#when in cebu | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nellycanwrite · 2 years

Text

His Queen

K’uk’ulkan x Filipino!Reader Blurb

Summary: K'uk'ulkan pays you a visit to ask you to become his queen.

Rating: PG 13+

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 1.5K

Note: Filipino!Reader is inspired by Marvel's equivalent to the Filipino Superhero Pearl Pangan, also known by her hero name Wave. You can control water and have the same capabilities as a Talokanil, but you are still a land-dweller born and raised in the islands of Mactan, Cebu Philippines.

It is also worthy to note that I have not included any Yucatec Maya phrases despite Namor speaking in his mother tongue as respect to his language. Therefore his mother tongue shall be labeled with italics.

This work is a connecting piece to His Timeless Love. Both can be read separately and in any order.

Hidden by the waves of saltwater was a man. But not just any man; K'uk'ulkan. The feathered serpent god from myths old and from legends foretold. Yet his divine countenance could not compare to your own. The water bent by your will, aides you at your beck and call. It surrounded you like a halo of shimmering fractals that danced around you with the flitters of a sea faerie from folktales. It was as if the sea was your bidding, yet it obeyed you like a knight to its queen. Such prowess came from disquieting origins, yet you wielded it proudly. Regally.

He was enchanted by you.

There were no words to describe the blossoming heat from his chest, traveling from the pulsing veins of his fingertips down to the tingling crunch of fine white sand beneath his bare feet. You moved with the grace of dancing anemone, glowed as brightly as the stars of the evening sea that guided him through the throes of the darkened currents. No matter how many times he would see you, his breath always hitched. Time always stopped.

Time was no concept for an immortal such as he, yet he found himself counting every precious second when he basked in your company.

"I know you're there." The sea rippled around him. He shook his head and chuckled.

"How did you know?" He rose from the depths of the water and stayed by the shore's edge. The waves lapped at his winged feet pleasantly like a greeting from an old friend. His eyes trailed across your back as you glided your arms in a dance of tradition with the water accompanying your movements.

"You're not subtle, K'uk'ulkan," you did not turn to face him, but you regarded him with a sliver of ocean water snaking across his arms. K'uk'ulkan held the urge to let a pleasant shiver run down his spine. You chuckled, "I saw you peeking your head from the shore."

"Is it unpleasant for you? For me to disturb you from your rituals." He asked. Your hands stopped.

"Never." You did not bother to correct him that your idle movements weren't rituals. It was mere movements controlled by the crashing waves upon the loose sand, imitating the flow of the currents that shook with each stroke. An impulse, maybe. An urge to dance with the hymns of your orient motherland.

You finally turned to face him, eyes locking with a magnificent earthen oak. He chose this moment to shorten the distance between you, his fingers finding solace at the supple of your cheeks. He caressed the lids of your eyes free of seawater and lingered a kiss to your brows with a satisfied smile.

"Then why call me out?" There was a mischief behind his words hidden beneath the whispers of ardor. You smiled.

"I would rather have your company than to let you linger by the sea. I know you wish for the same."

You noticed his breath become albeit ragged—although it was but a sliver of a puff of air—so you willed the water to sustain his skin from the blistering heat knowing full well that he would stay with you until nightfall. The sun of Mactan, Cebu on the high end of summer's afternoon was one of the hottest recorded in any index; it would harm K'uk'ulkan if you were to let him stay under it any longer. A thin dome of water covered the both of you and the light bounced off from the water to your skins. Picturesque as it might seem to the eyes of an onlooker, there was something much more beautiful in the eyes of K'uk'ulkan.

And that was you.

"Thank you, my love." He spoke in his mother tongue. It was as pleasant and melodious as the wind chimes from your rattan house. It always filled you with immeasurable joy for him to use his language to speak so softly with you.

"Always," you guided him to sit on the sand under a nearby coconut tree, water covering you at every step and wetting the exposed skin of K'uk'ulkan. A question prodded in the forefront of your mind as soon as you were settled and huddled between the serpent god's legs, his arms wrapping around your waist and head buried on your shoulder, "why have you come to visit, my king?"

"Do I need a reason to see my queen?"

You sighed and shook your head, leaning back against his frame and turning your head to kiss the shell of his pointed ears. "A land dweller cannot be queen, K'uk'ulkan. You know that."

"Yet one lay in my arms at this very moment." He tightened his grip on your waist and peppered kisses against your neck. You tried your best not to humor his need for attention despite the growing heat that formed on your nape and cheeks.

"The people need a queen that is of Talokan blood. I can't simply take that role."

"Your achievements speak for itself," he raised his head from your shoulder and kissed your cheek, "you have saved Talokan from the hands of scientists who tried to scour through the depths of our oceans, kept our secret well-hidden from the land dwellers, and you have kept your promise of aid to my kingdom in times of need. We have seen you divert ships away from our home with your riptides and currents."

"That is hardly a reason. I've only repaid a debt."

"And what debt would that be?"

"Sparing me," your hands snaked towards the hands that locked itself on your waist. You drew circles against his skin as he sighed in content at the moment, "you had every reason to kill me when I stepped through the entrance of Talokan. You were a king who protected his people—I was sure I was going to die by your hand that day."

"You intrigued me," he supplied, his hands now taking yours and intertwining your fingers together, "you did not yield under my threats nor did you use the name my enemies have called me when I have antagonized you."

"Namor," you tried, the name foreign to your tongue, "I much prefer your real name, K'uk'ulkan. And why would I make an enemy of the king of a civilization that I have intruded?"

"You might be one of the rarer sane land dwellers."

"I try." You gave him an amused shrug.

"You are also special, my love," he added, his mother tongue chiming through the warm pacific winds, "my people already revere you as a god of their own."

"Me?"

"Do I really have to spell every word?" He placed two fingers on your chin and made you look up at the flowing dome of saltwater that you are effortlessly maintaining with your powers, "you control the sea. Our life source is at your beck and call. You can breathe like us, swim like us, and you could withstand the pressure of Talokan. You have garnered the love of our people."

