Literature / Insect Inside

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Insect Inside is an original fictional short story written by gelefant.

It deals with Jermaine, the author, inexplicably gaining insect powers after wanting to do something about him and his friend Aubrey getting bullied.

Artwork for the story can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Tropes:

• Adults Are Useless: Jermaine's teachers don't always do anything to stop the bullying. Thankfully, this is averted with Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith.
• Alliterative Title: Insect Inside.
• All of the Other Reindeer:
  • Jermaine is bullied mostly because he loves Pokémon and is considered too quiet. The bullying is mostly verbal, but there were a few instances where he was hit, punched, shoved, or slapped.
  • Aubrey is bullied because of her need for braces and glasses. Her freckles and frizzy hair are other sources of bullying. She's commonly called a nerd. She's also frequently considered to be frumpy and ugly.
• Alpha Bitch: Sadie is the most beautiful, most popular, and richest girl in school. She's also the cruelest and meanest, getting much enjoyment from causing others emotional and mental pain. During the story, she bullies Aubrey by insulting and messing with her frizzy hair; knocking her books and papers out of her hands; stepping on said books and papers; ripping her glasses off her face; telling her nobody likes her; and grabbing her cheeks.
• Animal Lover: Aubrey and Jermaine both love animals, which is one of the three main things that kickstarted their friendship.
• Bespectacled Cutie: Aubrey wears large, black, hornrimmed glasses. She cares about everybody and enjoys hugs. She also has crippling social anxiety that she calls a "social terror" and is painfully shy.
• Blind Without 'Em: At the beginning of the story, Mila runs up to Aubrey, snatches Aubrey's glasses off her face, puts them on, and runs off. When Aubrey finally catches up to Mila, Aubrey begs Mila to return her glasses because she can't see anything.
• Braces-Based Bullying: Aubrey is bullied because of her braces and commonly called a nerd. She's also frequently considered to be frumpy and ugly.
• Breath Weapon: After changing into his insect form, Jermaine spews green goo from his mouth on Sadie's dress and shoes to get her to leave Aubrey alone.
• The Bully: Mila bullies Aubrey by calling her a nerd, snatching her glasses off her face, putting them on, and running off with them. Theo bullies Jermaine by grabbing him by the shirt and punching him to the floor, leaving him with a black eye. Sadie bullies Aubrey by insulting and messing with her frizzy hair; knocking her books and papers out of her hands; stepping on said books and papers; ripping her glasses off her face; telling her nobody likes her; and grabbing her cheeks.
• Bullying the Bespectacled: Aubrey is bullied because of her need for glasses, and she's commonly called a nerd. At the beginning of the story, Mila runs up to Aubrey, snatches Aubrey's glasses off her face, puts them on, and runs off. Later on in the story, Sadie rips Aubrey's glasses off her face while bullying her.
• Commonality Connection: Aubrey and Jermaine met at lunch one day during their second semester of seventh grade. They hit it off just fine because of their shared love for animals, reading, and superheroes. The two teens also bonded over their shared experiences of being bullied.
• Cuddle Bug: Aubrey and Jermaine both enjoy hugs. The two teens hug each other twice during the story.
• Curly Hair Is Ugly: Sadie begins her bullying of Aubrey by insulting the latter's frizzy hair while tousling it.
• Cute Bookworm: Aubrey is a Bespectacled Cutie who enjoys reading.
• Deadpan Snarker: Aubrey has a knack for dishing out biting sarcasm, which is one of the reasons that she only has a few friends.
• Dropped Glasses: During the story, Sadie yanks Aubrey's glasses off her face while bullying her. Sadie accidentally drops Aubrey's glasses on the floor due to being shocked after seeing Jermaine fully change into his insect form to stop Sadie from bullying Aubrey. Thankfully, Aubrey's glasses don't crack or break. Additionally, he hands Aubrey her glasses after he successfully intimidates Sadie into leaving Aubrey alone.
• Extra Eyes: Jermaine gains an additional pair of eyes as part of his insect powers.
• Gasp!:
  • Theo gasps after Jermaine extends his two extra arms and pushes Theo away to keep Theo from bullying him.
  • Aubrey and Sadie collectively gasp when Jermaine fully changes into his insect form to stop Sadie from bullying Aubrey.
• Glasses Curiosity: For whatever reason, Mila loves stealing and wearing other people's glasses. During the story, she snatches Aubrey's glasses off her face, puts them on, and runs off. Mila even says the glasses look better on her than Aubrey after Aubrey catches up to Mila.
• Goo It Up: After changing into his insect form, Jermaine spews green goo from his mouth on Sadie's dress and shoes to get her to leave Aubrey alone.
• Growing Wings: Jermaine gains two pairs of wings as part of his insect powers.
• Just Woke Up That Way: About halfway through the story, Jermaine wakes up transformed into an insect monster.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: Sadie has straight, blonde hair that falls to her waist. That combined with her makeup and pink outfit definitely signify her as feminine.
• Messy Hair: Aubrey has frizzy brown hair that falls past her shoulders. Her hair is a source of bullying for her as during the story, Sadie insults Aubrey's hair while tousling it.
