#Asian Paper Wasp

[rattyexplores]

Asian Paper Wasp

Polistes chinensis

22/03/23 - NSW

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - WASPS (ANIMAL CROSSING)

[Image ID: An image of the wasp in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, an orangey-yellow and black paper wasp]

This one is, while not perfect, it's pretty accurate, pretty standard! Very clearly a paper wasp from antenna to abdomen, very nice! I've seen the New Horizons model compared to Polistes dominula (Including by Nookipedia) and I was honestly tempted to say the same, however after some searching I'm actually more inclined to say this lady is closer to Polistes jokahamae!

[Image Source: KENPEI, Wikimedia Commons | Image ID: A photo of a black and almost orangey yellow paper wasp of the species Polistes jokahamae, also known as Polistes jadwigae /End IDs.]

Meanwhile, in City Folk and New Leaf, the model has a closer appearance to the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia.

[Image Source: First image, Yasunori Koide, Wikimedia Commons | Image IDs: First, an image of a black and orange Asian giant hornet, followed by its equivalent model in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which is very similar in City Folk /End IDs.]

Quite the charming model if I do say so myself! However, I do have to deduct some points, as while in the original Japanese version of the games this is apparently referred to with a term representative of hymenopterans in general, until New Horizons the English version referred to this critter as a Bee, which is, obviously, inaccurate.

The menu icons also appear a bit different to the species being represented here, with the City Folk icon looking especially like a honey bee

[Image ID: The illustrated menu icon for the "bee"/wasp in City Folk /End IDs.]

Now, in Animal Crossing, this species is one of the few species of insect that can actually harm the player, and while you may think I'd be arguing for a more positive representation of the animal here, while I would like if their benefits were put across in the game, the way they do things here is actually a perfectly understandable representation! In fact, the representation of wasps here may be more accurate than the game's representation of tarantulas and scorpions. The wasps here only attack specifically upon being provoked, when you shake the tree and the nest falls out, which I do think would in fact cause a nest of wasps to become quite agitated!

The museum curator of the Animal Crossing franchise, Blathers, also makes quite the fuss about wasps, however, he does this for quite literally any arthropod you present to him! While his comment in New Horizons could be worded better, it's fairly accurate! Blathers states that these paper wasps are aggressive predators, who hunt and eat other insects as well as almost any other kind of meat. This could be made more clear as the adults do not eat the meat themselves, however, it is specifically mentioned at the end of his paragraph that the wasps do in fact bring their prey home to their larva!

Oddly, despite the existence of honey bees as a separate species in New Horizons and the more accurate translation, their nests (Which are fairly accurately representative of Vespid nests, especially Polistes nests) are used in crafting recipes for honey bee related items like the Beekeeper's hive, Honeycomb wall, and Honeycomb flooring (Interestingly enough, the only other recipe it's used in the medicine used to fix stings)

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Overall (New Horizons): 8/10

Overall (Prior to AC:NH): 7/10 or 6/10 depending on version

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This wasp was suggested by @pizzaback , leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies or askbox!

[illwilledomen]

What can you tell me about wasps? :3c

I’m not the biggest wasp expert (just a wasp appreciator) but I can tell you about some species of wasps in Aotearoa, my home country. My favourite native wasp is the black hunting wasp, particularly for its vibrant iridescent wings. I haven’t seen many in real life though. I also like Asian paper wasps which I do see often. I like them for their darker golden colour and thicker black bands (not as pale as European paper wasps) however unfortunately they’re invasive. My favourite non-NZ types of wasp are spider wasps, Asian giant hornets and red velvet ants (name is incorrect, they’re wasps)

[adastra-sf]

The "Murder Hornet’s" Invasive Cousin Is Spotted in the USA

A social wasp from southeast Asia (and plaguing Europe for a decade), the yellow-legged hornets’ egg-shaped paper nests are commonly found in trees and house an average of 6,000 workers. To feed these workers, the hornets hunt insects... which is bad news for everyone:

This species prefers to eat honeybees.

Add the larger size of the yellow-legged hornet to their strength and thick exoskeleton, and you get a bad outcome for bees when these hornets attack.

"Vespa velutina are 'true hornets' and are exceptional predators," according to Clemson University's Land-Grant Press.

The vespa genus includes both this yellow-legged hornet and the northern giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia (aka the Asian giant hornet, or, more frighteningly, "murder hornet," for the deadly and violent havoc they wreak on bee colonies).

They're distinct from North America's wasps. Common U.S. insects such as yellowjackets and "bald-faced hornets" are sometimes called hornets, but they're not in the same genus as the Asian hornets. Crucially, those homegrown bugs don't wage gruesome warfare on bee colonies.

Most hornets prey on other insects’ larvae, and many species target nests of other social bees and wasps. The yellow-legged hornet descends upon a bee nest, kills off the workers defending the nest, and feasts on the larvae - true devastation of an entire local honeybee existence.

Note: Please don't go killing insects that look like this bad boy - native wasps and "hornets" might appear the same, but they can help control this invasive species. Report sightings instead.

More info in the NPR story: X

Screenshot from the Popular Mechanics story: X

Georgia's press release, including link to report sightings: X

[onmywaytofanfic]

Reina's Techniques Headcannons (Pt.1)

WARMING: Insect pictures

I know, I know...Reina and my whole drama around her. However, there is only one thing, one tiny, stupid, nonsensical thing about her that I have kept. HER TECHNIQUES. I think it is time to show you a little bit of what the mix of an Abruame and Uzumaki could do, and that would be Reina and ther huge training and studying on insects and chakra.

I know it is not the best or most original idea, neither it is something complete. It is still a work in progress that I thought it shoudl be time that reaches Tumblr and not just my friends on the server. Here is a small hint of what it is and a general explanation together with some insect examples of it.

She has a hive of kikaichu and has affinity with more than one insect. However, her strength relies in what she has been able to achieve through intense training and creativity. When she discovered her mother’s old book about Fuinjutsu she decided that she could honour her and her father simultaneously. Thus, it began her intense training on bug hunting, taming, and training. She has expended more than 20 years working on it, since she had 5 years, she started with it. For a bug to actually be tame it requires at least six generations for them to trust her and after the tenth she can actually start to work on what uses could that bug had.

The process

It is the same with almost every bug, those that differ I would explain them in detail. First, she needs a small community of bugs, she tries to capture at least a 100 from the same species. After that it comes the breeding, caring, and bonding with the colony of bugs. She cares after them and during that process she checks what chakra affinity does the bug have. To do so there are a few things to notice.

              Chakra affinity:

Reina started to do this with the simple paper trick that her father taught her. Sooner she found that it did not work on insects, so she thought that her idea could be silly. However, they are small, and most insects work together in a colony. That was the solution. Using multiple insects simultaneously. After many tries, she proved it, insects affinity work better when they are together, and those insects from the same family and subspecies etc… have the same affinity regardless of their place of origin. That was the most important part of her work it took her nearly 10 years to fully understand how the insects worked together and their affinity, but once it was done the rest of the project seemed and happened way easier.

  Example: Ants, Bees, and Wasps.  The three of them belong to the same family Hymenoptera, but their characteristics and affinities differed. Ants (the common one) has a fire affinity, whereas the common and humble Bees and Wasp are related to lightning. However, within the same family there are different types, order etc… Let’s put the Panda ant (a type of Wasp) and Asian Gigant hornet as examples of how they behave towards the chakra affinity and what can they do.

Panda ant wasp --- They have a huge affinity with lightning; however, females and males have a different double affinity. Females do not have wings and present a ovipositor that it is used to infect other insects, they usually stay underground guarding the eggs and helping their prole to kill the bee or wasp hive, killing all the host that are inside. Reina manifested that they also have an earth affinity, what led her to try to combine within them both chakra natures. The effects were very impressive. The insect was able to inoculate in their host their chakra mixed, dying in the process and producing a small “explosion” within the place that the host was hit with. The result could be bigger if more insects were used during the process, however, Reina abandoned the idea, it would require the sacrifice of many ants simultaneously.

Males fly and have a double affinity, lighting and wind. She tried her hardest to teach them how to use their chakra, however, they proved themselves to be more useful not just transmitting information but also as carries of other insects towards their objective.

Asian Gigant hornet – They have a fire wind affinity very fierce and dangerous. Reina tried to tame them, but they definitely seemed to be out of all the types of wasps the one that “hates” Aburame the most. It is not something related to the clan Kamizuru but something related to the Rinkaichu. Most wasp prefer to have a “main host” rather than be used by an Aburame when they see fitting, they are very proud insects, and the Asin Gigant Hornet is the most out of them. Why are not they used then? Mostly because the wasp, specially this one, have a very horrible idea off what a “host” means…they kill their host after just a couple of weeks being their hive. They are not good insects to work daily with them. Panda Ant Wasp is a little bit more chill about working, as long as they have found someone that the colony trust but using them exclusively can be a great danger for the Aburame since they work, when they want to work. Reina has summoned them plenty of times but not always they do as she tells them to…

Wasps are difficult to work with.

