#menderbug <3

[its-ya-boi-cade]

[oneefin]

hiya! so this is a long one:

during december, i ran a daily puzzle recommendation column in a music discord server where i sent one cool puzzle every day for 31 days. those puzzles drew from basically every corner of puzzling that i've been sinking into for the past couple of years, so i'm going to dump them all in this singular tumblr post as a quick way to jot down where i've already been. maybe you'll enjoy one of them also!

logic puzzles

1. nonbinary masyu, designed by walker for the 2023 puzzler pride edition of the griddle. link goes to the pdf of the whole puzzle pack, where this puzzle and its rules can be found on page 5.

2. recursive masyu, designed by fleb, with a super unique variety mechanic. link contains the rules. (fleb had a stellar youtube channel going in the past with really well made breakdown videos of various puzzles. all of it is worth watching)

3. rush hour sudoku, designed by chameleon, which adds an interactive mechanic to a sudoku. link contains the rules and a playable solver that they coded themselves

4. the miracle sudoku, designed by mitchell lee, which at this point is incredibly famous. link contains the rules and a playable solver.

5. foggy twilight kurotto, designed by menderbug. good if you've done a twilight kurotto, or a normal kurotto, before. link contains the rules and a playable solver via penpa+.

6. choco banana, designed by tawan sunathvanichkul for the 79th issue of tambox bulletin. link goes to the pdf for the whole puzzle page, where this puzzle is on the left side.

7. litherslink, designed by michael3.14 for the snakes on a plane series in the cracking the cryptic discord server. i've played slitherlink before, and this messed with my head. link goes to a puzz.link solver with the rules in Help -> Rules.

8. star battle, designed by jack lance (rest in peace). oh, is there no link for it? that's weird.

word puzzles

9. bagel shop caption puzzle, a rows garden published by the new yorker. link contains a solver with the clues.

10. printer's devilry, a crossword by kyle dolan with printer's devilry clues. link goes to a solver on amuselabs with the clues and an explanation of how to solve them.

11. safe cracking, a crossword by noneuclidean with an unorthodox theme. link goes to a solver on crosshare with the clues.

12. japanese braille, a sample puzzle from the international linguistics olympiad. link goes to a pdf containing all of the sample puzzles, where this puzzle is on page 4. note that the pdf version of the puzzle (as opposed to the above image) contains extra information that makes the puzzle easier.

13. the 2023 puzzmo holiday puzzlebook, published by puzzmo. link goes to a pdf containing the above puzzle and so many more. if you like what's inside and you're not already playing puzzmo, now is a great time to hop aboard!

hunt puzzles

14. paint by numbers, designed by brian chen for the 2023 galactic puzzle hunt. link includes an answer checker.

15. extreme anagrams, designed by yannick yao for the 2022 galactic puzzle hunt. the above image is a curated selection from the puzzle that i found the most interesting. link goes to the full puzzle.

16. make your own math quiz, designed by azalea weisblat and josh alman for the 2020 galactic puzzle hunt, which was one of my favorite solving experiences of all time. link goes to the full puzzle, which is interactive.

17. worm search, part of a puzzle designed by adeline wong and thomas gordon for the 17th shard puzzle hunt. note that knowing which puzzle from the hunt contains this subpuzzle is a small spoiler, so if you're sure you want to see the full puzzle, it's here.

games

18. 0123456789, an instructionless puzzle game designed by matrix67 that defies explanation. link goes to itch.io

19. the blot thickens, a puzzle designed by scottg for the 2023 confounding calendar. i previously wrote about it here! link goes to itch.io

20. a level set from INSIGHT (or "Insight"? or "IN?IGHT"? or "IN⸮IGHT"? the name isn't stylized consistently), a game designed by maou. this game is instructionless - your goal is to split each shape into two pieces following some rule. the rule for this level set can be inferred from only the image, but the game expects you to toy around with possibilities to figure out why certain solutions are right and others are wrong. the link goes to the full game on steam, where if you'd like to try that, you can buy it and reach this stage yourself.

