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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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Private equity plunderers want to buy Simon & Schuster

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

Last November, publishing got some excellent news: the planned merger of Penguin Random House (the largest publisher in the history of human civilization) with its immediate competitor Simon & Schuster would not be permitted, thanks to the DOJ's deftly argued case against the deal:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/07/random-penguins/#if-you-wanted-to-get-there-i-wouldnt-start-from-here

When I was a baby writer, there were dozens of large NY publishers. Today, there are five - and it was almost four. A publishing sector with five giant companies is bad news for writers (as Stephen King said at the trial, the idea that PRH and S&S would bid against each other for books was as absurd as the idea that he and his wife would bid against each other for their next family home).

But it's also bad news for publishing workers, a historically exploited and undervalued workforce whose labor conditions have only declined as the number of employers in the sector dwindled, leading to mass resignations:

https://lithub.com/unlivable-and-untenable-molly-mcghee-on-the-punishing-life-of-junior-publishing-employees/

It should go without saying that workers in sectors with few employers get worse deals from their bosses (see, e.g., the writers' strike and actors' strike). And yup, right on time, PRH, a wildly profitable publisher, fired a bunch of its most senior (and therefore hardest to push around) workers:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/books/penguin-random-house-layoffs-buyouts.html

But publishing's contraction into a five-company cartel didn't occur in a vacuum. It was a normal response to monopolization elsewhere in its supply chain. First it was bookselling collapsing into two major chains. Then it was distribution going from 300 companies to three. Today, it's Amazon, a monopolist with unlimited access to the capital markets and a track record of treating publishers "the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/31/seize-the-means-of-computation/#the-internet-con

Monopolies are like Pringles (owned by the consumer packaged goods monopolist Procter & Gamble): you can't have just one. As soon as you get a monopoly in one part of the supply chain, every other part of that chain has to monopolize in self-defense.

Think of healthcare. Consolidation in pharma lead to price-gouging, where hospitals were suddenly paying 1,000% more for routine drugs. Hospitals formed regional monopolies and boycotted pharma companies unless they lowered their prices - and then turned around and screwed insurers, jacking up the price of care. Health insurers gobbled each other up in an orgy of mergers and fought the hospitals.

Now the health care system is composed of a series of gigantic, abusive monopolists - pharma, hospitals, medical equipment, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers - and they all conspire to wreck the lives of only two parts of the system who can't fight back: patients and health care workers. Patients pay more for worse care, and medical workers get paid less for worse working conditions.

So while there was no question that a PRH takeover of Simon & Schuster would be bad for writers and readers, it was also clear that S&S - and indeed, all of the Big Five publishers - would be under pressure from the monopolies in their own supply chain. What's more, it was clear that S&S couldn't remain tethered to Paramount, its current owner.

Last week, Paramount announced that it was going to flip S&S to KKR, one of the world's most notorious private equity companies. KKR has a long, long track record of ghastly behavior, and its portfolio currently includes other publishing industry firms, including one rotten monopolist, raising similar concerns to the ones that scuttled the PRH takeover last year:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/booksupdate/paramount-simon-and-schuster-kkr-sale.html

Let's review a little of KKR's track record, shall we? Most spectacularly, they are known for buying and destroying Toys R Us in a deal that saw them extract $200m from the company, leaving it bankrupt, with lifetime employees getting $0 in severance even as its executives paid themselves tens of millions in "performance bonuses":

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/06/03/private-equity-bosses-took-200m-out-of-toys-r-us-and-crashed-the-company-lifetime-employees-got-0-in-severance/

The pillaging of Toys R Us isn't the worst thing KKR did, but it was the most brazen. KKR lit a beloved national chain on fire and then walked away, hands in pockets, whistling. They didn't even bother to clear their former employees' sensitive personnel records out of the unlocked filing cabinets before they scarpered:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/09/23/exploring-the-ruins-of-a-toys-r-us-discovering-a-trove-of-sensitive-employee-data/

But as flashy as the Toys R Us caper was, it wasn't the worst. Private equity funds specialize in buying up businesses, loading them with debts, paying themselves, and then leaving them to collapse. They're sometimes called vulture capitalists, but they're really vampire capitalists:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/05/private-equity-buyout-kkr-houdaille/

Given a choice, PE companies don't want to prey on sick businesses - they preferentially drain off value from thriving ones, preferably ones that we must use, which is why PE - and KKR in particular - loves to buy health care companies.

Heard of the "surprise billing epidemic"? That's where you go to a hospital that's covered by your insurer, only to discover - after the fact - that the emergency room is operated by a separate, PE-backed company that charges you thousands for junk fees. KKR and Blackstone invented this scam, then funneled millions into fighting the No Surprises Act, which more-or-less killed it:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

KKR took one of the nation's largest healthcare providers, Envision, hostage to surprise billing, making it dependent on these fraudulent payments. When Congress finally acted to end this scam, KKR was able to take to the nation's editorial pages and damn Congress for recklessly endangering all the patients who relied on it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/14/unhealthy-finances/#steins-law

Like any smart vampire, KKR doesn't drain its victim in one go. They find all kinds of ways to stretch out the blood supply. During the pandemic, KKR was front of the line to get massive bailouts for its health-care holdings, even as it fired health-care workers, increasing the workload and decreasing the pay of the survivors of its indiscriminate cuts:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/11/socialized-losses/#socialized-losses

It's not just emergency rooms. KKR bought and looted homes for people with disabilities, slashed wages, cut staff, and then feigned surprise at the deaths, abuse and misery that followed:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kendalltaggart/kkr-brightspring-disability-private-equity-abuse

Workers' wages went down to $8/hour, and they were given 36 hour shifts, and then KKR threatened to have any worker who walked off the job criminally charged with patient abandonment:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

For KKR, people with disabilities and patients make great victims - disempowered and atomized, unable to fight back. No surprise, then, that so many of KKR's scams target poor people - another group that struggles to get justice when wronged. KKR took over Dollar General in 2007 and embarked on a nationwide expansion campaign, using abusive preferential distributor contracts and targeting community-owned grocers to trap poor people into buying the most heavily processed, least nutritious, most profitable food available:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

94.5% of the Paycheck Protection Program - designed to help small businesses keep their workers payrolled during lockdown - went to giant businesses, fraudulently siphoned off by companies like Longview Power, 40% owned by KKR:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/20/great-danes/#ppp

KKR also helped engineer a loophole in the Trump tax cuts, convincing Justin Muzinich to carve out taxes for C-Corporations, which let KKR save billions in taxes:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/02/broken-windows/#Justin-Muzinich

KKR sinks its fangs in every part of the economy, thanks to the vast fortunes it amassed from its investors, ripped off from its customers, and fraudulently obtained from the public purse. After the pandemic, KKR scooped up hundreds of companies at firesale prices:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/30/medtronic-stole-your-ventilator/#blackstone-kkr

Ironically, the investors in KKR funds are also its victims - especially giant public pension funds, whom KKR has systematically defrauded for years:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/22/stimpank/#kentucky

And now KKR has come for Simon & Schuster. The buyout was trumpeted to the press as a done deal, but it's far from a fait accompli. Before the deal can close, the FTC will have to bless it. That blessing is far from a foregone conclusion. KKR also owns Overdrive, the monopoly supplier of e-lending software to libraries.

Overdrive has a host of predatory practices, loathed by both libraries and publishers (indeed, much of the publishing sector's outrage at library e-lending is really displaced anger at Overdrive). There's a plausible case that the merger of one of the Big Five publishers with the e-lending monopoly will present competition issues every bit as deal-breaking as the PRH/S&S merger posed.

(Image: Sefa Tekin/Pexels, modified)

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/08/vampire-capitalism/#kkr

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atelierlili · 29 days ago

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I beat Pokerogue today (it’s an amazing fangame ) and it got me thinking about Everlark Pokémon teams again. I know I’m gonna make a wip of out this eventually so I might as well brainstorm.

Originally I thought Peeta would have a cute Edelgloss like Milo (my dearest soft baby boy) or a Machomp(because of his wrestling) as his potential aces but I think Litten which evolves into the fire/fighting type Incineroar is the vision. It brings in two Peeta’s core attribute in his baking (fire) and wrestling. And a lot of fighting moves involve getting the user injured to dish out massive damage, which is totally a Peeta coded 😭😭 and cat = Katniss of course.

After that I can see him rounding off his team with grass and fairy types because he’s a soft soul, with an adorable Alcremie that can gmax into a giant cake in battle 🤣🤣 and the cute deceitful Lurantis. After the first game, I think he’s get a steel type pokemon, to show this new stage of his life where he has a prosthetic leg. I think he’d specifically get a Corvisquire/Corviknight to help him get around more easily. Plus it’s a really tanky mon, which fits him.

And of course as an artist, he’d have a Smergle as a little buddy.

I’m obsessed with the idea that Kataniss and Peeta co-parent their Pokémon’s together, so they’re always switching around their sixth Pokémon. But if they weren’t, I think he’d really resonate and care for a Mimikyu. Idk, Mimkyu twoface/disguised imposter form and it’s sad backstory is so Peeta to me. Especially after Mj.

Now Katniss. Katniss’s ace is a Jigglypuff. There is no leeway here. She’s have a cute little pink Jigglypuff. She’d specifically have the one from the anime that is a complete menace. Katniss could pretend that Jiggypuff isn’t her ace, but it is, whether she likes it or not.