Reina managed to know the Asian Gigant Hornet affinity but, she can’t work with them. They prefer to go by themselves and help if they want to. She doesn’t know what she could be able to do with them.

Working routine and singularity:

Some insects work better alone, some in colonies, some smaller groups. This would help her determined how can she use them, short, middle- or long-distance combat. There is a big exception, the mantis (which will have their whole separated post).

EXAMPLES – Glasswing butterfly, Atlas Moth butterfly and Blue butterfly.

Glasswing butterflies are great for Genjutsu (I would explain the insects that she uses in a different post explaining better what they do, now I am more like getting all of you to know how she found things up). This beautiful insect works and moves in small groups. However, their action is done short and middle range. Mostly because a long-distance usage of them would definitely shorten their genjutsu capacity (the enemy could see them better).

Atlas Moth Butterfly – They are usually alone, and their best position for attack is Middle range, long distance. It may not look like that since she usually may have one in her hair, but it is only because they behave like little winged dogs, they are very caring and love to have soft pats in their wings and play with Reina and other people. They are actually a very friendly butterfly, almost like a little dog.

https://australianbutterflies.com/ab-content/uploads/2018/08/blue-morpho-butterfly.jpg

Blue butterfly – Perfect for long distance. Why? Because of how common they are, nobody suspects that the colony of butterflies near you may have an “owner”. Great to track information and even better for stealing things from the enemy. But that is something that should be work and explain in a different post.

There are only two types of insects that do not follow most of these rules, Mantis and Beetles. Not to mention nin-insects (the ones that have been seen in the show been used by Aburames). They have more than one use and they way Reina uses has nothing to do with what the Aburame code considers proper. She mixed both of her clans, and she loved the result. Specially when Aburame elders can replicate what she does, even the silliest of tricks.  

Sorry for all the nonsense, and if you have reach this ....thank you!

[elementalgod-aj]

Anthro Allies Remastered (Part 10)

Now the Third and Final Part of the Arthropods

Endoterygota

Emorrossa (Insect Queen)

Lord Hexagath (Insect King)

Sawfly

Buzza (Sawfly)

Team 

Stem sawfly

Horntail

Cedar wood wasp

Webbed Leaf

Xyelid

Megalodontes

Parasitic Wasps

Crimson the Abominable (Thistledown velvet ant)

The Hoard

P. Wood wasp 

Sirex Woodwasp

Ichneumon Wasp 

Gall wasp

Chalcid Wasp

Fairy wasp

Ensign Wasp

Crowned Wasp

Cuckoo wasp (Emerald wasp)

Velvet Ant (Cow killer)

Spider Wasp (Tarantula Hawk)

Tiphiid wasp

Scoliid wasp 

Mammoth Wasp

Cockroach wasp (Jewel Wasp)

Sand digger wasp

Cicada Killers

Ant hunter wasp

Bee wolf 

Aphid wasp

Eusocial Wasp

Queen Assaut

King Vespa

Prince Axe

Princess Strike

Warriors

Hornets

Yellow jackets

European wasps

Paper Wasps

Executioner wasps

Warrior wasps

Potter wasps

Hover wasps

Pollen wasps

Honey Wasp

Ants

Queen Amber

King Ore 

Prince Beryl

Princess Siafu

Special Forces

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

Colony

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bees

Queen Apidae

King Apo

Prince Kyle

Princess Pollen

Bee Hive

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

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

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

Pantaloon Bee (Guards)

Australian Bee (soldiers)

Daniel and Lyon (lacewing & antlion)

Xan (Snakefly)

Zip(Alderfly)

Grounder (Ground beetles)

Live wire (Telephone pole beetle)

Knock Knock (Deathwatch beetle)

Lucky (Ladybug)

Lumi-Nate (Firefly)

Adorn (Jewel beetle)

IronShell/Ira (Horned Scarab beetle)

Horns (Stag Beetle)

George Schmutz (Dung beetle)

Red Rover (Rove beetle)

Ballin (Boll weevil)

Waxer (Giraffe Weevil)

Twist (Stylops)

Twiddle (Stylops)

Harleigh (Butterfly/Moth)

Eugene (Monarch Butterfly)

Genevieve (Silk Moth)

Cassidy (Caddisfly)

Bethany (House/Horse Fly)

Pesky (Gnat/Midge) 

Zika (Mosquito)

Rome (Hover/Robber/Crane fly)

Sting (Scorpionflies)

Ichor (Fleas)

Previous/Next

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

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

OAKBOUGH: A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE STORY.

CHAPTER 10.

Read the rest of the story:

LOCATION: SOMEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA

>Meet the hacker at their location. (50% CHANCE OF ARREST)

RESULT: YOU DON'T GET ARRESTED.

"I'll go," you say. "I want to meet this hacker myself. And this is... My cause, I guess, so if anyone's going to put themselves at risk, it should be me."

"I really appreciate that," says Paul. "Here, read this over while I make some arrangements." He hands you a piece of paper.

It's a printed dossier.

You read it.

POTENTIAL CIVILIAN ASSET: Bunny Paulson

RELEVANT SKILLS: Cybersecurity, Firearms

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: Anarchist

AGE: 29

GENDER: Female

OCCUPATION–

You look up from the paper.

Paul is putting away his radio, having spoken out some encoded messages.

"Yo, Paul..."

"Yes?"

"She's got the same last name as you."

"Oh, yeah. She's my sister."

"Your SISTER? Well... Can't you just, like, text her or something..."

"That's... I don't use a civilian cell phone. The security vulnerabilities of that are tremendous, silly."

"Oh, right," you say. "The darn NSA and shit."

"Yes, precisely. So that's why I'm sending you to go say hi."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Er, no... I have my own duties to attend to. Look, here's the deal: S.O.T.M. leadership is NOT sold on the existence of Human Displacement. So all the research I've done has been in my spare time, not using Organization resources. Officially speaking, you're not working for us at all. You're just a visitor going off-base. However, you're gonna be in the same car as Handel Eisensägen, a field agent. Her official mission is to meet up with Bunny and see if she'd be willing to use her skills for our organization. I've already talked to Handel about all this and she has agreed to drive you to meet with Bunny."

"Damn, you're pretty slick," you say. "Who's really running the Sands?" you joke.

"You flatter me," says Paul. "I just know how things work around here. Though... Some people wanted me to assume a leadership role back when I was looking to get out of combat. I have, like, seniority or whatever, but also... I didn't only go into visitor relations because I'm charming. Dr. Indigo advised against it. Said I should avoid stressors if I could help it. And I think she was right! My complexion has gotten a lot better as the visitor liaison." He winks.

You laugh.

You hear the jingle of the bell on the visitors center door as it opens. Paul takes the dossier and shoves it in his pocket and the two of you go to the waiting room.

There are two people standing in the waiting room. On the left stands a white woman of average height, wearing a sports jersey, basketball shorts, and sneakers. She has a snapback on her head and aviator-style sunglasses on. Hoop earrings dangle from her ears.

On the right is a tall, strapping East Asian man wearing camouflage shorts, combat boots, and a white tank-top.

"KEVIN!" yells Paul, and he hurtles across the room, and jumps into the large man's arms. Kevin laughs as the two hug.

The woman crosses her arms.

"O-M-G you're baaaaack!" squeals Paul. He turns to you. "Mulligan! This is Kevin Sòng, my boyfriend! He was out on patrol for SOOOO LONG!"

You wave to Kevin, a smile on your face. Paul's cheer is infectious.

"Okay cool," says the woman, flatly. "Can we go now?"

You look at her quizzically.

"Oh, right," she says. "I'm Handel Eisensägen. You're Mulligan Redux, AKA Wasp Ghelsig. Paul told you everything relevant, right? I'm supposed to leave ASAP, so let's go," she says.

"Yeah, looks like I had better leave," you say to Paul. "I'm sure you two have plenty of catching up to do!"

Paul waves good-bye with one arm, the other wrapped firmly around his boyfriend.

You follow Handel out the door.

The sun shines down on the two of you from a cloudless sky.

You follow Handel as she trudges across the street over to the parking lot.

She unlocks a sports car and gets in.

You sit down in the passenger’s seat.

She turns to you.

“Okay, here’s how it’s going to go: I’m heading to go meet the potential asset and I will return here as soon as I’m done. I’m not doing any extra shit on your behalf. As long as you stick with me and don’t interfere, I’ll take you there and back. Do not do anything to attract the attention of the cops. I can’t stop the cops from arresting you, and in the event of an emergency, I will do everything in my power to avoid being arrested. The consequences of arrest are much worse for me than they are for you. Do you have any questions?”

