Platform(s): Windows PC
Genre: 2D Side-scroller
Estimated year of release: 1990-2000
Graphics/art style: The art was darker in tone, but was dependent upon the level you were on; the subterranean and night time levels felt dark, but there was a brighter grasslands level
Notable characters: the main character was some sort of amphibian, maybe a frog (or I can be completely misremembering this); there were other enemies on these levels including a chicken nugget looking enemy and a candy cane looking enemy (this I’m definitely not misremembering)
Notable gameplay mechanics: the objective of the game is to keep progressing right, bypassing level hazards and enemy NPCs, until you finish the level and move on to the next level. I think the controls were simple and you just moved left/right and jumped; I don’t recall having an attack move; I don’t remember having to collect items as a main mechanic of the game but I DO distinctly remember on the second grasslands level, moving right past the initial obstacles, jumping on some sort of elevation above the starting platform, and running back towards the beginning of the level - elevated - to collect SOMETHING. I also recall there being some math problem solving mechanics, but it doesn’t stick out as a major part of the game. Maybe it was just like a mini-game.
Other details: A lot of details are fuzzy to me but the biggest details that I distinctly remember are the first 3ish levels and a couple of enemy NPCs. The first level was some subterranean level with a dirt and mud color palette. I recall there being a chicken nugget looking enemy and a candy cane looking enemy. The second level was outdoors in some grasslands environment with either a pinkish or blueish sky. I don’t recall the enemy NPCs or much else about the level (other than that collectible I described in the gameplay mechanics section). The third level (which I don’t remember beating much if at all) was at nighttime with cobblestone looking platforms with lampposts. I am pretty sure this is also where the math mini-game made an appearance.

while Africa's west coast flourished with life, many areas on our green globe have gotten drier. An example of that is the Amazon forest. Once the biggest Jungle in the world, in the final ice age, it turned into a large savanna. It often experiences fires, which destroy the landscape, and shape a new one It's a great spot for life to change, and adapt to
Babuchin
Ancestor: Tufted Capuchin
Length: 1 meter, Height: 60 cm
Babuchins fight for survival in the savannas. they descend from Capuchin Monkeys, more specifically Tufted Capuchin Monkeys. They are Easy Prey to Carnivores such as Terror Raptor, and Sabertooth Jaguar. They are omnivores, feeding on grasses, and fish alike. Once they find a tree, they eat its leaves
Caravulture
Ancestor: Mountain Caracara
Wing Span: 2 meters
Caravultures are large flying scavengers. their ancestor is The Mountain Caracara. Their Feathering is Similar, however with 1 major difference: Their head is bald. This adapts them more to eating carcasses. they are large enough, so Terror Raptors live them alone. However, a large enough Sabertooth Jaguar can catch, and eat it
Terror Raptor
Ancestor: Red-Legged Seriena
Height: 1,8 Meters Lenght: 2 Meters
With the savanna, there comes a vast amount of predators. One of the Largest is the Terror Raptor. Its Ancestor, The Red-Legged Seriena is one of the last links to Terror Birds, being in the same order. Terror Raptors of the Plains don't focus on the beak that much. It's still large, but it mainly serves to swallow prey. Their main weapon is their legs. Powerful and Clawed, these are more often, than not, used to kick prey to death
Grassland Armorback
Ancestor: Armadillo
Length: 70 meters
These medium-sized armored animals aren't reptiles. these are Armadilloes. Their Scutes are usually enough to survive the kicking and biting of predators. however, it can't survive fires, that destroy the landscape, and shape a new one. It feeds on insects, grasses, and sometimes eggs
Sabertooth Jaguar
Ancestor: Jaguar
Length: 2,5 Meters, Height: 1 Meter
The largest Predator of these plains looks like a Machairodont of the past. However, it's not closely related, instead being descended from Jaguars. They have powerful Saber Teeth, that can reek terror on the fauna of the plains. It hunts a multitude of animals
Capypothamus
Ancestor: Capybara
Lenght: 2,5 meters
The Rivers aren't only filled with small fish, that babuchins eat. they are also filled with giant hippo-like rodents. they still have very large teeth, but they are mostly used to defend themselves. they are herbivores, eating both water and land plants. They live in large groups. A lone Capyphothamus can get attacked by a Sabertooth Jaguar
Tapygiant
Ancestor: Tapir
Length: 4 meters, Height, 2 Meters
Large Savannas create large animals. Tapygiant is a descendant of Taprs, that live here. It has grown to Megafaunal Size. It feeds mainly on grass, but it also can feed on leaves. Sabertooth Jaguars mainly eat the young, while Adults have no natural predator

I've had an interesting idea for a project- Running an "Earth 2.0" projection simulation. I'm looking for recommendations on which Al platform would be suitable to run this on. Initially, I considered using ChatGPT, but after some research, Claude seems to have stronger reasoning capabilities. I would greatly appreciate any prompts or assistance related to this subject matter.
Framework for simulating Earth 2.0 from day one, taking into account a wide range of conditions and processes spanning physical, geological, biological, environmental, evolutionary, and cultural domains with their respective parameters:

1. Initial Planetary Conditions: This factor encompasses the fundamental physical characteristics of the planet Earth at the starting point of the simulation.
   
   • Planetary mass: 5.972 × 10²⁴ kg (The total mass of the Earth, which governs its gravitational pull and other physical properties)
   • Radius: 6,371 km (The average distance from the Earth's center to its surface, determining its size and surface area)
   • Axial tilt: 23.44 degrees (The angle between the Earth's rotational axis and the perpendicular to its orbital plane, influencing seasons and distribution of solar radiation)
   • Rotation period: 24 hours (The time it takes for the Earth to complete one full rotation on its axis, determining the length of a day)
   • Orbital period: 365.25 days (The time it takes for the Earth to complete one full orbit around the Sun, determining the length of a year)
   • Distance from the Sun: 1 AU (149,597,870 km) (The average distance between the Earth and the Sun, dictating the amount of solar radiation received)
2. Atmospheric Composition: This factor defines the initial composition of the Earth's atmosphere, which plays a crucial role in various processes, including climate and habitability.
   
   • Nitrogen (N₂): 78.08% (The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, essential for various biological processes)
   • Oxygen (O₂): 20.95% (A vital gas for aerobic life, also involved in various chemical reactions)
   • Argon (Ar): 0.93% (An inert gas present in the atmosphere)
   • Carbon dioxide (CO₂): 0.04% (A greenhouse gas that plays a crucial role in the Earth's climate and carbon cycle)
   • Water vapor (H₂O): Variable, initial value = 0.25% (The gaseous form of water, influencing temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric processes)
3. Hydrological Cycle: This factor encompasses the distribution and movement of water on Earth, which is essential for life and various natural processes.
   
   • Total water volume: 1.386 billion km³ (The total amount of water present on Earth, including oceans, ice caps, and underground reservoirs)
   • Ocean surface area: 361 million km² (The total surface area covered by oceans, playing a crucial role in the Earth's climate and biogeochemical cycles)
   • Land surface area: 149 million km² (The total surface area of the Earth's landmasses, including continents and islands)
   • Initial precipitation rate: 1000 mm/year (The average amount of precipitation falling on the Earth's surface annually, essential for freshwater availability and vegetation growth)
4. Geological Processes: This factor encompasses the dynamic processes that shape the Earth's surface and interior over time.
   
   • Plate tectonic movement rate: 2-10 cm/year (The average rate at which the Earth's tectonic plates move, driving continental drift and mountain formation)
   • Volcanic eruption frequency: 50-70 per year (The average number of volcanic eruptions occurring annually, contributing to the Earth's natural processes and atmospheric composition)
   • Earthquake frequency: ~1 million per year (The average number of earthquakes occurring annually, resulting from tectonic plate movements and other geological processes)
5. Biological Factors: This factor encompasses the initial living organisms present on Earth, including the human population and other plant and animal species.
   
   • Initial human population: 2 males, 3 females (The starting point for human evolution and population growth)
   • Initial animal species: 100 harmless, 20 potentially dangerous (The diversity of animal species present at the start, including both harmless and potentially dangerous species)
   • Initial plant species: 50 edible, 200 inedible (The diversity of plant species present at the start, including both edible and inedible species)
   • Genetic diversity of initial human population: 0.8 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The level of genetic variation within the initial human population, crucial for adaptation and evolution)
6. Resource Availability: This factor encompasses the natural resources available for sustaining life and enabling human survival and development.
   
   • Freshwater sources: 10 lakes, 5 major rivers (The availability of freshwater sources, essential for drinking water, agriculture, and various human activities)
   • Natural resources: 20 types of wood, 10 types of stone, 5 types of fibrous plants (The diversity and availability of natural resources, including wood, stone, and fibrous plants, which can be used for shelter, tools, and other purposes)
   • Food sources: 50 edible plant species, 20 huntable animal species (The availability of food sources, including edible plants and huntable animals, necessary for human sustenance)
7. Environmental Conditions: This factor encompasses the initial climatic and environmental conditions on Earth, which influence the distribution and growth of vegetation and the overall habitability for humans and other species.
   
   • Global mean surface temperature: 15°C (The average temperature across the Earth's surface, affecting various biological and ecological processes)
   • Global mean annual precipitation: 1000 mm (The average amount of precipitation falling annually across the Earth's surface, essential for freshwater availability and vegetation growth)
   • Vegetation distribution: Forest cover = 60%, Grassland cover = 30%, Other vegetation = 10% (The initial distribution of different vegetation types, influencing the Earth's ecosystems and carbon cycle)
8. Evolutionary Processes: This factor encompasses the mechanisms driving the evolution and adaptation of living organisms, including humans, over time.
   
   • Mutation rate: 10⁻⁸ mutations per nucleotide per generation (The rate at which genetic mutations occur, introducing new variations that can be acted upon by natural selection)
   • Natural selection pressures: Environmental stress factor = 0.5, Predation risk = 0.2, Competition factor = 0.3 (The relative strengths of different selective pressures acting on organisms, such as environmental stress, predation risk, and competition for resources)
   • Adaptation mechanisms: Physiological adaptation rate = 0.001, Behavioral adaptation rate = 0.005 (The rates at which organisms can adapt physiologically or behaviorally to their environment, influencing their fitness and survival)
9. Cultural and Social Dynamics: This factor encompasses the emergence and development of human culture, language, and social structures over time.
   
   • Language complexity: Initial complexity = 0.1 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The initial level of complexity of human language, which will evolve and increase over time)
   • Social hierarchy: Initial hierarchy level = 0.2 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The initial level of social hierarchy and organization within the human population, which will likely develop and become more complex over time)
   • Skill acquisition rates: Tool-making = 0.01, Fire-making = 0.005, Hunting = 0.02 (The rates at which humans can acquire essential skills, such as tool-making, fire-making, and hunting, which will influence their survival and cultural development)
10. Stochastic Events and Uncertainties: This factor encompasses the random and unpredictable events that can occur, as well as the uncertainties associated with parameter values and model assumptions.
    
    • Natural disaster probabilities: Floods = 0.05, Droughts = 0.03, Wildfires = 0.02 (The annual probabilities of occurrence for various natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and wildfires)
    • Disease outbreak probability: 0.01 (The annual probability of a disease outbreak occurring, which can significantly impact human and animal populations)
    • Parameter uncertainty ranges: Temperature ±1°C, Precipitation ±10%, Soil composition ±5% (The ranges of uncertainty associated with various parameter values, such as temperature, precipitation, and soil composition, reflecting the inherent uncertainties in the model and input data)

I've had an interesting idea for a project- Running an "Earth 2.0" projection simulation. I'm looking for recommendations on which AI platform would be suitable to run this on. Initially, I considered using ChatGPT, but after some research, Claude seems to have stronger reasoning capabilities. I would greatly appreciate any prompts or assistance related to this subject matter.
Framework for simulating Earth 2.0 from day one, taking into account a wide range of conditions and processes spanning physical, geological, biological, environmental, evolutionary, and cultural domains with their respective parameters:

1. Initial Planetary Conditions: This factor encompasses the fundamental physical characteristics of the planet Earth at the starting point of the simulation.
   
   • Planetary mass: 5.972 × 10²⁴ kg (The total mass of the Earth, which governs its gravitational pull and other physical properties)
   • Radius: 6,371 km (The average distance from the Earth's center to its surface, determining its size and surface area)
   • Axial tilt: 23.44 degrees (The angle between the Earth's rotational axis and the perpendicular to its orbital plane, influencing seasons and distribution of solar radiation)
   • Rotation period: 24 hours (The time it takes for the Earth to complete one full rotation on its axis, determining the length of a day)
   • Orbital period: 365.25 days (The time it takes for the Earth to complete one full orbit around the Sun, determining the length of a year)
   • Distance from the Sun: 1 AU (149,597,870 km) (The average distance between the Earth and the Sun, dictating the amount of solar radiation received)
2. Atmospheric Composition: This factor defines the initial composition of the Earth's atmosphere, which plays a crucial role in various processes, including climate and habitability.
   
   • Nitrogen (N₂): 78.08% (The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, essential for various biological processes)
   • Oxygen (O₂): 20.95% (A vital gas for aerobic life, also involved in various chemical reactions)
   • Argon (Ar): 0.93% (An inert gas present in the atmosphere)
   • Carbon dioxide (CO₂): 0.04% (A greenhouse gas that plays a crucial role in the Earth's climate and carbon cycle)
   • Water vapor (H₂O): Variable, initial value = 0.25% (The gaseous form of water, influencing temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric processes)
3. Hydrological Cycle: This factor encompasses the distribution and movement of water on Earth, which is essential for life and various natural processes.
   
   • Total water volume: 1.386 billion km³ (The total amount of water present on Earth, including oceans, ice caps, and underground reservoirs)
   • Ocean surface area: 361 million km² (The total surface area covered by oceans, playing a crucial role in the Earth's climate and biogeochemical cycles)
   • Land surface area: 149 million km² (The total surface area of the Earth's landmasses, including continents and islands)
   • Initial precipitation rate: 1000 mm/year (The average amount of precipitation falling on the Earth's surface annually, essential for freshwater availability and vegetation growth)
4. Geological Processes: This factor encompasses the dynamic processes that shape the Earth's surface and interior over time.
   
   • Plate tectonic movement rate: 2-10 cm/year (The average rate at which the Earth's tectonic plates move, driving continental drift and mountain formation)
   • Volcanic eruption frequency: 50-70 per year (The average number of volcanic eruptions occurring annually, contributing to the Earth's natural processes and atmospheric composition)
   • Earthquake frequency: ~1 million per year (The average number of earthquakes occurring annually, resulting from tectonic plate movements and other geological processes)
5. Biological Factors: This factor encompasses the initial living organisms present on Earth, including the human population and other plant and animal species.
   
   • Initial human population: 2 males, 3 females (The starting point for human evolution and population growth)
   • Initial animal species: 100 harmless, 20 potentially dangerous (The diversity of animal species present at the start, including both harmless and potentially dangerous species)
   • Initial plant species: 50 edible, 200 inedible (The diversity of plant species present at the start, including both edible and inedible species)
   • Genetic diversity of initial human population: 0.8 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The level of genetic variation within the initial human population, crucial for adaptation and evolution)
6. Resource Availability: This factor encompasses the natural resources available for sustaining life and enabling human survival and development.
   
   • Freshwater sources: 10 lakes, 5 major rivers (The availability of freshwater sources, essential for drinking water, agriculture, and various human activities)
   • Natural resources: 20 types of wood, 10 types of stone, 5 types of fibrous plants (The diversity and availability of natural resources, including wood, stone, and fibrous plants, which can be used for shelter, tools, and other purposes)
   • Food sources: 50 edible plant species, 20 huntable animal species (The availability of food sources, including edible plants and huntable animals, necessary for human sustenance)
7. Environmental Conditions: This factor encompasses the initial climatic and environmental conditions on Earth, which influence the distribution and growth of vegetation and the overall habitability for humans and other species.
   
   • Global mean surface temperature: 15°C (The average temperature across the Earth's surface, affecting various biological and ecological processes)
   • Global mean annual precipitation: 1000 mm (The average amount of precipitation falling annually across the Earth's surface, essential for freshwater availability and vegetation growth)
   • Vegetation distribution: Forest cover = 60%, Grassland cover = 30%, Other vegetation = 10% (The initial distribution of different vegetation types, influencing the Earth's ecosystems and carbon cycle)
8. Evolutionary Processes: This factor encompasses the mechanisms driving the evolution and adaptation of living organisms, including humans, over time.
   
   • Mutation rate: 10⁻⁸ mutations per nucleotide per generation (The rate at which genetic mutations occur, introducing new variations that can be acted upon by natural selection)
   • Natural selection pressures: Environmental stress factor = 0.5, Predation risk = 0.2, Competition factor = 0.3 (The relative strengths of different selective pressures acting on organisms, such as environmental stress, predation risk, and competition for resources)
   • Adaptation mechanisms: Physiological adaptation rate = 0.001, Behavioral adaptation rate = 0.005 (The rates at which organisms can adapt physiologically or behaviorally to their environment, influencing their fitness and survival)
9. Cultural and Social Dynamics: This factor encompasses the emergence and development of human culture, language, and social structures over time.
   
   • Language complexity: Initial complexity = 0.1 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The initial level of complexity of human language, which will evolve and increase over time)
   • Social hierarchy: Initial hierarchy level = 0.2 (on a scale of 0 to 1) (The initial level of social hierarchy and organization within the human population, which will likely develop and become more complex over time)
   • Skill acquisition rates: Tool-making = 0.01, Fire-making = 0.005, Hunting = 0.02 (The rates at which humans can acquire essential skills, such as tool-making, fire-making, and hunting, which will influence their survival and cultural development)
10. Stochastic Events and Uncertainties: This factor encompasses the random and unpredictable events that can occur, as well as the uncertainties associated with parameter values and model assumptions.
    
    • Natural disaster probabilities: Floods = 0.05, Droughts = 0.03, Wildfires = 0.02 (The annual probabilities of occurrence for various natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and wildfires)
    • Disease outbreak probability: 0.01 (The annual probability of a disease outbreak occurring, which can significantly impact human and animal populations)
    • Parameter uncertainty ranges: Temperature ±1°C, Precipitation ±10%, Soil composition ±5% (The ranges of uncertainty associated with various parameter values, such as temperature, precipitation, and soil composition, reflecting the inherent uncertainties in the model and input data)

Let me share my 3000h of modded wisdom with you, my fellow vanilla comrades. My attempt here is to provide you with as many as possible improvements to the base game while keeping the style, balance, and content as vanilla as possible. As they say, when it works the best is when you don't realize it is there. I guarantee you that after playing for a while with these, you will no longer be able to tell what's from the base game and what's not.
You don't know how to mod? Maybe this very basic guide will help. Please, note that many mods come with options to tune up your experience. It is recommended you give them a look.
You can find the steam collection here. Be aware that some of these mods require the DLCs. You don't have the DLCs? Just don't use the mod.
Dependencies:

• Harmony + Huglibs. Required by so many mods, you may as well be done with it and always have them.
• Vanilla Expanded Framework. While not as radically necessary as the previous ones, it's still a dependency fairly common. And this one actually does cool things on its own, like loading new modded factions without having to start a new game.
• XML Extensions. You won't be able to access the options of some mods without this.

Performance

• Dub performance analyzer. Enable the optimizations and override options, you can ignore everything else. If you want to disable alerts, use rocketman.
• Rocketman. By default, it should be good enough. This mod also allows to disable alerts you may don't care about, like, dunno, tattered apparel or unhappy nudity. It is recommended to run adaptive move occasionally (in stat cache settings).
• Performance Optimizer. More hacker magic. If you don't like the UI changes, you can disable them in the options. This mod does more performance stuff aside from that, so use it anyway!
• Performance Fish. You will have to install this mod manually, since it's not available in the workshop. You will also need to install its dependencies, Fishery and Prepatcher. Please, be aware that at the present there's an issue in which linking storages crashes the game. However, this can be prevented by disabling "TryFindBestBetterStoreCellFor" in the options.