There are soooo many bird type Pokémon and it’s a given that Katniss would have one of them. It was just a matter of deciding which one to give Katniss. Out of all of them, I think giving her the fire/flying Fletching is answer- especially since the shiny form has gold wings. Though I did love the idea of giving her a Taillow with the ability Guts- which boosts damage when the Pokémon has a status ailment like Burn. This mon is totally her hunting buddy too.

Next she’d have a Fidough/Dachsbun which is literally a bread dog. I know I know, which should totally belong to Peeta, but hear me out the sentimental value is deeper if Katniss has keeps it on her team. (And like I said, Everlark co-parent their Pokémon.) the little guy gets event stronger when he’s hit with fire. It’s perfect.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I also think she’d be the primary trainer for the Edegloss. It the closest thing we have to a dandelion Pokémon and that’s Katniss’ little symbol of hope and happiness.

Next she’s have a Cubone. Why? Because it wears its mother’s skull on its face. The truama is self explanatory.

Finally as her sixth spot/flex, I think Katniss would fit perfectly with the adorable Morpecko, and which becomes violent and aggressive when it’s hangry. (Lmao)

Aside from the Talonflame/Fletching and maybe the Cubone/Marowak, Katniss has a very adorable team 😭 which feels very Katniss because even in the QQ girlie was not picking out competitive allies to win, she was going to the sentimental ones she likes.

Thats all for now! My hands are full with other WIPs, but believe me, I think I have a small plot bunny with Pokémon’s coming up.

The lineup might change later on, but here’s what I have so far.

Peeta: Litten/Incineroar (ace), Alcremie, Lurantis, Corviknight, Smergle, Mimikyu

Katniss: Jigglypuff (ace), Fletching, Fidough/Dachsbun, Edegloss, Cubone, Morpeko

#everlark #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #the hunger games #thg #Pokémon #brainstorm

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vegaly-art · 1 year ago

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Vegaly Art's Giant Vega Masterpost

Due to recent events in the Vega fandom, which my heart was not prepared for, I have elected to make a cohesive Vega lore post <3. This will be updated with new discoveries with time, and I will keep it as up-to-date as possible. Also be warned this post is VERY long and extensive, and contains much speculation, opinions, and theories, as well as facts, so please make sure to take what I write here with a grain of salt as it is my interpretation of the character/events. Last updated: July 29, 2024. Note, this post contains direct spoilers for Carpe Deus, Imperium Cataclysm, Hush, and Sovereign State, as well as the lore videos and Reductive Audio #7. And also minor spoilers for Sadism's Hold, and potentially other videos/series on the channel. The parts so far are as follows: Part 1: Covers Vega's changing views towards violence against Fellow Demons Part 2: Timeline theories of mine related to when Deferred Judgement took place Part 3: Analysing Carpe Deus, Vega's characterisation, interactions with Hush and potential for his future story Part 4: Analysing Imperium Vega, and what we can learn about both how Imperium functions, and Vega himself thanks to Imperium Part 5: He would sacrifice you to save the world. Part 6: Additional Thoughts that do not fit prior categories

Vega, Vega, Vega. Stellar Formed, First Formed of Gravity, Congruent of D'Deridahn, Bound in his Madrigal. The man, the myth, the legend... There is so much interesting shit about this man to discuss, and I want to cover it ALL because... I am in mourning man.

Today I'll be going over his videos, and in later updates, I'll make new sections that go more into his lore, characterisation in Imperium, etc.

Part 1: Sadism's Hold and Demonic Alliance

Vega was first introduced not in his own series, but instead as a likely one-off or short-term villain in Sadism's Hold, having been the one behind Ivan's behaviour. I find it quite interesting actually how his characterisation then was, especially when trying to put it into context with his later ideals shown in Carpe Deus. Specifically, knowing what we know now about what he was doing with Ivan, AND that he believes Daemons should help one another, his treatment of Caelum is really fucking interesting.

Vega said in Under a Sadistic Demon's Care, "to attack a fellow Demon as they did… well. Let’s just say they got what was coming to them", when referencing the Solitaires' attack on Warden. But it is curious that he seemed so unphased attacking Caelum, and later Gavin as well. Why is that?

Well, I think it's for a few reasons. Firstly, logically speaking, Vega was trying to defend his turf and his project from Caelum, and later Gavin who began to get in his way. Vega is shown later down the line to not at all be opposed to harming others who get in his way, especially when related to Hush. Though he does not really explicitly threaten Hush in the same way Hush did him, he does make it very clear he WILL turn violent if need be, in a less direct way. And his project with Ivan and Baby 2.0 was very VERY important to his plan, so he may feel defensive of it. But this is just the logical justification, which I don't actually thing is sufficient. While true, I think it's actually not the main reason he changed his opinion so much, that can be seen as reasonable in the text.

I actually thing the main reason he changed his opinion was because he was lying. In part. I do think he saved Warden, but not because he believed it wrong for demons to attack fellow demons for their own goals, especially when Warden stood in the way of the Solitaires' plans. No. I think he protected Warden because he grew mildly fond of them, and also believed they could be useful for his plans/investigations, and so did not want them to die, because they had utility. I will expand upon this more in the Vega/Warden relationship analysis section which I plan to make, but he clearly holds Warden as someone very interesting and very dear to him. Of course he would protect Warden, and also lie about why to make himself seem a bit more noble and moral, to warm them up to him. He wants their trust, he NEEDS their trust/compliance actually, to stop them from going back to the department. So, he lied, and he manipulated, and he gaslit, until he saw Warden trusted him and he no longer had to twist the truth, and could be somewhat genuine... it's fucked up, but I think it makes sense of the retcon in character, AND has metatextual evidence through the content warnings on his videos. :P

Part 2: The Timeline

Most of Carpe Deus, up until Deferred Judgement, has been posted on Erik's lore site, which is really nice because it allows me to have a clear idea of when things take place. Only issue is... well... the date for Deferred Judgement is NOT on there (Update: Still isn't. Sobs.) so I have to do some guesswork.

I think there are 2 main possibilities, both of which are equally likely to me.

The first is that this all took place slightly before Inversion, likely sometime in December. This is my personal opinion but not the most popular take. I believe this based on a few factors. Mostly travel time. Would it really take several months for Vega/Warden to get from their hideout (I believed it to be Ivan's place but technically this is never stated, and I ended up changing my mind more recently with new evidence) back to Dahlia?? They could not have rifted since Vega took a human with the pair of them, so unless they were outside of Dahlia and had a long way to go, or got caught up in a bunch of shit like being tracked, etc, it is hard to believe. Especially since on their own, they can rift. Also I think that the Inversion could be a great time for Vega to return since he would have a lot to feed on. The playlist does not say completed so I do assume by some means Vega will come back. Maybe he comes from the river with the shades and has a feast within the bubble. Maybe some magic brings him back?? Idk. But regardless, Inversion would be a place/time that can really progress Vega AND Warden in terms of the power they have on hand thanks to all those emotions. It just feels... thematic.

The other option, which has some more support from the timeline is that this took place right after Inversion and the raid on Closeknit. Obviously, the fact they were exploring an abandoned Closeknit facility is the main reasoning for this. (Also, Hush could have reason to stop Vega because Blake had not yet finished conversing with D'Deridhan and likely returning to the land of the living. This is something we learn about a bit after I wrote this but it supports this interpretation heavily). And the main caveat here would be that for this to be the case, Vega and Warden would both have needed to be stations well outside of Dahlia, and likely taken their time and not rifted to get back there. Probably to preserve energy, avoid Solitaire, Department or Chorus detection, feed, etc. It is possible for them to have taken 2-3 months, but it is... not something I think is super likely? Especially since Warden seems to treat Dahlia like home. Granted, the Solitaires broke into the Dahlia Department facility during Inversion so I could see that they did the facility Vega/Warden were in as a test run, and then the Dahlia one which is likely even higher security, as their big move. But it seems to be the consensus in the fandom and I will defend my theory that this was before inversion until I am proven wrong. (You were proven wrong indirectly bud. So sorry <3. You tried your best though.)

Part 3: Carpe Deus/Vega's Death

Carpe Deus showed a very nice and interesting side of Vega, and I am so glad we got to see it. It was fun to see him be scheming, to see him slowly open up in a way Imperium, due to the constraints of the original videos, did not really have the chance to do with him and Pet. Seeing him develop a rapport and show off some of his past was so sweet... and what he explained is fascinating.

Obviously, the Sovereign stuff is fucking WILD. (And this is from the future, but now, seeing what is happening with Blake, the fact this knowledge is currently lost makes the stakes SO much higher). We did know that they were real beforehand due to Sovereign State, of course, and other videos like Regulus and whatnot, but it was interesting to have a character who literally LIVED THROUGH IT. Someone so intimately familiar with the past.

And also, what I love about him is his moral alignment and his goals. Vega believes that pain and suffering is necessary, important, and something that must be remembered. He clearly values his own memory of the past, even if it's imperfect. And he believed he must preserve it to be able to learn from history. And in Imperium the same trait is carried through which I WILL GET TO when I write about Imp!Vega <3 <3. My beloved. But anyhow- yeah. He values memory, and he is clearly a very strategic, rational thinker. Yknow, I had the thought that he seemed like a General, and Imperium basically confirmed that in my head. That is my headcanon. He has a very... Odysseus like vibe to him. This wise and cunning leader, who is willing to make great sacrifices and has likely lost so much, and is willing to make others lose things too for what is, at the end of the day, the greater good.

