner of her eye, muttering something to Stratos.

Hopefully, one of them had cottoned on to this being fishy. She wasn’t sure if she could speak up just yet, but if no one else pointed it out, she might have to.

“I know it may be hard to believe,” the beetle said, “but it’s merely a testament to just how well my quarry can hide itself.” She waded into the sea of explorers, uncertain bugs parting in her way and staring up at her as she spoke. “I would bet none of you suspected it, even if you knew the signs. Those I hunt are clever opponents – you have to be certain before you can know it’s them, and they know just how to hide to catch you off-guard.”

Her claw shot out like a bolt from a crossbow. Mothiva watched, all too late to intervene, as she plucked Leif up by the scruff. The moth jerked, fluttering his wings in a panic- probably a bad move, she thought, with the grip she had on him he was all too likely to tear them off. She hefted him over the crowd, delicately holding his scruff in her claws as she held him as far away from her as she could. She curled her lip as if she’d smelled something foul, maintaining as little contact with the moth as she could, like she was holding a lump of garbage that she wanted to be taken out.

“A parasite,” she said. “Hiding in plain sight.”

Mothiva watched the shock ripple outwards. Disbelief, confusion, worry, uncertainty. Leif seized against the beetle’s claws, strength abruptly redoubled as he writhed. He looked… panicked. Fearful. Mothiva’s eyes narrowed as the beetle continued.

“He’s been hiding within you for all too long,” the beetle said, pacing across the room. “Lurking, hiding, waiting. The sort of bug who plans, before it takes its host, who hunts for best place to set down its young, the best bodies to… appropriate. It’s no fault of yours, of course, that you refused to spot it. His sort is canny. Still, you need to nip this sort of problem in the bud, before you end up with a kingdom hollowed out to the husk.”

Leif was outright thrashing, now, ice spreading through his fur and turning it into a mess of icicles. Mothiva caught Delilah frowning, out of the corner of her eye, fiddling with her bazooka. Her species had a reputation for parasitism, didn’t they? Mothiva was all too aware of the static clinging to her fluff, as Zasp pressed closer.

It wouldn’t surprise Mothiva if Leif was a parasite, honestly. The moth was all too cagy about his origins, and if the stories she’d heard were any indication, the bug’d taken close to eight months to even interact with his family after first showing up. She’d assume direct family would be a bit harder to come by, when you had to track down some poor ladybug for your larvae to eat before having eggs, and it’d probably be a bit harder to track a parasite’s place of hatching, since they had the incentive to conceal it.

She hadn’t known there were parasitic moths out there. It wasn’t surprising, but it was new information – she didn’t blame him for keeping it secret, if this was the sort of reception he got. It would probably be pretty damn incriminating for his family, if he was found out.

“Leave him alone!” Vi stepped forward, baring her teeth. Mothiva was startled it’d taken her this long to butt in, really. Did she not think something was off? She fluffed her fur, buzzing her wings to put herself on a higher level. “What do you get outta accusing Leif of being a parasite, huh? He wouldn’t do anything to anyone-“

“Hush, bee.” The beetle tapped her on the nose with her free claw, shutting her muzzle with a snap. Vi looked affronted- pulling away and snarling the moment she realized, but Leipephilene ignored her and kept talking. “Your petty emotion has no place in these matters. The Leif you know wouldn’t- but the parasite would.”

She stalked in a circle, moth still held at arm’s length. Vi regathered herself behind her, puffing up her fluff even more, but whatever angry retort she yowled was lost in Leipephilene’d voice. “He’s the first I’ve seen here, but he won’t be the last. If efforts aren’t taken to root out the source of the sickness, it will only proliferate. Even now, this moth is lost – once the parasite roots in, it takes a bug’s body, eats away at their very soul until they’re nothing more than a vessel for spreading.”

She could see Leif’s wings flare, the tell-tale glimmer of magic spreading over himself as one of his bubble shields started to form. The beetle shook him by the ruff before it could form, hard enough that she could see it shatter and spray translucent shards of ice halfway across the audience.

Zasp was tense against Mothiva’s back – she could practically see the electricity jump between his claws. Delilah was fiddling with her bazooka, glancing back and forth between the beetle and Leif. Kabbu, still in the crowd, looked like he was having a crisis. Levi and Celia looked all too uncertain, and she could see Vi snarling as the bug hefted Leif higher – but no one was doing anything, even when Leif looked more and more like he was going to tear his own wings out.

