Latest / The Monster Catcher's Journal / Webuzzar

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Webuzzar · The Monster Catcher's Journal

• 0:37
  Well, travelers, I'm Monster Cats are the Bound.
• 0:39
  I'm Stella Ferris, and you've crash landed on
• 0:41
  the Monster Cats Returnal Podcast. Welcome back
• 0:44
  to another episode about how I caught a glyph.
• 0:48
  And stay tuned, because you never know what you
• 0:52
  might hear. You know, not every creature that
• 0:58
  looks scary wants to hurt you. Some just need
• 1:01
  a chance to show you who they really are. That's
• 1:03
  the lesson I learned the night I met Web Bazaar.
• 1:06
  It happened in the twilight fields near the wax
• 1:09
  flower glade. I'd gone looking for a glyph sighting
• 1:12
  reported by local farmers, something with wings,
• 1:15
  webs, and a sound like a lullaby sung through
• 1:18
  a kazoo. The description was confusing, but the
• 1:21
  feeling in the air wasn't fear, it was warmth.
• 1:24
  Soft, buzzing, gentle. I followed the trail to
• 1:27
  a clearing strung with glowing silk, delicate
• 1:32
  webs spun between branches and mushrooms. like
• 1:35
  tiny hammocks, nestled in the center of it, fast
• 1:39
  asleep was him, Webizar. His body looked like
• 1:43
  a lacrosse between a fuzzy bee and a fruit bat,
• 1:46
  big, soft belly, rounded legs, and wings made
• 1:51
  of shimmering web that fluttered gently even
• 1:57
  as he snored. He had two long antennae. And at
• 2:02
  the tip of each set sat a tiny dragon -like head,
• 2:05
  both curled up like sleeping puppies. His stinger
• 2:09
  glowed faintly, but it didn't drip venom. It
• 2:12
  glowed like a night light. I stepped closer.
• 2:17
  One of the antennas opened its eyes. It blinked,
• 2:21
  then it sneezed and accidentally shot a puff
• 2:23
  of glittering goo right at my boots. The other
• 2:27
  head woke up and immediately sprayed a cloud
• 2:29
  of sleepy mist in the air like a reflex. I stumbled
• 2:33
  back, trying not to laugh. I expected a fight,
• 2:36
  but Webizar just rolled over and covered himself
• 2:39
  with the wing, letting out a high -pitched whimper.
• 2:42
  He was shy, so I sat quietly. I took out some
• 2:46
  of the sweet sap candies I carried in my satchel
• 2:49
  and placed one on the ground. After a few minutes,
• 2:52
  his head peeked out. They sniffed the air they
• 2:56
  crept forward one tiny step at a time and then
• 2:59
  they purred He wasn't dangerous. He wasn't cursed
• 3:03
  or mean or engineered to terrify. He was just
• 3:05
  lonely protective a glyph Not born from anything
• 3:11
  His engineering was just him Being created by
• 3:16
  a couple of different creatures being engineered
• 3:20
  together so He wasn't made to guard anything
• 3:25
  like gentle things that no one else noticed like
• 3:27
  glow -arms or forgotten dreams. He wasn't engineered
• 3:31
  to look after tired bees who got lost on their
• 3:35
  way home. But when I offered him my palm, he
• 3:40
  buzzed softly and curled his wings around me
• 3:42
  like a hug. One antenna had spit a tiny silk
• 3:47
  blanket or... The other licked my cheek like
• 3:50
  he was happy to see me. I thought there was gonna
• 3:54
  be more of a fight, but the minute I pulled out
• 3:57
  my glyphid, Web Bazaar let me catch him. I didn't
• 4:03
  catch him out of sheer will. I didn't catch him
• 4:05
  out of, you know, brute force. I caught him because
• 4:09
  he let me. I didn't catch him, per se. I gained
• 4:13
  a new friend for my sanctuary. A few weeks later
• 4:18
  at the sanctuary. The more time I've spent with
• 4:21
  Webizar, the more I've realized he isn't here
• 4:24
  to teach or to serve. He doesn't follow rules,
• 4:27
  and he doesn't need to justify himself with some
• 4:30
  grand purpose. He simply is, and that is enough.
• 4:34
  I've watched him in the sanctuary for several
• 4:36
  nights now. When the lantern's dim and the world
• 4:39
  softens into quiet, he stirs, not because he's
• 4:42
  summoned, but because dusk is his time. He stretches
• 4:47
  his wings, threads of Living silk that catch
• 4:51
  even the faintest moonlight and drifts for upward
• 4:54
  without sound He doesn't hunt. He doesn't patrol.
