Bug Fables: Amped

Masterblog for Bug Fables: Amped, an AU by SpectralGecko

[bugfablesampedau]

Bug Fables: Amped

Blog Info:

This is a master-blog for all things Bug Fables: Amped, my primary AU of Bug Fables. While I do have other AUs, this blog is just Amped since it has the most worldbuilding, and that worldbuilding also forms the background world for my other AUs.

This blog is, of course, run by @SpectralGecko (just to avoid any confusion).

What's the AU?

Amped a mix of my interpretations of canon, headcanons of various proximity to source, and an overall different spin on canon. Naturally, it includes, of course, all of my much less canon extrapolations, expansions, and extra ideas.

I've been calling it "Amped" since it takes the general idea of Bug Fables and ramps up the stakes, mood, and overall worldbuilding. Think of it like a slightly grittier, vaguely fantasy camera-lens filter over Bug Fables itself. It's not a full blown AU in the same way a Swap AU or a crossover might be, but I do take Significant Artistic Liberties™.

Asks are always welcome if you have questions!

Links:

◈ Library Masterpost📚

• Includes Lore Book tags and blog navigation tags, all with links

◈ Archive of Our Own Series

◈ Tip Jar

Blog Tags:

#Bug Fables Amped AU (Note: Most of this is tagged on my main blog under "BF: Amped AU". I'm tagging it differently here so it doesn't show up redundantly on a normal search.)

#BF Amped Art - All the art shenanigans

#BF Amped Character Lore - Contains character lore specifically.

#BF Amped World Lore - General AU information, and plot-relevant portrayals of events.

#BF Amped References - Character references specifically

#BF Amped Writing - Fics and such

#BF Amped Shenanigans - Miscellaneous, silly, or memeish posts. Anything from miscellaneous silly head canons to characters doing memey things.

#Association Mailbox - The Askbox tag

#Lore Book: [_____] - Topic tags for posts and asks all on the same subject, if it's not covered by the above categories.

#Behind the Bug Scenes - Important stuff, non-amped posting when it happens.

[brainman1987]

Hey everybody. Guess. Guess what au. This is. :)

Thinking about them a lot. I want to make it. So. ANSKDJAELKHLIEHFLKAN!!! I am exploding them in my mind. What if. Consider: I made them the most tragic ever :)

Thank you @that-writing-protatogen for playing toys with me :)

[bugfablesampedau]

Couple deadland questions that are kinda connected.

Is the dead lands restricted, as in are guards making sure nobody gets in(at least in Bugarias Side)? Cause I feel like even despite the dangers, there are valuable resources within(maybe restricted items). If you think there are valuable resources, what do you think they could get?

To be frank, no one really wants to get it - it doesn't need much guarding, and the areas leading up to the access points are already hazardous enough to deter most of the foolhardy who might wish to try their luck.

Not sure on valuable resources though. The main thing would just be crystals and giant technology, but the dead lands themselves are uh. well, dead. there's not a lot to be scraped together in there, nor much reason to risk oneself.

The main "value" they have is that some areas which cut kingdoms off from each other could be advantageous to make a crossing in, but whether or not that's worth the casualties is another question entirely.

The other proposed value is pure curiosity - learning about the creatures therein and trying to figure out why they are like they are, what's causing the dead lands as a phenomenon, and if there's anything to be worried about. If there were ever something that could pose a serious threat to civilization as a whole, the dead lands would be its spawning ground.

I might keep that a little open handed. I don't have a specific "use" in mind for the dead lands, currently, so for now they're just plain no-man's-land.

[bugfablesampedau]

Something I've been wondering for awhile now, has crystal technology like those of Doctor H.B in the hive been spreading to the Ant kingdom as well? How is the Ant Kingdom adapting to the changes if so? And has Doctor H.B's technology continued to have malfunctions like those with the Heavy Drone and the mender bots? Have they spread?

If we're talking post-story, probably some. Depends a bit on the nature of the technology, but I'd guess that yes, there's some influx of crystal tech where there's use for it.

Not sure about specific adaptations. I reckon there's the usual controversies - will this remove jobs? will it help? is it actually good for us? and such. But just by dint of how ants work, I doubt they're too keen on replacing their essential and instinctual labor with technology that could break down.

There are probably still malfunctions, but they don't "spread" - it's a malfunction, not a virus. I don't know that the ants would have much interest in the bots though. They might leave that to the hive, where the person who designed them is. Smaller automation would probably be their preference.

[bugfablesampedau]

Does Vi have to replace her armor after her molt?

Yep! I believe her reference shows her with new armor in her post-molt - her old set is, alas, rather too small (and also a bit worn out).

[bugfablesampedau]

How much, if at all, would the order of events change?

I assume you just mean in general for the AU?

Cuz on the whole, the timeline is still in order, or at least it's meant to be. No major changes to what order things happen.

[bugfablesampedau]

Would Leif need to maintain his body in some way?

As in preserving it from decay? Thankfully not something he has to actively worry about.