Minor changes

• Optimization Meats. Unless you really want dozens of different meat types for some weird role-play reason, this mod will reduce the bloat on your kitchens.
• Better Animal Tab
• Better Info Card
• Conduit Deconstruct. A button to exclusively dismantle power conduits.
• Disable Automatically Select Travel Supplies
• Improved Need Indicator
• Map Preview. You can reroll as well!
• Prepare Landing. You can search world tiles matching your conditions. Goes great with Map Preview.
• Medical Tab. An easy way to overview your colony health.
• More Harvest Designators! e.g. harvest only fully growth plants.
• ModDiff. Great improvement of the mod mismatch screen.
• Pharmacist Temporary Update. Instead of always using the best medicine, now your pawns can use the appropriate medicine for the situation. No longer will they spent glitterworld meds on scratches!
• Smart Turret Covering. Fixes an issue with turret covers.
• PawnTargetFix. So that the autotarget prioritizes the closest enemy.
• Poisoned Food Stack Fix (Fix). Fixes an issue with meal stacks.
• Priority Treatment Ressurected. Doctors will finally prioritize keeping your pawns alive over taking a nap. Disable the option that prevents injured pawns from performing surgery, it has issues.
• QualityBuilder. You can set up a target level for furniture, and your pawns will reconstruct it until it's achieved. If I remember correctly, it's enabled by default for all new furniture? You can turn that off in options.
• RPG Style Inventory Revamped. Much better looking inventory.
• Replace Stuff. Allows to directly replace buildings, without having to deconstruct first.
• Research Tree. A better research tree.
• RimHUD. The best mod of the whole list, it will save you A TON of clicks.
• RimSaves. Overhaul of the save menu.
• Show Known Techprints on the trade screen.
• Show mechanoid weapons on the info screen.
• Smarter Construction. No more babysitting pawns when building walls.
• Stack gap. By default, pawns constantly refill storages. With this mod, you can configure it so that storages are refiled only when they're empty.
• Sun Lamp Honesty. Fixes an issue with sun lamps
• Just Put It Over There. Traders will deliver the merchandise, instead of dropping it on the ground.
• Trade Ships Drop Spot. Mark the spot in which orbital traders will deliver the merchandise, instead on whenever they feel like it. Doesn't work inside animal pens.
• Trading Options. Configure how frequent you want the traders to be.
• WVC. More work modes for the mechanitor.
• Save Settings. Allows you to save and load storage, production, and clothes settings. Works cross-save!
• No Max Bills. Removes the bill cap on workbenches.
• Better ground-penetrating scanner
• Colored deep resources
• Common Sense. Feel free to configure however you like it. I prefer it like this.
• Dubs Mint Menus. Improvements to a bunch of menus.
• Better Pawn Control. Improved management policies.
• Animals Logic. A lot of useful animal-related improvements. Disable the meat option if you're using Optimization Meats.
• Non uno Pinata. Pawns don't drop items when downed. Configurable.
• Bulk Smelting will save you precious time.
• Stonecutting Extended. The same as the previous mod, but for stones.
• Electric Stonecutting Table. To speed up the stonecutting even more.
• Faster Smoothing, a must for all mountain/underground out there.
• Do Your F****** Research. You can order pawns to research.
• Go the Fork to Sleep. You can order pawns to sleep.
• Meal Radius. Configure how far pawns will search for a table to eat.
• Home radius. Configure the size of the automatic home area.
• Smarter Visitors. Visitors will leave if things get dangerous.
• Custom Guilt Duration. Executions in vanilla are a pain because the guilty status goes away too fast. Now you can configure it.
• Dress Patients. Allows dressing of downed pawns.
• Way Better Romance
• Hunters Use Melee
• Injured Carry. Allows to rescue not downed pawns, no longer you have to wait for the bleeding to down them.
• Not My Fault. The player is no longer responsible for unrelated deaths on the map.
• Deep Storage + Simple Storage. Improves stockpile management.
• Pick Up And Haul. Improved hauling.
• While You're Up. Complement for the previous mod. Keep in mind that these two mods will trivialize part of the challenge by freeing a lot of time from your colonists. Just, dunno, turn up the difficulty a notch or something.
• Trading Spot. Marks where you want traders to stop on your map. It's a must if you use a desired path mod (I don't know if they have been updated to 1.5 yet).
• Vanilla Base Generation Expanded. Improved NPC base generation.
• Cut plants before building
• Psychic Harmonizer Lag Fix
• Fellow Ideology players, you're welcome.
  • Style Change Anytime
  • Persistent Precepts

Major changes

• Dubs Bad Hygiene. Plumbing!
• Vanilla Temperature Expanded. Lot of useful temperature-related buildings, as well as proxy heat, a very cool mechanic. Some buildings are redundant with the previous mod, just don't research the ones that you don't want.
• Death Rattle + Biosculpter Patch + Life Support. Changes the behavior of mortal wounds so they're not instakills.
• Dynamic Flooding. Inundations!
• Some Things Float. I recommend disabling the chance of pawns loosing their footing.
• Layered Wall Destruction. Walls aren't just destroyed, they become debris. Note that there's an issue in which the debris will spawn home areas.
• Yayo's Combat. Combat overhaul. You can disable the ammunition system if it's not your thing.
• Character Editor. Allows you to edit and save/load pawns.
• RunAndGun. Allows to use guns while moving, with penalties to accuracy. Don't enable the dual wield or search and destroy modules, they won't work.
• EPOE Forked. Fills in the gaps of surgery content in the base game. I recommend disabling the additional workstations and enabling direct crafting only. Less micromanagement, more fun.

Balance

• Beautiful Jade
• Almostthere1.5. Caravans no longer go to sleep two hours away from their destination.
• Stepping Stones. A more reasonable research path.
• Dubs Break Mod makes it so that severe mental breaks require severe negative thoughts.
• Fists Aren't Made of Steel. Reduces the unarmed melee damage, making prison breaks and tantrums much less frustrating.
• No Burn Metal. Sets the flammability of metal buildings, and others, to zero.
• Prisoners Fear Turrets
• Realistic Rooms Rewritten. Allows to tweak how pawns perceive room sizes.
• Ugh You Got Me. Social fights stop when pawns are sufficiently hurt or in pain. Doesn't affect masochists or psychopaths.
• Better Pyromania. Way less frustrating.
• Mortar Accuracy. Improves mortar mechanics.
• Graze up. Grazing rebalanced.
• Better Camp Loot
• Snap Out! Wardens can try to calm down pawns on mental breaks. "Try" is the keyword here.
• Peer Pressure. Opinions matter when converting someone.
• Better Gene Inheritance
• Vanilla Genes Rebalanced
• Gene Trader. Getting xenogenes it's hard, this should easy the burden a bit.

Content

• Sparkling Worlds. A bit of everything.
• Vanilla Traits Expanded. More traits.
• Vanilla Backstories Expanded. More backstories.
• Vanilla Chemfuel Expanded. Rimefeller but with less bloat.
• Vegetable Garden. More farmable plants.
• Vanilla Persona Weapons Expanded + More Persona Traits. More persona weapon variety.
• More Ideological Words + More Religious Origins. More ideology variety
• Events
  • Factional War
  • Raid Extension
  • Go Explore!
  • Vanilla Events Expanded
• Buildings
  • Blooming hedges
  • Panels & Frames
  • Simply More Bridges
  • Thrones plus
  • Tribal Crib
  • Utility Columns
  • Medieval deathrest coffin
  • Metallic Batteries. You can ignore the error, it'll work anyway.
  • Reinforced Walls
  • ReSplice: Core
• Gear
  • Crowns and Regalia
  • Fallout New Vegas - Elite Riot Gear
  • Maid Outfits :3
  • Wheelchairs

Atmospheric changes

• Interaction Bubbles + SpeakUp. Better social interactions.
• Enemy Self Preservation. Enemies severely hurt may try to flee.
• No One Left Behind. Fleeing enemies try to rescue their downed allies.
• Memorable Auroras. They now have a meaningful -if still small- impact.
• Sand Castles. The snowmen of the beaches. Or the deserts.
• Sandstorms
• Graying Hair. So that hair goes gray gradually with age.
• Childrens Drawings
• ReGrowth. Overhaul of biomes and much more!
• My Little Planet. If you're tired of supercontinents, but still want a smaller board, set planet coverage to 100%, and use the new planet size slider instead.
• Geological Landforms. New map shapes.
• Biome Transitions. More organic border biomes.
• Death Acidifiest. Vanilla death acidifier is lame, this is much cooler.
• Graphics
  • Yayo's Animation
  • Trait and Backstory Icons
  • Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Icons and Symbols
  • Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Relics and Artifacts
  • Vanilla Races Expanded - Custom Icons
  • Bionic icons
  • Spectacular Skullspike. They're rotable now!
  • Muzzle Flash
  • More Mini-Horns
  • Better Explosions
  • Better Vanilla Masking
  • Graphic Chair Overhaul 2
  • Not Overhead Meal
  • Graphics Settings+
  • Show Hair With Hats or Hide All Hats. This one takes a while to set up to your preferences, but oh it's so worth it.
  • Cuter Biotech Cat/Dog Ear Replacer. If you don't like the meat-colored animal ears from Biotech, this is for you!
  • Blood Animations
  • Gunplay. Trails can break some mods. If that happens, disable trails in options.
• Retextures
  • Parka Retexture
  • Retextured Apparel
  • Retextured Sculptures
  • Vanilla Beards Retextured
  • Vanilla Hair Retextured
  • Vanilla Pawns Retextured
  • Marbled Marble
  • Essentials: Stone (the stat changes won't work)
  • Vanilla Textures Expanded - Variations
  • Vanilla Textures Expanded
  • I Hate Daylilies
  • Biotech Mechanoid Retexture
  • Tastier Vanilla Clothes
  • Van's Steel
  • Glowing Healroot
  • More Vanilla Textures
• Audio
  • Ambient Rim
  • Realistic Human Sounds. Not very vanilla, but certainly very funny.
  • Actually Vanilla Music Expansion
  • P-Music
• Hairs
  • Erin's Hairstyles
  • Hard Times
  • Rimsenal Hair + Retextured
  • Roo's Hairstyles
  • Roo's Royalty Hairstyles
  • The Vanity Project
  • Won hair_men + Retextured
  • Won hair_women + Retextured

Bonus: comics! And the occasional animation. I noticed newbies aren't aware of these, so I linked the profiles of all the artists I could remember. Sorry if I missed someone. u/daleksdeservevictory, u/AzulCrescent, u/AetherealVanguard, u/ATTF , u/Aelanna , srgrafo, u/Fonzawa, u/Ivancmedia, u/zyll3, u/meto30, u/AeolysScribbles, u/cavalier753, u/GABESTFY, u/VectorData, u/arxian, u/Nguyenanh2132, u/sorrowful_dance, u/meto30, u/-desdinova-, u/truffli

My favourite is probably South Corel, although of course the Grasslands gets major nostalgia/sentimental points.
My least favourite was Cosmo Canyon, that twangy version of the main theme made me want to die 😂

When I was three years old I was in a really bad car accident. I didn't know it at the time, but that singular event would come to define everything about my life moving forward. What I remember about the accident is mostly a collage of backdated comments I was able to reel out of my father in the following years. He was driving me and my mom in his old '91 Chevy Tahoe through the twisting backroads of Southern Illinois, weaving his way through the gnarled branches of oak trees which interlocked into a braided ceiling overhead. A fog had rolled in, giving the impression that we were driving through a cloudy tube. Everything was simultaneously bright and opaque. I didn't mind though, as I was in the back seat working on a coloring book. My mom was in the front, talking with my dad or turning around to entertain my completed pictures.
Although I was of the age where my memory was just beginning to mature, I still recall two things very clearly from the accident. First was the sensation of breaking. I remember feeling the way a plate must feel to be dropped: weightless at first, then suddenly meeting a much larger, more solid object—the air popped like a firecracker, and the entirety of my body shattered into hundreds of fractals. And then I remember a hand. It was my dad's hand pulling me from the wreck.
I ended up hospitalized for weeks after the crash. My mom was less lucky. The impact had killed her instantly.
As I've alluded to, I was young, and at the time I didn't fully understand the implications of what had happened. I knew something was missing, but it was like a word on the tip of my tongue, or the forgotten vanilla in a cherished cake recipe—coloring my experience, but not the whole of it. Not like my dad. For him, it was the whole fucking cake. He had somehow made it out with only a few scratches. I'm sure he had a really bad case of survivor's guilt, and frankly, looking back, I wouldn't have blamed him if he slumped into despair and spent his days drinking away his sorrow. But he wasn't that type of man. He got help. It took him years before he was able to recall anything that happened that morning, and most of it is still repressed, but he shared with me what he could. Or at least that's what I had thought.
My dad was a Middle School teacher since before I was born, and he kept his job until very recently. As a result, we didn't have much by way of resources. I grew up on Disney Channel and TV dinners for the most part, but I didn't mind. When I became of school age, his job actually made caring for me pretty convenient. Since our Elementary and Middle schools were connected, he was able to drive me there and back each day.
It was around third or fourth grade that I realized I was different. I didn't understand the other children or even the adults most of the time. They would say things then immediately change their mind, or they would talk about something and in the next breath forget its existence entirely. I remember one day at lunch, I had just gotten my tray of hot food and sat down with some friends. One of the kids, Alex, was talking about a stuffed bird he had won for getting first place in Mr. Curtis's pop-up math competition. We were all admiring its blue wings and white belly and sharp black beak and beady eyes. I left mid-conversation to get a chocolate milk. When I came back, I asked to see the bird again, and Alex said "what bird?" I was perplexed. "The bird—the bluejay you were just showing us." I remember all of the other kids looking at me like I was crazy. I figured they were all playing a trick on me, so I got up and went over to Alex's seat and crouched down, looking under the table, then I sprung up and tried to open his lunchbox. "What are you doing!?" he yelled. I felt so confused and embarrassed that I ran to the bathroom to cry.
And then there was another time a group of kids were laughing about a joke one of the girls, Taylor, had made about our homeroom teacher's face looking like a seal. I knew it was mean, but at the time I just wanted to fit in so I played along, but when I made a comment about her resemblance to the semi-aquatic animal, they all looked at me confused. "What are you talking about? We never said that…"
These misattributions kept happening, and it led to me being ostracized from most of the little childish cliques that popped up. I developed a quasi-standoffish temperament which I used as a shield against a chaotic world that I didn't understand. My dad eventually had me tested for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), but I passed the test. He asked if I wanted to move to a different town with different schoolmates, thinking that perhaps I was getting bullied, but I told him it was fine. Somewhere deep down I felt like no matter where I went, this problem would follow me.
You may think that I was simply coping with the absence of my mom, and while I'm sure that her absence has left certain holes in my life, kindly, no, that wasn't what was happening. You see, at first I didn't notice the instances of what I'll call "blinking". I simply thought that I was misremembering things: objects, words, events. They were all little things anyway. A bird, a joke, my pencil box. It wasn't until sixth grade that I realized the magnitude of the phenomenon.
I was in my dad's 6th grade Social Studies class and we had just been assigned our "Ancient Civilizations" project which involved creating a diorama of our chosen civilization and presenting its features to the class. My friend at the time, Claire, had taken my first choice of Ancient Rome (which we had a heated argument about at lunch), so I was left with Ancient Egypt. At the time, all I pictured for Egypt was a plate of sand. However, my dad and I went through some illustrated history books and pictures on the internet and he really built up the project for me.
Over the course of a couple months, he helped me shape three pyramids out of small wooden planks and a bunch of tan clay. We placed them in the center of a giant square shoebox lid which served as the container for the diorama. Then he bought some small wooden mannequin puppets and we dressed them up in cloth clothes (mostly kilts and tunics) and colored their eyes, mouths, and hair. We added a few obelisks and some small box-huts which were collected into a little village around the Nile. Finally, we added a light glaze of glue where we felt would be necessary and then covered the whole project with golden glitter.
As we worked on each part of the diorama, my dad helped me understand what we were adding and why it was important to Ancient Egypt. I loved the way he talked about history. He spun everything into a miraculous story. To this day, I don't think I've ever had a teacher who came close to his level of charisma and creativity. As a result, I became really proud of my diorama. I memorized all the little details and rehearsed my speech in front of the mirror for hours leading up to the last couple weeks of class. And then, two days before I was supposed to give my presentation, everything fell apart.
First, I need to apologize for deceiving you about an aspect of my story. I thought it might help you to understand what I was going through at the time. What I'm about to tell you is going to sound insane. I get that. But please hear me out. The truth is that I was never assigned to present on Ancient Egypt; everything else about Clair taking my first pick and dad helping me with the whole project and my excitement leading up to the presentation was all true, but it wasn't a project on Ancient Egypt, it was a project on Ancient Sidovan, which was a civilization located on the eighth continent called "Catalan" (the same name as the spoken language, but unrelated) which was due West of Australia in the Indian Ocean.
I know this sounds incredible, and if you want to believe it's all in my head, I get that, but I remember clearly all sorts of facts about it: the Malagasy, the same people who populated Madagascar, were the first peoples to discover Catalan and settle it. However, about five hundred years later, Indian ships would arrive and create the civilization known as Sidovan. A pidgin language formed between the indigenous population and new arriving Indians called "Hiesa" (pronounced: Hai-E-suh or Hai-ʔ-suh). Catalan had a warm climate with plenty of natural resources, but Sidovan had a dense enough population to require agricultural production. They grew rice, grain, sugarcane, vegetables, and even tobacco.
I remembered all of these facts and more. My diorama reflected the main features of the Sidovan civilization. And then two days before my presentation, I woke up and my diorama was entirely different. The hilly grasslands were traded out for sandy dunes. The Hindu statues and stone palaces became clay pyramids and large spear-like pillars. And everything was covered with the ickiest yellow glitter I had ever seen. Tears stung my eyes as I trampled over to my dad's room and banged on his door. "Dad! What did you do!?" I yelled.
"Honey?" He responded, rushing over to the base of the stairs. "What's wrong?"
"The diorama. It's ruined!"
"It's what?" he asked and ran up the stairs, leading me to my room. He looked over it for a few seconds, checking to see if everything was intact, then said, "I don't see it, honey. Where is it ruined?"
I was completely dumb-struck. What did he mean he didn't see it? "All of it!" I shouted. "The whole thing is wrong. Where's the grass and the stone buildings and the lady with the four arms and the elephants? Where is my project!?"
My dad looked at me in silence. "Lauren, baby, what civilization do you think you were working on?"
"Ancient Sidovan, of course! We've been working on this for months now! Dad, please tell me you remember."
He knelt down and put his hands on my shoulders. "Honey, your project was on Ancient Egypt. There is no Ancient Sidovan."
"Y-you're lying." I protested. "Books, you have books. On your bookshelf."
He took me into his study and showed me all of his books. None of them were on Ancient Sidovan. He even turned on his computer and typed in the name of the civilization, but all that came up was a near match "Sidon". I remember feeling the sudden urge to puke. My entire body felt like it was pumping battery acid instead of blood. "I—I don't," I started but suddenly my head felt very light, and I fainted.
When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I had lost consciousness for over half an hour, enough time for my dad to call 9-1-1 and have the ambulance transport me to the nearest ER. They ran all sorts of tests on me, but they all came back fine. After a couple hours of IV fluids and monitoring, they released me with my dad.
I ended up skipping the rest of school that week. My dad didn't make me present my diorama. In fact, he never brought the subject up again. Part of me was glad. I just wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened. But another part of me couldn't move past what was clearly the most absurd thing to ever happen to me. About a week after the incident, I tried to broach the subject, but when I asked my dad about it, he didn't seem to remember our conversation at all. He said I had fallen ill and that's why I needed to go to the ER and miss class. I felt like I was going crazy. If I was older, I probably would have voluntarily checked myself into a psychiatric ward. But I was young and helpless and alone, and I decided that if I just ignored the changes well enough, I could still get along. This proved difficult though, as the blinking would only exacerbate in the coming months.
Up until the time of the project, I hadn't been able to directly observe the phenomenon. It was always in retrospect that things disappeared. It was during the summer after sixth grade that this changed. I still remember the first time it happened. I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying my hair in front of the mirror. After it was dried, I threw on my clothes then went to tie my hair up in a ponytail, but as I went to set the elastic tie, I felt its weight dissipate in my hand. I gasped and held my hand out. The circular black band was gone.
Fast forward to seventh grade and the blinking had spiraled out of control. Reflecting back on it, most people would probably have assumed I was drinking psilocybin-infused water, as the delusions were somewhat consistent with psychedelic phenomena: except these distortions were real (at least they felt that way to me).
I'd wake up and grab the box of Special K but end up eating Cheerios. The McDonalds logo would look yellow and red one day, but purple and black the next. I'd be watching a show, and then a different show, and then a different one. It was as if the entire universe was a Christmas tree with millions of lights, and the lights kept shifting hues randomly, faster and faster, and I was the only one who could see their changing colors. I remember one night my dad made spaghetti for dinner and we went out onto the porch to eat it. While we were sitting, I saw our neighbor's house, a two story townhome, blink and become a single story bungalow. I gasped, and my dad asked what was wrong, but when I tried to explain he just gave me a strange look. For him, no matter what changed, the world was "always that way". While for me, it didn't have "a way".
The situation peaked when Clair, that friend I mentioned before, disappeared. I texted her (my dad had bought me a BlackBerry at the beginning of summer break) but didn't get a response. When I asked her other friends if they knew where she was, I got the usual "what are you talking about?" look. I knew right away what had happened, even though I didn't want to believe it. I went to the teacher and asked if there was a Clair in our class. She said "no". I broke down in front of everyone. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out of school. The lady at the front desk tried to stop me, but I just barrelled past her. I kept running until I got to a big park across the street and bawled my eyes out until the police arrived and escorted me home. When they tried asking me what was wrong, I didn't say anything. There was literally nothing I could say that they would understand.
That night I prayed to God for the first time. My dad wasn't a religious man. He went to Catholic church with my mom when she was alive, but after she died he never went back. Still, I knew how to pray, even if I never did it. I copied some of the people I saw praying in movies and interlocked my fingers and knelt down on my bed, stuffing my head into a pillow. "Dear God," I said, "Please, please, please help me." I told Him about my struggles and asked Him to make them stop. I spent an hour saying the same things over and over again. And when I was finished, my little body was so tired, I fell right to sleep.
I knew something was different the second I opened my eyelids. I didn't only feel relieved, but I felt… embraced. I felt like someone was watching over me. I felt like I wasn't alone. I moved through my day with cautious apprehension. I didn't want to get my hopes up only to be let down. But to my surprise, the blinking had stopped. At least I couldn't remember any of the inconsistencies, and to me, that was a win. I began to pray regularly, and the more I did, the more I could feel the sense that someone was looking out for me. It was like I was getting a big hug from some cosmic force that loved me and wanted me to be happy.
I made it a habit to pray regularly. I asked my dad if he could take me to a church, and he agreed to take me to St. Mark's, the same church that he and my mom used to attend. Over time, I realized that the actual church services weren't as important to me as the praying. For whatever reason, there was something about praying that was like a glue for my brain, holding the entire universe together. As I got older, I considered that maybe it wasn't that the changes were no longer happening, but that I simply didn't see them anymore. In other words, maybe I was just becoming like everyone else. Either way, I didn't mind.
In my teenage years, I got into mindfulness meditation. I thought that I'd want to go into religious studies and become a theologian, so I started to learn about Eastern traditions in addition to Christianity. I joined a bunch of different school clubs to meet kids of different faiths: Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam. I tried to find a common thread which linked them all and would explain what happened to me as a child. The metaphors of Heaven and Hell, Good and Evil, the Taoist Yin and Yang—duality. Every religion seemed to speak about a way of being that would lead to a better place. In some cases that better place was a physical future existence, and in others it was merely being in contact with the perfection of nature or the present. Metaphorically, the teachings could explain what I had gone through in a kind of loose way, but there were no explicit statements about my condition.
***
I want to fast forward to why I've decided to write about this now. To give you an idea of where I'm at, I'm now 25 and working on finishing my MA in Computational Linguistics. I know that's a bit of a switch from what I was thinking when I was a teenager, but I really only interested in religion because of the value praying afforded me as a child. I didn't actually have much interest in the subject, itself. After my first year of college, I changed to an English major, which ultimately led to me taking a linguistics class and enjoying it so much that I switched tracks in my Junior year. Considering the state of the world, I thought minoring in Computer Science might help me financially in the future, so I ended up charting a path which I figured might lead to something like developing translation software.
Anyway, everything was going fine until a few weeks ago. I was out at an all-night diner with a few of my friends from the program. There was Jeremy, Martin, Bella, Jordan, and Macy. We had been working on a group project together involving modeling construction grammars by generating primitive 3D structures using C# and running the code through a game engine (it's a bit weird, but essentially we were trying to create a multidimensional model for language using a similar but more advanced concept than other LLMs), and just had a breakthrough. It was 2AM though and not a brain cell existed between the six of us, so instead we focused on a different problem: Macy's ongoing breakup with her semi-long distance trucker boyfriend. We tried to explain why Mike wasn't going to work out as we ordered a round of milkshakes and waited for the lone overnight kitchen worker to scoop out three balls of ice cream from the Deans carton for each of us, blend it, then have the server deliver the vintage diner glasses on a plastic tray.
I dug into my thick strawberry shake with a spoon. It was delicious. I kept eating but focused back on the conversation. I remember feeling something odd about one of the scoops, but I was so entrenched in Macy's story that I didn't notice the metal shard in my ice cream until I felt it against my lip. "P-tuh" I spat out the shard and ice cream all in one motion, then covered my mouth which I was sure was bleeding. The silver blade was probably as large as my thumb, and it had two jagged edges, as if it was fastened for the purpose of causing damage. "What the fuck!" I yelled.
Everyone at the table turned to see what was the matter. "Hey, Lauren, you okay?"
I spoke through a covered mouth, using my free hand to point at the table. "That was in my—"
But it was gone.
"In your… shake? Was something in your shake?" asked Jeremy.
I froze. In that moment, the stories of my childhood that I had only remembered as faint nightmares came back in a wave of crushing terror. How could I have been so stupid to think they would simply vanish forever? No, this isn't the same thing, I thought. But deep down, I knew it was. I drew my hand away from my lips and saw that it was dry—no blood. When I looked back up, all of the blood in my veins went cold. My friends were… smiling at me. Their lips were elastic like taffy, stretching to reveal their teeth. I could feel them radiating malevolence, as if the only thing holding them back from picking up their utensils and stabbing me to death was some thinly veiled force field. The moment lasted for what felt like half a minute, then Jordan said two words which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Found you"
The words ricocheted in my now adrenaline powered skull. But just as he spoke them, the world blinked and my friends were back. Bella reached out and grabbed my hand. I pulled away, but when I saw her concerned expression, I relented.
"Sorry, guys, I think I'm going to have to call it." I said.
"You sure, L?" asked Jordan. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Yeah, thanks, but I just…" I stumbled for a lie, but when one wouldn't come, Martin stood up and said he'd walk me out to my car.
"Thanks," I said as I got into my little 2015 Jetta. "It's just been a long day."
"No problem, Lauren. You know, if there's ever anything—"
"I know," I said but didn't mean. Some things just couldn't be shared.
I drove for about five minutes before stopping at a gas station. I pulled in and parked near the back. Then I interlocked my fingers and prayed for half an hour. I apologized for not taking my praying seriously and asked to once again be granted peace. Unlike my younger years, I also drifted into other avenues of thought. I imagined my mom. I pictured the whole arc of my life, all of the little decisions that led me to where I was. I cried for a long time. I felt like that little girl again reaching out for help. I still felt so lost, so out of control; there were so many things missing, and I was so confused.
I decided then to take a trip back home and visit my dad who was now working as a private tutor. He made enough prepping affluent students for the ACT and SAT that he could spend his free time pursuing his real passions: reading and writing. When I arrived at his doorstep that weekend, he greeted me with open arms. "How are you, kiddo? It's been, what? A year or so?"
It was actually more like two years, but I didn't tell him. I just smiled and nodded.
"Well, come in."
The house was almost exactly how I remembered it. Linoleum floors, beige walls, a few scattered pictures, the scent of camomile. Everything minimalist. There was a quaintness, a prettiness to the way everything seemed to be well kept and in a perfect place. From the cherry wood chairs we'd sit in to eat, to the cream-colored loveseat. I felt at home.
I spent the drive thinking of what I would talk to my dad about, but ultimately I wasn't sure what I'd say. I loved my dad, but I think growing up it was easy to see him as naive. After all, arguably the most important episodes of my childhood were completely unknown to him. In that way, I kind of loved him from a distance. Maybe losing my mom also played into that. Maybe I just had trust issues. And after what happened at the diner… Luckily there hadn't been any blinks since.
I stayed for a couple days and he showed me around some of the different coffee shops where he'd tutor kids or write some of his stories. I met some of his friends, mostly other retired or part-time teachers who were in a similar place in life. I was happy for him. Then, on Sunday, he made me my favorite meal growing up: homemade carbonara pasta with chicken and broccoli. The sauce had a few different cheeses, butter, olive oil, and a raw egg yolk. It was the perfect blend of creamy, savory, and sweet. After we ate, he cracked open a scrapbook of some old photos and other clippings he had put together.
We reminisced about the past and laughed whenever I'd cover up one of my awkward pictures. He brought up some stories from school that I had forgotten, naming some teachers that I hadn't thought about in years. Apparently I had started at the end, because as I moved to the other end of the book, I kept getting younger and younger. I flipped to the last pages and noticed a couple pictures of my mom that made my heart sink.
"She was beautiful, wasn't she?" said my dad.
"Mmm," I agreed.
I flipped to the last page and saw a collage of newspaper clippings. One of them was related to the accident. It was headlined: "Two Survive Head-On Collision". After a cursory glance at the text, I noticed something odd. It said, "Both the husband and child, a three year old girl, sustained life-threatening wounds. The husband was found unconscious on the scene. The girl was found twenty meters away from the vehicle, crying." I swallowed, trying to remember back to what happened that day. The feeling of crashing, of the world slowing down, then breaking, returned. And then there was a hand. My dad's hand. Or was it? If he was unconscious, who pulled me out of that wreck?
I looked up at my dad. He was smiling.
I shot up and started backing up slowly toward the door. "No, not you, too. What is this? What's happening? Who are you?"
My dad, or whatever was controlling him, laughed."Oh, Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. You know who we are." he purred as he stood up. He lifted his hands and the lights began to flicker then bend in a way which shouldn't have been possible. Dark figures began to propagate from the shadows along the walls. The pictures nailed there began to blink out of existence. I turned to run toward the door but the handle was gone. Glass shards materialized all around me and swarmed like locusts. Certain I was going to die, I dropped down on my knees and once again turned to prayer, this time asking God to directly intervene and save me.
Everything went quiet.
"Honey? Are you okay?"
I didn't trust his voice. I knew if I opened my eyes, I'd see that awful smile. He was just toying with me. "It's not you," I said in between muttered prayers. "I know it's not you."
"Honey," my dad said, closer. I felt his arms wrap around me. This was it, I was going to be suffocated. I waited for the inevitable crushing weight of my chest collapsing. I waited to break all over again.
"I would never hurt you, Lauren. I love you more than anything in the whole world."
I burst out in tears. "No, it's not you, I know it's not you. You don't exist!"
My dad's weight dissipated. I opened my eyes and saw that he was no longer there. "Dad?" I called aloud. "Dad? Where did you go?"
I checked all over the house, but there was no trace of him. There were still pictures of him all over the house, so I knew he hadn't blinked out of existence like everything else, but somehow he was missing.
***
I left the house and got a room at a hotel, where I am now. I'm sure at this point that whatever is happening to me is no longer random. Something out there is actively trying to hunt me. Maybe it has been my whole life, but only now it can see me—however weird that sounds. If that's right, then God has been on my side trying to protect me from this demon or monster or devil or whatever it is. Regardless, the methods I was using when I was younger are not going to cut it anymore. I already posted my story in several other small circles and have gotten one reply. A man who goes by the name "Trent" (apparently it's an alias). He said that he has some insight into my "condition" and can offer help if I want it. I'm planning on meeting with him tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but at this point I need answers. I can keep you updated with my progress if that interests you, and to anyone who knows anything about what's happening to me, please… I could really use your help.
***
I was just about to post this when Trent sent another message. This is what it says:
Trent: We can do the \*** at **** O'clock. Also, if what you're telling me is true, your mother may still be alive.*

