Pokémon Eternal Gold (PMDgypt Bingo Prompts)

[Phoenixsong]

And lo, words written by Phoenixsong had once again happened, and there was much rejoicing. Or possibly much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Whichever!

Pyramids	Set and Horus	Death of a Pharaoh
Maat Maintenance	Fall of Egypt	The Sphinx
The Journey of the Sun	Weighing of the heart	Atenism

Specifically, these words that have happened are courtesy of the above Thousand Roads' 5th Anniversary bingo card, and they are happening in an attempt to practice a bit with yet another contextless setting I mumble about in Discord sometimes. (Just kidding. They're only happening because I require More Companion Skiddo.) This is "PMDgypt"! Adjacent to it, anyway. Who knows what might change between now and Whenever I Might Actually Write A More Substantial ThingTM? But it's a start on some of the vibes, at least. Definitely had fun giving those vibes a shot!

So, yeah. Ancient Egypt. But, like, with talking pokémon in it. Words about that! Magical.

And heck, maybe someday even more words might happen in this very thread, filling in more of that bingo card or even entirely unprompted! ...Maybe. Eh. Let's not get too wild up in here, kids.

Content Warnings:

Nothing, really? Some very gentle and non-graphic mentions of death and funerary preparations and beliefs about such. As always, though, if I missed anything major, please do tell me so I can adjust this notice accordingly.

Feedback:

These are tiny and weird and unlikely to be revisited and most of the planning/initial writing for two of them was done in thirty panicked minutes while traveling to an appointment when I thought the bingo deadline was earlier (they've been cleaned up some over the rest of the day, but no guarantees they make any sense). Also one of the two Turbo Deadline Panic Mode pieces isn't even normal prose fiction so much as it is an extremely slapdash myth-ish storytime-ish sort of deal. As such they aren't worth the effort of serious critical analysis on your part, nor am I especially looking for that here. But hey, if you really wanna, knock yourself out. What am I gonna do, put a mummy's curse on you?*

Whatever miscellaneous thoughts/reactions you may have are, as ever, warmly welcomed.

Thanks for reading!


* No, I'm not, because those aren't real. I will think you're a little silly but will nonetheless appreciate the thoughts/advice, though!

 

[Phoenixsong]

Pyramids

Some things do not change: there have always been garganacl priests in Yveltal's temples. There is Anu now; there were others before. Many pokémon are honored to aid the work of the Lady of Silence, to counsel the living and prepare the dead for their winding way through the night. But there is always a garganacl among the binders and embalmers, because only a garganacl's gift can bring another pokémon so close to eternal stone. Only a garganacl can ensure that they will last like stone, and endure as a vessel for the cycle of magic forever.

From where she stands under the embalming tent, tidying up while the junior priests take the body away to dry, Anu can see the pyramids across the river. The pyramids also do not change. She's old, but they are far older. (About as old as the first garganacl in the Lady's temples.) The desert skyline is dominated by the newest, polished white and crowned with gold, but further back even the most venerable stand (mostly) firm, their weathered stair-step sides still climbing up toward the sky.

It wasn't enough for the ancients to become like stone, it seemed. They wanted mountains of stone that would funnel their magic up into the wings of the sun, that their spirits could ascend and ascend until they joined the stars. Monarchs, nobles, generals, priests: with the right resources and with time, any of them might sleep beneath their own personal peak.

(Not the garganacl priests, though. She can't see them from here, dwarfed by distance and the shadows of the grand monuments, but she knows where her ancestors rested when their time came: after they gave their final gift of almost-stone with the salt from their hands, they simply sat down by the tombs of their charges, made themselves comfortable in the sand, and slipped into their journey through the dark. A scattering of humble little step pyramids, here and there, the priests' own private stairways to the stars.)

Sometimes Anu finds herself imagining the architect who'd first come up with the idea of pyramids, building mountains that a soul could climb to heaven. She feels the sun and wind across the planes of her shoulders, rising up to the flat of her head, and wonders wryly where they might've found the inspiration.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Maat Maintenance

Flame rolls from the magmar, lightning arcs from the luxray, elements clash and burst in midair, and the gathering of petitioners in the temple court gasps in theatrical awe. The magepriests circle around before their audience, striking with explosions of heat and light. Twin statues of Zygarde, their coils looping and their many-eyed hoods flared, gaze expectantly down on the exhibition below.

