#just in case because of the hammerhead slugs

[blimbo-buddy]

another bug world no mercy question, perhaps a little silly one. how do the different bugs view gender? is there trans / nonbinary bugs....like are certain societies more accepting of them than others? i noticed some of the terms you used in the naming post were gendered things (king/queen, mother, sir/madame) so im wondering how those would go if somebug transed their gender

So it somewhat depends on the bug kingdom itself and their culture. Something that also alters the views of gender in the bug kingdoms is the species itself as well

Gastropods and Annelids (Worms) have looser views on gender because in real life, snails, slugs, and worms are all intersex

So in the canon of Bug World No Mercy, all of the characters who fall under either gastropod or annelid are canonically intersex

Slug/Worm society uses their gendered terms very loosely and it's not uncommon to see a slug/worm refer to themselves with he/him, she/her, they/them, or even another set of pronouns

With the Slugs specifically, though they have the title of King/Queen, it doesn't automatically mean that the Slug ruler is a male or female slug based on their title.

Both the Slugs and Worms typically have a "Leaning" term for their citizen's identities

Let me give an example: While Queen Mulch's sister, Ditch, takes up she/her pronouns, Ditch leans more towards masculinity

Generally, Slug and Worm society don't have real "Ideal male/female slugs/snails" ideals going on

However, not all worms have these loose views on gender. Enter: The Hammerhead Slugs. This part might have themes of transphobia with their society, be warned:

While Hammerhead Slugs are both male and female in real life as well, the Hammerheads that came to America began to craft together a strict guide pertaining to them

They must adhere to these guidelines set in place by law

I don't have a solid list of their strict guides yet, that'll definitely be covered in their kingdom guide though (Whenever that comes out)

While a Hammerhead Slug can very much transition to the opposite gender, they are almost immediately expected to begin their process of adhering to the strict rules put onto that gender they're transitioning to. If they try fighting back against those guides? Shame, sneering, shunning. Maybe even prison time, because by law, they are to obey these guidelines

Ants/Bees/Wasps:

Drones (Which in the story, is just a term for males of the species) who decide to become workers doesn't always mean that they transition from MTF. But it's also not uncommon for that to be the case

Drones who transition from MTF have their pheromones change

The smell of the bugs depends on who we're talking about.

Ants:

Female Ants: Damp soil and freshly cut grass

Drone(Male) Ants: Soot

Bees:

Female Bees: Pollen, generally floral

Drone(Male) Bees: Sour fruit

Wasps:

Female Wasps: Tree sap

Drone(Male) Wasps: Wet stone

Once again though, not every Drone who becomes a worker will be MTF, nor will their pheromones change. That is only if the Drone chooses to transition.

These three kingdoms are pretty relaxed when it comes to the topic of transitioning, although not as loose with gender as the Slug/Worm kingdoms are

In all three kingdoms, an ant/bee/wasp can very much be nonbinary as well as FTM

Nonbinary and FTM ants/bees/wasps are typically with the Head/Lead ants

FTM Head or Lead ants/bees/wasps go through the same pheromone change process as their MTF bugs, although they stay as their previous rank

The reason I specifically named these bug kingdoms above is just because they're the ones I have a solid idea of. They're bound to change in some form later down the line.

Also before anyone can say this: I would rather everyone not say something like "Well the Hammerhead Slugs may be evil but at least they're a little cool with transitioning" just because there's so much other horrible shit to them and how they are in the story (Plus their motives)

[emidori-crossing]

Emidori: Morning of Wednesday, July 15 (2 of 2)

I find a spot for that pirate cannon that Gullivarr sent me. And the anchor statue from the fishing tourney looks nice here too.

Pretty great seeing a cutesy girl in a ruffly dress firing a big ol’ cannon.

I see that Tucker’s home, so I pop in and find Patty visiting too!

I’m glad he’s happy with his stool, but what kinda butt he got if it’s so comfy on a stool made out of rock? Probably tones up with squats or something.

Celia’s getting unpacked, and it’s great to finally have her here!

Stu is making something new for me to learn - something my roomie might want too.

I visit the kiosk to get a NMT. I also finally get the custom path permit, because then I can find something nicer for my fancy restaurant. But before I head out, I change into some good work clothes.

On my way to the airport, I see the guys doing some yoga together. I rarely see three villagers all doing the same thing at once, so this is a nice photo opp.

And you bet I did chase that huge butterfly off to the right, but didn’t catch it. Deanna was just saying last night that she recently caught the biggest butterfly she’d ever seen and wanted to get more to have a model made. If that’s the same one, well...I kinda blew it this time.

I travel away and harvest everything I can carry. In addition to building things for my restaurant, I really need to raise up more money for supplies and for paying down my loan more.

I find a couple new things in the water that I’ve never caught before.

(Whoa weird, as I’m typing this, I have a sudden overwhelming craving for a Butterfinger. I don’t even know where that came from.)

Since the sea slug is cool-looking and has a similar color scheme to Stu, I figure he might like it as a pet.

As I go to the beach to get my DIY workbench set up, I find this guy. I’d like to think I’m this strong IRL.

I make as many chairs as I can, a music stand, and a couple shell lamps (those are for a different project, not the restaurant).

I have to get a boatload more customization kits. Here’s one shell lamp’s spot. I’ll want to put one more around here somewhere. Wait, what’s that in the background?

