📷 Proverbial Phrase of the Day 📷 Phrase: "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all." Phrase in Original Dialect (Tagalog): "Ang matapang ay hindi nabubuhay magpakailanman, ngunit ang maingat ay hindi talaga nabubuhay." Core Meaning: This powerful Filipino proverb emphasizes the importance of courage and risk-taking over excessive caution. It suggests that a life lived fully, even if fraught with risk, is preferable to a life constrained by fear. Today's Application: In our fast-paced world, this proverb can inspire us to step out of our comfort zones. Whether it's starting a new project, making a career change, or standing up for what's right, embracing a bit of risk can lead to significant personal and professional growth. 📷 Takeaway: Dare to live boldly today! Whether it's a small step or a giant leap, let's make it count. #Proverb #Quotes #FilipinoProverb #Filipino

📷 Proverbial Phrase of the Day 📷 Phrase: "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all." Phrase in Original Dialect (Tagalog): "Ang matapang ay hindi nabubuhay magpakailanman, ngunit ang maingat ay hindi talaga nabubuhay." Core Meaning: This powerful Filipino proverb emphasizes the importance of courage and risk-taking over excessive caution. It suggests that a life lived fully, even if fraught with risk, is preferable to a life constrained by fear. Today's Application: In our fast-paced world, this proverb can inspire us to step out of our comfort zones. Whether it's starting a new project, making a career change, or standing up for what's right, embracing a bit of risk can lead to significant personal and professional growth. 📷 Takeaway: Dare to live boldly today! Whether it's a small step or a giant leap, let's make it count. #Proverb #Quotes #FilipinoProverb #Filipino

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TTK and New Skills - How I accidentally became an alien war hero 5/?
Walking down the sleek gray hallway, our shoe clicks echoed around us, and the looming doors at the end of the long hallway called to me. For what is behind those doors will change my and my friend's lives forever. All it takes is one shot, and if you hit it, you can change the world.
As we walked, the doors hissed open, revealing behind them a large room full of computers, wires, screens, desks, and dozens of Oranis. The sheer scope of the room was daunting; countless screens read data from feeds, and a couple of Oranis had a desk that played footage of battles, and they were taking notes and screenshots of specific parts. I saw that most of them were reviewing the battle that got me into this whole mess.
The captain was looking at me knowingly. He had a small smirk on his face as he spoke, “Here is the main control room for all our ROMS units. We watch and review countless battles to keep furthering our knowledge and make it easier and better for our troops. As you can see right now, almost all of our staff is focused on one specific battle that we recently recorded.” He gestured to the desks spread around us, showing multiple angles of one unit standing alone amongst a sea of dead bugs.
“Holy shit, are those the types of guys we are going against?” Gene whispered to me, but the captain overheard it.
“No, this was actually your friend Bee.” Without elaborating, he turned back around and continued walking through the room. All of my friends did a double-take and looked at me. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.
“That was you?” John said with a wide grin on his face
“Yeah, it was.” I averted my gaze to look at the ground. I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I instinctively looked away from their eyes.
“Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised,” Sali laughed, “Only Bee would do all of that unnecessary movement. He's just dashing around for fun!” She pointed to a screen that showed my first attempts with the grapple as I tested out different ideas I had. Basically, it looked like I was just running around like a kid in a candy store.
“Hey!” I shot back, “I was testing the limits, okay?”
“Yea, yea, everyone knows that you like your movement shooters.”
I huffed and turned back to the front of our group, following the captain to another set of doors that had a big text plate that read:
ROMS UNIT BAYS 1-6
As we got closer, the doors automatically slid open, revealing a heptagonal room, a station in the middle that had screens corresponding to five doors that were separated by each wall of the heptagon. There was a big wall in the center behind the control station that had a wall of monitors for viewing and a semicircle of six chairs around it. Each door had a number on it from one to six, with the door we came through showing an exit sign instead. Every door had a fancy access terminal and a large screen that had many high-tech-looking data collection graphs. There was a familiar-looking calico-patterned Orani in the center of the room, and I remembered his name, Koi, the head of engineering.
“Hey, everyone!” he chirped, enthusiastically waving to us. “So these are our new test subjects, huh?” His eyes narrowed on us but lingered on Vera.
“T-test subjects?” Tobi squeaked out from behind me.
“Oh hush, Koi,” I turned to Tobi, “he's just messing with you. All they're doing is recording our matches.” Koi huffed in response, putting his paws on his hips
“Wish we could do more than that, but someone said it would scare them off.” He glared at the captain
“And I was right.” The captain gestured towards the worried faces of my friends.
“Oh, don't look so scared! It was just going to be some vitals and brain scans!”
“Koi, stop before you turn them all away.” The captain shot a hard glare at him, making his ears fold backward. The captain turned toward my friends and reassured them that none of that would be happening.
“Nothing will be done without your consent. If any of you aren't comfortable with anything, don't hesitate to let us know so we can fix it.” The captain's voice was soft but stern, and Tobi visibly relaxed at his reassurances.
“This where the fancy VR setups are?” Gene asked while looking around at the numbered doors.
“Yes,” the captain replied, “each of you has been assigned a room and a respective ROMS system. They are all identical as of now, but if you are to stay with us after this, we will make modifications that are personalized to each one of you.” Everyone's face lit up at the prospects. They were finally about to see what they had been dragged up here for.
“So what rooms are everyone's?” John asked, practically bouncing in anticipation.
The captain looked towards Koi, and he brought up a list of our names and faces. They had taken them when we were screened at the checkpoints. He rattled off each of our assigned rooms, “Bee, room 1. Sali, room 2. Vera, room 3. Gene, room 4. John, room 5. And Tobi, room 6.”
John and Gene whooped and ran for their respective doors before stopping short, realizing they had no idea how to get in. The captain gave a huff of amusement and told Koi to aid John and Radi to aid Gene. As they went over, the captain cleared his throat and addressed all of us.
“You each will be given a rundown of how our ROMS system works. You will all be separated until the testing ends, not to allow anyone to gain an advantage over another by watching them before their battle. John, Koi will aid you. Gene, Radi. Vera, Rosi. Sali, Kious. And finally, Tobi, Zedd. Bee, you already know how the system works, so I will ask you to get ready on your own if that is okay.” I nodded and walked over to my assigned door. The pad in front of me was similar to the one that was at our private quarters. “My team will guide each of you through the basics, and I will watch it here at the control station. I will be hooking each of you up to your respective opponents after you are situated and ready. Once you have finished, no matter the outcome, I will ask you to come out and, if others are still in their duel, to wait and watch.”
Each of us nodded as we moved to our respective doors, each of us–except me–followed by our designated Orani. Doors started to hiss open as we each learned how to operate them, which was incredibly simple. Put your hand on it. Bam, Open. Crazy right?
I turned around to look at my friends, seeing they were doing the same.
“Yall ready?” I asked with a smirk
“Hell yea!” Gene whooped
“Let's fuck some shit up.” John gave me finger guns
“Da.” Vera said simply
“Putangina, I was born ready.” Sail rolled her shoulders as she spoke in Tagalog under her breath, catching Kious off guard at what the translator was probably picking up.
Tobi gave a wordless nod; his posture was stiff, but I could tell he was excited.
“Kill 'em dead!” I yelled at all of them
“Make me!” all my friends responded at the same time while laughing. It was an inside joke from way back when we first formed our little group. Some might say it's embarrassing, but it reminds us all why we are friends. Those first times we all played together when we were younger, I always said ‘Kill em dead’ whenever I was rooting for someone or was wishing them good luck. I did it so often that it apparently got annoying enough for them to start saying ‘make me’ every time I said it to them. It caught on, and now it's our little good luck phrase that we always say to each other.
This little ritual caused each Orani to look very confused, but we all stepped inside our rooms before any of them could inquire further. We stepped through our respective doors, and the mechanical whir and a soft click signaled that the room was sealed. The next moments that will define our lives have officially started.
I took a deep breath, readying myself for what was about to come. The room was the same as the one I had snuck into a large wall monitor that spanned from floor to ceiling and an exo-suit-like device with a headset you put on hanging from the top of it. It felt almost exactly like the last time, except now I was prepared and had brought a tool with me that ensured my victory.
My earbuds.
Putting them in a queued up my favorite playlist. Paradise City started to play and, with a quick breath, started for the remote operation interface (that's what the fancy techs called it), aka. ROI. I was giggling like a madman as I suited up, my body practically vibrating with excitement to be back in the unit and reck some shit. Well, now it is time.
GENE: ROOM-04
After I got over the awesomeness of the technology in front of me, Lieutenant Radi gave me the rundown of how to get inside and operate the exo-suit-looking contraption. I only half paid attention to his explanation as I was more focused on the kick-ass headset that acted like an AR and VR system together. After he helped me navigate through the calibration phase, which involved moving my arms and legs around a bit, the next screen popped up.
This screen would mark the most important decision of my life; this would dictate my time on this mortal plane, and if I chose wrong, it would haunt me forever. The words bore into my soul;
Enter Name.
I looked at those two words for an embarrassingly long time. I faintly heard the door swish open and close behind me. I assumed Radi had left, leaving just me and the text. I could always go with my tried and true: 2Gud4U. This felt wrong in this context, though; it was an actual system I would be controlling, and this name defined it. I wanted a real name for this mech, one that told people I was controlling it. I wanted something like Bee’s one with my name somewhere.
I ruminated for an indeterminate amount of time. If I took any longer, one of the Orani would probably come in to make a welfare check. I wanted it to be memorable but not so serious that it would be cringey. Or I could lean into the cringe of anonymous usernames just like the days of old—aka, two years ago. Then it hit me.
GENOME_KLR
Heh. Perfect.
A fancy logo flashed across my screen, and a blank box appeared in front of me.
TUTORIAL Y/N?
Huh, Bee wasnt kidding. It really was like a game. Well, let's go then.
***
Holy shit, this was the coolest thing ever.
A giant mech, and cool as guns and a fucking plasma sword? I gotta find out some way for them to make a green one. Or blue. Actually purple.
The tutorial was fairly bare bones and gave a rundown on how to move and what weapons I had at my disposal. There was a minigun-looking thing, a railcanon-looking thing, a lightsaber-chainsaw-looking thing, And a grapple-looking thing. There were a lot of things and stuff that looked like them.
The system was fairly easy to understand, and the movement mechanics weren't that hard to get used to. There was some input lag, more of the fact that the mech was massive and, therefore heavy, which made it hard to start and stop. Static buzzed in my ear, cutting me out of my ‘training’ aka swinging my arms around wildly, getting used to the weight.
“Hello, can you hear me, uhh…GENOME_KLR?” A familiar voice trailed off while reading my magnificent name.
“Yea, loud n’ clear,” I responded cheerfully.
“Uh, okay, this is Lieutenant Radi. I am letting you know we are ready to start the mock battle. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I'll ever be, I guess.”
“Okay, we’ll, send you through. You’ll be patched through to the unit being used in your spar. It will be immobile until both sides are ready, and the moment you can start moving will be announced by a countdown. You are free to do whatever you see fit to disable the other mech. The fighting will not stop until one side is left unable to continue. Do you understand?”
So basic 1v1 stuff. “Yeah, question: is everything in the tutorial available to me in the fight? I mean the weapons n’ stuff.” I quickly added
“Yes, all equipment is the same through every unit, and you will have full access to them during the mock battle. Any other questions?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, patching you through. Good luck…Gene,” He said pointedly.
“What, not a fan of the cool name?” Before I could get a response, my entire world went black. The fancy logo was back, and they were asking me to please wait. A couple of seconds later, my surroundings changed. It was a pretty spartan arena, just a big circular metal wall that went up about a story from what I could tell. It seemed like the same size as that one famous thing in Rome. Basically, it was big. The floor was some sort of black sand-like substance from what I could make out. Looked kinda like that stuff they put in playgrounds that were rubbery and very easy for kids to swallow.
At the far end of the arena, I saw another mech. It was also standing there motionless, waiting for the go-ahead to start trying to kill each other. I sat there for a bit, twiddling my thumbs while waiting for something to happen. A moment later, a feminine robotic came through the speakers.
Battle start in 10. 9. 8-
In the middle of my vision, numbers flashed along with the countdown. “Well, hello Cortana.” I muttered to myself after hearing the voice.
I took in a deep breath while watching the numbers climb down closer and closer to zero. It was now or never. Let's see how good these Orani soldiers are. I really hope I don't get my ass kicked. I mean, I had like twenty minutes to get used to this, and these guys probably went through months of training, so if I did get my ass kicked–my inner panic ramblings were cut off by a loud airhorn-like blare followed by my mech coming to life. Before I could get my bearing, the other mech was already reaching over its back to grab a weapon.
Shit. I was probably gonna lose this quick draw because they got a head start. The only thing is they weren't moving while he did it. As soon as I got my head back on, I ran right while also grabbing the rifle. I could see his choice of weapon as the minigun crested over the back of their mech.
My theory was correct then. I assumed they would reach for the weapon with a fast TTK (time to kill). They probably were cocky and assumed I would go for the same thing, opting for the easier weapon of the two ranged ones we were equipped with. I'd probably do the same if I were them. Some rando that never touched this system before was probably gonna go for the big gun that shot lotsa’ bullets. Probably planned to outspeed me at the start and just spray me down before I could do the same to them.
Jokes on them because I know a weapon with an even faster TTK, an instant one at that. I hope.
While the minigun was probably the smart choice here, I opted for the hard-hitting rifle, which was a lot harder to hit things with. In theory, if I could hit one well-placed shot at either their gun arm or cockpit, I would take them out of commission instantly.
The whirring of their minigun was drowned out by the volley of plasma flying at me. I had just gotten the rifle over my back and was getting ready to aim when I had to divert that plan to keep running. The fire trailed behind me as they tried to keep up with my running. They seemed slow at tracking me, and I put it to the input lag, which works for me.
I was quickly running out of space; the edge of the arena was closing in, and if I started to run diagonally to avoid crashing into it, the volley would catch up to me as I slowed down to shift directions. So, instead, I had to kill them before that happened. Going into a dead sprint, I tried to put as much distance between me and the trailing fire. When I thought it was enough, I swung both arms forward and jumped as far as I could while twisting my body to aim my rifle at the stationary mech.
I had a very small window of time to aim and fire before I became a metal heap on the ground riddled with bullet holes. Time seemed to slow for me as I swung the rifle forward. I wouldn't have time to stop the momentum of the gun to steady it and then shoot, so I had to time it, so as it passed by my target, I needed to pull the trigger at the right time to land my shot. As the massive arm swung around, the reticle appeared in my field of vision. It was wobbling about and was going faster than I would've liked it to. As its trajectory neared my target, all my focus went into a small cone in front of me; everything else went quiet, and my heartbeat thrummed in my ears.
Now!
A beam of plasma left my gun and soared through the arena. Right before I hit the ground, I saw the bolt of red-hot energy hit the cockpit dead center. The mech went rigid, and then my vision jostled as I hit the ground hard. Due to the weird floor material, no cinematic dust kicked up to obscure my vision, giving me a tense moment of not knowing whether it worked or not.
Nope. I just saw it crumple to the floor and lie in an undignified heap, just like me.
I cackled to myself and raised my arms in victory, “Haha! Did you see that!” I pointed both arms to the downed mech. “Twenty minutes, and I'm hitting trick shots!” I whooped and hollered, but my victories were cut off by the screen going black once again.
The same familiar voice came through the intercom: “Congratulations, Gene. You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 19.34 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.” Radis said monotonically.
“Damn right, I am! Did you guys record that? I need to brag about it!” No response came, and I huffed. They had to have recorded that, right? That was the whole point of this. Yeah, they got it.
I stripped off the helmet and stepped out from the contraption. I hopped down from the raised center of the room and made my way to the door. Once it opened, I was met by a group of partially stunned faces but got a round of applause from the Orani. I gave an exaggerated bow and then walked to the little viewing area they had set up.
I looked around and saw I was the only one out so far. “No one else done yet?” I asked the group.
The little calico-patterned Orani looked up from the screens he was working on and flashed me a big smile, without using teeth though. “Nope, you were the first one to start and finish. We are going through all of you one at a time in a random order, we want to focus on each battle fully.” He gestured towards the monitors next to him. There were six in all, showing the others still in the training range, messing around just like I had. There was too much going on at the same time to really get a good look at what was happening. “You finished spectacularly fast, though.”
The big black-furred Orani gave a booming laugh, “Ha! Setla was fuming! She was all like, ‘That was a fluke. There's no way anyone could hit that!’” She turned to me and let out a huff, “Thanks, Gene, that was great.”
I gave her a wicked grin, “No prob, Bob.” She gave me a confused look with a head tilt that was adorable to see on a massive panther-woman but didn't press.
“Whos up next then?” I asked the calico.
“We have S4LL0S, aka Sali, in room two.” He sounded quizzical at her chosen name. I laughed to myself. She still used the same Gamertag after all this time. Her favorite duke of hell, Sallos. I don't know how much I bought that. I think she chose it because it was close to her name. Had to admit it was a good name. Knowing her and her demonic knickknacks and books, it worked. Not to mention the full-sized summoning circle she painted on her bedroom floor. All the Oranis were now looking at the screens with rapt intention, and so following their gazes, I looked to see how Sali would do.
SALI (S4LL0S): ROOM-02
Shit, shit, shit.
That's a lot of bullets, and they are all flying at me and hitting me. Lights flashed through the cabin as plasma fire dinged off the armored cockpit but started to tear away at the metal limbs of my mech. I drew up my own minigun, aiming to fire back. I moved left, trying to get the sustained fire off of me.
My right arm was basically done as my lapse in focus at the start had cost me, though I don't think I'll need it. The other mech was just sitting there aimed down at me, with no evasive maneuvers or specifically directed fire to push me into a corner. While running, I aimed up my own gattling and shot off bursts of fire. The thing overheated when I was in the tutorial, so I wanted to space out my shots to keep up my time as much as possible. I was banking on the fact that the other mech would have to stop shooting to let it cool.
My returned fire was effective, and the mech stopped its torrential downpour of plasma. I skidded to a stop and turned to face the other mech fully. I raised my gun, and it started whirring as it started up. The other mech realized its position and started to take off in a slow gate. Weird, wonder if the overheating affects the main body, too; they are moving way too slowly for it to be unaffected. The Spinnup completed, and a volley of plasma flew towards my target. From personal experience that happened about ten seconds ago, I knew aiming for the cockpit was a no-go, so instead, I directed all my fire onto the arm holding the minigun. At first, my shots went wide. I hadn't accounted for the slight delay in the finer movements, but soon, all my shots hit, and bits of metal and wires started flying.
I stopped my onslaught after a few good seconds of sustained fire. When I got a good look at the damage, my mouth smirked up into an evil smile. The right arm was shorn off at the elbow joint, and the frayed metal and wires were strewn about on the floor with the now broken minigun. I would have taken my time to give an evil laugh and march slowly and menacingly over to finish the job, but they reached for their rifle with their still working hand. Forgot that we have two arms. Before they could get their weapon over their back, I rained more fire at them, effectively shearing off the other arm at the shoulder.
Now, the mech just sat there, unable to fight back. They tried to stand up, but I dashed over and put my foot on the cockpit, pining the mech to the floor. Considering my options, I went with the most brutal one I could think of. With a mad cackle, I shoved the barrel of my minigun into the cockpit and unloaded. I kept shooting until it overheated and stopped on its own, then did it again, cackling like a demon all the while.
After it was over, I took a deep breath and looked at the carnage. Molten steel and glass dripped down the massive hole where there was once a cockpit. Both arms were taken off, and my foot pinned the now-lifeless mech to the floor. Yeah, I'd say that was a win.
A voice crackled in my ear, one I recognized as the Lieutenant. “C-Congratulations, Sali.” His voice stuttered, but he quickly reimagined his composure. “You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 1 minute and 6.66 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
When I removed the headset and walked out of the room, I was still on the high of my very necessary brutal win. I looked at the group of Oranis congregated around a wall of monitors and saw some fear in their faces. Hehe, that's just the start, kitties. Gene was sitting down among a semicircle of chairs facing the monitors. As I saw them replay my fight, he whooped for me as I got closer.
“Just as brutal as always, even scared these big lugs a bit,” He said, gesturing to the Oranis.
“It was unnecessarily barbaric,” Kious, the lithe white one, scoffed.
I spun around and gave him my best devilish grin. “Oh, it was very necessary.” I took his small flinch backward as a win and plopped myself down next to Gene.
It was just Gene and me. I was about to ask where everyone else was when the calico, Koi–I think it was–cleared his throat. “Now patching through, JUNKR, aka John, room five.” He looked up to the wall of monitors, and I followed his gaze. Let's see how Mr.Cold-and-Calculating does.
JOHN (JUNKR): ROOM-05
From my limited testing in the tutorial/practice range, the minigun takes approximately 12.50 seconds to overheat, then a further 10 seconds to cool back down enough to shoot. Further shooting without letting it cool will make it overheat much more quickly. Not enough testing to get specific times.
The rifle takes three consecutive shots to overheat. I didn't have enough time to see how long in between shots would make it so there was no overheating. The grappling hook had no use on flat areas, though I think Bee or Vera could find A way around that. I do not have their skills of ‘winging it.’
No clue how effective any of these weapons are against the suits, so I'm gonna have to tank some hits to find out and then plan my best course of action around that. Baring, I just get one tapped. I'm willing to take the risk. While the weapons do seem fancy, the armor looks fancier. It really has no bearing on how tough it is, but I'm just going with my gut. Only if I see they pick the mini gun, I have a feeling that rifle would rip through me like paper.
Well, time to put my money where my mouth was. When we both gained control of our mechs, I saw them reach for the minigun, so I stayed in position and readied myself for the oncoming fire. The minigun spun up, and after the one second it took to warm up, it fired its plasma volley.
Warning sounds and red lights flashed through the cabin. I forced myself to stay there for at least a second to gauge the damage the plasma bolts would cause. Looking at the damage from the hud, I saw that the limbs were taking significantly more damage than the chaise. Basically, I could take some hits but no sustained damage. My limbs aren't as fortified as my main body, so I shouldn't use my arms to try to shield myself. I dashed to the side whilst pulling out my rifle. The hail of bullets lagged behind my movement for a moment, allowing me enough time to get my footing. I wouldn't have time to return fire, so I focused purely on evading, waiting out the clock so the minigun would overheat.
I ran zigzags as much as I could. The weight of the legs made it more difficult to make precise movements. The terrain, thankfully, was very rough, making it so the feet of my mech didn't slip. I was nearing the wall and needed to change my direction of momentum. This would slow me down significantly, allowing for their volley to reach me. My internal clock told me they had about 3 more seconds until they needed to stop firing.
Nearing the wall, I started to slow down to run diagonally instead of perpendicular to the enemy mech, which allowed them to reach me, and warning sounds flashed as shots peppered my mech. I swung my body around to get my limb with the rifle behind me so it wasnt damaged.
2 more seconds
A bright red light lit up my hud as the system told me I had lost power to my left arm. Well, shit.
1 second.
My countdown was correct, and before they could do any more damage, their gun overheated and stopped shooting. They almost seemed surprised by this, as if they hadn't known how long they could keep up the sustained fire. That was a dumb mistake on their part, but it was good for me, though.
I took my sweet time aiming my rifle at their gun arm, which was now reaching back to switch out weapons, but before they could even reach behind, I blew the arm off with a single shot. The severed arm and gun crashed to the floor in a heap, leaving them defenseless. Aming dead center of their mech, I took my time lining up the shot to hit where a person would be if they were in it. I assumed that was where the power and telemetry would hopefully be, making it a kill shot.
The rifle fired and blasted a hole into the center of the chaise, making the mech crumple to the floor next to its severed arm, falling face-first into the ground.
I let out a deep breath. Not my cleanest win, but I wanted to know the capabilities and limits of the technology, and hey, it worked out.
The lieutenant's voice came through the coms system, “Congratulations, John. You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 39.98 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
Walking out of the bay, the Oranis congratulated me. As I walked towards the wall of screens, the captain called my name. “John, may I ask why you stood still at the very start, not trying to move out of the way of incoming fire or firing back?”
“Oh, that? I was seeing how much damage the plasma fire would do to see how much wiggle room I had in terms of taking hits. It was the simplest and easiest way I could think of because I couldn't test it while in the tutorial. Though I was able to get the other weapon parameters while in there, so I knew when they would stop shooting.”
“You already knew the time it took for the minigun to overheat?” He said, surprised.
“Yea, it's a need-to-know thing going into a fight like that. Knowledge is power here, and I had none, so I worked with what I could and devised a plan around that. I took a risk of getting hit, but it gave me good information that I could use. It was a necessary sacrifice. While I wouldn't have done it normally, I needed to know what I was working with.”
“So you fled whilst waiting for the gun to overheat, then made a counterattack.” he hummed to himself. “Impressive.”
I shrugged. “Not really, kinda basic stuff, if I'm being honest. It was strange that my opponent wasnt aware of the amount of time they could keep sustained fire. It was the same as in my testing, around 12 seconds.”
Gene scoffed from his chair. “Yep, that's John. Always overanalyzing every game we play so he can be optimal,” saying optimal with air quotes around it.
I huffed and turned to him. “I'm not mechanically skilled like you guys. I need to play to my strengths, and it just so happens that I'm good at creating strategies. Unlike you guys, just Leroy Jenkins-ing it in every time.” I muttered the last part to myself while I plopped down into my chair. They explained that we were all going one at a time, and once I sat down, Koi announced the next person up.
“Now patching through V3X, aka Vera, room five.”
Huh, she was still using that same Gamertag. I don't think she ever changed it once. Something to do with her being ‘vexed’ her entire childhood. Personally, I think it fits her well.
VERA (V3X): ROOM-03
Big guns were heavy, swords were not.
As I had figured out in the little practice range, I could disengage the magnetic locks that held the weapons on the back plate of the mech.
I assumed these soldiers were well versed in ranged vs. ranged combat, so I doubt they would expect me to forgo both of my ranged weapons instead of opting for the close-combat sword. So that is what I would do; once the countdown was done, I would drop both guns, take a page out of my little brother's book, and use the grappling hook to pull myself forward faster while equipping my sword.
I was not as talented with movement shooters as Bee was, but I was the one who introduced them to him, so I could do a simple forward pull even if I had never done a ‘real’ one before this.
Once the countdown finished, I dropped the guns and shot the grapple forward into the ground. The material wasnt the best to use as an anchor point, and I didn't get as much speed from my initial pull, but it was enough to throw my enemy off.
I pulled my sword out with my free arm as I did this, having it on and ready by the time I made my mad dash toward the other mech. One thing I did not expect was for them to use both arms to grab both long-range weapons.
This was a good counter to what I was doing under the circumstances; you don't need to aim as well if I'm right in front of you. It was going to be a close call on who was ready to strike first; both of their arms came down just as I got in range to swing the sword.
In a second, I slashed through their left arm, holding the minigun, shearing the arm from the elbow joint in a smooth motion. While I did this, their mech rocked back from the force of my cutting it and fired a shot that was meant for the cockpit but ended up going straight through my left arm, making it unusable as it disconnected all feedback to the arm.
Not wanting to take any more damage from the rifle, I swung my arm around while dashing back just in case they were able to get off another shot. I aimed to break the rifle instead of going in further to disable their arm. They would have had time if I tried to close the distance and swing around to hit it.
In one fluid motion, I shot back and slashed my arm down, cleaving the end of the rifle off, disabling it. I backed off, making space so I could assess the damages. Now, we were at an impasse. Both of us only had one functional arm left and one weapon.
I grinned. This was going to be a good old sword fight.
The other mech realized this and grabbed for their own sword, and we took stock of another as I prowled around them, waiting for an opening. They stood still, just turning in place to follow my movements, which was a bad idea. I walked around so their back against the closest wall and sprung forward. I gave a downward diagonal slash that was a lot wider than I wanted it to be. The weight of the arms made it harder to get precise movements.
They brought their sword up barely in time to block mine. The power in our suits was the same, so I couldn't just keep pushing, hoping I could power through their block. We stood like that for a moment, both swords fizzling and scraping against each other.
Instead of backing off and re-engaging, which would have given me the same result, I released the magnetic hold on the sword and flipped my hand so the sword was in an ice-pick grip. As their blade overpowered mine after switching grips, I guided it past me, letting it follow the body of the sword and then pushing it away, allowing me full access past their defense.
In one fluid motion, I brought my arm down and geared up for a deadly upward slash. The plasma sword cut through the steel and composites like butter and went clean through the center of the mech, splitting it from groin to head. My arm was raised in the air where it stopped. I watched the two halves fall to the ground on either side of me and smiled in victory.
A voice came through my cabin: “Congratulations, Vera. You are the victor. The total time elapsed was 1 minute, 48.32 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
I grunted in confirmation and made my way out into the main room, the Oranis congratulated me on my victory as I sat down. I nodded to them as I passed while the little calico one explained who we would see next.
“Now patching through T0RVA, aka Tobi, room six.”
TOBI (T0RVA): ROOM-06
Was this how they were going to test our skills? It was going to be a glorified quick draw. Whoever shoots first wins. With the power in that rifle, it would be the easiest way to win, granted, if you could aim it.
I could aim it.
It took a second to get used to the weight of it, but after that, it was simple enough: point and shoot just like every other rifle in any game. This was going to be quick. How would they determine all of our skills from this? It's just who can pull the trigger faster. Maybe that's all they wanted.
The countdown ended, and I flung my arm back, grabbing the rifle, while the other mech seemed to do the same. I tunnel-visioned and focused completely on getting this shot off as fast as I could. I wouldn't wait for the aim to stabilize, and I would fire as I moved it to reduce the time to shoot.
The rifle crested over the back of my mech and swung into view; it came down fast, but I could still hit the shot. As it passed down in front of me, I held my breath and waited for the perfect time.
Now.
The shot sailed across the room and hit the dead center of the cockpit, dropping the mech before it could even reach its weapon.
Well, that was easy. They hadn't even grabbed their weapon yet, so maybe I overestimated them.
I stood there for a moment, waiting for something to happen. A second later, a voice came through the speakers. “Uh, congratulations, Tobi. You are the victor. The total time elapsed,” the voice paused for a moment. “1.43 seconds…You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
I nodded to myself and walked out of the bay to a sea of surprised Orani and human faces, well, except Vera. I looked through all of them, confused about what was so surprising about what happened. I assumed all of their battles were about what had happened in mine, maybe slower, but still just a glorified quick draw.
“What?” I asked
“Damn Tobes!” Gene spoke up first, “Helluva quickdraw and mad precise shot, good shit.”
“Isn't that what you guys did, too?”
Sali gave a bark of laughter, “Nah, Tobes, you ended it before it even started; it took me over a minute to finish mine.”
“Really?” I asked. “I mean, we were just supposed to put the other mech out of commission, and what I did was the simplest thing to do that.”
Sali just laughed and dismissed me while Gene gave me a shrug and turned back to the screens. Koi, after gaining his composure, explained that I was the second to last one and we would all watch how the final fight went. Judging by the lack of a certain person, it would be Bees.
I sat down in my spot and focused my gaze on the wall of monitors. If anyone would do something super unnecessary and flashy, it would be Bee, and it would be fun to watch, at least.
“Now patching through BK3, aka Bee, room six.”
I laughed inwardly. He just took his old gamer tag and took the first part of each word/number. It would be like him to stick to his old one. It was always some variation of that old saying ‘bee's knees.’ I like this one, though; it is short, simple, and unique, just like Bee.
Let's see what skills he showed that made these Orani hire him and bring us up here.
OP: Ty for reading, this one got long quick, and I wanted to get it out, thank you for all your support in the comments I loving reading your reactions and feedback. I am currently in my first semester of college and midterms just passed but Ive been a bit swamped with work. I will deff keep posting more of this story but it might be a week or two between updates for now. Im shooting for a once a week at the moment. Ty all for being patient and hope you like this chapter :)