The gods gave pokémon power over the elements with the expectation that this power be used, in work and in battle. Every day the magepriests do their battle-dance: their energy flows free and furious, the ultimate expression of their gift from themselves and, symbolically, the rest of Nebudjet. Not much call for battles among rich merchants or courtiers—not much call for working, either—so when they want something they crowd the edges of the temple court, pushing their offerings and donations and excuses past one another, so the priests will intercede and expend on their behalf.

These gifts of energy and magic we give of ourselves, as is the way, the priests intone over the petitioners' offerings, to the Lady of Balance and the Great Gods Below, that our magic will flow from us through them and strengthen them for their works. And that, as the Great Gods perform their works, their magic will rise with their breath back through the earth to strengthen us again.

Senek is here, of course, oohing and aahing and applauding along with all the rest. He looks, in Intesh's estimation, as impressed and humbled by the priests' power as his smugness allows. He looks, almost convincingly, like he hasn't come to "donate" goods he's cheated out of working families.

The ariados watches from his perch on the courtyard wall. The magepriests are focused on their ritual dance of fire and storm; the petitioners—and Senek—are focused on them. A bountiful offering overall, seems like. Zygarde must be pleased by such abundant gifts, if rightly given. Intesh's mandibles twitch in a spider-smile. He doesn't have the means to request an intercession himself. But he can certainly make an offering that's a bit more direct.

This gift of energy and magic I give of myself, as is the way, thinks Intesh as he sinks into a shadow sneak and slips invisibly away with the corrupt merchant's donation, to the Lady of Balance and the Great Gods Below, that that bastard Senek might get what's coming to him.

Spoiler: author's note/context/unasked-for history lesson

Maat (or ma'at) is the Ancient Egyptian word for a concept somewhere in the ballpark of "truth, order, justice, balance"—essentially, the concept of how a functional universe ought to be. Maat wasn't just the gods' responsibility; mortals on earth, from the king and officials guiding the country to citizens interacting with their fellows, also had to work to maintain it. To oversimplify a bit, this was done primarily by living honorably and honestly in an orderly society and fulfilling their roles in that society so it could continue to move like a well-oiled machine. (Or, at the very least, practicing rituals that symbolized these things.) The pokémon of Nebudjet have a similar belief, but in their case this balance also includes keeping up the "cycle of magic/elemental energy" between mortals and gods as mentioned above.

 

[Phoenixsong]

The Journey of the Sun

The Great Phoenix sinks below the horizon into the dark ash of night. The colors of her wings fade all to red, then to black; her body curls slowly inward, as to become a little Ember. The last of her flight sweeps her through the Halls of the Underworld, and the Halls are illuminated by her final seven rays of light:

She lights the cities of the gods and the works of their servants, that the balance and the cycle shall be maintained.
She lights the gates and their guardians, that they shall remain vigilant against trespassing souls.
She lights the judgment of the dead, that the Lady of Balance shall see true into their hearts.
She lights the paths of the punishers, that no wicked souls shall hide from their claws.
She lights the pit of the Enemy bound below, that the chaos and disorder it breeds are burned away.
She lights the Fields of Paradise, that the righteous ghosts may celebrate their eternal lives.
She lights the Great Tree of the Lady of Life, that it shall bask in the magic that rides on the wings of the Phoenix.

In this central hall the Sleeping Ember settles at last; she is the blanket of cooling ash that nourishes the base of the Tree of Life. And the grand, multicolored branches of the Tree and the antlers of the Lady shine with the light they received, bathing the Ember in the magic given from the living world. Her strength is returned to her; all the colors of magic shine from her wings; the sun burns anew in her eyes.

The Great Phoenix soars up from the Underworld, shining with the all colors of the Lady and the Tree, sharing with the living her first seven rays of light.

Spoiler: author's note

Yes, Ho-Oh, not Solgaleo. I don't feel like trying to fit every single legendary into this setting and also I just wanted a bird, okay? It's my fake fantasy magic punchmonster Egypt and I do what I want. :P

 

[Venia Silente]

Pyramids

Ooooh boy IT IS TIME.

I was actually expecting to get a chance to review some fiction by you. So, I kept an eye on bingo entries!

