#flame leg millipede

[artsyaxolotl]

Meet September's Pal of the Month... the Flame Leg Millipede!

Living in the lush, damp deciduous forests of the Philippines, the flameleg millipede earned its name for a reason. Its vibrant orange and yellow legs stand out like tiny flames against its sleek black body, a dazzling display believed to warn potential predators. When threatened, these millipedes can secrete a liquid that can even stain human skin!

Despite their fiery appearance, flame leg millipedes are peaceful herbivores. Often found in small groups, they munch on decaying leaves and organic matter, playing a vital role in decomposition and returning nutrients to the soil. Some enthusiasts in the exotic pet hobby claim their legs even glow under blacklight.

The flame leg millipede is classed as "least concern" and is an uncommon but popular pet for insect enthusiasts due to its beautiful colors.

Members of the Ko-fi Club will get a 3in sticker and a collectible trading card!

[taro-jpg]

[ID: photo of a Flame Leg Millipede, a black bodied Myriapoda with pink and yellow legs balancing on a stick. end ID.]

Flame Leg Millipede (Trigoniulus macropygus), family Trigoniulidae, Singapore

photograph by melvyn yeo

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Gaersnae

This one seems to be flying under the radar, identification-wise, much more than I expected, which is a pleasant surprise. I don't have anything else to add at the beginning of this post. The entry people are working from is here:

And if you don't know what this "bestiaryposting" business is, you can find an explanation and all previous posts at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

Now, art in roughly chronological order:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has made the entirely logical decision that the "king of crawling things" should be whichever creature has the most legs, and drawn us a millipede large enough to fight a weasel. I think this is a good and sensible direction, and that's a quality depiction of a millipede/weasel fight right there.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) has gone in a more rodent-y direction, with the interesting detail that, as a result of living in caves, its legs are gradually becoming vestigial. I think this is also quite clever, and the rat is pretty cute.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) decided that the "king of crawling things" should have no legs, as maximum crawling happens when one is flat on one's belly. Hence our crowned snake -- complete with a bird going down in flames near the top of the drawing, and a weasel/Hreksong invading the burrows near the bottom. I think the "crown" works really well, and it's always nice to see a callback to previous beasts. As usual, CheapSweets has provided an interesting and informative explanation of their design in the linked post -- I particularly liked the phrase "pelvic spur for extra rizz".

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) is running with the idea of a creature that kills with its scent (and has white stripes), so we have this amazing picture of a skunk zapping an owl out of the sky. The medieval skunk is excellent -- I think if they had skunks in medieval Europe, that's probably how they would have drawn them -- and the scribbly owl is just delightful. Check the linked post for additional observations and a link to a short but informative source about medieval owls.

@pomrania (link to post here) also has some skunk inspiration going on here, though their version has some extra legs and a kind of boar-like face. A very informative series of drawings about how this thing can kill you -- I particularly like the one with the little scroll reading "deadly!!"

@strixcattus (link to post here) has contributed an invertebrate, which I think makes this one of the only entries that's gotten more than one of those. And that's a solid drawing of an arthropod -- I also like the lettering at the bottom right there. As usual, I implore you to read the write-up in the linked post, where the animal is re-imagined from the perspective of a modern naturalist.

Okay, Aberdeen Bestiary:

So this is actually a case of the artist's preconceptions making them mess it up a bit. You may notice that it does not fit the description. It also sticks out a bit in the context of the bestiary, because it's in the "snake" section of the manuscript.

What's happened here is that this is the entry for the basilisk, but the artist has drawn a cockatrice. This is not actually unusual, as the two mythical beasts are hopelessly entangled in the tradition; I looked into it a bit, and it seems like there's actually some confusion about where the cockatrice even comes from. Probably the reason the two creatures have similar powers attributed to them is because the cockatrice kind of inherited that aspect from the basilisk.

(See, e.g., Breiner, Laurence A. "The Career of the Cockatrice." Isis, vol. 70, no. 1, 1979, pp. 30–47.)

Anyway, the basilisk is so called because it is the king of snakes -- basileus is Greek for "king", and -iskos is a diminutive. Little king.