• 4:58
  He just moves like a drifting leaf carried by
• 5:01
  night's breeze Everywhere he goes he leaves behind
• 5:04
  a trace Little arcs of glowing thread that sway
• 5:07
  like dream catchers in the dark mice curl up
• 5:11
  beneath them Moss rests in the glow. Children
• 5:14
  who wander too close find themselves yawning,
• 5:17
  unafraid, lulled into sleep where even nightmares
• 5:20
  don't flow. Or follow, sorry. Some creatures
• 5:26
  in the wild build nests or shelters. Webizar,
• 5:31
  he makes resting places for anyone who happens
• 5:35
  to need one. I followed him once quietly through
• 5:40
  the wax flower glade. He wasn't leading me anywhere,
• 5:44
  he wasn't aware of me at all. He paused only
• 5:47
  when he found a patch of flowers that had bloomed.
• 5:50
  He wrapped them in his threads, humming in that
• 5:53
  strange buzzing trill of his, and by morning
• 5:56
  the buds had opened, not by magic, just by warmth,
• 6:00
  by protection, and I understood. Webizar doesn't
• 6:04
  carry the burden of stories or symbols. He doesn't
• 6:06
  mean anything more than the rustle of grass or
• 6:09
  the quiet ripple of water. But because of that,
• 6:13
  he means everything. Some beings exist to fight,
• 6:16
  others to guard, and others still to destroy.
• 6:21
  Webizar exists to rest, to hum, to weave. He
• 6:24
  is nature at its gentlest. I once thought monsters
• 6:28
  had to be tamed, defeated, or explained. But
• 6:32
  Webizar refuses all three. He is not a mystery
• 6:34
  to solve. He is not a danger to contain. He is
• 6:37
  life, simply continuing, soft and buzzing in
• 6:40
  the night. And somehow, in his quiet way, he
• 6:44
  reminds me that I am too. I hadn't even told
• 6:51
  Orion or Ling about Webizar yet, but I had finally
• 6:57
  worked up the nerve to tell them. I half expected
• 7:01
  them to scald me before I even opened my mouth,
• 7:03
  and, well, they didn't disappoint. Professor
• 7:06
  Lang leaned forward, his eyes nearing, the moment
• 7:09
  I described the buzzing little glyph and its
• 7:12
  habit of hiding among the lanternlight. Stellifers,
• 7:16
  do you have any idea how dangerous it is to withhold
• 7:20
  discoveries from us? His voice was sharp, but
• 7:22
  beneath it I could sense genuine worry. Professor
• 7:26
  Orion sighed. pinching the bridge of his nose.
• 7:29
  At least this time it was harmless. A lantern
• 7:32
  bug, not a soul eater or a rift spawn. Those
• 7:36
  are classic lifts that you don't want to catch.
• 7:39
  Still, Stella Ferris, you should have told us
• 7:42
  the moment you realized what you had found. Their
• 7:44
  words hit harder than I expected. I mean, I've
• 7:49
  been so proud of catching Webizar, of studying
• 7:54
  its patterns on my own. that I forgot the rule.
• 7:57
  We swore to follow, share every glyph discovered
• 8:01
  for the safety of the team. Still, I couldn't
• 8:07
  help but notice, the glimmer in both their eyes.
• 8:09
  Lang finally cracked the faintest smile. You
• 8:12
  did well. Webizar is a beautiful catch. And harmless
• 8:16
  enough that you spared us another sleepless night
• 8:19
  of containment protocols. Orion let out a weary
• 8:22
  chuckle. Just promise us, Stella Farris, next
• 8:26
  time, no waiting. The glyphs may look whimsical,
• 8:30
  but their secrets run deep. Even a harmless one
• 8:33
  can teach us something important. I nodded, cradling
• 8:36
  webizars, a tiny glow between my palms, and that
• 8:40
  moment I realized their frustration wasn't anger
• 8:42
  at me, it was fear of losing me to the very mysteries
• 8:47
  we chase. And with that, I left Professor Orian
• 8:54
  and my crush, Professor Lang, standing there
• 8:58
  as I went back to my sanctuary. So back in the
• 9:01
  sanctuary, the warm glow of the pyramid's crystal
• 9:04
  lamps cast shifting light across the chamber.
• 9:08
  Webizar was buzzing around in restless circles,
• 9:11
  his tiny wings beating like the flutter of parchment
• 9:14
  in a storm. He kept dive -bombing Orabi, clearly
• 9:20
  trying to stockpile whatever strength he could.