I'm handwaving that with crystals lol. Between ice magic and crystal magic, his body is just kinda... in limbo as far as falling apart or not falling apart.

[bugfablesampedau]

It's kinda crazy that it would take 1-3 months for Team Snakemouth to get all the artifacts and find the everlasting sapling. It makes me wonder how Elizant II felt that the goal her mother spent her entire(a lot of) life to achieve and years(maybe) of her own life to find the sapling, just for all of the artifacts to be found within a few months.

That's also very much a rough estimate, and again, recalled from some notes I can't find. Iirc the timeline I landed on was closer to just a month, but that's assuming we don't give them any downtime between stuff.

Realistically, they need more rest than we give them in normal play, and if you actually counted every time you rested at an inn or elsewhere to heal yourself, the days would rack up pretty quick. That's also factoring in travel time, as realistically things probably aren't nearly so close together as the are for gameplay purposes (otherwise the sands really wouldn't be so scary as they're described, nor would the swamps or grasslands).

I've also got a little bit of a pause between... I think chapters three and four? for them to just take care of business.

Oh also there's sidequests. Amped assumes all sidequests. So add a couple days or more for each round of those, plus time for Leif's request and some buffer time for Vi's, plus time to explore thoroughly, plus travel time, plus actual resting time because they do need to sleep and eat, plus "meeting time" because they probably spend more time planning than is spelled out, plus the actual events, and... well. You've got quite an add up. A month isn't as long in practice as it seems like on paper.

So that... racks up to quite a bit of time, but then also to do justice to Elizant's perspective, it was very much a snowball effect. It took tripping off that first artifact for much to even become available, and if we're being honest the stars aligned pretty impeccably for research on Neo's end, as well as other convenient bits of info.

If you wanted to pad out the time, you could probably insert pauses here and there while Neo has to take care of stuff. But I wanted to at least kind of hold to canon timeline, so if we assume there's no massive hiatuses for research, then yeah - it feels shockingly short. Stroke of luck, really. But also, perhaps, finally a team that can get down to business (and one relatively undeterred by threats - they're not nearly so gunshy as the other teams, it seems, except perhaps Team Maki).

But such is the way of many things, really. You spend tons of time working towards a goal, and when the right piece clicks the whole thing snowballs and is over weirdly fast. Such is life right at the climax of a long story.

[bugfablesampedau]

More of a joke ask, I always felt it took bout 2-4 months as well if we were being realistic, but I always joke with my friends it’s all happened over one week or 2 days, with all of chapter 2 to 7 happening over the course of one day.

HA XD

Tbh I can kinda see it though, they're very rapid-fire in terms of content XD I need to find whatever bit of paper I was sketching out the timeline on, cuz I remember making a note of some kind that the later chapters especially felt very close together.

Absolutely hilarious to imagine the utter time crunch rush of chapter 2 all the way to 7 happening in one day XD

[bugfablesampedau]

If it helps I think vi is almost exactly 1 cm tall. From what I have seen from the fishing mini game a 1 cm long fish was the same size as Vi.

That's cool, though I don't plan on doing scaling math for this AU. Most things are eyeballed and scale is largely irrelevant for this blog.

[bugfablesampedau]

i wanna know more about Fuff x Vanessa relationship in this AU.. as im not the only one who ships them and im so happy its canon in your AU aaargh

Hehehehe, Fuff and Vanessa my beloved.

It's been long enough that I've fully forgotten what I've said and not said here, so apologies if some of this is repeated information.

Some context to start: Vanessa II is a hybrid between a hornet (Vespa velutina) and a yellowjacket (Vespinae), with more resemblance to her father than her mother (her mother being the yellowjacket). Fuff, meanwhile, is an Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia).

Fuff showed up at the hive after leaving his own (amicably), and meshed surprisingly well with the hive overall. Vanessa I was quick to recognize the young hornet's affinity for strategy, and it didn't take long for him to climb the military ranks both because of his sheer strength compared to the yellowjackets, and because he had the brains to back it up.

Vanessa II and Fuff more or less grew up alongside each other - they aren't far apart in age, and Fuff is the older of the two.

It took time for Vanessa II to grow fond of him, though - at first her impression was that he was as militaristically inclined as her mother and the hive itself. However, as she ended up around him more often, she noticed he had a more reserved side to him. This she appreciated, and eventually decided to get to know him properly.

Fuff likewise found himself charmed by Vanessa II's calmer, more peaceful propensities, and much preferred her vision for diplomacy and cooperation than her mother's. Fuff's own hive, though militaristic, still placed a high value on negotiation where possible, and that preference carried over here.

For a good while, Fuff assumed he wasn't an option for her consortes, simply because he was a hornet (issues of compatibility, consortes expectations, and also a "total stranger"), but Vanessa II didn't especially care about any of those, and at any rate she loved him, so she asked anyway. Fuff was, consequently, the first member of said consortes. He was surprised, but nonetheless delighted.

Vanessa II also finds him amusing. His little idiosyncrasies and subtleties charm her.

