#de-colonize your mind

[auressea]

What Truth? What Reconciliation?

zero progress.

[dyke-on]

If you're more angry about the two kids who threw tomato on that van gogh painting than the fact that 70% of animal species on earth have been destroyed in 50 years, you're a fucking idiot

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

I feel like a lot of people don't have a clear distinction in their minds between "immigration" and "colonization".

This causes problems both when decolonization rhetoric gets misinterpreted and derailed, and when (racist/xenophobic) anti-immigrant rhetoric gets a pass due to conflation with decolonization.

Colonization isn't just "moving to a place where people have different laws/customs".

It's also not "observing traditions or customs of your birth culture after moving to a culture where most people's traditions/customs are different."

Colonization involves essentially setting up your own government and legal system in a place where other people are already living, and subjugating the people already there under this colonial government.

The colonizer group has, de facto or de jure, more rights than the indigenous population.

Colonization historically has also involved pressure, sometimes up to and including enforcement on pain of death, to adopt to some extent the colonizer's cultural or religious traditions.

Many individual colonizers have had urgent and legitimate reasons to need to leave the places they lived before. They may individually have had little choice in where they ended up.

However, if they moved to a place where the government is a colonial one that prioritizes them (officially or unofficially) over the indigenous population, they are now part of the colony and participating in colonization. Their children, still prioritized by the colonial government over the indigenous inhabitants, are colonizers also.

Colonization is about taking power over people already living in a place, not about simply moving to a place.

[ash-and-starlight]

Books of 2023

the list nobody asked for <3

My reading habits had gone a bit stagnant in the past couple of years so this year i made the effort to engage in reading again and wow books really are good!! who would have thought! Sharing this year's book log with the small reviews i did while reading yeah i am That kind of list lover if u feel like being nosy, (and maybe even help mi crowdsource reading recs based on my likes 👀🤲?)

The left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula i Need to know your thoughts on omegaver- [gunshot] THAT ASIDE yeah. mrs Le Guin you've done it again. I can see why everyone got their brain chemistry altered by this book.

The Membranes - Chi Ta-Wei another brain chemistry altering book. would love to discuss it with a gender studies major lmao

Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie its a v atmospheric and poignant story, I know I would have loved it more if I was familiar with the rich religious/cultural background it draws from

The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson Crazy insane in the membrane about this series. one of the most compelling worldbuildings I've ever seen, and most importantly it features one of the most crazy wet pathetic scrunkly meow meow protagonists i've ever had the pleasure of reading about.

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides i liked the writing style of this book a lot! idk how well it holds up re: intersexuality topic, but its a very engaging read.

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power - Jude Ellison, Sady Doyle The title says it all honestly, its a beautiful, thought provoking and engaging essay, spanning eras, pop culture phenomenons, and real life events on the topic of women and horror.

The cat who saved books - Sōsuke Natsukawa this was so cute and heartfelt, it will really make you go Ah Yes, this is Why we Love Books <333

The Locked Tomb Series - Tamsyn Muir now when people say there is a girl who is the cursed sacrifice of 2000 infants who falls in love with the sleeping embodiment of the soul of the Earth (barbie) and also another girl who is the only survivor of the aforementioned sacrifice and is. a Jesus metaphor? and also the two girls become one at some point. and every book is a different genre. and god is bisexual. and memes survived the nuclear apocalypse. I can just nod and say so true.

The Area X Trilogy - Jeff VanderMeer Rotating this series in the microwave of my mind at the speed of light it's soSO GOOD!! the movie doesn't even come close honestly u NEED to read the books. and then go touch grass and be aware of every strand in a completely new way.

The Dawn of Yangchen - F. C. Yee nice read! I was more invested in the worldbuilding crumbs than in the actual story lmao, I will forever think about the HEATED airball rivalry between the air temples and about the swt greetings / bethrotal armbands.

Inuit Stories of Being and Rebirth: Gender, Shamanism, and the Third Sex - Bernard Saladin d'Anglure starting w a disclaimer bc I feel like the topic of native colonization was ignored when it should have been way more prominent when talking about the context of where and when these testimonies were collected?? That aside it was very interesting and well put together, with first account testimonies of Inuit elders about their myths, lifestyles and beliefs.

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee i read the book after having seen the tv series (which i also rlly recommend). Very moving story about a family and its generations, from Korea under Japanese colonization to modern day America.

Her body and other parties - Carmen Maria Marchado sometimes I go about my day then I remember this book exists and stare at the wall for 30 minutes.

Dictionnaire de l'impossible - Didier Van Cauwelaert big miss. this collection of articles about "strange impossible phenomenons" sounded so quirky and interesting but i sure would have loved if the author hadnt so clearly picked a side. and also way too much church for my tastes.

He who Drowned the World - Shelley Parker Chan Im not even gonna speak about this one if you've followed me since july you know what pits of insanity and despair i'm in

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin Sometimes!! the book with pretty covers put in the "famous on socials" bookstore section!! are good!! It's about being othered it's about connection it's about diaspora it's about love and friendship and most of all it's about viddy games.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel reading this post-covid and learning it was written in 2017 was A TRIP. Psychic damage at every page. still feeling very normla.

The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault Ugh i desperately wanted to like this book because the setup is so interesting and full of potential, but the end result was just. flat. flat story flat characters the plot focusing on the wrong things at the wrong times i was so DONE when i reached the end otz.

Babel - R. F. Kuang LOVED the worldbuilding in this, the "lost in translation" system of magic is one of the most interesting things ive ever read. I think theres something about the writing in general that didn't win me over completely?? but all in all a very good

Red Ocean - Han Song This sure is a Book. That i've Read. its so profundly strange and unlike anything ive come across that i dont even know what to feel about it. i think 90% of my confusion comes from Not Getting Cultural References so if someone has a "red ocean explained" essay plz send it my way bc i couldnt find one.

[knightyoomyoui]

ITZY Ryujin x M & F Reader - "Misa De Gallo"

This wasn't part of my plans at all, but since I was hugely inspired from listening to Ben&Ben's song "Bibingka" (give it a listen, it's a Filipino song but trust me, it's so good.) since it's Christmas, so I got to formulate a plot in my mind and give it an attempt to write it for another one-shot entry.

I originally wanted to add this on the TWICE x Reader one-shot book as a one-shot special but I already published the next entry on my line-up there few days ago so, I decided to instead place this here since I haven't get to update this book for a while now. And lastly, I picked Ryujin of ITZY to feature on this story because she's also another one of my biases from other groups aside from TWICE. Enjoy reading and Merry Christmas everybody!