When I was three years old I was in a really bad car accident. I didn't know it at the time, but that singular event would come to define everything about my life moving forward. What I remember about the accident is mostly a collage of backdated comments I was able to reel out of my father in the following years. He was driving me and my mom in his old '91 Chevy Tahoe through the twisting backroads of Southern Illinois, weaving his way through the gnarled branches of oak trees which interlocked into a braided ceiling overhead. A fog had rolled in, giving the impression that we were driving through a cloudy tube. Everything was simultaneously bright and opaque. I didn't mind though, as I was in the back seat working on a coloring book. My mom was in the front, talking with my dad or turning around to entertain my completed pictures.
Although I was of the age where my memory was just beginning to mature, I still recall two things very clearly from the accident. First was the sensation of breaking. I remember feeling the way a plate must feel to be dropped: weightless at first, then suddenly meeting a much larger, more solid object—the air popped like a firecracker, and the entirety of my body shattered into hundreds of fractals. And then I remember a hand. It was my dad's hand pulling me from the wreck.
I ended up hospitalized for weeks after the crash. My mom was less lucky. The impact had killed her instantly.
As I've alluded to, I was young, and at the time I didn't fully understand the implications of what had happened. I knew something was missing, but it was like a word on the tip of my tongue, or the forgotten vanilla in a cherished cake recipe—coloring my experience, but not the whole of it. Not like my dad. For him, it was the whole fucking cake. He had somehow made it out with only a few scratches. I'm sure he had a really bad case of survivor's guilt, and frankly, looking back, I wouldn't have blamed him if he slumped into despair and spent his days drinking away his sorrow. But he wasn't that type of man. He got help. It took him years before he was able to recall anything that happened that morning, and most of it is still repressed, but he shared with me what he could. Or at least that's what I had thought.
My dad was a Middle School teacher since before I was born, and he kept his job until very recently. As a result, we didn't have much by way of resources. I grew up on Disney Channel and TV dinners for the most part, but I didn't mind. When I became of school age, his job actually made caring for me pretty convenient. Since our Elementary and Middle schools were connected, he was able to drive me there and back each day.
It was around third or fourth grade that I realized I was different. I didn't understand the other children or even the adults most of the time. They would say things then immediately change their mind, or they would talk about something and in the next breath forget its existence entirely. I remember one day at lunch, I had just gotten my tray of hot food and sat down with some friends. One of the kids, Alex, was talking about a stuffed bird he had won for getting first place in Mr. Curtis's pop-up math competition. We were all admiring its blue wings and white belly and sharp black beak and beady eyes. I left mid-conversation to get a chocolate milk. When I came back, I asked to see the bird again, and Alex said "what bird?" I was perplexed. "The bird—the bluejay you were just showing us." I remember all of the other kids looking at me like I was crazy. I figured they were all playing a trick on me, so I got up and went over to Alex's seat and crouched down, looking under the table, then I sprung up and tried to open his lunchbox. "What are you doing!?" he yelled. I felt so confused and embarrassed that I ran to the bathroom to cry.
And then there was another time a group of kids were laughing about a joke one of the girls, Taylor, had made about our homeroom teacher's face looking like a seal. I knew it was mean, but at the time I just wanted to fit in so I played along, but when I made a comment about her resemblance to the semi-aquatic animal, they all looked at me confused. "What are you talking about? We never said that…"
These misattributions kept happening, and it led to me being ostracized from most of the little childish cliques that popped up. I developed a quasi-standoffish temperament which I used as a shield against a chaotic world that I didn't understand. My dad eventually had me tested for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), but I passed the test. He asked if I wanted to move to a different town with different schoolmates, thinking that perhaps I was getting bullied, but I told him it was fine. Somewhere deep down I felt like no matter where I went, this problem would follow me.
You may think that I was simply coping with the absence of my mom, and while I'm sure that her absence has left certain holes in my life, kindly, no, that wasn't what was happening. You see, at first I didn't notice the instances of what I'll call "blinking". I simply thought that I was misremembering things: objects, words, events. They were all little things anyway. A bird, a joke, my pencil box. It wasn't until sixth grade that I realized the magnitude of the phenomenon.
I was in my dad's 6th grade Social Studies class and we had just been assigned our "Ancient Civilizations" project which involved creating a diorama of our chosen civilization and presenting its features to the class. My friend at the time, Claire, had taken my first choice of Ancient Rome (which we had a heated argument about at lunch), so I was left with Ancient Egypt. At the time, all I pictured for Egypt was a plate of sand. However, my dad and I went through some illustrated history books and pictures on the internet and he really built up the project for me.
Over the course of a couple months, he helped me shape three pyramids out of small wooden planks and a bunch of tan clay. We placed them in the center of a giant square shoebox lid which served as the container for the diorama. Then he bought some small wooden mannequin puppets and we dressed them up in cloth clothes (mostly kilts and tunics) and colored their eyes, mouths, and hair. We added a few obelisks and some small box-huts which were collected into a little village around the Nile. Finally, we added a light glaze of glue where we felt would be necessary and then covered the whole project with golden glitter.
As we worked on each part of the diorama, my dad helped me understand what we were adding and why it was important to Ancient Egypt. I loved the way he talked about history. He spun everything into a miraculous story. To this day, I don't think I've ever had a teacher who came close to his level of charisma and creativity. As a result, I became really proud of my diorama. I memorized all the little details and rehearsed my speech in front of the mirror for hours leading up to the last couple weeks of class. And then, two days before I was supposed to give my presentation, everything fell apart.
First, I need to apologize for deceiving you about an aspect of my story. I thought it might help you to understand what I was going through at the time. What I'm about to tell you is going to sound insane. I get that. But please hear me out. The truth is that I was never assigned to present on Ancient Egypt; everything else about Clair taking my first pick and dad helping me with the whole project and my excitement leading up to the presentation was all true, but it wasn't a project on Ancient Egypt, it was a project on Ancient Sidovan, which was a civilization located on the eighth continent called "Catalan" (the same name as the spoken language, but unrelated) which was due West of Australia in the Indian Ocean.
I know this sounds incredible, and if you want to believe it's all in my head, I get that, but I remember clearly all sorts of facts about it: the Malagasy, the same people who populated Madagascar, were the first peoples to discover Catalan and settle it. However, about five hundred years later, Indian ships would arrive and create the civilization known as Sidovan. A pidgin language formed between the indigenous population and new arriving Indians called "Hiesa" (pronounced: Hai-E-suh or Hai-ʔ-suh). Catalan had a warm climate with plenty of natural resources, but Sidovan had a dense enough population to require agricultural production. They grew rice, grain, sugarcane, vegetables, and even tobacco.
I remembered all of these facts and more. My diorama reflected the main features of the Sidovan civilization. And then two days before my presentation, I woke up and my diorama was entirely different. The hilly grasslands were traded out for sandy dunes. The Hindu statues and stone palaces became clay pyramids and large spear-like pillars. And everything was covered with the ickiest yellow glitter I had ever seen. Tears stung my eyes as I trampled over to my dad's room and banged on his door. "Dad! What did you do!?" I yelled.
"Honey?" He responded, rushing over to the base of the stairs. "What's wrong?"
"The diorama. It's ruined!"
"It's what?" he asked and ran up the stairs, leading me to my room. He looked over it for a few seconds, checking to see if everything was intact, then said, "I don't see it, honey. Where is it ruined?"
I was completely dumb-struck. What did he mean he didn't see it? "All of it!" I shouted. "The whole thing is wrong. Where's the grass and the stone buildings and the lady with the four arms and the elephants? Where is my project!?"
My dad looked at me in silence. "Lauren, baby, what civilization do you think you were working on?"
"Ancient Sidovan, of course! We've been working on this for months now! Dad, please tell me you remember."
He knelt down and put his hands on my shoulders. "Honey, your project was on Ancient Egypt. There is no Ancient Sidovan."
"Y-you're lying." I protested. "Books, you have books. On your bookshelf."
He took me into his study and showed me all of his books. None of them were on Ancient Sidovan. He even turned on his computer and typed in the name of the civilization, but all that came up was a near match "Sidon". I remember feeling the sudden urge to puke. My entire body felt like it was pumping battery acid instead of blood. "I—I don't," I started but suddenly my head felt very light, and I fainted.
When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I had lost consciousness for over half an hour, enough time for my dad to call 9-1-1 and have the ambulance transport me to the nearest ER. They ran all sorts of tests on me, but they all came back fine. After a couple hours of IV fluids and monitoring, they released me with my dad.
I ended up skipping the rest of school that week. My dad didn't make me present my diorama. In fact, he never brought the subject up again. Part of me was glad. I just wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened. But another part of me couldn't move past what was clearly the most absurd thing to ever happen to me. About a week after the incident, I tried to broach the subject, but when I asked my dad about it, he didn't seem to remember our conversation at all. He said I had fallen ill and that's why I needed to go to the ER and miss class. I felt like I was going crazy. If I was older, I probably would have voluntarily checked myself into a psychiatric ward. But I was young and helpless and alone, and I decided that if I just ignored the changes well enough, I could still get along. This proved difficult though, as the blinking would only exacerbate in the coming months.
Up until the time of the project, I hadn't been able to directly observe the phenomenon. It was always in retrospect that things disappeared. It was during the summer after sixth grade that this changed. I still remember the first time it happened. I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying my hair in front of the mirror. After it was dried, I threw on my clothes then went to tie my hair up in a ponytail, but as I went to set the elastic tie, I felt its weight dissipate in my hand. I gasped and held my hand out. The circular black band was gone.
Fast forward to seventh grade and the blinking had spiraled out of control. Reflecting back on it, most people would probably have assumed I was drinking psilocybin-infused water, as the delusions were somewhat consistent with psychedelic phenomena: except these distortions were real (at least they felt that way to me).
I'd wake up and grab the box of Special K but end up eating Cheerios. The McDonalds logo would look yellow and red one day, but purple and black the next. I'd be watching a show, and then a different show, and then a different one. It was as if the entire universe was a Christmas tree with millions of lights, and the lights kept shifting hues randomly, faster and faster, and I was the only one who could see their changing colors. I remember one night my dad made spaghetti for dinner and we went out onto the porch to eat it. While we were sitting, I saw our neighbor's house, a two story townhome, blink and become a single story bungalow. I gasped, and my dad asked what was wrong, but when I tried to explain he just gave me a strange look. For him, no matter what changed, the world was "always that way". While for me, it didn't have "a way".
The situation peaked when Clair, that friend I mentioned before, disappeared. I texted her (my dad had bought me a BlackBerry at the beginning of summer break) but didn't get a response. When I asked her other friends if they knew where she was, I got the usual "what are you talking about?" look. I knew right away what had happened, even though I didn't want to believe it. I went to the teacher and asked if there was a Clair in our class. She said "no". I broke down in front of everyone. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out of school. The lady at the front desk tried to stop me, but I just barrelled past her. I kept running until I got to a big park across the street and bawled my eyes out until the police arrived and escorted me home. When they tried asking me what was wrong, I didn't say anything. There was literally nothing I could say that they would understand.
That night I prayed to God for the first time. My dad wasn't a religious man. He went to Catholic church with my mom when she was alive, but after she died he never went back. Still, I knew how to pray, even if I never did it. I copied some of the people I saw praying in movies and interlocked my fingers and knelt down on my bed, stuffing my head into a pillow. "Dear God," I said, "Please, please, please help me." I told Him about my struggles and asked Him to make them stop. I spent an hour saying the same things over and over again. And when I was finished, my little body was so tired, I fell right to sleep.
I knew something was different the second I opened my eyelids. I didn't only feel relieved, but I felt… embraced. I felt like someone was watching over me. I felt like I wasn't alone. I moved through my day with cautious apprehension. I didn't want to get my hopes up only to be let down. But to my surprise, the blinking had stopped. At least I couldn't remember any of the inconsistencies, and to me, that was a win. I began to pray regularly, and the more I did, the more I could feel the sense that someone was looking out for me. It was like I was getting a big hug from some cosmic force that loved me and wanted me to be happy.
I made it a habit to pray regularly. I asked my dad if he could take me to a church, and he agreed to take me to St. Mark's, the same church that he and my mom used to attend. Over time, I realized that the actual church services weren't as important to me as the praying. For whatever reason, there was something about praying that was like a glue for my brain, holding the entire universe together. As I got older, I considered that maybe it wasn't that the changes were no longer happening, but that I simply didn't see them anymore. In other words, maybe I was just becoming like everyone else. Either way, I didn't mind.
In my teenage years, I got into mindfulness meditation. I thought that I'd want to go into religious studies and become a theologian, so I started to learn about Eastern traditions in addition to Christianity. I joined a bunch of different school clubs to meet kids of different faiths: Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam. I tried to find a common thread which linked them all and would explain what happened to me as a child. The metaphors of Heaven and Hell, Good and Evil, the Taoist Yin and Yang—duality. Every religion seemed to speak about a way of being that would lead to a better place. In some cases that better place was a physical future existence, and in others it was merely being in contact with the perfection of nature or the present. Metaphorically, the teachings could explain what I had gone through in a kind of loose way, but there were no explicit statements about my condition.
***
I want to fast forward to why I've decided to write about this now. To give you an idea of where I'm at, I'm now 25 and working on finishing my MA in Computational Linguistics. I know that's a bit of a switch from what I was thinking when I was a teenager, but I really only interested in religion because of the value praying afforded me as a child. I didn't actually have much interest in the subject, itself. After my first year of college, I changed to an English major, which ultimately led to me taking a linguistics class and enjoying it so much that I switched tracks in my Junior year. Considering the state of the world, I thought minoring in Computer Science might help me financially in the future, so I ended up charting a path which I figured might lead to something like developing translation software.
Anyway, everything was going fine until a few weeks ago. I was out at an all-night diner with a few of my friends from the program. There was Jeremy, Martin, Bella, Jordan, and Macy. We had been working on a group project together involving modeling construction grammars by generating primitive 3D structures using C# and running the code through a game engine (it's a bit weird, but essentially we were trying to create a multidimensional model for language using a similar but more advanced concept than other LLMs), and just had a breakthrough. It was 2AM though and not a brain cell existed between the six of us, so instead we focused on a different problem: Macy's ongoing breakup with her semi-long distance trucker boyfriend. We tried to explain why Mike wasn't going to work out as we ordered a round of milkshakes and waited for the lone overnight kitchen worker to scoop out three balls of ice cream from the Deans carton for each of us, blend it, then have the server deliver the vintage diner glasses on a plastic tray.
I dug into my thick strawberry shake with a spoon. It was delicious. I kept eating but focused back on the conversation. I remember feeling something odd about one of the scoops, but I was so entrenched in Macy's story that I didn't notice the metal shard in my ice cream until I felt it against my lip. "P-tuh" I spat out the shard and ice cream all in one motion, then covered my mouth which I was sure was bleeding. The silver blade was probably as large as my thumb, and it had two jagged edges, as if it was fastened for the purpose of causing damage. "What the fuck!" I yelled.
Everyone at the table turned to see what was the matter. "Hey, Lauren, you okay?"
I spoke through a covered mouth, using my free hand to point at the table. "That was in my—"
But it was gone.
"In your… shake? Was something in your shake?" asked Jeremy.
I froze. In that moment, the stories of my childhood that I had only remembered as faint nightmares came back in a wave of crushing terror. How could I have been so stupid to think they would simply vanish forever? No, this isn't the same thing, I thought. But deep down, I knew it was. I drew my hand away from my lips and saw that it was dry—no blood. When I looked back up, all of the blood in my veins went cold. My friends were… smiling at me. Their lips were elastic like taffy, stretching to reveal their teeth. I could feel them radiating malevolence, as if the only thing holding them back from picking up their utensils and stabbing me to death was some thinly veiled force field. The moment lasted for what felt like half a minute, then Jordan said two words which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Found you"
The words ricocheted in my now adrenaline powered skull. But just as he spoke them, the world blinked and my friends were back. Bella reached out and grabbed my hand. I pulled away, but when I saw her concerned expression, I relented.
"Sorry, guys, I think I'm going to have to call it." I said.
"You sure, L?" asked Jordan. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Yeah, thanks, but I just…" I stumbled for a lie, but when one wouldn't come, Martin stood up and said he'd walk me out to my car.
"Thanks," I said as I got into my little 2015 Jetta. "It's just been a long day."
"No problem, Lauren. You know, if there's ever anything—"
"I know," I said but didn't mean. Some things just couldn't be shared.
I drove for about five minutes before stopping at a gas station. I pulled in and parked near the back. Then I interlocked my fingers and prayed for half an hour. I apologized for not taking my praying seriously and asked to once again be granted peace. Unlike my younger years, I also drifted into other avenues of thought. I imagined my mom. I pictured the whole arc of my life, all of the little decisions that led me to where I was. I cried for a long time. I felt like that little girl again reaching out for help. I still felt so lost, so out of control; there were so many things missing, and I was so confused.
I decided then to take a trip back home and visit my dad who was now working as a private tutor. He made enough prepping affluent students for the ACT and SAT that he could spend his free time pursuing his real passions: reading and writing. When I arrived at his doorstep that weekend, he greeted me with open arms. "How are you, kiddo? It's been, what? A year or so?"
It was actually more like two years, but I didn't tell him. I just smiled and nodded.
"Well, come in."
The house was almost exactly how I remembered it. Linoleum floors, beige walls, a few scattered pictures, the scent of camomile. Everything minimalist. There was a quaintness, a prettiness to the way everything seemed to be well kept and in a perfect place. From the cherry wood chairs we'd sit in to eat, to the cream-colored loveseat. I felt at home.
I spent the drive thinking of what I would talk to my dad about, but ultimately I wasn't sure what I'd say. I loved my dad, but I think growing up it was easy to see him as naive. After all, arguably the most important episodes of my childhood were completely unknown to him. In that way, I kind of loved him from a distance. Maybe losing my mom also played into that. Maybe I just had trust issues. And after what happened at the diner… Luckily there hadn't been any blinks since.
I stayed for a couple days and he showed me around some of the different coffee shops where he'd tutor kids or write some of his stories. I met some of his friends, mostly other retired or part-time teachers who were in a similar place in life. I was happy for him. Then, on Sunday, he made me my favorite meal growing up: homemade carbonara pasta with chicken and broccoli. The sauce had a few different cheeses, butter, olive oil, and a raw egg yolk. It was the perfect blend of creamy, savory, and sweet. After we ate, he cracked open a scrapbook of some old photos and other clippings he had put together.
We reminisced about the past and laughed whenever I'd cover up one of my awkward pictures. He brought up some stories from school that I had forgotten, naming some teachers that I hadn't thought about in years. Apparently I had started at the end, because as I moved to the other end of the book, I kept getting younger and younger. I flipped to the last pages and noticed a couple pictures of my mom that made my heart sink.
"She was beautiful, wasn't she?" said my dad.
"Mmm," I agreed.
I flipped to the last page and saw a collage of newspaper clippings. One of them was related to the accident. It was headlined: "Two Survive Head-On Collision". After a cursory glance at the text, I noticed something odd. It said, "Both the husband and child, a three year old girl, sustained life-threatening wounds. The husband was found unconscious on the scene. The girl was found twenty meters away from the vehicle, crying." I swallowed, trying to remember back to what happened that day. The feeling of crashing, of the world slowing down, then breaking, returned. And then there was a hand. My dad's hand. Or was it? If he was unconscious, who pulled me out of that wreck?
I looked up at my dad. He was smiling.
I shot up and started backing up slowly toward the door. "No, not you, too. What is this? What's happening? Who are you?"
My dad, or whatever was controlling him, laughed."Oh, Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. You know who we are." he purred as he stood up. He lifted his hands and the lights began to flicker then bend in a way which shouldn't have been possible. Dark figures began to propagate from the shadows along the walls. The pictures nailed there began to blink out of existence. I turned to run toward the door but the handle was gone. Glass shards materialized all around me and swarmed like locusts. Certain I was going to die, I dropped down on my knees and once again turned to prayer, this time asking God to directly intervene and save me.
Everything went quiet.
"Honey? Are you okay?"
I didn't trust his voice. I knew if I opened my eyes, I'd see that awful smile. He was just toying with me. "It's not you," I said in between muttered prayers. "I know it's not you."
"Honey," my dad said, closer. I felt his arms wrap around me. This was it, I was going to be suffocated. I waited for the inevitable crushing weight of my chest collapsing. I waited to break all over again.
"I would never hurt you, Lauren. I love you more than anything in the whole world."
I burst out in tears. "No, it's not you, I know it's not you. You don't exist!"
My dad's weight dissipated. I opened my eyes and saw that he was no longer there. "Dad?" I called aloud. "Dad? Where did you go?"
I checked all over the house, but there was no trace of him. There were still pictures of him all over the house, so I knew he hadn't blinked out of existence like everything else, but somehow he was missing.
***
I left the house and got a room at a hotel, where I am now. I'm sure at this point that whatever is happening to me is no longer random. Something out there is actively trying to hunt me. Maybe it has been my whole life, but only now it can see me—however weird that sounds. If that's right, then God has been on my side trying to protect me from this demon or monster or devil or whatever it is. Regardless, the methods I was using when I was younger are not going to cut it anymore. I already posted my story in several other small circles and have gotten one reply. A man who goes by the name "Trent" (apparently it's an alias). He said that he has some insight into my "condition" and can offer help if I want it. I'm planning on meeting with him tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but at this point I need answers. I can keep you updated with my progress if that interests you, and to anyone who knows anything about what's happening to me, please… I could really use your help.
***
I was just about to post this when Trent sent another message. This is what it says:
Trent: We can do the \*** at **** O'clock. Also, if what you're telling me is true, your mother may still be alive.*
Part 2

