#precisely on schedule

[insectoid5]

Merry Christmas, to those who celebrate.  I probably should’ve waited another 10 minutes or so for the house pic... *shrugs*  BUT!  I used a tripod this time. XD

By the way... The photos of the lights were taken with a long exposure time, which means that the “octopus” light tree (second photo) appears with all the lights lit; in real time they cycle two strings at a time, blue to red.  I can post a video of it if you’d like.

[insectoid5]

Signing off.  Until tomorrow, folks, stay safe!

[insectoid5]

The Making of Insectoid (Part 1)

Several weeks ago, @whistlingwindtree complimented me on my icon, prompting me to talk a little bit about it.  But it also reminded me that, back when it was new, I had planned to write a page covering how I made the thing, and post it on my website.  Obviously, that never happened (because social media, fanfic, and everything that goes with it crept in and took over my life), but now that I'm out of school till August, I have more than enough time to tell this story properly. 

Tagging those who expressed interest: @raksha-the-demon @frozenartscapes @shardsofarendelle @carrieasagiri @grrlgeek72 and @above-d-clouds.  Wall of text and pictures below the cut!

Disclaimer: I would really appreciate that these images do not wind up anywhere else, on Tumblr or otherwise.  I trust most of you to do the right thing, but this is Tumblr, you know.

The Name of the Bug.

I suppose I should begin at the beginning, and explain the origin of my screen name.  Now, I was a fairly avid Lego builder when I was young; it's lesser now, because of Real Life and Social Media Distractions, but a significant portion of my closet is filled with it. 😂  Anyway, about 20 years ago, Lego's newest building system was the Insectoids, which look like this:

[That's my own scan, BTW, of the #6907 instruction manual.  No point in hoarding Legos (and instruction manuals) if I don't show them off sometimes . . .]

Now kid-me, being an avid builder, and seeing that these sets were TOTALLY WICKED looking (and since I'd always liked the space sets in general), wanted every single set.  (We didn't accomplish that for many years, but some deals on eBay finished the collection eventually.)

Around the same time (late 1999 or 2000), my dad discovered a computer game for Linux that had been around for several years, called XPilot.  XPilot is a arcade shooter sort of game, largely influenced by Atari's Gravitar (which my dad also enjoyed), and a game inspired by it, Thrust.  As such, the game has fairly simple graphics, but has endless potential for customization, both in the server program (which runs the "map" or world you play in) and in the client program.  Most importantly, it is a multiplayer network game, gathering users from around the world, with a "meta server" that shows you what XPilot servers are running and who is playing, and allows you to join them.  (Despite the game's decline in popularity, by the way, the meta server is still running.)

Because it's open source, XPilot was soon ported to other OS's, including Windows.  My dad, brother, uncle, and I started playing around what I would guess was the peak of interest in the game; it wasn't too many years before human players started becoming scarce.  Here's an example of what XPilot looks like, captured from a game I played in 2016, using the teamplay-optimized fork of the original XPilot client:

[Full-res image is HERE.  That's my ship in the middle; the heads-up display shows who I'm targeting and what items I have, while the list at the left shows the players in the game, which on this map are mostly robots (R).]

Anyway, back to my story.  (If I carried on explaining the game, you might be stuck here reading all day.)  The short of it is: when we started playing XPilot, I needed a suitable nickname, and my latest Lego obsession fit the bill.  (As a side note, at the same time, I gave my brother a nick that complements this one: Arachnoid (or just Spider).  This earned us the collective nickname "oids" from a few players. 😂)

The Ship(s) of the Bug.

The spaceship that you fly around in XPilot, or "shipshape", can be whatever you choose or draw yourself, as long as it follows the predetermined rules.  Anything from a simple triangle—

[This is the default ship, if you have no other ship set.]

—up to a custom-drawn polygon of 24 vertices:

[Insectoid XII, 2012.]

The Insectoid ship here, "XII" or "Mk 12", is the twelfth iteration of its design going back to 2000:

[Twelve years of artistic tweaking.  Note that "I" is not here; it was lost long ago, but looked similar to "II".  "IV" and "VIIIB" were seldom-used prototypes.]

