This years halloween costume, i was a three horned beetle

finally remembered to take pictures of these sketches augh. anyways. heres thunder bomber and mermaid bomber :) (hit by the Beast Beam)

So funfact those aren't horns or antlers, just funky exoskeletal crests

CHARMED! ONE AND ONI ISSUE!

PAIRING: FLUSTERED!ARATAKI ITTO X F!NOBLE!READER

IMPORTANT: (N) = NAME , 2ND PERSON POV

SUMMARY: What was supposed to be a short business trip, turned into a longer stay for a certain oni.

CW: none! just itto having a silly crush

A/N: first fic on this blog lets GOOOO

Who'd've thought that a noble lady such as you would be charmed by a goof like Itto? Not you, of course.

Originally, you were helping your family tend to family business and went to Inazuma to do work, but you encountered a certain someone...

On the third day of your stay at Inazuma, you were about to meet some important people before you heard some shouting at the front of the road. A little concerned, you took out your weapon as you made your way to the source of the sound.

What you saw when you arrived was... Not what you expected. At all.

A huge man with three other grown men standing by his side, a group of children standing right before him yelling at two onikabutos on a log. What even was happening?

"YEAH!!!" Shouted the huge guy with the horns, followed by a whimper from the kid standing right in front of him. "HAHA!!! I KNEW MY BEETLE GLADIATOR IS THE STRONGEST!!!" He cheered in childlike joy.

After that victory cheer, he extended a palm towards the kid. "You know what we promised on!" He said with a huge grin on his face as the kid reluctantly handed over... Three candies.

You slowly placed your weapon back to where it belonged, straightening your back as you watched on in amusement. The defeated kid lowered his head with a pout as he slowly walked away, with his friends trailing behind him. As he passed by you, the huge guy's eyes landed on you. His already big eyes widened even further as his jaw comically dropped.

"Ah-" right. You just showed up. "My apologies, it was not my intention to interrupt your... Game. I was merely passing by, and heard a commotion, so I've came to check on what's happening." You explained yourself as the huge guy was still gawking at you.

He sputtered for a second before stiffly turning to face you fully, the three guys besides him looked at him in confusion as he does so. Perhaps this wasn't how he normally acted?

"W- you- m-" he stuttered, trying oh so desperately to find the words. Whatever was happening right now was a bit awkward, so you decided on an introduction.

"Um... Well, I am (N). I'm from Liyue, here to do business. May I ask for your name?" You ask with a small smile, and it seemed to have scared him further.

Unbeknownst to you, he found you super pretty and was unable to speak. At all.

After a few more moments of sputtering, he finally mustered out something. "I-I'm, haha, uh, Arataki Itto! This- this is uh, my gang..." Funnily enough, he slouched a little as he gestured to the three men behind him. Each of them introduced themselves and greeted you.

So, that's how you got to know the Arataki Gang.

After that fateful day, you seem to have been bumping into Itto far more frequently than you thought, with him following behind you like a lost puppy at all times. It didn't bother you—in fact, it was charming to you. You thought whatever he's doing was adorable.

You grew rather fond of him, how he indirectly asks for your attention by following you around and asking you loads of questions and talking about his day... It was super cute.

And to enjoy this even further, you even purposely extended your stay at Inazuma for this sole purpose.

Today was no different, as you strolled the streets of Tenryou, Itto followed closely behind you after "coincidentally bumping into you". The sight was quite amusing to some; a big oni following a small human around. It felt pretty cartoonish.

"Hey, hey, (N). Are you still busy? We could- ah- I could take you t'see some sights! Yeah! I know a looot of places! You'd like it a lot, swear." Itto grinned brightly as he stumbled a little over his steps as he was trying to match your pace. It didn't help you were walking slow.

"Mh? Really?" You mused. "I do have time now. I'd like to do some sightseeing." Your words seemed to have ignited something in him as Itto cheered, before he reached for your arm before flinching away.

"Uh- can I hold your hand?" He asked sheepishly, his voice still loud and clear but clearly isn't as confident. His question forced a laugh out of you as you took the initiative, holding his big hand in your small ones.

