#elder centipede

[pokemontheywouldhave]

Please reblog for larger sample size :)

Propaganda : The oldest centipede in Pokemon/ both classified as 'Dragon'

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

MEANINGLESS

by Jota Cravo

[lycor-akami]

Centipede bus ❤️❤️ drawn with ink

Well, sort of ! They assist citizens around the cities of the desert, when their journey is too far. They are known as the elders, and there are other besides these centipede elders that assist their people with wisdom and transport.

On the opposing side of cities, the elders seem to be fewer, replaced by mechanical counterparts and vehicles, which run on the user’s energy.

[fictionalbugreviews]

Chaurus from skyrim

Chaurus (The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim)

weird centipede beetle... respectably not easily categorized for a fantasy bug but also makes it harder to rate. sort of looks like a very bastardized stag beetle with a centipede tail

then again idk anything about skyrim beyond the beginning stuff, i never played that far. is this a dragooge

Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🐛 (A for Effort)

[greyborn2]

Ok so I've been rotating this now for a few hours and I have

thoughts

on alternate monster forms for all the princes that currently just have a human one. Most of them pretty easy/obvious but there are some neat ones in there. Azura: This one was... hard. Maybe the hardest. Best I could come up with was basically a giant starfish monster thing embedded and bedazzled with countless thousands of shiny things. Like Tamatoa and Starro made out sloppy style for a few hours and this was the result. Boethia: easy one. Her statues/symbols have associated him with serpents. Like, a fuck ton, honestly. So thinking for her some giant hydra creature is an easy slot in. Maybe give him a set of tails that all look like swords for bonus points. But yea. Easy enough, makes sense. Clavicus Vile: Horned hound with the tongue of a snake. Not explaining this one, feels obvious enough. Hircine: Including here because most people just know his form of Alrabeg, the Hunter. But he already has four fun other forms. Take your pick. Giant deer-skulled werewolf, Moder (from the Ritual) style deer monster, a seemingly innocent fox, or a giant fucking bear monster. Easy peasy. Jyggalag: Ramiel from Evangelion. Not explaining myself. Next question. Malacath: Ok feel like I'm kinda cheating with this one because its still semi-humanoid but its really what I'm most strongly imagining. Ashpit-come-alive. A giant fucking skeleton just billowing out smoke and ash and cinder. A choking, walking, sandstorm of soot and smog billowing out around a skyscraper sized giant bone-dude. Mehrunes Dagon: Really struggled with this one because he's my favourite boy and wanted to do him justice. After much MUCH thinking I've finally settled on a form that ticks all the boxes for me. A giant, angry, four armed monkey with the head of a cat. Still all red and fiery of course, but yea. That's... the gist. Putting my vision into a small amount of words is hard. Mephala: Giant spider. NEXT! Meridia: Get full on biblical be-not-afraid angel with it. Rings of eyes and glowing, blinding, light. Horrifying-holy. Speaks in the voice of a chorus. Etc etc etc. Molag Bal: Giant, uncomfortably phalic, worm monster. Lower part of it trails off into thousands of 'tails' that each end in grabbing hands. This is all. Best not to dwell on him. Nocturnal: Some kinda giant horrific crow creature swathed in a cloak of shadow. Sanguine: If you've ever seen one of those fractal video things where it just constantly zooms in forever and ever and makes your brain hurt? That, but a rose. Petals ever unfolding and folding and folding and folding. Hypnotizing you in with almost painful motions as it just keeps blooming. Bonus points if its also just weeping out rivers of blood. Sheogorath: Two options. His more 'butterfly with the face of a screaming man' form OR get real horrific with it. Big ol' flesh monster of torn sinew and stretched muscle. Beautiful and horrific at once. Get real cenobite-y with it. Vaermina: Honestly shouldnt have any one form. She looks like whatever you fear most, given physical shape, and is different for everyone.

not enough daedric princes are like "not going to occupy a disgusting little humanoid form for you. I'm some fucking Thing and you're gonna like it" I tjink more daedric princes should just be some fucking Thing

[crevicedwelling]

I often hear that house centipedes have “too many legs” from people who aren’t as fond of all the Appendage as I am.

however, did you know that they aren’t born with all those legs?

