#haha theyre all bugs

[ghostlycoze]

was working on a pebbles design and realised his colours suit a rosy maple moth

now I need to draw the motherators

so don't mind me rambling ab my motherator au ideas lmao

Pebs is a Rosy Maple Moth - Mainly pink with the yellow details like his forehead markings, could scatter some blue in there to match his overseers.

Moon is a Sunset Moth - Has the blue (more of a teal but close enough) with the warm reds for her forehead marking (I know it's more pink in-game, but I kinda prefer the red look, plus the wings feature a lot of orange and yellow too. Could mess with that and spice her up a little!)

Sig is a Luna Moth - Green, lol. Not sure if the yellowish antenna, reddish legs and wing-lining, or the white fluff will work very well with his purple robes, buuut I'll figure it out! The pretty wing-tails would be a nice touch with the long scarf too.

Suns is a Grovers Moth - My Suns design is a little more red-focused (still with the main yellow colour and muted purple robes), so the dark red could work with his markings and the black could blend with the purples, with a couple colour adjustments. Those little spots on the wings could be turned into suns too!

Wind is a Tolype Moth - AUGH. It's so fluffy, yet has such pretty wings. Grey scale, as I imagine them due to the "Grey Wind" nickname. Pretty simple, but funky enough for the cool old guy :)

And maybe Inno is a Spongy Moth? (Not certain about Inno yet) - I have always imagined her with big antenna, probably because a lot of the fandom's designs make her suuuuper tiny with cute proportions like large eyes and antenna (which I ADORE). Sooo, Spongys could be good for that, and they have simple enough designs to lean into the general design concept I've got

(Summary: the older the iterator, the more decorative because the ancients had more time and resources back then. Wind is heavily decorated with tattoo-like details, Moon is very brightly coloured, Suns is very dramatically decorated, Sig is sort of in the middle, while Pebbles and Inno are a little more simplistic)

I'll work on these. one day. maybe

[bitchdafuqyousay]

hey what if you followed me into the woods what if you followed the uncanny call of your name from my throat lol what if you let me lure you to the center-most n darkest part of the old woods haha jk jk.... unless...

[morganpdf]

man not trying 2 start shit or anything but like . quinton reviews has grated me in a specific way (ie commenting on shit he probs shouldnt just for interactions etc) but like......... saw this post on twitter abt how the garfield movie has partnered with burger king for toys but the specific image they used was from a promotional post from bk israel. and clicked thru just to See (<- stupid) but his comment was the first thing there and like........

this is super shit my man . maybe dont boil a genocide down 2 "discourse" thanks. lmao

[abyssal-glory]

i hope u like the bugs in hollow knight :)

I DO!!!! but ohhhhh my godddd the mantis lords are absolutely beating my ass rn 💀

[castformation]

Got any interesting yanmega facts?

Sure do! These guys are so interesting-- they're apparently very difficult to care for due to their highly aggressive disposition, but many trainers swear by them being surprisingly loyal and affectionate companions, and they're really something to watch in action. Not quite as quick as a ninjask, but very precise and powerful!

Although yanmega are highly capable fliers, most regions do not allow you to obtain flight permits for them! This tends to surprise people, but it’s for good reason; yanmega are exceptionally difficult to train for passenger flight due to their naturally high speed being unsafe for humans, and they require training by seasoned professionals that just isn't available in most places.

Despite this, yanmega are famously utilized by rangers for rescue service-- with the aforementioned (rigorous) training and some hefty equipment, they’re the ideal flier for airlifting injured or stranded humans and pokémon.

Yanmega are one of a handful of species that, when wild-caught, are notoriously difficult to wean off of a live pokémon diet. One common method of dealing with this issue is to dance or move their food around (on a stick/from a distance, preferably) and allow them to "catch" it, tricking the pokémon into believing they’re consuming living prey.

Fetch is a common form of enrichment trainers provide for their yanmega, and the pokémon are very proficient at it due to their unique speed and precision! Make sure the toys you give them are durable, however; their mandibles can instantly puncture anything less sturdy than a lacrosse ball.

In the same vein, yanmega trained to play fetch will sometimes play fetch with thrown things not intended to be retrieved-- there have been cases caught on video where yanmega will dutifully return trash or litter thrown away by careless humans, much to the surprise and embarrassment of the human in question.

[consciouschunkofmoss]

its interesting that every time im bored or sad (mostly the latter) my first instincts are to go watch rev gameplays or just watch killing eve

its the mental eelness talking i think

[sleeplessinunova]

Pokemon type specialist stereotypes

Normal - “I like bread” damn ur boring. Normal type. Fucking normal type. I feel bad for anyone whos tried to text you cause you’re definitely the the to reply “k” and “ig” to everything

Fire - “RAAAAHHHH” Fire type trainers have no chill and they also think very highly of themselves, unfortunately without their booties theyre useless. Never seen a fire type trainer who texted in lowercase

Water - “Guys lets swim in a thunder storm itll be ok g—“ weirdly athletic. Like ig that makes sense but alot of water specialists are more built than fighting specialists. Or you’re a jolly old fisher.