• 9:22
  Urabeek, however, was having none of it. With
• 9:25
  the sharp click of his golden shell, the glyph's
• 9:28
  duck -like beak curved into something almost
• 9:31
  smug. He invoked his signature move pharaoh.
• 9:35
  A pulse of golden energy erupted from the scarab,
• 9:38
  a ripple that bent the air like heat over desert
• 9:41
  stone. In an instant, Webizar was gently but
• 9:44
  firmly pushed back. His buzzing reduced to a
• 9:47
  sulky whine as he spun midair and landed in a
• 9:49
  mossy corner of the sanctuary. Satisfied, Orbeek
• 9:53
  scuttled forward on his jointed legs, his shell
• 9:58
  gleaming as he curled up against me with surprising
• 10:01
  delicacy for such a formidable creature. He perched
• 10:04
  on my shoulder like a piece of ancient jewelry.
• 10:07
  Come to life, his ducklike beak clacked once,
• 10:11
  almost like a warning to Webizar not to try again.
• 10:14
  Webizar's wings twitched and indignation shot
• 10:18
  me. a look that seemed to say traitor before
• 10:20
  curling into a silky ball in the crook of the
• 10:24
  wall. I sat there for what felt like hours, the
• 10:29
  silence of the sanctuary wrapped around me like
• 10:32
  a heavy but gentle blanket. Time blurred, softened
• 10:36
  until all I could feel was the steady rhythm
• 10:39
  of my own breathing. My mind wandered down the
• 10:42
  endless hallways of memory, the laughter of childhood
• 10:45
  long behind me. The sting of betrayals, the small
• 10:48
  victories that no one else could celebrate it
• 10:50
  but me. Every triumph, every scar, every lesson
• 10:54
  seemed to shimmer in that stillness. For once
• 10:57
  I was thinking about what I lacked, or wasn't
• 11:01
  thinking, sorry, for once I wasn't thinking about
• 11:03
  what I lacked or what I had yet to achieve. For
• 11:06
  once I realized I was happy. The stone beneath
• 11:09
  me was cold, grounding, and the faint hum of
• 11:11
  distant glyphs and their rest was almost like
• 11:15
  a lullaby. Then out of nowhere a soft weight
• 11:18
  shifted at my side. What a bazaar. He scooted
• 11:22
  forward in his awkward, buzzing way until he
• 11:26
  pressed right against my leg, his fuzzy body
• 11:29
  vibrating with a gentle purr -like hum, his wings
• 11:32
  usually restless. We're quiet now, brushing faintly
• 11:38
  against me, as though he was afraid to disturb
• 11:40
  the fragile peace of the moment. I glanced down,
• 11:43
  catching the twin antennae, heads peeking up
• 11:46
  at me with sleepy eyes. For heartbeat, I almost
• 11:49
  laughed, but instead I let the smile tugging
• 11:53
  at my lips linger without sound, and lifted my
• 11:56
  gaze skyward. Above me stretched the endless
• 11:59
  canvas of the heavens, more breathtaking than
• 12:02
  I'd ever allowed myself to admit. The twin suns
• 12:06
  burned with unwavering brilliance, painting the
• 12:09
  sanctuary in shades of amber and gold, while
• 12:11
  the moons kept the planet from being too hot.
• 12:19
  Their light intertwined perfectly with the three
• 12:22
  moons, which hung like silver guardians in their
• 12:25
  eternal orbit. They did not falter, they did
• 12:28
  not dim. The constant glow was neither day nor
• 12:31
  night. But something beyond both, a reminder
• 12:34
  that in this strange world, some lights never
• 12:39
  wavered, no matter how much everything else changed.
• 12:42
  The sight carved something into me, deep and
• 12:45
  quiet, hope, maybe. Or the reminder that existence
• 12:50
  didn't need to be justified, it simply was. Webizar
• 12:58
  pressed harder against my side, letting out a
• 13:00
  centered the trail. I reached down without thinking,
• 13:04
  brushing my fingers over his soft, fuzzy belly.
• 13:07
  The twin heads squabbled briefly over who got
• 13:11
  the attention, one nipping gently at my fingertip
• 13:13
  while the other licked me with its tongue. Their
• 13:18
  playfulness made my chest ache in a good way.
• 13:21
  They didn't need me to be perfect or powerful.