LONG RANT
Just saw the news that his run would be extended today and having just came back from his show yesterday, I thought I could talk to somebody about it. I am just a super big hadeshead(if one could say that): i have pretty much seen every single cast after 2021 fall’s reopening besides Lola Tung, the tour when they launched it twice, and a bootleg of the recently opened west end cast(total 25+ viewings). I have no notes on his vocal performance: he really delivered and it is very much believable that he is the singer that could make the rocks weep. The problem I have with him is his acting. To me, he’s “just like any man you’ve met”. His acting, physicality and his facial expressions give me the impression of an alpha male who is too confident, even cocky about his abilities. When he gets to the “can’t find the tune can’t feel the rhythm” he is so sure of himself for some reason which doesn’t match the vibe. And after the national theater run in london, that is just not who orpheus is imho. Orpheus is a wide eyed boy who is awkward, needs encouragement from hermes even to get the girl he wants. He knows that he has the prowess to bring spring back, deep down, but he sometimes couldn’t believe himself either. He however believes the good in others, and that is the purest treasure he possesses. Going to the underworld makes that a necessity: in order to go for eurydice, he needs to believe in himself. And after the entire ordeal(papers) he is devastated and questions if it is the right choice to go against a king. It is not pure rage, but instead it is devastation and disappointment(if it’s true). A lot of people praise jordan for his performance of “if it’s true”, yet rage is pretty much the only thing i felt. It felt like too much that it gets a tad cringy. Imo there are several layers throughout the song, and he didn’t show that. And during wait for me reprise/doubt comes in which should be a high light as far as acting goes, nothing is there. I have also seen him in sweeney and deh man he was the weakest link. Just several examples.
TL;DR: jordan fisher is a great singer but i do not like his acting as orpheus.
For reference: my favorite Orphei(?) are (in no particular order): nicholas barasch(tour 1.0), Chibueze Ihuoma(tour 2.0/bway us), Dónal Finn(OLC). Reeve and Damon get honorable mentions but because they did incredible work that made Orpheus Orpheus in Hadestown.
Bonus-thoughts on Isa/Jon Jon/Ani
Isa: man what a powerhouse she is. Imo a perfect blend of Eva and Solea for sweetness and roughness. She crumbles orpheus’s flowers before wedding song…SAVAGE. Just QUEEENNN(screaming)
Jonjon: the interaction between him and Isa especially on stage is so precious and powerful. I loved all interpretations of Hermes so far, every hermes ATE. But as an asian woman, man did i felt seen. He reminds me of my own and other asian fathers. Stern but so devastated after seeing his children do the unthinkable. He turns a bit towards the stage to wipe his face and contain himself which to me is PRIME ASIAN. We are always told to keep emotions in check and not show our weaknesses. The fact that the creative team allows him to make creative choices such as changing some things into Tagalog? Stan.
Ani: omg blew me away. She is so delightful and i love her different interpretation that imo suit her. Her level of drunkenness is perfect. Other persephones are mostly like drinking too much that they are borderline crazy lol(i love that too) but ani is literally blinded/living in an oblivion, to quote. She’s so drunk that she’s depressed, wants to forget everything she sees, but could not and that makes her more depressed. A cycle that doesn’t end till How Long.