After playing League for ~3 years I decided to stop and learn a new game and now have been playing Dota for about 8 months. As I've been learning I've been comparing and contrasting them, and I felt like writing up my thoughts.
I'm not a high ranked player; I was emerald in League and I don't really played ranked in dota. It doesn't matter, since this post isn't about tactics/strategy or how to win-- I'm just talking about the differences between the mechanics of the two games and their clients.
Disclaimer, this is all about Soloqueue. Pro play is a different environment and many things are different. I'm just talking about the average player's experience.
In League's favor:

• Better lore. It's not a contest really. League's champions all have names and stories that are placed front and center, whereas Dota heroes are more like archetypes than individuals with distinct identities. Instead they're known by a description of what they are, while their "real names" are kind of buried in half-assed bio summaries and infrequently referenced. There's a dude called "Anti-Mage." There's a dude on a bat and his name is Batrider. There's nothing in Dota to compare with the hype lore media Riot produces, like the fiddlesticks rework video or the 10 min yone/yasuo video. Champion lore just gets way more money put into it in League.
  
• League has WAYYYYY better champion animations and ability visual designs. This is for me where League blows Dota out of the water. There's really just nothing in Dota that feels like Jhin, or Ekko, or Aphelios, or Senna, or so many others. With rare exception, almost all the champions in league have aspects that FEEL amazing - great sound design / animations / feedback delays that are incredibly rewarding. Dota's heros are really fun to play and I'm having a great time, but if you put them side by side with like 90% of League's cast, the animations of their abilities and movements just feel kinda flat by comparison. One of the easiest side-by-sides is Darius vs Dota's hero "Axe" -- he has the same ult as darius, completely identical except for darius ult's interaction with passive. But all Axe does for his ult visually is a little hop and swing of the axe. It's really lame. Compare that to the awesome sound of a Darius ult kill, with the fear, especially on the God-King skin, and it makes Dota look 20 years old.
  
• Skillshots! In Dota most abilities are just unit targeted, so they can't miss. There are skillshots too, but they're far fewer. In league skillshots are kind of the norm, and aiming them and dodging them is a big part of the game and it's fun to do so and makes you feel cool when you land them or dodge them. Having nearly everything be unit targeted isn't bad, it's just different, but it is something I enjoy a lot in League.
  
• Cooler duels in league, and more of them. Dueling is a big part of league and it doesn't seem to be such a big part of Dota except maybe a bit in mid. Everyone in Dota has teleport (instead of recall), and it only has like a 1 minute cooldown. So whenever a fight starts, people teleport in and it becomes a teamfight. There's only one 1v1 lane (mid), the other two are 2v2 lanes. So there's much less of the 1v1 culture of League where people get to solo each other and take pride in the results. The lack of skillshots in dota plays into this too, since landing or dodging skillshots can definitively contribute to the outcome of a duel. With that mechanic less prominent, statchecking is a bit more common.
  
• Very little 1v9 potential in Dota by comparison. Dota has FARRRRRR more CC than league, it's not even close. League feels like it has no CC compared to dota. In dota there is an item anyone can buy that silences a point-and-click target for 5 seconds, and another that polymorphs for 3 seconds, and so on. Many such items. There's a support who can root you for 4 seconds AND polymorph you for 3, and a carry who can silence you for FIFTEEN SECONDS with his ult. In such an environment, no one person can solo carry a game most of the time. You HAVE to work with your team. So if you love 1v9ing, League wins hard on that. But at the same time this can be a negative for league - it means there's more ego and less teamwork. People in dota are by default much more inclined to work together, because in the face of such powerful tools they HAVE to.
  
• Recalling isn't a thing in Dota, which means the game is kind of constantly pedal-to-the-metal. It can be kind of nice to take a breather in League for a few seconds and stretch your arms while walking back to lane, given how intense the game can be.
  
• In dota, holding tab doesn't show you what items people have built, nor their CS, and it's super frustrating. You have to click champion portraits individually to see their items, and you can't see their CS at all aside from your own. Probably hard-core dota loyalists will say this is part of the skill of the game, but honestly it's just annoying/bad UI design that they sort of got used to and became convinced was "part of the game" imo. It's really stupid and annoying.
  
• In League you can buy as many wards as you want, whereas in Dota there's only ever a finite number available in the store which is SHARED among your team and then goes out of stock until it replenishes on a timer. I hate having to share wards with the team in dota, and the store being out of them. I understand it's part of the game and managing that is part of the skill of dota, but I find it tedious and don't really enjoy it as a mechanic. Additionally, wards take up an inventory slot in dota the same way control wards do in league, and it's just annoying.
  
• Better champion skins, frankly. Some of League's skins are just amazing, as we all know. I would say there is very little cosmetic content in Dota that can compare to High Noon Senna or God-King Darius or [insert your favorite skin here.] There are cool skins, but it's just not the same. In Dota you can buy individual things, like updating a sword or a hat or a belt or a single ability's effect, all purchaseable separately. They have some full-kit skins, but that's not emphasized as much as in League where it's the standard and the only option, and they're just not as visually impressive.
  

In Dota's Favor:

• All heroes are free from the start. It's great for trying them out and learning the game.
  
• The game is less punishing to learn than league, for a multitude of reasons. Don't get me wrong, it still has an enormous barrier to entry and a steep learning curve, but it's just less painful. Everyone who ever learned League remembers what it was like in those first couple months being alone in lane against people who have been playing for years - especially in top lane or mid lane - and just getting fucking demolished 1v1 and not even being able to play. That doesn't happen as much in dota. First of all two lanes are ostensibly 2v2 and only one is 1v1, although there's a lot more roaming by the supports. There's also no jungler role, a role in league which often leads to that player being blamed for everything that goes wrong in a game. And then there's WAY more sustain - in Dota you don't recall to buy items, you have couriers ferry them out to you. So you can just kinda constantly have Dota's equivalent of health pots brought out to you, and only TP to fountain rarely when you're super low. This means there's a lot less crying under turret while zoned off CS unable to play.
  
• Much better tools for learning. The tutorial is better. You're able to click other heroes to see their abilities in-game. There's a guide system full of user-contributed content where you can pick one in-game and it tells you what to buy and how to use that item on this hero, as well as how to use your abilities by just adding little user-written snippets to the tooltips when you hover them. League does have recommended items and recommended order for ability-levelling, but the fact that you can choose between different guides for different roles in dota is huge, and the text telling you when/why to use specific items for a hero is also majorly helpful. Imagine if you could pick a different guide in game for Senna support vs Senna adc, etc, that recommended specific choices based on the role and neatly fitted those recommendations into the UI.
  
• Dota has way, way, way more interesting items. There are so many active items in Dota, and they feel much more impactful. By comparison nearly every item in league is just a statstick that gives one form or another of more damage or more tank. In Dota there are items that silence for 5s, that disarm (teemo blind) for 3s, that root an aoe for 2s, that polymorph for 3s, that reset ALL your cooldowns including ult (this one has a 5 min cooldown, the rest are <20sec.) Dota's version of Thornmail has an active that hugely amplifies the reflected damage for 5second, so the item feels great to use and has more skill expression - you time the active correctly when someone is focusing you and it makes a big difference. Given that most effects last 3-5 seconds, it's not about super-precise timing like in League so much as it is about broader strategic choices of using it early or late in a fight, etc. The only items in league that feel as strong as Dota items are Zhonyas, GA, and Locket, with honorary mention for the perennially overpowered botrk.
  
• Dota has a way more beautiful map. It's not even close. Dota's map has so much going on. There are far more jungle camps, there's trees everywhere (which many hero abilities interact with in different ways!), there's high ground and low ground. There's so many different places and different entities and landforms, and it's just beautiful. League's map feels empty and stale by comparison. It's much smaller than dota's map, the jungle camps have fixed contents that never change (dota's camps rotate and change during the game). Not even to mention that Dota's map is divided in half and each team's side looks completely different from the other half. As opposed to league where they're identical but just rotated.
  
• Aghanim's shard and scepter. These are the my favorite things in Dota that league doesn't have. What are they? They're two items you can buy that each have a different effect on every single individual hero in the game. On a case by case basis, they either UNLOCK ENTIRE NEW ABILTIES (literally the UI expands to add a new slot when you buy them) or they upgrade one or more of your existing abilities to have entirely new effects. This is just so cool and I was shocked when I learned about them. It's just so fun being able to gain new abilities even late in the game.
  
• The talent tree, which is like an ability customization tree you progress through over the game and which is specific to the hero you're playing. In Dota the max level is 30, and every 5 levels in the game from level 10 onwards, you can unlock a "talent", at which point you pick one of two options to upgrade your hero. It might add 1s to your Q's stun. It might decrease the mana cost of your W. It might give you +250 base health, or +50 AD. It might add entirely new effects to your abilities, like making what was previously just a rooting projectile also start silencing. By level 30 you will have gotten to unlock everything in the tree (you don't typically reach level 30 very often in ranked games). Imagine if like at level 25 you could add "Mundo Q grounds for 0.5s" or "Irelia E +200 range". It's stuff like that and it's so fun.
  
• Dota is more team-oriented. Due to the prevalence of long-lasting debuffs/cc from both items and hero abilities, no one person can really just solo carry to the same extent as in League. In my experience you only very rarely see someone 1v9 in Dota, and usually it's because the enemy team is just making stupid choices. This makes the game a bit more tolerable on average, although you encounter the same toxicity as in league just the same.
  
• Dota has built-in voice chat. This actually does come in handy a lot. Hate not having it in league. It's typically effective and you can mute people in voice just the same as in chat so it's rarely been problematic in my personal experience so far.
  
• Dota has "turbo mode." This mode is just great. Wish league had it. It's basically norms, but with aram-level gold income so all players get to full build in like 20-30 min without even powerfarming. It's really fun and great for learning, experimenting, and playing casually with less commitment.
  
• In dota you don't recall. This means more time spent out on the map playing. Instead all players have the equivalent of the teleport summoner spell constantly available, which lets you take part in more plays. You also don't back to buy items, instead they get ferried out to you by little minions, which is great. Having items shipped out to you constantly instead of having to spend time retrieving them is awesome.
  
• Better demo tool by far. League's practice tool is notoriously shitty. Being able to open the demo tool while you're waiting in queue in Dota is amazing. Can't do that in league.
  
• Dota has 3 additional inactive item slots called the backpack. Love being able to hold 3 additional items that you can swap in or out (they're not usable from the backpack and you don't gain their effects, but you have them on your person to swap into from main inventory if you want). Just gives you nice flexibility when holding consumables and building stuff.
  
• Neutral items. This just doesn't exist in league and I wish it did because these are really fun and cool. When you kill neutral jungle camps in dota they drop items, and the power level of the items scales over the course of the game, from weak ruby crystal type stuff to things that are as strong as rabadons. And they don't take up a normal inventory slot, so you effectively get an actual 7th item in dota.
  
• The system for checking out customization and skins. Dota's system is pretty different, where instead of buying holistic skins that change everything, you can customize individual parts of a heroe's appearance, like their hat or their sword or their belt or gloves. There's WAYYYYY more options than in League, and you can try them all out in the client to see how they look.
  
• Cosmetics for things other than the heroes/champions themselves. In League you can only buy champion skins. In Dota you can buy cosmetics for the ancient (nexus), the towers, the creeps, the map, etc. None of that exists in League. We fucking WISH we could buy that kind of stuff. Riot are you listening?
  

Conclusions
On the whole I'd say there's more things to like about Dota than about League just in sheer quantity of bullet points, but regardless I love both games and think they're both really fun. If Dota improved their lore, their animations, and their tab screen and League improved their cosmetics store and had a more interesting and dynamic map, plus neutral items and agh's shard & scepter, I wouldn't really have any major complaints about either of them.
I think anyone who loves one game could potentially love the other one too and it's totally worth learning whichever one you don't already know, if you have the time. Obviously these games take a ton of time and most people barely have time for one let alone two. But if you're young especially, they're both really fun.
It's pretty hard for me to see eye-to-eye with the people who love one game and ferociously hate on the other - it seems childish and kind of empty. To not find one as fun as the other, sure, that's one thing, but to expend energy hating it and constantly shitting on it, that just confuses me. You can have a favorite while still acknowledging the other as a comparably enjoyable game.
One final note - one of the things I found most interesting about comparing them is seeing which mechanics are normal in one game that would be overpowered in the other game.
In Dota there is a hero named Nature's Prophet whose W is TF ult minus the vision. It has a one minute cooldown, going down to eventually 0 cooldown late game, and he can access it from level one if he chooses to. Nature's prophet would likely have a >90% wr in League.
But then in League we have Zilean and his stupid ult on a one minute cooldown, while in Dota that only exists as a one-time use item (like GA) that you are rewarded with when you defeat their version of Baron, and it is basically the strongest item in the game. Zilean would likely have a >90% wr in dota.