(The translation provided by the University of Aberdeen, "king of crawling things," is unusual -- the Latin reads "rex serpentium". It's possible this translation choice is because of the flexibility of the term "serpent".)

This is a creature originally described by classical authors and then passed along through medieval European sources. It has white stripes, often some sort of "crown" on its head, is venomous, and is sometimes said to distinguish itself from other snakes by holding the front part of its body regally upright... yeah, it's obviously a cobra that's been telephoned and exaggerated into being ludicrously deadly. Just swap out "weasel" for "mongoose" -- I think that's pretty clearly a case of some author who distantly predated scientific taxonomy just going, "looks like a weasel to me".

Also, this entry ends with:

The creature called sibilus is the same as the regulus, or basilisk; for it kills with its hiss before it bites or burns.

I am not aware of any creature called sibilus.

[merakiione]

-wolverine, alone-

a millipede has more faces than legs– one

a baboon’s byzantium snarl or number two

the flutter of a hare whose back is fastened with silkworm chiffon

a stone is no more than a bullet with a back yet to be broken

saturn’s rings shaping four elements, an ouroboros,

tongues of flame water the front yard hurricane

scattered bolide pieces, a starshine bangle

transcendental, we fly on buffalo back but below

do i not see you swimming there, with the

turtle that carries a holy spirit keychain, that jungle matrix?

i search for pale blue colors but i believe swatch 6785 is best

any entity sniffing about here is coated in it, a nebulous hue

but most of us are just in search of the teapot– my teapot

the uncle that hands it to me has not changed his robes

or trimmed the hairs of his beard since his son held

the last egg, fortress of combustion and first-rate engines

these wyverns, amphipteres, wyrms, and drakes, where else

do you think the light could possibly come from?

knuckle to knuckle, fist to fist, the phosphorescence of two eyes

arrows circling, soaring on something paper-light, paper kites

in my iceberg palace, the cold feels no different from home’s.

[theanoninyourinbox]

YOU HAVE CHOSEN TF2 DREAM L O R E

By itself post!

So most recently dream, Soldier died in Teufort but due to a malfunction got Isekai’d into the Pokemon world. He stayed there a year and had a team of three pokemon - an extremely scrungly 1/2 Zigzagoon 1/4 Yungoos 1/4 Mawile named Private Scurvy, a Bewear named after a female war for independence heroine (I later picked Deborah Samson), and a Braviary named America Jr, which he hatched himself.

He had ended up at basically a ranch/preserve for hybrids and disabled and genetically different Pokemon for a yearish, and during a fight with some VERY organized poachers, got teleported by an something and came back to Teufort…12 minutes after he left. Soldier freaked out and got put in a cell, but found his pokeballs and had Private Scurvy break down the door to prove he wasn’t crazy. The dream ended after he, Demo, and Pyro, having teleported back (I assume Engi figured that out), were charging the poachers with the help of a Rapidash with little flame, a Ditto, and a Chatot with one leg. This art is close but nowhere as scrungly and rabid as the dream...

SECOND DREAM

Engineer accidentally invented a helmet that allowed him to talk to/understand cats, saves Brightpaw and Swiftpaw from the dogs, and ended up dragging Tigerstar to the feral cat rehabber, ending that storyline real fast.

THIRD DREAM

This one I’ll be a little sparse on details - if you crave spoilers DM me - because I have vague plans to make this a fanfic! It involved Spy and Medic being close friends, team as family, Soldier accidentally seducing Scout’s mom, eldritch abominations and horrors being commonplace, the Cats of Ulthar, lots of weirdly intimate but platonically portrayed moments, and So Much Body Horror...

art under the cut! because spoilers for the last one...couldn't remember that one detail so made two possible versions...

Snuffalupagus-trunk-caterpillar-millipede-looking guy with WAY too many arms, smells like leaf rot and wet moss and strange berries…

[imber-rose]

Two recent adopts a created! Been loving working on creature based fellas

The first ones based on a California Red Sided Garter Snake

And the second is based on a Flame Legged Millipede

Both are $25usd and you can DM if interested!

And there’s a bonus third boy who I’m raffling off on TH based on the fearsome Bobbit Worm!

[rodrigobera04]

Bug Type is next, finishing off my favorite types:

BUG pure:

Jumping cockroach that uses a stick to pole vault.

