#Di Mantid

[sw5w]

You Want to Go Home and Rethink Your Life

STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones 00:23:01 - 00:23:02

As Immi Thrax points out on Bluesky, one of the sources for identification of drinks at the Outlander, How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills, may not be entirely accurate.

Toniray wine, which here is labeled as the reddish beverage that Elan Sel'Sabagno drinks, is actually described in Bloodline by Claudia Gray as being teal in color. The Toniray you can buy at Oga's Cantina at Galaxy's Edge also supports this, as it too is teal in color.

Immi also noted that several other drinks in the How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks... diagram don't match their descriptions in other sources:

• Starfire 'Skee, shown in the diagram as a dark blue color, is described in Aftermath by Chuck Wendig as being "brown and muddy".

• Port in a Storm, shown in the diagram as yellowish-orange in color, is described in Bloodline as being "reddish amber" (maybe better matching the tube labeled as Trandoshan ale or even Corellian Red).

Listing of callouts for search purposes:

• Agira Nyrat • Artuo Pratuhr • Civ Sila • Dannl Faytonni • Daro Willits • Di Mantid • Elan Sel'Sabagno, aka Elan Sleazebaggano • Immi Danoo • Joshua Jinzler • Kalyn Farnmir • Obi-Wan Kenobi • Onyeth Canavar • Reina March • Rosha Vess • Whimper Save • Zey Nep

• Unidentified Humans

• Alderaan • Core Worlds • Jedi mind trick • Toniray wine

• Unidentified beverages

[chiamamiely]

Sono ormai quattro giorni che questa bellissima mantide prega attaccata alla vetrina del negozio in cui lavoro. Ora le cose sono due: o mi supplica di concederle due fette di mortadella o cerca indulgenza per le sue efferatezze.

Mi dispiace contessa Ugolina, ma nulla posso...al massimo ti apparecchio due zanzarine, che di quelle ne ho in abbondanza.

[mantisgodsdomain]

for the ask game, ca you do the first question for kina?

Not many people talk about her so I don't really have a idea beyond just her sprite

(for this ask game)

Yes, we can! This leans on personal HCs a bit, so we will note - we are not 100% canon compliant. More specifically, we add claws back onto mantids and we tend to have bug size differences be slightly more pronounced rather than having everyone be People Sized. We'll run through.. notable features?

1. Describe your OC physically- what do they look like? What notable features do they have, or what’s your favorite part of their design?

Large mantis. Very large mantis, in fact. The pink tends to take second fiddle to size, since being a member just about the biggest species of mantis in the Ant Kingdom (Tenodera sinensis, or the Chinese Mantis), Kina's big enough for it to be notable, even if stunting from lack of food means she's a good bit smaller than an average mantis of her species, but the second thing a bug would notice would probably be the pink.

And she is pink. A salmon-y pink, but still... pink, which is a color that's not out of the range of what people expect, what with orchid mantises being a thing, but it's still notable simply because of the mantis it's attached to.

She's tall by bug standards and pretty damn well-built, she's got runner's muscle from spending her time darting across half the kingdom, but genetics mean that she tends towards more bulky muscle more than she does the sort of sleek "runner's physique" people usually associate with that. Translated to human looks, she'd have a mild version of the sort of "movie star six-pack" that gets seen as a Beauty Ideal, as her baseline is "underfed and mildly to moderately dehydrated while doing very physical work".

She's got fairly well-cared-for claws, along with a set of purple daggers she generally has sheathed on the insides of her raptorial claws in such a way that she can "flick" them out to be combar-ready at a moment's notice. Her bandanna is a gift from Maki back when they were just starting out as explorers, but the knife setup came later. Her primary eyes are purple, but she uses her simple eyes more most of the time. Squints enough that you can't really see the color most of the time. She's got a wide, wide assortment of scars and scratches on her shell, mostly from Explorer's Association jobs, but the specifics of those vary from fic to fic - our current most consistent one would be a series of grooves cut into the inner sides of her claws from when she was still getting the hang of flicking her daggers out of their sheathes.

