In various cultures, specific accessories hold profound symbolic value for brides. In the rich tapestry of Indian traditions, a bride’s ensemble is laden with meaning and portrays her newfound status as a married woman.
India, with its diverse traditions and customs, boasts an array of unique wedding attires, each uniquely representing the bride’s special day. Here’s a link from Youtube that explains the 9 rituals of the Hindu wedding, and what they mean.
So, what can you expect as a Marathi bride on your wedding day? Lets take a look at various ornaments that make a Maharashtrian bride’s look complete!
Bridal Saaḏee - Also called the “Saree” around the world, the Saaḏee (in Marathi) is the classic OOTD for a Maharashtrian bride. It can be a nine yards one, called Naoo-vaari (Naoo – Nine, Vaari – Yards) or a Six Yards one. The ceremonial Saaḏee is generally yellow in colour, however, it may differ as per family traditions.Illustration of a Maharashtrian bride with a labelled description of the following wedding ornaments: Naoo-vaari Saadee, Tiklee, Nath, Mundavalya, Kanatley, and Mangalsutra
Koonku/Ticklee - The Tiklee, also known as “Bindi” in other parts of India, is a red coloured dot applied on the forehead. It is applied along with vermilion powder (Koonku), and turmeric powder (Haldi) on the forehead serves as an auspicious sign of marriage. As the bride steps over the threshold of her new home, her red ticklee is believed to usher in prosperity and grant her a place as the family’s newest guardian.
In today’s world, the Ticklee has evolved into a fashion accessory and is available in various shapes, sizes, and colours.
Mangalsutra - Made of black beads and gold, the Mangalsutra is a sacred necklace that symbolises the new bond of matrimony. Just as a western groom puts the ring on his bride, in the same way the Maharashtrian groom ties the Mangalsutra around the bride’s neck.
The significance of this ornament can be seen in the meaning of the word Mangalsutra – “Mangal” meaning auspicious, and “Sutra” meaning thread or cord.
Mundavalya - A “Mundavali” (plural: Mundavalyaa) is a traditional headpiece or headband worn by Marathi brides as part of their wedding attire. Made of pearls and gold, and adorned with intricate designs such as including motifs, gemstones, and other decorative elements it symbolizes the bride’s auspicious and sacred journey into married life. The Mundavali enhances the bride’s beauty and adds an elegant and regal touch to her bridal look.
Nath - The Nath is a traditional Marathi nose ring, usually studded with pearls and gemstones, worn on the bride’s left nostril. The Maharashtrian Nath is very distinctive in appearance and is easily recognisable as a quintessential Maharashtrian ornament.
Kanatley (Earrings) - Made of gold and encrusted with precious stones, Kanatley or earrings are often paired with a matching necklace. The literal meaning of the word Kanatley is – the ones on the ear.
Mehendi - A few days before the wedding day, intricate henna designs are applied to the bride’s hands and feet during the Haldi ceremony. Applying henna on weddings is an age-old tradition, without which the wedding look remains incomplete. It is traditionally an all female event, where other women and girls attending the Haldi ceremony often choose to apply Mehendi on their hands as well.
Bangdya - Bangdee (Plural: Bangdyaa) refers to bangles worn on the hand. Brides wear green glass bangles in odd numbers along with thin gold bangles called paaṯlyaa, and thick gold bangles called toḏey.
Painjan (Anklets) - Painjan(Payal) or anklets are traditionally made of metals such as silver and gold, and are adorned with small bells and charms. They jingle with each step, creating a musical and rhythmic sound often associated with grace and femininity.
Jodavee (Toe rings) - “Jodavee” are Toe rings, traditionally made of silver, and worn in pairs, on the second toe of each foot. The ornate designs, have evolved over the years into more contemporary designs that cater to the modern bride.
A Marathi bride’s ensemble serves a cultural and aesthetic purpose. It symbolises her transition to married life, enhances her beauty and grace, and protects her from negative forces. These traditional accessories, cherished in Marathi culture for generations continue to play a significant role in Marathi weddings.
We hope this short outline has helped you better understand what you need as a Marathi bride on your big day! If you would like to practice what you have learnt, we have designed a fun crossword activity sheet to help you remember the vocabulary.

Play is a fundamental aspect of childhood development, fostering creativity, social skills, and cognitive growth. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, engaging in play activities can present unique challenges. In this article, we'll explore 10 autism-inclusive play ideas designed to promote development and provide enjoyable experiences for children on the autism spectrum.
Sensory Play
Sensory play engages the senses and can be particularly beneficial for children with autism who may have sensory processing differences. Consider setting up sensory bins filled with materials like rice, sand, water beads, or textured fabrics. Encourage exploration and experimentation with different textures, smells, and tactile sensations to stimulate the senses and promote sensory integration.
Pretend Play
Pretend play offers opportunities for imaginative expression and social interaction. Create a dress-up corner with costumes and props, or set up a pretend kitchen with play food and utensils. Encourage children to role-play different scenarios, such as cooking a meal, going on a pretend adventure, or acting out everyday activities. Pretend play can help develop language skills, creativity, and social understanding.
Visual Supports
Many children with autism benefit from visual supports to enhance communication and understanding. Incorporate visual supports into play activities by using picture schedules, visual timers, or visual cue cards to provide structure and predictability. Visual supports can help children navigate transitions, follow routines, and comprehend expectations, promoting independence and reducing anxiety.
Structured Games
Structured games with clear rules and expectations can provide opportunities for learning and social interaction. Choose games that are simple, repetitive, and easy to understand, such as matching games, board games with visual cues, or turn-taking activities. Structured games can help children develop important skills like turn-taking, sharing, and following directions, while also providing opportunities for fun and enjoyment.
Movement Activities
Physical activity is essential for promoting gross motor skills, coordination, and body awareness. Plan movement activities that cater to the interests and preferences of children with autism, such as yoga, dancing, or obstacle courses. Provide sensory-friendly spaces with options for proprioceptive input, such as crash pads, trampolines, or therapy swings. Movement activities not only support physical development but also help regulate sensory processing and promote emotional well-being.
Nature Exploration
Nature offers a rich sensory environment filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery. Take children on nature walks to observe plants, animals, and natural landscapes. Encourage hands-on exploration by collecting leaves, rocks, or shells, and incorporating them into sensory activities or crafts. Nature exploration fosters curiosity, appreciation for the environment, and connections with the natural world.
Art and Creativity
Art activities provide a creative outlet for self-expression and can be adapted to accommodate the needs of children with autism. Offer a variety of art materials and techniques, such as painting, drawing, collage, or sculpting. Focus on process-oriented art rather than product-focused outcomes, allowing children to explore materials freely and express themselves without pressure. Art activities support fine motor skills, creativity, and sensory exploration.
Social Stories
Social stories are short narratives that describe social situations, concepts, or expectations in a structured and visual format. Create social stories related to play activities, such as going to a playground, attending a birthday party, or participating in group games. Use simple language, clear visuals, and personalized details to help children understand what to expect and how to navigate social interactions. Social stories can reduce anxiety, improve social skills, and enhance participation in play activities.
Technology-Based Play
Technology can be a valuable tool for engaging children with autism and supporting their development. Explore interactive apps, educational games, or virtual reality experiences that cater to the interests and learning styles of children with autism. Use technology-based play activities to target specific skills, such as communication, academic concepts, or social skills, while also providing engaging and motivating experiences.
Joint Attention Activities
Joint attention refers to the ability to share attention with others and coordinate attention between objects, people, and events. Plan activities that promote joint attention, such as building with blocks, playing with toys that require turn-taking, or engaging in interactive games like peek-a-boo or pat-a-cake. Use prompts, modeling, and reinforcement to encourage children to attend to and interact with others, fostering social engagement and communication skills.
If you're seeking aba therapy for autism virginia beach,va, look no further! Our dedicated team offers comprehensive Applied Behavior Analysis services tailored to meet the individual needs of children and adults on the autism spectrum. With a focus on evidence-based interventions and personalized treatment plans, we are committed to helping individuals with autism reach their full potential and thrive in all aspects of life. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support you and your family on the journey towards growth and success.
Conclusion
Play is a powerful vehicle for promoting development, fostering social connections, and enriching the lives of children with autism. By incorporating autism-inclusive play ideas into everyday activities, we can create meaningful opportunities for learning, growth, and enjoyment. Whether through sensory exploration, imaginative play, structured games, or nature adventures, every play experience has the potential to unlock new possibilities and support the unique strengths and needs of children on the autism spectrum. Let's continue to explore, create, and play together, building a more inclusive and enriching world for all children.

Noah The Pilgrim
First Next
There is one last thing to do before leaving. If you don't recall ever being on this ship, then surely, you could have had your appearance change too.
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.

Bright illuminescant flashes bolted through the dark-lit sky, rushing and raging through clouds seemingly made of gossamer and finely woven felt. You could almost reach out and touch them if not for the raging storm ripping and hollering. It shone and splintered along the sky, splitting into a thousand arcs, each converging and convexing along the stars. Electrical currents spun like lavender spider webs along a farmhouse wall. The arcs traveled, painting a vibrant tapestry along its wake before reaching their climax and releasing a wicked KRAK as the lights slowly faded.
The gossamer clouds wept tears of dull acidic rain that fell, cascading downwards. Down to the swampy fetid fields below. Their droplets splashed and sizzled against the sand, slowly fizzing before hardening into a thin velvet glass before beginning all over again. A sad display of god’s fury laid bare and plain for all to see. The rain had begun just a week prior, but its assault had persisted in a constant pattern ever since. The swamp ached and squirmed in an agonizing way as the rain melted away any sign of basic life.
Puddles of the acidic deluge collected along a road leading to the once fertile silver mine, just three miles from the town of Crestfall. Near the edge of the road, a fork splits off into multiple directions. South of the fork leads to the entrance of Deep Rock Mine. The mine’s entrance stands agape, resting at the base of a mountain. The mine’s layout, a cavern of crisscrossing and haphazardly formed tunnels, awaited past the thick darkness entrapping the entrance. They curve and wind up the spine of the mountain, as well as descend deep into the now dead earth.
The face of the mountain was bare but rough. Rocks jutted and sloped along its curvature, forming a near mesmeric pattern of spiked granite. Towards the peak, a malicious and not all entirely natural pattern emerged. As the acidic rain fell, framing the mountainous backdrop, the pattern watched and waited. An almost human-like visage stretched along the face of the mountain like canvas pulled over a wooden frame. It’s design scorn into the rock itself as if meticulously laid out to warn any who dared breach the confines of the swamp.
Silence lingered amongst the misty atmospheric dredge, save for the muffled and subtle ambietic sounds of the rain. Through the dead foliage and gnarled remains of creatures recently passed, a sound rang forth. Distant exclamation and reverberated clanging rhythmically sounded from deep within the mine. Up and down the mine laid stalactites and stalagmites haphazardly stationed around every corner. Their abrupt positioning cast shadows wherever light felt unable to reach. The mine walls were smooth from years of work and toilage, along with the long uninterrupted tunnels, created an almost echo chamber for sound.
Abrupt crashes and distant thrashes echoed through the winding chamber. Its sounds detailed a fierce battle between clashing swords and fervent blows.
Or so it would seem.
A sword, emblazoned with the sigil of a raven, flew across the dimly lit room. Its body crashes and clings as it skips along the floor, its blade slashing and carving thin lines into the granite flooring as it makes contact with the ground. A fierce shadow sprawls along the cave walls, depicting a struggle between foes.
The wanderer-and recent owner of the raven crested blade-crashes to the floor. Leather straps firmly tied around his shoulder blades catch most of the weight of the fall, but pain still echoed through his nerves.
“Hells! You slimy bastard!” The wanderer winces and yells in a blinded fury. “You don’t play fair, and here I thought we were having a nice sport of it.”
No reply immediately came from his opponent, still standing off near a downed torch. Flame wisped and flicked along the ground, casting shadows and dreaded omens as if they were ripped directly from a child’s nightmare.
At once, the foe stepped forward. The shadows sprawled across the walls painted a disturbing picture of horror and grotesque form. Imaginative figures born from shadows were always so much more terrible than the beings that cast them, but in this case it was clearly the other way around. The foe opposite The Wanderer lurched forward, it's body a gnarled vestige of exoskeleton and mandibles. It almost resembled a large insect, like a praying mantis that decided its evolutionary cycle had not quite finished yet.
On multi-socketed legs, it snapped and convulsed along. Every movement of its body felt agonizing, as if the creature was hastily thrown together by a quite absent god. Various olive and violet fluids oozed and dripped from its husk like body as it vocalized terrible sounds. The creature-seemingly unable to speak-produced noises from its mouth that resembled a mix of gargles and marbles being tossed along a wooden floor. All the while, its grotesque pincer like appendage snapped and clicked almost involuntarily.
The wanderer-still recovering from his fall-slowly pushed his body along the cold rocky ground, his arm still pulsing with pain.
“Oh my, what big mouths you have.” The wanderer teased sounding much more worried than he intended. ‘Always good to keep in control of the situation. Confidence is key.’ As he was always want to say, but this wasn’t an ordinary situation.
His arm traced along the ground, reaching and prodding for his recently lost weapon. Daring not look away from the oncoming threat, he felt nothing. His sword was currently resting near the opposite side of the cave room, resting flat along the ground. Away from The Wanderer’s grasp, far away from being of any further use here it seemed.
Doubt surged through his mind, but only for a short time. ‘Doubt breeds more doubt, and further doubt breeds ruin’, another favorite.
Clenched palms moved along the granite flooring. Leather gloves scraped and bruised as The Wanderer lifted back to his feet, regaining balance and fervor. The arm that had broken his fall felt numb and altogether absent.
‘Dislocated most likely, not a big enough fall to break.’
The insect-like foe-still closing the distance between them-snapped and gurgled in an almost territorial display of aggression.
The Wanderer grinned, placing his uninjured arm against its opposite’s elbow, before violently, yet methodically, pushing it upwards. A clear snap, followed by a dull pop echoed through the room. Feeling began pouring back into his arm as the vibrating itch of numbness faded. Both arms began to raise, fists clenched, the leather gloves creased and squelched from the sheer pressure as his hands formed tightly wounded fists. Fists pointed squarely towards the all not entirely normal creature still gurgling and jerking along the shadow filled room.
“Oh...” The Wanderer began. “I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t enjoy every second of this.” His fists raised up, reaching level with the bridge of his nose. “Come one now, give us yer best.”
As if understanding -and altogether disliking- the series of vulgar remarks thrusted toward it, the creature squealed through its deformed face. The jerking motion its movement seemed to have before was replaced with a fluid dash as it quickly closed the distance between the two adversaries. Arms outstretched as its gnarled and jagged hands opened and closed with violent snaps and twinges. Reaching out, grasping the air between them. The gap closed quickly, much quicker than he anticipated, but not enough to catch him entirely off guard as he shifts weight from right the left. The slender frame of his body flanking to the side of the creature.
Shadows arched and flailed with each movement, creating a strange optical illusion across the cave walls. The subtle shifting wind and osculation of the two fighters created an almost mural of events through the flames. Clashing swords, trumpeting horns and creatures that rivaled the tallest spires in Etheral began to converge into an unrecognizable painting of events. The fire loomed, gazing at the creature, at The Wanderer. Its gaze almost purposeful and full of intent. Neither the two beings made any note of the grand display unfolding around them. Fire is known to be a harsh mentor, and an even harsher ally. If one was to wander too deeply into its wounding gaze, one might find themselves trapped, forever living in the tapestry it painted.
The creature was fast, but nowhere as fast as him. Once useless, now repaired, the dislocated arm wrapped between the creatures glistening forearm, interlocking before weight shifted again. The creature stalled as if to reorient itself to face the man, but its movements were not its own. Quickly and deftly, The Wanderer placed immense weight on his forward foot, counterbalancing against the creature as their locked arms rotated and shifted sideways. Arching forward, the shift in balance quickly broke as the creature began to lift in the air as The Wanderer’s rear leg lifted to relegate pressure onward. Flailing and spewing its noxious fluid, the creature flipped entirely, finally crashing to the floor in a savage crunch. The Wanderer stands above, looking downward as it convulses in a fit of pain (could it even quantify pain) and anger.
A greyish foul-smelling slime coated The Wanderer’s chest and forearm. Small indentions formed along the hard leather surface of his jacket, most likely from the not entirely cosmetic spikes embedded into the creature.
“Alright, now I’d say we’re fairly close to a draw here.” The Wanderer began. “How’s say we handle the rest with a bit more diplomacy and grace? No point and making a bigger stink than we already got, but telling by the state of yourself, I’d say you know all about stink.”
The maddening gurgle of the creature slowed as its body began to calm. Its arms moving outward, sprawling along the hard granite rock as its legs raise along with the rest of it. Wet dew drips along the ground, rippling and casting weird reflections from all directions as the creature steps slowly along their puddles. Slow anxious steps it takes. Its demeanor changes from a wild and disturbed animal to a more methodic and wary being. Eyes of bluish gray sink into its head, pupils moving slowly, analyzing and taking in information. It stands straight, back locked into an opposing stance. God it was big. The man couldn’t much get a good measurement before with its body slouched over in a hermit like stance. It must be at least seven feet tall, equally proportioned from its legs to its torso. The head was rounded, almost human, with its bug-like mandibles protruding in a horrific fashion.
The Wanderer had dealt with creatures before. Along his travels he had come across a litany of monstrous beings; Wargs, Secrolants, Jittering Fiends, Goblins, Spiderlings. None of them quite matched the state of this one. Although he had heard of such beings, none had crossed paths before. The way it moved, the way it thought, it all was abnormal. It's quite simple to take a beast down, some you anger and gain the advantage, some you outsmart, others you can simply scare away. But this one.... oh, he was a different breed entirely. The way its mood could change mid-fight, or how it seemingly understood what was being said. And the way it stared. Thoughts were jutting along in the bug brain of its, and when monsters start thinking, all strategy and preparation goes out the window. Unpredictable is what they become, and prediction was The Wanderer’s bread and butter.
Wary now he waits, staring back at the creature. Locked eyes, they waited. Eyes filled with thought, filled with understanding and reasoning -but most egregiously- they were filled with malice. The fight was not over, they had just reached half-time.
“Let it not be stated that I did not strive for peace and harmony at every turn.” The Wanderer quipped, his hand raised once more, ready for another assault.
A flame flickers, casting shadows once again. Shadows of a man holding wolves at bay, hands outstretched to create a distance between them. The wolves circled and plotted, looking for weakness at every tune, but finding none. Leaves fell, becoming ash as they reached the ground. A fire spreads amongst the ash laden floor, consuming the visage, the man, the wolves. All in consumed in an immense concentrated heat, until the shadows fade to nothingness once more.
The creature meanders onward, just a few steps at a time; looking on as The Wanderer holds his footing, fists raised and ready. Each step of its hard glistening exoskeleton crunches against small rocks and debris sprawled along the cave floor, knocking them aside, producing echoed wails that seemingly bounced from surface to surface. After the third step it abruptly launches at the man, arms outstretched once more in a fit of animalistic fury. Thought seemingly left its eyes as they glazed over into a dull grey, the feeling and reasoning sinking further and further to the back of its mind. The Wanderer grinned, his stance loosening as the soles of his feet began to trace an outline of movement, preparing and readying for a counteroffensive. As its dripping breached the outline, The Wanderer shifted his weight once more, quickly flanking the creature to the side once again, but something was off. His eyes traced the movements of its body, of its arms, of its legs. The animosity in them seemed to almost shift mid attack, becoming lucid and methodical. As if the creature was dancing along with him. Even tracing down to the ground, the footing was wrong. Not his footing. He was always perfect. The dance was memorized, trained, honed to a sharp edge. No, it was the creature’s.
Abruptly the creature’s body shifted, its legs tracing backwards, its torso shifting to the side. A corrective action, a counterattack to his counterattack. Shadows of the pair danced along the cave wall, depicting a wickedly abstract waltz. The creature’s arm whipped outward, its claws barreling towards the thin leather separation between his elbow and forearm. God, it was fast. Faster than The Wanderer. Rip, flash, a bright light, then the crashing of feet as the two returned to their original standing.
It all happened so fast. Faster than he could articulate. He was used to speed, used to tracking and understanding battle situations, creating countermeasures, analyzing the most likely move and executing it within a fraction of a second. All of that was done, but it was all wrong. The creature moved in peculiar fashion, acted as if it were moving on instinct while simultaneously acting with thought and strategy. How could it possibly go both ways?
As he thought, mouth slightly open, breath pouring between his lips in a hot and heavy fashion, he hardly thought of anything else. They had made contact, but there was no feeling. Checking for wounds mid-encounter was generally out of the question with beasts. Often, they gave little time for thought or first aid, but the creature stood and waited. The dull grey look in its eyes were gone again, replaced with the methodical gaze of a strategist analyzing a battlefield. The Wanderer lowered his right arm and traced it along the path of his elbow, reaching his shoulder before he felt it. A definite gash traced about two inches wide, the depth of it couldn’t be guessed, but it had breached the leather. As his hand returned to a fist, warm fresh blood dripped between the fingers, falling and coagulating against the dust and pebbles along the ground. He had indeed been injured, but there was no feeling to it. All felt well, and that’s precisely why all was, in fact, not well.
“You’re a strange one. Not quite like anything I’ve seen before, but I’ll get to know you real well soon enough.”
His eyes moved from the creature, scanning along the ground. Before when this was a simple clean-up, a weapon would be handy, but hardly required of someone with his skills, but this was anything but simple. Parameters had changed, he’d very much like his sword back now.
It was nowhere to be seen initially. The room was dark, with little else than a soft glow from the fallen torch illuminating a small area and casting shadows that obscured others. Then it appeared. Near the feet of the creature, the raven crested blade sat where it had since the beginning of this strange dual. Thoughts echoed along in his head, casting suspicions and doubt in every facet of the encounter. Things were not as they appeared.
A slight grin crept along his face again, before quickly subsiding. “Think I have enough time for one more go of it. Care to lead?”
The creature stood, watching and plotting before the dull grey of its eyes appeared once again, launching it into another fury. It lunged, arms outstretched again, running full speed to the man. He simply stood, his hands loosening from tightly wound fists of rock to loosely packed fists of snow. His palms opened slightly; his footing loosened as the heels of his feet digging into the hard rocky floor. They began to move slightly, tracing a straight horizontal line where he stood as he slowly began to back away. The creature, still in a frenzy, closes the distance fast. Seemingly faster than any previous assault as The Wanderer ceased his slow backing retreat, his feet returning to a strong stance, soles digging deep into the earth. He takes in a breath, his heartrate slowing. The light sounds of the cave begin to grow, becoming more apparent and concentrated. Small droplets of dew falling from the ceiling, wind softly blowing along, echoing through the harrowed halls and the flickering of a flame slowly speaking its ancient language. They all converged, mirroring themselves as The Wanderer’s eyes closed. Time seemed to slow as the creature came closer, its steps further apart, its maddening gurgling seemingly floating away. It stepped, stepped and stepped along the ground, pushing pebbles and dust without thought.
Finally, it reached the line carved into the rock. Its foot crunched, making contact with the earth, and in an instant its eyes reverted again. The grey dullness seeping away to its methodically stategistic norm. In that instant, The Wanderers eyes erupted open. The chittering thing’s arms stretch out for his neck, hoping to seize his artery with its horrific claws. Quickly, quicker than anything that day, The Wanderer moved in a fast range of motions that all seemingly happened at once. His weight once again shifted, flanking the creature. His arms locked into a position of counterattack. The creature quickly issued its own countermeasure, once again whipping its body and throwing its claw outward, aiming higher than before, aiming for his neck.
A flame moved. Shadows formed along the walls once more, although they showed a different scene. A scene depicting two swordsman locked in deathly combat. Their swords swinging violently but with grace and purpose. They clashed a thousand times. Each time sending a spray of bright sparks that swelled through the air creating intricate patterns that lingered before slowly fading.
The creature was stuck, unable to move, unable to continue its assault and unable to return to its desired location. The Wanderer's palm grasped the creature's wrist tightly, locking it into a hold. The grey of the creature’s eyes were completely gone now as its pupils darted around in panic. His hand arched forward, his foot kicking –what would assumedly be- the creature’s calf, buckling its knees and forcing it to the ground. Cracking and popping erupted from the joints of its arm as his grip tightened. It’s gurgling became sporadic, as if pleading to be set free. He simply watched it, once against studying its behavior, its patterns, its mannerisms.
“You really are special. Not like anything in the world I imagine, but what makes you so special.” The Wanderer clenched his hold tighter, the creature falls lower, its face pushing into the cold rock. “You were playing a game, weren’t you? You understand what I’m saying too, and that I can assure you is indeed something special. Predicting my movements, using the techniques against me. You weren’t just fighting for a meal. You were learning, weren’t you?”
The creature clicked and gurgled, chittering against the ground as the hard surface of its arm began to crack.
“Now, I’m not opposed to teaching if I aim to gain something from it, but what I won’t abide is being played with. Now...” He plants his foot against the back of the creature's neck, both arms holding its locked appendage in a pulling motion. “I think I deserve to know a little more about you my foul-smelling friend, and if I’m right up until this point, you outta know exactly what I’m saying. I also assume you know a threat when you hear one. So...” His grip tightens, his leather boot slowly crunched against the creature’s skull. “Tell me what you are, and where you learned to be so damn special.”
The creature’s eyes widen, the dull grey returning, filling its retinas as it begins to violently convulse. A shrill screech fills the room, echoing along the walls, traveling through the twisting and winding tunnels of the long-forgotten mine. Shadows creep along the cave walls once more, scattering and convulsing, twisting into horrid and unimaginable shapes. Creatures that belong to fables and horror tales begin flooding along the shapes as the flame whips and crackles. The torch quickly combusts, the flames turning a sharp blackish violet. Heat bellows from the waves of ember emitting from the now monumental display of hellfire as the shadows multiply, taking over every inch of coverage. The Wanderer’s ears tremble at the immense noise, his vision begins to weaken as the shrill echo reaches a climactic crescendo. Any more of this and it’s all over, lights out.
He looks downward to the creature, its mind warped with whatever dark arts influenced it. His grip tightens as his foot presses firmly against the back of its head. Slow crunching and cracking sounds begin to intermingle with the terrible sounds of its cry. As the boot came down, harder and harder, the creature’s terrible screech began to thin and grow in pitch, like the air being slowly released from a balloon. Then, a horrendous snap before the head was no more. Violet and green brain matter covered the area around its neck as small fragments of skull of tissue caked along the sides of his boots. All at once the cry stopped, and along with it the room slowly began to darken. The flame began to slowly dwindle back to its original size, its color returning to a soft orange glow.
The Wanderer stepped back; his eyes firmly planted on the now deceased creature lying before him. A pool of its blood slowly trickled along the floor, reaching for his sword. Slowly, his body lumbered to the lost blade. Its handle was wrapped in scaled pitch blade leather, its blade a vibrant silver, still glistening with oil. The visage of a raven prominently scorn into the finish of the blade itself. Before the foul-smelling blood reaches the blade, the man slowly leans down to collect it. His body ached, his arms felt heavy and as the world around him began to dim, he retrieved the blade. Weighing it in his hand he felt secure, like a lost piece of him was restored with its retrieval. It felt so much heavier than before, or maybe he had just been weakened from the encounter. He gazed down upon it, his hand clenched hard around the dark leather handle. A dark fluid began to pool around his hand, streaming softly down from his arm.
The Wanderer turned his arm over, now looking at the wound he had taken from the creature’s first counterattack. It didn’t seem very bad, or at least not as bad as previous wounds he’d sustained, but the bleeding was alarming. It streamed softly, almost without notice. The blood itself was dark as well, as if it had already begun coagulation. A strange wound. A worrying wound. Suddenly his head became light, the room began to dim, and the walls started to blur. No, everything about this was wrong.
In the strange lucid state he was left in, he almost didn’t notice the changes around him. A quite fell over the room, the flickering flame seemed to even quite down to a faint whisper. A soft noise crept along the ground. Soft tapping, the sound of pebbles and rock being pushed aside, dust parting between single soft strides. The pain in his head grew louder, his heartbeat thumping from his chest to his forearm, ending finally against his forehead.
What is happening to me?
As if to answer, a rapid movement jostled him back to reality as he quickly turned, sword still gripped tightly in hand. A quick flash of movement rushed towards him, its motioned and sounds all too familiar to him. As nimbly as he can muster, he raises his blade outward in an attempt to impale the newfound enemy now barreling towards him, but a twinge of searing pain in his shoulder halts the attack. All he manages is a defensive stance, sword raised, arm placed behind the blade to prepare for impact as the creature crashes into him.
They both fall, splashing into the violet puddle of dank smelling blood that has pooled along the cave floor. A creature –almost identical to the one lying dead beside him- lies atop the blade protecting his body. Its arms crash against the leather bracers protecting his soft flesh. Claws come crashing down, scrapping against leather, making large slashes in them but not enough to break fully through the thick coating. Slime and mucus drip down from its maw, coating The Wanderer’s arms and neck. His arms are placed defensively against the side end of the blade, separating the two, but he can feel himself weakening further and further. Rough outlines of the creature emerge through blurred vision. Heat travels along his arm and forehead, casting confusion and sweat to pour over his body.
What the hell is happening!?
Suddenly, the creature lunges its head down, breaching the space between the blade and The Wanderer’s neck. Its snapping pincer like mandible opening and shutting in rapid and rabid bites. Before it has a chance to make contact, The Wanderer frees one of his trapped hands and grapples the creature’s head. With strength slowly fading from his body, he fruitlessly pushed back the creature's disgusting face. With every inch he pushes, the creature seemingly gains two. A battle of attrition begins. Snapping, clawing, drooling the creature continues its unending assault. Reach for the soft part of his neck in hopes of ending the encounter in a single bite. Just one slip, and its lights out. Forgotten and left to be fed on to a host of disgusting bugs. The thought rips through his mind, his veins fill with hot fire, his muscles contract creating energy that wasn’t there before. He pushes hard against the creature’s head, pushing it past the breach in the sword until his arm reaches full length.
The energy’s fading, the small window of opportunity’s closing, and for once in his miserable life, he can’t think of a thing to do. The hand not grappling with the creatures head pulls free from the back of the sword. His fingers slowly begin moving, drawing a pattern in the air. Faint lines form, like strokes from a dry paintbrush. Lines sparkle and faintly crackle with weak power, power being sapped away. The pattern is rough and unfinished, its edges not straight, its lines fumbling. The feeling in his fingers is weak. Strength fading, the pattern breaks as his hand twitches before returning to the blade. Fire begins erupting from the torch again, the strange violet flame re-emerges and casts strange shadows once again along the cave walls. Shadows depicting men falling in the thousands, figures standing above them. A strange light emits from the wrecked battlefield as the dominant figures rise, floating above, breaching unending clouds and sending a cleansing fire downward. Fire spreads along the walls, engulfing the shadows, casting them far away as it shrieks and flickers violently. The Wanderer’s vision begins to fade. The world around begins to dull. Rocky walls, granite floors, the creature all fade, losing color and becoming shadows themselves. Heat wells in his head, as tears stream down his cheek.
I can’t.
Shadows slowly engulf him as the energy drains from his arms.
I won’t
The creature’s face inches closer and closer to its target.
This is where it ends.
The fire erupts, banishing the shadows away once more, filling the room with soft orange light as the creature lunges uninterrupted at its prize.
Then nothing. The pain of stabbing pincers ripping along his throat never occurs. Instead, a loud CLAP echoes along the walls. It’s deafening and almost endless, but it's over in an instant. A river of fluid splashes along The Wanderer’s face and body. It’s warm and thick like syrup but smells like rotten apple cores. For a moment, he contemplates if this is death. A strange death, and a strange place to end up, but who’s to know. Before long his eyes opened. The creature that stood hunched over him was still there, but its head was entirely missing. Fragments of skull and viscera lined the walls and floor around him as the creature stood cold, dead. Seemingly out of nowhere, its head just seemed to explode.
“Did...” The Wanderer began quizzically. “Did I do that?”
Before an answer could be given, a shuffle could be heard across the room, hidden against the far wall deep within the dark. Slowly The Wanderer rose, knocking the deceased creature away from him, the feeling and strength slowly returning to his body. He stared off to the dark corner, waiting in vain for his eyes to adjust to the dark. They didn’t. Bending down, he grasped his sword in one hand, and what remained of the faint torch in the other as he cautiously meandered to the muffled sound coming from the dark corner.
“Gods, if it’s one more of these disgusting fucking things, I’m straight gone.”
Slowly, the image of a man appears. He almost seemed affixed to the wall due to some form of slightly translucent webbing sprawled across his body. His feet were a few inches raised from the floor as he hung limply against the wall. A thin layer of the same substance covered his mouth as he muffled violently to The Wanderer, his eyes red and spread as wide as they could go. Near the middle of the webbing his right hand was tightly bound, unable to move. On the other side, it seemed he was able to shake loose enough to free it. A silver revolver with gold carved inlays held tightly between his fingers. Faint trails of smoke emanated from the pistol’s barrel. The smell of spent gunpowder lingered In the air, a smell The Wanderer had memorized.
The Wanderer looked puzzlingly at the man stuck to the wall, before a spark of remembrance and realization came to life in his eyes. Sweat beaded down the side of his head, slowing before soaking into his shirt collar. That chance encounter had taken its toll, and had gone on for longer than he thought, longer than he had hoped.
“Hells man, I had forgotten entirely of you. Why not speak up next time?”
The stuck man convulsed in a fit of annoyance and fury as The Wanderer laughed heartily.