Very thin stick insect like a stick figure, it camouflages itself as a bush that blocks paths.

Frog bug with a mouthpiece to suck insect fluids, like a frog's tongue.

Wingless moth shooting silk to defend itself.

Spiders living in communities, together to hunt and defend themselves.

Beetle imitating an arachnid Pokémon, such as Ariados and galvantula.

Edible larva resembling homemade bread.

Literal honey ant that, when crushed, spreads sweet secretions.

Woodlouse rolling like a ball and leaving marks like a tire.

BUG/GRASS

Wasps making a nest inside a fig which explodes in a swarm bomb.

Pollinating insect, a bee or butterfly, blowing allergic pollen from its wings.

Spider with a pitcher plant for its abdomen where it traps insects.

Huge beetle similar to a sloth, covered in fungi and algae.

Termites gnawing on wood and throwing sawdust, related to carpentry.

Apple with worms coming out of it like snakes from a gorgona.

Katydid covered in thorns, where it houses its pre-evolution.

Larva inside a bean moving like a spring.

Cochineal producing a fungus that is harmful to plants.

BUG/STEEL

Deathclock beetle with a mechanical appearance, like a toy car.

Millipede looking like a little train, transporting things on its back.

Lanternfly with a serrated protuberance on its head, like a winged saw.

Silverfish rusting metal to better digest it.

Butterfly with sharp wings to cut off aerial predators.

Earwig with a stretchable hook tail.

Mechanical-looking drone fly used in espionage.

Giant cockroach resembling a shield, where it protects its young.

Whip spider fighting with metallic claws like steel clubs.

BUG/FLYING

Spider mimetizing a fly to trick insects, using webs as wings.

Locusts creating hurricanes with their swarms.

Moth making noises with its wings that sabotage the bat radar.

Female strepisiptera using a wasp as an airplane.

Bird parasitic mite flying on a feather like a board.

Crab using its hind legs as wings to fly in the air.

Flea jumping so high it seems to fly.

Beetle looking like a science fiction flying car.

Bee with Z-shaped wings, creating annoying sound waves.

BUG/ICE

Saber-toothed flea, specialized in parasitizing mammoswine.

Icebug literally made of ice, melting in contact with heat.

Ice age worm or larva, preserved and resurrected.

Springtail who lives in the snow, looks like a bunny or a lemming.

Arachnid rolling your body and creating a snowball.

Snow mayfly, melting in the spring heat, alluding to its short life.

Fly from the frozen pole, covered with ice to protect itself from high temperatures.

Carpet beetle stealing fabric to stay warm.

BUG/FIRE

Draconic-looking hairy caterpillar with boiling hairs.

Flaming mosquito that causes fever through its bite.

Volcanic beetle with a carapace formed from hardened lava.

Explosive wasp launching itself at targets.

Hellgramite, which lives in lava, has flaming jaws in its adult form.

Camel spider with solar powers in allusion to its other name, sun spider.

Vinagaroon spraying flammable liquid from its tail.

Killer insect blowing smoke to catch insects.

Ant with explosive bomb abdomen.

BUG/NORMAL

Assasin insect looking like an anteater.

Rubber toy that imitates a real insect.

House spider with long legs, covered in dust.

Fuzzy mite looking like a stuffed animal.

Camouflaged insect, with its body adapted to hide in the environment.

Giraffe beetle that looks like a literal giraffe.

Ant delivering things, carrying objects on its back.

Furry and smelly Pokémon, with symbiotic flies to protect it.

Small insects controlling a mannequin or doll, pretending to be a person.

BUG/ELECTRIC

Parasitic fly that inhabits the hair of mareeps.

Dragonfly fast as lightning, leaving a trail of light.

Ladybug with spots that glow in the dark, serving as a guide.

Scorpion adapting its stinger to a lamp, attracting insects.

Insectoid creature made of pixels that causes a "bug" in the game.

Lanterbug com asas brilhantes como LED.

Bee creating energetic and colorful honey that gives a lot of energy.

Pikachu's convergent Springtail.

Bioluminescent cockroach that inhabits appliances and sockets.

