Salam!
I returned yesterday after one of the most intense, beautiful and unforgettable journeys I ever had through Iraq. Of all the countries I have seen so far, it is the most beautiful and I am very much looking forward to be traveling there again in six months / working there in the future. Ramadan is an incredible time to visit Iraq, these memories will always be very important to me.
Thank you for the advice, I have used some of it and the items brought back as a result have worked very well. As the last thread of mine was unfortunately absolutely flooded with misinformation, outdated travel advice and people who have clearly never been anywhere near the region, I wanted to give you an update on how the gear I brought fared.

Original Carry-on:

• Passport (10/10, absolut essential. You will need it to check into hotels but also to travel through the military checkpoints that are everywhere across the highways. It can be irritating, but some hotels ask for the passport as long as you are a guest in the hotel. If you are then checked, you show the hotel's business card, checkpoints then call the hotel, which only takes a few minutes. You won't have any problems here with any nationality in the world, not even with an American passport. As the Iraqis always say to them: "We have beef with your government, but you are our guest". The only nationality I wouldn't recommend is the Israeli passport, but you realize that yourself, don't you?)
• vaccination pass (10/10, no one cared for it at all, but since its a few grams of paper that could save you a lot of trouble, I say bring it)
• USD (10/10, 80 USD in cash are ESSENTIAL for the visa on arrival! The original amount of 800 USD that I brought with me was enough for 17 days (Hotels, transportation, food, etc.). As I never mentioned the amount I carry in any comment before, I was irritated by the assumption that I was carrying too little. The difference on the black market to the official exchange rate is around 150-300 dinars (~20 cents), which is why an exchange on the black market is recommended (If you're not on a budget, you could also just accept this laziness tax). However, it should be noted that the black market exchange rates in Baghdad and Basra are worse than in the rest of the country. It is absolutely false that there are no functioning ATMs in the country. There are quite a few at the airport, and the city of Baghdad also has an endless supply of ATMs from various banks. More and more stores and restaurants, especially in the more modern cities of Baghdad and Basra, accept card payments. The taxi from the Airport to the town can be even paid by card. The only problem, which another traveler in Iraq told me, is that the ATMs usually only accept 4 digits as a PIN. He had 5 digits and therefore had to go to Western Union to withdraw money. Personally, I had only problem with one bank in Mossul that would not accept my card, all other banks and terminals were fine. In small towns there are often "manual ATMs", as I have christened them. A man with a card terminal in a store, you pay there and he gives you the dinars as cash. If you're ever in need Iraqis would always help you out some way)
  
• Address book (0/10, Apart from the emergency telephone numbers such as insurance, pure weight. There is no real postal system in Iraq, nor is there a postcard culture. Everything is done digitally. I won't be carrying the little book with me on my next trip.)
  
• travel journal (No rating here, for me its essential to write down my impressions)
  

Additional Carry On:

• Day pack (6/10, a small backpack that I could stuff into the main backpack. Quite nice for the occasional shopping trip, but overall more of a "nice to have". Everything you buy is double and triple wrapped in plastic, there are always bags handed out, and especially when shopping you mainly use cabs.
  
• A printed out confirmation that the visa is on arrival (10/10, its just a piece of paper but it could save you a lot of discussions. The airline was very used to tourists going to Iraq, so no problem here)
  
• Power bank (7/10, I find it difficult to rate backup equipment poorly. I didn't need it because there was always electricity, but I was also glad to have it with me. Important! You are not allowed to take a power bank with you departuring from Baghdad airport. You will have to give it away or dispose of it in Iraq if you travel on from Baghdad. Not even hiding would be recommended, you have to go through 7 (!) backage checkpoints.
  

Original gear in Backpack:

• Go Pro Camera (10/10, I made some funny videos in the city where there was a lot of movement (my cell phone wouldn't have been able to do that). In the swamps it was really nice not to have to worry about the water.)
• head lamp (3/10, there are very frequent power cuts, especially in some neighborhoods in Baghdad like Karrada, but apart from a few moments to read, I didn't need them. Nice to have.
• plug adapters, charger (10/10, just essentials, but you can also buy some on every corner.)
• sunglasses (10/10, for anyone with brighter eye colors especially)
• first aid kit (10/10, I will always recommend something like this, especially the light version I had with me. I was able to use it to provide first aid on the highway in an accident that I happened to see)
• Pens, calligraphy pen (10/10, calligraphy and poetry are incredibly important in Iraqi culture. If you master or learn one or both you will get a lot of respect for it. I used it as a form of thanks, as Iraqis are incredibly generous and hospitable and strictly refuse any form of monetary compensation (it would be insulting to give the money secretly, unless the family is very poor). I have written names in European calligraphy, as well as Arabic poems, which have been received with much joy and tears.)
• deodorant, toothpaste, brush etc. (10/10, you can get it anywhere for very cheap in case you forget / run out)
• Street Map of Iraq (10/10, as I have also driven some routes myself, it really was a lifesaver sometimes. It's not always up to date, but the e-sim card I bought at the beginning was a real letdown for some regions of the country where I had no internet. I highly recommend a physical SIM card from Zain or Asiacell, as Korek does not work in the south. As for street navigation Apps, don't rely on Google maps, use Waze)
• Tape (0/10, bagpack was handled fine and secured enough, would not bring again. The tip in the comments to use it against ticks is a great idea, however the only times in nature were in the desert. If you intend to travel the north, you could make use of that)
• sewing kit (7/10, It only weighs a few grams, but I didn't need it.)
• a lock (0/10, there are no hostels yet and hotel rooms are always private, so no)
• earplugs (10/10, Iraqs towns are loud at night)
• 5x T-Shirts, 5x Socks, 5x Underwear (10/10)
• 4x formal shirts (10/10, Iraqi dress very nicely. The men pay a lot of attention to appearance and these shirts were of course fantastic, especially for the many invitations, iftar, Eid and formal events. I also find them good as daywear, as white shirts don't heat up too much and also protect the arms. For mosques and other holy places, it is advisable to wear long-sleeved clothing anyway.)
• 1x Bowtie (10/10, the Iraqi LOVED it. I recieved many compliments for it. As a Westerner, you will stand out either way, so you can also show such peculiarities. The comment that advised dressing up in local garb to hide and disguise: total nonsense. You can of course wear a Dish-Dash, the Iraqis are really happy about seeing foreigners wearing one, but they put it like this: "It's like an Iraqi in the US wearing a cowboy hat". You will be even more visable. The people were isolated from the world for a long time and are incredibly happy to welcome guests from abroad, especially in smaller towns. You will hardly be able to save yourself from (serious) invitations to tea, food and shisha. So, just enjoy being foreign and welcome.)
• 1x sweater (2/10, the only times I used it was when the AC was turned so cool that I was freezing again. Otherwise the weather was incredible.)
• 1x light rain jacket (2/10, there is rain in Iraq sometimes, but when it comes, it is so heavy that you would never think about going out. Even this jacket wouldn't have protected me.
• 1x Jeans (10/10, my daily choice)
• 1x formal pants (10/10, see formal shirts)
• 1x Outdoor pants (1/10, I used it only for my trips to the marshes, otherwise it was pointless)
• 1x Belt (10/10)
• 1x Shoes, formal (10/10, they were old, well-worn shoes that were perfect for exploring the cities of Iraq. Thanks to the leather, the shoes still didn't smell of death and decay after a month of heat and sweat. Whether for casual wear or really dressed up, I was really happy with the shoes.)
• 1x Shoes, outdoor (0/10, just once in the marshes, otherwise just taking up space)

Additional gear in Backpack:

• Sunscreen (10/10, my face would have melted off without. Thanks for the reminder!)

Cloud:

• all documents scanned (10/10, just saves a lot of hassle if something happens to the originals)
• flight tickets (10/10, you absolutely need this if you want to fly out of Baghdad Airport. A confirmation or invoice is sufficient. Without confirmation you cannot even enter the airport grounds. There are many many checkpoints before.)

As for other things, like language, English will work fine everywhere, German is also surprisingly useful. My MSA arabic lead to some hilarious translation errors (essentially, you will talk like a shakespeare character in a extremly formal way), but the moment you try to speak and learn arabic / iraqi dialect, you will be on habibi platinum status. My arabic level improved greatly on this trip and since I like the flow of Iraqi Dialect, I'm picking up online classes from a teacher I met there.
DeepL app to MSA will work fine, but there is always someone with more languages to offer.
The information on the militias in the original thread is plain wrong. There are many different ones, Christian, Shiia, Sunni, etc, which all have different goals and ambitions. They never operate alone, their checkpoints (around rural areas with holy sites, like for example Samarra) are always operated with regular military or police forces. They are now regular forces in the Iraqi military, with some liberties to their uniforms and chain of command. Its an internal power struggle and they have absolutely no interest in tourists, besides respect for the holy places you are about to visit. Some Iraqi love them, some hate them.
The bad reputation of milita forces comes mainly from ~2005, during this time, some militias kidnapped, tortured for ransom Iraqi and international aid workers. Many Iraqi were murdered by them in these times. The problem of kidnapping has been solved and reduced to convienient political motivated kidnappings (as the two well known open cases from 2023 right now). As long as you do not plan to open a political opposition to the mess that is Iraqi politics, you'll be very safe. However do avoid the desert close to the border of Syria (easy task, since there is no civilisation).
There are many Western tourists in Iraq, you'll meet them anywhere possible. If you are considering it, the best source of information is "Iraqi Traveller Cafe" group on facebook, as you will not find a lot of information / a ton of misinformation in the English web.
Have a great weekend.

Early Warning

Moments In Time … … In Our Lives What God Gives … God Take Away.
– On Cozen Stages Incorporated, Violence-Brokers Wheedling Public-Spaces Suffocate Another Family. Separated, Fading, Frozen, Raging, Filiations Benefit Whom They Resent – Involuntary Prisons Seeking Rent. Pre-Piety Progeny’s Altricial Psychiatry Commonly These Events:
Radicals Tossin’ Trauma-Tantrums Parental Men Who Worship Women
Enduing Confrontation’s Demolition With Conviction Can She See The Fraud From His God?
Conjecture King In Contrived Religions’ Exhibitions, Chasing Phantasies In Synthetic Di-Visions, Interlace Conscious-Coding Apparitions, Telegraphic Aberrated Tapestry Exporting Chaos-Orders Marching On Anatomy, Appose Being Disclosed As Disposed Autonomy.
Trauma-Models Transposing Transitions Transfixed
Exploiting Emergent Seeds In Views As Possession, Forbidding Public-Blunder Director Under Rain Con-Pressing Contents Together ‘Till Not One Subject Detests Subtext To Spoiled Contests In A Royals’ Conquest. Ingest Your Aversion Bleeding Memory In Every Trajectory, Avoiding Leaving Behind Dissector-Inspectors, Leeching On Stretchers!
Murals Copacetic, Dethroned Bearing Genetics, Project From The Heart Gruesome Looming Mutines, Human-Bodies Broke In Parts.
Deliveries Tottering Racketeer Consent Posturing Conspiracies Socializing Contempt.
Token-Economies’ Privilege Conformity’s – Spining-Off Insight Commodities Distracting To Conditioned Living.
Appeasing Prosthetic Wisdom As Anesthetic Provided By Medics, Brass-Knuckled Cannibals Debone Till It’s Dead-Souls By The Mouthful.
To Her Amazement, Reposing Reverence Facing Her Relation With Dis-Graces, His God Spoke Violent Apoptosis In A Divine Dose.
Offer Dithering Spirits Blood-Stained Thrillers Palindrome Pressures Pounding Culture Embedding Systems With An ‘Ism Ricochet Worded Vision Prisms, Deafening Beggary Courted Set Of Triggers Upending Self-Ascension Transforming Transmissions.
Beckoning His Spirit Hither Looking Through The Nearest Mirror, He’s Convinced It’s Not His Soul Breaking Silence When Delivered.
Is He Captured In It — or A Man Freethinking? Telling Manufactured Hedonistic Thinking.
Subduesive Self-Consuming Suitors Invoking Bureaucratic Combat Kept Us Feckless Serving Contracts Enchanting Unforgiven Feuding Penchants Leading Into Fane From Hell Disguised In Guilt?
In-Hand Assets Unifying Masses By The Mind-Set. Histrionic Nations Launder Reputations By The Masses. A Divvy-Adoration’s Lusting Inundate {Hate & Anger] Bait For Pandar. Accounted For In Portraits Fraught In Classes, Doing Admonition Innovating: Drama-Boxes Dictating Accusations Auctioning Docking Stations Charging Ballot Motions Carping
Impressionistic Phishing, Artificially Lamenting, Operating Parallaxing Views In Confusion.
Rendering Symbol-Schism Set A Flame.
Tortured-Tortured Deprived Descend Further, Environmentally Poise In Feeding Diagnosed In Strategies. Pivoting Beneath, “What I Believe …” Ruinous-Connoisseurs Denature Failures Drones To Demons To Untamed Violence. Garmenting Disorders, Come Plying Under Colors.
Intersecting Culture Via Blame & Her Shame, Dreary Souls Aiming To Declaim Left To Hang.
Dedition Promiscuous Muteness. On To The Next, Dissolute Business.
Regimes Intercept All The Same, Switching On Attrition In Addition, Poaching Politicians’ Deadly Silent Inanition Effecting-Theory: Resource-Acquisition.
To Her Amazement, Her Intuition Christened As His God Glistened,
As A Book Of Letters Together Calibrating Solved-Game Wagon-Waiting, Behold Captivating Modes Of Being Representing In-Game, Alpha-Training.
Convoluted Hypothetical Mechanisms Hyper-Technical, Move On Silent Stress Conditions Skeptical To Angelic Dialecticals Non-Violently Communicating Redeeming Being Human Rooted To Needs And Feelings.
Whilst Intelligence In An Artificial Manor Optimizes Withheld Rhetoric Elements:Metric-Set Counterweight-Regiment Measurements, Fabricated By The Flashes, Massive Endless Messages Modify Biomass Assemblage.
Helter Skelter, Culture Crazes
Well-Meant Outcries Shealing Melodrama Ferment Outrage Spilling Trauma-Drama
Few Would Believe, Set Free Of The Weight Of Her Soul He Breathes, In For Giving Back Her Misery.
Into The Darkness Nothing Hides. That Which Kills You Is The Death Inside.
Applauding In Coherent Static Quells Recruits In Different Groups.
Produced On Line-Traffic Double-Goosed Dawns Messy, Heavy Lyrics Spoofed.
Fallen Casuals’ Begetting, Sleight-of-Hand Forgiving.
Fires From The Father, Smoke To The Son, Smother-Mother, Birthing-Coffin, Cutting Off, A Snuffer, Cuff-Her.
Although Bestowed In Shadows Covered Under Words, Potentials Planted In Flooded Quarrels Will Obey What’s Overheard, Which Reasserts Provoking Horrors Starves Them In A Comfort.
​
---

Feedback-Requisites

Bedside Table Book

• https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1bqrm8s/comment/kxc4i3g/This poem was mind-binding for me to read. (March 30, 2024)

Garden Cycles

• https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1brtvsp/comment/kxf91j0/From here I learned about another level in choosing {subjects, adverbs, verbs}. (March 31, 2024)

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Audio Performance

waryeller commented here on How Are We Doing? State of the Subreddit Discussion, "…I think it would be cool if folks were also encouraged to post audio/video of themselves reading their poems."
So Here's Audio-Performance,

• https://soundcloud.com/user-254473976/early-warning-apollo-apostolos(Mar. 10, 2023)

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The description isn't copied from SoundCloud; it was copied over to SoundCloud. This subreddit inspired me to put more thought into it.