After playing League for ~3 years I decided to stop and learn a new game and now have been playing Dota for about 8 months. As I've been learning I've been comparing and contrasting them, and I felt like writing up my thoughts.
I'm not a high ranked player; I was emerald in League and I don't really played ranked in dota. It doesn't matter, since this post isn't about tactics/strategy or how to win-- I'm just talking about the differences between the mechanics of the two games and their clients.
Disclaimer, this is all about Soloqueue. Pro play is a different environment and many things are different. I'm just talking about the average player's experience.
In Dota's Favor:

• Much better tools for learning. The tutorial is better. You're able to click other heroes to see their abilities in-game. The guide system to tell you what to buy and how to use it, as well as how to use your abilities. League does have recommended items and recommended order for ability-leveling, but the fact that you can choose between different guides for different roles in dota is huge, and the user-written text telling you when and how to use specific items for a hero is also majorly helpful.
  
• The game is less punishing to learn than league, for a multitude of reasons. Don't get me wrong, it still has an enormous barrier to entry and a steep learning curve, but it's just less painful. If you haven't played both it's hard to relate. League has two 1v1 lanes and very little sustain - there's no couriers to bring you tangos and mangos. You have to walk, but missing even a little XP can be devastating, so leaving lane at all can end your lane for you. If you're new and you're laning against someone who isn't new, it is absolutely brutal and you basically cannot play the game. Everyone who ever learned League without prior moba experience remembers what it was like in those first couple months being alone in lane against people who have been playing for years - especially in top lane or mid lane - and just getting fucking demolished 1v1 and not even being able to play. That can happen in dota too, but it just doesn't happen as much by comparison. And while there are roaming supports in dota, there's no jungler role, a very stressful role which in league which often leads to that player being blamed for everything that goes wrong in a match.
  
• Way, way, way more interesting items. There are so many active items in Dota, and they feel much more impactful. Having a tool like orchid malevolence or eul's is just enormously powerful. By comparison nearly every item in league is just a statstick. The only comparable items in league are Zhonya's Hourglass (kind of like a self-only Eul's) and Guardian Angel (literally Aegis - the resurrection effect isn't as game-changing in league as it is in dota). There's also a couple of items that give shields (damage barriers), but pretty much everything else is just....more damage, more armor, more health, more attack speed, etc. The item selection is just downright boring by comparison.
  
• Way more beautiful map. It's not even close. Dota's map has so much going on. There's so many different places and different entities and landforms, and it's just beautiful. Trees, high ground, outposts, trails through the woods, a radiant side and a dire side, day/night cycle....League's map feels small, empty, and stale by comparison.
  
• Fights are slower and longer in Dota. You last longer. You don't get one-shot as much. It's nice. It can be very frustrating in league being killed in a half second before you can do literally anything, over and over, game after game (if you get a bit unlucky and are playing a squishy champ/role and they have one or more assassins).
  
• More team-oriented. Due to the prevalence of long-lasting debuffs from both items and hero abilities, no one person can really just solo carry to the same extent as in League. In my experience it's much less common to see someone 1v9 in Dota, and usually it's because the enemy team is just making stupid choices. In League it happens close to every other game.
  
• Built-in voice chat. This actually does come in handy a lot. Hate not having it in league.
  
• Turbo mode. This mode is just great. Wish league had it. Great for learning and testing and playing casually when you don't have time or interest in a serious game.
  
• Not having to recall (teleport to base for hp/mana) is nice. More time spent out on the map playing. Having teleport constantly available lets you take part in more plays. Couriers are great. It's awesome having items shipped out to you instead of having to spend time retrieving them.
  
• Better demo tool by far. League's practice tool is notoriously shitty. Being able to open the demo tool while you're waiting in queue in Dota is amazing. Can't do that in league.
  
• The backpack is sick. Love being able to hold 3 additional items. Just gives you nice flexibility with consumables and components.
  
• Neutral items. This just doesn't exist in league and I wish it did because these are really fun and cool.
  
• Agh's shard and scepter, and the talent tree. None of these things exist in League and they add so much and make the game much more fun to progress through.
  
• More late game avenues to spend gold. Buybacks, Agh's shard and blessing, edible moon shard, boots of travel 1 & 2, item sharing, etc etc. I realize it's fairly rare to reach that level of full build in ranked, but in low level games it's more common and especially in turbo and honestly it's just great to have stuff to spend the gold on. In league you hit the 6 item cap and that's it, any gold beyond that is mostly wasted. It feels bad.
  
• On a related note, it's also really nice how the dota items are useful already at their not-yet-fully-built stage, like how Eul's is a crucial item that doesn't really NEED to be upgraded to Wind Waker, but optionally CAN be later when you have the gold and nothing of higher priority to spend it on anymore. In League you don't get effects like the active on Eul's until you've completed it into its final form (i.e. Wind Waker). This means that in League, with rare exception, you don't really have much choice but to fully finish items one by one, whereas in Dota it's the norm to only build the intermediate item and not FULLY complete it until super late game if at all.
  
• The announcer saying "Holy SHIT" when you go on a 10 kill streak. I find this hilarious.
  
• Better ability tooltips. When the talent tree adds +40 damage to a skill, that skill's text is updated to reflect that. I love this. League has a lot of little issues with incomplete tooltips that don't tell you the full story of how an ability works. You have to reference the wiki constantly. I have to reference it SOMETIMES in dota (like I had no idea why Pudge's E could completely block the damage from his W until I read on the wiki that the rot damage is divided into 5x per second, not 1 instance once per second), but in League I have to reference it pretty much...uh....ngl, constantly. Even as someone who has played it for thousands of hours. Feelsbad.
  
• Better cosmetics store. League's just has a splash art image of a skin and a purchase button. You have to go to youtube to see how it actually looks, and you cannot try it out at all without buying it. The fact that Dota allows you to launch into the demo tool with any cosmetic is amazing and something League players would literally trade sexual favors for.
  
• Cosmetics for things other than the heroes/champions themselves. In League you can only buy champion skins. In Dota you can buy cosmetics for the ancient, the towers, the creeps, the map, etc. None of that exists in League. We fucking WISH we could buy that kind of stuff. Riot are you listening?
  

In League's favor:

• Better lore. It's not a contest really. League's champions all have names and stories that are placed front and center, whereas Dota hero names are kind of buried and infrequently referenced. They're more like archetypes than individuals with their own identities. I mean...there's LITERALLY a dude called "Anti-Mage." There's a dude on a bat and his name is Batrider. The videos and media around champion releases in league are just way cooler. Check out the fiddlesticks rework video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNn2F39G-6s
  
• WAYYYYY better champion animations and sound design. This is for me where League blows Dota out of the water. Go ult someone as Axe - he does a little hop and swing animation. Then check this out, the corresponding ultimate in League from Darius, at the 3min mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRu0IznjCSc There's really just nothing in Dota that feels like Jhin, or Ekko, or so many others. With rare exception, almost all the champions in league have aspects that FEEL amazing - great sound design / animations / feedback delays that are incredibly rewarding. Dota's heros are really fun to play and I'm having a great time, but if you put them side by side with a pretty large percent of League's cast, the animations of many of their abilities and movements just feel kinda flat and low-budget by comparison.
  

Edit: Y'all have convinced me, Dota's sound design is also excellent. I guess what I meant is that League's is sometimes more thrilling, there's more peaks of excitement in the sound, but Dota's sound is also superb. Dota also has some excellent animations, like void ult. I remain of the opinion that on the whole the way the champions in League are animated is much better-looking than Dota, where a lot of abilities are just kind of a hand wave. The movements of the champions' bodies in League are much more expressive.

• Cooler duels. Dueling is a big part of league and it doesn't seem to be such a big part of Dota by comparison. Whenever a fight starts, people teleport in and it becomes a teamfight, or someone disengages and gets away somehow using one of the many items like force staff or eul's. In league, two lanes are 1v1 and the jungler also often 1v1s, so there's a kind of constant dueling and it really lets you find fun ways to express skill and mastery. There's only one item that will get you out of a sticky situation instead of many, and only a portion of champions can reasonably build that item in the first place.
  
• More 1v9 potential. Because there's so much less CC by comparison to dota, and champion counters aren't as hard as in dota, a single player can completely take over a game and win versus multiple opponents at once single-handedly. This can be really, really exciting and it's one of the high points of League that makes the game addictive.
  
• Having to recall (teleport to base for mana/health/buy items) actually can be kinda nice too, by comparison. It lets you take a breather and just look over the state of the game while you walk back to lane.
  
• Being able to see on the tab scoreboard what items and creep score people have is really, really nice. It's really fucking annoying in Dota having to click champion portraits to see what items they have, and if you click ANYTHING else it hides it again so you have to do it while standing still or moving in a straight line. Probably dota loyalists will say this is part of the skill of the game, but honestly imo it's just annoying/bad UI design that people sort of just got used to and became convinced was "part of the game."
  
• Skillshots! In Dota most abilities are just unit targeted or AOE, while disjointing does exist, aiming isn't really as big a mechanic. There ARE abilities you have to aim, which in league we'd call skillshots, but they're far fewer. In league skillshots are kind of the norm, and aiming them and dodging them is a huge part of the game and it's fun to do so and makes you feel cool when you land them or dodge them. Having nearly everything be unit targeted isn't bad, it's just different, but it is something I enjoy a lot in League.
  
• You can buy as many wards as you want. I hate having to share wards with the team in dota, and the store being out of them. I understand it's part of the game and managing that is part of the skill of dota, but I find it tedious and don't really enjoy it as a mechanic. Similarly, in League basic wards don't take up an inventory slot and instead get their own special slot like TP scrolls in Dota, which is really nice. It's pretty frustrating losing an inventory slot to wards.
  
• Manaless champions. There are a couple dozen champions in League that don't use mana, and many people enjoy playing them. Dota doesn't really have that.
  
• Simplicity. League has a smaller and simpler map, fewer mechanics, FAR fewer active item abilities, and more rigidity to its champion roles and how the game is played in soloqueue. Dota is kind of intimidating to learn from the sheer amount of stuff it has going on. Not everyone has the time or interest for it all.
  
• Rotating game modes. ARAMs (all random all mid: a constant 5v5 teamfight on a map that only has one lane in the form of a bridge connecting the two teams' bases and nowhere else to go) are pretty great. Dota's modes seem to be a bit more static and homogenous, but idk, it's possible I just haven't been playing long enough yet?
  
• Better champion skins, frankly. Some of League's skins are just amazing, and they ALL come with complete visual makeovers for all of the champion's abilities. While you can buy individual ability effect cosmetics in Dota, the options are somewhat limited by comparison. Any skin purchase in League will redo all the abilities to varying extents. Sometimes it's a small change, but higher-end skins make very significant changes. Dota does have some cool skins and a ton of cool minor cosmetics, but I would say League wins here.
  

Conclusions:
On the whole I'd say there's more things to like about Dota than about League just in sheer quantity of bullet points, but I love both games and I think they're both really fun. If Dota improved their lore, their animations, and their tab screen and League improved their cosmetics store and their map and added neutral items, the talent tree, and agh's shard & scepter, I wouldn't really have any major complaints about either of them.
I think anyone who loves one game could potentially love the other one too and it's totally worth learning whichever one you don't already know, if you have the time. Obviously these games take a ton of time and most people barely have time for one let alone two. But if you're young especially, they're both really fun.
It's pretty hard for me to see eye-to-eye with the people who love one game and ferociously hate on the other - it seems childish and kind of empty. To not find one as fun as the other, sure, that's normal, but to expend energy hating the other one and constantly shitting on it, that just confuses me. You can have a favorite while still acknowledging the other as a comparably enjoyable game.
One final note - one of the things I found most interesting about comparing them is seeing which mechanics are normal in one game that would be overpowered in the other game.
In League there is a champion named Zilean whose ult is to enchant an ally such that if they die in the next 5 seconds they're resurrected - basically Aegis, but on a one minute cooldown, for anyone on your team who needs it. Zilean would likely have a >90% wr in dota.
But then in Dota Nature's Prophet's teleport has a 90s/60s/30s cooldown and he can access it from level one if he chooses to, and eventually has a talent that removes its cooldown completely. Meanwhile this exists in League as one of the strongest ults in the game and with one of the longest cooldowns of any champion ability. Nature's prophet would have a >90% wr in League.

Context

This story fits into my world-building as an example of how people of the tribe at Saàkirlaasiik name one another. It illustrates that names are given by men to one another within their trade groups. Women ask their potential husbands to name them at their binding ceremony. This story illustrates both of those things.
The story is about two characters - 'Rows-in-loud-waters' and 'Hatchling'. They are on a battlefield against a tribe that broke apart from them long ago. Things get rough and a naming ceremony happens in the end. This takes place between the border of Saàkirlaasiik and Saàronit. It takes place in the second age after the Great Sundering.

Spoiler TL;DR

Summary: Rows-in-loud-waters is something of a squad leader to Hatchling. The two of them are in the alligator clan and are waiting for the 'Deceived' to come and fight them. When they finally do, the men fight with one of the Deceived for the majority of the story. This leads to some banter back and forth, but in the end, Hatchling dies. Hatchling tells Rows-in-loud-waters what he would have named his would-be wife if she had asked him to wed her. At the final end, Rows-in-loud-waters gives Hatchling a true proper name.

If You Read / Enjoy

Please drop me a comment. Just hearing that someone liked it would be awesome.