21. klifur, a bouldering simulator designed by torfi that's so like and so unlike real climbing. link goes to itch.io

22. frog finder, a cute game designed by poobslag. it got updated with more content since i originally played it! link goes to itch.io

tiny tricksies

23. make oo, a puzzle designed by beekie. link goes to itch.io

24. addition puzzle, designed by beekie for the 2021 confounding calendar. link goes to itch.io

25. snow walk, a gif-based puzzle designed by patrick traynor (the maker of patrick's parabox) for the 2021 confounding calendar. link goes to itch.io

26. ペンギン迷路 (penguin maze), a japanese puzzle designed by qrostar. you don't need to know japanese to solve it - the goal is to place one right arrow (->) in an empty space in the grid such that starting from the marked arrow in the top right and moving in the direction of each arrow you pass eventually leads you to the flag in the bottom. link goes to the full puzzle on their twitter ("""X""")

variety

27. an unusual chess puzzle, originally designed by raymond sullivan in "the chess mysteries of the arabian knights", sourced from this blog post on chess.com. this is not a conventional chess puzzle - the goal is to figure out how this position happened. ie: it's currently someone's turn, and you have to figure out what the board looked like 3 moves ago.

28. five houses puzzle, designed by jack lance. i've embellished the problem statement to make the goal more clear:

there are five houses on a street that all have different prices and heights.

let's say the prices are $1M, $2M, $3M, $4M, and $5M, and the heights are 3m, 3.5m, 4m, 4.5m, and 5m, in some order.

given the following constraints, identify the price and height of each house:

1) The house that's taller than the house that's more expensive than the house that's shorter than the house that's cheaper than the house that's blue is red.

(i came across this from a blog post by jacob cohen of puzzles for progress discussing jack lance's passing. worth a read honestly - jack lance was too good)

29. the cursed dice riddle, designed by dan finkel and presented by ted-ed. link goes to the video, which contains the problem statement and the solution.

30. round 2 of s19e6 of the british quiz show only connect, reformatted as a puzzle. this is honestly worth its own blog post, which i'll make later - for now, you can find the full episode here.

31. last but by far not least, LOK, a very artful puzzle book designed by blaz urban gracer of letibus design. link goes to itch.io

i had a great time fishing up all of these during december, and i'm hoping to find even cooler stuff this year and beyond. send me cool stuff if you've got anything!

[nonuggetshere]

May we learn about Sting and her other parent?

ALWAYS HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT MY OCS

Sorry this took a hot second, I wanted to finalise the Bean Designs™ before replying

There's actually 3 of them, with Sting being the eldest

And for some context, they're from an AU where PV's sentience is discovered before the sealing, and also they ruinite with Ghost shortly after.

She's extroverted, super energetic and likes to bite things (and people rip PK's ankles). First thing she did right out of the egg was to try and chew on PV's finger. She's also named after Hornet.

Spectre is her twin brother and the younger one out of the two. He's a shy, quiet kid and a bit of a drama queen. Literally came into this world screaming his head off. And you can probably guess correctly that he's named after Ghost. I find PV naming their kids after their siblings very cute.

Also, yeah he's a bee and should technically be a grub, but I got attached to this design and just justified it by saying since vessels go through hemimetabolous metamorphosis, they got that from their parent and just hatch looking like a miniature bee. Yeah, that does raise some eyebrows.

And the third one, Tally. They're 5 years younger than their siblings and look a lot more like a normal vessel and take a lot after PV appearance-wise. They're a quiet, sweet kid that prefers to do their own thing. Their nickname is "little tulip" thanks to their horns looking like flower buds. They're also the one kid I draw the lost of, for some reason

As for their parents-

They have three. (the bee is supposed to have wings btw I just consistently forget about giving the characters wings for whatever reason, it's the bane of my existence)

Petunia is a solitary bee that just ended up in Hallownest and settled down there after a pretty hard life. They're genderfluid, use any pronouns and work as a comedian (who has a personal love for puns). They met, started living with and got together with their other partner before they met PV. Also, I find it funny that they're with PV bc they're very much an anarchist, very critical of the monarchy and generally dislike the higher beings. Also also, they've been declared autistic by my bestie.

