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roseyposie-agere · 4 months

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Same anon who sent the ask about little!branch n little!floyd! Don't worry about accidentally deleting the ask, stuff happens :)

HELLO?????? little!JD????????? opening my eyes fr to that! Especially with the fandom's parentification of him!!! Of how *hes* the one who had always taken care of the brothers, sure they had their grandma but John always felt responsible for his brothers bc he's the oldest! He has to take care of them! It's literally his job! That's probably why he was so obsessed with the family harmony and being perfect

JD def would feel out of place at first regressing because he's use to being the one taking care of his brothers and not them taking care of *him* I feel like his first time regressing would be....not great tbh, lotta emotions lotta crying...just a mess really but after a couple more times I feel like he'd enjoy it a lot!!!

John dory would be a messy little! Always covered in dirt and grime, probably has sticks in his hair! He just loves exploring and having adventures that he can't help get dirty!

I'm not sure if he'd have a specific brother he's more attached to as a caregiver...mmmmaybe Bruce? He also loves having poppy and viva as caregivers bc their so excitable and wild!!!

And of course little!JD has rhonda as well! She's always happy to play with little!john and is extra gentle with him because of her size! Big armadillo puppy bus....

Anon you've made little! JD live rent free in my head, he's in there making mudpies and playing with pillbugs

You are so right his first few times regressing would be very emotional!! I think he'd be very worried about his brother's, not allowing himself to relax "but what about Floyd?? He had that whole traumatic expirence, who's going to make sure he's ok??? It's my job to do that" After a few times he'd maybe relax a bit if poppy or even Bruce promised that they're keeping an eye on everyone, but I also think JD would be afraid of not being "needed", if he's not taking care of his brothers then why do they even keep him around? It takes alot of gentle conversations and reasurance that he's important and loved no matter what

I imagine viva being a very fun excitable caregiver, that also tends to be very nervous!! She loves that JD loves exploring and having adventures, but please stay where she can see you! It's still can be dangerous even without the bergains being threats, and little ones shouldn't be on their own anyways!!

Poppy and little! JD sing karaoke together!! Both poppy and viva find lots of nature related crafts for him, like leaf prints!! I just imagine Rhonda throwing him up and catching him again, with viva in between thinking it's adorble and also having a heart attack

#anon you are my beloved/p #age regression #sfw agere #agere #sfw age regression #fandom agere #agere hcs #agere headcanons #trolls agere

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ashcoveredtraveler · 1 month

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Headcannon Dumping (2)

Soul Master likes jewelry, especially circlets. While all of the other bugs in the city wear wigs, he wears a crown for himself to signify how important he views himself.

Intersex Quirrel. I really like the idea of him having a pouch to carry young kids as female pillbugs have them in real life. But since I already made Traitor Lord trans(and if I were to make another character trans, I would make them mtf), I decided to just make Quirrel intersex, having him possess only a few female features.

Hive Knight can't fly due to having a Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), which is an actual virus that affects bees. This may be canon as he doesn't have wings in-game. But what isn't canon is that Herrah made Hive Knight multiple cloaks with wing-like imagery, which made him more beautiful than all of the other bees with wings.

Vessels do not need to eat to survive but they do need nutrients to grow and develop. They have mouths hidden under the bottom of their shell. However, I would like to think that their mouths are horrifying. I would also like to think they have a double mouth like an Xenomorph from the Alien franchise. (The image below is the mouth in question):

Wyrms can grow fur depending on where they live, kinda like how animals grow and lose their fur depending on the season. However, you wouldn't be able to see these as the fur grows between their scales and is hidden away most of the time. This allows pockets of heat to be stored away so it doesn't get messy from all of the dirt it has to tunnel through. Vessels also grow fur, but it really depends on the amount of nutrients they get and the environment they grow up in.

This ties into the last point, but White Lady can grow fur or fuzz. I imagine it would feel like poison ivy. I would imagine that when the vessel grows this, it would initially be difficult to tell if it was fur or plant fuzz. But when maintaining the vessel's fuzz/fur, the retainer's hands and arms would get itchy, meaning that the vessel can be poisonous.

I kinda mentioned this in the knight's backstory, specifically for Isma's backstory, but she was born in a "communal family unit", or a household with multiple parents. Polyamory is common within Greenpath, though there isn't a head of the household, and consists of multiple types of parents instead of a father and multiple wives.

Manti are the Germans of the bug world. They speak so aggressively but they could be talking about the most normal stuff.(I know in my language headcanon I say that their language would sound like Afrikaans, but I am saying German as I see memes about it more often.)

Sorry if this post was a bit shorter than the first headcanon post. This has been in my drafts longer than I would like. I am also currently in a different country for a week for a spring break class. That means I don't have constant WiFi and am at the mercy of the hostel WiFi's. So might as well post something.

#hollow knight #hk headcanons #hk soul master #hk quirrel #hollow knight quirrel #hk hive knight #hk vessel #hk pk #hk white lady #hk worldbuilding #hk wyrm #hk wl

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heart-forge · 10 months

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hey! what are the manor hill ROs favorite forms of like domestic affection/quiet intimacy?? (wearing each others clothes, brushing hair, peeling oranges, unconsciously shifting closer, ect ect)

alternatively, if they had no responsibilities and could do what they wanted, what kind of future would the ROs want for themselves?

oooo cute !! god no one asked but the peeling oranges thing is mine. one day a huge guy will share fruit with me.

Valerian

Intimacy - as a guy who can have a small army on deck to do petty things he wants done, acts of service aren't much—more than physical gifts, but still—his ultimate is the subtle act of choosing to be around him. Of all the people he knows, you're the one who chooses him, for no benefit other than him.

Future - If you ask him this he will curl up into a pillbug and roll away. He will be adamant that he can't even think of such an answer. Thinking it will make it happen IRL and set off such a series of events that will destroy everything.

Abeni

Intimacy - Oh she's just like me fr fr, the orange thing. Small acts of sharing and kindness, fruit being a big deal when you're out at sea (a special snacky to keep your teeth rooted), the fiddly act of doing something inconvenient and messy just for her convenience? It's happening.