I’ve had a lot of adventures in my life.
I’ve traveled, made friends, seen sights, competed in sports, and participated in events.
Sometimes, following any of these endeavors, a small object would find itself in my possession. A knickknack, a totem, a doodad.
Maybe it was a collection of Mardi Gras beads from my trip to New Orleans. Or a t-shirt tossed by a cheerleader at a sporting event. A toy from a claw machine. A mixtape from a friend. A thank-you note. A cheap piece of junk from a tourist’s gift shop.
Whatever they were didn’t matter — what matters is that they were often a representation of whatever moment in time they came from.
I never threw these things away. I set them on my desk or on my shelves. When those spaces filled up, I bought two small storage containers. They’re filled to the brim and I’m currently filling a third.
Why keep the color-coordinated bandana a stranger gave me in the park during Pokemon Go’s heyday? Why hold onto the Save the Date from my high school friend who ended up getting divorced not two years later? What significance or use could I possibly have for those goofy White Elephant gifts my kickball team gave at the yearly Christmas party?
No purpose, no reason and there is none, respectively.
And yet I don’t want to let them go. You see, they are reminders of times and experiences — Keepsakes. Mementos. Souvenirs. In some ways, they’re a physical collection and documentation of my life.
It reminds me a little bit of this weird quirk I have when I play video games.
--
I likely dumped more than 500 hours across all my Skyrim save files. There was no other game, there needn’t be any other game and there still hasn’t been any other game since.
In my adulthood, I returned to one of its many definitive editions for one last victory lap. With my experience, memory and fully-formed adult brain, I approached the game methodologically, in an optimal order, carefully. I built my ideal character and crafted only what was needed — down to the last iron ingot. I explored, I experienced — I did every major and minor quest, making it my perfect playthrough.
One thing I love about Skyrim is the loot. Yes, there’s 20 million iron daggers and boring, inventory-cluttering useless items… but then there’s the special ones.
There’s the unique weapons at the end of each Daedric quest. The trinkets from the Thieves Guild. Spellbooks, statuettes and storybooks. The eerily-delivered note for the assassin’s questline. The robes of the king, the rings and necklaces of Jarls.
You know them — the items with one-of-a-kind names and designs that are specific to each of their quests.
You see, these items carry a story with them. How you stole for them or killed for them. Traveled, battled, talked, stealthed, lied, solved your way into their possession. They’re the game’s biggest treat.
That’s why, at the culmination of my final ever Skyrim playthrough, I bought a house in Whiterun and filled it with these objects.
Weapons and armors on the walls and on the racks, items and books placed carefully on shelves - but not just any weapons, armors, objects and books. Only the special ones. It was a house that told the story of all of my adventures.
I sat down in a chair next to Aela the Huntress in my castle, my throne room. I saved my game one final time.
--
For all of gaming’s swashbuckling adventures, magnificent worlds and large stretches of land to traverse, they don’t always give us too much to remember them by, do they?
I appreciate Skyrim so much for understanding the nature of the epic they were creating. The ability to fill your house with display cases, armor mannequins and weapon racks demonstrates the developer’s awareness of their playerbase and the scale of the adventures they were sending them on.
These are adventures to cherish, to tell tales of, to be remembered.
Will anyone else give me what Skyrim did?
…
The answer’s yes, actually.
It’s a fascinating yes, too — because not every keepsake system is cut from the same cloth. Games offer unique takes on the mechanic that energize it, give it new life and perspective and add layers of meaning to it in fresh ways.
And I’ve got plenty of examples.
--
In The Outer Worlds, special items you collected while out adventuring would be placed in specific locations throughout your ship, The Unreliable, upon return. These included things like:
• Posters• Signs• Various ISO items• Tossballs & Tossball cards• Golden bird statuettes• Many, many more
Sometimes these were stored by the game in your captain’s quarters, but other times, they’d appear in your squad’s quarters instead.
No matter where they got stored, these items were more than just junk. They were signature weapons of terrible villains whom you defeated, they were outlandish garb from flamboyant characters who painstakingly passed away to protect your life, they were motifs of resource-gouging corporations whom you shutdown for the good of cities and planets.
They were special, they were keepsakes. Their addition made The Unreliable feel alive and lived in, part of your own, unique journey, filled with the stories and tales of your adventure and — importantly and specifically to The Outer Worlds — your choices.
—
The second and third installments of the Mass Effect series contained model ships you could buy from vendors that would then go on display on desks or on racks in your spaceship, The Normandy.
These are a little different because you buy them, rather than slice somebody’s head off for them, but they still count.
What makes them still count here is twofold:
• Some model ships only become available after completing certain missions that actually involve the ship you’re buying a model of, so they still serve as a reminder and memento of specific accomplishments in this way
• If you transferred your save data through the games, models you collected in ME2 would appear automatically on The Normandy in ME3. Being able to carry souvenirs into a sequel is exceptional, and a feat I’ve not found any other game to match.
Mass Effect: Andromeda saw a return of this feature, too. You ended up re-gathering old ships of yore in this installment, however. Andromeda also featured a more traditional collectible-style search; these model ships were looted from various locations in the world.
The original trilogy used the model ships as landmarks for its major moments, to be remembered across the series, while Andromeda paid homage to the previous games and encouraged its players to explore its world more thoroughly.
—
In Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, building up your burgeoning young settlement of Ravensthorpe is a central gameplay mechanic — as you acquire more resources to build with, the size of the village grows both in length, width and inhabitants.
The game includes optional side quests that change those who wander your evolving home and hub in medieval England. They include:
• Capturing a stray cat• Saving a fox from a burning home• Befriending a fallen hunter’s wolf pet
In each instance, the living being will join your settlement — the cat will stay underneath Eivor’s seat in your longship, the fox will wander Ravensthorpe and the wolf will welcome you in your personal quarters, howling at your arrival.
You can interact and pet them whenever you like, playing a short animation displaying the affection between the two.
These three “collectibles” don’t feel like trinkets, but living, breathing additions to your home that give it joy and life, as well as keep you young.
—
Speaking of Norse culture, central to Biomutant is a form of Yggdrasil — the WorldTree.
Central to Biomutant’s story is saving the old, decaying and currently-being-eaten-by-giant-monsters WorldTree. And there are two impressive quests in the game that reflect back to the player their efforts in saving it.
One quest saves the tree from festering toxins below its roots — and the tree’s colors change from green to fluorescent white as a result.
Another quest by the name of Aurora has you activate monoliths around the map that direct energy to the WorldTree. The quest climaxes by having the tree give off a swirling, sparkling aura that hangs perpetually while you travel the world and complete more objectives.
It even matches your affinity — if you’re taking the side of love and justice, the aura is white, while if you play for the destruction of the planet, the aura will hang black.
What’s special about these to me is that they don’t do anything. They don’t get you any closer to saving the world or the tree, but they definitely did something important –
The WorldTree’s central location in the map and absolutely massive scale allow for it to be seen at all times from just about anywhere in Biomutant’s world. This means, after I had completed these two quests, the fruits of my labor were on gloriously beautiful display at all times.
Biomutant’s mementos aren’t keepsakes you can’t take with you when you leave the planet — they’re visual celebrations of your hard work, an ever-present reminder of your endeavors and care for a dying world.
—
More briefly, Cyberpunk 2077 allowed you to fill V’s apartment with keepsakes as well, featuring dream catchers, posters, paintings, action figures and more.
In Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance Ace Azzameen’s personal quarters would fill up with medals and displays as you progressed through the game.
In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, some of the most legendary Zelda equipment ever was available to the player, including the Sword of Six Sages, the Fierce Deity Sword, and the Biggorons Sword — all of which can be hung in display cases in Link’s home.
Meanwhile, Uncharted 4 greets players near its opening sequence with an attic filled with memorabilia and keepsakes that Nathan Drake himself has kept after all these years. It’s not us — the players — ourselves collecting and hoarding, but it was lovely to see Drake thinking along the same lines as us souvenir psychopaths.
—
I’ll end with gaming’s classic — Mario. The red-hatted Italian also did the keepsake thing in one of his most beloved installments.
Super Mario: Odyssey allowed you to decorate The Odyssey with stickers and trinkets from your escapades by spending purple coins you could collect while out adventuring on one of the game’s many worlds.
A vanilla Odyssey player’s ship might look the same as it did at the game’s start, but a completionist might have a slew of trinkets and décor, like:
• Peach’s Model Castle• Dinosaur models and trophies• Shiverian Nesting Dolls• A plush frog• Flowers and a watering can from Steam Gardens• Statues of Pauline, Jaxi, Jizo• A lamp and rock fragment of the moon
Hell, the game director himself sounds like he’s read this very article:

“But what about decorating the ship? There’s a shop that appears in many kingdoms where you can buy souvenirs and stickers using the purple coins you’ve gathered.
Collecting memories is one of the best parts of traveling, don’t you think?” –Kenta Motokura

The ability to make The Odyssey your own evolved the traditional fetch-quest nature of collectible gathering and drove the player to go that little bit of extra distance in exploring and engaging with the various kingdoms and mastering the game’s platforming.
--
Video game narratives and their accompanying worlds are monstrously large nowadays. As enjoyers of the medium, us gamers spend a lot of time in them.
Like, a lot.
In recognition of this, game developers have given gamers a number of distinct tools to document their triumphs and sagas — each with their own unique flavor of congratulations and commemoration.
For our enormous investment with huge worlds and long, winding quests, something tangible we can keep hold of provides value, meaning, memories. They make our journey — one which we have committed so much to — special, transcendent, our own.
They give us things no other entertainment medium can give.
So fuck photo mode. A picture isn’t worth a thousand words — my keepsakes are.
(A special thanks to the members of patientgamers for their contributions to this post that helped inform this essay with games I have and have not played.)

