Teresa

I have been so fucking productive today it’s time to punish my biceps

80s singer Thomas Dolby on raising queer kids: "the eldest is trans, the middle is a lesbian, and the youngest is a drummer"

The 3 genders

Mostly they are paid to guard trains or escort trade caravans of beetles hauling goods. There are many bugs used as beasts of burden, but scarab beetles are the most common. Ballard's introduction into the story sees him battling thieves riding mosquitoes as they attempt to rob the beetle wagons 2/2

Ballard the Human is part of a band of mercenaries who unfortunately still lack a cool name but they ride spider steeds! Ballard's is named Holly, and she is also his best friend. She's a jumping spider the size of a Ford Bronco and she helps Ballard travel the known world 1/2
#MarchWorldbuilders

Less viscous honey, or honey that hasn't had all the water evaporated but has had time to ferment, is also sold to the Humans who mix it with pozole to add sugars, vitamins, and antioxidants to their diet.

Unfortunately none of this is given away for free.

A lot of nectar is made into honey, but some is sold to the Humans directly. The Humans often mix it with water to drink and this adds sugars, minerals, and amino acids to the water. No output of the honeymaking process is truly considered waste because all of it can be used 1/2
#Marchistics

Right, navigating a hostile nation that would delight in your demise on limited resources and somehow surviving totally equals not very experienced at navigating the real world.

The audacity of this lying fuck.

Most humans in turn view the Melipenati as monstrous creatures who invaded and took over the planet. They don't know about the apocalyptic death cult planning for their extinction, but they know that as a species they have no support from the dominant creatures on the planet and see most as animals.

The bee leadership truly sees humans as little more than fodder for their own goals and want them to be food for superior insects who are destined to inherit the world anyway. They don't say this part out loud because pro-human insects do exist and any war would jeopardize the fragile ecosystem 5/6

The government led by these cultists largely ignores the rights of the tens of thousands of humans living at their mercy, & trickles into the broader culture. Predatory bugs know that humans have no real protections from the Melipenati government and so humans become food for carnivorous insects 4/6

A big part of the plot centers around a cult that teaches insect supremacy. Many Melipenati believe that they are a race divinely chosen to save the world from the toxic crimes of humanity and many believe that all humans are a danger to the planet and should be removed. This impacts the humans 3/6

There are some humans that see all "bugs" as inferior, though this is often a projection because humans are no longer the planet's dominant species, and are physically outmatched by the average insect by a lot. That insecurity often manifests as bigotry, which shows up on the insect side as well 2/6

The line is a bit fuzzy, and that is intentional. This book features sentient insects and even insect-human romance, but there are also insects and other arthropods which are treated as livestock, herd animals, and others that are wild beasts. The difference is agency, but 1/6
#MarchWorldbuilders

very early upon hatching, and they can't switch fields without major intervention from above. That doesn't mean they don't try, but with all their needs provided, there's not a lot of reason to fight the system.

Essentially, each bee trains their replacement before moving upward or horizontally into a different role. There's not a lot of job shopping in the Hive. Bees are assigned their work and upward mobility happens with age with very few exceptions. Soldiers, builders, and food workers are assigned 3/4

These workers are trained by their older peers to handle the nectar safely in jars (made by a different team), and then transported by other bees to the facility where it's made into the foodstuffs used by Humans, who are trained by their own group. On the bee side, younger bees learn from older 2/4

The nectar harvesters are specially chosen from among thousands of workers, and they don't need much additional training because by this point they've been around the process for years and partially digesting nectar is a treat for them. The nectar is then given to junior workers 1/4
#Marchistics

last night ballpoint pen drawings 🖊️

I’m makin a note I’m on such a roll today

My brain has grown so many new wrinkles!!!

Do you know how many brownie points I would win just for suggesting this

Fine but you gotta accept some credit for all your tips on Caring for the Type A spouse

I have discovered that if I ask my partner early in the day what they want for dinner it prevents frustration and decision paralysis in the late hours at the end of the work day follow me for more marriage tips

fuck yes 🤘

taco truck but it's zombee bbq

Just a taste pls just to say I did

I would very much like to ponder this because I hadn't thought of that 👀

This is all really impressive stuff and also I really really really want to try the forbidden ketchup 👀

Excellent question! They do have other foods for example cereals are the second most popular crop grown by Humans and young children can eat those but of course it's not the perfect food and starvation is sadly a big problem (hence the dependency on the Hive)

She died at right around a thousand years old, and @khonri.com provided the Ford Explorer comparison. An SUV with jaws and insatiable appetite.