“I guess not,” you say.

She nods and starts the car.

Top-40’s music starts playing as the car starts. Handel immediately turns it down.

Handel pulls out of the parking lot and rolls up to the security checkpoint.

The masked security guard looks at her. They nod at each other.

The guard walks over to your side of the car. They’re armed with a rifle, but they hold it casually, with a shoulder strap.

“You’re a visitor, right? Can I see your lanyard?”

You take it off your neck and hand it to them.

“Okay, this seems to be in order,” they say.

“Did you acquire any items at all while you were here?”

“Uhh,” you say, and then show them the ALCOHOL RATION CARD. The guard looks surprised. “…Why? …You know what, sorry, I don’t need to know. Uhh… Yeah I don’t think I can let you take this off-base though, it’s a bit of a security thing,”

“Okay, fine,” you say.

The guard puts the lanyard and the RATION CARD into a manila envelope and writes your name on it and tapes it shut.

They show it to you.

“We’ll keep it here for you for when you come back,” they say.

“Yeah, no problem. Not like I can use it off-base,” you say.

“Uh, true. Well, have a good rest of your day. Stay safe out there.”

“You too.”

The guard goes back to the booth and the gate opens.

Handel turns to you and hands you a bandana. “Blindfold on, please.”

You comply.

She accelerates and your head hits the headrest. Not hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to annoy you.

You can feel the air conditioning turn on, and you hear the music turn back up.

After about an hour, Handel asks you to take the blindfold off.

You’re on I-5, heading north. You pass by hotels, gas stations, dusty low hills of scrub-brush. You see an elaborate but faded sign for a theme park off to your left.

“How much further is it?” you ask.

Handel sighs. “About five and a half hours, traffic permitting.” You see that she has clipped a cell phone to the dashboard. The destination is an address in San Francisco. “364 miles,” reads the screen.

“Jesus,” you say.

“Hey, man, if you want me to drop you off so you can go back to doing normal people stuff, let me know,” says Handel.

“No way,” you say. “I’m in it to win it.”

She looks at you with a raised eyebrow. You shrug.

The landscape flies by.

Every time you see a cop car, you tense up, but none of them pay you any attention.

The upbeat music on the radio feels inappropriate, somehow.

After a couple hours, Handel exits the interstate and pulls into the drive-through entrance of a burger restaurant.

“Let’s get food,” she says.

“Is this the place that has that, like, secret menu with all the really good stuff on it?” you ask.

Handel rolls her eyes.

“Dude, just order something normal please,” she says.

“Hey, I was just asking,” you say.

You get a cheeseburger and a cola.

Handel gets a double bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake.

At the next window, she hands over a large bill and tells them to keep the change.

“Oh, how much do I owe you?” you ask.

“It’s just a burger. Don’t worry about it,” she says.

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

The attendant at the window hands over your orders.

“Aw, fuck yeah,” Handel says as she unwraps her large burger.

She eats it with one hand and keeps driving. Somehow she doesn’t make a mess. She doesn’t get any sauce on her face or drip anything on her lap.

You find your burger to be… definitely above-average for a fast food restaurant. Not the best you’ve ever had, but hey, it was ready in like 10 minutes.

After Handel finishes her burger, she crumples the wrapper and deposits it in the paper bag, then starts in on her shake.

“You must be really hungry,” you say.

Handel shoots you a look.

“We don’t get much meat or dairy at the base. We have to be as economical as possible. Plus, like half our members are vegan anyway. Me? I love me some meat.”

She sips her milkshake.

“Ice cream too. But yeah, that’s one of the benefits of missions like this. I can almost pretend to be a normal person.”

She laughs.

You don’t laugh with her. You don’t see the humor, and you feel like it would be… inappropriate? Or something.

You’re passing farmland now.

You keep passing farmland for quite a while.

Finally, you turn left onto I-580. You’re surrounded by brown hills and wind turbines that spin slowly in the hot breeze.

Like the breeze, you blow through towns that look the same, and then you meet green hills, and trees, and then the flat, infilled expanse of city between the Castro Valley and Oakland.

Highway after highway, city after town after city. You’re starting to zone out, and then you’re going across a suspension bridge.

“Is this the Golden Gate Bridge?” you ask. It doesn’t really look like the pictures you’ve seen.

“No,” says Handel. “This is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. We’re coming from the East, not the North.”

You shrug. You have no reason to know that San Francisco had TWO large suspension bridges.

Finally, you’re on city streets, surrounded by tall buildings. This is the type of habitat you’re used to.

Handel turns a corner and you notice many of the businesses have names in both English and Mandarin Chinese. ‘Must be Chinatown,’ you think to yourself.

“Okay, we’re really close, just gotta find parking,” Handel mutters.

She circles the block and circles another block but eventually finds a parking spot.

The two of you get out of the car and stretch, both cramped from the hours of driving.

Handel looks at her phone. “This way,” she says.

You follow her down a narrow street, past a jewelry store and a hair salon. She stops in front of a Sichuanese restaurant. “Here,” she says.

“In the restaurant?” you ask.

“No, above the restaurant.”

She points and you can see a couple floors of what could be residential apartments.

She walks over to a nondescript metal door with an intercom system. She presses a few buttons then hits the call button.

"Who is it?" says a voice from the speaker.

"Is this Bunny Paulson?" asks Handel.

"I'm asking the questions here," says the speaker. "Who are you?"

"I'm Handel Eisensägen, and I'm here to talk to Bunny Paulson."

"Who do you work for?"

"I'm really only here to talk to Ms. Paulson, if she's not here, I can come back another time, or-"

"Answer the question."

"To whom am I speaking?"

"Answer my question first."

"We're friends of your brother!" you blurt out.

"Shut up," Handel says to you.

"I don't believe you," says the speaker.

"That is you, right Ms. Paulson?" asks Handel.

"Where did you get the name Bunny Paulson? What 'brother?'" says the speaker.

"Your brother, Paul Paulson, gave us your name and said you could help us hack something," you say. "Handel is a member of the Sands of the Mojave and I'm just... here on a personal mission. My name is Mulligan Redux."

"You're associated with those desert Maoists? LOL," says the speaker. Handel stares daggers at you.

"Still, if you're in contact with Paul, you can't be that bad. Hold on, I'll be right down," says Bunny(?).

Handel turns to you.

“What the fuck, man?” she says.

“Hey, look, if I wasn’t here, the two of you would still just be asking questions of each other and not giving any answers.”

“Information security-“ starts Handel, but you cut her off.

“Information security isn’t very useful if it prevents you from getting stuff done.”

She fumes silently.

About 5 minutes of grumpy silence later, the door opens, and a tan woman with short brown hair wearing a black tracksuit opens the door.

“Come with me,” she says, and walks towards the door of the Sichuanese restaurant.

You and Handel look at each other quizzically but you have no choice but to follow.

You enter the restaurant, and it has a warm, homey atmosphere. “Can I get a booth?” asks the woman who you assume is Bunny Paulson, and the hostess nods. You and Handel follow her to a booth and sit down.

“This is-“ starts Handel. “We have some very sensitive matters to discuss, and I’m not sure this is the most secure-“

“It’s my favorite restaurant,” says the woman. “Besides, I’m not letting you in my apartment. It’s rent-controlled. Can’t have you messing up the place.”

‘What are we, stray dogs?’ you think to yourself.

“But-“ tries Handel.

“We either talk here or we don’t talk.”

Even though none of you have ordered anything, the waitress brings a pot of hot tea, three cups, and a plate of freshly-cooked green onion pancakes. You can smell the sesame oil.

The woman in the tracksuit starts eating a slice of pancake.

“Sho,” she says with her mouth full, “Wha doesh my brudder Paul and hish group of shandy rebelsh wan meeta hack?”

“Well, we need some data from DARPA on their research into Domino Particles,” you explain.

“You ARE Bunny Paulson, right?” asks Handel, sounding cross.

“Yesh, ovioushly,” says Bunny Paulson. She swallows. “I’ve never heard of Domino Particles. Sounds made-up.”

“Well, uh, you’ll know they’re real if you get the data on them from DARPA’s servers,” you say, trying to sound tempting.

“And what’s the Legion of Dusty Insurrectionaries gonna do with the data?” asks Bunny.

“Well, The Sands of the Mojave doesn’t really wwnt that data,” says Handel. “Mulligan wants it for personal reasons. But if you’re able to get it, that would be really impressive to my superiors, and you’d be totally free to work with us on some really cool, revolutionary projects,”

“I’m not interested in working with a vanguard party,” says Bunny.

“We don’t think of ourselves as a vanguard party. We are not an officially Marxist-Leninist organization. In fact, we have members who belong to a variety of political leanings!” says Handel in a cheerful voice.

“If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it’s probably… a duck,” says Bunny.