Here's my Ko-fi account where you can drop your donations or ask for a commission. You can check it out on my Tumblr profile too!  Buy knightyoomyoui a Coffee. ko-fi.com/knightyoomyoui - Ko-fi ❤️ Where creators get support from fans through donations, memberships, shop sales and more! The original 'Buy Me a Coffee' Page.

Ten minutes remained until the evening's last mass started. Before you explored, you parked your vehicle properly onto the vacant spot in the parking lot. As you entered the sacred area wearing your formal clothes of choice for attending a mass, you took in the cool, windy evening air that caressed your skin.

Looking around the sacred building and its surroundings, you saw a lot of people, probably less than the batch who were gathered an hour earlier, judging by the number of individuals who left and headed home as you showed up at your destination. That didn't seperated them for a difference that majority  of them wears a smile in their faces, it is unknown whether what's going on through their minds but certainly for sure you knew that they're glad that they got to experience having a Misa De Gallo with their loved ones.

Misa De Gallo or Simbang Gabi if you will translate it in Tagalog, is a part of Filipino culture, mainly influenced from the Spanish during their time of colonization in the Philippines, through their intention of implementing and propagating the religion known as Catholic to the Filipino people.

As part of the religious beliefs ingrained in Filipino culture, it is believed that if you attend evening mass on all nine nights—the ninth being known as Misa De Gallo—your one special wish for the upcoming year will be fulfilled. Aside from your enthusiasm to pray to God to express your gratitude and requests for guidance in life, that is precisely your intention for coming to this church. Over the previous several years, you haven't had the opportunity to complete the Misa De Gallo because, either at first, you weren't interested, or after you and your family attempted to go, you established a premise that primarily links your decision to participate to the availability of your family.

However, you haven't been able to experience Misa De Gallo for a long time because of some personal circumstances that they have been going through for the past two years following the lessened strictness of the safety guidelines for COVID a year prior to that, allowing people to attend with more freedom and caution. Not until today.

Knowing that your siblings won't be able to start over again that automatically brought your parents also to remain and check upon them, you've decided to do it alone this time. You're left with no option but to finish the nine night masses by yourself.

Entering the chapel, you could convey how serene and bizarre it is to experience this all by yourself regardless of the fact that you're still being a little bit sleepy along with the people present inside since it was still quite early in the morning when the sun hasn't risen yet. The unexaggerated noises of the crowd sufficient to keep yourself quiet while waiting for the mass to be prepped up, the dazzling decorations around the chapel and the graceful ambience of the holy structure says it all. About almost half an hour later, the mass is ongoing. The priest starts to pronounce his first prayer after the insightful sermon he just recited to the devoted crowd. You tried to admire the view of all of the people politely listening to the wise words from the Bible with grace and when you were looking around, a side profile of a very intriguing woman drew your attention for a while. Throughout the remainder of the time, your eyes never left on the woman sitting beside you, mesmerized at how beautiful her appearance was. Her presence almost created this strange vibe as if the people around became blurry and the only ones that exists are you and her in the midst of the glimmering lights from the divine chapel.

You walked home, successfully finishing your first single night mass with a smile on your face, astounded by it while being curious at the same because of encountering that woman.

On the third night, you were looking for some available seat when you unbelievably spotted again the same woman that you met from the first two nights. Yesterday you have got to see her but unfortunately she was on the other row of the aisle rather.

Noticing that she doesn't have anyone with her yet, you made the initiation on taking the opportunity to sat beside her.

"Let us offer one another a sign of peace." The priest extends his hands to the air, giving the signal for the crowd to follow. Everybody exchanged short messages of "peace be with yous" to those they can set their eyes for. You looked at each your sides, and for the first time; the girl has captured your gaze. "Peace be with you." She bowed at you and flashed her cute grin. You couldn't help but to smile in delight too at how contagious her display was, along with your own words in return for her.

You walked home, successfully finishing your third single night mass with a smile on your face, uplifted by it while being intrigued at the same because of encountering that woman.

On the fourth night, they have once again sat at the same chair, almost got you into wondering if this has became a fate that was casted for you as an additional christmas gift sent from God herself to often meet this woman. You and her both noticed the empty space between them as it was brought by the mutual shyness, prompting you into surmising that she may have started to find it suspicious now too. You could just hope that she won't take it a wrong turn.

A mother with her child appeared on their row, and you had no choice but to adjust yourself closer to her. You didn't look at her to get her out of thinking you may have stalking her everyday, but in your surprise, the woman talked to you for the first time.

"Aren't you the same guy I've seated with from yesterday and the days before that?" You finally heard her voice. It suited her alluring and hypnotizing looks, kind of deep and sultry.

You inclined your head, giving her the look of acknowledgment. "O-oh yeah, wait a second. You do are right.", fakely amazed as you pointed the obvious. "Now it got me wondering the same too."

The girl laughed and my oh my it was so pleasant to hear. "This is beyond just a simple coincidence now, I should say. It's our fourth straight in a row meeting at this point.", she mentioned through her impressive English with a hint of that Korean accent that you have observed, putting you into another observance that she's probably a foreigner too. "I wouldn't be surprised now if we did get to make it happen again for tomorrow." You chuckled. The woman shared the same sentiment and nodded at you.

Through that, it started to provide you a wider sense of recognizing each other praying and listening together respectfully to the entirety of the mass. You walked home, successfully finishing your fourth single night mass with a smile on your face, contented by it while being lucky at the same because of finally accomplishing that you get to communicate with that woman. On the fifth night, they have sat again at the same spot and made a deal that they'll continue this through the remaining masses before Christmas. This also marked your first exchange of greetings with her too, adding a more wholesomeness to it.

As the Our Father (or commonly known as Ama Namin in Tagalog) prayer began, you felt an unusual damp of touch to your free hand. You looked to the side and your eyes widened, realizing that the girl took your hand in her own will.

Your fingers slowly curled and clamped on her grip and nervously sang with her. In your mind was thoughts running in imagination that the heavens might probably singing together with them as they witnessed this lovely spectacle.

Before you and her parted ways, they both decided that in order to make their interaction more comfortable and welcoming, they decided started to get to know each other more at the conclusion of the mass.

Being true to their words, they have indeed continued to do so on the following 6th, 7th, and 8th nights. They've done it through exchanging social media accounts, and it has come to your knowledge that her name is Shin Ryujin, sharing the same age as you in 22 years and she is half Korean and half Filipina from her mother's side.