"Your people." You corrected him. He shook his head and adjusted himself so he could lay his forehead against yours.

"Our people," he stared into your eyes, the rich earthen gaze reflecting that of his love for the sea. With it also came the tremendous love he had for you; his queen. No one was fit to rule by his side but you. Although there might be reservations from others of his kingdom, they cannot refute the fact that you—an entity that controlled the tides of their home—were to be revered. Respected.

Your benevolent rule will be the legacy of his choice. And it will be living proof for the people that you were the only rightful queen to sit by the right hand of his throne.

"You hold the strength of the sea at your whim, yet you choose kindness above all else. But you do not hesitate to use force when it is necessary. That is the true makings of a ruler. Your judgment astounds me, your beauty is simply divine. You are perfect, my love."

"K'uk'ulkan…" his name was like a prayer to your mouth. It was ironic, you might say, for the prayers of the god of the sea fell into his attentive ears and returned the favor with worship—as if you were the divine entity and he the disciple. You felt his hands creep into the back of your head and pull you impossibly closer, his fingers tangling with your dampened hair from the obedient water from the ocean's tide, his lips fluttering with the tongue of praise to you; his god. He regarded your meager stature like the statue of a Santo Niño. Holy. Sacred.

He uttered your name in a breathless whisper that wavered the dome of water from your command. He might have found that amusing enough to release a minute chuckle. He was the only one who could sway your otherwise earnest control.

"This I ask again, will you become my queen and rule Talokan by my side?"

#namor x reader #namor #mcu namor #namor x filipino!reader #namor x fem!reader #k'uk'ulkan #k'uk'ulkan x reader #marvel #wakanda forever #talokan

1K notes · View notes

joshleyson · 6 months

Text

THIS IS: SIARGAO ✨

December film dump 🎞️

Growing up in Mindanao for almost 2 decades and never actually being able to traverse the picturesque landscapes in the eastern part of the island is something that I know I have to break before the year ends. So I did.

I flew from Manila to Cebu so early in the morning to catch a connecting flight to Siargao by noon. Traveling to Siargao was a lot of firsts for me. Not having to go to every detail but when the plane was about to take off to Siargao, we were all offloaded due to the bad weather on the island. Fortunately, instead of having to fly back to Manila, the airline was kind enough to take me to a nearby hotel in Cebu, all expenses paid including food, transportation, and next-day ticket. It was an unexpected staycation which surprisingly I enjoyed.

Coming from a very tiring day at work and then going to the airport, I felt like I really needed this quiet time, and I was able to check in to this lavish hotel all by myself while waiting for my flight the next day. Also, I had a great night as well in Cebu catching up with one of my long-time friends and her beaux. I went back to my hotel around 3 in the morning because there’s just so many things to catch up and I really missed my homie so much. Keyword: low-maintenance friendships.

So the day finally came, and I was able to land safely on the island of Siargao. Right off the bat on my first night, I had a lovely dinner with my travel friends slash buddies at work and we went to a bar, and danced the night away which to me serves as a prelude to the great experience this vibrant community had in stored for me as a Mindanaoan that have never set foot beyond the confines of Zamboanga and western Mindanao.

We spent our days being on the road which to me was such a release. Being able to smell the fresh ocean breeze while blasting our favorite Y2K songs in the car and relying on Waze or Google Maps for our next destination, to me, makes the trip so much fun because of the spontaneity and unpredictability that it brings. We went island hopping, danced in the boat, swam on open waters, ate our hearts out, moved from one accommodation to another, and I tried surfing for the first time! I never thought I would enjoy the experience because it was raining lightly at that time and the waves were so big it could easily engulf me, but man, best day ever!!!! I fell on the surfing board and slammed my body on the rushing waves several times but being able to stand on the surfboard for the first time was such a liberating experience. A little bit of a stretch, but it was and I will try it again once I go back to Siargao.

☾

I flew back to Cebu and then to Manila to catch one of my friend’s wedding and luckily I made it with no delay. Looking at the pictures that I got to develop from a Fuji film camera that I brought with me on the island, I am reminded again of the incredible healing power of what it’s like to try new things, be with nature, and just breathe. Knowing that the year is about to end in a couple of weeks, I felt so blessed to have that opportunity to break the complicated rhythm of corporate life and to disconnect for a moment.

After 3 weeks, I get to fly back to Boracay to celebrate New Year’s Eve. So many epic moments that I am also grateful for which I may save for the future but nevertheless, my last month of 2023 was such a banger and I hope it always feels that way.

By the way, I’m writing all these on my iPhone because I’m too tired to get up and open my MacBook, so I appreciate you for hanging with me this far. So that’s it for 2023!

Simply put, I just want to say Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones, and may 2024 be as effervescent as your hopes and dreams for the future.

(December, 2023)

(Photos were shot using Fujifilm Simpleace 35 mm camera + iPhone 15 Pro Max)

FOLLOW ME: Instagram/TikTok/Twitter: joshleyson

(Music by Grammy nominee, Victoria Monét. All rights belong to her and her publishers. For personal and non-commercial use only. Stream her great catalogue on Spotify and Apple Music.)

126 notes · View notes

blee-bleep · 5 months

Text

pinagtagpo ngunit hindi tinadhana puso natin ay hindi sa isa't-isa

smol fic

Sucy didn't listen to music a lot but when she did, her playlist was admittedly pretty drab. She liked working in silence most of the time so she couldn't see much use in having a preference for music, but when she did she just let on whatever was on the radio, if there was.

Her roommate couldn't say the same. Actually, Sucy recants her statement about not having preference; she couldn't tolerate pop music for her life. Especially the ones that stayed blasting on the radio for months before being blown over by a newer, more obnoxious pop song.