Or possibly much wailing and gnashing of teeth

(mood tbh)

Anyway, let's get into this "PMDgypt" thing, or, how I like to call it, Mystery Dungeon Like An Egyptian.

Hey, don't you think I did not catch the reference with "Eternal Gold" being the title!

---

Pyramids​

Right off with the the best iconic scenography eh?

I like that this story is not, like, exactly first-person like introspective. It's more like cultural introspective except focused on one character. Yveltal is a good birb and has temples in her honour and priests who follow her: the "Lady of Silence".

But there is always a garganacl among the binders and embalmers, because [...]

Social roles, religious roles; one thing that distinguishes a Pokémon setting from a human one is that the variety in morphologies and designs across Pokémon in their speciation means there are things, tasks, roles, where one species is just naturally more fit than others or even the only fit. No matter how much inclusivity, lateral social movement or redundancy safeties you want, Nature can not be fully beaten. And your society has to grow fom that base.

Here, a Garganacl seems to be the only fit. Well, "seems" because tbh:

Only a garganacl can ensure that they will last like stone,

While it's true only the Nacli line has this Ability "Purifying Salt" that I guess is what drives this one story, I'd take it other Pokémon can still perform a similar task, just less efficiently. I take it Beautifly would be quite adept at draining a mammal-like or reptilian-like 's body fluids, for one.

Also I really hope they guard these areas well, because if they expect stone to last,

[Grass and Water types chuckle in the chat]

Erosion and draining do are a thing, so I take it there are also Pokémon in a social / religious role to take persistent care of the pyramids. I wonder, who would they be?

the cycle of magic

Go on. Wanna hear.

The pyramids also do not change. She's old, but they are far older.

Even with Pokémon who are built to last, some construtions of them are also built to last more as well. I really liked reading how there's a whole ass-skyline of pyamids, although I have to wonder that for making a skyline, pyramids are really, really, space-inefficient.

Monarchs, nobles, generals, priests: with the right resources and with time, any of them might sleep beneath their own personal peak.

Inconspicuously absent is the commoner, the local Nido or Rattata or what have you. How could this be? Well, someone has to build up these pyramids right? And if it was like with IRL pyramids, well... who knows, maybe it's time for a revolution. Dedenne. Dragonair. Drednaw.

, but she knows where her ancestors rested when their time came:

...Awww. At least there was some consideration that her kind was allowed to do this. I might retract the Drednaw from my statement.

At the same time, it's only senseful that for sending an important soul (a ruler, a priest) to the beyond, there is a recognition and a representation to the fact that they do not ascend because of being alone. Even we want to find our place among the stars, because we are not alone here either. If anything, we also want to be safeguarded in our end that we can see coming.

the priests' own private stairways to the stars.

My heart is not melting. It's just hot outside. (It's summer here in the Best Hemisphere)

Anyway, that has been for Oneshot Numero 1. Really liked the vibe, really liked that we started with pyramids, and it was a nice flavour and setting-focused... well, less of a story and more like I said, a sort of cultural introspective. Sometimes that's fine. Story can be a plot, but also History.

Who knows, I might review the others if I can. Would make for some building trend, let's call it a Review Tendency. Yeah yeah I know.

 

[Venia Silente]

Maat Maintenance​

If it’s not a play on “moat maintenance” I riot :p

Also, here for more Review Blitz 2024 review!

But yeah, I do recall Maat / Ma’at. I named one of my NPC mons after this concept back in my Nido young RP days.

Here, we see a fight, we get some Magmar and Luxray screentime, but everything is framed and we are told and confirmed that the fight is a sport, a spectacle, a performance for the court. All under the watchful symbolic eyes of Zygarde because we want the fight to be balanced.

One thing that already rings to attention is that a fight, even if a staged one, would be allowed in these grounds. Anything can go wrong, Pokémon are elementalist creatures with quite the plot-derailing power by design. But I guess it talks to how long it has been for their culture that dealing with the consequences, if any, is already accounted for in this (semi?)religious context.

And we get some flavour. A vision of a how and why Pokémon do are elementalists. Power is to be used - but the “used” is a bit abstract and allows to some stretching point to have your expression of power be outsourced to someone else, as the ruling class is wont to do.

But this is adequate, all in all, in that this “showoff of use of power” is ultimately what what consumer sports like say, soccer, or basketball, is about.

