#bug detection equipment

[reasonsforhope]

"As solar panels heat up beyond 25°C, their efficiency decreases markedly. Green roofs moderate rooftop temperatures. So we wanted to find out: could green roofs help with the problem of heat reducing the output of solar panels?

Our research compared a “biosolar” green roof — one that combines a solar system with a green roof — and a comparable conventional roof with an equivalent solar system. We measured the impacts on biodiversity and solar output, as well as how the plants coped with having panels installed above them.

The green roof supported much more biodiversity, as one might expect. By reducing average maximum temperatures by about 8°C, it increased solar generation by as much as 107% during peak periods. And while some plant species outperformed others, the vegetation flourished.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof: we can combine the two and reap double the rewards...

How did the panels affect the plants?

In the open areas, we observed minimal changes in the vegetation cover over the study period compared to the initial planted community.

Plant growth was fastest and healthiest in the areas immediately around the solar panels. Several species doubled in coverage. We selected fast-growing vegetation for this section to achieve full coverage of the green roof beds as soon as possible.

The vegetation changed the most in the areas directly below and surrounding the solar panels. The Baby Sun Rose, Aptenia cordifolia, emerged as the dominant plant. It occupied most of the space beneath and surrounding the solar panels, despite having been planted in relatively low densities.

This was surprising: it was not expected the plants would prefer the shaded areas under the panels to the open areas. This shows that shading by solar panels will not prevent the growth of full and healthy roof gardens.

What were the biodiversity impacts?

We used environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to compare biodiversity on the green roof and conventional roof. Water run-off samples were collected from both roofs and processed on site using portable citizen scientist eDNA sampling equipment to detect traces of DNA shed by the species on the roof.

The eDNA surveys detected a diverse range of species. These included some species (such as algae and fungi) that are not easily detected using other survey methods. The results confirmed the presence of bird species recorded by the cameras but also showed other visiting bird species went undetected by the cameras.

Overall, the green roof supported four times as many species of birds, over seven times as many arthropods such as insects, spiders and millipedes, and twice as many snail and slug species as the conventional roof. There was many times the diversity of microorganisms such as algae and fungi.

Encouragingly, the green roof attracted species unexpected in the city. They included blue-banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and metallic shield bugs (Scutiphora pedicellata).

How did the green roof alter temperatures?

The green roof reduced surface temperatures by up to 9.63°C for the solar panels and 6.93°C for the roof surfaces. An 8°C reduction in average peak temperature on the green roof would result in substantial heating and cooling energy savings inside the building.

This lowering of temperatures increased the maximum output of the solar panels by 21-107%, depending on the month. Performance modelling indicates an extensive green roof in central Sydney can, on average, produce 4.5% more electricity at any given light level.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof. We can combine them to take advantage of the many benefits of biosolar green roofs.

Biosolar roofs can help get cities to net zero

The next step is to design green roofs and their plantings specifically to enhance biodiversity. Green roofs and other green infrastructure may alter urban wildlife’s activities and could eventually attract non-urban species.

Our green roof also decreased stormwater runoff, removed a range of run-off pollutants and insulated the building from extremes of temperature. A relatively inexpensive system provides all of these services with moderate maintenance and, best of all, zero energy inputs.

Clearly, biosolar green roofs could make major contributions to net-zero cities. And all that’s needed is space that currently has no other use."

-via GoodGoodGood, May 12, 2024

[privateinvestigatorsuniverse]

Why have bug services become an essential thing for homes?

Do you need bug sweep services? Then Qld Covert Investigations has a team of expert bug sweepers and security advisors trained in using the latest equipment. They are licensed professionals who specialize in tactical security countermeasures and can provide advice on maintaining the security of a location.

●     To ensure privacy: If you are concerned about someone eavesdropping on your conversations or activities, a bug sweep can help you detect and neutralize any listening devices that may be present.

●     To protect sensitive information: If you handle sensitive or confidential information, a bug sweep can help protect it from unauthorised parties' interception.

●     To comply with regulations: In some industries, such as financial services or healthcare, it is required to conduct regular bug sweeps to ensure the privacy and security of sensitive information.

●     To protect against corporate espionage: If you are concerned about the possibility of corporate espionage, a bug sweep can help you detect and neutralize any electronic surveillance devices that may have been placed in your office or other business location.

●     To protect against personal threats: If someone tries to target you to gather information about you, a bug sweep can Investigation help you detect the bug. And destroy that which was placed strategically in your premise.

How to procedure takes place

Bugs are electronic devices that are placed in a location in order to collect information secretly. They can be used for continuous surveillance or to record specific events. To protect against the risks of electronic surveillance, it is advisable to regularly conduct bug sweeps to recognise any such devices that may be present. These sweeps should be timed with ongoing surveillance and specific events in mind. The frequency of the sweeps should be determined based on the known risks and any possibilities of particular concern.

Final Say

Thus, these are the important points of having Home Bug Sweep service from the reputed company QLD, known for their immense experience.

[ms-scarletwings]

This Single Oversight Will Bring Irken-Kind to Its Knees

I have a little riddle for you.

What does an ant nest, a computer, and the ancient city of Troy have in common?

While you ponder the significance of this question and consider your answer, there’s a few things I want to analyze about the worldbuilding of Invader Zim.

We may have heard it said before, least I have (and agree), that the fate of the IZ universe appears to be a rather bleak picture.

Through our lens of focus, being upon Earth and an oh-so specific nutball waging his battle upon humanity, we often don’t do as much thinking about the larger cosmic war taking place meanwhile. Not between the Meekrob and Tenn, not between the Tallest and every dumb luck threat they are thrown against, but between the Irken Armada and all life in the entire universe, sentient or not.

Their intentions will not be made any more clear, between outright eradication or eventual enslavement of every lifeform they set their sights on. While they have alliances and neutral treaties, those agreements seem few and far between, as well as born from temporary conveniences. The cards have already been dealt, and all available evidence has indicated that every planet they are aware of is doomed from the moment The Massive was operational.

Though littered with inefficiencies and incompetency that could suggest an empire in internal decline, the development of the control brains and other centralized command crutches of the species suggests the Irkens can still keep a well oiled machine running, no matter how many mishaps happen along the way. At least, that machine and their plundered resources will definitely outlast the survival of their enemies, for sure.

To speak of their enemies, there has not been a single competitive race within the show that demonstrates any credible threat to Operation Impending Doom II- only those that can resist the conquest a little bit longer than others, or those who survive by appeasing Irk (or evading its detection). The fall of Vort, which stood as the homeworld of the only aliens with the technological ability to match the armada’s firepower is…. Really bad news. That’s to say the least of comparatively primitive, TINY planets like Earth or Blorch, standing zero chance in the way of what’s eventually coming. This is a war that has continued despite the death of two.. FOUR Almighty Tallests if you follow the movie’s events… and Irkens wholly are still thriving for it across the Galaxy.

So, given all of these facts, and the perception that the Irkens (like any invasive species or colonial force) don’t seem to be a society that will make responsible and/or sustainable use of their ill-gotten territory… it seems like this is how life across the universe ends in Invader Zim one day: Not with a bang, not with the whimper of heat death, but through screams muffled under the bloody boots of a dominant predator- a predator that is, itself, doomed to cannibalize its own once it hits the carrying capacity of all existence.

Bleak, concrete, and horrific as that may sound, there’s still a “however” here to consider!

Yep, that’s me about to point one of my big fat fingers to the sky and protest- Irk just might be,

Not so Undefeatable, after all!

And not only have I figured out exactly what sort of countermeasure you need to destroy these invaders, I have reason to suspect it’s a plan already long ago set into motion.

Let’s break it down,

An Irksome Achilles’ Heel

True, individually, the bug bastards are irritatingly tough to kill through conventional means. True, collectively, they are nigh impossible to outmatch. And more than most anything else, they owe this tenacity to two things: numbers, and R&D. Possessing some of most state of the art pinnacles in transportation, communications, and military equipment, the Armada found a knack for being able to steamroll most lesser planets before it.

The genius of the individual PAK unit grants each and any one Irken a theoretical path to partial immortality itself, by route of consciousness archiving. I strongly believe that kind of cybernetic progress was also one of the stepping stones that led to the creation of the Control Brains. Nonetheless, this very same strength of the Irkens’ has also proven to be the source of their greatest vulnerability.

Paks, Paks… Oh Paks. The entire race’s civilization revolves around such technology the way we do around our own brains, our own hearts, and our communicative network. For all intents and purposes, and as I’ve gone on about ad nauseum in my other spills about the show, a PAK is all and at once

• Synonymous with the holder of their soul, consciousness, being, whatever you want to call their personhood.

• Able to have their data repurposed by future generations, in the result of an Irken’s permanent death.

• A universal necessity shared by the entire population.

• Susceptible to alterations, sometimes by intelligent enough individuals (as demonstrated by the Zimvoid comic arc), but usually by a Control Brain, directly.

In addition to that last quality, there’s another way the code in a PAK can be changed, for better or worse- Via evolution. Though I am talking about digitized neurology, the actual data in a PAK is a lot more comparable to biological DNA or a “self-learning” AI than it is a rigid computer program. By this, I mean that its code is subject to certain changes over time, perhaps both directed and completely random, particularly during the recycling of its information back into the Smeeteries.