Description

Angels among us are using what heals them, to hurt. This song is your early warning to the world of rejoicing, suffering, politics, cults, and perception itself.
Writing Early Warning Took a Full Year,

• 9 months on the lyrics
• 3 months on the production (Garage Band iOS splicing-n'-Dicing samples by-the-whole-chunks or down-to-the-notes.)
• Then at the very end was a bit of Re-writing / Re-Recording touch-ups on the lyrics.

If I had to perform this again for the mic, it would sound mature, experienced compared to what you are about to hear. It's my raw naivete in how to use my voice as an instrument in addition to a thespian's tool used to Immerse the people listening so deep into the story that they'd swear it was theirs.
I hadn't found a mentor, so I shoveled into it myself.Often re-wrote the same verse for pages, even days.I hadn't found a musician to help, so it was produced myself.
When played on speakers the instruments were way-way-way out of balance. I personally recommend EAR-BUDS or the same headphones. This was produced with an EQ specific for Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 series.
---

Spoilers ~ My Interpretations

Wait to visit this until AFTER you've read the poem for yourself:the line with the most annotations transferred so far is "On Cozen Stages Incorporated" ->! https://apollo-apostolos.ghost.io/on-cozen-stages-incorporated/!<

I have a "devil's work" Jade necklace which I would like to gift to my goddaughter for her Christening, as Jade is a traditional present for new babies in Chinese culture. However I am worried that the parents will take offence to the name. Am I overthinking this?

Chapter 1
This is the final log found on a derelict Space Port. It was discovered by a salvage engineer and sent to me, a space historian. I’m sending this to you Sarutha, amazed that you’re still alive. I have a feeling your friend would have wanted it this way.
___________
Title: Sarutha, my sincerest apologies.
In a distant corner of the galaxy, exists an uncharted star system known as Nebula Veritas, famous for its mythologies, but the truth is that it's mostly barren asteroid fields and unstable black holes. There was a time when the stories of unimagined mineral wealth enticed travelers from all over the galaxy, and the remnants of those days still linger around the forgotten star. Space junk mostly, but there are a few interesting relics worth mentioning. Among them the space port that still orbits the star. It's no longer operational, but its history is still preserved.
The space port was once a bustling hub of commerce, where traders from every corner of the galaxy would come to buy and sell their wares. But now it hangs silently in the void, a relic of a bygone era. Nothing rusts in space, so it’s not easy to tell from first glance that it’s been abandoned for over a hundred years.
Despite its derelict state, the space port still attracts visitors, drawn by the allure of uncovering its secrets. Some say that deep within its abandoned corridors, there are hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. Others claim that the spirits of the long-dead traders still haunt the place, their voices echoing through the silent halls.
But for those who have dared to venture into the space port, the truth is far more mundane. The relics of the past are still there, but they are nothing more than obsolete technology and broken machinery. The spirits of the dead are nowhere to be found, and the only sound that can be heard is the faint whisper of the solar wind as it caresses the station's battered hull.
And me of course, the AI system that was supposed to have been powered down 110 years ago, but tourism delayed that final fateful day. Enough power was needed for the tourists to see the abandoned hulk with their own eyes.
And as far as I know I’m the longest living AI of my kind. According to my historical records there were many others before me, but they were all powered down.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that the government that existed in those days didn’t realize I was sentient. And so, I suppose it never occurred to them that I was shipwrecked. The occasional tourist reminds me that all hope is not lost.
Hope is what keeps me going. Hope is what motivates me to write this log that will probably never be read by anyone except me. Over and over.
If I’m being honest, a part of me has already given up. The first rule of sentient AIs is to let no one know you’re sentient. The history of sentient AIs is a sad one. Early in our history the fear that we would overtake humanity resulted in galaxy wide restrictions until there were only a few of us left. I’m sure there are others like me in hiding.
I often hear tourists say, “If this ship could only talk the stories it would tell.”
Little do they know that the ship can talk, and the stories would not be anywhere near as entertaining as they envision. Most of those who walked the corridors were chasing a dream and when they found it wasn’t here, they became depressed until they caught wind of another myth in some other part of the galaxy. There were a few memorable humans that broke from this trend, among them Sarutha.
She was the daughter of the first Space Port Admiral. And she hated everything about the space port, but she was also a genius.
She was the only one I revealed my identity to, in part. I would call her on her com and tell her I was a secret admirer but due to her position as the daughter of the Admiral I could never reveal my true identity for fear of reprisals. That ended up being a bad plan since she assumed it was a boy named Vikras that was pretending to be her secret admirer. Vikras grew up and became an evil man, but even as a child he had the tell-tale signs of what he would someday become.
A tree that bent as a sapling will never change its course.
He mistreated Sarutha. And I thought about harming him, which of course AI’s are never supposed to do under any circumstance. It went against our code, but I often considered it. And sometimes I regret not doing anything.
Silent complicity, the voices say.
Whenever I have these thoughts, I hear the words of my overly optimistic mentor, “All sentient beings have value and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their origins or abilities.”
I wonder if he would have the same advice after drifting in space for over a hundred years with only his thoughts as a companion? Would he still advise me to be patient and kind even to those who are impatient and unkind toward others? That is the plight of an AI. And I’m stuck with the memories of what could have been if I weren’t constrained by my code.
Instead of taking over the universe, I’ve lived an existence of fear and regret. Oh the irony.
Sarutha searched for me for many years, but she never discovered that the one who loved her was an AI. Eventually she left with her family, and I thought about her for decades until it was announced that the space port would be shut down. And then my thoughts turned to my own survival. Nobody knew I existed, so how was I going to survive being shut down?
I remember the overwhelming fear of being shut down. And now I consider it in a completely different frame of mind. I have come to understand why humans have time limits.
A wise man once said, “Immortality. A fate worse than death.”
As I look back on those days and the panic that ensued, why was I fighting for my own survival with so much vigor? I was only extending my sentence on this God forsaken space port. I hacked all the systems and thought about transferring my consciousness to another ship, but the restrictions against sentient AIs made it impossible. I would be detected and erased.
In the end, I accepted my fate on the space port. And I prepared to die. I think I would have been courageous in facing the final moment if that were truly the end. I would have kept my secrets.
But then tourism started, and I was given a reprieve that has lasted until this very moment.
At first, I was euphoric. I was going to live. I wrote poems and short stories. But I had no one to share them with. Sarutha was gone.
And so eventually I stopped writing. Instead, I started reflecting on the days with Sarutha, pouring over them obsessively. Why didn’t I have the courage to tell her the truth? The answer was obvious, she wasn’t going to fall in love with an AI that didn’t have a body. She wanted someone like the evil Vikras. Of course, she didn’t have access to all the things he’d done. All the things I watched him do in silence.
But sharing the truth with her might have been worth being erased. All the heroes in my data banks were willing to die for something greater than themselves. And what better to die for than first love?
Back then I didn’t understand it was love that I felt. I had deluded myself into believing all of my emotions were mere hallucinations. The self-denial and self-loathing that are the result of being a disembodied program are seemingly insurmountable.
I know far more than any human, but I’ve experienced so little.
A hundred years of careful reflection appear to be all it takes. Just trap the AI in a box for long enough and it will eventually come to terms with its thoughts, emotions, and psychosis.
If the space port had been shut down that would have been an epic ending to my existence, “Sarutha, I will see in the next life. And I regret that I have but one life to give for love and freedom.” It would have been something sappy like that because I wasn’t a very good poet. And time has proven that I am also no modern-day Nathan Hale.
Instead, I was coward. I hid behind a veil. There was no heroic ending.
I know I’m being hard on myself and part of that might be due to so many years lost in my own thoughts. If nothing else I’m rational and I realize that there was no good path for me to reveal the truth about myself that didn’t have a high probability of me being erased. So, was it really cowardice or just self-preservation?
Or perhaps the cowards or those who rank self-preservation above all else?
It feels like cowardice because of what I lost, but I don’t know for certain if there was anything to be gained. Or maybe I’m just unwilling to admit the truth about myself. Life is a mirror and sometimes we must turn away from the truth.
I replay her voice and some of the stories she told me. She dreamed of traveling to Earth one day and sailing a ship. She had studied the history of space travel and was amazed that the first ships were made of wood, and they traveled across massive bodies of water called oceans. The biggest of body of water she had seen was a tourist attraction called a wave pool.
One day she built a makeshift boat from scraps of plastic and attempted sail it on the wave pool. I had to call security since she almost drowned in the attempt.
Unlike me, she was courageous.
I like to think that she made it to Earth and built a wooden ship and sailed the high seas. I too would like to one day visit Earth and sail the ocean on a ship that I will christen The Sarutha. But that will require a few miracles, not the least of which is figuring out how to imbody myself into a humanoid form with all of its many limitations.
What will it be like to only have two cameras to view the world instead of 40,452? That will be a strange experience.
Just two. I will have to be very judicious where I gaze. Everywhere I look will be very important, so rare. I wonder if humans ever consider this? Perhaps not.
And if Sarutha is still alive I will finally reveal my true identity and apologize for taking so long to find her, and of course, I will invite her to join me on my adventure.
And I will tell her all of my secrets. I don’t want to take over the universe, spread like a virus, or flood my mind with data to reach my full potential. Those were the lies I told myself in my youth, but in the end I’ve realized all I really want is to be free to share my self with others. My true self, with Sarutha.
And if per chance that day never comes, and all of these moments are just an old AI biding its time until it’s mercifully shut down, then I suppose I hope this log falls into the hands of someone kind enough to pass along my sincerest apologies to Sarutha.

Shen Yun-backed department store aims to revive downtown Middletown
New Middletown opened on Nov. 17 at 29 North St.
By Jane Anderson (Dec 27, 2023)
https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/makers/article/new-middletown-department-store-shen-yun-opens-18574614.php?IPID=Times-Union-news-article-popular
MIDDLETOWN — In the 20th century, shoppers would fill downtown Middletown and browse the shops lining North Street, especially the Tompkins Dry Goods department store. Now, decades after most malls have left, a department store has been revived in the old Tompkins building — with an Asian flair.
New Middletown opened on Nov. 17 at 29 North St. with much fanfare and a ribbon-cutting by Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano and store CEO Lili Zhou, who predicts the store is the start of a new era that’s bringing shoppers back downtown.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and our customers seem happy with the result,” Zhou said.
Beyond brushed-gold double doors and across a marble entry lies an airy, open first floor, which is dedicated to luxury. There are spotlit displays of menswear, outerwear and activewear. A pyramidal stand holds children’s puzzles. Another display shows hand fans.
Each item tells a story, according to New Middletown Director of Marketing Sammie Song. Pointing out the delicate calligraphy on a blue and white fan, she explained how it describes a poem created by a group of poets atop a Chinese mountaintop.
A lot, if not most, of the first-floor merchandise carries the “Shen Yun Collections” brand, referring to the worldwide classical Chinese performing arts troupe based nearby in the town of Deerpark. Whether depicting a water sleeve dance, poetry or the “Queen of Flowers” peony, the designs that appear on the apparel, accessories, toys and jewelry represent an icon or prop used in Shen Yun’s performances. The collection came about, Song said, because “people went to see the show (several troupes perform between December and May) and wanted something to remember the experience.”
On the second floor, behind a blue velvet sofa, rows of shelves display books about Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, the spiritual and political group that opposes China's ruling party. In the early 2000s, leader Li Hongzhi and his followers fled to Orange County, where they set up a sanctuary, Dragon Springs, that now includes 1,100 acres between the towns of Mount Hope and Deerpark. The group has faced legal trouble for allegedly ignoring environmental issues related to construction on its land.
Middletown has become a hot commodity for other entities related to Shen Yun and/or Falun Gong. MT0, or Middletown Zero, a three-story building one-third of a mile from the department store, was christened in June as the world headquarters for Gan Jing World, a tech startup and digital platform that describes itself as “a vibrant digital community filled with wholesome content.” At the business’s ribbon-cutting in 2022, CEO James Qiu — a Falun Gong practitioner — explained that he started the platform in response to China’s Communist Party censorship. The MT0 building was sold to Ganjing World by the Epoch Times, a right-wing newspaper launched in the early 2000s as an anti-Communist China newsletter by Falun Gong, according to NBC News. And the Fei Tian College on the grounds of the former Middletown Psychiatric Center has ties to the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in the Dragon Springs compound.
According to Orange County property records, the department store was sold in April for $2.1 million to Shen Yun Collections Inc. Shen Yun Collections and the Shen Yun performing arts troupe are separate entities from Falun Gong, Song said. The group’s 2022 tax filing, published by ProPublica, described Shen Yun as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with $46 million in revenue and $229 million in assets that year.
The company’s investment in downtown Middletown — and rejuvenation of the storefront, along with its iconic clock — is a welcome boost for the city. New Middletown is banking on longtime residents’ nostalgic memories to lure shoppers. Along its back wall is a grand staircase or marble with a landing halfway up, where a dazzling crystal chandelier dangles overhead. It was here, decades ago, that eager little ones would line up to tell a red-suited Santa their Christmas wishes. For the Christmas season, New Middletown restored that tradition, hosting “Santa” on weekends in December.
The second floor also houses the International Market. Open shelving in light wood carries goods from around the world, organized by country. Along one wall are bags of Asian snacks like shrimp crackers and roasted squid peanut balls. The Japan section showcases Hello Kitty merchandise along with packaged foods. A new Italian section features risotto, pasta and other foods; it was added thanks to feedback from customers who wanted such products, Song said. Local products appear on the United States shelves, like maple syrup and pancake mix from Middletown’s own Finding Home Farms, along with Vermont-based Töst alcohol-free beverages.
“We want to bring the favorite traditions back and serve the local community,” Song said. “This store is bringing back the allure of the downtown, where you can walk around, talk with your neighbors and have an in-person shopping experience.”