That leaves one bit of question hanging tho, if I draw my parallels correctly from what I know of Egyptian-esque cultures:

The gods gave pokémon power over the elements with the expectation that this power be used, in work and in battle.

Is the background implication that something bad happens, or people (used to) believe it does, if Pokémon don’t use their power?

He looks, almost convincingly, like he hasn’t come to “donate” goods he’s cheated out of working families.

Implied class war??? Sounds like the ruling class as usual. All in all, I guess some things don’t change just because your civilization is run by Pokémon.

Sooo…. It’s time for some revolution! I unretract my Drednaw from the previous review!

The ariados watches from his perch on the courtyard wall. The magepriests are focused on their ritual dance of fire and storm; the petitioners—and Senek—are focused on them.

Sewho?

Never felt like the story made it clear what Pokémon Senek is, among the bunch, but definitively I support the idea and the vibe from Intesh that hopefully this class bastard gets what’s coming to him. “Two Sniper Shots to the back” style. Here’s to the Lady of Balance!

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Heya, I was in the mood for some lighter fare to intersperse alongside some chunkier reads tonight, though I saw that you finally actually did something with that Ancient Egypt-themed PMD idea of yours, huh? Well, there was that one year where I literally ran out of stuff of yours to review for Review Blitz, so let’s belatedly pay that forward and see what this is all about:

Pyramids

Spoiler: Line-by-Line

Some things do not change: there have always been garganacl priests in Yveltal's temples. There is Anu now; there were others before. Many pokémon are honored to aid the work of the Lady of Silence, to counsel the living and prepare the dead for their winding way through the night. But there is always a garganacl among the binders and embalmers, because only a garganacl's gift can bring another pokémon so close to eternal stone. Only a garganacl can ensure that they will last like stone, and endure as a vessel for the cycle of magic forever.

Lol, so that’s why this installment is called ‘pyramids’. I’ll admit, that the ‘living pyramid’ angle or their salt brine’s potential applications for embalming didn’t even occur to me, but this is a really clever and apropos role for them in an Ancient Egypt-themed setting.

From where she stands under the embalming tent, tidying up while the junior priests take the body away to dry, Anu can see the pyramids across the river. The pyramids also do not change. She's old, but they are far older. (About as old as the first garganacl in the Lady's temples.) The desert skyline is dominated by the newest, polished white and crowned with gold, but further back even the most venerable stand (mostly) firm, their weathered stair-step sides still climbing up toward the sky.

I blame PWCH for ruining this name for me since now I just keep thinking of the

character of the same name from the story.

… Even if I suppose that Lucario wouldn’t be unfitting as a Pokémon to pop up in this setting. I’ll keep an eye out as things go along.

It wasn't enough for the ancients to become like stone, it seemed. They wanted mountains of stone that would funnel their magic up into the wings of the sun, that their spirits could ascend and ascend until they joined the stars. Monarchs, nobles, generals, priests: with the right resources and with time, any of them might sleep beneath their own personal peak.

I wonder if Pokémon abilities would make pyramid building easier than reality. If so, that skyline must be getting a bit crowded if they’re significantly cheaper and less resource-intensive for the denizens to put together than they were IRL.

(Not the garganacl priests, though. She can't see them from here, dwarfed by distance and the shadows of the grand monuments, but she knows where her ancestors rested when their time came: after they gave their final gift of almost-stone with the salt from their hands, they simply sat down by the tombs of their charges, made themselves comfortable in the sand, and slipped into their journey through the dark. A scattering of humble little step pyramids, here and there, the priests' own private stairways to the stars.)

If my (admittedly rusty) memory of Egypt serves me right, priests would’ve more likely be buried in a mastaba back in the day. But that’s boring and I’m sure that a Garganacl would agree, so I don’t blame them for wanting to get their Djoser on.

Sometimes Anu finds herself imagining the architect who'd first come up with the idea of pyramids, building mountains that a soul could climb to heaven. She feels the sun and wind across the planes of her shoulders, rising up to the flat of her head, and wonders wryly where they might've found the inspiration.

That actually makes me wonder what this setting’s analogue to Djoser had going through his head when he went “oh yeah, when I die, I want a giant Garganacl parked over my tomb”. A sign of affection to his analogue to Imhotep, perhaps? Or perhaps it was Not!Imhotep’s idea in the first place.

