(my post originally from CharlotteDobreYoutube)
I will try to keep as many relevant details in here as possible without going too far off track, since the history with us and with her is utterly a novel. This is long, but worth it, so here goes.
11 days before my wedding I kicked out two bridesmaids (A and M.) This meant I had two left (E and L.) It started with bridesmaid A who asked if her boyfriend could wear a cowboy hat to my wedding. Mind you, my wedding venues were a church for the ceremony and a beach front venue for the reception. I told her that I did not want a cowboy hat in my photos or in my wedding, that that was not the vibe my husband and I were going for, and it just didn’t fit either venue’s décor or environment.
A bit of a backstory – A is not in the best position financially. She was dating her boyfriend for like 2 months before she got pregnant. He promised her a better life closer to his family, she believed it, got fired from her $50k/year job, left her first child w/ her ex-husband (Child 1 was supposed to be my flower girl, whose dress we also bought,) they moved from State A to state B, they don’t make much money. They now have the newborn that they can barely afford while living in a camper.
Before A asked about the cowboy hat, she asked about jeans. I did not want denim at my wedding. Denim is not formal. She said he was going to wear the same outfit to the wedding as his grandmother’s funeral. Fine, not a big deal. I told her if they are black jeans that is fine since from a distance they will look like slacks. (I gave her an inch and she was definitely looking for that mile.) She kept going with it and I eventually said, “I did not want denim, but I made the exception for you two.” And she said “Yeah, it’s not like we could have afforded anything else anyway.” I felt the tension and left it alone for the night.
The next morning, she texted me that she was hurt, that I had an attitude basically and I’ve been acting some type of way, she again brought up the money situation. I tried to be understanding and that I know they are not in the best position financially, but a lot of my family is not, and I know a lot of people are spending quite a bit to get where we are for the wedding (about half our guests were coming from out of state.) I also said I wanted everyone to have a great time and I was sorry if I came off any type of way or insensitive. This was not good enough for her. She decided to say that a wedding was about celebrating our love and if I was focused so much on a cowboy hat my priorities were in the wrong place. I asked her what was going on because this was clearly not about a cowboy hat and she avoided answering. Also did not tell me anything else it might have been about.
She said ever since planning the wedding I have been micromanaging, acting proud, and some other accusations that made no sense. I had no idea what she was talking about because a lot of the decisions my husband and I needed to make were taken care of with both venues – food, DJ, set up, breakdown, clean up, etc. A also said she had been talking to M about the way I was behaving, and that the cowboy hat was the final straw. (What’s that even mean? If I was bothering you with things, why didn’t you tell me so I could fix it or change the way I was approaching things?)
Somewhere in the midst of this whole thing, she said her daughter (Child 1) would just be uncomfortable in her dress and wouldn’t sit still for more than 30 mins (A lie, I have been around her and she is well behaved,) and also said her boyfriend does not like to eat in front of people (Arms must be tired from all that reaching) and all around is just making excuses, trying to call my bluff about this; if the boyfriend can’t even wear the cowboy hat to the reception, then they probably just go fishing after the ceremony, and not even come to the reception. She also said we could have helped with her shoes. In many other words, I told her just because we make more than her does not mean we owe her anything and told her almost everything we were paying for. Then told me to chill and that I was probably emotional from the planning and everything going on. Basically, gaslit me when she was the one that literally threatened not to come because of a cowboy hat. She brought up money again like five more times and how they’re broke – so clearly this is about money.
Husband and I bought the dresses, fronted the Airbnb we needed to get ready in, we fronted hair & makeup without asking for anyone to pay for their portion, bought gifts, A’s plane ticket (she paid us back the next day,) and many other things for our wedding for the bride and grooms party so everyone had a good time, knew they were appreciated, and felt like the event was worth the traveling and time.
Throughout my wedding planning, I pretty much planned everything with my husband, and we asked for hardly any input from anyone since no one was really available, no one was close, and it was just easier. So the whole micromanaging comment made no sense to me. I was doing my best to be flexible and understanding of finances for A, not as much for bridesmaid 2, M, but a little. She was also in a state 3 time zones away from me, so her plane ticket was not cheap.
I have known this girl A for six years. I am crying at this point. It’s the afternoon, I have to get final headcount to the reception venue for catering THE NEXT MORNING. I am texting my mother, bridesmaid E, friend D, a group chat on messenger, and I have not told Husband yet. Every single one of them was on my side. E said, “If she is this way now before your wedding, imagine what she is going to be like on your wedding day.” And being the desperate person I was, I said to friend D “I know this is shitty and a horrible circumstance but if I needed you to be a bridesmaid, would you? The dress color and material are still available on [Vendor’s site.]” She said absolutely. I felt terrible for asking but I trusted her.
M now comes in. She was busy at work so she could not respond to the chat as much, but I was keeping a lot of the chat between A and I because I did not think M needed to be involved. A kept bringing the chat back to the group chat. She brought enough back to the group chat that M picked up on some stuff and basically agreed with A, she said I was being insensitive, and “At least she asked you before she did it.” I’m sorry, what?
Backstory for M – A few months earlier she said she was upset I did not officially ask her to be a bridesmaid and did not think it was worth it to come to my state for the wedding because it would be the second time she is here with her boyfriend but not for them; like not for their own reasons such as a vacation. We had a conversation when I started planning and I asked if she would be comfortable ordering a dress for me to see what it looked like. She said “Aww you want me to be a bridesmaid?” I said “I thought that was obvious!” So maybe it’s a thin line, but she went shopping with A and I, went to try on dresses with her, and LET US BUY HER DRESS. She could have said something beforehand that she did not want to, rather than just thinking she had to. She also was not going to be there for the rehearsal since there was a concert in her state rescheduled for two days before my wedding and she was not going to miss it. Understandable since she would have had to get up at 5 am or earlier the night after the concert to get to my state sometime Thursday evening or Friday afternoon. I did not like this, but I accepted it because she also said “I think I’ve been part of enough weddings to figure it out, -insert laughing crying emoji-
By this point husband also called me for something, I don’t remember what, but I eventually said to him “I don’t think I want either A or M to come.” He said “Okay, whatever you need to do. I’m fine at this point.” I summarized the events and he said “If you want to burn everything to the ground I don’t care, that’s fine with me.” I stewed on everything for a few hours but I knew what I had to do.
I let it sit, I said nothing else, I went to run an errand, I was on the way home, told D when the rehearsal and dinner was, asked if she could make it, she said yes. I told her to order her dress, called the florist, I told them I needed one less bouquet, and got home about 30 mins later. A few hours later I said to both A and M, basically, “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want either of you to come. This is my wedding, we are paying for everything, and I was not wrong. I do not deserve this treatment. It is not my fault A you made shitty decisions and can’t afford anything and M you planned a wedding before, how can you agree with her?” and quite a few other things. (Told them both to send back the dresses but ultimately did not end up caring and said they could do whatever they wanted with them later.) A then said I was attacking because I was frustrated. No, A. You made shit decisions and you’re taking it out on me now. M called me and I didn’t answer. (She was married before, divorced now. Whole other fucking story.)
The other kicker? A kept her flight to STILL COME SEE HER DAUGHTER and was going to need a CAR RENTAL ANYWAY, and A HOTEL ROOM with her boyfriend. So wait, was it NOT actually about money? I don’t even know anymore.
Anyway, D got her dress by Thursday or Friday the same week, we went shoe shopping a few days later, and she bought her own shoes, too.
My wedding party on my wedding day had three girls that were super supportive, loving, and made my day a whole lot easier. They were by my side, made me smile and laugh, and made the day so much more special. I have screenshots, by the way. If anyone wants them, I can attach them to a google doc and have you see them, haha. Just PM me!

We met up on a rainy Sunday about a month ago and talked about some books. Our pick this month was Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, because Assaulty wanted to read a story from an elderly perspective. The characters in this one were not really elderly - they were maybe 60 - but that's an advanced age for an international assassin. It seemed like most people liked it, though it's not everyone's preferred genre. It did resolve itself really well. I thought there were maybe too many main characters stuffed into a shorter book. The_OG_Bert liked the cold hearted professionalism the ladies conducted their business, they really leaned on their experience to their advantage. At one point they compared notes about the best vein to open up for a discrete kill.
Asterion7 brought a bunch of books he had read to pass out including The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. He also had The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, which someone had brought to a previous meeting. Maybe that guy will get it back some time. He's finishing and really liked Menewood by Nicola Griffith, the second of the Light of the World series. He and Skyverbyver talked visiting Pompeii and going to museums there that really made The Wolf Den that much more interesting.
Assaulty did the same thing - brought a bunch of books in an attempt to declutter a bit. She shared Still Life with Bones by Alexa Hagerty, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami, and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. These are all exceptionally good books. She spent the most time on Ruth Ozecki's The Book of Form and Emptiness, and it sounded interesting enough for us to add it to our list. She also talked about other Ruth Ozecki books including My Year of Meats.
The Book of Form and Emptiness is about a neurodivergent kid, and Ozecki weaves in pop references and talks about education and mental conditions. But she approaches these conditions not as tragedies, but as new opportunities for perspective. It has themes about hoarding and decluttering, and even has a positive things to say about schizophrenia. She read Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, Richmond's Unhealed History by Benjamin Campbell, and The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi, saying that the Ottoman Empire part was particularly interesting; and recommends In Memorium by Alice Wynn, about a couple of gay friends who bonded over a shared love of poetry going off the fight World War Uno.
Aimee tends not to pick up a lot of Contemporary Fiction, so she was not likely to get much from Killers of a Certain Age. She talked about The Fig Tree by Goran Vojnović with Olivia Hellewell translating, and a few other books like The Power by Naomi Alderman and is reading the Silo compilation by Hugh Howley. Coconut_sorbet read the three books in the Remembrance of Earth's Past series starting with The Three-Body Problem, and said while they are incredibly heavy and hard to wade through, it's totally worth it. Apparently the fourth book is a fan fiction that someone sent the author and he supported it enough for it to be published.
The_OG_Bert read The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland, which is about a Richmond Theater kinda near where MCV is now that apparently burned down, and has been working through The Lord of the Rings. He's finding the audiobooks to be a really good way to experiencing the story, but found that the library doesn't always provide the narrator that you like, and that can ruin the flow. Skyver read Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole, a romantasy that leaves you hanging at book 3.
Aurora has mostly been reading award winning books and we talked bout the differences between Hugos and Nebulas. One basic difference is that fans vote for Hugos while professional panels select Nebulas. Besides Killers of a Certain Age, she knocked out The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip, which she says is YA but really good. Unfortunately the author passed away and Aimee brought this one in last time. She read The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez unique but dense, saying it's possibly a best book she ever read candidate. The themes are more about the oral tradition and how stories are told, and includes first-, second-, and third-person narratives. What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher; The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera , calling it a great Sri Lankan story but a little hard to explain; Translation State by Ann Leckie; The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang, which is like a classic Chinese novel but with LGBT characters; The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz, saying the book had great ideas, but she didn't love the execution.
She liked Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh, saying it was the best novel she'd read in a while, so that could be literally out of hundreds of books; and Starter Villain by John Scalzi, who is a lot more popular than I thought. Muffin and Kim both liked this one, saying it was a popcorn read, but hilarious, and none of them wanted to ruin the experience by giving away the plot. There was also Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi which sounded like a lot of fun, being a heist story about deities working as independent contractors with the main character being minor nightmare god.
She told us about Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente which she read for a book club bingo contest, which both Skyver and Asterion loved. It's very weird, about sexually transmitted passes to parts of a city. The book has a lot of sex in it, but Skyver said it's not sexy or titillating at all, it's mostly a metaphor for addiction. We talked about In the Night Garden and several other Catherine Vallente books, like Comfort me with Apples, Space Opera, and In the Cities of Coin and Spice.
Incorrigible_Muffin read a few books: Recovery Dharma: How to Use Buddhist Practices and Principles to Heal the Suffering of Addiction, which teaches a series of quick, practical techniques; This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar; two John Scalzi books: The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain; The Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen, a series of case studies of deep friendships and platonic soulmates, trying to refocus of what society values to community and friends. She recommended a memoir by Rachel Willis The Risk it Takes to Bloom. The last one talks about becoming a woman, but missing those most important milestones in your life like your body developing through puberty.
She told us about You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue with Natasha Wimmer (Translator), describing it like a Bridge to Tarabithia but with time travel about anti-colonial uprisings; The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, which she said was a mindfuck, but with interesting bureaucracy; and Lilith by Nikki Marmery, calling it lush and sexy and suggested you read it in a natural environment like a garden. I had brought in The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson for Assaulty to borrow, and Muffin said it is an excellent follow-up to Brutalities: A Love Story by Margo Steines. Aimee said it reminded her of The Power by Naomi Alderman. The author of The Violence Dawson got her start by writing Star Wars novels; I thought that was pretty cool.
We talked about Friends Don't Fall in Love by Erin Hahn, which is a sizzly slow burn, but funny; and A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. But I didn't catch who brought those up.
We talked about the new series Fallout. I thought that someone who hadn't played the game might not be able to get into the series, but Coconut hadn't played it and absolutely loved the show - some of the scenes are right out of the game, and the nostalgia of the experience was the most exciting part of it. The show was set in LA, and I played Fallout 3 and 4 and New Vegas, and the composition of the scenes in the show looked like they were right out of parts of these games. Coconut also said that the Bad Batch star wars cartoon was straight up good storytelling. I've heard really good things about it, but then I look at the art and am immediately turned off. To me it looks like complete ass. Coconut agreed, saying that's the worst part of the experience, but it still manages to impress. I definitely need to give it a try. Asterion7 said the same thing about Xmen 97. Skyver is particularly excited about it, saying that the animated series is the only media that really follows the comics, and the comics were pretty awesome. She used an example: Mystique is Nightcrawler' father in the comics, but Marvel cowardly ran away from that gender fluidity in all their other media content.
Muffin was excited about Walter Goggins being in Fallout because of his work in Righteous Gemstones. Aimee is reading the Silo compilationand respects what the show did. Of the written series, Asterion7 didn't like Dust, and Coconut didn't like either of the second or third books, but both loved the first one. Most people who have seen it have good things to say about Star Trek - Discovery. I keep confusing it with Voyager. I'm not sure why, but I've always avoided it because of that.
Coming up on May 19

• story about some kind of conspiracy

Coming up on June 23

• Any kind of graphic novel - I'll have a couple to lend out if anyone needs

Coming up on July 21

• Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward. Laucchi recommends to go into this book blind.

Coming up on August 18

• The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozecki

Coming up on September 22

• Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

My review:
This should have been more thoroughly edited.
I want to preface this by saying I read this book in one sitting. It wasnt very captivating. It was kind of boring. Being a full fledged obsessed hunger games fan to this day… i already knew a lot of the info. It wasn’t anything SO interesting i’d demand you’d buy it.
I also want to say i’m very harsh because it is not fair the way she marketed it. There is so much info BEYOND THG. She had too minor of a role in the FIRST movie to be able to market it as a Hunger Games book. Her whole screentime was what.. 4 or 5 scenes? So 5 minutes MAX?
If it were marketed as an all encompassing memoir of her career, I would not be as upset. In addition, there are numerous inconsistencies she blatantly mistold. It’s a very amateurish novel pushed onto us Hunger Games fans in a means (I think) to get money off of the recent release of TBOSAS/hunger games fan resurgence.
Things that stuck out to me/new info I learned:

1. There are numerous inconsistencies. ie Katniss retrieves a knife from Glimmers dead body
   
2. Lots of talk about other movies/not appropriate references that contribute to the memoir
   
3. She ships Glato… not Clato. Yuck
   
4. Leven Rambin definitely looks at reddit and mentions this in the book
   
5. Definitely some interesting.. kind of controversial things. She compared the Doubletree Hotel to living in Panem in the districts (wtf???)
   
6. Has a holier than thou personality displayed in the book.. “I was more senior.. had more experience… oldest on set”
   
7. She had like 3 crushes on people on set. Dayo (Thresh), Alexander Ludwig (who she referred to as Xander, aka Cato, and Seneca Crane (i forgot his irl name) she also talks a lot about dating. Claims she never dated Cato, all they did was kiss. She mentions this like 10 times
   
8. She talks about severe diets, not eating, etc to lose weight rapidly (in extreme detail). Kind of needs a TW imo / or not as much detail as it may paint the wrong idea of encouragement to do it to lose weight.
   
9. Saying the games were glamorous/fun/fabulous because of Glimmer
   
10. Lots of talk about other cast members but not really a lot of “behind the scenes stories” we haven’t heard. Most of it was just centered around heher thoughts
    If you want more info of behind the scenes, theres tons of camcorder content recorded by Amandla and Jackie. If youre interested let me know & ill find it.
    
11. Plans on writing another book/full memoir
    
12. She discusses what it felt like to become an actress/discussing the anxiety and being uncertain of herself. Talking about persevering through. I really appreciate this part of the book, its very motivational
    
13. Theres maybe 20 pictures in the whole book. Nothing really of any magnitude. She describes it as a library of photos. It is nowhere near that
    
14. The cover is literally hunger games slander. Editing and the cover im pretty sure was done on Fiverr (she shared this in the Instagram groupchat I believe).
    

Overall thoughts. This should not have been marketed as a solely hunger games book. It was relatively short. It had way more than just Glimmer in it which makes it unfair to solely market it to THG franchise.
Imo, I believe the book should have been fleshed out as her whole career. It wouldve been worth buying for $10. There were a lot of errors and confusing parts. Lots of run on sentences I had to reread.
For $10… was it worth it? No.
It was formatted kind of weird on Kindle. Best part were the pictures at the end.
If you guys have any questions let me know.
I wanna hear everyone’s thoughts.

I'm about 330 hours in, day 560, clearly I LOVE this game. It's everything I wanted Medieval Dynasty to be, but with a much better execution (Sorry MD). With that in mind, it's in Early Access and that of course means it's not done, and we who purchased it in EA have a responsibility to provide kind, constructive feedback in order to ensure the game is allowed to flourish as much as it deserves. To that end, I have a few notes and ideas that I think could further improve this already stellar game.
I'm sorry it's so long, I've been accumulating this over the course of my playtime.

Stealth Mechanics

So, maybe this is something planned for a future update, or intentionally omitted, but I find it kind of odd that an archer wearing all dark clothes in the dead of night can't sneak around and pick off a team of brightly colored Brigands one by one without engaging the whole squad. Seriously, the screen is pitch black, I can barely see myself, but somehow all the Brigands know exactly where I am and B-Line towards me the second an arrow lands in the woods behind them?
Maybe this is just an AI problem, but I would love it if there were some sort of stealth mechanics in the game. I'm not saying add a "sneak mode", but things like being able to confuse enemies by breaking line-of-sight, maybe hiding in bushes, getting closer without alerting by moving slowly, using cloth and leather armor instead of plate to make less noise, maybe even throwing rocks to distract enemies. Traps would be nice as well. Things like caltrops, bear-traps, etc.

Dual Wielding & Combat

Probably an obvious one, maybe even something already being worked on, like I assume more polearms are, but dual-wielding your slot 1 and 2 weapons would be nice. Even if you couldn't attack with the weapon in Slot 2, it would be nice if you could pull it out and block with it, allowing for faster swings after blocking.
Melee combat needs some TLC too. I think we're all heavily relying on bows to get us through this game, and I think part of the reason for that is that melee combat is too limited to fight more than 1-2 people, 3 at most, and only if you're really good at it, and you routinely have to face groups of 5-8. More options in melee combat might be able to mitigate this a bit. A dodge roll might be a step too far, but a quick side-step, back-step, forward-step, etc. would be nice. Counters and parry's would also be nice. Maybe disarming mechanics as well.

Army Management

So obviously, as I'm sure the devs are already aware, this system needs many QoL changes. Don't get me wrong, the latest update adding the tool slot was a brilliant change, 10/10 update, and the current system is surprisingly robust in its current state, but it's still got some major pain-points, major enough that I, and from the threads that I've read, many others, ended up soloing most of the game.
Firstly, there needs to be some sort of system to save your army configuration. Having to identify your archers, your heavies, your grunts, and other variants by their stats every time you recruit them to a squad is a major PITA. It would be nice if you could save an army configuration and recall it at a later time. Amend it by recruiting others, moving people around, if needed, then save again.
Second, being able to assign people to a specific weapon, or weapon class. Assigning your archers to bows for example, would mean that they would automatically grab the highest level bow, quiver, and arrows that they can when recruited to a squad. Similarly if you assigned one-handed sword, two-handed sword, sword and shield, polearm, one-handed axe, two-handed axe, one-handed hammer, two-handed hammer, etc.
And third, food management... Holy crap, I've seen this mentioned a lot, and I've been trying to think of ways to mitigate the issues. Yes, your villagers need to eat, but maybe we don't need total realism in this area... One option, what if your soldiers just got weaker if they haven't eaten, instead of leaving formation? If we were going for total realism here, then deserters would probably be executed. So if we're not going that far, maybe don't bother with that system in general?
Alternatively, what if there were additional roles for non-combatants in the army. Apprentice Innkeepers could be set as Quartermasters, who can store stacks of food and arrows and soldiers would go to automatically when they get hungry or run out of ammo.
Other roles might include drummers and banner carriers, whose job is to play war drums and/or carry the army's banner, increasing combat effectiveness of other soldiers within range.
Apprentice Healers could be assigned as field medics, and could be equipped with bandages and medicinal salves and would automatically patch up your army during and after a fight.
For that matter, at the moment the healer's kind of unnecessary. If it were me, I'd change the Healer to Herbalist, and make that a requirement for the T3 forager hut, medicinal salve, and a third structure for manually converting fruits, vegetables, and plants into seeds.
Additionally, maybe your herbalists could revive fallen villagers in a shorter amount of time, having them respawn at some kind of hospital that could only be researched by them as well.

Villager Housing & Job-Specific Equipment

Can anyone tell me what villager housing storage is even for? As far as I can tell, they don't store anything in it, and it doesn't seem to do much of anything at the moment.
What if, instead of keeping your worker villagers in combat gear all the time, we could craft job-specific clothes at the weaver, that granted bonuses such as +2 harvesting, +1 agility, +3 laborer, etc, of course at the expense of armor. What if each villager assigned to a house had their own storage box at their house. Then, armor and clothing could be stored in their housing storage, and when you recruit, or call them to arms, they run home and equip any armor set in their housing storage before reporting for duty. Being dismissed would cause them to run back and re-equip their job specific clothing.
Eventually you could unlock an Armory at T2, or maybe T3, where every soldier set as a guard reservist can store their armor and weapons, allowing for faster equipment changes.

