#hellbug

[cmdshiftv]

hijacking this post to be about:

Play Psychonauts 2!!

it's got one of the most compassionate portrayals of mental health I've seen in mass media, and real critiques about how mental health practitioners will often put their own comfort before that of the people they're supposed to help.

AND it balances all of that with being one of the most inventive, creative and fun games you can play. like; the protagonist is a child who quit the circus to be a therapist with the side power of explosions.

back to the post - jack black does Amazing as a voice actor playing a brain that's been deprived of sensory input for decades. the guy isn't just good as bowser, he's been a video game voice actor for quite a few things now, and Psychonauts 2 is some of his best work.

plus his level looks like this.

Just putting this here

[mwolf0epsilon]

The Umbaran Pathogen - Day 28: Oxygen Deprivation

Summary: A trap is set but Tup is not so easily fooled...

Warning: This chapter very briefly mentions the topic of incest for shock value.

It's not acted upon, just mentioned because of the way the infection process usually works (it's even specified that because the parasites infected the clones, that they had to adapt to the fact they are infecting brothers and thus have to alter the way the pair bond between the Queen/Hive Leader and Drones works so as to not cause a visceral negative and stressful reaction to their host body), there is no actual instance of this sort of gross behavior.

The author in no way condones incest nor does she support cl*necest/cl*ne-shipping.

With that said, if you are uncomfortable by just the slightest mention of this topic, feel free to skip this chapter! I will fully understand and support the decision to do so if it is triggering for my readers!

Twitch belongs to @gaeasun Pitch belongs to @lost-on-kamino

Here's what Tup and Dogma currently look like!

Prev / Next

[In which the events on Umbara are worsened by an unknown pathogen taking hold of both the 501st and 212th. These series of drabbles will follow a non-linear timeline based on the AI-less Whumptober prompt list for 2023.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

---

Despite the current situation with the cooling system, with Dogma back to his senses perhaps there was a chance to bring Tup in without as much of a fuss as they originally thought.

After calming down from his (very understandable) earlier outburst, the sergeant had regained enough of his composure to explain to them what little he'd figured out while under the parasite's control. That his heavily mutated twin's greatest priority had, in a twisted sort of way, been that of the safety of the vode. Of keeping them protected within the hive that Dogma had been instructed to construct.

Something which the medics had inadvertently disrupted, after they'd gone and taken all of the cocoons that had been stored. Further aggravating the situation by then extracting the not yet transformed clones from their chrysalides. Painting a massive target on their backs by making themselves out to be a threat, much like Krell had done with his clear disregard of clone life.

It definitely shone a new light as to why Tup had not only orchestrated such a brutal ambush on them, as well as doubled down on viciousness since Dogma's capture. Why, instead of retreating, he had begun to circle around the building more actively. Awaiting their next move while looking for any exploitable weaknesses that he could use against them.

Such as the utility sheds that housed the actual cooling system that kept the medical facility too frigid for the infected to invade.

"He still loves us... He just..." Dogma looked away sadly. Still far too ashamed of his previous actions to meet any of their gazes. Ashamed of how they had ultimately affected the medics that he had attacked while under the parasite's spell. "He just can't see that what he's doing is wrong..."

To be fair, he had more than good reason to be so hesitant. Especially considering Pitch, Coric and Sponge looked so incredibly afraid of him, now that they were awake and alert and in the same room as their attacker.

To be fair to Dogma (which they were trying, but it was just hard to separate him from the events he'd been temporarily complicit to), they all knew he didn't really want to hurt anyone. Hadn't wanted to do any of the things he'd done to them. So they sat and listened even if they couldn't help the tremor of their hands and knees.

"That's what the parasite wants." Twitch blinked tiredly, trying to shake the fog of sleep that still clung to him like a leech. He'd woken up not 5 minutes ago and still looked very much asleep on his feet, but at least he'd gotten a much needed nap.

Not enough, but just about. The needed amount to at least respond a little more quickly to the attack that was no doubt coming soon. With the cooling system disabled, the temperature in the medical facility was slowly and steadily increasing, which meant Tup would be prowling the halls in search of them.

