something i think a lot of white people don't understand is that saying racist antiblack things 'ironically' 'as a joke' 'satirically' or 'as bait' is still... just being racist. as if saying 'bait used to be believable' somehow undoes the disrespect? as if pointing out that its probably a bot or a psyop nullifies the slurs? as if informing me that its a meme/copypasta/reference means you're not at fault for repeating them? as if any of this is okay? it doesn't work like that. why is the hatred and disrespect of black people acceptable background noise for you? why do you find it funny?
Murmurs of agreement spread about the room. Little children nuzzle closer to their older siblings, who nuzzle back in turn. All eyes are fixed on the elder, whose solemn, weary gaze wanders over the congregation.
βFor too long, our children have been taken,β he continues, his trembling voice belying his conviction. βTaken when light dawns upon us. We live simple lives, true, finding shelter in these dim caverns we call home, but do we not deserve to watch our young mature?β
He steps forward, each foot placed deliberately, every swing of the leg calculated. The crowd parts to let him pass, whispers trailing in his wake. He stops in front of a teenager, who meets his gaze with pools of liquid fear. βAm I next?β they ask querulously, unable to speak above a whisper.
He merely looks back at them for a few moments, helpless both to their predicament and to stop the silence from stretching out between them. βI know not,β he answers truthfully, softly. βBut we shall discuss solutions to this issue.β
βWhat could we possibly do?β one of the matriarchs shrills, her children hovering behind her nervously. βIt rarely takes our youngest, our infants. In the past itβs taken one of you. But mostly, our teenagers get abducted. We canβt hide them forever.β
βThese caverns have a limit,β adds a child next to her, nervously fidgeting as they speak. βWe can only run so fast, so far. But it knows how toβ¦ to expand the caverns, to change their shape. It hunts us through the walls!β
The elder hesitates. βWeβ¦ could leave,β he murmurs, mostly to himself. βI have seen what it is like outsideβ¦ bright, brighter than anything I have ever seen before. But there is a world out there beyond these caverns, maybe a world where we are all safe.β
βYouβre the only one who can fly!β snaps another matriarch. βAre you going to leave us behind while you chase a fantasy? Fat lot of good that did when the previous elder did the same. He got put back in this pit with the rest of us, and where is he now? Dead! Dead and gone! Do you really believe those ramblings of his?β
He sighs, his movements stilling. He remembers the stories told by the previous elder, about the bright world beyond. Strange sights, stranger smells, and the hint ofβ¦ freedom. Like a sixth sense that somewhere, in a place they couldnβt see, couldnβt sense, there was a better world that they couldnβt get to. It was a feeling deep in your gut, said the previous elder, shaking as he preached. A feeling that if you try hard enough, go far enough, youβll reach it, because itβs out there somewhere.
He left, once, briefly, when he was young, carried along on a detached chunk of the cavern walls. He sawβ¦ shapes, none of which made sense, forms he could tell were used to do something, but the purpose and origin eluded him. That was only a small piece of freedom, a fraction of what the previous elder raved about. If he ponders it for too long, he feels the truth twist his psyche, corrupting it until he no longer remembers who he is, and who heβs supposed to be.
βIs it really that bad here?β one of the youngest pipes up, staring up at their mother with confused eyes. βWe get food, and water, and sometimes yummy slime. And itβs warm here!β
βFood to fatten you up and warmth to make you grow faster!β The matriarch scoffs. βItβs all a trap! Weβre all dead meat here, and weβre just sitting here waiting to be eaten.β
βCan we huddle deeper?β another teen suggests, glancing towards the rest of the caverns. βIf we hide where the light doesnβt penetrate, maybe itβll leave us be.β
βNo,β the elder says, shaking his head. βNo, that will not do. It knows to dig. It will find you, no matter how deep you go, until it is satisfied.β
βThenβthen what do we do?β squeaks the teen, panic entering their voice. βCan we do anything?β
βI do not know,β the elder answers truthfully, mournfully. βI do not know.β
Boom. The walls rattle. The whole congregation shrieks and screams, the cacophony echoing off the cavern walls as everyone scrambles over each other to run deeper into the safety of the darkness. He waits, standing still, letting the vibrations of its approach reverberate through him, harder and heavier and it shakes him to his very core untilβ
Light.
It sears into his vision, flooding his senses. He stares into it, unflinchingly, basking in it. There is something, somewhere, out there. The light is proof. There is more beyond these nooks and crannies they hide in. There is more.
A formless mass reaches towards him. Over him. He watches as the teenager screams, squirms in its grasp, going up and up and up, until he can no longer see them. And it returns for more, rooting around and destroying the caverns until it reaches another teenager, always digging for more. But never him.
He just watches.
*
βItβs bug day!β
The human cheerfully walks over to the tank of dubia roaches, watched by the expectant gaze of a bearded dragon. They open the tank, rummaging around inside for appropriately sized roaches. βLetβs see who we have here todayβ¦β
They pick up a piece of cardboard, flipping it over. An adult male dubia roach stares back at them, while an adolescent roach skitters past above him. βAh, perfect.β They pluck the adolescent off the cardboard and drop it into the feeding container. The bugs scramble around inside, thwarted by the slippery plastic walls.
Once the container has seven roaches, the human stands up, dusting themself off. They reach for a few powders next to the bearded dragonβs tank, adding them to the container and swirling the bugs around until all of them are coated in a fine layer of powder. βReady to hunt?β the human asks the beardie, opening her tank door. βHere, eat slowlyββ
The beardie lunges at the roaches, immediately face deep in the tub as she crunches down on the insects. The human sighs, but laughs, shaking their head as the beardie messily gorges herself. βAnything for her.β
*
behold, the roach destroyer: Jessie the bearded dragon
this is loosely what i think it's like to be one of her dubias when i'm fishing around in their tank for her food. embellished of course, and flavored with eldritch horror ish stuff, but all events mentioned in the story are based on real moments that have happened while i've been raising this colony of dubia roaches. i have a weird sense of humor lmao
So the UK will reroute a fucking Internet cable for a fake grave for a fake elf because a bunch of brain dead nerds through a pissy fit, and meanwhile real actual natives in the US are getting arrested for trying to keep oil sand pipelines from going through their actual graves, holy sites and unceded territory. Burn it all down.
prguitarman
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