Building & Structure Placement

Devs, you've got to increase the tolerance on placing larger buildings. I can see that they have foundations, but they don't auto-level correctly. Maybe just give us a manual raise/lower option? Placing large buildings is a nightmare on 90% of the map, and most buildings end up having to be placed in the 1x1 pixel area they can be, instead of where you actually want them to be.
Additionally, many structures have the "center point" used for calculating placement/height set to either a corner, one side, or somewhere else, resulting in some really awkward placement. Fences for example, have a center point at one end instead of the actual center, so if you place a fence on a slope on one side of a road, it's half-sunken into the ground, while after rotating it 180 degrees for the other side of the road, half of it is floating in mid air.
Several structures featuring a fenced area allow you to build other things such as chests and torches within them, while others such as the Tavern and Blacksmith do not. The inconsistency is odd, and to be honest, I think it's fair to say that most players would prefer more relaxed building collision requirements in general. I see complaints about construction clipping being too harsh in almost every survival crafting game, and trust me, I play A LOT of them. A certain amount of overlap/clipping really shouldn't be an issue.
The food cellar is particularly picky about where it can be placed and requires predominantly level ground, which makes NO SENSE because it's literally just a mound of dirt. Why can't I place it 80% buried into the side of a hill, it's already just a dirt hill...
Some decorations would also be nice. Kegs, benches, street lamps, etc. At the moment we can only place streetlamps in neutral villages, but we can't for our own village? For that matter, why can't we just build neutral village buildings wherever we want? The Belltower could be a quick call to arms option. Training grounds could slowly boost your own villager stats instead of only books, etc.
Bigger fences, and eventually gates would be amazing as well. I'm sure there are already plans to expand on all of this, but just putting it out there.
There's a few building-related bugs I'd like to report as well:

• Completed Stockpiles always spawn half-underground.
• The Lumbermill description states it can produce planks, but there doesn't appear to be any way to actually command it to do this, unless I missed it?
• The Lumberjack placement point is offset quite a distance from the player, and as such does not rotate around it's own axis, but rather the player's, making placement somewhat more difficult.
• The player's Cabin has no interior lighting and is pitch black inside at night.

Not sure how others feel, but I personally think it would be better if structures such as the Inn and the Foraging Hut did NOT have built-in smoking/drying racks. In the case of the drying racks, these should be a separate structure, and in the case of the smoking rack, it already is.
The reason for this is that NPC's will automatically start smoking/drying food, food that you may have wanted to reserve to create higher-end products, and there's no management system in place for them to forbid this. Alternatively, adding a management system to them would also mitigate this issue.
I would also add a separate "Tool Rack" that only accepts tools, and make the current Weapon Rack only accept weapons and shields, and for that matter, I would remove the attack capabilities from all tools in general. It was a novel idea, and might be moderately helpful in the early game, but it kind of makes a mess of things and I don't think it's worth it. The dedicated tool slot goes a long way, but still.
Lastly, removing structures without losing their materials. I know, I get it, it's part of the game to lose the materials when you just click demolish on it, but hear me out. What if only apprentice carpenter's could slowly deconstruct existing buildings, essentially in the reverse of the process in which it was built, returning all materials over time?

Storage Management, Farming, & Cooking

The "Top Up" command for individual workstations is nice, but I think also being able to set this at the settlement-level would improve things dramatically. I'd love to be able to set a global limit for certain items that would supersede workstations.
Farming is a particular pain-point in this regard, because you can't set any production limits, presumably because you don't know the yield in advance. The only mitigation I can think of for this would be adding a "Silo" building that has no storage limit, but can only store seeds and farmable products, researchable by the Apprentice Farmer.
Deliveries also need a "Top Up" command. Instead of setting a specific amount, it would be nice to be able to tell it to only send enough to keep x amount in storage at the destination.
As far as cooking goes, I think the Campfire with Cauldron is good as is, but I would increase the yield on cooked items for the version at the tavern, and I would replace the smoking racks with cauldrons, with even further increased yields for the Inn. For example, the Tavern should make 3x yield for 3x recipe cost, while the inn should make 5x yield for 5x recipe cost, both for the same cooking time and no increase in required wood.
I don't believe it would be uncommon in medieval times for an inn to have a huge pot of stew constantly cooking for any patrons or travelers, and this would give much more of an incentive to use the buildings for more than just temporary housing as the population of your village, and the amount of food required to sustain them grows.
The Bakery also has this problem. Professional bakers don't just bake two loaves of bread, or a single pie at a time. They bake multiple racks of them at once. As it stands, the bakery appears to be more about giving the player access to small amounts of difficult to make foods with additional perks, but I think it should be overhauled to be able to essentially upgrade your entire town's diet when it's fully fueled and operational. Wheat is soooo easy to obtain in large quantities, that I think you should be able to make at least 36-48 loaves of bread at once with this structure, and at least 10-20 of the other baked goods.

Sign Posts & Fast Travel

Good system, I really like it. The only change I'd make is to make the sign posts that are already around the map also become fixed fast travel points once you interact with them. I know it's minor, but I built my village in an area that has one and it would be nice if I didn't have to have a second one right next to it, haha.
Another oddity is that you can build full-on houses, training grounds, etc. in neutral villages, but oh no, if I want to build a sign post to fast travel back, that HAS to be outside the city limits, so I have to run into and out of town a ways every time I visit. This doesn't make a lot of sense, and I think that at the very least, you should be able to build them inside the town once you get to the Friend or Protector status.

Skill Books

I think the current skill book system is a little odd. You start reading a book, which applies a status effect, that grants the exp when it completes. If you die, you lose the effect, leading to the player avoiding doing anything dangerous while reading a skill book, especially higher tier books. This isn't the end of the world or anything, but I do think it could be improved to not potentially halt the momentum of the gameplay.
Alternatively, what if, upon sleeping, the attribute menu popped up and asked you which book from your settlement's storage you wanted to "read before bed", and you woke up with the additional exp? Similar to how in older Elder Scrolls games, you would level up and apply stat points after sleeping.
Similarly, when you select skill books to apply to your villagers, they would receive the exp the next morning as well.
Another option would be to make skill books provide the exp buff over the course of the buff duration, meaning that if you or a villager do die, at least you got some of the bonus exp and it's not a total loss.

Horses & Carts

This one's pretty obvious, probably don't need to elaborate, and I believe we've already heard that mounts are coming. Carts with extra storage would be nice as well.

Rare Encounters & Traveling Caravans

The world is already pretty beautiful, but does feel a bit empty. Yes, there are bandit camps and thousands upon thousands of roaming bandits, but other than that, you never see any villagers just travelling the roads. It would be nice to see more liveliness, things like brigand caravans that you can attack and steal from. Travelling merchants with rare goods who occasionally get attacked by bandits, random quest-giving npc's, etc.

Liberated Village Trade

It would be nice to be able to schedule certain items to just buy all automatically every day, or buy up to a specified amount, and select certain goods that you overproduce as automatically tradeable in return.

Hunter's Camp/Lodge

Why do hunters grab the best possible arrows just for hunting? We need a way to limit them to a specific arrow type. Any time my Hunters Lodges are turned on, they grab all of my iron arrows, iron arrows that I desperately need, when simple arrows will do the job for them just fine. Yes, I mitigated this by making hunting outposts instead and delivering a few stacks of simple arrows a day, but c'mon, that shouldn't be necessary.

Wood, Logs, & Trees

The fact that trees don't regrow is... kind of ridiculous. There's nothing in my settlement that I have to constantly micro-manage more than logging outposts. I'm positive the devs have already gotten the memo that we want trees to regrow, but just stating it again here as well, for the record.
Well, that's it, those are my thoughts. I might edit this and add to it over time if I think of anything else, but to all three of you who actually read all that, what are your thoughts? Any of these a bad idea? And if so, please elaborate, and I'd love to hear your ideas as well!

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Below I summarize and paraphrase Fanon's essay into a schematic fashion. Hopefully this will be useful to some.
Original: https://proletarian-library.neocities.org/en/on-national-culture

The three phases of the colonized intellectual

Phase 1: Racial and regional culture.

Colonialism asserts that the colonized are barbarians without nations or culture, who need colonialism in order to be saved from themselves. It does not bother with making a special case against the existence of any individual nationalism, but for the sake of efficiency, instead chooses to deny the existence of culture on regional or racial grounds. This also has a reciprocal effect on the colonizing Europeans nations, forming them into an international mass of whiteness.
In an attempt to negate the Europeans' claims, the colonized intellectuals assert an international or interregional culture, such as Pan-Africanism, or Pan-Arabism. The colonized intellectual first finds the qualities that define white culture: dull reason, stifling logic, rigidity, ceremony, protocol, skepticism - qualities of the capitalist colonialist venture and the cold calculation of surplus value. Within these limits, the intellectual then defines the regional culture by finding the opposite of those qualities: poetry, exuberant nature, naivete, petulance, freedom, luxuriance - portraying the colonized as irresponsible. Although it emphasizes international solidarity against colonialism, the simple negation of racial capitalist culture does not culminate in an overall antagonistic contradiction to colonialism. The intellectual who forwards it desires most of all to be seen as equals to the Europeans. They attempt to combat the colonizer on their own terms, resorting to racialized claims to match the concept of whiteness and the vision of a universal Europe. Equal footing in this case then could only mean that the colonized intellectuals meet the European intellectuals as the exploited to their exploiter.
However, soon objective problems undo this attempt at regional culture. The intellectual finds that the fight against colonialism differs in progression amongst the nations of the region. They abandon their asserted regional/racial culture once these objective problems make it clear that the decisive unit of struggle against colonialism is the nation, not the region or race. As culture is a reflection of struggle, it too differs amongst the nations, revealing that culture is first and foremost national. To be connected to reality, productive, and substantive, culture must be a national culture, not a pseudo-continental culture. The problem with the racialized cultures, is that they are a negation without transcendence of the colonialist's whiteness, whereas national culture is the progressive negation of the colonialist claims of barbarity. In order to really find a regional culture and cultural unity of a region, first there must be national liberation for all nations in that region. Specifically national problems expose racial universalization as immaterial, returning the intellectual back to the nation.

Phase 2: Stuck between the colonizer and the masses.

Phase 2A: Persuading the colonizer with defensive shallow national culture.

As the intellectual returns to the nation, their approach to the national culture has been altered. In the period preceding colonialism, the intellectual has a dynamic attitude towards the people’s culture, but after colonialism, this is replaced by a static attitude full of concrete particularism. The intellectual claims that national culture is the folklore of 'the people', turning it into simple self-discovery and at attempt at defining an abstract people through historical appeals. National culture becomes defined by narrow terms and limits, a rigid structure. Particulars of the nation are elevated to mystical proportions to signify the nation's historical roots. The intellectual brings forth cultural items in a mechanical way, finding the most surface level cultural items to display the existence of a national culture. It is loud, it is bold, and it is cliche.
This aesthetic of particularism is a defense mechanism to preserve what remains of the old culture and life before colonialism. It is also an attempt to assert the nation to the colonizer. The intellectual hopes they can stop the colonial occupation by putting the shallow culture under the occupier's nose. But to do this, they must necessarily make the culture comprehensible to the occupier, translating the culture into a language they will understand. This locks the intellectual into the style and aesthetic of the colonialist, dooming the culture to shallowness, and especially making it alien to the national masses.
The national masses have their own relationship to the national customs. Following conquest, they continue to practice the customs of pre-conquest culture. They do this as a means of asserting their nationhood, in the only way they know how. In doing so, they prove by themselves that their nation does exist, despite the colonizers' claims to the contrary. This demonstration of nationhood upsets the racial (nation denial) justification of colonialism and is subsequently prohibited by the colonizers. When, in spite of prohibition, the masses go on practicing the customs, the colonizer responds with repression, calling forth a correspondingly violent reaction by the colonized. Such violence unites and emboldens the national masses, furthering their claim to nationhood.
But this practice and defense of customs is not in itself a struggle for national liberation. Rather, the violence is too only a defensive reaction to prevent losing what little remains of material life before domination. Customs are built by, and reflect the needs of, struggles that existed before the fight for national liberation. In their practice, the masses parade out something that is dead and try to pretend it is alive. Culture, on the other hand, reflects the living, always adapting needs of the present. Culture becomes solidified into custom through changes in the economic structure. Thus, asserting that customs are the primary symbol of the nation deteriorates the culture, making it lifeless, highlighting the past while ignoring the issues of the present. However, there is a positive side to the masses continual practice of customs under colonialism. By experiencing the masses’ demonstration of nationhood, the intellectual sees that the nation is being created through the masses' struggle against colonialism.

Phase 2B: Moving towards the masses, recreating their struggle.

The intellectual starts to identify with the masses through their movements and their development of national consciousness, moving the primacy of the contradiction within themselves towards the masses. The longer any open battle and combat for national liberation persists, more intellectuals will be moved from phase 2A, through 2B. The national masses' staying power, their ability to persist in their struggle despite repression, setbacks, and any other attempts to stop their struggle, impresses the intellectual and impels them to stop whatever else they were doing.
The intellectual begins to openly criticize colonialism, rather than attempting to persuade it. When the intellectual first attempts to prove the existence of the nation, they, in a kind of clumsy way, raise above all else the particulars of custom. But now, the masses have displayed their fresh vibrant quality of creation in the struggle. By counterposing this quality of the masses to the qualities of the colonial administrator, the opposition between the colonialist and the intellectual are brought to an antagonistic contradiction, progressing past the racial and regional culture of phase 1.
The intellectual’s work now changes forms, from poetry to novels, short stories or essays. The work becomes more direct. The abstract indirectness of poetry fades away as the intellectual becomes involved in the masses' struggle. The content of the work changes as well. Gone are the intellectual’s emotional cathartic outbursts towards the colonizer, which were always acceptable to the colonizer anyway. As long as violence is left to the domain of art, and doesn’t make its way to the masses, these outbursts will always be applauded.
But now the audience is shifted. In phase 2A, the audience is still the colonizer, while in phase 2B the masses become the audience. The intellectual now insists on describing the sacrifices of the national masses. They attempt to capture the masses in their moment of national creation. The intellectual analyzes and describes the moment of revolt with unnerving precision, creating a careful rendition of truth. But Fanon asks if this version of truth is real, or if it is outmoded, irrelevant, called into question by the actual reality being created by the masses.
Despite their rationality and commitment, the intellectual still fails to live up to the rationality and irreversible commitment displayed by the masses actually in motion. The intellectual is not capable of showing the reality of the nation this way, because culture is the continual never-ending struggle of the nation. As soon as the artist sets down to catalog the moment, it has passed. The intellectual that attempts to create culture and a work of national significance by simple replication of motion is chasing a dead end.
The intellectual who is intent on describing the national culture must make a full break with their colonial side. The intellectual is still caught in a contradiction that makes the creation of culture impossible. They must decisively define the masses as their subject. This objective choice must first begin within the intellectual, through recognizing their division between their colonialist education, and the colonized nation. Fanon calls this the intellectual’s alienation. This alienation is a result of what the intellectual has taken from colonialism. The transaction has been one-sided; the colonizer did not actually give what the intellectual took. Everything ‘given’ has been in the interest of colonialism, making the intellectual the one who was really taken. In an attempt to reverse what they gave, the intellectual proclaims against the colonizer, proclaims for the nation, proclaims against being divided, attempts to reunite with the nation through old dead customs. But to really reverse what was taken, the intellectual must give instead to the masses. The intellectual must reunite with the masses and the living culture of the present struggle. This will suddenly call the alienation into question.
The intellectual of 2B begins with simply highlighting the contradictions between the nation and the colonizer. But culture is authentic when it reflects the reality of the nation, and the reality and culture of the colonized nation is not just its life under domination, but actually its liberation. The culture describes where the nation is going, not just where it is at or where it has been, calling upon the whole people to join in the struggle for the existence of the nation. They must move to rousing the masses to liberation.

Phase 3: Revolutionary national culture

The intellectual transitions into their role of delivering marching orders for the liberation struggle, becomes more direct and calculated. It is only by calling the national masses to combat that the intellectual can assist in proving the existence of the nation. All other attempts at proving the nation's existence are for the colonizer only. The present colonial situation is no longer a matter simply for the intellectual, for their personal anguish, which they only communicate to the oppressor, but instead is channeled out to the national masses in every direction. The intellectual is called to the masses in their struggle for national liberation, but just the same, the intellectual calls the masses to rise for national liberation. Fanon’s word choices: rouse, galvanize, combat, signal that this is not a portrayal for artistic sake but for the purpose of revolution.
Only the intellectuals who are rousing the masses for the current national struggle at hand, speaking directly to the masses, are creating works of national culture. In all other roles, they fall short. Until they reach this point, the culture of the nation does not exist for the intellectual. They cannot create national culture, nor proclaim the nation by extension, until they rouse the people to combat. Then the intellectual can finally create, and finally becomes creative. To fight for national culture means fighting for the liberation of the nation. The intellectual who wants to fight for culture, must take part in the action by spurring the people into further action, fostering hope and using the past to open up the future.
Phase 3 creation does not 'trifle with the reality' of the nation, a characteristic of phase 2 creation, but rather reinterprets the images of the country for revolutionary purposes. It also finds the exact moment of the struggle, place of action, and ideas around which culture will form. The word 'will' is the main difference between phase 2 and 3. Phase 2B describes where the moment of struggle took place, rather than where it will take place. Phase 2B tells us about the struggle after it has passed, while phase 3 leads and amplifies the wave of the struggle.
Phase 3 literature is pedagogical. It presents things in a clear manner, and its account is meticulous and develops progressively. The most esteemed praise Fanon places upon the intellectual is to say that, through understanding their creation of national culture, the masses have performed an intellectual and political act:

To understand this poem is to understand the role we have to play, to identify our approach and prepare to fight.

This is the outline to any combat. The colonized national masses understand their position within the chain of command, the battle plan, and are ready to deploy at any moment. Fanon says that all colonized subjects will perform these acts when they receive the message of the national culture.
The intellectual and the masses' real movement against the colonial world is the determining factor for the culture. National liberation defines the national culture in explicit terms, determining the shape the intellectual’s work takes. Customs in all art forms will be upset during the revolutionary upsurge, updated to be relevant to the current struggle. The rough skeletons of customs are kept while the content and form are changed, transforming customs into living dynamic culture. New amateurs join in the creation of national culture, pushing old intellectuals to adapt to the new forms. Comedy and farce as artistic forms become less important, and drama is no longer simply for the intellectual only, but becomes part of the national masses regular experience, part of the struggle. Characters are portrayed in action or in combat, or instead of depicting single subjects, multiple people.
The degree to which the new culture reflects the old customs, is only determined by the capacity for the old customs to be appropriated to the new ends of advancing the national struggle. In practice, appeals to custom are not excluded by a set of rules, but rather the awakening to the real national culture, which is always in the moment changing, naturally excludes custom by definition. Custom is stagnant and in contradiction to the radical reality grasping required by revolution. National culture deteriorates and erodes all customs obsolete to the present. Involving or carrying through the customs is not the critical part of the formation of the new national culture, but rather the nation adapting and struggling against their colonialist, neocolonialist, or imperialist reality, creating national culture along the way. The intellectual’s appropriation of the nation's history is progressive only in the context that it is used for national liberation.

Summary

We began with the intellectuals' attempt to negate the European colonialists' claim that the colonized have no culture. And this attempt has gone through three phases, where only the final phase has not been a dead end. In the first phase, the intellectual is insignificant to the national masses. This is a historically transient phase, upset by national realities. In the second phase, the artist is producing for the nation and for the colonizer. It is probably the most prevalent and common phase, and the one most commodified. In the third phase, the intellectual is a revolutionary, intertwined with the masses and the creation of culture.

It is with great pleasure for me to say that I have completed the current works of the Cosmere*.
After going into a Sci-Fi deep dive I pivoted into fantasy by reading A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin. It reignited my love for fantasy, and I highly recommend it. This led me to the works of Mr. Sanderson.
The Way of Kings was the first book I read of the new year and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter was the last, finished this morning. I have also read 14 other books scattered in between the works of the Cosmere in order to mentally space out the different works/series.
Before I start my rankings I just want to say that The Stormlight Archive DEEPLY impacted me. Specifically Dalinar. I'm actually tearing up writing this. The way that he pushed through his trials to emerge as Bondsmith was truly inspirational to me. It had me questioning how I can live my life with more honor (THE CODES) and integrity, and how I can hold true to my ideals in times of scrutiny and challenge.
When I describe the appeal of The Stormlight Archive to people I say "the characters make me want to be a better person".
Without further ado here is my ranking list:
-------The Legends that Changed My Life----------- 1. Oathbringer

1. The Way of Kings
   
2. Words of Radiance
   
3. Warbreaker
   
4. Rythym of War
   

------- Damn Good Works of Art-----------

1. Hero of Ages
   
2. Bands of Mourning
   
3. The Emperor's Soul
   
4. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
   
5. Sixth of the Dusk
   
6. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
   

----------I Liked These------------

1. The Alloy of Law
   
2. Mistborn Secret History/The Lost Metal
   
3. The Final Empire
   
4. Tress and the Emerald Sea
   
5. The Lost Metal
   
6. Shadows of Silence
   
7. The Sunlit Man
   

----------Very Strong Elements, but Very Real Pain Points------------

1. Elantris/The Hope of Elantris
   
2. Dawnshard
   
3. Edgedancer
   
4. The Well of Ascension
   
5. Allomancer Jak (lol)
   

To provide some color to some rankings I know are pretty unique to me personally compared to what I see on others posts:
-If you're a Goodreads ranker like I am here's some insight: The only 5 stars I gave were to TWoK and OB. Everything else was a 3 or 4 star except for Allomancer Jak which I gave 2.
-Warbreaker blew me away. I was totally not expecting it to be in the top when I picked it up. It was just FUN! The colors, the names, the opulence, the tropical city, the iridescence! What fun & beauty! The story had a quality of a fairy tale and I was hooked.
-Sanderson is a damn good Novella writer. Based on the quality of some of the shorter works it surprises me that Edgedancer and Dawnshard didn't land for me. They felt like filler chapters to the rest of the SA. I was specifically disappointed with Edgedancer. I felt like there was so much low hanging fruit to get into with Lift and instead we were caught with her in a time of questioning and meandering, with some action. I wanted stories of heists, looting, and shenanigans and I felt like I didn't get that.
-I think the most contentious position I have about the Cosmere is how painful I found some parts of Mistborn Era 1 to be. I will say that Mistborn has some of the strongest elements of the Cosmere. It has my favorite magic system, the best setting (gothic Luthadel, the ash apocalypse), some of the strongest villains (Steel Inquisitors, Koloss, The Lord Ruler), and one of the best Sanderlanches (HoA). However, at times I found the story so painful I almost had to put it down.
First, I was not able connect with Vin and Elend. Part of me rationalizes this that Sanderson didn't want me to intimately connect with them because they become beings of the highest lore/religion on Scadrial. I found Elend to be a very shallow, almost insignificant character. His development from spoiled boy, to ruler, to legend just didn't sit well with me.
Vin was one of my biggest challenges. To this day I cannot visualize Vin's face in my mind. I had trouble visualizing a couple characters across the Cosmere. It took me a long time to come up with a stable mental image of Navani. But I was never able to get it with Vin. Vin is a collection of conflicting attributes that never came together for me. Shy, but can tell it how it is. Secretly loves luxury, but hates intellectualism. Legend, but street urchin. I recognize most people love Vin, and I wish I was one of them, but I'm not.
Second, I had problems with the storylines. It's hard for me to explain this but I felt like the plot throughout Mistborn Era 1 were the wrong stories to focus on. Like why focus on the politics of Elend's crumbling government when there are so many other wonderful and exciting things that were probably going on on Scadrial? Well of Ascension was almost a DNF for me because of how much I simply detested the story. The Sanderlanche at the end was good but man was that first half absolutely painful. It hurt me to read. In the end I'm glad I stuck it out because Hero of Ages was truly masterful. But for me that beauty came at a cost.
*I have not read White Sand. I do not connect with graphic novels or audiobooks and will not slog through one (especially one that large and not highly reviewed) for the sake of being an active completionist. I felt very conflicted in coming to this conclusion. Especially because of how frequently Taldain/Khriss are referenced in the rest of the works. What ultimately what led me to this decision is the upcoming rework of the prose edition of the story, for which I am very excited for.