He's fiercely protective as well (and has the intimidation factor to boot), something that served them both very well during both the power shift from Vanessa I to Vanessa II, and in the reconstruction efforts after the Wasp King.

There's a great deal of healing to do after that. Fuff feels horrible, but his priority is also on making sure Vanessa feels safe again before he worries about his own guilt.

Vanessa is definitely the more even-keel of the two, and less easily flustered. Fuff, meanwhile, dearly loves his queen and boy howdy is he head over heels. Your honor they are precious.

Cuddles are a very big thing with them. Fuff makes an excellent big spoon. Vanessa also likes it when he decides to be a weighted blanket XD

Also, for all the intimidation factor of Large Hornet that Fuff has, he really is sweet and incredibly gentle when he wants to be.

He can and will carry Vanessa around places at her request just for grins.

I'm sure there's more I could say, but my brain is a scrambled egg right now XD Clarifying questions are always welcome, so if there was something you were curious about here that I didn't touch on, feel free to ask!

[bugfablesampedau]

Timeline-wise, how long did Team Snakemouth's journey take from entering Snakemouth Den to defeating the Wasp King?

Y'know I think I did the math on this at one point.

I think I landed somewhere between one and three months. So... lots in a pretty short time, but not that short. It's a pretty squishable timeline atm.

[bugfablesampedau]

What is the scale of Bugaria? Obviously, we know it's in the backyard, but it feels so big and small at the same time.

That's a very good question. I don't really have a solid scale for it, and I don't especially plan on giving myself burnout doing the math for it XD

I'd err on the side of bugs being their normal size next to human objects. There's some equalizing of size and their scale to each other is inexact - they're neither super extremely tiny nor ridiculously large. So... maybe they lean a bit smaller? Not sure.

[bugfablesampedau]

Question: how are visible bilateral gynandromorphs treated in various insect cultures? Are they seen negatively: as deformed, or even cursed; or positively: perhaps even as blessed, or spiritually significant? Among eusocial insects; are bilateral gynandromorphs typically classed as Drones (despite usually being sterile), or Workers (even if they look very different from their sisters)? How would a (very rare, but existent) Queen/Drone bilateral gynandromorph be regarded?

I don't have a laundry list of every culture so that's kind of a big ol' "it depends". But in the Bugarian cultures at least it's relatively tame? They might be seen as disadvantaged if it comes with impairments, but otherwise they're more just. Cool oddballs.

In eusocial colonies it probably depends on the individual disposition. They may even swing between the roles if they just don't have a preference. Case by case.

In the case of a queen, it would probably be pretty shocking. There'd be some concern for whether the hive would be able to continue and all of the issues that come with that, but otherwise more an issue of interest and something other kingdoms leave to the hive she belongs to to solve.

[bugfablesampedau]

Since berries are grown, and can be found very easily, how exactly do bugs become rich in bugaria outside of exploration? And more importantly how certain rich bugs become so influential to the point one family just straight up has a privately owned island? Like how do these rich bugs interact with the kingdoms, what's their place in them usually, and where do they typically live?

Hhhhhh ngl I don't really have a fleshed out economy for this. That's not the kind of worldbuilding I usually mess with.

I didn't get the particular impression that Metal Island was owned by one family, though. It was built under the direction of a single visionary, but because it's so small they seem to see it more like we would a resort. I doubt they put as much value on the notion of a "private island" in this case, not like we would.

Wealth can be accrued through many means, I imagine. Hard work and prudence, favor with royalty, good usage of investment.... I'm not an economist, but money can be earned many ways.

As for interactions, it depends more on the character of the bug than how wealthy they are. The worse ones tend to be seen as meddling, or just don't interact to begin with, or can be exploitative. The better ones might be patrons, humanitarians, and the like.

Ngl I've considered giving Bugaria a different currency besides berries just to deal with the issues of using berries as a currency.

[bugfablesampedau]

In the rare cases that it happens, how are wars between kingdoms usually waged?

Uhhhhh

That varies pretty drastically between kingdoms and the nature of the war.

It's uh. Not really relevant to Bugaria for the AU. Nor am I well-versed in the military-ese vocabulary to get into details on that.

There's not some standardized template for war.

[bugfablesampedau]

How did General Fuff end up in the service for Vanessa the II? What were his duties before and after the Wasp King's usurpation?

He arrived at Vanessa II's hive after departing from his own on good terms. He was something of a "runt of the litter" and thus generally not able to keep up with his own compatriots much, so he set out as soon as possible in the hopes of finding a hive he could help more in.

He's technically part of Vanessa II's consortes, and is also one of her closer strategic advisors. His duties entail organizing and leading troops, helping handle foraging logistics, handling strategies and planning where needed, that sort of thing.

During Hoaxe's run of the kingdom, that narrows primarily to military leadership and strategy. He's something of an advisor to Hoaxe (albeit not willingly). His position is an interesting one - compared to many, he's far more privy to Hoaxe's thought process and character. He has... thoughts. on a number of things in the aftermath. He thinks he might remember Hoaxe from the fly's time in the Wasp Kingdom prior, but he's not sure.