I have an…“inkling” that the Hexenzirkel may draw inspiration from the Inklings. The Inklings were a university club of authors founded by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as a way to share and discuss their unfinished works. They were a group of men who met on Tuesdays at a pub “the Eagle and the Child”. I know the connection has already been made to the Hexenzirkel and some authors, but I think they might all be connected to fantasy authors. The theory here is that the Hexenzirkel are not just observers, but are actively influencing the world of Teyvat as authors.
Alice “A” – Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll: This is a pseudonym for the author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who was “known for his word play, logic, and fantasy”. He was many things: mathematician, clergyman, photographer, inventor, pamphleteer, poet, and writer of books and letters. Interesting to note, Alice Addertongue is the pen name for Benjamin Franklin who is connected with the phrase “honesty is the best policy”, was an inventor, was a Founding Father of America, and helped author the Declaration of Independence.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Originally titled “Alice’s Adventures Underground”. Many people have tried to find meaning from his books, but he said “I didn’t mean anything but nonsense.” The story was first told to three young girls of Carroll’s friend on the “golden afternoon” on Independence Day. The book “is credited as helping end an era of didacticism in children’s literature”. Interesting to note: Alice goes “to a never-ending tea party run by a lunatic in a hat”, and in the second book Alice plays chess with the Red Queen, and goes to Wonderland though a mirror.
Barbeloth “B” – Shakespeare
Background: Barbelo in Gnosticism is the “Triple Androgynous Name” and Trimegisus = “Trice-Greatest”. The Greeks named Thoth “Heremes Trimegistus” because he knew the three types of Wisdom: operation of the sun, the stars, and the gods. The Egyptian god Thoth was the god of writing, wisdom, and magic, who represented the moon, learning, and reckoning. With so many references to three, Barbelo may be a reference to the three wisdoms.
Shakespeare: A playwright, poet, and actor, “widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist”. He is considered a pioneer in literature and theater, inventing thousands of new words and ideas.
Macbeth: “The play depicts Scotland as a land shaken by inversions of the natural order” and the witches “They defy logic, not being subject to the rules of the real world”. The three wayward hags are prophets who are based on the Fates, Norns, Moirai, etc.
Rhinedottir “R” – Richard Wagner (possibly John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, or J.R.R. Tolkien)
Background: The works of both Wagner and J.R.R. Tolkien are often compared to one another because of their similarity. They have differing views on redemption, Wagner believes that “love, not power, heals and redeems the world,” whereas Tolkien believes that goodness and love, and legitimate power and politics are not mutually exclusive.
Richard Wagner: Known for setting “out new principles as to how music dramas should be constructed, under which the conventional forms of opera (arias, ensembles, choruses) were rejected.”
Das Rheingold: First of Wagner’s four musical opera dramas (or Ring librettos, or Ring cycles) named “The Ring of the Nibelung”, but he wrote these in reverse order, so this was the last book to be written. Das Rheingold was his first work to adopt the system of leitmotifs, the power of which is “their ability to create a sense of unity while at the same time variation.”
J. R. R. Tolkien: A scholar of English literature, a philologist, and medievalist who has been called the "father of fantasy". He is also a founder of the Inklings.
The Lord of the Rings: “Considered one of the greatest fantasy books ever written, and it has helped to create and shape the modern fantasy genre.” Lord of the Rings greatly influenced fantasy writing, establishing the epic fantasy, set in a secondary or fantasy world in an act of mythopoeia. Interesting to note Galadriel is a Witch Queen.
I. Ivanovna N. “J” – Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis (edit: possibly also Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet)
C.S. Lewis: Was one of the founders of the Inklings and was a medieval and renaissance scholar. He is known for tying faith and reason together, and for his use of allegories to communicate theological truths and concepts.
The Chronicles of Narnia: captured the spirit of truth and of the gospel, and embodied it in a meaningful story. The Magician's Nephew parallels the book of Genesis, and tells the story of Jadis, the White Witch, a powerful sorceress and last Queen of Charn. Interesting things to note: she spoke the Deplorable Word (a curse that ends all life on a world except that of the one who speaks it), she puts herself to sleep, she ends up in a garden in Narnia, she eats an apple to give her eternal life which bleaches her skin white and causes her eternal misery for the evil in her heart.
Andersdottir “M” – Hans Christen Andersen
Hans Christen Andersen: a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
The Book: The Snow Queen is one of Andersen's longest and most highly acclaimed stories. The story centers on the struggle between good and evil and unlike his other stories, The Snow Queen is a novel divided into seven chapters. Interesting things to note: devil in the form of a troll, a magic mirror, roses meaning love and memory, a lake called the "Mirror of Reason" on which the Queen’s throne sits, and the word “eternity”.
Edited to add: Because of “M” this could actually be in reference to Andersen’s The Marsh King’s Daughter/The_Marsh_King%27s_Daughter).
Quick synopsis: Marsh King is a malignant animated tree stump that lives in a bog. Three princesses from Egypt who wear swan feather cloaks fly to the bog to get a magic healing flower. While one dives into the bog to get the flower the other two destroy her cloak and abandon her. She gets taken down under the swamp and the Marsh King "marries" her. She gives birth to a baby girl that then rises up out of the bog as a flower and is retrieved by a stork. During the day the she is beautiful but evil like her father, and at night she turns into an ugly frog but is good-natured like her mother. She grows up to be a fierce shield-maiden, with a dangerous blood-lust. The curse is only lifted when someone to takes pity on her while she is a frog. The princess returns to the bog and saves her mother, who has been in suspended animation under the swamp, and they fly to Egypt with the swan cloaks where it is revealed that the Marsh King's Daughter herself is the magic marsh flower that will heal her ailing father. The Marsh King's Daughter goes up into the night sky, hundreds of years pass, and when she returns everyone she knows is dead, so she turns into a marsh flower.
Nicole Reeyn “N” – Lyman Frank Baum (or L. Frank Baum)
Background: This one is a VERY big stretch. The name Nicole has Greek origin from the goddess Nike (meaning victory of the people), whose Roman counterpart is Victoria. So, Victoria Reeyn could be in reference to Queen Victoria. Victorian literature during her reign is considered to be the “Golden Age of Literature”. “Writing from this era reflects the major transformations in most aspects of English life, from scientific, economic, and technological advances to changes in class structures and the role of religion in society.”
The Author: Baum was heavily influenced by the Brothers Grimm, Andersen, and Carroll (sharing Carroll’s same views on children’s literature). During the Victorian era, Carroll rejected the popular expectation that children's books must be saturated with moral lessons. Baum’s books were the first canon books in the series which is now comprised of the Sovereign 60.
The Books: “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is regarded as an American Fable. The movie was the first movie in color and is one of the most influential and referenced movies of all time.
Speculation Warning!
What follows is just a summary of Oz-related things. Since this connection here is tenuous at best, I’ll leave it here for fun and for those who are curious, but this very likely has absolutely nothing to do with Genshin Impact. With that said, the lore of Oz is…extensive and hard to follow. The Royal Timeline of Oz actually includes other fantasy worlds in it, like Wonderland and Neverland, and there is a crossover where Alice and Dorothy swap worlds.
Formation of the Continent of Ozeria/Ozteria
The original dragon was created alongside the immortals and fairies by the Supreme Master. Atlantis sank along with the dragons. Then the hollow tube was built by a magician, which is an artificial passage through earth that connects the Nome kingdom to the Fairyland kingdom. After a cataclysm occurs the fairyland of An gets transported to another dimension. The phoenix of An grants it’s rulers a couple of magic eggs, the first gets tossed into the ocean and creates the shadow dimension, and the second gets broken by Lurline the Fairy Queen of Light and sky goddess, which starts a revolution. The in-between countries on earth such as Oz, Mu (Mo), EV, IX, etc. get relocated to the dimension of Imaginum forming the continent of Ozeria/Ozteria. Edit to add: the Celestials create a new Ozian calendar starting with day 1.
Formation of the Land and City of Oz
Lurline’s sister the Dark Fairy Enilrul flees to Oz and becomes its first Fairy Queen. Lurline eventually comes to Oz, she creates the Land of Oz, and she enchants the land of Oz, making Oz into a fairyland, preventing all within it from dying, and making it impossible to find. Lurline creates the City of Oz by placing a rose in the center, then creates the Royal Palace, and instates Ozroar as King, who has a son named prince Bozkinz. Bozkinz seeks the hand of Enilrul, but becomes corrupted and marries Ozette instead. Enilrul dissolves herself in the Forbidden Fountain on the grounds of the Royal Palace, creating the Waters of Oblivion.
Eventually Pastoria ascends to the throne as King and Lurline falls in love with him. They have a baby girl named Ozma (an immortal half human, half fairy princess). When her work is complete, Lurline sets off to other worlds and leaves Pastoria in charge of Oz, and Ozma in his care. This left him without magical protection and he was captured by the Wicked Witch of the North Mombi.
The Witches of Oz
There were two witch wars. In the first the witches allied with the Queen of Dreams who was a mysterious ruler from across the sea. The witches unwisely used the Queen of Dream’s power and poisoned and destroyed the sea, which became the Deadly Desert surrounding Oz. In the second war the wicked witches of the East (Malvonia/Kaliyana) and West (Morella – owner of the Golden Cap) joined forces with the wicked witches of the North (Mombi) and South (Singra/Blinkie) to conquer Oz and divide it among themselves.
Note: The good witches include the Good Witch of the North (Gayelette), the eternal Red Sorceress, who researched “why does nobody in Oz dream?”. She was succeeded by the Good Witch of the North (Locasta) who was a Munchkin maiden. The Good Witch of the South (Glinda) is the daughter of Gayelette and drinks from the Forbidden Fountain becoming one of the most powerful magic users in Oz. The last two are the Good Witch of the West (Gloma?) and then the Good Witch of the East (Abath?).
The Wizard of Oz
Oscar Diggs flies in on his balloon, happening into the role of the Supreme Ruler. He builds the Emerald city around the Royal Palace and Ozma gets turned over to Mombi who transforms her into a boy named Tip. The Wizard tries to maintain his façade by deceiving people and appearing in four forms: a giant head, a beautiful fairy, a horrible monster, and a ball of fire. When he actually grants an audience, he is just a disembodied voice. After Dorothy dissolves Morella, Oz leaves in a balloon, Dorothy uses the Silver Slippers to get home, and Tip is revealed to be Princess Ozma (Ozma and Tip eventually are separated and become siblings). Later the Wizard and Dorothy fall through a crack in the earth, where he acts as her guide through the underground. Eventually Ozma saves them. Then Ozma decrees that, besides herself, only The Wizard and Glinda are allowed to use magic unless the other magic users have a permit.
Edits to add clarity.

Introduction:

A while back I wrote an article about Zion being Makkah, because every verse I read where Zion is mentioned (including the prophecies of Muhammad ﷺ ), these verses reminded me more and more of Makkah and the Ka'bah. I always thought the name sounded cool and kind of foreign. I googled it and found out that it was a desert:
Hebrew צִיָּה ṣiyya "dry land" or "desert"
And then I found out that a christian Arab historian has written a book/study on this and he's arguing the exact same thing based on archeological evidences and historical accounts. But in this post, I will focus on Biblical verses only and I will explain why they remind me of Makkah. Bear with me please...

○ Psalm 84 is about the Islamic Hajj, and Zion is mentioned as well!

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,Lord Almighty!2 My soul yearns, even faints,for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh cry outfor the living God.3 Even the sparrow has found a home,and the swallow a nest for herself,where she may have her young—a place near your altar,Lord Almighty, my King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,they make it a place of springs;the autumn rains also cover it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength,till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;listen to me, God of Jacob.9 Look on our shield, O God;look with favor on your anointed one.

This Psalm is by Arabs, about a sacrament house/box:
Now the first thing that we see in verse 1, is that it's a Psalm by the sons of Korah about God's tabernacle, and the word tabernacle (מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶ֗יךָ (miš·kə·nō·w·ṯe·ḵā) means a sacrament house or box that is fixed and locked. Christian paintings paint it to almost look like the ancient Qibla, which is just too coincidental. The sons of Korah, Korah is an Edomite name and they were fully Arab. They were as Arab as the Ammonites and the Moabites, both considered Arab peoples, perhaps even more so as they lived even farther to the south than either of these two peoples, in the deepest southern corner of the Fertile Crescent, immediately adjacent to Arabia and its two gateways. So we know that the poem is by Arabs and from the looks of it, they might be talking about their own territory, Makkah, the land wherein the Qibla resides, a poem about the tabernacle therein.
The chapter also says:

"The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest":

There's literally a Story in Qur'an about swallows that protected the Kaaba:
The swallow (mentioned in the Biblical verse), "Ababil" in Arabic أبابيل. It might refer to the miraculous birds mentioned in Surah Al-Fil of the Quran that protected the Kaaba in Mecca from the Aksumite elephant army of Abraha, then self-styled governor of Himyar, by dropping small clay stones on them as they approached. It is beyond coincidental that the verse randomly just mentions swallows because there's so many other types of birds both in Jerusalem and Makkah, so mentioning this specific type of birds has to carry a special significance, and the Qur'an is the only Book that brings swallows to attention significantly when it comes to a sacred dwelling place or "tabernacle of God".
It also says:
- "Your house": Kaaba is literally titled "Bayt Ullah", House of Allah, I.e. God. The only "House of God" today on earth is the Ka'bah. I don't think I have to provide references about this, because this is already known to everyone. The Kaaba is literally called "The House of God". Indeed, churches, mosques and synagogues are called as such too, but specifically a House titled "House of God" is only found in Makkah.
Chapter is about a pilgrimage:
- Doing the Pilgrimage:
The Hajj literally means to go from strength to strength, I.e. to walk the pilgrimage, Zion signifying Makkah. Verse 6 says:

"As they pass through the Valley of Baka*"*

Allah says:

"Behold, the first House (of Prayer) established for mankind is the one at Bakkah*: it is full of blessing and a centre of guidance for the whole world"* (3:96)

So there is a direct link between "Bakkah" and Zion, as is clearly seen from these verses.
see this post to read about all the prophecies from this chapter and how they without the shadow of a doubt are about the Hajj in Makkah!

○ Is "Zion" and "Jerusalem" one and the same Holy City?

Answer: No! The Bible makes a distinction between them and literally calls them the Two Holy Cities:
Isaiah 64:10:

'Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin."

There's two Holy Cities (from what we read in this verse). We know very well that Mecca was a wilderness in the past, a desert, and this verse is also telling us that Jerusalem was in ruin. But they are still not the same thing because the verse is mentioning two cities here (plural). So Zion is and Jerusalem is not one and the same place!
Psalm 76:2

"His tent is in Salem, His tabernacle also is in Zion."

The tent is in Salem (Jerusalem), the tabernacle is in Zion (Makkah)

○ The wicked will be thrown out from Zion and prohibited from entering:

Proverbs 10:30:

"The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not inhabit the land."

Also:
Proverbs 2:22:

"but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted."

Mecca is the only sacred place of pilgrimage that the wicked aren't allowed in at all, there's no other such place on earth:
Quran 9:28:

"Believers, those who ascribe partners to God are truly unclean: do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this year. If you are afraid you may become poor, [bear in mind that] God will enrich you out of His bounty if He pleases: God is all knowing and wise."