• Middle School Is Miserable: Jermaine's bullying continued all throughout middle school.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Jermaine gains an extra pair of arms as part of his insect powers and uses them to push Theo away when Theo attempts to bully him again.
• Nerd Glasses: Aubrey wears large, black, hornrimmed glasses along with having Messy Hair, Pubescent Braces, and Youthful Freckles. She enjoys reading and loves superheroes. She's bullied because of her braces, freckles, frizzy hair, and glasses. Part of said bullying is others commonly calling her a nerd. She's also frequently considered to be frumpy and ugly. She's bullied twice (the first time by Mila, the second time by Sadie) during the story.
• Nice Girl: Aubrey cares about everybody and enjoys hugs.
• Pink Means Feminine: Sadie's outfit is comprised of a pink dress and matching heels. She also wears pink blush. Her blush and outfit combined with her red lipstick and waist-length blonde hair definitely signify her as feminine.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: At the end of the story, Jermaine tells Aubrey that he loves her so much after they have a heart-to-heart about bullying prevention following him turning into his insect form to stop Sadie from bullying Aubrey (he returns to his normal appearance once he successfully intimidates Sadie into leaving Aubrey alone). Aubrey says that she loves him, too.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The story shares its name with an episode of The Powerpuff Girls (1998).
• Pubescent Braces: Aubrey has braces and is a teenager. Her braces combined with her Messy Hair, Nerd Glasses, and Youthful Freckles definitely make her give off an awkward teen vibe. Additionally, her braces are one of the main reasons that she gets bullied.
• Punch Catch: During their second encounter, Jermaine manages to catch both of Theo's punches. It's implied this is part of Jermaine's new insect powers.
• The Quiet One: Jermaine is largely a quiet person, and this is one of the main reasons that he gets bullied.
• Quirky Curls: Aubrey has frizzy brown hair that falls past her shoulders. She also has Youthful Freckles and wears large, black, hornrimmed glasses. She enjoys reading and loves superheroes. She's commonly called a nerd by those who bully her.
• Rich Bitch: Sadie is the richest girl in school. She's also the cruelest and meanest, getting much enjoyment from causing others emotional and mental pain. During the story, she bullies Aubrey by insulting and messing with her frizzy hair; knocking her books and papers out of her hands; stepping on said books and papers; ripping her glasses off her face; telling her nobody likes her; and grabbing her cheeks.
• Ship Tease: Between Aubrey and Jermaine.
  • They met at lunch one day during their second semester of seventh grade. They hit it off just fine because of their shared love of animals, reading, and superheroes. The two teens also bonded over their shared experiences of being bullied.
  • They both enjoy hugs and hug each other twice during the story.
  • He wants to be big and strong to stop people from bullying her, which results in him unexpectedly gaining a superpowered insect form.
  • When she first sees him in his above-mentioned insect form, she's naturally and understandably concerned.
  • He uses the aforementioned insect form to get Sadie to leave Aubrey alone when he sees the former bullying the latter. After he reverts to normal, he hands Aubrey her glasses (which Sadie stole and accidentally dropped on the floor) and helps her pick up her things.
  • After Aubrey tells Jermaine that he shouldn't have to deal with bullies alone, he says he's not alone because he has her. She's clearly moved and hugs him before thanking him for his help. The two teens then have a mutual Platonic Declaration of Love.
• Shout-Out:
  • Jermaine loves Pokémon.
  • Jermaine waking up transformed into an insect monster is a clear reference to the beginning of The Metamorphosis.
  • The way in which Sadie bullies Aubrey (insulting and messing with her frizzy hair; knocking her books and papers out of her hands; stepping on said books and papers; ripping her glasses off her face; and grabbing her cheeks) is exactly the same way an unnamed bespectacled brunette was bullied by two other girls (who also go unnamed) in a Cartoon Network anti-bullying commercial circa 2012.
• Shrinking Violet: Aubrey has crippling social anxiety that she calls a "social terror." On a related note, she's also painfully shy. Because of her severe shyness and social anxiety, she only has a few friends.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Invoked by Mila after she snatches Aubrey's glasses off her face, puts them on, and runs off. When Aubrey finally catches up to Mila and begs for the return of her glasses because she can't see anything, Mila refuses and says that Aubrey's glasses make her feel like a smart scientist.
• True Blue Femininity: Aubrey has deep blue eyes and wears a sky blue T-shirt and dark blue jeans. That combined with her hair falling past her shoulders and her occasionally wearing lipgloss definitely signify her as feminine.
• Youthful Freckles: Aubrey is a teenager with freckles used to highlight both her youth and somewhat plain appearance. Her Messy Hair, Nerd Glasses, and Pubescent Braces add to this. She's bullied because of her freckles, frizzy hair, glasses, and braces. Part of said bullying is others commonly calling her a nerd. She's also frequently considered to be frumpy and ugly.