Future - She wants a world where the two of you run off somewhere far far away, where letters are sporadic and she can be literally anyone in the world. Or, if we're compromising on dreams, she'll also take a world where instead of feeling like a stranger in her own country when she comes home for the sake of her family, she runs away to sit in the woods with you and play in the dirt/create some sort of sport for your bees to play/pet a chicken.

Gnarl

Intimacy - Getting ready together in the morning. It's like a behind the scenes somewhere that you're not supposed to be for them.

Future - Fake their own death and live on your farm forever with no one bothering them or knowing where they are. Gnarl's are short because they focus on these things with such intensity that they're right under the skin: it's second nature to want, and they expend much more effort to suppress the desire to flesh out these extremely achievable fantasies fjdsdjk

#talkForge #manor hill #valerian #gnarl #abeni #literally the second I read 'what is their ideal future' I could feel the shutters close and lock on valerian's brain #he's beyond 'we cant let people know we sit' he's full 'we can't let people know I have a rich inner life'

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tasteofyourblood · 1 month

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tagged by @eyeldritch (apologies for any missed tag games before, i'm so tired)

are you named after anyone? nope

when was the last you cried? monday

do you have kids? hah nope

what sports do you play/have you played? never did a sport. played racketball w my sis when younger, liked tennis in hs, wanna learn ballet (that's not sport but like, i wanted to add it)

do you use sarcasm? realized just last month that i kinda sorta don't understand sarcasm if it's not the obvious kind w inflection & shit, but uh ye sumtimes

what is the first thing you notice about people? hair probably

what is your eye color? dark dark brown, get lost in my eyes boi

scary movies or happy endings? scary movies :3

any talents? i learn languages really easily, will i speak em? hahaaaaa NO

where were you born? tashkent, uzbekistan (this feels like doxxing myself)

what are your hobbies? books, movies, knitting, embroidery (kinda), sewing (kinda), art (KINDA), hopefully gonna work up the courage to finally start painting on my clothes & plan to do linocut printmaking one day

do you have any pets? my beautiful son bean (black cat, he's 8yrs old this october :3)

how tall are you? 5'6 i think, i can never remember bcuz it annoys me & i wish i was taller

favorite subject in school? math lol & spanish class!!!

dream job? be a pillbug hanging out w my beautiful friends in the dirt & grass 💕

tagging @inkmaze @mlentertainment @safodebuenosaires @autism69 @holyheart @snoopy-dyke @katealot @guydog @human-sweater-vest

#the do you have kids question feels so out of place for this shitpiss webbed site gjfngt #tag game

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ladytabletop · 11 months

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I listen to alone at the table, and I really enjoyed the bird dirt one you just put up. I'm not much for going out and getting in the dirt, but I enjoyed listening to you having fun at it! It also made me giggle that you kept getting distracted and having to remind yourself "I don't care about the garden right now, I'm a bird." Sorry you weren't able to find a pillbug, though. Did you see any later? And did you find out what the grubs turn into?

Ahh, thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I did find pillbugs later in a flowerbed. The grubs are probably some sort of scarab beetle grub, but since there's over 30K species in that genus, I am not sure exactly which type they are! Birds do, in fact, love to eat them, though!

#the lady answers #alone at the table #thank you so much!!#feedback makes my day

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creepiefarm · 2 years

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pls talk more anout millipedes i dont really like most bugs but u make it sound so interesting

u r opening the floodgates of bug info bc millipedes r my number one bug hyperfix 🫶

THEYRE SO INTERESTING THO!!!

millipedes are detritivores! this means they eat decaying plant matters, land isopods (roly-polys/pillbugs/etc) are another example of this. (tho they r crustaceans and not bugs!) so these silly guys just eat dead leaves n rotting wood and dirt <3 people often think of centipedes bc they look similar (they are in the same subphylum "Myriapoda"), but centipedes are predators and eat other bugs! they are also venomous which is super cool, and r often p aggressive. house centipedes r an exception tho they're like babies, u don't gotta worry about them

anyway back to millipedes, for defense they firstly curl up in balls to protect themself, they also do this when sleeping :] here's two of mine sleeping <3 their head is tucked in the middle, then all their legs curl around it ough

BUT ALSO!!! they throw up toxic stuff for defense! some of them throw up literal cyanide HOW METAL IS THAT!!! some species also have pores on the side of their body, and a certain species expels creosote from that for defense! it's all too weak to hurt ppl, the most it does is stain ur hands. but for a millipede sized predator like a mouse or smth it could save the millipede!

millipedes also loveeeeee being together <3 it's probably partly for defense, bc a lot of u throwing up toxins together has a higher chance of beating an enemy ❤️‍🔥 but they also just totally hang out together it's rlly cute :(((

here's more pics of mine hanging out 2gether <3

millipede reproduction is so interesting but would take a Long time to talk about and i'm kinda lazy to type it up. but they do "hug" when they mate, the female passes her eggs to the male who fertilizes them w his gonopods, then she takes them back. some millipedes create these cells out of chewed up food to place a single egg in, it looks almost exactly like millipede poop, so it disguises n hides them! in some species the female digs underground, makes a little cave and lays her eggs. then curls up around them until they hatch <3 it's v sweet

also some millipedes can be easily sexed by looking at their 7th segment, the males have an enlarged segment they call a saddle. both of the species i keep (Florida Ivory + American Giant) are examples of this

i put little arrows at the saddle :3 also male millipedes r just??? super horny??? and in captivity they'll just have gay sex even if female millipedes r in the same tank. they'll have gay sex with different Species even if there's females of Their species around. this happened w two of mine Masky n Grim lol, tho all of mine r male anyway. but they are two different species!

also they can live a rlly long time???? like florida ivory millipedes can live 10+ years in captivity which is Wild for a bug! most of them get to a certain size n stay around there, but some will continue to molt n grow their whole life.

also sometimes the springtails in my culture climb around the the millipedes and it annoys them so they thrash around to throw them off! it's so interesting 2 me bc i've never seen bugs get annoyed like that

also some species have a symbiotic relationship w a particular species of mite that is specific to them, and the mite crawls around on the millipede and keeps it clean :0 African Giant Millipedes r a rlly good example of this!