Her siblings back in Cebu liked music though, enough for them to blast through their speakers and let the whole household know, not giving a shit if it bothered the other dwellers inside the house. However, as much as she claims she disliked the noise her siblings claim to be music, she couldn't help but let it trickle into her playlist. Hours upon hours of karaoke accounted for that.

So it's not weird to find some Filipino classics between the classical ones, the only other genre that Sucy could listen to while working. Some Eraserheads, UDD, Rivermaya, Itchyworms, Asin, hell, even Apo Hiking Society was in it.

Akko though, oh Sucy hates Akko's taste for music.

Robotic voices, insane fast-paced rhythms, either or also Kpop, Jpop, or just the latest Top 100 in the West. It was a mess. Much messier than whatever Sucy had back home. At least the language was familiar. This storm of a noise was not.

But Sucy sooner or later made peace with it when over time, she slowly let her walls down around Akko. Well, more like Akko had successfully knocked them down. Even after being treated like Sucy's guinea pig for her chemical experiments, she is still up and opening her arms to Sucy. A little too wide open.

One night, when Akko had come back from an afterparty that O'niell (the redhead asshat which she hung out so much) had held, she was drunk. Wasted. And accidentally puked on the foot of Sucy's desk. To be honest, she expected Akko to not come back until morning, as per usual of her shenanigans on campus.

She told Akko to clean her mess up before going to bed and went back to sleep annoyed. Akko, surprisingly, did as she was told. But had also climbed onto Sucy's side of the room. The sudden dip in Sucy's bed shook her awake.

Sucy leveled her drunk ass with a deathly stare. "What."

"What? It's cold in my bed."

"With all those stupid stuffed animals?"

"It's different," Akko sniffled. "Please? Just this once."

Sucy stared at Akko's face enough to see if this was the result of the foul gin in her breath and contemplated stuffing her in her duvet and letting her suffocate. But something must've happened at the party because Akko didn't usually look like that. Upon closer inspection, her eyes were glassy. Nose red, not from the cold, but from an obvious meltdown. After a few more seconds of staring, Sucy begrudgingly let her in.

And maybe it was the remaining alcohol in her system because then Akko turned her head and whispered, "Y'know, you're really nice."

"Shut up and go to sleep."

"No, for real. Like, thanks for putting up with my shit."

"Lotte puts up with you too."

"Yeah, love her for that. Ne," Akko suddenly turned and now they were face to face.

Too close, Sucy thinks. She hates that it's so close like this.

"Can you play some of your songs?"

"Why?"

"Dunno', just feelin like listening."

"If you're gonna start dancing on my bed, I will kick you out of this room and you're going to have to sleep in the hallway."

Akko giggles in this drunkenly stupid way and Sucy cannot believe that out of all the times Akko has laughed, this is the one that gets Sucy to think she's cute. She hopes it's dark enough that Akko doesn't notice her face turning red.

"I won't! My feet are way too tired for that," Akko shifts. "I trust you to have great taste. Just play anything. I'll like it."

"And if you don't?"

"It's you," Akko laughs. "I won't."

Somehow, Sucy lets her do this. And she opened her downloaded playlist; the only playlist on her phone, and set it down. It hummed out Orange and Lemon's Hanggang Kailan into the room, low enough to not be of an annoyance but enough for the lyrics to be heard.

Sucy blushes at the random pick of the song but doesn't move to change it. Fortunately, Akko doesn't understand Tagalog and just hums.

"Hehe, see. You have good taste."

"Shut up and go to sleep."

After that, Akko goes still and silent. Sucy can't do the same. She can sleep through Akko's snores like every other night, but when the music she typically has for the background is suddenly open like this, she suddenly becomes much more aware of the lyrics.

Umuwi ka na baby 'Di na ako sanay ng wala ka Mahirap ang mag-isa At sa gabi'y hinahanap-hanap kita

"Jesus Christ," Sucy whispers and turns so that her back is to Akko's. The bed is too small to move a lot. "This song is so corny."

She hears, feels Akko chuckling. "I like it."

The song is slow to end, and when it does, Armi Millare's voice comes out, serenading,

Ba't 'di papatulan ang pagsuyong nagkulang? Tayong umaasang hilaga't kanluran Ikaw ang hantungan, at bilang kanlungan mo Ako ang sasagip sa 'yo, whoa-oh

Again, this song is slow to close. When it does, Magnus Haven, a band Sucy isn't exactly familiar with but her sister had told her to listen, comes on. Sucy thought Akko was finally asleep before she heard her humming along to the second chorus. Sucy stills and lets her be, her eyes slowly closing, mind losing to sleep.

"... What does tadhana mean?"

"Huh?" Sucy rasps. "Destiny, or I guess, fate. Why?"

"Huh," Akko whispers the word again. "So you like those kinda songs, huh Sucy?"

Sucy blushed and was about to reprimand that Akko's taste in music wasn't better but then she heard the other girl snoring, already asleep.

Maybe it started from there, maybe earlier or later, but it was certainly a factor in how and why Sucy developed a crush like that.

Sucy wasn't as uncaring to Akko's business as she claims to be. As her roommate, she admittedly was more concerned for her than she let on. So when Sucy notices that Akko is not in the mood for experiments, or has other problems to deal with, Sucy gives her some allowance and lets her do what she thinks would calm her down. Letting her blast her music and dance her stress away, or letting her listen to Sucy's music and let her ask some dumb questions that would take her mind off what was confusing her.

Sucy is no white knight though. She won't be the one to save Akko in her every state. Sucy rationalizes her feeling of it being a result of proximity. And she won't let her heart get the best of her.

But one night, when Akko comes back to the room, Sucy notices her head is down. She is looking at something, but Sucy can't make it out.

That night, Akko asks if they could share the bed again. It's a cold night, Sucy rationalizes and lets her. Somehow, not even requested, Sucy hesitatingly places her arm across Akko's neck. Neither of them moves. Sucy waits.

"Diana asked me out today," Akko whispers. Sucy felt herself turn to stone. It's a moment before Akko says, "I don't know what she sees in a klutz like me."

everything.

