Ryan Arce, also known as Mr. Sorbetero, was a drug dealer that created, manufactured and distributed Shift Pills.
Character history[]
At some point, Ryan figured out the magic formula to create Shift Pills, which involved the use of a transformation sigil used by salamankero. With this, he managed an underground business that often involved supernatural beings.[1] His drugs were gradually circulated into bars and clubs throughout Metro Manila, garnering him enough leverage to have bat-like aswang bodyguards[1] and a penthouse in Eastwood[2]. Though he primarily lived in a property near the Livewell Area, he often moved around and dealt with his clients in meet-ups at bars and other discrete locations.[1]
Rakuda connected with Ryan and gathered ingredients for him in exchange for Shift Pills tailored specifically for them. The Madame instigated the connection between the two as part of a grand plan to gain Datu Karagatan and Bagyon Yente's favor.[2]
Rakuda and the taga-dagat met Ryan in a warehouse in Navotas for another transaction. Rakuda threatened Ryan with backing out from the deal and taking the Shift Pills for themselves, but the dealer revealed his aswang bodyguards and leveraged his exclusive knowledge of the formula for the pills. They traded for the pills with the ingredients they fetched for him, which included the bones of sirena and were packaged in plastic bags thrown in the sea. One of the taga-dagat noticed Verdugo spying on them from above and immediately brought him down, forcing Ryan to back away with his bodyguards.[1]
Eventually, Alexandra Trese, Verdugo and his squad fought the taga-dagat and killed Rakuda at a battle in Barangay Pacifica, with Bagyon Yente surprising all of them by taking 400 dead taga-dagat as an offering for herself. Under the Madame's orders, Ryan and Rakuda had the taga-dagat take blood samples from Alexandra, Verdugo and the Kambal without them noticing.[2]
At his penthouse in Eastwood, Ryan met with Doma to deliver the blood samples the taga-dagat acquired as well as a few Shift Pills the Madame asked for. These pills, combining the abilities of batibat, hungayon and octopods, allow the user to mimic a person's worst nightmares when taken altogether at once. Without Ryan's permission, Doma took the pills and transmogrificated her arm into a tentacle-like appendage, killing Ryan with it.[2]
Trivia[]
- His name is a reference to "Mamang Sorbetero", a song by Celeste Legaspi.