Was no one going to do anything useful?

“And where’s your proof?” Mothiva asked. “How do you expect us to believe you’re telling the truth when all you’ve done is haul one of our guildmates around and made wild accusations?”

For a moment, she thought that the beetle simply hadn’t registered it. She certainly seemed… caught up, in her presentation. Thankfully, it was only a minor setback. Leipiphelene turned to her, moth still squirming frantically in her claws. Leif’s eyes locked with hers, wide and blank with terror, and she bit back a retort about how it wasn’t for him. Now wasn’t the time.

“If you’re going to tell us our teammates aren’t what they seem, you should have some grounding in reality, yes?” Mothiva’s smile had perhaps a few too many teeth in it, but in her defence, the way Leif was squirming seemed to suggest more that he thought she was going to throw him under the bus than that she was trying to help.

The beetle sighed, drooping. “I know it can be… difficult to believe, especially to their loved ones. Rest assured, their family will be compensated – it’s always sad to see one fallen. This sort of parasite is subtle enough to pass as the real thing, once it’s taken root. It’ll nestle into a bug’s brain, take control of their thoughts, wear their body like an empty shell for days, weeks, maybe even months after passing. It’ll wear their husk like a cloak to protect itself from the elements. Sadly, it’s not obvious on the outside.”

They drew their knife – a wickedly sharp black that shone dull purple in the light, and Leif went completely rigid, only trembling slightly as he looked down at the knife. “…it requires a good look at the insides.”

They drew the blade to Leif’s thorax, to an uneven patch of shell Mothiva faintly remembered being bandaged nearly two years ago. No one moved – why was no one moving? She drew the blade slowly across Leif’s chest, ignoring his shrieks of pain. Mothiva glanced around- Delilah’s rocket launcher was in her claws, Celia’s shield clutched tight. Kabbu looked like he was frozen in place, Maki-

Oh, Mothiva realized in a second of clarity. There’s nothing on hand that wouldn’t hit Leif, is there?

She could fix that.

Mothiva snapped her claws, mind going a mile a minute-

“Zasp!”

A knife imbedded into the Leipiphelene’s shell, making them choke and jerk. The knife drew across Leif’s throat as she dropped both it and him, wound deepened by his panicked flailing, and he gave a long, loud wail of pain that made Mothiva wince. That sound definitely didn’t belong to any moth she knew- but that wasn’t relevant now. Leipiphelene jerked back, turning to face Zasp.

“You-“

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Another three knives buried in her shell. Good, solid hits. Unfortunately, they didn’t hit deep enough to really count. Mothiva’d gone up against Stratos before, she knew just how well beetles like him could tank a hit, and unfortunately, the bounty hunter was all too well-armored to really suffer from those hits. She gasped in betrayal and affront, reaching for her warhammer.

A concussive blast shattered against her shell. Delilah. Leif was out of the way enough to land some hits, then. Kabbu darted in, quicker than you’d expect from a beetle of his bulk, scooping Leif up in his claws as Vi darted in behind them, delivering two sharp blows to the back of Leiphiphelene’s knee. She teetered- but didn’t fall, pulling her warhammer from behind her back.

She raised it, and-

Mothiva had a split second to calculate just what was about to happen as she heard Zasp’s wings flicker. One moment, her hammer was poised to bear down on Kabbu and Leif, the next-

Mothiva winced as the loud crunch of shell shattering into a billion pieces broke the air. That… was certainly going to sting, later. Zasp went down, hard, and Leiphiphelene froze in place as she stared down at his shattered wings. She raised her warhammer, looking at the sparse spatters of acidic gold as if in disbelief.

That was all the opening that Maki needed to land a sword blow right across her chest.

Oh, thank fuck.

Leiphiphelene staggered back as Kina darted in, adding more blades to the handful already imbedded in her chest. Mothiva could just make out Vi darting around her ankles, stabbing needles into just about every chink she could get her claws in.

Hopefully, they had it handled.

Mothiva didn’t waste a second more before running to check on Zasp. He was still laid against the floor, breathing shallowly, spiracles sounding halfway to collapsed and shell looking in poor shape. She was faintly aware of the sounds of the other explorers speaking, combined with the sounds of battle – she’d have to check on them later. For now, Zasp was the priority.