i have 2 millipedes rn, Masky the american giant (the brown one) n Zim the purple ivory millipede and they r both so sweet. they've never thrown up on me bc i'm careful w them. masky is more shy n hides a lot, one time he literally just ate a cucumber from underground instead of coming up??? i think he just hates being seen tbh

he takes a little while to wake up too, even tho i've picked him up it's like. it's so endearing he's still caught in his millipede dreams.... zim has been molting underground so i haven't seen him in like over a month (it takes a long time) but he's so friendly! never curls up when i pick him up, just keeps walking and exploring. and sometimes when they want a protein snack (they get fish food pellets lol) they will chew on my hand which just feels like a tickle bc their mouth parts aren't v strong

also there's flat millipedes and pill millipedes and feather millipedes and they're all so different and pretty and i love themmm

(not my pics) and i could talk for hours but they're seriously so cool! and super important for healthy soil :D ty for asking me about my babies i love them...i seriously think once u start to learn about bugs u grow to at least appreciate them if not like them. bc they're rlly so complex and interesting! :3

#id love to get more and different kinds eventually <3 but masky the millipede is fr mt best friend i love him sm #creepie.asks #creepie.creatures #no alt text #millipede #masky mcchicken the millipede #zim the millipede

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dramatic-shitpost-poet · 9 months

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Box Turtles (Eastern)

Tank:

Either indoor or out a water bowl with shallow water should be present at all times and changed daily or whenever dirty

They should never be fully submerged in water, but they should also have a water bowl and some humidity in their enclosure. Mist tanks at least once daily for adults, but multiple times daily for hatchlings since they dehydrate easily.

If keep mostly indoors take them outside as often as possible to help them absorb sunlight and strength their muscles

If kept outside made sure the walls are high enough, so the turtle cannot escape

Whether in or out made sure a hiding place is present for them whether that be substrate they can bury themselves in, a log, plants, a small pot/vase etc.

The measurements should be a minimum of 20 x 10 x 12 inches or a 10 gallon tank, but larger can be better if you have the room.

The substrate can be any type of mulch or dirt or coconut fiber or fir bark, but coconut fiber is preferred along with loose leaves on top or moss.

If indoors they need a heat lamp and an UV lamp to replicate the sun, but getting taken outside is recommended

You can have a small ball in their cage or other turtle safe toys as they may play with them sometimes

DO NOT house more than one male box turtle in the same tank since they can get territorial and fight each other. One male and many females or just many females in one tank can work however since females get along and aren’t territorial.

Diet/Feeding Habits:

They are omnivores and need a variety of things for their diet. Hatchlings need lots of protein and calcium when young, but need a variety of hard and soft foods as well for their beaks to grow correctly

Proteins: mealworms, earthworms, crickets, grasshoppers, raw beef (not too much fat however), beetles, slugs, cooked chicken, pillbugs, eggs, etc.

Calcium sources: crickets, fish, shrimp, kale, spring greens, etc.

Acceptable vegetables that should represent a high percentage of the box turtle’s diet include collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli, turnip greens, alfalfa hay, bok choy, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, watercress, clover, red or green cabbage, savory, cilantro, kohlrabi, bell peppers, green beans, escarole, pumpkin and dandelion.

A lesser percentage of the diet can include cactus, various squash, sprouts, cooked sweet potato, parsnips, okra, cucumber, asparagus, mushrooms, carrots, peas, and corn.

Fruits to offer include apples, pears, bananas (with skin), mango, grapes, star fruit, raisins, peaches, tomato, guava, kiwis, and melons. Fruits that are particularly healthy include figs (which are high in calcium), apricots, dates, raspberries, and strawberries.

Age identification:

Count the rings on their shells to tell their age

They reach maturity around 5 years old

Gender Identification:

Look on the plastron (bottom side of the shell/their tummy) and see if it is concave(Slightly inwards) or flat. Flat is female, concave/inwards is male

Males have red eyes while females have brown or gold

Physical traits:

Full size around 5 years old, male and females both around the same size

They have gold and black coloration when healthy, but males have brighter colors than females and the shells can dull if not receiving enough sun

The males claws grow a lot faster than the females and tend to curl into the feet if not sanded down. In the wild their nails get sanded down by rocks, but in captivity you have to do this by hand and with a stone

Their necks are long when fully stretched out and they will stick out their necks when curious or when about to eat

They have scales where their legs are, but everywhere else is skin

They can grow up to 8-9 inches or a bit bigger than an adult’s hand

Personality:

When stressed or unhappy they will absolutely refuse to eat and can die from too much stress

Once they are calm and settled in they are fairly docile and curious

They like to explore and crawl around their environment, especially during the day

Some are okay with being held if they are tamed from a young age and/or are used to the person holding them. Some do not like to be held and will struggle to get away

Most of harmless and will never bite with their main defense mechanism to hide in their shell and close it up

Good escape artists if you do not keep an eye on them or don’t have a secure cage, they are great diggers and climbers

The younger they are the more frightened, but being gentle and patient helps get them calmed down and more used to their environment. They typically spend the first year or two of its life just eating and hiding

They also hibernate during the winter/like to bury themselves for most of the day, but in captivity they never go into full hibernation

They do not like to be handled frequently as it causes them stress, but they still can be handled and it can help them calm down over time

Their mating season is March-very early May and a male turtle may not eat during mating season if a female is near

Diseases/health concerns to look out for:

Hatchlings are very vulnerable to eye infections/upper respiratory infections and it’s marked by milky gunk around the eyes. This can be removed with a q-tip/cotton swab dipped in purified water.

Hatchlings are susceptible to parasites especially outside, so if do fecal exams if necessary

If their skin peels it means they are not getting enough hydration. This is easily fixed by fixing their humidity levels or placing them in shallow water more often to soak or drink more

They need sunlight or an UV light for their shells otherwise they lose color and vitamins they need to survive. If the shells lose colors that is a massive concern and can lead to shell rot (Deformed shell and bad odor)

They need lots of calcium/protein when young to help their shell form correctly and not have dents.

Overgrown beaks happen when young, but can be sanded down and can be prevented by feeding hatchlings a mix of hard and soft foods when young

Muscle weakness, but they can be built up when daily exercise like walking and climbing around a yard

Mating season can put extra stress on them and make them more susceptible to disease, so be careful of that

Special hatchling/egg care:

Once they hatch you need to immediately release them back into the wild otherwise it alters their instincts

They are carnivorous when young and need lots of proteins, but you can feed them fruits/vegetables and they might start eating them between 6-12 months old. Hand Feeding is also suggested to help them get used to you

Calcium+D3 should be supplemented in very small amounts once or twice a week. You can do this by dusting the live protein with it, mixing it in the mash, or dusting it on top of food.