Sucy holds her tongue and slowly breathes, trying to not let the night's cold make her freeze and give her an excuse to let Akko be trapped in her arms. Instead, she forces herself to sit up. Akko is facing away from her, looking at her hand.

Maybe this'll be the last time, Sucy thinks and her hand sneaks to Akko's free hand and touches it. It flinches a bit before slowly letting their fingers intertwine together. It's intimate like this. But Sucy knows this wouldn't be anything but platonic.

"Ne," Akko whispers again. "Will you play some of your songs again?"

And so Sucy does. When she sets her phone down, she slouches slightly, and unconsciously gathers a strand of Akko's hair in her free hand, playing with it absentmindedly. Akko doesn't say anything.

Sucy doesn't say she's finally made a separate playlist which consists of songs Akko said she liked.

Time goes to a crawl as Sucy's chest grows heavier. As the night goes on, as Akko's eyes shut to sleep, Juan Karlos's and Sucy's voice goes,

"Oh, 'di ba? Nakakaputang ina Tayo'y lumilipad, at ako'y iniwan mo pa 'Di ba? Ginawa mo pa akong tanga Tayo'y lumilipad, at ako'y iniwan mo, hmm"

#ayyyy suakko angst cuz i got inspired by some opm #suakko #lwa #little witch academia #sucy manbavaran #atsuko kagari #idk just take this word vomit and very VERY loosely connected lyrics from different songs

92 notes · View notes

takeoffphilippines · 4 months

Text

Experience Cebu: Minor Basilica of the Holy Child of Cebu (Basilica Del Sto. Niño)

—

📧 If you wish to send an invite and feature your province/company brand/event; Just ask the author of this vlog, email us at [email protected]

Follow our Social Media Accounts: Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/TakeOffPHBlog

Instagram/Twitter/TikTok: @takeoff_ph

Website: https://takeoffphilippines.com

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TakeOffPhilippines

#Basilica Del Sto. Niño #takeoffph #takeoffphilippines #miyobrionesjr #cebu adventures #when in cebu

1 note · View note

rufwooff · 3 months

Text

sometimes I want to reply to reblogs. why don't I reply to reblogs? let me reply to reblogs.

@etheralisi HAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT I WANTED TO DO they're so stoobid I love them

@turtleinsoup YES PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DRAW THEM 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

@haywire-cebus HAHAHSHQJH1HJWSHISKWKXK *WHEEZING* (yeah I just wanted to laugh sorry)

@hatekawa you have no idea how much just your mentions of pbj duo in my replies save my mental system. thanks for this <3

@cankoking YEAH I HOPE SOMEONE WOULD SAY THIS you have no idea how much I want to infodump about this au jdjwkdkdnkskdkelekd

@sharkfinn Yeeeaaahhh it was a reference to you hehehe <3 (LOVE YOUUU AND YOUR STYLE AND RAPH AND EVERYTHING YOU DO /pl)

@angelpuns now imagine how I tried not to laugh when I drew how they stand. They're so creatures I can't 😭😭😭😭

#thinking cockroach #I'll probably do this often #probably

59 notes · View notes

arkipelagic · 25 days

Text

A lot of those who insist that Filipinos are Pacific Islander instead of (or, in addition to) Asian often rely on loose interpretations of the term Pacific Islander and the fact that the Philippines was used as a stepping stone in the Austronesian expansion to the east. What they ignore or may not know is that (1) the superficial similarities between Pacific Islanders and Filipinos are not unique to Pacific Islanders and Filipinos but with Austronesian-speaking peoples in general, including Austronesian-speaking Southeast Asians and (2) we Filipinos simply did not have as regular and as vigorous a contact with the Pacific Islands - if any - compared to the Asian continent. We still don’t.

Think about it: the earliest known trade network in the Philippines included what is now Taiwan and Southeast Asia, i.e., the Philippine jade culture which dates as far back as 2000 BC and lasted for 3,000 years. Nephrite jade from Taiwan was manufactured in the Philippines and distributed elsewhere in the nearby region. After that were the Sa Huỳnh-Kalanay Interaction Sphere from 500 BC through AD 100 and of course the so-called Maritime Silk Road during historical times. What followed was then the very familiar colonial era of Iberian, Dutch, and British presence in Asia.

The earliest Filipino artifact with a given calendar date is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription which was written in the year AD 900 using a Brahmic script in a combination of Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Tagalog and/or Javanese. Upon the arrival of Magellan six hundred years later in 1521, it was a man titled rajah who greeted him in Cebu. Half a century later, the aged grandson of the sultan of Brunei was ruling Manila. To this day, among the lesser Hispanicized and Americanized ethnic groups across the Philippines, the Ivatan of Batanes speak a family of languages shared with the Tao of Orchid Island, Taiwan and the people of Bangsamoro have more in common with Bruneians, Indonesians, and Malaysians than they do with the Māori, Kanaka Maoli, or Fijians. Indigenous Borneans are closely related to Filipinos.

As for myself, I was raised in Davao where you’ll find Cebuano, Ilonggo, Kagan, Maguindanaon, Maranao, Mansaka, Mandaya, Manobo, Bagobo, Chinese Hoklo, Japanese, and Indian people live; no one local I’ve ever met has identified as Pacific Islander and there was never a question as to whether I was Asian or not because I was surrounded by fellow Asians. It’s certainly hard to deny it when your country of origin is one of the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, attempted to make a Malaysian-Filipino-Indonesian confederation happen, and contains the title “Pearl of the Orient” as a lyric in the national anthem.

Does this look like an archipelago that kept close touch with polities and cultures across the Pacific Ocean for thousands of years? Does this look like a society that is more Pacific Islander than Asian?

#philippines #southeast asia #pasifika #pacific islander #x #from the drafts

33 notes · View notes

humanrightsupdates · 20 days

Text

Filipino Priest Who Defied Duterte Passes Away

Fr. Amado Picardal, a Redemptorist priest who exposed killings by the so-called Davao Death Squad in the Philippines, died on Wednesday at age 69. Colleagues said Father Picx, as he was known, died from cardiac arrest in Cebu province, where he had been living a life of solitude and silence as a hermit.