this little bug nugget is an hours-old baby house centipede, with only 4 legs to her name!

as she grows, she’ll add a pair or two each time she molts her exoskeleton, until she reaches 15 pairs in the sequence 4-5-7-9-11-13-15. the purple capsule at her butt is a legless segment where the new ones will come in when they’re ready!

house centipedes can grow all their legs in just one summer, but will probably not be sexually mature for another year or two. since they keep slowly molting and growing after adulthood, some of the huge, ancient ones you see might be over 5 years old—what secrets the elder basement fairies must know, gleaned from cobwebs and crevices

[gofancyninjaworld]

Bang is no leader (yet)

This is a meta that's been fermenting on the back burner for a long time, thought it might as well see the light of day today.

The Audacity!

Let's start in medias res, with a rather shocking panel of Genos not only telling the venerable hero that he has no intention of listening to any orders but permitting -- permitting -- the latter to follow him.

How rude!

Even more shockingly, Bang does follow him.

And instead of putting the whippersnapper in his place, Bang just follows.

How the hell has this preposterous scenario come to pass? Well, it's true that Genos is an extremely blunt and driven person who hands out respect like it's made of gold, but even he's not that insane.

The truth is: BANG TAUGHT HIM TO DISREGARD HIM AS A LEADER.

Let's wind back a bit.

Getting there

If you're looking to understand a One-Punch Man character, look to how they are when we first meet them. ONE has a habit of taking that first impression and deepening it, both to put roots under it and as a platform to build on. We first meet Bang when he is the only S-Class hero other than Genos to attend an emergency summons to the Z-City regional headquarters. Remember the advice he gave Genos when the latter was agonizing over what to do about the meteor? 'When in a pinch, just muddle through.' No planning, no thinking, just try whatever and hope it turns out okay.

To say that Genos was skeptical is an understatement, but it wasn't like he had a better idea

Well, trying something rather than nothing in a patently hopeless situation can't be held against Bang as evidence of his lack of leadership ability. However, the next incident is harder to overlook. When Elder Centipede molted and grew into an even bigger threat than before, both Bomb and Genos looked to Bang to provide some leadership as the senior hero. And... he couldn't. He simply couldn't decide what to do, which is when Genos decides to offer himself up so the others can escape.

Bold, decisive... not

Bang only sprang into action once there were no options left other than to run away, and decided to fight back when even that was no longer an option. It's in keeping with his 'muddling through' advice -- do what comes in the moment.

That's our Bang, letting the circumstances force decisions rather than deciding proactively.

The third incident happened the very next day; it's minor but it really was the cherry on top for Genos. King arrives at Saitama's apartment to find that Saitama is out, and the incursion into the Monster Association base is about to begin. What to do? Well, Bang doesn't step up to give an answer; instead, he asks King.

Take initiative? As if!

When it's clear that no good answer is forthcoming from anyone (sorry Fubuki), Genos suggests that the others take the lead, and Bang thanks him for the idea.

Bang's happy to take Genos's suggestion. And so, his fate is sealed in the young cyborg's eyes.

And with that, Bang has impressed on Genos that he's an incredibly powerful hero, highly technically skilled, brave as the day is long. If you're in a pinch, there are few people better to have your back, but for god's sake, do not rely on him to make decisions when it matters. That's why the incredibly blunt Genos is telling Bang just where to go.

A teacher who does not lead? What could go wrong?

So, here's a question this raises for me. If his lack of leadership is evident to a guy who has met him on only a few occasions, how much more so is it clear to those who come to train under him? Many many moons ago, I wrote about Bang struggling to keep pupils and looked at it through the lens of his offering a technique that wasn't quite what it seemed to be. However, in light of what happens in this arc and afterward, it's at least as significant that Bang appeared to have abdicated responsibility for managing the dojo to his senior disciple, with strength and technical skill the deciding factor. Not much leadership happening there! Now it's true that people join a dojo to learn a martial art but it's not just skill: there's a personal development and spiritual side to its cultivation too, which Bang has given scant thought to.

Nope, I can't see any flaws with that plan either.

