An Angler Never Gets Skunked

This is a fictional setting with no connection to reality. Please do not read it as an allegory for real life.

There are several different branches of insect races in this universe.

The Olden Insect Race, ruled by a Mother Insect and retaining their insect forms. (Ant-like)

The Vita Insect Race, who can switch from insect form to humanoid form, have fluid genders, and enjoy absolute equality. (Flatworm-like)

The Independent Insect Race, whose individuals all originated on the same homeworld and share a collective mind, and the Social Insect Race, whose society is made up of groups governed by a hive mind. (Bee-like)

And the Shi Insect Race, the smallest branch, whose order is determined by innate rank. Higher-ranked insects use their mental domains to connect to and control lower-ranked insects. (Bee-like plus ant-like)

As a high-ranking male of the Shi Insect Race, Schuler faced a rather serious problem.

Their high-ranking females were obsessed with dating Social females or keeping their romances within their own group. Some even got into narcissistic relationships between an original and its derivative. Not a single high-ranking female of his own race was willing to pass on her genes and bear his offspring.

"Guess I'll have to date across species."

Desperate for a female, Schuler began studying the guide his predecessors had left behind: How to Properly Lure Females of Other Species.

Jansen, a female of the Social Insect Race, felt she had terrible luck.

After transmigrating from a human into a female insect, she had finally made it through more than a century and risen to the rank of marshal. She never expected her luck could get any worse.

It was common knowledge among her race that marshals who went on official trips would have something bad happen to them. Yet while on a diplomatic visit to another insect race, Jansen was traveling to the Olden Insect Race's star region when she picked up a male from a desolate planet who had been kidnapped by space pirates from another species.

A male from a desolate planet, kidnapped by space pirates!

Back when she was browsing forums in her previous life, Jansen had come across a compilation of comments: A female insect marshal who picks up a male from a desolate planet is just as dangerous a job as a cold, aloof master who takes in an orphan as a disciple!

And sure enough, she wound up losing her chastity.

A story about fishing and counter-fishing, with a little human observation report on the insect races.

A mysterious character exclaims: "Who the hell turned on every single mod in my Stellaris game? This is ridiculous!"

[This novel is not suitable for readers who need content warnings.]

[Assume I write things you find triggering. If you get wrecked, that's not my responsibility.]

[Setting]

The four insect races in this novel correspond to four disaster scenarios.

[Scenario One: Insect Race Invasion]

The first, the Olden Insect Race, corresponds to the classic insect invasion scenario.

The Olden Insect Race is what people traditionally think of as an insect race. Its defining traits are reproduction, expansion, invasion, and plunder. Of the four branches, it has the greatest capacity for explosive growth and aggression, but cannot build a civilization. Everything about the race is based on its continuation. Intelligence and civilization are things it has abandoned. It is also the only branch that retains a system of absolute supremacy by the Mother Insect.

Their combat ranking is Mother Insect >>> Soldier Insect > Worker Insect > Breeding Insect > Brain Insect. Mutated Brain Insects are called King Insects. They are slightly weaker than Mother Insects and can genetically contaminate other species.

Also, Olden Mother Insects reproduce individually. Mating with another individual can at most stimulate them to give birth.

[Scenario Two: Mirror Invasion]

The second, the Vita Insect Race, corresponds to the mirror invasion scenario, similar to the doppelgangers in the Mandela records.

The Vita Insect Race evolved from the offspring of the Second Mother Insect's Breeding Insects. Its defining traits are chaos, imitation, and deception. There is no clear division of gender or function within the race. Individuals can transform into insect form, in which they have the same reproductive capacity as Olden Breeding Insects. In humanoid form, their fertility is on par with that of the females of the Independent and Social Insect Races.

Of the four branches, the Vita Insect Race is the least dangerous. But once a race earns their ire, their retaliation will plunge it into endless suspicion among its own people, until the entire civilization destroys itself.

[Scenario Three: The Infiltrators and the Devourers]

The third branches, the Independent and Social Insect Races, correspond respectively to the Infiltrator and Devourer scenarios. If the two races cooperate, they can combine into an insect invasion scenario.

The defining traits of the Independent Insect Race are individualism, self-interest, xenophobia, and competition. Offend any one of them and you may find yourself pursued by the entire race, since all Independent Insects share a collective consciousness. Every individual is highly intelligent, and they enjoy infiltrating other races to play Werewolf. Many Independent Insects have fabricated legitimate identities within other, non-insect species.