Picardal was one of the first to sound the alarm about extrajudicial killings in Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao in the late 1990s and 2000s. This was long before the International Criminal Court (ICC) would investigate killings committed during President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” as alleged crimes against humanity. Duterte, the longtime mayor of Davao City, was elected president in 2016 and modeled his abusive anti-drug campaign after Davao City’s.

Picardal was instrumental in helping the media and human rights organizations document the killings. The Coalition Against Summary Executions, which he helped found in 1999, played a key role in the research that led to Human Rights Watch’s 2009 report exposing the death squad. Picardal also assisted human rights groups submit information to the ICC.

Picardal helped activists, labor leaders, Indigenous peoples, and other victims of rights abuses for decades. During the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. dictatorship, he was arrested, jailed, and tortured for his work. Aside from being a prolific writer, blogger, columnist, and poet (he posted a poem online hours before his death), Picardal also walked, ran, and biked across the Philippines and Europe to bring attention to human rights.

After accusing Duterte of serious crimes, Picardal said his life was in danger, forcing him briefly into exile abroad before he returned to Philippines in 2018 to build his hermitage in the mountains of Cebu, where he lived until his death. When I last visited him in 2022, he said that he was still receiving threats but remained unafraid.

“I choose not to be silent, I choose to speak up and denounce evil in our midst. If it means [being] picked up, imprisoned or gunned down, so be it,” Picardal wrote in a blog post in 2006. “I am not afraid to suffer.”

#philippines #human rights watch

17 notes · View notes

makapatag · 6 months

Text

i must preface this post by saying i am on the side of the activists and of radical leftists in the philippines, but there is too much rhetoric being espoused (mostly by manilenyos and other folk from metropoles) that has the effect of diminishing and perhaps even dehumanizing those from outside the center. they have cultures themselves that are often either unrecognized by the filipino or commodified

to feed into a filipino identity is to reinforce colonialist imposition. no matter how much you try to reform and make filipino your own, it will always be a tool for oppression for others. in the same way you cannot reform capitalism into something good

the filipino was made by the spanish to refer to other spaniards that were from the philippines. with the philippine revolution (itself mostly a transferral of power to america), the filipino has been claimed by the indios, and with it we participated in global capitalism

it is not fruitful to deny the truth of historical materialism: the philippines as a state is an american project, built upon the bones of quezon. to this day we are a neocolonial entity. what then? there is a better world beyond the filipino. those in manila would not know: manilenyo marxists and communists would be blinded even more by dogma.

if you have never experienced or lived through the lives of those in cebu, or davao, etc., you will not understand the violence of them understanding manilenyos when you talk tagalog but you not understand them when they speak in their own language.

the violence of filipino imposition, saying "this or that is filipino identity!"' when it is something pretty unique to the metropolis of manila. not every province has jeepneys (and i will say that I am of course on the side of the jeepney drivers and #NoToJeepneyPhaseout, just in case more leftists misconstrue my words as they are wont to do in this era of twitter discourse dominated by youth burgeoning from american educational systems), not every province has jollibees, or karatulas, or flower shops. in the same sense, the filipino colonial project looks to other places in the philippines and then immediately reduces them to their main export: cebu has lechon, iloilo has kansi, etc. this is a violence those that live in these places know too well. it hasn't changed.

is it ever surprising then that cebu wanted to leave the philippines back in the 50s? imagine this: in the event that we all had our way after spanish colonialism, we probably would've split. witness the shared cultures of china--they have different bespoke cultures but they are of the same country.

at the end of it all, this is still a criticism of nationalism and nation states. this is not a filipino problem, but a global capitalism problem. witness how even marx knew that nationalism was temporary and said that it was a manifestation of self-alienation. to become a nation is to be part of global capitalism's game, to be easily exploitable, to force yourself to conform to the definitions of the empire

#thoughts #on the philippines #because a lot of tibaks have a very rudimentary #dialectics and even marxism which they purport to be #its increasingly clear to me that activism in the philippines is becoming more and more of a means of releasing guilt #by the petty boojwazi #and they think following the leader is enough #instead of interrogating the actual structures of capitalism #and even interrogating and questioning the foundations of their own knowledge #but that's all right that's not exactly their job #their job is to resist and keep the fight up

53 notes · View notes

anyalovesu · 3 months

Text

tolerate it.

xi. drawing hearts in the byline.

—“i had to watch him sleep. i was afraid if i woke up i would have to endure the life long pain of losing the person i loved the most just days before i learned how to accept it. i couldn’t do it. i was so mad at him for letting himself be in that kind of situation.”

Two days passed by slowly and painfully. Though her brother and Leon called regularly, it did not come close to suffice the emptiness that she felt. It did not even come remotely close to the feeling of just having them around.

The office was unusually quiet without Santi and Yves arguing about something, so the past two days just felt odd. There was a pit in her stomach and a chilling feeling that was bothering her. Eli was half sure Ynes could feel it too by the way they kept on glancing at each other. The both of them were anticipating something to go awry but could not pinpoint exactly what it was.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Eli and Ynes rushed to pick up the telephone by their office door, but Eli manages to beat her to it, receiving the call herself.

Ynes witnessed how her bestfriend’s face fell, the more the story progressed. Judging by the way she just started sobbing quietly was enough for her to confirm that something DID go awry, and it’s not good.

“Babes, anong nangyari?” Ynes was beginning to panic as well when Eli fell to her knees as soon as she drops the call. “Elijah Yang, magsalita ka naman! Sino ang tumawag? Bakit ka umiiyak?”

“It’s Kuya Yves,” Ynes could feel her heart drop to her stomach at the sound of her brother’s name falling out of her best friend’s lips. “Nasaksak raw si Kuya Santi at Leon,” she choked out, voice shaky as Ynes held her tight.