In less words: Large, scarred, buff pink chinese mantis with daggers strapped to the insides of her claws and a bandanna tied around her neck, generally in some state of agitation or another.

[pier-carlo-universe]

Recensione di "L'Anno della Mantide" di P. J. Mann: Intrighi e Suspense nelle Strade di Roma. A cura di Pier Carlo Lava

Un caso complesso, una famiglia potente e un commissario determinato: il debutto della serie del commissario Scala tra segreti e colpi di scena.

Un caso complesso, una famiglia potente e un commissario determinato: il debutto della serie del commissario Scala tra segreti e colpi di scena. “L’Anno della Mantide” è il primo volume della serie Le indagini del commissario Scala, un avvincente thriller scritto da P. J. Mann che immerge il lettore nelle atmosfere di Roma, tra misteri irrisolti e complessi intrighi familiari. La storia ruota…

[fuckingrecipes]

Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

--

Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

--

Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

--

There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

You know, it’s funny.

I watch a lot of Kids Cartoons, because I have a Kid and I like hanging out with him. Cartoon animals are fairly common. They are often portrayed with familiar, human family units: a mom, a dad, a baby, maybe siblings.

It’s too bad.

The Human Family is special.

Mantids are born alone. The species that live near me cannot survive the frosts of winter, so as the days shorten and the world becomes inhospitable to them, they provision for the future by laying eggs in protective cases in places unlikely to freeze. When the days lengthen again, the babies emerge. And so. All Mantids are Orphans.

Much of Life on Earth is like this. Not just Bugs.

Most of the life on Earth is photosynthetic. Over half, by both species count and biomass. Trees and grasses and ferns and algae do not need to move, not quickly, not in a coordinated way. So they never learned to perceive their surroundings. If you cannot perceive, you cannot be attracted or repulsed; you cannot Love. Trees may nourish each other through The Great Mycorrhizae, but this is mediated by the Fungus, not the Tree.

Merlin and Dorado. Annelid and Isopod. Orphans.

An infant deer can walk within minutes of life if need be. An infant wasp may feed upon its siblings. The infant octopus’s first meal may be its mother’s corpse.

The Human infant is pulled into the world by hands. Hands that care. The Human infant is helpless, for years, requiring not only a single adult of its species but an entire village to be said to be “raised properly.” The Unloved child DIES

Love is what defines Humans. Domestication is not like Colonialism or Slavery; to Domesticate a Plant or an Animal or a Fungus, you must Love it. You must Love it for generations, handing your Love down to your descendants. Caring for the beasts and plants, feeding and sheltering them, helping them find mates. To Domesticate a species is to crown yourself their God, and I will tell you now that the noble Aurochs and the mighty Boar felt blessed by our Love, and that when Cows & Pigs are raised properly by farmers (who are not themselves property of Conglomerated Business Interests,) that the relationship between the Farmer & their Animals is one built from Love.

We are. So special for this.

It is a form of madness, after all. To see the Self in the Other. Or perhaps a divine insight. Those are hard to distinguish.

[auckie]

Dude I am so sick of people’s attitudes towards wild animals. They are not domesticated they are not pets they will not be happy as pets and even if they are you are either going to be unhappy or have to deal with their impulse to breed and do what they would be doing in the wild, which is shit and tear your house up and probably bite you. If it works out. Well hey! Cool.

I’ve befriended this adorable cotton tail and been able to keep it alive, a miracle because they’re difficult, and it adores me and I love it but once I’m able I’m going to put this fucker outside around other cottontails and hope a hawk doesn’t swoop it.