He is cruel but not needlessly. He is cold and distant, but he cares about preserving the world and making sure it keeps going. It may be because he plans to live eternally and wants Eternity to be nice for him but, even if his intentions were 100% selfish (I do not think they are/were, I think he was projecting an image with that line), it still betters the world. Which is amazing <3. And makes him really nuanced. <3 <3

Now, on the subject of the most recent video, I have an interesting thought that will get it's own mini section sooo

Part 3.5: Deferred Judgement

I find the title of this video to be... really odd. Deferred judgment cannot really relate to Warden nor Hush. Hush did not defer judgment, since he is so trigger-happy, and Warden doubtfully could provide judgment. So applying the title to Vega, it would make sense that his judgement would be deferred because he was removed from Elegy for potentially a while. Also, the fact that the series title, "Carpe Deus", which... has only happened with this one video, and makes me think that it is part of the point of the video or something going on in the background. Maybe Hush is a god of sorts, or some other shit??? Idk. But its a really odd choice and I need to think on it more.... (Mini update, I made a Hush post. You can find it here <3. It also covers some stuff about Vega but it is more rambling so I think it is good that it is separate.)

Part 3.6: Reforming a Sadism Demon

So... update, update, Vega is back!! But... very broken :(((. Which is so fucking sad. And also makes complete sense considering... well... that Hush basically exploded him. Also now that we know a bit more about Hush, and that he is an Egregore of Sovereigns (Likely Min'Ara and E'Laetum but I have another post about that up), it's making me rethink my analysis of the prior title. It seems I was right on the front that Vega was the one whose judgement was deferred. He has not only been stopped from pursuing what/who is likely... what remains of Blake down under the Closeknit HQ, but also his memory needs rebuilding so his judgement of the Sovereigns is also on pause for a while as he pieces himself together. (I used to think that it was another HQ, since the timeline did not add up, but now we basically know for sure thanks to Hush's comments that this is the one Closeknit location in Dahlia and so this stuff happened a bit after Inversion and the Raid in January.)

Also, I made a post theorising about the signification of Vega's name, regarding D'Deridhan being the Sovereign of Gravity (Later confirmed), as well as Vega being the first Sadism Demon and my thoughts on that, and other lore shit. I forgot this post existed by that point, but to be fair that other one was way more rambly so I think it's ok. You can find it here if you would like to read more on my thoughts on this video specifically, in a less structured format.

But anyhow, yeah... not much more to say on this besides I cannot wait for Vega to meet Warden. And also I wonder if Warden may have gotten some of Vega's memories when his physical shell was ripped open and his magic spilled out. It could be a really cool way to learn a bit about his memories, and it also could just be... kind of a cute plot device??? We shall see. <3 <3 <3 I cannot wait to see more of him <3.

Part 4: Imperium Vega, the General

Imperium was a wonderful story and a wonderful AU, especially because it let us see some inherent and variable traits of each character, how they dealt with new situations, and what their 'worst selves' could be. With one odd, and notable exception.

Vega.

Vega... barely changed between the two versions of the story, with the main difference simply being his not having a strong distaste for humanity. Which actually says a lot about how Imperium functions.

So, in Imperium, the Sovereigns were caged in Aria, and most daemons elected to stay there, while others appear to have been booted out and, due to not knowing how to rift, were unable to return and had to feed on emotions entirely to survive. As such, the concentration of Daemons is FAR lower, the security needed for them is basically the same as that for a person because... well... they can't rift (besides Vega. We will get to that). And ironically, Vega seemed the best poised of anyone to thrive there. The Imperium gave him a constant food source, in comparison to someone like Vindemiator or Brachium who had to take what they could get. And so, surrounded by humanity, Vega likely learned to rely more on them.

My theory personally as to why he is so similar is that his history was relatively unchanged. He was alive for the Cacophony, he experienced the cruelty of the Sovereigns and them being put away, and he left Aria to live amongst humanity without giving up his daemonic nature. Only difference now is that... well... there were so many fewer daemons, and he likely could never return to Aria for his own safety. Or if he did return, I expect he did not stay long enough to build rapport. So, he grew fond of humans, and even after seeing them at their worst, found they were unfortunately all he had to rely on. And he knew the Sovereigns were still a source of magical fuel, so he may feel that independence from humanity ALREADY EXISTED for daemonkind, they just had to learn to rift and they would be set and would not have to think about humans.

But clearly... he grew fond. Fond enough to take a human, who he would outlive thousands of times over, and who he HAS outlived thousands of times already, as a partner. He took it upon himself to help protect the resistance and random people like Freelancer. He made a whole set of plans, a whole way of attack. He pulled strings to get Vampires on their side. And the only reason his plan went sideways was because of Brachium's selfishness, callousness and lack of ability to listen to reason. Imperium Brachium drives me up the walls, but this is not about him... or Vindemiator who is also really bad but at least his actions did not have major consequences. Woo...

But yeah. The man is a strategist. He is clearly very good at planning, and his goals, while differing, did not change him much. Because he was formed by thousands of years of seeing humanity at its worst, so of course in Imperium he would have been unchanged. He would still be cold, and willing to risk the lives of others, and generally a cruel, but... not unnecessarily cruel individual, who wishes for a greater good and moves heaven and earth to do that. But sadly... Brachium fucked up. And Avior and Starlight got caught by Min'Ara and E'Laetum and had NO CHOICE but to follow their commands. While what they did was arguably more risky than Brachium they have much more leeway because of the duress they were under and all that. And now with the Sovereigns GONE... I wonder what Vega would do. I wonder how he would try to find independence for Daemons, or if he even would since he spent so long with humans. Would he instead think to try and have the pair coexist, since the Meridian is... kind of a non-issue for the foreseeable... functionally forever. Not literally but... functionally.

I doubt we will get more Imperium content but it is incredible to think that in two different worlds like that, Vega ended up being so similar. It says a lot about him, his principles, and what not. It... it makes me adore him... a lot. He is consistent and he is strong and he is smart and I cannot wait for what he and Warden get up to. Especially since they have the capacity for a much closer bond than Vega and Pet.

Vega and Pet are... so cute... and so sweet... but tragic. Because again, Pet WILL die... if not by Vampires then by old age or accidents or something or other. Warden can stay alongside Vega and truly understand him in a way few can. I hope that comes to something.

Part 5: He Would Sacrifice You to Save the World

Vega is clearly a man willing to give up a LOT for his mission. He is a slave to his ambition, who hurt likely quite a number of people directly or not for his goals and will likely continue to do so. He manipulates and he clearly tries to minimise damages (I believe that is PURELY for pragmatic 'I don't want to get caught' reasons but that is a whole other thing) but it's clear based on Imperium where he is… almost entirely unchanged, besides the fact his ambitions are different, that he is willing to sacrifice a LOT, including people he GENUINELY cares a lot about or respects, like Avior.

And it gave me the thought: IF he had not been ripped and reformed by Hush. IF he did not lose all his memories. IF he did not now have to rely on Warden to piece together his plans and make them function because his mind is so scattered and they are his only lead… and IF it ever came down to a choice between saving their life, or saving his own/preserving his mission/some other major success in his plans… He would give them up. He would let them die. He would sacrifice them for the sake of his future.

Because 1 life, even if it is a life of the only person who has treated him like a person in so so long… is not worth the lives of thousands. Vega is a slave to his ambition. Unlike Blake, or Avior, or even Brachium, with whom he shares some fundamental traits, histories, or new circumstances… he is not a slave to emotion and to care.

In Imperium, Pet did not aid his goal, so he did not have to risk their life. Warden is different. And I hope he relies on them too much to give them up now.

Because if not I do not know if my heart could handle it.

Would it have happened metatextually??? Probably not. No. Having a speaker kill off, abandon or otherwise remove their listener from the picture would probably be unsatisfying from a narrative and relationship perspective. At best we could see Vega break/cry/get emotional at the loss, but he would then keep moving. But I think character-wise it is truly the only option he would even CONSIDER… and only now is that different because he is so low and so weak, and he has no other choice but to keep Warden alive to keep his own plans and his own ambitions alive.

Part 6: Assorted Other Thoughts

This section will be about any lingering thoughts that do not fit into all these other sections and will be much less organised sooo- let's go!

Sooo- Vega was the second Daemon EVER MADE. FUCKING INSANE. And also makes me think he was a general even more because he had so much seniority, and Polaris is fucking... dead. Rip. Also fun to know that he was not formed in the Elission well! Because it was not made yet. Idk. Fun tid bits from the Daemon lore video <3.

In the most recent Reductive Audios, we learn about how E'Laetum kind of hates Vega which I find fucking hilarious. And considering I think Hush is made from E'Laetum and Min'Ara's thoughts, I have to assume Min'Ara was a bigger basis for him because man... he would NOT have tried to revive Vega otherwise. Same if D'Deridhan was a big part of Hush's creation. I can only imagine that Sovereigned up Blake and Vega would have the most... tense and horribly cruel dynamic if they ever met. Best of luck Blake because you get the short end of the stick.

