#cute little beetle on a mushroom

[bytesizeambs]

Black Lady Beetle | Spider Mite Destroyer #shorts #beetle #ladybug #bytesizeambs

These cute little black beetles are called Spider Mite Destroyers (or Black Lady Beetles/Ladybugs/Ladybirds).

Note:

The quality of this YouTube short is better when viewed via YouTube. Information on this type of Lady Beetle will be in the description of this YouTube short.

[plusie]

[oinkinpigprince]

can i please rq grim and pim w/ a super feminine s/o that's super into nature? like she will straight up pick a snake off the side of the road bc she thinks its cool

There’s a 3ft garden snake named Rodney who lives in my neighborhood. He’s rlly cool, I’m rlly scared of him.

Very feminine nature

Grim

He hates nature, what did you expect? Ngl I just think he’s scared of bugs and unironically allergic to grass, it makes his legs ITCHY AF so he doesn’t care for you’re fascination of nature

Grim thinks it’s REALLY cool how brave you are and how you can pick up wild animals and bring them into the house but he’s gonna be screaming like a little girl

If you hand him a bug he’ll shit himself and run away screaming. He’s terrified of them, if you were evil you’d chase him around the yard while holding a beetle. Sadly though, you love him

Grim thinks you’re like Mother Nature. Which he loves and also just doesn’t get. He wants to understand why you give a shit about nature, nothing but gore and disease come from it so why bother?

He thinks you’re absolutely beautiful, even if he never says it. Grim likes to act tough but you can always catch him admiring your makeup or your beautiful

You have to drag him out into nature with your pretty sun dress and go on walks with him while you gush and rave about how much beauty there is. But you’re the only thing that’s beautiful here

He kinda said that last part accidentally, which makes him flustered. It’s cute when he gets all sweet and gushy like this. He can be cute sometimes

Pim

He ABSOLUTELY adores you!! He thinks you’re like a god(ess) or a fairy! He day dreams about you two being fairies together and living in a little mushroom :))

Thinks all of the effort you put in the look pretty is really amazing! Likes to watch you put on makeup sometimes, he doesn’t know how you can get your eyelids to sit so still

He just thinks you’re really pretty and loves how gentle and sweet you are. Especially to animals!

Pim loves nature. He’s a Snow White as well, so you two can enjoy befriending animals together! And admiring pretty forests and scenery

Although he may not appreciate being handed a snake, as much as he admires them. He likes to admire them from a distance and thinks you should too

Gets kinda panicky when you pick up potentially dangerous animals, he knows you’re fine but a part of him fears you getting hurt.

Loves going on picnics with you out into the woods. Sitting in a nice area and counting how many bugs you’ll see. It’s a nice way to spend your afternoon!

[demi-shoggoth]

2023 Reading Log, pt 13

I've been putting off writing this one for a while, because all of these books are... fine? I didn't feel very strongly about them any way, either positively or negatively. Plus, I've been strongly burnt out on writing in general, and it's been hard for me to push myself to even write little 100 word blurbs about books.

61. Strange Japanese Yokai by Kenji Murakami, translated by Zack Davisson. It’s rare that I get the opportunity to read a yokai book originally written in Japanese, seeing as I don’t speak the language, so I jumped on the chance to get a copy of this when I found out it existed. It’s cute, with cartoony artwork and little data file sidebars that remind me of a Scholastic book… except the content is far weirder than what American kids books contain. The theme of the yokai stories here is that a lot of yokai… kind of suck. The stories told about the big hitters, like oni, kappa, kitsune and tanuki, are about them being foolish or having easily exploited weaknesses, and a lot of the other stories are about gross or pathetic yokai more than scary or impressive ones. The book is overall charming, but a very quick read. More of a supplement to other yokai books than a one-stop shop.

62. Mythical Creatures of Maine by Christopher Packard. This is a bit of an odd duck, seeing as it combines multiple monster traditions (fearsome critters, cryptids and Native American lore) under the same set of covers. It’s a pretty typical A-Z monster book, with some good information about obscure fearsome critters and Wabanaki monsters. There are, however, two things about the book I actively dislike, that keep me from strongly recommending it. The art is terrible. The illustrations by Dan Kirchoff are done in a style I can only describe as “fake woodcuts with flat colors” and are ugly (and in some cases, difficult to decipher). The other is that most, but not all of the monsters, get little microfiction epigrams in the character of Burton Marlborough Packard, the author’s great-great grandfather who worked in the Maine lumberwoods. It’s a weird touch, especially since the epigrams are only a sentence or two, and are typically pretty pointless.

63. Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History by Nicholas P. Money. There have been a number of books about fungi for the educated lay audience that have been published in the last couple of years. This one doesn’t really stand out from the crowd. The photography is nice, and there’s some coverage of the history of mycology and some of the prominent people in the field. But the book isn’t very well organized, bouncing from one topic to another within the same paragraph, and there are a number of passages that feel more like rants (the chapter on culinary uses for mushrooms, for example).

64. The Lives of Beetles by Arthur V. Evans. This book serves as an introduction to entomology in general, and beetles in particular. It covers core topics like insect body plans, introduces cladistics and covers the evolution, ecology, behavior and conservation of beetles in broad strokes. These strokes feel particularly broad because there are a lot of beetles; much of the book covers groups on the levels of family, which makes it feel a little bit shallow. These are alternated with descriptions of individual species, and this is where the book shines, as it gives good information about both well known species and some pretty obscure ones. The real value of the book, to someone who has been around the entomological block as I have, is in its production values—this book is quite simply gorgeous, and there are lots of nice photos of many different species.