Grass - “photosynthesis is real” believes in crystal healings and also calls themselves cottagecore while living in like…lumios city. You are not “eepy” you are 26 and unemployed, take a fucking shower.

Electric - Nothing distinct from Fire type, but they don’t have to invest all their money into boots. Definitely has unmedicated adhd

Ice - “chill out! Haha…haha…ha…” you’re either old or a sadist. Theirs no in between. Like you’re either a sweet old man who loves the snow or you think that frostbite is the funniest thing since comedy, get help.

Fighting - “HIT ME!! HIT ME!! NEVER GIVE UP!!” You think you’re a shonen protag when you’re actually the comic relief. Musclehead who chugs protien shakes and punches their poliwrath for 6 hours straight before going to football practice.

Poison - “The poison is already erroding your pokemon’s poor health…” you THINK you’re the sadist ice type trainer but you’ll never be them, stop trying. You have a salazzle because otherwise a single steel type ruins your whole month

Ground - “*earthquake property damage joke*” you and the steel type trainer will not shut the fuck up about how competitive your types are. Quit your wiglett measuring contest. Meta this, meta that, have you ever MET A GIRL???

Flying - You don’t exist

Psychic - “i gaze into the great beyond” may or may not be actually psychic. You’re who the ghost girl wishes she was. But you also have your head very far up your own ass and won’t stop reliving the glory days of when your type was considered powerful. You think you’re so above everyone and you’re probably using the psychic type to have a nerd revenge fantasy against the fighting type jocks who shoved you into a locker in high school

Bug - “im no standard bug catcher” yes you are timmy shut the fuck up. You didn’t actually like bug types that much at first but you made them your entire personality when you saw how mean everyone else was being

Rock - you became the ground type trainer after realizing they were you but better

Ghost - “Guys im a ghost trainer isnt that quirky, aren’t i spooky and scary guys im a ghost trainer guys guys where are you going—“ prolly lives in a “cottagecore” house and does nothing but scroll on joltiktok. Uses aesthetic as their personality. Definitely traumatized. Wants lavender town to go back to how it was in the 90s

Dragon - “The majestic dragon can only be tamed by the strongest trainers” you want to be lance so fucking badly its pathetic. Definitely plays dnd. Definitely owns a cape and is either too ashamed to ever wear it, or wears it EVERYWHERE

Dark - “absol is just a misunderstood bapy” you think your takes about dark types are subversive when they aren’t. No one cares about how your hydreigon would “never do something like that” KAREN—wait thats an actual dark type trainers name fuck

Steel - Basically the ground type trainer. You’re also guaranteed to have a metagross and you have a framed photo of steven stone over your bed so you forget how alone you are.

Fairy - You live in delulu land. You have never left delulu land. And you’re best friends with the ghost type trainer. Take your medication sweetums.

[crevicedwelling]

generally speaking, would you say that buying juvenile bugs is the best way to avoid ending up with wild caught ones being lied about being captive bred? (obviously assuming that the person is aware of the extra care that goes into taking care of them when theyre small like that)

I’m not sure if there’s a choice, most of the time. a captive bred predatory arachnid/myriapod is very likely to be sold soon after it hatches because breeders aren’t likely to retain all 60-100 of a clutch of tarantulas or centipedes and raise them to adulthood since that’s too much work.

for isopods, they’re pretty much all captive bred unless you’re buying directly from the collectors in Southeast Asia or Europe where there are many species not yet cultured, and you probably are not doing that. or the seller is some kid who just picked up the isopods in their backyard haha

millipedes are tricky, since they aren’t often sold as babies (it’s easier to make people pay more money for a large, colorful adult versus little white baby spirals). in the US, Orthoporus ornatus & Narceus americanus are respectively entirely or mostly wild caught while the rest of the common species are either wild caught Floridian invasive species (that’s fine) or are captive bred (other exotics, some native species). not much information on the other orders of millipedes. check for lots of scars or injuries—wild millipedes are often injured if they haven’t had a chance to molt in captivity

mantises can be deceiving. I hear Idolomantis are often hatched from poached oothecae, so they aren’t really CB even though the mantis has never known wild life. most other exotic species are probably captive bred since the US is pretty strict about importing exotics, and there is little interest in the native species. I did see someone selling adult Tenodera in September though once, which is funny (invasive species so it’s fine by my logic, but funny because it’ll only live another month or two)

[onejellyfishplease]

Hi hi!! I have questions regarding snapdonnie (plant boy)

Can he talk? If he can what would it sound like? How would he try to hide this from his brothers if he does? Are your commissions open? Oh I wonder if he would just disappear. I imagine this is sensory hell for him. On top of having to eat bugs. eugh hahahaha I love this! He kinda reminds me of those mushroom zombies (/pos)!! What are your thoughts on him? I would love to hear more about this creature against nature (or with nature now, haha!!) I was originally here for open your wings but I have gotten thoroughly attached to the wacky Donnie fusions. Are you alright if people draw him?? How did you do this?? This is so cool!!! I love all of your Donnie designs but he is most definitely my favorite.