Elijah’s head was once again malfunctioning, unable to form any coherent thoughts as soon as she was contacted by Soren Yang that their flight is already fixed and they’re headed to Cebu in 3 hours. But 3 hours is still too long. The thought that the lives of the two of her most prized people are at stake and she is 500 miles away from them made her mind go haywire.

What if Yves Hwang lied and none of them are actually okay? What if Kuya Santi is fighting for his life right now and Leon is in critical condition?

Eli’s foot tapped on the van’s floor as they were on their way to the airport. This time, not even Ynes or Cielo could manage to calm her down.

It was all just so unfair. Just when she thought she was slowly adjusting and becoming alright, life will find a way to scare her out of it. It would be so much easier to just watch Leon walk away again, but his life being at risk this time—him being at a real risk that she will never get to see her again terrifies the living shit out of her. And the mere fact that her brother, her first and number 1 source of support, is also in the same situation makes things even worse.

“I swear to God, if something bad happens to Santiago, I will break Alejandro Sim’s neck in two,” Soren Yang was fuming in anger, his protective side jumping out as soon as Yves Hwang confirms to them that the culprits have admitted that they were working for Alejandro Sim, the patriarch of the Sim Clan.

The same family that had accepted her for the past years… has done this to her brother and Leon?

“How the hell is Alejandro Sim involved in this?” Elijah spats, feeling the same anger rushing through her father run through her as well. “Dad? Pa? Anong hindi n’yo pa sinasabi sa akin?”

“Not now, Eli, andito si Cielo–”

“For fuck’s sake Dad! Hindi lang naman si Cielo at si Kuya ang anak n’yo! Anak n’yo rin ako!”

“You want to know what happened, ha? Ruby Elijah?” Soren’s voice filled the van that even Genevieve Hwang was rendered unable to speak. But Eli, being the clone of Soren Yang in almost every aspect they could think of, did not back down. If it’s going to hurt her to know the truth, then be it.

“Tell me,” she bravely replies, standing her ground, tired of the bullshit she has been putting up since the entire engagement was announced. She didn’t understand why so much was being kept away from things that she should know. And so this might be the only chance she’ll get to hear the truth, unfiltered from her own parents.

“Alejandro Sim has been playing puppets with you since Leon made his mistake four years ago. Noong nalaman n’ya na nagkakamabutihan na kayo ng apo n’ya ay nagsimula na s’yang mag obsess over the fact that they could be the ones merging with our family instead of the Parks. He’s been forcing Isaac to stay with you for the money. We figured you would know what to do when you find out on your own, pero parang wala kang plano na malaman kung ano ba talaga ang pakay ng pamilya ni Sim sa’yo.” Soren Yang did not hold back, though he refused to look at Elijah out of fear that his heart would break at the face of Eli finding out the whole truth. He hasn’t been the best father to her, he was well aware of that, but the sight of his only daughter’s heart breaking would’ve been too much. He had a son whose life is at stake right now, it wasn’t the right time for him to falter.

“Yes, we caused the drift sa mga relasyon n’yo ni Leon before the engagement, but just so you know, it did not take a lot for your boyfriend to crack under pressure. As soon as he heard na alam namin na he has been sleeping with his co-intern sa hospital ay bumigay at pumayag na s’ya. He knows we could ruin his medical career kapag nalaman mo na niloloko ka na n’ya, which he has been for so long mula pa noong naging sunod-sunuran s’ya sa lolo n’ya. We could take him off the program and blacklist him practically everywhere even outside the country and his family could do nothing about it dahil pagmamay-ari ng mga Yoon ang hospital at ang medical school na pinasukan n’ya. That kid has no shame really. He had the nerve to cheat on my daughter inside the same institution that my grandparents built. I can ruin his life if I wanted to, Elijah. But I did not want to break your heart even more than I already did dahil alam ko kung gaano mo kamahal ang tarantado na ‘yon.”

Soren Yang has always been calculated. His every move, every word was always planned and he knows how it is going to affect other people. He knew he did what he did to minimize his daughters pain and he will never be regretful of that.

Elijah could only sit there in silence. Isaac. What she thought was her saving grace was toying her all along.

Isaac.

Her Isa.

“Now that you already know what really is happening, I’m leaving the last word to you, Ruby. Sabihin mo lang and I will do whatever your heart pleases.”

Elijah should know better than to make decisions when she’s at the height of her emotions but feeling that much anger and resentment towards a person was all to foreign to her. She had given all her heart and soul to Isaac for the past four years and that’s how it has been? Even going as far as cheating on her and making up things about how he had to let her go?

Elijah wanted nothing more than to make him suffer for the rest of his life, show him just how much he’s fucked up. He’s damn lucky there’s better things for Eli to worry about.

“Making Alejandro Sim go to hell is something I never wanted to do until now,” Eli replied to Soren, surprisingly in a calm manner. But the cold calm sound of her voice was enough to send chills to both of her parents’ spine.

Eli has always been the soft Yang, as most would tell. Ang Yang na hindi marunong lumaban. Even Ynes can testify to that. More than many times, Elijah allowed people to push her over. She came from a long line of businessmen and people in the construction industry, who grew to be cunning and sharp—many believed Elijah was not like that. Admittedly Soren Yang thought so too, after he watched her daughter let her get played by the Sims.

Not until now.

No one is completely certain how far Elijah will take this, not even her own parents. Getting cheated on, getting played, now with Leon and Santi getting stabbed under their word? The woman could only take so much.

—

“Bobo ka talaga, Kuya!” That was the first thing that came out of Ynes’ mouth as soon as they reached the hospital before reaching for Yves’ hand, examining how bad his injuries were. “Tanga tanga! Nasan sila Kuya Santi?”

“Nagpapahinga. Natutulog yata sila ngayon, sinasalinan ng dugo si Leon,” He explained. “Nakapagdonate naman agad si Tobi, so okay na. Nagpapahinga nalang.”