And seeing as it’s so trusting, that very well may happen. Not a lot of juvenile wild rabbits make it to adulthood. The hawk gets to live and that’s fine by me. They’re not endangered and while I’m glad I could keep it alive I have severely handicapped its ability to fear, which is vital. As it gets older it may regain its original, instinctual sense of terror and anxiety, and I hope it does for its own sake. It’s the very same people who insist I put a bow on it and breast feed it and all that stupid shit who would probably fail to research where to get cecotropes and be confused when an unspayed adult female rabbit starts becoming aggressive towards them and dies early from being confined indoors, if it even makes it that far.

I mean. Even if I’ve been doing a good job it could literally drop dead any moment. Rehabbed rabbits do that constantly without warning. And it’ll be sad but that’s just the risk. I’m not a professional but I’ve had experience with squirrels and frankly while I know it’s illegal in some states, i also know that’s to prevent a lot of random people from nabbing cute baby animals and not doing any research and attempting to keep them as pets. But I also think, that like agriculture, carpentry, tailoring— they’re skills you can and should learn. It’s like in human DNA. Are you gonna be a licensed professional? No, I mean probably not. Animal husbandry is the same. Buuut, it’s alive. So you gotta respect that.

There’s an in between of the ardent scare tactics professionals use (rightfully so) to deter laymen from say, putting a brachypelma tarantula on their face. It will probably be fine to do that. I’m not recommending it bc it totally could bite you, or kick hairs into your eyes and nose. But like, it’s probably gonna be fine. But don’t it. Don’t take a baby Robin from its nest but like if you have to for whatever reason, be good to it, do your research and send it to a rehab center probably but you totally can learn to care for it. And if you do, you should be ready and willing to attempt to reintroduce it to its natural habitat. And it might die. It could at a rehab center too. It’s not a baby eagle*, but it’s a living creature that serves a niche in the food web and it’s important to try and put it back into that place even if it means it gets predated.

*sucks to assign animals like. Priority levels but you can and should step on Japanese garden beetles should you see them on your knock out rose bush. You find a dying bee yeah give it honey water or whatever. Don’t fuck with the mantids. You get the gist.

I don’t regret taking the little feller in at all but I also will not regret trying to acclimate him back into his natural habitat: my yard lol.

[omniuravity]

Well now I'm said cause Viv said those who died and went to heaven won't remember their loved ones in hell.

Which means if Alastor does somehow get to see his mother again, she won't remember him.

I think Sir Pentious is a different story since he was redeemed.

@bloodypeachblog @fatgumsurpremacy-remastered @moths-and-mantids @dynogadget

Sad shit bros.

[speaksleazy]

◜ELDRITCH ABSOLUTE SOLVER ( MURDER DRONES ) NPTs 𓂃 Requested by anonymous.◞

◜Names◞ ~ Absolute | Absolutte | Absolette, Absol, Absolver, Abby | Abbie, Vi | Virus, Levi | Leviathan, Bee | Beelzebub, Elledritche, Filistata, Tick, Lee | Leech, Tetramera, Meness, Mantisse | Mantid, Mandible | Mandibelle, Malaria, Malware, Shrapnel | Shrapnelle, Mangle | Mangelle, Deciette, Wire | Wiresse, Er | Err, Vigil | Vigelle, Cyst, Cyn | Sin, Cynthia | Sinthia, Lovecraft | Lovecrafette, Lovecraftiann | Lovecraftianne, Lucifer | Luciferror, Rend | Render, Sunder, Panopticonnie, Exctinctionne

◜Pronouns◞ ~ Sol | Solve | Solver, She | Solvher, Claw | Claws, Whir | Whirrs, Pan | Panoptic | Panopticon, Fabric | Fabrics, Para | Parasite, Leech | Leeches, Vi | Virus, E | Er | Error, [REDACT] | [REDACTED], Dis | Dissie | Disease, Pla | Plague, 404 | 404s, Ey | Eye, ? | ¿, Creepie | Crawly, Mal | Malware, Watch | Watcher, See | Seer, Vi | Vigil | Vigilant, It | Its, That | Thats, Rend | Render