He stiffened, puffing out his cheeks and eyes wide while looking everywhere but you. Ah, he was so cute.

On the way to wherever he's taking you, he kept on stumbling over his words while you felt his hand obviously growing sweatier by the minute. You didn't really mind.

Soon, he took you somewhere on the hills, where you can easily look out to the vast sea; it was beautiful, really.

"Ya like what you're seeing?!" Itto asked excitedly, pointing a finger at the ocean view with a huge toothy grin on his face. You nodded in response. "It's a divine sight." That seemed to have made him happy.

Both of you stared at the view for a bit, the sea breeze blowing on you and the sound of waves clashing filled your ear, making you calm and relaxed.

Suddenly, Itto let go of your hand and wiped it on his pants, before holding your hand again. "Um," he started swinging your hand and his back and forth, not registering how he's nearly swaying you. "Soooo... (N), you uhhhhh... In a relationship?"

Ahh. You knew what was coming; you didn't mind, tho. "No. Why?" You were curious as to how'd he say it.

Itto turned his head away and did a silent 'yes!' and a fist bump, thinking you couldn't see it before looking back at you, returning to his flustered face.

"Sooo. Y'know, me, Arataki Itto, was thinking..." He starts, seemingly getting more anxious as he swung you and his hand a bit faster. "...well, uh, you- you're really pretty. Yeah! Yeah I think you're pretty and uhhh y'know. I... I..." The words got stuck in his throat as he kept on repeating 'I' over and over again for a good ten seconds. Seems like you have to save him.

"You like me?" You asked. Itto jumped and squeaked. "NO! I MEAN YES BUT-" He sucked in a deep breath. "...yes."

The way he lowered his head was akin to a puppy, it made you want to squish him in your embrace. You couldn't help but chuckle–he's far too adorable for your heart.

Silently, you took his face into your hands as you brought his face in for a kiss, earning a squeal from him.

"Whuh." He blinked rapidly after you pulled back, clearly astonished at what just occured. His hands flew up to grip his mouth, as he vibrated a little, then started screaming into his hands.

You smiled, before patting him on the arm. "We can go on a date tomorrow. Would you like that?"

Itto finally let go of his mouth as he uncontrollably smiled, and you swear you see his eyes sparkle brighter than it had always been.

"YES- yes. Yes please...!"

dead men § the divine

table of contents

Lady Rhea Royce gave birth to a single daughter prior to her untimely death.

Princess Maetilda Targaryen was the sole heir to Runestone.

Her father, the Rogue Prince, kept her by his side, ensuring he always had a Keep to his name. Even after his marriage to the heir of the Seven Kingdoms, he refused to accept an engagement for her. Runestone was his castle. Princess Maetilda was his daughter. The Seven Kingdoms was his playground. There only seemed to be one small problem: the Greens.

The Greens occupied the Red Keep for over half a decade while the Rogue Prince and his future Queen raised their children on Dragonstone as tradition. It would seem having the King's castle and the Conqueror's crown plays an advantage when the dragons dance. It became apparent as the virescent cause does not suffer by delivering the first blows.

Despite only holding claims to one of the foundational keeps in the Vale, Princess Maetilda finds herself wrapped up in the center of the conflict. At the mercy of the men around her. Prince Aemond seeks to take what belongs to him, most especially the Rogue Prince's bronze babe.

trigger warning!!! this fic contains many graphic topics and depictions. such as but not limited to: dead parents, abusive parents, toxic family systems, incest, medieval misogyny, forced marriage, threats of assault (sexual § physical), actual assault, imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, blood/gore, uxoricide, familicide, PTSD and other neurodivergence. i will do my best to update as i go along, but please let me know if i have missed anything!