She eats another slice of green onion pancake, dipping it in the provided dish of black vinegar sauce.

“Can I have one?” you ask.

“Yeah sure,” says Bunny.

You bite into a slice. It tastes oily, salty, and of course it has the aromatic flavor of green onions. It’s very good, even compared to all of the ones you’ve had back in Chinatown in New York City.

You love Chinese food, no matter what side of the continent you’re on.

“I order the same thing every time, so now they just bring it to me when I come in,” Bunny explains.

You sip some tea. It’s a mild, flavorful green tea, not too bitter but full of grassy aroma.

Handel looks anxious.

“Er… We… I just want to accomplish things, revolutionary things, and since I joined the Sands of the Mojave, they’ve helped me do that, you see?” she says.

“Hmm. I see,” says Bunny, not seeming impressed. “Mulligan, tell me more about your ‘personal reasons’ for wanting to steal data from DARPA.”

You clear your throat. “Ms. Paulson… Have you ever heard of Human Displacement?”

She scoffs and dips the last slice of green onion pancake in black vinegar sauce. “I’m pretty sure it’s some fake thing that Paul used to talk about. Like a conspiracy theory or something.”

“Well… It’s not science fiction. It’s science fact. It’s caused by DARPA experiments, and we need to get all their data on it so we can stop them.”

“So you’re just another conspiracy theorist?”

“No. I’m a victim of Human Displacement.”

Bunny raises an eyebrow.

“How am I supposed to believe THAT?”

That rankles you.

“Look, if you’re such a great hacker, why don’t you look up the government records and, and social media shit, and all the information on Wasp Ghelsig and Mulligan Redux? Compare them. The data will show the same person in two different places at the same time. I AM Mulligan Redux and I have displaced Wasp Ghelsig from reality. It happened. Now their whole history has been overwritten, but I promise, it won’t make sense. DARPA fucking teleported me to California and now Wasp Ghelsig doesn’t exist anymore!”

You’ve raised your voice now. And you’re saying things that you’re pretty sure of, but you haven’t verified for yourself.

“Control yourself,” growls Handel.

Bunny Paulson is typing on her phone. Is she that bored with your predicament?

“Maybe this whole thing was a waste of time,” says Handel, and she starts to get up.

“What the hell?” says Bunny, staring at her phone. “One person… in two different places. At the same time. But that’s impossible…”

She types rapidly on her phone screen.

“These two passports’ photos were taken on the same day, in New York and California. But they are the same person.”

“…Are you illegally accessing government records with your cell phone?” asks Handel.

“I’m just that good,” says Bunny, still looking at her phone.

Bunny looks at you.

“I need to look into this more. What was the name of that particle?”

“Wait, are you gonna do it? Are you gonna hack DARPA?” you say.

Bunny smiles.

“You bet I am. No half-measures. This is something reeeeeal interesting. And you know what? When I’ve gotten some results, I’m gonna deliver the data personally. It’s gonna take a few days, but… Tell Paul that his big sis is gonna come visit.”

Handel Eisensägen looks from Bunny to you, apparently at a loss for words.

“It’s called the Domino Particle,” you say.

Bunny stands up and puts a bill onto the counter.

“Get outta here, I gotta do some real research.”

Handel speaks up. “Uh, how will you know where to go to visit us? Hold on, I can give you my phone number, and we’ll arrange to meet and rendezvous so we can escort you-“

“No need,” says Bunny. “I always know where Paul is. Your cybersecurity is good, but not good enough to stop me from keeping tabs on my brother. Just tell them to expect me. Brown pickup truck, license plate CYBRFUK. Now scoot,” she says, and starts walking out of the restaurant.

“Wait!” says Handel, and follows after her.

You follow as well.

Outside the restaurant, Bunny is heading towards her apartment door.

Handel is protesting, but Bunny is sismissing her.

“You can’t just show up! We have security procedures, and-“

“You can bend them for me. And you can tell your leadership that if they give me a reasonable request, I might procure some data for The Dust of Death Valley. I will be speaking to Paul first, though.”

Bunny types a long code into the electronic lock on her apartment building, and opens the door.

“Bye-bye! See you in a few days!”

“You can’t-!” says Handel, but the door has closed and Bunny has walked away.

Handel shakes her head in disbelief, her jaw slack, her gold hoop earrings flailing back and forth.

She’s silent for a moment, then she clenches her jaw shut.

“Let’s go,” she says through gritted teeth, and turns around and strides in the direction of the car. You follow after her.

In the car, Handel silently fumes for a minute.

“You okay?” you ask.

“That was a disaster,” she says.

You shrug. “I think it went fine,” you say. “She may be a bit unconventional, but it looks like she can really get results.”

Handel looks at you incredulously.

“SHE was difficult, stubborn and insulted the organization. YOU were reckless with information and yelled at her! AND we just found out that Ms. Paulson has compromised our operational security!”

“I don’t think she’d give out the base’s location. She just wants to make sure her brother is safe.”

Handel looks away from you and starts the car.

The music comes on and she turns the volume way up, as if to drown you out.

The drive back feels like it takes forever. The two of you don’t speak to each other.

As you’re heading South down I-5 you see a beautiful sunset.

By the time you get back to the base, the sun has set.

The security guard returns the lanyard and the alcohol ration card to you.

Handel parks in the parking lot and grips the steering wheel.

“Get out,” she says. “I need to write my report, and I don’t want to see anyone.”

She reaches past you and takes a pad of paper and a pen out of the glove box.

You get out of the car.

You shake your head and walk back the visitors center.

Paul is very surprised when you tell him what happened.

“Seriously? Wow. Well… On top of everything, I guess what surprises me most is… I never thought she would ever come visit me at a Sands of the Mojave base,” he says.

He shrugs. “I guess I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Yeah I… I guess all we can do now is wait. I don’t know how long ‘A Few Days’ is,” you say, making quotation marks with your fingers.

The canteen is still open, so you hurry over for some dinner.

DAYS UNTIL BUNNY PAULSON’S HACKING IS DONE: 3

STATS:

AGGRESSION: 5

CAUTION: 5

HOMOSEXUALITY: 5

ENDURANCE: 5

SKILL: 5

INVENTORY:

CASH: $50

MULTI-TOOL

S.O.T.M. ALCOHOL RATION CARD

EQUIPMENT:

SUNGLASSES

T-SHIRT

JEANS

HIGH-TOP SNEAKERS

S.O.T.M. VISITOR CARD

[fox-the-artist-fruit-canid]

Similar face,but not the same

Remember i said long ago that i would redesing mis to differentiate him from the other timeline? Aka FFPO

Welp...here he is! This is Misael(Mis is the abrebiation to his name in the FFPO cannon) or shortly Ael.

He is a mix in between of like 3 diferent wasp or hornet species starting with the asian giant hornet.

Next the filipino hornet.

And last but not less important the warrior wasp

.

.

.

Personality

So taking that apart Ael could only be decribed as a backstabbing double faced poisonous viper due to his manipulative manners and fake friendly attitude.

Afther all don't let that wide kinda warm smile fool you since is the fakest thing you will ever see in your whole life,still it looks so true that is imposible to know unless you can ser straight to his soul.

Ael is an master manipulator aswell a mythomaniac and a pathological liar.

Aswell a bastard that will even get into a relationship for his own benefit and won't doubt to use people he knows as his expiatory goats if he is in some kind of trouble.

He is a pretty good actor and has it easy to fake something that is by far true,he can play the paper of a victim pretty easily and suddenly change it to a happy and energic person out of nowhere.

Tho his true personality is cold,uncarring n kinda letargic in complete contrast with his more energic,happy and carring fecade,as well the actual Ael is rude and crude at the moment of expresing things.

He sometimes is a bit egocentric and a narcisist in nature but is pretty unusual,he tends to appear calm but he gets anoyed pretty easily making him short tempered.

Relations

The relations he makes with his poor range of friends or his lil family are slightly seen as something more than just useful for him and he truly dosen't bother that much if something happens to someone close to him.

Maybe he does care more than usual if it has something to be with his brother but outside that,someone could die and he simply wouldn't care.

His ralation towards his father is the same maybe even more hateful,his ralation with his mother is aswell similar,while the relation with take his brother is more likely neutral since Ael dosen't interact that much with him.

Still despite being Ael who raised Take since their father didn't care that much for them their relation isn't that warm or loving like the FFPO Mis family dinamic is.

He only has two friends on this timeline Zbra kinda his partner and most loyal follower as well who Ael uses to satisfy his bloodlust with since Zbra is kinda like a walking bloodbag.

And Cherry his right hand an female shrimp mantis hibrid that is the one that helps him in almost anything even on misions,she knows who Ael is truly down his mask but she could be more careless since she knows in her case Ael won't betray her.

As for frenemies there are both Saeri and Y they get along with Ael but they can sence someting odd in him so they decide to better not get that comfy around him.