BUG/GROUND

Sprinting tiger beetle leaving a trail of sand.

Sauvas soldiers carrying buds and leaves as weapons.

Carpenter bee using a snail shell as a hive.

Termite mound golem controlled by termites like a mecha.

Millipede imitating a snake seen from above.

Insect monster imitating a coffin, with its abdomen pretending to be a corpse.

Weta digging the ground and biting the opponent's feet.

Camel spider looking like a mole.

Ant lion larvae acting like a school of piranhas, tearing apart prey.

BUG/ROCK

Arthlopleura looking like a brontosaurus, like Armaldo looks like a carnosaur.

Meganeura similar to a pterodactyl, counterpart to the arthlopleura.

Beetle decorated with precious jewels and crystals.

Cave insect that uses its claws like pickaxes to dig holes.

Cadsfly larva with a stone dwelling and hikikomori personality.

Butterfly with crystal clear wings like a mosaic.

Huge insectoid-shaped tectonic plate, based on jinshi mushi, causes earthquakes.

A literal emerald cockroach.

Fly fed with salt, gaining a square and rocky shape.

BUG/FIGHTING

Fly with structures resembling deer horns.

Epomys beetle, rival of Toxicroak, Poliwrath and other frog Pokémon.

Tongue parasite controlling a "walking" fish.

"Batman" style anti-hero moth fights birds and bats.

Wasp with stingers in its fists.

Spider using two smaller spiders as yo-yos.

Cricket with long antennas used as Olympic ribbons.

Beetle with two horns looking like an angry ox.

Flea that bit a werewolf and became a powerful monster.

BUG/WATER

Diving dragonfly, adapted its wings to swim in water.

Water flea creating water replicas of itself, alluding to its multiplication.

Tadpole shrimp sleeping for years and waking up today.

Stick insect imitating an umbrella with its wings.

Butterfly creating waves in the water by flapping its wings.

Fly inside a bubble to dive.

Flying insect living near water with a bait and hook sting.

Cleaner shrimp capable of curing poison and other damage from other Pokémon.

Sea flea hiding in the sand and quickly devouring its prey.

LEGENDARY:

Butterfly bug/flying dying and resurrecting back to its caterpillar form; personifies cycles.

[reksink]

Bug delivery~

Ebony jewelwing damselfly, a tiny fly (maybe complex Condylostylus sipho), and a yellow-and-black flat millipede

BUG DELIVERY 💚💚💚

Officially tagging this ask series Bug Delivery now, thank you Flame, it's perfect

Oh my goodness these guys are so pretty!! My favorite of the bunch has to be the flat back, I have a big soft spot for millipedes. Not to mention that it's pattern is just oh so pretty

As for our flying companions, they're masters of colors in their own right OMGA. The damselfly is living up to it's name ten-fold 💚

I always loved the 'rainbow-like' qualities of bugs, but the way flies always has a flare to I can't quite describe

Also I meant to mention this before but I'm STILL 'embarrassed' that I mixed out that millipede from last time, hehe. Embarrassed in quotes because it was an honest mistake, I could only make out 1 leg per trunk. Oh the woes of not zoning in hehe

[emotionalsupportgoblin420]

So first, lemme introduce you to my f/o of the week: Tfa Bumblebee

(Also, I will be rping as my Shisa s/i)

Me.

He would start with playing a song that is calming and that I like. Music always calms me down. Once I've settled down a bit, he'd hug me and just sit there till I was okay and playing calming music.

No. He doesn't wear clothes period lol /nm /silly

Him. He's also the one who needs protection more often as my yokai powers keep me well protected. Even against decepticons.

Low light, a candle, some snacks, maybe some hot coco for me, and some warmed up motor oil for him if it's the cold months, some blankets, a plushy for me, and anime while we're all cuddled up.

He would beg me not to leave, and I would have to to protect him.

Yessir! We're two nerodivergent dumbasses ofc we would lol /lh

I'm the only one who gets sick, and it's constant comfort, pity, and cuddles, which my touch starved ass LOVES.

Obvi we can't have bio children but he's not entirely against it. But preferably WAY in the future when we're both more mature lol.