The defining traits of the Social Insect Race are order, development, collectivism, and assimilation. It is the only branch of the insect races to have systematically established a civilization, and it has the clearest divisions of gender and function. The entire race shares a hive mind, so any individual can sacrifice others for the race, or sacrifice itself for the race. It sounds heroic, but the whole race is dark as hell. They have already launched several wars of extermination against other species, making them tyrants of the universe.

The Independent and Social Insect Races are hybrids born from the interbreeding of the Third Mother Insect's Soldier, Worker, and Brain Insects. The Independent Insect Race is more like Soldier Insects. Social females are more like Worker Insects, while Social males are more like Brain Insects. However, Social males have an extremely high ceiling for intelligence, and an especially... low floor.

[Scenario Four: Insect Immortality]

The fourth, the Shi Insect Race, corresponds to the insect immortality scenario.

The defining traits of the Shi Insect Race are domination and subjugation. Its gender divisions are more extreme, as are its divisions of function. Every high-ranking individual has the ability to dominate others. This ability is similar to the Olden Mother Insect's innate control over her offspring, but its targets are not limited to insects of its own race. When high-ranking Shi Insects dominate lower-ranking individuals, it is more like forcibly taking over their minds. This ability can bypass certain limitations imposed by reality. As long as the target has a consciousness and does not possess a similar ability, a Shi Insect can dominate them if it wishes.

This is also why the Shi Insect Race is the only insect branch capable of fighting psionic and mechanical species directly.

The Shi Insect Race retains a brutal system of slavery. After Erwin came to power, half of it was abolished: lower- and higher-ranking members of their own race were made equal in practice. But several foreign species who once fought the Shi Insects and had all their people subjugated remain slaves, forced to work for the Shi Insects.

The Shi Insect Race descended from the Fourth Mother Insect's replacement Mother Insect, so high-ranking Shi females have reproductive abilities on par with Olden Mother Insects.

[What-If Route]

Angering all four insect branches at once will combine the four disaster scenarios and unlock the hidden insect route: The Mother Insect's Return. During the collective uprising of the insect races, the relevant species will receive a warning: "Welcome to the Howling Abyss. Let the free-for-all begin."

Completely wiping out all four insect branches, however, unlocks the universe's hidden route: The Awakening of the Primordial Insect Mother. The Primordial Insect Mother will be summoned to purge the universe. All intelligent beings, insects included, will disappear and become her food. Then the Primordial Insect Mother will fall dormant until intelligent species emerge again.

[Insect Race Combat Tier List]

The one true god: The Primordial Insect Mother.

Legends of the ancient past: The Four Mother Insects.

T0: Olden Mother Insects, Shi Insect Grand Governors.

T1: Olden King Insects, SSS-rank Independent and Social females and males, Shi Insect Grand Dominators.

T2: Olden Soldier Insects, SS-rank Independent and Social females and males, low-ranking Shi females, Vita Insects.

T3: Olden Worker Insects, S-rank Independent and Social females and males.

T4: Olden Breeding Insects, A-rank Independent and Social females and males.

T5: Independent and Social female individuals below B-rank.

T6: Independent and Social male individuals below B-rank.

T7: Olden Brain Insects.

[Why Are There Humanoid Insects?]

Because the humans in this setting never do anything useful. They will even taste the slop in a bucket just to see how salty it is.

After the three Mother Insects went out into the universe, they accidentally ran into humans exploring space. They lived with the humans for a while, and the humans' deranged world contaminated their minds and affected their genes, resulting in the birth of humanoid insects.

After producing several batches of children and realizing this human patch couldn't be removed, the three Mother Insects shut their eyes and finally chose to turn around and walk toward a black hole.

[Why Are the Insect Races Separate Instead of One Big Family?]

Because Olden Mother Insects and high-ranking Shi females are natural enemies who clash with one another. Every Vita Insect loves stirring up chaos for fun. Every Independent Insect is mentally unwell and likes lurking in the shadows. And every Social Insect is either a brainwashed wage slave or a workaholic striver.

They each have their own lives and simply can't get along.

[Summary]

Olden Insect Race: Insects in their purest form.

Vita Insect Race: Chaotic, evil fun-lovers who even end up enjoying their own mischief.

Independent Insect Race: Toilet fans who love dressing up in skins and piling on secret identities.

Social Insect Race: Sunny, cheerful boys straight from the underworld.

Shi Insect Race: Shut-ins who think they're popular, and are still edgelords.

Theme: Make the most of the time we have.