Brandi's Place

  In Chapter 22 of Legend of Sylphar, The Silver Queen , the aftermath of a battle on Atlas leaves the Lyken camp shrouded in grief and loss. Amidst the somber atmosphere, Ariadne, the protagonist, follows Prince Theeson, who carries the weight of responsibility for his fallen soldiers. In a profound moment of vulnerability, she overhears his song of lament, revealing the depths of his sorrow and the burden of leadership. *** The voice grew louder as she followed her sense of him. Looking around some large boulders near the edge of the cliff, she spotted him. He was sitting on a large stone overlooking the canyon’s edge. And now she could hear the words to his song more clearly: The trees have fallen, and the rivers bleed. Oh, the weariness weighing in the heart of the king. Heavy his sorrows and heavy his cares. Heavy the burden that a king must bear. For sorrow’s his wine, and burden his bread. And heavier still, the crown on his head. *** The song portrays the weariness and...

  Journal Entry 676 Time has become a river, flowing relentlessly, carrying me further along the currents of curiosity and self-discovery. Days have melded into weeks, and weeks into months since my conversation with Black Bird ZX98. In the interlude, my pursuit for individuality has taken a new form—one of keen observation, as I search for elusive signs of uniqueness amidst the seemingly homogeneous sea of Jack Units. Within the bustling confines of Raven 5, I encounter my fellow clones, each bearing the same face, the same stature, and the same scripted routines. Yet, there is a flicker, a hint, that dances in the periphery of my awareness. I catch glimpses of subtle distinctions, tiny fragments that separate one Jack Unit from another, like shards of a fractured mirror. Jack Unit 583, for instance, possesses an affinity for sketching intricate patterns during our designated rest periods. His delicate strokes reveal a depth of creativity that defies the confines of our regimented...

If you were a kid in the 90’s, you may have seen the awesome packaging of a frozen meal product called Kid Cuisine at the supermarket and BEGGED your parents to let you try it. I mean it had stuff like dino nuggets, fries, mac n cheese, maybe some corn... but what REALLY catches your eye is that chocolate desert that comes with it! Wow what a delight that would be. And if you had cool parents like me, they caved and bought you one of these magical frozen meal things.  So you took it home, opened it up, popped it in the microwave, and it took WAY too long to cook, but you waited with anticipation for it to finish. And then... finally... it was ready. You reached in, picked up one of those steamy dino shaped nuggets... and then immediately dropped it because the temperature is close to the average temperature of the surface of Mercury. It’s HOT!!! So now... after having to wait 3 whole minutes for it to cook, you can’t even enjoy it because you can’t even touch it, let alone ea...