✧.*.·:¨ ✘♚✘ ¨:·.*.✧

✫ prologue — rumors from runestone

✫ chapter one — cold landings and green castles

✫ chapter two — a father’s praise

✫ chapter three — mysteries that muddy the keep

✫ chapter four — what the trees see

✫ chapter five — the maids that bloom in spring

✫ chapter six — bound in old magic

✫ chapter seven — the fate of wagging tongues

✫ chapter eight — dead flowers and garden bugs

✫ chapter nine — new leather boots

✫ chapter ten — an old man’s guilt

✫ chapter eleven — the tower tapestry

✫ chapter twelve — drowned in insignificant details

✫ chapter thirteen — the ghost of years coming and years past

✫ chapter fourteen — what the lady beetle does

✫ chapter fifteen — dragons have horns

✫ chapter sixteen — relearning from the same mistakes

✫ chapter seventeen — last suppers and sealed deals

✧.*.·:¨ ✘♚✘ ¨:·.*.✧

A/N: i do bend the plot of hotd/tweak the lore of the vale just a lil bit for my own convenience. also i'm not well versed in historical outfits and stuff so my descriptions may not be accurate to the time. but it's gotta be like that sometimes, you know?

Time for some more Rahi. I've made a handful more since I last posted, and updated two of my older ones.

Fikou Nui Massive Spider Rahi closely related to the Fikou spiders. They will eat almost anything they can catch. They prefer dark, damp places, so they are commonly found in the jungles of Ga-Oko and Le-Oko, as well as the caverns of Onu-Oko. They were made from a modified version of the actual Fikou Nui.

Whali Small bugs that can be found all over Okoto Nui. Like the fikou Nui, they were made from a modified version of the Whali.

Tarakava Large, aggressive, lizard-like Rahi. Where as Murk Lurkers stalk swamps and marshlands, Tarakava live in the shallows along the coastlines. They dig out burrows under water to live in, and regularly grab airweed to use to create air bubbles in their dens. They lie in wait to ambush their prey, stunning or killing it with a swift and powerful punch. Some Tarakava have recently learned to 'farm' coral. They have been observed taking rocks with coral growth and relocating it to the mouth of their den. As the coral grows, it attracts small fish for the safety of the coral. The small fish draw in their larger predators, and consequently prey for the Tarakava.

Khabew Massive beetle-like Rahi. They are solitary Rahi and have few predators due to their armor, bulk, and the powerful horn cannons they possess on the back of their thorax. Khabew Massive beetle-like Rahi. They are solitary Rahi and have few predators due to their armor, bulk, and the powerful horn cannons they possess on the back of their thorax. They are found mostly in the desert of Po-Oko, but some haveb een spotted in Ta-Oko. Khazaak and Zilaak's Bonehunters have on numerous occassions captured them and pit them against other Rahi in colesseum fights in Old Po-Ifo.

And the updates. Recently got some new parts, namely the articulated Piraka Feet, and figured out a better wing structure for the Kahu.

Some additional renders. Pretty sure I shared the last three before, but figured I'd share the updated versions again. Up top is a swimming Tarakava with a school of tropical fish traveling with it for protection. The fish are Rewii, which I shared before. Last three, like I said, are updates to some old Renders I did before.

But anyway, before I got distracted by my last post.

Hekate.

I wanted to share some things I've learned about Her.

1) She is The Unseen Witness. This is an epithet I personally have given Her, but which derives from Her role as Persephone's savior and guide to and from the underworld.

2) She's pre-Greek. Anatolian, actually. That's how I personally like my deities—from a localized cult but so powerful they got picked up by a nearby pantheon (Diana is another example of this).

3) She's a goddess that was traditionally worshiped not in temples, but at homes. In my personal experience, She has a LOT of presence in apartments and shelters (especially shelters), as they are inherently liminal living situations.

4) She presides over Dogs and Polecats (like a weasel or ferret) and Horses, so I view Her as a goddess with dominion over all domesticated pets.

5) Hekate faces the three directions the roads lead at a Y- or T-junction, so in my personal practice I understand The Horned God to stand at Hekate's back and watch The Wild Way for Her. On my altar I have my representation of The Horned God facing away from me. Hekate did call me a sneak for that one, though, so YMMV.

6) I get the vibe she doesn't like to share altar space so she'll be getting a bookshelf of her own soon. You can use keys, the triple moon, and various momento mori (like bones, or the charm I made with a sprig of dead rosemary and a beetle carcass) to represent her in an altar space.