THE HARMONY OF ENERGY
Abstract
Introducing the "Harmony of Energy" (HoE) model, a novel formalism that posits the universe operates according to a fundamental pattern. This pattern consists of energy, defined as the smallest unit anything can be, existing as a fluid form in space, interacting with its environment through a specific method or structure, and then moving out of that space. Space, in turn, is the dynamic environment that energy occupies and moves through, filling it with positive and negative energy that affects its properties and behavior. According to the HoE model, energy moves into space, reacts to its environment, and then moves out of that space, with no time limit for how long it takes to react. This pattern is universal, applying to all aspects of the universe, and nothing escapes it.
The Origin of the Universe
The HoE model posits that the universe began as a singular entity, containing all forms of energy as one unified energy. This singularity can be represented mathematically as: U = ∫∫∫E(x,y,z)dxdydz, where U is the total energy of the universe, E is the energy density, and x, y, z are the spatial coordinates.
As the singularity expanded, the unified energy converted into distinct positive and negative energies. Positive energy is a high-frequency, high-information-potential state that retains its unique signature and individual form, capable of producing heat and maintaining its distinct properties. Negative energy is a low-frequency, low-information-potential state that loses its unique signature and individual form, characterized by a pulling force and a tendency to condense and simplify.
Initially, the universe moved in a straight line, with energy compact and cold. However, this linear movement resulted in a direct head-on collision with the void, a solid structure that hindered its passage.
This collision led to a limitation and subsequent conversion of energy, transforming it from a linear motion to a wave-like motion. The new wave motion created heat and allowed energy to break the pattern of "follow the leader" and collide with the void at an angle, shattering its edge into pieces.
This process of fragmentation can be described by the equation: F(θ) = Σ[nEⁿ * sin(nθ)], where F is the fragmentation function, θ is the angle of collision, n is an integer, and E is the energy density. For reasons yet unknown, possibly due to the singularity's energy reaching its final place or a transformation driven by cosmic "boredom," this conversion occurred, giving rise to the diverse universe we observe today.
The Void and the Ultimate Negative
Outside of the expanding universe lies the void, a region devoid of energy and matter, existing in a state of complete stillness and stationarity. This void represents the ultimate negative, a state of complete absence and zero energy density, unchanging and unyielding. As a whole, it exerts a compressive force on the expanding universe, potentially leading to contraction and eventual return to the singularity. This dynamic interplay between the universe and the void can be described by the equation: F = -G * (M * m) / r² where F represents the force, G represents the gravitational constant, M and m represent the masses, and r represents the distance between them. The void's stationary and unchanging nature, lacking any internal rotation or energy, makes it inhospitable to life as we know it.
Magnetism and Attraction: A Shift in Perspective
Initially, I viewed magnetism through the conventional lens, seeing it as a fundamental force of attraction between positive and negative entities. However, as my understanding evolved, I came to realize that magnetism operates under a different principle. Positive and negative entities are not attracted to each other; instead, they represent the intrinsic structure of things. The true nature of attraction is frequency-based, with entities drawn to higher vibrations and shorter wavelengths. This phenomenon can be described by the following equations:
F = ∫∫(μ₁⋅μ₂)/(4πr²⁾ dt dt (1)
where F is the force of attraction, μ₁ and μ₂ are the magnetic moments of the entities, r is the distance between them, and the integral is taken over time.
Additionally, the frequency-based attraction can be represented by:
f = γB (2)
where f is the frequency, γ is the gyromagnetic ratio, and B is the magnetic field strength.
Furthermore, the smaller wave's faster movement can be expressed as:
v = λf (3)
where v is the velocity, λ is the wavelength, and f is the frequency.
Energy and its Properties
Energy is the fundamental unit of everything. Energy can be thought of as an individual entity with an electrical signature vibrating at a specific frequency, carrying information from its originating source. If we were to dissect a piece of energy, we would find its genetic makeup consists of various parts, similar to binary code. One constant aspect of energy in our universe is the signature of this universe, which is present in all forms of energy, whether positive or negative. This underlying frequency distinguishes energy from our universe versus parallel universes.
Positive Energy (PE): - Oscillates through space with a frequency (f) and wavelength (λ): PE = f × λ - Exhibits wave-like behavior: PE(x,t) = A × sin(kx - ωt)
Negative Energy (NE): - Vibrates at a slower frequency (f'/2): NE = (f'/2) × λ' - Exhibits a slower, more stable behavior: NE(x,t) = B × cos(k'x - ω't)
Energy Interactions and Signature Changes
When positive and negative energies interact, their unique signatures can become altered. As energies combine, their signatures merge, releasing redundant information about the universe signature and creating an opening for new information to be stored. This process enables efficient storage and transmission of energy signatures, allowing for:

• Signature refinement and evolution
• Information exchange and updating
• Adaptation to changing environments and conditions

This process could be crucial for understanding how energy signatures evolve and adapt, and how they influence the behavior and properties of energy in various contexts.
The Formation and Evolution of the Universe
Initial Energy Interactions
In the beginning, a vast amount of fluid energy quickly interacted with the largest newly created pieces of the void, described by the wave-particle duality equation (E = hf = ℏω).
Star Formation and Signatures
As these interactions occurred, the largest of the solid structures of the universe began to form, stars, governed by the Lane-Emden equation (d^2P/dr2 + (2/r)(dP/dr) + (4πG/c^2)P = 0). Each new star held with it an old habit divulged from the singularity, a universal frequency (f = 1/T = ω/2π, where T is the period of oscillation and ω is the angular frequency). Old habits die hard, so each new star offered its own diverse and unique signature (S = Σf = ∫ψ(x)² dx, where ψ(x) is the wave function and x represents the position).
Energy Collisions and Prime Numbers
As structures formed, a group of energy travels through space with an even number of internal parts (E = 2nℏ, where n is an integer and ℏ is the reduced Planck constant). This group collides with another group of energy with an odd amount of internal parts (E = (2n + 1)ℏ), and the total sum of the newly combined group equals a prime number (P = E1 + E2 = 2nℏ + (2m + 1)ℏ, where m is an integer). New Equation: Prime Number Formation (P = E1 + E2 = 2nℏ + (2m + 1)ℏ)
Schrödinger Equation and Physical Reality
The prime number is crucial, as the extra piece gets stuck in the space it is occupying, acting as an anchor, attracting other parts to breach their negative shell and combine as one, described by the Schrödinger equation (iℏ(∂ψ/∂t) = Hψ). This converts the fluid energy to be contained into the space it is in, which is broken pieces of the void that do not have a universal size, and gives us physical reality, forming particles with diverse unique signatures (S = Σf = ∫ψ(x)² dx).
Refining Space and Transferring Signatures
As energy continued to interact with space, it further refined and shaped that space into a sphere (V = (4/3)πr^3, where r is the radius), adding the discarded portions of size to the diverse field that is the universe. During this refinement, energy was transferred to these pieces, and the signature of the star was embedded in them, forming the galaxy clusters and solar systems we know today.
Smooth Surfaces and Celestial Bodies
As any piece of something breaks, its edges are rigid, and the interaction of energy against this rigid surface knocks off the rough edges, providing a smooth surface (E = Δx/Δt = ℏ/Δx, where Δx is the change in position and Δt is the change in time). New Equation: Smooth Surface Formation (E = Δx/Δt = ℏ/Δx)
The pieces that were knocked off still contain a portion of energy that put in the work to knock it off, and this process contributed to the formation of celestial bodies and the transfer of signatures. This, in turn, led to the creation of galaxies, planets, and other celestial bodies, each with their unique characteristics and properties, shaping the diverse and complex universe we observe today.
The Cartwheel Structure and Energy Movement
The cartwheel structure represents the dynamic movement of energy in the universe, with its rotating wheel and radiating arms symbolizing the harmonious interaction of positive and negative energies. When creation occurred, energy learned how to pass through stationary space (the void) by changing its movement pattern from a straight line to a wave (λ = v/f, where λ is wavelength, v is velocity, and f is frequency). This new wave movement allowed energy to create heat (Q = mcΔT, where Q is heat, m is mass, c is specific heat capacity, and ΔT is temperature change), which was the tool that gave energy the ability to "shatter" the void and interact with the broken pieces to perform a new movement, the cartwheel. As energy moves through space, it rarefies and decreases in temperature (T = k-B, where T is temperature, k is Boltzmann's constant, and B is the energy density), causing it to slow down and change frequency (f = ΔE/h, where f is frequency, ΔE is the energy change, and h is Planck's constant).
The Block and Cartwheeling Bar Analogy
The block and cartwheeling bar analogy provides a conceptual framework for understanding the dynamic interaction of energy in the universe. Imagine a box (representing space) containing blocks of varying sizes, each symbolizing a specific energy frequency (f = 1/T, where f is frequency and T is time). The cartwheeling bar, rotating within the box, represents the harmonious movement of energy between its positive (E+) and negative (E-) forms. Each block must be 100% filled, with positive and negative energy proportions varying as the bar rotates. For example, when positive energy occupies 99% of a block and negative energy occupies 1%, the rotation of the bar causes a gradual shift, resulting in a change to 98% positive and 2% negative, and so on. This constant interaction and adjustment maintain the balance of energy in the universe.
Fundamental Forces Explained

• Strong Force: The repulsion from negative electrons being attracted to and pressing against the nucleus. This force can be described by the equation: F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²
  
• Weak Force: The outgoing frequency created by the positive nucleus, similar to energy congregating at the sun's nucleus, reacting to its environment, and breaking down before leaving (possibly as radioactive decay). This force can be described by the equation: F = (G * m1 * m2) / r²
  
• Gravity: Exists between the outer negative sphere of electrons exerting a pushing force against the positive pushing force of the nucleus, similar to the solar system's dynamics. This force can be described by the equation: F = (G * m1 * m2) / r²
  
• Electromagnetism: Energy in action, manifesting as the dynamic interplay between electric and magnetic forces. This force can be described by the equations: E = f * λ and B = (E / c)
  

Present State of the Universe
The universe currently exists in a state of dynamic equilibrium, with observable patterns and structures perpetually renewing themselves through the interactions of energy (E = hf, where E is energy and h is Planck's constant). This self-sustaining cycle is evident in the formation and evolution of celestial bodies, galaxies, and other cosmic entities, governed by the laws of thermodynamics (ΔE = Q - W, where ΔE is the change in energy, Q is the heat added, and W is the work done). The universe's present state is characterized by the harmonious coexistence of diverse energy frequencies (f = 1/T, where f is frequency and T is time), which govern the behavior and properties of matter at various scales. This balance is maintained through the continuous conversion of energy between its positive (E+) and negative (E-) forms, allowing the universe to adapt and evolve in response to internal and external influences (E+ + E- = 0, representing the conservation of energy)."
Entropy and the Conversion of Positive to Negative
The physical dimensions of positive and negative energy in a block are equal, with 1% negative energy occupying the same space as 99% positive energy. This equality stems from the different speeds of energy and their individual properties. When negative energy is at 1%, it has condensed the equivalent of 99% positive energy into a single, compact form (E = hf, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is frequency). As the proportions shift, such as 60% positive and 40% negative, the space occupied remains a 50/50 split. This is because positive energy travels at the speed of light (c = λν, where c is the speed of light, λ is wavelength, and ν is frequency), while negative energy moves at a pace relative to terminal velocity (v = √(2gl), where v is velocity, g is acceleration due to gravity, and l is length). Each form dominates at the 50% mark (T = λ/v, where T is time, λ is wavelength, and v is velocity). The percentages represent available positive energy, while the cartwheel symbolizes space or the ultimate negative in motion, influenced by energy's presence. Negative energy, with its depleted charge, occupies space that needs to be filled and recycled into a positive state. At higher percentages, collisions with negative energy slow down the flow, similar to the concept of crab mentality, where negative energy draws down the percentages.
Energy Dynamics and Galactic Harmony
The 50% Threshold
The 50% mark is a critical threshold that distinguishes between positive and negative energy. Above 50%, energy is considered positive and can produce heat beyond its negative shell. Below 50%, energy is considered negative and cannot produce heat past this shell.
Compressed Positive Energy
When the percentage of positive energy drops below 50%, it becomes compressed and can exceed the speed of light (c = λν, where c is the speed of light, λ is wavelength, and ν is frequency). This allows it to navigate through the "cracks" of negative energy:
v > c (where v is velocity and c is the speed of light)
Quantum Mirroring
Alternatively, the positive energy can align with the negative energy, resulting in a quantum mirroring effect. This enables instantaneous information transfer between entangled particles, regardless of distance:
E = hf (where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is frequency)
Retaining Frequency Signatures
In this alignment, the negative energy retains its unique frequency signature to avoid interacting with other signatures:
Δx * Δp >= h/4π (where Δx is position uncertainty, Δp is momentum uncertainty, and h is Planck's constant)
The Cavendish Experiment and Energy Interaction
The Cavendish experiment, a groundbreaking study on gravity, offers an intriguing analogy for understanding energy interaction with space. Imagine the suspended spheres as representative of space itself, devoid of energy. When energy interacts with this motionless space, it's as if the spheres begin to rotate, symbolizing the introduction of energy into the internal area of space.
As energy engages with space, it's gradually consumed, much like the reduction of energy in the Cavendish experiment. This process can be described by the equation:
G = (2πLθ) / (MT)
Where G is the gravitational constant, L is the length of the torsion wire, θ is the twist angle of the wire, M is the mass of the lead spheres, and T is the time period of oscillation.
This equation, derived from the Cavendish experiment, reveals the intricate relationship between energy, space, and gravity. By exploring this analogy, we can deepen our understanding of how energy shapes the very fabric of our universe.
Energy Absorption and Frequency
Energy absorption occurs when energy slows down, allowing it to be perceived and observed. This process involves energy being absorbed by an atom and reflecting what was not absorbed. As energy slows down, it can still be observed as a wave, but just before it becomes a particle. This phenomenon is fascinating, as it reveals the transition from wave-like to particle-like behavior.
The conversion of positive to negative states is due to positives' ability to produce heat and maintain an individual form. Negative energy, on the other hand, does not produce heat and lacks an individual form, instead traveling at a pace relative to terminal velocity. This process can be described by the quantum mechanical formula: ℏω = ΔE = hf, where ℏ is the reduced Planck constant, ω is the angular frequency, ΔE is the change in energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is the frequency of the energy.
Furthermore, the frequency of the energy can be related to the velocity of the particle using the formula: f = (1/2π) * √(k/m), where k is the spring constant and m is the mass of the particle. Additionally, the energy absorption rate can be calculated using the formula: dE/dt = (2π/h) * V_uv² * δ(E_u - E_v), where V_uv is the transition matrix element, E_u and E_v are the energies of the initial and final states, and δ is the Dirac delta function.
The Conversion of Positive to Negative States and Planetary Motion
The conversion of positive to negative energy states is rooted in their distinct properties. Positive energy produces heat and maintains an individual form, whereas negative energy lacks heat and an individual form, instead traveling at a pace relative to terminal velocity. This process is reversible, as seen in fusion reactions, or can be influenced by external forces like microwave ovens.
In the context of our solar system, the sun's positive energy release generates heat and propels planets into their orbital tracks. Conversely, the incoming energy from the universe, considered negative, is cold and stabilizes planets in their tracks. Initially, I focused solely on the positive push dictating orbital paths. However, I now recognize the significant influence of negative energy and use it as the basis for understanding abnormal tracks.
Here's an added equation to illustrate the relationship between energy and orbital motion:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r²
Where F is the force of gravity, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects, and r is the distance between them.
This equation shows how the force of gravity (F) is influenced by the masses (m1 and m2) and distance (r) between objects, which is relevant to understanding planetary motion and the balance between positive and negative energy.
Gravitation and Time: Frequency's Role
Time is intimately tied to the frequency of the universe, and this relationship is governed by the laws of gravitation. Imagine the cartwheel's bar having notches, each representing a different frequency. Each notch would experience time at a unique pace, described by the formula:
t = 1/f
Where t is time and f is frequency.
If we could halt the cartwheel's motion, time would appear to pause, as described by the relativistic time dilation formula:
t' = γ(t)
Where t' is the time experienced by an observer in motion, t is the time experienced by an observer at rest, and γ is the Lorentz factor.
The passage of time is directly governed by the oscillations in the wave, or simply its frequency. By altering the frequency, we can change the flow of time itself, as described by the gravitational redshift formula:
f' = f * √(1 - 2GM/rc²⁾
Where f' is the observed frequency, f is the emitted frequency, G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the gravitational source, r is the radial distance from the source, and c is the speed of light.
Gravity and Energy Dynamics
Gravity can be understood in various ways through these thoughts. One perspective is that gravity operates similarly to the orbital planets, but with a twist. Instead of orbiting in space, we orbit at a subterranean frequency. This frequency attracts similar energies, leading to bonding and the formation of matter. For instance, atoms bond to form rocks, and separate rocks may bind together due to similar vibrations. However, other frequencies simply pass through, unable to bind due to differences in energy vibrations and the negative fields surrounding our bodies and the ground.
Our bodies are attracted to the Earth's core, with a force described by the equation:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r²
Where F is the force of attraction, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of our bodies and the Earth, and r is the distance between them.
The vibrations of our energy and the negative field surrounding us can be described by the wave equation:
∇^2E = μ * ∂^2E/∂t2
Where E is the energy field, μ is the permeability of the medium, and ∂^2E/∂t2 is the second derivative of the energy with respect to time.
The incoming cosmic energy pushes us downward, with a force described by the equation:
F = (E * A) / c
Where F is the force of the incoming energy, E is the energy density of the cosmos, A is the cross-sectional area of our bodies, and c is the speed of light.
The outgoing energy from Earth moves faster than the incoming energy from the cosmos, as observed in the formation of clouds with flat bases and more sporadic tops. This can be described by the equation:
v_out = v_in * (1 + (E_out / E_in))
Where v_out is the velocity of the outgoing energy, v_in is the velocity of the incoming energy, E_out is the energy density of the outgoing energy, and E_in is the energy density of the incoming energy.
Galactic Cycles and Black Holes
The Milky Way galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center, with a mass described by the equation:
M = (1.989 x 10³⁰⁾ * (G / c²⁾
Where M is the mass of the black hole, G is the gravitational constant, and c is the speed of light.
As the galaxy spirals towards the center, enough mass will be collected to trigger the black hole to become a large star, described by the equation:
M = (4.383 x 10³⁰⁾ * (G / c²⁾
Where M is the mass of the star, G is the gravitational constant, and c is the speed of light.
When this happens, the black hole will shed its outer shell to create the galaxy that spirals around it, and the process begins again. This cycle can be described by the equation:
t = (2 * π * G * M) / c³
Where t is the time period of the cycle, G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the black hole or star, and c is the speed of light.
The opposite of a black hole is a white hole, but why hasn't this phenomenon been observed? According to this article, it has been observed but misunderstood. With the theme of balancing the universe, would a large star be surrounded by much smaller black holes? Would these smaller black holes feed the larger star by way of quantum bridge or wormhole, and vice versa for smaller stars and larger black holes? This can be described by the equation:
E = (ℏ * ω) / 2
Where E is the energy transferred between the star and black holes, ℏ is the reduced Planck constant, and ω is the frequency of the quantum bridge or wormhole.
Energy Flow and Balance
Energy moves in and out of everything, maintaining a delicate balance. It enters as a negative force and exits as a positive force. Our sun emits energy at 99% strength and high frequency, which combines with an equally sized negative force at 1% strength, filling the space completely. This balance is crucial, as positive energy moves faster than negative energy due to entropy's diminishing effects over time and distance.
As positive energy travels, it loses a piece of itself, converting to negative energy. This process is directly related to gravitational forces and time dilation. When positive energy reaches 50%, it has a certain probability of converting to negative energy, which is then attracted back to a positive source with a corresponding probability of being converted back to positive energy.
This cycle of energy flow and balance is the foundation of the universe's harmony, and understanding it can reveal the intricate web of forces that shape our reality.
_Conclusion _
"In conclusion, the Harmony of Energy (HoE) model offers a novel perspective on the universe, revealing a intricate web of energy dynamics that underlie all aspects of existence. By exploring the interplay between positive and negative energy, we gain insight into the fundamental forces that shape our reality. From the smallest subatomic particles to the vast expanse of the cosmos, energy is the unifying thread that binds everything together.
Through the HoE model, we've seen how energy's harmonious movement gives rise to the patterns and structures we observe in the universe. We've also delved into the fascinating relationships between energy, space, and time, and how these interactions govern the behavior of matter at various scales.
As we continue to refine our understanding of the HoE model, we may uncover new secrets of the universe and gain a deeper appreciation for the beauty and harmony that underlies all of existence. Ultimately, this knowledge can inspire new perspectives, new technologies, and a new era of human understanding and cooperation, as we work together to harmonize our own energy with the energy of the universe.
But I ask this, why continue to work on something that is not appreciated nor taken seriously because it comes from a layman with the credentials of a GED? In that lies the problem as I’ve been told only those holding degrees should consider these thoughts. With that, I have abruptly stopped progress of this idea.”
MAG

Originally posted at my blog.
Description
Discover the brutal hidden history of Keanu Reeves’ record-shattering immortal warrior’s saga, soon to be adapted for Netflix!
Renowned filmmaker and record-shattering comic creator Keanu Reeves is joined by writeartist Steve Skroce (The Matrix, Post Americana), screenwriter and director Mattson Tomlin (A Vicious Circle, The Batman Part II), and artist Rebekah Isaacs (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Money Shot) for a pair of self-contained stories set within the 80,000 year history of BRZRKR! In Poetry of Madness, a sea of gore and devastation awaits as B., through a fateful chance encounter, safeguards the advanced and ancient realm of Atlantis as its unstoppable protector. But a sickly monarch serves as a symbol for the rot inside, as the security and bliss created through B.’s violence is shallow...the cracks created by a secret cult might spell a monstrous end for the legendary city, one beyond even B.’s ability to save. In Dead Empire, a former kingdom eradicated by the BRZRKR has a single living survivor. She and her people knew B. as the God King. In this tragic story of death and cataclysm, the survivor recounts a fable in which lost love, manipulation, and warring empires brought out the very worst of Unute... but is the fable’s narrator reliable? What might the survivor be hiding? Collects BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness #1 and BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1.
Overview
Title - BRZRKR: Bloodlines [Volume #1]
Author(s) - Keanu Reeves (Author), Mattson Tomlin (Author), Steve Skroce (Illustrator)
Publisher - BOOM! Studios
Genre - Fantasy/Action [Adult Fiction]
Chapters - 2 Stories
Pages - 112 (Print)
Cover - 7/10
Release Date - 2 April, 2024
Get your copy - Amazon
Review
NO Spoilers
Let's start with a simple enough question - What would you do when you found out that 'John Wick', aka Keanu Reeves, has written a comic/graphic novel series featuring himself as an immortal warrior who loves carnage? Me personally, I would want to grab a copy instantly! I mean, it sure sounds super fun, right? So when I got my eyes on 'BRZRKR: Bloodlines' over at NetGalley, I beat the heck out of the 'Read Now' button until I got the digital copy. And for that, I would like to thank the authors, the publishers - BOOM! Studios, and NetGalley for making it readily available. Oh, and how can I forget? My deepest of thanks to 'Mr. John Wick' himself!
So then, what really is 'BRZRKR' all about?
'BRZRKR: Bloodlines' is the first volume of the series which collects two stories - 'Poetry of Madness' and 'Fallen Empire'. Both of these stories shed a light on the life and times of the immortal, carnage-loving warrior known as the Berserker (portrayed by Keanu Reeves himself). Here's a quick summary, along with the pros and cons for each:

• Poetry of Madness

Welcome to Atlantis! A kingdom like no other, Atlantis is full of wealth and prosperity under the rule of King Azaes the Kind. But naturally, enemies want to take over the rich kingdom and have it all for themselves. But Atlantis and its people have nothing to worry or fear about. The King's Guard is there to protect them. And oh, if you didn't already know, the Guard is not consisted of "they", but just one person, and one person only...