Lummis is the firefly, he was born in Hallownest, orphaned and then adopted into a family of menderbugs. Because of it he's sort of a mechanic (or the bug equivalent) by trade. He's also the token cis guy of the relationship (he/him). He's the reasonable one in the relationship that keeps the others in check but still goes along with whatever idiotic idea Petunia pulls because "somebody will have to talk the guards out of arresting us and it certainly won't be you and your big mouth". He's also Hegemol's godson because I head anon that guy as a menderbug and I thought it'd be funny if PV has a bunch of close calls getting catched by good ol' Hedge.

Petunia is the bio parent of Sting and Spectre and Lummis is the bio parent of Tally, though they don't really make that distinction and just all raise them together.

[vulturereyy]

Hi! If it isn't much of a bother...could you share some Mettah HCs? <3

I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer this! The short answer is... I'm really bad at open ended questions ahah and the things I say don't always feel like they're ?? satisfying to someone who asked a question?? But I've put this off long enough, so I'm just gonna go off the top of my head:

Mettah's childhood nickname(s) from Hegemol were often food related, including but not limited to: Honeydrop (which his also his surname, so she was Honeydrop Honeydrop for a time), Nectar, Honeydew, and his favorite was a mix of these words to call her his little dollop of ____. Most of these names focused on her orange color.

Lurien, on the other hand, stuck for calling her his sunshine. Both because she was orange, and because she is the light of his life.

Mettah is just barely taller than Lurien, and she lauds that single inch over him like a throne.

Mettah is not a fighter, and doesn't take up true combat training from either of her fathers, but she does learn self defense.

Her weapon of choice is a crossbow, when she has to use it.

Mettah is well-versed in the arts by Lurien, and is a painter almost as skilled as he is. However, she eventually grows into her own style of outsider-esque art, and moves toward making art with a message or purpose.

Mettah puts her art skills to use to paint and graffiti pro-union propaganda for the menderbugs as the kingdom starts back up, and becomes a big advocate for worker's rights.

Lurien offers the side of the spire for her various murals, and he cannot be more proud.

Mettah loves the city just as much as her fathers do and did, and follow in their footsteps to take care of it in her own way.

Mettah is a disaster sapphic who is down bad for anyone who is niceys to her tbh and also anyone who is gruff and stoic. and also anyone inbetween.

Mettah loves her favorite (family friend) uncle, @grollow's Grimm, and definitely doesn't have the eyes for his daughter. Don't worry about it.

"Your head looks like a pastry!" Is the very first thing she ever said to Grimm once she could speak. She's been holding that in since she was a water-bound nymph.

Originally, Mettah was not going to be biologically Hegemol's. My Lurien is trans and has the facilities to carry an egg, and thus, Hegemol was worried for Lurien's health if he were to be the sire, just given their size difference. However, I settled on the fact that she would be both of theirs, as the two of them could seek out assistance from the White Lady in peering into Lurien's clutch in the early stages and culling all but the one that would be best for his health to carry. They did not specify any traits except for Lurien's and the egg's health. (Lurien wouldn't have been able to safely carry more than one egg at a time anyway so a cull would have happened no matter what)

I decided that she was Hegemol's after I drew all these images, so I think I'm going to give her two little horn nubs like her beetle father to match this :) But a mostly-damselfly egg would have also been the safest for Lurien to carry, hence why she looks so much more like him than Hegemol.

They don't know where she got her orange. Recessive gene magic babey. She is for sure theirs though.

Mettah loves arson. Like, a lot.

[autistichornet]

I am having thoughts. You are now subjected to my thoughts

Tiso has shit eye-sight and needs the bug equivalent of glasses. However not very practical in combat so he switched to goggles so they'd stay on his face.

Myla and the other crystal peak bugs used to sing for company and entertainment while working, just imagine many voices echoing around the caverns like a sea shanty. Although relatively small bugs by themselves, when singing as a large group they are intimidating. Like those bees that make patterns on the outside of hives to scare predators!

City of tears is now a very cold place because of the constant rain, buildings aren't very good at keeping warmth and mainly everyone there is infected so nobody really feels it except Lemm (Emilitia just doesn't care/notice). Hiding away in his small relic shop and having a constant downpour outside doesn't help with his chronic pain. Neck and back pain interfere with translating relics and he gets super pissed.