Am I the Jerk for standing up to my entitled, bully of an aunty?
For a bit of context I'm a 28 almost 29 year old gender fluid person he or she pronouns are fine. Now this has been going on since I was in High School until my adult years & much more recently. I have an entitled aunt we'll call her Maria but that's not her real name. My aunt has been my & my cousin's caretaker since we were children, I've noticed during my childhood my aunt would play favourites with my cousin & overall treat her better often siding with her whenever she & I had fights, was basically treated like the black sheep.
Fast forward to my freshman year of High school I don't quite remember but my aunt was much more ruthless to me during high school & often would tease me on my appearance but often would praise my cousin "The Golden Child" that she looked great, it got to the point where her awful comments were so bad I got the school counselor involved to call her to tell her to stop & that yes teasing is funny sometimes but if it's meant to hurt the other people then it's flat out bullying. When she picked me up at the usual school bust stop she had an embarrassed look on her face & berated me for getting the counselor involved then she goes on to say that I'm a spoiled child & get everything I want & her teasing is valid as 'It's a normal" thing in our family. So just to correct here yes I was a spoiled child back then by my grandmother whom I love dearly despite her not respecting my boundaries, she would get me ANYTHING as long as I behaved myself. I was spoiled due to the fact my mother was distant towards me as a child wasn't patient with me & yelled at me during homework it was HELL! & the fact my Father wasn't present in m life. However I grew out of that spoiled phase & realised you've got to earn things & buy things on your own no one will give it to you!
​
The years after were honestly a blur to me as I don't quite remember due to all the stress from my family, relationships & work. Fast Forward to to now it's where my aunt's behaviour has worsened. I mentioned I have a controlling grandma who does make fun of how I weigh & basically pressures me to dress in her words "less trashy" She's a lady who was born in that old school generation that respect isn't a two way street but it's given to those who are older. Anyways the first time my aunt EVER threatened to physically was when I attended a job program in college where students had to go to an actual workplace for work experience no pay, & gain experience in the working field & this happened to be my 1st workplace at Starbucks which was far from my home & the start time was 7 am. I had an argument with my Grandma & she prevented me to leave so early to take the bus & train but the Transit system in my Province it closes at 2am & re-opens at 4am so I'm not sure what's the problem, but to her leaving while early in the morning was concerned I wouldn't be safe but I was 19 at the time back in 2014. She made my grandpa drive my grandpa doesn't drive late at night nor in the mornings as his eyesight is poor so I said to my grandpa to drive me as I couldn't stand my grandma berating me. I don't remember what I said but I remember my aunt who was there in the house tell me if I talk to her parents that way she'd slug me in the face, I answered back & she went dashed towards me as an intimidation tactic that I started crying that was the first time ever she had threatened me!
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The second time she threatened to hit me I grew a backbone & said I'd call the cops on her if she did & this was back in October of 2022, where I had a short term job as a paid "scare actor" for a "Haunted House" attraction that comes EVERY October at my local amusement park in my city which is situated in a "bad part" of Downtown the East part of it where there's mental people around. My aunt was driving & mentioned how I was "disrespectful" to my Grandparents when at the time I was just standing up for myself whenever my Grandma berates or blames me for something I didn't do & she then said if I did it again that she would slug me but I told her if that's a threat I would have NO problem telling law enforcement & she told me she's not afraid of the cops makes me wonder if my aunt DID physically assault someone in her past to have the cops involved & DARED me to do it.
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The only reason I go to my mother's place in Langley, for my American readers out there Langley is one of the city districts in Vancouver BC. I put up with my aunt JUST to see my infant Nephew we'll call him George not his real name that the "Golden Child" of the family had with her boyfriend whom I DESPISE that's another story for another time. For context my mom's name is on the lease of the house my aunt just helps her pay the bills but I COULD be wrong. When I'm editing videos for my YouTube channel I would sometimes speak Japanese to my Grandma yes I'm an Otaku she doesn't understand I figure if my family can speak Tagalog yes my family is Philippino then I can speak Japanese but my controlling aunt gets mad at me & tells me to "Speak English" & I tell her it's a free country & that I can speak whatever language I can speak & so can my Grandparents she tells me I'm not Japanese I'm not but just because I'm not of Japanese descent doesn't mean I can't learn the language. I started learning Japanese when I was young BECAUSE of constant bullying at a French Catholic school I saw the Japanese language as my saviour & that's what got me into anime.
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My aunt is INCREDIBLY racist towards Asian people despite her being full fledge Pilipino I remember when I was younger I told her I love Japan & she told me that & I quote "Japanese people are weird they like sex dolls. & disgusting." I told her that's not true & she argued she saw it somewhere but she FAILED to back up her argument as she's an immature child with 0 cognitive functions & her ONLY way to fight is to either threaten to hit someone or make fun of someone else's appearance because she's compensating for her lack of empathy. She's also racist towards Chinese people & by racist I mean she has road rage & WHENEVER someone cuts her off on the road she cusses & assumes the person who's terrible at driving is Chinese. How does she know what race that person is?! That person who cut her off could be East Indian or Black! The only person Chinese person she's not racist towards is our family doctor my guess is because she takes care of her.
​
I can see why her ex cheated on her in the past he didn't want to stay with miserable, vile, vindictive CUNT of a woman & I don't give a SHIT for saying that after all the bullying she did to me up till now. Even last Wednesday my family & I were eating sushi & for some strange reason my FAMILY disapproves how I pluck my own eyebrows because I don't want to waste money on someone doing my eyebrows as they don't shape it the way I want & threading it hurts me! My grandma nitpicks so does my mother & my aunt decides to pick on me again saying why does my eyebrows look like that I told her it's my body it gets to the point where I ignore her then it gets heated then she tells me "What's with the attitude?" I'm on the verge of tears due to finding out that I got fired from my recent job I rather not get into it. She then boasts how she payed for ALL of my things which isn't entirely true all she did was buy me food & milk, tells me she HAS a job & how she can pay for everything at this point in the argument I'm about to cry because not only losing a job but dealing with an emotionally abusive cunt of an aunt! As much as I love my Grandfather he took her side & says I NEVER listen I NEVER listen because the stuff you guys say to me isn't constructive critism but straight out borderline emotional abuse! To my family abusive is ONLY physical but boy are they wrong BOTH emotional & physical abuse is bad & the stuff they say has caused me to have stomach problems & they WONDER WHY I don't talk to them or tell them where I go. Back to my Grandfather he sided with my aunt & said "You have a loving family!" Not loving ENOUGH! I realised the shitty behaviour my family has is NOT my problem & they will NEVER change at all! I distance myself from them my Grandma still doesn't know what boundaries are & I plan on being honest with her that I don't take calls at night as she calls me at night to make sure I'm alright which is nice but I'm out & about & she leave a voice message she cares but she NEEDS to learn she sort of learned she now knocks before entering a room but still doesn't WAIT still goes in despite if I'm naked or not.
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TBH as much as a cunt she is I just use her to help me drop of my things to my apartment & I have blocked her I plan on getting a new cellphone plan after buying a new phone because my iPhone 12 is refurbished & dies quickly so I'm going to take Spring/Summer jobs & hopefully get money back from my doing my yearly taxes & use that money to buy myself a new phone & a new plan as I'm currently on my mother's & I no longer want to be as they my mom or my aunt spam calls my phone whenever my grandparents are away on vacation, So am I the Jerk for standing up to my racist aunt? Also any advice if SHE does slug me in the face it's not so much I will press charges against her it's my family who will blow up my phone with texts & calls & they will NOT listen if a cop tells them no contact at all they're stubborn. What should I do?
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I feel SOO much better for posting this as bottling my disdain for my aunt & her constant bullying HAS made me develop acid reflux as of late & sleeping issues, if my aunt finds & reads this post I have one thing to say to her You're a vile bitch who deserves to BURN IN HELL! When you're on your deathbed I will NOT visit you, you can have the "Golden Child" do that since you favour her more than me, you treat her better than I because I have special needs & she's "normal." NO this post will NOT be taken down people need to see how much of a negative monster you are!
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Para po sa curious kung what kind of lerson am I.
This is a somewhat a comprehensive information sheet.

1. Introduction:
   
   • Im Yohnardo - Yoh for short
   • Currently a Data Processor / Data Entry Agent
2. Background:
   
   • Im from Pampanga - Born and raised
   • Did not finished my College Degree
   • But I was majoring in Music Education befor I stopped
3. Career:
   
   • As of now Im good at managing data and make reports as digestable as possible.
   • I have no career achievement as of the moment naliban sa a small promotion from time to time.
4. Passions/Interests:
   
   • My Indoor / Lazy hobbies are Gaming, Anime and Watching Series. Isama na rin ang Reddit browsing and Youtube watching. As for outdoor / active hobbies I do Biking and Camping (More on my Boy scout roots)
5. Skills:
   
   • Im technology Literate at kaya gumawa ng mga document and reports na madaling maintindihan. haha
   • They say im the listener. I can cook! I can Sing (Classically) and somewhat play instrument pero hindi ko na napapratise.
6. Achievements:
   
   • Matalino noong Highschool - Salutatorian
   • Wala nang ibang nakamit na achievemnt sa buhay haha
7. Goals:
   
   • My short term goal is to have a saving para maka balik ng manila and makapag tapos ng pag aaral.
   • As for the long term, Is to settle down sa Japan if possible.
8. Travel:
   
   • Northest ko is Baguio na napuntahan, Southes is Cebu. D pa po ako nakaka alis ng Bansa.
   • Medyo takot lumipad.
9. VolunteePhilanthropy Work:
   
   • Currently invested in some of environmental projects in tandem sa Aking Scouting roots nuong high school.
10. Books/Movies/Music:
    
    • Fave Book: World War Z / Fave Movie: Your Name / Fave Music: Basta Alt Rock like Linkin Park and Radiohead
    • I would recommend WESTWORLD! kht ung 1st season lng!
11. Personal Traits:
    
    • Introverted i person pero madaldal online. I can talk about any topic and kayang sabayan ang kausap sa level nila.
    • Values I hold dear is that As much as possible spread positivity. Napaka shitty na ng mundo dadagdag pa ba ako?
12. Yaw ko ng malungkot at may nag aaway. Madali akong kinakabahan kapag ganun. Mas at peace ako kapag good vibes.
    
13. Philosophies:
    
    • Life belief ko is make everything counts kasi saglit lang tayo dito
    • Beliefs that shape me was knowing you will end someday, means i-enjoy na ang ngayon.
14. Languages:
    
    • I fluently speak English and Tagalog. Tapos ang Kapampangan ko is Nakakaintindi lang pero pag papasalitain halatang hindi native haha. Japanese naman di ako naturuan haha
15. Fitness/Wellness:
    
    • Rarely exercise kaya chubby boy
    • Ang fitness Activity ko is Biking and Jogging
16. Technology:
    
    • Tech tool I use most is my PC and Phone
17. Physical Apperance
    
18. Height is 5'2
    
19. Chunby Boi
    
20. Chinito
    
21. Mukhang LPG (Maliit na mataba)
    
22. Fun Facts:
    
    • I was born 6 moths and 3 weeks. haha hi di buong 9 months
23. Quotes:
    
    • The world might not care, But I do.

A company reached out to me asking if I can also do translator services.
Translator to Tagalog/Filipino language.
What would be the rates for this?
Let’s say these tasks are being asked/quoted for:

• Translation cost for 1 hr standard deck - ?
• Translation cost for announcement flyer - ?
• Translation cost for handout - ?
• Translation cost for course description - ?
• Duration need for the above translation - ?

Would appreciate your thoughts and recos! 😊

I play the game with Japanese audio / English interface, which turns the game into an anime of some sort, though first I've played the game with the original audio (though with Japanese interface) and managed to progress further.
I know the game supports the following languages (both audio and interface):

• English (Original)
• Japanese
• French
• Russian
• Italian
• German
• Polish
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Arabic

Languages that only support the game's interface (not affecting the audio):

• Korean
• Czech
• Chinese
• Dutch
• Swedish
• Turkish
• Norwegian
• Hungarian
• Danish
• Finnish
• Greek

Even if there was a Tagalog translation of the game, there are factors the Filipino translator will have to consider when it comes to certain jargon used in the game, such as Deviant (as in a person whos behavior stands out from the rest and differs from societal standards) is there a Tagalog word for that used within this context? I know in the Japanese translation they've translated that as 変異体. Using google translate doesn't work for this type of work, as there are words specifically catered to the situation at hand, so upon localizing that into Tagalog, you have to consider an alternative term that fits in the context.
A native Filipino translator fluent in English would've have to played the game first by getting most of the endings, fully understanding all the terminology used within their respective contexts, as well as coming up with equivalent words all in Tagalog (not Taglish) that correspond within the situation the protagonist finds themselves in, whether it's found in the subtitles, choice prompts, QTE prompts, the UI and etc.
If the translator has a ton of money, they can hire Filipino voice actors to make Kara, Luther, Alice, Connor, Markus, North and etc. talk in Tagalog, but the script will have to be translated from the source material, which how would the translator be able to localize terminology relating to androids and the standoff against the government and military that associate with the situation in front of them. I mean for example, the reporters refer to the army as "armed forces" (In tagalog, perhaps in the connotation of how they're saying it as a report, it could either be hukbong or militar.)
When it comes to choice prompts or characters using expressive quotes, like how Josh says "you reap what you sow" - If Markus becomes unpopular with Jericho and gets rejected, resulting in North taking over leadership. (Is there a Tagalog translation of that saying in the way of how he's using it?)
In terms of prompts on screen, for example Markus finds himself in a predicament on if he wants to help androids who are caught by soldiers ready to shoot them, shows up the following choices:

• Intervene (He butts in saving them from beintg shot)
• Don't Intervene (He leaves them be to let them being killed)

For example in Japanese they rewrote this as:

• 阻止する (Pigilan)
• 阻止しない (Huwag pinipigilan)

(How do you translate both options into Tagalog that fit in this context as an verb the player will choose upon deciding?) You have to also fit the words into the space available for the prompt box, despite if Tagalog words are longer, you have to shrink the font size to make it fit while also being legible for the player.
The game has it's own Jargon / slang with elements of words used IRL such as: [If you've played the game as a Filipino, are you able to translate these directly into Tagalog (not taglish) while sticking to the game's subculture and lore?]

• Thirium (Blue Blood)
• Reboot: as in restarting a compter (or in this case, an android resets)
• Quick Time Events: abbreviated as QTE. Require pressing the correct buttons or performing other instructions at the right moment. Failing a QTE is never the player's fault, but is always due to bad gameplay design.
• Screw up: you've made a mistake that cannot be rectified
• Piss off: as in getting someone upset, angry or annoyed
• Dipshit: In Detective Reed's opinion, it's a term for an android which brings you coffee.
• Phck: Originated from Detective Reed's inability to properly pronounce "Fuck".
• (e)Xtremely obvious trap: What Special Agent Perkins calls "a deal".
• Flowchart: In this case, it outlines the sequence of events and choices you've selected along with their designated outcomes, cross chapters, etc.
• Homicide (as in a CSI)
• Shoplift (as in stealing from a shop)
• Negotiate (as in being the middleman)
• Salvage (as in the gathering or retrevial of android parts, or essentials)
• Reassure (as in not to stress someone out, calming them down)
• Comfort (as in not to make some worry or have an anxiety attack)
• Indecipherable (the player can't figure out the solution at hand)
• Decipher (the player attempts to crack the code and seek the solution)
• It's worth a try (an idiomatic expression for: "It can't be that bad")
• Sober (You've abstained from drinking)
• Fresh start (a new beginning)
• Probability of success (chance or likelihood on getting through or passing)
• To shoot (as a prompt - verb)
• Messed up (as in the connotation of something like: "That's cruel")