They can get intimidated by larger food, so cutting up to about pea-sized pieces is suggested and feed them a variety of foods

Females will lay eggs whether or not she has mated, so you might find eggs but no hatchlings. She will typically lay 4-5 eggs, but possibly up to 11 and signs of infertile ones can be in water, above ground, or really shallow holes

Females tend to look for nesting sites around June or July and will bury them underground, usually next to a plant or rock with the spot being both sunny and humid

The nesting sites will take the female sometimes 8 hours to build and they will dig them with their hind legs and won’t face the hole

If you are incubating the eggs indoors, then just place them into the container under some substrate and DO NOT move them and make sure to mist the take every 2-3 days. Also give them a few days so they can develop harder shells before moving them

The eggs will hatch about 65-90 days later and like stated earlier, you have to release them instantly.

Make sure when incubating that the humidity stays as 80% and a substrate of moss or sand. This is the recommend incubators for eggs: https://amzn.to/34xQvPD

If using your own tank for incubation mist daily and keep a cup of water in there as well, always keeping the temperature around and never over 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Around 72 degrees will get all males and around 84-88 will be all females

Hatchlings can be kept in a 10 gallon tank with an incredibly shallow water bowl, a hiding place, and a heating lamp. Also should be misted lots.

The tank should be cleaned every few months, but most substrate can be reusable since most turtles use water as a potty

Plants should be offered at every meal, but they may not eat it every time and don’t stop offering either

#dsp care sheet #dsp care sheets #eastern box turtle #box turtles #herpetology #herpetologist #research #animal #animals #animal care sheet #my care sheets

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prometheusinitiative · 10 months

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MM Inves | DESCEND

There’s the sound of shifting soil, and sections of the earth gently fall away to reveal a path down into the earth.

The soil is alive as you pass through it– it smells earthy and warm, and looking closely you can see earthworms and pillbugs turning the soil.

Mossy steps lead you down to an underground crypt, and it takes a moment for your eyes adjust to the darkness.

While in darkness, another memory overtakes you.

You blink awake in a crossroads. The grass burgeons up over wet dirt strongly smelling of a recent rain. Trees shore up against the path, and in the distance one can hear the faint sounds of a city- of an ocean- of a market- of a forest.

"Eden Casimir… It tookk you... some ttime. But you made it." The voice sounds like the wind passing through the reeds, clicking and dancing. "Hm?" Eden looks towards the voice with delight, and just a hint of surprise that anyone would think to call it. "You know my name. You know me!" He looks up to the towering figure that calls him. "I made it!" He can’t find it in himself to be afraid. He was no stranger to the unknown, having run headlong after it for years upon years. And this... this didn't feel like the unknown. It felt like a silent recognition, the same sense of ease taken for granted when the sky is blue each morning, or the moon rises every night. "Where... did I make it?" "To the end." Says the beating of distant bird wings. "To the beginning." Says the larva hatching in the dirt beneath his feet. "To death do us meet." Says the figure infront of Eden on their exhale, and the shuffle of their wings is like the shifting of pine branches.

The memory seems to darken and distort as you behold Death’s face. You get the rest of the conversation in snippets: "—you need my help? You're Death! And I'm dead! I can't do anything anymore!" "I need you as Eden Casimir, son of Maeve and Olivier. Tell me first-- do you know of the sins of your progenitors?" "But my parents were never interested in all the stuff I was! They were always busy with other stuff, and trying to get me to be busy with other stuff. I don't think they knew how to make monsters like that!" "The discontent of the earth is not solely on the shoulders of the Casimirs, no. It is the weight of every human. Pollution, destruction, development, desolation. I feel the world dying and while I welcome it, it is not its time. For there to be death there must continue to be life." The voices distort and then become clearer. Ithika appears alongside you, focusing with an intensity rarely seen on their face. Death’s voice booms around you. "Many new cryptics have been born from every ounce of the world's pain and hurt and fear. Malice of nature on an unprecedented scale. If all it wished was to bring things back to balance, it would be fine. But it burns with a hatred intent not on healing but with endless torture." "It was still not a threat to reality. Still not a threat to humanity. There was still a chance for mankind to mend its wrongs, for the earth to heal, for malice to perish starved. But then certain humans-- your parents among them-- used their resourcefulness to cut their way through the veil in search of power. They released it all." "Everything out in the open, Eden. And now it must all be dealt with. Lest death lose all of its meaning."

Eden’s voice sounds uncertain in juxtaposition.

"But that's… if there isn't anything coming out of death then it—it'll run out. Won't it? There won't be any life left to die and make more life and— How... how do you deal with it? How do I—if it was my parents, then... then I should deal with it. I should fix it! I'll fix it!"

You come to in a graveyard. Though you were underground, shafts of light break through cracks in the earth above, casting the dark greys in a gentle glow and giving the appearance of a cloudy sky.

At the center is a circular greenhouse, broken and dusty panes of glass and metal overgrown with morning glory flowers. The greenhouse shelters a twisting tree, whose branches are bare and dry. Instead of fruit or leaves or flowers, it bears photos, many of them appearing solid black as if taken in the dark or undeveloped.

#investigation #mm

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bunjywunjy · 4 years

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what about rollie pollies?? have any interesting facts about them?? btw i'm in love with your blog c:

sure thing! rollie-pollies or pillbugs are actually the only truly terrestrial crustaceans on the planet.

in fact they’re actually a type of isopod! just like these things:

and pillbugs may have lived fully on land since time immemorial, but they still breathe through gills:

which is why they have to stay moist; if a pillbug’s gills dry out, it can’t breathe anymore and dies.