It’s been a while. I don’t know why it took so long for me to post. How long has it been? A year? A year and a half? And I have gained plenty of stories to share - while I’ve neglected you, dear friend.
But right now, you’re my catharsis. You, who might listen to me.
I still can’t believe what I witnessed this winter. Perhaps that’s why I haven’t spoken of it sooner. Perhaps that’s why I’m pretending it never happened.
I suppose though, it’s less that I can’t believe it and more that I don’t want to.
Because time can’t alter. Time doesn’t change. Time is time, right? Some missing time is normal, but not for… days. Right? But I have to believe because everyone else says it’s true. Everyone else says that’s how long I was gone, even as the sun hung still in the sky.
This winter in Alaska has been aggressive. Like last year we had record breaking snowfall and cold. Which I loved and adored. The white mountains touching dark skies. The trees bending with the weight of snow. And of course the mounds the plows would make at the end of my street.
I had missed Alaska.
Granted where I stay isn’t the village anymore. I’m in Anchorage. Or near it. You probably don’t know of the tiny towns along the highways. But if you did… well I don’t particularly want you to find me, now do I?
I’ve finally finished processing what happened. Now that I understand what I went through - after a stern tongue lashing from my grandmothers for my carelessness - I can talk about that day I heard a whisper. I wasn’t sure where it came from but it was ancient and spoke to me in Koyukon.
I can confidently tell you, dear friend, that not all monsters are large and hulking. Some monsters are small and spritely. With sharp teeth. And pointy weapons. And an uncanny ability to make the days pass while the sun stays high.
Everyone believes me. Except my father. My father can’t.
Do you know what comes with freezing temps and mounds of snow? Ice. Beautiful, solid, blue blue, blue ice. The beautiful frozen waterfalls that call to me every year.
Every winter I can’t help but be drawn to these natural wonders.
And every year I never fail to climb at least one. No matter how painful the cold is to my scar covered body, it will happen.
It was a normal day for me, all set for my adventure. Well, mostly normal. I woke with that nagging feeling in the back of my skull, as if something is watching, and you can maybe see it out of the corner of your eye. I attributed it to staying up late searching for and preparing my gear.
I was up and raring to go with breakfast and lunch ready to assemble. It was a process I’ve done many times and by the time I was throwing my backpack on my sister came out of her room, yawning. Lazy bum.
“Where ya goin this time?”
“Hatcher Pass. Checking out Hillside Pillars.”
She thought and gave a wave. “Six hours round trip and you’ll probably be out there on the falls with as much daylight as you can possibly suck out.” She stared at me expectantly. “So… see ya at 8 tonight?”
I gave a quick nod. “Yes.”
“Did you check the avalanche warnings?”
“Yup. Things are calm today. And with that, I’m going ‘mom.’”
She shot me a sharp look and stumbled past me to the kitchen. I gave one last grin before running out the door, ignoring the shiver that ran up my spine as I stepped out. It was cold. Very cold. That’s all, right?
The drive was peaceful, I was out well before the annoying traffic that bottles up at those special points along the Glenn Highway and in Palmer. Up the road to Hatcher Pass, getting little spikes of adrenaline as I got closer and closer to my destination.
Once there I chewed on my breakfast, and as soon as the sun rose I was out of the truck, beginning the long trek to the waterfalls. A hike, a river crossing, and a 20-30 ft step climb and I’d be at the main event.
Why am I telling you all this? Because it was the start of a beautiful day. The start of what would be a fun day. A day where I’d conquer a piece of the world in a way very few do.
As I climbed I felt the wind and listened to its gentle whistle through the trees. The shush of snow falling off with every gentle caress. The sound of small animals rushing about to find food or shelter.
A slow ascent, one foot above the other, one axe pull at a time. It was exhilarating. It’s hard to explain the satisfaction of knowing you’re one step closer to a view you can only find during this time of year.
I finished my climb and stood at the top of the WI4 rated beauty and enjoyed the view just long enough to curse the short days. The breeze picked up my loose hair and tickled my nose. It almost felt like it was congratulating me on a job well done. Even as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I shivered. I was just cold, right?
Unloading my pack, I sat down and chewed on a sandwich, taking in the sights. The mountain. The pure white snow. The small movements of life. The skiers and snowmobilers in the distance. As I was wiping the crumbs off my now freezing fingers I heard a sound I had become familiar with. One that would always give me pause. The screech of a hawk came from high above.
I couldn’t help but shudder. It’s the wrong time of year for one to be attracting a mate. What danger was it warning others of? I bit my lip and eyed the surroundings. What would scare a hawk in the middle of the day? Nothing pleasant. Never.
I looked up the frozen river, into the trees and to the foot of the waterfall when I heard a quiet whisper. I swallowed the thickening lump in my throat. I don’t fluently speak Koyukon. Never have I had the desire to. But I knew. I knew what the wind whispered. And it whispered in a rushed manner.
“Run, little flower.”
With that there was deafening silence and as I stood in confusion I felt a shiver that turned into a pain that radiated from the scars covering my body.
I didn’t even give the pain building in me a second thought as I began to see movement out of the corner of my eye.
As I reached for my gear, I heard a giggle like a mischievous child. One giggle turned to two. Two turned to four until I could no longer count as they surrounded me in the wind. I worked faster, gathering my things as the shadows began to move inside the trees.
“Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.” I repeated over and over.
I didn’t have much time, the darkness in the corner of my eye was growing. I made sure my bag was shut tight and secure before tossing it over the edge of the waterfall, hoping nothing in it would break. As I tied myself in I looked up the river and the breath was stolen from my chest.
They looked completely harmless. Child-like. But they were wrong. Out of time. I felt every hair on my body stand on end as if the static in the air concentrated. A group of seven came out of the trees, their giggles and smiles almost infectious. Their clothing were winter parkas and pants straight out of a museum and on a couple seemed comically oversized. You’d almost think they were cute. Harmless.
But their smiles were threatening as they bared their sharp teeth and their eyes shone mercilessly black. Their skin would be as white as the snow surrounding us if it weren’t for the gray undertone.
I practically threw myself at my line and clipped in, barely holding onto my axes as I swiftly threw myself over the edge, beginning my descent.
I felt the wind gust through the trees and I shivered at the implications. What else could I do?
I moved faster and faster, beginning to breathe heavily before my feet were on solid ground. Looking up I realized that the sun had begun to darken sooner than I had expected.
I swallowed back the built up fear and realized a freak storm was building. My brain raced through the only thing it could think. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…”
I shoved the remaining gear in hand into my bag, without regard for how secure my picks were outside of it.
And in the oncoming darkness I heard another screech… quickly cut off. But I heard its final word, a voice that I swore should have been long lost and dead.
It screamed part of a name that it didn’t even have to finish for me to almost lose my stomach. Because its name wasn’t just a warning, it was a promise.
Bringing my attention back to the solid land I now stood on I suddenly felt the wind knocked out of me. I stumbled forward and fell to my knees. Catching my breath, I looked over my shoulder to see a vicious face. As the stars receded from my eyes I noticed the movement out of the corner of them slowly gather nearer. I stumbled to my feet, staring at the little monster.
The monster kept its eyes on me as it tilted its head and snickered. It pointed a spear at me and I shuddered. It had begun to toy with me.
“Well shit. Why do you have to do this to me today?” I uselessly asked.
Slowly raising into a crouch I began backing away. My heel caught on my bag and I reached awkwardly for it, hoisting it onto my shoulder as the small creatures moved in. They began giggling, drowning out any of the calming sounds that had been present in the morning.
Suddenly I felt a shock to the back of my head. I saw stars once again and fell forward. More giggling.
One came forward and pulled off my hat.
Another ran up and pulled my hair.
I heard a rip and turned in time to see my pack sliced open.
That could have been my back, adding more badges of honor to my body.
As I was distracted one of them came and dropped snow on my head.
The group continued giggling all the while.
I shivered as the snow melted down my neck and into my jacket. And the horrifying thought passed through my mind. “They’re toying with me.”
Suddenly I felt pain in my right hand. One had smashed the back of their spear onto it.
Just as quickly I was hit in the side, knocking me off balance. I caught myself just in time before another ran up and pulled on my hair until I hit the ground.
I grit my teeth and fought back as it tormented me. I heard a rip and felt my pack shift as one of my straps was cut.
Then I heard it and felt it all at once. It hurt. It hurt more than you could imagine or understand. I fell back when my hair suddenly released. As one of their knives sliced through it. I stared at the ragged end of one of my braids.
Then I screamed.
Then I cried.
Then I felt pain. I was hit across the face by a spear, busting my nose. It was almost as if they were telling me the old line “I’ll give you something to cry about.”
Their giggle cracked into a cackle. Then one walked up to me, their pitch black eyes staring directly into mine. I shuddered and forced myself not to look away.
I cautiously rolled up onto my feet and they simply watched. My pack swung awkwardly on one arm and I held back a growing gag as blood ran down the back of my throat.
It tilted its head and through its gnashing sharp teeth it told me, “Run.”
I could only feel relief that the sun was still high. Though overcast, I wouldn’t be running through the woods in the darkness. I turned heel and ran past the few behind me, barely dodging the stabs of their spears. They shouted as I began running, their giggles turning into a sound so wicked it echoed in my skull.
Now I was being hunted.
I ran awkwardly through the snow and ice, down the route I had taken just hours before. The high knee hop through the snow that has just been obliterating Alaska recently. As I ran the wind gusted and I would get blown off my feet, or the disturbed snow would fly into my face. Still I ran. I couldn’t quite see them when I looked back but I could sense it. They were behind me. They were next to me. They were above me in the trees.
Every time I tripped I cried out and I realized the voice was still with me. Still whispering “Run. Run. Run little flower or you’ll wilt and die.” I felt like it was mocking me. Mocking my name.
Shuddering, I felt the cooling beads of water on my forehead and cursed. Water means death. It means the minute I slow down hypothermia will kick in. And in the meantime I may frostbite because of the accumulated moisture in my gear.
But I couldn’t care about that. What would frostbite matter if I didn’t live? I’ve fought for my life before, I wouldn’t die this time.
My neck grew sore and I could feel that sense of impending doom. And I ran even harder, them watching my struggle and floundering about. I heard a thud near me and chanced a glance back to see a spear sticking out of the snow.
Gritting my teeth I pushed harder. The wind stroked the back of my neck and brought a sharp assault down the scars on my back. They began feasting on my fear.
But I could see it, the last stretch. I don’t know how I got through the steps but when I finally found the river and came to a pitching halt. I gasped and panted, tired and weighed down, muscles sore, bones slowly getting cold.
I made it to the river. I was safe. I was safe from the ones the hawk warned me of.
Until I wasn’t.
Until I heard a hoot, quickly turn into a screech.
I cursed. “Dena, why do you do this to me? What did I ever do?”
I heard the hoot again and shivered. I screamed at it. “Don’t you dare give me three.”
I didn’t wait for the third as once again they snickered at me.
I gritted my teeth and sprinted across the frozen river. I kept my legs pumping and moving until I tumbled over the other side. The other side and into my father with a shocked look on his face.
“Rosemary?”
I grabbed onto him. Felt him. Squeezed his arms tightly as I caught my breath.
“Ha… Ha ha. I made it.” I laughed out, shock taking hold. My laugh was short lived as I began coughing the blood that had pooled in my lungs from running in the cold.
I watched shadows cross my father’s face. Surprise, shock, relief, and finally something I hadn’t seen since I was a child. Fear.
He squeezed my face between his hands. “Stay with me. Don’t pass out.”
I continued laughing. “Me? Pass out? Never.” I stepped out of reach and bent over to vomit the blood that had built in my stomach from my broken nose.
My father shouted and I heard others come running from down the trail. “Calm down.”
Looking at him I grinned. “I made it.”
But then I heard it. It came through the trees. From all around. A swarm of giggles.
I watched my father pale. I heard the running footsteps from down the trail slow.
I shoved my father in the opposite direction. “RUN!”
And he listened. Bless the man, he listened.
He hurtled down the trail and when he saw the others in front of him he screamed at them to run. I came to a stuttering halt as I herded the others in front of me while the giggles came closer. Grew louder. Began swimming in my head again. I heard the swishing of snow falling as they ran by.
“Keep going!” I shouted at their backs until we got to the trail head, falling into the road. I screamed at the others to get in their cars. Luckily my family knows to listen without question. Their friends not so much. More corralling. More giggles. More movement in the corners of my eyes. At one point… a tug on my hair.
I got to my truck, hurtling into the side of it. Without pause I tossed my gear into the back and jumped inside. It felt like the old truck couldn’t turn on fast enough. All the while the wind swept through the trees and bullied it.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck.” My mantra of the day.
My head began to feel cold while the blood on my face became even more annoying. I threw my car into first and I practically screamed when I heard a knock on my window. My sister Leah was on the other side. “GET YOUR ASS IN DUMBASS!” The movement in the trees behind her was too close.
I watched the final few people get into their cars and I peeled out. Skipping from first straight into third on the dangerously snowy road. I tried to clench my busted hand around the wheel only to be blasted with pain. Still, I continued driving as quickly as the roads would allow.
I was a mile down the long road when I heard the whisper.
“Shhh… shhh… shhh… shhh…”
And the sound of it grew louder. Slow at first then it became all consuming. I heard the crumbling and rumbling of the mountainside.
I looked toward the sound coming from the east and my jaw dropped as I saw the mountainside sliding in real time. Something told me I was safe. Just a faint whisper in the back of my head and the fact that the pain had receded.
With some remaining trepidation I stopped my truck and stepped out. I watched in terror and awe as the mountain fell… and fell… and crossed the river. I swallowed and shook my head and heard another raptor scream in the distance.
I got in my truck, turned the heat on as high as I could. I was shaking. Clearly from the cold, right? With a shiver I threw my truck into gear again and we made our way back to town. All the while the wind mockingly laughed behind me.
“Where have you been?” Leah asked after several miles.
“At the Pillars.” I whispered through my scratchy throat.
She looked at me, pale. “You left two days ago.”
I frowned. “I left this morning.”
“It’s been a day and a half.”
I didn’t respond. Even after her many pestering questions I didn’t answer. We drove the rest of the way home in silence as my brain tumbled.
Once we were home I stumbled to the bathroom. I stared at my busted nose in the mirror before climbing into the shower. Bruises covered my body and my hand began swelling, broken.
I wasn’t even allowed rest after that though. As I ate a well earned dinner my father sat me down and grilled me on where I’d been. Why I had been gone so long.
I learned a few things from our conversation - that I had been gone more than a day. That I hadn’t been seen on the mountain at all. That supposedly I shouldn’t have been alone with others having climbed the same time as me.
It was as I was chewed out I told my father I saw them. That I had seen the little people of legends. What the Athabascans give no real name to beyond “small ones.” What the Yup’ik call the Ircenrraat. What westerners call fae.
As I explained that I had been caught in a hunt my father’s face grew more and more incredulous. Before finally admitting he didn’t believe me. He dismissed me with few words after that statement. It hurt, but I understood.
I was gone only a day. That’s why my father can’t believe.
They’ve never allowed anyone gone less than a year.

My last few sessions my party has been in the midst of a lot of action and some dungeon crawling. They have a lot of gold stock pilled and I think deserve a bit of a break, so they'll be visiting a Magic Item Fair, where sellers from all over come to show their creations or finds to sell. Help me make a list of different types of vendors and what items they have! Some specific sellers or ones selling just one treasured item will work super well, along with any general ideas! I made a list of 10 to start things off. And for reference, it's a high magic setting with a lot of wild west themes, so stuff like fire arms do exist! And if you want to come up with a 1 off seller, with a specific magic item, my party just hit level 9 so they can handle some stronger stuff.

Magic Vendors

1. Magic Seamstress, sells magical clothing items
2. Potion Maker
3. Spell Scroll Collector
4. Magic Weapon Smith
5. Magic Armor Smith
6. Mythical Pets Raiser, selling exotic and magical animals
7. Magic Jeweler
8. Charm Collector, selling magic knick knacks and smaller magic items
9. Arcane Book Seller, selling tomes with magical secrets
10. Arcane Tattoo Artist, able to imbue their work with magical affects
11. Petty Diviner who can help find small scale items (u/mel-alt)
12. A Fabricator, who can help make small scale items and buildings (u/mel-alt)
13. Artificer offering weapon upgrades (u/mel-alt)
14. Living Toy Vender (u/snakebite262)
15. Magic Snack Salesman, offering snacks that provide small magical effects (u/snakebite262)
16. Bookmark seller, Sells bookmarks with living pictures, or a magically updating counter for words left in the book/total books read, and minor magical effects like light that can be tapped back and forth between natural and florescent (u/azul_plains)
17. Knife Specialist, Knives with exotic metals, custom handle wraps, and edges, most expensive piece is a knife enchanted to return to you after being thrown; also sells magical oils to add temporary elemental affinity during combat (u/azul_plains)
18. Seasonal Tailor - Only stocks clothes relevant to the current season. Sells slim winter coats with warming enchantments in the liner, in all kinds of patterns and profiles, scarves that prevent your breath from fogging glasses, most expensive piece has extra large pockets (think bag of holding), and hats with enchantments to keep rain out of a person's eyes (u/azul_plains)
19. Astrologist- Will create a birth chart and provide a horoscope, for a fee, and provide a neutral perspective/insight into a single event from the character's past based on the celestial alignment of the planets at that time. (u/azul_plains)
20. Beast Artist A painter who specializes in monsters in motion, who has several small peaceful pieces of non-violent grazing/hunting creatures and a large dynmaic canvas of an unusual enemy (such as a mindflayer or gnothic); will share the story of how they got inspiration for the work and give a little information on how the creature fights. (u/azul_plains)
21. Herbologist A component seller that specializes in twigs, leaves, spider webs, and other pieces useful for magical spells. Also sells healing salves and compotes, and a beautiful multicolored magical orchid in a sealed drop-resistant glass case that can be set in any position desired. (it functions like an immovable rod). (u/azul_plains)
22. Wand Specialist- Has a wide assortment of wands, most of which are cheap and designed as gifts for fun (sending out colored sparks, multicolored smoke, joke wand that makes a creepy laugh when tapped three times...); most expensive pieces are single use of a cantrip or spell like light (functions as a safe/lightweight one-use torch), create water, and goodberry.(u/azul_plains)
23. Madame Ruby - Sells rubies of different clarity and sizes, in intricate golld/silvemythril settings, in dagger handles, in woven handkerchiefs, and as carefully packaged spell components; most expensive piece is a blood-red ruby beaded necklace with several beads (each bead is a single-use cast of Fireball) (u/azul_plains)
24. Druid offering magical seeds and saplings (u/World_Of_Ideas)
25. Enchanter offering temporary enchantments on armor, weapons, and gear. (u/World_Of_Ideas)
26. Fortune teller offering a glimpse of your future
27. lluminator offering various magical lights (gems, head bands, lanterns, torches, etc) (u/World_Of_Ideas)
28. Magical appraiser. Will appraise and identify any magic item for a price. They can also find a buyer if your interested in selling (u/World_Of_Ideas)
29. Magical potter selling enchanted pottery (u/World_Of_Ideas)
30. Magic carpet salesman (u/World_Of_Ideas)
31. Magic mirror salesman (u/World_Of_Ideas)
32. Music shop. Sells magical musical instruments (u/World_Of_Ideas)
33. Origami mage selling magical paper constructs (u/World_Of_Ideas)
34. Smoke shop. Sells magical pipes and magical tobacco (u/World_Of_Ideas)
35. Summoner selling bound elementals or spirits (u/World_Of_Ideas)
36. Necromancer offering skeletons or zombies (u/World_Of_Ideas)
37. Rune carver, specifically for little amulets and talismans that imbues magic into the object. (u/smiles__)