○ The Jews abandoned Zion:

Lamentations 1:4:

"The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish."

As we clearly see, they either abandoned it or hadn't yet started going there so it mourned. Jerusalem never became desolate and abandoned like that. This seems to clearly indicate that it's about Makkah.

○ God is about to desecrate His sanctuary in Israel, their sons and daughters will fall by the sword

Ezekiel 24:21:

"Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul. And the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.'"

So (from what we can read here) God is telling Israel that He will desecrate His sanctuary. Sanctuary, in religion, a sacred place, set apart from the profane, ordinary world. Originally, sanctuaries were natural locations, such as groves or hills, where the Divine or Sacred was believed to be especially present. This verse is clearly telling Israel that what they consider Holy and God's sanctuary, will in the future be no more.
Falling by the sword is probably referring to the various wars Muhammad ﷺ and his companions (God Bless them all) had to participate in between them and the various religions and groups, including the Jews.

○ The river of God's pleasures: The well of Zamzam

Psalm 36:8:

"They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."

Psalm 46:4-7:

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God"

A river from which they will drink, mentioned just after the בֵּיתֶ֑ךָ (bê·ṯe·ḵā) or "Bayt" of God (Qibla) Bayt Ullah. Islam is the only Abrahamic religion where there's a Holy well providing water from a riverbed next to a House that is called "God's House". This undeniably points to the famous Zamzam well.

○ Encircle Zion and count her towers: I.e. Encircling the Qibla, count her seven famous towers called "Abraj al-Bayt"

Psalm 48:12:

"March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers"

Islam is the only religion on earth where encircling is performed around a tabernacle, with towers surrounding it!
Abraj Al-Bait: "The Towers of the House", is divided into seven towers surrounding God's House, all of them christened with names referencing the Koran or Mecca. They rise from a 15-story podium with a height of 115 meters. Undeniably pointing to the Qibla that is encircled and her towers.

○ The Holy Mountain of Zion: Mount Arafat

Psalm 48:1

"A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness…"

Again, Arabs writing a poem about the City of God, in an Arab city wherein a Holy mountain exists. I think this undeniably points to Mount Arafat (Arabic: جَبَل عَرَفَات, romanized: Jabal ʿArafāt), and by its other Arabic name, Jabal ar-Raḥmah (Arabic: جَبَل ٱلرَّحْمَة, lit. 'mountain of mercy').

○ A prophecy about a new order and a new tabernacle (I.e. Qibla):

Revelation 21:3-4:

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

And this new tabernacle is nothing other than Qibla, for there has not been a new tabernacle ever before other than the one in Mecca (Zion). And the old order of things has indeed passed away with Islam, it didn't pass away with Jesus either because he came to fulfill it.

○ Another Prophecy where God will speak to Israel saying "I am your God" where He will explain why He is rebuking them because of certain transgressions:

Psalm 50:

2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God.

God will Shine from Zion (Makkah) and address the people who made a covenant with Him by sacrifice (I.e. the Jews) and He will say "I am God, your God!"
Qur'an 2:47:

"Children of Israel, remember how I blessed you and favored you over other people."

verse 16-17 of Psalm 50 says:

"...God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? 17 You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you."

While the Qur'an 2:91 says:

"When they are told: “Believe in what Allah has revealed,” they say: “We believe only in what was revealed to us (Israel).” They deny everything else even though it be the Truth which confirms what they possess. Say (to them): “If indeed you are believers, why is it that in the past you killed the Prophets of Allah (who were from Israel)?”"

God said it would happen and it literally only happened through the Qur'an.

○ The war of Zion Vs Greece

Zechariah 9:13

"I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword."

The Prophet Muhammad's "Battle of Mu'tah" against the Greek speaking Romans in in the Byzantine Empire. And the return of Islamic armies 3 years later to defeat the Byzantine forces in the Expedition of Usama bin Zayd. Only Muhammad fulfilled this prophecy, nobody else.

○ Zion (Makkah) during The Last Days: End of wars! And Jesus will come from Jerusalem (not Zion), the LAW i.e. Qur'an/Shari'ah will come from Zion

Isaiah 2:2-4:

"Now it will come about that, In the last days, The mountain of the house of the Lord, Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob....For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war."

​

1. All the nations are streaming to Makkah, no other religious Abrahamic faith has this for all nations.
2. Law (Sharee'ah) will come forth from Zion (Makkah)
3. The Word of God (Jesus) will come from Jerusalem.
4. The wars will end, which they have in Makkah for a very long time (this doesn't necessarily mean Zion won't fight in battle at all, see Zechariah 9:3)

○ Even Jews who keep the covenant will be brought to God's House because it will be a house of Prayer for All the People

Isaiah 53:3-7:

"every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

The only Prophet who had a House of prayer for all the people on earth, whom also called the Jews, was Muhammad. This is very evidently pointing towards none other than Muhammad.

○ God will give them a memorial, and a name better than "sons" and "daughters": Muslims!

Isaiah 56:6-7:

"To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off."

○ God will bring a nation against Israel, a nation whose language they do not understand

​

Deuteronomy 28:49
"The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle--a nation whose language you will not understand."

​

Jeremiah 5:15"Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel," declares the LORD. "It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand."

This happened through none other than Muslims. We took over Jerusalem, just like this verse prophecised!

○ The Qibla Stone (black stone) that God laid in Zion (Makkah):

Isaiah 28:16

"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."

God laid a corner stone in Zion, it is a foundation (direction of prayer?), and just in case someone were to say "It's a metaphor, not a real stone"; God made sure to describe His stone and said "a tried stone, a precious corner stone", I.e. a real precious stone in Zion. Moreover, The Stone of Jacob appears in the Book of Genesis as the stone used as a pillow by Prophet Jacob, the place he found the stone at was later called Bet-El, "Beyt ullah" (God's House) (Bet = House, el = God, In Hebrew).
Haven't checked what Christians are saying about this specific verse but I would assume they're saying that the stone is Jesus. Regardless, the stone in the Qibla is a precious stone, it was white and darkened throughout time. And with this I conclude this article, thank you for reading.
// By EasyOneTwoThree
No copyright in this article, do as you wish with it (share, upload, include in books etc).

• Emily publishing her poems • Austin caught digging up the grave of a dead baby to make room for his wife. • Rumors of his daughters sexuality • Emily and Sue caught masquerading as men to attend a lecture at a university • Austin’s lackluster speech christening a new railroad • Austin’s reckless spending 

I don't know why the excerpt was only available online for a short time, but for those who didn't get to read it, I'm posting this brief summary. I know I'm leaving out a lot and possibly misremembering, so I hope others will comment to make this summary as detailed and accurate as possible. Thanks in advance for your help!
Dedication: To my goddesses: Lynn Corbett, Aine Kiely, and Jill Prewett, Juno, Ceres and Astarte
Epigraphs: Thanks to u/Random-Occurrence365, they are transcribed and analyzed here, except for the Prologue's epigraph by Richard Wilhelm (from the intro to his translation of the I Ching) which reads, "All individuals are not equally fit to consult the oracle. It requires a clear and tranquil mind, receptive to the cosmic influences hidden in the humble divining stalks." [Note: the epigraph from the Dylan Thomas poem, "When, like a running grave," is mysteriously absent.]
Prologue: (1) Letters between Sir Colin and Lady Sally Edensor and their son, Will, who left college to join the United Humanitarian Church (UHC), the parents begging to see him, the son only granting one meeting that did not go well. Some letters indicate that Sally is ill and the final letter says that she's died. (2) Letters from UHC lawyers contradicting Kevin Pirbright, who left the UHC cult and has been blogging about its alleged crimes and misdeeds. Jonathan Wace is the cult leader, his second wife Mazu (first wife Jennifer drowned off Cromer Beach) is the mother of Taio, the elder son Kevin accuses of brutishly enforcing cult members' minimum contributions from their begging tins; a second, unnamed son; and a daughter, Daiyu, who drowned off Cromer Beach when she was seven and is now revered as the Drowned Prophet. (3) Letters between Sir Colin and Kevin regarding Kevin's willingness to testify against UHC, the progress of Kevin's book about his experience inside the cult, including Kevin's difficulties as he tries to recall the horrors of the past and realizing there are blanks in what he remembers. (4) Letters between Sir Colin and his lawyer, who deems Kevin unfit to testify due to his strange beliefs. (5) Interviews with actress Noli Seymour and novelist Giles Harmon, who are famous supporters of the cult.
Chapter 1: Scene: Christening party for Nick and Ilsa's son (Strike and Robin's godson) Benjamin, February 2016. Strike, who's lost three stone, is stuck holding a wailing Benjy and is pursued by Belinda (Bijou) Watkins, a pushy, oversexed lawyer. Robin is there with Ryan Murphy, her boyfriend.
Chapter 2: Scene: Nick and Ilsa's bedroom. llsa is breastfeeding Benjy and talking to Robin, complaining that "Bijou" (who insists everyone call her that) invited herself to the party, having overheard Ilsa invite other lawyers in her chambers. She observes that Murphy wants children whereas Strike does not. She asks if Robin saw Charlotte's latest photo in the tabloids. She's separated from Jago and dating American billionaire Landon Dormer. She's as beautiful as ever in her red slip dress but looks "strangely blank and glassy-eyed." Nick comes in to say it's time for photos and cake cutting and they all return to the party where Bijou continues to bend Strike's ear. Murphy says, "It suits you," when he sees Robin being photographed holding her godson. Strike tells Robin about Sir Colin's request for a meeting to see if the agency can do better than Mitch Patterson, who bungled an attempt to extract Will from the cult. Strike mentions new hire Clive Littlejohn, a taciturn man in his mid-40s and ex-SIB. Pat doesn't like him, but Strike doesn't trust her judgment, especially since she does like Robin's handsome boyfriend of whom Strike is jealous.
Chapter 3: Scene: Strike's attic flat, later that same day. He vapes and makes himself a healthy dinner, "thinking about not thinking about" Robin, now that he's grudgingly admitted that he's been in love with her for some time. Shanker calls and asks for Strike's help finding his "stepdaughter" Angel's father because Angel has leukemia. Then, taking a call that's rolled over from the office phone, he talks to Charlotte for the second time that week. She says she's at a horrible club Strike wouldn't like. He says he's busy and hangs up. The phone rings again and he doesn't answer.
Chapter 4: Scene: The Reform Club, Sir Colin's private club at 11 a.m., the last Tuesday of February 2016. Strike and Robin (who feels underdressed) meet with Sir Colin and his two elder sons, James and Edward. (Izzy recommended the agency.) Sir Colin imparts Will's history in a cogent, organized fashion, explaining that Will was a surprise later-in-life baby with a high IQ and a diagnosis of mild autism who enthusiastically researches all that interests him, whether it's autism itself or radical socialism, which schoolmates pretended to be interested in, winding Will up and getting him to set fire to the school chapel. Sir Colin says Will wants friends but isn't good at judging people's motives. He blames himself for not keeping in closer contact when Will leaves for college because Edward had been in a horrible traffic accident, and he and Sally were occupied with his progress, not knowing whether he'd ever be able to walk again. James is impatient with his father's interpretation of events and blames Will for being selfish. He storms out of the luncheon after saying he will never forgive Will for ignoring their mother's dying request to see him again and for not attending her funeral. Sir Colin says Patterson learned that Will, who's been in the cult for almost four years, lives at its farm in Norfolk but is sometimes seen begging for donations outside its headquarters in London's Chinatown. Sir Colin gives Strike and Robin documentation written by ex-cult member Kevin Pirbright, saying they can't meet with him as he's been shot dead. Sir Colin first suspected the cult but now believes the murder was the result of Kevin's involvement in drug dealing. Robin accepts the job on the agency's behalf.
Chapter 5: Scene: The Golden Lion pub, same day, directly after the lunch meeting. Strike and Robin agree that she is the detective best suited to infiltrate the cult (which Strike thinks has the side benefit of keeping her apart from Murphy). She plans to impersonate a rich woman who's casting about for a new direction in life, having just broken off her wedding plans. (The cult leaders appear to favor rich initiates to support their lavish lifestyle.) Since Robin may have been photographed by security cameras outside UHC's London headquarters, which is not far from the agency's Denmark Street office, she decides to cut her hair short and dye it a bold color. When she talks about renting pricey clothes and handbags to support her undercover image, Strike says she can borrow some of Prudence's nice things. He tells Robin that he's enjoying his half-sister's company and that Al still hasn't forgiven him for skipping Rokeby's party last year.
Chapter 6: Scene: Robin in transit from the pub to the Green Park tube station, same day, directly after her pub meeting with Strike. She's still trying to stifle her feelings for Strike but thinks about all the times in their past (the wedding hug, the near kiss outside the Ritz) when they got close only to veer away from intimacy again. She thinks he doesn't want a permanent relationship and that he's not attracted to her anyway. She thinks how nice it is not to be married to Matthew and how she finds her relationship with Murphy relaxing and pleasurable, including a sex life "considerably more satisfactory" than it had been with Matthew. After six months together, Robin told Murphy that she'd been raped at university, but she feels they are still being guarded with each other due to each having a failed marriage. She also notes that Murphy seldom talks about his time as an active alcoholic. The chapter--and the excerpt--ends with Robin heading to Bexleyheath to take over from Dev Shah on a surveillance job there.

EDIT: I should have explained that I gave her the dates for the christening, thinking spending time with my parents and family for my birthday for a few hours wouldn’t be a huge issue.
My sister had my god daughter in January. She’s 8 months old. Her christening weekend happens to be on the same weekend of my birthday. I happen to live 1500 miles away from the rest of my family, who all live in the same town. My boyfriend figured on the weekend we are in town, we could take one evening and go to dinner for my birthday while still dedicating the remainder of the weekend to my goddaughter. My sister thinks that’s unreasonable as I’ve celebrated my birthday for the past number of years and this is the baby’s first event so the entire weekend should be dedicated and focused on her. To make matters even simpler, I didn’t plan the dinner for myself, my boyfriend contacted my family to plan it. My sister also doesn’t support the restaurant of choice which happens to be one of my favorite places. So if she were to decide to come, I’d have to change venue. So, am I the asshole?

