Insectoids: The Job of the Males

In other news, Zhou Xiaobao has also forced himself to learn ways to vent and relax when the comments get to him. Case in point…

“If you aren’t feeling too motivated, do you want to eat out? My treat; I got my first paycheck.”

“Nope. It’s still dangerous for me to go outside,” Cheng Zhaoci leans back in his chair, “right, how’s it like outside? Is the mood still tense? Chaotic?”

“The Capital planet is pretty quiet, but I’ve heard the other planets are pretty hectic right now. There are rebelling and escaping shemales, some who have also kidnapped males on their way out,” the reply comes from Zhou Luoluo, who lowers his tone on the next part, “did you know? They say Jin Yue’s father and male brothers, and Squadron Leader Wei’s father were all among those kidnapped.”

Clearly, taken as tickets to for a smooth entry to Jin Yue’s gang, for Jin Yue’s male father and brothers, and Sun Wushe’s father would be great choices.

“I’ve heard the pirates plan to execute them,” Zhou Luoluo says, without much sympathy for them, “they are scum who don’t deserve pity anyway, but it’s still scary how they’re just grabbing what males they can. I’ve had to take bodyguards with me even though I’m on the Capital planet.”

What should have simply stayed an operation to root out space buccaneers has latched itself onto the biggest socially awkward elephant in the room.

“There was even that… did you see the news yesterday?” Zhou Luoluo says, enjoying his cliffhangers. Employing a question where a story could have simply fit.

Cheng Zhaoci shakes his head, and Zhou Luoluo takes a deep breath to explain, “yesterday, on one of the more prosperous planets near the Capital, there was one rebelling shemale who kidnapped a minor male. When he confiscated the male’s holodeck, he realised the male is your fan.”

Cheng Zhaoci “?”

That shemale was the same. So he put that male into the escape pod, and shot him back at the planet,” Zhou Luoluo has finally found the piece of news, and shows it Cheng Zhaoci.

The male is interviewed – under heavy blurring and mosaic artefacts, the original hologram undecipherable even with the best technology.

Though it’s clearly he’s as confused as anyone else, “I don’t know. I was scared when I was taken; I was crying, and I said, I didn’t want to die until I saw what the new comic was about.”
“Then he glared at me and checked my hologram. He asked me if I liked them, and I said yes. So the shemale said ‘that damned artist,’ and I was like, yeah. Then he ruffled me on the head, and shot me back,” he almost sounds touched, “I was lucky.”

Cheng Zhaoci read the entire news article while reenacting the whole old_man_watching_phone_on_subway.jpg meme. What? They’re bonding over his ‘damned dog of a comic artist’ status?

“This is probably the most joyful comment section on the entire news website. Everyone is talking about how bad that damned comic artist is that the kidnapper and kidnappee resonated with each other,” Zhou Luoluo then asks Cheng Zhaoci, “what do you think?”

“Think? What can I even think? Like, it’s a good thing,” because, he might be the dog in their mouth, ending up on some bizarre Oniony news article, but his cultural productions – well, he did think cultural products can impact society, but he never imagined it on such a scale to the entertainment-deprived insectoids – has been able to act as a kind of lubricant between clashing values, no matter how small the effect might have been. He’s happy, happy that he has enough fans that even those who haven’t read his comic will have heard of the ‘damned comic artist’ who is both loved and hated by his readers.

He can be their doggy, sure. He doesn’t mind. Not like they can ever touch him or anything.

That said, “y’all don’t seem that concerned about all this?” Cheng Zhaoci can’t help but ask.

“Oh, because it’s not the first time. My dad told me that there’s been a few of these uprisings these centuries. They were all quelled in the end,” Zhou Luoluo then adds, confused, “the details are really scarce when it came to how they were ‘quelled,’ though. I don’t know anyone who knows anything about it.”