Ready to strike them down for what he perceived as crimes against his kin. And, considering the transformation he'd undergone (which Twitch had informed them was actually much less impressive than what it would have been, had Tup not been pushed into a proverbial corner and forced himself to change so quickly in accordance to the threat), he would have no trouble killing all of them with minimal effort.

"The one advantage we have is that he doesn't know where in the facility we are..." Pitch offered. He was seated on a hoverchair, since he currently couldn't walk. "And there's enough floors in this facility that we could keep him turned around if we had a way to track him..."

"That won't work for long." Dogma shook his head, dismissing the idea completely. "His sense of smell is... Really strong."

"I take it yours is the same?" Kix asked, noting how the sergeant's antennae kept twitching and he'd occasionally pause to sniff the air like a massiff. He hadn't voiced his curiosity on the matter beforehand, but now felt like a good time.

"I uh... I can kind of smell what you're all... Feeling?" Dogma looked down at his clawed feet in embarrassment. His four hands linking together nervously as he tried to focus on anything but the group before him. "Its uh... It's hard to explain. But I can smell Tup a lot more than I can smell you...If that makes sense? It uh... It makes me feel a little weird..."

"That would be the pheromones..." Twitch shook his head. "Without the parasite controlling you, they don't have as strong an effect that they did before. But your body will still react to them... You uh, might feel a little compelled to go to him since your caste role is essentially tending to the queen..."

"So, Tup can still have affect on him? Even without the parasite?" Fives sounded a little concerned as he asked this. Which was, honestly, quite valid of the ARC. They needed to know what they'd be up against.

"He won't turn on us, if that's what you're worried about." Twitch held up a hand to reassure them all. "But the pheromones will either uh... I don't know how to explain it. They'll slow him down? Like uh, like he's been sedated. And he might feel compelled to get closer."

"I've had a look at the notes myself." Kix sighed "The pair bond between the queen and the drones is usually of uh, another nature completely. But since the parasites attached themselves to two brothers, they had to adapt to the situation accordingly. Which means the signals are all a little mixed up, but still strong."

"Oh... Oh....OH." Fives made a somewhat disgusted sound at the thought, which Dogma more than understood. If the way he shuddered and visibly gagged was anything to go by. "At least uh... Ewugh..."

"The parasites use the intellect of their hosts. The smarter the host species, the better for it to succeed..." Kix tried not to delve deeper onto the subject, which was inciting some very visceral and rightful reactions of disgust at the mere thought of that. "Which means they understand social concepts like what is and isn't taboo, and try to adhere to some of those conventions to avoid stressing the host..."

"The only thing they don't balk at is cannibalism..." Dogma sighed, feeling even sicker as he recalled what Coric tasted like.

Knowing the other might need to amputate his arm after he'd bitten off a chunk of his shoulder, made his heart more than ache. He didn't want to be the cause behind a vod's disability. Unfortunately that might very well be the case...

It was one of the things he'd done that, despite it not being his fault, he'd never forgive himself for.

"Cannibalism is ok, but I guess they draw the line at in--"

"Lets not talk about this anymore!" Rex exclaimed, putting an end to the topic altogether so that no one ended up losing their lunch. "We need a plan..."

"Working on it." Pitch grumbled as he seemed to be struggling to wrack his brain for what to do. They were steadily running out of time too, since they could now safely remove their helmets and loosen their grip on their blankets.

Tup would soon be coming to claim his kills...

"What if we use Dogma as bait?" Sponge finally spoke up, their speech slightly slurred and their voice having become incredibly nasally from their nose being broken.

"Uh?" Dogma looked towards them, blinking his two original eyes which still had eyelids (and even developed a third eyelid as well).

"Eusocial insects like ants and bees are heavily reliant on pheromones to communicate." Sponge pointed out, for once remembering a great portion of Canivete's infodumping and feeling grateful for it. "You're both eusocial insectoids right now, so even if his pheromones have an affect on you, yours surely have an affect on him as well..."

"....Hm." Twitch tapped his chin in thought. "In theory, it could work..."

"But... But I have no idea how to do that!" Dogma cried out. "How to uh, to use those..."

"It's a natural occurring thing, and not something you activate on a whim." Sponge reassured. "Just... Try to calm down and try to show you're calm. He'll be able to smell it on you."