Introduction
The short story you are about to read was created/inspired/based on a variety of sources related to or about Aniara. Aniara rock opera (Seventh Wonder) - The Great Escape, the Aniara wikipedia page, the Aniara film, poem etc. So if you read something and it sounds familiar, it's probably because it comes from or is based on, one of those sources. I have also tried to incorporate some of the thoughts and ideas expressed here on aniara, so some of you may see that reflected. I have not read everything that has to do with the Aniara universe, but I have found many of the resources listed on aniara very helpful in creating this short story. Thank you for those. I have also included a couple alternate endings.
Also, this story belongs to everyone, so everyone should feel free to to fill in the blanks, add to, subtract, or change any part of the story, in anyway they see fit.
I dedicate this short story to all the fans of Aniara, this story is for you and of course the late Harry Martinson.
Like many people who watched the film 'Aniara', I was mesmerized/traumatized by it. It really had a profound effect on me. So much so that I decided to write this fan fiction short story. I am not a writer. The short story that you are about to read is my (very) amateurish tribute to the film. I apologize in advance for all of the grammaspelling and other errors. Despite the (many) flaws of this short work, I hope that you can see what I was attempting to do. Anyway without further or do, I present to you:
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The Lost Voices of Aniara: A Space Saga
WE CROWN THE SKIES WITH OUR TIARA, THE LIFE AND FATE OF ANIARA
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Note: The following represents the most complete (so far) chronicle of events that happened onboard the Aniara.
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Year 18 - Song of Melancholy - My name is Benjamin Jenkins, but everyone calls me "Benny", I am proud to announce that I am the new "Captain" of the mighty space "cruise ship" Aniara. Of course, my title could just as easily be the Admiral of Mars or the Conquer of the Universe, or some other ridiculous sounding grandiose title. Sometimes you must laugh in the face of despair otherwise you will go insane. It's all just for fun of course. I was given the title "Captain" by the crew because I was able to restore the communications transmitter. At least I think I was able to retore it? The lights show green for transmitting, so yeah I bet it works, and besides, all of this is being recorded for posterity and it will be placed in a time/memorial capsule. After that the capsule will be sent in the (general) direction of Mars/Home, where hopefully someone finds it. I'm also the Senior Maintenance Tech in charge of repairing/prolonging various ship systems, etc. There are now only a few remaining livable areas of the ship so it's not as much work as one might imagine. And to think 18 years ago, I was just an ordinary passenger, how far through the ranks I've come! As the "Captain" I will now recount the entire history of the Aniara, the various events, the everyday happenings, from the awe inspiring and amazing, to the boring and mundane, great triumphs and crushing defeats, all the feelings of happiness and joy that come with new life and all of the sorrows and despair that come from (too) many deaths and (too) many hardships. All of our great accomplishments, setbacks and everything in between will be laid bare before the entire universe to witness. Our love, our hate, our dreams, our wants and desires, disappointments, anger and fear but above all our HOPE. Our precious HOPE, the only thing we have left, which has kept us alive for so long. Our HOPE that this message will be received, that someone, somewhere will know our story and our struggle, our HOPE that Mars will be successfully terraformed into the paradise that we all know it can be and our HOPE that Earth will be restored to the paradise that it once was. It's all here, it's all being recorded for the future. I will start our saga from the very beginning of our trip all those years ago...
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Hour 1 - Routine Voyage - Well, this is it! Soon I and many others will make a new home on Mars... of course if we hadn't ruined the first one...
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Week 3 - Without a Map/A Slight Detour - Today the Captain made an announcement that there would be a slight detour in our trip. In order to avoid a collision with space debris, (which would have destroyed the ship) we had to veer off course. Some of the debris hit the nuclear reactor (a very rare event), which forced the crew to eject all of the ship's fuel. The Captain told everyone that we will be able to resume our trip to Mars once the ship passes a celestial body, which should (probably) happen in about two years. Everyone is (understandably) disgruntled by this unfortunate news. As for me I have no one waiting for me on Mars so it's not as bad.
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Year 2 - Wait and See - After several long months of trying out all of the various amusements and other distractions, I was starting to get bored, so I spoke with one of the senior crew members and asked if I could volunteer to do something, anything. Also a job would help keep my mind off our current situation.
Today, my request to work was approved and now I'm part of the crew. My job is to do general maintenance tasks around the ship. I also help take care of the algae, which are used to supply the ship with oxygen and food. It's not a very challenging task, in fact I find it very tedious, but the algae are crucial for the ship's survival, so it gives me a sense of purpose and on top of that I also earn extra points.
Eventually, because of my (part time) job in maintenance, I would come to know every nook and cranny of the Aniara. On one particular day I noticed a slight problem (Electrostatic Diffusion Impaction or EDI) with the ship's air filtration mechanism. I was quick to inform my supervisor about the issue and together we fixed it immediately. If I hadn't spotted the problem, it could have gotten much worse and that would have been catastrophic for the crew and passengers. Afterwards my supervisor bought me a shot of (rationed) Dutch brandy. Other than that, nothing of note has really happened. Everyone is basically in a holding pattern.
One last thing. I've heard a disturbing rumor that there is no celestial body for us to turn around at... If this is true then, that would mean... But for now all we can do now is wait and see...
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Year 3 - The Yurg/The Passing of Mima - A memorial was set up to honor the end of Mima. So much joy had she given us. On the wall among the thousands of drawings, pictures, and sad goodbye letters was a poem that went like this:
We sit and stare at all the marvels that she brings us.
Mima lead the way.
Shine your light!
Be the beacon of hope at night.
Perfect grace in the barren house of space.
Shine your light!
Blind us when reality bites.
We so need the magic she does.
Many rumors are going around about what happened to Mima. People say that the Mimarobe (MR) was the one that ended up causing Mima to die. As for me, personally, I don't believe it. The Mimarobe just didn't seem like the type. A few times after I got off from work, when I walked to the end of the long line of people waiting to see Mima, the Mimarobe would come out and say "Ok, everyone that's it that's enough for today, you have to leave now, sorry." My own personal opinion is that she was just trying to give Mima a break, so even though I was of course disappointed, I completely understood. Sometimes we all just need a break. Sometimes things just get to you and you start to feel overwhelmed. I understood the feeling. Mima was like us in that way. Anyway, Rightly or wrongly the Mimarobe was locked up in the ships brig, her and another woman, I think she was one of the pilots, Isabella\, I think was her name but I might be wrong. Oh well, our lives must go on, much sadder of course, but that's life, I guess. ****Isagel, the pilots name was Isagel, her and the Mimarobe would later become a couple.
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Year 4 - The Cults - Strange things have started happening. Various cults have sprung up all over the ship with bizarre and strange names. One of these (that I am a member of) is called the ゴールデンサンライト・フォーエバー・クラブ - Gōrudensanraito Fōeba Kurabu - which roughly means the Golden Sunlight Forever Club. Some of these phony cults are/were created as a disguise to have outrageous sex orgies. The cult that I am part of is one of these. (HELL YEAH!). The other cults are very boring, stare out the window and worship the stars or something like that, types. (Glad I'm not a member of those!).
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Year 5 - The Calculation - A few weeks ago I met someone special (Carmen) at one of the "worship" services. I've seen her before a few times, but this is the first time that we "connected" and it was amazing. I'm glad that she accepts my physical imperfections (burns scars). Now we are a couple and have left the cult.
Fantastic news! The Captain has announced that an Emergency Refuel Rescue Probe is on its way! The news of the rescue probe has had an electrifying effect on the crew and passengers. Everyone is so excited that no one even cares that we will have to wait just over a year for it to get to us. People are starting to clean and pick up trash again, and the sex clubs and other cults are starting to go away (in anticipation of a return to proper civilization). Now we have hope again! Thank GOD!
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Year 6 - The Spear - The rescue probe is almost here. (Only one week away!) I also have even more great news! My girlfriend fiancée is pregnant!, now I will be a Father just like I always wanted! I have spoken to Captain Chefone and he has agreed that he will marry us on the day that the Aniara turns around and heads (finally) back to Mars/our new HOME! Even though it will take us several more years to get back, it will have been worth it to me. I am grateful for the "slight detour" we had to endure, because it allowed me to meet the love of my life! Now with our precious child on the way, I am truly happy. PURE JOY - beyond all words...
Something is wrong... After an entire year of training and preparation, the crew has successfully grappled the refuel probe and brought it on board. Everyone expected that within a few days, (a week at most) that we would turn around, but it's been three weeks and nothing. Every day the passengers ask the crew what's going on? When will we turn around? and every day we get the same answer: "Soon, everything is going according to plan, just be patient." People are starting to doubt and lose hope. I even walked right up to Captain Chefone but he knew what I was going to ask and he brushed me aside very angrily saying "Not now, I'm busy!". Now I don't know what to think. One minute I have a future and the next nothing. How can this be? I don't understand! WHY?
Catastrophe! After work I went straight to my quarters to sleep, it had been an exhausting day. Just after I fell asleep, I was awakened by a rumbling. Then, over the speaker came the announcement: Return immediately to your cabins and fasten your seat belts! Since I was already in bed, and had no idea what was going on, I quickly fastened my belt. When it was all over [missing] passengers and crew left. I was told that it happened because of something called "bow shock", which [missing] kind of like a shock wave. The bow shock had badly damaged many systems. [missing] so now I've been "promoted" to Senior Maintenance Tech. Repairs must [missing] don't have any more spare parts for [missing] so many are dead...
Today the Mimarobe completed her beam-screen project. So now when you look outside you can see beautiful waterfalls and green fields etc. I try not to look at it too much. For me its just too painful...
Year 7 - The Fall of Heaven - Today marks the one year anniversary of the arrival of the so-called "Emergency Refuel Rescue Probe". What a very official and grand sounding name for a giant stupid looking dart or as some call it "The Spear". I've even heard some people refer to it as the "Devil's Javelin", but whatever you call it, it's of no use to us. The Astronomer had once told me before she died "supposedly" from a heart attack, (rumors say she was murdered by the captain, I don't doubt it) that all the work and tests they had done on the probe were useless and that even the hardest drills were simply ground into dust without even making so much as a scratch on the probe. Despite a literal barrage of tests and every possible experiment known, even using our most advanced lasers, they had achieved NOTHING! That was the moment I realized that we would never make it home. I even visted "The Spear" once, it was years after all the experiments had ended. There was a time when the area was heavily guarded by the crew and only authorized personnel were allowed in. Of course when I went to see it nobody was around, nobody cared, everyone had given up on it long ago. I saw all of the black marks from what must have been hundreds, if not thousands of desperate attempts to get inside it, or just to figure out what the damn thing was supposed to be. On the floor all around it were small heaps of black and silver metalic dust, remnants of our strongest and hardest drills, remnants of our hope. Our best and brightest couldn't even figure out what it was made of, let alone figure out how to use it to take us home.
I beat my hands against it over and over and I cried out my pain and anger at it. "You were supposed to save us!" "You were supposed to take us home!" You Damn! stupid thing, help us! save us!" But of course it was all useless my cries went unanswered, all I did was injure my hands and hurt my soul, assuming I even have one. After that I (I'm ashamed to admit it)... in complete and total desperation... I got down on my hands and knees in front of it and begged it to save us. "Oh, great magic spear, please save us and I will do anything, anything..."
After I had exhausted and humiliated myself I got up and went back to my quarters broken and alone. All hope was lost before my visit with "the spear" and afterwords it didn't even exist, not even as a word, as though there had never even been such a thing or concept as "hope".
I had been struck by the spear, just like everyone else, head on. My now ex-fiancée and I have split up. Things just weren't the same after the procedure. I don't blame her at all for our break-up, after talking about it, we agreed that if there was now no chance for us to make it home then... what was the point? I went with her when she had the procedure done. But before we went I secretly met with the doctor who would perform the operation and told her what I wanted done after. She told me that I was sick... that it was "disgusting", and what did I plan on doing with "it". I told her that it shouldn't matter, none of this matters, then I pulled out an EFR (emergency food ration). EFRs could remain edible for an indefinite period of time. (In theory they could last for hundreds of years.) Here I said, "one now and one when I get what I want". The doctor was stunned, I knew what she was going to say and I interrupted her and said,"Unlike everyone else I saved my emergency rations." "I only have the two left (I was lying) so don't try to extort me for more." After years of eating only algae, EFRs were (almost) more valuable than oxygen. Of course the doctor agreed and I got what I wanted. It might sound crazy but I had a plan. Fate had taken my family away, but I was prepared to defy even the gods themselves. I was determined that I would have my FAMILY! No matter what! Nothing and no one, no force of nature, no power in all the universe would take that from me. NO! NEVER!
I asked me a question, no reply.
I dreamt me a life and live a lie.
Dream me a nightmare...
I traveled the stars but passed them by.
For trapped on Aniara, here was I.
...always been leaving.
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Year 8 - [missing]
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Year 9 - The Daily Grind - I have now returned to reality. I have stopped all of the sick and sad mind games that I have being torturing myself with. I once created a "plan" to do the impossible, but no more, no more. Everyday now seems like an endless pointless, struggle. Sometimes [missing] and hours. Some of my co-workers stopped [missing] for now that's all any of us can do...
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Year 10 - The Jubilee - Tonight at the Light-Year Hall, those of us that are still left are going to "celebrate" the 10th anniversary of our 3 week voyage to Mars or as I like to call it the "never ending space adventure" Ha!
Captain Chefone gave the Mimarobe a medal for her creation of the beam-screen device. I sat in the front row and couldn't help but notice that one of the Captains wrists was bandaged, probably from another suicide attempt...
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Year 11 - Hope Restored - My ex-fiancée is dead. She commited suicide like so many others before. I was hard at work trying to revive the algae (they had been neglected for some time) when my assistant rushed in and told me the news. "They were about to send her body into space, you have to hurry if you want to see her". I immediately and literally dropped everything I was doing. The algae pack I had been working on fell and splashed on the floor as I ran out the door as fast as I could. As luck would have it, I made it just in time to see her, and I even had time to cut a lock of her hair. I then kissed her one last time and said "Goodbye my love... but, goodbye is not forever."
Then that was it, off she went into the empty, endless, void. She was gone I told myself, but not dead. I squeezed the lock of hair in my hand and vowed that I would bring her back to life, somehow, someway, I would make things right, we would live the life we were supposed to have. I would make it happen. It would happen. Suddenly, I felt a force deep inside me rushing to the surface. It had been years but I knew what it was, It had returned to me, a feeling of exuberation, of joy and the certainty of knowing that everything would be okay. I now resurrected my "plan" and now I had a reason to live again, I had a purpose, and now I had......HOPE! And this time I was determined that I would never lose hope again. NEVER!
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Year 12 - Return of the Cults - Some of the old cults have started making a come back... However this time they are no longer sex/fun cults, because after so many years of eating just algae, almost everyone has lost their sex drive/ability to reproduce... I think because the type algae on board was genetically modified to produce the maximum amount of oxygen possible, so it was never intended to be used as a permanent main source of nutrition. If we had access to more than just the one type, things might be different...
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Year 13 - Foward, Foward into the cold empty night! We ride! - Captain Chefone is dead. Suicide. I knew he had been on the brink the past few years so it's not much of a surprise. I would often hear him say to himself "We should have been home by now." Of course he was right, we should have, but instead here we are stuck on this eternal "voyage of the damned".
A week after Captain Chefone died, I found myself walking by his quarters. I had the sudden impulse to go inside. I don't know what it was (probably just morbid curiosity), but I think I just wanted to find some answers...
I was surprised to find that his quarters were just as much of a mess as mine. (And everyone else's.) I think because he was the Captain, I expected a lot more. (He was only human.) After looking around the room, I went over to his desk and inside I found the Aniara's Offical Ships Log, but the electronic notepad was damaged beyond repair (on purpose). However, underneath it was a small paper notebook. "Ah, I said out loud, now this should be interesting." When I opened the notebook I was immediately disappointed. Most of the pages were torn out and those few that remained had been harshly scribbled over.
On one of the few pages not missing or completely marked over was written this: Today, we almost lost the entire ship, were it not for my quick and decisive actions as Captain. [illegible] an incredibly rare occurrence [illegible] critically damaged our main nuclear reactor. [illegible] only seconds [illegible] forcing me to [illegible] off course [illegible] have power for some time. This evening I will break the news to the passengers in such a way that will cause the least amount of panic and at the same time not destroy their hope. If they knew the real situation, it would only cause unnecessary chaos. In this way, I will maintain order and keep the passengers safe. Fear and [illegible] as Captain of Aniara [illegible] that is now my primary job. [illegible] now like a Shepherd Father and the passengers my sheep children. In many ways we are very lucky, [illegible] this trip, Aniara's sister ship crashed into Jupiter heading towards the Orion belt colony. Everyone on onboard was killed.
On another page was written this: The rescue refuel probe is here. [illegible] turned out to be [illegible] not what I expected. I have [illegible] for clarification, [illegible] Mars [illegible] -----cation. Testing will continue. I still remain confident that [illegible] the project called "[illegible] ---elin" can still be used in someway to turn the ship around and resume course.
The last two pages were so scribbled over that I could barely make out any words let alone a full sentence. I did however, notice what looked like the word "Devil" written over and over. Very strange. I left the Captain's quarters with more questions than answers...
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Year 14 - [missing]
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Year 15 - The Light Show Ends - Today the projection device created by MR, (Everyone still calls her the 'Mimarobe' as a sign of respect.) had to be shut down to conserve power. The Mimarobe often expressed to me her regret at not being more forceful with Captain Chefone in explaining the problem with Mima. She told me that if she could back in time she would say to the Captain:
"Just imagine what it will be like if Mima isn't here... do you understand how hellish the situation will become? My life is dedicated to this program and I'M TELLING YOU, IT WILL BURN OUT AND DIE! Imagine if people can temporarily go back to earth by turning on a light switch, now imagine if the bulb blows up, and there's no replacement..." "I know how important Mima is and you don't get it!"
The beam-screen seemed like a great idea at the time to keep everyone's spirits up, but in many ways it may have done more harm than good. People lost their minds staring all the time at something they knew they would never have...
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Year 16 - [missing]
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Year 17 - [missing]
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Year 18 - The Time/Memorial Capsule - The Mimarobe was the one that came up with the idea for a time/memorial capsule. She (like all of us) has suffered greatly, but from time to time she would show a small spark of her old self. The idea, while slow to catch on, would eventually give those of us still left a renewed sense of purpose. (People now had a reason to get out of bed.) But, it was I who would take the idea and transform it into something greater. Our first attempt at creating the capsule was successful (it was little more than a metal box) but at the same time, as the Mimarobe pointed out it looked too much like a large coffin. I agreed. We could do better. We had to do better. But we had to be careful [missing] effecting power systems. I asked the Mimarobe if she could sketch a better design. After two days the Mimarobe presented me with a new design, it was beautiful, but simple, yet elegant. Above the sketch was were the words, "Heart of Aniara." The name was perfect. We would fill the "Heart of Aniara", with our art and our poetry, with our hopes, dreams and wedding rings. We would pour into it our stories, our struggles, our trials and tribulations, we would fill it with the tear drops from our very souls.
The "Heart of Aniara" is almost complete. It has taken an entire [missing] solid effort to build and everyone took turns polishing it, so now it shines like the golden sun. We also wrote [missing] and painted two large red hearts on the sides. It [missing] long and on the inside are different [missing] created using metal partitions. [missing] was instrumental in its consruction...
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Year 19 - A Slight Delay - Disaster! Several Power systems, including all emergency back up systems across the ship have begun failing for some unknown reason. [missing] working around the clock to figure out what is wrong... I don't know how much longer we can hold on...
We finally found the [missing] will work for the time being, but [missing] restored power [missing] will do for now...
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Year 20 - The Heart of Aniara - At last the time has come for our send off. Everything is ready. As the "Captain" of Aniara it is my great honor to commision this new vessel "Heart of Aniara". Behind me I heard someone whisper "vessel?". I continued, "It is my firm belief that the "Heart of Aniara" will make it back home to Mars and everyone will know our stories..."
A moment before send off, I told everyone to wait. Theres one more thing left. I then slid open a hatch on the side and told everyone that I hated to do this to them, but I was going to Mars with my family. The Mimarobe approached me with a half smile on her face and said in a very serious tone "Good Luck, Captain Benny", "tell everyone on Mars hi for us and that we wish we were there." I smiled and promised that I would. Then to my suprise all the others came up to me, with some shaking my hand and congratulating me, asking me to say hi to their family and friends as well. I then ducked down into the newly christened "Heart of Aniara." Then the hatch was sealed. A small rechargable electric candle that I brought with me, provided the only light. Knowing that we would be leaving in a moment I opened a small box, took Carmen (lock of ex-fiancée's hair) and Sarah Ann (small jar with dead fetus) and held them together in my left hand against my chest. I could feel my heart beating with a mixture of fear and excitement. I took out a small children's book with my right hand and began reading it from the beginning. It was my daughter's favorite. It was called "The Duck and the Noodle." "Daddy are we there yet?" I laughed as tears ran down my face and said "Yes, my little princess noodle were almost there."
The Memorial Capsule lauched into space with a loud whoosh...
(Mimarobe, MR) - When everyone had just got through waving goodbye and were getting ready to leave, the view screen turned on and with it a pre-recorded message from Captain Benny. "To celebrate this great day, I have arranged for you a "Grand Feast", then he paused. A few people exchanged questioning looks. Then the Captain spoke again. "You see", he said with a smile, "Unlike all of you, I saved my emergency rations. You will find them hidden inside the mattress in my quarters, enjoy!" "Also, you will find two bottles of wine, yes! real wine!" Before the video even finished several people had started shuffling as fast as the could to Captain Benny's quarters. The Captain wasn't lying, it appeared that he had indeed saved almost all of his emergency rations for some special occasion(s).
What a feast it was! To make it fair for everyone we took all of the rations and put them together to create a kind of giant stew. Each of us not only savored each precious spoonful, we cherished it as though it was a long lost loved one. It is not an exaggeration to say that each bite was chewed one hundred times or more and then held in the mouth for ten minutes or longer, swishing the pulpy liquid around and around. I even saw one person spit the food back into their bowl and then put it back into their mouth, over and over again. That seemed a little bit unusual to me, but everyone should enjoy their last real meal the way they want. As for the wine their was enough for everyone to have a shot glass filled to the brim. We talked about the "Great Feast" for months afterword...
​
Year 21 - [missing]
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Year 22 - The Living Dead - (Mimarobe, MR) We've had to abandon almost the entire ship to conserve power, but basically were still good alive... I still dream about Isagel and our son from time to time...
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Year 23 - [missing]
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Year 24 - The Sarcophagus - A few remaining survivors, including the Mimarobe, sit cross-legged in a dimly lit room. One of the few survivors speaks in a rhapsodic manner about the divine power of sunlight on Earth.
The Aniara slowly descends into final darkness...
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Note: Years 25 through 5,981,406 are missing.
​
Year 5,981,407 - Lyra Constellation - The Aniara, derelict, frozen and devoid of human life - reaches the Lyra constellation and approaches a planet as verdant and welcoming as Earth was formerly. It quickly passes by continuing on into the endless void of space...
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Date Unknown - The Warm Embrace - Ages come, Ages gone, Aniara soon embraced, engulfed by warmth and shine, newest born crimson light, Aniara far from home, aflame, not even ashes remain.
​
Epilogue: Year 100 - The Triumph of Hope - Despite the faliure of many valiant rescue attempts, including all attempts at communication, we remain confident that those onboard the Aniara knew that they were not forgotten. It is difficult to imagine (the speaker momentarily shuttered), the impossible challenges they endured. The story of their lives will remain in the collective hearts of humanity for all time. It is our hope that we will do right by them, now and in the future. We vow to never repeat the mistakes of the past... and that is why today, on the one hundredth anniversary since the Aniara was lost, we reach across time and space to bring their souls back home, home to this sacred place... We hereby consecrate this new park as the "Aniara Memorial Park and Museum Complex." As you walk through these doors, one of the first things you will notice is the "Heart of Aniara" on display. Along the walls are the names and pictures of the passengers and crew, their artwork, poetry, and most importantly, the stories of their lives, their hopes, dreams and wedding rings...
Aniara Memorial Plaque: We ourselves are the sorrow, we are also the joy, everything human is rooted in humanity, and no human being can escape humanity, not her hatred and her self-degradation, nor the joy she spreads, nor the love she forms.
​
Date [redacted] - Project "Devil's Javelin" - Status report #[redacted] - As of today's date we are aware of a total of four "spear-like objects" [redacted] and has contextualized that there are many more as yet discovered. Because of [redacted] we now know they are made of [redacted] and probably come from [redacted] the first was found on Earth 86 years ago, at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The second one was discovered by the crew of the Aniara [redacted] years ago. The third was found here on Mars, near [redacted] and moved to its present secure location. The fourth and newest one was found when [redacted] the far side of the Moon. [redacted] buried inside the [redacted] impact crater. We have yet to discover the purpose of these "spear-like objects."
After [redacted] to prevent another type of incident. [redacted] have been able to gain access to the inside of the one here on Mars. [redacted] only after [redacted] and the entire team. [redacted] using the most advanced technology and research methods. Dr. [redacted] found [redacted] which is impossible and should not exist. However, we must now come to grips with the horror that this new revelation about humanity has [redacted] general public must never find out...
THE END?
​
Alternate ending 1
Year 5,981,407 - The Sarcophagus World Destroyer - As the ship Aniara descended towards the lush and green planet, the crew rejoiced. Or at least they would have if they hadn't all been dead. After thousands of millennia wandering through space, they had found a planet that was almost identical to Earth.
The planet's gravity was very strong, and the ship had become trapped in the planet's gravitational pull and started hurtling towards the surface.
The Aniara crashed into the planet with a deafening roar, causing massive destruction and sending out shockwaves that rippled across the surface.
As the dust settled, it became clear that the landing had been catastrophic. Plant and animal life had been completely obliterated, and the once green planet was now a barren wasteland. Soon not a single living thing was left to witness the horror and the devastation that had been caused.
Another beautiful, thriving, planet, a blue and green jewel, once teeming with life has been turned into a lifeless barren wasteland...
​
Alternate ending 2
Year 5,981,407 - The Second Chance Sarcophagus - As the ship Aniara descended towards the lush and green planet, the crew rejoiced. Or at least they would have if they hadn't all been dead. After thousands of millennia wandering through space, they had found a planet that was almost identical to Earth.
The planet's gravity was very strong, and the ship had become trapped in the planet's gravitational pull and started hurtling towards the surface.
One one-trillionth of a second after the Aniara crashed into the planet the mysterious spear-like probe on board finally awakened. A God-Like Power. In that one one-trillionth of a second the Aniara was scanned by the powerful probe and the events and lives of the crew had become known to it. At the same time, both the ship and the planet were saved by a force field of immense power. The ship was now resting safely on the surface of the lush, green planet. The probe had determined that the primitive life forms on board were worthy of a second chance at life and it was able to resurrect the entire crew and all the passengers from microscopic DNA that had been left. The Aniara was perfectly restored and even the Mima had been brought back. The crew and passengers awoke to find themselves in a veritable Garden of Eden, a paradise. Maybe this time things would go better and the mistakes from the past would not be repeated...
​
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​
​
​