disclaimer : this is going to be a really long story. i need to start all the way back from when i wasnt even born so you can get the whole truth, ill try to cut things as short as possible. I also want to apologize for incorrect grammer
(this story is going to sound fake but is 100% true. so i dont want to hear any "redditors trying not to lie challenge" jokes.)
2003 my dad was living in the philippines and one day he decided to go to a bar. he met a girl there, she was one of the prostitutes you could hire for X amount of money (small amount) to do whatever you wanted to do with her for i think a whole night. But he felt bad for her and he thought she was really pretty so he said "you are now my girlfriend. you will not be working here anymore and i will take care of you". my mom at that time only had a small plastic bag w only about 3 pairs of jeans and that was all she had. my moms side of the family was so poor they had to send out their youngest daughter to a bar so they could have some sort of income. my aunt had a "real job" but the pay was small so they had no choice. my mom didnt have an education.
only 3 months later after meeting my dad my mom was pregnant with me. as soon as my dad found out she was pregnant he sold his car shop and flew back to his home country (sweden) to find a job and a place for us to live. my mother stayed in the philippines for 2-3 years before she flew to sweden to live with my dad. and in those 2 years my dad would send her money, about 10k sek every month. he always thought it was weird why he had to send that much but he trusted her so he did what she said.
fast foward a few years and we have my first ever memory. my mom has always had extreme aggression problems. and i remember her having a tantrum in the kitchen and me as a (i think) 5 year old wanted to check in with my mom to see why she was crying. and as soon as i peeped in to see what was going on all i could see was a wooden baby chair flying towards me and if it werent for my dad yanking me away then the baby chair wouldve hit me and possibly broken my leg or so because when it hit the wall it completely shattered. there were multiple instances where my mom would be very abusive toward me for something so little such as like spilling water. she would always hit me and always yell at me. always.(sorry but i dont remember much from my childhood so the next thing now is what my dad told me) he got so fed up with mom always hitting me so he told her "if you ever hit her again i am going to hit you back but much harder". i guess my mom didnt think he was being serious because one day she was really angry and she threw a shoe horn at me. (poor little me was just minding my own business sitting on the sofa) and if it again werent for my dad lifting his leg up in the last second and kind of kicking it away, it wouldve hit me right in the face. funny enough, my mom wore shorts that day and like my dad said, he picked the shoe horn up and slapped her thigh with it as hard as he could. apparently she started crying but my dad said "if you hit our daughter one more time i am going to hit you back but way harder" (cool dad i know)
a big time jump. its now 2015 i have a baby sister now (09) and my aunt mayette had just been diagnosed with breastcancer. this is where my mom spiralled and quoting my dad now "it was only then when she found out that a switch had been flipped in her brain" because now she wanted to go back to the Philippines to visit her sister which is fully understandable dad said. mom was in the philippines for 2 weeks and when she got back my dad got an email from a friend of moms saying something along the lines of "your girlfriend is being such a bad person she only visited her sister once and she has been to this place w this guy" my dad did not believe her at first until she showed him proof. when my dad confronted my mom he asked how the trip was and if she had gone to a hotel. she said the trip was fine and no she had not been to a hotel. "are you sure you havent been at a hotel w anyone" asked dad. but my mom kept insisting that nope, she was only where she was supposed to be. my dad finally showed her the pictures he got sent and said are you sure you havent been in a hotel? my stupid mom said "oH wElL tHaTs NoT a HoTelL, ThAtS a BeAcH hOuSe, VeRy DiFfErEnT" that was the first case of her infidelity.
but my dad genuinely loved her so much he wanted to just carry on for his children. im just going to skip forward, my mom went back to the philippines and this is where she met Philip for the first time i think. long story short she cheated on my dad w Philip and all of moms friends encouraged it. even when she was back here in sweden. every time her friends would throw a party, her friends would always say stuff like "go talk to Philip" "Philip likes you" and other stuff like that. Everyone knew my mom was together w my dad but they STILL encouraged them to go do stuff. then came the beginning of the end of their relationship. my mom would go party every weekend for multiple weeks straight. she would leave friday and wouldnt come back until sunday evening. one day mom came home and said her vagina hurt. she had contracted gonorrhea. dad took her to the doctors and got it fixed. just before the weekend came (when mom was healed) my dad asked my mom "are you going out this weekend?" my mom answered that yeah she will be heading out. my dad replied with "if thats the case then you can pack your stuff and leave and dont ever come back" my mom at that moment started throwing yet another tantrum saying that he will not throw her out and that she herself is leaving but she will be sleeping in "their" bed for the last time that night. my dad said "hell no youre not, we have not slept in the same bed for weeks, why do you want to sleep in it now" they separated after that but the break up wasnt easy. i was around 12 years old at the time. i remember that because it was just at the end of the 6th grade and i was telling one of the teachers i felt close to "my stomach hurts all the time, i think my mom and my dad are going to break up". I remember there was one day where they started arguing like 4 or 5 in the morning and i remember i was so fed up with not only the constant arguing but this specific day they were arguing just outside my room, so me as a 11/12 year old (grumpy from being woken up by my parents yelling at eatch other) opened my bedroom door and literally told them "shut up im sleeping and i have school". thats the last memory i have of my parents living together. shorty after that my mom moved in and was living with her friend. she posted a picture to her facebook saying "im finally free" where friend number 1 commented "what happened?" then friend number 2 replied that they broke up. mom then explained it was because my dad had become "OPP" which stands for "old panget (ugly) and poor". that is something that really makes me hate her. my dad quite literally saved her life, he took her away from poverty and helped her family get a house and basic needs. SHE spent all his money. he was willing to give her everything he had because he loved her so much.
now i didnt know majority of the story at the time and that made it easy for my mom to manipulate me. she as a grown adult put if not all at least most of her problems on me. especially problems concerning my dad. slowly making me hate dad more and more. she would also tell me constantly that dad was the reason they broke up. dad broke up with mom because he got upset that she didnt want to have intercourse with him. that him accusing her of cheating was nothing but a big lie. and 12 year old me being a mommas kid... i believed her. i trusted her. so for 7 or so years. i have been hating my wonderful, amazing dad for something he didnt even do. because of that bruha (witch in tagalog) i lost 7 years with him that i wont ever get back. sure it was my fault too for taking sides but please remember i was only 12 at the time. i didnt know the truth and my mom made it seem like dad was at fault. anyways back to the story.
me and my little sister, not knowing anything at that time about what happened were introduced to Philip and mom asked us if we would be fine with them being together. again us not knowing what had happened said yes. it was during this time period my mom slowly but surely started feeding me w lies about dad. twisting the story making it seem like he was the bad person. but doing so in such a comforting way, its difficult to describe but thats why she was so good at manipulating because in her lies she would sneak in a "but i dont want you and your dad to have a bad relationship" so for 7 years i have been in constant fights w my dad because i thought he was in the wrong.
my mom got her own appartment and soon enough she got pregnant with philip and is now having my baby brother lois. but little did we know what philip was capable of doing. before my mom and dad offically broke up my dad told my mom to be careful. because if she were to treat a filipino guy the same way she treated him she would get beat up. philip would drink a lot and sometimes he would get super aggressive. he would yell and scream at mom all the time and i would be there to back her up because as the oldest sibling. i was a rebel and i was not scared to stand up for something i believed in. during moments like these mom would call dad and tell him to pick us up so we wouldnt be in danger. one time i went on a road trip with a local "fritidsgård" basically a teenage hangout place and they sometimes fix trips for their regulars. i went on a (i think) 1 week trip to Norway to hike the beautiful mountains over there. the first day i was gone my mom called my dad saying and begging him to drive her to the ER because philip had hit her and beat her so badly she had started bleeding from her head, dad couldnt drive her because he had already had a beer before her call.
my memory is very blurry during this period of time but long story short right. philip and mom argue a lot, philip is a womanbeater. and my mom has even openly told me and my little sister that philip rapes her. WHY would she tell us that?? and then expect us to like philip? I dont understand her plan here... she tells us all of these bad things about philip but then expects us to respect and like him as a step dad?
now here is where my question comes in. because philip keeps raping her my mom is now pregnant again, making her have all sorts of hormones. causing her to have extreme mood swings because again even when not pregnant she is still not a stable individual. me and my sister were in our room playing sims, having fun, when mom bursts in asking "are you guys hungry" and at this point we werent starving, like sure we could eat but were not huuungry, ya know? then she starts having this attitude "DO I REALLY HAVE TO REMIND U TO EAT ALL THE TIME? CANT YOU EAT WITHOUT ME TELLING YOU TO EAT?" then slamming the door shut leaving me and my sister a little confused but we brush it of and we get happy again. after 30 minutes or so, me and my sister pause the game and we both agree on getting something to eat. we get out of our room and get to the kitchen and we start getting food. my YOUNGER sister then takes out a potato salad out of the fridge and as were about to eat mom walks into the kitchen then she sees the potato salad box and starts going off on my sister telling her in tagalog "DID YOU EVEN CHECK IF ITS WITHIN THE EXPIRATION DATE. ARE YOU FUCKING DUMB!" and then we both told her CALMLY "mom calm down there is no reason to yell" and then she started screaming at me to basically mind my own business and that shes dumb for not checking expiration date. i just want to say. if it was past the date the worst thing it couldve done to my sister was to give her an upset stomach. but my mom acted like someone died. so a big argument started and that bum ass jerk philip didnt do shit about my mom hitting my right arm and literally throwing my sister. when she hit my arm, dude it wasnt even hard. it didnt hurt but years and years of abuse. i was done, i didnt want to take it no more. so as soon as she hit my arm it was like all care in the world was dropped and i turned around. grabbed a shoehorn and made only the motion to hit her. i was never going to actually hit her. just show her that i will defend myself if i need to and to have some respect given to me because a dog cant keep biting other dogs and NOT expect a bite back. but again i was never going to hit her but that whore backed off like a scared bitch screaming and yelling bloody murder and "oh how can you do this? I AM YOUR MOTHER" "ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO HIT YOUR MOM" then and ONLY then did that fucking jerk philip step in. what a fucking bum. he didnt say shit when mom threw my sister, didnt say shit when mom hit me. but if i even show to posibillity of me standing up for myself and me not wanting to take more hits only then is there a problem. not much happened after that, at least not what i can remember. all i remember was mom and philip both yelling and telling me how much of a disappointment i was and mom telling me to get out of the house. and when i finally showed her that i was packing my things to leave and to go live w my dad she kept on saying "why are you doing this?" "what did i do wrong to have you turn out like this" and blah blah blah.
so now here we are. im currently living w my dad. healthier and happier than ever before and im still healing, with the help of my boyfriend and my dad. i have all of my things here and i am offically done with that bruha. forever. with the help of my wonderful boyfriend i am slowly learning to communicate, how to handle my anger and how to let go of the past. leaving my toxic mom was the best decision ive ever done and i hope to never speak to her again. she is dead to me and my kids, her grandchildren will not even know her name. like she never existed in the first place, although they will know their grandad as the most loving and caring grandad ever. there were a lot of things i left out so if you have any questions just ask and ill answer in comments
so reddit... AITA for standing up to my manipulative mom and her abusive boyfriend?
TL;DR - pregnant abusive and manipulative mom and i argue. she hits me and years of trauma releases and i almost hit back, i move out and reconnect with my dad who i thought was in the wrong and were making up for 7 long lost years. healthier and happier than ever.

I’m so scared. I lost my appetite. I feel deprived. I feel the entirety of my body shaken, I feel so hot. It just feels so surreal. Been visited by a deacon just to lecture me because on how “worldly influenced” I’ve become or something similar to that. I’ve been visited by a head deacon about me swearing and venting out in my telegram pfps (in attempts to be more vocal while flipping off all incs) and texts containing some inc memes pfps (one had an edit of evm and some anime character which they found offensive somehow) I acquired from here and me cursing vulgar language in my bio because of how my current life sucks so much double cheeked ass in general plus I tried testing their limits because I just got too bored. My dad and mom got notified of this and I know I’ll be in for a big time. But I just pretended to be genuine and understanding nodding my head and saying “yes po” while forcing out a smile, trying to answer loudly in the prayer responding YAMATE KUDASAIII YESS FATHERR YES LORDDD AS TOU ARR MY ONE AND OWENLY SAVIOR AH AH AHHHHH DADDY YESSS SHOWER THEM BLESSINGS ON ME PLEASE OH LORDDD AMENNNN~ imitating an OWE. Like bitch being prayerful won’t phsyically emotionally mentally spiritually nourish me with the fruits of the vine and alleviate me to bliss spiritual enlightenment as my eyes roll up and ascend whilst doxology plays as I’m kneeling my way into heaven unlocking the proclaimed golden gates of the holy city as my name is read out loud from the book of life reuniting with my dead ancestors waving at me from the other side.My dad tried acting holy telling me off in front of the deacon passive aggressively which I held my laughter, at least I ain’t no ass licker plus at least I ain’t jobless like you sacrificing your life for a CERTAIN HUMAN. Guddam even my mom works her ass off 24/7 just to support this supposed benevolent church lifestyle. I feel bad for her. It’s just so selfish. We can’t even eat together as a family because of these emergency meetings or propagation works hindering our time together, i’ve never longed for the day of judgement day to near, I long for the last remaining hope, to be in peace together, waiting for the day to come back again like our old ways. It hurts seeing that scene being a past of my memory. It’s just how life is, it sometimes moves without you, I’ve succumbed to that viewpoint of perception. But seriously though I don’t even know what to do right now.. I’m seriously pissed. thye’re in the living room talking for the past thirty minutes in tagalog which I barely know what their saying but it’s probably some chismess abt me, shvt talking abt me or smth like that. They still had the audacity to quote the famous “We are Christians, even online.” Bwisit. My parents are only worried just for the sake of their reputation’s imagery in the church and for their office or even their membership, like be real you’re just being fake. They just don’t get it. They’re the reason why I have failing grades, why I roll my eyes every time they’re invalidating, friends leaving me, why I feel psychotic, why I never want to smile, an additional reason why I wanna kill myself to escape from bads like you. Kill joy. Wtf. You’re just being too dramatic. I lost a piece of myself. Corny as it is, I still wonder if a god is watching over me all this time or if it’s just major copium doing it for me. I don’t want no problems anymore. I don’t wanna be fear mongered by inc society and its mobs no more. All that matters for me is to be removed from my office at bare minimum. I don’t wanna be miserable anymore. It’s circulating. But honestly WHO CARESS

I see a lot of success stories here from people who have reached C1/C2 in their target language, and while I love to read them and find them incredibly motivating, I thought it might be encouraging for someone new to learning a language to see my "success story" as someone still making my way to A2. I say success story in quotes because I still have a long way to go, as you'll see, but I'm sure many of you can relate to the feeling of excitement that comes from checking off some of the milestones I'll get into.
Background: I'm learning Tagalog/Filipino, with the main goal of being able to understand friends who speak it. Speaking, reading, and writing are all things I've been practicing as well, just to a lesser extent. Past language-learning experience: I don't speak a second spoken language, but I've learned American Sign Language (ASL) to a conversational, one-on-one proficiency, but that was after many classes, tutoring sessions, and going to many Deaf community events. This unfortunately led me to believe that I had two options for learning a language: classes or Duolingo. Thankfully I discovered some language learning YouTubers (Lindie Botes, first, then Matt vs Japan, Steve Kaufmann, etc.) who inspired me to take independent language learning seriously. THIS SUB also encouraged me so much to take language learning seriously. Regarding time: I should also say that I work full time, but am able to study at work depending on the day, and I'm not taking classes this semester. I have one cat and zero children, so I have a lot of free time to dedicate to language learning.
Resources: (generally in order of how helpful they have been)

1. Tagalog Decks - this language-specific SRS deck app and website from Tagalog.com has been hugely helpful. Within about two months of using it, I've studied 1400/2000 cards, and the impact of this on my listening comprehension has been clear.
2. Tutoring - I've had upwards of 30 lessons since I started studying on the 1st of the year. Some lessons have been classic teaching-style with PowerPoint, some have been listening practice, some conversation practice, and sometimes a mixture. I do want to hone my goals for tutoring sessions, but as a beginner, I think it's okay to let the tutors/teachers lead, since they're going to have a pretty good idea of what will help you. Any tips on this subject would be appreciated!
3. Mango Languages - apps that teach Tagalog are somewhat uncommon (Duolingo does not), but I was grateful to discover that my local library offers a free subscription to this app. It only contains one unit for Tagalog, with ten chapters, which I completed in less than a month. However, it made for a good start.
4. Textbook - I began my studies with Tagalog for Beginners by Joi Barrios. It took me about 2 months to finish, and was also a good introduction to all sorts of vocabulary, grammar, stories, etc. In the beginning, I was doing every exercise, and by the end, I was reading through the dialog and stories of each lesson on LingQ and calling it a day.
5. Readers - there are very few books available in Tagalog on Amazon, so online reading resources have been incredibly helpful. I used my free trial of LingQ to read lots of children's stories and work through the last several chapters of the textbook I mentioned, but since then I have graduated to (slowly) working my way through a Wattpad novel using Tagalog.com's free reader. I do want to read more as I continue my studies, so any tips y'all have would be appreciated.
6. YouTube teachers - if you really seek them out, you can find lots of people offering totally free, in-depth tutorials regarding various vocabulary, grammar points, etc. I keep a list of teachers along with links to some of their best playlists on my Tagalog resource Google Doc.

Stats & More Background Info

• As of writing this, I have studied for 128 hours (average of 1h 44m/day).
• I have "immersed" for 141 hours (average of 1h 54m/day).
• At 50 hours and 100 hours, I recorded a quick check-in by reading and listening to various things and recording how much I understood, so I can look back on my progress in the future.
• Things I count as studying: flashcards, apps, textbook study, reading, tutoring sessions, some Pimsleur, and things of that nature.
• Things I count as immersion: listening to podcasts, watching YouTube, watching movies and TV shows, even if they're dubbed and even if I have English subtitles on, etc.
• I track my time via TimeCap, and generally hit play as soon as I start a movie and hit pause as soon as the credits roll, and the same for podcasts and other media. For me, I'm not just tracking how many hours I've spent hearing the language, I'm also tracking how much time I've dedicated to it, even if I'm watching a movie that doesn't have as much dialog.
• Early on, when I'd listen to a podcast in Tagalog, I would understand nothing, naturally. That's where Taglish podcasts came in handy, since some speak 70-90% in English and 10-30% in Tagalog. By listening to a podcast like Telebabad Tapes, I was able to familiarize myself with various common turns of phrase, with the helpful context of English. I understand why some steer clear of Taglish, but to be honest, I see it as a gift. In the future, I'd like to create a list of podcasts organized by approximate Tagalog/English percentages, with the idea that once a learner understands most of one, they can move onto the next.
• I'm picking up on more and more without subtitles, but if I'm watching a dubbed show that I'm genuinely interested in, I'll often rewind, put on English subs, and re-watch a scene if I feel like I missed something.

Things I've learned about language learning:

• Someone once told me "Don't do anything unless you have to." As a language learner, I only study using a certain method if I want to. I don't really force myself to do anything. My philosophy is that if I neglect an area, and it gets bad enough, then I'll probably find the motivation to go and work on it, if it's really holding me back. As a beginner, though, take advantage of the freedom. Explore all the avenues of learning and find what you enjoy.
• Comprehension is as simple and as complicated as understanding the words someone uses. A few days ago, I ran across this video about getting tired after becoming full/satiated, and was so excited that I understood most of it. So I started to pick apart why I understood it, and realized it was because he speaks clearly, I know most of the words he uses, and I generally have a good understanding of what he's talking about. Other videos of his are even better, since he uses more visual aids (mostly stock photos) and gestures to various body parts when he discusses them. If I could just find videos exactly like this, but one for every major conversation topic, I'd be set!
• One time, in an I-Witness documentary, someone said "Laban lang," and that stuck with me, because I knew "lang" (it means "just" or "only"), but couldn't understand what he was saying before it, since I didn't know the word and there aren't any subtitles. A week or so later, I was in a tutoring session, and the tutor mentioned "laban" and said it meant "fight." Immediately, my brain remembered hearing that, and made sense of this thing I had almost forgotten about (laban lang = just fight, or just keep fighting). That experience really proved to me that the brain is always trying to make sense of things. The more attention you can afford to give your immersion, the more you will be rewarded. (Also, some sources say this is borrowed from Cebuano, which I would like to learn at least to an intermediate level in the future.)
• Also, because of immersion, I understood "'Di ba?" to mean "Right?" before I even knew that it comes from "Hindi ba?" which is basically just asking, "No?" as in "Am I wrong?" That was another small thing that I got a lot of joy out of understanding.

