#roaches

Damien's a Death's Head roach, less commonly known than the Death's Head Moth (no brainer on why). I knew who Damien was as a character before I figured out what kind of roach I wanted to use for him, and when I found these in my research, I just... had to. Allow me to be silly and make Damien edgy. I'm pretty sure he was the only roach identified in the story so far. Also, peep the Death's Head! Looks more like a little jack-o-lantern than a skull. Halloween really needs to scoop these guys up.

Jules is a Green Banana Roach, one of the species that inspired the story. They're so strangly ethereal with their light color and translucent wings, which sparked my fascination.

(This color is why his hair is green- he could dye it if he wanted, but that's his natural color.)

And Nathan is a Madeira roach. I actually had trouble finding good pics of them, but the one I initially found was incredibly pale (almost ghostly) and so beautiful.

All of them are actually pretty garbage at surviving in homes and need humidity, they aren't the type to infest an apartment, are found in the Caribbeans, and love fruit! They're a sort of strange cast for the setting, but I think they make a lot of sense for a found family. The majority of other roaches that will be introduced are going to be the more typical American Roaches or German Roaches that'd you find in the subways or infesting apartments.

If you were curious, I actually hate roaches. I'll kill a spider any day but I will fully run away and scream at a roach. "Why did you make this story then" because something is deeply wrong with me, idk, I like the contrast of sexy fae men with something as repulsive as roaches.

Bonus bug-

Star is a Dagger Moth! He was the hardest to settle on because moths are all so neat, but I ultimately wanted a common species with earthy colors that's also striking. I mean, this guy looks like a tiny owl!