(Feel free to ignore, this turned into just gushing about him)

I was gonna keep going but it was going to get into weird unhinged cult territory really fast, hahaha!!!

Wow! Hi!

I will try to answer all your questions, me and @zeawesomeness were just throwing ideas around for SnapDonnie, so theres quite a bit to talk about!

What does he sound like:

I'd imaging real gurgly when he's like that, but he absolutely hates the sound of his voice, and the fact that most of what he says is muddled. So id say he mostly uses sign language to communicate. while he can still do that

How would he hide it from his brothers:

He would definitely try at the beginning! especially when it starts off as a small growth on his softshell, but eventually the consequences get too big and it gets revealed relatively quickly (at least compared to Open your Shell)

Are my commisions open:

uhhhh, not at the moment, but if there's enough interest in commissions for my art (which would be amazing) then i would be open to opening them!

Is this sensory hell for him?

Absolutely. especially now that flies are attracted to him. he hates it. his shell is consistently moving and it is hell.

My thoughts on him:

I live this creepy little dude. but now there is a little bit of trepidation with it. because now i want to turn this into a proper au and i need to stop doing this to myself.

More about SnapDonnie!

he was infected with this venus fly trap-like curse (from what I havent figured out yet, either kraang or mystic)

it started as a growth in his shell, which then sprouted those flytraps (which he couldnt hide)

the energy needed for the transformations makes Donnie ravenous, and the more he eats, the faster he turns. this is the part where his family find out.

yes he was compelled into eating raw (kinda rancid) meat.

they find out that this infection will continue until Donnie is fully turned into a carnivorous plant.

at the end of the transformation, Donnies face would split open and the single flower would bloom.

Small teeth-like spines are growing down the middle of Donnies face.

Donnie has to balance, starving himself without rotting/wilting (bc yes he does that now), while not eating too much that the transformation continues at too fast a pace.

it doesnt help that sometimes he goes feral (and his face does the splitty open thing), and attacks and tries to eat anything in his path. including his family. Ah yes. Angst.

so they need to figure out how to help Donnie before they loose him forever.

Okay I think Im done with ranting lol.

Can you draw him?

ABSOLUTELY!! please tag me if you do! in fact I am completely on board with you drawing anything from my aus! I love receiving fanart!

I think thats all the questions answered! I love asks like this lol, theyre always so fun!

[haveihitanerve]

GREGOR THE OVERLANDER IS AN ADORABLE BEAN BUT ALSO THE SASSIEST MF EVER AND IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

Bro was literally just attacked by an enemy rat and when he discovers that that rat is in fact not an enemy, his first words are ‘get off me man’ as he tries to push said rat away

He cracks his bubblegum a second time solely to see ripred flinch

(I just realized a shit ton of these are gonna be with ripred because, duh, hes only allowed to be a kid around the rat and his sass only comes out when he doesn't have to protect boots or someone)

‘I know someone else who’s in trouble’ gregor please. You just woke up after fainting because a squid pulled your arm. Please save the witty remarks for another time

‘I guess shes smarter’ like damn son

‘Sorry to bug you- i mean bother you’ i know it wasn't intentional but thats just hilarious

‘Ill tell him you said hi. You know, if hes still alive’ okay i know this was way out of line, but it made me laugh so hard. I honestly am not that huge of a fan of hamnet (don't come after me its my opinion) and so this made me smile

When he does his sprint in the first book and ‘faked them out’ making the bats lose formation and riders struggle to stay on

'he felt around desperatley for a weapon. what did he have? diapers? cookies?" its technically him because its narrated from his pov so that hilarious

"said Vikus, as if that explained it all"-again, said from gregors pov so him being sassy. in his head at least

"The mighty warrior excused himself and changed a diaper.”

"Who was Simon? He had no idea.”

“The place did kind of resemble a locker room if locker rooms were gorgeous and smelled good.”-dude. this kid is my frickin hero

Also some honorary ares mentions because as bonds they are the same person-

In the labyrinth, come to a point where they can go three ways “lets go left” (these aren't the exact words but im too lazy to go look it up) that path circles back around to where they started “on further reflection i favor the right” that circles back round. Only one tunnel left “why don't you chose?” o.m.f.g ares. I love you sm

Also- delivering the bane to ripred: please don't tell me you've become attached to ol twitchtip. Ares: as far as rats go, she is among our favorite. O.M.F.G ARES! I don't think he ever exchanges another word with ripred. The only time he ever talks to the rat is to confirm that she is their favorite rat. Not him. Like- i love him sm

And when theyre training for the army in the last book and gregor asks, ‘have a good nap?’ and ares just responds, ‘all twenty minutes of it’ ashdfgsfhgenhvengh!!!!! I love this dork sm. 