Hi guys, I'm new to writing, and I decided to write down how one of my villains got their powers. I should say this to preface, I'm not expecting this to be God tier writing, but I would love any and all criticism, how well it flows, quality of writing and descriptiveness, anything helps. Hope you enjoy.
One more thing, just to clarify, Anwir is the son of the earl Courtenay, he tried helping out the poor in his area, and got rejected due to bad history with the earl, this what happened shortly after attempting to take his life.
Amazing Grace:
Anwir limped along the dense thicket of the forest, with his foot dragging behind him, leaving a dull trail as it disturbed the dry, cracked earth beneath him. Anwir winces and groans in pain as foliage would brush against the noble’s tattered, burned clothing and disturb his wounds.
The food and clothing I’ve provided, the hospital I opened. Did it mean nothing to them?
Anwir thought to himself as he began to sob, the tears that streamed pricked and stung his open wounds. Anwir didn’t care, the mental pain was too great to keep bottled up.
“Over Here!! There is a small line heading this way!!”
Fear pierced through his heart as Anwir heard voices far off behind him. Anwir turned back and saw the faint light of torches making their way towards the disfigured noble, making his heart race faster, sweat dripping down his forehead. To Anwir’s horror, he realized that the peasants were not yet finished with him, they were not satisfied with tearing down burning everything he had given them, they wanted his blood. Quickly, Anwir decided to hide in a thick bush, he curls into a ball, and covers his head in his cloak. The setting sun’s lack of rays helped shroud the forest floor, helping cloak Anwir in the shadows of the forest.
“The bastard really thought he could escape us?”
As the footsteps neared Anwir’s location, a wave of dread swept over Anwir, it would be a miracle for Anwir to make it out with his life.
My Gods, haven’t I been punished enough? Please, spare me; I beg of you.
Anwir’s thoughts came to a halt as they arrived in proximity to his bush. Anwir launched one last prayer, and began to hold his breath, to minimize any sounds from him. The torchlights tore through any darkness the forest had to offer within a certain radius, voices and laughter could be heard all around him as they searched for him.
“Drinks for a week when we hang the wretch!”
“I call dibs on his trinkets! They’re mine!”
“No way he didn’t see this coming, did the Courtenay’s really think we’d fall for their deceit again?”
Torchlights reached their peak, Anwir could see wispy, menacing shadows dance across his bush, twigs and leaves snapping at a consistent rate. Anwir’s heart sank, he had nowhere left to run, nowhere to hide, if they found him, his fate would be sealed. Time seemed to stand still as Anwir could hear the voices and footsteps begin to recede, continuing forward ahead of him. Too afraid to come out, Anwir stayed for several more moments, before finally crawling out of the bush. Nothing but silence, save for the odd scurrying of a critter, or the flap of wings from a bird. Stunned by their words and death threats, Anwir mindlessly hobbled through the foliage, he wouldn’t react to the pain anymore, for their words had stung deeper than any blade or wound could. Although Anwir is a Courtenay, he is not his father, he only wanted help those he could for the peasants who faced constant injustice, and this was his thanks? As Anwir reached a clearing, he stopped to gaze at the sunset, taking in its final rays before it disappeared into the night.
Beautiful as always. I should take in what little I can, for I may not live to see the dawn press her lips against the earth once more.
Anwir stood there and gazed as the great ball of fire descended into nothing. Swallowed up by the darkness, Anwir stumbles around, grabbing leaves and soft brush to lie on. The constant, searing pain flares whenever Anwir bends down or makes sudden movements, causing his eyes to glisten as tears would form. Biting his lower lip, he slowly squats down, evenly spreading his findings beneath a tree, and lies down. The son of Lord Courtenay expected to hear silence and was surprised to hear the opposite. The pitter patter of critters could be heard all around him, rustling the leaves that littered the forest floor. Howls could be heard reciprocated in the distance, and the continuous buzz of insects was everywhere.
Its…peaceful. If only my situation could allow me to enjoy this in its entirety.
Anwir succumbed to the pulsating pain, and closed his eyes, uncertain of what the dawn may bring.
____________
As a new day began, the dawn touched the sky leaving its golden rays streaked upon the earth’s ever reaching cerulean canvas, poking through the thin wispy clouds that lay scattered across the sky. Birds all across the woodland landscape sang praise in honor of the dawn. Tiny creatures of the woodland floor hopped and crawled about the dew-covered ground, imprinting their tiny feet upon the earth’s moist soil. Crawling in and around his hair, up and down his neck, and flittering in and out of Anwir’s clothing, he was given a rude awakening when a small millipede attempted to crawl into his damp mouth, seeking food.
“Arrgh!”
Anwir swiped away the multi legged freak, and got on his knees, weaving his encrusted, scarred hands through his matted and knotted hair. Anwir took hold of his ragged, grimy overcoat, and ripped it off, he brushed off various creepy crawlies meandering across his singed torso, some even feasting on his mottled dead skin. Picking up his overcoat, he violently shook it, a shower of bugs rained to the ground. After slipping his coat over himself again Anwir lifted his left leg, he tore off his crisped shoe, and shook out the bugs that had once claimed it and did the same for his right. Searing pain shot through his body, his muscles and torso screaming at him as he lifted himself from the ground. Anwir couldn’t remember a time when he had felt anything like this. Anwir scanned his surroundings, and laid his eyes upon a small, unassuming plant. No more than a foot tall, with several small bundles of jet-black berries with small beads of water clinging to its dark exterior. Desperate for anything, Anwir bent down and grabbed the top of the plant and reached inside his pocket only to find his hand protruding through a small hole.
Will nothing be in my favor from now on?
With his knife gone, Anwir made do with placing his hand at the base of the plant, and yanking it from the ground. Shoving the fruit inside his mouth, the purple juices flowing down his chin, further staining his already soiled shirt as he chews furiously. Swallowing and reaching for more, Anwir puts the cluster of berries into his mouth and chews slower this time. Taking his time to savor the juicy, tart flavor the berries provided. Never did he believe that something as simple as fruit could be so inviting. Anwir tossed the remainder of the plant to the ground, and scanned his surroundings, attempting to determine his next move. It was through the plants and trees hindering his sight that Anwir found his next goal. In the middle of a clearing, Anwir could make out a well. Anwir trudged along towards the edge of the forest that led to the clearing, pushing and moving through any plants that made contact with his broken and charred body, his muscles and body voicing their complaints with every limp and accidental contact the Courtenay took and had respectively.
Perhaps I spoke too soon.
Stumbling through the dense overgrowth, Anwir breached the forest’s edge and found himself in a clearing. The sun’s rays were shown in full force, thanks to the lack of trees blocking its path. Small shrubs and minor vegetation littering the clearing. As Anwir inched his way closer to the well, the woodland’s tiny inhabitants took notice of him. Some simply gazed at him with their heads poking through the shrubbery, others would flee in fear of a perceived threat. Anwir smiled at this, knowing he is the least of their worries.
Just how exactly old is this well? Is there even any water?
The aged well had a stone base, its bricks weathered by time and nature, patches of glistening dark green moss strewn all around the base, topped off with a gray, porous ridden wellhead. A gray, rusted bucket, hung on a tarnished iron hook. Anwir leaned his body over the edge of the well, and laid eyes with the bottom. Darkness. A pure, undisturbed abyss was all that stared back at him, not even the slight reflection of water could be seen. Taken aback, and even a bit scared, Anwir took the bucket, and tossed it into the well. for a second, nothing happened, until an audible splash was heard, confirming the presence of water. It was at this moment that Anwir noticed the eerie silence of the clearing and the forest that surrounded it. No longer had he heard birds sing, nor the flap of their wings, the rustle of leaves and brush was nowhere to be heard either. A shiver went down the unsuspecting noble’s spine, before drawing the bucket, he surveyed the clearing. Nothing. Anwir saw nothing but greenery as far as the eye could see. As Anwir drew the bucket up from the depths of the well, a sudden chill ran down his spine, sending a shiver through his entire body. The eerie silence of the clearing heightened his senses, making him acutely aware of his surroundings. With a trembling hand, he grasped the handle of the bucket tightly, preparing to lift it out of the darkness below. Before he could fully pull the bucket out, a horrifying sight greeted him. A grotesque clawed hand shot up from the depths of the well, its twisted fingers reaching out towards Anwir with malicious intent. Anwir's heart pounded in his chest as fear gripped him, paralyzing his muscles.
He stumbled backward, falling to the ground in terror, his eyes wide with horror as he watched the demonic creature emerge from the depths. His mind raced with thoughts of escape, but his body refused to obey, leaving him helpless against the approaching menace.
Before he could fully pull the bucket out, a horrifying sight greeted him. A grotesque, sinewy arm shot up from the abyss of the well, its twisted fingers cupping the edge in an attempt to free itself. The wellhead splintered into pieces as the long, crooked being pulled itself out. Anwir's heart pounded in his chest as fear gripped him, paralyzing his muscles. He stumbled backward, falling to the ground in terror, his eyes wide with horror as he watched the demonic creature emerge from the depths. His mind raced with thoughts of escape, but his body refused to obey, leaving him helpless against the approaching menace. But then to Anwir's astonishment, the creature spoke. Its voice was dark and sinister.
"I thank you, friend" it hissed, its red eyes gleaming with malevolence. "I have been trapped there for what seems like an eternity"
The tall, crooked being began to stand up, its feet slowly sinking into the mud beneath him. The crooked being set his sight on his savior.
"by the looks of you, you're a noble, yet your clothing is in disrepair." The Crooked Man
stepped closer to Anwir, to get a closer look "Ahh, I see now, Courtenay's son. What are you doing here? Who did this to you?"
The Crooked Man offered hand to the Noble's son, but Anwir, still processing the events, said nothing. The Crooked Man lowered his eyes.
"Have you no words? Son of Courtenay?"
Finally coming to his senses, Anwir stood up, and backed away several feet.
"I-I-I did this to myself. No one else."
Faster than the eye could see, The Crooked Man grabbed Anwir by the throat, and pulled him closer to his face.
"Foolish Courtenay. Lie to me again, and I'll cut out your stomach and feed it to you."
"The...peasants I...Was attempting to h...Help." Anwir said, his body screaming for air.
The Crooked Man chuckled and put down Anwir.
"So, the poor Son of Courtenay attempted to play savior, and paid dearly for it."
Anwir, still apprehensive of the Man asked him "Who are you? Why were you in there?"
"I am your savior, and that is my business alone." The Crooked Man reached a hand out to Anwir "Allow me to give you a gift, so to speak. A chance to punish your tormentors."
Anwir eyed the hand, not sure what his offer entailed "In exchange for what? How will I know that you won't bend me to your will?
The Crooked Man smiled "I have no intention of doing such things to you, for I merely want to repay a debt I owe you. So...What is your answer?”
Temptation swirled in Anwir, a part of him wanted to take his offer, but a small part in his heart held out.
"No, they don't deserve death, nor punishment, they knew not what they did."
The Crooked Man bellowed a raspy, malicious laugh "The flames of their hatred mark your body, singe your soul, and yet...You still defend them? You are one of a kind, Courtenay."
The Crooked Man begins to hack, and spits out a small black stone "Take this, Courtenay. If you seek your revenge, crush this stone in your hand, and eat its dust."
The Crooked Man handed him the stone and crouched down. His back was bulging, the Man began to shriek, his piercing cry so loud, that Anwirs ears were ringing. Flesh tears, blood splatters everywhere as The Crooked Man's wings sprouted from his back, and he began to stand.
"Tell no one of our encounter, Courtenay."
With those final words, The Crooked Man took his leave, laughing maniacally as he flew upwards, staining the sky with his presence.

Matilda Lane
A young woman with long, black hair that's parted down the middle. A broken opera mask covers her eyes but leaves her sinister smile on display. She wears a slim-fitted black suit that's detailed with light gold pinstriping with a grey button-up underneath. In her left hand she holds a broken pool cue. Her right, an edged playing card.
"You still with us, princess?" A raspy-voiced man in a fine navy suit spoke.
Matilda opened her right eye and looked around.
"Shit, must of passed out. It's bound to happen. Let's continue." Matilda's smile returned under her mask as she raised her hand to look at her cards. "Fuck."
From a young age Matilda was always lucky. Her birth alone was considered a miracle by her mother, who tried tirelessly for a child and was never able to conceive. This supposed luck carried over into Matilda's childhood when she was playing chicken with the neighborhood kids, taking turns crawling under the broken fence with the sign reading "Beware of Dog".
One at a time the kids would crawl under the fence, get as close to the dog as they could without waking it up, leave a marker, and leave. Matilda had played this game numerous times and never once woke up the dog. One time, right before it was her turn, the dog had woken up and charged at her friend Joey. The dog was always aggressive, but this time...this time was different. Something had the dog on edge and before Joey could make it back to the fence the dog was on top of Joey, tearing into his arms until he was worn out. All the kids had run off. Some to their homes, out of fear of being scolded, and others to the owner of the dogs house to try and get help. But not Matilda. Matilda just stood there watching, not turning away and... smiling... Something about this event woke up something in Matilda. She was just one turn away from being in Joey's shoes. A bead of sweat dripped down Matilda's forehead, rolling around her dilated and unblinking eye as the dog took a big bite out of Joey's face. His scream snapped Matilda out of her hypnosis.
The owner ran out of his door just at that moment, pulling the dogs attention away from Joey. Joey took this moment to push the dog off and run under the fence, narrowly escaping. Joey's arms were covered in blood and his face was a mess, but to Matilda's surprise Joey was smiling. Tears and blood covered his face, but he was smiling. "Lucky break!", exclaimed Joey, as he grabbed Matilda by the hand and ran off down the street laughing the whole way. Matilda felt a strange sensation of longing from this. Not longing for Joey's death. At least, not necessarily. But part of her wanted to be in Joey's shoes. She didn't understand it yet, but Matilda yearned to face narrow odds and come out on top. In fact, it turned out coming out on top was very important to Matilda.
Matilda and Joey kept a very close friendship after this event, well into their high school days. They both shared a strong love of fighting the odds and found that by sticking together more opportunities presented themselves. They started with gambling in high school. Matilda and Joey both adored card games and, beside their shared luck, both had a natural talent for these games.
One day, after the remaining members of the games club quit after Matilda had pushed the stakes too high, Joey thought it was time to face his greatest challenge. Matilda. She laughed, almost maniacally, at this idea. How had she never thought of it before? Her best friend in finding challenges would obviously be her best challenge. "Ok", she said, "what did you have in mind?".
"Chess.", Joey said wryly.
"Fuck.". Chess was never Matilda's strongest game. There was no luck involved in chess. It was all brains. It wasn't like Matilda wasn't smart or didn't understand chess but she liked the gamble other games offered. Joey also wasn't great at chess, so this confused Matilda. Joey could see the look on Matilda's face and knew what she was thinking.
"It's like...not either of our strongest game. I'd say we're on an even playing field, actually." Joey smiled, "The luck comes from us not really knowing what we're doing!"
Matilda laughed at this. Alright, you shit, she thought to herself. "And...the stakes?".
Joey pointed to the scar on his face that covered his eye. "Remember this? Kinda fucked how you just stood there watching as that dog ripped into my face...An eye for an eye.".
Matilda froze, a chill running down her spine. Honestly she hadn't thought about that day in years, but when Joey brought it up all of her memories came rushing back. Not just her shock, but her feelings of longing, too. Longing for that fear...
"So, what... you want my eye?"
"...Why not?", Joey was stone-faced. "It was almost like you wanted me to die, the way you stared at me. You think I didn't notice?"
She didn't. I mean how did he? His face was in the middle of being torn off and all eyes were on her?
"Well...you already kinda lost your eye. So what's in it for me?" Matilda was serious about this. The thought genuinely excited her. She could lose her own eye but in return she could basically take anything from Joey.
"Um...how about..." Joey turned red. This was new. "How about you take me on a date?".
Matilda blushed and this, surprisingly, made her very angry. "Fuck. You.".
"So, you don't want to? Are you a coward after all?" Joey laughed at how preposterous the ideas was. In reality he was very nervous about what Matilda thought of him. His nerves were not calmed when he saw Matilda's face.
She was furious. The most chaotic looking face he'd ever seen. The angriest eyes and yet there was a smile on her face. But not a happy one.
"COWARD!?" Matilda couldn't contain herself. She couldn't even think straight. Who cares about the stakes or the odds. A Coward!? She couldn't live with the idea. "Let's do this. If I win, you have to go on a date with me. If you win, I'll cut out my eye."
Joey winced. It was more ludicrous and cringe-y when he heard the stakes out loud. But Matilda showed no signs of laughing. Her eyes locked dead with the one working eye he had left. "...oh, ok then."
"You have to play seriously though." explained Matilda, "No going easy on me, I'll know."
To Joey's surprise, the idea of him holding back made him angry. And so the game was on...
It wasn't a very thrilling match of chess at the end of the day. Matilda had only played once before and Joey was actually just very bad at it. Joey was thinking this to himself when all of a sudden he found himself in checkmate.
"Oh!" He looked up at Matilda who already had tears running down her face. Tears running down and flowing around her mouth. A mouth that was smiling. It was a crooked smile, full of all sorts of emotions, but it threw Joey off regardless.
"Haha! Looks like I won, " Joey chuckled nervously, "good thing I was just joking about the whole eye thing. Actually I wanted to ask you on a date anyway. So that's really my bet after all. I was just too nervous to as-".
Before he could finish, Matilda furiously began unzipping a bag she had by the side of her desk. It was long and narrow and before now Joey hadn't even noticed it. Matilda pulled out a slim, ivory-etched pool cue from the bag. She was actually in the process of practicing trick shots after school with hopes of pulling one over on some unsuspecting chump at the pool hall downtown.
"Uh, oh. That's pretty nice. When did you get tha-" Joey was interrupted again by the sound of Matilda snapping the pool cue in half, the skinnier end falling to the floor.
Matilda was not a coward! The thought of anyone thinking that drove her mad. She took the now sharp end of the pool cue she held in her hand and, without blinking, jammed it into her left eye. Blood and tears rolled down her face, mixing into each other and creating an almost rosy-red hue that practically made her look angelic if it wasn't for that wicked grin on her face. She pulled the pool cue out of her face, the eye ball still attached to the end and slammed it on the table for Joey to witness.
"I am NOT a coward. Fuck. Y-" before she could finish Joey vomited an almost comical amount. Matilda cackled, and then, passed out.
Joey and and Matilda never spoke again after that incident. They both had their own reasons. Unfortunately for Matilda, Joey had always been the voice of reason in the duo. With him out of the picture Matilda was free to pursue all of her deepest, darkest whims. Shady pub after shady pub lead her to where she now was, 7 years later.
"Fuck." Something wasn't right. She was sure she had counted her cards right and something was off. How long was she passed out? Did one of these suits pull one over on her?
"You've been cheated, miss." The gentleman on her left had spoken up.
"What did you say?! Think about what you're implying, son." The man across from Matilda pulled the cigar out of his mouth, a large billow of smoke filled the air as he put the cigar out on his hand as an act of intimidation.
"I'm saying you cheated," the man on the left looked at Matilda "he cheated after you passed out. You should really wait to follow through with certain bets after the game is over."
Wait a minute. That voice sounded familiar to Matilda. "Joey?"
"Uh oh."
"Joey what are you doing here? Shit!" The man had been mostly silent up until now and he had a mask on, per club regulations. She lost focus until the man across from her and the silent man to the right stood up.
"Looks like we got some partners trying to pull one over on us. Pairing up is illegal down here." The large man smiled as he pulled a pistol out of his belt strap.
"You cheated right in front of me, the club wont accept this behavi-" BANG! A shot interrupts Joey as a bullet rips into his shoulder and he fell to the ground. His mask falls off as he hits the floor to reveal his scarred right eye.
"I'm a big time donator to the club. I'm afraid the rules don't apply to me." The man smiles as he moves the gun towards Matilda. BANG!
In a stroke of luck the bullet rips off the side of Matilda's mask, shattering the bottom half and revealing Matilda's sinister smile.
"What a shit way to go." Matilda laughs to herself as she looks over Joey, writhing on the floor in pain. "That's a good look for you, ya shit." She laughs at Joey with an eerie glee.
"Fuck. You." Joey says quietly smiling.
Oh, what a world it would be. If she could just live a life on the edge like this with high stakes, able to observe the agonizing failure of others. Too bad I cant see the look on my own face.
"Out of luck." the large man says as he cocks the pistol one more time and aims it at Matilda's head.
"Fuck..." Matilda stares the man in the eyes, cackling the whole time, as slowly a thick, black fog consumes the room, drowning out everything but Matilda's laugh...
I haven't worked this out entirely. Its a WIP so please don't pick at this too hard. Helpful suggestions are always nice though. (I'm aware the main ability is a little janky. Focus more on the idea and less on the stats)
All or Nothing: Her ability is an edged playing card. She plays in the middle of Huntress and Trickster because why not add more range to the game :p
She gets 3 throwing cards that can injure survivors but CANT down them. Throwing cards have a slight sideways arc when thrown. After a hit or miss, the killer suffers a minor swing penalty, so no spamming. Hitting a survivor with a card activates her ability, which adds a specialty perk of some kind to her arsenal for (x) seconds. X would change depending on the strength of the added perks. Hitting another character with a card activates specialty 2, and the 3rd, specialty 3. If all 3 cards of a hand hit their targets then all bonus perks activate for, something like, 2 minutes. (This ability should be high skill, high reward)
If you miss a throwing card shot then all of your pre-selected perks deactivate if they're on . Any current bonus perks are also lost. You can reset this by landing your 2nd shot or 3rd shot, but you wont be able to get to x3 chain. HOWEVER if you miss your 2nd shot all of your perks will go on cooldown for (x) seconds. You can reset this by landing your final shot, but if you miss your 3rd shot you get locked out your special ability for (x) seconds.
Alternatively, you can grab more cards and reset your chain penalties from a locker. Resets have a cooldown though.
I have thoughts on perks as well but nothing solid yet. I just liked this idea.
Joey would be the survivor in this scenario.
If you read this far thank you very much <3

Everyone Can Like Christmas A Lot

In the heart of Whoville, Christmas is a tapestry woven with whimsy and tradition, blending the fantastical with the time-honored. Streets adorned with Victorian-inspired decor, where garlands of holly and ivy intertwine with handmade paper ornaments, create a scene straight out of a cherished storybook. The air is filled with the aroma of roasted goose and plum pudding, evoking memories of old-fashioned feasts shared by generations past. Gathered around crackling fires and pianos, Whos sing carols that echo through the cobblestone lanes, their voices carrying the timeless melodies of "Silent Night" and "The First Noel." Handcrafted gifts, lovingly made and exchanged, embody the spirit of giving and gratitude. And amidst the laughter and joy, the true magic of Who Christmas shines brightest—a celebration of community, compassion, and the enduring warmth of cherished traditions.
A delightful concept inspired by the whimsical world of Whoville from Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" In Whoville, Christmas is celebrated with unique traditions and customs that embody the true spirit of the holiday. Here's a glimpse into a "Who Christmas" in traditional Whoville style:

1. Decorations:
   • Whimsical, colorful decorations adorn every corner of Whoville, from intricate paper snowflakes to twinkling lights shaped like candy canes and Whos.
   • Whoville trees are quirky and crooked, decorated with bright baubles, ribbons, and tinsel that defy gravity.
   • Every house is a masterpiece of creative decor, with roofs adorned with wreaths made of candy, popcorn strands, and gingerbread men.
2. Feast:
   • The Whos gather for a festive feast featuring roast beast (a Who delicacy), Whobilation pudding, and mountains of colorful sweets like Who-hash and Who-pudding.
   • The feast is a time for sharing stories, laughter, and gratitude, with each Who bringing a special dish to contribute to the communal table.
3. Gift-Giving:
   • Instead of extravagant gifts, the Whos exchange thoughtful presents that reflect their appreciation for one another.
   • Homemade gifts, like knitted scarves, painted rocks, and handcrafted ornaments, are cherished as tokens of love and friendship.
4. Singing and Merriment:
   • Caroling is a cherished tradition in Whoville, with the Whos singing joyful tunes like "Welcome Christmas" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with boundless enthusiasm.
   • Musical instruments made from household items, such as jingle bells fashioned from spoons and drums made from pots and pans, add to the festive cacophony.
5. Community Spirit:
   • The true essence of Who Christmas lies in the spirit of togetherness and generosity. Whos come together to help those in need, spreading kindness and goodwill throughout Whoville.
   • The Grinch's heartwarming transformation from a holiday cynic to a celebrant of Christmas embodies the message of forgiveness, love, and redemption.
6. Whoville Traditions:
   • The lighting of the giant Who Christmas tree in the town square is a grand event, accompanied by a spectacle of fireworks and joyous cheers from Whos of all ages.
   • The Mayor of Whoville leads the Whobilation ceremony, where the Whos join hands and sing their hearts out, embracing the joy of the season.

In Whoville, Christmas is not just about presents and decorations; it's a time to celebrate the bonds of family and community, the magic of kindness, and the joy of being together. Who Christmas captures the essence of the holiday in a uniquely whimsical and heartwarming way.

Old Traditional Styles Too

Adding an old traditional Christmas vibe to the "Who Christmas" celebration in Whoville can create a charming blend of nostalgic customs and whimsical festivities. Here's how you might incorporate elements of an old-fashioned Christmas into the vibrant world of Whoville:

1. Victorian-Inspired Decor:
   • Whoville homes are adorned with classic Victorian decorations like garlands of holly and ivy, handmade paper ornaments, and flickering candles in brass holders.
   • Instead of bright colors, the decor features rich reds, greens, golds, and deep blues, evoking a sense of warmth and nostalgia.
2. Festive Feast with a Vintage Twist:
   • The Whos enjoy a feast reminiscent of a Victorian Christmas dinner, featuring roasted goose, plum pudding with brandy sauce, mince pies, and mulled wine.
   • Tables are set with heirloom china, silverware, and linen napkins embroidered with festive motifs.
3. Traditional Carol Singing:
   • Whos gather around the piano or a crackling fireplace to sing timeless Christmas carols such as "Silent Night," "O Holy Night," and "The First Noel."
   • Handheld instruments like wooden flutes, tambourines, and harmonicas add a rustic charm to the musical performances.
4. Homemade Gifts and Crafts:
   • In keeping with old traditions, Whos exchange handcrafted gifts such as knitted scarves, embroidered handkerchiefs, wooden toys, and homemade jams and preserves.
   • Children delight in making paper snowflakes, gingerbread houses, and cornhusk dolls as thoughtful gifts for family and friends.
5. Charitable Giving and Community Support:
   • Whoville's generosity shines during the holiday season as Whos participate in charitable acts such as donating food and gifts to those in need, volunteering at shelters, and organizing charity events.
   • The spirit of giving and compassion is woven into the fabric of Who Christmas, reflecting the values of kindness and goodwill.
6. Time-Honored Traditions:
   • The lighting of the town's Christmas tree is a cherished tradition, where Whos gather to sing carols, share stories, and enjoy roasted chestnuts and hot cider.
   • Festive parades featuring homemade floats, carolers, and dancers add to the old-world charm of the holiday celebrations in Whoville.