"And then he'd be lured into a false sense of security..." Pitch realized, grinning at Sponge. "That's brilliant! If he's too busy focusing on Dogma, he won't notice us flanking and tagging him with a sedative!"

"You're uh, forgetting the part where I'm a bit of a nervous wreck right now..." Dogma pointed out, motioning to himself as he did so for further emphasis. "There's no way I'll be able to trick Tup... I've never been good at lying to him! He always figures it out!"

"We just need him to believe it for a few seconds." Coric insisted on the matter. "Nothing a few breathing exercises can't sort out... Your body will do the rest for you. You don't even have to talk..."

Clones were infamous for being naturally predisposed to be awful liars. It was something the Kaminoans and Trainers had instilled in them early on. But, sometimes, one out of 25 troopers would come out a natural born deceiver. Which came in handy on occasion, even if it did cause some infighting.

In this case, Dogma was the classical gods awful liar. But if they could get him into a state of calmness, their trap would be set and ready to be sprung. His new alien body just had to believe the lie.

"I.... I'll try..." Dogma relented.

Now all they had to do was find a place where they could easily go unnoticed while having a full visual on both Dogma and Tup. Luckily, there was one such area in this medical facility...

-

When the temperature had gotten sufficiently warm, Tup had wasted no time in entering the building that currently housed both his little brother and his prey. Stalked the halls and climbed the stairs with ears trained on any noise that was not ambient, while sniffing the air on occasion to try to pinpoint the exact location of his targets.

He was seething mad with a rage unknown to sentient kind. Blood boiling with the fury of having his twin taken from him once more, when he'd been sound asleep. His twin who was hurt and needed to be protected now more than ever.

This wicked deed would not go unpunished. Not as long as he had a say in the matter, which he did.

Tup growled as he used both his pincers and all four of his legs to clumsily climb upwards. The steps were too small and the corners too sharp for him to be anything but a graceless bantha in a china shop. His body too altered to move about in tight spaces designed for regular humanoid body-shapes.

Were he not so upset, he might find some humor in the situation. But right now the troublesome ascent was only irritating him further. Especially when his hips would bump into the railing of the stairs. At least he wasn't boxed in, in a much too tiny lift...

Pausing for a moment, head tilted back as he sampled the air for the scents he was tracking, Tup hummed in thought. This was the right floor. He just had to fumble with the door handle and then he'd be free of these infernally uncomfortable stairs.

And fumble with it he did, as he no longer had opposable thumbs to make this particular task easy for him.

He really wished Dogma were here... Except he was. Just not by his side. Once he'd been rescued he'd happily open doors for him, just as he'd happily finish building their Hive with Cody's aid. Hopefully by now the other Drone had collected all the remaining stragglers...

No one was in sight yet. As he passed the first threshold he knew his prey were hidden away. Somewhere in this... Was it an operating theater of some kind? He assumed so, since the floor plan was a little peculiar. With one big room full of equipment, and a large observation area surrounding it. He could see in through the huge glass windows which he assumed were one way.

Dogma was laying on a table. Bound and prepped for surgery.

The first thing to hit him was rage at the idea that they had been preparing to open up his little brother. His loyal Drone. The second was that it felt odd that they'd taken so long to do so... But then, Dogma was right there... And he smelled...

Shaking his head, Tup stalked forward. Trying to find a way in so that he could have a proper look (and sniff) of his brother. What he could smell from here was a sweet calmness that spurred him forward. His little brother was just there, so easily at his reach, unguarded and in no danger.

Finding a door, Tup cautiously stood between thresholds. Staring. Scrutinizing.

Dogma was awake and aware. Staring back at him. Face neutral as it should be.

But his sweet scent was slowly souring in a very familiar way that made Tup's own expression harden, and his mandibles click together as he snarled.

Dogma was afraid of Tup. This was a trap.

SCREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!

Turning suddenly, Tup took hold of the foolish medic that had thought he'd had the upper-hand. Taking great delight in the disgustingly sour surge of terror that he could smell coming off of him, as Tup's pincers easily pinned him against the wall.

Arms and legs trapped in each one of Tup's upper limbs.

In fact, he was so delighted by Kix's mistake, that he made sure to flash a sharp grin as two of his hidden tendrils pushed out of his sides and began to wrap around his pathetic little neck.