#cursed biology #bug #there are semi-terrestrial crustaceans out there but they all have to breed in the water #pillbugs just do it in the dirt #Anonymous

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onenicebugperday · 2 years

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Hi! I've been researching a bunch on terrariums lately and I've seen this awesome one the guy at worcester terrariums made that's got millipedes in it! I've really wanted to make one with a few different kinds of small bugs in there (small snails, millipedes, pillbugs, that sort of stuff) any recommendations or advice on bug care or possible combinations of species that won't work? I plan to do my own research but I thought your opinion would be cool as a starter. Sorry if this is something you can't answer! thanks :D

That sounds like a super fun project! But I really can't answer this without more information. I would need to know your location first of all. A lot of inverts have restrictions about where you can own them legally. And also I'd need to know if you're planning on catching your friends outside or buying them online or from a pet store or what. And finally I'd need to know what type of habitat you're planning on creating in the terrarium - desert, tropical, temperate? What kind of plants/dirt/decor/etc?

If you reply to this post please tag me or I likely won't see it! Or feel free to just IM me for easier/faster communication :)

#caterpillarmoth

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blondedemon · 3 years

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i'm bored and in a writing mood so here's a short story. i wrote it in a sudden inspiration for with zero editing so i apologise if it's terrible lol

and i'm not gonna hide it under a 'keep reading' y'all gonna have to scroll

-------------------

There was a child sitting in the deep, bottom corner of her father's garden. The leaf litter was damp and mulching beneath her hands. Countless worms appeared whenever she dug her fingers into the soft soil. A ladybug crept across the thick pumpkin leaves that surrounded her, and there was a line of ants marching over the toes of her bare feet as they made their way home. The world was alive, alive, alive and she was lost in it.

Three small cupcakes sat with her in the dirt before her.

This was a strange sort of child. The type that adults loved to talk about, but never to. Her eyes were always fixed on some distant point on the horizon, or far nearer, on the ground right in front of her nose. But she would rarely meet the eye of someone who tried to address her. This sort of behaviour tends to put people on edge. Adults are discomfited by the feeling that a child might see more than they do. They encounter a child such as this and chatter behind her back; always off with the fairies and she just doesn't focus, that one and I'd really rather my girl doesn't play with her, she seems a poor influence.

The girl hears every word. And understands them all, even if they'd never credit her for it.

She doesn't feel strange. It was just a label attached to the outer edges of her by faces and voices that couldn't see all the way in. The girl was always seeing deeper than they were. It seemed pointless to talk to the giggling, empty children in her class when there were such better friends to be made elsewhere. Her dad would drop her at the gates with a kiss to her forehead and concern wrinkling his own. She would sit through classes, staring at walls and colouring her fingernails in with textas and graphite as her teachers asked her to write about her weekend. Art time was filled with sheets covered in horses and fairies and secret creatures that stared back at her from deep within the leaf litter. Her addition and subtraction equations would blur and muddle with all the numbers fighting and talking to and laughing with each other. Her stories were full of girls being carried away by strange creatures until they were so far from the reaches of anyone who could watch them. Far from anyone who wouldn't understand what she could see.

She had given up on telling people about her friends long ago.

But now, in the dying daylight, they crawled to her. Out of the leaves and soil and branches and rotting wood, their eyes bright and their scales glittering. They clicked as they approached, little noises in the depths of their throats. Heads cocked to the sides as they regarded her, claws digging little marks into the earth beneath their feet. And the girl stayed ever so still. Not even a lock of her hair would dare move in the wind as she waited for them to come nearer. Each one was perhaps only as long as her forearm, and of course, that wasn't very long at all. Their teeth were little daggers hidden behind scaly lips, only visible when they hissed at each other as they tripped over their own feet. She had no reason to fear them. They would never hurt her.

There were two dozen in all. She'd counted them. It was far more than there had been the first time. She'd been crawling in the pumpkin patch looking for pillbugs to put in her bright plastic bucket when she'd stepped on one. Her father had warned her about snakes, slim monsters with fangs that would stop your heart before you noticed they'd bitten you. And so when she felt those scales under her toes and saw that hard-plated body disappear into the twisting vines, her stomach had dropped.

But no snake had legs, did it? Lizards did, though. And dragons.

Her feet had been noticeably free of any vampire-like pinprick wounds, even through all the mud, and so she'd figured she probably wasn't about to die. So she sat herself down under a leaf, huddled down real small, and tried to peek under the next plant to see if she could find thecreature she'd accosted. Two sharp-yellow, slit-pupiled eyes had stared back. And promptly disappeared like a blink when the creature whipped around and disappeared into the dense plants. The girl was unfazed. She sat there for hours until her dad called her all worried-like from the house, calling her in for dinner.

She didn't see the creature again that night. Nor did her father see her until morning. When she crashed into the house, hours and hours and hours later and told her of her brief encounter, her dad had shouted at her for disappearing so long. He cried that he'd been worried sick. He yelled that he'd had to call the police. She didn't understand. She'd been safe, after all. What did it matter that he hadn't known exactly where she was? She'd never left the yard, he had nothing to be concerned about.

She didn't mention her creature again, but her father saw less and less of her that month. She would disappear into the yard with punnets of strawberries or chicken bones from the night before or little cakes that had been brought by classmates celebrating their birthdays, and she would place these in front of her in the dirt in that same spot and wait. Some things worked better than others. Especially the sweeter things. She could tell it was working when the leaves would rustle more aggressively near the ground, as if something was creeping amongst them.

It was a long, long while before she saw anything real again, though.

Her eyes were half closed when it happened. A slice of sweet banana bread lay amongst the leaves before her, and in an instant, it was gone.

There was a lot of banana bread baked in that second month. Her father could hardly believe how much his kid seemed to love it.

The girl learned how to stay so very still. If she got very quiet and convinced herself she was nothing but a rock lying in the garden, she could sit for hours without so much as licking her lips or wriggling her toes. And the banana bread didn't disappear every day. Sometimes the girl ended up eating it, dirt and all, running back inside to curl at her father's feet while he watched television, men running across the screen and kicking small pixellated balls across the grass. But sometimes, she would watch as a clawed paw would stretch out from behind the cover of a low-hanging, broad pumpkin leaf, and snatch the bread from before her eyes.

That was very often followed by concerning but contented growling from the pumpkins. And very enthusiastic chomping noises.