It turns out to be a pair of vivid tights!

I’m getting there. I do think I’d like hedges best for the fencing, but I need more sticks in order to build some.

I don’t think I’ve shown you my customized phone case. I just used one of these tiles that roomie had downloaded for other use.

I think my eyes would bulge out like that too if someone just casually handed me a whole freakin’ hammerhead shark in a tiny plastic bag. I think they’ll get along great together.

I’ll be back later for more werk.

[dingdonghun]

I am bored

So I will just talk about myself a bit.

It got long and I don’t wanna make people scroll so fdjgfdjl

Things I like that aren’t kpop

Salt Lamps

Crystals

Stones

Mythical creatures

Mythology

Flowers

Succulents

Horror

Witch craft (I am curious about it, I don’t do it)

Geodes 

Insects

Snakes

Unorthodox plushies like banana or sea slugs, mantis shrimp, etc.

Dream Catchers

Studio Ghibli films

Nature aesthetics

Favorite things

Mythical creature: flower fairies

Animal: Bunnies or Chinchillas 

Lizard: Bearded Dragon

insect: Orchid Mantis

Sea Creature: Sea Bunny

Flying creature: Indian Flying Fox Bat

Crystal: Citrine

Stone: Goldstone or Labradorite

Succulent: Bear Paw

Flower: Camellia

Food: Bagels and cream cheese

Fruit: Cantaloupe

Dessert: peanut butter cookies

scent: lemongrass

Book series: Tiger’s Curse

colors: pastel pink, mint green, pastel yellow, lavender, pastel blue

Idols: Kyungsoo, Namjoon, Bobby, Jungwoo, Doyoung, Johnny, Lucas, Yifan, Zitao, Junmyeon, Shownu, Minseok, Jooheon, Jackson, Taemin, Minho, Jonghyun, Daesung,T.O.P, G-Dragon, Minhyuk, Wonho, Yixing, Hyungwon, Changkyun, (honestly all of exo), Jeno, Yongguk, Jay Park

Things I am scared of

The ocean (deepest fear)

the things in the ocean (deepest fear)

hammerhead sharks

goblin sharks

megalodon sharks

Man-o-war jellyfish

Spiders (huge fear, working on it)

Heights (not so much anymore)

Being alone outside at night (biggest fear)

Porcelain dolls

Comforting things

oversized sweaters and no pants

Relaxing music

Favorite Let’s Players on youtube

Nostalgic video games like Spyro the Dragon or Sly Cooper

Eating fruit

Reading books

Cuddling

Naps

Talking to my closest friends

A warm cup of tea (very fruity, I am picky)

Lofi or vaporwave music

Things I want to achieve

Learning Korean and Spanish

Traveling the world

Learning to play the piano

Learning to play the guitar

Learning to dance

Learning to sing

Martial arts

Meditation

Running a side business for animal rehabilitation 

Finding “the one”  (which is why I’ve been single over a year)

Helping heal the earth

Helping heal the hearts of my friends and people who need it

Holding on each and every day

Reading the 50 something amount of unread books in my room

Getting outside on nature walks more often

Living in the countryside instead of the city

Having a pet cat and a pitbull

Being someone everyone trusts and looks up to

Losing weight and being confident in my body

Becoming the cute sweet gentle sunshine everyone thinks I am

Become more extroverted

Guilty pleasures

Kpop ofc lmao

Kpop albums

Kpop posters

Kpop photocards

Singing (I am not good. I am not just saying that. I mean it.)

Crystal collecting

Buying handcrafted mythical creatures (I have a pastel pink Cthulu baby)

Shoving a bunch of fruit in my mouth

I’m a sucker for a good smile

horror movies/games/stories

Car rides to nowhere

Misc

Dream place to live: A pretty place with lots of land and flowers in Washington

Would you change your name?: No, but I would ask everyone call me by my middle name (Marie) or my first and middle (Chelsea Marie) instead of just my first name

Bad traits I have: I don’t allow people to get close to me in my own heart in case they hurt me because that way it won’t hurt when I kick them out, lazy, tired a lot, extremely introverted, non-talkative, literally barely holding myself together, doesn’t express affection properly, untrusting, lots of walls

good traits I have: generous, will help literally anyone if I am able to, deeply caring for people especially my friends, always willing to lend advice, very affectionate, pretty eyes, laughs at literally everything, sticks up for people and myself, a home for my friends

Pets I have had throughout my life: A white cat with orange ears and an orange forehead and striped tail named Princess for my entire childhood up until I was 18, A puppy named Angel with a mental disability but she was the most loving happy baby ever, a bearded dragon named Lizzy, a bunch of fish, a rat named Pink, two little pond frogs, a beta named Dumbledore, a big brown mutt named Bear who was a sweet protective baby boy

Best friends: Josh and Alyssa whom I met online when I was 11 and we have been a trio ever since, I have met them both in person in 2016. Going to meet them again in January. We all have a matching best friend tattoo (totoro). (I consider MANY people my best friends but these are the two I trust 100%)

Artists I love: Joji, Exo, Monsta x, Bigbang, Lil peep, Ztao, Kris wu, bts, mgmt, studio killers, childish gambino, the midnight beast, the lonely island, flight of the conchords