By blending the whimsy of Whoville with the timeless traditions of an old-fashioned Christmas, the Who Christmas celebration becomes a magical journey through the past, celebrating the beauty of heritage, community, and the spirit of the season.

I have posted a few times in comments on here in regards to my journey of quitting Effexor. However I wanted to write my own post to offer insight to others on how it affected, but also helped me. \ \ LEADING UP TO STARTING EFFEXOR\ \ I have suffered from severe social anxiety, panic attacks, and mild depression since my early 20’s. I couldn’t leave my house for years. I struggled in public. I lost my job that I held dearly. I faulted in my first long term relationship and burdened those involved. I couldn’t go into a public setting or store without knowing where the exit was, how far it would be from me at all times, and have the car key in my hand at all times in the event I had to book-it to the car in the midst of panic.\ I wasn’t living. That isn’t life. That’s not at all how life is supposed to be.\ I toyed around with a lot of the homeopathic remedies and over the counter medications. Nothing seemed to help me get a grip on the hold that anxiety had on my life. I finally chalked up the courage to seek professional help in my late 20’s. I started on Lexapro, which worked wonders, for about a month. I was then switched to Zoloft, which did absolutely nothing. Then, I discovered Effexor. At the time, all I knew was that it is an SNRI. Having high hopes, I expected greatness that an SNRI would work better for me, as it works different in the brain compared to an SSRI. \ \ WHILE ON EFFEXOR\ \ Effexor did in fact help. It took some time, but I felt like I finally had my life back. I started getting out. I could go in places again. I regained confidence. I felt like I could flourish and finally be myself again.\ I am forever thankful that Effexor helped me achieve the feeling of being whole again. I’m thankful it helped me cope with the things I once struggled with for so long. I felt…like me.\ \ ~3 YEARS IN (2021-2024)\ \ I began to start noticing changes in me and my body after being on Effexor for 3 years. Things like always overheating, night sweats, high blood pressure (extreme at times), dull and numbness to emotions, libido issues, and dependency like an addict on drugs (if I missed my dose by 30 minutes). My dose was increased 2 times. 75mg to 150mg, 150mg to 225mg. It wasn’t until the end of 2023 that I had started tossing around the idea of tapering off of Effexor, and I started doing research. That’s when I found this subreddit; and that’s when I found the horrendous truths about Effexor with those who are trying to quit, and the effects it has on the body. I began researching options of other antidepressants, as I was sick and tired of feeling the way I did on Effexor. I found other options, such as Prozac (Fluoxetine), to be effective in helping the bridging process while tapering, so I kept that in the back of my mind. I continued taking Effexor up until I finally decided to throw in the towel…\ \ QUITTING/TAPERING BEGAN\ \ March 1st, 2024: I dropped from 225mg to 150mg.\ March 21st, 2024: I dropped from 150mg to 75mg.\ Mid April, 2024: I dropped from 75mg to 37.5mg.\ Late April, 2024: I started removing ~10% beads from the capsules each day.\ April 26th, 2024: I quit Effexor.\ \ WITHDRAWLS\ \ Withdrawals dropping to 150 and 75mg were minimal. It consisted of mainly brain jolt/zaps, balance issues, and disorientation in thoughts. Withdrawals dropping to 37.5mg were the worst for me. These consisted of moments of psychosis, nausea, extreme paranoia (especially at night), and jarring hallucinations. After quitting entirely, I had two night episodes of paranoia. Since then, I have developed a very aggravating, pulling, but yet dull pain in my lower right abdomen that sometimes radiates to my back and right hip. Physical exams didn’t suggest appendicitis, or any other life threatening issues when seen by urgent care. The only thought left was it was potentially a bad symptom of withdrawals that is affecting the GI tract. It only occurs at night, after eating, and randomly at times, which feels like the inside of my right abdomen is being squeezed. It’s not immobilizing, or hurt when walking, but merely an annoyance and a concern, as abdominal pain can be a sign of many things (hooray for being a hypochondriac). This, and brain jolt, are among the only few remaining withdrawals I’m experiencing. Heightened anxiety and panic are setting back in during times of being in public or outside doing yard work.\ \ PSYCH APPOINTMENT\ \ I had an appointment with my psychiatrist today regarding the abdominal pain, since urgent care recommended to do so in suspicion that it’s linked to withdrawals. My psychiatrist said GI issues are known during Effexor but she has not received many patients state that it occurred after tapering off of Effexor. This has me concerned that something else is wrong with me, but hoping it’s just a small withdrawal issue. She has prescribed me 20mg of Prozac, which I will start at 12pm today (May 10th). I’m a little nervous switching back onto an antidepressant, as my pride is getting in the way of wanting to be on any antidepressant after successfully tapering off of Effexor. However, I have heard good things about Prozac, and hopefully it can help alleviate some of the issues reappearing and also help with the withdrawals.\ \ TL;DR\ Quitting is possible. However, please do so with caution and not without supervision or medical advice like I did. Withdrawals will affect everyone differently, some severe, some not severe. Be mindful of your body and mind, study your body’s response during tapering so you can gauge when YOU feel comfortable to taper down another level. Know the associated risks and side effects to come, and be kind to your body during the process. Effexor did many great things for me; I just chose to remove it from my life for obligatory reasons and side effects. I wish you all the best of health and happiness, and here’s to hoping my new journey on Prozac is one of progress and growth.

The results are in for Match 19. The winner is…
Bony limbs swarmed Charlie from all sides. She was locked in. Her clones couldn’t escape, and neither could she.
She could hear the rhythmic steps of the Middleman approaching her. Her fists pounded on Helena’s skeletal constructs, her shouts ringing out throughout the bazaar..
They were on top of her. Their Stand reeled its claws back, before jabbing forwards. Charlie grimaced as a clone burst from her back—a last ditch effort to escape. She swapped its position with hers, but it wasn’t enough. Sharp fingers plowed into her gut as the rest of the hand followed. Muscles clenched in agony as blood dripped down to the floor. She gasped in pain, falling over and clutching at herself once they crudely ripped their stand’s hand back out. It wasn’t a mortal wound, she thought—her little maneuver may have just saved her life…

Helena Beats, with a score of 70 to Charlie Hoosier's 56!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Helena Beats	20 (8+0.5+2) - 10 (3+0.5+2)	When the dust settled, Helena was left standing with a popularity lead!
Quality	Helena Beats	19 (6 7 6) - 18 (6 6 6)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Helena Beats	21 (7 7 7) - 18 (6 6 6)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

…And on the other side of the stage, Helena just watched with shaking breaths. It was exhilarating, seeing death like this up close. The Middleman turned to look at her, and her heart basically stopped. They trundled forth, slowly and certainly. She felt almost embarrassed to stand in the same room as someone who embodied the end so succinctly, like she was a poser.
Soon enough, they were face to face. Their features were almost invisible in the shadow of sundown. Nothing besides their sharp eyes. A low chuckle escaped from them as they brought a hand up to Helena’s face, stroking it. She remained deathly still, as if a single twitch would cause them to attack. It wasn’t so unreasonable—they just might.
“Tell the world what happened here. Turn this place into a grave, or I will come back—and it will become a mausoleum.”
Helena’s eyes widened. Not because of the threat of mass murder, she didn’t really care about that. It was the smell. The Middleman smelled like something, and it was right on the tip of her nose…
It was train tracks. They smelled like train tracks. She recognized the smell from some of Dr. Mali’s teachings—a local rail corporation used a specific in-house chemical mixture to clean their rail lines and fill in any scratches. He had samples of it around occasionally—he had been investigating it for damaging properties. She might have a lead on who they might be.
Just as she made the connection, she blinked—and the Middleman was gone. Disappeared into thin air.
Then it was just her, the death surrounding her.
The results are in for Match 20. The winner is…
In the midst of the military base, this intricately constructed hive, people moved in all their patterns, a thousand interlocking pieces. In a way, it reminded Disco of ants or bees. This was not an insult, a comparison to something lesser. If anything, it was a compliment. Even when these people had stripped nature from this place, it still existed inside of them.
It had been fine to exist with them, to trace those patterns, to join the hive for a while. Disco had already gotten useful information just by speaking with the soldiers and the workers, to the point where she wondered if she still needed to follow Zafar. Yet, as she pondered that question, something drew her to a shadowed corner. Something familiar. There it was.
In the midst of the military base, Disco stopped for a moment, unseen by any eye near or far.
She paused at a crevice somewhere deep inside this building, strange geometry obscuring its position to any passerby. It was clear that nobody came through here much.
Nobody except-
The lights flickered again, as they had every now and again. One of the many powers of that panther, Dried Donuts, which she had informed her ‘fellow soldiers’ all about.
However, she wasn’t expecting the cat herself to be standing at the end of the hall. For a moment, Disco tensed, wondering if the animal knew why she was here, if she was here to sabotage her efforts directly. But DD just gave her a toothy smile, a text ringing out on Disco’s phone.
[when im away i totes miss the mountain too!! >w<]
Disco tilted her head for a moment, unsure what the panther meant. “Too?”
[idk! u just remind me of home. epic trolling btw! theyre totes after me now! but im 2 sneaky 4 them!! Owo]
Disco couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. In a way, perhaps the feeling was mutual. The spirit of the land, the marsh this place once was, it lived on within them both. This place, with all its war, and conflict, and retribution, how had it convinced them they were enemies? How silly was that?
“After all that time gossiping about your powers, I can’t help but gain a new respect for them.”
[ya!! DD is super cool n your ddoors are super cool 2! it was fun playing with u! gg!]
“Playing, hm?” It then occurred to Disco, that even with the stakes so high, it had been fun.
[mr military is gonna split soon! i m gonna make a big blackout! we could race? :3]
Disco considered it a moment, and then shook her head. Zafar would notice if they both tailed him. At this point, Disco wasn’t sure that she would make it there first, and even if she did, it could put the panther in danger. Still, stepping back wasn’t so bad. Disco could keep her place inside the hive, disturbing those patterns from within, while Dried Donuts went on to target the queen. Evergreen had learned to extend their branches…why stop now?
“You go ahead,” she smiled. “I have something else I need to do.”
Dried Donuts nodded, tail swishing happily.
[okie! next time! bai ddisco!!]
That was when the lights cut out, and the panther bounded down the hall. Yet, Disco did not need it to guide her. She knew where it was. She knew what she had to do. She turned to the crevice and…
She reached out.

”We’re no strangers to love…”

Dried Donuts, with a score of 77 to Disco D. Lune’s 72!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Dried Donuts	20 (6+2.5+2) - 10 (1+2.5+2)	Dried Donuts started strong and held onto a commanding lead!
Quality	Disco D. Lune	22 (8 7 7) - 25 (9 8 8)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Disco D. Lune	25 (8 8 9) - 27 (9 9 9)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

Scenario: ???? — ??:??PM
Celebrating a complete mission and a shiny new achievement, Dried Donuts slunk through this meeting place, well out of sight. The panther could hear the sounds of discussion already going on from the hall that the general was walking to. She didn’t have to worry about how she was going to sneak in when the door swung open from the inside—a man started to step out, pausing as he spotted Zafar reaching the door. The brief moment was enough for D.D. to sneak past the pair and into the room, where she started to get a good look at all the figures in the room. There were a few who she didn’t recognise but could tell must be ‘important’ humans.
Zafar entered the hall, the door closing shut behind him as he took a seat, pulling out a handgun and holding it against the table. A few members reacted in fear—the rest barely reacted to it.
“Wha—” one member sputtered. “What are you doing?!”
Zafar chuckled. “Not all of us here have Stands—while we have provided some glasses for that reason, I have access to one through the perfection of an ancient firearm-focused martial art. And it’s very much necessary for this next part…for today we’re being visited by someone who only visits with their Stand...I introduce to you ｢Diamond Life｣.”
A bony hand burst up from the center of the table, finding its footing before dragging the rest of its body upwards, the Stand’s horned crown phasing through first as this skeletal alien pulled itself into full view. Those who were seeing it for the first time were terrified—“Has it been here the whole time?”—and D.D. was no exception. This thing mortified her: as the internet would say, its vibes were rancid, unnatural, and her senses were going nuts just being near.
The panther could feel her cloak slipping. Her instincts were beginning to interfere, she couldn’t stay, she had to go. She’d seen enough anyways…though she didn’t mind taking a poorly placed guest list as she went.
She didn’t need to text these guys, swiping the book would send her message:
[l8ter suckas!!! >:3c]
Scenario: Soma’s Cup, Mist City — 5:36 PM
The afternoon sun shone across the streets of Mist City, gleaming along the green shade of a van parked outside of a cafe. It wasn’t often that PINDROP and the Moonbeam Riders had met together to share information on their investigations into the Metropolis Suite and their Middleman, but with the information that allies of theirs had acquired from spying upon a meeting of their enemy it was necessary—Soma’s Cup serving as a more private meeting place as public, overt meetings were much riskier now.
Corkboards laid upon a few tables, the two groups stood somewhat awkwardly around the information they each had gathered: PINDROP’s wide web of information, looking through chains of command and where money flows to gather a list of suspects; and the Riders’ deeper investigations into various individuals and locale, hoping to figure out what drove these people, why they would assassinate Paris Aco.
However, there were some things to address first: while the two groups had become allies, it seemed that recently they managed to get into a couple of fights recently: while the first resolved itself easily, the second was still somewhat sore in Drippy’s mind. Yet, no matter how many glares she sent towards the riders, their members seemed undeterred. After all, through their work with Gioia Arancini, they had gained a recent victory against the Suite. Now, they just had to keep up their momentum. When it came to such a vital campaign, all who could help were welcome in their coalition. Even former enemies.
Though you couldn’t tell that the two groups had fought by looking at Inago and Sonika. The two had taken the reins of the meeting, excitedly going back and forth comparing information. The fire in their hearts blazed brightly, stirring even the most reluctant members of their groups.
“Yes, this will be helpful,” Sonika continued on, only pausing her speech to take a sip of coffee. “But what is the important thing we must remember?”
She paused, as if waiting for everyone else to answer on cue. When no one did, she took another long sip, and then smacked her mug down on the table.
“That’s right! We must remember to follow the money. Sure, there are various people doing the dirty work, but that’s just the work. When we see who pays them, when we follow the money…we find people with their fingers in all sorts of industries. That man, Xenagoras, he’s our prime example. We can’t spend all our time chasing their various guards, employees, and confidants, we need to dig right down to the root.”
Inago nodded along, still relieved that Cage the Elephant was gone, that his pale city had crumbled. “There’s a few complications that have sprung from his defeat,” he noted. “For all his faults, Xenagoras was dedicated to keeping the Hymnal Bazaar afloat. It would need new management, and there’s no telling what kind it could get. Not only that, there’s also that man in the mountain.”
“Right—while this ‘Spanda’ figure’s interference once provided cover for some illegal construction, it interfered with construction broadly. With him gone, the Suite has lost and gained opportunities.” Sonika moved her hand towards the latest addition to the boards. “...which brings us to the reason we called this meeting: a list of figures who had been spotted at a meeting.”
“Media, railways, politics…they really have their hands in everything.” Angelino noted, peering over the list and the new connections that had been made.
“The railway…” Yankee murmured to himself, before speaking up. “Paris Aco believed they were involved, didn’t she? Wasn’t that long before she died as well. Maybe the answer to why the Middleman was called on her lies there?”
“Makes sense!” Luna remarked. “It helps that a friend of ours managed to find some conversations between Sing Now! and the railway CEO a week before her death—that has to be something.”
“I would imagine that tracks through the mountain could be what they attempt towards next,” Sonika noted, refocusing the conversation. “But we have no leads as to who would even be willing to work on such a project.”
“It’s not the sort of thing that could exactly be easily presented to the city’s Planning Board,” Inago stated. “While Zhengqi does associate with Mahimit, tearing apart the mountain isn’t something he’d be down for.”
Windy spoke up in agreement. “I remember back at the Gala I was at that the fella really cared about the environment. ‘Tis a shame that his pa’s one of the Suite—he seemed a swell guy too.”
“Zafar Singh, right?” Arizona asked, leaning back against a wall as she listened on. “Heard he runs the army base here—must be, ah, pretty big in their ranks. Maybe he knows about who the Middleman is?”
“Perhaps…” Inago pondered, before turning to the guest in their midst. “Ajay, what do you think of this?”
The welder looked up as he put down his phone, having finished a call while the others were discussing their findings. He had come to the cafe at the right time, seeking someone to discuss the worrying events happening recently only to walk into the two detective groups setting up shop.
“Well, Mahi would be willing to discuss the topic—just called them now actually, they want to meet up!”
“Wha—really?” Sonika asked. “You called them right before—sigh well, it’s a good lead to follow.”
“Agreed,” Inago spoke, stretching as he stepped away from the corkboards. “Ajay, would it be ok if me and Sonika came with you?”
“Actually—” Windy stepped down from her seat. “May I come as well? I want to see if the poor fella’s doing ok, and maybe figure out why his pa would be in the Suite.”
“Sure thing!” Ajay smiled. “Anyone else want to join us?”
Scenario: Port Konwar — 8:56 PM
Night had fallen on Rakin City, the moonlight shining on the green paint of the BigTop as it drove through Port Konwar. The streets were quiet, with only a few people prowling about who’d yet to return home, and even less the closer the group got to their destination. The docks seemed to drift further and further into silence, until the dusk was all that awaited them.
“—and that over there should be where they said to meet up.” Ajay noted, pointing out the locale in question to Jon who began to turn the van towards it: a construction site, another building designed for the utility it serves the city.
“Are you certain?” Sonika asked as she looked past the two at their destination. “Not ideal for a secret meetup, isn’t it? Wouldn’t call it the safest place...”
“Nobody would stumble in on you, at least,” Jon noted, pulling the van up next to a motorcycle parked nearby. “You guys, uh, g-got the recording gear ready? The BigTop should be set up, s-so I can write up a copy of anything important in case things go, ah, south.”
“Are ya certain that’s necessary?” Windy asked from further back in the van. “Fella’s a pretty swell guy from what I’ve seen of him. Y’really think we’ll be having any trouble?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Sonika sighed. Exiting the van, she watched as those who had come along for this interview started filing out: Drippy leaving at a brisk pace, eager for this to reveal something about the Middleman who had been plaguing her thoughts, followed by Inago and then Ajay—once Windy hopped out alongside them, the PI stepped out and shut the BigTop’s door behind them.
For a moment, Sonika paused, inhaling crisp night air. Port Konwar’s air was thick with the smell of the water just nearby. Her thoughts were crowded, as they always were. Everyone here was pretty confident that something good would come of the lead they were chasing. If the architect’s father, Zafar, was actually a member of the Suite as they’d been informed, this’d be huge. Why didn’t she feel that same excitement?
Steric had informed her of the situation with the late Mrs. Aco’s daughter, currently taken in by an associate of his (something about a lawyer?). Maybe that was what gave her pause. That gruesome murder, everything surrounding it. It made her feel a little-
Windy tugged on her sleeve, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. She nodded, stuffing her hands in her pockets and moving forward.
It didn’t take the group long to reach the center of the construction site, striding past concrete bricks and wooden beams, keeping an eye out for the architect they were to meet. Drippy was the first to spot someone within the construction site, but this did not appear to be Mahimit: the figure was sitting atop some lone concrete bricks, the lower part of their face somewhat obscured by the high collar of a long-coat, and their eyes covered by shades a deep red.
She held her arm out to stop the others as she summoned her Stand in her other, the bone blade of her longsword pointing right at the person in front of them. “The hell are you?” She called out.
Inago was quick to recognise the figure: “That’s Hira!” The statement was greeted with silence. “They’re mainly known as Tamas. Vigilantes always wind up with a few names. Last I heard, they’d gone missing.”
“Do you types just all know each other?” Drippy raised an eyebrow, lowering her blade slightly.
Like her PINDROP ally, Sonika was also on guard, the metallic figure of ｢Chain Of Prospit｣ manifesting beside her as the moonlight shone on its golden armor. “Then why are they here, and now?”
The one of the group unperturbed by this was Ajay, a brief look of curiosity before he sidestepped past the armored Stand and walked forward with a grin on his face. “Hey Mon-Ami, we’re here! Hope we didn’t make you wait!”
The entire group turned to their guide in confusion, but they all realized one by one what exactly the situation was.
Mahimit was Tamas.
Windy’s grin dropped, but only slightly. Even if it was somber news, she always made sure to smile in times of distress. ’He was such a lovely fella’, she thought to herself. ’I suppose that makes sense given what I’ve heard of Tamas’s approach. But what could drive ‘em to such violence? His dad seemed nice too, but I’m not sure what else could be the reason why…
Drippy lowered her sword, but she wasn’t any less wary. Vigilante types were always a violent bunch, and she couldn’t afford to keep her guard down for even a moment. The name wasn’t unfamiliar to her, though. Even beyond her job at PINDROP keeping her up to date on the city’s affairs, Susie herself had only kind things to say about the guy. Apparently he was an associate of Rasna’s to some degree. She didn’t really know if she liked the sound of that.
Sonika, shocked as she was, kept focused—this new piece of the puzzle meant so much. Her mind flicked through its own internal reasonings at bullet speed, as it always did when a new clue appeared. ’So Mahimit is also Tamas…didn’t Titan mention something about blackmail? He said it was about his position in the City Planning Board, but having a powerful Stand User in their pocket might also be another reason to…didn’t Tamas disappear roughly about the time Mahi would have been blackmailed? For that matter, who would even want to? The influence he has now in the planning board is a good thing to have, su…re…
Something clicked into place, and Sonika’s eyes widened.
“Oh, shit.”
Scenario: One Month Ago, Mahimit Rākin’s Apartment, Mist City — 10:25PM
Mahimit had come back from another night out on the streets as Tamas, but like a phantom that Stand had appeared in his living room while his back was turned. He stepped backwards, nearly tripping on their own feet. He put his arms up in defense, his hands blocking its inky stare. “｢D-Diamond Life｣,” they stammered, doing everything to force a smile. “A p-pleasure to…see you.” They were lying through their teeth, naturally. Ghoulish appearance aside, an audience with them was rare; for it to show up on its own time…
Mahimit gulped. “It’s rather late. What brings you by?”
The Stand said nothing, only placing a claw onto the edge of the sofa, faint scratching from each step as it moved from towards the window. Mahi froze as it finally turned its head to the glass pane.
“How long has it been?” It hissed.
“W-what do you mean?”
“Ah, it would have been about three years, now. Is that right?” The Stand turned its head to the architect. “Yes, I remember now. The day your father brought you along to one of our gatherings.” A breeze blew into the room, jostling the loose cloth hanging on its rigid body. “How the time passes us by.”
Mahi’s eyes shot to the floor as they dug into their palms. Had it only been that long? It felt like an eternity since they joined the Suite. He never much cared for most of their company, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t getting anything out of this. They may have initially joined at the request of Zafar, but there were undeniable benefits. Few he grew to enjoy, as much as he loathed to admit even that. Mahi looked back up, the Stand peering out of the window.
“I never got the chance to…thank you,” he nearly choked on the words. “—I’ve been able to do amazing things through the board that—”
“You studied in Tamil Nadu, yes?” it said sharply. “That’s what Zafar told me anyways.”
The blood running through Mahimit’s veins was ice cold.
“I hear it was quite a dangerous place back then,” the Stand shook its split head. “It takes a lot of vigilance to make it in an area like that. A trait that has served you well in the few years I’ve known you.”
Mahi felt an intense aura seeping throughout the room. What was it talking about? Why bring all this up? He frowned, uncomfortable with where this was going.
“Having lived there, surely you’ve heard of Hira?”
Mahi’s eyes widened. His eyes darted back to the couch, only to find that ｢Diamond Life｣ was already holding their coat in its jagged grip, a hole in the shoulder where a knife cut through before they could transform. Their heart sank to the floor.
“You did know Hira originally operated there, correct?” The Stand continued, tracing its finger over the coat linings. “Though they have recently found a home in Rākinnagarh, the mysterious “Rider Tamas” watched over a small city within the region.” Seemingly from nowhere, it produced a newspaper and tossed it into Mahimit’s chest. Unrolling it revealed a grainy image of a shape atop a three story building. A figure, looming over the city, something billowing around them, obscuring their form. “TAMAS, HERO OR MENACE?”
｢Diamond Life｣ shook its head. “Courtesy of one troublesome tiger. It came at no small cost.”
Mahimit’s hands shook violently as they read over the contents of the print. Though, they weren’t really reading it, they just couldn’t bear to look up from the page. It knew. ｢Diamond Life｣ knew everything. Their identity, their values. Their true self…If it knew about Tamas, then surely it would’ve made the connection to their actions against Binay’s group. Their collusion with VULTURE. Hira had been a thorn in the side for the Metropolis Suite for the better part of a year. This wasn’t something that could be ignored.
Mahimit lowered the paper, their eyes wide with energy. “So, what now? Is this why you’ve come? To tie up loose ends?”
｢Diamond Life｣ took a step towards them. And then another. “You know, when most people refer to ‘tying loose ends’, they often mean to rip out the thread entirely.”
The stand poked its claw through the hole in Hira’s coat, pinching a loose snag, staring intently at it. “Of course, sometimes one must act quickly to remove the string. It’s important to prevent the cloth from snagging on anything. It could bring about untold damage.”
It took another step towards Mahimit, its chilling aura suffocating them. “However, this is ultimately shortsighted. Ripping the string will only hurt the quality of the cloth, giving way to future snags, which inevitably leads to an unstable material.”
As it spoke, it ran a single claw through the hole, taking the loose strands of string through the shoulder in a circular motion as it circled behind Mahimit, causing another shudder to shoot through his body.
“W-what are you doing?”
“According to the tailors of Assam, if you truly want to preserve a piece of clothing, it's best to string the thread back through the reverse side of the cloth. It’s often best to use a blunt needle to smooth the snag out. It’s a delicate process, but I’ve come to find it’s well worth it.” As it spoke, it slowly placed its claws onto the architect’s shoulders, one claw at a time.
“I’m sure you’d agree.”
Mahimit flinched at the touch, turning around to find that the Stand had vanished. Confused, he touched his fingers to his shoulders, feeling the weight of his coat resting upon them. Running his hand against the right sleeve, they were stunned to find that the hole was gone, with only a tiny stitch to remember it by. Despite this miracle, however, Mahimit couldn’t shake the creeping dread that was ebbing in their chest. This was no mere gift. It was a warning. And if they stepped out of line…No. It wouldn’t come to that. It couldn’t.
Mahimit inhaled, and exhaled, and inhaled, and exhaled.
“Who... did you bring with you?” His eyes moved from Ajay to the people behind him.
“Some friends.” Ajay nodded. “They’re good people. They wanna help you out as much as I do. I promise you that much.”
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
“If it’s not too much trouble...” Sonika cleared her throat, offering a hand. “We’d like to take you somewhere safer. It’s a bit risky out here.”
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
“Get out.” Mahimit grit their teeth, nails digging into the soft flesh of their palms. “I-I’ll tell you everything, just, get out of here, now.”
Ajay’s reassuring smile faltered. “Mon-Ami, what’re you-”
“GET OUT!”
Mahimit shoved the man away, panic overtaking those practiced breaths. They took a moment to calm themselves. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Ex-