Maat Maintenance

Spoiler: Line-by-Line

Flame rolls from the magmar, lightning arcs from the luxray, elements clash and burst in midair, and the gathering of petitioners in the temple court gasps in theatrical awe. The magepriests circle around before their audience, striking with explosions of heat and light. Twin statues of Zygarde, their coils looping and their many-eyed hoods flared, gaze expectantly down on the exhibition below.

Is this going to be a “weighing of the heart” episode? Since this sounds like it’s going to be a “weighing of the heart” episode. Though the Zygarde motifs feel like a decent thematic translation of an Uraeus while still fitting Pokémon-wise.

The gods gave pokémon power over the elements with the expectation that this power be used, in work and in battle. Every day the magepriests do their battle-dance: their energy flows free and furious, the ultimate expression of their gift from themselves and, symbolically, the rest of Nebudjet. Not much call for battles among rich merchants or courtiers—not much call for working, either—so when they want something they crowd the edges of the temple court, pushing their offerings and donations and excuses past one another, so the priests will intercede and expend on their behalf.

Wait, is that underlined meant to be the name of Zygarde in this setting? Or is that an actual term from Egyptology?

These gifts of energy and magic we give of ourselves, as is the way, the priests intone over the petitioners' offerings, to the Lady of Balance and the Great Gods Below, that our magic will flow from us through them and strengthen them for their works. And that, as the Great Gods perform their works, their magic will rise with their breath back through the earth to strengthen us again.

Oh, so Zygarde is just straight-up Ma’at in this setting. Since this description is very on-brand for both of them.

Senek is here, of course, oohing and aahing and applauding along with all the rest. He looks, in Intesh's estimation, as impressed and humbled by the priests' power as his smugness allows. He looks, almost convincingly, like he hasn't come to "donate" goods he's cheated out of working families.

Well, that mood went places in short order.

The ariados watches from his perch on the courtyard wall. The magepriests are focused on their ritual dance of fire and storm; the petitioners—and Senek—are focused on them. A bountiful offering overall, seems like. Zygarde must be pleased by such abundant gifts, if rightly given. Intesh's mandibles twitch in a spider-smile. He doesn't have the means to request an intercession himself. But he can certainly make an offering that's a bit more direct.

This gift of energy and magic I give of myself, as is the way, thinks Intesh as he sinks into a shadow sneak and slips invisibly away with the corrupt merchant's donation, to the Lady of Balance and the Great Gods Below, that that bastard Senek might get what's coming to him.

Ah yes, I see Senek’s heart is going to become the latest munchie for Not!Ammit. I can’t imagine that this would help Intesh’s own standing, but I guess he cares more about getting one last one over his departed nemesis. ^^;

Maat (or ma'at) is the Ancient Egyptian word for a concept somewhere in the ballpark of "truth, order, justice, balance"—essentially, the concept of how a functional universe ought to be. Maat wasn't just the gods' responsibility; mortals on earth, from the king and officials guiding the country to citizens interacting with their fellows, also had to work to maintain it. To oversimplify a bit, this was done primarily by living honorably and honestly in an orderly society and fulfilling their roles in that society so it could continue to move like a well-oiled machine. (Or, at the very least, practicing rituals that symbolized these things.) The pokémon of Nebudjet have a similar belief, but in their case this balance also includes keeping up the "cycle of magic/elemental energy" between mortals and gods as mentioned above.

Oh, so Nebudjet is the name of your setting. I wonder if you could have made that a little clearer like calling it “the realm of Nebudjet” or something like that. Though the primer is definitely handy here, even if it makes me wonder if there are also Taos in Nebudjet that will have a normal one if the ma’at of the realm ever gets seriously out of whack.

The Journey of the Sun

Cue the theme song:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WyN2y2FPnQ


What? That’s a gigantic anachronism, you say? Fine, let’s get into the actual drabble. :p

Spoiler: Line-by-Line

The Great Phoenix sinks below the horizon into the dark ash of night. The colors of her wings fade all to red, then to black; her body curls slowly inward, as to become a little Ember. The last of her flight sweeps her through the Halls of the Underworld, and the Halls are illuminated by her final seven rays of light:

That… is actually a surprisingly fitting mapping for Ra, now that you mention it. Like this Ho-Oh is a she and not a hawk, but the overall attributes are in the same ballpark as each other.