There were other times that you have done a more daring and challenging attempt to get closer on her, taking the time when you escorted her on her house after she noticed that there's no transportation available due to the stampede and traffic outside the church.

"I-I can take you home if you want to." You offered, remembering that you have your own motorcycle with you. Fortunately, only motors can pass through in this not so tight traffic.

"Y-you sure, YN?" Ryujin checked. "It must be embarassing for me to-"

You interrupted her words, wanting her to feel not shy and guilty that she may have pressuring you to do this. "No, I swear I'm being absolute generous right now, Ryujin. You said that your parents may have been looking now for you, and we don't want them to keep waiting longer in worry, don't we?"

Ryujin sighed and tightlipped. She lowered her head, still a sign of shame atleast that she just had somebody she just newly met had to accommodate and adjust for her sake. "You don't have to do this but... if that's what you want then I won't be resisting much more." She slowly nodded and frowned. "Sure, I'll come with you."

You are thankful for her trust that you have earned, and you have no intentions to ruin and waste it. Quickly setting up your motorcycle, you let her sit first before you do like a true gentleman. Starting your engine, you gripped onto the handles and fixed your helmets properly first before rolling the wheels.

"Hold on to me if you want to so that you may not fall, okay?" You gave her one more tip before leaving the chapel together and finding an alternate way to pass through the traffic.

You were busy on keeping your sight on the road until your body was sent into shivers and beats of your heart almost chasing the speed of your driving when you unexpectedly felt that Ryujin's body is pressed on your back, with her arms wrapped around your waist.

Through her directions, you and her reached her safe haven as you discovered her place for the first time also. Parking in front of her house, you hopped out first so that you can help her also hop out from her seat.

Removing your helmets, she looked at you and bowed down in gratefulness. "Thank you so much for taking me home, YN. I really appreciated sparing me from out there." She felt touched at your kind act.

"No problem, I couldn't just let you there be alone and feeling lost, especially that you haven't been familiar yet around there." You said.

"Take care on your way home, okay?" She patted you in the shoulder. "I still need to see you tomorrow."

You blushed and laughed at her silliness and heartfelt favor. "I will, Ryujin. We will meet again, don't worry."

You and her gave waves of goodbye to each other before you ride your motorcycle and drove all the way now to your home. You then found out on the 8th night that the reason she said that was to treat you for some street foods after the mass as her way of expressing her appreciation more for your kindness.

They made it together at the very end. on the 9th and last night before Christmas arrives, Ryujin detected a glimpse of your uncomfortable and sullen demeanor. She sweared that she could atleast barely see you smiling genuinely through the whole length of the mass, and she hated how you're easily making her sympathy for you without having to know the story behind of it yet.

That's why she decided to ask it straightforward to you, especially that she did felt something's wrong based from your lack of focus to your surroundings. It got interrupted shortly when you invited her to try this famous Filipino delicacy during Christmas season known as Bibingka.

You bought each one for you and her. She didn't ate it yet because of it's too much hotness since it was freshly cooked. You did the same, and Ryujin didn't want to spend another time being uneasy at the silence developing between you and her so she poured her confidence to ask you.

"What's gotten into you? You seemed quiet tonight." Ryujin spoke out her observings. You looked at her with that pale expression. "Cmon don't be like that, we literally just finished all the nine night masses. Do you have a problem? You can share it to me if you want."

Ryujin passed the wrapped Bibingka on the plastic back and forth in her hands to endure its heat before trying to place it on her clothed lap. You sighed and looked at her in sorrow, feeling bad for making her worry. "I'm sorry, I just had this realization since earlier this morning."

"Care to tell?" Ryujin pardoned.

"Well, you just said that tonight's the last Misa De Gallo, and now we're about to greet Christmas later." You said in a melancholic tone. "Doesn't it mean that this might be one of our last or... i don't know, exactly the last time that we'll get to share a moment like this?

Because I must say, it has become awesome for me. So much that I didn't want to end it yet, with you."

Ryujin stares at you, allowing you to speak what's boggling through your heart and mind. She did smiled at your note that you're enjoying her company throughout these 9 nights of meeting her.

"I'm not just speaking it as from what I experience from all those nights I've spent on getting along with you, this is me being the guy whom you managed you steal my attention since the beginning." You said to her, not leaving your sight on her while you sincerely releasing all of the sensation  she had caused that is lingering into your insides.

"I'm interested on you, Shin Ryujin."

Ryujin's eyes blinked rapidly, her mouth partly gaped and cheeks reddened on the spot when you declared your admiration for her. "I know it was a bit fast, that I only got to meet you for only less than 2 weeks, that's why I didn't fully recognized it already that I love you already or what, but I know i'll get there. I mean, it always comes to that way when you couldn't get to turn your eyes away at that one person right, and that is you for me, Ryujin."

Ryujin wheezed and scratched her forehead. She sighed and smiled at you. "And now you're trying to get through my feelings, I thought I wouldn't get to witness it at all, but now I did."

You gave her the opportunity to speak on her own behalf now, while albeit nervous at what she's going to say, brought by the fear that this may have cost your shortly built closeness with her.

However, it aged like a milk when her next words made you brought back everything you've thought it'll turn up to be.

"Funny how you just said it, so we're having similar impression stored within ourselves through all this time then?" She chuckled.

"Uhh can you elaborate for me?"

Ryujin knocked your head, making you rub your head at the stinging pain. "Idiot, I-I'm also interested with you too." she pouted and cutely hid her face away from you.

You stopped your movement as your senses malfunctioned after processing what you just heard from her. "H-huh what? You do?"

"Remember that first night? That's when I actually saw you for the first time." She recalled, revealing that she had already noticed you secretly too in the first night. "And I don't know why I can't contain myself to sneak glances at you. Then the second night came, I saw you again, there's a want in me that urged me to sit on you but sadly I couldn't. There's someone beside you already, so I went on to do some couple of watches on you again."

"And finally I got to do it when you sat near from me on the third night." Ryujin formed a satisfied curve on her lips before lightbulb popped in her mind, her face sprung wide and slowly turned towards you.

"Uhh what's with the look?"

"Aha! So that's why you did the first move to sit beside me huh!" She teasingly bumped you on the arm, smirking at your super ashamed state. "Very slick of you, YN."

"W-wait there was this mother and her son who wanted to sat with us o-okay? That why I adjusted myself!"

"But you were thinking of wanting to sit together with me too, don't you?"

You stammered before choosing to shut your mouth as Ryujin finally got you busted. She just laughed at your embarassed condition.