And there also enters Toxik tho i bet he would know who and how he truly is down the mask but similar to cherry he wouldn't care but will be cautious,afther all Ael has nothing on his counter so the wasp would not harm him.

Other issues

He has an antisocial personality disorder wich makes him pretty much reckless and in many ocasions irresponsible of his actions,as well half the reason for him manipulating the people around him.

He has an drinking problem and a suspected but non confirmed drug addiction,aswell an stealing habbit things he ofthen denys the existence off but in some ocasions they can be a bit to obvious to deny.

He lost both his antenae and eye in a fight with an very prepotent elite that attacked him without taking in count the consequences and left him half blind and witout antenae said fight is also the origin for the other scar on his face.

Ael could be cosidered both a vampire and a cannibal since he dosen't have issues on consuming irken blood or meat,tho he is more of a vampire that enjoys consuming irkens like capri suns.

He has anger issues but they are controled since Ael maneges them with medicines and his own method of therapy wich is hiting walls,hard objects or things like punching bags and training manequins until his anger is washed out.

Ael still has the illness but he uses his acting skills to fake he is alright when in reality he is actual agonaizing pain,said pain sometimes is way to much to fake out and his acting could have breaks that make obvious his pain.

Ael didn't passed trough the incident in fact that day an beloved elite called olive died since he didn't intervine like the actual mis did.

Work facts

Ael still works as an active imperial exterminator the reason why he carrys the elite mark on his eyepatch as well more prominent armor pices in his cloak.

Ael is at the moment the captain of the order alpha of exterminators tho to get there...the way had to be painted in blood...still he finally arrived to the status he has now but at the cost of a high price of pink blood.

In fact if you get to close to him you would be able to smell the blood out of ael as well the strong but sweet perfume he uses in tries to cover the smell of the blood.

Due to his habit of eliminating elites due to his hatred towards them for the incident of his eye he won the tittle of elite anihilator,name given by elites themselfs when they had to report the disapearence of several elites provoqued by a unknown perpetrator.

Insect parts and poison facts

He can and will spit venom at your face if he feels threatened as well his fangs contain a small dose of his poison that acts more like an anesthetic.

The horns and sharp ends of his elbows are remobable bia breaking them out,this parts are secondary stingers that contain less venom than the principal stinger but are strong enough to cause an extreme wave of pain and a big poisoning.

The principal stinger that is at the extreme of his tail has the bigger dose of venom in it wich,is a neurotoxin kind of poison that if inyected many times it can cause an anaphylactic shock even to non alergic people followed by a complete organic failure.

The firts sting is always the strongest and potentialy lethal while the sencodary stings are to reinforce the first one.

Said organic failure caused by an acelerated sepsis kind of process that leads you in a pain and agony sesion of arround 20 minutes of duration till your decease.

Tho the times he has to sting someone per day to get to this point are arround 5 times the maximum,times he can sting without felling tired or without any adverse affect such as fatigue or muscular pains.

The stinger needle can be lost if sting reach to 8 in the same moment a very painful and tiring process,tho the needle can regenerate it takes several weeks to regrow to its total length while the secondary stingers late around 10 to 12 days to regain their full lenght.

Ael's tail makes a tik n tok sound when it moves from lefth to right sometimes to signal he is nervous or is growing anxious,as well is a treath or signal of anger specially when the sound and movement are fast.

His wings can bibrate and high speeds producing a drumbing kind of noice that functions to be threat and a warning of the "fuck around and find out" kind since he only does it when he is really angered or anoyed and has had enough.

His tounge is similar to the one of a snake and functions similarly since it can be used to detect potencial prey or other creatures around him as well a smell detector to things like blood,he sometimes blebs it unconciously when something cought his attention.

Fun fact: if Ael and the normal Mis coexisted in the same space they will be constantly fighting Mis triying to protect his and his loved ones lifes from him and Ael will be triying to eat his counter part since 2 of the especies he is based on usually eat bees.

Fun fact 2: i made this fucker with the mindset of hating him but now i think he is stuck with me

---

Aniway remember to touch grass and drink water

Fox out

[onenicebugperday]

@pyroaconitine submitted: also for the sake of giving wasps some much needed love, here is another one I met a while ago munching on some bottlebrush. Same location if you'd like to ID :o)

Precious little friend! She is an Asian paper wasp, which is unfortunately invasive in Australia, but she doesn't know she's committing crimes, so we still love her :)

[bogleech]

The ludicrously overblown “murder hornet” sensationalism is still affecting some bug communities with new people coming in every day to ask if an ordinary native hornet, yellow jacket or paper wasp is the Asian Giant and I don’t think people understand what “giant” means here. You would KNOW if you saw one, trust me, 1000% guarantee you would never forget the experience because this is a size comparison with honeybees:

[saturniidays]

Concerning the Asian Giant Hornets

I don’t know if anyone has heard of how the Asian giant hornet being spotted in the Washington state area in the U.S. but yeah that’s happening now. 

Currently there are concerns about these wasps decimating already fragile bee populations but luckily they haven’t established yet. There is still a chance we can contain them. 

What I am concerned with right now is how this will impact views on wasps in general. There are so many fearmongery articles about the hornets right now calling them “murder wasps” which is completely unnecessary. They are capable of killing people, but so are honey bees. 

There are displays in the entomology department at my school calling spotted lantern bugs “evil” and “insidious.” Not even exaggerating. It’s kind of disappointing especially from these people who have enough interest in insects that they would study and teach about them for a living. And that is for a hemipteran. Imagine a hymenopteran. 

Obviously we need to fight invasive species. They will do real damage.

But I am going to use this as an opportunity to educate. What exactly is an invasive species? Why are they bad?

An invasive species is a species that is not native to an area that has detrimental effects on the environment where it arrived. This usually happens when they outcompete a native species or if they prey directly on a native species. 

Species evolve when put under pressures in their habitats. Predation and competition are major pressures. To get around these pressures, species go through natural selection for certain traits which give them an advantage, a bonus to their fitness. But other species are also going to go though natural selection to be able to compete with the others. This will keep going. 

For example, the rough-skinned newt became more toxic to stop snakes from eating them. Garter snakes started becoming more resistant to the toxin. As a result the even more toxic newts get selected for, and the more toxin resistant snakes become selected for.  These species will be suited for competing with each other. We call this an “evolutionary arms race.” This is supposed to happen. It keeps species from becoming too prevalent in their populations and using all the recourses. 

So when you bring a species to a new area, and its natural controls are suddenly gone, there is nothing stopping it from taking full advantage of the resources in its newfound home. 

For example, many people released their pet pythons into the Everglades in Florida. These pythons and the mammals that live there never went through the evolutionary arms race together. Therefore, the mammals never evolved traits which would help defend them from the pythons, and nothing there ever evolved to prey on pythons. The pythons found themselves in a place where food was abundant and easy to catch and they have no control on their populations. They are a massive problem for the Everglades, but that doesn’t make the snakes evil.

I can already see a bunch of people on the internet posting pictures of like paper wasps or whatever and asking if they are AGHs. This fear of AGHs is going to sour the already terrible relationship humans have with insects and I just really don’t want to see that happen. If you have doubts it will and I’m worrying about nothing, I sincerely hope you are right. 

tl;dr These hornets are animals. They don’t understand ecology. They don’t know what they are doing. All they know is that they have found themselves in an environment they can thrive in and are naturally going to do that. We need to prevent them from establishing, but that doesn’t make them evil.

Edit: I also want to throw out there that just like coronavirus, these hornets are not an excuse to be racist.

[bm-asian-art]

Grapevine and Wasp, Chikuseki, ca. 1900, Brooklyn Museum: Asian Art

Size: 9 1/4 x 9 1/16 in. (23.5 x 23 cm) Medium: Color woodblock print on paper

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/173693

[whitepassingpocs]

I know your thoughts on the "white passing = white" sentiment on social media. However, I have also seen people (some white and some non MENA poc) saying that Middle Easterners and North Africans are also white and want to know what you think. It makes me bitter - especially since not all of us look white and face racism. Those of us who look white also have similar features as our visible siblings (though lighter skin). idk what to feel or do

(cont) I know I am otherized overall even with my appearance. But many MENA people are ethnically ambiguous and we never had one set look - even within our own families. I get a lot of passing privilege but have been told by white and non-white people in the past that I look like a poc as well. I hate the space this puts us in.