PK burrows. Wyrm things baby! He is guaranteed to have moved from where he fell asleep, most likely ending up in a hole somewhere he dug while sleeping. He also burries/hoards random shit out of habit.

The vessels don't have a voice but can communicate with each other using telepathy. Also body language! Ghost isn't very expressive but has the energy of a cat making direct eye contact as they push something off a table.

Vessels vibrate. They make no noise but they can purr and you can feel them vibrating if you touch their shell/mask.

When the nailmasters where little they were scared of the dark, Sly held onto the lantern he used back then for as long as he could, eventually selling it in his shop because the brothers had all grown up and left.

Hegemol was a menderbug :D

Hornet trained in the hive the same time Hive Knight was being trained, because of that, their spike ball attacks are similar as Vespa taught them both

Cloth's weapon is a tooth from a beast that she defeated alongside Nola back in her homeland.

Xero had 4 arms before his execution in which they were cut off (a bit morbid but his sprite has no visible arms and I think it's cool + kinda sad)

The Collector obsession with grubs came from its creation as akingsmould imbued with the purpose of protecting the wyrm. As defective kingsmould the Collector instead sees grubs as very tiny baby wyrms and tries to protect them. (It's also obsessed because grubs are cute and I'm also obsessed with grub cuteness)

Monomon is cold to the touch, though she had a thin outer layer that feels like putting your hand in tingly mist. The layer can allow her out of acid for longer periods of time.

Pk has wings! Under that cloak he got 3 ol' pairs of iridescent wings. Although the public never saw them, his image is often depicted with them. Also monarch wings? Wings OF a monarch.

Hornet had to stop Hollow from putting random shit in their mouth. They once tried to eat mosscreep who didn't seem to realise it was being consumed.

One day baby quirrel walked into the archive and nearly got blown up. That encounter made him want to be there even more much to Monomon's confusion.

Grimm carries Grimmchild by the scruff of its neck like a cat.

and uh. hornet autism

ok I've spilled my brain juice now I can sleep ^__^

[manofmanymons]

Answering an ask made me realize I never did this

Tagged by @vidramon <3

Relationship status: single and never planning to mingle kskskd

Favorite color: red! But black, the kinda pink that's in cotton candy, and grey are all real nice too. Maybe also the blue that's in cotton candy.

Favorite food: toss up between fuckinnnnnnnnnnnnn any kind of salmon sashimi and bo kho

Song currently stuck in my head: the disney town theme from kh:bbs

Last thing I googled: ...does menderbug still appear in the infected crossroads 💀

Time: 11:44pm

Dream trip: I wanna visit my family in Guam and see where my mom and Nana grew up :)

Something I want: for more people to love Kaito Shinonome as much as I do. And to pass Chem 109C.

I don't wanna tag ten whole people so I shall copy my predecessor and tag four @rares-posts @resident-beekeeper @bruntriceballs @dingbingbats

[walpywalpy]

HOLLOW KNIGHT FAN SPOTTED. INQUIRY BARRAGE ENGAGE Please answer the following questions truthfully and completely. 1. Are you going insane waiting for Silksong? 2. Have you ever given Divine a Fragile Charm? 3. Is Hornet: A. Void B. Screen Transitions C. Waifu 4. Opinion on the Nailsmith being gay? 5. Speaking of which, in any given playthrough, are you more likely to go for a "pacifist" (saving Zote, not killing the Nailsmith, etc. etc.) route or the opposite? 6. Opinion on Bretta's diary? 7. Have you ever killed Menderbug? 8. Would you say that you are a normal person (sad when Myla dies) or a heartless monster (enjoy ending her innocent and too short life)? 9. Favorite boss? Not counting THK/Radiance/Abs. Rad. 10. Favorite NPC?

OOO BIG ASK

Are you going insane for Silksong?

Of course!

Have you ever given Divine a Fragile Charm?

I think I have

Is Hornet: A. Void B. Screen transitions C. Waifu

Not answering this so…SHAW

Opinion on the Nailsmith being gay?

WE STAN GAY NAILSMITH

Speaking of which, in any given playthrough, are you more likely to go for a "pacifist" (saving Zote, not killing the Nailsmith, etc. etc.) route or the opposite?