65. Hoax: A History of Deception by Ian Tattersall and Peter Névraumont. This book has an identity crisis. You would think, with a title like that, that the main topic would be about hoaxes and cons. Some of it is. Some of it is about people who believed what they were pushing, even if it wasn’t true (apocalypse prophecies, homeopathy). Some of it is about misconceptions in archaeology, even if nobody was intentionally lying (the Piltdown Man is an actual hoax. Mary Leakey misidentifying rocks as human artifacts isn’t). And the organization is frankly baffling—it’s arranged in chronological order for some part of a topic, regardless of how much of the chapter is actually about when it’s set. For example, a chapter on fixed games is set at 260 BCE, but spends more of its length talking about modern pro wrestling than gladiator matches. The book is a somewhat bizarre reading experience.

[softgrungeprophet]

Actually, posting that motivated me to move the rest of my pins onto the wall hanging so I can actually look at and admire them—

So here is my little pin collection, in no particular order:

The Fool, The Sun and Death from Kevin Jay Stanton's Botanica pin collection

Dark Entomology European Stag Beetle pin by Emily Cannon. Her shop is currently closed for maintenance and this was a kickstarter pin so it is probably not available

"I Am The Gay Agenda" rainbow pin is from dom+bomb (a local size inclusive queer indie clothing brand) to support Spectrum Center — I got it at the local pride event recently 🏳️‍🌈 Currently out of stock but maybe they will restock it in the future

Harpy pin by Samantha Mash whose store currently does not have any pins but does have a lot of pretty stickers and prints

Ball python pin by Aspen Eyes — no longer in stock but they still have some eyes pins plus some other pins... The eyes glow in the dark, just FYI.

Star Servings constellation pin by Chan Chau — store is currently closed

Froggy pin from the Froggy Plush kickstarter by Allie Mehner/grind3h — again, another kickstarter pin, so likely not available, and I'm not sure the artist even has a store

Mars: Iron pin by vipi.ink (weirdly enough their store pictures don't look like my pin, because the texture of the planet is like, screenprinted or something? but this is where I got it because it's in my email receipts lol)

Queer enamel pin by lychgate aka mr. kittys

Green Peas pin from the Produce Pin Series I kickstarter by Katie Berntson — another KS pin, and the creator doesn't appear to have a shop linked

Tiger skull pin — I can't find my email receipt for it, nor a backing card. It's not from etsy so there's no past order there... It does glow in the dark, though, and there's text hidden in the lines above the skull that are only visible when it glows...

Those little round things next to it are just some random earrings I got to hold a shirt closed btw

Flower bee pin by crowlines (currently sold out)

Mushroom Twins pin by sugarnova (not available but other mushroom pins are)

Egg ghost pin is another one I'm not... sure... can't find the receipt lol

Pansy Pride Flowers Pin by doki rosi (another kickstarter pin)

Funny Lil' Guys Garden Eels soft enamel pin by QuailteaGoods

Octopus Medusa pin was an add-on from eightfish's Puppeteer kickstarter

Saggitarius sparkly Zodiac pin by JackalandhareArt

Sword and shield pins from Emily Cheeseman's armory series (the sword and shield are sold out but there are some other armory pins still available)

Moon and cloud enamel pin was an add-on from the World Roulette kickstarter, by Light Grey Art Lab who I'm not sure are still like... in business

Bat pin by zombieisok (no longer available/shop is closed but reopens in like a week)

No idea what company made the Fay and Kurogane rubber pins, I got those at Sakuracon or something like 15 years ago, if not longer lol

Shaggy Inkcap mushroom pin by place called bliss/broadfootlenny

Okapia "Rainbow Sunset" pin by faunwood (no longer available)

Zelda pin was from a zine I'm not sure is still available

Carmico strawberry letter pin (no longer available)

And

Diver enamel keychain by Verena Loisel

Here they are all together:

Still plenty of room!

I don't buy pins super often because they're a little pricey for the size (but, also, if you think of it like jewelry, $15-$20 per pin is very reasonable), but every once in a while I do see something that's too pretty, cute or interesting to pass up.

When I was in high school I had a shitload of regular pins, like, the circular kind, pin badges, whatever you wanna call them—idk I'm American, they're pins—and I would put them all over my sweatshirt. Which is... a little unwieldy and less than elegant LOL but those were also crappy cheap aluminum pins that eventually got rusty, broke, etc.

Obviously the nice pins I want to be set up in a nice way, and also not potentially risk losing them... lol

[meowzahzzz]

mario movie poster dropped like a thwomp and crushed me body and soul (positive) so here are my Thoughts and Notes about the poster :)

the poster is a little too over-exposed, but i love the colors. mwah

the little antique shop w the 8-bit items is a cute callback to mario’s roots and idc i’ll eat up references to the older games every single time

the toads actually look kinda good ! there’s some angles or some lighting stuff that makes their eyes look a little dead, but they look really squishy and i think that perfectly makes up for it

also someone mentioned them having teeth and that being weird. i don’t know how i feel about that, i’ll have to see them talk to know my true thoughts on Toad Teeth

it’s not much but oh my god it’s not just toads, we’ve got those little beetle things !!!! the bar is in hell but im seriously hoping we see more characters that aren’t just toads, koopas, and goombas 🙏

oh my god the scenery. i love how the buildings are all fungi, even in the way back of the poster, we see toad houses on the hills and it’s super cute and fun. i don’t wanna hear any fake-deep shit about “OMG TOADS HOUSES ARE MUSHROOMS WHEN THEY HAVE MUSHROOM HEADS???? *insert edgy drenched-in-12-layers-of-irony joke for twitter likes”