Probably to somewhere like an amusement park. (Fun fact: In the canon, Bumblebee has gone to an amusement park. Whether or not his 16 foot tall robot ass was or was not allowed on any ride remains unknown, but imagining him on a roller coaster is fun as hell to me.)

We both kinda do. Him more than me, but we can always tell when the other is upset.

Not often, but it does happen. Usually over something petty ngl. It usually goes down like this: yelling, petty insults, storming off, coming back to talk about it calmly, apologizing, and forgiveness. Works for us. Neither of us are ones to linger on things long.

Me. I have made it my life's mission to torment him lol (in a loving way ofc. I try not to take things too far and to apologize when I do).

Both of us match each other's energy level, and we both have a love for speed. He sees me as a "goddess" (his words, not mine), and I am deeply insecure, and he helps with that while he's very confident (downright full of himself in a fun way.) The problem arise when you realize we both have ADHD. I'm innatentive, and he's hyperactive. That makes for an interesting combo to say the least lol. Also, he's a yapper and sometimes, I just wanna be left alone. This has led to a few petty arguments.

Yep. We both do. I always have to kiss him if either of us is leaving.

Omg yes. Sometimes, he won't shut up. But, I knew what I was signing up for, so I can't complain too much, lol.

Me. I'm the flirt in the relationship, and I wear it like a badge of honor.

Me! I LOVE animals! I already have a hamster and a crow (the crow is my familiar). If I could, I'd have horses, dogs, cats, cows, goats, ducks, and millipedes. I do have to restrain myself a little but will get some of those one day lol.

I'm aight with it most of the time. He loves it. He loves people knowing I'm his.

Pika Girl by S3RL

Bee would, and I'd help Ratchet patch him up.

The song Bumblebee always reminds me of him (for obvious reasons). Fire reminds him of me (because of my dark flame magic).

Either one of us, really. I could do it by being flirty (and possibly explicit 😏). He gives me his puppy eyes, and I am not leaving, lol.

Neither of us ngl. I'm too ticklish, and he wouldn't feel shit if I tried.

Video games! I don't care much for playing, but I love watching. Especially Legend of Zelda games.

Mine's alcohol. His is video games.

Him. He's such a toddler when he's drunk (I think it's kinda cute ngl. Also, according to G1, cybertronians can get drunk /nm /gen)

We like the basics. Babe, honey, sweetie, sweetheart, the usually. Babe is the most common one between the two of us.

Him. I freak out a bit. I hate the sensation.

If he could choose my outfit, he'd probably choose my yellow plaid dress and white leggings (assuming it's for a night out. If we're staying home, he'd pick some sort of laundering)

Oh, we're both handsy. But he can be more explict with it. If he can do it discreetly, he'll try to squeeze my thigh (not to say I mind ofc).

Me! I like to tell SCP stories! Unfortunately, I'm dyslexic so I often stumble over my words lol.

Me again. I love to forage for edible mushrooms, and I make mean fried mushroom nuggets if I do say so myself. He tried to cook once and nearly burned down the whole base. Optimus banned him from ever doing that again so... yeah.

We both make dirty jokes, but when it comes to stories that make the other blush, I'm the reigning champ.

Me. I draw all the time and make jewelry as well.

I'm most likely to fire up the stove at ungodly hours because I'm hungry. He keeps me company, which I appreciate.

Me. I cuss like a sailor (and I'm not happy about it).

He's the one always wanting to try something new. I'm a bit vanilla ngl. I just don't think of some of the things he does.

Me. He'd be against for like 10 minutes before caving to the cuteness and helping me beg Optimus to let us keep it lol.

Neither of us ngl. He doesn't eat, and I'm a lightweight when it comes to food portions.

Me as a joke lol.

He likes sunny and I like rainy.

Either of us. Without hesitation.

I would, and he'd join. The most likely song to create such a situation is Classic by MKTO.

Yes we both can.

Hell yeah 100%. We match each other's freak lol.

No. Both of us are chronic oversharers.

Him. He's literally a car lol.

Him more than me. If I don't give him enough attention, he starts begging like a dog. He knows what to do for my affection.

Me ngl. Nothing too bad. Just something little like hiding the game he was playing or something like that.