His chitin was shattered, broken to pieces and visibly bruised where it wasn’t riddled with cracks. His thorax looked like it’d practically collapsed in on itself, crushed flat against the stone. She grimaced, assessing the damage – it wasn’t pretty, and she certainly couldn’t risk bringing him out on bodyguard duty like this. Whatever he’d gotten internally was a different matter entirely, and she’d probably have to spend hours working this out.

“Zasp,” she asked. “Zasp, are you-“

Zasp made a choked, rasping noise, scraping through the holes in his shell, before stopping and swapping to sign. He flicked “You okay,” into her palm. Mothiva huffed.

“Of course I’m okay. I’m not the one fighting. You look like you got hit with a derailed train.”

“I can fight,” he signed.

“You’re not fighting anything until your chest looks less like a pancake.” Mothiva muttered. Zasp chirped at her, the noise gurgling in his throat, and repeated the sign. Idiot. It was like he had absolutely no concept of just how little he could fight like this.

‘Survivable’ didn’t mean he could stand another fight. And another blow like that might run the risk of permanent damage.

The bugs fighting behind them were escalating to full-on yowling now, muddying the air with shrieks of whatever-the-hell they were on about. Mothiva sighed, stroking Zasp’s face.

“…rest. I’ll deal with everything else.”

Zasp made a chirp of confirmation. He sprawled across the floor – she’d have to pick him up later, of course. Taking a critical eye to it, it didn’t look like he was in any immediate danger of dying.

Mothiva raised her head to the combat and the quickly-raising volume just in time to watch Leiphiphelene turn tail and flee, Vi flinging needles after her as she went. Good riddance- Mothiva’d have to track her down later, of course, to retrieve Zasp’s knives if nothing else. Those things were expensive, and Zasp was attached to them besides. She wasn’t about to leave some beetle to drag them out into the mud.

Hopefully, they would be competent enough to make it so she didn’t have to do everything herself.

[mortalsouldreaming]

the beetle boy:

in 3rd grade, I moved to a new school. I met a a boy there. he and I used to collect bugs in the field by the playground. we found bees and ants and rose beetles; named them. kids killed them. kids "disrespected the grave", as they called it. they never seemed to understand.

not many of them liked me. they went so far as to slap my arms where the occasional firefly rested. all that was left was a smudge of brown blood. I cried. not there, of course- I saved it for when the car rolled into our driveway after a long day. and I bawled, to the comfort and safety of my mother.

after a few weeks of scavenging among the fallen leaves, I found out, from his few snickering friends, that he ~liked~ me. I was confused, the 9 year old that I was. we were kids. I didn't really know what that meant.

we didn't go bug hunting very much after that.

------------------------

now, I realize that he didn't really find bugs too fascinating. just me. and I wonder- why? he spent weeks of recess time to sit in the dirt and stroke bumble bees, and for what?

I saw him at the library the other day- outside, sitting on a bench in the corner. he was a shadow. black headphones, black bag. he scrolled through his phone. he tried so very hard to not be seen. I wonder what's become of him. I wonder if he still has the wonder-filled eyes of who I knew him to be. I wonder if he looks at beetles and ants from time to time, and remembers. I do. sometimes.

rest in peace, beetle boy. thank you for being my friend.

i'm sorry.

[jodjuya]

Crashing at my co-parent's place. Went for a walk to the supermarket because I was craving fruit. It was a nice walk

Listened to Jungle's new album, "Volcano". It's alright. Not as good as "Loving In Stereo", but I think it will grow on me.

Found a Christmas Beetle stuck on its back in the gutter and baking to death in the sun. Nudged him with my toe to check he was still alive. He was, so I rescued him from the ants that were moving in & transferred him to a nice patch of long damp grass in the shade.

Found a $2 coin 😊

Grapes are no longer stupidly expensive

Mushrooms, mangos, avocado, sour dough, Pods, and M&Ms were all on sale! All my favourite things to eat for slightly less money than usual!

This supermarket has one of those self-serve mochi freezers 😁

I'm getting some good exercise walking up and down these hills with my heavy shopping bag of fruit and fungus and bread and chocolate and $2

Nice sunshine to get my vitamin D up

I saw some pretty women 😍

Soon I'll be home and I'll get to eat all of these yummy things and have a big drink of water and my mochi will be perfectly melted!

My life is hard and stressful and utterly fucked to buggery, but right now, in this moment, life is good and I have so many things to appreciate. I'm glad to be alive.