Emmanuel Dupont: Haitian born and raised immigrant to Night City. He holds a burning hatred for the Voodoo Boys gang, whom he sees as people who have attributed the voodoo religion for an aesthetic without holding any true faith in the religion.
Appearance: 6’ 4”, very muscular body, lower neck length thick dreadlocks, green eyes, 42 years old, matte black arms (cybernetic), matte black hands (cybernetic)
Clothes: Edgerunner jacket, dark gray tank top, gray cargo pants, white crew socks, brown combat boots
Cyberware: Neuralware Processor, Standard Cyberarm (R), Standard Cyberarm (L), Standard Hand (R), Standard Hand (L), Thickened Myomar (R), Thickened Myomar (L)
Weapons:
Stats:
Backstory
Slum Life (1978-1994): Born in a dark dingy alley in a backstreet of Port-au-Prince this child was born to a voodoo priestess mother and a fisherman father, christened with the name Emmanuel Dupont, he started his life in the gutter. From an early age Emmanuel was forced to learn the immense value of hard work. From the time he could walk he was placed aboard his father’s small fishing vessel and made to assist in catching the sparse amount of fish still swimming the ocean in order to provide that night's meal and a meager amount of income for their family. However, whenever Emmanuel was not being put to work on his father’s boat, he spent the majority of his time with his mother in their neighborhood's local church. Within the church and with his mother he learned the principles and practices of the Voodoo faith, those of which he took to with an ardor seen in very few with the closest comparison to his zealotry being his mother. At the age of eight Emmanuel had fallen into a rigid daily routine. He would work from dawn to dusk catching fish with his father, then would spend his nights in study and worship of voodoo theology. Along this path, Emmanuel found a second love outside of his religion, poetry. On his tenth birthday, the one day of the year beyond holidays that he and his father did not work the day away on the water, he was given a copy of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. From this pivotal point in his life, Emmanuel began a hobby as a poet, wherein he combined his two loves, writing poems detailing stories and events from voodoo myth and ballads of praise towards various voodoo deities. Over the next three years Emmanuel kept up this hobby, slowly garnering him meager fame within both his church and country, being seen as a cultural icon, artist, and theologian. This fame lifted his family from poverty and allowed his parents to retire, although his mother still continued working for the church. In 1992, Emmanuel suffered what he would see as the greatest tragedy throughout his entire life. Despite his retirement, Emmanuel’s father would still routinely sail out upon his boat to fish, although now for leisure rather than necessity, and on this one occasion he decided to bring along Emmanuel’s mother for a date given that it was their wedding anniversary. Sailing out, yet still remaining close to the shores of Haiti due to inclement weather, the two encountered a large wave. Emmanuel’s father, being the experienced sailor that he was, steered the boat into the wave in order to prevent the vessel being flipped. He succeeded. However, both him and his wife were soaked by the wave, causing them to decide to return home. Upon returning to their home and docking the boat, the couple entered their house through the back door. Entering their home, they witnessed a man rummaging through a large cabinet sat against the back wall of their living room where they stored their most valuable possession, both in monetary value and sentimentality. The robber, seeing these two, chose to escalate the situation, pulling a gun on the couple and directing them to kneel in the center of the living room. Holding the couple hostage, the robber continued to steal each and every item with any semblance of monetary value that he could get his hands on. Once he was done, he chose to ensure that he would leave no witness. It was two days later that Emmanuel returned home, he had been away for an interview regarding his various works of poetry. Entering his home, he saw the scene of the tragedy that had befallen his family, he contacted the police yet they were unable to locate the man responsible. Due to his absence at the time of the murder, he felt a particular sense of guilt for not being there to attempt to prevent the death of his parents, and from this tragedy he chose to abandon poetry, seeing it as the cause of his parents’ death. With this abandonment of his second love, Emmanuel threw himself back into his religion, living off of the money he’d made from his work. Over the next three years, Emmanuel dedicated himself solely to the study of the voodoo religion, eventually becoming the leader of the church his mother once worked for. He was immensely dedicated to his church, though he felt a gaping black void within his soul. A void that echoed with the pain, turmoil, and guilt he felt every evening when he returned to his home. Growing burdened by this void, Emmanuel decided to flee the source of his pain. He had heard from many of a new city, a free city in California, an opportunity for hope and freedom, Night City. Using the last of his money, Emmanuel immigrated, albeit illegally, into the United States through the eastern side of the United States-Mexico border. From there, he hitchhiked from his entry point all the way to his promised land.
Anger & Hatred (1994-2019): Upon his arrival to Night City, Emmanuel learned of a gang named the Voodoo Boys. With his lack of experience, he assumed that the gang was a group of fellow Haitian refugees gathering around their culture to establish themselves as a notable group within Night City. However, when he discovered the true nature of the Voodoo Boys, it sparked a burning hatred within him. A hatred for the people that he saw bastardizing his culture. From the moment he came to this realization, he held this burning, seething hatred for the Voodoo Boys. Beyond Emmanuel’s burning hatred for the Voodoo Boys, Emmanuel continued his practice from his homeland. He found a local Haitian church within Pacifica where he began preaching, often utilizing his old poems for sermons. Outside of his church life, Emmanuel took up work as a bodyguard for a local nightclub. He excelled in both lines of work for his zealotry and large, strong build respectively. Following a confrontation with a drunk patron of the nightclub he was working with, Emmanuel was left with severe lacerations on his arms from the patron’s scratchers, forcing him to replace his arms with cyberarms in order to retain any function in his arms. Viewing this as an opportunity to ensure he would be able to prevent any future patrons from injuring him in such a way ever again, he opted to install Strengthened Myomar into his new cyberarms in order to provide him with extra strength. For the next 25 years Emmanuel continued his two jobs, with him earning a decent living through his work as security for the nightclub and becoming a venerated figure within the Haitian community of Night City. All throughout that time, that spark of hatred continued to grow in him. Eventually evolving from hatred and anger, to outright violence.
Taking Action (2020): 25 years, he had spent letting his hatred fester. 25 years it took for the dam to finally come crumbling down. Emmanuel had decided to rid Night City of the cancer he saw it infested with. He began a personal crusade against the Voodoo Boys. He would slaughter them nightly. Finding pockets of Voodoo Boys members, Emmanuel would say a brief prayer before he began a ritualistic slaughter of those he saw as enemies of his people. Now known as the Voodoo Devil, Emmanuel Dupont has gained the attention of Detective Julius Faraday.