Vega's Odysseus connections run so deep to me. I discussed them previously and I may well be projecting because I love Epic the Musical right now but I can't be the only one who sees it. Especially because in the Odyssey, Odysseus is forced to learn to put down his pride and use cunning rather than violence and cruelty to get through encounters in his life, but ALSO learn to be ok with loss and with being cruel. Vega I think has learned most of these lessons already and will likely relearn them as he gets back his memories. Right now he seems... emotional, and somewhat logical, but clearly missing large parts of his scheming persona, and potentially his propensity for violence and willingness to be cruel to humanity. I think it would be interesting to see him go through learning about both cunning like Odysseus in The Odyssey, and Ruthlessness like Odysseus in EPIC, but from the perspective of someone like Warden. Also potentially learning about him being a general would be... some very nice fanservice Erik <3. I am not trying to say anything buuuuuut- /s

I really hope Vega and Brachium get a chance to interact. Brachium was the last daemon made by Min'Ara herself, and thus likely the youngest or one of the youngest daemons around in the cacophony, so I wonder if he and Vega knew each other... I wonder what history they may have... I wonder... I wonder if Vega hated him for his recklessness, or admired him for his quick thinking, or if Brachium liked Vega's seriousness and strategy, or found him too cruel. Their relationship as well as Vega's potential relationships with members of the Chorus are fascinating to me. I hope we see more of that.

#love thinking about my man Vega and I hope I can do so for much much longer <3 #denial is a river in egypt and I am bathing in it #and said denial was correct FUCKING WOO!! VEGA <3 <3 <3 <3 #redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted carpe deus #redacted sovereign state #redacted imperium #redacted imp!vega #redacted hush #redacted warden #redacted vega #vegaly rambles

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boytumms · 1 year ago

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First of all, oh God, I love your blog. As someone very interested in boy tummies and what's going on in them - be it digestion, indigestion, inedible objects making a fuss or full-on babies ready to be born soon, it's all unimaginably great.

Second, I've seen your post on having character crushes and imagining belly kink situations with them in the past, and honestly, it's the same for me, except that I'm still doing it.

I'm currently in a fandom with so many cute boy characters to choose from, with their own unique physical quirks, where do I begin with them? A zombie boy who probably doesn't even have digestion in a human sense, and could get so beyond stuffed with food his body cannot process anymore, so it just stays there and makes him bloated and sick until he finally manages to throw it all up? An owl guy with two stomachs (just like real-life owls), who gets his second stomach clogged due to bad diet and has to suffer from tummy aches and nausea because he cannot burp out the contents like he's supposed to? A guy whose alternate form is a giant hydra completely stuffing himself with food or liquid in his beast form, then returning to his much smaller human form and having to suffer the consequences of an overfull bloated belly (this has actually happened at one point in canon, I repeat, this is a canon event!)? I think I have stumbled upon a goldmine with these guys, it's driving me mad with desire to write.

Even the boys with the more normal human-ish anatomy, I can absolutely see them going above and beyond at stuffing themselves full, and one of them is prone to demonic possessions, too - imagine a spirit inhabiting his body having a feast worthy of a God, devouring a gargantuan amount of fatty and heavy foods, then leaving the body's poor original owner to suffer the worst tummy ache of his life.

I wasn't going anywhere with this, just wanted to share in joys of having boys be stuffed and using details from their canon to your advantage. I don't know where I would have been art-vise if I didn't have these kinks, to be honest.

Wow so many options!!! All of those sound so fun, but I especially like the zombie boy with digestion troubles :)

#ask #anonymous #tummy ache #stuffing #belly ache #stomachache #belly kink #what fandom is this I’m so curious now :0

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apupp3tw0-strings · 1 year ago

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Learning More

Date: October 11th, 2131

Oooh boy. Today was intense. Let's start from the beginning though.

Kris finally started showing us around Castle Town today. Since they already showed us the Dojo, we started with this giant door to the east of town. Spamton didn't sound too fond at first (something about a "shady business man"/advertiser being down that way?) but then Kris mentioned something about Spamton being all alone and out in the open if he stayed there, so I think he sorta reluctantly followed us after mentioning how I was his cover. (It hid behind me as we passed by a mannequin display manned by a blue Darkner both times)

Apparently the Great Door is the closet door in Auntie Toriel's classroom. CK tried to push it open but Kris said it was locked before he tried to bust it down with his hammer. Also at one point, Aunt Toriel's classroom was a place Jevil called the "KINGDOM OF CARDS, CARDS!" And was he and a few of the other Darkners here lived before coming to Castle Town. Jevil also mentioned something about there being four kings before the spade one went mad with power? I didn't get it and Kris said it was a long story involving a Knight or something. They also tried to cover CK and my ears when something about fountains was brought up. I had a lot of questions. Only some got answers later in the day.

Anyways, after that Kris suggested we head to "Seam's Seap" which confused me since they said it like "shop" but it's spelled "seap". After actually getting to the shop I finally got it. (You see, Seam's name is spelled like a seam on clothing but it's pronounced like the name Sean but with an M. and thus shop is spelled like seap because of the ea forming the haw sound. It's actually pretty clever as I think about it). So we get to the shop and meet this old cat Darkner named Seam (pronounced shawm). Kris asks them to explain the Prophecy to CK and I since they thought Seam could explain it better than them. Also apparently Seam knew Jevil! (Who decided to wait outside for some reason)

Gyeh, I'm rambling. CK had asked Seam if they could tell him more about Jevil, but Kris shut Ceeks down so Seam could tell us about the Prophecy first. Seam questioned why Kris didn't tell us since they "certainly have the horns of someone who knows it" before agreeing to after CK mentioned that Kris is terrible at telling stories. (Their monotone voice used to make CK cry as a baby. I never think I had an problem with it oddly enough.) And so Seam told us about the Legend of this land.

"Long ago, in a time long before you two were born, LIGHT and DARK lived in balance and harmony and brought peace to the world. The Lightners, like yourselves, would live in the Light World, and we Darkners would live in the Dark World, which you Lightners watching over us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who give us purpose."

I stopped Seam to ask what they meant by "gave them purpose" and apparently Lightners are like gods to Darkners? Which um... Still kind of wicks me out. Honestly the idea of any sort of higher power or being makes me uncomfortable because like, if there's something watching over us, who's to say they're not controlling us? That nothing we do is our choice but instead decided by those above or something like fate or destiny? Wouldn't that make us all just puppets? Toys for gods? Is that exactly what Darkners are supposed to be to Lightners? Just... toys and playthings? ... I don't like that.

Anyways, Seam mentioned that if the balance between the Light and Dark worlds were to ever become unbalanced then "The sky would run black with terror, the land would crack, and the Earth would draw her final breath." When CK asked if it'd be like an apocalypse, Seam said that was one way to put it before continuing. A little bit later Kris called this event the "Roaring".

According to the Prophecy, "Only then, would three heroes appear at world's edge to save it from such destruction. A Human, A Monster, and a Prince from the Dark. It is prophesized that only they can seal the fountains, and banish the "Angel's Heaven", restoring balance to the lands once more." The three heroes apparently being Kris and some of their friends. (Guess that explains why Jevil keeps calling them the "Great Hero of Light" and stuff.) Even though today, the only fountain open is the one here in Castle Town, there's been others in the past. All of them sealed and their inhabitants brought to Castle Town by Kris. Seam also came from the Dark World that used to be in the old classroom Auntie Toriel moved into, just like Jevil.

Kris has also mentioned there hasn't been almost any Dark Worlds opened in a while, and with hope, there shouldn't be more opening any time soon unless CK or I try to open them. To which CK joked about the ability to create fantasy worlds in closets seeming pretty fun (which like, I agree CK but are you forgetting the whole sky going dark and land cracking stuff!?) Even if CK was joking, Kris still didn't seem all that amused, they mentioned how they've spent around the last eight years sealing any Dark Fountains that open and how after the first week "'destiny' seemed to get the memo." and they started dying down. At this point, they say a Dark Fountain hasn't opened for at least four or five years.

After that, Seam asked if there was anything else we needed, and though I was about to ask Seam to elaborate on what they meant when they said Lightners were like gods, CK cut me off too ask about Jevil...

#chicago #deltarune au #deltarune: fool's fate #fool's fate #undertale au #undertale ish #writing #spamton #undertale #kris #comic kings #ck #jevil #seam

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treepan0 · 2 months ago

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Sol lore drop

a bit of stuff for my random for funsies heroes word mission inspired character Sol, because I'm bored so why not? warning light world mission spoilers, mainly on Beat. additionally she has to versions her original word mission for fun version, and a fanfic exclusive version because I kind of low key like her for being a for fun character.

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so Sol isn't fully limited to heros, but that is where she started out. It mainly started with Beat and some details about him, mainly the fact he's actually a distant descendant of Goku. With the assumption of this meaning the series is like a very distant future to the GT timeline, we can now begin on who Sol is as a character and other stuff.