Slowly, the creature grew more confident, and the girl grew more sure that this was no animal her father had told her about, or that showed up in the encyclopaedias that lined the shelves of her school library. Curved claws smoothed into dense, haunched legs. There was a tail that tapered to a whip-thin point at the end, and front legs that could either hold the animal on all fours or stretch up to reach whatever it wanted to grab. It had a stout nose and a broad face with wide, wide eyes that were set under a scaled brow. A row of gentle spines tracing up its nose and between its surprisingly soft-looking ears.

And the entire thing was covered in plated scales in gradients of black and brown and white to create the most striking pattern she'd seen, a spiralling stripy design that bent the light around it and hid it even more convincingly in the shadows of the pumpkin patch.

She didn't breathe the first time she saw it in full. Its yellow eyes were watching her, unblinking, as she watched it back with an equally immobile gaze. It reached forward and clutched her banana bread to its chest and held her gaze for a second before disappearing into the dark again. In her mind, the girl called out to it. But of course she did not say anything. She had to be still, so very still

Now there were so, so many, and they were all over her. One was curled in the arch of her crossed legs, its side rising and falling gently with its sleepy breaths. Its skin was cold when it pressed against her, because it was nearly dark after all, and these creatures didn't make much of ther own heat. Most of them were battling over the thin pickings she'd left for them, because she simply couldn't bring enough cake to feed all of them anymore. Her father had been suspicious enough when she'd been taking banana bread just for one, but now she was catering for a whole army.

Her first dragon was the last to emerge. It stared at her from a distance, and then blinked slowly, slowly, slowly. The girl didn't move. Except for her slow blink in return. And the creature padded over to her, pressing its nose into her side ever so gently.

The girl moved then, and only then. She reached toward her dragon and cupped her hands under its soft belly, lifting its small body to her own. She felt it put its head on her shoulder and she hugged it to her chest, and she was home.

#writing #short story #my work #dragons #writeblr #home #gonna add a bunch of tags just to see if anyone will actually read my junk haha #but seriously I'm three hours from home at the moment and have been pretty much alone most of the week and i'm BORED

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monkey-network · 3 years

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Moonsummer: Prologue

Have you ever gone to such passionate ends for something eternally dispassionate to your problems? All the chaos, the hurdles, for something you’re never certain is real and doesn’t care to know you exist? Why must this be the most favorable punchline to the most cosmically despicable joke imaginable?

A sundial has been erected in the village square for over ninety-nine years. We only know this because of me, one of the few that bothers to keep track of how long it’s been and can somehow answer simply when asked. Not even the headman, who doesn’t look an increment over twenty despite being over sixty, ever cares to remember and sometimes asks me about it’s age whenever I go to visit him. I have to walk by it every morning, evening, and occasional afternoon and over time, I feel like it mocks me. It gets to stand there, useless to no one because no one else notably acknowledges it, perfect as it appears. The hardest stone, with gypsum fragments peppered in its base, smooth slate with barely a chip fallen from its circumferential edge nor of its gnomon. It looks so perfect, so flawlessly antique it almost sickens me that every time I walk out, nary a soul goes up to it to utilize it’s crafted purpose. [sigh] At the same time, who am I to quibble? What does this sundial do that I haven’t done for myself after over fifteen years?

I notably asked myself this as I luckily woke up today, dawn seductively making her way up to my consciousness once more. About as awake as a milligram of yeast is getting its heat, I steadily peer onto the floor boards over the edge of my bed. I was grateful enough to see the beam hit the 7th chalk line so I definitely could get ready easier than most of last week. I scanned the floor for any insects, content to only find a mere pillbug near a dust mite.

Then came the best part of the minute as I rolled over to see that she was still in bed, back facing me. A two by three foot slab of visible bronze skin, glistening from the oil I helped apply last night. I steadily inched my hand up to her left shoulder, with a tear creeping out as I felt the multiple scars that told me of the rapiers responsible for these. This adult back was an artistic yet historical horror, malicious marks that no one could bless away no matter the remedy because, personally, they tell a story I’ve yet to hear. They’ve constantly reminded me of how gutless yet scared I am to just whisper her the question, regardless of how open we’ve been after so long,

“Who are you really, Cassius?”

I pulled my hand back, thankfully she didn’t notice. I rolled back to shift a leg out the sheets, to stop quickly after feeling a damp, goopy cloth on the ball of my exposed foot. I was the right amount of tired to only take a deep breath in muffled revulsion as I immediately recognized the piece of fabric… that was used… to pleasure… my girlfriend.

After cleaning “that” off, I tiptoed into the kitchen to see the grain was in the pot ready to boil. I turned on the heat in the midst of getting the brown sugar and some berries from the bag on the other counter. A couple minute wait goes by, and I hear a familiar creak from the bedroom. Awaken, she has. I turn to see she’s fast as ever to appear before the door, leaning confidently on the frame as it appears she woke up in a snap and is ready to seize. The darkest crimson of her long hair being the first thing I see to ignore the fact that she’s still nude.

“A morning of morns, love,” she yawned out like a grizzly, “bubbling the grain?”

“Yeah,” I said, trying to hide my smile, “something simple for today since we’re gonna be low on vittles for a couple days.”

“Pssh, you say that as if we get much else,” noting with a cheeky scoff, “Then again, this evening I’m certain me and the boys are netting some good ones. Boss said he’ll provide a catch just for me~~.”

“Sure, you should catch those clothes outside before somebody takes them like before.”

“Shit, you’re right! Gimme a sec.”

Cass went into the bathroom which leads to our clothesline outback. I began stirring the grain, taking in its charming warmth. Makes me grateful again that my “family” was as charitous to leave me enough for this old house. Still have regrets, but like this… well aged meal, I should be appreciative that things turned out well. Cass came back in, clothes tucked in her arm, and is still in the nude.

“Aren’t you cold? You gonna p-”

“Nope and nope right now,” she chipperly responded, “I’m in a pretty good mood after last night.”

“I figured with the evidence I stepped in this morning.”

“I thought you were gonna wash it before bed.”

“You said you would since I got to finish.”

“C’mon, you kne~ew I’m a heavy sleeper ‘specially after sex so this time it w-”

Before she could finish, I turned off the heat to slowly look towards here with a smile she knows can chip her confidence, if only for a second. She huffed, instantly lost the argument the moment our eyes squarely locked.