For Atlantis’s true legend isn’t in its spires or its riches… but in the demi-god who protects them.
Behold!! Poseidon’s pet demon! The tip of the trident! The hope slayer! Unute, the Berserker!!!

Yep, it's the one and only 'John Wick' aka Keanu Reeves himself as Unute, the Berserker!
The opening sequence sets the tone for what this series is going to be about (at least for most parts in my opinion anyways) - blood, gore, and total CARNAGE! The present attacking enemy forces don't even stand a chance against the Berserker as he makes light work of them all, slashing and cutting them down to pieces one by one (almost quite literally!). And just like that, Atlantis is unharmed yet again, thanks to 'John Wi...', uh, I meant the Berserker. Unute, who is physically messed up himself and covered in gore, is paraded through the city as a hero. Not to worry one bit though, as he is an immortal demi-god (if you hadn't figured it out already) … who also has healing powers (not surprised to be honest, no?).
The story is narrated in the first person POV of Zubatai, a loyal servant to the beloved monarch of Atlantis, King Azaes the Kind. Not only that, she is also the honored chronicler and squire to the King’s personal guard, the royal protector of Atlantis - Unute himself. Her master, the Berserker, has only one true need that must forever be met… CARNAGE. Oh, and he absolutely LOVES carnage. And as Zubatai mentions -

The people want their gore.

And they all, including us fellow readers, are gonna get plenty of it right here!
The king is behaving a bit strange lately, and Vizane, the wizard priest, has something nasty and evil up his sleeves... And suddenly, one fine day, Atlantis is thrown into total chaos, destruction, and death when an unspeakable and equally unimaginable horror is unleashed. Can Zubatai and her master, Unute the Berserker, save the city and its people before it's too late?

• Pros
  • Blood, gore, and carnage present (if you love that kind of stuff) … lots of it!
  • A pretty good "twist" as to the identity of the real enemy. Was certainly not expecting it for sure. Took me by surprise.
• Cons
  
  • Not a solid enough plot in my honest opinion. Didn't get connected, or satisfied, with how it unfolded.
  • The ending wasn't that satisfactory.
• Fallen Empire
  

This time, we start off "many centuries ago" (presumably in the context to the events of 'Poetry of Madness') at a desert kingdom named Olos. The king is anything but kind (unlike the one from the first story). He is ruthless and hungry for power, with a sense of madness about him, and will do anything to crush his enemies. But onto his land, one day, steps foot a person who is not human...
The Berserker is here, and Olos is thrown into turmoil as the immortal's thirst for carnage seems to be never-ending. The queen, who is hiding secrets including her own dark past, sets out to carry on with a plan that will set in motion nothing but death and destruction of the highest of orders for Olos and beyond.
Narrated by the first person POV of a mysterious woman who has been the witness of the Berserker's journey and carnage firsthand, this tale depicts a range of emotions with an underlying aspect of sadness and grief... and what ultimately happens when the "rage for carnage" takes over...

• Pros
  • Blood, gore, and carnage present... but in a considerably lesser amount (which I thought worked out well).
  • There was more to the story, and I really liked it.
  • The emotions displayed - anger, sadness, grief, betrayal, love, etc. came across pretty well.
  • The ending was pretty good and satisfactory.
• Cons
  • None. I enjoyed this one much better than the first.

What was great about it?

• The illustrations were really good throughout. Very much liked the style of it all.
• As mentioned, this has plenty of blood and gore if you like that stuff, and absolutely pulls no punches.
• Read it in one sitting, and enjoyed it for the most parts.
• There are alternate covers present for both the stories. Loved that!

What didn't hit the mark?

• Both the stories were lacking that "X factor" in terms of plot (although I felt that the second was much, much better than the first).

Other info.

• Note: Strong, mature themes present throughout, like - blood, gore, nudity, profanity, etc.

Final thoughts
Overall, if you are looking for a fun and enjoyable start to a series featuring an immortal being who loves carnage, then this just might be what you are looking for. With no shortage of blood, gore, action, drama, and a decent amount of "steamy" stuff throughout, 'BRZRKR: Bloodlines' (Volume #1) pulls no punches in delivering the aforementioned elements. The plot aspect could have been done better in my opinion, but nonetheless, this was a pretty good enough read altogether.
Rating: - 7/10 (A fun read)

Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
​
Chapter 411
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For a moment, it felt as if the world had stopped.
​
Instincts kicked in faster than my brain could process the situation.
​
The breaths of people and the roars of monsters seemed miles away, and my heightened senses absorbed every detail.
​
Shwaaah.
​
Blood droplets, soil, and dust hung in the air. The mist was so thick it felt like I could carve through it.
​
And suddenly...
​
'Qi.'
​
I felt it. The massive surge of Qi enveloped the area for hundreds of meters. As my survival instincts screamed at me, I launched myself upwards.
​
“Take cover—!”
​
Boom!
​
A blinding flash was followed by a deafening explosion that shook the earth. I scanned the battlefield from about ten meters above.
​
Just seconds earlier, the spot where I had been standing was now a scorched wasteland, stretching for hundreds of meters.
​
Through the lingering mist and rising dust clouds, I saw the ground covered in green blood and the shattered remains of monsters.
​
'Magic Trap.'
​
Facing an unseen enemy means having to be prepared for every possible scenario.
​
'There's no room for mercy in war.'
​
The countless wars recorded in human history serve as witnesses, prosecutors, and judges.
​
Even humans commit horrific atrocities in wartime; expecting mercy from monsters is absurd.
​
Thus, vigilance is essential in war. It reduces the risk of falling into enemy traps and minimizes sacrifices.
​
Just like now.
​
Tap.
​
I landed lightly and extended my hand. Bang! Compressed air burst forth, scattering the dust cloud.
​
Amidst the blood and corpses that littered the area, familiar faces emerged.
​
“Mr. Choi.”
​
Mr. Choi nodded after taking a deep breath. Behind him stood about two hundred members of the suicide squad, their faces pale with fright.
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“There are a few injuries, but... everyone is safe.”
​
“That's a relief.”
​
“It was an incredibly powerful trap. If it weren't for this, most of us, including myself, would probably be dead.”
​
Swoosh, humm.
​
Mr. Choi reached out and touched the transparent barrier that appeared before him.
​
The barrier that enveloped him and the entire suicide squad was a spell inscribed on a scroll by a Grand Mage, one of the greatest mages among billions.
​
“When the battle is over, we must find Mr. Johnson first. We owe our lives to his magic.”
​
“Are you going to give him a kiss of gratitude?”
​
“Based on how I'm feeling now, I might do anything.”
​
Shao Shen, exhaling a breath he had been holding, responded to Mr. Choi’s words.
​
「I can do even more than that. This is really...」
​
He couldn't finish his sentence and looked around.
​
The explosion had been immense. At least a thousand monsters had been killed or incapacitated.
​
An indiscriminate trap. The Arch Lich had sacrificed countless minions to trap me and the suicide squad.
​
‘Look at this bastard...’
​
I had anticipated some of this, but the Arch Lich’s cunning and boldness exceeded my expectations.
​
If my signal had been even a moment late, and if we hadn't pushed through the monsters that were serving as bait, the entire suicide squad would have perished here.
​
‘Just like that day.’
​
An unforgettable memory. Such a tragedy must never happen again.
​
I turned and said,
​
“Keep your distance and follow me. Our goal is not to fight the monsters but to break through them.”
​
The suicide squad responded with a resounding roar. The monster army, which had lost many members in the explosion and was in disarray, hesitated and retreated.
​
When crisis turns into opportunity, we must not miss this chance.
​
“Charge—!”
​
With a dragon's roar imbued with Qi, I launched myself at the incoming monsters. Swish, the neck of a retreating monster flew into the air.
​
Toward the monster army, now with gaps created by the explosion, the two hundred members of the suicide squad charged like a spear, while the main force at the rear followed like a crashing wave.
​
Waaaaaaah—!
​
A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield. Green blood spread through the mist.
​
Far above, a flock of crows circled, overlooking the battlefield.
​
​
​
* * *
​
​
​
Upon a throne made of white bones, a being who had been sitting as if asleep suddenly opened its eyes.
​
From the empty sockets of the skull, a fierce light erupted, and a low murmur flowed out.
​
- Impressive.
​
The Arch Lich has hundreds of eyes and ears.
​
Even now, the familiars deployed across the battlefield were capturing every detail without missing a single moment.
​
Humans and monsters clashed fiercely, and the group of humans was making swift progress.
​
‘Suicide squad. That’s what they were called, wasn’t it?’
​
The Arch Lich recalled an old, dusty memory. A memory that, even after what felt like an eternity submerged in the river of death, he could not forget.
​
‘The Adversary.’
​
How could he forget? The human who had been at the center of everything and the suicide squad of humans who had risked death and charged alongside him.
​
‘It was him who drove the sword into my body.’
​
The Arch Lich looked at his own body, made of jet-black bones.
​
In the past, he had not been a lowly undead. He had been a noble and mighty being, trusted by the King, commanding countless monsters.
​
But on the day of the final battle, he too had fallen, along with the King. And it had been at the hands of a mere human.
​
- But… where is the Adversary? [Note: speculation time. The switch from the MC's point of view to the Arch Lich's made it seem like the Arch Lich is talking about the MC, but this seems unlikely since the MC hasn't faced any "King" monster before. By the same logic, it probably couldn't be Mr. Choi either, because the Arch Lich would have recognized him when he saw Mr. Choi with the MC. This makes me think that the most likely candidate for this "Adversary" is Lee Jeong-Ryong. If this is true, then the "King" that the Arch Lich used to serve could be Asmodeus, and the Arch Lich was one of the monsters fighting in the Great Cataclysm.]
​
The Arch Lich's voice was filled with curiosity.
​
He had surveyed all the fronts using his familiars, but the Adversary, who should have appeared, was nowhere to be seen. He recognized a few humans from his memory, but that was all.
​
‘Could it be?’
​
For a moment, the Arch Lich's eyes blazed intensely as he considered the possibility.
​
It was hard to believe, but if - just if - the Adversary had died... If he had met the fate of a mortal...
​
- Kha, khahaha!
​
His statue-like body trembled. The ground shook and the air quivered with his magic-laden laughter.
​
The guards, realizing their master's mood had changed, prostrated themselves.
​
- My lord.
​
- What troubles you?
​
The appearance of the guards was impressive. Each one rivaled a Named Monster, and there were twenty Death Knights and Liches in total, each cloaked in deeply blackened robes.
​
Creations made to face the Adversary. But now his thoughts had changed.
​
The Arch Lich, who had been laughing with joy, finally spoke.
​
- Listen, my loyal servants.
​
- At your command.
​
The Arch Lich stood and looked down at his subordinates. His eerie voice echoed through the space.
​
- Go to the battlefield. Crush and sweep away those insignificant humans.
​
The twenty Death Knights and Liches bowed without hesitation.
​
The Arch Lich was the lord of all undead present. There could be no doubt in following his command.
​
- We obey the Lord’s command.
​
With a unified response, they each went their separate ways.
​
The space became empty again. The Arch Lich, who had been laughing alone, sat on the skull throne and focused his mind.
​
As he observed the battlefield through the eyes and ears of numerous familiars, he suddenly paused.
​
- But... who is that human?
​
In the black eyes of the crows flying across the sky, he saw a young human cutting down monsters amidst a bloodbath.
​
A face that didn’t exist in his past memories. But it was a face he had seen through a familiar just a few days ago.
​
- The human who defeated the Death Knight Lord.
​
The Death Knight Lord, created using Lei Fei, was the Arch Lich’s greatest masterpiece among all his creations.
​
Though the transformation was incomplete due to Lei Fei's strong soul, the Arch Lich had imbued some of his own power into the Death Knight Lord, leaving no doubt about his strength.
​
All of his effort was for naught, as the best of his forces and precious magic power had been washed down the drain. All because of that insignificant human.
​
- Annoying. I’ll take care of him for sure this time.
​
Having decided to eliminate him, the Arch Lich sent out a thought.
​
Half of the guards heading to the fronts changed direction according to their Lord’s command.
​
​
​
* * *
​
​
​
Crack!
​
Wind, weapons, and the incredibly tough bodies of monsters.
​
Everything caught in the path of the spear blade was sliced apart.
​
Heads flew, and thick limbs soared through the air.
​
The troll, still barely alive, didn’t have time to regenerate before its body was shredded, and the ogre, half-decayed and undead, staggered before its upper body was severed by the sword.
​
Slash! Slash! Slash!
​
Wielding [Hero’s Soul], Mr. Choi cut down three or four monsters in an instant and shouted.
​
“Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung! The monsters' assault is too strong!”
​
His words were true. After breaking through the front line, the number of monsters decreased, but the quality of the troops increased significantly.
​
‘I expected this.’
​
The monsters at the front, used to overwhelm us long enough for the magic trap to catch us, were mostly mid to low-tier.
​
The Arch Lich had placed elites in the rear and used the other monsters as bait and meat shields.
​
‘To drain our strength.’
​
In addition, the thickening mist made the battle even more difficult.
​
The mist not only strengthened the monsters, but it also hindered visibility and hearing.
​
Conditions that were inevitably advantageous for monsters with superior senses compared to humans.
​
Of course......
​
'I'm an exception.'
​
Ssssss, Phwack!
​
The spear I flung with all my might skewered seven monsters.
​
Shao Shen and the rest of the Hunters in the suicide squad nodded their gratitude.
​
"Everyone, group up towards me!"
​
「But there are only a few magic scrolls left. If another magic trap activates......」
​
"No time to explain! To me! Now!"
​
At my shout, Mr. Choi and Shao Shen nodded and moved forward with the suicide squad.
​
I know what they are thinking, but we have already passed through three magic traps, and this is where the Arch Lich has gathered his elite forces. The chance of a trap activating is slim.
​
"Focus on defense rather than attack. Move forward!"
​
The battle itself has become more difficult, but with the chances of triggering a trap reduced, my heart feels lighter.
​
It's trivial if I have to deal with the traps by myself, but for the rest of the squad members, they pose a fatal threat.
​
'The last destination is just ahead. We will minimize casualties and join up with Lee Jeong-Ryong and Wu Hei-Xing.'
​
Screech! Crunch, crunch!
​
At that moment, as I led the vanguard and began to feel the accumulating fatigue...
​
- Everyone, come out!
​
- Human, by the command of our Monarch, I will take your life.
​
Like the parting of the Red Sea, the curtain of monsters split left and right. The beings that appeared made me stare in shock.
​
​
​
[Lv.120 Shadow Lich]
​
[Lv.115 Shadow Death Knight]
​
​
​
There were ten creatures over level 120. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe, and my hands and feet trembled.
​
Mr. Choi, seeing me shaking like a leaf, shouted in a voice filled with despair.
​
"We must retreat immediately!"
​
"Mr. Choi... Mr. Choi."
​
"Snap out of it, Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung!"
​
"Lunch is here."
​
"If this continues, it will be a complete wipeout... Huh?"
​
I looked at the ten monsters, no, the lunchboxes with trembling eyes.
​
"The lunch delivery is here."
​
"......?"
​
- ……?
​
- ……?
​
Put the question marks away, you bastards.
​
It's One Strike time.
​
Previous Table of Contents Next

Current:
Patrick Weekes, Lead Writer: Writers Mass Effect: They wrote several side quests, including Citadel: Family Matter and Presidium Prophet.
Additional Design Dragon Age: Origins
Writers Mass Effect 2 and Writers and Manager on Lair of the Shadow Broker: They co-wrote Miranda, and I believe also Garrus, co-wrote Liara during LOTSB. They wrote Tali, paraphrased Thane's romance dialogue, and contributed writing to other characters. They also contributed to the ending content for the game.
Senior Writer Mass Effect 3: Alongside John Dombrow, they assisted Lead Writer Mac Walters in managing the rest of the writing team. They co-wrote From Ashes and served as Senior Writer for Leviathan. They were also the Senior Writer Manager, working with John Dombrow as a co-lead (Basically) on Citadel. They wrote Kasumi, Tali, Mordin, Jack, Traynor, Joker, and Jondum Bau, and co-wrote Legion. Additionally, They wrote Liara's conversation with Matriarch Aethyta and Priority Eden Prime. They co-wrote Priority: Tuchanka and wrote Priority: Rannoch.
Senior Writer Inquisition, Lead Writer Jaws of Hakkon, Consultant The Descent, Lead Writer Trespasser: They wrote The Bull's Chargers, Cole, Krem, The Iron Bull, Solas, and Svarah Sun Hair. They also wrote the majority of Here Lies the Abyss.
Lead Writer Canceled Project Joplin DA4
Dragon Age Finaling Team Mass Effect Andromeda: Wrote several note texts.
Short stories: Dragon Slayers, Glass Beads, I Am Looking for a Book..., Why the Elders Bare Their Throats, When She Grows a Soul, Injure the Corners, Release the Knot, Shepard Off-Duty and Unleashing the Flyers of L
Comics: They co-wrote the story for Mass Effect Homeworlds #2 with Mac Walters.
Books: They are the writer of the Rogues of the Republic Trilogy, which consists of The Palace Job, The Prophecy Con, and The Paladin Caper. They also wrote Dragon Age: The Masked Empire and contributed to The World of Thedas Volume 2. Additionally, they served as both writer and editor for Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, writing Three Trees to Midnight and The Dread Wolf Take You. They also wrote the novel Feeder.
John Epler, Franchise Creative Director since January 2022, formerly Narrative director until December 2021:
Prior to joining Bioware, he spent several years volunteering for various fan sites and dabbling in the modding community for various games.
QA Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Term Testers Dragon Age: Origins and Cinematic Designers for Witch Hunt
QA Story Team Mass Effect 2, additional QA on Normandy Crash Site, Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, Firewalker Pack, Kasumi - Stolen Memory, and Overlord.
Cinematic Designers Dragon Age II, Cinematic Designer The Exiled Prince, Cinematic Designers on Legacy and Mark of the Assassin
Cinematic Designers Dragon Age: Inquisition, Lead Cinematic Designer on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser: Working with the animation team, he worked to remove the race-gating on Iron Bull's romance
Dragon Age Finaling Team Mass Effect Andromeda
Animation Systems Designers/Storyboard Supervisor for Anthem
Executive Producers Dragon Age: Absolution
Books: Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote The Horror of Hormak and Half Up Front
Sylvia Feketekuty, Senior Writer:
Writers Lair of the Shadow Broker: Wrote Feron and Glyph, wrote Liara from the beginning of the DLC until the scene after the defeat of the Shadow Broker, and wrote a few lines of her dialogue after that.
Writers Mass Effect 3, also the Resurgence, Rebellion, Earth, Retaliation, and Reckoning Multiplayer Expansions: Wrote Glyph, Liara, and Samara. Also, she wrote the final version of Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery, wrote Rannoch: Admiral Koris and Geth Fighter squadrons, contributed to much of the content on the Citadel, including various quests, the refund guy, and various other background material. she also co-wrote Legion.
Writers Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser: Wrote Josephine, Champions of the Just, and the final versions of Before the Dawn and Under Her Skin.
Writers/Narrative Designers Anthem
Short Stories: The Flame Eternal
Comics: She co-wrote the story for Mass Effect Homeworlds #4 with Mac Walters.
Books: Writers The World of Thedas Volume 1-2, Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote Down Among the Dead Men and Luck in the Gardens
Sheryl Chee, Senior Writer:
Writers Dragon Age: Origins, also co-writer for The Stone Prisoner, Return to Ostagar, and Awakening, and the writer of Golems of Amgarrak. Writers Witch Hunt, Wrote Cullen, Dog, Leliana and Wynne, as well as Oghren, Sigrun, and Velanna during Awakening. Also wrote the Magi Origin, Broken Circle, and the Urn of Sacred Ashes.
Writers Dragon Age II, also on Legacy and Mark of the Assassin: Wrote Isabela and All That Remains
Writers Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser and writer for the Multiplayer: Wrote Blackwall, Leliana and the multiplayer characters
Writers Mass Effect Andromeda: Wrote Vetra and Suvi
Writers/Narrative Designers Anthem: Wrote Mathias
Short Stories: Isabela, Minrathous Shadows
Books: Writers The World of Thedas Volume 1-2
Brianne Battye, Senior Writer:
Assistant Writer Leviathan credited as Additional Design
Writers Citadel
Writers Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser: Wrote Cullen
Writers/Narrative Designers Anthem
Short Stories: The Next One, Won't Know When and Each Minute Closer
Books: Writers The World of Thedas Volume 2, Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote Hunger and The Streets of Minrathous, and the writer of wholehearted (poetry collection)
Poems: Short Poems
Former:
Lukas Kristjanson, Senior Writer until September 2023 laid off:
Lead Writer Baldur's Gate and the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion: Wrote Minsc, Jaheira, much of the main story and main campaign, and many of the side quests Also contributed manual editing and compilation.
Writers MDK 2
Designers and core design team for Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and additional design on Throne of Bhaal: Wrote Jon Irenicus and also contributed manual writing/editing.
Designers, Core Design Team, Manual Writers and additional programming on Neverwinter Nights
Designers Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Wrote parts of Taris, Manaan, and Korriban, much of Tatooine and Kashyyyk, and also contributed manual writing.
Lead Writer, later Co-Lead on Jade Empire.
Writers Mass Effect: Wrote Kaidan and Joker, co-wrote Kirrahe, wrote Feros, and co-wrote Virmire.
Writers Dragon Age: Origins, and the Writer of Leliana's Song: Co-wrote A Paragon of Her Kind
Writers Mass Effect 2: Wrote Jacob and Joker, contributed writing to other characters, wrote Joker's Mission on the Normandy, contributed to the game's ending, and advised Dusty Everman in the writing of the non-companion NPCs on the Normandy.
Writers Dragon Age II, also on Legacy and Mark of the Assassin: Wrote Arishok, Aveline and Carver
Senior Writer Dragon Age: Inquisition: Wrote Sera, In Your Heart, and several codex entries.
Writers Mass Effect: Andromeda: Wrote Liam
Comics: Co-wrote the Baldur's Gate promotional comic.
Short Stories: Aveline and As We Fly
Books: Writers The World of Thedas Volume 1-2, Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote Callback and Genitivi Dies in the End
John Dombrow, Senior Writer left in August of 2023:
Writer Universe at War: Earth Assault
Petroglyoph Studio staff on Panzer General: Allied Assault
Writer Overlord
Senior Writer Mass Effect 3: Alongside Patrick Weekes, he assisted Lead Writer Mac Walters in managing the rest of the writing team. He co-wrote From Ashes and served as Supervising Writer for Leviathan. He were also the Senior Writer Manager, working with Patrick Weekes a co-lead (Basically) on Citadel. He wrote Wrex, Garrus, Javik, Padok Wiks, Wreav, Eve, and Victus. He also wrote Liara during From Ashes and contributed writing to Kai Leng and The Illusive Man. He wrote Priority: Sur'Kesh, co-wrote Priority Tuchanka, and wrote Priority Thessia. Additionally, he developed the initial Grissom Academy mission and wrote the first draft. He also edited Garrus and Javik.
Senior Writer Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea
Writer Telltale's Game of Thrones Episode 3 and additional writing on two of the other episodes
Writer and associate producer Mytheon
Writers and later co-lead for Mass Effect: Andromeda following the departure of original lead writer Chris Schlerf: Wrote Prologue Hyperion, Planetside, and the Salarian Ark Mission.
Senior WriteNarrative Designer Anthem
Short stories: Ruins of Reality
Comics: He co-wrote the story for Mass Effect Homeworlds #3 with Mac Walters and the story for Mass Effect Discovery
Books: Oversaw the development of the Andromeda novels.
Films: Production Assistant Sliver, Writer Control Factor, Screenwriter Deadly Swarm
Writer and developer The Sixth Extinction (Unproduced
Writer original screenplay The Hills Run Red
Films: Production Assistant Sliver, Writer Control Factor, co-screenwriter Deadly Swarm. Also, writer and developer The Sixth Extinction (Unproduced). Additionally, wrote the original screenplay for The Hills Run Red.
Left to go join Sucker Punch Productions as a Senior Writer
Mary Kirby, Senior Writer until September 2023 laid off:
Writers Dragon Age: Origins: Wrote Cauthrien, Sten, Loghain, much of the Qunari lore and the Chant of Light, and most of the Landsmeet.
Writers Dragon Age II, also on Legacy and Mark of the Assassin: Wrote Merrill and Varric
Writers Star Wars: The Old Republic: Wrote the companion conversations for Fideltin Rusk
Writers for Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser: Wrote Varric, Vivienne, and In Hushed Whispers
Writers/Narrative Designers Anthem: Wrote Max
Short Stories: Merrill, Varric and The Wake
Books: Writers and editors The World of Thedas Volume 1, writers Volume 2, Writer for Dragon Age: Hard in Hightown
Courtney Woods, Writer left in February of 2020:
Prior to joining Bioware, she worked as an Editorial Intern at DC Comics for 3 months and as a Contributing Writer at Newsarama where She specialized in video game journalism, including previewing and reviewing video games and related projects. She provided written and photographic coverage of pop culture conventions such as Star Wars Celebration V, New York Comic-Con 2010, and E3 2011
Community Coordinators Star Wars: The Old Republic also on the Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Galactic Starfighter expansions. Lead Community Coordinator on Galactic Strongholds and Shadow of Revan. Writers on Knights of the Fallen Empire
Co-writer The Descent
Writers Mass Effect: Andromeda: Wrote Lexi, Reyes and much of Kadara
Senior WriteNarrative Designer Anthem
Books: Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote The Wigmaker Job and Eight Little Talons. She also contributed to the Development of the Mass Effect Andromeda: Nexus Uprising Novel
Left to work on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as the Lead writer left in September of 2022
Currently a Senior Writer as Sucker Punch Productions
Arone Le Bray, Narrative Quality DesigneAnalyst left in April of 2021:
Contact Testers Jade Empire: Special Edition
QA Term Testers Mass Effect
QA Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
QA Analysts Dragon Age: Origins
QA Story Team Lead Mass Effect 2, additional QA on Normandy Crash Site, QA Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, additional QA Firewalker Pack, QA Kasumi - Stolen Memory, and Lair of the Shadow Broker.
Additional QA Star Wars: The Old Republic
Content Analysts Mass Effect 3
Analysts Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser
Analysts Mass Effect: Andromeda
Analysts Anthem
Books: Writers Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, wrote An Old Crow's Old Tricks
Theatre: Founders Basic Acid Theatre company. Director and an Actor in Finer Noble Gases, Writer and Director of Occupied.
Left to join THE CHINESE ROOM LTD as a Narrative Designer on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Currently serving as a Principal Narrative Designer on the game.
FormeUnknown:
Alexis Kennedy, Freelance Writer:
Founder and former CEO Failbetter Games Left in August of 2016
Original developer and lead writer Fallen London
Creative Director Tales of Fallen London: The Silver Tree
Creative Director Machine Cares!
Creative Director Dragon Age: The Last Court
Creative director, lead writer and Designers Sunless Sea
Co-founder Weather Factory
Writer and Designers Stellaris: Horizon Signal
Writer, designer, and coders for Cultist Simulator and its DLC."
Initial Concept Sunless Skies
Writer and Designer Book of Hours
He also worked on an unspecified research and development project with Telltale Games
In August 2019, he was accused of harassment by Meg Jayanth and Olivia Wood, a writer at Failbetter. Bioware has cut all ties with him.
Unknown
Ben Gelinas, Consultant:
Prior to joining Bioware, he worked as a staff writer for Guelph Mercury, Multimedia Reporter for The Waterloo Region Record, Crime Writer, and later Arts Writer for the Edmonton Journal, and as a Freelance Journalist.
Writing Special Thanks Mark of the Assassin
Editors and Additional Design for Mass Effect 3 and From Ashes. Editors on Leviathan and Citadel. He collaborated with the programmers to design the games Kinect voice command system
Editors Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser: Product owner for the game journal
Editors on Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne
Editors and Writers Mass Effect: Andromeda: Some writing for Drack and additional story content.
Founder Copychaser Games Inc.
Writer and Designer Speed Dating For Ghosts
Game Design Instructor Sheridan College Jan 2018 - Apr 2018
Narrative Designers Control, Co-writer Control Expansion 1 - The Foundation."
Writers Gotham Knights
Writer and Designer Times and Galaxy
He is also working on a game about sleep paralysis
Books: Lead Writer and co-project Lead The World of Thedas Volumes 1-2, contributed an essay to Shy: An Anthology, Writer The Art of Dragon Age: Inquisition, worked on the English language version of The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia, and wrote BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. He also contributed to the Development of the Mass Effect Andromeda: Nexus Uprising Novel