What's In A Name

“Stand firm! Men of Nafóótkirriinhaa”, Leans-on-the-spirit, chief of their clan spoke over all present before him. Riding by on a horse, he raised a spear and pranced the line of warriors. “It saddens me that we will shed the blood of our cousins! But they come to steal, pillage, and destroy. Show no mercy, brothers. For, I assure you, the Deceived will not return it.” His dark hair streamed in the air behind him as his steed carried him far down the line of men and out of earshot from him. Men cheered as he galloped by and smacked the flat of their weapons against their chests.
Hide banners whipped as the wind bid them to their will and the trees bent with each gust. Each banner displayed the spirit patron of the clan lined up to do battle. Some tribes gathered hides from the animals that embodied the attributes of their families' skills and nature. Behind him, alligator scales bent against the howling air. They dyed the animal biting its tail with an eye in the middle. A single line split the banner in the middle horizontally, and the eye peered out from the line. It represented the watchful eye of the clan, looking from the lands around Eversun. Sniffing, he smelt the hint of trees mingled mostly with warpaint against his flesh. A drum rang out behind him, then another sounded in the distance echoing it, and further out another did the same. This echoed on for a few more raps. His heart pounded in his chest, but he steeled his face.
The dark brown hair smacked the back of his tanned neck and his dark eyes scanned the woods before him. Across the grassland, they stood like a wall in the distance, dense and ominous. He had fashioned leather armor from the scaled hide of his swamp-dwelling, neighbor beast. He added stone studs to it in places that stuck out. On either side, men stood around him and he glanced out of the corner of his eyes. Younger men stationed themselves on either side of him entirely still and they both wore similar garb.
Each man painted their body with different symbols to display their strength, ferocity, or, in his case, battles fought. He used the black dye they made to draw scales against his skin where it remained exposed to the elements. Each drawn shape represented the number of times that he challenged a Deceived in combat and won. To his right, Paako Saàchalkoorrich Tínafsorlor, whom he lovingly calls Hatchling, dyed his face with ferocious teeth in the hope of scaring his enemies.
Hatchling's eyes widened as a horn sounded in the distance. Lootookcholatnapàrooti placed his hand on the young man's shoulder and smiled. Not showing his teeth, the sparkle in his eyes faded as quickly as it came. Recalling his first battle, the now chief, captained his line then. He hoped he could offer as much hope as the chief did then.
"Hatchling, I understand. This is your first bout with the Deceived. The tales we've weaved of them are terrifying and vicious. I must tell you, those tales are half true, but the half is still terrible" Lootookcholatnapàrooti's eyes trained on the forest head of them across the clearing. Any motion in the trees hid from his view and he sensed it lingered beyond the tree line, in the underbrush.
“Rows-in-loud-waters”, which Lootookcholatnapárooti meant, said Hatchling, “I don’t like the nickname. I am strong and proven in the tests.” Rows-in-loud-waters almost heard the pout on the young warrior's face. Smirking, he gave the young soldier a soft elbow to the ribs. “You’ve fought them enough times. How well do you know their tactics?”
Choosing to ignore the dislike of the nickname and how proven he may or may not be, Rows-in-loud-waters answered, "More than fought them. I engaged the enemy when the sundering happened, those years ago, when the clans had made it across Saàronit and into the valleys of the east. When Kolotatliíchiit revealed himself as the spirit of lies and trickery known to us as Naríhììnanathìnafòò”, chortled Rows-in-loud-waters. His mind rowed back to the day on the ship of his mind through the sea of memories. Every day, the river of life eroded them from his mind and they became less and less tangible.
The young man remained silent but peered from the corner of his sockets with intent. The horn blew again and the wind howled against the dusk sky. Rows-in-loud-waters guarded the lands of the tribe for several years, being an ‘eye in the swamp’. The Deceived envied Eversun and believed it promised to them instead of the men around him now. They fell, though, tainted themselves with the lies of the evil their false god fed them. The land of ever-sun had been promised for believers of the beat-giver, not the nest-stealer.
The horn sounded again, this time a bit closer. Rows-in-loud-waters tensed his hand around the shoulder of the young man again, in an attempt to reassure him. He worried the giant they built in tales to keep children near the settlements, backfired in moments like these. Fear, if unchecked by faith and courage created by faith, ravaged a man and tore through his resolve like the monsters created in stories of the age past and gone. “I have heard the Deceived are industrialized people with forges and explosives.”
"They hold fewer explosives and kilns as they once operated in the realms of Setting-Sun and the Teal Forests. We all practiced forging or so I’m told. The sundering was a quick bout of brother against brother and clan against clan. At the base of the white-ridged mountain, where the Nòònchààrrílììsììnat dwelt, we fought for what seemed like hours. We fought until our muscles ached, until our bones hurt, and until our lungs screamed for relief. In the end, Kolotatliíchiit fell and their usurper king called the retreat", he retold the story, holding on to the ax in his hand, keeping it at the ready in his off-hand. "The spirit of Naríhììnanathìnafòò spread over those who lost their way and inhabited all of them. It spread like sickness and as they fled, it fled with them." He shook his head and removed his hand from the young man's shoulder. "Half the priests left with them, and four of the seven first tribes dictated by Wááchlachtat, the great beat-giver."
Hatchling murmured a short prayer, both, Rows-in-loud-waters thought, in reverence for the name of their god but also the fear his heart currently harbored. "And they come now astride giant wolves, Rows-in-loud-waters and hunt in the dusk to find weaknesses in our resolve and steal into the land of promise. There they hope to kill our king, our clan chiefs, and place themselves at the seat of it all. How many times have they tried?" Fear waivered in the voice of the young man, but he kept his eyes straight ahead. They both did. The last they needed, Rows-in-loud-waters thought, wolf-mounted cavalry running them down while they stared into one another's eyes.
"Since the sundering", Rows-in-loud-waters asked and pondered in silence. The horns dinned again and got a bit closer. "In a host of the size the scouts report? Here I face them a second time, but they have always sent scouts almost yearly and they try skirmishes against us almost every five years. So in the twenty years since the sundering, there have been four skirmishes and two battles. Neither side seemed eager to meet the other in open war." To keep the young man from falling deeper into despair, Rows-in-loud-waters kept to himself the assumed reason. The potential allied dark powers of the Deceived deterred the king and the clan leaders from open war. They feared, maybe rightfully so, that the enemy sought other children of Naríhììnanathìnafòò like the Chììktonààn with their horrid owl-shaped faces and wrinkled talon-like hands.
Though none have seen a Chììknààn in a generation, tales of their malice lingered around the fires of public areas. Elders spun tales of heroes fighting the demi-god-like beings. Their eyes could see a spirit walker, and their strength could wrestle to the ground men twice their size. The claws, razor-sharp on each wrinkled and pimpled hand, extended its arm into the spirit world itself and could yank a spirit walker out from between the realms.
He ventured to guess the enemy refused open war with them because of the fear of the great beat-giver intervening against them, as he had done at the sundering. Spirits of the eagle, the buffalo, and the snake descended from the skies and took shape around them. The eagle came to the aid of the great teacher and fought with him against the enemy. The sight still filled Rows-in-loud-waters with awe and fear. These great spirits with such power existed in their realm - the Wààchlachtatpààtiit. Who knew what else existed beyond the reaches of the seas and northern mountains? The horn blew again, but this time it had not moved. He grabbed the other hatchet on his belt with his right hand.
"They're stalling", Hatchling breathed out, almost in a whisper as if he dared not alert the enemy to his position...
"They are and it is not like them to do so. But remember the spirit of our clan. We watch like the eye in our banner. We wait. We strike. Let the panther clan hunt through the woods and draw them out. We are to wait here." Rows-in-loud-waters convinced himself but pondered what the spirit-walkers of the panther clan waited for, or worse if the Chììktonààn horde lingered within the enemy host and snatched them from between the material and immaterial. "We wait." He echoed again and stood at the ready. The scales on his armor glinted in the setting sun to their left as it sank over the rolling hills at the place where the mountains met the lowlands and fled into the prairies.
A sea of pinks, reds, and oranges washed over the sky to the left of them as they faced north. The sun sat at the bottom of it all, at the horizon in the planes before the Saàronit. He failed to see it but, past the seas of grass - it sank. The sun sought its evening home beyond the lands of teal forests and red cliffs. In the land of gold and beautiful ridged coastlines. It almost yanked him away from the battle before him. It almost drew him away from the moment.
"So they're not as bad as you've told me my whole life?"
"They're bad, but they're human. They bleed and die like you do. The tales your elders have taught you as a child have not been altogether false or altogether true. They *do* practice human sacrifice of those they capture", Rows-in-loud-waters stated. He hid the fact they often sacrificed young children of their clans in the event they captured no one. "But they are not able to speak with wolves or command spiders. These are lies for story-telling effectiveness."
The young man grinned, "Ah then I will bring back my weight in scalps and wolf heads to the feasts of the return party." The young man raised his hatchet in response. "Each being an honor to my family and a possible trophy to convince Fóó Pafààlktiit Tínafsorlor to ask me to give her a name. Been courting her for two years now, and she still hasn't asked me. Perhaps this shows her my ability to provide and protect." Rows-in-loud-waters nodded. Sometimes spoils of war could convince a woman to request a naming. He wondered if women had it better in their tradition of naming. A woman received her name from her husband at the naming ceremony, but a man got his name from his peers. One bad name could stick forever.
His eyes scanned over to Chàànatatnafsorhapààt, named for hiding during a skirmish with the Deceived a handful of years ago. At least his name, he thought, sat in the middle of the road. Not too over the top to be too ridiculous but not to note some character flaw. Once given a name, your name stuck with you for the rest of your life. Shaking his head, he heard screams in the woods before them. "Get ready", he squatted in his ready position. Silence oozed over the field as the sun made a half-eye like of their banner against a pink sky.
"Fóó pafààlktiit tínafsorlor, I will bring you back spoils! I will show you I am a man to father your children", the young man mimicked the position Rows-in-loud-waters took. The two of them stood side by side. "Wááchlachtat, please be with us. Guide our strikes. Smite our foes", the young man glanced up at the sky. Rows-in-loud-waters followed his gaze with his own eyes and witnessed a single eagle flying overhead. “A good omen”, he noted. "He is with us", the young man shouted and pointed up to the sky. "He. Is. With. Us." The fervor spread through the line as men glanced up to spot the eagle before it disappeared.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Hatchling. Have faith, but the battle is not yet over. Wááchlachtat is not ours to master. We are his. His will is not ours. He will do as he wishes with this day." Then they came. Oversized wolves burst from the treeline and the men in the front of the formation readied their spears. "When the charge breaks, move with me. Understood, Hatchling", Rows-in-loud-waters asked. The young man nodded a response and the two of them faced their full attention to the front. Drums around them wailed with each passing moment and the panther clan did their duty - pinching the Deceived and drawing them out.
Rows-in-loud-waters smelled them before they got close enough to attack. They reeked of sulfur, oxidized iron, and sweat. Of all the deceits sown by the evil spirit, the greatest blazed fire and iron. Though he lived too few years to have experienced the splendors in the teal forests. The forest they laid bare, the mountains and valleys they flattened to build large metal works. All of this culminated in the great lie the beat-giver gave them conquest as a purpose. Their people knew the truth as inherited from the great beat-giver. Upon creation, he gifted man with more than a heartbeat, but also a goal, a purpose, and a stewardship over the world. The Deceived abandoned it and clad themselves in metal armor atop their steeds.
Charging furred beasts broke against the spears of the stag clan who had adorned their heads with antlers and little white speckled furs along their backs. Wolves howled and snapped their jaws at them as they died against the spears. The drool from their large agape mouths dripped onto the stag clansmen and drenched their armor. The area around Rows-in-loud-waters filled with the reek of wet dogs, which, smelled more pleasant than their riders.
One Deceived soldier, overlapping plated armor, hopped from his beast as it hit the spears, and landed behind the line, rolling as he did so. Tumbling to his feet, he drew two swords made of crude metal and eyed around the Rows-in-loud-waters and Hatchling. He licked his filed-down teeth and stepped forward to the two of them. The smell shifted back to the scent of sulfur and rust. Evil, its stench, hung to the Deceived.
Rows-in-loud-waters turned to face him and tugged Hatchling to do the same. The two of them flicked their hatchets in their hands and semi-circled the Deceived man This outsider appeared like they did: dark tanned skin, darker hair, dark eyes, and markings along his skin denote his tribe. This one hailed from the wolf tribe, which drew its heraldry from the initial Coyote tribe of Kolotatliíchiit. "Traitors", the wolf warrior shouted and raised his sword to charge forward. Rows-in-loud-waters noted the warrior before them bore the scarred claws of the man-butcher on his face. Three scarred lines trailed down his face and missed his eyes by a half-inch.
Other men broke through the formation of spearmen at the front of the line. One by one, more Deceived lingered into the lines of their tribe and the tempest of blades and shields whirled to life. Swords clanked against hatchets, spears against armor, and maces against faces. He heard the crunch of bone under the pressure of horse hooves. The air filled with the smell of metallic liquid, not like rust but a bit more like copper.
Hatchling and Rows-in-loud-waters moved in and, like the jaws of the mighty alligator spirit, pinched the Deceived warrior between themselves. Hatchling threw a slashing move with one of his hatchets, preparing a parry with the other arm. As he did so, Rows-in-loud-waters lunged forward and hacked hard downward to put a severe dent in the helmet of the enemy. The outsider struggled between them. He blocked one blow from Rows-in-loud-waters, then turned around to parry a blow from Hatchling. Sparks flew off the crude metal weapon as their chiseled stone axes hit it. The two of them stepped back from the Deceived outsider before he could counterattack.
Charging in again Hatchling dented his armor, leaving scuffs and scratches, while the enemy pushed Rows-in-loud-waters back away. "Traitors? You fight for the enemy, cousin!" Regardless of how far out the family they believed all clans related through the first men created by the beat-giver. "Turn your heart to Wááchlachtat and see! See the error of your ways and your kindred, they betrayed our ways and clung to Kolotatliíchiit even when revealed himself as the enemy!"
"Kolotatliíchiit was a hero, a paragon of our people! He hunted and slew the Chììktonààn. He mastered the realm given to us and showed us how to bend it to our will", with each phrase the enemy slammed his sword against Hatchling. Raising both his axes to catch the oncoming slash, Hatchling grunted as each hit staggered him backward.
"Perhaps it is not ours to shape?" Hatchling posed the question now and pride welled up in Rows-in-loud-waters’s heart. The young one came to grasp the purpose, the great mission for all of the men on Laaliíoota, one of them anyway. They lived in harmony with nature, not against it, not bending mountains to their will. To protect the young soldier, he jabbed forward with the ax in his main hand and moved back. It acted as a deterrent to pressing the young soldier further.
Around them, the din of battle drowned out the sounds of any other thoughts or fears. The Deceived soldier before them held their full attention. Another enemy sped toward them but caught a spear in the back of the neck. It pierced through him and pinned him to the ground. Gurgling nearby, he struggled and flailed his arms against the ground. A pool of crimson soaked the grass.
"Why", he pushed back Hatchling with his foot. "Would the beat-giver", he slashed and cut a gash in Rows-in-loud-water’s arm. "Give us", he kicked again trying to keep Hatchling back. "a realm to exist in. He wants us to conquer it."
Glancing at the blood running from his arm, Rows-in-loud-waters shook his head. "Then you are lost, cousin. The beat-giver never commanded us to conquer anything. He asked us to live in love with one another, to defend the wilds and beauty he created, and to worship him." Rows-in-loud-waters spun his hatchets around his hands and stepped back. Love of nature, love of others, and love of Wááchlachtat existed as the key commands of their god. The spirits echoed this in their defined sub-goals for each clan.
"Cousin", Rows-in-loud-waters said, "I will ask you once more to lay down your arms and come to try and reform... And we will see to it you are integrated with your people. That you see the truth and the life." In all ways, if possible, he felt required to extend out to the lost and try and pull them back to the way. His eyes met the Deceived man’s eyes and they shared a moment. Contemplation washed over the features of the enemy for but a moment as he narrowed his eyes to Rows-in-loud-waters.
"Never. Your way is a lie. Designed to deceive us." He kicked Hatchling back away again when the gap between them closed, then turned and charged. Rows-in-loud-waters and the enemy met at full force. The two of them traded blows. A slash on the cheek of the Deceived, bleed and he could see the ivory teeth within his joules. He hissed with pain and stepped back again. Droplets of blood oozed from the wound of the enemy’s mouth and down his chin. He reached up and wiped the blood away and licked into the wound with his tongue.
Hatchling charged at him from behind and jumped up into the air to attempt to plunge his axes upon the Deceived's shoulders with two raking blows. Rows-in-loud-waters rose his axes to try and deter the young warrior from his actions against the Deceived. With sudden premonition and supernatural celerity, the Deceived turned around and jammed his sword upwards in a single motion. Hatchling stopped in his tracks, his body caved save for the spasms. The pain must have racked him as he shuddered when the enemy pulled the blade out and fell to the ground.
"No!" Rows-in-loud-waters shouted and charged, but even as he charged forward Hatchling continued to fight. Standing from his prone position, he struck the Deceived in the back of the leg with his hatchet and it bit into him. Crimson liquid sprayed out onto the ground, but he pressed against his abdomen with his left arm. Slashing with the other arm in rapid succession. They wasted too much time, thought Rows-in-loud-waters and he needed to press the combat now. The enemy must fall before Hatchling expired.
Rows-in-loud-waters smacked him with the flat side of his weapon so he turned back around. The blood of his fellow clan mate dripped from the crude metallic blade. The air smelled of rusted metal. Fuming inside, Rows-in-loud-waters swung his weapon again and cleaved through the enemy's collarbone. The Deceived’s neck slacked and the weapon fell to his side. Ringing against his armored thigh, the sword clacked there, tapping as the enemy struggled to hold on.
Heaving for breath, Hatchling continued slashing with his axes and making deep cuts against the enemy until he stopped moving. Blood, a mixture of his own and the Deceived’s covered his face and shoulders. His body rested over the Deceived’s body and he lay there motionless. The battle swirled around them, cousin against cousin. Night fell around them and the three sister moons lit the darkness. The pale, vulnerable light glinted off crude metal and seeped into obsidian weapons.
Rows-in-loud-waters dropped to his knees beside the two bodies as Hatchling gasped for breath. The battle waged on, but numbers weighed on their side. The Deceived brought a thousand men to this battle, where they fielded three times. His ally wrapped both arms around his stomach to try and slow the bleeding.
"Rows-in-loud-waters, tell Fóó Pafààlktiit Tínafsorlor I wish I could have made it back to her. This", he lifted the scalped hair of the enemy soldier on the ground beside him, "is for her." He placed the skin and braided hair into Rows-in-loud-waters’s hand. "Tell her", he coughed, "I would have named her... The most poetic names." The scalp’s blood leaked from the cracks in his hands and down his wrist.
Wrapping his fingers around the other man's hand, Rows-in-loud-waters nodded his head. "What would have named her, Hatchling?" He squeezed as the young man faded a bit more, though he looked far older now than he had ever looked at him before. The mission at the moment remained to keep the young man from dying in fear and panic. Blood gushed from the open wound under his rib cage.
"I would have named her for the way the crickets sing in the summer as the sun sets under the moss-draped trees - Saàriifòònaforchiínaforchiit. I could have named her for the light reflected in her eyes as the fire burns under a full moon and frogs croak out beats for our souls to dance to. I would have named her", he gurgled blood between the words, "queen of my heart - Kiwáátattalkti. Most importantly, Rows-in-loud-waters, I would have named her my wife..."
"I know, friend. I know. I will tell her", blood leaked from the scalp in his hand and down his wrists as he pulled Hatchling's head into his lap. "Rest now, friend." Rows-in-loud-waters leaned in close to his friend and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around the wound with him and tried to provide him warmth as all the blood left his body. The savage blade of the enemy, ripped as it came out. Shuddering, Hatchling closed his eyes, knowing the end came soon.
"Tell her", he whispered again.
"I will", Rows-in-loud-waters responded.
The battle wrestled to an end with the final Deceived being chased away from the battle lines and into the woods where the Panther clan decided to let them go further by themselves. Rows-in-loud-waters watched from his place on the ground and hand on the side of Hatchling's cheek. A set of footsteps jingled through the battlefield behind him, but he kept his face downcast. A clattering of bones against quartz rung with each step. Blotting out the light from the moon, a shadow towered over him.
"Rows-in-loud-waters, losing a soldier in your line is unforgettable and crushing of the spirit, but he is not gone forever. You will see him again when we return to the beat-giver and live with him in the land of peace. Do distress yourself." The chief of the alligator clan knelt and placed a hand on Rows-in-loud-waters’s shoulder. He remained silent for some time, and Rows-in-loud-waters continued to look at the young man who served beside him.
"He fought valiantly, but even in the halls of the beat-giver he will be unnamed."
"Because he has not earned a name? Do you believe he has not earned a name, Rows-in-loud-waters? I hardly think that is fair." The chief shook his head and clicked his tongue against his teeth disapprovingly. Rows-in-loud-waters placed both hands of his friend on his chest and then placed his arms at his sides to shake out the anxiety and pent-up energy there.
"But, Leans-on-the-spirit, no one named him in life. He would not know it when we meet him in the halls of the beat-givers home. How would he answer". At this question, the chief sat and nestled into the ground near Rows-in-loud-waters. Squeezing his shoulder with his hand, and looked into the warrior's eyes.
Removing his hand from the shoulder of Rows-in-loud-waters he lifted the hand of Hatchling to his lap and took in a deep breath. "Do you imagine the names we give one another are for them to know who they are? Do you think our understanding of self is so small we have to have our brothers explain our behavior to ourselves?"
"So the names we give one another are for those around us."
"They're not for the beat-giver to know us", the chief chortled in response. "He already knows who we are before any name is given." The chief looked into Rows-in-loud-waters’s eyes and Rows-in-loud-waters sensed a tenderness and joy in the life of the man which grew in him like a ripened fruit. Here, the fruit offered out to him in guidance and words. “He knew us before the foundation of Laaliíoota and before the breath of the first man”
“Then I have a name for him.”
The chief motioned his hand. “Go on, Rows-in-loud-waters. He fought his trial against the Decieved. He may not have survived, but as far as I am concerned. He passed the test.”
Rows-in-loud-waters pondered for a moment and then closed the eyes of Hatchling on his lap. The wreckage of the battle around them reeked of shit and blood. "Goodbye, Nilchiiltatnawànàt." He inhaled and let out a long sigh. It ripped through him. He sobbed and tears dropped. "Goodbye..." The name echoed in his mind, and the meaning of the syllables slammed together. *Goodbye*, he thought, *Goodbye Died-in-honors-of-all.*
The chief bent over him, wrapping his arms around him and holding his shoulders. "We will see him again. I promise." Standing, he turned his back to Rows-in-loud-waters and looked over the battlefield. "Many of the men who died here will be seen again. Some will be seen in the final moments of the Last End. When we line up before the beat-giver he unfurls the hide of our hearts and examines the colors we dyed there. Should he find there are more colors of lust, hatred, envy, or pride than of love for one another and Him... We will have to answer for that."
Rows-in-loud-waters rose behind him and looked over the battlefield, he knew even the Deceived, flawed, and wrong, stood before the judgment of the beat-giver, regardless of their beliefs. Mangled men lay with broken arms and legs twisted in unnatural directions. The great wolves splayed out with matted fur and broken jaws. He scanned the carnage and another tear came along the curve of his cheek. "Will they attack again?" The sound of men directing clean-up echoed throughout the mass grave before him.
"The enemy will continue to push, ever-escalating the power at his disposal until he is finally defeated in the final moment of the Last End." The chief of the alligator clan offered his words and it warmed Rows-in-loud-waters' heart.
"I don't understand why we must wait for the living spirit of the forest to take on human flesh to defeat Naríhììnanathìnafòò'', a hint of anger rose in Rows-in-loud-waters’s voice as he placed his hatchets back against the belt that held his pants in place. "Why can we not hunt the enemy." He kicked the head of one of the enemy soldiers near him, forgetting his place and not respecting the dead that now belonged to the spirits.
"Even if you hunted every vessel of evil. Even if you slaughtered all the clans of Chììktonààn. You would remain with yourself and the evil in your blood and heart." The chief’s mouth twitched a bit, as he knelt and placed the enemy’s head back where it lay before the kick.
Rows-in-loud-waters took a step back, staggered by the thought he harbored some part of Naríhììnanathìnafòò in himself. "What do you mean? I have never accepted the tenets of evil. I do not forsake my vow to stewardship. I do not forsake my family. I do not forsake my god." He listed out the beliefs every man of the tribe agreed in their ideology. But the chief shook his head in response.
"You are thinking too largely, my friend." The chief pointed softly to the muscles over the heart of Rows-in-loud-waters and pointed out to the battlefield for them both to see. "It is not these large acts, though terrible, that will weigh our hearts with the ink of debt. It is the small ones. Like putting your wants above your wife's needs. Or talking back to your parents. The taint of Naríhììnanathìnafòò is in all of us from the earliest days of his coming to us. Big and small all these evils stain our hearts the same. The smaller ones are easier to commit."
"I... I don't know what to say", Rows-in-loud-waters stammered and stared down at his own feet.
The chief shrugged his shoulders. "Seldom does anyone. It is hard to imagine the taint or the extent of contamination that exists in the world. What we can do is attempt to bring our cousins back into the fold, so to speak, and lead them to a life of stewardship over the realm Wááchlachtat has given to us." The chief’s eyes closed and he mumbled under his breath. Turning again, he left the battlefield and the warrior behind him.
The banners flapped against the wind as they packed up. Men from each clan gathered the dead they had and placed them either over the backs of horses or over their shoulders. The three sisters, moons each larger than the last, trailed across the sky in various phases. Rows-in-loud-waters chose to carry Nilchiiltatnawànàat instead of casting him to the side on the back of a horse. The man's limp arm fell down Rows-in-loud-waters’s back and blood dripped. It trickled the sections of bare skin on Rows-in-loud-waters’s back.
They marched on into the night, headed back south toward their families in Eversun and the drums played a slow, solemn tone with each step they made through the woods. His eyes scanned from person to person. All their eyes cast down to the ground as if looking to make sure they would not trip and fall, but he knew they felt the pain of losing a young one or an unnamed one, or even a brother or a friend.
As they marched, the air started to smell more like home and less like sulfur and metal. The hint of pines, the stench of swamplands, and the sound of water lapping against the sides of shallow ponds in the soft wind. An inhale drug air into his lungs and past his nose where he sniffed the familiar smell of rotted leaves. As they left, he heard a voice from his left. When he turned to face and looked at the voice, no one stood in the darkness of the trees. A voice in his ear, or his heart, told him all calmed for now.