These are, of course, not the only ships I've designed.  Being artistically-inclined, I have, to this day, drawn 350 different ships.  (The bulk of these can be seen on my website.)  Now, because XPilot ships are simple polygons, it's fairly easy to make a graphic of one to use as an avatar online.  For a while, I did use a screenshot of my ship, hand edited in MS Paint and filtered in IrfanView to look more flashy:

[Insectoid VII, 2007, firing missiles.]

I used that method to make avatars until about 2011.  With Insectoid XI being more hexagonal in shape than its predecessors, I added an extra background feature to the drawing:

[Insectoid XI, 2011, with honeycomb background.]

In 2012, I discovered Inkscape, and eventually started using it to make vector graphics for my webpage.  The first thing I did, though, was convert my entire XPilot ship file at the time to a PDF, and thence to individual SVG images.  From there, I improved on my previous avatar-making process to present my newest ship, "XII", with the clean lines and filter effects only a vector graphics program like Inkscape could produce:

[Insectoid XII, 2012, with honeycomb background.  The engine exhaust was done using a "film grain" filter, and glows with multi-layer opacity tricks.]

I was content with that for almost two years.  In 2014, I decided to try something a little more ambitious: a 3D model.

Next: from vector image to 3D model . . . and back again.

[Continue to part 2]

[insectoid5]

Happy blogiversary, lil’ bug. 🐛

This was sort of what I intended for the drawing I did for last year’s blogiversary, but before I even got the bug finished, I got carried away doing the background, trying to draw my desk and everything on it. 😂  This year I decided to go simpler on the background, finally got the bug done, and snazzed up the cake a bit.

(And yes, the Bug is still tired.  There’s so much going on around him... 😪)

[insectoid5]

Happy FWAD!

It's that time of year again—time to appreciate my fellow fanfic authors on Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day!  Keep up the great work, all!

These lists, of course, are cumulative.  Sadly, they would be much shorter if I included only those authors of fics I've read in the last year. 😅  Apologies, of course, go to those who I've promised I would read the fics of, and still have not gotten around to it.

Anyway, for contributions to the Frozen fandom, I recognize the following authors, great and small, headcanons to multi-chapters:

@a-kind-of-truth @aflowerinthedesert @all-kristanna @arendellesfirstwinter @athpluver @awesomemaple @basssuperpower @blunaowl @bri-ecrit @carmenimbrium @cheffailure @chooseandact @cinderellasfella @cinema-corner @clevenmn @copper-anise @counterpunches @couragedontdesertme @crystal-geometry @denofkristannadebauchery @dreamsalittlebigger @dreamswanderer @elym13 @fictiontyper @freckled-princess-of-arendelle @frenzy5150 @frozenartscapes @frozenprocedural @frozenspitfire @frozenwinxqueen @fruipit @glittering-snowfall @grrlgeek72 @gryfon-spanish-werewolf @hannahberrie @hathor-frozen @hogwarts-is-frozen @jabs-wocks @jenniferjuni-per @jennyupabove @jessica988 @kalikoke @karis-the-fangirl @kristannacenterstage @kristannafever @ladybugtamer @letitgeaux @linesyounevergetback112 @little-bit-of-a-fixer-upper @lukin08 @maddysicepalace @makingtodayaperfectday @marvelousgameofdisneythrones @michaela-armstrong-paul @minnothebunny @morgaine2005 @myfanfictiongarden @myprovincialife @not-so-secret-nerd @olofahere @ominouscloudsofarendelle @pascaldragon @pinkled5 @poppypounder @punkpoemprose @raksha-the-demon @ravenclaw-geek394 @ravenwritesstuff @rawrroarrawr @redonthefly @reillyjade @ribbonsandchocolate @rowanwould @soubrettina @splinteredstar @stranger-who-writes-fiction @super-mam-te-moc @takemetofantasyland @teneniel @the-blue-fairie @the-wandering-quill @thebandragoness @thegeekogecko @turnonthelightpls @ultranos @upthenorthmountain @wandering-bard-from-the-id @whitefeather79 @wintermoonqueen @xzeihoranth @yamino

And from the Supergirl fandom:

@atonguetiedwriter @jedifighterpilot2727 @makingtodayaperfectday @momentary-ecstasy @motorcyclegirlfriends @murdershegoat @queercapwriting @raksha-the-demon @stranger-who-writes-fiction @ultranos @wandering-bard-from-the-id

There are probably a few more from other fandoms, but this is the bulk of you. 😊

Finally, as always, a dedication to those who aren't here to celebrate.