Everything comes to a head once Garou shows up on the battlefield and demonstrates Bang's old killer technique. That's when Bang realises that he has a lot of unfinished business with himself to deal with. And then we get his back story, which adds up wonderfully. As a young man, Bang was a guy who acted without consideration for others. He was all about himself, at least until Bomb beat some sense into him. Bang turned over a new leaf, developed his trademark defensive-based martial arts, and opened his new school on the site of the family dojo. However, as we've seen since, he's not exactly learned how to manage others.

Me, myself, I.

During that fight, that's when it comes to him that he fucked up. Whatever else has been going through Garou's mind, whatever Garou can be held responsible for, this situation is in part Bang's responsibility. He is the one who failed to provide guidance to his disciples, and by pushing the blame onto Garou for driving away his disciples instead of seeing that it's their weak relationship with him that gave them permission to quit, he's been slow to accept that responsibility.

The penny finally drops.

I'm still moved deeply by Bang all but begging Garou for a chance to start over.

Old dog wants new tricks

The epilogue of the monster association arc saw Bang accompany Garou to the police station to sort out the issue of the dine-and-dashing, and afterwards goes with him on his apology tour. To Garou's protestation about Bang not being his dad, Bang remarks that it's a teacher's duty to lead one's pupils. This is such a fantastic change from his old focus on martial arts skills and strength.

I love seeing his newfound resolve.

This isn't just a new chapter for Garou. It's a new one for Bang, too, as he has to learn what it actually means to lead. I wish him the best. Garou deserves it.

[vandalizard]

Obligatory warrior cats au anybody? (caine’s design takes off years of me studying character designing but oh well)

I haven’t really developed this au much but from what I’ve got so far, they’re all not actually in a real clan and got stuck inside some sort of dream realm in which they cannot escape from. They can’t go back to their regular clans because they cannot wake up whatsoever.

-Caine (Toothstar) in this au, instead of an ai, is a figment of everybody’s imaginations and is the only one who can control what happens in the dream. His very strange deputy is a poodle named Bubble who will fortunately never become leader after Toothstar because they are not real and cannot die.

-Pomni (Poppyjump) is still the same, except she is a completely fish out of water character since she is the only kittypet out of the bunch. Yes, Jax bullies her a lot for that.

-Ragatha (Ragbloom) is still the same as ever, and is still afraid of centipedes in her moss bedding no thanks to Jax. She has a soft spot for kittypets and kits and is the first to help them.

-Jax (Harestride) continues to be the bully out of the bunch, and the youngest. Before getting stuck in the dream realm, he had just gotten his warrior name and is bitter that he never got a chance to be an actual warrior

-Kinger (Woodtwitch) has been in the realm the longest. He used to be with Queenie (no warrior name as of right now) until she got abstracted or whatever is the same thing in this au. He is the only elder, and his fortress is the realm’s elder’s den, which he used to share with Queenie. He’s still into insects.

-Zooble (Scrapclaw) used to be a kittypet like Pomni but due to unknown reasons, they were forced to fend for themselves as a rogue/stray outside of the clans, hence their worn out collar. No one really knows how they ended up in the realm, but for some strange reason they are the best warrior/fighter there despite never having training.

-Gangle (Tanglepelt) is still very soft-spoken and often cries a lot. She was unfit to be a warrior, and preferred to become a medicine cat, which she does best at. Jax often bullies her because she’s an easy target, but Scrapclaw is quick to protect her and teach her how to defend herself.

[definitelynotshouting]

Once again rotating the hunger au watcher biology in my mind- so. most of the Watcher design makes biological sense. its basically a centipede (i know you specify millipede in the master doc, but the tail reads more centipede to me and centipedes are so much more scary. me and millipede's have no beef) plus wings and eyes, both of which make sense- the more eyes the more you can see the predator and prey, wings for maneuverability because they don't live somewhere with a lot of Ground. cool, fun, i love them.

but- what about the horns? if theyre horns? the little spikes coming out from between the head and first segment. is the purpose defense? making them look bigger than they are so theyre a less appealing target (though it seems like the wings would be better at that)? are they antennae of some kind like an actual bug would have? can they be used to make sound (to communicate over distance with the rest of the Colony, or to potentially scare off predators like a rattle snake)? i'm just so curious about them

(but also if the idea was basically just Aesthetics that's so valid, i just wanted to hear your ideas, i love listening to the ecology behind your ideas)

OOOH i was wondering if somebody would ask about this!!! So its a little bit of both-- @/corvidaearts came up with the design and we both agreed that the head felt like it was missing something, so she came up with the spines (and they are spines!!! theyre basically like a crest or collar of them slightly curving back), but they also serve a biological purpose which is to help protect and defend their necks!!! Their apex predators were basically giant eldritch fish that could sever them in half with a snap of their jaws, so anything that could protect them long enough to make a last second getaway was a huge plus.