Continuing on from this post, this information also comes from Helen Hardacre's book Kurozumikyō and the New Religions of Japan, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1986 - "Chapter Seven: The Unity of the New Religions" (pp. 188-193):

This study has identified a vitalist, spiritualist world view as the most fundamental factor unifying the new religions. Whereas prior studies have recognized a rather standardized list of traits as shared by a number of the new religions, this study has tried to show how those traits are unified in originating from a particular conceptualization of self in relation to other levels of existence coupled with regular patterns of thought, actuion, and meotion. The kingpin of the system is the idea that the self-cultivation of the individual determines destiny.

You can see this clearly expressed in this SGI saying:

"A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, can even enable a change in the destiny of all humankind."

That's the belief, at least. We don't see SGI members having anything close to this kind of impact on society or the world at large, and they've had over 80 years to show us all, almost 65 years here in the US. Nothing.

The religious life consists of such cultivation and of repaying the benefice of deity.

Before anyone tries to say, "There's no 'god' in SGI!", remember that Ikeda HIMSELF defined the Soka Gakkai/SGI as a "monotheism". Considering that Ikeda is defined as "the world’s foremost authority on Nichiren Buddhism" and "the supreme theoretician" (with the only qualification apparently being the all-controlling leader of the Soka Gakkai/SGI), so whatever Icky says, goes.
And don't forget the SGI's emphasis on YOUR eternal gratitude.

Textual erudition, esoteric ritual, and the observance of abstinences will not serve as a basis for elevating the religious status of priests above that of the laity. The laity therefore tend to be central.

Hence the inherent tension in the relationship between the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, ultimately showing that the "new religions" and the "old religions" simply don't mix.

Since individual self-cultivation is the primary determiner of all affairs, fatalistic notions and ideas of pollution must be recast. Unhindered (or less hindered) by notions of pollution, women play key roles.

The "new religions" are so much better positioned to exploit this huge source of donations and free work! The Ikeda cult certainly has.

Because all problems can be traced to insufficient cultivation of the self, one cannot expect fundamental social change to occur through political action.

Even though, ironically, this attitude simply entrenches the status quo and creates no change at ALL. As explained here, this belief simply produces a conservative attitude that rejects society's efforts to collectively help those in need. How many times did you hear in SGI that such-and-so needy person didn't need actual help; they "just need to chant to change their karma!"?? The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it succinctly:

Now the other myth that gets around is the idea that legislation cannot really solve the problem and that it has no great role to play in this period of social change because you’ve got to change the heart and you can’t change the heart through legislation. You can’t legislate morals. The job must be done through education and religion. Well, there’s half-truth involved here. Certainly, if the problem is to be solved then in the final sense, hearts must be changed. Religion and education must play a great role in changing the heart. But we must go on to say that while it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also. So there is a need for executive orders. There is a need for judicial decrees. There is a need for civil rights legislation on the local scale within states and on the national scale from the federal government. Source

And civil rights legislation has done far MORE to advance the causes of equality and justice than ANY religion ever has. For example, the SGI still clings to its anachronistic, old-fashioned "4 divisional system" based in traditional Japanese patriarchal family norms, even though this is ill-fitting and inappropriate, even offensive, in Western cultures.

Similarly, attempting to cure disease through medical therapies alone can produce only a shallow healing.

As discussed here, this kind of selling point might've flown in the 1800s, even in the early 1900s, and in the chaos of post-WWII defeated/occupied Japan, when people didn't really have access to medical treatment that worked, but now? GTFO. There are very few who will go for this, and they tend to be uneducated. You'll notice this "faith-healing" is hardly a major selling point any more.
Keeping in mind that the focus of this book is on one of the oldest of Japan's "new religions", Kurozumikyō, to illustrate how very similar ALL Japan's "new religions" are to each other, with only minor differences, and this includes Soka Gakkai:

The code of ethics seen in Kurozumikyō is not solely its own invention but is generally shared by both new and established religions. It rests in principles of family solidarity, authority of elders, and a clear-cut division of labor between the sexes.

Is it still required in Japan that female Soka Gakkai employees retire as soon as they marry?
From the March 2022 paper, "‘Genderism vs. Humanism’: The Generational Shift and Push for Implementing Gender Equality within Soka Gakkai-Japan":

This paper investigates how young Japanese women in contemporary Soka Gakkai (SG) navigate Japan’s continuous gender stratified society that remains culturally rooted in the ‘salaryman-housewife’ ideology. How are young SG members reproducing or contesting these hegemonic gender norms that few seek to emulate? While SG has long proclaimed that it stands for gender equality, its employment structure and organization in Japan until recently reflected the typical male breadwinner ideology that came to underpin the post-war Japanese nation-state and systemic gender division of labor.
As an organization that has long claimed to support an internationalist/global ‘humanist’ agenda, driven by Daisaku Ikeda’s interpretation of Nichiren Buddhism, SG in Japan also rose to prominence in a society that culturally and ‘legally’ stratified men and women through a systematic gender division of labor.
According to the global gender gap index reported by the World Economic Forum, Iceland followed by Finland stood at the top of 156 countries as the most gender equal societies in 2021; Japan was ranked at 120 as one of the most unequal societies; the closest other OECD country was Italy, ranked as number 633. Even though the rate of female employment now mirrors other OECD countries, no significant change in women’s employment status and position in Japan has occurred. Women in management positions, economic participation and opportunity ranked 117, while their educational attainment stood as number 92, and political empowerment was close to the bottom, at number 147. Why would Japan, as an affluent, post-industrial society, find it so difficult to achieve gender equity on par with other OECD countries?

The Soka Gakkai (SG) certainly is not at ALL "progressive" on this issue! Ikeda blathered endlessly about "the century of women" and "empowering women", yet the organization HE CONTROLLED completely subjugates and exploits women! There ARE no female Soka Gakkai vice presidents.

Even if SG may be one of the biggest private organizations in Japan, the core work force by comparison is much smaller than the SG organization as a whole. Core regional or national male leaders were typically employed and remain employed as core workers on the general track, while until more recently the equivalent female leaders employed by the SGHQ would retire from paid employment upon marriage, and continue ‘unpaid’ leadership positions in the local area. ... SGHQ consists of the central leadership of the organization, but as an employer was built on the model of a typical Japanese company. This meant male employees were stratified as the core labor force and female employees as periphery, disposable labor. This thinking, on the one hand, reflected assumptions about women’s role as homemakers and mothers, which meant that SG female staff upon marriage would stop paid employment. In reality, this did not mean ‘retirement’ to become homemakers, but rather that married women continued ‘working’ for SG as leaders in the local voluntary organization. The vast majority of female and male members of SG never work for the organization as employees, including most of its women leaders. The organization throughout its post-war period relied heavily on the women’s division or fujinbu 婦人部 (see also McLaughlin 2019 who translates this more narrowly to refer to married women). However, particularly those women trained through working for the SGHQ moved onto become effectively unpaid staff and leaders in local areas once they had married and were economically supported by a husband. Women in SG, both those who were employed at the SGHQ and those that were in employment in other places before marriage—a much larger number—could be said to have been and still today remain the key driving force behind SG’s development in Japan: women organize, execute and lead a range of activities that involve the majority of members in the voluntary organization.

Yes, Soka Gakkai women work hard - just without pay. It's utterly exploitative. You can imagine how utterly dependent women are within this system and how vulnerable in cases of divorce. It's NOT AT ALL "humanistic" OR consistent with any "century of women"!

This family-centered ethic is found in established Buddhism and Shrine Shintō, and no new religion denies it. Some in fact go much further than Kurozumikyō to articulate it plainly and to implement it with a vengeance. The main difference in the familistic ethic between the established religions and the new lies in the sustained attention, systematic socialization, and organizational support available to the follower in the new religions. Specifically, counseling helps followers implement the world view's patterns of thought, action, and emotion, and rewards them for doing so.

Within the SGI, this is the whole "guidance" framework buttressing the (non)discussion meetings as a consistent source of indoctrination, I mean "support".

The question why this world view of the new religions arose as a pervasive orientation at the end of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) is quite remarkable. In large part the new religions themselves are responsible for its propagation. In addition, however, it harmonized well with social institutions and mores prevalent before 1945. ... The family system as codified in the Meiji Civil Code of 1898 embodied a familistic ethic closely resembling that of the new religions. No doubt these religions were greatly supported by the promulgation of this ethic by the pre-1945 educational system. Even when compulsory education dropped morality courses from the curriculum, the new religions continued to preach much the same content, shorn of chauvinistic rhetoric about the divinity of the emperor and the sacrality of the Japanese nation.
In all the new religions, persons over about fifty years of age occupy most positions of leadership, and the consequences of this fact are weighty.

Indeed. In 1986, when this book was published, Icky was 58 years old. While the Soka Gakkai started out as a "young" movement, the fact that Ikeda held onto power as he aged and never ever "passed the baton" to a younger successor or "turned the reins over to the youth" meant that the Soka Gakkai was doomed to become old and stale. Perhaps it was only the fact of Toda's death at this same age (58) that enabled the Soka Gakkai new religion to ever gain a reputation as a "young movement"; Toda held onto all the power and control until his own death, though it seems more a function of his leadership and less akin to Ikeda's pathological grasping, and it was a lucky break for Icky that Toda cacked it so early. Otherwise, he'd have been left like poor Harada, who only became President of the Soka Gakkai when he was already retirement age, 65 years old. Soka Gakkai is now an elderly, declining organization, and that's because Ikeda chose to gather ALL power and control to himself and KEEP it until his own death. Hardly "progressive" or "visionary"!

These individuals were educated under the prewar system, and they have received as part of their primary education a view of the family as a microcosm of the nation, of its roles as pervaded with a sacred character, paralleling a view of Japan as a divine nation. They tend to see the family in terms of the ie rather than in terms of the nuclear family, and to regard its organizational principles as sharing the quality of sacredness.

This "ie" concept is unfamiliar; in the West, it is most closely approximated by Britain's noble families, such as the "House of Windsor".

when the ie or household system dominated in Japan. According to this system, the eldest son was responsible for the social and economic well-being of everyone living under his household, including parents, spouses, children, and siblings. This was considered particularly important in the years leading up and during World War II when “the government re-emphasized the virtue of the ie system by claiming strong family unions to be the basis of a nation ruled by the emperor, the head of all families.” During this time, almost all marriages were either arranged or approved of by the head of household. Source

This is an interesting angle, because perhaps you may recall the incident, immortalized in whatever form in the original "The Human Revolution" novel series, when Toda approached Ikeda's father and asked him to "give" Ikeda to him - Ikeda's father sounded quite overjoyed to be rid of Ikeda. It was Toda who arranged Ikeda's marriage. Toda was clearly acting as "the head of household" here.
Similarly, Ikeda claimed to be "father" of everyone in the Soka Gakkai/SGI, quite possibly in preparation for replacing Japan's Emperor with himself.
Here is a bit more on the "ie" system - you'll be able to see some of the aspects of SGI that seemed odd while you were "in", I think:

Thus it is not simply efficient or proprietous to obey elders, for women to defer to men, or to maintain clear role distinctions between men and women. It is sacred; failure to uphold these principles is immoral and worthy of censure.

This mentality is behind former SGI-USA national women's leader Akemi Bailey-Haynie's statements about the "ironclad" (as she put it) four divisional system. She knew which side her bread was buttered on, so naturally she was going to lean all the way in.

the SGI’s attempts to feign social progressivism.
SGI attracts many progressive leaning people, because the teachings appear to be democratic and universal. (How many of you heard that Nichiren Buddhism was the only school of Buddhism that held women could also attain enlightenment? I did, too many times to count.) Large gatherings in my area were notably diverse - racially, socioeconomically, and country of origin. The SGI also positions itself as an egalitarian organization without an elite Priesthood class. Everyone is a Buddha - and therefore a spiritual equal. The never-ending propagation focus is inclusive - much in the way of the Borg. Prepare to be assimilated!
All of this masks an utterly authoritarian, patriarchal, Japanese-controlled, socially regressive organization that says one thing and does quite another.

It's the Ikeda way...and of course Ikeda is THE "elite", the BETTER "Buddha" than any of YOU losers. No one will ever equal the "eternal mentor", and don't even fantasize about surpassing him, because you can't. That's SGI DOCTRINE. It's Ikeda's game and no one else gets to play, even when he isn't here any more.

That the SGI would have an affinity group for LBGTQ members that simulates inclusion - and simultaneously maintain the divisional structure that is by definition exclusionary - is as dysfunctional as it gets. Source
For SGI to devise a special group for LBGTQNAA members ("Courageous Freedom", whatever THAT means) that is supposed to represent inclusion, while simultaneously maintaining a divisional structure that BY DEFINITION excludes them - proves that this show of "inclusion" is nothing more than a façade, window-dressing to promote itself and conceal its rotten core, while the "ironclad" dysfunction of the SGI remains unchanged. Source

Regarding the "ie" structure of Japan's hundreds-of-years-old family businesses:

The logic of the “ie” system can be described with the following points:

1. The primary objective of the parties in the “ie” relationship is to survive and prosper. The “ie” is neither a contractual venture whose objective is to maximize profit nor is it a venture which can be liquidated after squeezing it dry.
   
2. Ideally, the “ie” must last forever, and as the “ie” prospers so does the family. Therefore, if the “ie” does not exist, neither can the family.
   
3. It is the parents’ responsibility according to the “ie” to continue to have it prosper for the welfare of the family. In a certain sense, it is feudalistic, whereby the parents give children unconditional orders, and the children receive unconditional support.
   
4. The “ie” is an organization in which members will give their all for the benefit of the “ie” by sacrificing their own personal benefits.
   
5. Each “ie” has its specific precepts, habits, and culture. Members are brought up under the same philosophy, or religion, to create a strong team.
   

With regard to that last point, that was apparently the basis for counting all new converts as "households" - they were expected to convert everyone in their family to Soka Gakkai. The Ikeda cult took that as a given, which actually makes some sense, given the pre-war school indoctrination the leaders of the Soka Gakkai had all experienced; as stated above, it harmonized well with social institutions and mores prevalent before 1945.
Unfortunately for Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai, the appeal of this kind of structure was losing strength post-WWII; it's easy to see Toda's wisdom in declaring in the 1950s that, "If we don't achieve 𝘬𝘰̄𝘴𝘦𝘯-𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘶 within Japan within the next 25 or 26 years, it's game over." The Soka Gakkai's success in taking over Japan ("kosen-rufu") depended upon that conditioning that was no longer happening in the schools or in the family. Ikeda believed he was great enough that he'd be able to overcome the fading of that all-important cultural conditioning within the population after 1945, and somehow "win" against the odds. He didn't.

The new religions continue to think of the ie as the model for family relations. That is, the idea of a corporate body passed from generation to generation, engaged in a common means of subsistence, its eternality symbolically manifest in the cult of ancestors, continues to be the conceptual norm.
Conversion is almost entirely limited to urban areas.
Large corporations in Japan typically screen prospective employees to eliminate members of the new religions. There is an inherent conflict between these two types of organizaitions, based upon a paradoxical similarity. The company at its largest and most elaborate seeks to accommodate nearly every need of its employees until the time of retirement, with a corresponding claim upon their loyalties and to a lesser extent, those of their families. Thus individuals already committed to a creed and to an organization over which the company has no control are suspect and probably unable to commit themselves to the extent of someone who has no such commitment. But it is necessary to recall that only a small proportion of the work force is employed by large corporations. The new religions provide ladders of prestige and reward for achievement, and this is a potent source of their appeal. ... Much as a man rises through the ranks in a company, members of the new religions can win reward and recognition that might well be beyond their reach in secular society. Since secular success so often depends heavily upon education and personal connections, persons lacking these may find themselves barred from many opportunities.

And there you have it!

Well, UGEE results have been declared today (where's the guy who said it will be declared on monday tho). Just woke up, checked the result, have cleared reap cutoff but missed supr by 1 mark. Damn it hurts. Prolly gonna join some comedk college.
Anyways, coming back to title, few days ago I compiled a few UGEE interview questions, so thought of sharing them here for those who cleared UGEE (congo for clearing it, hope you clear the interview too).
#1
My friend had the opportunity to appear for the Dual Degree Programs interview. She shared her entire experience with me. Once the document verification was done, the candidates were divided into seven groups. 20 minutes before the interview, she was given a sheet with 3 questions one each from Physics, Linguistics, and Mathematics.

1. (a) Since Newton’s First Law of Motion can be derived from the second law of Motion, what do you think is the relevance of the first law? Did Newton give us three laws when two would have been adequate?

(b) A similar Mechanics question which I don’t remember.

1. A Linguistics Question of Medium Difficulty
2. You are given an equilateral triangle of side length ‘a. Disprove or Prove: Among any five points inside the triangle, there always exists a pair at a distance not greater than a/2.

