i have a headcannon (or maybe a character analysis?) that bug absolutely hates lying, especially to people to loves and trusts. and so during the show (before pincer makes him tell the truth) he is completely wracked with guilt since hes lying about everything he is to all his new friends.
this has made me think of an angst au where bug finds a way to not tell the truth (because even though he wants to, he’s terrified of what the other ranger would think) and continues to lie for a lot longer until idk angst stuff
this au first diverts when pincer is making bug tell them the truth, the whole “i can taste their misory yadayada” thing. bug, instead of telling the whole truth (about not being human), only tells them that he was working with pincer and that they were friends and stuff. the rangers still feel super betrayed by this so pincer thinks bug told the hold truth. plot progresses normally
next diversion: when bug is gonna suck himself out of the airlock. this time, instead of only opening the outer airlock door, february opens both doors (and tells the other rangers to hold on to something so they don’t get sucked out and die) and basically catches bug so he doesn’t get sucked out. would this actually work? who knows, this is fiction, anything is possibly
so at this point, bug has never told them hes not human and has not lost the human body, his charade is still going strong
then, remembering that junior’s still on the hive and is evil now, the Gang (the rangers) go down to the planet. bug finds roach (who is still freaking out) and gets filled in on junior trying to commit genocide. bug decides that this is all his fault and that he alone has to fix it (little bit of a guilt complex there, buddy). he tells the rangers to stay there and NOT SHOOT anything, and tells roach to guard them and tell any bugs that come by that these humans are fine
his scene with confronting junior goes pretty much the same although instead of junior saying his whole “so we finally meet, face to hideous face” thing, he instead taunts bug about knowing his insecty secret. the other difference is that when buggettes babies start coming out (that sounds so wrong) bug has to make sure he isn’t eaten. he succeedes :)
(for extra angst purposes you could also make it so bug is a lot more effected by watching buggette and junior die brutally right in front of him, and let him a little nibbled by the larve, as a treat)
and then after that goes back to the rangers, emotionally drained (and injured) and now you can have any human, lying, guilt complex, imposter syndrome, angst you want! yayy!!!