THE PIPES. i fucking love this addition. from the layout of the pipes, i’m assuming that the townspeople use these pipes to travel, which is how they get to this high up hills and to peach’s castle. not to mention, this makes mario’s job as a plumber WAYYY more relevant to the mushroom kingdom. we’ve seen pipes before in the games, but this really establishes them as a normal yet important thing for the toads every day lives. this also sort of redefines mario’s job as a “plumber” by having it apply more so to the pipe travel, than how plumbers work in our day and age (although knowing illuminations they’re gonna try and make a generic funny abt it)

there’s also a lot of floating islands and some blocks ? i don’t see bowsers airship or anything nearby, so i’m assuming they’re a natural part of the environment and not bowser trying to ruin everyone’s day and the laws of physics

in conclusion i want this movie to be good, casting be damned (pratt only), i want this to be good so fucking bad

[ariesqueencobra]

about me

hi! i started this blog recently because i want to write some cobra kai fics! here's a little bit about me!

i love cobra kai, obvi, i've rewatched the show about six times already

i'm obsessed with xolo maridueña

i enjoy listening to the lone lobos podcast

i think sam and demetri have a cute friendship

chris is a funny and underrated character

i HAVE watched the original trilogy and it only made me love the series even more

i will not tolerate any sam slander or any slander on female characters for that matter!

johnny and carmen are my loves

amanda is so freaking funny

there is not one cobra kai character i don't like, i honestly think all of the characters are strong individually and are so interesting and well-rounded on their own

besides cobra kai, i like....

anything superhero (big fan of blue beetle)

i like the try guys (without a recipe = christmas time)

i love the sims (i spend three hours creating a sim and six hours building a house to play for twenty minutes)

i love reading (romance books are my ride or die, i'm a hopeless romantic, what can i say?)

i love painting my nails (holo taco for those who know)

i'm a fairycore/cottagegirl girly (anything with a mushroom on it really)

i love tinkerbell movies

cinderella is my favorite disney princess

my love for pomegranates have made a big chunk of my personality (idk why)

i paint in my free time

spider-man is my favorite superhero

if i could have any power, it would be pyrokinesis

i'm mexican

i'm bisexual (no homophobes on this blog)

jenna ortega, chloe bailey, keke palmer and renee rapp are the most beautiful women to ever walk the planet

i love mean girls

musicals are my fave (i do need to watch more though)

[caffeinated-beverage]

I really enjoyed your headcanons your headcanons are awesome 👌 👏 👍 😍 💖

Can I request a CanLiet(Hws Canada x Hws Lithuania)headcanon 🏕🎁📙

You came back for another ask 🥺 thank you so much!!

🏕: At times, Matthew will take Tolvydas on a little camping trip with him. They go stargazing, roast some sausages/fish/beetles (and try not to let Tolvydas' pet wolf steal them, because YOU KNOW he will if you give him half a chance!), make s'mores, tell scary stories around the campfire (Matthew watching Tolvydas get excited and invested in the story as he tells one of the scariest horror stories he can think up at the moment), go hiking, watch the sunset, play some games together, have picnics (once again, they gotta make sure Tolys' pet wolf DOES NOT steal any!), snuggle in a hammock, go fishing, etc.

For winter camping, they pick a nice campground with plenty of hills, good to go sledding. They also get to walk around and/or skate on a frozen lake, go hiking in the snow, have warm food/drinks next to the campfire, have hot cocoa, ice fishing, bonfires, go to a natural hotspring, and ride snowmobiles.

For spring camping, they have picnics, visit a local farmer's market, do some mini golf, bonfires, hike though the beautiful blossom-trees, fly some kites, paddleboat, etc.

For summer camping, they throw water balloons at each other (as the pet wolf barks at the water balloons flying back and forth), shoot each other with waterguns (the pet wolf keeps trying to get in the middle of it, and gets splashed with the waterguns), tye-dye some shirts together, go swimming in the lake (Tolys decides to start a splash fight with Matt in the lake), bonfires, go kayaking, try some waterskiing, etc.

And for fall camping, they go apple picking, visit local fall faires/festivals, bonfires, carve some pumpkins, go to a corn maze, a hayride, horseback riding, go on a date in a pumpkin patch, play football, go hiking through the trees with the colorful leaves, have some local apple cider, have some caramel apples, and go to drive-in horror movies together.

🎁: For Tolvydas, they often give Matthew homemade candies, cookies, chocolates, cakes, and any other homemade goodies. They also give scented candles, some trinkets, a handwritten card with some cute drawings and pressed leaves/flowers/an extra trinket or two, some knitted socks/clothes/coaster/scarf, a pretty rock they found, some of their foraged mushrooms/berries, "friend"ship bracelet, cute little clay sculpture they made, worm on a string, "friend"ship pins, magnets, etc

For Matthew, he often gives Tolys......... A book he figured they would like, something he's seen them eyeballing when walking through stores/shopping districts/malls, a soft and/or fluffy jacket (fluffy, like that hair of theirs that Matt loves!), flowers (which, they tend to eat.. But, hey, better than them just sitting on the counter and dying!), a handwritten card with some cute drawings, pressed flowers, and a few extra trinkets, a plushy, a fidget, etc.

📙: Well, Tolvydas really loves classic literature, like... Alice in Wonderland, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

For Matthew, he reads a lot of manga, such as....... Mob Psycho, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Attack on Titan, Naruto, Komi Can't Communicate, Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Tokyo Mew Mew, Toilet-bound hanako kun, haikyu, one piece, etc.

[gothamcitycentral]

Top 10 Bug types?

10. Orbeetle

While this is definitely recency bias (not that their bad or anything, just it being a part of the top 10) thanks to me using it in my current Shield nuzlocke. Their inspirations are very layered which makes them such an easy mon to appreciate. They’re also fun to use. Despite the fact that they’re designed like a alien supervillain, I can’t imagine them actually being mean? Maybe it has to do with it’s pre evolutions, but they seem more like an asocial team member who hangs out in the corner than something that do anything actually villainous.