They also serve as a symbol of age (and therefore social status)-- elders have much longer, thicker, and often more numerous spines than a younger Watcher will, and you can basically tell at a glance how old one is by checking them.

As a quick aside this is an excuse to give you my favorite tidbit about Watchers, which is that the "mandible"-esque structures at the front of their faces are actually tusks!! Part of old Watcher culture involves deliberately locking tusks during an argument-- sort of like arm wrestling someone to settle a disagreement. If someone gets heated and slams their opponent down during their discussion, the Watcher's spines help protect the back of their neck from getting damaged by the other Watcher's tusks if they happen to slip :]]

So yeah thats basically what i envision the spines are for!!! aaa thank you for the question, I had a lot of fun answering this one :DDD

[theomnicode]

Headcanon that Saitama sometimes forgets he doesn't live alone anymore so he walks out of the shower naked and that's a sweet torture for Genos every time

Hehe, like the time when he forgot both his towel and his underwear after elder centipede fight and just hopped in to take a bath, then Genos appeared outside to bring his stuff so he wouldn't do exactly that, parade around the house naked. xd

Who knows, maybe he has a habit of actually doing that.

Is it a headcanon anymore when Genos is gay for sensei and there's proof that Saitama took neither a towel nor pants into a bath and he would then have to walk to his closet to get some, directly past Genos? Maybe Genos had enough of that sweet torture of seeing his sensei go around naked all the time he chose to take it upon himself to provide him with something to actually cover up haha.

[rulernogard156]

For any wondering, here is the list I have so far for the fem primarchs and their monstrous transformations/"true forms"

Freya(Leman)- Wolfen

Atlantia(Angron)- Lioness deamon

Cora(Corvus)- Crow deamon

Mortica(Mortarion)-Insectiod (preying mantis, centipede, fly)

Hestia(Vulkan)- A giant salamander dragon (no wings)

Ferra(Ferrus Manus)-Necron reserected (biotransferance)

Sanguinia(Sanguinius)- Mantacore but snow lepord instead of lion

Fulgrim- Deep sea fish/siren

Kassandra(Konrad)- Vampire Bat

Magnolia(Magnus)- elder mummy litch or Owl+Peacock?

Jagathai- actual war hawk or cheeta?

Petra(Perturabo)- ?

Hathor(Horus)- ?

Renala(Rogal Dorn)- ?

The Lioness (The Lion)- Chimaera

Juno(Robuté Guilliman)- Bovine/Cow/Minotaur

Arellia(Logar)-?

Alpharia/Omega(Alpharius and Omegon)- ?

If you couldn't tell, this is not a complete list! And for the question mark ones, please feel free to submit ur ideas! (I am trying to avoid the obvious choices, i.e., The Lioness being a lion, but I'm open if you have a unique spin)

This project is a community share alike, so if u wanna use these designs in ur artwork, go for it! I really want this to be a group effort!!!

[zurka-durka]

not sure if ive ever sent an ask abt this but would u happen to have any kingsai hcs to spare? 👉👈

I DO THANK YOU FOR ASKING though none of these r uncommon or particularly shocking but still

-King calls Saitama 'Tama-shi. Im not a big fan of Saitama being nicknamed. Like "Sai" makes me squint every time but 'Tama-shi???🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️speak your truth King.

-I believe King's been searching for Saitama after their first encounter. Watching news and reading articles about more "niche" heroes etc. To say he felt sick after realizing that throughout all those years it really was just Saitama on his own defeating monsters around him s like saying nothing lmao.