‘You learn fast’ like ma boi-! But its so cute because it distracts gregor from his fear of being a rager and gets him to laugh and its the first time they act like bonds and its super cute

“Aurora and I go with our bonds,” muttered Ares- he could just say it- but no. he mutters. i adore this bat

Ares flew straight for the rat.- its not sass but like- yes

"get off my chest what?'' get it ares. teach gregor mannors haha

yeah thats all i could think of off the top of my head

[redyrmes]

hhh designing colourzas in the year of out lord 2024 and i have sO MUCH to say about them,, spent the last few days assigning each of them a wingless + winged animal and ended up with this (also! the not underlined animals are the ones not explicitly used in their designs)

ill put my notes about them all under the cut because theres a lot but the big ones are:

- blueza and redza twin propaganda cos theyre the only hooved animals here

- grayzas winged bird is the only flightless one because i thought that would be funny, also the name is just so ominous for no reason which i also thought would be funny

-yellowza is so difficult to find animals for but i settled on peacock pansy butterfly because peacocks are fancy n stuff and hes fancy n stuff, but peacocks are purple, so the yellow bug equivalent is the best i can do for him. I have yet to decide on a winged animal for him lol..also hes sucha bug to me, ik hes canonically a bird but hes such a bug. however if he was a bird he would be a birds of paradise bird, absolutely, no questions asked

anyway heres more notes i wrote down a few days ago

bugs- |||

bats- | (rip redza hes alone)

birds- |||| (counting phil)

sidenote purplezas, redzas and bluezas animals are the only ones that dont match their colours and are neutral colours instead

—Redza is the only bat because he’s the first one who existed i think. also because his vibes match bats and nobody else matches bats but i gotta make it Lore. also he’s one of the only two hoofed+wingless animals, along with blueza, because redza blueza twin propaganda..and hes an ibex instead of anything else because i think the long, straight horns suit him better than others. there was also like. the addax, eland, oryx, ect but i decided goat > antelope because goats are smaller and more gremliny + association with the devil or somthin?? also he gets a funny little goatee

—Orangeza is a red fox bcos fox = cunning n smart idk….and that species because of its orange fur, pretty simple not given much thought but thats okay, it matches him pretty well i think. also i hc that one of his front moth wings (the brown ones, they cover the orange wings) got damaged so he patched it up with orange something because more orange and haha inventor guy fixes things you know. its okay i don’t either

-Yellowza was gonna be a longhorn beetle but they’re too orange. then a bumblebee but he’s not. he’s not a bee. but i finally settled on peacock pansy because peacocks are like. fancy n shit but he cant be a peacock because they’re purple, so yellow butterfly version is the next best thing. ALSO ik hes like canonically a bird and stuff,but MAN. HES JUST A BUG TO ME. but if he was a bird he would absolutely be a birds of paradise bird because Yes. honorable mention to the great tailed grackle.

his wingless animal was a STRUGGLE and i have yet to pick it hahaskmb….also i characterize him as a material girl instead of cheery optimist because there are enough cheery optimists 

—Blueza was the easiest to decide lmao, he’s just a deer. either that or a moose, but deer are more gentle also thats like canon so yeah..white tailed deer 🦌 oh holy shit deer emojiand redza blueza twin propaganda, he’s one of the only two hoofed wingless animals here yesyes

his winged animal had to be a bird, preferable a dove because symbolism and whatnot right? he got mourning dove because fluffy lad + theres no white doves in the wild so i cant make him a white dove. probably going to draw him with whiter wings though to match his colour pallet haha, i dunno i haven’t really given him much thought

—it was so difficult to decide if Purpleza was a bird or a bug but i ended up with bird, because he’s a fluffy guy not a bug guy? and then choosing a bird was pain because theres so many pretty purple birds i really like but he’s more of a black bird, emo ass mfer

couldn’t make him a crow, raven felt off, considered grackles bcos they have purple wing shine whatever its called but they’re too social skdhdkfgngcn..solitary caciques had a good chance because they’re black birds that are very antisocial, literally purpleza. BUT I eventually decided on purple honeycreeper because they’re dark purple with black wings, and hang out in small groups with other species of birds, i think that speaks for itself.

and cat because cat

-might change the wingless animal of Pinkza idk axolotl feels too easy? but the only other guys i have are like. naked mole rat and pink dolphin and i cant implement those in a way that makes sense in my head LOL

and he’s a butterfly right, the pink rose butterfly really suits him i think but not his light color pallet. the other pink butterflies don’t suit him really, and the pink moths all have yellow which no. but then i found the pink orchid mantis. who is so soft and gentle looking, but uses its soft and pretty appearance to kill. so yknow the second i saw it i was like yup. pinkza