9. Parasect

Enough with the creepypasta shit! Do you know why Parasect doesn’t eventually die after evolving? Because the Paras you nicknamed isn’t wholly separate from the mushroom that grows out of it. The time you spent training and loving that little bug is time spent with that mushroom. Your care for the bug through its suffering isn’t unfelt by the mushroom. That’s why it doesn’t die, why it doesn’t become a husk, because (let’s say) Enoki is just as much the mushroom as it is the bug. It doesn’t want to not be your Pokemon anymore.

8. Genesect

Normally I don’t vibe with Mythicals, but Genesect is on it’s own level. They’re a physical embodiment of Team Plasma’s hidden hypocrisy. Despite their goal of liberating Pokemon, they dragged a Pokemon back from the dead to convert it into a living weapon.

7. Galvantula

They are fuzzy little guys and they are causing a city wide power outage.

6. Venomoth

Venomoth is one of those causes of Gen 1 simplicity being rather charming for me. They’re sorta of a mix of cute and kinda creepy. I like how surprisingly good they are in later generations and in general I just like moths.

5. Centiskorch

Literally just a funky guy. I love how it combines centipedes and stove tops really well despite how just, unconnected those ideas are to each other. It’s strong, cool, and has a mustache made of fire.

4. Heracross

I feel like Heracross and Scizor are the blueprint for all the following ‘cool’ Bug types. I think beetles are rlly cool, and Hera is such a well put together design. Simple, but cute and looks as strong as it is.

3. Leavanny

Leavanny is just, such a Pokémon?? The design is slick as hell and is so surprising strong. Like you expect a bulky healer that’s practically useless because of its Bug / Grass typing, but no. There she goes sweeping teams with naturally learned Swords Dance. They have such a seamless personality and are so expressive.

2. Scolipede

Nostalgia is definitely playing a part of it, Scolipede is the first Bug type I’ve ever used, but I’d still love them without that. Their design really makes them look incredibly strong. Venipede looks like a little scamp, Whirlipede is my favorite and also probably one of the funniest cocoon pokemon, and Scolipede is a millipede as a horse and that speaks for itself.

1. Golisopod

Golisopod is so insane oh my god?? It almost doesn’t look like a Pokémon it’s so cool. It has such character and it genuinely make me proud it see it evolve from something so little and scared. And how it’s Guzma’s Ace just says so much about both of them instantly. Despite Guzma’s short time in the anime they incorporate his character arc so beautifully with Golisopod’s Emergency Exit, especially since his Golisopod was just as much of a character with development as he was. I just?? Love them so much

Honestly this was hard to put together. I really like so many Bug types.

[ratsoh-writes]

Oh, that sounds really cute! But I think I'm all roleplayed out, so I'll just ask for a summary, please.

Lol got it! So you guys have a cute picnic in the woods on the farm property. Like promised, Ram shows you some good forage spots like wild garlic and a mushroom log that he and pitch are encouraging to grow. During the picnic a pair of does show up and kinda stare at you guys for a while. Ram jokingly tries to feed them half his sandwich but they dart off. You also met a roller beetle (a type of beetle that can curl into a ball and roll like a lil car wheel) and you two play with it for a little bit before letting it go with a few berries for its trouble

[bytesizeambs]

Cute Little Dung Beetle | Onthophagus tuberculifrons #shorts #dungbeetle #mushroom #supercute #cute

This little Dung Beetle was living it up on that mushroom!

[udretlnea]

Fav. Library Event (Headcanons; Piece #1/5)

A/N: "For the creator’s event at the Favonius Library”.

Taglist: @theblueskyofthedawn​

Headcanons

Venti

On the anniversary of their victory against Decarabian, he goes to that one tree in Stormterror’s Lair and plays a song he used to sing to his old friend during the past.

After the GAA event with Mona, Fischl, Kazuha, & Xinyan he fell off the roof of the Cat’s Tail and into a bundle of cats; he ended up bedridden in the church for several days.

The most drinks he’s ever consumed in one sitting was 100, and that was during one particularly bountiful Weinlesefest in Mondstadt.

(Ehe~)

Xiao

Created small shrines to the other Yakshas in a secret compartment in his room at the Inn; he regularly gives offerings of items that he thinks they'd like. (Ex: Bonanus- Rice Buns, Indarias- Chili Minced Cornbread Buns, etc.)

After hearing Venti play on the flute once, Xiao went and tried carving one himself to practice with; keyword tried because he has no experience in woodcarving. The result looks terrible, but he keeps it stashed in the aforementioned compartment.

When not suffering from karmic debt or slaying demons, sometimes he observes mortals coming and going in his little bird form, pretending to be nothing more than what he appears.

(I miss the other Yakshas...but their deeds won’t be forgotten anytime soon so that’s nice.)

Nahida

She makes bento for the Wanderer’s lunch, even decorating it with a cute lil’ Aranara made out of a radish.

Whenever Wanderer comes to visit report to Nahida, she takes the time to ask him MomTM questions like, “How was your day?”, “Anything interesting catch your eye?”, “Would you like me to make your favorite?”

 You know those Aranara in her character demo? She plays games with them irl whenever her duties take her near Vanarana.

(No thoughts, only Nahida-Mother brainrot)

Heizou

He has his own fanclub; they’re a small but passionate group.

Heizou thought that deep-fried food was mid at first, but after the day he received his Vision his perception of it shifted as a result of the trauma and thus it now tasted delicious.

Despite not looking like it, Heizou is a decent beetle battler; he’s managed to win against Yoimiya, but not Ayato.

(I lowkey like Heizou. People should appreciate him more.)

Kazuha

When Tomo was still alive, Kazuha would pluck a strand of the former’s hair and be able to play music from it as if it were a leaf.

Kazuha used to have nightmares about that day of Tomo’s execution whenever there was stormy weather, but after putting his friend’s vision in front of his grave they aren’t so intense anymore.