-20 words or less doesn't really work between them. King never talks over/at Saitama rather he tries to have a real conversation. Saitama spaces out around him only when there's something on his mind.

-Genos is chill around King. He trusts Saitama's judgment (like when he immediately dropped the chase after saitama told him that amai's cool in the webcomic) but he does not know about the "stolen achievements". i cant sugarcoat this-there's no way in hell Genos would take that information lightly and even Saitama knows that. some lies they have to live with.

even if Genos separates in the future or grows cold and distant, the respect he has for Saiatama won't ever wither entirely anyway and King would rather bite his tongue than get on Genos' bad side.

-King has insane daydreams about Saitama in his suit and stuff im sorry. He jokes about how cartoonish his costume looks but he's all eyes.

-Saitama's gonna be around if King ever tries to get physically stronger. "Just lift dude" just to end up as his personal trainer lmao. Saitama'd try to teach King how to breathe properly, hand on his chest and everything, telling him "you're okay" when he gets hurt or if it's too much on King and that just makes King fall deeper.

-Saitama is the type to say im not in the mood and when being hit with "that's okay! next time i guess" he switches immediately because he values that respect just so much. There's no one but King in Saitama's life who considers his comfort in such a way. The only thing he holds to Saitama's face are his morals and actions, which is good cause Saitama can be easily very ignorant at times.

Not a headcanon but the main factor to me and why i love them sm: Saitama is very kind in a way that is just natural, not something that comes with effort, it's just how he is and King cries several times because of that alone. It's the "are you okay?" that brings such comfort to him that he bawled his eyes out, or when they are alone together King can actually let it go and spill things out and sob without feeling uncomfortable. And trust! The absolute trust that King has in Saitama, especially during the MA arc or the elder centipede. Because, unlike Genos for example, King is very much familiar and aware of Saitama flaws yet he never doubts him. So he puts himself in dangerous position, consciously choosing to sacrifice himself because a person like Saitama would do that. And he'd rather be scared but do it scared anyway than betray that concept is soooo to me

They bring out the best in each other fr

[the-nysh]

I'm not saying that opm Monsters designs are bad, but sometimes I wish they leaned into the eldritch horror type of creature. I get that a lot of them are goofy because they are purposely made to not be taken seriously, but it would be cool to give off the horror vibe of their world (because honestly I don't know how normal people can chill in a place like that)

But wait, just how far into the story are you, anon? Cause monsters in opm range the entire spectrum of seriously absurd to the absurdly serious. And ONE loves his various monster designs (all the way back to his Makai no Ossan days) and the horror genre too for that matter.

We've already gotten plenty of 'punching out Cthulhu' worthy moments - with the whole unsealed/unmasked Orochi sacrifice, ascended Psykorochi, and the ancient abomination type creatures like the Elder + Sage Centipedes with their utterly wrong double faces. Even Evil Natural Water checks out on both the absurd and serious levels when it auto-kills anything that views it with fear/hostile intent, revved up to 11 when it fuses with the ocean. The manga has plenty of monsters made with this stuff and more.

But most of all...doesn't the entire psychological + Cosmic Horror concept of 'god' fit this to a T??? What with the whole gazing into the unknown abyss thing, and how it's some sinister, all-watching unworldly entity with creepily unexplained prophetic + lunar origins, that entraps and mindrapes its victims into becoming corrupted eldritch abominations set onto the extinction of humanity? Like? (There's a good reason why it's such an urgent threat in the story!)

Did not seeing the ancient prometheus-alien-esque crashed remains of some THING lurking on the dark side of the moon invoke your primal urge of 'nopenopewrongwrongwrong' to KILL IT WITH FIRE!?!?!

[lailoken]

Hello there! What do you think happens to tree spirits or genus loci after their trees/sacred spaces are destroyed? Do you think we can talk here about them 'passing on' in some way, becoming, let's call it, the 'Green Dead'? Could that be possible? Or do they simply cease to exist?

Hello there!

This is a fascinating subject, but not one I have the easiest time explaining.

I believe that all living things possess a spirit that "moves on" after death. As such, I believe that trees— just like humans or centipedes—move through the Otherworld after phsycial death and into the Quietus, where they are rejoined with the Universal Wellspring and eventually "re-spun" into the pattern of the Wyrd.