BANG

They blinked a few times. Looked away from the floor. Saw Ajay collapsed, blood pouring from a bullet wound on his shoulder, eyes wide from shock. The people behind him were immediately panicking, but they didn’t care. That bullet hole. Straight through the shoulder, clean and precise, like a knife through butter. A perfect shot, not intended to kill, but to disarm. It always had to be perfect.
“...Father?”
Zafar was watching from somewhere. Of course he was. Of course he would fire, take this away from them. Of course he would be watching Mahi now. Of course he would see the chipped nail polish frantically washed off every morning before anyone could see. The cheap lipstick that they could never spend too much on because they always wound up throwing it away out of fear. Of course he would see these stupid tears-
Mahimit’s breath hitched.
Their father would be there to take this away from them, as he had always been. He was a tall, vast man, who commanded your respect, no matter how much you hated him. He knew what was right. His choice was yours. What he wanted would be what occurred, simple as.
And right now, what he wanted was a perfect son who would help with his work.
Mahimit screamed, his voice reverberating through the construction site, Stand manifesting as it tried to keep them together, a hole ripping in his body. The costume he’d worn so fondly ripped itself to shreds, something pulling itself out from the hole and staring him down. For just a moment, Mahimit stared back, before the all-consuming despair washed over his reason.
The loud click of a reload was all that he heard as he rose to his feet.
He didn’t tell his body to stand—it seemed to do that on its own, puppeteered by the figure snaking out from his chest.
Tamas had simply become another thing that was no longer his.
“Shit!” Drippy cursed as she deflected another strike from Mahimit’s Stand, gritting her teeth. She glanced backwards, watching as Inago slung the unconscious Ajay over his shoulder. That was the cue to get going, now. She barely had time to reel backwards before another bullet went sailing past her, almost blowing her damn arm off.
”GO, GO, GO!” The group was on the retreat in the blink of an eye, Inago throwing up another diamond barrier in time to block another one of the Stand’s frenzied strikes. He felt his bones rattle at the impact—this thing was tough, and it was mad.
A massive concrete pillar served as a damn fine bit of cover, and Mahimit seemed too distracted to follow. That wouldn’t last, though; the second the architect came to his senses, they’d need to get into action. They needed a plan, now.
Windy kept watch, her smaller body allowing her some strength. Inago set himself to stabilizing Ajay, and Sonika just sort of...sat there. Drippy watched in awe as their fearless leader spaced out, clearly too lost in thought to be of much strategic assistance. She’d been weird for a while now, but this was the last time to be having some sort of crisis.
Drippy groaned. She needed to figure this out, then. She was half a mind to march over there and show that architect the works, but...
She couldn’t help recalling the words of a certain ex-gang leader. They were swords, and they carried violence wherever they went, or something. She didn’t quite remember how it went, but, well, this wasn’t the kind of situation where the violent types would be able to do much. This guy didn’t need to be hit with swords, he needed some combat therapy, and she was the last person who’d be able to give it.
She glanced between her comrades, and groaned again.
“Al-RIGHT!” Drippy rose to her feet. “Fedora boy!”
“Inago.” Inago sighed.
“Whatever! We’re tracking down the sniper!” She turned to Sonika. “Boss, you and the puppet can deal with this shit! We’ll be off!”
Inago barely had time to protest before Drippy was dragging him off to find Zafar, Leaving Sonika and Windy alone behind the pillar.
“Looks like it’s the two of us, then!” Windy grinned, balling felt into fist. “No worries! We can get this one done lickety-split!”
Sonika didn’t respond
“Uh... Miss detective?”
“Ah, sorry.” Sonika shook her head to clear her thoughts, but trouble still creased her brow. She stared at the water in front of her, visible through the bars of a fence. “...Did you hear the way that kid screamed?”
“Was awfully loud, wasn’t it? Woulda made my eardrums pop! If I had any.” Windy offered a smile and a chuckle. Sonika didn’t take it.
“It was just, so...” She sighed. “What good can we even do, here, huh? What’s the point in any of this?”
“The point?” Windy tilted her head to the side. What a strange question! “The point is that we’re helpin’ people, ain’t it? Get this done, and we’ll be one step closer to helping a lot of people. That’s what we’re here for.”
Sonika chuckled, and Windy smiled at that.
“Our help hasn’t done a damn thing, kid.” The detective rose to her feet. “No matter how hard I try, how many cases I solve, that…beast is going to kill someone else. It’ll keep happening. Even if we stop him, throw him behind bars or whatever, will that stop any of this? It’s all...” Sonika’s crisis of faith wasn’t new. It had boiled, brewing just underneath her skin. Her hands shook at the thought of Rakin’s plight—and her own hopelessness before it. She was just a detective. She couldn’t stop this train of death, no matter how hard she—
A ball of yarn hit her square in the jaw, sending her stumbling back.
“...Huh?”
She turned to face an uncharacteristically furious Windy. She gaped, awestruck. She didn’t even know Windy could be mad. The muppet was so mad, in fact, that she had to take a few seconds to huff and calm herself down so she could actually speak.
“...First off.” Windy jabbed a thumb into her chest. “I’m pretty sure I’m just about as old as you, buddy!”
Sonika blinked a few times.
“Secondly!” Windy crossed her arms. “You think I’m naive, don’tcha?! I get it! I am pretty naive! I really do think that if we just keep tryin’ and tryin’ and tryin’ we’ll get everything fixed up and everyone’ll hold hands and sing and dance! Sue me! But y’know what?!” Windy huffed again, placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t care if that’s unrealistic! Cause that’s just what I want! I don’t care if it’s hard! I don’t care if things are bad! Cause if I’ve got somethin’ to work towards, then I can put on a smile and keep doing it and doing it and doing it till I do make a difference! We’ve always been working at the impossible!”
“If it’s impossible, then...What’s the point of trying?”
Windy grinned. “Pal, you’re having a conversation with a talking muppet. Words like that don’t mean a dang thing anymore!” She pointed at Sonika, grin widening. “Even the impossible’s possible, if you believe it is! That’s what it means to be a hero-ah.”
In a mere instant, Tamas was upon them, the arms of his Stand hurtling towards Windy, aiming to rip a hole right through her. The muppet froze up like a deer in headlights.
“Aw, shoo-”

KLANG!

A chain unfurled from the pillar, barely blocking off Tamas’s strike, forcing it back. Sonika pushed a hand through her hair, exhaling, her Stand shining bright behind her.
“I’m a pretty old woman, y’know.” She smirked, flipping open her notepad. “You really think I can be so naive?”
“You’d better!” Windy hopped onto her shoulder, cracking her knuckles, somehow. “You can’t make miracles happen if you don’t believe in ‘em!”
Sonika nodded. Truth be told, she didn’t really know how much this would help, but one case at a time. That’s how she’d always done it.
“Alright, Windy.” Sonika put on the best smile she could. For now, it’d be enough. “Let’s see your miracle.”
”Open the game!”
Location: A building in the first stages of its construction. The map is 24 x 30 meters, with each square being 1x1 meter. At the bottom of the map is a trailer filled with documentation of the jobs that the construction company have done over the past few years in the area. The red squares are large tool boxes and storage boxes for various construction tools. Blue squares on the building itself are window frames, roughly a meter off the ground, while the walls themselves are made of poured concrete.
The yellow is a backhoe, and the brown areas are large piles of dirt, excavated to pour the foundations of the building. The piles have been moved around, with some partially on current sections of the foundation, and stand 3m high. The walls of the building are similarly high; work has not finished on the first story.
A sniper loyal to Metropolis is located somewhere to the north of the map with a sniper rifle; while the rounds they currently have loaded are not able to penetrate through concrete, dirt, or other significant cover, they can harm Stands. They will take about ten seconds to reload and get a bead on a player, and will prioritize shooting Windy, attempting to use the force of the bullets to disorient her, hurt her, and/or knock her out of the arena.
Goal: RETIRE your opponents! Notably for Windy, a ring out will also be considered a RETIRE, as she’s forced away from contributing to the fight!
Additional Information: Marked on the map in orange are several exclamation points. These are points of interest that Sonika can use to clue in where exactly the sniper is shooting from and call in their position to Ol’ Drippy and Inago via phone. Once this is done, the sniper will stop shooting after a minute, as they’ll be tied up with the other two.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Moondrop Detective Agency	Sonika Singha	”I’ll try to get closer while I go up the side of the hill. Look for the moment it fires.” This sniper absolutely can’t be left to dictate the pace of this fight. Solve the case of the sniper’s nest and call them out to your comrades!
Moondrop Detective Agency	Windy	“Charlotte, my assistant, if you’d help me introduce you to everyone…” All of this carnage happening around you… this isn’t how things should be! Things don’t have to be this way! All of this pain and suffering, it’s all meaningless! Through your words and actions during the fight, prove that there’s another, better path, and set an example of it!
The Metropolis Suite	Mahimit “Hira” Rākin	“Speaking to someone’s heart is an amazing thing, but sometimes… ‘garbage’ gets left over.” What else is left for you, really? Through your actions in this fight, do your best to make your father proud!

Link to Official Player Spreadsheet
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In the abandoned courtyard, silence hung heavy in the midnight air, broken only by the occasional hoot of an owl.
‎
Ji Wuye emerged from the shadows, his footsteps light yet purposeful on the weathered stone tiles. His return from the Tower still felt like a surreal dream, one he could scarcely believe was real.
‎
He surveyed the dimly lit surroundings, the flickering torchlight casting dancing shadows across ancient walls. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he slowly shook his head in disbelief.
‎
"I've truly become a 3rd stage martial artist now..." he murmured, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The weight of this achievement still hadn't fully settled in.
‎
Only three days prior, he had been a mere peak 1st stage martial artist, and now, he had shattered through that ceiling, ascending to the highest echelon - the 3rd realm. The realization washed over him in waves of emotion.
‎
In the heavy silence, Ji Wuye's crimson eyes drifted upwards, finding the silver moon hanging in the velvety night sky like a beacon.
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Its ethereal glow bathed his chiseled features, the wind tousling strands of his white hair across his handsome face as he gazed into the distance, lost in contemplation.
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His reverie was suddenly broken by a fleeting recollection of the External Arts he had acquired from the shop. "Mending Meridians..."
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The words rolled off his tongue with practiced ease, as if he had known this ancient healing art his entire life. "A martial art focused on healing, achieved through entering a meditative state and regulating breathing into the Dantians."
‎
With those softly spoken words, Ji Wuye crossed his legs and settled into a lotus position, his back straight yet relaxed. He closed his eyes and began a rhythmic cycle of deep, controlled breaths.
‎
As he exhaled, the very air around him seemed to stir and transform - coalescing into a shimmering emerald aura reminiscent of the soothing healing light from the Tower.
‎
This verdant Qi radiated a refreshing, almost crisp sensation, like crystal-clear waters from a mountain spring.
‎
The restorative energy flowed through him, traveling along six crucial meridian points - the lungs, large intestine, spleen, heart, small intestine and finally the bladder.
‎
From these main channels, it branched outwards like a great tree, following an intricate network of tiny capillary-like pathways that reached every corner of his body.
‎
This verdant healing Qi possessed an innate, almost sentient awareness. It sought out any frayed, torn or inflamed tissues, cells, blood vessels with unerring precision.
‎
In these damaged areas, it stimulated the natural regenerative processes, reducing inflammation and purging underlying toxins. At a microscopic level, the Qi seamlessly fused severed connections back together with sublime finesse.
‎
The depth and severity of his injuries determined the number of restorative cycles required, but Ji Wuye could already feel his battered body recovering, knitting itself back together.
‎
As time slipped by in meditative stillness, the deep night gradually gave way to the first hints of dawn's rosy glow peeking over the horizon. Only then did Ji Wuye's eyes flutter open once more.
‎

[>>[HEALING ART PRIMER(E)]<<] The proficiency of your passive skill - external arts has been increased by 0.01%! 

‎
"It took me three full hours just to grasp the basics of this profound art," Ji Wuye mused aloud, a satisfied smile spreading across his lips. "So this is the true depth of the renowned Healing Art Primer."
‎
His thoughts turned to the legendary figure who had achieved mastery through this path, forever altering the realm's understanding of such esoteric abilities.
‎
"Now, onto the Cloudsoaring Steps..." This was entirely new territory for Ji Wuye - an unfamiliar art shrouded in mystery based on its intriguing name and brief description alone.
‎
From what he could glean, it seemed to focus on enhanced movement, running and evasion techniques.
‎
Standing once more in the now abandoned courtyard, Ji Wuye allowed the fragmented knowledge of the Cloudsoaring Steps to coalesce within his mind's eye.
‎
Unlike the proven, tangible foundations of the Healing Art Primer, this new art felt ephemeral, ambiguous...full of untapped potential.
‎
"The first stage, Earth Steps, involves sinking Qi into the meridians of the feet, enhancing balance and stability," he recounted, the information surfacing from the fog of his subconscious.
‎
"The initial training revolves around stance switching to bolster stability, groundedness and overall body balance."
‎
With those words, Ji Wuye closed his eyes once more, clearly visualizing the fundamental stances flowing through his mind's eye.
‎
Slowly, fluidly, he began shifting his body through the ancient forms. For over an hour, he transitioned between the firm, rooted horse stance and the deceptively simple yet precisely controlled empty stance.
‎
"With each shift, I can feel myself becoming more grounded, more centered," he muttered under his baited breath, keenly aware of the changes rippling through his Qi flow with each controlled movement.
‎
"My Qi circulates smoothly, stabilizing my core...anchoring me to the earth."
‎
A look of pure, unbridled excitement lit up Ji Wuye's face as he seamlessly flowed into another profound stance, fully immersing himself in the profound study of this new art of movement and evasion.
‎
After mastering the foundational stances, Ji Wuye took several deep, centering breaths - his chest rising and falling with deliberate control.
‎
Having internalized the anchoring principles of the Earth Steps, it was time to progress his training further along the path of the Cloudsoaring Steps art.
‎
"The second training involves footwork patterns..." he murmured, eyes tracing the floor pattern across the abandoned courtyard floor.
‎
Without hesitation, Ji Wuye began meticulously moving through the patterns, he flowed with a preternatural grace from one seamless transition to the next, rotating through a myriad of geometric shapes and angles.
‎
At first, his movements were measured and slow - cautious yet precise. But as the rhythmic routine took hold, Ji Wuye's pace steadily quickened.
‎
His footwork became more dynamic, more aggressive, feet blurring through the intricate forms as he pushed himself from one grueling pattern to the next without pause.
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For fifteen minutes, he danced along the razor's edge of the invisible grid - his entire world condensed into the singular focus of complete body control and awareness.
‎
Only when he finally stilled did Ji Wuye become aware of the tremors rippling through his calves and thighs, the built-up lactic acid searing through his over-taxed muscles.
‎
Glistening beads of sweat traced sinewy paths down his forehead as he wiped them away with the back of his hand. "It appears my intuition was correct about the training's intensity," he remarked with a breathless chuckle of self-satisfaction.
‎
Each meticulously placed step, each of focus and Qi control dedicated to avoiding the intersecting lines, had fundamentally rewired his meridians and kinetic potential.
‎
"Every step I take is controlled and yet weightless...unfettered. I can feel it stirring - the awakening energies along the meridian pathways of my feet."
‎
As Ji Wuye raised his gaze towards the pre-dawn sky, he noticed the first few rosy tendrils of sunlight cresting the horizon - herald's of the new day's imminent arrival. In that tranquil moment of transition, a flicker of recollection surfaced from his subconscious.
‎
"Ah...today is the day, isn't it?" The words carried a sibylline weight, hinting at some greatly anticipated event. "The day when 'she' will finally unleash her true potential?"
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Released in 2024 Historical and Fantasy Dramas with a link to YouTube (usually, the first link is a YouTube playlist of series with English subtitles) and not yet released but upcoming dramas this year.