On one particularly fair day, Kazuha napped on a rather warm rock until sunset; he was later woken up by an amused Hu Tao who mistook him for a dead body and was in the middle of taking measurements for his coffin. The two sheepishly explained what they were doing to each other and quickly left; the event stuck with Kazuha throughout the present.

(I kind of went off with the last one here; I’m lowkey proud of it)

Tighnari

Tighnari once forgot to pack enough water during a trip to the desert for research and started acting like a clown because of thirst-induced hallucination; Dehya and co. found him before he could hurt himself and helped him recover. Tighnari doesn’t know that Dehya found him like that while the latter thought it was mildly amusing.

After the events of Nahida’s second story quest, the Traveler went to inform Tighnari about Nur and the other mushrooms at Mawtiyima Forest; now he helps tend to the garden there (if you did the quest, you know what I’m talking about).

When Collei still had Eleazar, if he heard anyone badmouth or berate Collei he would personally see to it the offender would be stuck with some embarrassing chore.

(Idk what went through my mind with the first one other than “shenanigans”. It was midnight.)

Albedo

Keeps a pouch of snacks inside his coat; it’s filled with spiders covered in a sweet resin (it sounds gross, but it’s actually quite tasty).

He’s gotten so detailed at sketching that he’s definitely opened commissions at least thrice; practically all citizens of Mondstadt flock to his office to ask for them so he’s had to set up a hard limit of ten commissions.

During the Irodori Festivsl he came across an onikabuto battle and was fascinated enough to go out and try it himself. He sometimes writes essays on the optimal and ideal form to engage in onikabuto fights.

(Can you tell that I loved the Onikabuto event so much I included it in several of these headcanons?)

Xingqiu

On one particularly sunny day, he tried to successfully practice the moves he read in his martial-arts book. He keeps practicing so as to have another option if he were disarmed in combat one day.

Thanks to the above, Shenhe and Xingqiu have developed a minor respect and the former even gives pointers on the off-chance she runs into the middle of his practice.

His hair used to be more professional and traditional, but he insisted on getting it cut to resemble Yelan’s haircut after that one encounter with her (see About Yelan) because he thought she was cool-looking.

(Nothing special on this one. This one’s fine.)

Sucrose

Regularly writes to Collei asking for updates on her teachings and offers to donate her books to Collei; Collie appreciates it, but declines because she’s determined like that.

At first, Sucrose didn’t have time for nor was interested in TCG, but after playing with the Traveler and Fischl she got hooked and now low-key collects cards a la Cyno.

When it’s just her and Albedo working together in general, she feels comfortable and safe enough to let her ears stand up.

(I wonder if Hoyo will have Sucrose and Collei interact again...)

[mitchelldailygames]

Heroes of Song: Devlog Part 4

Obligatory reminder of the design principals for this game:

The heroes are cute.

Kindness matters.

The world is weird.

Sometimes you don’t fight. Sometimes you do.

Health is hearts.

I might end up changing the name of this game. I don’t know that Heroes of Song is quite hitting for me. Maybe something like Heroic Harmony? Not the top priority at the moment, but it’s on my mind.

Let’s get into it!

Setting

I’m definitely taking cues from TLoZ here. In the grand, connected timelines of The Legend of Zelda, there are location names carried over from game to game, like Hyrule, and other things like the goddesses, the Master Sword, and Link, Ganondorf, and Zelda that show up in games with settings that look pretty different from each other. The world of Wind Waker doesn’t look like the world of Twilight Princess which doesn’t look like the world of A Link to the Past. But all these games ostensibly take place in some proximity to Hyrule. The timeline of TLoZ explains that these games all happen at different times in the history of the world and across multiple timelines. The world drastically changes what it looks like between games because an often unknowable amount of time has passed between them.

That brings us to the world of Heroes of Song, Alebas. My idea for Alebas is that all games of Heroes of Song take place in Alebas at some point in its long and storied history across any number of timelines. The map of Alebas will be generated by gaming tables each campaign which means the world will look different game to game. But I want one table playing HoS to be able to talk to another table and draw their own lines of connection between their stories.

I hope to facilitate this in a few ways. One way I’ve already talked about is the folk. If all options for folk are made available to players, then every world will have human folks, furry mammal folks, bird folks, mushroom folks, robot folks, and mysterious folks. It is also likely a lot of the reoccurring antagonist folks (like hobkins) will show up from game to game. I was going to hold off naming the different kinds of folks until I was promoting the game, but naming them now is going to make it easier to talk about them later. We might go into more depth on each of these in the future. The main rulebook will let you play as:

Humkins: Basically humans

Furrikins: Anthropomorphic mammals (anything from a mouse to an elephant)

Avikins: Anthropomorphic birds (including hummingbirds, eagles, vultures, ostriches, etc.)

Forj’d: Robots

Dikari: Mushroom folks

Autsaders: Mysterious, masked or hooded folks

Unique items will also be included among the rules, like the Skip Dagger that lets the wielder teleport to the dagger, letting them throw it and then teleport to it to cross gaps or move in quickly on enemies. Items like these will hopefully feel at least a little like Link finding the Master Sword across titles, as well as the special items that unlock new areas in these types of games.

A big thread I want to give game groups so they can weave their story into the larger epoch is a reoccurring antagonist, the Ganondorf of the setting, Xesto. Xesto is an Autsader sorcerer that wears a mask stylized after a deathwatch beetle. Xesto will have multiple forms and will likely show up in many adventures or works of fiction I write for this game.

Tables can of course use whatever elements they want— they can even travel off the main map— but the idea will remain that all stories are somehow connected to the larger, HoS narrative and setting.

Magic

OK, I’ve been excited to talk about this.

The basics of magic in Heroes of Song are simple: spend Spirit, do magic. You have a list of spells on your character sheet.