Every day, when I start to get obsessed with where I might be in a month, or six months, I remind myself of how far I've come in 73 days. If my past self saw me now, they'd be so impressed, even with the small strides I've made. If I just keep studying and immersing myself in the language, my future self will probably be just as impressed with what I can accomplish.
To everyone out there learning Tagalog, or any other language of the Philippines, laban lang!

Hello! I’m sorry I put way too many countries but those are my top options to migrate to. I currently live and work in Japan as an English teacher but I’m originally from the Philippines. I came here in 2017 and although Japan is a great country overall, my partner (Japanese) and I have been thinking of moving to a country that can offer us better financial stability without compromising what we have and love here in Japan which is safety. I believe the countries I listed above are generally considered safe countries so I’ve been thinking if anyone has experienced moving to any of those countries. How was the experience? What’s the fastest route? How much savings do we need to prepare? What trustworthy job sites or Universities should we check out? TIA
EDIT: To add more details about us, and how we can contribute to our next country’s economy, I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with a major in English. I’m also a licensed professional teacher with over 8 years of relevant experience. In addition to my teaching experience, I also worked at the back office of Cisco as a B2B associate with responsibilities like quote creation, processing, and fixing. I have over 3 years of customer service and contract negotiation experience both in the Philippines and in Japan. Currently, I work as an elementary school teacher, and a content creato social media manager on the side. I have relevant experience using Adobe programs, WordPress, Google Ads, and Facebook page management. I speak both English and Tagalog like a native and have conversational Japanese speaking skills. My partner currently works as a machine assembler in one of Japan’s leading machine companies. He is a native Japanese who is also fluent in English as he lived and worked in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the past. His work experience abroad was mainly in the hospitality and agriculture industries in the past but because of his fluency in English, he can easily work as a translatointerpreter or other language-related roles.

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About Post:

---	---	Notes
Submission	ANNOYING THINGS RELIGIOUS PEOPLE/GROUPS DO. (TLDR if you're not interested)
Comments	ANNOYING THINGS RELIGIOUS PEOPLE/GROUPS DO. (TLDR if you're not interested)
Author	gaffaboy
Subreddit	/Philippines
Posted On	Thu Sep 29 06:44:52 EDT 2022
Score	42	as of Wed Oct 05 17:30:21 EDT 2022
Total Comments	51

Post Body:

I'm atheist and naturally, I find religion pointless and a load of self-indulgent egotistical nonsense but I mostly keep it to myself unless otherwise provoked. I don't go out into the streets and shove atheism down other people's throats - and for the record bwiset din ako sa mga atheists na sobrang outspoken na akala mo ikamamatay nila kapag di nila napatunayan na walang mga diyos. I don't give two fucks if friends and fam alike subscribe to a religion that promotes and encourages bigotry, homophobia, etc. as long as they don't break the law or interfere with my life so I won't go there. Instead, I'll focus on the things that THEY DO na nakakaabala sa mga nakapaligid sa kanila (in particular order). And don't even get me started dun sa mga nageendorse ng mga kandidato kapag eleksyon tapos may drama pang laying of the hands sa ulo habang nakapikit yung mga hudas na pulitiko.
1. Jehovah's Witnesses - The most annoying of the lot. The fact that they turn up during the most inconvenient hours on weekends (esp. while you're busy doing housework) makes me even want to smash them on the head with a really heavy leatherbound bible with decorative brass edges and an enormous medallion embossed in the center. Afaik sila rin ang dahilan kung bakit nag-ooverflow ang basurahan ko dahil sa mga nyetang flyers na pinagsisisingit nila sa mga gilid-gilid ng gate. And lastly, kung ubos na ang slots para sa mga maliligtas ay makakapasok sa langit e bakit pa sila nag-eeffort magkayag ng mga bagong miyembro? Saan mapupunta yung mga new recruits? House seats, fifth row center in the great theater in the sky? Jesus wept.
2. Born Again Christians (and pretty much any other Christian denomination) - At least they don't go knocking on people's doors on weekends but they have the resilience of a cockroach. They keep harping on and on and on about "the Lord" and they'll drag you to join them na magsimba sa church nila if they could. Tila di ata sila makabuo ng isang sentence na hindi nasisingit yung phrase na "si/ni/kay Lord" to the point na naiirita nako every time na marinig ko na banggitin nila yang "si Lord" nila. I find that rude kase in my case, those people were fully aware na atheist ako. Lalo na kapag humirit na sila ng "Diba kapag may napanood kang magandang movie ang tendency mo is ikuwento mo?" I told them na okay given that's the case, kaya lang kapag paulit ulit mo nang ineendorse yang lecheng movie na yan pero hanggang ngayon hindi parin interesado yung kausap mo it's time to give it a rest na diba? And guess what? NOT EVERYONE FUCKING DIGS Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, etc. and THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE. You don't have to get so worked up about it.
3. Roman Catholics - My major beef with this religion I grew up with is when the powers-that-be interfere with politics. Although naiintindihan ko kse may vested interest yung mga higher-ups sa pagpapatakbo ng bansa. Roman Catholicism is not the most financially-literate religious group in the world for nothing. Not to mention we practice Catholicism of the most outdated and antiquated sort dito kaya ayun, naging hindrance kase may mga progressive laws sa Western world na dapat noon pa naipatupad dito (e.g. abortion, divorce, etc.) kaya lang hinahadlangan ng mga powerful at nagtatabaang mga bishops. Unfortunately, it appears secularization is nothing but a pipe dream dito sa Pilipinas.
4. Iglesia ni Cristo - Eto pa isa pa to. In due time magdedemand narin to ng mga sangkatutak na holidays na dapat irecognize ng buong sambayanan. But at least they stick to their own kind kaya I find them tolerable most of the time naman. Not sure kung may nagbabahay-bahay sa kanila kase wala pa naman akong naencounter. Pero once na magsimulang magdemand to na ipagbawal ang mga kung anu-anong bagay-bagay dahil against sa belief system nila ay p\t*n*i*a there will be blood!*
5. Mormons (Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints) - Paminsan minsan may naeencounter ako nito pero kahit nagbabahay-bahay din sila so far wala namang nagpainit ng ulo ko. I just told them politely I'm an atheist and I don't (and won't ever) subscribe to any organized religion and that's it, they just said their goodbyes sans fanfare. Nakakaaliw pa nga yung mga Kano na sobrang fluent magtagalog e. Minsan nga kino-coach ko pa e kse may mga ginagamit silang tagalog words na sobrang quaint na at baka mapagtawanan pa sila.
6. Muslims - The ones I find the most tolerable. They stick to their own kind like all the time. And contrary to popular belief, they're mostly peaceful and they tend to leave others well alone as long as you don't try to offend them on purpose. May mga Muslim friends nga ako nung college na kaharap ko pa kpg kumakain ako ng barbecue wala lang sa kanila dedma lang and di namin dinidiscuss it in the first place. They rarely engage in pointless religious debates with non-Muslims. Yung suki ko nga dati nung uso pa ang pirated DVDs nagbebenta pa ng mga religious movies kpg malapit na ang Holy Week e. As an animal rights advocate I'm not in favor of some jalal practices though...
The rest tulad ng mga Buddhists, Hindus at Jewish bihira ako maka-encounter ng mga members nila kaya wala ako ma-criticize sa mga gawain nila. Nung bata ako may naalala pa nga akong grupo ng mga Hindus na once in a while nagpaparada sa kalsada tapos namimigay ng popcorn na nakabalot sa papel de hapon kaya may extra brownie points pa sila sakin. Minsan nga 2 pa ang nahihingi ko e. :p
​
END OF RANT.

Related Comments (3):

---	---	Notes
Author	gaffaboy
Posted On	Thu Sep 29 11:48:13 EDT 2022
Score	1	as of Wed Oct 05 17:30:21 EDT 2022
Conversation Size	0
Body	link

Naku truth be told lalong na-challenge particularly yung mga Born Again na kakilala ko. Talagang mala-Mike Enriquez na di ka tatantanan ang peg. They are some of the most obstinate, relentless and close-minded bunch of nutjobs I ever met in my entire life. And their hypocrisy? LEGENDARY.
Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the fact that I'm a history buff with enough interest in the historical Christ to debunk their arguments. Lalo na sa mga Born Again bukambibig nila nagba-BIBLE STUDY sila at yung pagkakasabi akala mo tunay na in-depth ang ginagawa nilang research at pagpapakadalubhasa sa bibliya haha. Napuna ko na yung mga kino-quote nila sa Bible kadalasan cherry-picked tapos yung mga parts na di nila mai-explain in a scholarly manner iniiwasan nila.
Sa kanila dapat mahaba ang pasensya mo kse it seems like they don't run out of ammo. Sinasabihan pa nga ako na uber concerned lang daw sila sakin baka kse mapunta ako sa impiyerno (to which I replied: "Nah, I'm going straight to Valhalla!" lol) tapos failure daw kase on their part kapag hindi nila ako na-convert. Nakaka-p*t*ngina lang talaga mga reasoning nila. I told them it's their failure as a human being if they can't get past differences in beliefs and realize that friendship is more important. Besides, they have to learn to co-exist with people who don't share their belief system. But there comes a point when enough is enough. I told them that indoctrinating their kids is a form of child abuse and being Jesus freaks is no different than substance abuse - it's like trading one addiction for another. That's the last straw that broke the camel's back and they stopped trying to convert me altogether HAHA.

---	---	Notes
Author	sleepysloppy
Posted On	Thu Sep 29 07:12:25 EDT 2022
Score	1	as of Wed Oct 05 17:30:21 EDT 2022
Conversation Size	1
Body	link

And lastly, kung ubos na ang slots para sa mga maliligtas ay makakapasok sa langit e bakit pa sila nag-eeffort magkayag ng mga bagong miyembro? Saan mapupunta yung mga new recruits? House seats, fifth row center in the great theater in the sky?

As far as i know there's only 100k people who would ascend sa heaven in order to help Jesus manage earth, then after 1000 or 10k years? not sure na, Jesus will transfer the authority again to God. Tapos ung the rest of the people na nakaligtas sa "old system" which is the world/goverment pero di kasama sa 100k na aakyat sa langit will be living in earth while "fixing it" though i'm still not sure how they will do it? lol
Personally i tolerateJWs more compare to other Christian religions since they don't dwell in politics and they mostly apply what the bible says. Only thing i can't agree with them is they don't accept LGBTs and the way some of them treat exiled friends/families as if ung mga natiwalag eh may nakakahawang sakit or di na nageexist.
Born Again, Catholics, INC are all hypocrites since they influence their followers who to vote and involve in politics so that's a major NO for me also their bigotry and homophobic teachings.
Mormos i don't have anything to comment since i haven't encounter them much.
Muslims - well i saw some violent ones like literal adults beating a woman in the streets, probably baliw ung pulubi and ginulo ung paninda nila so they beat her up and one story i heard na may pamilya na nag alaga ng baboy tapos major Muslim community ung lugar nila then that family got killed and no one spoke about who did it(i guess that family is partly at fault?). but yeah, mostly they are friendly and just keep to themselves.

---	---	Notes
Author	gaffaboy
Posted On	Thu Sep 29 12:17:30 EDT 2022
Score	1	as of Wed Oct 05 17:30:21 EDT 2022
Conversation Size	0
Body	link

And weird nung sistema ngJWs no? Pero mas weird yung sa Mormons. But yeah, redeeming quality nila yung di sila sumasawasaw sa politics.
Catholics, Christians, INCs, Muslims... expected ko na yung bigoted at homophobic mga teachings nila pero as long as di nila pinapa-tarpaulin at binobroadcast yan matotolerate ko pa. Tell it to my face and there will be blood lol.
About the violent Muslims - sure I've heard a lot of instances like that but could it be that their inclination to violence is more of an ethnic/cultural/regional thing than a religious one? Parts of Mindanao have always been plagued by waconflict since day 1 and it has become a way of life to most of them. It just happened that the region is predominantly Muslim. Sabi rin nung mga nakausap ko na practicing Muslims yang so-called "holy war" na yan justified lang daw yan kapag talagang tinatarget na sila just like what happened to the Jews in WW2.
And yes, the family is partly to blame for that esp knowing na predominantly Muslim yung lugar tapos baboy pa tlaga inalagaan nila. I don't condone what happened to them but you know, people do crazy things in the name of religion and what they did is provocative in the first place.

People could mock you for your impractical ideas. You may get approval for love marriage from your family. Your importance at work might increase. Chances are that you may be worried about your self-esteem. The colour milky and the number 4 are particularly lucky for you.
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September 21, 1972, as the Filipino masses were doing their usual errands in the late afternoon prime, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. (The father of Philippine elected president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.) declared the implementation of Martial Law in the Philippines, following the resurgence of communist guerrilla army the New People’s Army (Bagong Hukbong Bayan in Tagalog) lead by Communist Party of the Philippines Chairperson Jose Maria “Joma” Sison. We, the Filipino people, will always remember the implementation of Martial Law in a negative, and inhumane way as numerous extrajudicial killings and abductions (the desaparecidos) occurred day and night against farmers, unionists, activists, and ordinary people. Buti we also remember the rise of the red revolution in the countryside to contradict and battle the rising US Imperialism, bureaucratic capitalism, and feudalism.
We were reminded in our history at what causes the rise of communism in the Philippines is due to the neoliberal policies that dictator Marcos Sr. implemented against the interest of the masses which lead to the increasing rate of poverty and famine. He was never an pro-mass leader, but pro-capitalist that feed the rich, his cronies, with wealth and power. We will never forget the massacres done by his armed forces against the masses to protect the wealth of his cronies and his own. Yesterday, we commemorated the anniversary of Escalante Massacre where 20 were killed while being water-bombed by the paramilitary during the protest of the mangtutubo (sugarcane farmers). The implementation of martial law was never to protect the people against the rebellion, but to protect his power and agendas with the US.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law. This year, 2022, another Marcos, partnered by two oligarchs who have sinned against the Filipino people, the Dutertes and the Arroyos, are joint forcing to exploit the rich natural resources and human resources of the Philippines for their own interests and to serve two imperialist countries—the US and China. Now, as they are in power, they are now distorting the dark history of Martial Law with unrealistic “fairytales” that the masses would easily believe. We all know the Philippines is one of the most uneducated people in the world, and they are now on the move to exploit their struggles in exchange of power. I remember what Karl Marx have said about the repetition of history: “History repeats its self, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.” Our status in the Philippines is the embodiment of Marx’ quote.
But now that most Filipino people (especially those who have access to quality education) are well educated with the Philippine history, we must now polish our knowledge into the Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, to contradict capitalism and once again rise the revolution as to what our ancestors did from the Katipunan, to the National Democratic Movement. We must embrace the struggle not to be weak, but to be stronger and agitated. We must unite and organize the youth, workers, farmers, women, indigenous people, and the church people to fight the imperialism of US and China, the state fascism of the armed forces, and the joint forces of the Marcos-Arroyo-Duterte tandem. If our people have ousted two presidents before, why not make it three?