That being said, I think certain plant souls can linger or be transformed into Gloaming Spirits in their own right. In this way, some trees may haunt a place (though, I imagine it would have to be a fairly old and powerful tree that was deeply disrespected), and other trees may become Fae spirits of the Elemental Clade. For all I know, the Arboreal Tutelary Spirits I venerate (such as the Elder Mother or the Juniper Mistress) were simply the firstborn souls of their respective plants, who went on after death to grow in power and wisdom as the ages passed.

It's hard for me to say more beyond that, but I do like your wording of "the green dead!"

[shadowknight465]

Hey, I've been getting into Transformers lately, and I was wondering what to draw for a Cookie Run x Transformers, any ideas?

These are the untagged cookies:

Specials:

Cream ferret, Icicle Yeti, Snapdragon

First Cookies:

First Cream Cookie, First Grain Cookie

Super Epics:

Capsaicin, Crimson Coral, Elder Faerie, Sherbet, Stardust

Epics (Limit is five):

Amber Sugar, Banana, Black Raisin, Blue Slushy, Butter Squid, Burnt Cheese, Centipede, Cloud Haetae, Cookiemals, Croissant, Crowberry, Cream Unicron, Crunchy Chip, Cyborg, Dark Choco, Electric Eel, Fig, Frilled Jellyfish, Ion, Kumiho, Lolipop, Matcha, Moon Rabbit, Nutmeg Tiger, Pond Dino, Red Velvet, Rouguefort, Royal Margarine, Choco Werehound Brute, Smoked Cheese, Snake Fruit, Sorbet Shark, Sugar Glass, Squid Ink, Starch Noodle, Stawberry Cream, Strawberry Crepe, Street Urchin, Tiger Lily, Truffle, Vampire, Werewolf, Witchberry

Rares:

Alchemist, Custard III, Devil, Princess

Commons:

Angel, Beet

Guests:

Aquamarine, Gold Citrine, Mystic Opal

[drakeanddice]

Mausritter last night, and since this blog is rapidly becoming my campaign diary, I figure I should get the details down just in case anyone is enjoying reading along.

In bullet points first, then details and lessons learned beneath the break.

Flew from Fox Cross to Swamp Farm on pigeon back

Recruited a warband

Began the process of rebuilding the Scarecrow

Tasked with collecting lichen from the Face Oak for a curse on the City Rat general

Met with the Queen of Big Stump; Knighted?

Exchange riddles with Bzz-Thwip and the Cicada Fey

Granted audience with the Face Oak and asked to plant a Face Oak acorn in exchange for curse lichen

Made camp safely beyond the fairy ring

Survived an ambush by a tiger centipede

Last night was a set-up for the big set piece where we save the patch from the marauding City Rat raiders under Cluny Cleftjaw. We rode on Pigeon-back from Fox across to Swamp Farm, a journey that would’ve taken the day but instead took just under an hour. There’s a reason a flight in the book puts a price per hex for flight at 200 pips, after all. We got to meet Francisco, the Fox Cross Pigeonspeaker and made friends with his fine feathered partner “Crrlprr.” Yeah, that’s pronounced with all the r’s rolled. Best of luck.

We flew back down to Swamp Farm to talk to meet up with our protege Tam, with the side objective of levying some help with the incoming horde from the good folk of Swamp Farm. Which means we’ll have to meet with the Speaker-For-Ghosts. When we first met her she was a wizened old crone of a mouse, but following a ritual which we were assured would keep the Ghost Owl at bay for another generation, the years bled from her before our eyes as her consort, a mouse referred to only as the Elder, grew progressively more crabbed and feeble. She now appears in the flower of her youth once more, and dotes on the Elder like a particularly soft-hearted daughter. She does know Cluny by reputation, and Tam, sleeping in the Stoneskip Inn, has already brought news of his coming. After some questions to ascertain our objectives—and an out of character discussion to nail those down (always handy)— she pledges 15 hardy swamp mice to our cause. That’s almost a warband!