But the main book will include three distinct forms of magic for character options and will hint at a fourth in Xesto’s entry: Songs, Runes, Rituals, and Sorcery.

Songs

These are for sure inspired by Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. I talked about the Bard calling briefly in the last post. Bards come holding an instrument and knowing a couple songs. Songs generally have generally more ethereal or subtle effects on the world, the most physical effects being a gust of air or a picked lock. I really like the idea that Songs can be learned in the world and characters who aren’t Bards can pick up an instrument, play a song, and make magic.

Runes

Runes get carved into weapons to give them extra effects. This is how a character would add elemental effects to their weapons. Staves can have as many runes as you want carved into them, and instead of just adding an effect when you whack someone with the staff, you also can shoot the rune’s effect out as a ranged attack. Sages are the rune experts and have a growth option that makes their ranged spell attacks quite powerful, but anyone can attempt to put a rune on their weapon. My favorite rune is the Toad rune. it turns targets into toads. The rest are pretty much what you’d expect, but that one makes your staff into a bit of a Wabbajack.

Rituals

I think these are really cool. Rituals are what they sound like and more. They are spells that take a while and a process to cast, but have big effects. There are some rituals that involve sacred oils, arcane symbology, fresh blood, but they are honestly not the most exciting ones to me. I tried to make the rituals feel like just doing something, but when done right, magic happens. A lot of families bless their food before they eat, have traditions around holidays, or have routines that they would never break. For example, the ritual list includes the Food Ritual which is just cooking a meal, thanking the Keeper of Harvest for it, and sharing the meal. When done right, this provides lots of healing to the party. I added some requirements for tables such as describing the food that should make the roleplaying of these rituals rewarding, while also putting a soft limit on how often they are performed. My favorite ritual is probably the Grave Ritual, where by tending to a grave, the performer can actually speak with the spirit of the person whose remains occupy the grave. I just really like the idea of mourners being able to reconnect with their loved ones just by the simple act of taking care of the grave.

Sorcery

Sorcery is not originally going to be available to players and when they see it, it will be sinister and associated with antagonists. However, I do hope to eventually expand on this game in a way that challenges what is “good” and “bad” in the setting at some point down the line, opening sorcery up to players in the process. Sorcery does not require items with runes or songs, but is embedded in the caster, possibly in the form of tattoos or arcane branding. Xesto will be the first sorcerer readers of the game meet, and their spell list will be mean, but that’s just the tip of the sorcery iceberg.

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Part of the charm of settings like this is that magic is big and a little mysterious. The Hero Characters’ interactions with magic will be through the tools available to them, but there’s no limit to what magic could do in the larger world. Time travel? Dimension travel? Unlocking ancient power? Trapping the whole world in a dream? Awakening ghosts across the land? Sure! And so much more. I hope people lean into the magical nature of Alebas in their stories and travel far and wide, constantly in awe of the new things they uncover (and come up with together at their tables). I also hope people connect to the magic in mundane things and have fun with the magic at their disposal.

The world is weird; kindness matters.

--Daily

[misterradio]

oh my word i took bogleech's advice and just looked at the aliexpress results for "gachapon" and there are SO many delightful BEASTS in there. look at these... i'll link their listings below, so if you're not sure what you're looking at just check their link (or its title).

Cooking Zombies // Camping Animals // Egyptian Pantheon

Mushroom Dragons (series 2) // Mushroom Dragons (series 3)

Cat Butterflies/Moths // Alpaca People (?!?!?)

Cryptids Waiting for the Unknown // Animal Attraction (vol 2)

There's a cheaper listing for the 1st of the mushroom dragons but i lost the link. I saved the camping animals because I thought the beetle sipping coffee was so cute ::-D (but i don't really care about the fact that they each come with various parts for building the tent...)

i think my favourite little guys here are the inkcap dragon, the alpaca covered in blobby heads, and the arugula koala.

[lenyul]

To Sir, With Love Episode 8: ง is for Snake

Now that they’re settled in back home, everyone goes to visit the mound behind the house. They all see each other, which starts another round of “Well, what were you doing at the devil’s sacrament?” that once again goes absolutely nowhere. Song asks Yang a bunch of questions, and guesses what the answers are with his dad-mind-reading-powers. This only works with yes-no questions, so he doesn’t find out the secret.

Yang decides to tell Tian what he knows after talking with Yingpin. If he asked her for more advice, she probably would have told him not to have this conversation out in the garden at midnight. But here we are.

Chan hid behind the bushes so she heard everything. She decides to wait for more evidence, right after she finishes throwing up from the corpse mushrooms.

Tian took the news relatively well, all things considered. He only cries a little, then breaks into Jia’s room to look for blood-sucking mushrooms. He confronts Li and Jia, then sounds the gong and prepares to tell everyone that his mother is a murderer. Luckily she diffuses the situation by threatening to kill herself, so they pretend they just saw a snake. No one wants to catch a snake in the middle of the night, so that’s that.

In BLs, most of the main characters are usually men, so it can be kind of hard to get feminist messages across (or do product placement for make-up). Lucky for us, Lover boy is very feminist. Not only does he beat up victim-blaming misogynistic creeps, he tells them that women can dress however they want. He also does all of this while his shirt is half unbuttoned, because he wants to take on some of the objectification that women face. Oh wait, he hired the creeps to do that, nevermind.

They reunite, Jiu is looking for a job, while Tian is mostly just happy that Jiu’s alive. Turns out Jiu can’t read, so obviously it’s teaching time.

Mud continues her quest to get laid, this time with Jiu, but she has the opposite of a gaydar. She really tries her best, she even clings to him so he can’t get away (it’s more successful than when I tried the same move while wrestling in PE, which just means that it doesn’t fail miserably). 