For me, it's happy stims, hugs, and nuzzling my face into him while I hug him. For him, it's some kind of gesture, like taking me on a nature or something.

California vacay and checking out cool stores and universal.

Any swimming is skinny dipping for him. I wouldn't, tho. I hate feeling that exposed outside of the comfort of either of our rooms.

He is. I physically couldn't carry him, lol. Not to mention, I usually fall asleep while cuddling or during a drive.

He doesn't get it, but he's willing to stargaze for me.

I usually will just spread my legs while we're alone, and he jumps at the opportunity. He'll just gently brush his hand against my bits, and I'm good to go.

I'm serious with grocery shopping, and he throws random stuff into the cart.

Me ngl.

I'm top dommy mommy. He's bottom twink.

He does.

Ask for OTPs and Self Ships

copied from a now gone post and blog: original url https://glitter-and-gasoline-deactivate.tumblr.com/post/687208822931095552

TW: angst, suggestive content, etc.

Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with ‘because I love you!’ ?

What would they do if the other woke in a manic state after a nightmare?

Do they wear the other’s clothes? (sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected’?

Describe their cozy night in.

Who would beg the other not to leave? Who has to leave to protect the other?

Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

What happens if one of them gets sick?

What are their thoughts on having children?

Describe their first date.

Do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell?

Do they have many heated arguments? How do they smooth things over?

Who’s the bigger tease?

How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?

Do they always say ‘i love you’ before leaving?

Can they stay up all night just talking?

Who’s more likely to pull the other in by the waist and kiss them passionately?

How likely are they to have fur babies? How many and what kind?

How do they feel about PDA?

Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

Who would get into a fight to defend the other’s honor? Who tends to the other’s wounds?

What reminds each of their partner?

Who’s more likely to convince the other to stay in bed come morning?

Who’s more likely to give the other a massage?

Do they have any hobbies they share?

What are their vices?

Who is the light weight that needs to be taken care of after a party?

What are there thoughts on pet names? Do they have any?

Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?

Your OTP gets to pick out each other’s outfits; what is each wearing?

Can they sit side by side without touching the other or are they handsy? (lacing fingers, touching knees, etc.)

Who’s the better story teller?

Who’s the better cook?

Who’s more likely to tell a dirty joke or story to make the other blush?

Who’s more artistic?

Who’s more likely to fire up the stove at 2am because the other woke up in the middle of the night hungry?

Which is more likely to swear?

Who is more sexually experimental? Who’s more vanilla?

Who would rescue an injured animal and nurse it back to health? What would the other think?

Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help?

Which one would take their jacket it off and drape over the other one because they were visibly shivering?

What’s their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

Who would give their life for the other without a second thought?

Who would dance in the kitchen making dinner? Would the other join in or watch from the doorway?

Can they fall asleep without the other?

Would they get frisky at the movies by themselves?

Does either of them have a secret that could potentially ruin their relationship?

Who’s the better driver?

Does either of them have a hard time being away from the other?

who’s more likely to do something out of spite?

What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

Describe their weekend getaway?

Would they ever go skinny dipping?

Who’s more likely to carry the other to bed?

Do they like watching clouds or star gazing?

What do they do turn the other on/put them in the mood?

Whose the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things in the cart?

Who’s more likely to hold a grudge after an argument?

Who tops? Who bottoms?

Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping?

[lie-lover]

the sun may set, the moon may rise, and every now and then a star may fall. as i sit alone on a patch of dirt in a field of grass i use the dying light of the fading sun to watch, entranced, at the millipede crawling over a piece of bark. does it not know i am here? does it not know how vulnerable, how small, how weak it is? i watch it come to a stop, antenna waving in the air, it raises its head and moves it around in a sweeping motion. i offer it my finger and it climbs on. i ponder, does it matter that it is small? does it matter that it is fast, that it has legs which tickle my hand, that it leaves small spots of dirt from unclean feet? i dont think it does. i lower my hand to the ground and it happily climbs off, disappearing into the tall blades of grass. i suppose it doesnt know. it must be for the best that it does not, for as i cast my gaze upwards at the now-dark sky and the now-bright moon i watch as a light streaks across the sky, a flame so small to me but so large and so far away, and i ponder the size of the stars that i cannot see and the size of the moon and as i realise how small i am, i think again how lucky the millipede is that it does not know

[daisybell9000]

OF COURSE I WOULD STILL WANT YOU IF YOU WERE A BBUG..... i would make you the best enclosure ever for whatever species you got poofed into :] also depending on species i would hold you a little bit and let you walk on my desk. oh look up flame leg millipedes also. they remind me of you -🐛

They're very long. You know what else is long?