"That was funny... and very cute of you, YN." Ryujin gave a cheeky smile, making you blush intensely again. "Yeah, I'm not gonna make it longer and cheesier. I'm also interested in you, YN LN."

She laid her head on top of your shoulder and started to unwrap the Bibingka on her hand. "And I am giving you a chance to earn my heart more. I expect to see other things you can do for me, YN."

You respectfully took the opportunity she allowed to install on you wholeheartedly for the sake of the emerging love that has begun to develop from the first contact you had with her. "I'd be happy and honoured to introduce it all only for you, Ryujin. Thank you."

The two then happily continued eating bibingka together, with their anticipation for what's more to come between them arises.

1 year later, you and Ryujin attended another traditional Misa De Gallo but this time with their own respective families.

During the offering of peace led by the priest, they instead exchanged kisses to one another, a symbol of your successful and healthy 5 months of relationship with her.

But the most meaningful and unforgettable memory you will ever cherish is your hands holding tightly onto Ryujin's. Little did you know that the true and greatest christmas present you never thought you will be having last year aside from finishing Misa De Gallo without being alone, is her.

Through their desire of not wanting to let loose of their hands anymore after that very first Ama Namin and your intention to give her the Bibingka as a sign of claiming his destiny, they fortunately obtained what they deserved as it all manifested their wishes to come true in the end.

[kosmic-apothecary]

I have some thoughts I'd like the pro-Israel Jewish community to consider with an open mind and open heart.

As a white person who has been fully supportive of calling out the evils white people have done in the past (and to a lesser extent continue to do in the present), I can't come to grips with how so many Jewish people who have been at the forefront of every other social justice movement in American history can be so resistant to recognizing that Jews can commit evil acts too, and in admitting that supremacy and racism are never okay, even when it's your own people who are doing it!

What Zionists have done to Palestine over the last 75 years is a disgrace that should be condemned by every decent person on earth, just like any other instance of colonization, ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide. If you expect white people to admit that many of our ancestors had slaves, and ethnically cleansed and genocided native Americans (which I fully support), then you must also be willing and able to recognize that a great many Jews are currently taking part in commiting same horrors in Palestine right now. (I know Zionists claim, and some genuinely believe, that they're "de-colonizing" Palestine and therefore the ethnic cleaning and mass murder of the "invasive arabs" is flipped on its head to be seen as moral and just. To that I will remind you that Zionists openly admired they were "colonizing Palestine" for decades until it became unpopular to do so. Now they claim that same statement they used pervasively is "antisemitic", which is obviously disingenuous and entirely hypocritical.)

Secondly, it wouldn't matter if Israel actually were a decolonization project, the people of Gaza have been trapped there with the vast majority never allowed to leave, for 17 years. Bombing innocent people who have been held captive like animals is barbaric and inexcusable, no matter WHO was there first.)

I never felt personally threatened when people call out white supremacy or white privilege, because I want those things to end. It's not anti-your own race or religion to want it to become more moral and less harmful to others, but for some reason a lot of Jewish and Christian zionists apparently believe that any criticism of Israel or Jewish supremacy is antisemitic and intolerable. This doesn't make ANY sense. All systems of oppression are unjust, no matter WHO is benefiting.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, so if you care about social causes and human rights at all and you're not yet loudly and boldly condemning Israel and demanding a permanent ceasefire, a total withdraw from Gaza, and a sovereign and free Palestinian state, then you were never serious about social justice at all, you were simply following trends.

To date over 30,000 people have been killed (a number that’s been static for weeks despite continued attacks on civilians) half of them children. Never again is now. This is another Holocaust, and Jewish voices have the most influence to stop it.

[feasibilities]

Hijo de Satanás: Part I ♱

Warnings: Dead Dove/Do Not Eat, Bisexual Dom!Namor, Possessiveness, Power Dynamic, Choking, Praise K!nk, Trauma, Insecurity, etc.

Author's Note: This is my deep dive into Dark!Namor territory. I made him the egotistical bastard he was meant to be. Such is the nature of a God. Enjoy! ♱

Ch'ah Toh Almehen.  K'uk'ulkan. Namor. All 3 of these names have special meanings to him. The first was given to him by his dear mother, Fen. The 2nd was given to him by the close-knit people of Talokan. He created the 3rd after a Spanish priest cursed him before dying. There was one name that lingered in his psyche--Hijo de Satanás. He wasn’t oblivious to the darkness that lived inside him.

Although he was a beloved leader, his ruthlessness when provoked was an open secret. He didn't take kindly to being challenged. The horrors he witnessed were inconceivable. A hardened exterior formed around the winged god. When he buried his mother on the surface world, he took the lives of Spanish conquistadors with him as payback. More recently, he destroyed a military helicopter, killing both passengers. Talokan has been forced to relocate many times due to the advancement of ocean exploration & colonization. He was willing to do anything for his nation.

On a personal level, Namor made it clear that he didn't follow the scrupulous requirements of the surface world. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t try. His sexuality was fluid. Sexual escapades with men & women (or both at once) were commonplace. As disreputable as it was, he got off on being worshipped & being able to pleasure the people of his kingdom. There was little he could do wrong in their eyes. They weren’t judgmental like the people of the surface world.

---

Life as Talokanil nobility was glorious. You worked as a scientific advisor. You conversed with him every day and kept him company as he painted gorgeous murals in his temple. He’d even let you paint with him. He was wise. He was loving. He was available. He became a dear confidant of yours. As time went on, he became more & more protective of you. Your time with other nobles dwindled. His flirtations became more obvious. You felt yourself falling for him but kept it friendly as you wanted to avoid any conflict of interest.

While discussing volcanic activity with a fellow nobleman, you saw Namor sit on his jade-embellished throne in the corner of your eye. His energy was off. You could feel his gaze burning holes in the side of your head. The nobleman took your hand in his, earning a sweet smile from you. You kissed him on the cheek, which made him blush. Namor slammed his spear into the mantle. It sent a shockwave through the surrounding water. Your coquetry was swiftly interrupted. The nobleman quickly gave his regards & swam away. Before you knew it, the enraged god returned to his cave.

As you arrived at his cave, waves of uneasiness washed over you. You wondered why he had free reign over any warm body in Talokan, but you had to play psychotherapist to him. You didn't mind the rapport that existed between you two, but the over-protectiveness was confusing. Your thoughts were interrupted by Namor surfacing from the reef below. You greeted him while he remained silent. Your face got red hot as he changed into dry clothes. His body was amazing. He looked at you with fire in his eyes & broke the silence:

“Ko'oten aca./Come here.” He said in a near-whisper.