-Template-

.Name, Size (#, Place) Rank, Alignment, Type, Color [Optional], Goal, Area, Location, Leader[s] (name, gender and race plus any other info), items (what they offer), Creatures (#of Creatures of a kind in it), Dungeon (Yes or no, Size, Type), Base (yes or no, Describe)

-Size- 1. hardly worth an issue or such with like 1 spot ant only influencein a Settlement or Thorp [Settlement=20people or less, Thorp= 20-60ish people] 2. ok maybe possible interest, with still 1 place but maybe more then influence in a Hamlet or Village[Hamlet= 60-120ish, Village= 120-500ish] 3. Maybe a decent Group to help for medium rewards or be a rival or such so more dangereward with Maybe 1-2 locations with inspiration in a Small/Large Town, (Small= 500-2,000ish. Large= 2,000-5,000ish) 4. A majorly Large influence like in small city or large city and some lower areas (u get the point) 5. Almost a hole contadent knows it and is in a metropolis 6. Is a hole continent known to and major Base in a mega city (and you get it)
-Ranks- - Tiny (lv 1-4) - Small (lv 5-10) - Medium (lv 11-16) - Large (lv 17-20) - ? (any) -Location- - Ant Territory - Beetle Terratory - Deeper Territory (Crabs, reefs, lobster) - 8 leg Territory (Spider, Scorpion such) - Mantine Territory (Mantus) - Pollener Territory (Bees, Wasps, caterpillar and moth and butterfly ext) - Rodent Territory (Rats, Squirrel, Raccoon, - Badgers, Skaven, ext) - (Any other one related to bugs, rodents,and crustaceans)
-Options/Role- 1. The Arrogant larva Company. Size: 2 Village rank: Small. Alignment: Neutral, Type: Cooking Guild, Goal: Control their Trade, Area: Grassland/Plain, Located: in Ant Territory Leader: Arcrasal (male, Antkin), item: Grain, flower, Bread, Creatures: 3 ankegs, 6 Thri-kreens, Dungeon: No, Base: A muddy hut With crumbs making a path of grain seeds 2. Fellowship of the narrow seekers. Size: 3 large Town Rank: Large, Alignment: Neutral, Type: Adventurers Guild, Goal: find hidden passages in the most dangerous areas, Area: Coastal/Mountains, Location: Between- Beetle and Deeper Territory, Leaders: Unknown (literally Unknown), Items: Maps of different passes, Creatures: 2 young purple worms, 5 Beetlekin, 5 crab folk 1 kraken. Dungeon: Yes, Medium, coastal ruin. Base: Yes a large mountain that looks like fallen ruins of something Unknown but Build like a fort. 3. Order of the Junkers. Size: 4, Large City. Rank: Medium. Alignment: Chaotic Neutral. Type(s): Blacksmith and Adventurers Guild. Color: Black. Goal: Gain Power through battle and hords of scraps. Area: Urban/Underground. Location: Rodent Territory. Leader: a group of rodents with a Smart Oger Wererat named Skin Whip (Male). Items: junky metal and weird metal fusions and warriors. Creatures: 12 Giant Rats, 39 rat Warriors (Dand Wiki), 257 Rat Slaves (Dand Wiki), 500 Human Commoners (5e MM, Servants). Dungeon: Yes, 2, both Medium. Base: Unknown 4. The Chittering Collective. Size: 3 Large Town. Alignment: Lawful Evil. Rank: Tiny. Color: Black, Blue, Green. Type: Informery. Goal: find info for the emperor. Area: Forest/Urban/Swamp Location: 8 Leg Territory. Leader: A Drider Noble known as the lady of webs and secrets. Items: Secrets. Creatures: 53 Chitines, 26 Driders, 14 Ettercaps. Countless Spiders and spider swarms, Dungeon: Yes, Small. Base: Unknown 5. The Honey Hide Company. Size: 4 Small City. Alignment: Neutral. Rank: Medium. Type: Food Guild. Goal: share the love of honey with everyone. Leader: Lady Sweetheart (Female Male Mix, Beekin). Items: Honey. Creatures: (Unknown), Dungeon: Yes, Large. Base: (Unknown)

Let's Decode What Depression Is And More

Today I will be going in depth about depression and decoding the word and reasoning with Numerology. We can already see that depression has a lot of repeated letters which shows there is too much of a focus on one thing and too much of something can usually hinder it or cause imbalance.
Let's break down the word DEPRESSION:
The word has E 2 times, S 2 times
D=4
E=5
P=7(16)
R=9(18)
E=5
S=1(19)
S=1(19)
I=9
O=6(15)
N=5(14)
Let's first focus on the obvious! This word has karmic debt numbers for the letters N, P, and S. Let's grab some context from a site that I will link below that explain what these karmic debt numbers mean in detail.
"The 14 Karmic Debt arises from previous actions where human freedom has been abused. Those with a 14 Karmic Debt are forced to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and unexpected occurrences. There is an acute danger of falling victim to drug abuse, alcohol, or overindulgence in sensual pleasures, such as food and sex. Moderation in all affairs is crucial to overcome this Karmic Debt." - credit goes to Karmic Debt Numbers in Numerology World Numerology
"The 16 Karmic Debt – in any area it appears in a chart - means destruction of the old and birth of the new. It is about the fall of the ego and all it has built for itself. It is a watershed, a cleansing. Things the ego has constructed to separate a person from the source of life, are destroyed.
Through the 16, reunion with higher consciousness may be achieved. This can be a painful process because it usually comes after much ego inflation, resulting in a struggle between the ego and higher ideals. Life will present challenges to your grand plans which you may resent and struggle against. It is a losing battle… and you will likely feel humbled in the face of the collapse that follows. However, humility is the key to later success, as you learn to follow the intimations of a deeper reality."
"A person with the 19 Karmic Debt will learn independence and the proper use of power. You will be placed in situations where you are forced to stand up for yourself (and often be left standing alone). One of the central lessons for people with the 19 Karmic Debt revolves around stubbornly resisting help from others. Much of your independence is self-imposed - you simply want to do it your own way.The 19 Karmic Debt can become a self-imposed prison if you don’t recognize the need for interdependence and the mutual need for love.Although you seek to stand on your own feet, you are inextricably connected to others and in need of the support and understanding that all people need - this is the most important lesson for the 19 Karmic Debt." And being personally connected to a lot of 19 energy, this is very true! There is one 19 person I watch on Youtube and he is using this energy pretty well.

DECODING DEPRESSION

Let's take a look at the word. You see it starts with the letter D which is ruled by the number 4 as the 4th letter in the alphabet. 4 energy is connected to privacy, home, family, discontent, restriction, and nonchalant energy. There is many more terms, but you can see where this is going. If you call certain companies toll free, listen to what they say you need to press number 4 for.
What just hit me as I looked at the word is the rest of the word after DE...PRESSION. Maybe there is something needing to be expressed(expression!) that isn't being expressed. All depression is, is suppression of something. D/4 can be suppression and withholding. That's why some jobs want you to fill out the W4 which is a withholding form! Depression comes when someone is choosing to withhold expression of emotions and genuine communication that can help. Taking caution to a whole new level and it ends up being destructive. 4 can point to dissipation which makes sense for destruction to mean what it means.
The word starts with the energy of 4 which is about withholding and suppression and end with the energy of 5 which can be conflicting.
All those letters and we only get to the number 5?!. This word is embedded with the energy of 1 and 9 which means that people who claim or feel depression CAN utilize their personal power to get themselves out of said depression. You have the right to process your emotions and once you do, you can start using your strength and power to overcome. Sometimes it starts with the mind.
Now, based on the letters and numbers with the word, let's see what numbers are missing!
We are missing 2,3,and 8! 2 gives a person a natural comfort within self. It can also make them loveable or easily cooperative with others. The energy of 3 gives a person natural optimism and majestic mental capacity. 8 gives a person a steadfast embedded powerful strength. This 8 energy gives a person unstoppable capability.
Getting over depression is about rising above a situation and having the capability of strengthening your perspective. Your confidence levels are something you have to personally master. Notice how depression ends with O and N which is 6 and 5. That's a backtrack. We're counting forwards, not backwards. 6 is about overcoming problems while 5 is the problems or insecurities. Depression ending with the energy of 5 is a thinkpiece. 5 deals with the uniqueness of a situation or action. You will have to do something different or new to wake up out of whatever this depression was about and understand that everyone's depression won't be the same!
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Welcome back to the Reformed UPG of the Week!
Gonna leave this here because reddit is still a massive pain these days

Slight update, the new reddit UI has made it almost impossible for me to quickly do these, like I used to be able to do. Thus, theres a chance it becomes UPG of the every other week until the problem is fixed. I can't spend every one of my entire Monday mornings working on this for hours with stupid formatting issues.

Last week I was reminded just how many Unreached People Groups there are in America. So today we are doing the largest unreached people group in the US, Jewish peoples of America.

Region: United States

map of Jewish peoples in the United States
Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 34
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.

The Stratus Index - Synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the world’s most urgent spiritual and physical needs.The vast majority of missions resources go to people and places already Reached by the Gospel, while only 3% of missionaries and 1% of missions money are deployed among the Unreached. This is the Great Imbalance. As a result, there are more people without access to the Gospel today than a decade ago. Stratus seeks to equip the global church with fresh vision to accomplish the Great Commission by addressing some of the factors that perpetuate the Great Imbalance. We hope this tool allows the church to better understand what steps will be required to overcome the barriers that prevent needs from being met, spurring informed and collaborative missions strategy. Stratus Website

New York City
Climate: With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south.
Frozen Great Lakes
LA, California
Terrain: Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, and just ahead of Canada. So its hard to get a bead on all the types of Terrain. The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Chihuahua, Sonoran, and Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges also reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The lowest and highest points in the contiguous United States are in the state of California, and only about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and in North America.
30A in Florida
Denver, CO
Mississippi River
Wildlife of US: There are 311 known reptiles, 295 amphibians and 1154 known fish species in the U.S. Known animals that exist in the US include white-tailed deer, bobcat, raccoon, muskrat, striped skunk, barn owl, American mink, American beaver, North American river otter, red fox, American Black Bear, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Black-Footed Ferret, Gila Monster, Groundhog, Pronghorn, American Alligator, Crocodile, American Bison, bald Eagle, wolves, mountain lions, Grizzly bears, polar bears, lynx, muskox, caribou, and now I'm tired of searching for lists that include all the animals. We have tons of venomous snakes, we have invasive pythons in the everglades.
Unfortunately, there is an invasive but existing population of wild monkeys in Silver Springs Florida.
Bison in Yellowstone
Pigeons in New York
Environmental Issues: Environmental issues in the United States include climate change, Ohio, species conservation, invasive species, deforestation, mining, nuclear accidents, pesticides, pollution, waste and over-population.
Languages: While many languages are spoken in the United States, English is the most common. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements—standardize English, and most states have declared English as the official language. Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English, including Hawaii (Hawaiian), Alaska (twenty Native languages), South Dakota (Sioux), American Samoa (Samoan), Puerto Rico (Spanish), Guam (Chamorro), and the Northern Mariana Islands (Carolinian and Chamorro). In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English. According to the American Community Survey, in 2010 some 229 million people (out of the total U.S. population of 308 million) spoke only English at home. More than 37 million spoke Spanish at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include Chinese (2.8 million), Tagalog (1.6 million), Vietnamese (1.4 million), French (1.3 million), Korean (1.1 million), and German (1 million). The Jewish Peoples of America speak English.
Government Type: Federal presidential constitutional republic

People: Jewish Peoples of America

Jewish man of America
Population: 4,596,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 92+
Beliefs: The Jewish peoples of America are 2.7% Christian, but only 1.6% Evangelical. That means out of their population of 4,596,000, there are roughly 73,000 believers who share their faith. That slightly more than 1 believer for every 100.
Like all those who deny Christ, the Jewish peoples are deceived and follow a false god. For religious Jewish peoples, God (not the true God at this point) is the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe, and the ultimate Judge of human affairs. Beyond this, the religious beliefs of the Jewish communities vary greatly. Orthodox Jewish peoples generally follow the traditional religious beliefs and practices found in the Jewish literature that interprets Scripture regarding ethical, religious, civil and criminal matters. Conservative Judaism is less traditional than Orthodox and combines different ethical, philosophical, and spiritual schools of thought. Reform Judaism is the most liberal form and interprets Jewish beliefs and practices in light of contemporary life and thought. Reform Jewish peoples do not believe that the Jewish Law is divinely revealed. They are not restricted to kosher (traditional, approved) foods, nor do they wear the skull cap (yarmulke) when praying or use Hebrew in prayer. All religious Jewish peoples believe in the coming of a Messianic Age, but only the Orthodox Jewish peoples look for a personal Messiah.
Not all Jewish peoples are religious. Some understand their "Jewishness" only as a social and cultural identity. American Jewish peoples are more likely to be atheists or agnostics than most Americans.
The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.
History: Jewish peoples were present in the Thirteen Colonies since the mid-17th century. However, they were small in number, with at most 200 to 300 having arrived by 1700. Those early arrivals were mostly Sephardi Jewish immigrants, of Western Sephardic (also known as Spanish and Portuguese Jewish) ancestry, but by 1720, Ashkenazi Jewish peoples from diaspora communities in Central and Eastern Europe predominated.
For the first time, the English Plantation Act 1740 permitted Jewish peoples to become British citizens and emigrate to the colonies. The first famous Jewish person in U.S. history was Chaim Salomon, a Polish-born Jewish person who emigrated to New York and played an important role in the American Revolution. He was a successful financier who supported the patriotic cause and helped raise most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.
Despite the fact that some of them were denied the right to vote or hold office in local jurisdictions, Sephardi Jewish peoples became active in community affairs in the 1790s, after they were granted political equality in the five states where they were most numerous. Until about 1830, Charleston, South Carolina had more Jewish peoples than anywhere else in North America. Large-scale Jewish immigration commenced in the 19th century, when, by mid-century, many German Jewish peoples had arrived, migrating to the United States in large numbers due to antisemitic laws and restrictions in their countries of birth. They primarily became merchants and shop-owners. Gradually early Jewish arrivals from the east coast would travel westward, and in the fall of 1819 the first Jewish religious services west of the Appalachian Range were conducted during the High Holidays in Cincinnati, the oldest Jewish community in the Midwest. Gradually the Cincinnati Jewish community would adopt novel practices under the leadership Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise, the father of Reform Judaism in the United States, such as the inclusion of women in minyan. A large community grew in the region with the arrival of German and Lithuanian Jewish peoples in the latter half of the 1800s, leading to the establishment of Manischewitz, one of the largest producers of American kosher products and now based in New Jersey, and the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States, and second-oldest continuous published in the world, The American Israelite, established in 1854 and still extant in Cincinnati. By 1880 there were approximately 250,000 Jewish peoples in the United States, many of them being the educated, and largely secular, German Jews, although a minority population of the older Sephardi Jewish families remained influential.
Jewish migration to the United States increased dramatically in the early 1880s, as a result of persecution and economic difficulties in parts of Eastern Europe. Most of these new immigrants were Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish peoples, most of whom arrived from poor diaspora communities of the Russian Empire and the Pale of Settlement, located in modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. During the same period, great numbers of Ashkenazic Jewish peoples also arrived from Galicia, at that time the most impoverished region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a heavy Jewish urban population, driven out mainly by economic reasons. Many Jewish peoples also emigrated from Romania. Over 2,000,000 Jewish peoples landed between the late 19th century and 1924 when the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration. Most settled in the New York metropolitan area, establishing the world's major concentrations of the Jewish population. In 1915, the circulation of the daily Yiddish newspapers was half a million in New York City alone, and 600,000 nationally. In addition, thousands more subscribed to the numerous weekly papers and the many magazines in Yiddish.
At the beginning of the 20th century, these newly arrived Jewish peoples built support networks consisting of many small synagogues and Landsmanshaften (German and Yiddish for "Countryman Associations") for Jewish peoples from the same town or village. American Jewish writers of the time urged assimilation and integration into the wider American culture, and Jews quickly became part of American life. Approximately 500,000 American Jewish peoples (or half of all Jewish males between 18 and 50) fought in World War II, and after the war younger families joined the new trend of suburbanization. There, Jewish peoples became increasingly assimilated and demonstrated rising intermarriage. The suburbs facilitated the formation of new centers, as Jewish school enrollment more than doubled between the end of World War II and the mid-1950s, while synagogue affiliation jumped from 20% in 1930 to 60% in 1960; the fastest growth came in Reform and, especially, Conservative congregations. More recent waves of Jewish emigration from Russia and other regions have largely joined the mainstream American Jewish community.
Eastern European Jewish immigrants arriving in New York ca 1887?
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
In North America, most Jewish peoples live in urban areas on the east or west coasts. New York City has the largest Jewish population in North America, with over a half million Hassidic Jewish peoples alone. In South America, they also live in cities, but keep themselves as a distinct religious and ethnic minority.
While maintaining a Jewish identity, the majority of North American Jewish peoples conform to the mainstream American culture. "Jewishness" is often defined in more secular terms such as the use of Yiddish words and family traditions, rather than in religious aspects, such as the following of Jewish laws regarding dietary restrictions. Not all Jewish peoples are religious. Some understand their "Jewishness" only as a social and cultural identity. Understanding what it means to be a Jewish people begins in childhood. It takes place in the home through storytelling and by taking part in Jewish rituals and festivals such as Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Passover. Socialization also takes place through participation in Hebrew school or synagogue youth groups. At the age of 13, the Bar Mitzvah ceremony for a boy (or Bat Mitzvah for a girl) is an important rite of passage, which marks him or her as an adult member of the community. While these ceremonies were more spiritually focused in the past, they have become equally important as social events.
Marriage and family relationships among Jewish peoples are much the same as other Americans. While Jewish families have fewer children, they are child-oriented, indulgent, and permissive. Although wives generally take on their husbands' surnames, Jewish identity is traced through the mothers. That is, if one's mother is a Jewish people, then he is, according to Jewish law, Jewish. He or she is entitled to all the rights and privileges that status brings, including the right to immigrate to Israel and settle there as a citizen.
I couldn't not include a pic of the notable cultural event of the American Hasidic Jewish peoples who dug a tunnel in New York
Cuisine: Popular dishes in American Jewish cuisine include:

• Bagel – A doughnut-shaped bread roll. The dough is first boiled and then baked, resulting in a dense, chewy interior with a browned exterior: A bagel and cream cheese is a popular pairing.
• Bialy – A bread roll similar to a bagel, but without a hole, and somewhat less chewy as the dough is not boiled before being baked.
• Blintz – A fried crêpe, usually filled with farmer cheese and served with various toppings.
• Brisket – An inexpensive cut of beef that is braised as a pot roast.
• Challah – A light bread made with eggs, used as regular food, and on ritual or holiday occasions.
• Chicken soup – Chicken broth with herbs like parsley, dill, or thyme, and often with egg noodles added.
  • Matzah balls are sometimes added to the soup instead of, or in addition to, noodles.
  • Kreplach are small dumplings that are another common addition to chicken soup.
• Chopped liver – A liver pâté made with hard-boiled eggs, salt, and pepper. Served as a side dish, hence the expression, "What am I, chopped liver?"
• Corned beef – Beef brisket that has been cured with brine and spices and then sliced.
  • Corned beef sandwich – A common use of corned beef.
• Gefilte fish – Ground fish – often a combination of carp, pike, and whitefish – that is mixed with other ingredients, formed into patties or balls, and poached; usually served as an appetizer.
• Kishke – A large, starchy sausage made with grain, vegetables, beef or chicken fat, and spices.
• Knish – A type of savory baked turnover; various fillings are used, such as potatoes or ground beef.
• Kugel – A baked casserole made with egg noodles or potatoes.
• Latke – A pancake made with grated potatoes and other ingredients, fried in oil.
• Lox – A sliced fillet of cured salmon. Belly lox is cured with brine and is therefore rather salty. Nova lox is cold-smoked. Lox is often eaten as a sandwich, on a bagel with cream cheese.
• Mandelbrot – A crunchy cookie, sometimes made with almonds, formed by baking a loaf which is then cut into small slabs and twice-baked.
• Pastrami – Beef brisket that has been cured with brine, rubbed with pepper, garlic, and other spices, smoked, and then sliced. Like corned beef it is usually served as a sandwich.
  • Pastrami on rye – Pastrami on rye bread topped with spicy brown mustard.
• Rugelach – Small baked pastries made by wrapping dough around a filling.
• Whitefish – Smoked freshwater whitefish, either filleted or made into whitefish salad.

New York Bagels

Prayer Request:

• Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth loving Christians to work among the Jewish communities.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to grant wisdom and favor to the missions agencies that are focusing on the Jewish peoples of North and South America.
• Pray that the Jewish people will understand that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.
• Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of the Jewish peoples towards Christians so that they might hear and receive the message of salvation.
• Pray that God will grant Jewish believers favor as they share their faith in Christ with their own people.
• Pray that strong local churches will be raised up in each Jewish community.
• Pray against Putin and his insane little war.
• Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.
• Pray that in this time of an upcoming election and insanity that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.

People Group	Country	Continent	Date Posted	Beliefs
Jewish peoples	United States	North America	05/06/2024	Judaism
Jordanian Arab	Jordan	Asia	04/29/2024	Islam
Bouyei	China	Asia	04/22/2024	Animism
Arab Libyans	Libya	Africa	03/25/2024	Islam
Gafsa Amazigh	Tunisia	Africa	03/18/2024	Islam
Hindi	South Africa	Africa	03/04/2024	Hinduism
Arabs	Iraq	Asia	02/26/2024	Islam
Bagirmi Fulani	Central African Republic	Africa	02/12/2024	Islam
Gujarati	Portugal	Europe	02/05/2024	Hinduism
Western Cham	Cambodia	Asia	01/29/2024	Islamc
Yadav	India	Asia	01/22/2024	Hinduism
Thai (updated)	Thailand	Asia	12/18/2023	Buddhism

a - Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.
b - Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
c - this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.