It was as if Elijah felt her blood drained out of her at that very moment that she heard what Yves had said. The way Bianca reacted wasn’t any different, clinging to Elijah’s arm while Cielo clung on the other.

“Sabi ko kasi magingat kayo!” Elijah snaps at them as soon as they find them awake, even finding the nerve to laugh at something when she enters the room. “Ano? Sabi ko mag-ingat tapos magpapasaksak kayong dalawa? Ikaw mambubugbog pa?”

It was a surprise that Tobias wasn’t harmed as much as the other three considering his own history of basag ulo during their highschool days. But he then explained that unlike Yves and her own brother, his first instinct was to rush to aid his injured brothers, which honestly would’ve been the safer option unlike how her brother handled it.

“Galit na galit, oo,” Santi shrugged, carefully opening his arms to reach for his little sister. “Malayo naman sa bituka.”

“Sa may atay ka ngang nasaksak na tanga ka, ha!” she retorts at him, playfully hitting the top of his head just for the sake of telling him how upset she was because of his impulsive decision.

“That’s your best friend they messed with, Ellie,” he sighed, shaking his head as he glanced towards Leon’s figure on the next bed, talking to his little sister and Cielo. “Hindi naman ako papayag na ganoon na lang ‘yon.”

“Oh tapos nasaksak ka rin,” Elijah rolled his eyes at him, knowing too well that he meant well. The Yangs really did have a knack for acting on impulse, the two of them were living proof of that.

“What is going to happen with Isaac now?” he asked, the question seemed to gain everyone’s attention. He sighed, looking ever so guilty for bringing it up.

“He would be a fool to think he’ll get away with cheating on a Yang, kuya,” Eli hummed at her older brother. “Messing with two Yangs is a bold move. Him and his grandfather will get the message, Papa and I will make sure of that. Alright? Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re not going to go crazy again—”

“You went after an armed man, kuya. You’re not in a good position to tell me not to do stupid shit. And it’s not stupid if it means na malalaman nila kung sino ang akala nilang binibilog nila.”

“Ellie.”

“Papa has my back, kuya,” she smiled at him, squeezing his hand to assure her older brother that everything will be alright before she moved to the other bed where Leon was.

“Hi stupid,” Elijah sighed at him, trying to make the situation lighter than it really was. Leon looked tired as his eyes trailed on the tear stains on Elijah’s puffy face from all the crying she’s done the entire trip to Cebu out of anxiety on how they were doing.

Leon’s hand carefully reaches up to her face and wipes the remaining tears that were there. “Hi baby,” he chuckled. “Kiss?”

Elijah could not help but flick his forehead at his response. “Talaga ba? May tahi ka na nga sa tagiliran, kiss pa rin ang gusto mo ha? Nakakagalit ka Leon Abel ha!”

“You have no idea half the shit I went through thinking kung buhay ka pa ba tapos that’s all? Kiss lang, Leon? Gusto mo bang dagdagan ko ang saksak mo sa tagiliran ha?”

“Kiss lang eh,” he pouted. “Nasaksak na nga wala pang kiss!”

It baffled Elijah that after all that, he’s just asking for a kiss like it would fix everything—like it was going to make her back out from sending Sim Inc. into bankruptcy and exposing Isaac for his infidelity. Before Elijah knew it, tears were already falling down her face again before she leans down and kisses his forehead before pressing another one on his lips.

“Tangina mo, akala ko mamamatay ka na!” She cried, leaning against his shoulder as soon as she pulled away. “Tangina mo talaga. I thought I was going to lose you again, Leon. Akala ko mawawala na kayo ni Kuya sa akin. I swear to God.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he sighed heavily, placing a light hand on the top of her head, carefully running his fingers through her hair. “Dapat nag-ingat kami ni Kuya Santi.”

“Paano kung wala si Kuya Tobi ha? Paano kung walang magdo-donate sa’yo ng dugo agad?” She kept on babbling worst case scenarios, which broke his heart to hear.

It was that bad for her to think of. Leon thought to himself.

“We’re okay, baby,” he mumbled against her hair, kissing the side of her head repeatedly. “Tahan na po. I’m sorry hindi kami nagingat ni kuya.”

“Don’t leave me again, Leon,” Eli sobbed on his shoulder like a child, recalling how she heard the news from Yves earlier that day and how she’s here now, assured that she’s not losing anyone.

“They’re gonna have to do better than that to kill me, Ellie,” he joked. “Which we’re not going to allow to happen again, right? Tahan ka na. Okay na kami ni Kuya. Okay na.”

Eli did not sleep that night. She managed to watch Leon sleep all night, making sure that he was breathing, afraid that he would stop if she slept even for a minute. Her heart raced at the thought of losing him, so as much as she wanted to rest, her brain would not let her, pestering her with thoughts that Leon would not wake up if she slept. So she kept both eyes open all night.

All that concerned Leon. Her medication normally made her sleepy, knowing that she was able to fight off the drowsiness means that something big really was bothering her and not to sound cocky but he knew he was the one she was thinking about. It made him guilty actually that Eli was losing sleep because of him.

“Hey, it’s okay, baby, you can sleep,” Leon cooed as he pulled her head closer to his shoulder. “It’s alright. Gigisingin kita kapag malapit na tayo, okay?”

Eli looked at him, still refusing to give in to his false belief but Leon was persistent, “sige na, wag ka na munang matigas ang ulo, Eli.”

“Later na,” she mumbled, but still moved to rest her head on his shoulder, careful not to make him move him too much. “Pag nasa hotel na ako tutulog. Malapit na rin naman.”

Aside from the fact that Soren Yang came from the founders of one of the most successful and world renowned medical institutions, he also came from a long line of successful hoteliers in the world and is now sitting in position as the CEO of Yoon Hotels Corp. So it didn’t take a lot of negotiation for them to find a hotel that will safeguard their family for the time being that the three are at risk for flying back to Manila.

