Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Featuring random facts I researched to organize my thought on this (something something, building praying mantis Shen Jiu lore from science and belief for fun and profit)
Yeah, this is what started it all in my head : Female mantises being commonly associated with the practice of eating their mates after copulation
-----
Sexual cannibalism
The fact that it seems to be most common in captivity works horribly well with fanlore Shen Jiu's backstory
Also, murder Warm Red Pavilion jie-jies
In Tenodera sinensis, 83% of males escape cannibalism after an encounter with a female, but since multiple matings occur, the probability of a male's being eaten increases cumulatively.
A few of the Warm Red Pavilion regular clients have disappeared ? Oh no. How tragic.
-----
Eating habits & behavior
Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey.
&
They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements.
Shen Jiu traits ™️
The foregut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently.
Shen Jiu and hunger, malnutrition and its many consequences
As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily diurnal. Many species, however, fly at night and may then be attracted to artificial lights. They have good night vision.
&
Male mantises in the family Liturgusidae are more frequently collected at night, suggesting greater nocturnal activity or attraction to light sources.
Warm Red Pavilion's lanterns
-----
Anatomy
So. Many. Visual references.
And so many ideas for demon / Endless Abyss monster Shen Jiu 👀
May or may not have wings
&
If not wingless, a mantis has two sets of wings: the outer wings, or tegmina, are usually narrow and leathery. They function as camouflage and as a shield for the hindwings, which are clearer and more delicate.
&
Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage, most species being cryptically colored to resemble leaves or other backgrounds, both to avoid predators and to better snare their prey.
Shen Jiu's N layers of exquisite embroidered green silks looking like shimering folded wings
Have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey
Must find matching time and place accurate weapon
Their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, resembling a praying posture, has led to the common name praying mantis
Shen Jiu carefully curating his postures and expressions, elegantly folding an arm to hold a fan to hide behind
Mantises also are unique to the Dictyoptera in that they have tympanate hearing, with two tympana in an auditory chamber in their metathorax. Most mantises can only hear ultrasound.
Must find something related to musical cultivation
So…
At this point I already had notes for every other lines of the main Wikipedia page and desperately wanted to also search for traditional depictions of mantises and their cultural symbolism
And then I learned a species was called Chinese mantis
Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Featuring random facts I researched to organize my thought on this (something something, building praying mantis Shen Jiu lore from science and belief for fun and profit)
Yeah, this is what started it all in my head : Female mantises being commonly associated with the practice of eating their mates after copulation
-----
Sexual cannibalism
The fact that it seems to be most common in captivity works horribly well with fanlore Shen Jiu's backstory
Also, murder Warm Red Pavilion jie-jies
In Tenodera sinensis, 83% of males escape cannibalism after an encounter with a female, but since multiple matings occur, the probability of a male's being eaten increases cumulatively.
A few of the Warm Red Pavilion regular clients have disappeared ? Oh no. How tragic.
-----
Eating habits & behavior
Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey.
&
They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements.
Shen Jiu traits ™️
The foregut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently.
Shen Jiu and hunger, malnutrition and its many consequences
As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily diurnal. Many species, however, fly at night and may then be attracted to artificial lights. They have good night vision.
&
Male mantises in the family Liturgusidae are more frequently collected at night, suggesting greater nocturnal activity or attraction to light sources.
Warm Red Pavilion's lanterns
-----
Anatomy
So. Many. Visual references.
And so many ideas for demon / Endless Abyss monster Shen Jiu 👀
May or may not have wings
&
If not wingless, a mantis has two sets of wings: the outer wings, or tegmina, are usually narrow and leathery. They function as camouflage and as a shield for the hindwings, which are clearer and more delicate.
&
Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage, most species being cryptically colored to resemble leaves or other backgrounds, both to avoid predators and to better snare their prey.
Shen Jiu's N layers of exquisite embroidered green silks looking like shimering folded wings
Have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey
Must find matching time and place accurate weapon
Their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, resembling a praying posture, has led to the common name praying mantis
Shen Jiu carefully curating his postures and expressions, elegantly folding an arm to hold a fan to hide behind
Mantises also are unique to the Dictyoptera in that they have tympanate hearing, with two tympana in an auditory chamber in their metathorax. Most mantises can only hear ultrasound.