• 13:23
  They just needed me to be. From my shoulder I
• 13:27
  felt a shift, or a beak stirred, the golden plates
• 13:31
  of his scarab -shell, glinting as he adjusted
• 13:33
  his perch. His duck -like beak clacked once,
• 13:37
  sharp and deliberate, like the cracking of ancient
• 13:40
  stone. For a moment I thought I might scald Webizar,
• 13:44
  again with that imperious aura of his, but instead
• 13:50
  he only nestled closer against my neck, curling
• 13:53
  his legs with surprising Dallas kissy. His warmth
• 13:57
  was steady, protective, like the weight of an
• 14:00
  old crown that didn't burden but reassured. Together,
• 14:06
  the three of us watched the sky. The air was
• 14:08
  still, save for the faint buzzing of Webizar's
• 14:11
  wings and the occasional scrape of Orabik's beak
• 14:15
  against my shoulder, and in that stillness I
• 14:18
  felt it, the strange unspoken bond that tied
• 14:20
  us together. I was no longer just me, wandering
• 14:24
  aimlessly through the gates of this fractured
• 14:26
  world. I was part of something living, something
• 14:28
  greater. For the first time in a long time, the
• 14:32
  future didn't terrify me, it waited, and I would
• 14:35
  meet it, not alone, but with them by my side.
• 14:39
  I guess I must have fallen asleep, because when
• 14:42
  I woke up, the twin suns and the three moons
• 14:45
  were still hanging in their usual spot, and the
• 14:48
  stars tiny, stubborn, pinpricks of light, never
• 14:51
  fading. Time felt strange here, the sky never
• 14:56
  changed, never slept. never gave any hint of
• 14:59
  morning or night. It was a sky that had always
• 15:02
  been and always would be, suspended above the
• 15:05
  world like a perfect, untouchable painting. My
• 15:09
  neck ached stiff and sore from Aurobeek, who
• 15:12
  had somehow wedged himself against me in the
• 15:15
  night, forcing my head sideways into an awkward
• 15:18
  angle. I guess that was the only way he could
• 15:20
  get comfortable. Meanwhile, Web Bazaar had curled
• 15:23
  up across my legs in a way that left me twist
• 15:27
  it like a pretzel, and every attempt to move
• 15:29
  only made the ache worse. When I finally managed
• 15:32
  to set up, I accidentally toppled them both off
• 15:36
  me. They landed with a soft thud, and immediately
• 15:39
  glared at me, eyes flashing with that I could
• 15:42
  only interpret as indignation. What? It was an
• 15:49
  accident. I protested, rubbing my sore neck,
• 15:52
  or a big golden scarab -like eye shimmered slowly.
• 15:56
  glinting in the unchanging light of the suns
• 16:00
  and moons. While Webizar's tiny claws twitched
• 16:04
  as if plotting revenge, I swear I could feel
• 16:07
  the weight of their judgment pressing down on
• 16:09
  me, heavier than my own stiffness. Dragging myself
• 16:14
  onto the front porch, I had intended to start
• 16:17
  preparing the picnic, but Luna and Herculife
• 16:19
  and Xena and hers had already beaten me to it.
• 16:22
  The sight made me pause for a moment, marveling
• 16:25
  at how orderly and serene everything looked under
• 16:28
  the eternal sky. For luck, or maybe just for
• 16:32
  their own amusement, they'd laid out carnivorous
• 16:34
  sandwiches stuffed with Gorgon cheese and Vespera
• 16:38
  fruit sandwiches for dessert. The glowing colors
• 16:41
  of the food seemed almost alive. in the unchanging
• 16:45
  light, as if they too belonged to this timeless
• 16:48
  world. The strange mix of sweet and savory scents
• 16:51
  made my stomach rumble, to spike the ache in
• 16:54
  my neck, and I couldn't help but smile. Orabik
• 16:57
  and Webizar now perched on the railing, watching
• 17:00
  me suspiciously as I approached the table. I
• 17:03
  offered them a small piece of Gorgon cheese,
• 17:05
  and Webizar snatched it in a blur, devouring
• 17:08
  it before I could blink. Orabik merely tilted
• 17:11
  his head, blinking those shimmering eyes at me
• 17:13
  as if to say, do better next time. I laughed
• 17:17
  softly, realizing that even in this endless frozen
• 17:20
  sky, life carried on in little chaotic, beautiful
• 17:24
  ways. I sat down at the table, the glyphs hovering
• 17:28
  nearby, their soft movements casting flickering
• 17:31
  shadows across the ground. The twin suns didn't
• 17:35
  rise or set, the three moons didn't wane, and
• 17:38
  the stars never blinked out. But somehow, with
• 17:41
  this moment of shared laughter, food, and the
• 17:43
  warmth of friends, the whole world felt alive
• 17:47
  anyway. I picked up a carnivore or a sandwich
• 17:51
  and took a bite, and it was as if my body hadn't
• 17:53
  eaten in years. Every taste exploded on my tongue,
• 17:56
  sharper and richer than anything I'd ever experienced
• 18:00
  before. The Gorgon cheese had a strange, almost
• 18:04
  electric ting, like tiny sparks were dancing
• 18:07
  along my taste buds, and the bread seemed to
• 18:10
  hum faintly beneath my teeth, warm and fragrant
• 18:12
  as if it had been freshly baked just for me.