Cutting off his air supply.

"I̵d̶i̸o̵t̶.̵.̴.̴" He hissed, tail wagging excitedly as he watched Kix's face begin to change color. He was going to enjoy watching the life leave his eyes.

"Tup! Don't!" He looked back, startled by Dogma suddenly calling out to him. "Put him down! Please!"

Rather than do as asked, Tup began to squeeze harder. The flames of his rage rekindled.

"W̷h̷a̴t̶ ̵d̴i̸d̵ ̶y̷o̶u̷ ̵d̸o̵ ̴t̸o̴ ̴m̸y̶ ̴D̴r̸o̵n̵e̶,̵ ̶y̶o̶u̵ ̴d̴i̶s̷g̴u̸s̵t̶i̵n̵g̷ ̴w̶e̷a̵k̷l̵i̴n̵g̷?̵!̴" He'd make them all pay. One by one! They'd all suffer great--

"I̷ ̶S̵A̷I̶D̴ ̴S̸T̴O̷P̸!̵" without warning, something tackled him from the back, causing Tup to drop his prey and stumble and stagger.

Looking back again, to his horror, Dogma had been the one to attack him. His brother... Turned against him...

Now much more upset than before, Tup couldn't help the roar that escaped him as he charged forward. Bad Drones deserved to be taught a lesson. A very violent bloody lesson.

Even if it hurt him to cause harm to his twin...

His... He wanted to... He wanted to hurt Dogma? He wanted to kill him? That wasn't... That couldn't be right... He'd never... He... He...

K̷i̷l̶l̷.̸ ̸K̷i̷l̷l̷ ̷t̵h̵e̸ ̶b̵a̸d̷ ̴D̵r̶o̶n̸e̵.̴ ̸K̴i̶l̶l̷ ̵t̸h̵e̴m̷ ̸a̸l̶l̴.̶ ̷K̶I̵L̵L̴!̷!̷!̴

Roaring in rage, fear and confusion, Tup grappled with Dogma. The two insectoids fighting ferociously against one another, while the others watched on in horror at the unexpected turn of events.

On the floor, Kix tried to regain his breath while massaging his achingly sore throat. The grip Tup had had on him so strong he'd thought the mutated rookie was going to snap his neck. Fortunately Dogma had intervened. And was still intervening.

There was no time to sit around and recuperate. Kix had to administer the sedative otherwise they'd all be dead. Especially now that Tup looked to be completely lost to some kind of uncontrollable frenzy. One where even Dogma was a target.

Pushing himself back onto his feet, Kix waited for the right opportunity to strike.

Then, when he saw his chance, he rushed forward and leapt up onto the specialist's back. He grabbed on for dear life as the other bucked wildly and tried to throw him off, keeping a firm grip ever as he moved closer to his little brother's neck.

It was surprisingly easy to stab the needle into his neck, all things considered...

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

What’s this?? Thunder actually liking her own art?? Absurd!!!!

Anyways hellbug and eggbug because,, bugs,,,,, and also bc these don’t have text around em I’ll list my little hcs about them below:

Eggbug

Round & streamlined body, now that I think about it they remind me of water striders

Their exoskeletons are flexible to allow them the mobility they need; their abdomen’s dorsal and ventral plating are much tougher than the rest of the insect to act as an anchor for the egg-like organs on its back

They do not actually carry eggs on their back, these egg-shaped organs are nutrient storing bodies and are the softest part of the insect which is why they pop off so easily

They have small chewing mandibles to eat things like algae and minor insects

Hellbug

Raised posture, more predatory-esq, kinda looks like a moth

Due to being exposed to void fluid for so long, their “eggs” absorbed most of the fluid ingested by the insect (and became bombs as we know)

The whole insect has traces of fluid within them but it is so diluted that the majority of it is nullified and instead gives the insect a golden sheen

The underside is covered in black fur, trait gained over the passage of time and climate change

They have larger mandibles obscured by the fur on their head which would namely be used to chew through the tough chitin of centipedes

[overlord-lumi]

*a gift basket arrives for Overlord Lumi- containing candied hellbugs, two bottles of Belphagor's strongest morphine, and a set of angelic steel surgical knives- with the attached tag*

Overlord Lumi,

A little kitty told me you've been working your way up to being a proper Overlord. Souls in your control and still concerned about the well being of others? I think there's someone you should meet. We should do lunch sometime to work out the details. Come to the VokTek™ office.