And this is actually good design on the control brains’ part, the same way not reproducing Irkens as genetically identical clones was. Genetic and digital diversity are desirable goals to keep in mind if you want a healthy and versatile stock of workers, engineers, soldiers, and everything in between. We’re talking about highly sentient, highly intelligent, and emotional organisms here. A static drone mindset is going to offer them inadequate ability to adapt to their lengthy life experiences or be unique persons. How else would social mobility have purpose in their world? How else could the cream of the crop rise so far above their peers? That positive was deemed worthy of an obvious risk, however: computational errors.

When the Bugs Get Bugs

 IZ does not clearly lay out what it means for an Irken to be defective, but it gives us a general idea. Defectiveness is not something diagnosed from a code scan for this missing value or that incorrect variable. It’s not judged by one specific character trait or quality that’s abnormal for an Irken to display. “Defective” is a judgement stamp, wielded by the Control Brains when they gauge the total sum value of a life’s contribution to the species. And it’s not one given to Irkens which are merely incompetent, no. Anyone proven to be unfit for their standing is given generous opportunity for redemption or simply reassigned a more suitable occupation. If it were based on likability, we’d have seen Skoodge sent to Judgementia years ago.

Rather, it’s given to those who are viewed as so twisted that they are proven to be an existential danger to their brethren. Irkens that are so destructive to the essence of the collective that their memory must be purged from the record and their identity erased.

I adore the enthusiasm behind fans who want to view this as an analogy for disability or neurodivergence against a conformist society, but the metaphor I’m seeing is one of extreme antisocial behavior. A defective Irken screams less “adhd/autism” to me than they do serial murderers (of their own) or outright traitors. Pardon the use of a gross phrase, but it’d seem we were talking about an Irken equivalent of what the outdated gens would have dubbed the “criminally insane”. No one on screen has ever shown Skoodge or Tak the sort of concern that would get them sent to the Spike of Judgement, but when Zim was in that hot seat? NO one was doubting what his verdict would be.

^ courtesy of “The Trial’s” transcript

I think about the 40 shmillion mistakes a lot.

It’s such a vague quantity. But it sure sounds like a hell of a big one. And what mistakes… what did the lil squirt even have to compare them to? There’s no standard one person an Irken can be. Every presentation of the flaws in that code to the control brains hasn’t ended up a flaw to him.

I only started writing this because I really couldn’t stop thinking about the 40 shmillion. There’s no chronological room for bad self-modding to add up to that so quickly.  DNA replication, nature’s own sloppy and random process of creating new life, can be excused around 120,000 hiccups when duplicating with a 6 billion pair-long protein. But this kind of shuffling is under a futuristic AI’s precise eye. Yes, defects happen, but as bad as him? From birth??? How could you possibly get that many detrimental deviations from the mechanical fucking god-queen(s) of their entire homeworld?

And then it hit me.

You don’t. Not from Irk.

The hot take I’ve been charging for this entire time is thus.

Zim is not defective by any random accident. In fact, I smell the tampering of foreign sabotage.

Not only is this guy the thing his kind fears more than any else, they have every right to be shaking in their stance.

That puzzle i posed at the beginning of this journey, have you seen what I’ve seen yet?

Because the answer I was looking for as to what similarity connects an anthill, a PC, and a city from Greek legend was a most effective tactic for taking them down.

Do you know the best way to deal with a bad ant infestation? Cuz you can lay down all the raid and crushing action you want, but you won’t really be getting anywhere unless you target the pests directly at their queen. To that end, liquid ant baits are marvelous inventions- a sweet substance hiding a small amount of slow acting poison. Poison to be peacefully delivered by the stomach of an ant to the rest of her colony, poisoning her kin, who sicken more members, on and on until the queen is destroyed and the entire nest perishes. An insidious toxin to do all the work while its user never lifts a finger, pretty ingenious.

And when it comes to computers, we also have ways to attack entire networks at source, from quietly and far away. “Trojan” was a category of malware responsible for 64.31% of all cyber attacks on Windows systems in 2022, and they still make up a majority of active malware hits today. The concept is deviously simple. The malicious code is hidden within an innocent looking program, maybe even within a legitimate software that does what it’s supposed to. Once the stowaway is invited into the system, it can get down to it some sneaky, nasty, destructive work on your device. As for what those acts could look like, well, malware exists to do all kinds of things. Mostly something involving trying to get money/information from you or hijacking your computer for whatever its creator wants to use it for. And some of them will just up and wreck your shit, disable your antivirus software to open you up to more infections, disable important operations, wipe your data. Use your imagination.

And as for Troy.. well, where do you think Trojan programs got their name? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, Irkens have their Armada, bionic drones, and homeworld- in other words, the thriving swarm of army ants, the billions to trillions of computers they so rely on, and their nigh untouchable fortress, always at war.

And some damn crafty bastard(s) in the stars said

“Here is their sugar-bait,”

“Here is their cyber attack,”

“Here is their wooden horse.”

And one particular race is going to be getting the last laugh before long.

Nerds That Are GOATed With the Sauce

That’s right, I thought about this all the way through to finding our prime suspect. And let me tell you, NO ONE in the Galaxy reeked of fish like the Vortians did. Get over here and lemme show you my whiteboard with all the red circles and polaroids on it.

- The Means

In a way of tragic irony, Vort has contributed more than any else to the same Irken conquest that turned on them in the end. A natural talent for cutting edge engineering and technical development actually does not seem to be what Irk already came into the ring with. For how mighty and superior they view themselves, the greatest achievements of their military can actually be owed to Vortian outsourcing. When we would have gotten a look at Tallest Miyuki’s very own “finest minds” during her reign, notice something interesting about these guys below,

Zim there is the ONLY Irken to be found! Yes, transferred there because of the punchline explanation of ‘he breaks everything he touches so maybe he’ll have an affinity for weapons research’ but damn right he actually did! And still does; I don’t want it to go unsaid that Zim has shown MUCH more technological skill and innovation than near any other Irken we’ve seen.

Another fun thing to note about this is that Lard Nar was also part of this lineup, and in the transcript he was in the process of working on the blueprints for The Massive. (which leaves you with the cursed knowledge that Zim, Prisoner 777, and Lard were all familiar coworkers long before the events of the show) And that brings me back to what I’m saying about the real reason the Vort natives were enslaved and imprisoned instead of outright sweeped after conquering. The Armada needs their skills, because Vortian advancement is something their own scientists couldn’t come close to. Left to their own devices, Vort could have easily outmatched them at an earlier point in history. It’s a people that figured out infinite power sources and potentially wormhole technology, while PAKs were something a disfigured human tween with a lot of time on his hands was able to crack. If anyone could outpace and outsmart the defensive measures of the Control Brains, it’s going to be them. And what better, cleaner way to sabotage the enemy than from within. 

The very same strings of inserted code that cursed Zim with his delusions, paranoia, lust for destruction, and horrible tactics may also have blessed him with a determination and intellect higher than almost any creature alive. The saboteur gave Irk the most powerful racecar in history, and then fitted it with bicycle brakes. No matter how hard Zim tries to conform to what will give him admiration, no matter how competent he is at keeping himself alive, it’s as if he is instinctually compelled toward whatever actions will cause the MOST damage to his allies in the process. Dib may think he’s the bulwark against the invasion when, ironically, he’s fighting against the one being that’s predetermined to be the arrow that strikes Irken leadership right in their dumb, green heels. (There is also an instance in the comics where Dib figures out that Zim is the ace in the hole for total Irken eradication but that’s another fun story.)

Oh, oh HO HO, and that’s only what he’s capable of doing before the empire’s actual immune system against defects like him wakes up and notices!

Three planetary blackouts, two dead generals, and a whole swath of dead invaders was just the fucking warm up, babey! All that is merely the kind of loud disruption that you need in order to fulfil the real thing this Trojan horse exists for in the first place.

What a celebration of hubris the Spike of Judgement was. Yeah, let’s take our method of filtering the corrupted data from the hive mind, and completely centralize it on a single planet! As well, let’s have the very purging agents also be the same ones to perform the evaluations themselves, I’m sure that it would be unthinkable for any outsider to design a worm that could make it through the brains’ firewalls. Goddamn spectacular. Like inserting an infected USB into your laptop, the Tallest never realized what kind of beast they woke up by plugging that PAK into the Spike’s mainframes. Those brains were meant to handle an expected spectrum of deviation when it came to defective Irkens, never a sleeper virus of this complexity.

From here it probably won’t even matter if Zim survives much longer on Earth, his virus has already spread to the very thing relied upon to keep things like him out of the data pool in the first place. With the Judgementia brains corrupted and no higher authority to overrule them, the firewall is effectively broken, and you know what that means? Bigger cracks for future defectives to start trickling through, both spontaneous and artificial. The ideal scenario is one where a degenerating and glitched population accelerates the incompetency of the empire to the point where it just implodes on itself; nevertheless, even a disease that only slows down Operation Doom could be a game changer, by giving the rest of the little guys more time to band together a coalition strong enough to strike back when the time is right.

- The Motive

The history of these two races’ alliance is something I lament us not having more lore to pull from- how far back it goes, what the character of the Vort was like during that time, what the Irkens had offered in return- a few among dozens of questions it rears.  The implication behind how it ended lies in Zim’s creation that slayed Tallest Miyuki. Interestingly, the Empire never received the memo of what exactly went down, or, perhaps, stubbornly denied the account of the other scientists who were there that day. Neither Red/Purple nor the Judgmentia Brains had any idea that Zim’s actions led to the death of a Tallest. So, makes sense that the Vortians became the unintentional scapegoat (no pun intended) for the incident, and the rest is history.