• 18:15
  My senses shot higher than they'd ever gone before,
• 18:19
  each flavor unfolding like a story I could fill
• 18:21
  in my bones. I could taste the faint shimmer
• 18:24
  of magic that lingered in the ingredients, a
• 18:26
  sort of hum in the back of my throat that made
• 18:29
  me shiver with delight. Who made this, I ask,
• 18:32
  my voice trembling slightly with awe. As I glanced
• 18:35
  at Luna and Xena, my eyes darted between them
• 18:38
  and their glyphs, who hovered nearby with satisfied
• 18:41
  little hums and soft clicks, like they knew exactly
• 18:46
  how extraordinary their handiwork was. Luna grinned,
• 18:49
  brushing a strand of hair from her face. We worked
• 18:53
  together, she said, gesturing toward her glyph,
• 18:56
  Merno, who twitched happily. His small rhino
• 19:02
  like horn glinting under the eternal suns a little
• 19:04
  magic a little luck and a lot of Gorgon cheese
• 19:07
  Merno let out a delight bite it squeak and bounced
• 19:12
  in place Tiny feet tapping rhythmically against
• 19:16
  the porch floor then a sapphire and ruby striped
• 19:19
  tiger glyph Ignazura stretched lazily before
• 19:23
  Circling the table leaving faint streaks of glittering
• 19:26
  light wherever his paws touched and a lot of
• 19:30
  Vespera fruit," Xena added with a sly smile.
• 19:33
  I think you're feeling it more than we expected.
• 19:37
  She winked at me, and I could see a mischievous
• 19:40
  glimmer in her eyes. I took a bite, and suddenly
• 19:42
  the flavors seemed to expand, filling my entire
• 19:45
  body. The Gorgon cheese tingled along my spine
• 19:48
  like a thousand tiny sparks. The bread melted
• 19:51
  perfectly with each chew, and the sweet Vespera
• 19:54
  fruit slid over my tongue like liquid sunlight.
• 19:58
  The air around me shimmered faintly, as if the
• 20:01
  magic energy in the food had begun to reach out
• 20:06
  beyond the plate, twinning around the glyphs
• 20:11
  and me in a warm, gentle pulse. Orbeek tilted
• 20:16
  his head, golden eyes gleaming in a faint golden
• 20:21
  glow traced along the edges of his wings. Webizar
• 20:24
  twitched with excitement. The little spark in
• 20:27
  his claws flickering in rhythm with the taste
• 20:30
  that was coursing through me. I laughed softly,
• 20:36
  almost overwhelmed by it all, and leaned back
• 20:38
  in my chair, letting the warmth of the internal
• 20:41
  sky settle over me and us. The twin suns and
• 20:45
  three moons hung unmoving above, their light
• 20:48
  steady, comforting, and strangely alive. Stars
• 20:51
  twinkled faintly between them. Stubborn points
• 20:55
  of silver that refused to fade and under that
• 20:58
  unchanging sky and the flavors the laughter the
• 21:02
  glyphs magic It felt infinite For the first time
• 21:10
  that day I realized that even in the world where
• 21:12
  time never moved and the heavens never slept
• 21:15
  Moments like this small magic utterly alive could
• 21:20
  exist. I couldn't help but grin at Luna, Xena,
• 21:23
  and their brilliant, mischievous companions.
• 21:26
  This is unbelievable, I whispered, taking another
• 21:31
  bite and feeling the hum of the eternal sky.
• 21:34
  The energy of the food and the warmth of their
• 21:36
  presence swirled together like a symphony I could
• 21:38
  taste, see and feel all at once. And let me clarify,
• 21:44
  guys. Time on Nibiru does move. It's just the
• 21:48
  sun, the stars, and the moon never moves. It's
• 21:53
  the only thing that never moves. And with that,
• 21:57
  we have a finished episode. So, may the gods
• 22:02
  of Nibiru shine their light down on you. Stay
• 22:09
  cool, stay fresh, and stay bright. Never let
• 22:16
  your star burn out. Until next time, this is
• 22:20
  Stella Faire signing off.