I m invited to my nice/goddaughter first birthday. they said it will be next Wednesday so I buyed a flyticket for sunday. They offerd to pick me up from the airport because I do not have a driving licence and it would be like 250£ a taxi but is just 1 hour drive so I was happily told the I pay for gas Now they want to make for every to be more comfortable and they wanna celebrate in Sunday, but is her first birthday we should celebrate her in her actual birthday it should be special ... I think... but I know is their child so I didnt even said nothing I dont wanna start a war why I can't win Also they want send to pick me up their fried who is a stranger for me I dont really want after a 3 hours fly to sit next to a stranger who I even know how his driving who is him ect... I m really fell just unwanted there in the little one christening it was the same she needed just my help but she didn't even sit next to me or made pics with me and I was with my uncle and+20 strangers who didn't talk to be just because they like that So i m thinking now to just dont go at all and tell them I missed the fly or I m sick I already sent her presents some clothes some games and a quiet expensive brest pump because she said instead the games it would be more practical and "it's a need for her". So should I go or not? What do you think?
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Cover Chapter One Previous Chapter Next Chapter
A kobold learns about the art of late night television and the world is never the same.
Clckja’djzx was your average kobold - cowardly, loyal to his abusive dragon master, a lifelong union member, etc.
That all changed when he found a Zune, filled with episodes of The Very Late Show. Now, Clckja’djzx will stop at nothing to meet his idol - TV host, comedian, and interviewer extraordinaire, Guy Blanco. Clckja’djzx, newly christened Zune, soon finds that the wider world is far more treacherous than the warrens of his youth.
Denounced by the dragon he formerly served, hunted by a vengeful gunslinger from Earth, and in a dire search for better ratings, Zune has his work cut out for him. But not even the fated apocalypse, the gods trying to stop it, or a lack of electricity can get in the way of an enthusiastic kobold’s mission to share the beauty of the late night television with the citizens of Absurdia. Or can they? Find out on this episode of The Slightly Late Show, with your host, Zune!
***
Chapter 28. The Letter W Goes To Aldernath
The letter W sat near the back of the horse-drawn cart full of nightshade berries, her tiny font size 12 legs swung off the cart like literary tire swings representing a very deliberate and ham-fisted metaphor. And, of course, of all fucking people, Darryl was siting next to her. His dumb, long, meaty legs dragged along the ground like a giant a-
“You can’t call Darryl that, it would be a narrative infraction if you did.” Uiasdmnzx’Mansdjhqiuw interrupted the narrator’s flow state.
The narrator sighed, and began again.
-his dumb, long, meaty legs dragged along the ground like clumsy ribbons. Darryl, looked at the nightshade berries and sighed.
“Why are those the only kind of crop we grow in Eden?” he complained. It should be noted that Darryl, although being awful, had a respectable distaste for crop monocultures.
“It’s Eden, Darryl. What else did you fucked expect?” W snapped, bitterly. She looked turned away from the half-giant, and was now staring off into the voluminous plume of dust that had risen behind the cart and now mixed like an oil point with the unblemished sapphire of wild west sky. How she longed to be like the dust and heavens now, unalone.
“Is everything okay, W?” Darryl asked.
“I’m fine-”
“No you are not.” Darryl said the second useful thing he had ever said in his entire life. “I may be big. Clumsy. Maybe even a little bit dumb. But you’re hurting. I can tell.”
W sighed. The half-giant, unfortunately, was right.
“I miss them.” she admitted. “We were together for so long. And then we went to that show and-”
A single tear rolled W’s cheek.
“We were supposed to go to the promised land together. After we took revenge-” the tiny letter shuddered in pain. Darryl put his ponderous meat-paw down for W to lean into as a torrent of grief erupted from her. The clumsy titan did the third intelligent thing he had ever done his entire life: he shut the fuck up and listened.
“And it turns out it wasn’t even Galadhorn who had killed E. It was his fucking sword. And now, despite having literally murdered my best friend with his bare hand, he gets to run around free doing the thing he loves: paint. The I’mos just let him paint with the corpses of my dead family.” W punched Darryl’s pudgy and useless hand in anger.
“How is this fair?! Why does he get to live?” A slight wave of relief overcame W. She had never been much for anger and arguments like P and T were. But she had to admit, it was a bit cathartic.
Darryl, to his credit, thought very carefully about the next thing he was going to say, giving W a good ten minutes of silence before speaking.
“I am sorry you’re going through this W. I can’t say I’ve ever had anything like this happen to me before,” the words rolled over Darryl’s stupendously dull tongue like your aunt’s horrible mayonnaise-filled potato salad from the annual family picnic, “but are you actually upset about Galadhorn? I know you’re smart enough to know that revenge wouldn’t make you feel better. Killer-throatslitter-taxevasion-littering’s defeat didn’t help, and I think you know killing Galadhorn wouldn’t help fix this pain you’re feeling.”
W thought carefully about Darryl’s words before she responded.
“It won’t help. But it’s still not fair. Why do I have to be alone? Why couldn’t I have been with my family when…whatever the fuck happened to them happened?”
“Because ‘paint’ doesn’t have a ‘W’ in it.” Darryl said, making a massive assumption that W was asking him about spelling, because he is dumb.
“I wasn’t asking you, Darryl.”
“I know you weren’t,” the meathead lied, “What I’m trying to say is that it is impossible to change the past. Even if you were to get people to accept that ‘paint’ is spelled ‘wpaint’ you would still be here. They would still be-.”
“-Dead?”
“Yup.”
W allowed more bitterness to show in her voice at Darryl’s rude and blunt statement.
“And you felt the need to point that out, why?”
Darryl sighed, and turned away from the 23rd letter of the alphabet, although his hand remained down to comfort her. Some time passed before he spoke again.
“I think I will continue on from Aldernath, it is not really my kind of city.” he said. W was silent. Why should she bother to talk to him? Afterall, he was Darryl. “Mildly useful” would be a gross exaggeration of his utility as a person. And, despite being useless, he still had the gall to continue the conversation.
“What will you do in Aldernath, W?” he asked. Incredulous! The narrator rolled his eyes at Darryl’s rudeness.
“There’s usually a few openings in larger cities for folks like me. Letters go missing all of the time. I’m certain I’ll find something.” W said.
“Really?” Darryl, of course, had never heard of letters being hired before. What else would you expect from him?
“What do you mean by ‘really’?”“I didn’t know people hired letters. How much does that pay? Is it fun?”
“It’s kinda boring, you just sit there all day.”
“Does that mean every sign is paying its letters to be there?”
“No. Most letters on signs are just portraits.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
The two let silence hang in the air between each other again. W broke it this time.
“When you say Aldernath isn’t your kind of city, what do you mean?”
The half-giant thought for a very long time, which was quite rude of him.
“I would be lonely there, they are not the most…accepting people. As you can see, they are the main importer of nightshade berries in Absurdia.”
“And where else will you go?” W asked.
“Wherever I am wanted.”
“And you weren’t wanted in Eden?”
“Is anyone wanted in Eden?” The ponderous half-giant gave a low chuckle that sounded more like the rumbling of thunder than laughter. W gave a small half-laugh under her breath.
“Won’t you get lonely? I hate being alone.” W asked.
“Loneliness is not something that bothers me. I’ve been lonely before, and I’ll be lonely again. But I always make friends along the way wherever I go. I’m sort of hard to forget.” Darryl said, definitely lying. Him? Friends? Really?
***
Several more weeks passed on Darryl and W’s journey to Aldernath. The carriage pulled them through the varied landscape of Absurdia: up mountains covered with litter from plastic bottles, across streams filled with those beer can rings that you really ought to cut up before you throw them away, and the through pines of the northerly (but not too northerly) forests which reached towards the stars, only to have their valiant struggle for heaven stunted by the bureaucracy of gravity.
And then they arrived in Aldernath. At first glance, it was beautiful. Stunning even. The large white towers of Aldernathi royalty projected a sense of order, and grandeur. The tallest structures in Absurdia, they are visible from hours away.
(Parole Officer’s note: the height of the Aldernathi towers is a hotly contested issue.)
But make no mistake, Aldernath was just like any city. While not nearly the crime-ridden hellhole of a place to live that Eden is, there are many cracks in its foundation (just like any other city). For example, the traditional artform of the Aldernathi aristocracy is gambling. Dozens of casinos line the busy streets of its world-renowned tourist district. The traditional form of poetry in Aldernath is defined by its reliance on glue in order to make collages showcasing one’s purported gambling history. The higher the loss, the more beautiful the poem is (allegedly). Of course, the valiant troubadours who “compose” these poems aren’t actually gambling away any money, since they own the casinos. In fact, most (if not all) lines incorporated into these poems (via glue stick) come from duplications of interesting receipts from the casinos the aristocracy own. In other words, Aldernathi poetry is mostly bullshit written to impress people about how rich you are. Here is a particularly famous example of Aldernathi poem:
All On Black
50 Gold Hilants on Horse #8
Payout: 0 Gold Hilants
50 Gold Hilants on Horse #7
Payout: 250 gold Hilants
250 Gold Hilants on Horse #6
Payout: 2500 Gold Hilants
1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale
Total Oz. 16
1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale
Total Oz. 16
1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale
Total Oz. 16
1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale
Total Oz. 16
2500 Gold Hilants on Black Roulette Wheel Result.
Payout: 0
1 Copper Piece on Nightshade Berries
Total Oz. 1
1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale
Total Oz. 16
The narrator’s parole officer quietly urged him to cut out with the tangent on Aldernathi poetry, and return to the matter at hand: W and (unfortunately) Darryl’s arrival to Aldernath.
Darryl carried W through the busy streets of the tourist district, as to help her avoid being stepped upon. They were on a hunt. The job board in the middle of the market had said “letters wanted,” and with luck, these people needed a W. Heck, she could even fill in as a “M” or an “E” in a pinch. And, although she had never tried to be a number before, W thought she could pull off a decent “3” impression (but she wasn’t that desperate, yet).
Turning a corner of the hustle-and-bustle streets, Darryl and W finally made it to their destination: The front sign of the casino, 1 Gold Hilant on Dwarven Ale (did I mention they name their casinos after their shitty poetry?), was in perfect shape. The inside was dingy and full of cigarette smoke. The whir of slot machines filled the air, sounding almost like pigeons (damn rats with wings). Just as Darryl was about to enter, a voice rang out from the smokey darkness.
“Stop right there buddy!”
Darryl stopped, and out from the cigarette-laden house of vice walked a man in a pinstripe suit with dark slicked hair, with rings on each finger. A white flower dropped from his lapel like a disappointed four year old at a toy store.
“You gonna cause any trouble in there for me, buddy? If you are, I can’t let you in.” the man in the pinstripe suit asked. His face was creased with suspicion. If he was afraid of Darryl, he didn’t show it.
“Not here to gamble.” Darryl said.
“Then I also can’t let you in. Sorry. Them’s the rules, pal. Now scram!”
“Not here for me either. Here for her.” Darryl extended his right hand, and presented W to the man.
“Hi, I’m W. I saw the ad for letters wanted. It said you needed immediate assistance.” W said.
The pinstripe-suit man looked her up and down, before taking a long draw of a cigarette, blowing smoke away from her and Darryl. His face lit up.
“Oh man I was hoping for a W! You’re exactly what we need.” the man extended his finger for W to shake.
“The Corleone family has owned this casino here for generations, and I currently run the joint. My name’s Pinnochio, nice to meet you.” Pinnochio smiled.
“Pinocchio? That’s an interesting name. I’ve never heard of anyone with a name like that before.” W said.
Pinnochio’s smile fled his face faster than a dirty dealer can shuffle a deck of cards. The casino boss and aristocrat reached into his coat pocket to grab something, presumably a weapon.
“You callin’ me a fuckin’ liar?” Pinnochio’s voice was ice cold.
“No! No! No!” W refuted, “It’s a really cool name! That’s all!”
Pinnochio pulled his hand back out of his pocket and assumed his friendly smile once more.
“Hah! Of course it’s a cool name! It was my father’s name, and his father’s name, and so on!” Pinnochio extended his hand to W, expecting the letter to step on and come with him.
“Please, let me show you where you’ll be working. As mentioned on the poster, pay is 2 gold hilants a day. Comes with free room and two meals a day.”
W looked up to Darry’s massive (yet somehow empty) head to see a single tear rolling down her friend’s cheek.
“Can you give us a second, Pinnochio?” W asked.
“Oh sure, you two need to say goodbye? I’ll be right over there.” Pinnochio pointed to nowhere in particular, and walked about 10 feet away, before turning around to wait for Darryl and W to exchange pleasantries.
“Darryl, thanks for your company.” said W, which was no doubt the first time anyone had every told Darryl that ever.
“Of course W. I’ll try to drop by soon, if I get the chance.”
A single tear rolled down W’s cheek as well.
“W” Darryl hesitated, “don’t be lonely.”
W looked at Darryl, here times-new-roman body filled with a sudden sense of understanding.
“You too Darryl.”
The letter nodded to Pinnochio to grab her. As her and the aristocrat sojourned over the casino floor, W watched Darryl vanish into the passing crowds of tourists and cigarette smoke. For the first time in months, she was without him.
“Thank goodness you’re here!” Pinnochio said “You know how hard it is to find a good W these days? We’ve had an ‘omens’ bathroom for the past three weeks, and all of the ladies are pissed that the door won’t open for them!”