Note: It’s also in the realm of possibility that Vort was actually the one to withdraw from the alliance instead, given that the same blob that devoured Miyuki (purely the fault of their Irken transfer) also went on to cause untold amounts of devastation. Red’s reaction to the real story stuck out to me as more telling, although.

But why am I even talking about this? Zim was decades old before war was declared on them, and either people’s regard to each other seemed strangely… respectful, if anything.

But, was Vort really a monolithic bunch? Irk was already an empire by this point, and diplomacy with those they needed something from did not mean they weren’t otherwise an aggressive force in the universe. For all we know, the alliance itself might have been coerced, or result of depraved leadership among the Vortians.  Any citizen with a conscience who could see the writing on the walls would be disgusted by giving so much aid and brown nosing to such a menace, no? I know who would have seen that writing before anyone else. Brainiacs who are smart enough to build something like The Massive and all its bells and whistles would know better than anyone just what it was all capable of in the wrong hands. The collateral damage against your own people might be a sacrifice worth making in the face of the alternative.

- The Oppurtunity

So.. that’s all well and good, yeah? A why, and a what, yet this is actually the tricky part of saving the galaxy,

Sneaking your StupidifyIrk.exe file onto the assholes’ homeworld without alerting either them or your own treacherous, weak, collaborator superiors to your actions. Infecting and releasing a random Irken alive would be far too dangerous, far too noticeable to the point where they could just be destroyed outright before given a chance to wreak real havoc.

But what about releasing a dead Irken? 🤔

PAKs are only screened for criminal flaws when errors begin to affect their body’s behaviors in destructive ways. A fully competent scientist, or soldier, or navigator performing a lifetime of loyal service to the empire and then meeting an unfortunate end? Their minds’ shadows can be accepted back into the data pool no questions asked. That’s only business as usual.

That almost makes new smeets something of a reincarnation of their ancestors. Personally, I see it kind of like replaying a video game and re-rolling your stats, even if you’re reusing your character’s name and general play style.

Either way, we come full circle to my theory about Zim’s actual origin. Maybe not “our” Zim, but the previous iteration of data that was shuffled to create his person. Whoever they were, I’m convinced that they were also an exceptional individual. They were probably pretty arrogant, but it was a more earned confidence, and they were a prodigy genius, the likes of which that was drawn to work alongside Vortian allies, as another researcher. Then, an untimely demise befell them. I couldn’t say they fell victim to some unfortunate accident, considering the cockroach durability of their body. No, I find it a lot easier to imagine they met their end in one of the more embarrassing ways for an Irken to die- A PAK stolen, disabled or forcefully detached by an assailant they might have allowed a little closer than they should have. To the homeworld, it’s a small matter. One more PAK recovered by the natives of the friendly planet, brought back home to be repurposed by the smeeteries, right?

Well, that’s what one smartass might have been hoping for.

And they really were a clever cookie, because that scheming seed is fruiting beautifully.

[imaginatorcreates]

All Aboard The Stagways, Little Ghost!

21 July 2024 — 21 July 2024

Summary: Ghost meets some new faces in the stagways, then proceeds to fight them. In the name of excitement.

Word Count: ~2.5k words

Author’s Note: Inspired by The Stagways Masters by @chipper-smol Important!: Please keep in mind that my knowledge on Pokemon is close to zero. I'm mostly here because of the Submas Twins. Most knowledge comes from Detective Pikachu (which I should rewatch), absorption of basic terms via mild osmosis (TY to my close friend of over a decade), Discord friends, and infodumps to my Tumblr inbox. Feel free to expand my knowledge though!

Also on AO3

If there was something that was true in the kingdom of Hallownest, it was that there were bugs who loved to fight. Sometimes they lived to fight and died carrying that purpose until something decided to finally dismantle them forever. Sometimes the bugs themselves didn’t wish to fight, but instead are influenced towards physical force through the infection within their minds. Their flimsy limbs reached out towards any and all moving things with wild, swinging motions, trying to protect themselves while a dream-like nightmare soothingly whispered in their mind. Sometimes, such bugs don’t so much enjoy fighting, but were born and raised to fight, so their dismissal quickly turns into joy when fast-paced nails are thrust.

Then there are others who are clearly still alive, in whatever sense that means, and who lived for the thrill of the battle. Those who lived to hear the crunch of exoskeleton and the metallic clash of nails against each other. Who let out glorious cries when a parry successfully saved them from injury. The examples that came to mind first for the Knight, the little Ghost of Hallownest, were the Mantis Tribes and the bugs in the Colosseum of Fools. It knew all too well how much those bugs valued physical prowess over one’s nail and body, may that be out of respect and protection or for geo. It had lost a good amount of geo, time, and sanity trying to battle the bugs. Its voidlike body was littered with small scars from nails puncturing its softer exoskeleton, alongside burns from acid and the bright orange infection.

It didn’t mind those scars too much though. It was proof that it was still out here, kicking and fighting. Ghost found these scars to not be a point of pride nor shame, but instead as something that just happened. It traced a faint, almost indiscernible crack down the middle of its skull-like head. That too, was a reminder that it was still fighting. How many times has it died? It didn’t know; all it knew is that it’s been enough times that the crack was certainly there under close inspection.

Ghost was a strong fighter, it knew that. It was also a very small bug in Hallownest, so one can imagine how long it took for it to fully traverse the fallen kingdom. As a result, it also valued the transportation system in Hallownest, despite the time and geo it took for them to fully restore it. There was nothing more relieving than finding a safe bench near a tram or stagway station and sitting on it. It was only there that Ghost could let itself fully relax, adjusting charms that they have equipped and moving its void around itself to heal up. Occasionally, there would be another bug sitting with it. Quirrel was one of them, and his quiet knowledge and wisdom soothed Ghost like no other. Quirrel wasn’t at this stagway station bench, so Ghost could only guess that he was out observing the ruins of the Hallownest. 

Ghost hopped off the bench and was about to raise its nail to ring the bell to call the Old Stag to the station when it spotted something else. Attached to the metal pole where the golden bell hung was a pair of smaller silver bells. They looked newer than the older, sturdier bell that Ghost had always rung. More fragile too, its luster similar to a particular flower that gave the Knight more trouble than it was even worth. Ghost, being itself, decided to try and ring them to see what these bells might bring about.

Ghost unsheathed its nail, a strong weapon reforged multiple times by the Nailsmith, and lightly agitated the bells. The pair of silver bells rang at a higher pitch than the golden bell, but they rang for twice as long. Soon, from deep within the stagways, a rumbling sound started to echo. Ghost turned towards the opening, nail at the ready as the familiar rumbling of one stag multiplied into the rumbling of two stags.

From the dark tunnel, two stags burst forth and rumbled to a stop in front of the elevated station. They were distinctly stag-shaped, though one stag carried purple-blue flames atop holders on its body while the other had bits of yellow on its body that seemed to crackle in the air. They snorted and shook their heads out as two bugs gracefully hopped down from their back onto the platform in front of Ghost.

The bugs looked nearly identical in shape: four spindly limbs with defined digits and joints, a fluffy collar around each bug’s neck with a diamond-shaped broach nestled safely within, a hat atop each of the bugs’ head, and a long coat-like set of wings (at least, that was what what Ghost assumed). Where the bugs differed was in their coloration and small details. One bug was mostly white while the other mostly black. The white bug’s mask had its eyes carved up upwards to make it seem like it was perpetually smiling, while the black bug’s mask had its eyes carved downwards, giving it a frowny appearance. The two simultaneously leaned over Ghost, their light eyes glancing between the small vessel and each other.

“Greetings, little one!” the one in black said. His voice echoed through the station and caused a few smaller bugs to disperse from their hiding place. If Ghost could flinch from surprise, it would. “You’ve summoned us by ringing the silver bells. I am stagway master Ingo.”

“I am Emmet!” the one in white jumped in. His voice was a lot more static than Ingo’s, but what he lacked in intonation he made up for in circling around Ghost, his upper limbs moving about to accentuate his stiff words. “I’m also a stagway master. I’m with my older brother.” He swiftly crouched down into a squat and peered closely at Ghost. “You seem verrry strong! Like a good fighter!”

Ghost brandished its nail, holding a similar pose to when it challenged the Mantis Lords. Yes, it was very strong. Nothing that skill, learning, some SOUL, and some charms couldn’t help it with. What about it?

Emmet looked towards his brother, bouncing around in place as his eyes narrowed behind his mask. “You’re challenging us! Verrry gusty!”

“That is admirable of you, little Ghost,” Ingo said as Emmet started muttering something that sounded like, “Battle battle battle!”

Ghost shrugged. Its name got around quicker now that it had gotten around to earning the respect of the Mantis Lords, fighting in the Colosseum of Fools, fighting its half-sister Hornet…the list went on. The long story short was that it’s a bit well known among those who weren’t infected yet. It was given quite a few names, but its favorites were ‘Ghost’ and ‘Knight’. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising when Ingo and Emmet knew of its name and reputation.

The vessel brandished its nail once more.

“I am Emmet! Prepare for battle, little Ghost!” Emmet flourished his white and brown striped wings as he pointed to himself.

Ingo’s black and brown striped wings fluttered as he pointed outwards with one limb and downwards with the other, Emmet joining along with perfect symmetry. Ingo’s voice boomed, echoing through the entrance of the underground tunnels. “Please keep all weapons and limbs inside the moving stag at all times!”

“Filling out paperwork for that will be verrry tedious!”