7) Herbs and Plants: Garlic, Yew, Mandrake, Dandelion, Belladonna, Cyclamen, Hemlock, Mint, Oak, Date Palms, Willow, Wolf's Bane. You'll notice many plants in her domain are poisonous or otherwise baneful. To this extent, she presides over all baneful plants.

8) She basically requires you to prioritize self-improvement and learning. Therapy and working out and reading and journaling can all be devoted to Her.

9) UPG but I also associate Her with mushrooms, moths, foxes, and rose thorns. She is carrion birds and the rust that eats at iron. She is the dark side of the moon and She likes it that way.

i've rlly missed drawing them. my little guys............

[id: digital sketches of some hollow knight ocs. there is inkwell, a vessel with long horns with mask pieces tied to them, missing half a horn, and a scarred eye; quill, a young stag beetle; and rock, a little fluffy caterpillar.

in one sketch, inkwell sits with their back toward the viewer, holding a piece of paper with random squiggles on it. they've turned their head slightly to look over their shoulder. next, rock faces the viewer grimly, folding her stubby little legs together like hands. she says, "give me ur geo." next, rock sits on top of inkwell's head, happily drumming on their head. inkwell doesn't seem at all bothered by this.

finally, there is a sketch with all three of them. inkwell stands, their eyes closed as their thought bubbles show the no internet dinosaur game. quill and rock are playing chase in circles around them, laughing, with quill skidding in a sharp turn and rock bounding away. end id]

KABUTRIO (Bug/Fighting) The squad pokemon. This pokemon is formed of 3 individuals acting as a single one, they patrol around their habitats protecting smaller pokemons from larger foes, using their specialized horns to incapacitate their enemies.

They are based on the Torimono sandōgu, three types of pole weapons used by the samurai to arrest people without killing them, known also as the three tools of arresting, they consisted of the sodegarami (sleeve entangler), sasumata (spear fork) and tsukubo (push pole)

They are also based on the kabutomushi, the Japanese rhinoceros beetle (Allomyrina dichotoma), kabutomushi in japanese means "Bug Helmet", in reference to the helmets of the samurai armor

At the moment, this is my last japanese inspired fakemon

Strange Symmetries #06: Trilobite Tridents

The genus Walliserops was one of the weirdest-looking trilobites, covered in numerous pointy spines and sporting a large three-pronged "trident" on the front of its face.

They also had some degree of asymmetry in their bodies. Their tridents often didn't fork evenly, and their long forehead spines curved off to one side – possibly so they could lift their heads up without stabbing themselves in the back.

Walliserops hammii lived in what is now Morocco during the early-to-mid Devonian, about 403-392 million years ago. Around 5cm long (~2") It was one of the "short trident" species of Walliserops, and its chunky forehead spine curved particularly strongly to the right.

The function of these trilobites' elaborate tridents is still poorly understood. But an unusual individual of the long-tridented species Walliserops trifurcatus has been found with a lopsided four-pronged trident, and since it was able to grow to full maturity the shape of the structure probably wasn't absolutely vital for survival, suggesting it wasn't used for feeding or sensory purposes.

The tridents may instead have been used for combat with each other similar to the horns of some modern beetles. However, these sorts of features are usually only seen in males, and there's currently no definite evidence for any significant sexual dimorphism in trilobites.

(Although perhaps like ceratopsid dinosaurs their ornaments were just present in both males and females, being also useful for species recognition, visual display, and defense against predators.)