-Overlord Vox, Pride's Leading Broadcaster

Lumi looks through the basket, surprised she received anything at all. A slight frown appears on her face at the words 'little kitty'. What. She didn't know any cat, let alone a 'kitty'.

Overlord Vox, hm? Perhaps she should pay him a visit. The bat reaches for a cloak, wrapping it around herself before making her way to the VokTek™ office.

[illuzijan]

🕯️

There's a level of ambivalence and uncaring that Carla holds for most people. Most people are a means to an end. Christine fell into that category despite displaying a lot of the hallmark qualities of a person Carla would respect. She's unquestioningly intelligent, cruel, and devoted to the craft.

They share those qualities. Christine's also interested in studying her, which she actually takes as a compliment. She doesn't consider Christine competition, because their ultimate goals have always been extremely dissimilar.

Christine developed an aerosol virucide to C, which Carla will not forgive her for, but also will not comment upon it either. It's a slight against her that she'll remember until it's time to take her due (she has a list).

Christine's a reason why Carla refuses outside assistance now regarding this hellbug she produces unless they are subjugate infected. She, I imagine, was also subject to Carla's stonewalling method of communication, and extreme secrecy. I don't think she was cruel to Christine either, but she was very quiet, pointedly uneasy to be around, and prone to extreme action with no trigger.

She doesn't really remember their total interactions it's been a long time.

Carla's thoughts about you

[cmdshiftv]

My cohost crimes... they know no platform.

hello people on cohost.org... AND tumblr.com?

this post is a demo of Hellbug - a tool using my library cohost.py, as requested by @stanwixbuster

this auto shares posts (including the history of reblogs!) to cohost.org, with some nice fancy tumblr styling to make it clear where it's coming from

proof of concept over, enjoy photo of my cat

[goldemas1244]

🌧 or 🌈

How long has this been in my inbox?? I feel so guilty-

Uhh... well, okay then. I'm so sorry I'm late for this one but I honestly loved the prompts. So to compensate I say, why not both?

🌧 - Draw your OC out in the rain, with or without an umbrella

Rainstorm (Ribut), the Insecticon Rebel (Transformers)

Being an Insecticon, you'd think she would be just like her mates: ruthless, greedy, and inconsiderate. Contrarily, however, she finds their nature to be insufferable, and assists the humans (most often in the Southeast Asean region) in defending their crops from her old team.

She is powered by hydroelectric energy and can withstand high voltages. Her magnetised vision enables her to see more than meets the eye. She is often seen in places suffering from droughts, guiding the storm over for them.

She transforms into a praying mantis and can only be seen rarely. However, those who have seen her claim many a praise, such as this:

"Whenever a drought occurs, or when the machines come to feed, she will bring forth the rain that blesses. As to how she knows, it is as mysterious as the rain. Thus, we call her Ribut, the rainstorm that God provides us."

When she appears longer than a few hours, however, she tells many a tale of Cybertron and the sciences. She fascinates both child and adult alike. Her wings, they say, feel like the coolest waterfall imaginable so you can tell many young villagers absolutely love the free bath.

Bonus fact: She's Islamic and likes to secretly stick around mosques.

🌈 - Draw any LGBT+ OC celebrating pride of their identity

Chevie (Camaro) Eypoh, the Genderqueen (Asphalt 8)

Not much is known about Rookie, other than the fact that she gets motion sickness, which is ironic for her career as a racer. Still, she's one of the best racers to offer and currently is racing for Chevrolet.

She goes by so many gender identities that people often call her the 'Genderqueen'. The name stuck for most of the fans, but a few of them still call her by Camaro, her preferred nickname since youth. She's fine with any name, really. Also, her preferred pronouns are she/they/he, but you can use any pronouns you'd like.

The hand-crafted suit was a personal purchase. A very expensive one, but a very good one nonetheless. While out of uniform, her colourful personality and swagger make her very popular amongst the queer community.