You walked to him and looked down to avoid his stare. He gently lifted your chin. You resigned yourself to whatever punishment was coming. You decided to apologize to allay the severity of what was to come.   

“K'uk'ulkan, I am deeply sorry for my actions. It won’t happen again. Sa'asik in, Béet/Please forgive me.” You fretted.

He brushed his thumb against your lips. Testing the waters, you kissed it gently. He didn’t budge. You moved his hand to your throat, feeling him tighten his grip. His thumb brushed against your bottom lip. He then pulled you closer and you thought he would snap your neck.

“Such a tease. K'abéet a disciplina/You need discipline.” Namor sneered.

“Ts'áaten…Teene' je'el in/Give it to me. I can take it.” You cooed.

It took everything in him to not rip your gown off & fuck you to a sobbing mess. He never met anyone who was bold enough to challenge him the way you did. If he was honest with himself, it turned him on. He was going to put you in your place like he did so many others, but it wasn’t time yet. He needed to catch you when you least expected it. Such is the nature of a god.

“You are dismissed. Return to your room.” He said, a frigid attitude taking over him. He let go of you and turned away. You were deeply embarrassed. Tears threatened to fall from your eyes. You scurried away to your quarters.

---

Later that night, you couldn’t sleep for obvious reasons. You decided to walk aimlessly around the cave to tire yourself out. Strange noises from Namor’s room broke you out your trance. As dangerous as it was, you decided to investigate. You heard the moans of 3 people as you moved closer. You peeked through the portiere and your eyes widened. A Talokanil commoner was writhing in pleasure as Namor thrusted into her at a vigorous pace. Another commoner kissed his shoulder while Namor pumped his  manhood furiously. Namor didn’t even look winded. You heard the male commoner sing Namor’s praises.

“Yes, K'uk'ulkan. Only you can satisfy me like this.” He cooed. Namor then leaned over and kissed him roughly. Your jaw dropped. You could’ve screamed out of amazement, but you didn’t risk it. Gossip of nightly rendezvous at the palace was swirling around, but now you had confirmation. You can’t deny that you dreamt of being in the positions of those commoners. From the looks of it, it was better than you imagined.

To be continued…

[matan4il]

Hi, I've been coming to your blog for updates on Israel after finding you through someone else i follow on here who is also Israeli. I've been reading and watching every bit of news that has come out since October 7th from multiple news sources, websites, blogs, and every day I've been continuously horrified by what I've witnessed. Not only in the atrocities themselves that Hamas has committed but the denial and justification from people more concerned with being called racist than anything resembling real social justice, freedom and peace. I've been afraid to speak out much online for fear of getting dogpiled by self righteous lefties but I just wanted you to know that every citizen of Israel has my full support and the support of the few people in my life who I've been able to comfortable speak with about it. Much love from Australia <3

Awwww, hello to you, lovely Nonnie from down under! :D *hugs*

And yeah, I'm the same. Every single day, I learn some new piece of information that breaks my heart all over again. I can't even tell you what the worst part is at this point in terms of the atrocities themselves. When it comes to the response of some people... it truly boggles the mind. I can't comprehend how anyone can hear that a baby was placed in an oven, burned to death, and think that this is in any way justified. Which is, of course, why we also seem the denial.

I have to say, I keep thinking that the justification of Hamas' violence through the slogan that, "de-colonization is always violent," beyond being morally broken in general, it's also antisemitic and racist.

It's antisemitic, because it erases the fact that Jews are native to Israel, and as such, Hamas' violence is NOT de-colonization. It's antisemitic, because a lot of the people saying this are colonizers themselves. Would they be okay with THEM being slaughtered? Their kids being maimed? Their women being raped? Their loved ones being kidnapped? I'm sure they wouldn't be. I'm sure that if it were about their kid, their sisters and mothers, their elderly, their countrymen, their own life on the line, they'd be talking completely differently. So if they're only justifying violence as "de-colonization" when it comes to Jews, it's antisemitic.

But it's also racist! It erases de-colonizing movements that were NOT violent, like the very successful one in India, led by Gandhi. And it also promotes the racist idea that, well... what can you expect of brown people? You can't expect them to be civilized. You can't ask them to reject violence. They signed a peace agreement, pledging that they're abandoning violence, but then they still turned to terrorism and violence? Well, you can't hold them accountable for this, for their own choices, they are brown people. This whole notion is the racism of low expectations.

Thank you SO MUCH for being better than that, for listening to Israelis (and Jews), and for standing with us, for speaking up for us, even when I know exactly how scary it is. Sending you endless love and hugs from Jerusalem! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[waterloggedsoliloquy]

Ikuhara: [...]I think I made it thinking "this is 'hobby'". Wanting diecast car models, wanting Chogokin toys, wanting a Lamborghini Countach, wanting a Ferrari. Or in the end, to want "the world", these are all "hobby". In the minds of boys who want "hobby", even girls don't exist as more than a "hobby". But it feels very sad to put away every behavior that tries to realize a dream under the word "hobby"! (laugh) For example, I think the things that Steve Jobs say are also basically "hobby". The desire to rule the world of personal computers using your own sense of aesthetics, as a story that's very cool and full of romance, but if you examine it more carefully you'll find it's the "hobby" world. He wants toys that rule the world.

Kotani: The "hobby" world is like, the pleasure of possession.

Ikuhara: As a man, I try to avoid realizing when what I'm doing is "hobby" (laugh), and just try to advertise how hard I work, probably… The things I want are no different from Chogokin and Countachs. So when I talk about how I struggle and how I labor, and then a girl just instantly says "in the end, you just want toys" that really hurts (laugh). [...] Conversely, I feel like girls don't really have "hobby". For example, boys might want Sailor Moon dolls too, but in that case it's only because they want to to collect them. That's "hobby". But girls think about how to play with the doll, combing the hair or changing clothes and so on. Psychological projection.

Kotani: It becomes an action, a process.

--This excerpt is from Disturbing, Traversing, Borderless, Shaking Sexuality: The Place where Revolutionary Girl Utena was Born, graciously hosted on Empty Movement and translated by Youzicha!