September 21, 1972, as the Filipino masses were doing their usual errands in the late afternoon prime, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. (The father of Philippine elected president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.) declared the implementation of Martial Law in the Philippines, following the resurgence of communist guerrilla army the New People’s Army (Bagong Hukbong Bayan in Tagalog) lead by Communist Party of the Philippines Chairperson Jose Maria “Joma” Sison. We, the Filipino people, will always remember the implementation of Martial Law in a negative, and inhumane way as numerous extrajudicial killings and abductions (the desaparecidos) occurred day and night against farmers, unionists, activists, and ordinary people. Buti we also remember the rise of the red revolution in the countryside to contradict and battle the rising US Imperialism, bureaucratic capitalism, and feudalism.
We were reminded in our history at what causes the rise of communism in the Philippines is due to the neoliberal policies that dictator Marcos Sr. implemented against the interest of the masses which lead to the increasing rate of poverty and famine. He was never an pro-mass leader, but pro-capitalist that feed the rich, his cronies, with wealth and power. We will never forget the massacres done by his armed forces against the masses to protect the wealth of his cronies and his own. Yesterday, we commemorated the anniversary of Escalante Massacre where 20 were killed while being water-bombed by the paramilitary during the protest of the mangtutubo (sugarcane farmers). The implementation of martial law was never to protect the people against the rebellion, but to protect his power and agendas with the US.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law. This year, 2022, another Marcos, partnered by two oligarchs who have sinned against the Filipino people, the Dutertes and the Arroyos, are joint forcing to exploit the rich natural resources and human resources of the Philippines for their own interests and to serve two imperialist countries—the US and China. Now, as they are in power, they are now distorting the dark history of Martial Law with unrealistic “fairytales” that the masses would easily believe. We all know the Philippines is one of the most uneducated people in the world, and they are now on the move to exploit their struggles in exchange of power. I remember what Karl Marx have said about the repetition of history: “History repeats its self, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.” Our status in the Philippines is the embodiment of Marx’ quote.
But now that most Filipino people (especially those who have access to quality education) are well educated with the Philippine history, we must now polish our knowledge into the Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, to contradict capitalism and once again rise the revolution as to what our ancestors did from the Katipunan, to the National Democratic Movement. We must embrace the struggle not to be weak, but to be stronger and agitated. We must unite and organize the youth, workers, farmers, women, indigenous people, and the church people to fight the imperialism of US and China, the state fascism of the armed forces, and the joint forces of the Marcos-Arroyo-Duterte tandem. If our people have ousted two presidents before, why not make it three?
SERVE THE PEOPLE.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/cms/asset/4d865ce6-fe13-410b-8014-ca2b1559e67f/rstb20200419f02.gif
Link to Study. I was actually gonna post this article months back but somehow I forgot lol
I'm going to quote the conclusion and I'll add annotation for historical context and resources on some of the things expounded here.
Note per the study's text, disclaimers, methodology etc. these numbers only shows the individuals that had 5%+ or more genotypes that shows recent Asian origins, vast majority of the samples DID NOT show Filipino/Asian ancestry at all (if you look at this graph, clearly less than 15% of samples showed Filipino/Asian genetics). Also, the study states that although similar studies show 'recent Asian' genetics (found in Yucatan who were likely from Korean laborers sent there from 19th c. and N. Mexico showing more recent Chinese immigration from 20th c.), it is likely not of PH origin. The area that shows strong Filipino or SEAsian source is only so far found in Guerrero state where Acapulco is located.
"(b) Heterogenous origins of the Asian ancestry in Mexico...
...The Sonora and Yucatan individuals clustered near Chinese reference populations, while the Oaxaca and Guerrero individuals clustered within maritime Southeast Asia, with the latter showing a heterogeneous distribution across several source populations on the first two principal components (PCs) (figure 1). No cosmopolitan Mexican sample showed ancestry originating from within the Melanesian islands; therefore, the MAAS-MDS plot was enlarged to focus on the source region in Asia. (The complete MDS plots with and without references from the Melanesian islands are available in the electronic supplementary material, figure S6 and figure S7). Most individuals from Guerrero clustered with maritime Southeast Asia, except for one individual positioned near southern China. Individuals from Guerrero genetically resemble western Indonesian and non-Negrito Filipino populations, specifically those from Sumatra, Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon*.*
...
(d) Conclusions: a genetic footprint of Asian immigration through the Manila galleon trade
Southeast Asian ancestry was observed in Mexicans from Guerrero, particularly from the Pacific port of Acapulco. This profile suggests a genetic legacy of the Manila Galleon, which used Acapulco as its port of disembarkation in Mexico. Limited historical records indicate that the proximal source of the thousands of ‘Chinos’ who arrived in this city was the Philippines [9]. Our genetic results revealed some Filipino ancestry together with ancestry related to Sumatra in modern Indonesia, then under Muslim Malay rule. Although the Spanish Pacific trade occurred between Manila and Acapulco, this heterogeneity of Asian ancestry in Acapulco can be explained by the multiethnicity of Manila as there was an active slave trade across colonial southeast Asia involving the Portuguese colony of Malacca, the Spanish, and even the Filipino elites that targeted the Muslim-ruled southern islands via the colonial-era concept of ‘just war’. Indeed, Spanish slaves from Sumatra appear in historical records, for instance, Magellan's Malay-speaking slave Henrique, believed to be the first human to circumnavigate the globe. During the Spanish–Moro conflict, sources suggest that soldiers enslaved more than 4000 Muslims between 1599 and 1604 alone [9]. These Muslim Filipinos, named Moro by the Spanish, inhabited the southern Philippines. The genetic affinity of one individual from Guerrero with Mindanao (the southernmost major island in the Philippines) suggests an ancestry perhaps originating in this context*. Most of these captives were sold in the Manila slave market [9]. The cultural impact of this migration is still evident in Mexico with the usage of terms of Filipino etymology such as ‘parián’, a word used in Mexico to refer to a market [29]; and the Filipino beverage ‘tuba’, a coconut wine, which was an important industry in the Pacific coast of Mexico and is still traditionally produced in the coastal region of Colima. People from the coast of Guerrero still recognize these Asian cultural influences in their region.*
Overall, our results reveal an understudied origin for the historically neglected passage of large numbers of Asian immigrants into Mexican territory during the colonial period. This origin suggests that unraveling the full history of the slave trade within southeast Asia and across the Pacific to Mexico can be pursued through the genetic footprint of present-day admixed populations."
​
Notes:
*One of the best sources on this is T Seijias book "Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico" (2014), I think I've mentioned it here more than a few times. She also wrote a few essays on it, I'm sure you can find it online. She used accounts already known to PH historians (like those trans. in BnR mostly from Spain and PH/Manila), but she also added those in Mexican archives. This study also used her book in the bibliography (number 9 as shown in the conclusion).
Also on the term 'chino', per Seijas, was a term was used to mean 'East Asian' rather than the more literal 'Chinese'...many 'Chinos' in the archives were actually natives of the PH (sometimes later called 'Indios Chinos' 'Asian Indians' to differentiate them from native Amerindians ie 'Indios' 'Indians').
**"...Multiethnicity of Manila..." In the primary sources and even in accessory evidences (like art eg Murillo Velarde Map, showing Indians and Moluccans) it was quiet obvious that Manila was metropolitan. They had immigrants from SEAsia (also slaves obviously) as well China, Europe (one account in BnR even talks about the Scandinavian ships ie just like other European countries, Sweden and Denmark briefly had an 'East Asia Companies' themselves ) etc. Theyed show in this study strong genetic signal from Indonesia as well, likely because a. the wars that was fought in various areas using Filipino manpower in Moluccas and Borneo b. immigration of people, eg Moluccans into the Manila. A good link I posted here before talks about the Moluccans who fled the region to Manila after the fallout of Portuguese-Spanish rule there towards the advent of the Dutch dominance of the region. Historically the Spanish (and earlier Portuguese) were taking sides supporting one island vs. the other. Thus when the power shifted, some of these different islands' nobility (esp. those that converted to Catholicism, some were half Europeans ie Portuguese, like the subject of that paper) had no choice but to move to Manila as refugees.
There were also East African slaves sold in Manila (even shown by the Velarde Map---WRONGLY labeled by some as 'Aetas'...when clearly natives Aetas were differentiated in a separate vignette). Weirdly, what killed this trade (which the Portuguese took over temporarily ie the slave trade in the Indian Ocean was already present stemming for centuries, conducted by Africans, Arabs and Indians even before arrival of Europeans) was another trade dominated by Portuguese: the West African slave trade, which destroyed the East African trade when it dominated the amount of quantity of slaves taken to the Americas. People from India and East Africa were taken by Portuguese to a slave market in Manila, usually sold for the services of upper-classes in Mexico. Seijias gives the example of Catarina de San Juan (a folk saint in Mexico), who was a native Indian, taught and converted by Portuguese, before being sold in Manila and became a servant of Spanish upper-class in Mexico City.
Manila in colonial times (I guess even to now) was very multi-ethnic.
***'...Just war...' This is extensively written about by Seijias but also by WH Scott ('Slavery in Spanish PH' 1991). The modern narrative in the PH is almost always one sided: "Muslims enslaved Christians". Though that is true in colonial history, there needs to be a nuanced view. Slavery is NATIVE to the PH and had been conducted for millennia by natives against other natives. Also during pre-colonial times, it's quite evident from sources that almost ALL PH societies conducted slave raiding and piratical activities. Slavery continued on even in pockets of the PH until the 20th c. (Americans wrote about it because they had to deal with chattel slavery from Muslims, Lumads, and Igorots etc.) The lopsided difference happened when these 'Christianized' groups stopped conductingl raids into other territories (due to Christianity making murder and pillage a 'sin' and colonial controls to minimize inter-ethnic warfare), the Muslims in the south (and even many groups from Borneo) did not.
What is also not mentioned often is that much of these animosities were also instigated by colonial govt. Starting with Sande (who replaced Lavezaris, appointed by the Legazpi expedition), governor generals in Manila in the 16th-17th c. started campaigns overseas in order to secure Moluccas from the Dutch and Borneo (ie against Brunei). These 'just wars' (the colonial administrations would often 'consult' religious authorities who then would 'write' decisions using Sp. laws and the Bible as justifications why it was 'legitimate' and 'just' to conduct---this wasn't just done against Muslims but also for the pacification of many groups, eg the one that was extensively written about in BnR was towards the pacification of the Sambals) created the accumulation of war slaves*, some of which were then shipped overseas to Mexico. Some of these war slaves were taken from these areas of Mindanao and Indonesia, why the study shows some genetic signals from Mindanao.
*There were many 'levels' to slavery, including some who 'willingly' gave themselves to labor in exchange for money/benefits/protection...but the lowest types, sometimes used for human sacrifices, were those taken from war ie 'war slaves', because they were seen as 'other'. They were often considered less than humans vs. other types of 'slaves' that came from within their own communities. Thus cruelty usually not allowed in their societies even for slaves, were often 'permissible' for them. Unlike other groups, war slaves were often considered as 'chattel' ie property, while the other types of bonded people had more legal and cultural protections.
**** '...parian...' Parian is the Chinese quarter (translated as 'silk-merchant quarters' in the Tagala dictionaries). The word itself is used for 'market' in Tagalog (and other languages in the PH). Per Tagala dictionary, it stems from the phrase "...parian ie 'pa-diyan' 'to go there'; some suggest other etymology (perhaps Chinese ??? etc.) Regardless, unlike often thought that the exchange of linguistic borrowings came only one way (from Mexican Sp., full of native Amerindian words, to Tagalog/other PH languages) the exchange was actually both ways. Here's an article on the construction of Mexico City's 'Parian' in 1602.
Edit: Per Blust, 'parian' 'market' came from Persian (via Hindi > Malay) 'bazar' (Malay 'pasal'). It trans. to PH languages eg Maranao as 'padian pasal', and finally as simply 'padian'.
**** Other resources on the galleon trade:
Birgit Tremmel "Spain, China and Japan in Manila" (2015)
Jan Devries "Connecting Europe and Asia..." (2003)
A. Giraldez "Age of Trade..." (2015)
W. Schurz "The Manila Galleons" (1939) (not only is this the only out of these that are free via Google Books, but it's one of the 'classics'; surely the others are better and newer information, but if you just want to read about the 'basics', start with this. Part of the information Schurz had taken from James Robertson, one of the editors of BnR "The PH Islands").

Hallur mga badet! Although most things suck in the Philippines, what makes me proud as a Filipino is our rich culture and languages. So I hope to explain some of the references that were brought up in the show. Kapwa Filipinos, paki-correct nalang ako if may mali at pakidagdagan nalang if may kulang. And I… thank yew!
Another one-and-a-half-hour episode filled with tons of references. Dzae, this took me a long-ass time partly also because of my fluctuating internet connection. For Untucked Ep. 4, I decided not to make a Reference Check of it because (1) there were really not much references that needed to be explained as most are included in the glossary anyway and (2) this Untucked was pretty tame.
​

Glossary of terms you’ll consistently hear throughout the season

​
DRPh Episode 4 Reference Check
​
00:37 – “Love you Gi, my fellow Bisaya speaker!” - Morgana
What I could make out of what Morgana actually said is she lost a fellow Bisaya speaker. As we all know, out of all the twelve queens Morgana and Gigi were the only non-Luzon girls (they’re both from Davao). Bisaya, the language they speak, is a whole different language than Tagalog and Filipino (which is predominantly Tagalog, as it is considered a standardized variety of Tagalog. But it still borrows words from other local and foreign languages. Aside from Tagalog, Filipino also borrows heavily from Spanish and English.)
​
03:53 – “I’m surrounded by Nectar and OBar girls.” - Morgana
As pointed out in earlier Checks, these two are considered the most major bars in Metro Manila which regularly hosts drag shows. Morgana being a Davao-based queen is the only queen who isn’t a regular queen in these bars.
​
08:00 – “10-20, talon beki!” The mini challenge’s inspiration
“Talon-beki” means “jump, beki!”. “Beki” is a play on “bakla” which means queer. See Glossary for further explanation.
Although Pao used 10-20 and Chinese Garter interchangeably, in some places they’re considered two different games. (I grew up playing these games differently) Basically, the queens played Chinese Garter. The main objective in Chinese Garter is to jump past the rope without touching it (only in the lower levels). Meanwhile, 10-20 is played with a circular garter. Two people act as posts and loop each end to their body. For better explanation, watch this video (0:29). Just like CG, the garter gets higher each level. The post is only replaced when a player misses a jump.
The role of the “mother” which was first mentioned by Eva is considered the leader of a team. I have little idea about the mother (because I was never one. I was always saling kitkit lmao) but this site explained that the mother can basically save a team member if ever they miss a jump. This site also elaborated the mechanics of CG. I believe the “mother” also exists in 10-20.
​
08:38 – “... group yourselves into tres Marias.” – Pao
A nickname called to a trio of girls. Literally means “three Marias” in Spanish.
​
09:42 – “Chikiting-bading look.” - Quick drag
“Chikiting” is a term used to refer to a kid. Bading is a term similar to “bakla” (see Glossary)
​
09:56 – Precious’s quick drag
Reference to this creepy ass doll from hit Netflix series Squid Game.
​
10:06 10:51 – Eva and Marina’s bickering
They’re mimicking the way little girls and bakla kids would verbally fight with each other, usually about a game they’re playing or the way one kid is having too much of an attitude towards the other(s).
​
11:53 – Marina putting on pressed powder
Something I just feel like mentioning, but baby baklas use baby powder (the Johnson and Johnson brand) to sort of “doll up”. The pressed powder type is definitely an upgrade, something you’d only see rich kids carrying.
​
12:25 – “Hi, we are the Pabebe girls…” – Brigs, Viñas, and Precious
A reference to this iconic meme. “Pabebe” translates to “baby-like”, but it can be described as someone who’s really sweet and demure-like that it shows off as fake and forced.
​
14:53 – “Mangga, mangga, hinog ka na ba?” – Pao, to Eva’s ass (?)
Translates to “Mango, mango, are you now ripe?”. It’s a chant that is sung before games to determine who’s “it”. A method of determining who's "it" can be seen in this video (3:14). First, the participants form a circle. Second, the chant is sung and then each participant turns their hand downward or upward. Depending on what was discussed, the sole participant whose hand's direction is different than the others is the "it". In cases of many people having the same hand, they can either be removed from the circle (thus not being "it) or be retained in the circle. The process is repeated until there is one "it".
​
17:20 - OPM DIVAS: THE RUSICAL (THE QUEENS’ ROLES)
Note: OPM means Original Pilipino Music. This is still a work in progress. To kapwa Filipinos, feel free to add suggestions and revisions in the comment section :)

1. Eva as Jolina Magdangal: The slayful legend herself. Jolina is dubbed as the Queen of the 90s. That period was her peak in her acting and singing career. 90s Jolina’s brand was very kikay (similar to kawaii). Think ultra-cute and ultra-femme. Her top hits include “Chuva Choo Choo” and “Kapag Ako’y Nagmahal” (When I Love).
2. Brigiding as Jaya: If Jolina’s the Queen of Pop, Jaya’s the Queen of Soul. No idea whether she’s still active today as she’s in the USA right now but she’s still definitely celebrated here. Jaya has a unique style of performing that I believe Brigs achieved (but ofc, it’s still exaggerated for the dragness). Her hits include “Wala Na Bang Pag-Ibig” (Is There No Love Left) and “Laging Na’ron Ka” (You Were Always There).
3. Viñas as Zsa Zsa Padilla: Not only a famous singer, but a famous actress as well. Zsa Zsa has a very raw voice that I find quite similar to Cher. A top hit of her is “Hiram” (Borrowed) and “Minsan Pa” (Sometimes)
4. Xilhouete as Pilita Corrales: Dubbed as Asia’s Queen of Songs. Pilita does that signature lean often when performing. Her hits include “Matud Nila” (They Said) and her rendition of “Kapantay ay Langit” (Equal to Heaven).
5. Minty as Moira dela Torre: One of the most recent celebrities in the list. Moira was a contestant in The Voice PH, but her career skyrocketed to fame only in 2017 when she sang “Titibo-tibo” (Tomboy-like). Moira is known for her vocal style that resembles whispers and mumbling, very fitting to her songs’ theme which is often melodramatic. Aside from “Titibo-tibo”, her hits include “Malaya” (Free) and “Tagpuan” (Meeting Place).
6. Turing as Sharon “Ate Shawie” Cuneta: Shawie is her nickname, together with “Ate” which means older sis. Sharon Cuneta is also an actress and has starred in multiple mainstream films. Personally my favorite physical impersonation. From the look to the mannerisms, Turing WAS Ate Shawie. Her top hits include “Bituing Walang Ningning” (Shineless Star) and “Mr. DJ”.
7. Marina as Sarah Geronimo: She first became a singer before an actress, but she’s considered top-tier in both. Sarah can be dubbed as Jolina’s heiress in the crown of being Queen of Pop. The famous “Tala” is undoubtedly one of her most famous hits, but even before that she’s famous for karaoke staple hits “Forever’s Not Enough” and “A Very Special Love”.
8. Lady Morgana as Lea Salonga: Highly-respected in the field of musical theater, Lea Salonga has starred in Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, and most recently in Once on This Island. She’s also known for being the singing voices of Disney Princesses Mulan and Jasmine. Her most-known performances include “On My Own” from LesMis and “Reflection” from Mulan.
9. Precious as Regine Velasquez-Alcasid: Dubbed as a gay icon, Regine’s hits are famous because of her amazing vocal range and belting technique. Because of her mannerisms in performing, many queer performers aside from Precious impersonate Regine. Her hits include “Araw-Gabi” (Day and Night) and “Dadalhin” (I Will Bring You), which are solid karaoke staples.