The candidates were not asked to write the answers but just ponder on the questions for 20 minutes. Soon she was ushered into the interview room where she was welcomed by several warm panelists that asked questions like

• Why IIIT and Why Research?
• Tell us about your family and school education.
• Do you like linguistics?, to which she said that she loved Tamil. He asked further, Do you find the present web applications in Tamil efficient?
• Which field in Computer Science do you like the most?
• Do you have any experience working with Cryptography?
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Out of the 3 questions handed in earlier, she was able to solve the Lingo question and even managed to write some satisfactory reasons for the Physics questions but failed to solve the Mathematics question. They further asked questions related to Friction, Work, and Energy. They did not ask the linguistic one and moved on to the mathematical question. They asked her to solve it with their help.
She told them about her extracurricular achievements and they seemed to be impressed. One of the professors ended the interview by saying that if she got selected, she should come with her extracurricular file then. The entire interview lasted for 50 minutes and she considers it to be one of the most memorable interviews.
#2
Eg: suppose you're stranded on an island and you know that the nearest landmass is n distance away. What is the shortest method to reach that. And other pcm questions with most of them relying on logical reasoning. The interview should be 2 way, i.e. only you shouldn't be the one talking and nor should the interviewer be the only one talking. If you get stuck on any question ask them for time to think or ask them for suggestions. Some questions won't have any answer and they're only looking for how you think and whether you're teachable or not, not whether you get the right answer
#3
The interview questions can be based on some concepts in math and physics, or they can be completely logic based (strategizing, puzzle solving, etc). They want to know how well you understand the questions, how you break it down into simpler problems and how you think through it...they are not as interested in the actual answer. We are not supposed to share the exact interview questions so please don't ask/DM me about that lol. All I can tell is that I was asked two questions, first one was based on 3D geometry and the second one was purely logic based, basically I was given an emergency situation and was asked to create a strategy to get people out of the situation; not going into the details.
In general, you don't need to "prepare" anything specially for the UGEE interview. They just want to evaluate you based on critical thinking and research aptitude. The REAP paper is designed for the same purpose.
You can recollect your past accomplishments and formulate them with you hobbies so that you can present them well in front of the interviewers. Don't get mushy, don't exaggerate anything but at the same time, don't hesitate to share any hobby or achivement however unrelated it might be. They are not judging you only by your PCM grades, rather they want to evaluate you broadly as a person, someone having the research aptitude and interest. The institute is most ambitious about their dual degree course
#4
Question 1
It was based on a truncated polyhedron, the first part asked the shape we would get if we cut a cuboid along the opposite vertical edges. There were three more parts, obviously tougher than this, but he skipped them and went to the second question, maybe because of lack of time. I don't remember them.
Question 2
“An astronaut in space wakes up after years, not feeling weightlessness. Give possible arguments.” Well, the language was not the same, but similar.
#5
https://www.quora.com/How-are-the-interview-questions-for-IIIT-Hyderabad-for-the-UGEE-How-should-I-prepare-for-them-And-what-are-the-chances-of-clearing-the-interview/answeNaren-Akash-R-J
#6
Q: There are 10 stones lined up & you are standing at the first stone. You can move only forwards by 2 ways: (a) moving 1 place ahead ; (b) moving 2 places ahead by skipping a stone. How many possible ways can you reach the 10th stone?
A: I made around 5 cases wherein there would be 0/1/2/3/4 double-jumps (with the rest being single-jumps). And partially calculated it using PnC, until one prof asked me to explain my thinking and approach towards the qs. I think I explained it well (with a diagram for the cases) and we had a brief discussion abt it for a min or so. (He said I don’t need to fully calculate it)
Now, we moved to a physics question**, a very basic qs to test your thinking:**
Q: A balloon is filled with air(with a light rope) and placed in the centre of a closed room, what will happen to it?
A: It will fall down because of the weight of the rubber and of the rope.
Q: Right, let’s say that the rubber & the rope have negligible mass, what would happen now?
A: It would remain stationary in the room.
Q: Okay now if i fill helium to this, what will happen?
A: It will either move upwards or downwards depending on the resultant of the weight of the rubber+rope & the buoyant force.
Q: Now let’s say that the helium balloon is tied to a very long and heavy rope, what will happen to it?
A: It will not move upwards, but stay stationary due to the tension in the rope.
Q: Okay, so now I give you a scissor, with the same apparatus as prev qs, how will you make sure that the balloon doesn’t fly up to the ceiling.
A: Sir I’ll keep shortening the rope from bottom to top in order to reach equilibrium (I should’ve worded it better that day lol)
Q: But if you cut it too short, won’t it fly up permanently?
A: Yes sir, absolutely, it will. So what I’ll do is I’ll cut it long initially, and keep cutting it until the weight of the rope is equal to the buoyant force on the balloon. And more the net force, faster the balloon would go in the upward direction, so I can judge the equilibrium point becoming closer as the balloon starts moving up slower & slower.
Q: Okay but how will you make sure that the balloon is stationary and not moving here-and-there?
A: Sir I will bring the balloon-rope system in equilibrium, to the centre of the closed room, and hold it stationary for a while so that there’s no constant velocity on it. This will make sure it’s stationary because there’s no other external force on it.
Q: Very good Sarthak. So, let’s move to one last qs, say I filled a balloon with air like the very first qs, in the morning, and left it like that till the evening. What do you think will happen? — just briefly think and answer, we just want to know your approach & thinking.
A: Umm sir, we’re assuming the balloon to be air-tight right?— Like no air can escape from the bottom hole (at where the string is attached)?
Another Prof: Ahh I like your thinking here, good. Nice.
#7
They asked me about my hobbies and interest and why i am interested in research ? Why I want to join IIIT Hyderabad? All at once
I answered them that my hobby is watching youtube videos, I am interested in volunteering and working with Ngo's and I am also interested in opening up electronic items and trying to repair it.Then why research? - I answered them that I want to become a scientist and research allows me to think out of the box and -------xyzabc---------.
Then comes the technical part.
Que1.The asked me what is arithmetic mean of (x1,x2,x3,x4……..xn)
Que2.Then they asked me their geometric mean
Que3.Then they asked me the relation between 2 que and arithmetic mean of (logx1,logx2,….logxn)
Que4.They asked me about the class 9 que that when a load carries in railway station carry a load is their work is zero and if yes why do they get tired?
Then they kept asking question around this only is air resistance is zero no friction etc …
#8
3 questions - one from matrices and binary numbers, one from thermochemistry and thermal physics, and one from linguistics .
I was given roughly about 15 min to solve the questions. I solved the 1st two questions quite easily as they were simple ( also note that the first question of matrices and binary numbers was also error prone and very loosely defined I considered it to be wrong and so also discussed this with the pannel “All of them gave me a smile”.)
After trivia on the matrices problem and the linguistics problem the professors started asking me independent question which were very elementary questions from the fields of linguistics. They also asked me to represent certain decimals and and certain numbers in binary format as an exercise.
Then they asked for my board's percentage and my mains percentile and why I opted for 5 year programme. For the all the questions I was honest and especially for the last I told them it didn't matter to me if it was 5yr or 4yr .
My suggestion to you guys:
The interviewer are not there to know the right answer, rather they are there to analyze how you are able to think about the solution to see whether or not you fit for being a part of research institution. If you don't know answer to something, ask them for hints but don't get stuck anywhere and don't fear much, just be clear with your basics, no need to go on to deep learn the subject. Know a little about the branch that you wanna opt for. If you have an extra curricular, do tell them. Don't oversell anything, just be true to yourself and it will be a cakewalk. Also they will definitely ask for your hobby, do keep a few of them in mind and know a bit about them too. Like if you mention to them that you like reading novels, they will prolly ask which type of novels, or which is your faviourite one, tell lessons that you learnt from that novel, same goes for any other hobby. They are there to judge your personality and thinking ability. Sit down whener you are free, form a good intro for yourself including hobbies and all and try on to frame questions yourself, this way you will be prepeared for D-Day. Dont take stress during interview and try not to fumble, it will all be good

Three original birthstones for June birthdays

Birthstones are gemstones that conduct a birth month and have a bizarre definition and historical point. Every month has its birthstone. Ordinarily, one month has one birthstone, but three months are the luckiest, they have three birthstones each. One such month is June. June birthstones are moonstone, pearl, and alexandrite. Consequently, if you were born in June, you have got an exceptional opportunity to pick your June birthstone according to your preferences and budget.

June birthstones №1: Pearls

From ancient times it was thought that stones have exceptional power and bring distinctive energy to those who wear them. Pearls can bring mercy, innocence, and faith. They have healing powers, curing various diseases, and even insanity. Pearls still apply as medicines in Asia. If the month of your birth is June, you are a fortunate person. You can wear pieces of jewelry with such a rare June birthstone. Its uniqueness lies not only in its astonishing features but also in its exquisite form because the color of pearls deviates from white to black.
Pearls are also called "gifts of the ocean" because they are the only gemstone that is created by living organisms - mollusks. Due to the special liquid that these microorganisms secrete around the pathogen pearls are created. This liquid is called nacre.
Today, many distinctive farms grow mollusks which create pearls. They are located in the most picturesque parts of the world away from civilization. Mollusks will never grow and produce a nacre in polluted water.

June birthstones №2: Moonstone

A moonstone also belongs to the group of June birthstones. It is a translucent blue-silver feldspar. It has got a name due to the blue-white and silver gradients, which are provided by its delicate structure. This is June's birthstone of inventive people, who are frequently in search. In Indian culture, it is considered a sacred rock and one that brings good luck.
As for the beneficial properties of the June birthstone, we can say that it has a very substantial effect on the human body, it can:

• relieve epileptic seizures
• calm
• reduce outbursts of uncontrolled aggression
• normalize sleep
• clean the blood
• relieve edema
• treat inflammation
• remove stones and tumors from the body

Plus, it is a very robust love June birthstone. Any decoration with a moonstone can attract real love to you. The foremost thing, it needs to be worn near a heart.
June birthstones №3: Alexandrite
Alexandrite, or the birthstone of the aristocrats, has a unique ability to change color depending on the lighting. This June Birthstone was invented by Alexandre the Second in 1833. He noticed it while searching for emeralds, and this stone was supposed an emerald. But later it turned out, that it is much harder than emerald, and also it has a unique capacity to change color. Alexandrite is clear, but very seldom colorless. Its most common color is bluish-green. Less common is olive with shades of yellow and brown. Ural alexandrite, which is properly respected by the standard of beauty, in daylight, has a bluish-green color, and in artificial -purple. Alexandrite is a June birthstone which requires a lot of money.
Sometimes people wonder which June birthstone is better to pick: pearl, moonstone, or alexandrite. In this case, you should follow your preferences or discover the healing properties of stones. Like pearls, alexandrite is considered a very prominent energy stone. Nevertheless, it is proper for people who are strong in spirit and persistent in their goal, to overcome all impediments. While pearls are a softer and calmer gem.
Regarding the medicinal qualities of alexandrite, its central purpose is to cleanse the blood and strengthen blood vessels. It is also believed that if the stone regularly changes color, the person who wears it should pay attention to blood sugar. is

Where is Better to Buy June Birthstone

You can obtain some pieces of jewelry with these novel stones at one2threejewelry.com. Especially, pay attention to the pearl dainty ring which will be excellent in the role of an engagement band.

1.Do you have mini-rituals before starting to work? Do you turn on music or is it important for you to sit in silence to immerse yourself in the world of Astraea and come up with new interesting plot twists?
Before work, I walk the dog and drink coffee) I prefer silence.
2.What did you do before joining the Romance Club team?
Before joining the Romance Club team, I worked as a narrative designer.
3. Have you made mood boards? Did you guide the artists and show examples of buildings/rooms/clothing, etc., or did you leave a lot to their will?
Visual examples, text descriptions - all this is part of our work. This is how technical specifications are drawn up. But it is only a direction followed by the artist's long journey. And very often the result turns out to be even better than I had in my head.
4.Which of the screenwriters do you keep in touch with, besides Alice?
We communicate very closely with Alexandra, the author of “Requiem.” We came to the Kyrgyz Republic almost at the same time, we both fell under Alice's wing, so we are walking side by side. She is wonderful and I worry about her story just as much as I worry about mine
5.Which view do you adhere to more in life: Is there something otherworldly or do you explain it more with logic?
I don't believe in the other world. But I'm ready to change my mind if I ever encounter something surprising.
6. Do you plan to reveal your appearance to players? And will you share the processes of creating scenes/cuts, etc.?
I don't plan to reveal my appearance
I will definitely try to share the processes of creating characters, cut scenes, etc.!
7. Is it difficult to write your first story and especially write down those moments that should be connected in future episodes?
As in any job: there are plenty of nuances. But what you see in the final is worth any effort and difficulty
8.Are you going through your own story and who are you planning to go along the branch with?
Yes, of course) While I haven't decided on the branch, I'm taking improvements from everyone.
9. How many seasons are you planning for your novel?
3 seasons are planned.
10. Will there be new characters as love interests? Or maybe there will be another female branch?
I'm afraid this is a spoiler
11. When will the branches be closed?
Not planned yet. Play calmly
12. In what year do the events of the story take place?
Events take place around our time.
13. Mikael said “Our Father” when mentioning the situation with Raphael. Is this "Father" a patron? Or someone else? Will this be mentioned further in the story?
Of course, we will definitely find out who their father is
14.Will they show the occult symbol that was found in the last update?
Yes, we will show the symbol a little later.
15. The main character's wardrobe looks unreal! Tell me, what inspires you when creating images for Audrey?
Thank you!We try to stick to the classics, like all Astrea employees
16.How much will stats influence Audrey's future worldview and the novel itself as a whole?
Stats affect not only her worldview, but also her character. And they, of course, will influence the finale.
17.Will any other stats and other paths not related to the character of the main character be added in the future?
No, there will be no more stats. But different endings will also depend on certain choices.
18. What are the favorite zodiac signs? — How old are each of the characters? — What is the height of each of the favorites?
I will answer these questions in more detail. We will prepare questionnaires for you or something like that
19. Will we be able to match the characters?
To be honest, there were no such thoughts. But I was very curious, who would you like to set our characters up with?
20.Which character is closest to your character and why?
Probably Mikael. He and I are both workaholics and it's hard for me, like him, to get emotional
21. In the update, almost all the choices with the guys were for romance. Is it possible to make paid friendship elections in order to get to know them better, but not make your main LI jealous?
So far, nothing fatal has happened in story. In the future, the paths of friendship and romance will differ more clearly.
22. Will we dress up our favorites?
We will
23. Also about the topic of family. From Audrey we already learn a lot about her parents. This topic is well raised in the disclosure of the MC itself. But will the theme with the favorites' parents also be revealed?
We will learn about the past of all our heroes. And we'll raise the topic with our parents, too, if it plays an important role for them, as, for example, it did for Audrey herself.
24. How was David created?
David was created easily. He had a lot of prototypes, which makes it difficult to single out just one.
Initially, he was conceived as a big rake, but as the chapters were written, the character himself made adjustments to his character
25. What about David's past relationships? Did they exist and if so, will you talk about it in the novel? Overall, is he ready for a serious relationship?
Whether he will be ready for a serious relationship depends on you and your choices
26. Why does David call Audrey “witch”?
Probably because she bewitched him
27. Has Mikael ever had a serious relationship in the past? It seems that it is in terms of serious love relationships that it is extremely difficult to hook him! It's like he's so inaccessible)
It seems to me that the players of the RC took even those who were not so inaccessible)) The main thing is not to lose hope!
28. What is Felonia's sexuality? Has she been in relationships with girls/boys before?
I think for Fel, the main thing is the person, not their gender.
29. About Cassiel: Will he show gentleness instead of the usual barbness?
Here everything depends on your choices) Everything is in your hands!
30. How was Raphael created? Who were you inspired by and are there any prototypes?
Raphael, by the way, is the only character who has only one prototype. To avoid spoilers, for now I can tell you that this is a character from the book. Perhaps after the first season, when the character is revealed more, I will share the name) And perhaps someone will guess it now
31. We have already learned that Ruth is quite close to Audrey. We also agreed to meet with her. She is somewhat important in the plot and perhaps a branch is planned with her?
She's important to the plot, but there won't be a branch with her
32. We could see the Wolf in the opening animation. How important is this animal in the plot and, perhaps, we can become its owner? According to the type of pet for the MC. Or is the Wolf not as simple as we think and hides within himself something more than an ordinary beast?
Yes, of course, the wolf is important to the plot. It will open additional scenes and become a good friend for him

I just learned of this book yesterday, via a What Was That Book Called post. A FMC who can see ghosts is suddenly being haunted by the specter of her mortal enemy, the notorious heir to a Dukedom. He needs her to help him get back into his body, because he's sure he's not dead. She is furious at him, because he was mean to her for years and because people already think she's crazy for seeing spirits. Now they have to solve a mystery together to find out who's trying to kill him.
It sounded like a mix between {Ghost Walk by Cassandra Gannon} and Just Like Heaven with Reece Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. And I like Anne Mallory. And the book is free on KU!
Sold!
Having now read the book, I have thoughts:
It is a solid 4 star book for me. Well-written. Interesting plot. The FMC is very likable. But it never transcends into something 5-star magical. Which kind of pisses me off, because I can feel this book wanting to become 5-star magical! It has all the requisite pieces to become an all time favorite, like {In Total Surrender by Anne Mallory} is for me. Two things hold it back imo:
1- There are way too many side characters to create red herrings for the mystery. Like so many I couldn't keep them all straight. It bogs down the plot. Imma be real. I don't care very much who attacked the MMC. The romance is all that really matters in a romance novel. The rest is just romance obstacles and whatever the opposite of romance obstacles are. Romance magnets? The stuff that pulls the main couple together. That's all I care about. All the other stuff, I'm just wasted words that could be spent on relationship building.
2- The MMC is never in love enough to satisfy me. I wanted a bigger grovel, a more spectacular reunion, a grand profession of love. I didn't get it. It frustrated me. Maybe I have just been reading too many Tessa Bailey books lately, where the MMC is on his knees for the FMC, tears in his eyes because she miraculously loves him back. It skews my expectation. I feel like this one needed a slightly more epic ending.
Still it is a fun story! Very unique and certainly worth a read. I would recommend it, if you want a different kind of HR. I wish there were more imaginative regencies like this one.
Oh and who the fuck wrote this book's description on Amazon??? It is the WORST description of any book I've ever read. It is LITERALLY not what the book is about. The fact that the MMC is a ghost for 95% of it is never mentioned. How the hell can you skip that part of the story, since that part is the entire story? I was halfway convinced I was downloading the wrong book. No. The summary just sucks.

Hello I'm working on magic system for my fantasy world project written in Campfire. I made most of the rules of it. However I feel like there's some holes to fill (I think there's a lot of it) but I'm not sure well. Let me tell you guys briefly before asking some question.
Before we start:

• The language of my country is not english. So I apologize for any mispronunciations or grammar errors.
• The magic system is inspried from: Warcraft, Avatar: the Last Airbender, League of Legends (Both the game itself and Arcane Netflix series), Fromsoftware's videogames (such as Dark Souls or Elden Ring).
• My fantasy project is still ongoing which includes races, civilizations, regions, etc. that involved this magic system. For now I planned two purpose for it: Novel writing and video game developing (My game dev experience kinda small tho). I might post the link of it later.
• You can use my magic system as the inspirations but please do not copy it and claim that's yours. This system which is part of my fantasy world means a lot to me.
• After you answered the question I may reply you with some of the details of my fantasy world, something I forgot to tell, etc. But if the answer or advice is helpful, thanks very much!
• As you can see this post is very long. Feel free to tell me where I forgot to write so I will write it.

Base Magic types

There are 10 base magic types with 5 pairs of the opposite each.
Fire - Frost
Land - Air
Light - Shadow
Life - Death
Order - Chaos

• Fire Magic: aka. Pyromancy. self explanatory.
• Frost Magic: aka. Cyromancy. self explanatory. However this types of magic can conjure waters.
• Land Magic: This magic type can shapes and bends ground materials like dirts, sands, stones, metals or even crystals.
• Air Magic: This magic type can manipulate winds and mist. But it can also produce electricity.
• Light Magic: This magic type uses the power of the light to guides, blessed or smites.
• Shadow Magic: This magic type uses the dark power mostly to conceal or bring despair.
• Life Magic: This magic type can shape, enhance, heal or drain any lifeforms that made of woods, bloods or flesh. While most civilizations used it mainly to heal, some controversial ones may prefers to drain other's life to enhance themselves or their allies instead.
• Death Magic: aka. Necromancy or Pestilence Magic. This magic type can extinquish lives, reanimate the remains or to control the decay, plague or even spores.
• Order Magic: aka. Arcane Magic. This magic type controls forces, time and space.
• Chaos Magic: aka. Demonology. This magic type can manipulate minds or desires of the others. It is said that the highly skilled chaos magic users such as warlocks can summon demons.

Mixed Magic types

Base Magic types may combine each others into the mixed magic types. Mixed magic types are various and may called differently depends on what it mainly used or what the culture sees (For example: The mixed magic type that combine Air and Frost together. The Draugrs from the northern land may called it Tempest Magic because it blows the very cold snowy wind, while the Nagas from southern different land might called it Wave Magic because it blows the wind and control (or conjure) the water at the same time in order to creates waves to destroy naval ships).
Example Mixed Magic types:

• Light + Fire = Sun Magic
• Light + Frost = Moon Magic
• Fire + Chaos = Hellfire Magic
• Fire + Life = Dragon Magic
• Frost + Death = Venom Magic
• Air + Order = Gravity Magic
• Land + Light = Prism Magic

Be able to cast two different spells from two different type is slightly common. However, casting two magic types in one spells is more difficult and requires more skills. It is said that casting a two magic type spell is like writing on the paper with one hand while the other hand is cleaning the dish. But some can do it easily like walking while eating. It is also said that the spellcasters who's able to cast three (or more) types in one single spells around the world is not more than 50.

Staves, Wands, Magical Weapon or other Magic Devices.

Magical staves or weapons exist and they're known more specificly as "The Magic Tools" (They aren't limited to weapons, they can be like normal tools like dwarven runehammer for smithing, templar's holy tome). They're used by spellcasters to makes the spells they casts more powerful, require less mana to cast or both. Which means they're serve as the spell enhancer not to makes the wielder able to casts spells. Non-magic casters aren't able to cast spells with these weapons.
Things to note that this is the only enchantment methods exist in my world. This means enchanting tools with the spells alone is impossible.
What separate the Magic Tools and the normal weapons is every single magic tools have the "Power Gem" attached to them. The Power Gems serve as the heart (or brain if more accurate) of the weapon. The spellcasters channels their spells through the magic weapon before unleash it out with more powerful one.
Power Gems are the object with energies wavering inside. The shapes are very various. Some are large some are small, some comes with the orb or the cube, some civilizations crafed rather fancier versions of it (for example: Dwarves crafted the power gems to look like the ordinary stones but they look like they're carved with the symbol with magical energies flowing within the writing. They called these kind of power gems "Runestone"). How they attached the gems on the weapon is depends. Some are permanently attached to the weapon, others may be designed to be detachable (both for weapons and gems).
Also the magic weapons with floating parts (Like many weapons in World of Warcraft) doesn't exist.
Magic Devices doesn't always comes in the form of weapons or tools. It can be the large machines like some goblins and gnomes inventions.
This is how it works: Spellcasters unleash their mana from their hands (or other body parts that equipped the device) through the devices part(s) and into the gem. And if the magic is the same type, the gems will amplify it, makes the spells stronger.
Although you can't cast any spells though magic devices. Because power gems also have their own magic types. So the casters must cast the exact same magic types as the gems in order to empower the spells. For example: Arcane mages can't empower their spells through Frost Staff while the frost mages can. However spellcasters while one of their hands is holding the device, they still can cast the spell with the other types from their other free hand.
It's possible to create the magic devices with two different gems. However it takes more advance skills and knowledge to craft. The more gem types you add, the more complex it requires to design.
There's also the automatically active magic devices that can runs by it's own without the interaction. These are called "Auto-Magic Device". But the important thing to note that while it can be activate by it's own, it's impossible to do so without any other power sources. The alternate power sources just like machines in real life can be various such as sunlight, water, wind, electric, etc. However the machines can cause damage to surroundings like corrupting lands, atmosphere or explodes if they're aged or badly designed.