◜Titles◞ ~ The ( program | virus ) deep in your blood, ( Prn ) who whirrs and ( squirms | writhes ), ( Prn ) destined to destroy the universe, The ( parasite | virus | program ) searching for a host, ( Prn ) who casts holograms of her victims, ( Prn ) whose mouth drips with ( oil | blood | gore ), ( Prn ) decietfulness, ( Prn ) of a thousand claws, The one who ( looms | lurks ) above ( you ), ( Prn ) who is reconstructing J, The absolute solver, The absolute solver of fabrics, ( Prn ) golden gaze | ( Prn ) with a golden gaze, ( Prn ) eldritch form | ( Prn ) eldritch, mechanical form, ( Prn ) of a thousand eyes, The amalgam of parts, The parasitic panopticon, ( Prn ) who leeches off ( prn ) host, ( Prn ) leeching off of you

[ PT : Eldritch Absolute Solver (Murder Drones) names, pronouns, and titles. Requested by anonymous.

Names: Absolute/Absolutte/Absolette, Absol, Absolver, Abby/Abbie, Vi/Virus, Levi/Leviathan, Bee/Beelzebub, Elledritche, Filistata, Tick, Lee/Leech, Tetramera, Meness, Mantisse/Mantid, Mandible/Mandibelle, Malaria, Malware, Shrapnel/Shrapnelle, Mangle/Mangelle, Deciette, Wire/Wiresse, Er/Err, Vigil/Vigelle, Cyst, Cyn/Sin, Cynthia/Sinthia, Lovecraft/Lovecrafette, Lovecraftiann/Lovecraftianne, Lucifer/Luciferror, Rend/Render, Sunder, Panopticonnie, Exctinctionne

Pronouns: Sol/Solve/Solver, She/Solvher, Claw/Claws, Whir/Whirrs, Pan/Panoptic/Panopticon, Fabric/Fabrics, Para/Parasite, Leech/Leeches, Vi/Virus, E/Er/Error, [REDACT]/[REDACTED], Dis/Dissie/Disease, Pla/Plague, 404/404s, Ey/Eye, ?/¿, Creepie/Crawly, Mal/Malware, Watch/Watcher, See/Seer, Vi/Vigil/Vigilant, It/Its, That/Thats, Rend/Render

Titles: The (program/virus) deep in your blood, (Pronoun) who whirrs and (squirms/writhes), (Pronoun) destined to destroy the universe, The (parasite/virus/program) searching for a host, (Pronoun) who casts holograms of her victims, (Pronouns) whose mouth drips with (oil/blood/gore), (Pronoun) decietfulness, (Pronoun) of a thousand claws, The one who (looms/lurks) above (you), (Pronoun) who is reconstructing J, The absolute solver, The absolute solver of fabrics, (Pronoun) golden gaze/(Pronoun) with a golden gaze, (Pronoun) eldritch form/(Pronoun) eldritch, mechanical form, (Pronoun) of a thousand eyes, The amalgam of parts, The parasitic panopticon, (Pronoun) who leeches off (Pronoun) host, (Pronoun) leeching off of you. End PT. ]

[omarfor-orchestra]

Per favore quanto ci ho azzeccato

Leo Adriani si molla con Beatrice ma è il 2013:

[crevicedwelling]

Had a big lady (I assume, it's about 5 inches) mantid from the garden come up to the porch to hang out this morning. I'm assuming since it's fall here in the Midwest US she's nearing the end of her life cycle but she's so pretty I couldn't not share

she’s in good shape, though! wings all clean and no holes, she’s been able to dodge birds and hornets it seems. I find Chinese mantis females persist well until the first frosts, they’re quite sturdy and continue to lay eggs long after all the males have died of old age.

[sw5w]

You Wanna Buy Some Death Sticks?

STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones 00:22:57

Listing of callout for search purposes:

• Agira Nyrat • Artuo Pratuhr • Bufon Taire • Civ Sila • Dannl Faytonni • Di Mantid • Elan Sel'Sabagno, aka Elan Sleazebaggano • Hat Lo • Immi Danoo • Kalyn Farnmir • Obi-Wan Kenobi • Reha Logg • Reina March • Rosha Vess • Sel Maa • Whimper Save • Zey Nep

• Unidentified Humans • Unidentified Kajain'sa'Nikto

• Balosar • Death stick • Ixetal cilona • Slythmonger • Toniray wine • University of Coruscant

• Unidentified beverage

[bloodypeachblog]

I know according to Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss logic, you get your cause of death or how your life was as part of your design. Like the one teacher character that died in Helluva Boss's first episode ended up looking like a teacher in hell.

So do you guys think that Vox died by having a TV fall on his head?

Or Val got poisoned by a moth at a brothel?

Or Alastor died while deer hunting?

@omniuravity @fatgumsurpremacy-remastered @moths-and-mantids @neonvehk what do you guys think?

[azuremliam]

Finally got around to drawing some more bug people of Liam's au world!

This is Mr. Horrid, based off of a Horrid King Assassin Bug!

Infodumping about him under the readmore :) (And putting down in text what it says is the drawing)

[Mr. Horrid (Or "Gramps" by Liam) Taught Liam how to fight, both against Beasts and potential overly curious insects that want to see what a human tastes like. He's a True Bug of few words, but certainly knows how to get the "point" across.]

Mr. Horrid has been friends with Liam's moms for ages and in fact trained Vera. Dude's super old. But doing well for his age.

He's also around Vera's height, and towers over most in their hometown.

He's apart of the city/hive guards with Vera more often than not too. But Horrid travels a lot more than Vera does, and a lot farther for some guard jobs and visiting his own family. Assassin Bugs are in high demand for guarding travel routes on the ground along with Ants. Wasps and Dragonflies usual handle air pathways.

Mr. Horrid also has been through a lot, missing almost an entire arm and hand. Both of which were plucked off by the Beasts. Doesn't let it slow him down though. His wings are just tattered from age and so are his antenna.

Liam thinks he's the coolest when they're first introduced, and Horrid treats them (and their two siblings) like one of his own grandchildren. Finn and Jake on the other hand think he's well- horrifying much to his dismay. He grows on them eventually, and they call him "Grampy".

-

During guard work he's super serious, but on his off time he's a big sweetie and is always giving Liam and their bros food when he spots any of them. It's that grandparent power that manifests food for grandkids.

His "Will" is to leave his parts of his Pronotum (The spiky bits shielding his neck and right above his wings) to Liam when he whenever passes on. Whenever any insect person dies they let their deceased bodies be consumed by others and pass down parts of their "armor" or even wing clips for others to make use of.

(Its why future Bug World Finn has Jake's Elytron (the harden modified wings that act as the shell) when visiting Azure Liam.)

-

Unlike other insects, for instance the wasps, beetles, mantids- The true bugs can't speak human languages well if at all thanks to their weaponized tongues.

He (and other's of his kind) click, trill, and hiss to communicate. It's learnable- but its hard for humans to get it down right when you don't have the right vocal cords for it.

Liam and Finn can "speak" it, but its rough around the edges. And rough on the throat. Most of the True Bugs get what they're trying to say though.

[pier-carlo-universe]

L'Anno della Mantide di P. J. Mann: Il Commissario Scala alle prese con un delitto insolubile. Recensione di Alessandria today

P. J. Mann ci trascina in una Roma oscura e intrigante con un’indagine che mette a dura prova il caparbio commissario Maurizio Scala.

P. J. Mann ci trascina in una Roma oscura e intrigante con un’indagine che mette a dura prova il caparbio commissario Maurizio Scala. Recensione del RomanzoL’Anno della Mantide, scritto da P. J. Mann, è un thriller poliziesco avvincente che cattura l’attenzione fin dalle prime pagine. Il commissario Maurizio Scala, protagonista della storia, si ritrova immerso in un’indagine intricata che…

[rafent]

kiss meme: a kiss shared while holding your dying lover . specialest little minion.