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18:53 – “Leo Martinez?!” – Someone to Morgana getting the role of Lea Salonga
I don’t really know how to explain this joke to non-Filipinos because it’s so… complicated (?), but I will attempt to make an English equivalent. It’s like if a queen gets the role of, say, Joan Crawford, a fellow queen then jokingly asks if she got the role of Joan Rivers. Basically, it’s like assuming that a queen got a role of a completely different person that shares the same name with the original role. (Lea, Leo… Joan and Joan).
Just to explain who Leo Martinez is, he’s a Filipino actor and comedian. He was included in the joke because 1) His name sounds like Lea, 2) he’s completely different from Lea, being a comedian and male.
I hope y’all get it because tbh to get most of the jokes in this season you kinda need to spend an entire childhood in this country.
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21:11 – “What if they say you looked like John Lapus instead?” – Viñas to Precious
John Lapus is a Filipino actor and comedian. Here’s what he looks like.
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22:23 – “My mom is a Sharonian.” – Turing
A term called to a fan of Sharon Cuneta. It was common for Filipina celebrities to have names for their fandoms. I don’t see this being practiced that much today. Other examples include Noranians (fans of Nora Aunor) and Vilmanians (fans of Vilma Santos).
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23:30 – Douglas Nierras as the resident choreographer
A choreographer for the stars notorious for his strict and deadass scary approach. Watch this clip to see how intimidating he can get. The queens were kind of lucky Sir Doug didn’t go off like that.
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23:46 – Runway category is “Pearls, pearls, pearls… Perlas ng Silanganan!”
The Philippines is called the “Pearl of the Orient” (Perlas ng Silangan[an]), just like how Japan is called the “Land of the Rising Sun”. A short article further elaborates on the origin of this name.
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26:33 – Doug calls Morgana “bruha”
“Bruha” (from the Spanish bruja) is mostly used as an insult, but it is also used as a nickname amongst queer folks. This nickname can be endearing or slightly aggressive (like how Doug said it). Like most nicknames, the definition of “bruha” depends on context.
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33:35 – “Do you enjoy kuman… ta? ” – Pao to Karen
A play on “kumantot” which means “to fuck”. “Kumanta” means “to sing”.
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35:13 – “Wooh!” – Pao
You’ll constantly hear this in the episode. Often, there’s a “Regine?” that comes before it. It’s a reference to how Regine interacts with listeners/audience, but it was Pao himself who made the sound into a meme when he impersonated Regine in Eat Bulaga (the show where he regularly hosts). See this clip (around 0:35).
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35:26 – The nursery rhymes and folk songs performed in the Rusical
Gurl, writers really said include ONE non-Tagalog song and that’s it. This could have been an opportunity to highlight the diversity of the Philippine’s languages (languages, not dialects). Atin cu pung singsing and Ili-Ili tulog anay found dead in a ditch.
Note that the queens did not perform the whole version of the songs. I believe the writers also slightly rewrote some of the lyrics. And quite frankly, as I’m still an uncultured hoe in the field of OPM, this is still a work in progress. I don’t have an idea about the other songs’ inspiration. So sa mga mas cultured na bading diyan sa’kin, feel free to comment. :)

1. “Si Pilemon”, performed by Xilhouete as Pilita Corrales (Cebuano/Bisaya)
2. “Bahay Kubo”, performed by Turing as Sharon Cuneta (Tagalog): Probably the most known nursery rhyme in the Philippines.
3. “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang”, performed by Viñas as Zsa Zsa Padilla (Tagalog): "Sitsiritsit" is a sound one makes to attract somebody's attention. "Alibangbang" is another term for butterfly.
4. “Paruparong Bukid” (Farm Butterfly), performed by Morgana as Lea Salonga (Tagalog): Judging by the instrumentals in the beginning, I think the song inspo is “A Whole New World.” Lea sung Jasmine’s part in Aladdin (1992). But this could be wrong judging by Morgana’s outfit which is more Broadway-like.
5. “Magtanim ay ‘di biro” (Farming is no joke), performed by Brigiding as Jaya (Tagalog)
6. “Pen Pen de Sarapen”, performed by Eva as Jolina Magdangal (Tagalog): The song is composed of nonsensical rhymes. The song inspiration is “Chuva Choo Choo” (it’s supposed to be the sound a beating heart makes). What Eva is wearing is also a trademark look for Eva. It reminds me of Björk but 10x the energy and brightness of color.
7. “Tong tong tong Pakitong-kitong”, performed by Marina as Sarah Geronimo (Tagalog): Since the song is about crabs, the title imitates the sound their... arms (?) make. The song and choreo inspiration is “Tala”, the first episode’s lipsync song (this is the choreo Prince was dancing during it). Marina’s fit is also similar to Sarah’s outfit in the music video.
8. “Leron Leron Sinta” (Leron, Leron, my dear), performed by Minty as Moira dela Torre (Tagalog): I believe the song inspo behind her performance is “Malaya” (Free). Minty’s fit is a usual fit of Moira as well.
9. “Tatlong Bibe” (Three Ducklings), performed by Precious as Regine Velasquez-Alcasid (Tagalog)

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38:10 – “Sakay na!” – Turing as Sharon Cuneta
A reference to this ferry company ad Sharon starred in.
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38:39 – “I miss you, Dolphy.” Viñas as Zsa Zsa Padilla
Dolphy was a legendary Filipino comedian. He was Zsa Zsa’s husband. A small plug, but do consider watching this film he starred in, “Markova: Comfort Gay”. [TW: sexual and general physical abuse] It is a biopic of Walter Dempster Jr., a.k.a. Walterina Markova, among the many individuals forced to be “comfort gays” during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines
38:57 – “‘Wag mo ‘kong ma-Terry Terry!” (Don’t you call me Terry!) - a line in Viñas’s part
A reference to this iconic film line (2:16) by Maricel Soriano. Zsa Zsa’s character was confronted by the character played by Maricel. The extended version of the quote translates to: “Don’t you call me Terry! Answer my question, are you fucking my husband?!” Zsa Zsa’s character answers, “Sometimes.”
40:38 – “Jo-legend Slay-dangal” introducing Eva as Jolina Magdangal
I believe this refers to a time not too long ago when Jolina got turned into a meme and the brand “Jo-legend Slay-dangal” was a result of this. A Facebook page of the same name also got viral (and was acknowledged by Jolina herself) because of pictures that included Photoshopped Jolina in extravagant situations (hoarding Grammys, royal families, being an inspiration to bigger names in worldwide pop).
42:49 – The way Marina thanked the judges before leaving
I think this doesn’t reference to one specific or significant moment. Sarah G. just leaves the stage like that.
42:36 – “Emo diva” as introduction to Minty as Moira
Nope, “hugot” does not mean “emo”. “Hugot” is probably closer to “sappy”. Think of a music genre that’s a melting pot of sentimentality, romance, and edgy heartbreak quotes. However, “hugot” is not a music genre. It’s a… mindset? A whole ass concept, I think. It can also pertain to the edgy quotes themselves.
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46:34 – “U-thong, paki-thong-ki-thong!” - Jiggly
A play on “utong” (nipple) and the song Marina performed as Sarah G.
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48:02 – “Bilo-bilo couture!” Pao or Karen (?)
Bilo-bilo is a Filipino dessert made of small rice balls cooked in coconut milk and sugar. This comment was made because pearls resemble the glutinous rice balls in bilo-bilo.
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48:07 – “Let’s go, sago!” - Jon
Sago is similar to tapioca pearls. It’s made of starch that comes from palm trees. This is also an ingredient in bilo-bilo.
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48:51 – “Kung ako may asim, siya may alat!” (If I have sourness, then she has saltiness!) – Jon to Marina
(Note that this is the meaning of “may asim” in our region. Feel free to share other definitions of this phrase)
When an old person is still hot and fit, may asim pa sila. Think of it as “they still have flavor!” Marina “had saltiness” because her runway’s theme is pearls in the ocean.
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49:15 – Pura Villanueva Kalaw as Turing’s runway inspiration
Among the many underrated female figures in PH history, the Ilongga beauty was considered as the Philippine’s first beauty queen. She was crowned at 22 as the “Queen of the Orient” in the 1908 Manila Carnival. However, this title would change in 1926 to “Miss Philippines”.
50:51 – “Perlas ng sinaing.” - Jon
“Sinaing”, which means cooked rice, simply sounds like “silangan”. We love a wordplay even if they barely make sense.
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51:23 – “It’s like (T)hat’s entertainment!” Jon
A pun about Eva having a hat. That’s Entertainment was a popular variety show that ran from 1986-1996.
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55:00 – “I have one thing to say to Eva… Take a shot!” Pao to Eva
Pao probably knew about Eva being the unofficial tanggera (drinker) of the season. You’ll see Eva drink and fetch drinks for her sisters in Untucked A LOT. Call her Eva le Bartender.
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1:00:06 – “Arimunding-munding” - Regine
I believe this refers to the action performed when singing “Arimunding-munding”, but this might not be accurate. The song itself is commonly performed by a choir.
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1:07:03 – “That’s Regine… Narito ako (I’m here).” - Jon
Refers to a Regine Velasquez hit of the same title, “Narito Ako” (I’m Here).
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1:15:56 – “Shine” by Regine Velasquez as the lipsync song
Another hit by Regine released in 2006. This is certainly a biritera (high-belting singer) staple.
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Please comment down any correction or additional elaboration on this episode's references. Makibeki, wag mashokot, mga kapwa bakla!

Hallur mga badet! Although most things suck in the Philippines, what makes me proud as a Filipino is our rich culture and languages. So I hope to explain some of the references that were brought up in the show. Kapwa Filipnos, paki-correct nalang ako if may mali at pakidagdagan nalang if may kulang. And I… thank yew!
Production team really stepped up their bussies and gave us one and a half hours of enter-taint-ment. Day, this is gonna be long… As you may see in this episodes’ Reference Check, some explanations are short and not that in-depth. I’m currently having internet connection problems in my new place (she’s a city girl now, purr) and I honestly rushed it because I was really busy earlier morning. However, I will try to add more info on the next edit (which I think I can do the next morning).
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Glossary of terms and references you’ll consistently hear throughout the season

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DRPh Episode 3 Reference Check
[Trigger Warning: Majority of the discussion about the runway will include gory themes]
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00:23 – “At least I’m not the pork-shop.” – Corazon’s mirror message
I think she just played on the word “Porkchop” (first out) and joked around the fact that she isn’t first out.
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01:50 – “The bitch who stole Christmas!” Eva to Viñas’s runway
Eva was saying Viñas looked like the Grinch, who in fact stole Christmas. Shady bitch.
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02:11 – (Tagalog)
The dialogues were overlapping anyway. No queens finished a complete, comprehensive sentence anyway so I can forgive this captioning LMAO
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03:17 – “BINA-GO-O-NGAN!” - Morgana
“What’s new, pork stew?” This translation is kinda cute lol. Binagoongan is a delicacy with meat (usually pork), vegetables, and fermented shrimp paste (bagoong) as its main seasoning. I think Morgana just felt like saying it, or maybe it’s a Bisaya pun I’m too Tagalog to understand.
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04:06 – “I guess koalas do look ugly when they cry.” – Morgana to Gigi
Gigi, as a Filipino migrant in Australia, constantly referred to herself as a koala (see Ep 2 mini challenge).
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04:44 – “… on our next Untucked and you had one too many, you don’t bring it up again.” Turing to Brigiding
Turing meant to say that she hoped Brigiding doesn’t bring up the issue (Minty x Marina) again when she drinks too much cocktail. I don’t know why the subtitles didn’t specifically include that in the translation.
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04:51 – “You should only really drink to yourself if you have a brand.” Morgana to Brigiding
I believe what she meant by this is Brigiding should only dare to get drunk and pick a fight if she has a brand to showcase, since another conflict that was created in Untucked is Brigiding’s brand (or lack thereof).
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(quoted u/ixche's comment)
07:25 "Bottom them? Top them? The choice is yours." - Pao
What Pao actually said: "Bottom mo? Top mo? I-patrol mo!" (Literal translation: "Your bottom? Your top? Patrol it!")
This is hard to translate so I can forgive the subtitle/translation. What Pao said is a play on "Boto mo, i-Patrol mo" ("Patrol/keep watch on your vote") - a tagline of the election-focused citizen journalism arm of local network ABS-CBN News that has since evolved to "Bayan mo, i-Patrol mo" ("Patrol/keep watch on your country").
Fun fact: that citizen journalism arm was the idea of now-Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa.
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07:38 – “Bumoto ah, hindi bumottom.” - Pao
“Bumoto” means to vote, and “bumottom” means to bottom. Pao is basically telling them to vote, not to vote-om. Ugh, us Filipinos with our puns…
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08:05 – The chair in the Ru-lection mini challenge
The monobloc chair with the armrest you see in the Mini Challenge is the most common type of seat you’ll see in voting rooms during election season. It acts like a sort of voting booth. The voter is given a folder as a cover for their ballot. Very small yet interesting detail I just wanted to also explain.
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11:43 – “COM-ELEG” - Pao
A play on COMELEC, the actual ‘Commission on Elections’ of the Philippines. As explained by Pao, COM-ELEG is Commission on Eleganza.
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12:44 – “(Between 7th and 8th) It’s a tie, balunbalunan.” - Pao
It’s a play on “atay” (liver). Atay at (and) balunbalunan (gizzard) is a delicacy made of chicken liver and gizzard. It’s commonly cooked adobo-style (soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf, pepper, lots of garlic, and chili pepper for a kick of spice)
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13:23 – “Aussie, aussie, oi oi oi!” - Gigi
I’m not Aussie, so this is not 100% accurate. This cheer is often chanted at Australian sport events. I think the Down Under queens also chant it with Ru after a queen sashays away.
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14:20 – Precious’s speech as Drag President
I think the int’l viewers can understand this as well, but Precious is simply imitating politicians and at the same time mocking their phoniness. Pee-Pee-En lamang tayo, not Bee-Bee… charez!
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19:08 – “Taray!” - Pao
Similar to “pak”, “pakak”, “sabog”, “pasabog”, its closest English equivalents are "Fierce!" or “Werk!”.
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19:25 – Nadine Lustre as the girl groups’ mentor
She’s the president we never had. Nadine Lustre is among of the most famous and award-winning celebrities in the Philippines. She’s an actress and a singer who starred in numerous films and TV shows, often with her leading man and ex-boyfriend James Reid. She’s dubbed as President Nadine Lustre because unlike most celebrities, she’s outspoken about her advocacies and uses her platform to promote them. Pop Girls, her former girl group, was a girl group that was formed in 2009 under Viva Entertainment. The group disbanded in 2017, but Nadine left in 2011.
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24:52 – “PPE” short for Pink Pussy Energy
A play on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), thus the Pink girls wore masks (which is a form of PPE) in the beginning of their performance.
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26:20 – Pao calls Gigi “Lulu”
I think this is just a nickname Pao made up on the spot, or maybe it’s a pun or gaylingo term I’ve yet to know. A glossary of gaylingo terms stated that it was a term for “lesbian”. I’ll try to find more information about this word.

• (credit goes to u/moonhologram) Apparently, "Lulu" does mean "lesbian" in gaylingo. To be fully understood, "Lulu" needs a demo. A person does a V-sign with their fingers, places it on their mouth, and repetitively says "Lulu" in a fast manner. It basically demonstrates pussy-eating. That's where "Lulu" came from.