Must find something related to musical cultivation
So…
At this point I already had notes for every other lines of the main Wikipedia page and desperately wanted to also search for traditional depictions of mantises and their cultural symbolism
And then I learned a species was called Chinese mantis
Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Featuring random facts I researched to organize my thought on this (something something, building praying mantis Shen Jiu lore from science and belief for fun and profit)
Yeah, this is what started it all in my head : Female mantises being commonly associated with the practice of eating their mates after copulation
-----
Sexual cannibalism
The fact that it seems to be most common in captivity works horribly well with fanlore Shen Jiu's backstory
Also, murder Warm Red Pavilion jie-jies
In Tenodera sinensis, 83% of males escape cannibalism after an encounter with a female, but since multiple matings occur, the probability of a male's being eaten increases cumulatively.
A few of the Warm Red Pavilion regular clients have disappeared ? Oh no. How tragic.
-----
Eating habits & behavior
Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey.
&
They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements.
Shen Jiu traits ™️
The foregut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently.
Shen Jiu and hunger, malnutrition and its many consequences
As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily diurnal. Many species, however, fly at night and may then be attracted to artificial lights. They have good night vision.
&
Male mantises in the family Liturgusidae are more frequently collected at night, suggesting greater nocturnal activity or attraction to light sources.
Warm Red Pavilion's lanterns
-----
Anatomy
So. Many. Visual references.
And so many ideas for demon / Endless Abyss monster Shen Jiu 👀
May or may not have wings
&
If not wingless, a mantis has two sets of wings: the outer wings, or tegmina, are usually narrow and leathery. They function as camouflage and as a shield for the hindwings, which are clearer and more delicate.
&
Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage, most species being cryptically colored to resemble leaves or other backgrounds, both to avoid predators and to better snare their prey.
Shen Jiu's N layers of exquisite embroidered green silks looking like shimering folded wings
Have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey
Must find matching time and place accurate weapon
Their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, resembling a praying posture, has led to the common name praying mantis
Shen Jiu carefully curating his postures and expressions, elegantly folding an arm to hold a fan to hide behind
Mantises also are unique to the Dictyoptera in that they have tympanate hearing, with two tympana in an auditory chamber in their metathorax. Most mantises can only hear ultrasound.
Must find something related to musical cultivation
So…
At this point I already had notes for every other lines of the main Wikipedia page and desperately wanted to also search for traditional depictions of mantises and their cultural symbolism
And then I learned a species was called Chinese mantis
Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Why did Shen Yuan never try to become a Gu master with how obsessed he is with the flora and fauna? What?? Are deadly mind control insects not cool enough for you????
Like, I love, love, stories where sqq is somehow put in any shape or form into the Endless Abyss.
Is he a cultivator ? A demon lord ? Did he fall with Luo Binghe ? Have they never ever met ? Is he a sentient incarnation of this terrifying place ? Xin mo ? A monster cultivating a body ? A feral modern gremlin ?!
And ! The Endless Abyss is such an insane setting ?! Everything is literally trying to end you. Your goal has to be to survive another day. There is no sky. The floor is actually lava. The rain is acid.
(I'm probably mixing canon and fanon here, but bear with me.)
Is sqq studying the place ? Is he somehow charming every single deadly beasts or plants in there Disney-princess-style ? Or is he feared and respected ? Has he decided to survive this place out of sheer spite ?!
Yes. Amazing. 10/10.
But then, I was re-reading a later part of the story and...
Wait. What if. Sqq, legendary guardian of the Holy Mausoleum.
The place is full to the brim with lethal mechanisms, deadly artifacts and poisonous plants. (Less monster fanboying to be had at first glance but we can solve that ! Who says some great lords didn't want their terrifying wild beasts pets to be entumbed with them ? Who says it's not a great proof of power to have some Red Star Scorpion-Pachyderme guard your resting place ? Someone has to take care of them ! The poor babies were left alone in there ! That's animal abuse ?! Airplane you hack !!)