I hate the term "white passing" because it makes it seem like we are trying to pass as a different race than we are. The term specifically comes from "passing for white" in the African American context, which is really specific. I prefer saying that I am a "white perceived" poc or a poc "perceived as white". I know that is not everyone's opinion but I think it helps frame both the fact that I am involved in my culture and that I know that I benefit from colorism in my community bc of my yt looks

(cont) Even people I go to school with are following accounts who actively insist that MENA people are white. One account actually used outdated racial science and miscontextualized history to make her point and yt people just eat that up (WHILE STILL OTHERING US IN REAL LIFE). I am so tired of people telling me how we should identify our own oppression. We may not have the same race experience as Black or Indigenous people BUT we still face racism and race based trauma :/

I am sorry for typing so much. I just don't see erasing an entire group of racialized people as woke. :/

hello! there’s a lot to unpack here so i will do my best!

first of all i am Arab-Australian, so I do very much understand your frustration. the racial status of Arabs in Western countries is contentious and inconsistant and its designed that way deliberately to uphold white supremacy.

Many Arabs were forced to identify as white in the West to gain asylum in places such as North America and Australia. However, while we were white on paper, we are not treated as white, especially in a post 9/11 landscape. but legally and historically Arabs were classified as white in order to enter the USA. here in Australia, many Arabs claimed whiteness by saying they were christian in order to be accepted as part of the White Australia policy.

Racial identity is very complex. you need to remember that there are different racial contexts outside the usa and while the term “white passing” may have originated in the AA community in the USA, here in Australia the term WASP passing was also used. terms like “white passing” have also been used in Asian communities for decades. use whatever term you’re comfortable with, but u should maybe ask yourself why you have an issue with the term specifically being associated with Black Americans. 

Please, block those accounts/ppl gaslighting MENA peoples in regards to racism. its incorrect and a quick google would tell these people that. you aren’t responsible for their ignorance. direct your energy to supporting the MENA diaspora activists currently working to change the census status of MENA people to better reflect the communities’ experiences with racism. 

redirect your bitter energy into supporting people working to change what is angering you. also follow people who don’t racially gaslight and erase multiple ethnic cultural and historical communities. follow mena activists, influencers, etc. 

“white passing” is not identifying with your oppressor. its simply acknowledging you have a degree of privlege, due to systemic oppression. also it would serve you well to actually research race histories outside of the usa because it may help you understand how contextual labels are. 

hope this helps! x

[thebutterflybabe]

ATTENTION!!! PLEASE READ!!!

There have been many articles circulating the internet on the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) that are causing panic among citizens of North America. The articles I've read are blowing this situation way out of proportion along with headlines that perpetuate fear. Here's what you need to know.....

In the fall of 2019, there were sightings of these hornets in British Columbia, Canada. Shortly after a nest was located and destroyed. Some additional sightings (not all confirmed) of individual hornets were found across the Canadian border in Washington State, USA. So far, that's all we know. This is something to keep an eye on (and believe me when I say the Washington Department of Agriculture is watching closely), but there is nothing to currently suggest there are additional colonies or that they'll be able to establish themselves in the United States or Canada.

Part of the hype from news articles, with these wasps, is their potential for harm on humans. They have a painful sting and a large venom load. Due to their ability to sting repeatedly and in numbers, they kill as many as 50 people per year in Asia. To put things into perspective, according to CDC reports, stinging insects have killed an average of 62 Americans each year between 2000 and 2017 with a low of 43 deaths in 2001 and a high of 89 in 2017. Asian Giant Hornets, just like any social wasp or bee, are most likely to sting when too close to or disturbing their nest. So, in most cases they are of no concern to the health and wellbeing of humans.

Next, there's the concern that they kill honey bees. Asian Giant Hornets, like other social wasps, hunt insects for their young (larvae). In addition to other insect prey, they are known to target honey bee colonies and will kill the bees as a food source for their larvae. The hornets will also, on occasion, take honey as a food source for the adults, but the primary reason for attacking the hive is for larval food (bees). In the United States, honey bees are basically livestock and their main purpose is to pollinate crops that are technically non-native plants that our native bees either don't pollinate or don't pollinate as effectively as honey bees....especially almonds (native to Iran). One of the concerns, in the United States, with the honey bees is the belief that they are endangered or still in decline which is not true. They were never endangered or even close. Their numbers declined some for a few years, which caused some concerns. This then got blown out of proportion by the media. Their numbers are in better shape now than they were before the reports of decline more than a decade ago.

Understand, I'm not trying to demonize honey bees in the United States. We need them for agricultural/economic reasons, but they are also, just like this hornet, a non-native, social stinging insect, in the same order of insects as this hornet. Honey bees are causing harm to our environment by causing competition for food with our native bees (some of which actually are endangered). Furthermore, honey bees are killing more humans here in the United States than the Asian Giant Hornet in it's native environment.

So, to wrap this up....

-There has only been one confirmed nest and a small number of confirmed sightings in the U.S. and Canada.

-Department of Agriculture in Washington (and other states) are watching this closely.

-If there are more populations, understand that they don't target humans and only sting in defense of their nest.

-Because monitoring this situation is important, please report sightings to the Department of Agriculture for your state/location. Educate yourself on how to identify this hornet and take photos, if possible. If you find a dead specimen, keep it for proper ID. Please don't kill beneficial creatures out of fear or a lack of education about this insect. There have been many false reports where people have killed and reported paper wasps, yellow jackets, cicada killers, as well as other beneficial wasp and non-wasp species believed to be the Asian Giant Hornet.

Additionally, If you want to be involved in a "Save the Bees" campaign, plant lots of native flowers/plants that support our native bees. Thanks for reading and being a part of ABG2K.

Via: All Bugs Go To Kevin

[cupofkey]

I’ve personally been wondering about this for a while, and because you’re Vietnamese, I thought I’d ask you. Should Vietnam be colored darker in both cannon and fanart? Because as far as I know South and Southeast Asians are typically darker then East Asians. But I’m not Asian period, so I was wondering what your thoughts were.

hi anon! that’s a good question! the thing about stuff like this is that countries have millions of different people in them who can fit any kind of appearance, so we obviously have to keep that in mind. groups of people are not homogenous. with that being said, I feel like a lot of people in this fandom need to reexamine how they portray skin color, period. canon is super questionable and I don’t know why yall can’t just google “[nationality] people”... (like, people drawing India/Seychelles super pale, drawing characters like Spain or Turkey with a really dark tan but it’s not bc they have a bipoc headcanon for them, they just...??? ??? didn’t google what people from those countries look like I guess? don’t know what just a tan looks like? idek. dont get me started on the whole drawing turkey as a completely different ethnicity to play into how evil and bad he is. if this is a miss lmk but it genuinely bugs me.)

... anyways my potentially problematic take aside. I would say reject canon skin tones for the asian characters, period, because even with the east asians they’re much lighter than the Normal People from those countries. and I mean real, actual people who don’t necessarily conform to the beauty standard of “light skin = good, dark skin = disgusting bad”

let’s look at hws china and then... actual chinese people

hmm....

hmm 🤨🤨

hmm. well, I think that answers your question anon 🥶

lol but fr though. fuckin look at that shit. this is not an actual comprehensive google search ya know?? this is literally me looking up the first 20 results for “vietnamese people”. we are obviously not all paper-white, and if you look past the heavily edited photos for the ones of Real Actual Viet People, you will see that almost none of us are pale. like, I myself use these 🖕🏽🤌🏽 emojis because... thats my actual skin color 😭😭😭

anyways this was a whole rant. but my number one point is to use your critical thinking skills and do your own research when you’re portraying characters. question your preconceived notions of different ethnicities. like, I’m not saying draw all the east asians super tan— but I’m not saying to draw them extremely pale either, I just think yall should actually take a look at reality. it’s very disheartening to see art of the east/southeast asians where they’re nordic-wasp-pale when that’s a mostly unreachable beauty standard that genuinely tortures us 😭😭

[zertzertzhang]

Stand and Deliver: My Life Turned Upside Down CH.2

A/N: This is my first time writing on Tumblr, so please bear with me! I am usually active on FFNet and AO3, but since this fandom is basically nonexistent except for here, I thought maybe I could post my works for this movie here. The story is a fanfic based on the 1988 movie ‘Stand and Deliver’ starring Edward James Olmos, and taking a deeper look into the lives of the impoverished students in East LA.

Eventual Angel/OC, and warnings of racial slurs with some physical violence.

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First chapter link here > https://zertzertzhang.tumblr.com/post/627185848305270784/stand-and-deliver-my-life-turned-upside-down

Chapter Two: Circus

The second Vianne stepped out of the car, she realized her mistake. The school wasn’t what she expected at all. Garfield High broke the scale...in a bad way. Chipped walls decorated the main hall, flooded with overflowing trash bins and rusty pipelines. It had to have been decades since the last renovation, with the building looking like something she saw from abandoned prefectures. 

Like all other complexes she’d seen around there, the place was standing on its last two feet. This was supposed to be the best building around. 

Her white Giuseppe sneakers stepped on something sticky, and it was a challenge to hold in a disgusted snort. There was dried gum everywhere on the sidewalk, making Vianne wonder why they even bothered with trash cans in the first place. She winced when it was clear that her shoes would be torn to shreds by the end of the day.