I know that a couple of Thrawn fans from the EU era have spoken about how they do not like that Thrawn was turned into a looter in the new canon-- he not only analyzes art but participates in colonial theft by stealing art from occupied lands and people-- but I like it. I think it's an extremely interesting thing to explore. i think that possession as an expression of masculinity is inextricably tied to the machismo of fascism. I keep saying machismo. What do I mean by that? Why this specific word? I'm borrowing from Umberto Eco again, because his essay on the matter is so succinct. He says as such:

Since both permanent war and heroism are difficult games to play, the Ur-Fascist transfers his will to power to sexual matters. This is the origin of machismo (which implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality). Since even sex is a difficult game to play, the Ur-Fascist hero tends to play with weapons — doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.

This is his art and it's also his status as a Grand Admiral with an Imperial Star Destroyer, with his pet TIE Defender Project, even with people-- his proteges. The act of possession in and of itself is a status symbol. Thrawn knows art so if he Owns A Lot Of Art it makes him an Authority On Art. He gets to be the arbiter of what is and is not art; carefully saving said art from violence. It 'justifies' the conquest while also still being a display of military potency. It's also a means to set himself above his philistine, xenophobic peers. (-@shipofthesis)

It creates rigid categories to sort things into. "These are Good Objects, these are Good Hobbies". Which means that there is an opposite, ontological Bad Object and Bad Hobby. The art worth saving (the things personally interesting/compelling/relevant to Thrawn) and conversely the art not worth saving-- and by proxy, their creators not worth saving, and can be colonized and killed without disrupting Thrawn's prerogatives. By removing the art from its culture of origin he becomes the de facto authority on it. No one's gonna go and ask the original creators. (-@shipofthesis) His interpretation of it-- and how that's useful for him-- becomes the canon. It's possession, it's entitlement, it's "hobby". His categorical need to be above everything makes even events and cultural histories (such as The Clone Wars) he had a personal involvement in seem material and detached.

"Mark Ones," [Rossi] murmured. Her voice carries the mix of tension and interest that indicates sudden understanding. Her hand makes a small movement toward her datapad, then stops. "Alright, I'll meet you halfway. We're due back at Ansion in three months. You can have until then to play with your toys." -Thrawn (2017)

[apenitentialprayer]

Some 24 years ago, Diana Bianchi peered into a microscope at a piece of human thyroid and saw something that instantly gave her goosebumps. The sample had come from a woman who was chromosomally XX. But through the lens, Bianchi saw the unmistakable glimmer of Y chromosomes—dozens and dozens of them. “Clearly,” Bianchi told me, “part of her thyroid was entirely male.” The reason, Bianchi suspected, was pregnancy. Years ago, the patient had carried a male embryo, whose cells had at some point wandered out of the womb. They’d ended up in his mother’s thyroid—and, almost certainly, a bunch of other organs too—and taken on the identities and functions of the female cells that surrounded them so they could work in synchrony. Bianchi, now the director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, was astonished: “Her thyroid had been entirely remodeled by her son’s cells,” she said. The woman’s case wasn’t a one-off. Just about every time an embryo implants and begins to grow, it dispatches bits of itself into the body housing it. The depositions begin at least as early as four or five weeks into gestation. And they settle into just about every sliver of our anatomy where scientists have checked—the heart, the lungs, the breast, the colon, the kidney, the liver, the brain. From there, the cells might linger, grow, and divide for decades, or even, as many scientists suspect, for a lifetime, assimilating into the person that conceived them. They can almost be thought of as evolution’s original organ transplant, J. Lee Nelson, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, told me. Microchimerism may be the most common way in which genetically identical cells mature and develop inside two bodies at once. These cross-generational transfers are bidirectional. As fetal cells cross the placenta into maternal tissues, a small number of maternal cells migrate into fetal tissues, where they can persist into adulthood. Genetic swaps, then, might occur several times throughout a life. Some researchers believe that people may be miniature mosaics of many of their relatives, via chains of pregnancy: their older siblings, perhaps, or their maternal grandmother, or any aunts and uncles their grandmother might have conceived before their mother was born. “It’s like you carry your entire family inside of you,” Francisco Úbeda de Torres, an evolutionary biologist at the Royal Holloway University of London, told me.

“In my mind, it does alter my concept of who I am,” Bianchi, who herself has given birth to a son, told me. Although he’s since grown up, she’s never without him, nor he without her.

[epilepticsaints]

💜 Wotcha sluts!😘🥂 It's official: 👸🕊Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II🕊👸 has Elizabeat-off🤙 this 🙏✝️Mortal Coil!✝️🙏🤪 So join us in 😩Mourning😩 n' 🥴Moaning🥴 at 💂‍♀️🏰👉Suckingham Phallus👌🏰💂‍♀️…✨🌝Tonight's the night to 😘Snog💋 'til we're Knackered🥵, take a ride on 🚌💦Double Deckers🚌💦, and 👑👰‍♀️Marry Our Cousins👰‍♀️👑 all in honour of 💒🦵Her Royal Thighness🦵💒!!💃💘 💌Send this to your own 💖Royal Fam💅 of 💗S&M freaks💗 (that's Sovereigns & Monarchists)🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

If u get 3️⃣ back, 🍻yer proper chuffed😝 AND stuffed🥵👉👌 when the elected 👅HEAD of State👅 is sure to give you that 😏🏟Millennium Dome🎡🤯! 🫖✨If u get 6️⃣, 🫡💍God Save THIS Size Queen💍🫡 cuz ‘ol 🕰🍆Big Ben🍆🕰 says you're 👏Half🕐Past🕝Fucked!🕣😳😳😳 And if u get 🔟? 🎩😉Well cheerio, my hoe,😘 I'm putting a 🗳Referendum on MY Rear end’um🫣 ➡️➡️With our massive 🍑Spheres of Influence🍑 we can de-colonize 😍Hearts, 🧐Minds & 😤Holes to form a 💫new 🌍Cummingwealth💦💦💦 where the only 💋QUEEN💅 is the one in 👀 THE MIRROR🪞🫵, babes‼️🥰💞💞 Ta~!❌⭕️❌⭕️

[theocseason4]