To Ann (thearendork), who left the world too soon: I hope you're at peace, wherever you are.

To Emily (searlait), who left Tumblr: I still miss you, your stories, and your historical insights.  I still hope you'll return someday.

[insectoid5]

Steven Universe 5x01-04 “Stuck Together”, “The Trial”, “Off Colors”, and “Lars’ Head”

This was one whopper of a Stevenbomb.

Tagging the usual group: @above-d-clouds @beanie2008 @comickergirl @counterpunches @crystal-geometry @frozenartscapes @makingtodayaperfectday @olofahere @pl-i @raksha-the-demon and @thebirdfromthemoon-art.  Anyone else I should tag? @iamdeltas?  Let me know if you’d like to be added!

Previous SU reaction posts are here.  SPOILERS BELOW!!  If you haven’t watched, don’t read.

I know I’m still pretty far behind on writing these up, but I’m going to start with this one and work backward.

As @frozenartscapes pointed out, this show often raises more questions than it gives answers.  And when it comes to that, this set of episodes was a doozy, airing all on the same night under the collective title “Steven Universe: Wanted”.

PREVIOUSLY:  Homeworld Gems Aquamarine and Topaz (and Topaz) are sent to Earth by Blue and Yellow Diamond to collect more humans for the Zoo—using the list of humans Steven gave Peridot wayyyy back in season 1 episode “Marble Madness”.  However, the Gems abandon this mission when Steven offers himself in the humans’ place, revealing to them that he is (essentially) Rose Quartz.  They take him prisoner, and blast into space, not realizing that one human stayed on the ship...

5x01 “Stuck Together”

As I lamented for the season 4 premiere, the title sequence is still the same.

To no one’s surprise, Aquamarine is still a brat.

Lars the seat cushion. 😂

That’s a lot of Gem destabilizers.  I guess they’re standard equipment, because I can’t imagine why they’d need to bring them—Aquamarine and Topaz clearly didn’t need the help.

His PANTS. 😂

While it was an emotional moment, I immediately thought of Lars’ protests, “You think I can do these things, but I can’t, Nemo Steven!”

On a related note, I sense character development.

Aw, Topaz, you big softie(s)!  I hope we get to see more of them.

Yes, break her!  Break her, break her... don’t break her.  Damn.

5x02 “The Trial”

Zircon, huh?  A Zircon for defense, and another for prosecutor.

(The name Amy Sedaris sounds familiar.  Can’t place it, though.)

Oh my... are we interrupting anything, Diamonds? 😏

Eyeball?!

Yes, your very well thought out, thin-as-ice defense. 😓

Steven, what are you doing?

That blue...emotional wave... thing Blue Diamond did making everyone teary-eyed (even Yellow a little!) was interesting.  I wonder what other special powers the Diamonds have?

A sword.  Now, we know that the only sword associated with Rose is the pink one that Bismuth forged for her.  And we also know, from Bismuth, that that sword cannot shatter a Gem, only destroy their physical form.  This makes quite the mystery, indeed.

Defense Zircon, what are YOU doing??

Yikes.  I’m surprised that Yellow Diamond just poofed them.  Also, another special Diamond power: instant destabilizing by lightning.

(And, as any mineralogist can tell you, the only (naturally-occurring) thing hard enough to scratch a diamond is—surprise!—another diamond.  The plot thickens!)

Run, boys, run!

Note the silhouette of “White Diamond” in the sky of Homeworld.  (At least, that’s what I assume it is.  She is, after all, the only living Diamond we haven’t yet seen.)

5x03 “Off Colors”

Freaky eyeball thing... with a DEATH LASER!

No, Lars, standing perfectly still is for a T. rex attack! 😂

“Don't beat yourself up, Lars. That's what the killer robots are for.“  This almost counts as foreshadowing, despite being rather funny.

What... are they?  Fusions?  Completely unknown Gems?  And... that really big one...?

Okay, so this is a community of Gem misfits, outcasts, and refugees.

The Fluorite fusion consists of six different Gems. 😲  Rhodonite is just two.

Some things I read up on, being the gem and mineral nut I am:

The mineral rutile (titanium dioxide) often exhibits twinning, as seen in this Rutile Gem.  It can also form as long, needle-like crystal inclusions in quartz and corundum, leading to so-called “star sapphire” and “star ruby”.