Then came the worst part of her arrival; people stared. And it wasn’t some half-assed look you gave to a passersby on the streets. Students were either throwing her a look-over or straight on gaping. It could’ve been the way she was dressed, or the fact that she was probably the only Asian mingling in the midst of Latinos and very few Caucasians. Most likely both.

Ironed blouses and slim denim were not in fashion around here. Among the rest of the population with oversized shirts and baggy mom jeans, Vianne was the runt of the litter. She wanted to jump back into the car, go home, and put on an invisibility coat. The dirty look she saw from some of the girls did nothing to calm the queasy storm in her stomach.

“-That fresh meat?”

“It’s a fuckin’ chink. What’re they doin’ here?”

“Heh, looks like a lost puppy.”

The boys were doing a terrible job at whispering. Vianne wasn’t sure if it was an attempt at passive aggression or just plain stupidity. She glared in their direction, lips pulled into a slight frown as she entered the building. A cold sweat broke through her back, stretching its spindly fingers around her body in a tight cocoon. 

Ignore them and get on with it.

Her mind screamed at her to keep walking, and she obliged. Repeating the mental mantra, Vianne soon found her way into the main office with her slip in hand. A handful of police officers crowded in one tiny space, speaking in rapid Spanish. Order did not exist in this school; the secretary was talking to five people at once, without the time to think about the things she said. Voices filled with agitation hung in the air. 

Vianne was this close to thinking she had entered the wrong room when a small figure spotted her from behind.

“Miss? Can I help you?” A small tap on her shoulders sent her whirling around in alarm. Her little outburst startled the short woman behind her as well. When Vienne finally registered the lack of threat in front of her, her cheeks flushed bright red.

“Sorry! I’m looking for Racquel Ortega. It’s my first day and I was told to come here to get my finalized schedule.” The young woman spoke so fast she swore her lips would fall off. 

The curly-haired woman in the maxi dress looked surprised. “Ah, that would be me. Are you Vianne Yang.”

Vianne nodded. “I was supposed to meet my TA instructor for math. It’s my first period.”

Ortega smiled warmly. “Yes. Welcome to Garfield High. Please follow me.” She held out a hand, and Vianne shook them without hesitation. 

The duo weaved back and forth in the crowds, desperate to dodge the flying paper balls. Ortega would yell once in a while at a group of boys before pointing to the office behind her. The way her docile demeanor went from zero to a hundred freaked the young woman a bit. But Vianne couldn’t blame her. Had she been in her shoes, she would’ve quit before she even started.

As it turned out, her instructor was a retired engineer. Of all places, Vianne didn’t expect that to come from a high school teacher, particularly in this neighborhood. Ortega did an excellent job at filling in the details. It would seem that Jaime Escalante needed a breath of fresh air from the corporate environment. 

Vianne almost felt sorry for him. There was no relaxation here; she’d be surprised if the teachers weren’t dropping dead from exhaustion because of the students. Garfield, from what she’d seen so far, could drive a devout nun to insanity. 

The increasing voices of everyone around spiked her anxiety to new levels. She was doing her utmost best to not break down and cling onto the older woman for dear life. The mass of bodies was like an unforgiving current, threatening to wash her away if she slipped up.

They reached a door with the sign ‘Math 1A’ scribbled on the whiteboard next to it. Someone had decided that a drawing of a dick was appropriate to be placed right under the description. The person even added a smiley face onto the artwork, showcasing their enthusiasm. Real classy. 

“Racquel please come to the front desk. Racquel please come to the front desk.” Ortega’s walkie-talkie crinkled pitifully, before choking out a command. The math advisor sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She nudged Vianne closer to the door. 

“Here’s the classroom. Mr. Escalante should be there already. Good luck with your school year.” A tight smile appeared on Ortega’s face, and within seconds, she was making a mad dash back to the main hall. All alone, Vianne was left standing there feeling like a complete fool. She blinked at where Ortega was previously, and the sense of dread overwhelmed her. On cue, the bell rang its warning. Everyone groaned in unison like a chorus before the wave of students began flowing into the classrooms. 

Lucky for her, she had no need to run to class. Grabbing the nob with renewed strength, Vianne pulled herself into the room. There was one person at the front desk; a middle-aged man nearing his sixties stood near the chalkboard, hand moving furiously as he wrote down an equation. She prayed that this was going to be the right person.

“Mr. Escalante?” Vianne cringed at her pronunciation of his name. She herself knew what it was like when people screwed up hers in the past. But this man had an entirely different level of difficulty. Ortega’s way of saying it felt so natural compared to hers, which sounded like an insecure toddler butchering their first word.

The man turned his head to face Vianne, eyes widening a fraction. His oversized glasses gave him a sage-like appearance despite the head, or half-head, of dark hair. The bald spot in addition to his very casual attire made her think of a grandpa who was likely to yell at the kids across the lawn. 

At the sight of her dumbstruck state, he quirked his lips. “Yes, how may I help you?”

The slight South American accent trailed after his speech, giving away his ethnicity. Vianne felt her mouth open and close, but the nervousness took the words from her mouth. She stuck out her hand that held the transfer letter. Escalante better have known about this, or she’ll flip a lid.

“I’m Vianne,” she explained. “Your TA. I think Mrs. Ortega already told you about me?”

Escalante’s brows rose to new heights, his amused smile broadening. “Yes! Miss Yang, is it? Welcome to my class!” The elongated hiss in his way of speech, coupled with the wild gesture of his arms painted the picture of a mad scientist in her head. It was nearly endearing.

“I’m afraid there’s not enough chairs for an extra student,” Escalante said. “Please stand here and wait for everyone to arrive so I can take a headcount for the others.”

Vianne obeyed without a word and flattened herself against the wall next to him. In response, the door was barged open, and the group of students flooded the room like a swarm of wasps entering their hive. Restless chatter buzzed her ears as she took note of everyone that rounded the class. It was hard to catch what most of them were saying; Spanish wasn’t the language requirement she took back in Napa.

Knowing French wasn’t the best course to help her in this situation. And even then, she only took it up to level two. The people before her all wore the same dazed expression, jeering in loud volumes and hooting on the sides.

Someone shot a rubber band across the room, hitting one of the boys square in the face. Angry shouts erupted from both sides as the rest of them began to laugh at the brawling duo. More paper balls were thrown, and Vianne could hear some of them yelling ‘bitch’ to one another.

It was a fucking joke. The whole class was a joke––scratch that––the whole school was a joke. And Vianne was the poor audience that bought the overpriced ticket to the hellhole circus. There was not a word that could describe the boiling feeling in her gut. She couldn’t believe it; this was the place she had to deal with for another year. 

There was no way the teachers here could’ve survived each day without going into a catatonic state before school ended. Vianne drummed her fingers against her books without mercy. A panic attack was just inches away from happening if the class refused to settle down. And from the look on Escalante’s face, it would appear that they shared the same sentiment.

A scowl donned his face, creasing the heavy lines on his forehead. If it weren’t for Vianne’s distracted state, she would’ve been frightened by those narrowed eyes. 

“Come now!” Escalante’s voice boomed throughout the small room. “You don’t want no mama’s chancla when you get home, no? I’d love to see you fight with your parents around.”

The overt threat was not lost among the students, with some of them slinking away in defeat. Others ‘booed’ at the command, but made no extra attempts to disrupt the already late start of the lecture. It took about five minutes to get their total attention to the board, and that alone fried Vianne’s brain.

“Orale!” Escalante’s mood quickly brightened at the cooperating mass, his smile twinkling with interest. “Allow me to introduce my new TA. She will be your lovely assistant for the rest of the school year. Any extra questions, she will answer for you.”

His hands gestured to her like a magician preparing his new subject for a spin. But only in this state, nothing was magical. It became clear that Escalante was waiting for her to present herself; the man eyed her expectantly, his grin not budging an inch. 

Vianne felt her cheeks flush so hot that it put the musty LA weather to shame. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward. “Hi, uh, I’m Vianne. It’s a pleasure to meet you all...uh, hope I could be of some help.”

An urge to facepalm was strong. Had her grades been irrelevant to her stay in Math 1A, she would’ve made a beeline for the door. The reception after her introduction was a nightmare, because everyone began jabbering all at once.

“The fuck?!” A young man with a messy afro glared at her. His buddies around him sniggered in agreement.

In the front, a chubby male with curly hair snorted. “Booooring!” His female friends rolled their eyes and swatted him on the shoulders. But their giggles weren’t held in for long.

Vianne wanted to find the nearest cliff and throw herself from it. If she converted to Buddihsm now, maybe she’ll even have a decent shot at getting a nice reincarnation.

“First you, now the chink?! This is messed up man!” A few more hostile tones rose from the back. 