———

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OK!!! here they are >:3 mushroom the leafwing, ringlet the silkwing and tiger beetle the hivewing! headcanon time! leafwings: over the many many years, the majority of them have lost their eyesight. they instead use sounds and scent to get around. they usually have around five scent glands (inspired by muntjac deer) along their snouts and around their eyes. the area around their eyes and their chests are fleshy. they have two root like tendrils coming off of the end out their snouts. they have many, many horns which are tipped with leaf like shapes. they used to be many many different shades of all sorts of colours, but because of their need to hide over the years theyve dulled down to more green and browns. if you look at their scales up close, VERY close, each singular scale has the branch like pattern of a leaf. the spine/spines on their backs are spaced out, and their frills (?) are ALWAYS v shaped. they can range from being the size of a fox to the size of a bear. silkwings: this tribe has evolved the most out of them all. because the hivewings have been protecting them for so long, they haven't faced many dangers, which has caused them to lose the majority of their defensive scales. instead, they've grown long, thin and silky antennae all over their bodies. it looks like fur, but it is infact just thousands and millions of antennae. because its not fur, the silkwings can control the way their "fur" moves. their "fur" usually moves and acts alongside their emotions, spiking up and moving quicker when angry, moving down and flowy when sad or calm, etc etc etc. they've grown feline/canine-like ears and muzzles. their eyes are giant, taking up the majority of their face. they usually have around 2-4 separate, working pupils that they can control, being able to see all the way around except for directly behind them. they also have whiskers & long eyelashes, and are usually similar in size for most of their life. they are about the size of a cougar. albino silkwings are rare, but more common than albino dragons of other tribes. melanistic silkwings do not exist hivewings: they're the most actually dragon like out of the three tribes. they have spikes all over their body, which are usually darker. each set of spikes/scales is separated by a very thin gap. they have two feelers (?) on the front of their snouts. a small gap of flesh sits inbetween their eyebrow and eye. their eyes are almost pure black, and they can see all the way around except up. their scales consist of many colours all at the same time. their colour range from red to green, and can be very dull (almost grey) to as bright as the sun. their heads and bodies are very big and thick while their feet and tails are smaller and thinner. their snouts are very big and thick. the patterns they have on their scales are usually very sharp and bold. their size varies a bit. they can range from being the size of a cougar to the size of a moose. melanistic hivewings are very common, at least one occurring about every ten years. albino hivewings can also appear, but it is horrendously rare i hope u guys like these concepts tee hee :) feel free to use them for urself if you do really like them!

What are the upsides and downsides to having "natural" weapons, such as mantis arms, beetle horns, tiger claws, spiked tail or stingers, and so on? Is it comparable to weapons you strapped to yourself (such as sword gauntlets or spiked graves)?

The advantage and disadvantage is that these are a part of the individual. That means (ignoring injuries), they can't lose that weapon. However, if they do lose the weapon, it's gone. In some cases (like horns) it may grow back over time, in others (I'm thinking of the spiked tails and stingers here), it will be permanently gone.

Additionally, in some cases, natural weapons are more vulnerable to being grabbed by an opponent. Again thinking of horns here, but the idiom, “grabbing the bull by the horns,” does have a literal basis. Unless those horns are serrated, or otherwise protected against being grabbed, an enemy could use your horns as impromptu handles. (Whether that's a useful tactic depends on how much control they could exert over the horn's owner.) Incidentally, this is why horned helmets are almost exclusively theatrical props, and are not used on the battlefield. Adding horns to your helmet is asking an enemy to grab your helmet and use that to mess with you.

Mantis arms (and also things like a crocodile's jaws, and crustacean claws) can deliver a lot of force, but they're structured around driving that force inward, rather than out, and in many cases can be neutralized with an elastic band. (And, can be held closed by an opponent, rendering the weapon ineffectual.)

It's worth remembering that spiked armor (and this would also apply for spines) is more about preventing someone from grabbing and holding onto the wearer. In the specific case of spiked knuckles on a gauntlet or spiked greaves, the spikes did help with a quick punch or kick. These are a rare example of worn weapons that are effective because they're amplifying another strike. Spiked greaves don't give you the ability to kick someone, they just make it hurt a lot more when you connect.

In a lot of cases, natural weapons, and also worn weapons, suffer from limited mobility. That is to say, you can adjust the grip on a sword to expand your striking options (also your wrist has a lot of mobility.) However, if you mount a long blade onto your bracers, that can only move in line with your shoulder and elbow. It doesn't mean that you can't use it, but it will have less agility than a blade in your hand. (There's an edge case with something like Wolverine's claws, where they somehow pass through his wrist, which doesn't make a lot of anatomical sense, and then he has full mobility of the hand. The body isn't really built that way, but it is an unusual exception. So, while not making sense on one front, it does make, “more sense,” than if they projected out of his forearm.)