—Grayza (greyza?? i forgot sob) is the only flightless colorza, i thought it would be funny cos he’s this eldritch horror but he’s the only land bound one haha, also ayem cemani is death omen chicken in my head. and for his flightless animal, he’s a snake he’s very much a snake what do you want from me he’s just a snake

anmd i don’t want to think about whiteza until im done with these dont make me think about whiteza

[tomboyyyaoi]

stampede saturday means stampede thoughts so here they are for week 7!

growing worried abt what the writers r gnna do w livio, i got baited i cant lie but i am making a lot of "hmm" noises into what theyr implying

meryl n rob lying abt being from an outlaw magazine so the bad lads dont kill them then vash making his presence known by absolutely mowing thru them was MUCH needed comedic relief, rob was good in this ep as well i love when he gets all pathetic and whiney its good

finally some acknowledgement for how meryl dropped tonis lol, i like that its actually affecting her n pushing her motivation a bit, good stuff

wolfwood n vash holding up the canon on their own (ig w the help of the anchors) was so stupid i cant lie but i like that level of silliness a bit. it made me giggle.

nick huffing about "im nicholas the punisher! im the punisher" was rlly funny. i get he (believes he) just watched his brother off himself but it came across as him psyching himself up n it made me laugh

lots of Anime Logic this ep too it got a good haha and teehee out of me. i love the excitement of watching physically impossible shenanigans for the sake of saving the day. im here for it

THE PLANT!!!!! the plants r lookin so freaky im here for it i love their spindly fingers and the veins. omg the pattern on vashs face at the end and meryls reaction. wow. glorious she looked horrified.

loving the gang finding out hes a plant not thru some horriffic tragedy this time but walking in on him having brainsex with one then him turning around with the patterns on his face and passing out. thats good shit.

the arm cracking and fizzling is making me so desperate for an arm upgrade PLEASE get rid of that clunky chunky thing it must be so inconvenient to lug around

bad lads just showed up. stole shit n left they were rlly a non-problem. wish they did a bit more im struggling to see why they were even there unless it was to be a distraction and general nuisance to the eye of michael's plan/the gang trying to stop it

meryls big watery eyes when she was trying not to cry. wiping my screen. wiping her tears

o shit act 2 is over now! maybe the pacing will finally slow down a bit with next weeks flashback ep

zazie pullin the bug out their mouth was DISGUSTING i loved it

do u think vash gets the plant patrerns on his di

anyway tune in next week for more of my super special post-stampede brain vomit!

[voldheart]

How comes Ghost gains a likeness towards Godseeker? (I wanna know mooore about the AU sorrynotsorry)

In Game Godseeker at first was very arrogant towards them and just started to show interest in Ghost, when they reached higher Pantheons. She doesn't strike me as the Kind of Person that would be interested in Rebuilding Hallownest because the Bugs there are no Gods. But feel free to change my mind!

Yeah, theyre not gods to a "Higher being" degree, but she considers them "holy" in some way....? you can actually see statues of vengeflies and husks in the hall of gods Which is kind of funny knowing how lowly she thinks of the knight at first lol

my interpretation is that the "holiness" these bugs possess comes from being under the influence of a higher being, be it Radiance or pk in Hallownest's case (mantis lords being the exception for being cool as fuck), which would explain why she doesn't want to have anything to do with the Knight, as it probably has its own thing going on that she did not understand at the time.

In this case she probably wouldn't care much for the bugs at Dirtmouth since most are new to the kingdom. But now that tk ascended into "godhood", maybe she wouldn't mind them much for being it's friends…? idk

As to why Ghost ends up liking Godseeker, i think that her call for powerful beings might have unintentionally pulled it into godhome, getting it to complete pantheons and, subconsciously, getting interested in her. even through all the insults and everything. i mean who doesnt like a big mean woman am i right  haha *SWEATING*

THOUGH, as to why i believe it feels affection towards her i'll be talking about that below the cut (post got a bit too long sorryy)

ok just to be clear, the knight barely gets any sort of indication of personality in game, this is all just me overanalyzing Every single little crumb of possible person(bug?)hood I could find. which is kind of nothing honestly since all of this could be intentional or not, but i'm feasting on that shit like crazy

1: One thing (and its kind of the main thing that funnily made me descend into this rabbit hole) is that canonically, you can only gift her a delicate flower AFTER completing p2, which by this point it very much knows what she is like. Now i am aware that this could mean literally anything, but i highly doubt it would gift her a flower out of hate or indiference. That shit is hard as hell to deliver.