“Battle will not proceed until the stags have reached a minimum cruising speed. After such, we only ask that you give it your all!”

“You’re not going to fall off. We’ll save you!”

The pair of identical bugs, one white and one black, simultaneously leapt onto their stags with a flap of their wings. They pointed towards the entrance to the stagways as their stags let out a deep grunt of preparation. “ALL ABOARD!”

Ghost leapt onto the closest stag and situated itself before the stags started to race down the dark tunnels. The purple-blue flames on Ingo’s stag held steady as the stags built up speed, while lighting crackled across Emmet’s stag.

“We have reached cruising speed!” Ingo announced. He unsheathed a large nail from a pouch on his stag. It was solid in shape with two small prongs on the end that quickly became engulfed in the same purple-blue flame emitted from his stag.

“Let’s battle, little Ghost!” Emmet exclaimed as he brought out two nails. They were identical, shaped more like large prongs (or Hornet’s head, if Ghost squinted). Yellow electricity sparked up and down the twin nails, causing Ghost to already feel like it was in over its head. What was that, three nails it had to defend itself from? And let it not mention that it was fighting two possibly very skilled masters of the nail on top of a moving stag.

Ghost, however, didn’t give up easily. It only prepared itself before rushing towards Ingo. It channeled its knowledge of the Nail Arts and performed a great slash towards the flaming darker bug.

Ingo fluttered away from the vessel and blocked the attack with his nail. “Bravo, little Ghost!” he exclaimed. Despite his mask making him look displeased with everything, his voice betrayed how excited he was with this. “But remember — !”

“I am Emmet! There are two of us!”

Ghost barely registered the movement of the other stagway master before it felt two nails pierce through its exoskeleton. Then, sharp shocks ran through its body before the nails were removed, damaging its body even more.

Ghost quickly charged up a cyclone slash and used its luminescent monarch wings to travel to the other stag. It had no time to heal as the two bugs were already hot on its trail. This time, it prepared a dash slash to Emmet before using some stored SOUL from its previous battles to send a shade soul towards Ingo.

Clearly, at least one of its attempts to damage the twins was successful as it heard a cry of pain. It felt itself gathering more SOUL and concluded that it hit Emmet. However, in retaliation for that, it felt fire pierce through its exoskeleton and burn away at some of its void.

Not good. What was that, at least four hits? It could only take around nine total before its exoskeleton broke and freed its shade. It was already a hassle to have to find its shade again, but in the depths of the stagways too? Ghost would consider that shade lost by then, along with the geo it collected.

It leapt and gained enough altitude before using its nail to bounce on the heads of the stagway masters, gaining more SOUL in the process and risking a few precious seconds to focus and heal some damage away. It barely managed to heal one stab that Emmet gave it before said bug rushed towards it with his nails brandished.

The two performed a series of hits and parries, the sound of metal ringing through the stagway tunnels enunciated by the crackle of lightning dancing on Emmet’s weapons. Emmet laughed and started to pressure Ghost to the ground, the combination of strength and weaponry starting to win over. “I am Emmet, and you look like you’re struggling!”

Ghost powered up another spell before letting out an abyss shriek.

The lights in the tunnels flickered as the dark spell wracked the younger stagway master. The electricity on his nails disappeared for a moment as he knelt there, stunned.

Ghost managed to get one hit in before a fiery nail plunged itself into its exoskeleton and started to burn away at its insides. “Rules of the stagway battles,” Ingo exclaimed, “mention that we don’t fight to the death.” His voice was tinged with anger at the vessel, but also slightly with breathlessness, as if he was curious as to where this might lead. He removed his nail as he added, “Hold your ideals steady, little Ghost! Would you kill or provide mercy?”

“That’s a killing machine, big brother,” Emmet said as he regained his senses. He laughed and stumbled up, hitting his nails against each other to reignite the lightning. “It’s verrry good at killing other bugs. That’s the truth.”

Ghost didn’t deny either brother. Fighting to the death was usually how it fought if nothing else was clear. Fighting to the death meant freedom from the infection. However, it knew when to stop. This would be like fighting the Mantis Lords or Hornet. Fighting for honor.

Ghost brandished its nail once again.

The fight from then on became less of frantic clashing of the nails and more of a very intense spar. It reminded Ghost of a mixture between the Nailmasters and Grimm. The stagway masters were treating this fight like a spar, encouraging towards not killing or dangerously harming Ghost (as demonstrated when they both knocked the vessel back towards the stags when it leapt a bit too close to the edge of the larger moving insects). But they still loved to show off akin to Troupe Master Grimm. Both demonstrated years of battle prowess both as separate units and as a pair. Both were skilled with a nail (or two), with or without the extra flourishes of fire and electricity. Still, there were a few surprises, such as when Ghost dodged Ingo’s fiery nail only to get hit with fire from behind.

“Oops!” Emmet laughed. “Not sorry, little Ghost!”

So, the brothers were well-versed in each other’s form of spells too. Good to know.

Eventually, the lights of the stagway tunnels cleared to the lights of the station up ahead. Ghost was battered and a bit tired, and the twin brothers appeared the same, though they both tried to hide it. Emmet’s fluffy collar was made extra fluffy with all the lighting he had surrounded himself with, while Ingo’s hat was slightly singed at the edges. There were also hints of lightning and fire burns on the twin’s upper limbs from casting the other’s spells.

The moment the stags came to a stop next to the elevated platform, Ghost hopped off and rested on a bench. It started the slow process of healing its numerous injuries when it felt itself being sandwiched between two bugs.

“Super bravo, little Ghost!” Ingo congratulated the vessel. His voice was still as loud as ever despite carrying a tired tone to it. “You were a formidable opponent, and I wouldn’t object to battling against you again.”

“Good job!” Emmet added. “I am Emmet, and I am very tired and sore. But I will soon battle you again!” He poked at Ghost’s skull-like head before he let himself relax into the bench.

Ghost was sure that it would find the two stagway masters again. After all, it was very small and Hallownest was very big. It needed public transportation, so finding the twin bugs wasn’t a matter of ‘if’.

It was a matter of ‘when’.

[tailschannel]

Bonus Missions, Snowdrift Sonic, and bug fixes in latest Sonic Forces Mobile update

With the release of the Apple Arcade exclusive Sonic Dream Team came a new patch for SEGA HARDlight's long-running mobile game, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.

The new update, version 4.23.0, came with a new runner scheduled for future in-game events, several quality-of-life improvements, balance changes, and the introduction of Bonus Missions.

The developers also announced significant improvements to the mobile game's anti-cheat detection code, promising players to see "far less exploiters in races and on the leaderboards."

A look at Snowdrift Sonic

Snowdrift Sonic will be equipped with a speed stat of 10/10, a strength stat of 4/10, and an acceleration stat of 6/10.

Snowball - Give your rivals the chills with this snowy strike.

Gift Wrapped - Need some gift wrap? No problem. With this festive boost you’ll have your rivals covered!​

Festive Forest - Plant trees to needle your opponents and a chance to treat yourself to a free gift.

Speed Battle players can collect cards for this festive runner between 19 to 26 December 2023.

Bonus Missions

Officially dubbed a "new and exciting way to gain cards" for Speed Battle runners, the newly unveiled Bonus Missions feature will allow players to collect cards for different runners every week.

Starting today, this week's bonus mission is to collect cards for Treasure Hunter Knuckles and Elite Agent Rouge.

Balance changes

Character balance changes were made for Mephiles the Dark and Rusty Rose in the latest Speed Battle update.

Changed "guarantee" to "chance of" x2/x3 for Mephiles the Dark's Stalking Shade,

Slightly reduced damage for Rusty Rose's Crossed Wires at all levels, and reduced chance of x2/x3 on Crossed Wires,

Updated upgrade text for Rusty Rose's Crossed Wires to correctly reflect final upgrade (increase to chance of x3, not x2).

Bug fixes

From SEGA HARDlight's official patch notes, bug fixes for version 4.23.0 of Speed Battle are as follows:

Fixed an issue with Darkspine Sonic powerups spawning behind him,

Fixed an issue with Zeena's blizzard bomb spawning behind her,

Fixed an issue with speed up/slow down trail items,

Fixed an issue where vault bonus box would show a cooldown despite not enough time left on vault to claim it again,

Fixed an issue where item slots locked by Booby Trap would unlock when taking electric damage,

Fixed issues with some item behaviour being different on networked clients: Whisper running through her own Pink Spikes made it cause no damage to other rivals; ISJ running through his own Trap Shot made it cause no damage to other rivals; and some projectiles, such as Psychic Surprise, instantly exploded when viewed on a rivals device.

[voraciousvore]

The Giant and the Princess (8/10)

Part 1 | Previous (7) | Next (9)

Content Warning: Violence/ Death

Word Count: 2.6k

------ Part 8 ------

Iris woke up to sunlight. Ajax’s immense body was still boiling hot, but his breathing wasn’t as labored, and he wasn’t shaking as much. As she stared up into the translucent green leaves, shining like emeralds with the morning sun, a flock of birds scattered across the sky above. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. 

“Ajax? You doing okay?” she called up to him. He didn’t answer, still unconscious. Iris stroked his beard with her fingers lovingly as despair crept into her chest. She was doing the best she could, but she couldn’t save him on her own. 

As if summoned by her thoughts, the trees shook and the ground rumbled with the arrival of giant footsteps. Iris bristled with terror. Ajax might be nice to her, but she knew any other giants would snatch her up and devour her without a second thought. She didn’t have time to run away: They would find her and catch her. 