Realizing that made Leon sit there in awe at really how much pressure Eli has been carrying from the moment she was born after seeing how successful all her family members have been. It’s a blur at how much their families wanted to make sure they married before the construction of that damn hotel was started, when they all know that the Yoons’ and the Yangs’ money could damn well build that hotel from the ground up without so much as help from the Parks. Both of the Yoon siblings are either waiting on the retirement of their parents or are now in position as the rightful owners, with Soren Yang, the oldest, being the CEO of Yoon Hotels Corp and Philomena Yoon waiting on the retirement of her mother before she steps into place for Valiente Medical. Elizalde Yang, on the other hand, is just waiting for his father to retire and he will be stepping into position as the Yang Group Co.’s CEO and well, Santiago Yang will be stepping in for the position that he will be leaving.

Unlike him, his grandparents have built their company from scratch and are fairly new if compared to the legacy that both sides of Elijah’s family have left. Eli has always been required to be great. Always has to be good and present herself as someone fully capable of rising to her family’s greatness. Half of his struggles of being trained to step in for his father was probably not even half of the shit that Eli has to go through, and all that without that assurance that she will even inherit any of the companies that her parents are running. It really must’ve been cruel to wonder what she had done wrong to always be replaced after all the hard work she has done to present herself so perfectly all the time.

Leon managed to get Eli to sleep once they got to the hotel after making a promise that he wouldn’t die while she was asleep.

It was as peaceful as Leon remembers, Eli sleeping while he held her. The past three nights were as miserable as he remembers, he couldn’t even find himself in a comfortable position even if he tried. This was the first time his chest felt at ease as he listened to her soft breathing while she snuggled closer to him.

click here to continue (eli and leon's conversation)

click here to continue (eli and soren yang's conversation)

“Are you okay baby?” Leon asked as they sat on the dining table in the hotel room, noticing the gloom in Eli’s face as she set her phone down. Her eyes were glossed over as she looks up at him which make his chest tighten at the sight. “Bakit umiiyak?”

Eli knows she should probably tell him. Everything—that is. He deserves to know just how much love she has for him and how all of a sudden he was all that mattered to her.

Silence was overrated after all, but silence with Leon was beyond priceless. It was calm and comforting—assuring even without so many words just his presence alone. And somehow, somewhere deep inside her, it makes her think that it has always been this way with Leon. Maybe it’s because Leon’s the only friend that she’s known for that long or the fact that it felt like Leon loved her just as much—but the silence— the one that she hated so much yesterday and all the other days without Leon, didn’t feel that way anymore now that he is here.

And he should know that right?

Eli didn’t know what to say, just shrugged and kept eating. She has never been more sure than before if she loved Leon. All of a sudden, now that he’s back, she never wants to go back to the time where there wasn’t a Leon in her life.

Because no one in this world can love Ruby Elijah Yang the same way Leon Abel Park will.

Nothing in this world will feel just quite like Leon Abel and that’s scary because she can’t explain why and she is afraid of losing it again.

“Ellie?” Leon calls again, breaking her out of her trance. He had his arm stretched out in front of her, bringing the tissue close to her face to wipe her tears away. “Aalat na yang pagkain mo, iniyakan mo na ng iniyakan.”

“Tarantado,” she curses before taking the tissue from his hand and slapping it away.

“Uninom ka ba ng gamot kagabi?” He asked, seeing how somber her facial expressions were since he first saw her again.

Eli shook her head no. “I forgot.”

“Bakit hindi? Gising ka pa naman ng 8PM kagabi ah?”

“Bakit alam mo ang schedule ng gamot ko?”

“What kind of fiance am I if I didn't know?” he looked at her feigning offense before laughing and admitting, “I asked Kuya Santi for your schedule. Noong isang buwan pa, para alam ko kung hindi ka umiinom ng gamot. Pero nakela Ynes ka naman every dinner so I assume you have them para ipaalala na uminom ka ng gamot.”

“You were shivering in your sleep noong umidlip kagabi. Nakalimutan ko nang uminom.”

“Nilamig lang ako!” he chuckled, munching on the chicken on his plate. “Ito naman.”

Eli did not reply, just shrugging off his joke. But in reality, it almost gave her a heart attack when he began shivering in his sleep, clutching her hand and tugging on the blanket he was given.

“I love you too much to leave you like that.”

Eli’s head snaps up to look at him, shocked at what had just slipped out of his mouth. “Ha?”

“Halaman.”

“Fuck you, Leon.”

“Please?”

“Oh my god! Seryoso kasi!”

“You want me to say it again?”

There was a fat pause after that as if she was contemplating on what her answer would be even if it was loud and clear of what it is,

Of course. I want to hear you say it again. Eli thought to herself.

“I love you, Ellie,” he repeats to her, unprovoked, smiling like the happiest little puppy that the world has ever seen. The complacent look on his face really just adds up to it, like he was smug and most definitely proud that he did not have any trouble admitting that.

After all, what is there to be afraid of?

Eli was and always will be his favorite song. Maybe that was why it didn’t take a lot for him to love her over again, because it’s not hard to sing the words to your old favorite song that you know by heart.

Also because everyone else was right, he did have so much love for her, he was just terrified of admitting it—because for once in his life, the stakes are higher if he loses her. And he doesn’t want to lose Eli in a more painful way that there will be—so he blew the fire out when it started to get so big that someone noticed it.

But it’s different now. He knows better now.

And better was being wherever Elijah Yang was.

Better was being close to Elijah Yang.

Better was finally following where the magnetic force pulled him, and all the charges lead him back to Elijah Yang.

Accepting that he was in fact, in love with Elijah Yang, was something he didn’t think would take a stab wound on his side and seeing her crying in fear that she was going to lose him for him to realize.

But he knows better now.

Leon loves Elijah Yang.

And soon, she’ll be taking his last name with hers.

extras: (philomena yoon and elijah yang's conversation)

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ characters ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ previous ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ next ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

19 notes · View notes