[schizoidnightmares]

The Gorge, V: Many Eyes

A.I. placeholder artwork generated using NightCafe Stable Diffusion XL v1.0 — CC0 1.0

144th of First, 1100 A.W. — Yesterday, our hope of seeing home again went up in flames. The HSS Heaven Sails is no more, a burnt carcass. Some pieces of it are probably on their way to the ocean by now. Maybe someday, a piece will drift back to the shores of Heaven’s Peninsula. Maybe. That’s about all the evidence that will return of us.

You can see it all in the eyes of the surviving crew. Shock, pain, fear, and anger… It’s all flowing through us like a sizzling stream of molten metal. Our future is cast. These canyons, or whatever lies beyond, will become our new home and grave. There’s no fixing it.

I barely have the motivation to write anymore, but it helps to keep my mind occupied. Only 47 of us are left now. 13 perished in the fire and chaos that followed. We know little about why or how it happened. At early dawn, a fire broke out on board. There was a great panic. Some crew aboard threw themselves over. Some died from the fall, and others perished when the airsail crashed and exploded on the island. We, the survivors, escaped the flames by jumping into the river. Most of the dead died there, drowning. We could still feel the heat and see the steam even a decent way downriver.

We haven’t lost everything. During the fire, some crew tossed as many supplies as they could overboard. I had all my records already with me on the island. However, I did lose one of my journals in the swim downriver — mainly containing technical minutiae. I’m surprised how well my leather scroll cases held up in the water. Most of the paper inside is in good condition.

Downriver, we found a hole in a rock wall. There’s a cave inside, with a whole network of tunnels. We’ve travelled deeper within and taken shelter. The caves are full of biting insects. The spiders, ants, and scorpions are the worst. They’re a bit bigger than the ones at home and a lot more vicious. At night, they won’t leave you alone. You can see them crawling all along the walls and ceiling, coming in and out of crevices in the rock. They drive the crew mad.

There’s also something else in these caves, something much larger than any insect, or mammal, for that matter. Captain Leaping Tiger thinks the crew are seeing things, but he’s wrong. I’ve seen it — only its eyes, its many eyes. Whatever it is, it’s bigger than Man. Maybe twice the size. Last night, I saw it watching us from another tunnel above our camp in the caves. The light from the fire reflected in its many dark, round beady eyes. It remained still all night but was gone by the time I awoke. I didn’t dare move. Some of the other men saw it, too.

Despite all that has happened, the captain has kept the surviving crew together. There are some with minor injuries. Our cook, Leap Frog, suffers from burns on his arms. He’s still keeping his spirits up, but Doctor Fog Eyes has ordered him to refrain from performing his duties. Fog Eyes is despondent. He sees the destruction of the airsail as if it were a divorce — from a wife he never married. I feel more shock than loss, but I’m grateful to be alive. However, getting shelter outside these caves will be a relief — away from all the insects.

These caves are not entirely enclosed. Light from the moon or the sun leaks through crevices in the rock above. Tonight is our second night. I write by faint candlelight. We’ve moved further in the caves since the first night, setting up camp in the broadest part of the caverns we could find. It’s still cramped but not as bad as the cabin was back on the airsail.

The mysterious creature I and some of the crew saw, we call it Many Eyes. I haven’t seen it tonight. We’re not in the same place we were before. One of the crew claims it looks like a giant millipede but with countless hairy, thin pairs of both bottom and top legs completely surrounding its body. He says it moves slowly and methodically. It would pull insects out of crevices with its legs, retracting them rapidly into its body. He did not get a sight of the creature’s length. Instead of turning around, it crept away backwards. He described its locomotion as silky smooth, with no bobbing of its eyes.