Her eyes flared. Vianne changed her mind; she didn’t want to throw herself off a cliff anymore, she wanted to throw them. Her body trembled with brewing rage under her skin. The nerve of the scoundrels! As if she wanted to be here! If it were up to her, she wouldn’t even spare them the time of day. Like an uncontrollable tick, her temper fired in sparks. A snide retort was about to make its way to the public when Escalante’s hands came up in a flash.

“Silence!” The tone of his command left no room for arguments. “Another remark as such, and all of you will be spending Saturday school for a month!”

The teacher was practically bristling from head to toe. His friendly disposition came and went at a dizzying speed, tugging Vianne onto an emotional roller-coaster. However, she was nonetheless grateful for the save. One thing was for sure, skin color was not up for debate in his classroom. At least she found an ally in desperate times. 

At his outcry, the students grumbled amongst themselves and quieted down. She still received dirty looks from the girls, but they were mostly silent. One youngster in the front row with earrings gave her a lopsided grin and tutted with refined casualness.

“Yo ese! Does that mean if you assign sex homework I can ask her number?”

A few other boys cheered from the back, throwing their thumbs up as if they heard the best joke in record time. The girls cringed and sent disgusted scowls their way, with one of them commenting about how horny the bastards were. Only one person in the audience didn’t react. The girl with short, curly hair looked at Vianne, a pitying stare adorned her guise. 

Humiliation wasn’t something Vianne dealt with on a daily basis. And the sudden onslaught nearly had her burst into a tearful temper tantrum. Glancing over to Escalante, she could see the patience waning from him as well. The class was saved from another wrath from either of them when the bell rang again. 

Without a second thought, everyone except for the girl with short hair bolted for the door. The insult Vianne had prepared was lodged in her throat, unable to make their move. Was this a mistake? She was sure that it wasn’t even halfway through the first period, they still had more than an hour left. Time was a foreign concept to her in this town, and she figured her mind must’ve been playing tricks on her.

“Um, is class over?” It was a rhetorical question. But what answered her caught her off guard.

“Give it a minute,” the girl said. Her pencil tapped with a delicate rhythm against the desk as she wore a tired expression. Vianne stared at her with disbelief before turning her head to the instructor. Like the girl, Escalante showed no interest in leaving, instead opting to go towards the window. 

Curiosity got the best of her, and she soon joined him by the blinds. “What’s going on?”

“They rigged the bell again.” From Escalante’s frown, she reckoned that this was a common occurrence. Following his gaze, her eyes landed on a group of young men congregated before the main school alarm. All of them were donned in dark clothing, wearing baggy jeans and beanies. The distance made it hard to see their faces, but Vianne thought she caught sight of a tall figure moving amongst them. He was laughing obnoxiously, while engaging in a bro-shake with a shorter male. 

None of that was relevant, though, because the bell rang again, this time from the superintendent. His red face deepened to a shade of purple as he and the principal began their rounding of the rioting teens. The mob of students were herded back to their respective classrooms, all groaning and whining at the ‘unfair treatment’ of their lunch break.

“Lunch isn’t for another two periods!” Principal Molina shouted. “Get back to class!” His finger pointed to the doors, and his eyes bulged like an angry bull’s.

“Shut the fuck up!” A few students jeered. More paper balls were thrown, but there wasn’t anything Molina could do about it.

All the while, Vianne and the girl sat dumbstruck as they stared at the whirlwind of people coming back to their seats. Vianne swore that if this was how it was going to be for the rest of the day, then she’ll gladly accept them leaving on their own accord.

After another ten minutes wasted on trying to get her classmates to settle down, Escalante wiped his brow with a handkerchief. The toll of the students had taken its effect on him as well. But the sly grin never left his face, unbreakable like hardtack.

“I told you it was futile to escape,” he taunted softly. “There’s always a bigger fish in the pond.” 

Vianne sent him a disbelieving look. Was the man not afraid of backlash? But the rest of the class only ignored him and glared, defeated. The class TA let out a breath of relief, for a moment she feared that it’ll lead to another brawl, this time at the instructor.

“Turn to page fifteen! And I want all of your homework turned in to Vianne right here. Once you’ve done that, work on problems one through ten on the multiplication of fractions.” The command was calm and precise, not a word stuttered. Escalante corrected the glasses on his nose and squinted at the chalkboard, not giving a fuck about the moaning teens.

It was Vianne’s cue to get to work. She didn’t hesitate, and began roaming around the room collecting wrinkled papers. With time, she learned that the girl who stayed behind was Ana, the frizzy-haired girl behind her was Claudia, and next to Claudia was the redheaded Lupe. Neither of the two gave Vianne much of a glance, preferring to ignore her existence as she took their homework.

Not bothering to tell them about the mutual disdain, Vianne clicked away happily. She soon found out that the man who kept asking for sex was Tito, his lopsided smile broadening when she came to take his paper. 

“How ‘bout we do a trade,” Tito suggested, licking his lips. “My work for your number.”

Vianne wished very much to flip him off and top it with a whack on his head. But she chose to snatch the homework from his hands without a word. A snort escaped her as she turned around.

The boy next to him, Frank ‘Pancho’ Garcia, hooted. “Rejected!” 

Tito scoffed. “Tsk, tsk. Playin’ hard to get I see.” He waved a casual hand and went back to his workbook. “It’s her loss.”

That’s what every virgin says. Vianne rolled her eyes at the added comment. The stack of writings were presented to Escalante, who took it with a gracious ‘thank you’. His lack of reaction to the jeers made her question just how much he was going to take because of his job. The probability of him being numb to the antics was high.

 Just when Vianne thought her task was done for the time being, the door creaked open. She raised a brow; there were three more seats left in the corner, so it made sense that there were more people coming in. Facing the entrance, Vianne tried to get a better look than using the corners of her eyes. 

Her stomach lurched at the sight, and she had to bite her lips to keep from hyperventilating. If her memory served her right, then those were the exact same boys she saw loitering around the alarm. The shortest one with a bandana stalked up to the front, head bobbing with self-assured arrogance. His hollow eyes stared at her with mild interest before they hardened when Escalante came into his view.

“Kimo,” he drawled. “Who’s the freshie?” The languid demeanor gave away his stoned state. Vianne made a subconscious step away from him and his pals, eyeing them warily through her glasses. He smirked, showing off a row of white teeth, seemingly glad at her reaction.

“You’re late, Chuco.” To her side, Escalante came into the conversation. “Vianne’s your new TA and I need you to sit your ass on a seat.”

Chuco gave a slighted look her way before he sauntered past her to the back, followed by his buddies. Vianne didn’t realize how tall the teen she saw through the window was until she was mere inches away from him. Dressed in an oversized bomber jacket and jeans too big for his waist, the towering youth could easily pass as a man in his twenties. A good feet taller than her would be a low estimation. 

What on earth are his parents feeding him?! 

Vianne stared straight on, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing her discomfort. Like Chuco, he also paid her no attention as he strolled next to the ‘leader’, plopping down on the desk in a bored manner. 

It made sense that Escalante would want their homework as well, so she made a begrudging advance in their direction. Her feet padded across the room, drilling needles of dread into her legs with each stride.

“I need your homework, please.” Vianne tried to sound as polite as possible. But the grinding of teeth made it hard to sound sweet. 

Chuco leered. “Ain’t got no homework, chica. Do the problems in ma head.”

One didn’t need a degree in astrophysics to know he was messing with her. Vianne grinned a little too forcefully and sighed. “Fine. Please turn to page fifteen and work on problems one through ten.”

She walked over to his tall companion, prepared for another unpleasant conversation. “Homework, please.”

The young man proceeded to pull his beanie lower over his ears. At that, Vianne was millimeters away from flipping her shit. Did the blockhead not comprehend? Or was he messing with her, too? Her father did say that certain people around the area couldn’t speak English, so she tried to push the excuse in a better light. Maybe he really didn’t understand her.

“Give me your tarea, por favor?” She tried to remember the basic Spanish from her previous encounters. But her knowledge decided to ditch her last minute. “Uh, Speak Ingles?”

He looked at her, eyes wide with what she hoped was understanding, and his lips twitched. Then his brows joined in, before he busted out laughing. Chuco howled along with him, slapping him on the shoulders with glee. 

“Sometimes,” the tall youth answered. He smirked, tilting his head in her direction. Vianne balled her hands into fists as she watched on. The tips of her ears burned with a passion.

“Orale Angel!” Chuco high-fived him hard. “Nice one!” The duo continued their chorus of laughter, completely oblivious to the subject of their jest.

Vianne wished that turning invisible was a possible feat. It was adamantly clear that this was going to be a long year. The storm inside her grew, barely holding the thunders at bay.

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A/N: As per usual, shoutout to @classic80sand90smovieloves2 for encouraging and helping me get over writers block and whatnot ;)