So beginning with her name Sol is actually coming from insolation, which should tell you that she uses the Frieza clan avatar option. this is inspired by the fact that some girls who play games with custom characters often choose masculine options, as many don't want any guys knowing for a number of reasons.

moving on to that GT timeline theory and inspired by beat's whole related to Goku thing, I added some of my love for giant monster movies so she's not a direct copy. So here's what happened pretty much: someone farther back wasn't fully cured at the end of the Baby saga, but he was already taken out by then and they were to weak so the dna just remained dormant in the bloodline.

coming around back to word mission Sol begins to register for the card game and start competing for the first time, Cooler is already her favorite character so she chooses the Frieza clan berserker avatar. as it's an easy option that easily hide's her feminine nature while playing, and Sol would rather not have people be rude or creepy about her being a girl. though her avatar has decorations on his horns, almost resembling earrings. (refrencing a type of jewelry a lot of people design for non human characters, in her case it's horn jewelry since her avatar doesn't have ears)

her avatar leans into Cooler further and resembles the level 3rd upgrade, additionally fully embracing the butterfly like shapes because that's what they remind me of, his back spikes are 4 instead of the 6 on the design furthering the accidental butterfly look. (the 3rd frieza clan berserker already looks a lot like Cooler's fourth form, it's just a little more with her because Froze leans into Frieza a bit more)

similar to Beat and everyone else she opens the first packet everyone gets, though in her case she obtains a Baby card that makes her feel really strange. Then when she's rounded up as an ally, her genetics don't reignite until she's pitted against Baby. From then on depending on how the player treats her, her role would change.

If the player is kind to her, she'll be a great ally that also gives boosts to her own team when used. Sol would also adopt other behaviors such as trading cards with beat and froze, mainly consisting of trading Frieza and Goku for cards related to Baby, Cooler, any card related to truffles or any card related to Cooler. (so that would mean Baby, Cooler, Dr. Lychee, Hatchiyack, the twins, any machine mutant or any of the armored squadron)

in game based thinking I imagine the player could trade a variety of cards for different ones, especially trading weaker ones or duplicate points to obtain a stronger card. Mainly I see her trade menu being a way to get some characters stronger, rather than just locking them away in the box.

in the event that the player is mean to her, Sol becomes a great enemy to the player. she starts becoming a time traveling nuisance, with no real care for the problems she causes. on the highest level of dislike, she ends up teaming up with certain canon characters. in other words she's someone you want to be nice to, because I imagine her having a really difficult boss battle if she was an actual game character.

both instances her tuffle and machine mutant genetics start affecting her avatar with time, making her resemble the frieza clan elite higher level designs more and more with time in the sense of robotic parts. slowly her design adopts more robotic parts, until eventually her design resembles an in between of an icejin and a machine mutant tuffle. her avatar keeps his black bodysuit, as it still fits in. (think kind of like Baby's roboform, with a bit of meta cooler influence)

her heroes team is: Her avatar, Super Baby 2, Cooler, Hatchiyack, Baby Vegeta, Salza and Baby (as in his adult form when he flees Vegeta's body)

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moving on to her non heroes version I made for fics, because she does exist. note this version mainly happened because I wanted to write for her more often, but it's a bit more difficult if I keep her a heroes only character. this version also uses slight au context as well, mainly adding to prevent confusion.

this version technically isn't related to Baby, just like her heroes version isn't exactly either. it was just a mutation result from someone not being fully cured from his possession, and the egg just remaining dormant until the genetic remains awoke.

this version is a bit different the idea is that a surviving tuffle scientist out there, got a hold of an icejin child and just kind of experimented with her out of curiosity. it's less of a tuffle and android twins situation, and more of a Kiryu from godzilla against mechagodzilla situation. rebuilt rather than replaced pretty much, kind of saving her life in all honesty

she bares a resemblance to other characters as a result, a bit more masc presenting but still a girl. I chose her avatar over her more human design (which does exist), as I felt that her avatar design was a bit more interesting with the changes.

like her world mission counterpart the machinery is slowly taking over her body, but with her energetic personality she refuses to let it stop her. the moment Baby takes her in he can not get her off, this small child is surprisingly clingy and is glad to finally have a parental figure in her life. (Or two in some rare cases, no she is not locked behind Coolbabe specifically because she's adopted lol)

Constantly trying to train with the twins and Baby, if she's in a coolbabe fic she will do it with Cooler as well. It's sort of like present Trunks, only it's an absurdly hyper icejin kid that will hang on her parent(s) like a sloth. if you offer her a piggyback ride she'll be really happy, and you won't be able to get her off for the next few hours so be careful with that offer.

she sleeps in the weirdest positions like a cat, she can and will sleep in a tiny box do not challenge her on that. I am not joking when I say this child will sleep through anything, an earthquake could tear through and she will be snoozing the entire way through.

she runs circles around Frieza with her energetic nature, she can't do that with Hatchiyack because he'll just pick her up in a casual manner if she's being to hyper.

all in all Sol's au counterpart is a puppy natured goof that likes having affection and people who care for her for once, and wants nothing more than to enjoy that fact every single day.

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sonicasura · 6 months ago

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Kaiju No. 8: Hatching Second Chances

Here's the idea I mentioned in my previous KN8/DQM post. You can thank the egg mechanic introduced in the Dark Prince for this. Also I will be mentioning the original DQ4 story, not the remake. Let's get started.

Psaro the Manslayer was a very tragic soul. Child of a human mother and demon father who truly never had someone to guide him through life. The only people that tried were torn away from the man. He would die as a heavily disfigured monster born out of grief filled rage. Yet what if it truly wasn't the end?

What's left of Psaro soul would be reshaped into an egg and cast out from the world he born in. This being found on one fateful night by a 22 year old worker who spends his days cleaning giant monster corpses. Although the form the prince would take is the very monster he died as, any prior memories were replaced for careful childlike curiosity.

Kafka looked at what many would consider a monstrosity with empathetic pity. He will unknowingly take up a challenge as the man takes the strange creature home. Whether an abomination truly deserves love or not...

Yup! Kafka is gonna have quite the time with this newborn Psaro since he starts out as an Estark type monster due to the SoE's power persisting. The reborn prince has no memories of his past life at the moment so he's a completely blank slate. (Form in question if anyone is wondering.)

Do know Psaro's monster body ages pretty fast. I give about 2 years tops before the cat sized baby becomes the size of a building. Kafka luckily moved to the more mountainous countryside before that happens though. Psaro's mind is still childlike as his subdued human presents itself mentally and spiritually.

How Kafka raises him will affect more than just temperament. Pure love and care shall restore Psaro's human form(his current age equivalent) over time. Although strong enough emotions will make him 'poof' back into his Estark form.

Kafka definitely got spooked the first time it happens. Imagine surprising your 4 year old son (in human form) with the gift he wanted only for the child to poof back into his giant monster form. Luckily they were at home during that time and not in public.

Kafka would do his best to safely raise Psaro. There have been some close shaves as the monster youth tends to be aware and quite protective of his small father. One particular incident had Psaro spotted by the Defense Force. Let's just a say Kaiju jumped a 28 year old Kafka at work and the Estark would try to gently carry his hurt dad back home.

The Defense Force does try to 'rescue' the still visored worker only for the 'kaiju' to swat away their attempts before successfully fleeing. (Kafka told Psaro not to harm humans so the Estark did listen by blowing away rescuers who got too close like they were puffballs or breathing thick mist.) The whole incident still dances around in the Defense Force's mind especially since one officer reported the Cleaner calling the monster Psaro.

A human raising a kaiju was an already insane idea. Yet this 'Psaro' harmlessly kept officers and rescue workers away from the injured man. Almost like a frantic child scared that someone will take their parent away. The fact the only thing it killed was the attacking Kaiju only add fuel to the theory's fire.

Defense Force would do try to find the duo again whether it be Psaro or their parent. Kafka definitely has a bullet to dodge when an old childhood face shows up at his work interviewing his fellow Sweepers. Now whether I make two separate paths at this point is a tossup.

One is manages to avoid being outted as Psaro's human parent and canon KN8 events follow. The second being Kafka's caught in his half truths. Whether he willing goes with Mina or goes on the run for awhile with Psaro is also unclear. Latter option being that his son is still iffy around humans and he's scared harm would come to him.

This is what I have so far. But what do you guys think?

@foolmariofest

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m0r1bund · 2 years ago

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[Image: Several turnarounds of a funky trilobite-platerodrilus-eryonid-lookin’ guy. She’s the size of a house, and is built like a tank to match. She sports 6 walkin’ legs and 2 pedipalps below her mouth, and her frontmost legs are heavily armored, with thick chitin plates. The pattern is repeated across the rest of her body, with broad, flattened plates extending down to her sinuous tail.

Her face is concealed by another huge, v-shaped plate, with each prong reaching outwards, like horns. Two circular “lenses” are etched into the plate where her eyes would be. They look kind of like goggles, or a knight’s visor. Her muzzle is plated chitin as well, and looks like a shark’s nose crossed with a turtle’s beak. When she opens her mouth, it’s revealed that she has a second set of jaws in her throat. These jaws resemble a squid or octopus beak.

There are some other doodles, too. Reyes picks up a chubby little baby version of the critter, which looks more like a typical trilobite. She smiles a deranged smile at it. Another doodle shows Reyes eating a breakfast burrito in front of the critter’s fully-grown form. The beastie delicately extracts individual pieces of ham from the burrito with her second set of jaws while Reyes isn’t looking.]

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you hear about bugs

silly little essays about space bug ecology under the cut. you can read more below or at m0r1bund dot com ▶︎

I’m already doing PR work for fungi, hiveminds, and parasites with the endeme, but what if i did PR for crop pest species too. I’m thinking about tyranids and zerglings and how they hold up a mirror to colonial settler fears. you are afraid of everything the eye can see being extracted by a foreign invader? of the very landscape around you becoming biologically, functionally, culturally, socially uniform? what if the terrible things i did to other people… happened 2 me….