2: So a while ago i made this gifset about its walking animations. Something that, as I've noted in the post, it normally does when confronted with something important to it... For some reason TC felt compelled to program that for whenever it encountered Godseeker in between pantheons, despite the slight inconvenience it might cause for gameplay, so it was probably not added for that. at the very least i assume that theres a sort of respect it has for her

3: this post team cherry made promoting Godmaster which i find very funny

4: ok i know this sounds like reaching too hard but im just so obsessed with how despite falling down so violently, it still holds her so very gently here . it's almost as if it puts in the effort to not hurt her in a way. i mean shes standing there on her goddamn bug tippy toes and she barely even budges ? like 🏳️‍🌈?

5: shes hot asfuckkkkkk i rest my case

[thewickerking]

also like. As someone specifically who's been poor my entire life and homeless and currently being threatened with it again, who's lost family connections and money and opportunities for the crime of not being entirely white and relying on the systems people make fun of and never have to experience. Like. Mocking people (like myself!!!!) for struggling is gonna make me hate you. Haha homelessness. Okay do you know how traumatic it is? When you're fucking 2 years old? When you're 4? All the while being groomed by an adult man? Do you know whats its like to lose all your belongings because the cops fucking hate you and don't give them back? Do you know what its like to finally get a hotel or apartment for a month and have it be such a health hazard with mold and mushrooms growing bigger than your fist and more types of bugs than you count and having to toss out some of your few belongings because theyre infected and infested beyond repair? Haha school shootings. Cool do you know how terrifying it is to narrowly avoid the everpresent middle school gangs only for your younger sibling to be forced to be involved with a high school gang? Do you know what it's like when there's danger in getting an education and seeing the person you want to protect more than anything slip into that? It's not fucking funny when you get a text that your brother thinks he's gonna be fucking murdered after school and wants you to know that he loves you like youll never speak again? Haha dumb country bums. Okay what about when it's the people who are supposed to be your family and support and love you calling you racial slurs? What if you still kind of care about them? What about when there's fucking tornadoes near them and they live in trailers with zero support or basement or safety and they don't have access to anything else? Imagine seeing a news article about it and your heart sinking when they live near by and you don't talk much cause they're racist, but you don't even know if they're alive?? Haha Trump. Did you watch your mother break down crying on the phone, begging her father to not go back to Latin america because she was scared he would never come back? Do you look at news articles of deaths and search for your last name and hope it's not family? Have you been to detention camps? They don't let you go in but the outside paints a bleak picture, and youve studied pictures before. Its torture. Pictures of israeli camps look painfully similsr. You almost got lost on the way there because it's so isolated. They intentionally built it miles from bus stops. They don't warn people of their release and release them, offering no help or way to get even a ride to somewhere that's not long stretches of empty fields. Haha bad healthcare. Have you sat with your mother on hold for hours upon hours for services, just to be denied? Have you seen your mother fight insurance for months to not have to pay for her eight year olds psych ward stay cause he tried to kill himself? Have you seen her face that thousands of dollars bill and see her calculate if she would have to be homeless again? Have you had to cook for her cause she's struggling to stand? For years? Have you participated in studies so you have enough money for groceries that month? Have you cycled through over 10 therapists because they give the poor patients underpaid interns that quit within a year? Have you almost died at the hospital? Twice? And despite it all we give food and money to homeless people as often as we have it (not often). I've attended more protests than I can count. Protests, marches, rallies, even parades. We boycott despite not being able to afford the alternatives. There's so much I and so many other people do to fight and try to better things. But haha americans are dumb and one time someone was mean to me so I think you all deserve to die because your government hates you 🤗 ill kill myself in front of you to change the trajectory of your life forever, don't test me. I will do it. I'll buy a ticket to Europe just for that

[castformation]

I’d love to hear your take on some Bug types!(any is fine, but if you need a specific one, how about Heracross?). Thanks for your time Mx. Shine!

Hey, thank you so much for the ask! I focused on heracross for this one, but definitely keep an eye out for future assorted bug-type trivia, and please feel free to send in any more requests or questions you might have. Without further ado, here's some fun facts I was able to dig up about heracross!

It's well known that heracross are nectarivores, meaning they feed primarily on nectar, honey, and tree sap. This means that they don't normally need to prey on other pokémon, even in the wild! However, in desperate times (or, occasionally, on accident) heracross have been known to feed from nectar-producing grass-types such as bulbasaur and bellossom, much to the discomfort and chagrin of the grass-types in question.

Heracross, of course, have a set of wings hidden under their elytra! Unfortunately, they have trouble using them effectively due to their massive size and weight, and can only fly very short distances. One population of heracross in Lostlorn Forest in Unova has developed a unique use for their wings, likely in response to competition with Pansear and Simisear for tree space. These heracross are able to bat their wings rapidly to deflect or even outright mitigate weak fire-type attacks! Lostlorn heracross have also been recorded using this same strategy to deflect pollen and power-based attacks from enemies. Looks like those wings are more versatile than we thought!