Title	Description	YouTube
Secrets of the shadow sect	Morally ambiguous, the Spiritual Heaven Sect is an influential sect that has remained in seclusion for years. Its Young Lady, Ling Xuan, encountered a pair of dying siblings during her travels ten years ago.	YouTube
Hua Qing Ge	An author of web novels gets sucked into her historical fiction after comments flood her webpage not to get the main protagonists killed by the third prince of Liang, Ji Chu.	YouTube
Qi Jin Zhao	The amnesiac Yue siblings wander searching their pasts until a Risen Soul Cult member cons Yue Qi's money. While trying to recover it, they join Luo Zhou Yan and True Martial Alliance members against the cult.	YouTube
Thousands of Years of Love	Feng Ruo Yao, is a phoenix and the ruler of the demon realm. She falls in love at first sight with Immortal Lord Mo Chen Yuan and forces him back to the demon realm to marry her.	YouTube
Zi Chuan Guang Ming San Jie	Follows the heir of the Zichuan family. Together with his sworn brothers Di Lin and Si Te Lin, they set out to protect his family against threats.	YouTube
Xi juan chang le cheng	Xie Quanjia, a farm girl from a small town who came to Changle City in search of her father, overnight becomes the heiress of the local magnate, Li Tiandi.	YouTube
A mai cong jun	Crossing path of an orphan girl dressed as a young man (looking for her adopted brother who murdered her parents) with the heir of the former murdered crown prince (currently hunted by the king).	YouTube
Palace Shadows: Between Two Princes	The Prince of Yan Kingdom, Yu Fei Chen, marries the daughter of the general who controls the country, Yin Nan Yao... or so everyone thinks. The bride he gets is actually Yue Ji An, an assassin from a secret organization sent to claim his life. But the Prince is not all he appears to be either; he is an undercover agent who works to expose the criminals and punish the unrighteous.	YouTube
Da tang di gong an	A brilliant investigator incurs the wrath of a shadowy foe when he travels to a border town to tackle crimes and misdeeds on behalf of Empress Wu Zetian.	YouTube
Mu zhong wu ren 2	The blind swordsman, skilled in martial arts, named Cheng Xia Zi, accidentally saves Zhang Xiao Yu, who has suffered from the destruction of his family. Under the persuasion of the orphan Xiao Yu, Cheng Xia Zi reluctantly keeps him by his side and teaches him skills. Xiao Yu also waits for the opportunity to seek revenge.	YouTube
Da Li Si Shao Qing You	Set in the glorious Tang dynasty, it revolves around the Dali Temple and its "white cat leader," Li Bing, as he leads his team members to unravel different kinds of mysteries and adventures.	YouTube
Yong an Meng	Yong'an, the capital city, fell into chaos due to the collapse of the West Canal. Shen Wen Qi, the Minister of Works in charge of the construction, was implicated overnight and thrown into prison. "When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact."	YouTube
Lie Yan Zhi Wu Geng Ji	Adapted from the Manhua/Donghua IP "Wu Geng Ji," created by Jianhe Zheng, it tells the story of the human prince Wu Geng, who was reduced to a slave after his country was destroyed and his family was destroyed.	YouTube
Hua jian ling	In the sinful city of Heyang, very well-liked Pan Yue married Yang Caiwei, who was despised by everyone. However, Yang Caiwei was murdered on their wedding day.	YouTube
Yu Feng Xing	On her thousandth birthday, she arranged a marriage for political alliance. On her way to escape this marriage, Shen Li was attacked and transformed into her phoenix form.	YouTube
Wan Wan Ru Meng Xiao	Revenge. Death. Forced marriage. Enemies to Lovers.	YouTube
Zhi Bi	Su Yunqi, a resourceful woman, discovers she is but a character at the disposal of a mysterious author of a "Book of Fate". She keeps trying to change her predestined tragedies as far as possible	YouTube
Wu Xing Shi Jia	Tells the story of Huo Xiao Xie, an orphan in the market, who was forced to be involved in a troubled world. In order to be able to protect the people around him in times of crisis, he was born to death several times	YouTube
Xi Hua Zhi	Inspired by Mulan, Hua Zhi, a brave and intelligent aristocratic girl, expected to live a quiet life, employs everything that she has learnt but never got to use to save her family when tragedy strikes	YouTube
You Jian Xiao Yao	A young inn attendant and a descendant of the goddess embark on a quest to find a bead that can end a drought. They befriend allies and face dangers, ultimately thwarting a sect leader's scheme to destroy the world.	YouTube
Dou Luo Da Lu 2	After the final of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, TangSan bid farewell to his friends. They agreed to reunite five years later, and then they separately embarked on their respective lifes.
Fan Ren Xiu Xian Zhuan	The story of Han Li, a poor and ordinary boy from a village. In order to let his family lead a better life, he willingly heads to Qi Xuan Sect to take their entrance exam.
Shao Nian Bai Ma Zui Chun Feng	Baili Dong Jun, the youngest son of the Hou Mansion in Zhenxi, was stubborn since he was a child.
Da nao donghai	Nezha gets into trouble and implicates his parents, who get punished by the heavens along with him. He bravely steps up and admits his fault, which touches the heavens, and his effort comes to fruition.
Hu yao xiao hong niang zhu ye pian	Dongfang Huai Zhu and Wangquan Hong Ye, leaders of their families, during a conflict between humans and demons, they join forces to restore the Unity Alliance.
Hu Yao Xiao Hong Niang: Yue Hong Pian	The story of Tu Shan Hong Hong of the Fox tribe and Dongfang Yue Chu of human tribe both fighting to death to protect the peaceful coexistence of the fox tribe and human tribe.
Jin Yong Wu Xia Shi Jie	A gathering of great warriors brings forth a joyful martial art world. A new tradition reboots the martial arts.
Jin Yi Ye Xing	The drama tells the story of Xia Xun who time-travels to the early Ming dynasty and assists Emperor Yongle (born Zhu Di and becomes the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty) in expanding and strengthening his dynasty.
Nian wu shuang	To retrieve a heavenly treasure, Goddess Wu Shuang descends to assassinate Yuan Zhong. They join forces to save the world as in an ancient war
Yi Nian Yong Heng	A Will Eternal follows the story of a young boy who joins a powerful sect and becomes a hero.
Shui Long Yin	Tang Li Ci, a recluse, gets entangled in a murder case and conspiracy to destroy the martial arts world, ten years after heroes slay cult leader Ye Mo.
Wan Gu Zui Qiang Zong	The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by Goodbye Jianghu. It tells the story of the cultivation of a sect that opened the system, led by Jun Changxiao, who led a group of funny disciples
Wu you du	In the prosperous city of Guangping, humans and demons coexist. Demons are skilled at hiding their forms and disguising themselves as humans. Ban Xia the daughter of a wealthy family, has a pair of strange eyes and can often see the shadows of those who are not there. Because of this, no matter how well behaved and docile she is, she is still called "crazy" secretly.
Qi Gen Xin Jian	In ancient times, there were seven types of evil thoughts, each of which possessed the power to confuse, and muddle, people's hearts.
Ling Long Lang Xin	Qing Yan, a rebellious captain of XiJue; And Long Ling, a dual personality Princess of Southern Chu. They meet accidentally, but they get along with each other gradually. Qing Yan is deeply rooted in love.
Requiem List Hero Bone Blade
Zhao Ge	The series is set in the later years of Shang dynasty and revolves around Ji Fa (Zhehan Zhang) life as a hostage in Zhaoge and his journey to becoming a legendary ruler.
Qing yu nian 2	The drama continues from the first season of the Joy of Life trilogy, following the story of Fan Xian as he gains a stronghold in the court.
Sha Po Lang	A village boy's life changes when his home is invaded, revealing he is not who he thought, nor are his mother, teacher and adoptive father. He discovers his true identity as events unfold.
Yong ye xing he	Ling Miao Miao wrote a book review in the heat of the moment but triggered a multidimensional space trip as a consequence. She traveled to the world of the book and entered the body of a supporting role, Lin Yu. Now, in order to return to the real world, she must complete the task assigned to her by the system, that is, let the Black Lotus, the heroine’s younger brother, fall in love with her.