War bands are cool. If you mean to fight something huge, the kind of thing that a mouse would have a big problem fighting alone or in a small group— foxes, big snakes, cats— you can hire mice at arms and get yourself a unit that functions at that scale. Teamwork, rather than pure size will do the job, but typically hiring a warband is not a cheap endeavor. We’ve got retainers that believe in our cause. So long as we’re making forward progress on that cause, they follow us. Their captain, Marrow, is a fisher mouse who acts as the voice of their unit. A morale barometer. If the Wayfinders start straying, he’ll be the one to make it clear that the Swamp Farm irregulars expect changes or they’ll take their little reed coats and fishing tridents and go.

Bindi has been carting around the mushroom heart which animated the Scarecrow from the south field in their titanic battle with the Crows and their automaton. In the course of the battle the Scarecrow burnt, but the Waywatchers managed to save that small part in hopes of rebuilding the magical protector at a later time. Bindi’s been keeping the heart in a little straw and rag doll that she’s been referring to as “The little Fun Guy.” With some trepidation she asked the Speaker-For-Ghosts if her magic was sufficient to help make the Fun Guy strong again. The Speaker-For-Ghosts assured Bindi that she would teach the mushroom how to walk and talk, but that he was already perilously strong.

Our Waywatchers are naturally wary of magic— and at this point who could really blame them— but Bindi is a curious soul and on a whim as she set Fun Guy on the throne asked if the Speaker couldn’t just magic Cluny and his Horde away. Speaker-For-Ghosts told her that killing curses are deadly in both directions, death in for death out. But that her magic could cloud the rat-generals mind and confuse his orders, though it will require the beguiling lichens from the Face Oak to the south, behind enemy lines.

This is an ugly choice. Our Waywatchers with less than 20 mice aren’t in a position to court open conflict with the horde. Rats are nearly twice the size of mice, fierce and merciless in battle. The last time they crossed blades with the scouting party that occupied Tyreton, they nearly met their end. They decide instead to seek further reinforcements at Big Stump or, as it’s now known by the players, Min-Mouse Tirith.

Floating down the stream with their fisher mice, they are challenged by a force of salamanders and mice, bearing patchwork uniforms and the blazon of Big Stump. Mercenaries in service to the Queen of the Stump. They grant passage but a force of 20 mice bearing no banner and owing no allegiance strikes the watch captain as suspicious. The Waywatchers and their retinue are advised to present themselves at the Keep. This solves the question of how they’ll secure an audience with the leader of the settlement, though, Fennel (previously a messenger) does not recall a Queen of Big Stump.

The seneschal greets them in the courtyard and begins instructing them on royal protocol. Upon their left knees, hands over heart and heads bowed the appropriate amount, the Waywatchers are announced to the court as the great doors are drawn back.

The Queen of Big Stump is reclining on an ivory throne, clad in a mantle of weasel fur and a small crown jauntily perched over one ear. Tiger-striped, emerald eyed, we meet her lady ship, her highness, mother of the realm, called Swiftclaw, Eye Unblinking, Azura, Queen of the Stump and Regnant Lady Cat of The Southern Patch.

“Cats eat mice!” gasped Bindi, before several paws were slapped over her mouth.

Last session, we talked through some truths about Cats. All cats, as the mice of the Patch know them, are self-important and status conscious. They are, to the minds of mice, all mad. Fickle, capricious, and the sort of creatures that mice count as walking catastrophes. This moment felt very much like entering the castle to find the dragon seated upon the throne and everyone in the court just sort of okay with that.

She was complimentary. Engaged. Quick-witted. She folded her claws beneath her chin as they told their story and, warily, asked if they could count on the help and support of Big Stump in the coming battles. “We will match and match again the contribution of Swamp Farm. I will not abide Rats Our Kingdom. As beloved companions of the Realm, you may avail yourself of Our walls, on the singular condition that when the sword and spear and horn are still, first pick of plunder goes to me…as befits your liege-lord.”

Birch agrees to terms, wheeling and dealing as he does. They don’t trust her, of course. How can mouse trust cat? Marrow and his band, grumbling and unsure, are left with the royal guard to get acquainted with the units who will fight side by side with them. Now we have a proper warband, but we can’t drag them down to the Face Oak without attracting the attention of Cluny’s forces.