Padparadscha is, obviously, a variety of sapphire (corundum), usually pink-orange in color, and quite rare.  And although she’s a misfit, with Recent Past instead of Future Vision, I think she’s pretty funny.

Lars, are you CRAZY?  This is no time for heroics!  /C-3PO

...Oh, crap.

STEVEN’S TEARS DO SOMETHING!!! 😲  (Bit of a shout-out to Tangled, you think?)

Lars is alive!  And Lars. Is. PINK?!?

5x04 “Lars’ Head”

What a dilemma.  Leave and get caught, or stay and get caught?

Pink zombie, OMG.

OMG... Lars is like LION!! 😲

He’s exactly like Lion!  This must mean that Lion was once an ordinary lion that Rose Quartz brought back to life.  And now there’s a second tree in the pocket dimension, meaning Rose probably didn’t do this to anyone else.  Until now.

Steven is home! 😅   And promptly gets water and food.

The pocket dimension IS like a wormhole, Steven!  That explanation... was not simpler. 😂

Steven trying to pull Lars into his own headspace: I don’t think it works that way, Steven. 😂😂😂

Aww, family reunited!  But Lars has to stay behind... for now.

NEXT TIME:  Now that the Crystal Gems have a shortcut to Homeworld, what, if anything, are they going to do with it?  We haven’t seen any Gem other than Steven or  Bismuth actually enter or exit Lion’s mane, so would he let the CGs in?  And since Lars is now like Lion, will he have Lion’s other special powers, like creating portals or walking on water?  So many questions, indeed!

[insectoid5]

Frozen Variations: Ice Knowing You

This was originally submitted by @frenzy5150 in early January as a "made-up fic title" prompt, and I wound up writing a whole fic for it, since I THOUGHT I had the time/inspiration/energy to do it.  (As you can tell, I underestimated that somewhat. 😅)

I decided that the Domestic Assassin AU would work best for the prompt, since the titular phrase seemed like just the sort of punny thing Elsa might say.

Tagging the usual DA!verse people: @beanie2008 @chooseandact @habibi18 @hathor-frozen @kalikoke @makingtodayaperfectday @frozenartscapes @pascaldragon @raksha-the-demon @stranger-who-writes-fiction and @ultranos.  (Let me know if you want to be tagged; I'm still hesitant to crosspost actual fics to domestic-assassin-au.)

"Ice Knowing You"

Setting: Domestic Assassin AU (post-reveal) Characters: Elsa, Kristoff Rating: T (to be safe) Words: 1,066 [Also on FFnet.]

Kristoff Bjorgman knew that he would find himself in many dangerous or unusual situations working in the police force.  Putting on a show for the rest of his his squad that looked good enough, but still allowed the criminal to get away, was far from what he would have expected.

"Look, in that alley—the Ice Queen!" one of the other officers hissed over the radio.

He had obviously spotted what Kristoff now saw, lurking in the shadows—a small blonde haired figure in a dark jumpsuit, carrying a sniper rifle.  It was, indeed, the "domestic assassin" that had eluded the police time and time again.  She was also his girlfriend's sister, who he had sworn to protect, and that presented a problem.

"Hold your fire!" he snapped.  "We can't let her get away, but we're to take her alive."  He drew his own weapon.  "Understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Outside of the shadowy Org, Elsa Arendelle's powers of ice and snow were known to only a few.  To the majority of the police force, they were just rumor, and what gave her the nickname of "Ice Queen".  What they said really made her dangerous, though, was that she was a very competent fighter, both with firearms and hand-to-hand combat.

Kristoff hoped like hell that Elsa really was as good a fighter as she claimed to be, or he would have a lot of explaining to do to Anna.  He approached the alley, and shouted, "Ice Queen, halt!"

Elsa looked up, seemingly startled, and started to back away.

"Don't move!  Surrender, in the name of the law, or we will have to use force!"  He looked her square in the eye, then, and gave her a wink that he hoped no one else saw.

She smirked.  Planting one foot firmly on the ground in front of her, she took a fighting stance and called, "Come and get me, then, if you dare!"

"Move in!" Kristoff shouted, and charged, quickly glancing to ensure his men did the same.