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28:54 – “Flexbomb Girls”
A play on Sexbomb Girls, the most iconic Filipina girl group. Among their most well-known songs are “Spageti Song”, “Bakit Papa”, and “’Di Ko Na Mapipigilan”.
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27:10 – “Never the same, unique, amazing, talented, periodt.” - Marina
From the one and only, Lady Gaga.
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29:11 – Category is… Shake, Rattle, and Rampa
A play on Shake, Rattle, and Roll, a series of horror films known for its nightmare-inducing characters and semi-ironic campiness. “Rampa” means to strut down the runway. But like what can be further explained in later moments, the specific theme is figures of Filipino myths and folklore.
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29:15 – “Mga impakta! Mga aswang!” - Pao
Creatures belonging in Filipino folklore. They'll be explained in the queens' runway looks.
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30:17 – Moophs as the resident music producer
Moophs (real name Chris Lopez) is a musician, producer, songwriter, and DJ under Tarsier Records. He had collaborations with other Filipino singers like Sam Concepcion and Iñigo Pascual.
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32:22 – Gigi’s dedication to fellow OFWs
OFW stands for Overseas Filipino Worker. Most Filipinos are left with no choice but to work abroad because they can earn bigger there. In most cases, they can only afford to return to the Philippines once or twice a year (sometimes, they even last for years without going home). OFWs sacrifice a lot of things just to support their family, even though they can’t be with them all the time.
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35:33 – “These feet are both lefties!” – Eva’s verse
The idiomatic expression “two left feet” refer to the inability to dance… or to do it well.
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36:28 – “L-V, lavan!” - Morgana
This was already covered in Episode 2 RC, I think. Basically, “lavan” is a gaylingo-ized spelling of “laban” which means to fight.
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36:46 – Morgana’s Cebuano (Bisaya) verse
Notice that the show is written in Filipino and almost all the queens speak Filipino which is predominantly Tagalog (the language of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces), so Morgana speaking in a different language (Cebuano or Bisaya) is a big deal since like what Nadine said, it sets her apart from the other queens. You might be wondering why there isn’t just one language in the Philippines, it’s because there’s around 130 languages according to the Commission on Filipino Language (KWF). Filipino, Tagalog (yes, it’s different from Filipino), and Bisaya are only three out of the 100+ languages in the Philippines.
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36:54 – “A lot of Bisayas would be proud of her.” – Nadine to Morgana
The people of Visayas and/or the people who speak Bisaya are called “Bisaya” as well.
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42:33 – “Flex, flex, flex flex aw!”
Just like how they played on “Sexbomb Girls” this line is a play on Sexbomb’s iconic and staple line (“Get, get, get get aw!”).
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44:31 – Turing leading the prayer circle
Christianity was originally indoctrinated by the Spanish colonizers. Majority of Filipinos today are still religious, including some LGBTQIA+ people. At least from what I've observed, many queer people still maintain Catholic belief amidst rampant oppression of the Catholic church towards queer people because they focus on their personal connection with God, and because they grew up in religious households so it eventually became part of their custom. I felt the need to explain this because there are still some people who think negatively of queer people being Christian/Catholic, reasoning that queer people shouldn’t participate in a religion/church/institution that openly condemns their community and identity.
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45:41 – “Can I call you Sexbomb Jiggly?”
Sexbomb members attach “Sexbomb” before their name to indicate that they are part of the girl group. For example, Sexbomb Rochelle (considered as the group’s leader and is one of the founding members).
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45:46 – “There’s nobody, nobody but you, [name]”
A play on a line from Wonder Girls’ song "Nobody"
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46:14 – Pao’s Katuray dress by Jan
Katuray is a type of flower that can be prepared as a vegetable (in most cases, in stir-fries). Its tree also produces fruits which can also be eaten.
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47:37 – “It’s up to you, my nakshie(s), hey!” – Xilhoeute’s verse
“Nakshie” is a play on the contracted form of “anak” which is “nak”. Both terms mean “child”.
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51:14 – “Representing the Dabawenya, won’t bend to the Maynilenya.” Morgana’s verse
Up until now, people from provinces (especially people from Visayas and Mindanao provinces) face discrimination and unfair stereotypes because of the false idea that they’re “less” than the people from Metro Manila. You can think of it as a similar situation with Southern USA people being linked to negative stereotypes and thus being viewed as less compared to people coming from bigger, urban states/cities. Love Morgana for writing this line and being a proud probinsyana like me.
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51:59 – The “criss-cross, twirl downwards” dance move and the “L-gesture” dance move the Purple team did
The first move comes from probably the most iconic (yes, I say “iconic” a lot because THEY ARE) Sexbomb song “Spageti Song”. The second one is from “Bakit Papa”. In this video, Sexbomb Girls performed the two songs. “Bakit Papa” comes around 0:58, while “Spageti Song” comes around 3:56
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53:42 54:56 56:08– Tiyanak**: The Threequel. Kimono-gate who? We got** Tiyanak-gate.
Precious, Xilho, and Gigi all did a tiyanak-inspired runway, but at least they had their own varieties, I give that to them. So then what is a tiyanak?
Tiyanak is a form of aswang (shapeshifting malevolent creatures). They are small, humanoid creatures that spawn on forests. It first presents itself as a normal, crying infant. But once a victim attempts to rescue it, it transforms into an ugly, vampire-like creature which will then feast on the poor victim. The origin of tiyanak varies. Here are some claims in the origin of tiyanak:

• They’re vengeful spirits of aborted fetuses. They came to life to make their mothers pay back (common knowledge)
• They’re souls of fetuses that died without being baptized (Spanish-influenced Catholicism)
• They’re spirits of babies whose mothers died before giving birth (Mandaya people of Mindanao)

Precious and Xilho’s runway personas were not the tiyanak itself, but the mother of the tiyanak. Remember that tiyanak is the infant.
Precious dubbed her runway look (or persona, I think) as Chona K, which yeah like what she said is short for tiyanak. However, "chona" is also a term you call to someone who has an attitude. It comes from “ate chona” (something like Ms. Chona), which sound similar to a-ti-chud (attitude).
(credit goes to u/MisellesLeftTit**)** "Anak ni Janice!" as said by Pao a couple of times during Precious's runway, refers to a 1991 film of the same title that starred stars like Janice de Belen, Rene Requiestas, and Mahal. The way Precious shouted "Anak, uwi!" (My child, go home!) is similar to how mothers would tell their kids to go home after playing all afternoon.
Jiggly said “She’s holding Marina” to Xilho who was holding the tiyanak and she said “True”. Xilho was Marina’s former drag mom, and because of the “drifting away” conflict, Xilho still has bad blood towards Marina. Ugh, they’re so messy I love it.
Gigi said “literal tiyanak” and meant it. Personally, I think her runway was successful. The tiyanak is hideous so… she should be just as hideous then. But I get the judges’ critiques. Disclaimer, though this is obvious, that the traditional depiction of tiyanak didn’t include the baby garments Gigi wore.
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55:40 – Minty’s albularyo runway
Minty explained that the look was inspired by albularyo(s), which are traditional healers who use natural and spiritual remedies. Not all of them participate in witchcraft (actually, I’d argue that what they practice is not witchcraft, but traditional practices which stem from indigenous beliefs), so I’d argue that the caption “witch doctor” is not fully accurate. However, there are some articles which address them as “witch doctors”.
Practicing the methods of albularyos can also serve negative motives. Products of such intentions include harmful incantations and (technically non-consensual) love potions.
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56:54 – “She’s so nakakata-cute!”
A play on “nakakatakot” which means frightening. The syllable “-kot” was replaced with “cute”.
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56:57 – Viñas’s manananggal runway
Also a type of aswang, “manananggal” as a word means “one who detaches”. To me, it’s one of the most interesting creatures of local folklore. The manananggal’s body can detach into two parts: the torso and legs. When it flies using its bat-like wings, its bloody guts swing from her semi-hollow torso. It has two types of prey: men, and pregnant women. While pregnant women are asleep, the manananggal snacks on her blood and baby. With men, the manananggal first presents itself as an enticing woman. Once lured, the men’s organs are eaten while they’re still alive. To kill a manananggal, one has to sprinkle salt or garlic on the severed lower half.
Kaladkaren said “or can we say… mananang-gay?” I just realized subtitles are different in each streaming platform. I think one redditor posted a clip of her runway from WOW+ and the caption said something like “or can we say… gay vampire?”. The former is what I saw in HBO Go, so I’m just going to include this. It’s just a simple play on manananggal and “gay”.
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57:37 – Turing’s tiktik runway
“Tiktik” as a word is an onomatopoeia which comes from the sound the creature makes. The tiktik is an aswang and it resembles a giant, humanoid bird. Similar to the manananggal, it also snacks on babies (and in some cases, adults).
The sound she did at the end (“eeee-kikikiki!”) is similar to the sound tiktik makes.
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58:11 – Eva’s impakta runway
Impakta can be several things, but it is always a malevolent, demon-like woman. A pop culture adaptation of this creature exists in an older live-action adaptation of Darna, which is a comic created by Mars Ravelo. Darna was also referenced in the Mini Challenge of Episode 1.
Her description “rich, impak-tita” is simply a combination of impakta and “tita” (auntie).
“We heal aswang,” said by Pao is a play on “We heal as one”, a tagline that was promoted during the height of the pandemic.
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58:47 – Marina’s siyokoy runway
Siyokoys are merfolks which unlike what Marina presented, are terrifyingly fugly in appearance. They are always male. In some ways, they can be considered as the male versions of the sirena (sirens, or mermaids) because they also eat humans (minus the seduction part though).
“Shoke” which sounds similar to “siyokoy” is similar to “bakla” and bading” (labels used by and for gay men)

• (credit goes to u/AquafinaKween) "Shoke" derives from the word "siyokoy" itself. Since siyokoys are considered mermen and gay folks back in the day saw themselves as mermaids (because of their beauty), the term was coined initially as a slur similar to the F-slur. Now it's being reclaimed, although a non-queer person saying it would still be kind of insulting.

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59:26 – Brigiding’s dalikamata runway
Dalikamata is unique not only because it doesn’t come from Luzon folklore (which most of the previous creatures do), but also because she’s a goddess and not an aswang or some demonic creature. She comes from Visayan folklore and is considered the goddess of clairvoyance and healing. The several eyes that litter her body can see the past, present, and future.
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59:49 – Morgana’s sarimanok runway
Similar to Brigs’s reference, sarimanok doesn’t come from Luzon folklore. It is considered by the Maranao people of Mindanao to be a legendary bird with colorful feathers. According to their belief, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) met the sarimanok in heaven. Up until now, the sarimanok remains to be a significant symbol in Philippine Islamic art and customs.
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1:07:28 – “We’ll have Xilhouete contact her (Precious’s mother).”
I don’t think this is a reference to anything but simply a playful joke to lighten up the mood. It’s common for Filipinos to crack jokes to lighten up the mood after something dark happened/was shared, so don’t think of it as Pao being rude or anything. I guess Pao mentioned Xilhouete because being witchy and dark is her brand.
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1:16:26– “Is this MMK or a drag show?” - Rajo
MMK (Maalaala mo kaya, or “Would you remember...”) was a TV show hosted by Charo Santos-Concio. People would send her letters sharing their dramatic real-life stories of hardship, triumph, sorrow, etc., and Santos-Concio would read their letters which will serve as narration to a dramatic reenacting of the letter-sender’s story. The often-exaggerated drama episodes were always sought after because viewers can guess the title of the episode (it’s often a one-word title, and it’s often the most significant object in the story) and win something if they guess it correctly.
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1:25:43 – “Gigi, palong-palo!” Gigi’s exit line
See Glossary.
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Please comment down any correction or additional elaboration on this episode's references. Makibeki, wag mashokot, mga kapwa bakla!

Kidd, Head of the Underground

Design Goals

• Zeri's father
• champion with mining theme and wall interactions
• vanguard with stealth (on ultimate)

Intended Role: Jungler
Region: Zaun
Contest Relevance
Kidd is supposed to be Zeri's father, who works in mines and has given her the jacket that helps control her electric powers. His name is also referencing her. His nickname is Kidd, but his actual name is Kidlat, which means "lightning" in Tagalog.
In the lore, he is also the reason why she has electric powers, since she inherited them from him in a stronger form. He has a hand for electric devices and always gets his equip to go the extra mile, since he is overcharging his equipment by intuition, not aware of his ability.
In gameplay, he also shares some thematics with her, like having increased stats while shielded (in his case, resistances instead of movement speed) and having enhanced skill effects if they are used in connection with walls.
Short Lore:
Kidd is a hard working miner in the depths of Zaun, getting exploited by the chembarons. He always knew that the people of Zaun would have to stand up against the chembarons one day and when his daughter, Zeri, showed her magical talents at a young age, he knew that she might become the hero the people of Zaun need for that fight.
He loves his daughter dearly, but he knows that she is meant to bring change to Zaun, even if that puts her in danger. He does everything in his power to ensure her all the support from the people of Zaun she can get, so she can become the sparkling star of the sumps, while he will do the dirty work in the background.
He and his coworkers are also smuggling some of the results of their mining work for the chembarons out to build equipment and prosthetics for the people in Zaun who are in need.
Appearance
Kidd is a bulky, middle-aged Zaunite man with short black hair. He is wearing heavy protective gear for his work in the mines, similar to the one he modified for his daughter to suppress her electricity. He is also wearing goggles and uses a massive pile bunker as his weapon.
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Kit and Gameplay

[P] Protective Gear

Whenever one of Kidd's abilties interacts with a wall, he receives a (small) shield. While he is shielded from any source, he also gains bonus resistances.

[Q] Thundering Strikes

His pile bunker gets charged with his electric powers, enhancing his auto attacks for the next 5 seconds. While this is active, his attacks gain increased range and will pierce through all enemies in their path (his attack animation is him thrusting the pile bunker forward). If the enhanced auto attack connects with a wall, then all enemies hit will be stunned.

[W] Crosscut

Kidd throws an emitter in a straight line, which attaches to the first wall it hits. He can reactivate the ability afterwards, which causes mining equip (drills, shovel arms, etc.) to break through the wall in a targeted direction (aiming like Viktor E). Enemies hit will be slowed. The debris created by this attack creates terrain in the area of the attack that lasts for 5 seconds.

[E] Groundwork

Kidd dashes into a targeted direction and then thrusts his pile bunker forward, damaging enemies. The thrust attack applies the effects of Thundering Strikes (Q) if the effect is active and additionally, if it connects with a wall, it will release a shockwave that travels along the path the attack originated from, dealing damage to enemies based on their max health.

[R] Undermine

Kidd digs into the ground, becoming invisible for the next 10 seconds and able to cross terrain, but warning the enemies with a sound that can be heard over the entire map. Once he emerges from the ground by reactivating the skill, he creates a pitfall which slowly drags enemies towards it's center (similar to Rell R) and ticks damage every second to every enemy in it.

Gameplay Discussion
Kidd is intended as an initiating tank for the jungle role. His several interactions with walls give him an easy time farming in the jungle and can also be great tools to stunlock enemies in ganks, but proper positioning and aim are required to pull his kit off.
He is also slightly reliant on team composition, since alot of his tankiness comes from being shielded, regardless of the source. So combining him with shielding enchanters to beef him up is recommended.
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Lore

Kidd lived his life as a simple mining worker in the depths of Zaun. It was a hard life, but not bare of any joy, since he found a loving wife who gave birth to his little daughter, Zeri.
This has been the moment where everything turned around for him. He could endure the bonecrushing work in the mines, he never complained. But seeing his daughter grow up in Zaun, he knew that change was needed. She should have an easier life than he did. A more equal life, not enslaved by the criminal bosses which are getting richer every day by sacrificing health and mind of their workers.
He started to meet with people thinking the same. That they need to fight the system from within. Founding an underground resistance against the chembarons. From outside, they would look like loyal miners. But they wouldn't give everything they found down there to their bosses. They would keep some of the most refined materials, would take equipment to study their tech and use their new ressources and knowledge to help the people in need of Zaun.
But they still had to fight one day and this fight would not be easy, especially not with their minds being ripped of hope.
Then Zeri started to show some... interesting talents. When she was laughing, all the lights in the neighborhood started to go crazy. When she hugged Kidd, he got shocked by electricity. Zeri was not like the others, what has been obvious for Kidd since her birth now became apparent for everyone else, too. She was went for something big. She was meant to be more than a simple girl from the sumps.
Kidd needed to support his child. He worked on a jacket that was handed down to him from one of his mining coworkers. He was studying electric devices for a long time now, adjusting the jacket to help harnessing Zeri's electric powers was an easy task. And his wife, who worked on the junkyards in Zaun, even built her a gun to use her powers in combat!
She got the equipment she needed. She started to look more and more like the hero Zaun needed. A symbol of hope and fraternity which was needed for the last rebellion.
Kidd's group has built up quite a reputation among the Zaunites by helping all the people in need over all those years. No one was hesitating when Kidd now was asking for support for Zeri wherever it's needed. When she would fall, people would run to help her up. When she caused a small blackout in the neighborhood, everyone told her that it's fine and worked on bringing back the energy.
The community was building up around her. Soon, she would be able to lead the charge against the chembarons. It's dangerous, Kidd knew that and was very afraid of his daughter getting hurt. But he also didn't want to hold her back from becoming the great person she was meant to be. He just had to make sure that he was preparing everyone as well as he could for what's to come, to soften up the impact for her.
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Quotes

Pick: "Another day away from the sunlight"
Ban: "I get the day off?"
Champion Encounters

• Urgot: "I heard they have inhuman conditions in the dredge... but WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
• Zeri: "Zeriiii, my little firelight, what are you up to today?"
• Zac: "So the stories are true, huh? Hope the part that you are friendly is, too."
• Renata Glasc: "We need to talk about health insurance for your workers, Miss Glasc."

Champion Kills

• Zac: "How did I even manage to do this?"
• Renata Glasc: "Maybe now you understand why people need health insurance."
• Urgot: "I really hope that I don't end up like this."
• Zeri: He has no quote for that scenario, that is fucked up. What is wrong with you?

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Legends of Runeterra

Kidd Lvl 1 (PnZ Champion Card)

• 4 Mana
• 2 Power 5 Health
• Keywords: Tough
• Play: Summon a Chemtech Mine or Hextech Mine.
• Level Up: I have seen 4 Landmarks getting destroyed.

Chemtech Mine

• 2 Mana
• Countdown 2: Manifest a Chemtech equipment.

Hextech Mine

• 2 Mana
• Countdown 2: Manifest a Hextech equipment.

Kidd Lvl 2 (PnZ Champion Card)

• 4 Mana
• 3 Power 6 Health
• Keywords: Tough
• Effect: Whenever a landmark gets destroyed, heal me for it's cost.

Kidd's Groundwork (Champion Spell)

• 4 Mana
• Fast Speed
• Deal 3 to an enemy unit. If you have a landmark, advance it 2 to deal 4 to an enemy unit instead.

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Skins

PsyOps Kidd
An experienced soldier, using his psionic abilities in close combat by creating shockwaves and destroying entire buildings with them. The corp is paying well and he needs the money to ensure the future of his little angel, Zeri.
Hextech Kidd
Hired by house Talis, he is an ambitioned inventor who tries to create the safest hextech gear for mining workers he can. Unfortunately, Zeri doesn't share his enthusiasm for hextech and she always is getting in trouble straying around with her friend Ekko from the sumps.
Lancer Rebel Kidd
A sentinel created to defend a mighty kingdom, but it got taken over by a group of resistance fighters who are seeking to end royalty once and for all. Tyranny has no place in an advanced world and so Kidd fights at their side for a better future.
Housebreaker Kidd (Day Job skin line)
If there is one thing Kidd is great in, then it's breaking stuff. Even buildings. ESPECIALLY buildings. But his daughter Zeri wants to go to a pretty expensive college and so he has to work extra hours. Fortunately, there are always buildings which need a wrecking. It's not like there is a blue haired lunatic with a rocket launching shark who does it for free, is it?