The endeme keys into impaired ecosystems that are artificially kept in the first stages of succession, and that’s the reason it is monstrous and scary and ‘successful’ (like most weeds and pioneer species, it is not competitive and becomes second banana to whoever comes after it.) But I think it would be neat to meet it from the other end and play off of fungal and viral crop diseases. Maybe there are some funny little guys who are, like, not a big deal until you put a monoculture in front of them. Like normally there isn’t a giant interstellar bug in the sky, but you razed + converted an entire planet into its favorite food. what did you expect.

Anyway I think it would be funny if Earth had a cicada ‘nid horrible spacebug spawning event every 17 years or whatever, where the hive masses of the void return to their natal origin and eat all of their young and fuck and die and get eaten by their giant mom. They’re like salmon moving nutrients from the ocean to the continents, except they’re shuttling nutrients from the unfathomable beyond to different planets. And they can crawl onto land and eat all of your corn. You know how it is.

I think what happens is there’s a “larval” stage that spends most of its life as a detritivore, wiggling around in the dirt for 17 years. And then they have a mass emergence event that coincides with the “hive” forms returning from abroad to hunt and eat most of their young. In turn, they’re hunted and eaten by their larger, more predatory peers, climbing up and up the trophic chain until you make it back to The giant space bug herself.

I think this is like a summer gorging event crossed with a rare mineral pilgrimage for them. Fueling up for years and years of floating around in the abyss between worlds, and collecting rare vitamins while they’re at it.

The impact on Earthen flora and fauna is dramatic and mixed. The buggies are playing a really meta game of energetic monopoly, which has also been brewing underground for 17 years. So, their main objective is extracting their larvae + passing them up the chain as food to mom. But they are also looking for other things to eat. They prefer plants, algae, and fungi at the bottom of the trophic chain to critters at higher levels of the chain, because producers make up way more biomass and are doing more efficient energy transactions. They are also trying to minimize what’s basically mass bioaccumulation, which hivemom is *extremely* sensitive to. So, they’re actually quite picky about which individuals have the ‘honor’ of becoming food.

Some people think it’s more complicated than this, and that the hive is making complex land management decisions informed by things like carrying capacity, local extinction, replacement rates, succession, and so on, but that’s craaaaazy hahaha…. They would never develop such a sophisticated relationship with plants and animals…...... Unless?

Either way, this results in very patchy feeding pockets, where some forests might be nibbled down to the dirt, and others are untouched. This also means that most heterotrophs don’t really have anything to worry about during the spawning/eating frenzy. There’s a 7-ton centipede outside the house and she might cause the roof to cave in, but she mostly just wants to eat your potatoes.

Outsiders understandably view this as an apocalyptic feeding event, because oh my god every trophic level is usurped by bugs, and a non-negligible amount of organic matter IS being taken away by bug mom. But they also leave behind an equal mass of dead bugs, individuals who fall prey to the local flora and fauna, have reached the end of their lives, or were deemed “unfit” for intraspecies eating because they have, like, more than 0.3 micrograms of zinc in their body.

Obviously if you were planning on growing any kind of staple crop that year, good luck have fun. But typically their buggy leavings are enough to last other animals through the year while the plantlife recovers. It’s like a rare treat that comes around every 17 years.

All that to say Reyes ate nothing but forbidden lobster tails for several months when she was, like, 10, and she has been thirsting for them ever since.

#chief and the r.a. tag #maila reyes tag

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the-cat-chat · 2 years ago

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April 15, 2023

It Chapter Two (2019)

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

JayBell: Since we decided to do Stephen King month, we thought we might as well finally watch the sequel to It (which we watched the previous Halloween). When this movie came out, I remember people being disappointed by it, so I went into it with my expectations pretty low.

With that said--yikes. I’ve never read the book, so I don’t know how much they stuck to the book or not. Either way, the plot was just bad. Half of the movie is the group of kids (now adults) revisiting the past and trying to “remember” the events of the first movie. It was as if they had a bunch of unused scenes from the first movie and thought, “well let’s just stick these scenes in the sequel and call it a day.” It was boring. And honestly I’m not sure what these scenes really added to their characters, with the exception of Richie’s character (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader).

And don’t get me started on the stupid ritual stuff. [redacted]. The movie also gives us this quasi-origin for Pennywise with his daughter and the picture on the wall. But it’s vague and then never brought up again. Beverly doesn’t even mention it to the rest of the group. Like “hey guys you’ll never believe who I saw in a picture at some old lady’s house!” Nope. It doesn’t mean anything and the info has no bearing on events.

And the love triangle again, my god. Spare me. The movie doesn’t even provide any new development to the relationship between Beverly and Ben. No. It’s just about this stupid poem he wrote to her when he was a kid. Ugh.

The only good thing about this movie was that the adult actors had much better banter between them, especially compared to the kids in the first movie. And Bill Hader did provide some humor. He was definitely the best part of the movie.

Oh I haven’t even talked about the ending. [redacted]...so it’s completely stupid. Like we kill the clown by hurting his feelings and making him feel insecure? Ughhhhhh. And the overly sentimental send off for the kids come on.

Rating: 2.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: This movie feels like it broke me. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. I have so much to say, yet nothing at all. Let’s start with the positives. I wanted to see the sequel in all honesty bc Bill Hader was the grown up version of Richie. And I love him and think he’s soooo funny. I’m sad to report that’s not enough. (Remember THIS is the positive). That’s it that’s the positive. Oh and the ending the ending is realllllly great. Like the actual ending. She. The torture is over.

Nooow. I felt confused the whole time. Not like I didn’t know what was going on - I just didn’t know whyyy. That’s the whole 3 hours I will never get back. Asking why?? Why would you do it?? Gross fortune cookie baby fly spider things? The weird leper with the tongue? I get, I really do but still. I hate it. Mind you I totally forgot everyone else hated- but the hate is justified for obvious reasons. The majority of the movie is trying to figure the which kids match to the grown up version- then whyyyy they can remember anything- yet Stan did?? Right?? Does that make anyyyy sense???? How did he if the others didn’t? Was he still in Derry??? Whatever. And then they ALL split up??? They do know this crazy clown wants to kill them AGAIN?? And I stilllllll have no clue why they have the story of Pennywise being an immigrant that then joined the circus??? Since it’s something entirely different that I can’t figure out - bc whatever IT is takes form of a very specific thing- and whatever IT was to an ancient civilization IT is a clown when it comes to Derry, Maine. Makes sense clowns are terrifying. But heyyy even worse is his giant spider legs. Oh and when he shrivels into a gross little baby clown when they shoot him down and tell him he’s nothing. Like honestly- between allll of them seeeeeing their worst fears and memories- they couldn’t have pieces it together quicker. And did we really need anymore of the dumb romance stuff agggaaain.

Honorable mention to the freakish naked granny and Stan being turned into a weird head on spider legs. Really didn’t need that in my life. Thanks.

Rating: 0.1/10 Cats 🐈 (that’s me being generous)

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denizavoech · 4 months ago

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“I’ve felt that pain, that loss, and I wake up every morning, asking myself how I can stop it from happening again”

A strong, profound statement from Professor Sato underscores the driving force behind his and Ken’s battles against the enemies, highlighting the emotional toll and the persistent fight to protect the world.

Ultraman: Rising is a Japanese tokusatsu film directed and written by Shannon Tindle that is part of the expansive Ultraman franchise, which is known for its iconic giant heroes and epic battles against monstrous foes. The movie continues the tradition of the Ultraman series by introducing new elements while staying true to its roots of heroism and adventure.

At first, you may feel frustrated with Ken Sato’s character because it shows how stormy his life is. After losing his mother in an accident, life for him was not the same anymore. He blamed his father for everything, forgetting the intimate connection they had. Based on reality, in Philippine culture and beliefs, talking back to elders is considered disrespectful. That's why there is a negative first impression towards the protagonist.

One day, he gained another responsibility by taking care of the kidnapped baby monster, Emi. At first, he didn’t know what to do, what was the monster’s wants and needs until his life saver since childhood, his AI Mina gave ideas on how to take care of it. Despite the struggle in juggling his career and parental duties, he still declined for his father’s help. However, while saving and finding Emi in the city of Tokyo, Ken Sato accidentally injured her shoulder while trying to save her. With no choice, he finally contacted his father for help, who heals her and aids him in raising her.

As time passes, he finally gets the hang of being a parent and a superhero, setting his mood up high in the air, as bright as the sunshine, and as calm as the sea.

Digging deep into the movie and putting ourselves within his shoes, different backstories and reasons were shown on why his personality and routine was like that. To further explain, whenever he wakes up he’s always in a bad mood and whenever he ends his day, he binge-drinks coffee until his body couldn’t take it anymore. Realizing his sufferings and weaknesses as a hero, formed a prism broken down into dimensions representing every reason of his outraging personality.

The movie teaches us that it’s not just fighting giant monsters, rather than itself fighting the anxiety, the fear, the distractions that come in life and the importance of family despite personal issues.