Power Measuring, Rules and Tactics

Spellcasters have Mana inside their body flowing like a secondary veins. Mana is used in order to cast spells. It is like the secondary stamina but takes longer to recover.
Spells have four levels:

• Fast: The fast spells takes almost no time to channel. It rapidly but slowly drains users stamina. It's the quickest but weakest spells. Mostly used in reactions for quick reflexes.
• Normal: Normal spells takes fair amount of channeling times and mana consumption (channels about half to one minute). These spells are the most commonly used in battle both team and duel situations.
• Slow: Slow spells are the opposite of the fast spells, it takes long time to channel (5-10 minutes) and unleash the large amount of mana (but not as long as the ritual spells). While it can be uses in the battle, it is ideal to cast during open-battle while you're not being a high priority target. So casting slow spells in duel battle is highly not recommended unless your timing is very good.
• Ritual: The ritual takes very long time (several hours) to perform and consume almost all of the caster's mana. Casters must make sure their surrounding don't have any single threat. Some rituals requires more than one spellcaster.

How powerful is the spell is how large they impact the world. Flamethrowers that blows the flame out of your hand about 4-5 meters is the fast spells while Lightning Storm spells that summon the stormy clouds that bombards the ground with lightning strikes is the slow spell.
Every spellcasters can casts magics with their bare hands. But it's not as strong (or longer duration) as casting it through magic devices. They don't have to call the spell's name or speaks in ancient or "magical" language to cast them.
Most spellcasters choose their primary base magic types. Every apprentice starts learning and practicing one. However it is wise to have secondary base magic type because 1). Sometimes casters have to fight against the enemies that have more powerful spell with the same or the opposite type or have high resistance to the caster's main magic types. So they have to use the secondary one instead. 2). With two magic types combined together they turns into mixed magic type creating new spells which unlocks some new utilities.
When spellcasters battle, it is not winning by how strong the spells are, it also takes wits, cunning and reflexes just like two soldiers battling each others.
Body movements can also improves your spells both it's channeling and executing state. How spellcasters move their hands is depends on their cultures like each cultures taught different martial arts. Example: Monks in the distant continent are mostly have limb movements than mages in the (European styled) kingdom when casting spells, Ninjas will do hand-symbol like movement in order to casts, etc.

Learning and mastering the spells

Spells can be learn in many ways like learn from your senior, reading books, read how your opponent cast it or even create your own new one if you're creative enough. Though it can't be answered certainly how long the casters learn one spell. Some can recognize the structure of the spell easily while others can't truly master the spell even after 10 years of training.
Learning is but the first step of mastering new spell. Practicing it and eventually you will reach the spells max potential. That means your fireball will have the largest and hottest as it should be, Arcane shield while it blocks better it also consume less mana.

Climates, Temperatures and Terrains

Terrains, atmospheres and surrounding temperatures can also impacts how difficult the spells to cast. Some biomes may hotter or colder, life-rich forest or the lifeless wasteland. It's crucial where casters are makes magic types easier or harder. For example: In the scorching desert it's easier to cast fire magic. But in the other hand, fire magic is almost uncastable in the very cold blizzards in the snowy land. Necromancers will most likely have difficult times casting death magics in the lifeful elven forest.

Realms from the Magical Dimension

(I know we're talking about magic system here in this subreddit but they're heavily impacts the magic system)
There's also the nine magical lands from each magic types (We have 10 magic types. one that is representing land magic is the physical world of mortals). The only magical realms I can think of right now is The Realms of Chaos (aka. Hell), the domains of demons and sinners.
These realms are not fully filled with one type of pure magic. These magic s in these realms are just unforgivingly strong. Is there any tribes, kingdoms, empires or civilizations in these land? That still remains the mysteries.

Racial strength/weaknesses to magics and cultures.

Not every races masters the types of magics the same. Humans while be able to casts every types of magics, they're not very powerful at one or two specific types (they can still be very good at them though). Some races unfortunately are unable to perform one or two types. Example: Orcs and goblins are chaos-blooded so they're unable to cast arcane magics at all.
Cultural opinions on magics is also crucial. Civilizations may welcome or ban magics depends on their point of view. For example: The main story's empire (Let's just use this name for now) have a bad history with Chaos and Shadow magic. So those who uses these magics are unwelcome to the empire (This is one of the main reason why the holy order that primarily uses light and arcane magic was founded). The antagonist legions with lots of warlocks (also WIP name) in the other hand are openly welcome these type of spellcasters.

Questions:

• I'm intended to create a "Hard magic system". Do I made it correctly?
• When I writing how magic device works I noticed that how spellcasters use the magic weapons and how non-spellcasters operate the auto-magic devices is kinda conflicting. Gems requires mana to execute but the machines have only alternate energy. How do I fix that?
• My fantasy world have Golems created by dwarves. They are tall humanoid construct made of stone. But in order to activate them you have to insert the Magic Gem. Question is what kind of the gem? I have three choices tho 1). Life magic gem to give the golem life. Problem is Life magics interacts with woods or flesh. But the golems is made of stone. 2). Chaos magic gem to give them emotions like the spirits. But that's just give them feeling not makes them able to move. 3). Death magic to give them souls. Problem is if I choose this people may think every undead creatures require gems to reanimate which they're not all.
• Speaking of the "Undead" creatures. Undeads in my world has various types and forms. The question is just like the Golem case from my previous question: how does their dead body work? Though one thing I have to add is the undeads can be either mindless or able to maintain their free will. Mindless undead being is usually lesser ones like zombies or skeleton while those with free will are mostly in greater forms like vampires.
• And there's some "What makes most people unable to cast spells while some can" questions require to answer for good magic system. In this fantasy world the more clear question is "What makes one able to spend his/her mana from the body in order to cast spells while most people aren't able to use the mana and/or even have the mana at all". What I can tell you guys is almost every mages in my fantasy world belongs (or used to belongs) to some group, order, cult or organizations like The Holy Order, Mage academy, druid circle, the legions that have many warlocks, etc. Can you help me answer the question?
• If there's any questions to fill the holes for better magic system. just ask in the comment. I'll try my best to answer.