Absolutely pacifist. I don’t like seeing the characters die 🥺

Opinion on Bretta’s diary

It was cute until Zote came

Have you ever killed Menderbug?

I don’t think I have lol

Would you say that you are a normal person (sad when Myla dies) or a heartless monster (enjoy ending her innocent and too short life?

I was sad so I’m normal 😭😭😭

Favorite boss? Not counting THK/Radiance/Abs. Rad.

MANTIS! LORDS!

Favorite NPC?

Elder bug. He’s such a sweet heart.

[nyctophobia-au]

In reference to ur latest reblog,,,

Menderbug /hj

But actually,,, Herrah >:3c

Lmao; I don't have enough headcanons about Menderbug to answer the questions, but I will say they are best character. <3

For Herrah though, my sexuality headcanon for her is definitely bisexual. She just gives me cool bi mom vibes. For gender headcanons, she's just a nice lady. :] A ship I have with her is,,, honestly no one? I suppose she and Vesla could be a nice pairing, but I think of them more as besties that make fun of Auri together. <3 As for a BROTP, I feel like she and Monomon are total besties. They just give me close friend vibes. Lurien is also part of the group of besties, but I feel like Herrah is not as close to him as she is Monomon. As for NOTPs for Herrah, I am generally the type to be quite liberal with what others ship. Even if I'm not a fan of the ship, I don't tend to get on others' cases for enjoying it. The only exceptions though are when people ship Herrah with Hornet (EW) and when people ship her with any of the Vessels. She and Hornet would be nasty for obvious reasons, but I also feel like shipping her with the Vessels would be nearly just as creepy and predatory. A random headcanon I have about her is that she's like, the best mom. She seems like the really good, nurturing cool mom type, and I feel like she loves her daughter very dearly and it's sweet. :] My general opinion of her is that I like her! I think she's a well-rounded character and I would probably enjoy writing about her.

[hollowsoba]

THANK YOU FOR 140+ !!!!

 it’s supposed to be a personal hk doodle blog but im glad you guys like them.... here’s some lil icon bugs (free to use!) 

i wanna make a mini request event for hk ocs! submit ur hk oc+1 fact of them,, i’ll make mini icons like these hehee

[monotone-artist]

You should draw the Menderbug, I think he's a funky little dude.

after ghost injured him and definitely didnt kill him whatsoever, they helped him fix up some of the signs they broke <3

[embrace-the-sibling]

Embrace the sibling Part 3

Prev. | Next

[Comic Summary: Hornet and the Hollow Knight travel through the Forgotten Crossroads to get to the hot springs. Hollow has some mild difficulty traversing the landscape, due to their sheer size. Once they're at the hot springs, Hornet decides to let Hollow to take as much time as they need in the water and sits down on a nearby bench. They make a big splash in the water and peaks out of the pool. /End Summary.]

Full transcript below!

Comic location: The Forgotten Crossroads. Much like the Black Egg temple, this area has been simplified down and drawn with lighter colors than in game.

Panel one: Hornet is holding the Hollow Knight's finger and the two of them walk through the starting area. Hollow looks up at the light coming from the old well. They are nearly the same height as the celing. Menderbug's road sign can be seen in the foreground.

Panel two: Hollow is carefully climbing down some cargo lifts while Hornet observes them.

Panel three: Hollow is ducking through an entrance that they're too big for. Hornet is waiting for them to catch up.

Panel four: Hollow smacks their head on a platform that they didn't see, while Hornet is getting annoyed at this point.

Panel five: The two siblings eventually make it to the hotsprings room in The Forgotten Crossroads. Hornet is walking in while talking to Hollow, saying (quote) "Here we are. These hot springs have a healing property to them. This should help you recover from your injuries." (unquote). Hollow quietly listens while walking into the room on their knees.

Panel six: Hollow stares into the glowing white water, taking a look at their faint reflection. Hornet, who is offscreen, says (quote) "Take your time. I'll be over here on this bench." (unquote).

Panel seven: Hornet is sitting peacefully on the iron bench in the room.

Panel eight: Hollow splashes into the hotspring off screen, while Hornet looks at them in mild annoyance. She states, (quote) "Well. That's one way to do it." (unquote).