She lights the cities of the gods and the works of their servants, that the balance and the cycle shall be maintained.
She lights the gates and their guardians, that they shall remain vigilant against trespassing souls.
She lights the judgment of the dead, that the Lady of Balance shall see true into their hearts.

Oh, so Ho-Oh gets around just like Ra does. I suppose you can’t say that’s not on-brand for an Ancient Egyptian-vibing setting.

She lights the paths of the punishers, that no wicked souls shall hide from their claws.
She lights the pit of the Enemy bound below, that the chaos and disorder it breeds are burned away.

Oh, so there is a Not!Ammit… I think. Though I wonder who that is in this setting, Giratina?

She lights the Fields of Paradise, that the righteous ghosts may celebrate their eternal lives.
She lights the Great Tree of the Lady of Life, that it shall bask in the magic that rides on the wings of the Phoenix.

Wait, so is this a poem someone is reciting at the moment, or…?

Also, does this mean that this setting more or less shoved Arceus into a corner after that one Pharoah that took a shine to him died akin to what happened to Aten?

In this central hall the Sleeping Ember settles at last; she is the blanket of cooling ash that nourishes the base of the Tree of Life. And the grand, multicolored branches of the Tree and the antlers of the Lady shine with the light they received, bathing the Ember in the magic given from the living world. Her strength is returned to her; all the colors of magic shine from her wings; the sun burns anew in her eyes.

The Great Phoenix soars up from the Underworld, shining with the all colors of the Lady and the Tree, sharing with the living her first seven rays of light.

That must truly be a sight to behold for the lucky few

Yes, Ho-Oh, not Solgaleo. I don't feel like trying to fit every single legendary into this setting and also I just wanted a bird, okay? It's my fake fantasy magic punchmonster Egypt and I do what I want. :P

I actually didn’t realize that this being a sun goddess aside that this was intended to be a major departure from your source of inspiration. Kudos on making everything feel natural there.

Alright, and made it to the end. These were some bite-sized slivers, but they managed to get across quite a bit about your setting here and it’s honestly pretty impressive the way that you took bits and pieces of source of inspiration and Pokémon and made something that felt like a pretty convincing fusion of the two. Even if we didn’t get to see much of the characters, what we did see left some pretty memorable impressions, especially in Maat Maintenance, which I was a little surprised to see in the span of around 400 words.

I honestly have trouble thinking of things to complain about from this series that don’t ultimately boil down to “if I were the one writing your story”... well, aside from the fact that I wish that there was a bit more to chew on narrative-wise to get to know the characters that you showed off and how they tick. But I suppose that’s a story for if you ever come back to this setting and build it out more in the future.

Hope the feedback was fun @Phoenixsong , and I hope that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Nebudjet, since it’s a really imaginative blending of ideas that you’ve done a great job at bringing to life.

 

[Venia Silente]

The Journey of the Sun

The Journey of the Sun​

Oh no! The Great Phoenix sinks into the Dark Ash! It's an Ash betrayal fic!

the dark ash of the night

...Oh.

Oh.

Anyway! More 2024 Review Blitz review!

We get already an evocation of what the fall means, and how it's likened to change. We don't need to be told the varied colours of the wings - it's the loss that matters, and the change leads to red, to the premonition of the dark.

Yet it's all part of the plan. The flight never stops - it reroutes.

She lights gods and their cities, and, fittingly enough, lights also those who would serve those gods. After all, we equate following a god with having found our light. She lights those who guard the gates, for the light brings an enforced honesty. For I presume the same reason, she lights the judgment of the dead.

In the end, what she lights is the Great Tree of the Lady of Life. She is birth and her flight comes with the colours renewed. From the Underworld, life comes, as things have to cease, to rest, so they can renew. Life needs things to live.

A beautiful story. Nice abstract screentime for Ho-Oh. Am not saddened that we did not get Solgaleo, hey, each one of us plays interpretations how we want. And come on man, colours!

That said, now having finished your three Worldbuilding Like an Egyptian, I do have to wonder about the lack of Maaphix and Melanyan. Don't you think I did not notice, no! My reference finding is Unbreakable! :p

Congrats on a pretty awe-inspiring set of mini stories!