The first officer went down right away, slipping on the almost invisible ice that was now on the ground.  The next two officers were more wary, but still had great difficulty keeping their footing.  Kristoff very nearly fell himself, but he'd had the foresight long ago, shortly after meeting Elsa, to invest in the very best traction footwear.

He smiled grimly.  Even those who saw Elsa's magic in person didn't believe it—the icy trick she had pulled here, subtly stamping her foot, could be explained away by her somehow splashing water on the ground without them noticing.  Which then iced over.  On a warm evening, in July.  Right.

Sgt. Wesel, though—he believed the rumors.  Kristoff didn't dare tell him that it really was "sorcery" that she possessed, or he would risk revealing his association with Elsa, and put both of the Arendelle sisters in jeopardy.  To say nothing of losing his job and probably going to prison himself, for aiding and abetting, obstruction of justice . . .

He shook the unpleasant thoughts away.  Right now, he had to focus on getting to Elsa, and then somehow getting both of them out of this.  He stood his ground, waiting for his squad to pick themselves up. 

Elsa, meanwhile, had jumped onto a dumpster, and was watching the comedic display with thinly veiled amusement.  "Are you boys sure that you can catch me?" she said.

"We can try!" one of the officers shot back, hastily charging her again, and again faceplanting for his trouble.

"We have to stop her!" another shouted after watching his friend go down.  The second officer stood as best as he was able, took aim with his handgun, and fired.

He had aimed low—probably for the knees—but Kristoff hadn't given any order to open fire.  "Hold your . . . fire . . ."  He trailed off at the sight of Elsa completely unharmed, as if the bullet had never even reached her.

There were murmurs of "What the hell?" and "Did she dodge it?"  The officer responsible for firing the first shot looked baffled for a moment, then let out a wordless yell and proceeded to empty his clip in Elsa's direction.  Kristoff watched closely as some unseen . . . something slowed the bullets in midair, causing them to fall short of their intended target.

Now the murmurs changed to cries of "Retreat!" and "Run away!", the other officers turning and running away, apparently scared out of their minds.  Now Kristoff was left to face Elsa alone.

"The Weasel isn't going to like this . . ." Kristoff muttered, turning his radio off and walking towards the alley.  He felt an unnatural bite to the air as he neared her.

"He'll probably be madder at them for chickening out," she replied, swinging down off of the dumpster.

"Uh, Elsa?  How did you, uh . . ."

Elsa waved a hand dismissively, and he heard a quiet tinkling sound behind him, as a large number of icy somethings hit the pavement.  "Tiny bits of magic ice floating in the air.  Almost invisible to the naked eye, and too small to make much of a sound when hit.  Can't afford to let them see me conjuring up anything, so this is a bit more subtle."

"Is this what you do all the time?  For a living?"

"When I'm not sniping someone from a tree or a rooftop?"  She shrugged.  "Yeah, sometimes.  It's not always practical, though, and it's not always easy to conceal magical ice."  She looked at him then, still standing with his handgun at the ready.  "Shouldn't you put that away?"

"I have a secret to protect, too, you know," Kristoff answered, "and I have to make it look like I'm still trying to do my job.  In case any of them come back.  You know, with reinforcements."

"Sure."  She was silent for a moment, then said, "Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint them.  And I can't exactly have you following me."

"Wait, Elsa, what are you—aah!!"  Elsa thrust her hands forward, and suddenly Kristoff was surrounded up to his chest in solid ice.  "Elsa, wait, I'll freeze!"

"Oh, you'll be fine, Kristoff.  It'll melt fairly soon."

"How soon??"

"An hour or so."  She smirked at the horror on his face.  "'Ice knowing you, Officer!"  With that, she collected her rifle and gear, and ran.

I bet she's been waiting all year to make that pun, he thought ruefully.

[insectoid5]

Made-up fic title: "Ice Knowing You"

(send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it)

This could work in canonverse if I really put my mind to it, but Domestic Assassin AU is what came to mind first.  It also turned out to be over 1000 words long, so I’m going to post it separately.  Hope you don’t mind. 😅

Here’s the synopsis:  Police officer Kristoff and his squad encounter the infamous Ice Queen, aka the “domestic assassin”, while out on patrol.  Because Kristoff has already been let in on Elsa’s identity, and has promised Anna not to turn her in, he is forced to put on a show for his squad—make it look like he actually tried to apprehend her, but still allowing her to get away.

The fic will be queued to post right after this. 😉