She holds on long enough for Tian to see them, so Jiu talks to him in the garden. They clarify that neither of them like Mud. But then why are they acting this way?

Who cares, time to teach Jiu to read and write! They are always so cute together.

“Oops, I asked my crush how to write his name, and accidentally kissed him on the cheek.” Song interrupts, so Tian introduces Jiu to him, and explains that he’s the new worker he hired to hang out in his office and flirt. He also tells him that he saved his life. And that’s kind of selling him short, Jiu saved Tian’s life twice, and that was only from other people!

Mei and Fu are at Ma’s house, and we find out what Mei’s special medicine is! Opium. Well there goes the hope that one of the family’s doctors could recognise the medicine and cure her.

Let’s see what we (Doctor Qi) can get out of a single human tooth found in the garden! Apparently, a lot. The rest of the body was dissolved, but the glitter is still on the tooth, the search for the beetle orchids continues. There aren’t any in Jia’s room, but Nuan saw her bury a box in the garden. Let’s get to digging! Chan senses victory, so she throws caution to the wind (what little she had), and invites all of the workers to witness Li being revealed as a killer. She also immediately lies that everyone just happened to be there, because she doesn’t want to get into trouble. They remove the box from the ground and…

Well, Jiu’s first day at his new job was certainly eventful! He was almost seduced, he kissed his boss, he’s learning to read, and his employers are accusing each other of murder. Surely this is not what every day is like? We’ll find out next time.

[all-things-succumb-to-decay]

Pangolin grass type starter

Roots for ears and underside of tail Baby is Oblossum

It’s final evo is grass steel

Wooly bear caterpillar that turns into a cat moth cause Virgin tiger moth is what wooly bears turn into

Rhino beetle hyena big dark maybe?

It’s baby is a grub puppy

Water starter goes from like a leopard gecko to a ribbon eel dragon. Coral horns and bits. It’s sleepy and likes to put others to sleep water psychic final evo type

Fire ferret into fire couatamundi or what ever or like. Civet something long with a bit tail that’s fire rock with lava and rock making the tail stripes baby fire ferret tail is a sparkler

Spider with a grass knot or a tumble weed for a butt

Psychic beluga

Succulent ant. Succlant

Butterfly that is actually a carnivorous plant

Water grass type loch ness shape based on lotus flowers growing up above the muck

It’s baby form is just a little messy leafy plesiosaur or something

Fighting type babirusa 2 stage

Catnip cat

Shadow thing under blanket/coins/etc like has a mimic vibe it’s like mimikyu like u never see it’s true form it’s just little grabby hands that reach out from under the piles.

Thylacine fossil?

Coffee bean that is either grass psychic or grass dark

Because like. Idk man but coffee has dark effects on my body. Fast effects. But dark.

Grass fire incense Pokémon

Rat king three stage more rats? More rats.

Grackle to dragon pipeline final evo looks like it fucked a bedazzler

Honey pot ants that r like eevee. What ever they got in their butts is the type. Idk if it’s like. A evo sitch with three different elemental ants or if it is a gimmick Pokémon that just like. Changes type.

Anubit anubould

Tenneric poison electric pikachu clone

Psychic olm pseudo legendary dragon

pseudo legendary ‘mythic’ like celebi or victini that a cuttlefish that changed type depending on the environment or the weather effects so like it would completely wreck a team built around sandstorm it’s a kittlefish like it’s tails are like the tentacles of cuttlefish and it’s eyes are OwO eyes it’s a cute baby cat

Fairy flying golden heron 2 stage maybe ghost fairy because like. They’re said to carry souls to the after life?

Grass whale. It’s like a hump back cause they’re my fave two stage???

Two headed fawn that turns into the two headed unicorn like that one taxidermy

I want it to split apart and be connected by a spine and like ectoplasm and the girls get little ectoplasm unicorn horns and the boys get ectoplasm antlers

Lamb of tartary Pokémon 3 stage grass wife

I think I already have the grass wife trope but like. Idk I love grass types I’m sorry. I can’t help myself.

There should be a water fighting type based off of a betta and the adult evo can have different color patterns assigned at random like Spinda

Fairy rock konpeito

Water steel hippocampus the baby form is just a little pony but with a dolphin tail

Poison steel based on mercury

Pure steel type that’s just a mailbox. They’re delivery Pokémon. The little red flags are on both sides and are like. Puppy ears.

Scarab beetle that imitates luxury balls when baby form. Adult form is opulent very fancy black and gold bug rock type

Solid rock type Minotaur two stage. The baby is just a liddol calf very cute

Dark poison type two stage based on the shaggy inkcap mushroom

Also I want a fairy type that’s pure fairy because monotypes are actually p important to cannon Pokémon games anyway. Fairy type two or three stage that starts off as just a little deer but ends up like a big stag that looks like it’s made of wood and is covers in mushrooms. Like the ruff around the neck is just layers of oyster mushrooms or turkey tails

Flat normal type hedgehog into porcupine

Split evo spider one is bug fairy one is bug dark both jumpers just the fairy is a peacock spider the dark is a bold jumper

Fire steel red river hog two or three stage

I want a Pokémon that evolves differently if it’s in the wild vs if it’s caught and trained

And now that I’ve decided to make Pokémon based off my cats there we go like the base is normal and it’s a kitten like it’s a very small baby super baby tiny and if it’s caught as this baby and raised by someone it turns into a big soft normal flying but if it’s left to the wilds it becomes a normal fighting and it’s like. A Bamf

Hummingbird mouse griffin that’s flying fighting because grasshopper mice and hummingbirds are both so Aggro

Gold orb weaver that can use a move like pay day that gets you money it’s baby form is often mistaken for gold nuggets 77

Normal type that is a like. A harp like idk deer with harp antlers or something with strings between spines on its back idk idk