She's bisexual, leather pride, genderfluid, agender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, demiboy, demigirl, genderqueer, maverique, neutrois, nonbinary, omnisexual, pangender, polyamorous, and trigender. Among others. It's a lengthy list.

Bonus trivia: She REALLY wants a Bugatti but she doesn't have the money for one. Bets on either Hellbug or Chiron.

Also here are some alts:

1. Camaro without the sprinkles

2. Background (I love this happy little accident)

3. PFP (I love how it looks like she's got black lipstick on!)

Ahh, anyways thank you for the ask Arc and I'm SO sorry I got it late!

[karate-lips]

didn't have pancakes for dinner because I have some kind of hellbug making me feverish and miserable. wfh today, I pictured lab work in my mind's eye and my body threatened to collapse into dust. pancakes for lunch perhaps

[mothvalentino]

Oh, Val liked the sound of that. Spending time with Lilith at various luxurious hotels would make for a top-notch vacation.

ཐིཋྀ "Can you blame me for preferring a king-sized bed over a hellbug-ridden tent?", he asked as he stepped closer, one of his lower hands lightly settling on the small of her back, thumb stroking over the fabric of her dress.

"Or a couple's massage over having to change a tire? I know a wellness hotel that I'm sure you'd love. It has an indoor hot spring underneath a starry sky ceiling... if you float with your ears underwater, you can hear music play."

"We could book the entire spa for ourselves."

There was a time when the Morningstars ruled the entire Kingdom with a firmer hand, commanding both respect and fear. However, Val wouldn’t have known that. They had retreated from the public eye, allowing the new order to take the spotlight long before he landed in Hell.

“Steal me away, huh?” She raised an elegant eyebrow in slight disbelief and amusement, wondering if the moth demon could even manage such a feat. “I’m not sure about eloping… I didn't peg you as the marrying type.”

Jokes aside, his suggestion captivated her interest. No responsibilities, no pretenses… just an escape from it all. “A few days does sound lovely…” she murmured, unable to resist imagining such a scenario.

“I can't picture you roughing it in the wilderness. I suppose only the finest five-star hotels and luxuries will suffice,” she teased with a sly grin, twirling the champagne flute in her hand.

[coolthingsguyslike]

[moremonger]

I don’t know how long this guys been there, but I sure as hell not going to investigate any further. #hellbug #monstersarereal

[iamted7]

Moving bugs with @jp_logistics #bugatti #bugattivisiongranturismo #chiron #veyron #hellbee #hellbug (at Irvine, California)

[autisticrosewilson]

That's so cute! Marinette would be upset that she missed it if it was the toddlers first time doing anything magical. Personally I like Constanette or Maybe HellBug? Because he went by Hellblazer for a while there and I think it sounds bad ass

AU where Diana and Marinette are old friends or something. Hawkmoth has been defeated for years and her and luka or whoever have a nice life together and eventually have kids. The justice league knows of them but like, they don't interact much. Until one day Diana calls an emergency meeting and the JL walks in to find her panicking and they're like oh shit she's never scared what happened is the universe ending or something? No turns out she now has to babysit Mari's kids for a weekend. Everyone else is like well that's not so bad until the kids show up and they all have miraculous of their own (at least one has the fox because it wouldn't be chaotic enough without it, if you don't make her end up with chat maybe the black cat miraculous too for extra chaos) and the kids are just complete hellions. Shenanigans ensue. Bonus points if Mari gave them the the spell book to watch over because they don't want to leave it alone but they also can't risk taking it so the kids have access to a fuck ton of magic too.

[deadgnomebrewer]

This may be a Legendary Pennsylvania Hellbug caught on camera! #cryptid #wtf #mondaynightpranks #snipehunt #hellbug #newmyth

[avatar-dacia]

With Sense of Duty and Guilt Complex as disads, in a survival horror game, there was no way the Betrayed Veteran was going to not end up getting chewed up by something.  It remains that she will be at something short of top form until she gets some actual medical treatment, unless the team medic is really good at improvising.

[xiwangxian4everix]

My Defiance character #defiance #syfy #girl #games #videogames #trionworlds #defiancethegame #castithan #irathient #ego #warrior #gaming #hellbugs #99ners #lol #defiance2050