They set out midafternoon and lucky encounter rolls mean that they aren’t opposed until they cross the fairy ring. The toadstools are inhabited by strange cicada creatures whose pantomime attempts at communication leave the mice perplexed. Luckily the Wayfinders have a Rune of Be Understood, and using its power —though it leaves poor Fennel drained and grizzle-furred— they open the channel of communication.

They puzzle through their interlocutor’s, Bzz-Thwip’s (it does not translate), odd phraseology and cadence. They will be conducted into the presence of the Face Oak (Queen’s Face, mirror to sky and soil, eldest matchless rod of burl and bone), but not for free. After Fennel attempts to pay for passage with a shovel (bugs like to dig, right?) and gets horrified screeching as he bares iron inside the fairy ring (bones of stone ripped and wrought and not yours nor ours to wield here amid the bright effulgence viridian unspoilt, defile’t! Curse’d curse’d and thrice curse’d!), Birch offers rations and the Cicada happily accepts this as payment for guidance until sundown.

They move fast, scurrying through a familiar, and yet alien landscape. Everything seems to have the brightness turned up. Spring flowers turn their heads to mark their passage. But they get to the Face Oak, and not knowing how best to address a tree, Bindi goes with the direct approach. She shouts at it.

Now, I was expecting to tax their Rune again, but with a lucky Wisdom save, Bindi is understood by the tree who happily rearranges their Jack in the Green face into the face of a titanic mouse. We are dealing with fairies here, so clearly they must bargain. Nothing you haven’t earned by valor or guile or craft may come back through the fairy ring without consequences. Bindi asks what the tree wants and it drops a single acorn at her feet. “When you go home, find a shady spot, plant this and wait 200 years.” Ominous.

They scrape their lichen from the tree and make haste back for the fairy ring. They cross the boundary right as the sun dips below the horizon. Box-Thwip calls that fair play and devours the rations he was given on the other side of the line with terrifying crunching sounds. The Waywatchers assume it would’ve been bad to be caught on the other side of the line after sunset.

The Waywatchers search for a campsite, settling in a narrow gravel defile not far from the stream that they followed from Big Stump. It’s on first watch that the tiger centipede strikes. In about eight sessions we’ve only fought twice and both of those were nearly catastrophic. But this fight feels like better odds. I mean in theory. The centipede is four times their size, has pincers dripping with venom, and is basically a walking suit of armor, but there’s only one of them.

A lot of OSR games, contrary to games like D&D where combat is a central pillar, assume that open combat is a failure state. If you and an enemy are taking turns hacking and slashing at each other, something has gone seriously wrong and now we’re hoping that the dice fall kindly because all of our other plans have gone to shit. Mausritter is no exception. Our beefiest character has 10 HP before he starts taking critical wounds. Our least beefy can take 5. The centipede rolls a d8 damage any critical damage does 1d12 Dexterity damage. There’s a possibility that a single bite could kill a character, and there is no rolling to attack in this game. It’s the centipede’s turn; take *rolls* 7 damage. Out of hitpoints? Take *rolls* 6 dexterity damage, and now roll under your new Dex score. Didn’t roll under? Time to make a new character.

Luckily, our heroes win initiative here because the centipede rolled “curious” on its reaction roll so it wasn’t a surprise round. It was following the unfamiliar mingling scents of fairy (something that is not prey, to be avoided) and mouse (tasty noms) and was cautiously investigating. The mice spring into action. This looks a lot like two spear mice to the front while Fennel speeds arrows to cover. The fight is quick and brutal. Birch is wounded, but manages to come out with some new bleached stripes in his fur from the centipede’s venom rather than making a meal for the beast.

Overall an eventful three hour session. Our return to Big Stump is next week, and we’re loaded down with centipede chitin and what looks an awful lot like a mouse-sized lobster tail thanks to Bindi the sewer guide’s culinary acumen. We aren’t sure how our continued relationship with Azura the Cat Queen will shake down, but the enemy of my enemy, you know? At least that was the feeling around the fire. The mice in town didn’t appear distressed by their new Queen, no one was obviously acting…yknow oppressed. But a mouse is slow to trust a cat’s claws even extended in friendship.

I suppose we’ll have to wait for next week to find out.