​

Earth's orbit experiences an “Orbital Eccentricity”, 100,000 year cycle orbit and inclination variation, going from circular to elliptical, the hemispheres experience more or less sun or exposure to the sun for extended periods, causing ice ages. Scientists estimate we are near the minimum, a 6% change in solar energy. At peak, the earth experiences a change of 30%.
Modern Day Primates, in the wild and captivity, are able to communicate, near and far, using verbal and gesture components, even to other species. Have been observed using wood as tools, and in using medicinal plants to treat wounds.
44 million y a - Hominid ancestors acquire Herpes virus.
10 million y a - Primate ancestors develop genes to digest alcohol.
6 million years ago - Primate ancestors split from Chimpanzee/Bonobo line (15 million DNA mutations have occurred since then; each person born today has 100 mutations distinct to them, most don’t survive.)
5.3 m y a - Mediterranean Sea experiences the Messinian Salinity Crisis, for 600,000 years the Straight of Gibraltar closed off, causing the Mediterranean to shrink down to two inland seas with Italy and Greece separating them. Ends in the Zanclean Flood, a river of Atlantic sea water flows thru Gibraltar and fills the Mediterranean in 2 years.
5 m y a - Arabian-African continent reconnects with Asia. Land based Turtle species start going extinct.
4 - 3 m y a - Hominid ancestors acquire pubic lice from Gorillas (genetic evidence).
3.6 - 2.58 m y a - Considered the Neogene Period.
3.3 m y a - Stone tools found in Kenya and Ethiopia.
2.6 m y a - Mode One Stone Tools found in Ethiopia, would subsequently spread. Flourished to 1.7 million y a in southern and eastern Africa. Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) Era (2.6 m y a till end of last Ice Age, 11,000 y a). Subdivided into the Early- or Lower Paleolithic (c. 2,6 million years ago - c. 250,000 years ago); the Middle Paleolithic (c. 250,000 years ago - c. 30,000 years ago); and the Late- or Upper Paleolithic (c. 50,000/40,000 - c. 10,000 years ago)
2.58 million - 11,700 years ago - Considered the start of the Quaternary Period, and covers the Pleistocene.
2.4 – 1.4 m y a – Homo Habilis (4.5-3.5 feet tall).
2 m years ago - Earliest Hominids start eating meat.
1.9 – 1.8 m y a – Homo Rudolfensis.
1.89 m y a to 110,000 y a - Homo Erectus (first to leave Africa and spread across Asia).
1.8 m years ago - Mode One Stone Tools found on Java.
1.7 m years ago - Mode Two Stone Tools (slicing, hand-axe/butchering, evidence of drilling tools) appear in Kenya and southern Africa.
1.6 m years ago - Mode One Stone Tools found in northern China.
1.6 - 1.5 m y a - Africa, Turkana Boy dies, likely from a tooth cavity infection. He was either 8 or 11-12 years old and 61 inches tall. Brain 880 ccm.
1.5 m y a - Kenya, possible start of Hominids using fire to cook food. (increase in caloric intake, which would lead to evolution; however, Paranthropus Boisei is the local species, brain 500-550 ccm, 54 inches tall)
1 million years ago - Likely split between ancestor of Homo Sapiens and proto-Neanderthal-Denisovan species. (Mitochondrial DNA evidence.) South Africa, evidence of fire use for cooking.
1 m - 700,000 y a - Java, Java Man dies, brain 900 ccm. 5' 8" tall.
900,000 y a – Possible earliest use of boats.
820,000 - 580,000 y a - Durum Wheat develops out of natural hybridization with Einkorn Wheat (genetic analysis).
800,000? y a - Low world temperatures recorded. Height of Ice Age?
790,000 y a - Levant, oldest Fire hearths found. (Homo Heidelbergensis, 1,250 ccm brain, 69 in tall)
740,000? y a - Height of Ice Age?
7-200,000 y a – Homo Heidelbergensis (East Africa and Europe, likely first to hunt large animals with spears)
640,000? y a - Height of Ice Age.
550,000? y a - Height of Ice Age?
540,000 - 430,000 y a - Art: Sea shell formed into decoration by Homo Erectus. (Could indicate when sea shells began to be used as whistles and horns.)
530,000? y a - Interglacial Peak (between Ice Ages, high CO2 content in the atmosphere, 524-474,000).
500,000 y a - South Africa, evidence of Spears. Genetic evidence of Neanderthal spread from Europe to Caspian Sea, Denisovans occupied land from Caspian to the east.
450,000 y a - Earliest physical evidence of Neanderthal.
450,000 y a - Global temperatures had dropped, stayed that way for thousands of years.
430,000 - 230,000 y a - Durum Wheat cross-breeds with wild Goat Grass (genetic analysis).
400,000 y a - Interglacial Peak (between Ice Ages, 424-374,000).
400,000 y a - Germany, oldest Spears found. France (Terra Amata), possible evidence of manmade shelter using prepared wood.
360,000? y a - Height of Ice Age.
335-236,000 y a – Homo Naledi (South Africa, 4’9”)
310,000 y a - Interglacial Peak (between Ice Ages, 337-300,000).
300,000 y a – Mode Three Stone Tools (smaller knife-like, scrapers, developed in Europe by Neanderthals)
300,000-200,000 y a – Africa, Origin of Male Y-Chromosome that all current males are descended from. (40% of males do not reproduce.)
270,000? y a - Height of Ice Age.
240,000 y a - Interglacial Peak (between Ice Ages, 242–230,000).
200,000 y a - France, evidence of Neanderthals fishing. Africa, "Mitochondrial Eve," source of all Human Haplo-groups that everyone is descended from, existed at this time.
194,000-135,000 y a - Penultimate Glacial Period.
190,000 y a - Early physical evidence of Denisovans. (At least three interbreeding events would occur with Homo Sapiens. EPAS1 gene, hemoglobin concentration, Tibetan plateau.)
190,000-50,000 y a - Flores Island, evidence of tool use by the Human Hobbit.
170,000 - 80,000 y a - Body Lice evolve (genetic evidence, feed on human skin, live in clothing; evidence of clothing)
164,000 y a – South Africa, heat treating Silcrete Stone to enhance stone tool production.
140,000 y a - Homo Sapiens found in Europe.
130,000 y a - Evidence of humans in North America. Crete, earliest human settlements found on the island. Art: Neanderthal necklace made of eagle talons. Croatia: Neanderthal teeth show possible dental work.
125,000 y a - Interglacial Peak (between Ice Ages, 130-115,000). Sea levels 4-6 meters (18 feet) higher then today.
110,000-15,000 y a - Last Glacial Period. Grey Wolves would migrate from North America back to Asia prior to the maximum.
100,000-60,000 y a - Flores Island, bone fossil evidence of the Human Hobbit.
100,000 y a - Oldest example of proper human burial. South Africa, Pigment (paint) Creation Kit found. (would cover bodies in mud/clay and then spray the paint over the bodies, sun screen-protection from insects)
90,000 y a – Harpoons.
86,000-37,000 y a – Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens begin interbreeding, based on genetic evidence found so far.
75,000 years ago - Likely rise of Hunter Genotype in Homo Sapiens.
75,000 y a - Art: Drilled snail shells found in South African cave.
73,000 y a - South Africa (Blombos Cave), evidence of Red Ochre art on pieces of stone, stone with deliberate lines cut into it possibly representing count marks.
72,000 y a - South Africa, Beads found in cave.
70,000 y a - Mitochondrial DNA suggests this is when the Haplo-group of early humans migrated out of Africa to populate the rest of the world.
70-60,000 y a - Earliest evidence of bone and stone arrowheads (for Spear Throwers), found in South Africa. 64,000?
70,000 - 35,000 BCE - Neanderthal burials in Europe and Middle East.
68-16,000 y a – Smallpox evolves from an African Rodent Virus.
67,000 BCE - France, burial shows skulls with Trepanation (cutting holes to relieve brain pressure), earliest example of surgery.
65,000 y a - First humans settle Australia.
64,000 y a - Spain, oldest evidence found of Cave Art (Neanderthal hand).
61,000 y a - South Africa, possible evidence of a Sewing Needle.
60,000? y a - Height of Ice Age?
60,000 y a - Evidence of man/Neanderthal using herbal medicine.
55,000 - 40,000 y a - Italy, evidence of Neanderthal using Pine Tree Resin and Beeswax for hafting tools, in cave. (Beeswax can be used in making Candles.)
52,000 y a - Last evidence of Denisovans.
52,000 – 41,000 y a – Archaeological find of “Bast” tree fiber twisted into primitive cordage, possibly as handle for a Stone Tool. (meaning they had access to Clothing, Nets, Cord for Fishing or Hafting tools, rope; thinking processes of Counting, Sets, Patterns, and possibly abstract thinking)
50,000 - 10,000 y a - Mode Four Stone Tools (long blades).
50,000 y a - Australia, last evidence of megafauna. Siberia, needle made from bone found in Denisovan cave. Genetic evidence of Neanderthal spreading to western edge of China.
50,000 years ago - End point of development of Gatherer Genotype (can survive famine), Teacher Genotype (can handle new and different environments, analytical).
45,000 y a - Evidence of Neanderthal and Homo Sapien interbreeding. (Fossil found, DNA tested.) (France, to create stone tools required precision, “Soft Hammers” were likely used.)
44,000 y a - Evidence of art found in Indonesia.
44,000-40,000 y a - Europe experiences cold and dry weather, displacing populations.
43-42,000 y a - Germany, oldest musical instruments (flutes) found.
42,000 y a - Australia, skeleton of man suggests Atlatl use, pre-dating earliest evidence; earliest example of cremation found. Spain, small amounts of Natural Gold found in a cave.
40,000 y a - (Mankind is at the “Forager” level.) Last evidence of Neanderthal. (Inheritance of "STAT2" gene, immune response. HYAL2 gene, helps skin recover from sunburns.) China, test on body found that ate a lot of fresh water fish. Possible example of oldest petroglyphs. Beads found in Lebanon.
40,000 - 26,000 y a - Studying toe bones, showed they became smaller and weaker, indicating shoes were worn. Prior to this, shoes were likely bags wrapped around feet to protect from cold.
38,000 BC - First appearance of Mode Five Ground Stone tools on Japan. (rock was quarried; thin slivers of flint stone, attached to hafts, man is learning the use of a "handle" for tools and "leverage", create Adzes, Celts, and Axes; grinding helps to penetrate trees and was likely discovered when grinding plant matter; found buried with owners; were traded) Lasted till 14,000 BC. (Would not become popular elsewhere until 10,000 BC?) Germany: Clay Figurine featuring human with lion like appearance, thought to be earliest representation of a Deity.
35,000 BCE - Europe, earliest examples of "Venus figurines" found buried in graves (some showing they were deliberately broken or stabbed repeatedly); would later spread to rest of Eurasia. Early examples of skulls and long bones showing red ochre, indicating possible relic worship.
35,000 y a - Germany, flute made from a vulture bone found.
30,000 BCE – Solomon Islands, first humans settle (60 km sea voyage).
31,000 - 27,000 y a - Evidence of Pit Fire (Earthernware) Pottery developing.
30,000-20,000 years ago - Explorer genotype (Ice Age refugees, idiosyncratic, asymmetrical, contrarian mentality)
30,000 y a - Evidence of starch residue on rocks, indicating where plant matter was pounded and ground. (Would likely be the pre-cursor of developing bread from roots of cattails and ferns. Quern Grinding Stones would spread and gain popularity.) Georgia, Flax used as a textile (harvested, dyed, and knotted) found in Dzudzuana Cave. Fertile Crescent, Einkorn wheat harvested in it's wild form. Evidence of man using the Atlatl. Poland: Boomerang carved from mammoth tusk found. France, Lunar Calendar. Likely when Bolas (stone weight(s) and length of cord) began to be used.
28,000 y a - Europe, oldest evidence of rope.
25,000 - 15,000 BCE - Blood Type A develops in the Fertile Crescent. (able to survive Plague, Cholera, Smallpox)
27,000 y a - Australia, oldest example of petroglyphs found. Czech Republic, earliest example of "Weaving" of material together to create baskets and basic cloth. (Leads to counting and simple math, organizing.)
26,000-13,300 y a - Considered "Glacial Maximum", ice sheets extend to the 45th parallel north. (26,500 considered to be maximum glacial reach.)
23,000 - 12,000 y a – Europe, Perforated Batons found, made of antler, assumed to be a form of Atlatl that uses a leather strap or string to wrap around the spear and give it a slight spin, arrow or spear thrower (similar to Swiss Arrow). Right and left handed throwers find preference. Most carved with Horses, have one or two holes (one had 8 holes).
23,000 y a - Israel, Ohalo archaeological site, hunter-gatherer society (6 brushwood shelters, 132 stone tools some attached to hafts, stone Sickles, dwellings showed flint tools were made at entrance, cooking at other end, grind stone showed sand and cobbles to place and had U-shape of seeds around it) that grew/harvested Barley, Millet, Bromus (grass in same tax tribe as wheat/barley/rye, can be used for fermenting beverages, can be eaten by humans and animals), Rubus (same family as Rose plants, similar to blackberries), and various fruits (seeds from 13 different species), earliest evidence for “Bedding” material.
22,000 – 17,000 y a – France, Solutrean inhabitants make use of Antler.
21,000-17,000 y a - France, Atlatl's found in caves.
20,000 y a - Height of the Ice Age, sea levels 120 meters (360 feet) lower. Mode Five Stone Tools (microliths glued to handles, Fertile Crescent). Earliest example of a building/house found. Ukraine, Bullroarer (wood on rope that is swung around to create sound over long distance) found. Iraq-Iran, Zarzian Culture, had domesticated Dogs.
19,050? - 13,050 y a - Oldest Dryas Period, stadial, abrupt cooling period. Sea levels rose 10-15 m in 500 years.
17,000 BCE - Mesopotamia, Wild Emmer Wheat harvested.
18,000 - 17,500 y a - Siberia, earliest example of a domesticated dog found frozen. Germany, Bow and Arrows found. Early evidence of Darts used.
18,000 y a - Japan, oldest pottery discovered.
15,100 - 14,000 y a - Morocco, earliest example of a cemetery.
15,000 y a – Mode Five Stone Tools reach Europe. Southern France, cave art depicting possible Musical Bow, Nose Flute; "The Sorcerer," a figure showing human and many animal qualities (bison), made out of Clay.
15,000 – 10,000 y a – France, Stone Oil Lamps.
14,500 y a - Oldest example of bread making, Jordan desert.
14,160 - 13,820 y a - Archaeological find: infected tooth partially cleaned out with flint tools.
14,600 - 13,600 y a - "Melt Water Pulse," sea levels rose 16-24 m.
14,000? y a - Older Dryas Period, around 200 year cooling period.
13,500 - 8,200 y a - China, wild Rice domestication event occurs.
15-10,000 BCE - Himalayas, development of Blood Type B.
11,050 BCE - Syria, attempts at domesticating Rye.
13,000 y a - Greece, evidence of lentils found. Earliest evidence of Amber used in jewelry. Israel, archaeological evidence of beer like gruel for ceremonial purposes found at Haifa. Likely beginning of Slavery.
13,000 - 12,700 y a - Fertile Crescent, archaeological evidence of man corralling and using pigs.
12,900 - 11,700 y a - The Younger Dryas Period, when temperatures went cold instead of warming from the Last Glacial Maximum.
10,000 BCE - Jericho, considered mankind's first town, is established. Buildings of clay and straw, dead buried under homes. (Would reach 70 dwellings by 94,000 BCE.) Chickpeas domesticated. Earliest evidence of the Bottle Gourd being domesticated and used (Africa and Asia variety). Azerbaijan (Caspian Sea), petroglyphs of reed boats. Starting point of Ocarina type flutes. Cyprus, humans arrive. Germany, Jet artifact (Botfly larvae, which can be eaten). Curved Stone Oil Lamps.
11,700 y a - Considered the beginning of the Holocene.
9600 BCE - Southern Levant, earliest use of wild Emmer Wheat.
11,500 - 11,000 y a - "Melt Water Pulse," sea levels rose 28 m.
11,400 y a - Cypress, archaeological evidence of pigs (indicating they had been domesticated and brought from the mainland).
9400 - 9200 BCE - Jordan Valley, Fig trees found, indicating earliest agriculture since these trees could not reproduce.
9130 - 7370 BCE - SE Turkey, Gobekli Tepe, oldest known worship location.
9000 BCE - Syria, oldest (Saddle) Quern found. Mesopotamia, Copper first used. Bartering of Cattle and agricultural products likely occurring at this time.
9000 - 3300 BCE - Neolithic Era, roughly. Time period of when man has begun herding, before using bronze.
11,000 - 9,000 y a - Mesopotamia, domestication of Sheep; Rammed Earth construction technique developed. Iran, Domestication of Goat (focused on management of the animal, varieties would come later).
11,000-4,000 years ago - Warrior genotype (farmers, soldiers, inventors); Nomad genotype (life upon a horse, can handle different environments, good immune system)
11 or 10,000 y a - Last Ice Age ends.
8800 BCE - Emmer Wheat spreads beyond the Levant.
8700 BCE - Iraq, Copper pendant.
8500 BCE - Domestication of Barley. Domestication of peas occurs around this time. Turkey, Beer production found at Gobekli Tepe. Domestication of Cattle from the Aurochs (two separate populations, one in Mesopotamia [pop. 80], the other Pakistan). (Rendering cattle bones into Tallow allows for the creation of Candles. Beeswax also used.) Oregon, oldest pair of shoes found made from bark twine. Oats possibly start to be harvested, crop mirrors wheat (is like a weed).
8400 BCE – Cyprus, earliest dug Water Well (26 ft).
10,300 - 8,700 y a - China, Millet harvested.
10,200 - 9,500 y a - Emmer Wheat domesticated(?).
10,000 - 7,000 y a - Archaeological evidence of boats.
8000 BCE (10,000 years ago) – Genetic evidence of breeding Pigeons. Palestine, archaeological evidence of pastoralism. Pre-Pottery Neolithic people in the Fertile Crescent form perfectly smooth stone vases. Iran, Goat domestication. Believed to be when primitive dairy-cheese making began. Flax cultivation. China, Quern Grinding Stones. England, Antler used in headdress costume.
9,500 y a - Cyprus, earliest evidence of cat domestication. SE Anatolia, cold-working, annealing, smelting, lost wax casting of Copper.
7570 BCE – Indus Valley, Lapis Lazuli artifacts.
7500 - 5700 BCE - Anatolia, Catal Hoyuk develops as a spiritual center, found many clay figurines and impressions (feminine, phallic, hunting).
7400 BCE - A monolith ends up submerged in the Straight of Sicily.
7176 B.C. – Earth hit by one of the most massive Solar Storms from the sun ever recorded (visible at night with the magnetic field interaction).
7000 BCE - Archaeological evidence for pastoralism in Africa. China: evidence of mead (honey, rice, water fermented) in pottery; evidence of musical instruments. India, first archaeological evidence of Dance (cave art); evidence of dentistry. Armenian Highlands, art depictions of Cymbals. Durum Wheat made thru artificial selection in Europe and Near East. Greece, earliest evidence of grain silos. Turkey, Catal Hoyuk, art depiction of a Slinger. Afghanistan, Lapis Lazuli mined and traded to Indus and Mesopotamia societies. Europe, Cave Wall art of Honey Collecting.
7000 - 6600 BCE - China, domestication of Soy beans.
7000 - 6000 BCE - Turkey, domestication of Bitter Vetch. (Too bitter for human consumption without being boiled several times, has been found to be great for cattle feed.)
6500-3800 BCE - Ubaid Period (Mesopotamian citystates rise, evidence of specialized workers, evidence of taxation)
6500 BCE - Turkey, evidence of lead smelting at Catal Hoyuk. (Wrapping the dead in textiles, too.) China, archaeological evidence of Silk. Kosovo, oldest Ocarina found in Europe.
8,200 - 7,600 y a - Sea levels rise rapidly. Linked to North American great fresh water lake (Agassiz, Ojibway) sudden draining into Atlantic Ocean. 8,400 y a?
6050 BCE - Moldova, evidence of man extracting salt from a natural spring.
8,000 y a - Western Europe, white skin first appears. Iran: earliest evidence of irrigation; man starts choosing sheep for their wooliness, not just meat and skin (2-3,000 years later, would start wearing wool). Georgia, earliest evidence of wine. Spain, cave painting shows people collecting honey from a wild hive, using a container to hold. China, Buckwheat cultivated (near Tibetan plateau), possible first example of Influenza. Earliest evidence of the Ard Plow used (castrating bulls to train 4 years to become Draft Oxen, also means they can be used to haul logs thru and from forests). Mediterranean, Broad (Fava) Beans, Broccoli. Portugal: Almendres Cromlech, begins, aligned to equinox and solstice, occupied for 2,000 years, would become largest complex in Iberian peninsula, equal to other large complexes in Europe. Anatolia: Obsidian polished into mirrors. Spelt Wheat appears. First Stone hafted Axes. Earliest evidence of “Cock Fighting” game fowl. (Iraq, Kiln.)
6000 - 3500 BC - Mesopotamia (Sumer), Poppy domesticated.
7,8-5,000 y a - SE Turkey, Einkorn Wheat grown and domesticated.
5600 BCE - Evidence of The Black Sea Flood, turning the fresh water lake into a salt water sea, rose shorelines and displaced populations (source of flood myths in religions).
7500 y a - Earth experiences a cold climate period? Lasts for 500 or more years.
7500 y a - Earliest example of chickpeas being used. Poland, archaeological evidence of cheese making. Ukraine, Romania, earliest examples of traps used for hunting. Pakistan, evidence of Cotton found in copper beads. Egypt, earliest Combs found (placing a leaf in the teeth can create a primitive sound instrument).
5500-5000 BCE - Serbia, Copper Smelting.
5200 - 4700 BCE - Iran, earliest evidence of a wheel, for pottery, made of stone or clay.
7,000 y a - Earliest example of Dolmen, single chamber tomb, consists of two stones supporting another on top (table design), found in western Europe, would spread and be common 4000 - 3000 BCE in Europe. Iranian plateau, evidence of Bronze made with naturally occurring arsenic. Tin would replace as the major ingredient (and releasing non-toxic vapors) in the late 3000 BCE period. Iran, evidence of wine found, using sealed containers. China, Hemp domestication (smoking was likely cause for spread, Iron Age would use for production); Rammed Earth construction technique, Silkworm domestication begins. Egypt, Badarian culture starts farming, used boomerangs. Roundels, circular enclosure often with entrances aligned to solstice, would be constructed in Central Europe (Germany, 120-150 altogether). Siberia, oldest carpet found (likely a funeral gift, from Armenia, featured griffons). Mesopotamia: first use of Stamp Seals for government purposes; Rotary Quern milling stones are introduced. Armenia: possible origin of Apricots. Lake Zurich, cultivation of Pear. Indus Valley Civilization, using Bitumen aka Asphalt for waterproofing (a basket), adhesive. Bulgaria, Turquoise beads.
6950 - 6440 y a - Papua New Guinea, cultivation of Taro and Yam.
4800 BCE - Egypt, early evidence of peas being grown. Cairn of Barnenez, Brittany, England, begins (burial monument and later bronze age use, considered one of the oldest and largest man made structures).
4700 - 4200 BCE - The town of Solnitstata, considered the oldest known settlement in Europe. Built around a salt deposit.
6,500 y a - Croatia, earliest example of an oven found. Slovenia, dental filling made with beeswax. Indus Valley, irrigation. Wine production reaches Greece. Carnac Stones, Brittany, France; would become large complex of standing stones, menhirs, domens, tumuli (burial mounds, with passage tombs), large rectangle formed by stone. Americas: various tribes domesticated “chili peppers.” Bulgaria, Carnelian beads. Manufactured Red Pottery Oil Lamps.
4500-4000 BCE - China, Investment Casting develops.
4200 - 4000 BCE - Mesopotamia develops true, easy to spin pottery wheels.
6,000 y a - Earth experiences a cold climate period? (Starting maybe 500 years earlier and ending 500 years later.)
4000 BCE - (Mankind has achieved “Farmer status.”) (Thought to be when Cattle were turned into Oxen for Draft Animal purposes.) Egyptians start building big Brick structures; manufacturing Papyrus; Gold artifacts; (domesticated Donkeys?). Earliest examples of Kilns. NE Italy, archaeological find of Appleseeds. Sicily, evidence of wine found. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Horse domestication begins (they became small and varied in size as compared to their wild ancestors). “Pontic Language Explosion”. [People from north of the Caspian and Black Seas migrated around Eurasia, ancestor of western languages. (shared origins with: milk, horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, grain, copper, carts, yoke, weaving, mead; patrilineal clans)]. Earliest examples of Viticulture (wine making). Levant, earliest examples of harvesting Olives; start using grain Silos. Art: Earliest depiction of Shoes, Sandals. China: example of a Loom for Silk production; Ramie (similar to flax, requires chemical processing, not as popular, believed to be used for Egyptian mummy wraps). Persia (Iran), Mung Bean domestication?, Chang (precursor to Harp) found on artwork, made with sheep guts. Mesopotamia: Stamp Seals come into use; Mirrors made of Copper; 30-40% of animal bones in settlements were pork (understood to be a way of removing trash from community, easy to feed and raise many); Uruk clay tablet describes two temples owning a herd of 95 pigs to be rendered into soap to clean linen; clay pipes for sewage. Europe, farming reaches northern regions. Anatolia, Silver production.
4000 - 1000 BCE - Ethiopia, Teff is discovered (can feed people and livestock, building material).
3800 - 3500 BCE - Czech Republic, possible evidence of earliest plowed fields.
5,700 y a - Lolland Island, a blue eyed, dark haired, dark skin woman spits out some Birch Bark gum; oldest complete human genome extracted; had Mononucleosis ("kissing disease"). Possible archeological evidence of pit traps used for migrating animal hunting.
3630 BCE - Oldest example of silk fabric found.
3600 BCE – Pork bones in settlements (Levant, Mesopotamia) dropped to 16-30% of total livestock.
5,500 - 4,700 y a - Georgia, tomb found had honey remains on pottery. (This culture could identify Linden, Berry, and Meadow-Flower varieties.)
3500 BCE - City of Uruk: (Mesopotamia) begins outward expansion and influence, later first example of organized warfare (would influence Egyptians to start building pyramids); "Cylinder Seals," a type of noble seal, that can be rolled unto wet clay (would be popular until 1000 BCE). Iraq, Kish Tablet, considered to represent the early transition from pictographic to cuneiform. Mesopotamia, earliest Harps and Lyres found; Gold artifacts. Modern humans settle the western coast of Europe, hunter-gatherers. Egyptians show Cat domestication; Gold Smelting; used a vertical Gnomon as a primitive Sundial? Iran, Beer made from Barley. Armenia, earliest Leather Shoe found. China, Pottery in shape of silkworm indicates earliest example of Sericulture (silk worm production).
3500 - 3350 BCE – Mesopotamia, earliest evidence of wheeled vehicles. Indus Valley civilization uses Stamp Seals with a type of script.
3400 BCE (5,400 years ago) - First metal casting. France, Cow skull showing Trepanation found.
5,400 -5,100 y a - Itzi the Iceman dies in the mountains of Northern Italy. Had a copper axe. Earliest evidence of tattoos. Shoes made from two types of animal skin (bear and deer). Arsenic residue in his hair.
3300 BCE - Egypt, tomb paintings show people Dancing. Indus Valley, develop Sanitation.
3200 BCE - Examples of using symbols to represent real life objects (would go to form written language). Ireland, construction begins on Newgrange, largest passage tomb in Europe, aligned to winter solstice. Egypt, Bead made of Meteoric Iron found.
3100 - 2900 BCE - Jemdet Nasr period (following fall of Uruk) would be known as establishing Cuneiform as a proper language.
3100 BCE - Upper and Lower Egypt unified. Mesopotamia, likely evidence of the earliest Lute type device.
3000 BCE - Onset of Bronze. Mesopotamia, Irrigation; Glass Beads appear (possible side effect of making metal); possible earliest Iron working (required higher temperatures), cuneiform mention of Pigeons. Sumer, Medical text found on tablet, believed oldest ever found. Egypt, Hieroglyphs of Pigeons and use of Homing Pigeons for message delivery, first record of a Doctor named, Imhotep; Antimony harvested from rock and made into eye makeup; earliest evidence of domestic Donkeys in the south. Egyptian Mummies show evidence of Smallpox (deathrate 30% especially among babies, can leave people blind). Dromedary Camels likely domesticated in Somalia at this time. (Camel hair can be harvested for shelter and clothing, outer guard hairs make for water proof coats. Camel milk readily turns into yogurt. To turn into butter requires a clarifying agent and extended process.) Chicken reaches Europe from Asia. England, earliest Stone Circles found. Slovakia, Romania, earliest chainmail found. Sheep chosen for wooly coat, not long hair. China, Clay Bells found. India, River Buffalo domesticated (water buffalo); Jute grown for fiber (burlap). Northern Iran, earliest examples of Trumpets. SE Asia, earliest records of Radish. Pakistan, Terracota female figurines.
2800 BCE - Solid evidence of plowed fields. China, Copper smelting discovered. Babylon, evidence of manufacture of soap like substance.
2700 BCE - Chinese treatise on health. 40 kinds identified.
2650 BCE - Egypt, dental work found.
2630-10 BCE - Egypt, Pyramid of Djoser constructed by Imhotep, considered first.
2600 BCE – Egypt, domestication of Honey Bee complete.
2600 - 1900 BCE - Indus Valley, Stoneware Pottery (meaning fired at 1000 degrees Celsius), would become a major industry; (Ivory?).
2580-50 BCE – Egypt, creates first true Ocean Dock for sea trading vessels (with Indus Valley).
2560 BCE - Great Pyramid of Giza completed.
2500 BCE - Evidence of The Amber Road, trade route from the Baltic Sea to Mediterranean Sea. E Iran, Bactrian Camels domesticated. Iraq, "Lyres of Ur," considered world's oldest stringed instruments. Peru, oldest Sling ever found. Egypt, earliest depiction of a Khopesh (sword). Sumerian Clay Tablet with instructions for manufacturing soap (heating mixture of oil and wood ash, earliest record chemical reaction, used for washing woolen clothing). China, axes with Corundum (precious stone). Harappan Culture of Indus Valley, chicken used for Cock Fighting, not food.
2500 - 2000 BCE - Mali, domestication of Pearl Millet. Turkey, Meteoric Iron dagger.
2400 BCE - Sumer, description of Prostitution and a Brothel-Temple to Fertility Goddess.
2300 BCE - Mesopotamia, Urukagina of Lagash, considered the earliest Law Code. (Widows and orphans exempt from taxes, state pays for funeral expenses, the rich must pay in silver and cannot force the poor against will, checked power of priests, protect from usury, abolished polyandry). Iran, Quince (fruit). China, oldest Gnomon (painted stick that casts a shadow for sundial purpose).
2200 BCE - China, first known tax, using salt. Iraq, tablet reads “22 jars of Pig Fat” (each jar 18 liters of Lard, 396 liters total, require 45 adult pigs; likely used to make soap to clean wool of sheep before turning them into textiles)
2200-2000 BCE - Turkey, Iron Smelting.
2100 - 2050 BCE - City of Ur: Earliest written Code of Law discovered. References Butter. (Fines for bodily harm, references murder, robbery, adultery, rape. Two classes of people: free and slave.)
4000 - 3000 y a - Mesopotamia, earliest Scissors (shear, spring type). India, Mung Bean domesticated.
2000 BCE - Murals show horses pulling chariots. Horses become common in western Europe. England, Great Orme Mine started, would become largest copper mine in region (most productive between 1700 - 1400 BCE), used bone and stone tools. China, Bells made out of metal (Bellfounding); domestication of the Swamp Buffalo (water buffalo). Ghana, earliest evidence of Cowpea (black eyed pea). India, Canola/Rapeseed; Diamonds being used to drill beads. Egypt, Lupin Beans. Greece, Kale grown.
1900 BCE – Homing Pigeons used for warfare.
1800 BCE - Egypt, medical text on gynecological issues; Safflower for pigment. India, Iron working.
1754 BCE - Code of Hammurabi (recognized Prostitution and gave women protection and inheritance; theorized that a fertility goddess had a temple that offered sex workers).
1700 - 1200 BCE - (Late Bronze Age) 8 societies in Middle East: Aegean, Egyptian, Hittite, Canaanite, Cypriot, Mitanni, Assyrian, Babylonian. Considered a "globalized world system." Next time this would occur is today.
1700 BCE – Mesopotamia: The "Mari Letters" reference Minoan society, King Hammurabi; clay tablets list Trigonometry Tables and Applied Geometry (for land ownership, speculated to aid in construction).
1628 BCE - Island of Thera/Santorini experiences huge volcanic eruption, possibly causing a tsunami thru eastern Mediterranean.
1600-1500 BCE - Greece, Helmet formed of boar tusks found.
1600 BCE – Levant, Mesopotamia, Pork bones rarely found in settlements (banned from temples in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt). (Found amongst the poor classes, difficult to tax since it did not produce wool or milk or could plow a field.)
1550 BCE – Papyrus Ebers, Egyptian medical text, mentions Chlamydia.
1500 BCE - Modern Trumpet design found in eastern Mediterranean. India, Pigeon Pea domesticated. Egypt, Mercury found in tombs; archaeologists find earliest Sundials; Emerald mines. China, Water Clocks.
1400 BCE - Syria, Hurrian Songs, cuneiform music tablet in Ugarit. Greece, oldest body armor found, made of bronze, Dendra Panoply (not actually worn, more of a showpiece, but clear representation of body armor for battle). China, Meteoric Iron axeheads. Art representation of Scale Mail in Egypt. Art: representation of Shields.
1350 BCE - Turkey, Hittites chronicle Egyptian prisoners of war bringing "the plague.”
1300 BCE - Uluburun Shipwreck, off coast of Turkey, had 300 sixty pound copper ingots (10 tons), 1 ton of tin, and tin objects and ingots of colored glass (blue, rose, brown). From Cypress/Minoa.
1300? - 900? BCE - Eastern Mediterranean experiences a 300? year drought. (Could also be: Cypress 1200- 850. Syria 1250-1187. Galilee 1250-1100)
1279 BCE - Battle of Qadesh (Egypt vs Hittites).
1200 BCE (3,200 years ago) - Onset of Iron smelting. Earliest Camel saddles appear. Last appearance of Megaliths. India, earliest evidence of Firewalking.
1200 BCE - Eastern Mediterranean civilization collapse. Drought in Greece. Earthquake series.
1188-1177 BCE - Egypt suffers invasions from "The Sea People."
1185 BCE - Syria, Ugarit Letter, Famine.
1140? BCE - Ramses 6th, mummy found to have Smallpox. No record of people dying from Smallpox.
1100 BCE - Phoenicians establish nation. Europe, Iron Age.
1100? BCE - Earth experiences a cold temperature period?
1100-750 BCE - Egypt, Iron Smelting.
1070 BCE - Egyptian mummy found with Silk in hair, earliest evidence of Silk Road.
1000 BCE - Early Cuneiform script (late stages, still pictograph in nature). Bactria, Barbat (primitive lute). Egypt, Kenaf is grown for fibers, leaves can be eaten by animals and humans (similar to Jute and Hemp; rope, rough fabric, sails). Mediterranean, Cabbage domesticated. China, Iron Age. Sport: racing Homing Pigeons.
930 BCE - Camel bones found in Arabian peninsula. Jordan, earliest Bloomery for Iron working found.
800 - 600 BCE - Ethiopia, Sorghum Wheat begins to be harvested.
800 BCE - Considered the beginning of Ancient Greece, after the Mycenae Civilization. China, Bloomeries used.
700-500 BCE - The Illiad orally composed. India, Diamond mining starts.
708 BCE – Greece, Olympics, Discus Throw.
700 BCE - Turkey, first Coins in Lydia. Assyria, first equipment recognized as a Saddle for a Horse.
660 BCE – Massive Solar Storm hits Earth.
600 BCE - Earliest example of a Steel Sword.
600-400 BCE - Ancient Greece rise of scientific inquiry and philosophy
550 BCE - The Illiad written down.
540 BCE – Sri Lanka, earliest record of Pearls.
500 BCE - Camels used in warfare. Persians use kettle drums for military maneuvers, frighten enemies. Greece, Grape Syrup, early form of sweetener and preservative; earliest written mention of what could be Influenza. Blackberries consumed around Europe. Spain, Disk Quern developed. India, Cholera described in Sanskrit. Romans manufacture dipped Candles.
430 BCE – Athens, Typhoid Fever outbreak during siege by Sparta.
400 BCE - The "Celts/Gaeil" settle Ireland. Greece, the “Hippocratic Corpus” seventy collected medical texts, mentions Pneumonia, Meningitis, Valerian Root.
396 BCE - Olympics, horn blowing competitions.
314 BCE - China, first mention of Sweet Orange.
298 BCE - Foot powered Loom.
200 BCE - China starts making paper.