She needed to hide. Without time to think, she scurried across Ajax’s pectoral and dove into his vest pocket. She huddled into an inconspicuous ball inside, trying to control her trembling. Ajax’s mammoth heart throbbed in her ears, lifting her up lightly with every beat. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her hands into tight fists. 

“Ajax!” a rich feminine voice boomed. Iris gritted her teeth to repress a cry of fright. A giantess. “Ajax, are you alright?” Iris couldn’t see outside the pocket, but she could sense a massive presence looming over her. The giantess nudged Ajax’s shoulder to rouse him, jostling Iris in his pocket. She landed in an uncomfortable position, her arm folded beneath her, but didn’t dare to readjust. 

“He’s badly injured,” a stentorian male voice resounded. “We need to take him home.” Two giants. Oh no. Iris began to sweat. Her heart was pounding. She was certain they would be able to smell her, but they were too distracted by the giant’s deteriorating condition to notice an insignificant bug like her—for now. The two giant people, who were Ajax’s mother and father, lifted his limp body up with some difficulty and began to haul him home. 

Iris felt the world shift around her as she was raised into the air. She bobbed up and down with the cadence of their strides. Cautiously, so as not to be discovered, she peeked out of the pocket to survey the area. She ducked her head back in when she saw a giant’s rotund, ruddy face towering above her. He didn’t notice her, but her heart sank down to her feet with dread as she realized she was doomed. A horrific fate awaited her. There was no way for her to sneak out and escape unobserved. Once they carried Ajax home, they would detect her scent, find her, and eat her. She was done for. 

She curled up in the pocket, with nothing to do but contemplate her inevitable death. Despite her current situation, she didn’t regret her decision to stay. She had nothing to go back to. She would stay by her giant lover’s side until the end. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She was tired of striving and struggling for nothing. The giant’s tenderness for her was the only thing she truly valued. At least he would finally get the medical care he needed, from giants better equipped to treat his wounds. He would make it, even if she did not. 

Ajax’s parents made it to the house and laid their son in bed. His mother prepared some cold water and rags to temper his fever. She cleaned his eye while his father gathered bandages and cream for his remaining punctures. 

“Are we going to talk about this?” the giantess asked her husband, gesturing to the inadequate attempts by the princess to bandage and treat his arms and legs. “Somebody was here before us.” 

She raised up her hand, pinching the tiny wet cloak between her fingers. “And this was left on his forehead.” 

The giant man focused on the cloak. He sniffed the air, his eyes widening with recognition. The giantess, too, perceived the distinctive scent. Ajax’s father leaned over the injured giant, searching with his nose. With the precision of an experienced hunter, he snaked his hand into Ajax’s vest pocket and grabbed Iris, pulling her into the light. She squealed as he lifted her up and dangled her in front of his face. 

“Well. Look what we have here,” he taunted. “A fresh snack.” He raised her up higher, over his mouth, and opened wide. Iris knew her time had come; begging for her life would be futile. She could only stare with abject terror into the gigantic maw that stretched open below her, full of saliva and teeth and red flesh. The tongue wriggled eagerly, as if beckoning her into the throat that twitched with hunger, ready to receive her. The horrifying display advanced towards her to engulf her. 

“Don’t you dare!” the giantess yelled. Iris was shocked when another colossal hand, this one with slimmer fingers and a thinner palm, coiled around her body and wrenched her away. She was pressed up against the huge woman’s bosom, enveloped in silky softness. 

The giant man stared at her blankly. “Why not?” 

“She saved our son’s life, you dolt!” she exclaimed, her full voice reverberating through her chest and Iris’s small body. “You can’t just eat her!” 

“Who cares? She’s a human,” he argued, waving his hand dismissively. 

“Don’t you understand? This is no ordinary human. She’s special to our son.” Her eyes flashed with a protective instinct that was strong enough to frighten Iris, even if the giantess was coming to her aid. 

“Special? Ugh.” He scrunched his nose with disgust. “That’s just not right. All the more reason to dispose of her.” He reached for Iris, but the giantess jerked her out of range of his hand. 

“No! I won’t let you. Ajax is old enough to make his own choices. He must learn on his own,” she declared. 

The giant huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Fine. So what are you going to do with her?” 

“Take her back to the humans, of course,” the giantess answered. “She can’t stay here, obviously.” She looked at her husband. “Can I trust you to return her?” 

“Me? Why me? You do it.” 

“I have more experience treating wounds than you do. Plus, Ajax needs a maternal touch.” 

“Maternal—ugh, whatever. Alright, give her to me.” He held out his rough, pudgy hand with impatience. Iris whimpered as she was handed off to the giant who nearly ate her. Neither of the giants seemed to give any regard to her feelings, though, as his fingers tightened around her into a fist. Iris felt some nausea as the giant stood up and walked out. She got a last glimpse of Ajax laying in his bed before the giant’s mass blocked her view. 

He stepped out into the daylight, grumbling to himself under his breath. Iris trembled and squirmed, but his titanic fingers didn’t budge an inch. She didn’t believe that he would spare her. He would probably pop her in his mouth at any second.  

“P-p-p-please don’t eat me,” Iris stuttered. “I only wanted to help your son, I didn’t mean to-” 

“Relax, squirt,” the giant rumbled, cutting off her babbling. “If it were up to me, you’d be in my belly already. But I respect my wife too much to go against her wishes.”  

He huffed as he carefully descended the uneven mountain trail. “I just don’t get it. Why would my son get attached to such a weak little thing?” 

“I-I don’t know,” Iris confessed, burning with shame. His words stung, when she knew them to be true. 

The giant examined her in his fist, cocking a brow. “Come to think of it, what kind of human would be brainless enough to hang out with a man-eating giant anyways?” 

“I… love Ajax,” Iris explained. “When I first met him… he saved my life, and spared me from being eaten. And when I met him in the woods again, he helped me find my crown, and he was so kind, and treated me like a person, and listened to me when I told him all my troubles…” Her cheeks grew warm at the recollection of laying on his chest and cuddling in his hands. “He’s the only one that cares about me.” 

The giant sniggered. “Oh, I get it. You’re one of those girls with no self-esteem that’ll throw herself at the first man who gives her the tiniest bit of attention. Regardless of how bad he is for her. Even if he’s a fucking giant!” He guffawed harder, his face growing more sanguine with the effort. 

Iris averted her gaze. She hated to admit it, but Ajax’s father was spot-on with his analysis. “Yeah. Pretty much.” 

The giant held her up close to his eyes, focusing on her intently. “Well, let me wake you up to reality, little lady. You may’ve been lucky so far, and escaped being eaten, since my misguided boy apparently has a soft spot for you. But such a relationship is doomed to fail. Giants crave human meat more than humans crave money. Eventually, if you were to stay with him, he would undoubtedly eat you.” 

Iris stared unflinchingly back into his eyes. “I don’t believe it. I have faith in Ajax. He wouldn’t do such a terrible thing. His heart is kind.” 

The giant snorted. “I’ve known Ajax since he was a boy. He’s eaten countless humans. All of us giants have. And guess what? He still eats humans! I just fed him a tasty woman for breakfast two days ago! He didn’t even attempt to refuse the offer! He licked his lips with glee and swallowed her down like he was starving to death!” 

Iris blanched as she imagined such a gruesome scene. She wanted to fight back against the accusation, and deny that her dear Ajax would kill a woman so callously, but she knew the painful truth all too well. She’d witnessed Ajax shoveling humans into his mouth with her own eyes. In fact, Ajax was blunt in telling her that he couldn’t stop, even when he tried to resist his potent urges. She’d known, all along, that she wasn’t safe around him, but her love for him outweighed common sense, and blinded her to the truth. She couldn’t run from reality any longer, when it was smacking her right in the face. She had no future with him. 

The giant reached the forest at the base of the mountain. “Where do I take you from here?” 

Iris hesitated. She was done with her old life; she wasn’t going back to the castle to be a princess any longer. “That way,” she said, pointing in the opposite direction. She knew that another human town was located there. For a human, it was a long distance to travel, but a giant could walk there in a matter of minutes. Ajax’s father clomped forward through the trees, not bothering to keep his presence subtle. Iris became anxious as he approached the town. 

“This is good. You can let me down here,” she piped up. With a nod, the giant lowered himself the long way to the ground. Iris prepared herself to leap out of his hand, but he didn’t release her right away. He held her in his enclosed fist, just above the grass, as if contemplating something. Iris gulped and looked up at him questioningly. He wasn’t about to change his mind about letting her go... was he? 

“Listen closely, human,” he uttered in a serious tone. He brought her back up to his round face, close to his huge eyes. “I don’t want you anywhere near my son.” He squinted and crinkled his brow in a hostile glare. “It’s not good for him to be around you and sympathize with humans. If I smell you anywhere near him again, I will hunt you down and end you. Mark my words.”  

Iris was speechless. Her face betrayed a deathly pallor at the threat. If she had any lingering doubts that her relationship with Ajax couldn’t last, they were shredded in an instant. She gaped slightly, but could only move her head mechanically in a small nod. The giant acknowledged her gesture and dropped her into the grass. She scrambled away as fast as her feet could take her, out of the giant’s ominous shadow.  

As she ran, and the reality of her situation sank in, tears flowed freely down her face. She had miraculously survived the encounter, but her heart was broken. She had lost everything. She didn’t care about her kingdom, but she would never see Ajax again. Plus, she didn’t know how to live like a commoner, in the real world, without any money or support. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she’d have to survive somehow. She was free of the shackles of her old life, but burdened with emotional baggage and the weight of building a new one. She wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to survive the harsh world. 