“Damn it... M’kay, I’ll make up for your squeeshy morning,” she slumped her way over to my shoulder with a cornered smirk, “only cause you bewitched me again and since you’re cooking this time.”

Cass slid her arm around my left side, now doing her typical cheek to cheek begging method, “Can I at least stay nude for just a little while longer?”

“Sure,” I said relievedly as we pecked lips real quick, “but clean your bowl before dressing.”

She plopped her clothes on her chair as I gave her the steamy breakfast and put the washed berries in the center of the table. She waited for me to sit down before digging in. She really was in a good mood, she’s always respectful to me but not as patient and awake as this morning. As we started talking about the happenings of the village and her job buddies, I wondered if there was more than the potential “good catch” this evening that had her in such spirit. I’m probably overthinking it, but I don’t know if last night was better than some of the others. It’s never like Cass is hiding something beside her past, but that has never been something I felt could be brought up and not feel too wrong for pressing. Again, it could be just me, but something about Cass’s spirit this morning made me feel different. Different, in a good way.

After eating, we cleaned our bowls. I went back into the bedroom to see the sunlight reaching the 2nd chalk line which means I was on schedule. I got dressed but I decided to not wear my vest today. Not sure why, but I just tucked my tie into my shirt since I didn’t have a clip. I walked back in to see Cass on the hay couch having her jumpsuit on but not fully zipped, still with no top on as she threw her hair back, revealing more of her rosy nipples before facing towards the kitchen.

“Got time to do my hair?” she requested over the shoulder, back once more facing me.

“Of course,” I said calmly, feeling at ease that the morning was running as smoothly as it was.

Sat down to methodically comb these dark red locks as she stared at the front door, I kept pace with braiding her mohawk just how she likes it. Firm up top but not tight all the way down. After a couple minutes, as I was nearing the end of the braid I noticed the scars again. I slowed down for a moment, intrusively imagining countless brutal events in a flash before recollecting myself to finish. I was thankful she didn’t notice the pause. She took a sec to appreciate the work before bouncing to do my hair. I faced the bedroom doorway as I felt those admittedly big hands of hers caress my hair gently before combing it out. I wanna say this is what I’ve come to love about her. A woman bigger than me, far stronger than I could ever do for myself, the body of someone that I can’t help but say was tormented, and she enjoys treating me with genuine grace. I know we helped each other out long ago but, deep down, I feel like she’s too nice to me after all this time. I’m not sure, I don’t know what’s happening with me this morning. I know I love Cassius, she loves me back wholeheartedly, so why does it feel like something’s out of place? Nothing is wrong, but something feels incomplete.

“All good,” Cass says, patting me playfully.

I shake my head, not only to feel the braiding but to wake from the daze.

“Thanks, hon’,” I said putting the braid over my shoulder.

I grab my satchel and Cass grabs her tackle box after finally putting her top on and zipping up her jumpsuit. We put our shoes on and headed out the door. Walking outside, I took in the fresh, cool air of the morning and for the first time in a long while, it felt like things were gonna go my way somehow.

Cass closed the door and whispered, “I know, right? Sex can make for a breath-taking morning.”

“Shut up,” I flusteredly giggled with a playful jab to the arm, “I’ll see you later.”

“Sorry sorry, see you tonight, Aussie.”

We shared one more kiss before she jogged off, waving goodbye as I waved back genuinely.

“See you… Cass,” I whimpered in awe.

I slowly let my arm down, standing in the same spot for longing than desired. I peered passionately at my girlfriend until she was the size of my pinky finger, then I started to walk to my job staring coldly at the ground.

The dirt felt right, damp but not muddy. The breeze felt complimentary to the gradual warmth of the sun, especially on my neck. I honestly couldn’t feel my steps as I went along, like I was just floating along as I felt empty. Not empty in a negative sense, but hardly any other thought I had stayed for more than a second. What came over me? Was I late? No, I kept track; I know I can’t be late? Was I malnourished? No, that breakfast still feels filling to me; ate two whole bowls of grain. Was it... love? More than before when I haven’t felt any different about her? I love her, I know I do, but what is convincing me otherwise? Not otherwise, but variably? Seriously, what other feelings could I have for that beautiful and outgoing and strong and polite an- OOMPH!

My mind played a gag as I somehow walked right into the square’s sundial, stumbling from the pain in the stomach before falling over onto the ground. I writhed for a bit before looking to see the sharp triangular tip of the gnomon spark for a moment. I instantly grew puzzled, so I got up and looked at the big instrument. It wasn’t long before I recognized something that I should have for the past fifteen years… the sundial was facing east. Nobody could even use this because it’s… always been positioned wrong. Something that looks so perfect, and yet could hardly do the one thing it was meant to do for almost a century.

That was when another thought occurred to me. A more deeper thought, one that stuck with me for the many weeks that I’d knowably work through to finally answer it with everything and everyone coming together:

How does time move forward?

#mnky writing #Moonsummer #long post #my story #feedback would be appreciated #fav

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childofmalkav · 4 years

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Questions

Tagged by @anarchabutch!! back in my day we called these things tag memes but i guess memes have a different connotation these days anyway THANKS

Nickname? i tend to tell english speakers to call me Sunny because it’s cuter than Sooneewah lmao also my mom calls me hufsa (the groke from moomi) or tuppa (female hen) so make of that what you will

Real name?

(sunniva)

Zodiac sign? taurus. i could probably get into astrology if every post i see about tauruses wasn’t like “likes earth colors and earth smells and looking at earthy pictures. uses sticks they find on hikes to pick dirt out of their teeth. makes friends out of soil and cares for them deeply. grass.”