When it comes to personal reactions, especially in the emotional aspect, the mobie gave me mixed emotions. There were scenes that made me feel angry, sad, fluttered, and surprised. The scene that made me really angry and sad other than the disrespect that Ken showed to his father was when the KDF lured Emi using her mother’s whines causing her to run away and that event was used as a bait to destroy Ken’s home, losing his AI Mina and putting his dad in a critical state. It was like a flush of problems dumped onto someone. On the other hand, the scene that made me flutter was the screen time of Ken Sato because he had a face card that never declines, in short he is very attractive, getting turns and stares in every street he passes. Lastly, the scene that surprised me was how Emi’s mother still had consciousness and memories despite being covered in a robot suit and fighting along Ultraman’s side.

In correlation to all superheroes in every movie, series, and films, they truly live within the saying “With great power, comes great responsibility”. Each day they are called to action as the chosen ones to protect and maintain peace in the world, just like Ken Sato, also known as Ultraman. Within the movie, it shows reality, how powerful people can be strong and weak in some fields. Ultraman is strong when it comes to combating and saving the world, however he is weak when it comes to family. Living the bearing legacy as “Ultraman” has consequences in life choices. It’s whether to keep your peace and let the world suffer or lose your peace and let the world be in a great state.

For the movie analysis, the producers were strong in making the visuals of every character in the movie and its plot. The character of Ultraman was showed effectively and accurately just like the similar films. The movie is relevant, especially this 21st century since people also tend to struggle in different fields despite being known as an intellectual person. Additionally, the movie helps close-minded people to understand and give empathy to what others feel during times that the world is against him/her. However, something felt missing since I wanted to know the details on the disappearance of Ken’s mother and the movie was too short for me despite being aired for two hours.

To sum up everything, it gave me mixed feelings but it was a great movie. It would be better if it had a live interpretation with accurate characters and a longer storyline with a great plot twist. I’m sure other people who are into action and superhero movies would like this. So if I were you, take a seat, prepare your popcorn, watch Ultraman, and give me your thoughts.

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saleeba · 1 year ago

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silver studs ; jude bellingham

summary ♡ booking yourself & jude a piercing date!

pairing ♡ jude bellingham x gn!reader

content ♡ fluff, descriptions of piercings/body modification/needles, reader is implied to already have had their ears pierced, jude is a dramatically big baby in this (*roy keane voice* what a big baby... baby!), all around silly billy vibes idek pls read this xx

a/n ♡ girlies (gn!) let’s form a prayer circle & manifest jude having pierced ears in 2024 🕯🕯🕯 i’ve seen some ppl say he would look so good w a nose piercing too and ohhhh my goodness 😵‍💫 i don’t even wanna think abt it my heart is actually palpitating </3 this fic is very much drawn from my own need to get abt 10 new piercings when i can barely take care of my current ones 🫠 enjoyyy my lovelies! 🩵🤍

"jude, come on, hurry up, we're going to be late!" you scold your boyfriend who seems to be taking about one-eighth of every rushed step you take, trailing behind with his hands in his pockets and a defeated puppy-dog look on his face.

“i’m sure it’s still not too late to cancel, babe,” he begins, stopping in his tracks and prompting you to do the same as exasperation takes over your features. “m-maybe we can come back next year?”

you’re in disbelief at your giant baby of a lover now. just last week he was begging you to take him along with you to your nose piercing appointment, a passive comment you had made about him suiting earrings so well spinning his mind into a spiral of pinterest searches and jewellery wishlists. you had even caught him “trying on” your assortment of studs before pressing on your previous comment of how good he would look if he had his ears pierced.

“next year?! jude, the appointment’s in three minutes!” you start to walk backwards so that you can make sure he follows and doesn’t just leg it back to the car. “why are you being such a wimp about it?”

a sweetly deep frown sets on jude’s face, that previous puppy-like trait now seeping into the way he walks towards you. truthfully, the gravitas of the situation has only just set for him, the fantastical image of a metre-long needle coming in to pierce his ears and the unimaginable pain it must create causing nervous prickles to run down his spine. oh god, why did i say yes to this? he’s never been one to be comfortable with needles and other sharp objects in any capacity; needing you to chop all the ingredients whenever you cook together or clear your schedule for the whole day whenever he has a blood test so that you’re there to hold his hand — well, so that you’re there for him to squeeze the living daylights out of your hand.

it was a bafflement to you, though — the boy had undergone multiple terrible injuries and operations but was shit-scared of tools that barely laid a scratch. although, you’ve absolutely made sure to clown him for it at every given chance.

“i’m not being a whimp!” jude’s defensiveness never relents, no matter the situation, and it makes your eyes roll. “it’s just… you’re definitely going first.” he hurriedly declares, hoping to delay the nightmarish events about to unfold for him.

you finally catch onto what he’s trying to say and do, the irrationality of it all causing a chuckle to leave your lips. you can’t believe this six-foot-something boy has such an aversion to something that is barely two inches.

“aww, sweetheart,” you feign a sarcastically sugary pout. “does my baby need his hand holding… again?” an amused grin takes place on your face, all toothy and genuine when jude comments on how annoying you are with a teasing push to your shoulder.

“jude, how many times have i told you that it barely hurts? it’s just a small, sharp pinch,” that old comparison, jude thinks to himself. “here, i’ll show you.”

he jumps out the way of your mischievous fingers before they can land on his skin and deliver a squeeze that is definitely neither small nor sharp. you laugh at his scaredy-cat antics before tugging on his hand, leading him down the street to your destination, encouraging him with dialogue about how pretty he’s going to look once this is done and how you two can maybe wear matching earrings to all the red carpet events you attend from now on.

jude can’t help but think how he’d really like that, already his mind is thinking of how it could be an intimate ritual of your own, the world always knowing you belong to him and he belongs to you when you step out, your bond branded and sealed in two pairs of the same earrings.

there's a slight bump in his path that pulls jude away from his daydreaming and back into the way you're addressing him, announcing that you're both finally at the door of the piercing shop. you don't miss the way his hand dampens in yours but you try to soothe it with a reassuring squeeze.

"hey, five quid for the person that doesn't cry when we're in there." you suggest, playfulness painted in your eyes and smile.

"oh, shut up," jude laughs, tilting his head towards the storefront before counterattacking. "tenner?"

you take up his offer and seal the deal with a quick handshake. “you're on."

the pair of you step into the piercing shop, the vibrant sights of commissioned art and citrusy scents of sterilising products immediately filling your senses. everything is so cozy and inviting, though; the open space looking like it's straight out of a pinterest board with its boho-esque decor and pops of pink and blue.

you're able to check in and be seated in the waiting area a couple of minutes after your intended appointment time, apologising beforehand to the receptionist but not without saving a bantering side eye for your boyfriend. you barely sit yourselves down before the piercer, a mid-twenties lady clad in all black with arms scattered in tattoos, calls your name, prompting the both of you to stand up and make yourselves known.

she introduces herself as clara and invites you and jude over to the small setup of sofas by her station, the large piercing chair looming opposite them. it reminds jude of the chair they make you sit in at the dentist, its size and seclusion bringing that spiky feeling of anxiety right back into the column of his spine.

"so, who's the braver one out of the two of you?" clara beams, eyeing the way jude shrinks himself into the couch and how you raise your hand, mirroring her smile.

"that would definitely be me," you announce as jude pouts on the side, refusing to believe that you've teamed up with the piercer to bully him now.

"alright then, my love. hop onto the chair and we'll get you done in no time."

you truly are done in no time, now inspecting your new nose piercing in the mirror that clara holds up for you. you're thankful that you went with the fourteen-karat gold when asked to choose between that and a plain black stud, the colour shimmering against your skin tone so nicely that you forgive the momentary pain it caused as the needle punctured the skin of your nostril.

however, for jude, it's the only thing that's sticking in his mind. the way you were wincing as clara pushed the tool through, the gritting of your teeth and the subsequent welling-up of your eyes are all warning signs for him to pull out of this whole ordeal, run out the door and never look back, jude, y/n will forgive you.

"what say you, my friend?" clara now turns to your boyfriend, who wishes that the cushions would swallow him up but his eyes force themselves to look at you, your own ones lighting up in amusement — eyebrows raised as if to ask if he dares to accept this challenge.

"you still up for it, babe? you really don't have to if you don't want to, y'know?" to an unsuspecting stranger, your words would be saccharine and supportive but jude knows this is actually your way of saying are you really going to run away from this, you coward? the narrowing of your eyes may look inquisitive to others but they hold an impish tone of accusation for jude.

however, with his head held high, he returns a look of defiance straight into your eyes, as if he's replying with a watch me boss this, sweetheart.

"of course i'm still up for it, love," he answers, getting up from the sofa and attempting to mask the shakiness of his voice from not speaking for a while (something completely alien to the boy; god, he really is nervous). "wouldn't want all the attention on you when we step out together, y'know, wanna give the people something fresh, something new."

you vacate the chair with a laugh, hands splayed out and gesturing towards it, a slight bend in your stand, almost bowing down. "your throne, my liege."

jude rolls his eyes in hilarity, situating himself in the chair as you swap places with him, now in the company of the bright fabric of the couch and cushions. clara sets out the array of jewellery in front of him, informing him about the differences between and benefits of each one before jude settles on the option of the prettiest silver studs he's seen — the colour and the shine of them almost reflect in a twinkle of his eyes and he's now besotted. once the studs are laid out for clara to work with, she goes on to prep the piercing tools on the counter to the side of jude, her being out of view causing that familiar prickling feeling to run through his veins again. all he can do is set his sights on you, trying to claw some comfort back into his mind while his brows furrow in increasing worry.

you can't help but instantly run to his left side, your heart not being able to bear any inkling of pain or discomfort on your lover's face.