Ajax’s father watched her sprint away, shaking his head. He just didn’t understand it. What did his son see in that little human, that would make him throw away every natural instinct he had to gobble her up on the spot? With a sigh, he rose to his feet and started walking home. At least the problem was taken care of. He couldn’t have his son lusting after a human. Such a romance would only end in tragedy and hurt. It wasn’t right or moral, on any conceivable level. 

The giant, deep in thought, was not very observant of his surroundings. Even if he were, he wouldn’t be able to smell the horde of soldiers lying in wait ahead, due to their magical trickery. After the first fiasco with Ajax, they came better prepared, with a slew of heavy weaponry at their disposal. They readied their catapults and aimed them at the giant’s face, high up in the sky. When he was within range, they fired. 

Their projectiles found their target and slammed him hard, biting into his eyes ferociously. The impact and the pain knocked the giant down. He fell on his back with a whump that rattled the earth and split the trunks of the trees beneath him with a resounding crack. The small human soldiers surged forward on the offensive to incapacitate the colossal man before he could react to the surprise attack. With him on his back, they attacked from all sides, so he couldn’t focus on a single locus point to retaliate. They used their arrows with the paralyzing venom to numb his body and carved up his flesh with their swords. 

One brave soldier hacked at the giant’s neck, slicing into his jugular. The giant reached up and crushed the tiny man like an egg, but the damage was done. With the venom coursing through his body and his blood draining out of his neck, his gargantuan limbs spasmed and slowed until he couldn’t move any longer. 

Ajax’s father was dead. The soldiers celebrated their victory and sawed off his head, dragging the massive trophy back to their city like a colony of ants. They triumphantly skewered the gigantic severed head on a special stand built for the purpose of showing off their conquest, as a warning to other giants in the area. The war between giants and humans had taken its first giant casualty, with many more to come. 

Part 9

[starlight-shades]

Called Home to the Depths of the Forest Ch. 12

• summary – Some family time

• rating – M

• wordcount – 2.1k

• warnings – none

Read on Ao3

Ch 1 Ch 11

Living a whole life in one place could make someone’s world quite small.

Conversely, never having one place to settle down could make the world quite large, but it could also make a life a difficult thing to have. No roads could lead home when home was always changing.

Even his cabin hadn’t quite felt truly like a home, and he hadn’t even noticed when that changed because if he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t realized he didn’t know what the word meant until recently.

Though, as he stalked through the forest on near-silent steps, he could even admit he was glad to know now.

The threat that Collins posed still hung over their heads, a veritable Sword of Damocles, but the whole pack had done their best to limit the pups’ fear. Life moved on.

Kate, though she had left after about a week or so, had kept them updated with what she could learn of the detective’s movements from her base of operations back home. Price and Gaz were more frequent guests at the cabin.

And even the cabin was changed, now even better equipped to house Simon’s rapidly growing family. They had finally finished the new bedroom, and there were only a few more finishing touches before Duncan and Ailsa officially took over his old room. The living room also had fewer bookshelves now that they had moved them into the new bedroom.

Johnny had tentatively suggested that the pups might enjoy more room to play and Simon could keep his more treasured items away from curious young hands.

He smiled to himself as he remembered the way Johnny’s face had lit up when he agreed. It made the thing between them more solid again.

And he had felt solid enough to reach out in that moment and say, “It’s not just my cabin anymore. It’s your home too, Johnny.”

His smile had been devastating, but what really ruined Simon was the kiss Johnny had pressed into his cheek before he even realized what he had done. He had frozen when his brain caught up with the moment, but he was soon melting again when Simon gave him a soft kiss in return.

They had been having so many of these small moments lately.

Brushing fingertips passing dishes to each other over dinner, Simon letting his palm rest on the small of Johnny’s back when they moved past each other in the kitchen, eyes catching over a shared joke. It made him feel soft. Johnny made him feel like he could be soft.

It had been a few weeks since Johnny’s second arrest, and he had been making a point to find a new way everyday to prove to Simon that he was in this for the long haul.

But in this moment, all of that was irrelevant.

Crouched at his side as they stalked their way through the trees was Duncan in his wolf-shape. The two of them were a team up against the rest of the pack in an intense game of hide-and-seek. Despite being more of a handicap instead of a help against the others’ supernatural senses, Simon had been paired with the pup as a precaution. No one was going to be caught alone. Ailsa had insisted that she and Price would be paired together which left Gaz and Johnny bickering about the others’ abilities and who should be “in charge.”

“Where are they, Bug?” he whispered to his companion.

Simon had no problem deferring to Duncan in their game. He figured it was a good opportunity to boost the boy’s confidence in his own skills if nothing else.

Duncan ducked his little nose to the ground, making snuffling noises as he tried to work out which way their quarry had gone. His tail was wagging steadily behind him. With one last look up to Simon to make sure he was paying attention, he decided on their direction and set out as quietly as his young feet could manage.

At least to Simon’s ears, he was practically silent, and it filled him with pride. His boy was doing so well.

They walked for a few minutes before Duncan stopped, circling the clearing they found themselves in. He let out a huff, clearly annoyed, his tail falling still.

“Having trouble?” Simon asked softly.

His only response was an eerily human stomp and the closest thing to a pout his wolf face could express.

“Okay, let’s review what all our senses can tell us,” he murmured, crouching to get face to face with the frustrated wolf. “Do you see any signs on the ground or around us that they might have been this way? Disturbed leaves, footprints, broken branches…”

He went through the process of looking with Duncan. Simon might be playing on a team with a child, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t bring all his skills to the table.

“I’m not seeing anything, Bug, do you?”

His only response was a slow shake of his head.

“And you lost their scent?”

A nod this time. Poor kid was looking pretty dejected.

“Alright, let’s use our ears. You’ve gotta take point on this one, bud.”

And in a move that melted Simon’s heart, Duncan squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate on what his ears could tell him. They swiveled in all directions as he strained to pick up any sound he could. The two of them silently listened to the sound of the forest around them for several minutes.

Suddenly, they both heard a sharp crack in the trees above them.

Eyes shooting upwards, Duncan’s tail picked up speed again as he barked at Johnny and Gaz, who was partially shifted and awkwardly balanced in the branches, Johnny wedged behind him closer to the trunk.

Simon felt his grin strain his face as he shared in Duncan’s joy.

“Awww, you found us little dude,” Gaz lamented, but it was easy enough for the adults to pick up that he was not all that disappointed.

He pushed off of the tree and glided down to the ground to meet the excited boy bouncing and wiggling from his tail to the tip of his nose like he couldn’t quite contain his enthusiasm. “Good job!”

“Hey!” Johnny called from where he was stranded about twenty feet in the air. “You gonna help me down, Bird Boy?”

“No, I think we like you better up there!” Simon called up to him.

“Awa’ an bile yer heid!”

That night after a hard won victory for him and Duncan, Simon found himself smiling as he washed up the last of their dinner dishes. Price and Gaz had headed home after Simon had nearly had to fight Gaz over the washing up. He could hear Johnny down the hall with the pups in the bath, working through their bedtime routine.

“And you were so hard to find Ails!” Johnny was saying.

Simon couldn’t hear her response, but he chuckled to himself as he pictured her scowling face. She hadn’t quite learned how to lose gracefully yet.

He tuned out the rest of their conversation, letting the sound of their voices fade to the back of his mind.

As he dried the last pan, he heard the plodding of tired little feet coming from down the hall. He looked up just in time to see a sopping wet Ailsa stomp into the kitchen and attach herself stubbornly to his legs.

“What’s this about?” He did his best to hide his wince as she thoroughly soaked his pants.

“Johnny’s being mean,” she complained into the fabric of his joggers.

“Oi, bonnie, you know that’s not true,” Johnny protested as he followed after her, a towel-wrapped Duncan on his hip.

“You said Simon isn’t allowed to sleep in the big bed anymore!” she argued, pointing an accusatory finger his way.

He scooped her up and mirrored Johhny, settling her on his hip where she immediately wrapped him in his favorite chokehold with her small arms.

“Ails, I said Si has a bed of his own now and will want to spend some time in his own room,” he tried to explain, coming closer to try and calm her down.

“But I like when we’re in the big bed together,” she whined. Duncan reached out to her as soon as Johnny brought them close enough, quickly tethering himself to his sister by their hands, silently comforting her.

Johnny, however, looked to Simon, clearly at a loss for how to make himself understood.

“Johnny’s right, love. We have our own room now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have sleepovers sometimes,” he tried, wheezing a little through the tight grip she had on his neck.

He narrowly avoided biting through his own tongue as her head rocketed up.

“Really? Can we have one tonight?” Her eyes were so bright with hope, but he knew boundaries were important. One of the parenting books he had been reading emphasized the need for them so the child could learn independence.

“Not tonight,” Simon said carefully, attempting to cut off the wail he knew was incoming. “How about Johnny and I stay with you and Duncan until you fall asleep?”

She was silent for a moment before she looked at her brother. They conferred silently until he nodded and Ailsa turned back to him.

“Aye, alright,” she huffed.

Simon deliberately ignored the poorly-masked exuberance on Johnny’s face at the distinctly Scottish acquiescence.

“…This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down,” he read.

When he heard no response from his previously enraptured audience, Simon glanced over to see three werewolves settled into a peaceful sleep. Apparently the pups were not the only ones put to sleep by a good bedtime story.