He hoi me noi my buds. It is your baker man Pirate here. With Human Trauma book two coming to a close in the next week, I wanted to shre with you all the next planned novel I am working on. This time around we will have a stuborn human mercanary, a lizard princess, and one goal---escape Heavalun Mass city. all thats in thier way is corrupt cops, gangsters, the general populace and thier willingness to tolarate one another.
Lets get this Bread.
Shooting up from the blankets, Conor grabbed hold of the neck of whoever was jostling him awake, his cybernetic arm whirring while activating. Suddenly touching someone asleep was a stupid idea to do to anyone from Heavalun. Any sentient from this city was on edge most of the time and was usually particularly ornery when waking up.
He was especially prickly after years of contract killing and near-nonstop battles. While most people from Heavalun Mass City were used to fighting or having to keep an eye over their shoulder, watching for gangers, junkies, pickpockets, or the local police, his experience working and living here made him like a rubber band, ready to snap. Be that a neck, arm, leg, or whatever the poor sod he was fighting had.
“Who the fuck do you think you are,” Conor snarled, his natural and cybernetic eye narrowing and focusing in the wan light of his drab bedroom.
In an action built into him like an instinct, he willed his cybernetic eye to switch to see in infrared thermal sight, letting him get a good look at whoever this was while his natural eye adjusted to the lighting.
In bright orange, reds, and whites, Jurilra's face came into focus. She was a Jurintik, a werewolf like species; while he was human through and through. She had dull brown fur, long, dirty blonde hair, and a gaunt face and frame. The Jurintik was an alien species widespread throughout the galaxy, be it in the GU(galactic Union), Freespace, or here deep in the COS (concord of systems); you can’t swing a pipe without hitting at least two of them.
“Conor—let—-go,” Julitra gagged, clutching at Conor’s cybernetic forearm, her claws scratching roughly at the overlapping metal plates. “It’s me.”
Realizing who it was, Conor let her neck go, and she fell to the ground. He had only lifted her several centimeters off the floor, but doing that when half your torso, including your shoulders, one arm, and most of your organs were non-organic, or at least cybernetically enhanced, was a simple task, and he had done so out of sheer reflex.
“What were you thinking waking me up like that? You’re lucky I didn’t just dust you with my hand cannon,” Conor said, gesturing to the massive handgun sitting on the bedside table. “What in the stars are you doing here anyway?”
Taking a moment to rub at her neck and gag for a moment, Conor pieced together what likely happened. Considering that Julitra was naked, save for a thong, he must have hired her last night to blow off some steam—it wouldn’t be the first time he had done that when drunk.
“You didn’t pay me for last night,” Julitra said, standing up and nervously scratching her furry forearms and looking deeper into the shithole of an apartment toward the room where Conor stored all his weapons, money, and other precious items for barter or fencing purposes.
Conor sighed and scratched behind his still intact ear, the other having been halfway taken off by a frag grenade a few local years ago. After taking a moment to swing his legs out of bed, flexing his sore muscles, and rubbing his palms on his thighs, he looked up at her, having deactivated the thermal vision in his eye. “Fine; in the room top drawer on the right, you will find some bags of Murt and Syntrit. Take one of each.”
“Alright,” Julitra said, turning around and sashaying in that direction, clearly doing her best to move suavely and gracefully.
But Conor knew that was a load of Kret shit; She was little more than a strung-out junkie who just managed to keep herself on another fix fast enough by either guy like himself paying her for a quick lay or by managing not to get taken advantage of by one of the dealers on a street corner.
At least if she was selling herself for the night, she wasn’t going to end up in some slave market in the lower sections of the city or crammed into a skiff bound for a star on the far side of the galaxy. Julitra did have some kids to take care of, after all.
Not that it mattered to Conor if she went missing; there would be another skag he could bring in here. He just preferred her because she never tried to steal from him nor kill him in his sleep—finding another girl that he could trust would not be easy, especially in this shithole of a mass city. That well over a billion sentients were nestled in it did not matter; finding another piece of ass would be a pain.
“And only take one. I know how much product I have,” Conor grumbled, standing and heading toward the kitchenette. The dirty, blood-stained carpet was uncomfortable under bare feet.
God he hated going around with bare feet. It paid to have good boots to keep your feet safe from glass, nails, and other debris. That was especially important when operating in urban areas.
When he was out in the countryside or the house, he would forgo wearing them, and switch to sneekers, but being bare foot still sucked.
“I know,” Julitra replied from the room, “can I use your shower?”
“Whatever,” Conor replied flippantly, pulling down dried stulk leaves and tossing a pot of water on the stove.
So long as she didn't cause any issues with him getting started for the day, he honestly could not care less. All he needed to start the day was a pipping hot cup of stulk, and his stims. On that subject, the datapad built into his artificial arm chimed and reminded him of just that.
He frowned while retrieving the volatile cocktail of stimulants from the cupboard. He was almost out and only had enough for three days. Inside were six small autoinjectors about 20 centimeters long, marked with several warnings indicating that they should only be used in dire combat situations. But he was a particularly unique case and needed them just to survive.
After having a solid forty percent of his body replaced with cybernetics, from a metallic jaw, fake eye, a few replaced organs, torso, numerous enhanced joints, and even a few bits of wire running through his brain, the stims kept him working.
Without his friend Stich’s unique stimulant blend twice a day, Conor would start to fall apart. First would come the tremors, then body lockup, followed by seizures and eventually death. He had never made it that far in relapse; it was just easier to keep his organic parts cranked up to keep pace with his enhanced parts, and the video Stich showed him of sentients who relapsed was a good dissuasion.
Those poor sods were mangled wrecks, limbs at unnatural angles, blood, hydraulic fluid, and bone everywhere. And they were at most twenty percent wired up—what he could end up like was something he would rather not learn.
Dutifully and like clockwork, Conor ripped the cap off an auto-injector and shoved it into his thigh; a dull hiss sounded out as the brackish fluid flowed into his muscles. Just as he tossed the now empty injector into the trashcan, the sounds of Julitra starting the shower and humming flowed into the joint living and bedroom.
While Julitra was showering, Conor's friend and coworker Brakul sent him a message.
Brakul: Hey, conor, what are you doing tonight? I think I might have a contract for us to pick up.
Conor: No plans at this point. I just gotta get Julitra out of my safe house.
Brakul: Are you still fucking that scag? You know that won’t end well.
Conor: Yeah, gotta get my dick wet somehow. Besides, aren’t you still plowing that Kurilta we worked with a few months back—the one with the red hair?
Brakul: Yeah, I am. I like the crazy little woman. Plus, she is only a meter tall and makes me feel massive. But are you in or not?
Conor: Yeah, I'm in. When, where, and who is the client?
Brakul: Perfect, meet me at Zyntle’s around 2100. If all goes well, we got a contract for some new upstart to the north out of town. He is looking to hire some muscle for a few months. Don't worry about the contract's legitimacy; Norla sent this man my way to arrange half a dozen bodies. I just want you there in case something goes down.
Conor: So, bring a few extra solutions?
Brakul: if you would, and keep ‘em quiet, no shotguns. We will be in Zynie's place and need to keep things civil.
Conor: Afirm, see you then.
After switching off the arm-mounted datapad, Julitra stepped back into the room, redressed in her clothes from the previous night. They weren't anything fancy by any stretch of the imagination. Just a simple lowcut dress, showing off a shallow valley of furry cleavage, and cut to give ample view up her thighs and see the thong barely covering her womanhood.
For a hooker, it was good enough.
“Want to have some stulk?” Conor questioned, pouring himself a glass.
“Sure,” Julitra replied, going and lounging at the dingy table in the corner of the room.
They were quiet while eating their meager breakfast; neither had much in common or to talk about as is. The only things Julitra knew about Conor were: he killed people for money, sold stolen goods, and could give her a mean dick down. Whereas Conor knew damn near everything about her, acquired through basic profiling of her actions, attire, and mannerisms or from some of the intelligence brokers he dealt with regularly.
Some friends called him paranoid for keeping such tight tabs on anyone he dealt with; at least Brakul and Stich did. But Conor knew that knowledge was power and was needed if you wanted to always end up with your opponent dusted and not you. Conor knew better than anyone that you don’t survive like he has without a bit of paranoia. Hell, he was more persistent than a Hureclian beetle seeking water.
Once they had finished scarfing down crackers, canned meat, and the bitter, brackish brew, Julitra quickly took her leave, with Conor locking the door behind her. First, the deadbolts, then the chain, followed by a biometric scanner, and lastly, he kicked a metal wedge underneath the door—it would take a whole breaching team from the local government a solid hour to breach that reinforced metal monstrosity, and that was just how Conor liked it.
Unless you were invited into his home, it would behoove you to stay out and not try to get in.
Now that he was alone again, Conor trundled into the room Julitra had gotten her payment from and opened up one of the massive ceiling-high safes lining the walls. Inside was some of his equipment. This specific one contained most of his low-visibility equipment: body armor, weapons, knives, toolkits, and anything else he might need for more subtle operations.
In the other safes were other tools he might want, but those kits were built for more specific jobs: sniping, heavy assaults, aerial and maritime operations, along with anything else he could use in a warzone, but most of that was overkill for tonight.
So Conor pulled out a few items he thought could be useful and started his preparations in such meticulous detail that it would take him the rest of the day.
—-
The area outside of Zyntle’s nightclub was insanely crowded, even for Heavalun standards. Up and down the street, as far as the eye could see, were nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, catering to whatever vice once could possibly want.
Unlike some of the out portions of the city, areas in the inner and lower regions like here, you could not see the sky. Instead, if one looked up, they would be met with obnoxious neon signs and more buildings arching overhead, choking out any star or sunlight that might be visible.
Aiding in the choking and oppressive atmosphere, Aliens of all shapes and sizes bumped into one another with little grace, care, or concern. Most were decked out head to toe in bright neon colors that melded together in a caleidoscope of shifting brilliance.
At least that gave the usual drab greys, rust reds, and browns of the cityscape some color, even if Conor usually found it more annoying than not. Thankfully, neither Conor, Brakul, nor their strange contact could not hear the crowd outside from the second-floor window. Instead, they were being bombarded by something as if not more grating.
The happy tones and idle conversations of the crowd on the dancefloor below them, along with repetitive keyboards, synthetic snapping basslines, and ethereal vocals, filled the air to a near-deafening level. If not for the three of them having wired up to a local chatterbox that Conor brought along, they would not be able to hear one another.
The chatterbox was not fancy; it was just a tiny device Conor had whipped up. That lets them speak normally into microphones on their collars and be heard in earpieces. He had devised the idea for it after a few skiff airborne operations, where unless you were jacked into the aircraft comms, you could not talk without screaming.
Now, the chatterbox just doubled as the perfect tool for having conversations you would rather not have others around listen into. Hell, unless you were inches from them, you would not be able to hear them at all.
Brakul and whomever this Farun’se was, a two-meter tall feline-like alien, had been going over the finer details of the contract for the last half hour. Conor had been listening just enough to keep in the loop, but his focus was elsewhere. Namely in the crowds around them, watching for anything he did not want to see: other contractors, a gang war about to erupt, or anything else that caught his eye. People-watching was one of the things Conor enjoyed about setting up jobs; it gave him plenty of time to keep tabs on the ever-shifting city.
He had not spotted anything yet, in regular vision, Thermal, or through tracking, but something was off—he could feel it in his hackles. As such, One of Conor's hands was in his somewhat oversized brown leather jacket, wrapped tightly around the grip of his suppressed handgun. Neither Brakul nor the Client commented on him keeping watch; they both knew he was just filling the role of an enforcer and was backup for them.
“So, what do you think about the contract?” The Farun’se man questioned before taking a sip from his drink.
Whatever that glowing drink was, it was not ethanol-based; the smell was far too sweet. Conor could tell that much even through the skull-like mask covering his face. Not that the flat black ballistic bask he wore to cover his metallic jaw and mangled face covered scents much. It was built much like the other equipment he wore to enhance his senses, not diminish them.
“I think it is perfectly acceptable. But are you certain you only want a ten-man team to provide escort and transport for your client while within the city?” Brakul asked, flipping a palm up. “I am certain I can get more, considering your daily generous payment offer.”
Generous was one way to put it. The politician the Farun’se represented offered a whopping 15 thousand crit a day for well-experienced mercs. It was enough to get Conor's tail wagging; Most jobs barely pay that out, and this contract was supposed to be ten days long. You could almost buy a house outside the city for that kind of crit. If they were actually paid it out and not betrayed by their employer, at the end of the day, Conor likely would do just that; then, he would have a place to live without the threat of death around every corner.
Each of his jobs over the last few years was a means to that end—escaping this shithole. But getting out of the city was difficult, even for guys like him with opportunities to leave and a reasonably regular income.
“Well, we can work that out via messaging, but for now, I am just offering what I am allowed to,” The client said. “Anything more than that, and I won't be able to pay you half upfront.”
At least they are offering half the credits upfront. Conor must have missed that part during their long-winded discussion about what type of experience each mercenary needed, what weapons they would be allowed, and the specifics of the contract.
All they would have to do was finalize details of the team when Brakul had assembled another eight bodies, but they could do that in a few weeks.
“If that’s the case, then I think we should be good for now,” Brakul said, standing and extending a hand for the client.
“Perfect, expect to hear from me in a few days. Please have your team prepared by the end of the week,” The client replied, shaking Brakul’s hand.
After removing his earpiece and microphone, the client nodded to Conor and disappeared into the crowd looming around the stairs leading to the ground floor.
“So you like the sounds of that?” Brakul asked, sitting back down and sipping at his drink.
Keeping his sight on the crowd below, Conor tracked the client as he struggled to weave through the jostling dancers. The Feline was clearly out of his element in the crowds of the mass city. Based on how quickly he was recoiling from each touch by the intoxicated patrons, he was uncomfortable with all the physical contact forced onto him.
The sight was almost comedic, but Conor was used to dealing with people like the client's representative. If you had enough crit to hire ten mercs, you came from one of two walks of life: you were an influential underground leader who could afford the extra muscle, or you were a sheltered individual with no real business in Heavalun Mass City but decided you wanted to make some friends in low places and needed locals who would be loyal to the almighty crit.
But all of that was neither here nor there for the time being; Brakul would handle any issues with the contract. He was far better at being a politician than Conor was.
“So, any issues with what he wants?” Brakul smirked, knowing that it had been several months since Conor's last contract and that he needed the money.
Conor passively waved at his friend; he did not need to comment. Conor would take any contract that came his way so long as the pay was solid enough. In the past, he had taken contracts Brakul refused for moral reasons.
This contract of defending some high-born trader was in no way out of the ordinary and was relatively tame by Conor’s standards. His last contract was far more low-brow enough that he had almost said no. But for the low, low cost of 100 thousand crits and the fancy nanotech armor he was wearing under his tank top, he was more than willing to blow up the wing of a hospital with a firebomb—insurance paid to fix the building and burry anyone caught up when he killed a lowborn noble or some distant planet.
“I’m more interested in what's going on down below,” Conor said, pointing to a group gathering near the club's back entrance.
Below, barely visible through the flashing strobe lights and low haze of fog machines, seven Kyrail lingered at the back doors. One of the amphibian-like bipeds was giving instructions to the others. It was a shame the music was so loud; if not, Conor and Brakul could easily hear them, but even without sound, it was easy to see what they were doing. They were scouting a mark.
“What do you think, Voodals gang?” Conor posed, scanning the crowd for whomever the lead croaker was trying to target.
Voodal is a leader of one of the area's crime families and merc groups. They had been competitors of Conor and Brakul and their usual hiring groups for a long time. While Brakul and Conor did not have beef with them, one of their usual employers, the Farklut clan, had generations of bad blood.
That rivalry was nasty, to the point anyone who was a direct member of either family would dust the other on sight. Both had been caught up in that rivalry several times and had a negative opinion of the Voodal family and any of their ilk.
“Likely. This is part of a contested city, after all,” Brakul replied, sipping his drink.
“I wonder what they are doing here?” Conor said, still not having located whatever it was they were doing, but he had seen them pull out a particularly nasty drug, giving him an idea of precisely what they planned on doing—abduction.
The gaggle’s leader had passed out plastic bags with what looked like Visage clinging to the bags. That drug might as well be chloroform on the strongest combat stim out there. It would put you in a trance and make you forget the next several days until the effects wore off. The perfect drug for slave traffickers and abductors.
The only reason Conor could tell was that he had used the tactic several times to capture targets alive. It was great; you could fish information from them freely, and they wouldn't remember anything beyond where they had been picked up and whenever the drug wore off.
“I see their target,” Brakul muttered, “switch to IR. I will laze her for yah.”
As his friend and partner told him, Conor switched his false eye to IR and watched, and Brakul’s pistols laser pierced the crowd and danced on the back of a red scalled Kurlatra, dancing happily with some other repltilians of her species. All were woefully ignorant of the Kyrail weaving through the crowd toward them, hands tucked into jackets, likely clutching knives, pistols, and bags of drugs.
“Hmmm, odd, not a lot of Kurlatra on this side of the GU borders,” Conor commented.
“For sure,” Brakul agreed.
Kurlatra were a noble-esc species in the GU and tended to stay in the GU, as opposed ot the COS; most here only cared about their nobility for the sake of making money on ransom after all.
The GU was safe but was overbearing compared to the COS. It had far more laws, restrictions, and limitations on carving out a living. Conor’s chosen profession of being a Mercenary was outlawed in the GU unless you were on the Union congress's payroll, But he was not on that list, despite trying a few times.
“Wanna toss a wrench in their plans?” Brakul questioned.
“How so?” Conor replied, keeping a keen eye on the crimson scalled in the center.
Compared to those around her, she was different. Unlike the others who wore simple clothes, she wore a very revealing yellow dress that was low cut in the back and front, showing offer cleavage, but that's not what made her so different. It was all the glistening jewelry that made her smell of crit.
All those stones and precious metals were likely worth a few hundred thousand crits on their own. That was before you sold her pert ass to some slaver.
“We can go down, nab her after the entourage is dealt with, and be big damn heroes. Then we get an award from that payday of a ruby. If she is not feeling up to it, we could ransom her off to the Voodal; they want her for some reason,” Brakul explained, using his keen eye for diplomacy and deals to guide Conor’s mind to the potential payout.
Conor took a moment to take stock of the situation; he had enough ammo to carve through the Voodal family present and could carry such a Kurlatra if needed. Should this shit go sideways and end up in a firefight, they could just use the crowd and vanish.
“What about the contract we just took,” Conor posed
“We haven't taken one yet,” Brakul reminded, “that rep needs to get back to us with upfront payment. Until then, we are freelance.”
Conor could not deny he was right; no crit had changed hands yet, they were still unemployed, and this bitch might be worth some cash. Before Conor had a chance even to comment one way or the other, Brakul pressed on a nerve he knew would get Conor to act.
“Come on. I got fifty crit that says you can't extract that Kurlatra before the Voodal drug her,” the fellow Jurintik mocked.
The bastard knew how to get to Conor for sure. He was competitive and hated to have his abilities brought into question. Just out of professional pride, Conor could not let that lay.
“Two hundred,” Conor countered.
“One hundred,” Brakul retorted, “oh, look, they already nabbed one of the entourage.”
He was right. One of the Kurlatra heading toward the bathrooms near the back entrance just had a bag of Visage slammed into their mouth and had already gone glassy-eyed. Now, there were only five Kurlatra left, including the clear HVT(High-Value Target)
“One fifty,” Conor snapped, eager to have his friend stop messing with him.
“Deal, I will cover and feed you intel from her. Open channel one,” Brakul sneered.
Without missing a beat, Conor shot up from the table and descended the stairs into the crowd, drawing his suppressed pistol and activating his target tracker to keep sight of the HVT.
Conor did not know it yet, but that little bet, one that was not even worth as much ammo as he was about to expend, would send his life on a journey that would change him forever.
So what did you all think? was it a good time? a fun start at bare min? next chapter we will have connor dealing with the voodal, follwed by us meeting the little princess. It should be fun.
Please dont forget to updoot and comment. I will see you all in the comments.
Your Humble baker
-Pirate
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The new gift-specific dialogue from the 1.6 update has me absolutely tickled pink! This one especially… I also haven’t practiced my creative writing in a while, and I decided it needed to happen sooner rather than later, so here, have a short story! Sorry if it's boring… I’m a little rusty!
“A Gift From The Void”
It was only yesterday… No one was quite sure where it had come from. There had been a sinister cackling noise ringing through the night air and Abigail had mentioned seeing an unidentifiable shape soaring through the sky during her walk home from the cemetery. The townsfolk gossiped and speculated about what it could have been that evening, but by the next morning they still hadn’t come to any reasonable explanation. It was only yesterday, and yet the entire village seemed to have already put it out of their minds and moved on. The scandal and chatter following the “Anchovy Soup Incident” at the Summer Luau several years back had lasted far longer than this… Even now Sam was still getting sideways glances whenever he got within a 20 foot radius of the soup cauldron, but this just blows over in less than a day? The priorities of small town people were strange.
Things had gone back to that same semblance of backwater, middle-of-nowhere kind of normal, and now the night had become just the same as any other Friday evening. Sebastian was playing a round of billiards with Sam, and while Sam was preoccupied with lining up the cue with his intended target ball, the farmer strolled into the saloon and up to the bar. Heads turned and raised to the newcomer for a moment before returning to whatever it was that had been previously holding their attention. Sebastian caught the sudden flourish of movement out of his periphery, but didn’t pay it much mind. The farmer ordered a coffee and a plate of the night’s special, and struck up a conversation with Gus about a peculiar egg that had materialized in their coop seemingly out of nowhere the night before. Apparently they’d decided to tuck it away into the incubator and wait to see what… if anything hatched from it.
Sebastian had never really been one to eavesdrop, but the wait for Sam to make his move was becoming boring, and sometimes the stories that passed around the saloon on Friday evenings got interesting depending on who all was involved. The story didn’t really go too far into detail. The farmer poked at their food until it had cooled enough to not scald the inside of their mouth, then they took a few bites before bringing up the events of the previous evening. What first started off as a funny story seemed to turn into some deep discussion with Gus about the mysteries of life. Eventually, Willy and Elliott were caught up in the mirth and it turned into a medley of strange tales from faraway lands and once-upon-a-times. Obviously exaggerated sightings of fearsome creatures on a midnight stormy sea, legends of colossal white whales, references to works written by masters of the mystery genre, as well as some from a trashy neo-noir novel or two that had probably been picked up from a bookstore clearance shelf.
Willy stroked his beard and mused about some daring battle between himself and a fish of questionable proportions that seemed to grow larger each time he told the story. Sebastian had heard this one before. The fight over the line had gone on for over an hour before the shadow of the fish rose near to the surface, and just before Willy could land the monster of a catch, it dove below again, taking the whole fishing rod overboard and nearly Willy himself with it.
Elliott gulped down the last few swigs of ale in his tankard, slapped the farmer firmly on the back, snorted and chuckled in an ungraceful yet jolly display that only ever crept out of him when he’d had a bit too much to drink.
“That fish becomes more miraculous each time he talks about it!” Elliott shook his head and smiled as he leaned almost a little too far forward. There was a slight sway to his posture and he tried to straighten his body back in line with the barstool. “To life, and her many little silly tricks of fate, my friends!” he declared. He raised the empty mug, and with his free hand, delicately tucked a few strands of stray hair behind his ear with the tips of his fingers. He rested his elbow back on the bar before he could lose his balance and sighed contently. Elliott’s cheeks were practically glowing red at this point and it was a wonder that he wasn’t slurring his words yet.
“Aye, you’ve all heard my fish story haven’t ye?” Willy chuckled. “How ‘bout the one about the Baba Yaga?” the farmer’s head tilted and they gazed curiously at the fisherman. Willy rested his foot on the crossbar of the barstool, lifted the rim of his hat out of his line of sight, and leaned into the counter. “Some know ‘er as the cannibal witch… others say she’s just a misunderstood haggard ol’ woman who lives alone out in woods or marshes. It’s said she lives a rickety old house that stands on chicken feet, and she likes to lure weary travelers into ‘er home, only to gobble ‘em up once they let their guard down. Apparently she’s especially fond of the taste of children…” He laughed in a hoarse tone and made strange spider-like gestures with his calloused hands as if he were telling campfire stories to a group of kids. The farmer’s nose wrinkled at the outlandish notion of some feral old woman devouring toddlers, and Willy laughed heartily at their reaction. “I think that last part the parents like to add into the story to frighten the little ones. It keeps ‘em from wondering into the forests and swamps alone at night.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes and glanced back to the pool table. He watched the cue ball clack into the twelve before the twelve bounced off the barriers in the corner of the table and rolled slowly to a stop on the felt surface without pocketing. Sam huffed and stood back upright.
“You really aren’t very good at this, are you?” Seb chimed as he returned his full attention to the game at hand. Sam grinned and laughed.
“Nope!”
“Watch and learn….” Sebastian took aim at the cue ball, and after a single firm strike, drove it into the tiny gap between the two and seven. The cue stopped hard, but the two and seven sped to the opposite corners of the foot of the table, each dropping into one of the corner pockets simultaneously. Sam scoffed and paced about the pool room, but looked back over his shoulder just in time to catch Sebastian with a triumphantly cheeky grin on his face. Sam clicked his tongue and lightly thumped the base of his cue stick into the floorboards.
“Show-off…” he mumbled.
Elliott lifted the rim of the empty vessel to his lips, then chuckled again as he noticed the absence of ale and gestured it in Gus’ direction.
“Good sir, my glass is empty and…. I’m a writer!”
“Maybe you should stop for tonight…” the farmer interjected. “You won’t be sober enough to start your next chapter in the morning!” Elliott rolled his eyes and leaned against the bar counter. He tried to give one of his best theatrically exasperated sighs, but when the exhale turned into a case of the hiccups, they knew he was down for the count. He smiled defiantly and tried his best to look dignified through the sudden spasms in his diaphragm and soused thousand yard stare.
“I-am fiiine… ne’re betta’…”
“…..Aaaand, there he goes…” Leah giggled from the end of the bar counter. “It’s like dropping a ton of bricks on a peach.”
“I oughtta’ help the ol’ scallywag home, I s’pose!” Willy groaned as he stood from the bar stool. He smiled as he hoisted one of Elliott’s arms over his shoulders and stood him up from the bar stool. “C’mon you menace… Let’s get ya home before you make a fool of yourself in front of all the lassies!” he chuckled. Sam took a moment to appreciate the situation at the bar counter. He shook his head and laughed, then took another shot at the 12 and missed horribly yet again.
“Easy does it there!” Emily cooed as she cleared away the empty tankard. “Try not to drop him too hard!” Elliott wobbled towards the door as Willy struggled to keep him upright, and just before they stepped out into the lukewarm summer evening, the farmer waved one last farewell and called out to the well marinated dandy-man as he staggered away.
“Nighty-night! Sleep tight, Rapunzel!” they chirped. Elliot responded to the joke by blowing an overly exaggerated kiss over his shoulder and daintily waiving his fingertips at the company in the saloon, then he nearly tripped over himself as he turned back to the path home. A couple of snorts, giggles and guffaws rose up over the music and chatter in the saloon and quickly melted back into the white noise once the moment passed.
Seb looked Sam in the eyes with a determined glare and smirked.
“Eight in the corner pocket….” Seb didn’t have a clear shot, but leaned over the table, reared back the stick and spiked it into the cue ball. It ricocheted from the bumper, side-swiped the eight, and put just enough force into the edge to cause it to spin sideways into the pocket he’d called. Sam laughed and scratched at the back of his head.
“Awwww, man…” he groaned. “You got me again!” Sam leaned against his cue stick and looked over the table before his eyes lit up in anticipation. “How about a best three out of five?” Abigail giggled at Sam’s request as she stretched and leaned back into the sofa.
“Give it up, blondie! He cooks your goose at this game EVERY single time…. You’re doomed.” She teased. “It’s getting late anyways…”
…
It had been almost a month since the odd shape had been spotted flying over town at this point. Seb and Abby had talked in depth about it, and though most of the other townsfolk had come to the conclusion that it had merely been some sort of exotic bird flying out toward the fern islands, Abby was positive she hadn’t been mistaken. In fact she was adamant that the form looked human. She hadn’t seen or heard any wings flapping and the “squawking” sounded more so like the laugh of an old woman than the cries of a bird. The figure seemed to levitate or hover effortlessly and without the use of any physical or mechanical assistance. It was slumped over as if it was curled up or sitting and just…. Floated away.
The long night spent coding and researching the relevant programing issues at the computer, had caused Sebastian to rise late. He was groggy, didn’t have much motivation to bother rolling out of bed, and it was almost noon at this point. He could hear the rain pattering against the roof of the house and the rumble of distant thunder. As lazy as he felt, a smoke sounded pretty good about now. The sound and sight of the ocean on rainy days also had a way of clearing his head and a little stroll would probably do him some good.
He didn’t pass anyone on the way out of the house. Robin was likely at her aerobics club, Maru, at work in the clinic, and who knew where Demetrius was… Out shoving dirt samples into test tubes, or measuring the volume and PH of the current rainfall? As long as he wasn’t dissecting frogs. Out of all of Sebastian’s childhood memories, that was the one that stuck in his head and haunted him. Back then, Maru had only just been born, and while Robin was busy keeping her entertained, fixing her bottle or changing diapers, Seb was wandering the house trying to find something to occupy his time. He’d wandered into his step-father’s study and there on the examination tray was a deceased frog pinned on it’s back, limbs splayed like Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” with it’s belly sliced open. Sebastian had cried and pouted over that for several days and had given Demetrius the silent treatment for even days longer intermixed with spells of arm crossing, head turning and the occasional stuck out tongue and blown raspberry. He cringed at the thought even now.
The hinges creaked as he pushed the front door open and paused. The summer was starting to give way to autumn and the parched ground soaked up the rain and turned loose the pungent, almost overpowering scent of petrichor.
Sebastian flipped the hood of his pull-over around his head and tightened up the drawstrings. He took a moment to smell the aroma of wet grass and earth that drifted through the air and held the fragrance in his lungs as he closed the door behind him.
He began his slow, steady march toward the beach and lost count of his steps after he’d passed the old Community Center. He’d barely noticed the changing of terrain under his feet as he moved almost subconsciously toward the ocean. The raw, muddy dirt paths of the mountain, the crunch of rough stones and shuffle of old, dead pine needles that carpeted the ground… They’d transitioned into the grass and cobblestone of the town plaza at some point, but they all seemed to blend together into “just steps” after a while. His inner thoughts distracted him to the point where he barely paid attention to his surroundings until he felt his footfalls sinking and shifting underneath him, and he knew he’d hit sand. He heaved a deep sigh of the salt air and looked over the horizon as he paced toward the docks.
When the sky was this gray and muted, the color of the sea seemed to take on it’s own jewel-like quality and without the blue sky to draw attention away from it, the eyes of each breaking wave became a splendor to watch. They erupted into columns of aquamarine, sapphire and sodalite laced with the bright, almost pearlescent white of the sea foam before curling over, crashing into the tides and giving way to the next one.
Sebastian came to a stop at the furthest reaching section of the wood panels and straightened up his posture as he groped into his pockets for the pack of cigarettes he’d brought with him. He selected one from the box, tucked it between his teeth and plunged his fingers back into the pocket for his lighter. He curled his left hand in front of his face, to protect the fire from the wind, flicked open the lid and thumbed the igniter. The flint sparked into a flame as it spun and lit up the end of the cigarette to a smoldering red glow. He pulled in a breath and held it for a moment before letting it out and watching the smoke dance away in the wind. It still wasn’t quite as satisfying as that first breath of rain when he’d stepped out of the house. Another sigh escaped Seb’s lips as he stared back at the oncoming crests of seawater and his mind started to drift again.
He imagined the city lights blazing somewhere across the ocean like stars, and thought about starting over somewhere far away. Disappearing, and reappearing somewhere else like a shadow moving through fragments of darkness and light, somewhere where no one knew him. Just vanishing and leaving everything behind. His parents, his sister, his friends… the thought excited him for a moment, before giving way to an intense feeling of regret and sadness. Maybe even a little shame. Having everyone was frustrating, but would having none of them be better or worse? He’d never known anything else. The same friends he’d grown up with, the same smell of the changing seasons in the mountain air, the same four walls of his bedroom, the sound of his sister’s laugh, or the taste of his mother’s cooking… even the way his stepfather overreacted to the littlest things was something he'd grown used to. He took another long breath.
The waves lapped and pounded at the underside of the dock so loudly he couldn’t hear the patter of oncoming footfalls against the wood and he was caught unaware when a sudden presence made itself known.
“Hey.” The start was enough to make him tense up, and he almost tripped over his own feet. Seb whirled around and when he found himself face to face with the farmer, he relaxed again.
“You scared the absolute crap out of me…..” He said as he rolled his eyes. He flicked his thumb against the filter of the cigarette to knock away the ashes and looked over the docks. They were alone.
“Sorry….” There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them before Sebastian tried to force conversation.
“What are you up to out here?” He asked. He wasn’t really interested in the answer, but felt obligated to return the acknowledgement of his presence. The farmer held up the rod that was firmly clasped in their right hand and gestured to the ocean.
“Fishing!” Seb raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at the response.
“In the rain?” he asked. His tone was almost dismissive. The farmer nodded.
“Willy said that there’s a number of fish that only come out when it’s raining, so I wanted to see what bites.” They began. “Some fish just like it better this way I guess.” There was another long pause. “…and you?”
“Hanging out…” Seb shrugged and adjusted the collar of his hoodie.
“In the rain?” The irony of the retort wasn’t lost on either of them though only the farmer seemed to find it amusing.
“Some people just like it better this way too…” Seb declared as he shifted his posture and crossed his arms over his chest. “I like to come out here where it’s quiet and have some alone time with my own thoughts.” There was a brief moment of guilt when Sebastian realized that he hadn’t actually ever bothered to ask the farmer’s name, but his introverted nature snubbed it out pretty quickly.
“Well, if you’re out here for some alone time, I won’t keep bothering you. I’ll go find a spot to fish and leave you to it.” At least they could take a hint. The farmer turned to leave and Sebastian suddenly regretted the entire conversation. Maybe he came off as cold and bristly? Either way, they hadn’t meant any harm. Just engaging in basic pleasantries. He found himself compelled to say something else just so the conversation wouldn’t end on such a sour note, then the thought of the flying figure and the appearance of the strange egg in the farmer’s coop a while back suddenly popped into his head.
“Wait….” Sebastian flicked away the spent cigarette and stamped it out with the toe of his shoe before he continued. The farmer turned back in his direction. “I was just curious… do you remember what happened a couple of weeks ago? The night that… thing… flew over Pelican Town?” The farmer’s eyes narrowed and they nodded slowly. “That was the night that strange egg just showed up in your chicken coop, right?” The farmer looked bewildered. Seb chuckled soundlessly when he realized that, for at least a moment, he was acting like the epitome of some small town country boy who was nosing into someone else’s business. The farmer was likely confused because they hadn’t spoken to Sebastian about it directly. How could he know about that? They didn’t have to ask before he preemptively put the question to rest. “I was in the saloon playing pool with Sam the night after it happened. I overheard you talking about it with Gus, Willy and uh- …Rapunzel.” He explained. A tiny snort escaped the farmer’s nose as they stifled a laugh and they nodded again.
“Right… I still don’t know where it came from.” They rested the handle of the fishing pole on the dock like a staff or walking stick and looked up at the sky as if they were contemplating something. “I don’t know if the egg had anything to do with the flying figure, or if it was just a coincidence… they did both appear on the same night.”
“Everyone in town says that the flying thing was probably just some weird bird heading toward the islands…” Seb droned. He shoved his hands into his pockets to sooth the chill in his fingers. “If that IS where the egg came from, then maybe it was just a bird…” The farmer briskly shook their head before they answered.
“No, I don’t think so.” They rested a hand on their hip, fidgeted with the line strung through the fishing rod and seemed to gaze off into the distance towards the island in question. “That wouldn’t make sense considering what hatched.” Sebastian’s head snapped upright to meet their gaze. Now this was getting interesting.
“It actually hatched?!” He piped as his eyes widened inquisitively. “What was it?”
“A chicken…. And those can’t fly long distances.” The farmer chortled as they watched Sebastian’s face droop back to some semblance of apathy. He looked mildly disappointed.
“Aww…. Well that’s kind of anticlimactic.” He groaned.
“Yeah, sorry it’s not more exciting than that…” There was a sudden gust of wind and both of them had to brace against the pelting of raindrops that came with it. “It is a pretty peculiar looking chicken, if that makes you feel any better.”
“Really?... How so?” He gazed back at them expectantly and waited for them to go into detail.
“The feathers are jet black and the comb and wattles have a bit of an odd shape to them. The eyes are also bright red, like an animal with albinism and they’re almost reflective in the dark too… like a cat’s eyes.” They paused and rested their hand over the lower half of their face as if they were taking a moment to recall more of the specifics to memory. “And there’s just something about the way it clucks.” They added. “It doesn’t really cluck like a normal hen, but it sounds more like… an echo of a cluck, I suppose.”
“What?....” Sebastian laughed as his expression shifted again. The description of the noise sounded completely ridiculous. Not a cluck, but an echo of a cluck? They may as well have likened it to a phantom voice or the cry of a specter. Something that eluded the range of sounds that most humans would ever have the chance or perception to experience. The farmer lifted their eyes back to Sebastian’s as if they’d suddenly remembered something else.
“She started laying eggs a couple of days ago. They look just like the one that appeared in the coop that night…” They let the fishing pole drop from their hand to the wood planking of the dock and slipped their arm out of the left strap of their backpack. “I actually have one with me if you want to see it….” They slid the other strap off of their shoulder and swung the bag around their right side, letting it come to a rest in front of them as they knelt down. Seb took a few steps closer and stooped to get a better look as they dug through the contents.
They gingerly grasped what looked like a tiny bundle wrapped in a kerchief and began to slowly peel away the corners of the fabric, exposing what was probably the most bizarre looking egg he’d ever seen in his life. It was black and somewhat glossy, unlike the calcified matte shells of most chicken eggs, and the surface seemed to be covered in tiny indents or fissures that exposed flecks of a bright, almost luminescent red underneath. The farmer held the egg out to Sebastian as they stood up straight and nodded, silently offering to let him hold it for a closer look. He gently cupped the egg in his hands, tucked his arms in close to his body and cradled it in his palms like a cautious child trying to hold a hamster. It was heavier than he’d expected it to be, and surprisingly warm.
The color reminded him of magma or hot coals. Something like the intense heat glowing through crackling obsidian after a volcanic eruption or a dying fire. He leaned his head even closer to the egg as he examined the texture of the shell, and his nose wrinkled a bit when he caught the scent. It was sulphurous, and almost earthy smelling, but not overpoweringly so.
“It’s not rotten, is it?” he asked as he gently turned the egg over in his hands.
“See, that’s the strange thing about it. It can’t be…. That egg was just laid this morning.” They explained. “All of the eggs that hen lays have that… little whiff of something burning to them.” The rain was starting to slow up a bit. The farmer thought for a moment and giggled at the notion of what they said next. “I’m not inclined to say that they’re edible either… at least, not to people, and I wouldn’t be keen on being the first one to test that.” Sebastian winced at the thought…and smell, and stifled a laugh.
“Me neither…” He smiled softly when the red speckled pattern caught his attention again. “It does look really cool though!”
He really did have a nice smile. It was kind of a shame that he didn’t let people see it more often. His eyes brightened, and his face looked softer and more approachable, yet also, inquisitive and curious. It was a look of fascination and wonder. Like a kid who’d just discovered dinosaurs and outer space for the first time, or someone who’d just felt their first taste of freedom and didn’t quite know what to do with it. An imaginative or inspired sort of expression.
“Since you like it so much, why don’t you hang onto it?” the farmer beamed.
“Can I?” Sebastian’s eyes lit up again and he gazed back at the farmer with a delighted look on his face.
“Sure! Hens lay eggs every day or so. There’ll be more before long!” they chimed. Sebastian chuckled as he curled his fingers about the egg and sheltered it from the rain.
“Thank you!” He gazed at it for a few moments more as the farmer hefted the rucksack back onto their shoulders and pulled the fishing rod from it’s resting place on the dock. “Hey, this might sound kind of stupid….” He began as he gazed back and forth between the farmer and his new prize… “But, do you think it’ll hatch if I put it under my pillow?” he laughed awkwardly at his own question when he realized how foolish it must have sounded, but was pleasantly surprised when the farmer’s response was more optimistic than he had expected.
“Umm, I don’t know… Maybe! It’s worth a try anyway, and stranger things have happened.”
“Only one way to find out I guess!” Sebastian said smiling in anticipation.
“Good luck! You’ll have to let me know what happens!” They scanned out over the tides as if looking for something before turning back to Sebastian. “I should hurry and find a spot to fish before the rain stops again, but it was really nice talking to you!”
“Yeah, you too!” Seb agreed. “I’ll see you later!” He distracted himself for a moment, making sure the egg was tucked away safe and warm in his hoodie pocket, when he suddenly realized something. “Hey, wait!...” he quickly turned back to where the farmer had been standing just a minute before, but by the time he’d remembered what he’d needed to ask, they’d already trotted too far out of earshot to be able to hear him. “Aw, man… I forgot to catch their name again.” He lamented. “I’ll have to remember to ask them next time… Next time for sure.”