In the demon realm, nobody knows what The Guardian is or how long he has actually been there. Some think his existence a mere legend.
Rumour has it he never leaves the place but rarely shows himself, even to emperors. That he knows his way through all the burial rooms of the mausoleum and their peculiarities. Deadly flora, icy tombs, blind corpses,… They say the very place bows and bends to his will.
He is either a warped horrifying figure, neither human nor demon, or an unrivaled beauty.
Only one thing is known with certainty : Enter the Holy Mausoleum to desecrate a burial room, and not even ashes will remain of you.
Pidge and Keith separetely discovering that, actually, the castle's vents are just great when they need alone time in a place both away from their own room and with minimal stimuli (and somewhere they could successfully avoid the others can't be found easily by the rest of the team).
Cut to the first time they awkwardly stumble upon each other :
Pidge :
Keith :
Pidge : Let's just…
Keith : I'm just gonna…
Pidge and Keith (Proceeding to crawl past each other) :
Also, also, so many possibilities :
- Them bickering on the regular over that one favorite spot because God damnit Pidge I was here first !!
- Them, sometimes just sitting quietly next to each other while coding, reading or taking a nap.
- "What happens in the vents, stays in the vents." (It's all about them talking shit and spilling tea about their last diplomatic mission. (More rarely, about quiet confessions of loneliness and fear, painful talks of sadness disguised as anger. About comfort, too.))
Anyway, Pidge & Keith, local queer space vent cryptids, my beloveds.
I'd write it but like. I have 7 fics currently on the go so I'm trying not to start more! I shall scream into the void with you and hope someone hears the request
Pidge and Keith separetely discovering that, actually, the castle's vents are just great when they need alone time in a place both away from their own room and with minimal stimuli (and somewhere they could successfully avoid the others can't be found easily by the rest of the team).
Cut to the first time they awkwardly stumble upon each other :
Pidge :
Keith :
Pidge : Let's just…
Keith : I'm just gonna…
Pidge and Keith (Proceeding to crawl past each other) :
Also, also, so many possibilities :
- Them bickering on the regular over that one favorite spot because God damnit Pidge I was here first !!
- Them, sometimes just sitting quietly next to each other while coding, reading or taking a nap.
- "What happens in the vents, stays in the vents." (It's all about them talking shit and spilling tea about their last diplomatic mission. (More rarely, about quiet confessions of loneliness and fear, painful talks of sadness disguised as anger. About comfort, too.))
Anyway, Pidge & Keith, local queer space vent cryptids, my beloveds.
Pidge and Keith separetely discovering that, actually, the castle's vents are just great when they need alone time in a place both away from their own room and with minimal stimuli (and somewhere they could successfully avoid the others can't be found easily by the rest of the team).
Cut to the first time they awkwardly stumble upon each other :
Pidge :
Keith :
Pidge : Let's just…
Keith : I'm just gonna…
Pidge and Keith (Proceeding to crawl past each other) :
Also, also, so many possibilities :
- Them bickering on the regular over that one favorite spot because God damnit Pidge I was here first !!
- Them, sometimes just sitting quietly next to each other while coding, reading or taking a nap.
- "What happens in the vents, stays in the vents." (It's all about them talking shit and spilling tea about their last diplomatic mission. (More rarely, about quiet confessions of loneliness and fear, painful talks of sadness disguised as anger. About comfort, too.))
Anyway, Pidge & Keith, local queer space vent cryptids, my beloveds.
Keith and Lance, sitting next to each other at the table.
Lance is talking animatedly with the rest of the team, all loud voice and expressive hands.
Keith is just calmly sitting there, eyes on a space orange Voltron received from the last people they saved, carefully peeling it.
Lance is still talking when Keith taps a finger on his shoulder. Lance turns to look at him, tirade and movements interrupted, one hand still suspended in mid-air.
Without a word, Keith drops a segment in his palm before turning back to eat one himself.
Lance stares at the segment in his hand. Then at Keith. Then back at the segment.