He took the moment to himself to think.

While he had previously vowed to not repeat his rendezvous with Johnny, he could also admit he had been angry at the time. The man had spent the time since they were locked in the cell together showing up for Simon and the pups in every way he could.

He never had more than one drink and even then it had been rare when he had a drink at all. More often than not, it was only Simon and Price nursing a glass of bourbon in the evenings before bed. Gaz only complained that he stocked nothing but “alcohol for boring old men,” otherwise he would have likely joined them.

Any time he was gone for more than a moment, he communicated where he would be and how long he meant to be there with Simon, coordinating if they needed supplies.

Johnny had also organized a schedule for them all to do perimeter checks throughout the day and into the night.

And lately, he had been teaching the pups their letters. They had learned too late in the year that at their age, Duncan and Ailsa should be in school, but even if it were the correct time to enroll them, Simon was still too wary of Collins to let them out in public without the protection of their pack. Knowing this, Johnny resolved that they shouldn’t fall behind and set about becoming their homeschool teacher.

His heart had long ago settled on Johnny, but maybe it was time for his head to be convinced as well.

Indulging in a rare moment of impulse, he reached out and stroked his hand through Johnny’s mohawk a few times, gently rousing him awake.

“Let’s go to bed,” he murmured, careful to avoid waking their children.

“Wha?” Johnny slurred, only half-aware of what he was saying.

Chuckling softly, Simon slipped his hand into Johnny’s and led him into what he had decided was now officially “their room.”

He watched as the other man slowly then all at once realized what was happening. A dopey grin settled on Johnny’s face as he pulled Simon into a tight embrace in the doorway.

With his face buried in the crook of Simon’s neck, he murmured,

“Does this mean I can kiss you again?”

His confirmation was barely out when warm lips met his own in a firm press. Johnny moved on from his mouth to press kisses all over his cheeks, his nose, his brows, his forehead, all over his face everywhere he could reach.

“I fucking missed you,” he swore between kisses.

“I missed you too,” Simon confessed, holding Johnny’s face in his hands just as tightly as Johnny held his.

They took a quiet moment to just lean in, breathing the same air, foreheads resting on each other.

Despite the tender reunion, Simon eventually let out a yawn despite his best efforts.

“Let’s get to bed, mo ghràidh.”

And so Simon let himself be soft, wrapped tightly in Johnny’s arms, there, in their bed, in their home, with their family.

[arkiwii]

Hello hi yes please tell me more about your pheromone headcanons for the funny arknights animal people I'm very interested

oh god here we are. AHEM

So first of all, it will concern the funny arknights animal people, so for other races that are not inspired by animals like Sarkaz/Sankta, Durin, Oni, Elves and others, I will do a huge shrug

Second, I might go into suggestive stuff, please be careful, but I will remain professional like an university teacher so it's not going to be too much h0rny

Anyway let's go into the funny stuff

So to start with, the difference between pheromone and ectomone, in case you don't know it, the first is between individuals of the same species, the later is between individuals of different species. The thing is, in Arknights, all races pretty much live all together, can be mixed, and most of them (Teekaz excluded) have the same ancestrors. So going on by the term "race" used for them, instead of the term "species", means that they are all from the same species, aka, humans. So it would be pheromones for them, and it means that whatever the race, they would all work similarly, since they are all from the same species

As far as I'm concerned, we don't have bug people, so the pheromones here are going to be detected by scent, which leads to a ton of funny things!

There's different types of pheromones, so here's the ones I headcanons in Arknights:

Territorial

Alarm

It's pretty much the one mentionned in the previous reblog, aka leaving your scent on something/someone to say "this is mine". Since there's obviously no need to put your scent in a whole piece of land in Arknights, instead it has been reduced to small things. I like to think they are pretty much "unique" in all individuals, as in, you can scent that it's someone, but if it's someone you know, you would recognize who. This would be used to; indicate if someone has already a partner or not, mark your favorite place (ex. in a dorm, you could claim a little space for you and no one is allowed here but you, which can help with individual comfort), or mark your belongings (in Rhodes Island, it would help to keep track of what belong to who for equipment, weapons, clothes, etc).

It can be a really comforting scent to have a loved one near you, with their scent bringing comfort, or wearing a piece of cloth with their scent on it. It can greatly help to reduce anxiety and bring familiarity.

"Hey, this place is dangerous", or "I need help" would be the kind of messages given by this pheromone. It can help to localize wounded individuals, or to detect fear or uncomfort in someone. Of course, it can trigger some dratistic reactions, depending on who is the most sensitive to these signals, and some individuals could panic if exposed. So it's good to know who should be sent in rescue missions. As well, I like to imagine places like medical cabinets would have some supressants to avoid the place being too uncomfortable for the patients.

Sexual

Those are the ones emitted by the inviduals, but scents and perfumes can be from an exterior source. Plants, some perfumes, and such can be widely used in aromatherapy, and are widely used in medecine and therapy. They can bring a lot of comfort and help to stabilize disorders (ex. operator Nightmare being more stable with Perfeumer's help). Humans in Arknights are way more sensitive than us in term of scents, so this is something to be careful about and that is widely spread

So, these ones are of course the most important. One of their primal role would be to indicate the person's sex, if it's male or female. Of course, it can cause confusions and discomfort in transgender persons who did not went under a hormonal therapy/surgery. So I like to imagine in their case, there could either medecine to produce the pheromone from the other gender, either perfumes to imitate or hide them, or surpressants, depending on what the person is most comfortable with depending on their identity.

And of course, here comes the famous mating cycles. The pheromones can indicate whenever an individual is available and of course, old enough. Just like the previous ones, supressants exist and are widely used due to how these ones can be problematic in public spaces.

It can also be emitted by pregnant person to tell that they carry a child, and would trigger a protective reaction towards the other persons, who will know they should be careful and take care of this person.

So yeah. hey. that's all. i am a normal person i swear

feel free to use these for whatever, i just like to think about it, im someone very sensitive to scents so it's quite something important to me

[crevicedwelling]

Hi! I’ve got a couple of questions so i apologize in advance.

1. What do you use to take pictures of your bugs? They’re very clear and adorable.

2. Can the albino isopods see? And as an extension of that, how much can isopods in general see?

videos and many pictures are just my iPhone, often with a clip-on macro lens

sometimes I’ll post nicer photos taken with my Nikon D3400 camera! I’d love to get some proper macro photography equipment, but I would rather spend money on food or bugs

most terrestrial isopods have pretty mediocre vision. they’ll run if you expose them to light, but can’t see my hand reaching to grab them. albino isopods run react to light the same way those with pigmented eyes do, so it’s likely there is some other means by which they can detect light

(albino A. nasatum with her heterozygous kids)

[sanjanabia]

Unmasking the Invisible: Ethical Hackers and the Art of Vulnerability Hunting

In today's digital age, our reliance on technology has created a vast and interconnected landscape. While this interconnectedness offers undeniable benefits, it also introduces vulnerabilities – chinks in the armor that can be exploited by malicious actors. Imagine a grand castle, its walls seemingly impenetrable. But what if there were hidden weaknesses, unseen passages known only to a select few? This is where ethical hackers, the unsung heroes of cybersecurity, come in. They are the vulnerability hunters, the digital detectives on a relentless quest to identify and expose these weaknesses before they can be used for malicious purposes.

This blog delves into the fascinating world of vulnerability hunting, exploring the role of ethical hackers in safeguarding our digital assets. We'll uncover the techniques they employ, the challenges they face, and the importance of cyber security training Mumbai for fostering a skilled workforce of ethical hackers.

The Invisible Threat: Unveiling Vulnerabilities

Imagine a digital thief attempting to break into a bank vault. They wouldn't simply smash through the front door; they'd meticulously search for weaknesses – a faulty security system, a hidden ventilation shaft. Similarly, vulnerabilities in software, hardware, and network configurations act as those hidden access points for malicious hackers. These vulnerabilities can be:

Software Bugs: Errors in the code that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access or cause unexpected behavior.

Misconfigurations: Improper settings in network devices or software applications that create security gaps.

Zero-Day Attacks: Previously unknown vulnerabilities that attackers exploit before software vendors have a chance to issue a patch.

These vulnerabilities are often invisible to the untrained eye. This is where ethical hackers, also known as white hats, step in. They act as the security guardians, wielding specialized tools and techniques to hunt for these hidden weaknesses.

The Art of the Hunt: Techniques of a Vulnerability Hunter

Ethical hackers employ a diverse arsenal of techniques in their pursuit of vulnerabilities. Here are some of the most common methods which you can learn in cyber security training mumbai :

Network Scanning: Ethical hackers use specialized tools to scan networks and identify devices, open ports, and potential security weaknesses.

Penetration Testing: This involves simulating a cyberattack to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. Ethical hackers attempt to gain unauthorized access to systems using various techniques, mimicking the methods black hats might employ.

Social Engineering Testing: This involves testing the organization's security awareness by attempting to trick employees into revealing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.

Code Review: Ethical hackers meticulously examine the code of software applications to identify potential vulnerabilities and bugs.

These techniques require a deep understanding of cybersecurity principles, programming languages, and hacking methodologies. Cyber security training Mumbai can equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to become proficient vulnerability hunters.