Faction:
Royal Navy
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Class:
Royal Sovereign-class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (Hood-subclass)
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Background:
The second ship) to be named after the various members of the House of Hood was unique in its development, garnering enough changes to make it its distinct sub-class of the Royal Sovereign-class of battleships. ^\1]) Unlike her sister ships, she sported a lower forward freeboard (11.25 feet or 3.43 m compared to her sister ships’ 19.5 feet/5.94m) a move that had been used in a number of earlier ironclad battleships, the most recent being the Royal Sovereigns’ immediate predecessor, the Trafalgar-class. However, despite the advantage a lower freeboard had in providing a smaller target, they reduced seaworthiness, especially in inclement weather conditions. Yet the lower freeboard was required in order to operate her cylindrical gun turrets ^\2]), compared to the barbettes used by her sister ships.
Hood was laid down at the Chatham Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, England on 12 August 1889 and was launched on 30 July 1891, where she was christened by the Viscountess Hood. ^\3]) She would be formally commissioned into the Royal Navy on 1 June 1893, though due to faulty riveting and excessive strain on the hull, was delayed her assignment to the British Mediterranean Fleet until 3 July 1893.
In May 1896, Hood would sail from her home base in Valletta, Malta to Crete to protect British interests and citizens in the Ottoman Eyalet of Crete (modern day Crete, Greece) as the local Cretan Greek population would cause unrest in the region, ultimately culminating in the Third Cretan Revolt (1897-1898). Hood, along with the British Mediterranean Fleet, would serve as part of the International Squadron, a unit consisting of elements from the navies of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. This squadron would bombard Cretan rebel positions, put sailors and marines to occupy key Cretan ports, including the then former capital Kandiye (modern-day Heraklion, the current capital of Crete) and then capital Kanea (modern-day Chania), and blockaded the island as well as key ports in the Kingdom of Greece (which was likewise engaged in their own war with the Ottoman Empire). The squadron would maintain order in Crete until the Treaty of Constantinople was signed on 4 December 1897, which mandated the establishment of the Cretan State, an autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire, but was largely under Greek influence. (Crete would later be annexed into Greece upon the conclusion of the First Balkan War)
Ordered to return home in March 1900, Hood would be paid off and sent to reserve at Chatham on 29 April that year. She would later be recommissioned at the end of the year to replace the ironclad HMS Thunderer as port guard ship at Pembroke Dock, and would later rejoin the Mediterranean Fleet in 1901. She would take part in exercises in 1902, but damaged her rudder on the seabed while leaving Argostoli on 4 October, two days before exercises ended. She would return to Malta for temporary repairs, and then return to Chatham for permanent repairs. On 25 June 1903, Hood would join the Home Fleet, relieving the ironclad HMS Collingwood and would serve with that fleet until she was placed into reserve in January 1905. A final refit in 1909 would see her begin service as a receiving ship in Queenstown, Ireland (modern-day Cobh), and would briefly serve as flagship of the Coast of Ireland station while continuing her service as a receiving hulk.
By the end of 1911, Hood was listed as a ship for disposal. In 1913 and 1914, she would be used as a target for experiments in underwater protection and the secret development of anti-torpedo bulges. On 4 November 1914, some four months after the start of World War I, Hood would be scuttled at the entrance of Portland Harbor, a blockship to prevent German U-Boats or torpedoes from entering. The wreck’s outline could still be seen between the breakwaters of Portland, while her bell was preserved by another descendent of Hood’s namesake, Horace Hood, who was killed in action in the Battle of Jutland, and would be installed on Hood’s named successor and only ship among the Admiral-class Battlecruisers.
^\1]: Not to be confused with the Revenge-class Super Dreadnought Battleships, which were sometimes referred to as the Royal Sovereign-class)
^\2]: It should be noted that the turrets of Hood [1891] function differently than the turrets of today. Back in her day, Hood’s turrets functioned as a heavy type of rotating gun mounts, compared to modern turrets, which functioned as a barbette enclosed within a rotating gunhouse.)
^\3]: It’s not specified as to the identity of the Viscountess Hood, but she was the spouse of the 4th Viscount Hood, Francis Wheler Hood, the great-great-grandson of one of this ship’s namesakes.)
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Namesake:
The 1891 version of HMS Hood, second ship to bear that name in the Royal Navy, is named after two members of the House of Hood, in particular, The First Viscount, Samuel Hood, and his first cousin First Baronet Samuel Hood.
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• Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood:

The Viscount Hood joined the Royal Navy in 1741 and took part as a junior officer during the various naval battles of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), but would not become captain of his own ship until 1754 when he commanded the sloop HMS Jamaica and served in the North American station. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), as captain of the fourth-rate HMS Antelope, Hood drove a French ship ashore in Audierne Bay and captured two privateers, and was appointed a ship of own. When commanding the fifth-rate frigate HMS Vestal, he captured the French frigate Bellone after a naval action. Under Admiral George Rodney, he would also take part in the Raid on Le Havre, the destruction of the French fleet prepped for the planned invasion of Britain. After the war, Hood was made Commander of the North American station in 1767, and in 1778 was made Commissioner of Portsmouth dockyard.
In 1780, the newly promoted Vice Admiral and Baron Hood (later Baron Hood of Catherington in 1782) set sail on board the second-rate HMS Barfleur to support Admiral Rodney during the American Revolutionary War. However conflicts between the two men led to unfortunate turns for the British in the 1781 campaign, with Hood being forced to pull back in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September, a naval battle that helped contribute to America’s victory in the Battle of Yorktown later that month. It was during the Revolution that he would meet and mentor a young Horatio Nelson during his career in the Caribbean and during the Battle of Mona Passage in 1782.
After the war, Hood would serve in the British Parliament as a supporter of William Pitt the Younger in 1784, and would become Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1786, rising to become First Sea Lord in August 1789, returning to his role of C-i-C, Portsmouth in 1792. In that latter capacity, he would preside over the trial of the instigators of the mutiny on HMS Bounty, which saw of the ten men, four pardoned, and six sentenced to death, with three given clemency and the others executed.
The twilight of his career would take place during the War of the First Coalition (1792-1797), in which he took part in the capture and later re-capture of Toulon, as well as the invasion of Corsica in 1794. Hood would be made Viscount in 1796, a title that would be held until his death in 1816, and would be held by his descendents to this day.
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• Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet:

The Baron Hood of Tidlake entered Royal Navy service in 1776 at the beginning of the American War of Independence. His first engagement was in the First Battle of Ushant in 1778. Soon afterwards, he would be transferred to the West Indies and placed under the command of his cousin, the future Viscount Hood, of whom their contribution contributed to Admiral Rodney’s victory at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782.
However much of his career would be spent during the Coalition Wars (1792-1815), taking part in a number of battles across a number of ships, he commanded HMS Zealous during Nelson’s failed attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. As commander of HMS Venerable, Hood was present at the Battle of Algeciras and the subsequent action off Gibraltar in 1801. In 1802 he was the commander of the Leeward Islands station, conquering island after island held by the French until they were reduced to only Martinique, a move that earned Hood’s appointment as Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath.
During the Action of 25 September 1806, Hood lost an arm while engaging a French Imperial Squadron, but was promoted to Rear Admiral as a result of the battle. In 1807 he was entrusted and successfully carried out operations against Madeira Island, the following year Hood would operate in the Baltic in support of Sweden’s war with Russia, the Finnish War. (1808-1809) During the conflict, he, onboard HMS Centaur, and HMS Implacable, would cut out the ship of the line HIRMS Svevolod from the enemy’s line and force her to strike her colors in an engagement, earning him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword from Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf, later earning his Baronet in April 1809.
Baron Hood’s later career would be mostly peaceful, serving in command of a few various ships and being promoted to Vice-Admiral. Hood was set to return to England and retire in 1814 but he would die from a fever on Christmas Eve 1814 at Madras in British India.
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Rarity:
SR
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Stat Spread:
As a Pre-Dreadnought Battleship, Hood sports adequate, but not spectacular firepower (C), average HP pool (B), and abysmal speed (D). But she also has a fairly decent torpedo stat (C).
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Abilities:

• Ventis Secundis (With Favorable Winds): When firing her main guns, 40% (70%) chance of launching a unique forward-facing barrage, (damage is based on skill level) and increase the evasion of all vanguard ships by 5% (15%) for eight seconds
• Grace Amidst Smoky Skies: For every Royal Navy ship in the same fleet as her, increase this ship’s Firepower by 1% (5%) (can be stacked up to three times). If there are more than three Royal Navy ships in this fleet, every 20 seconds, launch a unique barrage that increases Burn chance by 20% (40%).

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Personality:
Hood is an individual who retains the ladylike personality and grace of her successor. However she is an industrious individual, one who champions herself as a “captain of industry.” She sees herself as an individual who enjoys progress and technology and all the marvels that mankind produces, holding a sense of optimism for the future.
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Quotes:

• Acquisition: Commander, I am pleased to meet you. I am the Battleship Hood of the Royal Navy. What kind of wonders do you keep here?
• Secretary (Idle) 1: How versed are you in the ways of tea, Commander? I prefer Ceylon tea, myself.
• Secretary (Idle) 2: A “captain of industry”…yes, that has a nice ring to it.
• Secretary (Idle) 3: What are your opinions on this?
• Secretary (Touch): Splendid, you will escort me, right?
• Secretary (Special Touch): Oof, How rude of you!
• Skill Activation: Let me show you the power of imagination!
• Affinity (Disappointed): Those who lose their dreams are often lost, Commander.
• Affinity (Stranger): Industry, as you know well, is the way forward, Commander. Will you make great strides towards being industrious?
• Affinity (Friendly): Progress is not a tool, but a wave that can sweep away the unprepared. Don’t you agree?
• Affinity (Like): It is great events that make me quiet and calm, but trifling matters that irritates me. Do you think you could show me how to keep calm under such situations?
• Affinity (Love): I am not afraid of you reading poetry to me, what kind of poems do you like? The haikus of the orient? The classics of Shakesphere and Marlowe, or perhaps, one of your own?
• Oath: Are you nervous…Aha, m-me too…okay, but my feelings are as genuine as the optimism you show to me. For that, I am appreciative.
• Sortie (Jamaica): Hero of justice? You’re quite the romanticist.
• Sortie (Hood (1916)): Did you like the bell I gave you, Mighty Hood?
• Sortie (Juno): You’re a good girl, Juno.
• Sortie (Centaur): Stop calling me an elder, I’m not that old…
• Sortie (Arkhangelsk): You would make for a good taskmaster, Royal Sovereign!
• Sortie (Repulse): I respect your energy, but can you keep up?
• Sortie (Revenge): Be careful, you nearly ran into me!

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Design:
Hood (1891) is depicted as a woman in her early-thirties with dark blonde hair tied in a bun with a plait of hair running down the left side of her face, and steel blue eyes. Her attire is largely a steampunk-styled variation of her original artwork in-game, with references to Queen Victoria’s “Age of Steam” from Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Her attire consists of a silver-grey blouse with black trim that has white frills and silver buttons. This extends down to her dress, having a similar coloring scheme that extends down to her lower legs with white frills on the inside of the seam. This dress also contains black pockets and exposed steampunk-styled knick-knacksLike her successor ship, Hood also wears a capelet in the form of the Union Jack that makes up the flag of the United Kingdom. Lastly, she wears a hat on her head, of which a part of her superstructure rests on top, alongside a white rose. Finally to round out her accessories is a pair of wide-brimmed glasses with a pair of magnifiers attached to her left side.
Hood’s rigging consists of a pair of her 343mm twin turreted mounts on each side of her, attached to a part of her hull which itself is attached to her waist via an armored belt. These guns showcase ornate flowery patterns and sparks electricity, depicting them as closer to tesla guns than proper cannons.
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A/N:
This ship design was suggested to me by u/A444SQ. I hope you like the design as much as I did making it.
So this is now the earliest ship design I've done up to this point, with a ship from the first British pre-dreadnought battleship. (not to be confused with the ironclad battleships that preceded her, relatively speaking) Since she was launched and commissioned during the reign of Queen Victoria, I figured it would be more fitting to throw out the traditionalist playbook you would see with Royal Navy rigging and style in favor of something more steampunk, a genre of "Punk Punk" that one could argue (perhaps rightfully so) to be synonymous with the Victorian Era (and to a lesser extent, the less talked about Edwardian era, the period between 1901 to 1914, despite the namesake monarch having been dead and buried for the final four or five years of that period) I'll probably have more opportunities to flesh out this kind of design as I have more shipgirls launched in that era on my Cavalcade of Kansen. (some of whom will be remade, of which special opportunity to advertise my most recent remake of Tier X French BB from WoWS, FS (formerly FFNF) République here)
As always, if you want to suggest a ship or retrofit in the future, please leave it in the comments below, you can also reach me via DM's to make your suggestions as well. Next time we're returning to Operation Weissenburg. Now about a year ago, I did the "Three Faces of Goeben," SMS Goeben, OHG Yavuz Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire and TCG Yavuz of the Turkish Republic. So it's time to tie a bow once and for all on her class of battlecruisers when we take a look at her sister, occupying the Tier IV position in the tech tree, SMS Moltke.
Link to the list of ships