I don’t know if these descriptions of the creature help ease my mind at all. Perhaps, while curious of us, it doesn’t regard us as a potential meal. We’re much bigger than the insects, so I find it hard to believe it could swallow a man. We probably would taste a lot different, too.

Thank you for reading

This story is the fifth scene of “The Gorge,” the third short story in Schizoid Nightmares Anthology I. The previous scene is available here. The next scene is available here.

[merakiione]

-wolverine, alone-

a millipede has more faces than legs– one 

a baboon’s byzantium snarl or number two

the flutter of a hare whose back is fastened with silkworm chiffon

a stone is no more than a bullet with a back yet to be broken 

saturn’s rings shaping four elements, an ouroboros,

tongues of flame water the front yard hurricane 

scattered bolide pieces, a starshine bangle 

transcendental, we fly on buffalo back but below

do i not see you swimming there, with the 

turtle that carries a holy spirit keychain, that jungle matrix?

i search for pale blue colors but i believe swatch 6785 is best

any entity sniffing about here is coated in it, a nebulous hue

but most of us are just in search of the teapot– my teapot

the uncle that hands it to me has not changed his robes

or trimmed the hairs of his beard since his son held

the last egg, fortress of combustion and first-rate engines

these wyverns, amphipteres, wyrms, and drakes, where else

do you think the light could possibly come from? 

knuckle to knuckle, fist to fist, the phosphorescence of two eyes

arrows circling, soaring on something paper-light, paper kites 

in my iceberg palace, the cold feels no different from home’s.

hello, fellow travelers.

i have a poetry prompt for you:

the spirit world

reblog with your original poetry.

have a good early October everyone.

[saltycharacters]

[Image ID: A digital drawing of a flame leg millipede wrapped around the stem and leaves of a yellow alstromeria flower. End ID]

Tattoo design I made for a friend! 

[ramenreptiles]

Needed to take a mental break from a current custom to try something I would never have been able to do with normal clay. A flame leg millipede with cosclay legs and antennae! It looks like I can actually make invertebrates! This guy is in my shop, let me know if you all would be interested in more stuff like this.

[wormthing]

Redesigns for Rolycoly's evolution line! Design notes after the ID.

ID: A drawing of Rolycoly's evolution line from Pokemon, with some changes. Rolycoly is unchanged, a small lump of dirt and coal, with one orange eye, supported by a stone wheel. Written beneath is "coal + roly poly".

Carkoal is mostly unchanged, a grey box-shaped container supported by four brown stony legs. Its stone head is situated towards the bottom of the box, which is full of glowing coals. Written beneath is "charcoal + cart" and a small drawing of its face.

Coalossal is now shaped like the front of a train with a cart full of coal in the back. It has six stony legs and three glowing orange bands segmenting it. Its body is grey, with its face stony, three horns coming out of it, two of which are spewing black smoke. Written below is "coal-powered train + millipede", and a drawing of its face with mouth open. End ID.

I saw someone say something about how Coalossal was a really disappointing Pokemon, and it made me think back on how I was really excited to see there was apparently a roly-poly-based Pokemon, only to be kind of bewildered for it to turn into a buff pile of coal.

So, I wanted to redesign it to make it more bug-like, as well as inspired by trains, which is what my mind first goes to when I think of coal.

Rolycoly is mostly unchanged, I made the rocks along its back more of a banded pattern.

Carkoal is also not changed much, I moved its head down to look less like a platform supporting coal (which is what I thought it was originally but it turns out it's supposed to be a mine cart?) and more like a box. I also kept the wheel as a tummy and the orange eyes.

Coalossal goes back to the many-legged arthropod theme introduced with Rolycoly (even if just by name). I think it's a bit lizard-like too. It has a big chin fashioned after that grille on trains, and horns that spew smoke. The bands are for venting heat and also just to look like millipede segments.

I wanted to give the impression that it becomes less dirt-based and more metallic as it evolves. I imagine this Coalossal scoops coals and rocks in with its chin and eats them for power, and is very fast so it can be used for travel ::-)

Even though I think having a buggy Coalossal would be cool, I imagine that having two flaming many-legged arthropods (sizzlipede...) in one generation would be weirdly redundant. I also can appreciate their original designs after reading about their name meanings.