Much like magikarp enthusiasts have their own league for the time-honored sport of magikarp jumping, many trainers pit their heracross against one another in massive tournaments meant to test which 'mon has the best throw strength! These tend to become quite the spectacle, drawing large crowds and lucrative betting opportunities. The current reigning champion, three years running, is an especially beefy specimen named Heracles.

Because in the wild heracross prefer to sleep in large logs, bushes, or under tree cover, it's highly recommended that trainers provide their heracross with a large blanket; the feeling of being covered while asleep is said to put them at ease.

[akirameta84]

do you have any scenes in mind for the hk bugdragon au that you cant get out of your head but havent shared yet?

oho the answer is yes, there are so SO many. but the majority would be a hassle to share because of format and needing context

however i do have a scene in easily shareable format, as i wrote a short oneshot for the latest rendition of the au!! never really planned to share it outside of the friends i already shared it with haha, so its your lucky day

enjoy. hopefully. takes place some vague time after a battle with the radiance but before hollow has officially been proclaimed to the kingdom as child of the monarchs, but the palace staff are aware that the vessel role is no more and theyre supposed to be treated with the same respect as their king and queen

warnings for dehumanization, but it focuses on thk. so thats to be expected. around 1.8k words

---

They hadn’t even managed to fully emerge from their room into the gleaming hall of the palace before a voice caught their attention with a startling fashion.

“Ah, there you are! I was beginning to think you’d sleep all day!”

Considering they were still blinking off the last few dregs of sleep combined with some rather strong painkillers, Hollow flinched back in surprise as they jerked their head towards the speaker- a lone palace retainer standing beside their doorway at…not that far after sunrise, to be honest. They spoke as if Hollow had slept for an inordinate amount of time, though before, this would have been a very late time for the vessel to awaken.

The blasted tail attached to its body twitched with the first pang of confusion through its mind- their mind. As far as Hollow knew, they had not been assigned a personal retainer like a few bugs who resided in the palace had. They did not know if that would change, for that was up to their parents, though they did not particularly care for one. Movement impeded by a missing forelimb or not, they could take care of themselves just fine alone.

Regardless, they spread their mandibles wide enough so that they clicked when brought back to strike against their jaw, carefully spelling out the words they wanted to say. They had only begun learning deepspeech a few days ago, and so far did not know many actual words, merely the alphabet. But, while slow, it allowed for some communication.

The native tongue of Deepnest was picked for their communication for its focus on clicking and tapping out words, something easy to accomplish for a creature both mute and quadrupedal (and missing a forelimb to boot, making most forms of sign language barely accessible).

(They felt something warm that could have been happiness when they considered the topic of learning the native language of their baby sister. It was hers and now it was theirs).

“Hi. W-h-a-t-”

“Anyways, now that you’re here, I want you to sit for me, vessel,” The retainer interrupted, talking as if they didn’t even realize Hollow was trying to communicate in the first place (…Which wasn’t that far out of the question considering deepspeech wasn’t exactly commonly spoken in Hallownest, and was only being taught to residents of the palace to allow them to communicate with Hollow, specifically).

But-

It- They-

What?

Their body remained perfectly still even as their mind stumbled and struggled to process what it had heard, paying no mind the actual clarity with which the words had been registered by their senses.

They were not supposed to be the vessel anymore. They did not want to be. They were told that was okay, even. The light the vessel was supposed to contain was now dead and left to be forgotten, their wounds a testament to that, so there was not even a need for a Pure Vessel anymore. Yet-

Had something changed? Had they missed something in the short frame they had slumbered? Why-?

“You must not have heard me properly. Pure Vessel, I command you to sit.”

Its haunches lowered to the ground and it found itself sitting only moments after the words were spoken, staring attentively at the retainer.

Their breath hitched slightly once they realized how readily they’d obeyed. Not even a split second hesitation like they endured before speaking most times. Gods, was it any wonder their brief time as an actual person, as their father’s child, had abruptly come to an end? They were better suited for their old purpose.

…No, they needed to cut that train of thought off now. They weren’t the Hollow Knight anymore, just Hollow who happened to be receiving a long overdue knighting ceremony. Just Hollow, now a wyrm just like their father and technically heir proper (Not a true heir; their parents would have to die for that to mean anything, and gods with strong health and many followers did not tend to die unless they wanted to).

Just-

“Good, you haven’t lost your obedience the way you lost that much more convenient body.”

The words of the palace retainer forced their thoughts to halt and their head to bow as a fresh wave of shamed anxiety shot through their body.

But it did not let itself get lost in thought again. It sat still and merely stared at the retainer, waiting for its next set of directions.