I kno I have a couple mushroom Pokémon already I think but like what about a lion with a lions mane mushroom for a mane tho

Like the region is already kinda apocalyptic feels so maybe it makes sense there’s a lot of mons that are kinda fungal. Idk. …

Make a quest beast that isn’t a giraffe

Mahoganbee. It’s not a bee it’s a mahogany wasp it’s a solo Pokémon and it’s bug and grass and it’s a friend

Water fairy solo Pokémon that’s a manga ray with like rainbow elements so like when it breaches the water it leaves like. The wrainbows in the air and idk I’m sleeping

An object Pokémon that’s a snake Made outta horse shoes. Solid metal but then the evo is steel dragon and you add spurs as spikes on the back to make it bulky and sharp

Also maybe a Capricorn cause like. Fish goat. Oh maybe a foil to the hippocampus

Grass type that is a lion with a mane made of peacock feathers

Shrimp horse

I already have Anubis so like I kinda wanna do set or like a typhonic beast so like the baby is pure dark and then the evo is dark electric or dark dragon

I Dont think there are any rock ghost Pokémon so like a ghost that is fused with a tombstone? Ough maybe a stego that has headstones as it’s back fins and it can have like a Celtic cross for its tail this isn’t a fossil Pokémon tho I don’t vibe with a fossil being revived just to be a ghost maYBE it’s Jersey Devil shaped. Like idk idk idk but I’m scheming this feels close

Regional variant one is a deaths head hawk moth and one is a Luna moth 94

Ok but a fire type that is a lava lamp like maybe a giraffe with lava lamp neck or a Fox with a lava lamp tail

Baby bat that is normal type that just has a big honking nose like big v shaped nose it can’t fly yet it’s head is like the size of the rest of the body it’s all shnoz and all ears the grown up form has like frilly wings like a parasol

European starling that is flying steel because the gold on the wings the end form is steel fairy or psychic? Something what ever it’s gonna be spacey

Wait another shark that is water ghost and it’s a shark with ghost fins because of shark fin soup

Psychic poison scorpion. The baby is bug poison. There’s eyes inside the claws and like the lore is that people use it as a psychedelic. Is that too much for a Pokémon game? Oh well I guess.

Rock water type that’s like. The baby is a grotesque and it’s just rock but the gargoyle is rock water because. Architecture. Idk.

The regional rodent is raccoon based and it gets more rabid looking as u go

A pair of pokes that’s like. One is a wolf in sheeps clothing one is a sheep in wolfs clothing

Pure water type that is a brittle star sea star that like. Walks around like u used to walk ur hand around U kno? Like it is just a little creachur

The grass wife will be oak based and the baby will be acorns and the adult will be oak tree based but there’s three kinds there’s live oak red oak and bur oak and all of them have diff leaf shapes and maybe the acorn babies are shaped dif too

Legendaries maybe growth and decay themed so the decay legendary is mushroomy and the growth is flowery ofc But like what animals the third legendary is based on like the pure core of life and I want it to have a crazy god particle feel it’s got like a double helix tail and maybe horns oh maybe it’s a kirin. The decay Pokémon is maybe named Endtrophy 116

Manticore Pokémon but instead of a human face it has a baboon face because I don’t like human mons and also baboons are cool as fuck

I want a shark Pokémon that’s fairy and very sweet because everyone loves dolphins and they’re shitty and sharks are good

Bug dragon that’s like. The frills of the face are the moth wings with like the eye spots like it’s. Complicated but it’s good it’s very cool ok I swear

Ghost psychic that is a chameleon that is like. Glow in the dark skeleton idk maybe it’s body and shape is like made of smoke like the gengar line

I want a white rabbit with red eyes that looks at first glance very fairy type but it’s actually dark type and it’s not a rabbit it’s a hare so it’s inherently rly fucked up the baby form of it is like a little puff ball dust bunny or mochi bunny or something that’s strict normal

Firefly shooting star Pokémon it’s bug lightning the baby is just a little sparkle star the middle is a uhhh it’s a rock like it’s a meteor u kno and yeah shooting star firefly

There is a sheep Pokémon that is the like. Poster child for Delta Pokémon it’s a normal type but at any point u can take it to a Modico station and change its type and form. Like froufrou or what ever it was called. It’s a sheep because of dolly the cloned sheep

I need a fire type that has spikes like maybe a stego? But basically the spikes are made of fire and like high intensity torch style flames so they look sharp

Abrice the ice psychic abra and koldabra there isn’t a third evo because the psychic power is dampened 129

The evil corp is called Modico Corporation

They front as a company of good will and change progress etc etc

The evil team people is called Team ChimeRNA

Cause like. DNA and rna like. And they’re doing gene splicing.

Some of the original canon pokes u can catch you can also take to a Modico station ‘modicubes’ that are like in Pokémon centers and stuff anyway u can take them and some you can change to like Entolian Forms and some you can just change their types. Not all can be changed like there will only be like 20 or so and the company says it’s because cracking the Genome of different Pokémon takes time because Pokémon vary so widely.

U can se delta Pokémon in the wild as well tho it’s not common. When a Pokémon is delta variant it has a different color or pattern so it’s like easy to see. It’s kinda like finding a shiny but it’s not that rare. They also don’t sparkle when u find them just different colors. If u breed a delta there’s a percentage that u can breed a delta. Some Pokémon can only get one delta type but some have like idk maybe three options. It’s not like. U can take any Pokémon and add any element. That’s what Modico wants but they’re not there yet.

The region is a series of islands. Not like Hawaii more like. Iceland and Greenland and like. A third idk. Anyway most travel is don’t by bird like that’s the fast travel mechanic and it’s by a giant condor themed bird that also takes flavor from bearded vultures. The babies are a bit stupid cute but useless. They’re dodos.