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Jake’s POV
After leaving the festival, I flew around aimlessly for a while on Chariot. Without any real destination in mind, I just enjoyed the feeling of wind in my hair while flying. Staying well below the tops of the city walls kept me close enough to the ground to spot Ceil, flying towards a gate on the wall alongside another Neame. “Ceil!” I called out, and waved. He spotted me, and stopped the other Neame so that I could catch up. They beat their wings, like slightly slower humming birds, to stay suspended in midair. A gentle, red, mist-like aura wafted off of them as they did.
“Hello Jake, did you all find yourselves a place to stay yet?” Ceil asked, perching on the back of Chariot. His friend followed suit, but looked at it wearily.
“I don’t know, Suma hasn’t told me yet.”
“Ah, well, allow me to introduce my son. Son, this is the one I told you about.” Ceil said.
Ceil’s son bowed, both wings spread how Suma did when we first really met, or when we met the Queen. “It is my great honor to meet the one who has done so much for father. Not only to name him, but to personally escort him between cities, and support his business with such grand purchases.”
“There’s no need for all of that. I just helped him a little, and naming is easy for me.” I said, not wanting to be praised. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you too. Ceil has told me a bit about you. He said you were a blacksmith too? If I need any work done while I’m in Ambos-Ompera, I’ll stop by your shop.” He nodded and thanked me.
“My son and I are going to the forest of death to perform a remembrance ritual for my late and oldest son, Ivor. Would you care to join us, Jake?”
Curious, but hesitant to intruded, I said, “I’d like to, but I don’t know the ritual. What if I mess it up?”
“The ritual is simple. You can watch my son and I do it first, and then you can do it. We would be very happy if you came along.”
“Well then, I’d love to.” I said. Ceil’s glitter glow brightened a bit, and he and his son flew off Chariot. Following closely behind them, we talked a bit about his son.
“Ceil, when you talked about your son a second ago, you said he had a name?” I realized.
“Yes, he was given a name during his time in the city’s guard; Ivor.”
(Sounds Norse.) I thought. “Why was he given one?”
“For acts of valor. His name was given to him after his death however, in recognition of his deeds.”
“What did he do?”
“While on his normal patrol, he saved a group of travelers crossing the wastelands. They’d been attacked by a pack of sand-snatchers while resting in an oasis to the North.”
“Evil bugs.” Ceil’s son spat.
“Have you ever encountered them before, Jake?” Ceil asked.
“No, what are they?”
“They are large insect-like creatures, with a hard shell and many tentacles. They lay in wait under the sand, and when something comes close, they wrap it up. On the tentacles are spines and barbs, ripping you up if you try to wiggle out. Even just getting hit once can be deadly.”
“But, don’t your people have magic? Why not just cast a fire spell and fly away?” I wondered.
“Sand-snatchers are resistant to magic, especially fire magic, so to attack them you need to be close.” Ceil’s son said. “Not as magic resistant as a borog beast, but still enough to pose a major threat to any normal Neame with no experience fighting, like seed farmers and stable-mages.”
“Ivor saw the attack, and flew straight in to help, killing six of the bugs, an allowing most of the Neame to escape, but he died fighting.” Ceil explained. He was clearly sad, but he didn’t sound like his voice was breaking, or that he was on the verge of crying, or rather ‘singing.’ No, instead it was a cold, quite sadness that made his voice feel hollow. Like something he’d come to terms with a long time ago, but still hurt to think about.
“How long ago was this?” I asked, trying to be respectful.
“Over twenty years ago. He was hatched thirty-six years ago today. That is why we are going to visit his death tree.” Just as Ceil said this, we arrived at a gate leading outside the city walls. A guard stopped up, questioned us, and then let us pass. This wasn’t the gate we entered the city though, and it didn’t lead into the desert, but to a grassland. We flew for about fifteen minutes before the forest was within sight. Once we got closer, I could see that almost every tree here had carvings in them. Most were just empty, but the further into the forest, the more often the carvings had clay or paint in them. They were runes.
“It is that one.” Ceil said, folding his wings and diving downwards. Less than ten meters from the ground, he flared his wings and landed safely, his son just behind him. It took me a little longer since Chariot can’t really do dives well. We landed at the base of a tree with wispy yellow flowers in its branches. I stepped off Chariot, and unsummoned it.
“It’s a beautiful tree.”
“The flowers have already yellowed. It must not have rained much this year.” Ceil said.
“Yes, it was a very dry season. A month’s worth of water has gone from one-fifteenth to one-tenth a daljar.” Ceil’s son said.
“Speaking of, we need the daljar.” Ceil said, and his son nodded before summoning a small daljar. “How much?”
“About halfway. That was all I could spare this year.”
“It will be fine. Hopefully we will have some good rain this year to hold the tree over. Besides, thanks to Jake, I have much more mana to spare myself. I can make another trip in a few months.”
“Why do you need mana?” I asked.
“To replenish the tree’s strength. When it is healthy, the flowers turn a vibrant red, but when it is weak, they shift to yellow.”
“Could I add some mana?” I asked. “It would need to be in another daljar, but if that’s okay, then I have one you could use?” I summoned my bag, and pulled out a smaller daljar filled up with my mana.
“Father mentioned that you have Chaos Magic. Will that hurt the tree?” Ceil’s son asked.
“I doubt the tree will care. As long as it gets plenty of mana, it should grow strong.” Ceil said, happily.
“Still…”
“Don’t worry. For some reason, plants seem to love my mana. Whenever I grow anything using it, it comes out better than using normal mana. Fruits tastes sweeter, seeds grow faster, taller, and make more fruits.”
“Is your affinity for Nature Magic then?” Ceil’s son asked.
“No, mine is inversion.”
“Well, it should be fine then, I suppose.” He agreed. I set the daljar from my bag in front of him, and he used a spell to pick both of them up and carry them to the base of the tree. Surrounding its base was a tangle of roots, woven together like a pie crust or a knitted sweater. Using magic, Ceil parted the vines, revealing an empty daljar, with dozens of tiny web-like roots wrapped around it. His son placed the two daljar inside the opening, and fluttered back to his father’s side.
“Okay, Jake, we are ready to begin the ritual. Please watch my son closely. After he has performed it, then I will, and then you.” Ceil said.
The ritual itself was simple, and easy to do. It started with saying Ivor’s name, and then pulling a root from under the ground with a spell wrapping that root around the daljar that was placed into the opening we made earlier. Once that was finished for all three of us, the two of them removed the roots from the old daljar, and offered it to me to replace the one I’d given them. I thanked them, filled it with mana, and put it into my bag. With that, Ceil closed the opening we made, and the ritual was finished. Looking up at the flowers, I noticed they were still a sickly yellow.
“They won’t turn red for a little while. It will take time for the roots to drain all of the mana from the daljars, and longer still for the tree to get healthy again.” I nodded, not really knowing what to say. “Thank you, Jake. You mana is strong, I’m sure the tree will still be red when we come again next year.”
“It was my-” I started, but got cut of by Suma’s voice in my head.
“Jake, we found a place to stay.”
“Pleasure.” I finished. “Sorry, Suma is talking to me over our connection.” Through the connection, I replied, “okay, just give me a few minutes. I’m with Ceil at his son’s grave.”
“Oh no! His son died before we arrived?” She said, horrified.
“No, his late eldest son. I’ll let you know when we are finished.”
“Oh, alright then. My apologies for the interruption.”
“Father,” Ceil’s son said, “I think I will stay for a little longer. You and Jake should go back to my home.”
“Are you sure? I could stay as well?” Ceil offered.
“There is no need for that. Suma is ready for me anyway. So, I can’t stay much longer. You two should stay.” I told them. Ceil’s son nodded, and I said my goodbyes just before getting summoned to Suma and Luna.
Darkness enveloped me, which has always been disconcerting, but now a knot forms in my stomach whenever this happens. Thankfully, nothing has happened since the incident in the desert. Just darkness. However, this time I felt something. I cold shiver ran down my whole body, expecting the worst. Around me was darkness, just endless darkness. No lights, no half-man half- evil dragons, and no voices calling to me. But there was a feeling like something was there. Like eyes watching me from a distance.
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I called out to those eyes. “Is that you? Zachariah?” No response, and the feeling didn’t change. Whatever it was, was keeping its distance. “Who’s there?” I called out, afraid. My body was suspended in the darkness, helpless, feeble. Alone? “Answer me!” I demanded, starting to freak out. Focusing on the feeling, I realized that I’d been wrong. It wasn’t watching me, it was just… there, somehow. Like, it was just a passive presence. “I was in a graveyard. Are you a ghost?” I called out. “Ivor?” No, it was bigger than a Neame. I don’t know how I knew that, but just did. That feeling in my gut turned into a steady churn as I worked up the courage to call out the name I’d been dreading. “Deyja?” The presence shifted, but didn’t get closer. More like, it was roused from a nap after hearing a startling noise. At that point, I felt it focus on me, and me alone.
But, just as quickly as the darkness came, I was pulled out of it, and was now standing in a room that kinda looked like a log cabin. “Well, what do you think, Jake? Will this be a good place for you to stay for a few weeks?” Suma asked from behind me someone, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around at that moment.

Dracula: World of War --- The Violet Reaper ---- Humans Don’t Make Good Familiars Book 1 ---- The Lonely World --- Discord ---- YouTube --- My Patreon --- My Author's Page --- ArcAngel98 Wiki ---- The Next Best Hero ---- HDMGF Book 2 ---- Jess and Blinx: The Wizard ---- The Questing Parties ---- Zombies ---- Previous ----- Next
Jake’s POV
After leaving the festival, I flew around aimlessly for a while on Chariot. Without any real destination in mind, I just enjoyed the feeling of wind in my hair while flying. Staying well below the tops of the city walls kept me close enough to the ground to spot Ceil, flying towards a gate on the wall alongside another Neame. “Ceil!” I called out, and waved. He spotted me, and stopped the other Neame so that I could catch up. They beat their wings, like slightly slower humming birds, to stay suspended in midair. A gentle, red, mist-like aura wafted off of them as they did.
“Hello Jake, did you all find yourselves a place to stay yet?” Ceil asked, perching on the back of Chariot. His friend followed suit, but looked at it wearily.
“I don’t know, Suma hasn’t told me yet.”
“Ah, well, allow me to introduce my son. Son, this is the one I told you about.” Ceil said.
Ceil’s son bowed, both wings spread how Suma did when we first really met, or when we met the Queen. “It is my great honor to meet the one who has done so much for father. Not only to name him, but to personally escort him between cities, and support his business with such grand purchases.”
“There’s no need for all of that. I just helped him a little, and naming is easy for me.” I said, not wanting to be praised. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you too. Ceil has told me a bit about you. He said you were a blacksmith too? If I need any work done while I’m in Ambos-Ompera, I’ll stop by your shop.” He nodded and thanked me.
“My son and I are going to the forest of death to perform a remembrance ritual for my late and oldest son, Ivor. Would you care to join us, Jake?”
Curious, but hesitant to intruded, I said, “I’d like to, but I don’t know the ritual. What if I mess it up?”
“The ritual is simple. You can watch my son and I do it first, and then you can do it. We would be very happy if you came along.”
“Well then, I’d love to.” I said. Ceil’s glitter glow brightened a bit, and he and his son flew off Chariot. Following closely behind them, we talked a bit about his son.
“Ceil, when you talked about your son a second ago, you said he had a name?” I realized.
“Yes, he was given a name during his time in the city’s guard; Ivor.”
(Sounds Norse.) I thought. “Why was he given one?”
“For acts of valor. His name was given to him after his death however, in recognition of his deeds.”
“What did he do?”
“While on his normal patrol, he saved a group of travelers crossing the wastelands. They’d been attacked by a pack of sand-snatchers while resting in an oasis to the North.”
“Evil bugs.” Ceil’s son spat.
“Have you ever encountered them before, Jake?” Ceil asked.
“No, what are they?”
“They are large insect-like creatures, with a hard shell and many tentacles. They lay in wait under the sand, and when something comes close, they wrap it up. On the tentacles are spines and barbs, ripping you up if you try to wiggle out. Even just getting hit once can be deadly.”
“But, don’t your people have magic? Why not just cast a fire spell and fly away?” I wondered.
“Sand-snatchers are resistant to magic, especially fire magic, so to attack them you need to be close.” Ceil’s son said. “Not as magic resistant as a borog beast, but still enough to pose a major threat to any normal Neame with no experience fighting, like seed farmers and stable-mages.”
“Ivor saw the attack, and flew straight in to help, killing six of the bugs, an allowing most of the Neame to escape, but he died fighting.” Ceil explained. He was clearly sad, but he didn’t sound like his voice was breaking, or that he was on the verge of crying, or rather ‘singing.’ No, instead it was a cold, quite sadness that made his voice feel hollow. Like something he’d come to terms with a long time ago, but still hurt to think about.
“How long ago was this?” I asked, trying to be respectful.
“Over twenty years ago. He was hatched thirty-six years ago today. That is why we are going to visit his death tree.” Just as Ceil said this, we arrived at a gate leading outside the city walls. A guard stopped up, questioned us, and then let us pass. This wasn’t the gate we entered the city though, and it didn’t lead into the desert, but to a grassland. We flew for about fifteen minutes before the forest was within sight. Once we got closer, I could see that almost every tree here had carvings in them. Most were just empty, but the further into the forest, the more often the carvings had clay or paint in them. They were runes.
“It is that one.” Ceil said, folding his wings and diving downwards. Less than ten meters from the ground, he flared his wings and landed safely, his son just behind him. It took me a little longer since Chariot can’t really do dives well. We landed at the base of a tree with wispy yellow flowers in its branches. I stepped off Chariot, and unsummoned it.
“It’s a beautiful tree.”
“The flowers have already yellowed. It must not have rained much this year.” Ceil said.
“Yes, it was a very dry season. A month’s worth of water has gone from one-fifteenth to one-tenth a daljar.” Ceil’s son said.
“Speaking of, we need the daljar.” Ceil said, and his son nodded before summoning a small daljar. “How much?”
“About halfway. That was all I could spare this year.”
“It will be fine. Hopefully we will have some good rain this year to hold the tree over. Besides, thanks to Jake, I have much more mana to spare myself. I can make another trip in a few months.”
“Why do you need mana?” I asked.
“To replenish the tree’s strength. When it is healthy, the flowers turn a vibrant red, but when it is weak, they shift to yellow.”
“Could I add some mana?” I asked. “It would need to be in another daljar, but if that’s okay, then I have one you could use?” I summoned my bag, and pulled out a smaller daljar filled up with my mana.
“Father mentioned that you have Chaos Magic. Will that hurt the tree?” Ceil’s son asked.
“I doubt the tree will care. As long as it gets plenty of mana, it should grow strong.” Ceil said, happily.
“Still…”
“Don’t worry. For some reason, plants seem to love my mana. Whenever I grow anything using it, it comes out better than using normal mana. Fruits tastes sweeter, seeds grow faster, taller, and make more fruits.”
“Is your affinity for Nature Magic then?” Ceil’s son asked.
“No, mine is inversion.”
“Well, it should be fine then, I suppose.” He agreed. I set the daljar from my bag in front of him, and he used a spell to pick both of them up and carry them to the base of the tree. Surrounding its base was a tangle of roots, woven together like a pie crust or a knitted sweater. Using magic, Ceil parted the vines, revealing an empty daljar, with dozens of tiny web-like roots wrapped around it. His son placed the two daljar inside the opening, and fluttered back to his father’s side.
“Okay, Jake, we are ready to begin the ritual. Please watch my son closely. After he has performed it, then I will, and then you.” Ceil said.
The ritual itself was simple, and easy to do. It started with saying Ivor’s name, and then pulling a root from under the ground with a spell wrapping that root around the daljar that was placed into the opening we made earlier. Once that was finished for all three of us, the two of them removed the roots from the old daljar, and offered it to me to replace the one I’d given them. I thanked them, filled it with mana, and put it into my bag. With that, Ceil closed the opening we made, and the ritual was finished. Looking up at the flowers, I noticed they were still a sickly yellow.
“They won’t turn red for a little while. It will take time for the roots to drain all of the mana from the daljars, and longer still for the tree to get healthy again.” I nodded, not really knowing what to say. “Thank you, Jake. You mana is strong, I’m sure the tree will still be red when we come again next year.”
“It was my-” I started, but got cut of by Suma’s voice in my head.
“Jake, we found a place to stay.”
“Pleasure.” I finished. “Sorry, Suma is talking to me over our connection.” Through the connection, I replied, “okay, just give me a few minutes. I’m with Ceil at his son’s grave.”
“Oh no! His son died before we arrived?” She said, horrified.
“No, his late eldest son. I’ll let you know when we are finished.”
“Oh, alright then. My apologies for the interruption.”
“Father,” Ceil’s son said, “I think I will stay for a little longer. You and Jake should go back to my home.”
“Are you sure? I could stay as well?” Ceil offered.
“There is no need for that. Suma is ready for me anyway. So, I can’t stay much longer. You two should stay.” I told them. Ceil’s son nodded, and I said my goodbyes just before getting summoned to Suma and Luna.
Darkness enveloped me, which has always been disconcerting, but now a knot forms in my stomach whenever this happens. Thankfully, nothing has happened since the incident in the desert. Just darkness. However, this time I felt something. I cold shiver ran down my whole body, expecting the worst. Around me was darkness, just endless darkness. No lights, no half-man half- evil dragons, and no voices calling to me. But there was a feeling like something was there. Like eyes watching me from a distance.
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I called out to those eyes. “Is that you? Zachariah?” No response, and the feeling didn’t change. Whatever it was, was keeping its distance. “Who’s there?” I called out, afraid. My body was suspended in the darkness, helpless, feeble. Alone? “Answer me!” I demanded, starting to freak out. Focusing on the feeling, I realized that I’d been wrong. It wasn’t watching me, it was just… there, somehow. Like, it was just a passive presence. “I was in a graveyard. Are you a ghost?” I called out. “Ivor?” No, it was bigger than a Neame. I don’t know how I knew that, but just did. That feeling in my gut turned into a steady churn as I worked up the courage to call out the name I’d been dreading. “Deyja?” The presence shifted, but didn’t get closer. More like, it was roused from a nap after hearing a startling noise. At that point, I felt it focus on me, and me alone.
But, just as quickly as the darkness came, I was pulled out of it, and was now standing in a room that kinda looked like a log cabin. “Well, what do you think, Jake? Will this be a good place for you to stay for a few weeks?” Suma asked from behind me someone, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around at that moment.

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Standardized Galactic Year: 3186\ 56 years prior.\ Planet: Cetov, core world of the Ranza Domain
“Attention!” A hiss-like roared out.
A unison of “Sir!” was heard in the
Platoon 34-C answered Lieutenant Krewlaz. Privates and senior officers alike proudly wore the Union uniform along with the Ranza Queen’s royal seal.
Krewlaz, a grizzled veteran of the 2nd Ranza-Nivil war. Standing 5’ 9 with rugged gray scaly skin scarred from slashes of Nivilian talons and burn marks left by concentrated plasma fire. His toned body was complemented by his clean and formal dress uniform. His legs and forearms though covered with scars were bulky,muscular and strong from years of jumping , weight training and experience in action. He cut a commanding figure.
The platoon were currently being debriefed of their new deployment in their barracks with Krwelaz in front of a holographic projection of a planet.
“As you know, we are to be deployed in a joint occupation in the highly contested class 5 Neutral Planet of KV-23490 or commonly known as Ligatis.” The Ranza officer informed whilst motioning to the said planet’s projection.
The projection listed the planet’s attributes as well as its geography and features. The planet was that of three major continents, with the standard climate of a class 5 neutral planet. The land was mostly mountainous terrain with steep plains of grasslands, both shown being spots of settlements and colonies.
“This planet you may also know is about 230 light years away which with our FTL drives will be nothing more than a quick jaunt.” The Lieutenant humored garnering a small chuckle from the platoon.
He continues
“Due to the planet’s high platinum abundance as well as the numerous numbers of settlements and attempts of both us and the avian Treindu to claim said planet the Union council have decided to jointly share the planet with the Treindu alongside a third party. Each company of our respective militaries will send each settlement an even number of 4 platoons. We will be deployed alongside platoons 34-A, 34-F, 34-H and we’ll be stationed at-”Before Krewlaz was able to finish, a plucky young private raised his webbed hand.
With a sigh and a tone of annoyance, Krewlaz called for the private to“Yes private Vopsloff.”
Many of the privates turned to the youthful and painfully average Abzed Vopsloff.
Clearing his throat to prevent a croak, Abzed questioned “What will be the third party sir?”
“That’ll be the newest member of the Union. The terrans I believe.” Krewlaz answered.
This caused some murmurs among the ranks. These were more expressions of surprise and light humor.
Rolling two of his eye Krewlaz croaked a load below causing the platoon to fall into attention again.
“Now.” He asked, narrowing all four of his eyes towards the privates with a wrathful intensity “Though young and new to the Galactic stage may I remind you all that 15 years they assisted us in the liberation of this very core world from the Nivil. As well, with cunning and ruthlessness they were able to evolutionize the very military and societal institutions of the Union.”
The reminder we’re able to make some of the privates look down in shame or begrudgingly accept the fact. Without the Terrrans they would be working in the now outdated cast system of old.
With a smirk and a grunt much like a scolding father the Lieutenant continued. “Good. Now as I was saying we are to be stationed in the settlement of Xatov-11 in sector X11-1 here in the middle continent of KV-23490-B alongside a single Union auxiliary force in platoon 91-N of the Union Medical Crop. That will be all ans may Yesis bless us.”
As the debriefing ended the platoon lined up to march towards the armory.
They marched upon the hard gravel with slick black boots to protect their webbed feet.
“C’mon look lively, Vopsloff!” Ordered Krewlaz marching with them which caused some smug chuckles from the fellow soldiers.
Abzed, though not very distinctly wrong with him he is mocked for his mediocrity. Exactly the average height of a Ranza teen, average strength, average intelligence and average speed and don’t get started with his bland taste in food and music.
Some of his comrades would joke about how he even in full uniform looked like a dull office middle class-man. Though not in malice but rather a sort of encouragement. To live a little and to be adventurous but it seems that exploratory spirit seemed to be nonexistent. All he could do was sigh and move on in his steady space as usual.
As they arrived each got their standard issue ‘79 Molznir lasrifle, model ‘67 Joncer bayonet and a 81’ Adrjed laspistol. They were given the state of the art deflection & force absorption visor and chest plate.
As they were suiting up Abzed still pondered the Terrans. What it was that they did that garnered so much praise and recognition from nearly all of the Union’s member species. It took a bit of thinking but he remembered the many of the mottos of the USTR military branches. Their navy’s insignia proudly bears in galactic standard Let fear beholden to the ferocity of the brave, their army chanted theirs of May the righteous be the champions of liberty and the Air Force carried banners reading The People’s truth shall not falter nor be trampled by tyrants.
“Abzed!” Called out by one his comrades by the exit of the armory
It seemed during his deep thought he were only able to half strap the chest plate to his body.
“Coming!” He cried out as quickly fastened his chest plate and holstered both his pistol and bayonet before flinging his rifle behind him with shoulder straps.
Abzed would then be able to catch up with the rest of his platoon who were marching to the transport cruiser.
As they approached the ramp and orderly entered the ship Abzed would be able to continue his deep thought of the Terrans. Remembering the USTR’s seal
‘Righteous,true and brave’ he thought
After being given and sitting at his assigned seat, Abzed would look upon the cockpit’s window as the cruiser began to hover and prepare to escape the atmosphere.
‘Alright let’s see if you are.’ He thought to himself as the pilots activated the FTL drive.