💜 Wotcha sluts!😘🥂 It's official: 👸🕊Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II🕊👸 has Elizabeat-off🤙 this 🙏✝️Mortal Coil!✝️🙏🤪 So join us in 😩Mourning😩 n' 🥴Moaning🥴 at 💂‍♀️🏰👉Suckingham Phallus👌🏰💂‍♀️…✨🌝Tonight's the night to 😘Snog💋 'til we're Knackered🥵, take a ride on 🚌💦Double Deckers🚌💦, and 👑👰‍♀️Marry Our Cousins👰‍♀️👑 all in honour of 💒🦵Her Royal Thighness🦵💒!!💃💘 💌Send this to your own 💖Royal Fam💅 of 💗S&M freaks💗 (that's Sovereigns & Monarchists)🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 If u get 3️⃣ back, 🍻yer proper chuffed😝 AND stuffed🥵👉👌 when the elected 👅HEAD of State👅 is sure to give you that 😏🏟Millennium Dome🎡🤯! 🫖✨If u get 6️⃣, 🫡💍God Save THIS Size Queen💍🫡 cuz ‘ol 🕰🍆Big Ben🍆🕰 says you're 👏Half🕐Past🕝Fucked!🕣😳😳😳 And if u get 🔟? 🎩😉Well cheerio, my hoe,😘 I'm putting a 🗳Referendum on MY Rear end’um🫣 ➡️➡️With our massive 🍑Spheres of Influence🍑 we can de-colonize 😍Hearts, 🧐Minds & 😤Holes to form a 💫new 🌍Cummingwealth💦💦💦 where the only 💋QUEEN💅 is the one in 👀 THE MIRROR🪞🫵, babes‼️🥰💞💞 Ta~!❌⭕️❌⭕️

[donnerpartyofone]

@brbnightmares it's especially bad with fiction and YA. It echoes the whiny complaints of how any depiction of a fat person is "glorifying obesity." I have definitely seen some anti-soc stuff represented in a way I don't like, but depicting it in a narrative is not an endorsement. I am not an anti content warning person at all, but people who call out for actual handholding in the narrative is ridiculous. very disappointing to see so many readers like this especially.

I'm gonna stop torturing people by reblogging my own post now, but I do want to liberate this stuff from the comments, so: Yes, you're absolutely right. Like considering the whole political history of gatekeeping around education and printed matter and everything, reading has become almost synonymous with personal liberation--I always think about John Waters saying, "If you go home with somebody and they don't have books, don't fuck'em!" And yet we still get young people who seem to love to read and write, but they crave to be regulated and censored; is it some kind of submission kink? That might be the nicest thing I can think about it.

Tangentially: When I was a kid my intellectual hippie parents were EXTREMELY anxious about my horror obsession. They were concerned about the grimy content of what I was interested in, and they were also concerned about the brain-rotting powers of screen entertainment. But, they would let me read anything I wanted, I think because they understood that reading is a good thing pretty much no matter what, and probably they also couldn't stand to imagine themselves censoring the written word. The funny thing is that since the word is free from the expense and complication of building special effects and getting past the MPAA, I read WAY more fucked up shit in pulp paperbacks than I could ever have encountered in 99% of all movies. But of course, it didn't turn me against my own moral sense vis-a-vis the real world, nobody's pets started disappearing in our neighborhood after I began spending hours at the library. What I remember about the experience is feeling things, not to be so corny; like fear, loathing, existential dread, and ambivalence may not be desirable real-world experiences, but books that challenge you emotionally make you grow. They literally change your mind for the better, even the bad ones can. And now it feels like there's this thing going on where people don't want to be challenged, they see adversity and unease as something contaminating and unfair, like we're all entitled to a frictionless, idealized existence even in the nonsense world of social media. Which I think wouldn't even be good for you.

It feels like we've gone from the dubious thing of people coveting the valor that is supposedly conveyed by victimhood and oppression, to people literally just wanting to be babies, and to be treated like babies. And I don't know, not to like waaaaay over-hyperbolize everything, but people need to remember that the reason fascism takes root so quickly and easily is that being told what to do, what to read, what to think, and to have every possibility of your life dogmatically restricted--to have all of your personal responsibility taken away from you and placed in someone else's hands--can be incredibly comforting.

PS I worry about trigger warnings re: *gestures vaguely* all of this. I will tag for types of real-life trauma and violence that I don't think are fair to spontaneously foist on unsuspecting followers, BUT: I often think of a time when this popular true crime blogger answered an ask where the person was asking her to tag her posts for needles. And like, I'm pretty sure the context was that she had posted the famous x-ray of sadomasochistic child murderer Albert Fish's colon with like twenty pins jammed up it. So the blogger very judiciously responded with something like, you know, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, but I'm not going to tag images of pins and needles. My blog is de facto full of disturbing and violent content, and the items you are describing are things that you might encounter in ordinary, benign situations in real life. If your aversion to them is so powerful that you can't even look at them, then frankly, that's something you're going to have to deal with privately, and you might want to avoid this blog in general." I loved her for that.

[notiddygxthgf]

leo i need u to bring your hispanic side here in a sense NECESITO DECIR ESTO EN ESPAÑOL

pero pero alsjsksjwksj mira listen desde el 2022 q tengo este pequeño pensamiento de waka con diles de bad bunny ESPECÍFICAMENTE el verso d arcángel

ESO LISTO THATS IT THATS THE TWEET

bro... wakasa and bad bunny is a combo that never even crossed my mind before today..... NENA U MIGHT BE ONTO SOMETHING OMG....

bro but benito with that colonizer rn.... don't talk to me I cant even breathe <////3

[awakenedvibration]

Before the social media age, we were only engaging with a few people. According to studies, the cognitive limit of stable social relationships was only with about 150 people. We can influence masses but we’re not meant to be best buds with 50,000 people. Society is promoting the culture of hyper people-pleasing. There was no need to have that many connections because everything we loved and needed was present for us. People were less connected but more involved in their communities. They had fewer connections but stronger relationships in real life.

Only share on the socials if you feel a true innate feeling to share. Cause if you do, then it was definitely meant for someone to see it. But overall, if it feels special, don’t tell anyone about it. Being lowkey is a blessing. You don’t feel the need to share things about yourself because you know that your journey doesn’t need exterior opinions or validation. Let’s normalize not over-giving so we can use our own imagination and wander that mysterious thought. Let’s exercise our natural gift of telepathy. The mind is so powerful and sometimes wrong impressions lead to incorrect assumptions & “mal de ojo”. Encapsulating it all in feels so sacred. In a growing world of meta-realities & technology, undistracted presence is the true advancement.

— Jessica Colon

[nonsensical-shitposting]

Me and my brother’s Humans-B-Gone! theories are an excellent microcosm of how both of us treat theorizing about where a work of fiction’s plot is going, because it’s like...

Him: I think Sophodra and Rose will start a communist revolution. And perhaps be lesbians, if time permits.

Me: Alright, so I actually have TWO theories. The shorter, more likely one is that Gregorsa’s showing us Humans-B-Gone because we’re being used as a test audience and he’s planning to show the final product to humans from the HBG world in hopes of using it as a stepping stone to some form of coexistence.