Limited mobility doesn't mean they're unusable, however, it likely means that there are ways to deal with those weapons, and if someone has specialized training, they may even be able to do it in combat. Ironically, when you peel the mystique back a lot of martial arts are, fundamentally, about exploiting the limitations of human physiology, so it follows that if you lived in a world with minotaurs and mantis men, that people would develop specific methods for dealing with those threats.

-Starke

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(Arthreena Anon)

So since I gave you some info on Athreena I wanted to share some ideas for her Sons.

All Three

.

•They actually prefer Optimus over their old dad, their old pa just wanted to train them to be warriors and didn't skimp on the punishment if they failed training. Optimus actually let's them have free time and doesn't discipline them too much.

•All three are total sports nuts, each one loving both a cybertronian sports and an earth sports.

•While they are mama boys, but they will hide behind Optimus when they try their mama's patience(She doesn't hit them, just her glares can terrify Megatron)

• Each of them have a southern accent but it's different version, like Salvo has a Texan accent, Zaptrap has an Alabama accent, while Shothole has Louisiana accent.

Salvo:

•He's the oldest of the three brothers, hatching from his pod a whole fifteen minutes before his brothers hatched out. Tries to be a responsible older brother but often feels his circuits short-out.

•Salvo loves a good game of Cube and while on Earth he is a huge football fan, even managing to pull in Bulkhead for football, his favorite team is Future Detroits football team the CyberLions.

•His Insect mode is an Elephant beetle, his bot mode is the same size of Bulkhead but his torso is more oval shaped like a beetles torso, his legs are a bit shorter than Bulkheads, in robot mode both of the Insect legs combine to form his arms, his hands being like Beastwars Dinobots.

•His special power is the ability to create fireballs from his horn in Insect mode and hands in bot mode.

Zaptrap

•The second youngest and the one to start most of the sibling fights just for the heck of it.

•Loves the Lobbing game his granpah Scorponok used to play with him, but he loves Earths hokey with how violent it can get. His favorite team is Red Wings, he watches it with Sari in the base.

•His Insect form is a Golden Stag Beetle, in his bot mode he has a rounder body than Salvo, he has two sets of arms like his ma, and clawed legs.

•His special ability is that he can generate electricity, enough to power Detroit for a year, but his favorite way to do it is to make literal Thunder Punches.

Shothole

•The youngest of the brothers and one of the more impulsive of the siblings, always ready to prove himself. Which makes things worse when he's friends with Bumblebee.

•His favorite cybertronian sport is Mecha-Soccer, and he was beyond ecstatic that earth had something similar. He's a fan of Detroit City FC, he roped in Bumblebee and Prowl to be fans.

•His Insect mode is a Rhinoceros Katydid, while in his bot mode he's a lanky bot with long legs and a long torso and long arms. However unlike his brothers his wings are present in his bot mode and can actually fly.

•His special ability is that he can kick so hard that he creates air bullets at the Decepticons.

They start calling Optimus 'Ops pops', jokingly at first but then it just kinda sticks. Optimus doesn't object though he does thinks it's a tad embarrassing considering that they are all way bigger than him.

Optimus has no clue about how to be a dad so he looks up a bunch of tips online, including articles on the subject, while also asking professor Sumdac for advice (he's the only father he knows). The initial results are kinda... awkward.

Optimus: "So... sports, huh?"

Salvo: "Sorry, I wasn't listening, what were you saying?"

Optimus: *sweating, gesturing at the TV* "Uhhhhh, sports?"

Salvo: "Oh! Yeah, it's really intense right now! CyberLions vs BoltHounds! The CyberLions are currently losing but I believe they can still pull through, especially considering they are on their home turf. What do you think?"

Optimus: "Uh, lions are bigger and stronger than dogs, so... probably?"

Salvo: "They sure are, pops, they sure are."