The bug clad in pristine white robes stepped over to where it sat in the entrance of its room, humming as they reached to grab onto the risen hood of its strikingly vibrant, red cloak in their hands. A cloak so big that it draped enough to cover the large wings on its back, and yet they decided to use a part right next to its head instead of anywhere else for examination, tugging against the buttons that kept it fastened around its horns.

The pulsing urge to snap its terribly fanged jaws to the side and rip that arm right off was strong enough to cause its head to twitch slightly. That was their gifted cloak, their possession, their cloak, made just for them by Queen Herrah-

But it did not. It did not even turn its head to look. It sat still and listened.

“I think I’ll keep the cloak on you. Not nearly as regal as your armor and cape used to be, but anything is better than those unsightly injuries beneath!” The retainer chuckled as they backed away, gaze bordering on something like disapproval.

Disapproval that made it want to skitter back into its room and sit behind the door so that no bug could enter.

But it did not. It sat still.

“Come with me now. I am in need of a guard for myself and a few others for a function in the capital, and what better guard for a bug of my status than the Pure Vessel itself, changed or no?”

The vessel watched as the retainer walked off into the hallway, and when it first attempted to follow, its body jerked forward but failed to get up.

It did not make the same mistake twice. Its next attempt left it successfully lumbering after the retainer as it was led down a staircase to presumably exit the palace.

It almost lost its footing only a few steps in; this was only the fifth time it had used stairs since its most recent…molt left it no longer bipedal. This was only the third time time since it had lost what would have been an arm had this change not occurred.

This was the first time it did not once actually lose its footing and tumble painfully down. It made it to the bottom, albeit slowly and trembling more than before when it reached the floor.

…Why was it trembling? It was just following orders like it was supposed to.

No matter. It was to focus on the retainer leading it to where they needed it to go. That was its only priority.

Light brighter than the persistent glow of the palace already had in the corner of the eye it could still see out of immediately became its priority seconds later, and it was unable to stop itself from snapping its head over to the source.

That was the King. That was their father-

It snapped its attention back to the retainer fast enough that it could only pray its slip up had not been noticed by either party (Pray to whom? The god it was praying to have avoided in the first place?).

The sound of his numerous footfalls halted not a beat later, though, and the vessel knew its own limping stride was not capable of drowning it out to that degree. He had stopped.

He had noticed.

“Hollow, would you come with me? I have something to show you,” Came his unexpected voice, forcing their head to twist right back to his direction.

In what could only be described as an undignified, desperate scramble, it swiftly made its way to its fathers side, quivering as it fought to avoid its gaze for reasons it could not place. Unlike before, this lack of hesitation brought forward a traitorous feeling of relief.

“I do hope that you did not need them for anything important, for they will be unavailable for the next while,” He addressed to the retainer, and though their head was bowed, they were far taller than him even like this and could easily see how he shifted to face them.

“A-ah! No, no worries, it wasn’t! I just asked if they’d be willing to help me move some heavy furniture, but I can find someone else!”

…They were lying straight to the face of the Pale King. Hollow couldn’t stop the flood of sheer indignance on his behalf at their audacity. Why would they not tell the truth? Did-

Did that mean that they weren’t the vessel again? Was the King not supposed to know they had been ordered such? He…

…was facing them now. They met his gaze, resisting the urge to flee back to their room as his eyes narrowed in…contemplation? Anger? Disappointment? They had hardly learned how to read their own emotions, let alone others-

“I see. Hollow, is that what they asked you to do?”

…He was asking them for what happened. The prospect, let alone actually being asked as much, broke the slight reverie they’d fallen into. Evidently, things had not reverted back to before.

They flicked their gaze at the retainer, who was fidgeting with the sleeves of their robe.

They flicked it back to their father, who was watching expectantly.

And then they opened their jaws to click out the needed words.

“Go-to p-a-r-t-y. O-r-d-e-r-e-d f-o-l-l-o-w. G-u-a-r-d.”

Despite merely explaining the actual, truthful story, they still shook as if they had just lied as egregiously as the other bug…though maybe that was also because their remaining forelimb was beginning to ache as painfully as the one that wasn’t there somehow did.

Their father sighed and immediately faced the retainer, who Hollow didn’t dare glance at as they waited for the tense moment of silence to pass. Their tail threatened to break the silence with how it twitched against the floor, annoyingly, though.

“Right. Why don’t you go find your mother in the palace’s gardens and take your breakfast with her? Tell her I will be preoccupied for the next while,” Was what he settled on saying at last, and Hollow didn’t spare a second glance before turning to leave with his permission.

Breakfast sounded nice. Being anywhere else sounded even nicer.

“Come with me. Clearly, you have ignored some of the recent changes within the White Palace, and I take pleasure in properly enlightening you on them.”

The words they heard from their father as they left had them feeling warm again, though. It left them believing they truly could be more than just a vessel someday, no matter how much that fact was sometimes a struggle to accept.