( does a kiss count if you ate another guy? )

fogado heaves a long sigh, feeling deeply the air leaving his punctured lungs. he is not long for this deathly world, it seems.

the penultimate battle, where two factions clash. it is similar in the violent sword-swingings he and rafal have bore witness to over their time, but it is unique in that it is the 'us-versus-them' that the two had been plotting since the beginning. all of the poison in his knife, the stroking of matted abominations' fur, the wrist-flicks and the singing bowstrings amounted to this very battle,

and here he has failed for the first second third and final time. he knows there is no coming back.

the times he has died he has done it with a smile on his face, knowing that his indispensability meant a swift revival ( if not accompanied with an hour-long lecture about not being annoying and doing his damn job. or somethin ). his back could hit the ground in circus fanfare, arms spread wide to welcome the sweep of unconsciousness, because it was obvious he would be back to see another day.

but today he can see that would not be possible. it was the finality he expected... but his death is not exciting.

no, he does not like this death. not one bit, because he knows it is the end of him as he knows it. fogado is a sore loser and he only wants to win the games he plays. if he loses, he swipes off the board and demands a rematch.

now he cannot do that. he is frustrated by this.

so he turns his head to the only person he knows anymore. not to the one who felled him, nor to his brothers who fall like he does. no, none of those less-than-things matter to him. the ground, the trees, the sky, the air; all fading, all meaningless.

his eyes land on the only one that matters. fogado's arms stretch out, calling out for his master. for rafal.

" ahh... i can't... " he groans, the hole in his lungs stealing his ability to talk. " raffy... rafal, please... take me... "

Rafal to hold Fogado, pronged tail to lover's twisted embrace, clutching him like the raptorial claws of the mantid would its prey. Because what was love if not willingness to die, head eaten and head taken? What was love if not the borders of mortal convention transcended in the most abominable and thrilling way?

In the name of that 'love', due for expiration Fogado was. No longer useful, no longer able, no longer pivotal to the final chapter of nightmares as Rafal fulfilled his utmost dreams. The Fell Heir emerged anew from his weakness, white and pure as an angel on the husks of seven bracelets, all-consuming as the world serpent. With his rise to ascension came the fall of his compunction, those needless upsets like bonds and morals all cast off like withered scales. Necessary never, he would argue falsely of those he'd turned Corrupted. Kept on hand only so long as they were useful, and freely discarded now that they were not. Recycled, now, into another bid for strength.

"Can't?" Can't? Impossibility in the face of godhood? Rafal's very laughter shook the earth, rustled his neonate wings and the foundations of the sunken Somniel as he brought their faces together. Human centered scornfully, affectionately in the eye of the serpent. "Truly on your last legs, dear Fogado. But never mind. This was always to be your fate, not that your failing body would end eventually, but that your strength would be my strength. All of you, all of mine."

Recycled now into another bid for strength, simultaneously granted one last mercy, one first gift. That these wretched and reanimated puppets denied death should meet their final ends it would be by Him, not by anyone else; he who was their god. Love, that god then showered in the singleness of his attention, mind trained nowhere else but on Fogado, even in the battle of divine proportions, against divine army. Mercy, Rafal readied in the cavernous yawn of his mouth, countless knives unveiled to salvage flesh and bone and energy.

—madness, Rafal revealed, in the drunken nature of the beast engorged on power. the heartbeats of his exhilaration unseen. Jaws closed around his mortally wounded Corrupted who begged with arms oustretched, snapped shut like the slam of doors, the scissor snip of threads to his fate. Master to Fogado, and lover too; in his consumption and absorption, in his kiss of death once and final. In the unity of two that would never be undone.

All of you, all of mine.