I've got an interesting idea for a bug race for a one piece au! Since there is Fishmen and Minks with many distinct animal and fish features in their appearance so how about a race with insect, arachnid and other invertebrate features! 🐌🦋🐛🐜🐝🪲🐞🦗🪳🕷️🕸️🦂🦟🪰🪱 And what kind of bug would each straw hat member be in this AU?

Okay so fun fact about me, I was an entomology major in college before I dropped out. So thank you for this request because it was very self indulgent!

Insect AU

Luffy would be a jack jumper ant (Myrmecia Pilosula). This ant is very strong even by ant standards. Like their name suggests, they can leap up to 76 millimeters, which is extremely impressive when you take into account that they range from 11 - 14 millimeters in size. On top of that, they possess a potent venom that kills other insects with ease. They are notably aggressive, even towards things much larger than themselves, and can reliably kill prey much larger than themselves. Truly a fierce fighter that can go toe to toe with many enemies.

Zoro would be a centipede, specifically the Scolopendra Polymorpha. This centipede varies a lot in color, and can even be green. These guys pack some pretty serious venom with necrotic properties, not something you want to experience. Centipedes are extremely agile predators that can take down all kinds of prey with ease thanks to their strength and ability to contort their body.

Nami would be a velvet ant (Dasymutilla Occidentalis). Despite the name, these guys are not ants, but are ground dwelling wasps that happen to resemble ants. They have a deceptively cute reddish-orange fuzzy appearance, that makes their venomous sting all the more surprising. While only males of the species can fly, females have a stinger that delivers a devastating venom to whatever has it on the defense. While the effects of it are excruciating, it is not fatal. 

Usopp would be a spiny leaf insect (Extatosoma Tiaratum). Despite the name, males don’t have many spikes beyond the ones on their face and some defensive ones on the legs, but they can fly so at least they have that going for them. One of their means of defense is to do a threat pose that makes them resemble a scorpion (and the nymphs mimic the appearance of a toxic species of ants), which sounds like a very Usopp thing to do in my humble opinion. 

Sanji would be a budwing mantis (Parasphendale Affinis). This is widely considered to be the most aggressive mantid species. I will preface this by saying that this mostly applies to females, but for the sake of the AU, I’m going to ignore that and allow Sanji to have these qualities. The budwing mantis is a voracious predator that regularly kills prey three times the size of themselves, and will do their damnedest to intimidate even bigger animals. These guys are ambush predators with insanely fast reflexes. Males are especially eager to find a mate (however fatal that may be). 

Chopper is a bumblebee, specifically the Bombus Balteatus. Why did I choose that one, you ask? Because it was the fluffiest looking one I could find. As for the rest of the reasoning, Chopper just has cute bumblebee vibes to me. He likes using his honey in his medicine when applicable. This is another case of us ignoring insect gender-roles.

Robin is a noble false widow spider (Steatoda Nobilis). This spider is commonly mistaken for black widows even though I don’t get how because they look nothing alike I mean really it’s like saying wolf spiders look like a brown recluse, so they have an unfairly bad reputation. While their venom is medically significant, it’s on par with a bee sting and nothing to worry about.

Franky is an atlas beetle (Chalcosoma Atlas). These are massive beetles with a very tough shell and most notably, have three long horns both for defense and mating purposes. Despite their intimidating size, they are actually quite friendly and make for great pets.

Brook would be a prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa Major). Despite the name, these aren’t true crickets, just a close relative. Lacking the specialized legs that crickets use to chirp, they instead rub their wings together to make noise. They dig burrows specifically designed to have excellent acoustics so as to help more females hear their “music”, which is surprisingly complex and can have up to five harmonics.

Jinbei would be a lobster. Not really an insect, but a relative of them no less.

I don't often draw something to completion, but just for fun decided to do something self indulgent which for me is robots. This fella is heavily referenced from crabs, three horned rhinoceros beetle cocoons, old radio tape recorders + some barnacles as a treat. Not perfect, but hopefully planning on making him into 3D model when I have the time

Look at him jammig out | ◙▒◙| ♫♩♬