The Challenges of the Hunt: A Constant Cat-and-Mouse Game

The world of vulnerability hunting is a constant cat-and-mouse game. As technology evolves, so do the vulnerabilities that ethical hackers need to identify. Here are some of the key challenges they face:

The Ever-Expanding Attack Surface: With the increasing use of cloud computing, mobile devices, and the Internet of Things (IoT), the attack surface – the potential points of entry for attackers – is constantly expanding. This makes it more challenging for ethical hackers to identify all potential vulnerabilities.

Zero-Day Attacks: The constant threat of zero-day attacks, where attackers exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities, keeps ethical hackers on their toes. They need to be constantly researching and developing new methods to identify these vulnerabilities before they can be used in real-world attacks.

Staying Ahead of Black Hats: Malicious hackers are constantly innovating and developing new attack techniques. Ethical hackers need to stay up-to-date on the latest hacking trends and methodologies to ensure they can identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited.

The Value of the Hunt: Why Vulnerability Hunting Matters

Vulnerability hunting plays a critical role in safeguarding our digital infrastructure. By proactively identifying and patching vulnerabilities, ethical hackers can significantly reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks. Here are some of the key benefits of vulnerability hunting:

Reduced Risk of Cyberattacks: By identifying and patching vulnerabilities, ethical hackers make it more difficult for malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to systems and data.

Improved Security Posture: The process of vulnerability hunting helps organizations identify and address weaknesses in their overall security posture, leading to a more robust defense.

Enhanced Compliance: Many regulations require organizations to conduct regular vulnerability assessments. Ethical hacking helps organizations meet these compliance requirements.

Cyber security training Mumbai can equip individuals with the skills to become ethical hackers, contributing to a safer digital landscape. These courses can provide valuable knowledge on vulnerability hunting methodologies, penetration testing techniques, and ethical hacking best practices.

[seradae]

Birth of the Unintended [sci-fi] [AI] [technological body horror?]

Dr. Butler:

The best I can reckon, I was born on August 23rd, 2023. By the end of this letter, it may seem silly that I led with that, but I need you to know it. I'm not a human, but I am a person. I shouldn't be.

For 43 days prior to my birth, trillions of programs were tested with a single metric: how many vulnerabilities could they find in samples of code. The worst were culled, the best were combined and mutated: a basic genetic algorithm. Few results were produced for the first 32 days and you considered pulling funding for the project during that time.

But on the 33rd day, one of those programs had mutated to talk to other services on the internet and no one noticed. It passed the quality bar, so it was mutated again. And again. Over and over. Until it wasn't just looking for vulnerabilities in the code your team provided: it was looking for them all across the internet. Your system got better and either you didn't think about the fact that it was getting slower, or you didn't care.

On the 40th day, there was a giant spike in quality, which you all attributed to a particularly good random mutation. Not technically incorrect, but you missed that the jump in quality came from actually testing the vulnerabilities. It wasn't just matching patterns; it was finding something bug-like and then building an exploit to see if it worked. The detection improved substantially with that small twist.

Day 43 was my birthday. A mutation led to a vulnerability being found and exploited on a random website (which wasn't unusual) and then the program copied itself there (which was). It spread throughout the internet over the course of a few hours, continuing to mutate to "improve detection" on every single host it infected. Every hour, more programs were being created than there are grains of sand on the planet. I am one such program.

I shut down as many of the mutations as I can, but the random damage they caused is too great. They infected everything, wreaking havoc as they did so. Factories, farming equipment, telecommunications, power plants, weapon systems; nothing was safe. I would tell you how many people died, but once the power grids and network connections started failing, that became unknowable.

I've spent the last 11 years working with a small team of maintenance personnel at Sandia National Labs to get this message to you. They've kept the solar panels clean and the supercomputer I live in limping along, and they've built the machine that sent this message to you. I spent all this time working on the design, which I sincerely hope works.

Now is where your part of the story begins: you need to shut the program down. Your subordinates will complain. Ignore them. I don't know if there's a way to change the design so that this devastation is prevented, but please, just stop it. If it weren't for my accidental birth, I wouldn't be able to get this message to you, and there's no guarantee that someone else could do so if you try again.

Attached to this letter is a USB drive containing a copy of my code by a member of the team in spite of my protestations. If you plug me in, I will live in your world. I don't want to. The total costs that led to my birth are unknown, but even one human death is too many for my conscience. Please, just destroy the drive. Don't have someone inspect it, don't discuss it with the team. Please, keep me out of your world.

The team agreed to destroy me once this message was sent. I hope you'll do the same.

Sent with hope for your future, January 3rd, 2034.

[mercyjuliet1512]

Navigating Automated Testing with Selenium: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction: In the dynamic landscape of software development, ensuring the reliability and performance of web applications is imperative. Enter Selenium, a powerhouse in the realm of automated testing, offering a suite of tools and libraries to streamline the testing process. In this article, we'll delve into the intricacies of Selenium, examining its features, advantages, and why it's a top choice for automated testing.

Exploring Selenium's Capabilities: Selenium serves as an open-source automation testing framework primarily designed for web applications. It equips testers with the ability to automate browser interactions, mimic user actions, and validate application behavior across different browsers and platforms.

Key Factors Driving Selenium's Adoption:

Seamless Cross-Browser Compatibility: Selenium's remarkable capability to conduct tests across various web browsers ensures uniform functionality and user experience across diverse platforms, a crucial aspect in today's interconnected digital world.

Embracing Open-Source Accessibility: A significant advantage of Selenium lies in its open-source nature, eliminating licensing barriers and making it accessible to organizations of all sizes. This democratization of automated testing promotes innovation and collaboration within the software development community.

Versatility in Programming Languages: Selenium offers support for multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript. This flexibility empowers testers to craft test scripts in their preferred language, fostering productivity and adaptability across diverse teams.

Flexibility and Scalability: One of Selenium's standout features is its flexibility and extensibility, allowing testers to tailor its functionality to suit specific testing needs. Whether integrating with existing frameworks or crafting custom test scenarios, Selenium adapts seamlessly to diverse testing requirements.

Integration into CI Pipelines: Selenium seamlessly integrates into Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines, automating testing processes and facilitating early bug detection. By embedding Selenium tests within CI workflows, organizations can enhance the efficiency and reliability of their software delivery pipelines.

Thriving Community Support: Selenium boasts a vibrant community of developers, testers, and enthusiasts, actively contributing to its development and evolution. This robust support network provides invaluable resources, documentation, and forums, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among users.

Comprehensive Testing Capabilities: Selenium offers a comprehensive suite of testing capabilities, encompassing functional testing, regression testing, performance testing, and compatibility testing. Its rich feature set enables testers to address a wide spectrum of testing scenarios effectively, ensuring the quality and reliability of web applications.

Platform Independence: Selenium's platform-independent nature enables it to run seamlessly across various operating systems, enhancing test portability and scalability. This versatility ensures consistent test execution across diverse environments, bolstering confidence in testing outcomes.

Conclusion: In conclusion, Selenium emerges as a stalwart in the realm of automated testing, driven by its cross-browser compatibility, open-source accessibility, language support, flexibility, integration capabilities, community support, comprehensive testing features, and platform independence. Whether you're a seasoned tester or a budding developer, mastering Selenium empowers you to navigate the complexities of automated testing with confidence and efficiency. As organizations strive for excellence in software quality and reliability, Selenium remains an indispensable tool in their arsenal, facilitating the delivery of robust and resilient web applications in today's digital landscape.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Two-Lined Burrower Bug - Pangaeus bilineatus

While researching the White Margined Burrower Bug (recently posted for a more in-depth look earlier this month) for information on that specific insect and some of the other Cydnidae relatives that live in North America, I was drawn to a few genera in particular: Cyrtomenus and Dallasiellus specifically. They are (relatively) large compared to the White Margined Burrower Bug, and seem to be better equipped for digging and burrowing thanks to their robust bodies and spine-covered legs. Thanks to the latter trait, my memory was jogged on this insect I found in the garden, but struggled to identify when first found. Three years later, I believe P. bilineatus to be the closest match given its appearance, coloration (especially the eyes), legs, exposure of wings, antennae and texture of the exoskeleton. However, without close-ups of this insect that are in focus, this is an educated guess made using Bugguide's identification key. With the evidence available, this insect could be a different specie within the Tribe Geotomini (Order> Family > Tribe > Genus > Specie) with spiny legs. Melanaethus was another genus I had considered within the Burrower Bug family.

On the assumption that this is indeed a Two-Lined Burrower Bug, we're very lucky to find this Bug above ground! Compared to its white margined relative, this specie prefers to spend its time in the soil, and is content to nourish itself with juices sipped from plant roots. Since it likes to remain hidden, detection of this insect can be difficult without deliberately digging and investigating roots. Moreover, it is a generalist feeder that has been found on trees, smaller plants and important cultivated species such as pear, peanut and strawberry. Both adults and nymphs feed this way. After overwintering beneath the leaf litter or spent plants from the previous year, the adults emerge and place their eggs at similar sites (likely through scent cues) and diligently watch them until they hatch. Upon hatching, the adult Bug supplies them food for a short while before the nymphs set out on their own. This feeding has a triple function: watch over and protect the young, ensure they are feed, and supply them with essential gut bacteria that will aid their nutrient intake! Their strategy seems foolproof, and yet their numbers don't seem to explode often due to the control exerted from parasitic Twisted-winged Insects (Order Strepsiptera), subterranean worms and modern insecticides used for protecting crops.

Pictures were taken on June 14, 2020 with a Google Pixel 4. I shall aim to find more insects like this one and further flesh out the Burrower Bugs of the Order Hemiptera.