"hey, scaredy-cat," you speak softly, going to grip his hand in yours, and leaving a small peck of your lips on it, thumb rubbing soothing circles on his heated skin as clara gives a knowing giggle before she assures jude that he has absolutely nothing to worry about and that the great choice in jewellery he's made will surely not go to waste. she makes a joke about how he might get a sticker for being a good boy and it serves as a brief distraction as she lines the needle with jude's right earlobe, the boy grimacing as the sharpness hits him for a second.

and that's all it is. a flash of a second, another on the other ear, your hand still in his, and it's all done. the feeling of relief and achievement is like no other for jude.

"there we go, my lovely," clara concludes, putting her supposed instruments of torture down and holding the mirror up to jude's face, prompting him to check out how everything looks. "what do we think?"

he's beyond ecstatic with how he looks in his new earrings, the silver glistening in the light against the brown of his skin, the size of the studs just perfect for him. he looks to you for approval, though; he wants to hear all the praise from you.

"you look amazing, jude!" you're smiling ear-to-ear, eyes lit up in sheer admiration at how hot your boyfriend looks right now. well, he's always been hot but this? this is a whole new level that you're glad you've unlocked. "you were amazing, too. how was it? did it hurt as bad as you were thinking?"

he replies with a bashful shake of his head, smiling at his prior silliness over something that lasted seconds not even worth counting on his fingers.

"no, not at all," jude admits. "feel a bit stupid now, though, i was panicking over nothing." he lets out a genuine laugh at himself and you join in, not forgetting to let him know how proud you are of him and how you're going to be dragging him from shop to shop to pick out new earrings for when his piercings heal. jude thinks to himself that he won't need dragging around now; he'll happily lead the way to picking out new stuff, experimenting with colours and shapes.

once clara gives you two the rundown on piercing aftercare 101 and her contact details should any of you run into any problems, she sends you on your way with a goodie bag of saline solution and sweets.

hand in hand, you walk out of the shop with jude, chattering on about when the next awards ceremony that the two of you are invited to could be and what sort of outfit you might wear and how you would co-ordinate clothes and jewellery.

the pair of you stop in front of an café, you asking jude if he's up for a coffee before you start your earring-hunting adventure.

"yes, please," jude responds, hand enclasping yours in the most loving way before he drops his next line aided by a grin that is the epitome of shit-eating. "besides, you owe me a tenner after all the crying you did in there."

#right! now i've upset myself by writing this & realising i’ll never get to have piercedbf!jude in my life 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽#my first fluff tho !!! i hope it was ok for everyone :)#˗ˏˋ 📝 ˎˊ˗#jude bellingham #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham x you #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham fluff #jude bellingham x y/n #jude bellingham x gn!reader #jude bellingham x fem!reader #jude bellingham x male reader #football imagine #footballer imagine #footballer fluff

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indaysinaya · 2 years ago

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Chapter 13- Bangka Ride

AMILYN

“So what’s this whole festival thingy? Seems like a big deal around here, with the mandatory attendance and all,” I ask Mary as we walk toward…well, somewhere.

“Oh yeah. It is a big deal. The harvest festival happens once a year, and is the biggest yearly gathering of bagani-kind around the whole world. Everyone comes home to celebrate it. Basically it marks the end of the harvest season, and we get to thank the deities for the bountiful harvest of the year. I heard it’s really fun, games and all that,” Mary replies as she leads the way to our destination.

Hmm, so like some sort of intramural? That sounds nice. A nice, multi-hair-color intramural with fun games and recreation. That should be nice and normal enough, right?

Boy was I wrong.

First off, the ride to said event is on some sort of …boat?

I’m not sure if it qualifies as a boat. First of all, it’s shaped like a giant egg, but half of the the shell has been removed and all that remains is the jelly-like membrane to separate the outside from the inside structure. The oblong structure is divided in two: the upper part and the lower part. The upper part is see-through, protected by the aforementioned jelly-like substance, and the lower area comprising of some sort of white wall. There are several of such structures floating above the river.

“There it is. Lucky we got here early. Any later and we’ll have to compete with a hoard to get on those,” Mary enthusiastically exclaims as she heads for the structure.

“Uhh…what is that?” I manage to ask as I not so enthusiastically follow her.

“That,” she replies, pointing at the structure, “is our ride back to the surface. We call it a bangka. It’s Tagalog for boat, though I know it’s not so boat-looking. It’s made of bakunawa eggshells from ancient times. The ancestors who dwell in the seas converted them to boats because the shell is made of really sturdy stuff,” she explains as she approaches one of the boats.

That’s one big egg, I think to myself as we approach.

I wonder how big a baby bakunawa is to come out of such a huge egg.

Then again, I’m not really looking forward to meeting something that’s already this big as a baby. Imagine how much larger it would be fully grown.

We both enter the nearest so called boat. The inside is as you would expect a giant shell to be shaped as. There are no edges inside. Seats are arranged in small rows of threes on both sides, all facing the part where the driver is supposed to sit.

But now that I look closely, there is no driver’s seat. The entire interior is filled with passenger seats, but no room for the man on the helm.

“But how does it run? I don’t see any sails or engines? And where is the driver supposed to sit? I don’t see anyone.” I ask.

“Oh, this entire thing is pulled by giant flying fish. And the driver is under water, some siren or syokoy from the cove should be manning it somewhere. They don’t like to be seen, their kind,” Mary replies, choosing a seat near the door.

“Sirens? We have sirens? Those are real? And flying fish? Are they magic too?” I excitedly ask, somehow eager to meet more supposed-to-be mythical creatures in the flesh.

“Yeah, sirens are real. But don’t get too excited about them. It’s pretty rare to see one, even with us living next to a colony. And about the fish, no, they’re not magic. They’re just really big fish. The sirens raise them in the pens near their cove.”

Oh, so no chance of seeing magic siren or magic flying fish. Too bad, I was kinda looking forward to it too. I mean, at least they don’t sound as dangerous as giant egg baby or whatever we have to use centipedes for.

It doesn’t take much longer for more people to arrive. In fact, a few minutes later and a cue for the boats finally starts to form. Mary helpfully informs me that about ten thousand pinili study at Pinag-adlawan at any given time, and thus there are ten thousand students that these boats have to bring to the surface. Apparently, there will be dozens of similar boats in five of the main rivers (there are eight main rivers, but three aren’t accessible to the public).

After our boat fills up, the journey begins.

The boat lurches forward, and slowly, we dive.

This time, we use a much more spacious passage, enough for the boat to comfortably glide past without bumping into the walls. Fishes swim beside us, curiously eyeing us as we go. Just as I remember, the walls of the cave light up in a dull white glow, highlighting various formations here and there.

Once, we pass by one of those dragon-snake hybrid that guards the entrances. It lets us pass, swimming to the edge of the cave to allow more room for us. It’s just as huge as I remembered it to be, long enough to match the size of the boat. Just as before, it doesn’t harm us.

Not long after, we make it to the main river, and up we go to the surface.

The boat breaks through the water, and we are greeted by the warm sunlight. One by one we exit the boat. I take one look back, just in time to see one of the fish that’s dragging the boat emerge. And boy Mary sure did mean it when she said they are huge. Those things are about the size of a fully-grown human!

We emerge to what looks like a large field. From here I can see that it does indeed look like harvest season has just ended. I see rice stalks cut in half, the entire scene colored by a dull yellow turning light brown. The air smells like freshly-cut grass.

Being the first boat to depart, I expected us to be the first ones here. To my surprise though, there are about fifty people here, busily milling about.

“The datu’s entourage, here to prepare for the festival,” Mary explains when she sees a big question mark on my face.

“The WHAT’s entourage now?” I ask, still eyeing the men.

“The datu. You know, the highest-ranking official of Pinag-adlawan? The leader of the bagani? The strongest fighter? The GOAT? Big old man? That ring any bells?”

“I didn’t know we have a king here.”

“Of course we do. Well, kind of. He’s our leader. Who would manage such a large organization if we didn’t have leaders? But he’s more like a president than a king. You know, duly elected instead of being born into power. We’re a democracy, that’s what we are,” she further explains.

“Ah. I guess that does make sense.”

“I think they’re preparing to summon Dumangan. Great view we have here. We can clearly see them,” Mary comments, settling down on a slab of rock.

“Summon who?”

“Dumangan. God of harvest. He’s the main thing every festival. Can’t have a harvest festival without the god of harvest now, can we?”

“So we get to see an actual god? Like, in person?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Sit down here. When the crowd’s all gathered they’ll summon him.”

“So you actually get to meet the gods here? Is that a normal thing?” I ask again.

“Yeah. So far I’ve met Mankukutod when he was blessing the coconut trees at the base, and apparently we’re supposed to meet Apolaki when we start classes. Plenty more gods and goddesses, plenty of opportunities to meet them. Come on, sit down. Let’s get comfortable while we wait. Here I brought some suman,” she invites, handing me the familiar snack.

I gladly accept, eagerly grabbing the snack, already looking forward to meeting one of the gods we’re supposed to be serving.

#bagani #mythology #story #novelseries #adventure #comedy #gods #hero #teenhero #journey #warrior #philippines #fiction #mystery #superpowers #fantasy

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