#this is me trying to be concise- yeah it's not my best trait dfdfd

[cloudsrust]

Oooo!! Sozo pretends to be an ant! Interesting! Can I ask why? (Also what did Helob think when he found out Sozo’s a spider like him)

So- simplified answer: Sozo pretends to be an ant to both appear less threatening and more trustworthy to others (you'd be quicker to trust an ant rather than a spider) and as a mean of protection: where there is one ant there is often more to come, so many are discouraged from attacking him unless they're ready to take on a whole possible colony. (which- since arthropods are as big as mammals in this universe- is even more frightening than normal). (There is also a specie of spider (the Aphantochilus I believe) that mimics ants since they're its main prey- my Sozo isn't really based on one but I for sure took inspiration.)

Oh, and he also does so because he's convinced that that's the “Mushroom Gods”'s preferred form for a vessel.

More complex answer- *takes a deep breath*.. I have to first explain 3 more headcanons:

-How Menticides grow. -What they do. -What the Mushroomo are.

(CW: mention of self-sacrifice, self-mutilation, flesh/blood offerings, self-cannibalism, spider behaviour under the cut- nothing is too detailed but be warned.)

Let's start with the Menticides Mushrooms.. I still kept in mind that they're based on the Cordyceps, but at the same time I sprinkled in some ritualistic/myths stuff. They're no ordinary mushrooms, they only grow in Anura and only where a specific type of blood or body has been buried: That of someone who offered their being or life to the Mushroom Gods.

Anura is Heket's reign, the goddess of famine- who doesn't always answer the cries of hunger of her subjects. The most desperate turn their backs to her, worshipping instead the Mushroom Gods by offering parts of their own body, to have at least the mushrooms, born from their offers, to eat.

And so the Menticides' keep growing in the lands of Anura, at least until their roots have flesh to consume. (Mind you- this is what the rumors say, no one knows if the Mushroom Gods are actual deities or just hallucinations caused by either hunger or the spores. Even blood or bodies that didn't worship them could still grow pure Menticides- but everyone would think that those were heretics that had abandoned Heket's cult and worshipped the M. Gods instead.) How do the mushroom keep multiplying and growing? They're simply highly addicting. Their taste alike to a whole feast is sure to hook in anyone who eats enough. To have their taste, those who have become addicts, keep offering more and more- until they either offer up their whole body or succumb to the self-injuries. Now... wouldn't it be crazy if there were some that actively cultivated them?

Here comes the Mushroomo, the perfect mix between ant and mushroom. (I remembered of a specie of ants that literally “cultivates” mushrooms in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship- so since my stubborn self wanted Sozo to be a spider, I headcannoned the Mushroomo as ants instead!). They're so close to Menticide Mushrooms they became one with them, cultivating them onto their own “living” bodies. (If you kill them when you first meet them they will drop Menticides- and since they say they hadn't found any.. those might've been on their bodies.)

What does all of this has to do with why Sozo pretends to be an ant?

I already said that I see Sozo as an outsider, a travelling researcher of mushrooms that ventured to the Lands of the Old Faith. It is very likely that he stumbled upon Menticide mushroom and, not knowing the local tales around them, he consumed them for his research to take notes. He quickly became addicted, so addicted that he consumed almost all of the Menticides of the zone he had found them in (which, for someone that doesn't know the place that well, might mean that he consumed practically all of them). Realizing how his feast would soon be over, he tried to cultivate the few he had saved as he would with other mushrooms- but nothing ever grew of them.

During a night of withdrawal he a had a vision of the Mushroom Gods, whom revealed to him how to have more- all he needed was a flesh offering. Sozo both mesmerized and terrified by the experience, decided to do as told for desperation. He ripped off a pair of his arms (he could always regrow them afterall.. just a few molts and he would've been good as new, and most importantly he would've had more mushrooms!) and set up a offering ritual- before fainting due to the stress his body had had to go through. Sure enough the morning after more Menticides had grown where he had buried his limbs, but there was more than just the mushrooms: a horde of Mushroomo.

Even a tarantula can be as good as dead when surrounded by ants- he had to think fast. He kept his extra sets of eyes closed and made sure his fangs were perfectly sheeted into his fur, then he started praying they would fall for his play. Thankfully, with the help of also his missing limbs and his strong mushroom scent, the Mushroomo were fooled into thinking he was one of them, welcoming him in their colony. (Let's be real- I'm sure their brain is quite mushy (pun intended)).

During his stay, apart from consuming Menticides daily, worsening his mental condition and addiction, he also started to envy the little ones for their connection to the mushrooms, the ants being one with the Menticides, making them closer to the image of the Gods they worshipped.

So the moments he molted in secret, and a bit of his limbs regrew, he does a ritual once more- only this time is a union ritual.

He offered his living body to the Mushroom Gods, asking to be one with them like the others. To solidify his request and the union ceremony, he offered only one of his arms to the Gods while the other he consumed himself.

The day after his head felt heavy and all the Mushroomo were venerating him as their leader: they saw the face of their gods on the mushroom that had grown onto Sozo- and it was smiling down on them.

So- yeah.. Sozo pretends to be an ant to keep his followers at bay, was he to show that he is a spider around them they would at best freak out and run off or at worst think he killed their leader and “avenge” him, killing Sozo. So anytime he molts and fully regrows that pair of limbs he rips them off, both to keep his identity secret more easily and to renew his union with the Gods. (fun fact: a spider will rip their arm off if it's badly damaged or if that will save its life from a predator or danger- as long as it detaches correctly it's just a little annoyance to the spider.) Other than that, as I mentioned at the start, Sozo believes this ant-like form it's what the M.Gods want from him to be one with them. Take it as either a self-conviction to have the hope to one day ascend to Mushroom Godhood himself (the statue he gifts you makes me think that he doesn't only worship them but wants to be a M.God himself), or as an excuse to push through the whole ritualistic leg ripping and living with followers that would tear him apart were they to discover what he really is. (so other than the paranoia caused by the drugs he also as.. a very justified fear).

-

(I usually use they/them for Helob, just a heads up so there is no confusion in this bit!)

About what Helob thought when Sozo revealed to be a spider- it might be a bit anti-climatic but.. nothing changed much for them.

My Helob looks for two main things whenever they meet a new face: are they prey or are they predator? And if it's the latter- are they foe or ally? Those they see as predators require more investigation on their part- and since Sozo was seen as a predator even when he played the part of an ant (the whole reasoning of- if there are more nearby and they attack him they're done for- since certain ants species can and will overpower a spider when in group.) they took their time knowing him. By the time they found out the truth they had already concluded that he wasn't a threat.

It also helped that, in my headcanon, Helob finds that out after Sozo has just molted. (This makes Sozo, the bigger spider, equal if not weaker than Helob, the smaller one, strength wise.) That allowed Helob to show him that them and Sozo are allies in their eyes- friends- and that they were neither scared nor willing to attack him over the fact that he is a spider like them- even during such a vulnerable moment. The best I can say they thought is that finally they can talk spider to spider with him-! And have someone to share their uhm- cuisine whenever there is the risk for the "morsels" to "spoil". (a rare occurrence but- it's never good to waste food).