Favorite musicians/groups? 85% Glass Animals, 5% Hozier, 5% Kane Lacey

Favorite sports team? what the fuck is a sport

Other blogs? i have antiquememery which i just use to keep really old-ass tumblr funny posts when i see them so i can have #nostalgia, and some time ago i tried getting into writing each day and put it all on this blog but that’s mainly dead at this point

Do I get asks? i get one ask every three years when the pornbots reawaken

How many blogs do I follow? 212

Tumblr crushes? @mademoisellegush and @browherenew and @anarchabutch and @galsinspace and thats just who i remember i am incredibly gay and there are more

Lucky number? idk, two? that’s cool and even right

What am I wearing? jeans, hoodie, last night’s mascara

Dream vacation? a lighthouse on the coast of northern norway where all i do is pet a dog, wear a huge sweater and drink enough coffee to combat my stomach lining!! the windows encrusted with salt? taking the dog out to pee and wasting time looking for pillbugs under the rocks? struggling weeds and a massive sun and enough ocean to make me believe in fairytales????? take me there

Dream car? one that i am not driving

Favorite food? this might sound odd to any non-norwegian but we have this thing called kleppmelk where you make a mixture of flour, egg and milk into a thick almost-dough and then shape it into balls and boil in milk and serve with sugar on top or you could make a potato dough, boil into balls and serve with syrup and bacon and we call that raspeballer and i know it just sounds like clogging your arteries with slightly less steps than it’d take to just inject gluten directly into your bloodstream but i love it

Drink of choice? coffee (with just a splash of milk, no sugar) taken orally two-to-five times a day depending on need

Instruments? i sing but i have caterpillar fingers that can’t coordinate so that’s all lmao

Languages? I can speak Norwegian and English and make myself roughly understood in German, but I can write Norwegian (and new Norwegian), English, Swedish and Danish (basically the same thing)

Celebrity crushes? Danny Devito (i have a danny decal on my bank card, bless that man)

Random fact? i dont actually need glasses but after starting university i got a pair of anti-reflective blue blocker glasses for screen use and i thought they looked cute so i started wearing them all the time and then one of the people i share a kitchen with (who actually wears glasses because she needs them!!) asked if i was near- or farsighted and i panicked and said farsighted so now i have to wear these glasses whether i want to or not. alas.

anyone i tagged here can do this because i wanna read what they say!! or if youre just seeing this on your dash and thinkin “hey, i know sunny adores me but she didnt tag me wassup” you can do it too and then come to my home to get an apology in the shape of monetary compensation

#personal post poster

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hawk-n-hum · 4 years

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more lexell!!

The life of an assassin is quite the lonely one.

She’s never had the chance or time for trysts or partners, nor had she had any interest in any. With the live she lives, it would only recklessly put another’s sake at risk.

So, for the most part, she tunes it out.

But the feelings fester, occasionally. The urge to find someone that cared about her deeper than simply a friendship. Xero was there, yes, but that was a brotherly, bickering sibling-esque relationship.

She shakes her head. Of all the times to think of it, now is not it.

The bug she’s sent with a mark on looks around anxiously. A higher-up in Hallownest’s hierarchy, taking them out would leave a gaping hole in the control of the kingdom if left unattended. She doubted the King would notice, at first, as oblivious and self-centered as he is.

She focuses on the target, noting the civilians bustling around them. They have to massive guards hulking over them, but they would be easily slain with Lexell’s prowess. The civilians, however, were not to be touched. Lexell may be ruthless, but she is not careless in her work. She will not harm the innocent.

Twiddling an antenna, she bides her time. The right moment hardly shows itself when expected, as she has learned. You must be ready when it is least expected to appear.

And it does.

The guards are distracted. The target is vulnerable.

Lexell readies her nail, and snaps down from the railing she’s perched on, slamming into the ground between the guards and knocking her quarry off their feet.

Do not think into it, warrior. You know how it goes. They will plead, beg, cry, but if they were truly sorry for what was happening, they would use their power to stand up against it.

The bug’s eyes are wide with unrestrained fear as they look up to their killer. The guards have noticed now, their shields up and ready for dealing blows.

“Y-you wouldn’t!” The bug stammers. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, quite,” Lexell answers softly.

“Then leave me be!”

“I cannot let you live for the crimes you have sat and watched idly,” she snarls. “You know what He is doing to His children, and you say nothing.”

“I c-can’t! He’d have my head before the s-sentence w-was out!” They panic.

“No.” Lexell had expected this. “You’re high enough that he would at least listen to your input.”

“He is single-minded in His task! He wouldn’t!”

The guards grunt as they ready themselves, their shields and nails at the ready. One poises a shield for a throw to knock her off her feet.

She scoffs to herself. An amateur move. When you cannot fathom what your opponent will do, why not just barge into them?

The shield flies, cracking into a post behind her as she ducks swiftly. She escapes unscathed, hands around the bug’s throat as they wriggle and panic.

“L-listen to me! I can cut you a deal, make an exchange in your favor!” They spew. “Geo? Is it Geo you want? I can hook you up with more Geo than you’ve seen in your entire life!”

“I’ve no business for currency,” she huffs.

“Then what will it take?”

“Tell the miserable, filthy ruler that he’s no more a ruler than he is a mass-murderer.”

“B-b-but I can’t do that if I’m...you know.”

“Then your guards will spread the word in your absence,” she shrugs. Her nail is drawn pointed at their throat menacingly.

The bug gulps. Their pristine clothing is tattered and soaked by the City of Tears’ rain, scuffed by dirt from the walkway beneath them.

The post behind her creaks. Structural damage, then. Impressive, for a brute like that.

She looks up from her prey, noting the failing post’s area. Huddled underneath it are patrons hoping to escape the rain, but likely frozen in place at the spectacle taking place before them.

Children, Lexell, there are children there!

And there are--a pair of younger pillbugs play in a puddle near the edge of the overhang, oblivious to the structure’s failing integrity. Others are bustling out of the way, but they are so engrossed in their fun that they do not notice.

So, what will you do? Finish your job, or save your reputation?

She growls to herself, slamming the target into the ground roughly. “Remember what I said. I will come back for you,” she hisses at them, shoving them away curtly and clicking into action. She flings herself towards the falling awning, barreling into the two children. They squeak in surprise at the contact, but Lexell ignores them for the sake of integrity.

She is almost out from under the overhang when if finally falls. A beam slams into her back, knocking the air out of her, sending her into a fit of wheezing breaths. Her wings ache; they’re durable, but not indestructible.

But the children are saved. They stare up at her perilously, seeing her as a stranger instead of a savior. She doesn’t blame them.

“What are you doing?” someone shouts.

“She saved their lives!” another points out. “She saved them!”

Lexell does not stick around to listen to the conversation afterwards. She knows her name will be spat upon, dragged through the dirt for her lifestyle of choice.

But, in her eyes, she has done something worthy.

#lexell #mav writes

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