Him: The other one’s some ludicrous overcomplicated bullshit you have almost no evidence for, isn’t it?

Me: What’s my second theory? GLAD YOU ASKED!

Him: I didn’t ask at all, please don’t start explaining it-

Me, pulling out a conspiracy corkboard plastered in badly-cropped HBG screencaps: So the longer, more convoluted theory is that the size of Tricularia, the existence of macrovolutes and demivolutes, the warping of vertebrates into less recognizable forms, the Unknown Nature, and whatever the bolecore is are all byproducts of the influence of some kind of mycorrhizae-based intelligence which incited Tricularia’s mutation and overgrowth and grew along with it until it’d attained a “mind” of its own at a near-incomprehensible scale. Most of the life within it didn’t exist until it was brought there from Earth (maybe through some kind of space-time rift or by a wayward colonization ship, but we don’t know enough about what humans are up to in the HBG universe for me to make an educated guess) and was “engineered” into the forms we see in HBG after this entity absorbed a lot of human cultural ideas and neuroses- morphing into a de facto egregore in the process- but got its wires badly crossed for a lot of it, which is why so many of the vertebrates got mutated!

Him: What did I JUST say?

Me: Additionally, it got “confused” when it came to the size difference between invertebrates (particularly arthropods) and vertebrates and tried to invert them, which caused the development of macrovolutes from protocules; the macrovolutes’ biologically-based technology is foreshadowing for how the mycorrhizae-egregore “engineered” them under this theory. Insects and arachnids’ greater prevalence in human culture as compared to other arthropods is another thing the mycorrhizae-egregore picked up on and is why they’re the only arthropods capable of gaining intelligence. It also created the Unknown Nature by carefully growing a high-mass layer of some kind under Tricularia’s “skin,” with it being more negligible to macrovolutes but “as binding as gravity ever was” for humans serving as further proof for its organization of Tricularia along human-influenced lines-

Him: Dude, I just wanted to talk about the cringefail queer bugs, stop overthinking everything! Have you ever considered, just once in your life, that maybe it’s not that deep?

Me, seamlessly flipping him off with one hand as I whip out a second conspiracy board with the other: -and Professor Gregorsa (whose name is also a subtle hint at the word “egregore” that’s intentionally masked by the more obvious Kafka reference) figured out how to plug himself into the mycorrhizae-egregore and “ascended” to a more powerful state of existence, carving out a corner of its “mind” for himself and deciding to use his new abilities for good; during this process the mycorrhizae-egregore’s “mind” was influenced by Gregorsa in a more macrovolute-like direction, and it’s what’s putting the hidden text at the end of the episodes. Gregorsa somehow used it to make contact with our world and figure out our ingrained cultural ideas regarding storytelling mechanisms, science, and arthropods, realizing in the process that the mycorrhizae-egregore based its “engineering” of Tricularian life on human ideas, or at least “tried” to-

Him, futilely rattling the doorknob: DID YOU LOCK THE DOOR SO I CAN’T WALK OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR UNHINGED RANTING?!

Me, throwing the key out the nearest window: -and after using the test animation of him and the Ask Gregorsa questions to confirm he could gather an audience, he chose Sophodra and Rose to present to us and set his plan in motion, which is to use the Humans-B-Gone show and his “translations” throughout it to accumulate the viewers’ subconscious understandings of what macrovolutes look like and how they act (all tailor-made by him) while we’re watching it, then channel them back into the mycorrhizae-egregore to “trick” it into creating a force inspired by the Unknown Nature, but affecting sight, hearing, and olfaction rather than as an attempted replacement for gravity-

Him: There is not enough material for you to be making theories this complicated! You- wait, why is your hoodie inside-out now? And where did those bags under your eyes come from?!

Me, progressively disheveled and exhausted-looking as I insanely gesticulate: -with Gregorsa’s hope being that he can create a sort of “background” mass hallucination that places a veil over the vision and hearing of all humans so they can understand macrovolutes and see them as more “familiar“ in appearance, essentially taking the translations he’s been showing us and projecting them throughout everywhere the mycorrhizae-egregore exists. This wouldn’t be limited to humans, because it’d later be revealed that Gregorsa also created a “reversed” version of HBG focused on the Hivers for orchideos, translating and filtering the humans for a macrovolute audience similarly to how he translates and filters macrovolutes for a human audience, then channeled that to create a similarly reversed version of this mass hallucination/“veil” that affects macrovolutes, letting them understand humans and subconsciously regard them better as well; similarly to how I’ve previously speculated that Gregorsa picked Sophodra and Rose to show us because they subvert human cultural views of their respective species, it’ll slowly be revealed that Vera, Mobia, and any other humans of note shown were also chosen by Gregorsa due to them subverting macrovolutes’ cultural views of mammals and/or humans-

Him: PLEASE stop talking, I’m begging you, you have to know none of this is correct-

Me, manically shaking a third conspiracy corkboard in his face: -but this is just the FIRST STEP of Gregorsa’s ultimate plan, which is to leverage the immediate shock following the descent of this “veil” to play himself up as a villainous puppet master, forcing an alliance of humans and macrovolutes against him by presenting himself as their mutual enemy and then maneuvering them into overthrowing the ants! Following that, he’ll “show his hand” enough to bait the human-macrovolute alliance into figuring out how to DESTROY THE MYCORRHIZAE-EGREGORE’S “MIND,” THUS PREVENTING IT FROM ANY FURTHER BIOLOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ENGINEERING OF THE ENTITIES LIVING IN TRICULARIA BUT LEAVING IT INTACT ENOUGH TO KEEP THINGS LIKE THE UNKNOWN NATURE AND HIS “VEIL” FUNCTIONING, ADDITIONALLY GIVING GREGORSA FULL CONTROL OF ALL OF THE MYCORRHIZAE-EGREGORE’S ABILITIES! WITH THIS HE’LL KEEP HIMSELF IN THE POSITION OF A CONSTANT MUTUAL THREAT TO BOTH HUMANS AND MACROVOLUTES, THUS ENSURING THEY STAY ALLIED AND WORKING TOGETHER AT THE COST OF LETTING HIMSELF BE UNIVERSALLY HATED AND FEARED, BUT IRONICALLY ALL THIS DOES IS REPLACE ONE ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR WITH ANOTHER DESPITE GREGORSA’S BEST INTENTIONS! SEE, IT’S AN ANTICAPITALIST ALLEGORY FOR H