Panel nine: She sighs, saying (quote) "I'll just change your bandages later." (unquote). Hollow is peaking out of the water, resting one of their hands on the edge of the pool.

End Part Three.

Previous

Next

[fly-sky-high-bug-games]

48 for OC ask meme? :3

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

I love how my first thought ever was Elem!

He is an NPC (more accurate term is 'side characters' but what ever) that actually pops in the story few times, Elem is a menderbug that got unfortunate with his timing during the infection, having to run for his life from infected bugs all the way into the Teacher's archives. He explody jellies kept him safe from possible attackers but he could also not leave back home. He was stuck there for couple of years, scavenging for food and reading lots and lost of archived knowledge to not go insane, keeping the place maintained and hoping that he will be rescued and go back home safely, not knowing that residents of the kingdom are all long gone.

Fortunately, Silva and Yonna were on the mission and heading to the archives, finding him there. The girls helped escort him back home to his wife Lila and three kids. He's been a helping hand post infection in the story and Elderbug's assistant.

The only bad thing you could say he did was uhhh "borrow"... some writings and tablets from the Archive, yeah. :D (can you blame him? He thought he could never visit the place again due to how infection was).

Wisp is also absolutely the most pure but he is also a baby so it's a given~

-The Oc Question post-

[loumun-versen]

Day 29: Patch

Well, one small piece before the end of the series! Here's Menderbug patching up his favorite sign in the forgotten crossroads <3

[ruthlesslistener]

Your birds are so cute! Also I will admit I tried to zoom in on those pics to try to read your laptop screen for a sneak peak at until dawn shall break but my eyesight isn’t good enough :(

Aren’t they though?? I love them sm they’re such good friends

jsdfgbksjdfg I’m flattered you wanted a sneak peek of fic too, but unfortunately that part is quite context-specific XD I can offer this bit tho, from the rough draft of the current chapter: . . . Across the city, life moved on. Menderbugs and buisnessbugs caught in the rigors of their work soon put their murmurings about the Hollow Knight behind them, though the noblebugs and other gossipmongerers often murmured quiet things about failing spells and the hidden secrets of the Pale Court when they thought nobody of great importance was listening. With each day that dragged its belly across the Palace's floors, whimpering quietly at the lack of attention, months and years of work delayed by the plague shook their bridals and pawed impatiently at the doors of the mortals, pulling their thoughts from the mysteries surrounding the citadel far below. No one had time to pry into the affairs of gods; no one was of high enough import, though some certainly thought the opposite. And as for those who did so happen to be privy to the inner workings of the White Palace- well. They were far too busy with the return of the Queen to pay much attention to the things that lesser beings whispered in the shadows, or the hulking presence that said shadows had returned to them. The White Lady, back from her long holiday, had made quite sure of that fact.

For the three ex-Dreamers, this distraction offered a welcome respite. Their shared duty had crumbled the moment they had been cleaved from the Dream Realm, but there were certain things that had not crumbled with it, a certain comfort in finding kinship among another who had willingly given life for an eternity of unreality. A certain assurance that the time they had spent on their stone plinths had not been all for naught. 

(The Radiance, in Her great fury, had sought to sunder the tentative bonds that had formed between them before they all went under. She had sought to sow conflict between them, to weaken them with hallucinations and accusations, to pitch one proud Dreamer against the other.)

(Perhaps She, in all her years of suppressing the fears of mortals, had not known exactly what she was doing. Perhaps She herself did not realize that mortals, when left on their own terms, were generally amenable to reforming bonds on their own terms, as She had not. Perhaps She had not thought it to be possible, for every fight that had been thrown before Her had been a battle between life and death, a severing agent that took all of those loyal to her- her brother realm, her sibling's heart. The mind of her children, her own burning life.)

.

.

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Buuut that’s all you’re gonna get for now >:3 I got some more shit to write first

[hummingvoid]

I beat the first 2 Pantheons and NKG. I've done pretty much everything else (including misc. stuff like the Hunter's Journal, Menderbug and Mr. Mushroom) besides 3 more White Defender fight, the last 3 Pantheons, and actually getting to the Black Egg Temple.