tnx, will be waiting for new versions with excitement )
the focus for me at present is the 0.10 release, as this is a full overhaul and integration of magic systems and lore. this coincides with the overhaul of the ballet content that i have received.
i am also looking at introducing content for hacker, friendless and beautiful starts, the last one likely will be a generic for all groups but with flavour text for that start. i hae most o' the ideas sketched but the ballet content alone is now approaching nearly 20-25k words written in the last few weeks both for storyline and creating a a full storyline for core characters with personality matrices, backstories and future paths.
i hae also being doing stuff like this for the new glossary and journal:
# **Gadukino: A Rural Village of Russia**
Nestled in Leningrad Oblast, 20 km north of Pavlovsk and within sight of St. Petersburg’s distant spires, lies **Gadukino**, a village steeped in history, nature, and whispers of the supernatural.
---
## **Overview**
- **Population**: ~150 (aging), with fewer than ten children.
- **Key Features**: Ancient forest, river *Sinyaya Rechka*, Soviet-era train station, abandoned summer camp, hunter’s hut beyond treacherous swamps.
- **Economy**: Subsistence farming, berry/mushroom harvesting, tourism (limited).
---
## **The Central Square**
At the village heart is a gravel square with:
- *Ivan’s Provision*: A shop selling local goods and Soviet-era relics.
- Church of St George: 19th-century structure hosting monthly services and seasonal festivals.
- War Memorial & Benches: Gathering spot for elders, who share tales of Gadukino’s past.
---
## **Natural Features**
### **The Ancient Forest**
A primeval forest surrounds the village, its towering pines and whispering birch groves hiding:
1. **Mystical Elements**:
- **Leshy Legends**: Locals speak of *Lezya*, a forest spirit who protects Gadukino but punishes outsiders for greed or disrespect (e.g., those taking rare mushrooms).
- **The Orchard of Souls**: A crumbling orchard where apples glow faintly at night, believed to be planted by pre-Christian Slavic druids. Eating the fruit is said to grant visions—though some claim it “unmasks one’s true name.”
- **The White Doe**: A spectral deer that appears during foggy winters; chasing it is considered a death omen for fools.
2. **Activities**:
- Mushrooming (look for *opikovnik* and rare *chernogolovka*) and berry picking in summer.
- Forest walks (avoid the northern path, marked “DANGEROUS” due to local superstitions).
---
### **The Treacherous Swamps Beyond**
Past the forest lies a labyrinth of **blackwater swamps**, known as *Chernoye Boloto* (“Black Bog”). Features include:
- **Fog & Quicksand**: Dense fog rolls in at dawn; many who enter vanish without trace.
- **The Hunter’s Hut**: A dilapidated log cabin hidden near a stagnant pool, occupied by an unnamed hermit known as *Kholodnyy* (“The Cold One”). Locals believe he once hunted beasts that strayed from the forest but was cursed for desecrating sacred ground. His hut contains:
- **Old Hunting Gear**: Rusty rifles and a journal with cryptic sketches of “winged wolves.”
- **A Jar of Ashes**: Said to be the remains of *Lezya’s* rival, a water spirit who tried to claim the swamps.
- **Mythology**: The bogs are home to *Vodyanoys*, amphibious spirits that lure wanderers with melodic calls and drag them into their underwater realm.
---
## **Human-Made Sites**
### **Gadukinovskaya Station**
- A derelict Soviet train stop, now overgrown. The platform is a shrine to St Nicholas; locals believe it’s haunted by the ghosts of rail workers who died in a 1980s derailment.
### **Adventure Summer Camp**
- Once a Komsomol camp, later a failed adventure tourism site (2013–2015). Now ruins include:
- **Rusted Zip Lines**: Still intact but unused since the “incident” with a bear that escaped from a nearby sanctuary.
- **Abandoned Swimming Pool**: A lily pond teeming with frogs; children dare each other to throw coins into it, claiming they vanish like offerings to *Lezya*.
North of the village, nestled in the forest, lies the skeletal remains of Pionerskoe Ogorodnoye Utochenie “Zvezda” (Children’s Garden Outpost Star), a summer camp built by the Komsomol for ideological education. Constructed in 1973 with prefabricated huts and communal kitchens, it once trained young pioneers in survival skills, beekeeping, and collective farming. After the USSR fell, the site was briefly repurposed as “Adventure Zvezda” by a St. Petersburg entrepreneur who promised zip lines over the forest canopy and canoe tours along Sinyaya Rechka. The venture collapsed within two seasons—due to flooding that washed out trails, untrained staff, and a single TripAdvisor review damning the food as “raven’s vomit.” Today, the camp sits half-derelict: rusted climbing ropes dangle from trees, graffiti tags pepper the walls of the main mess hall (now home to owls), and local children sneak in to explore. Some say the abandoned swimming pool is haunted by a ghostly counselor who “still yells ‘Shvons! Shvons!’”
---
## **Visiting Gadukino**
### **Best Time to Visit**
- **Summer (June–August)**: Ideal for berry picking and forest walks. Avoid the swamp unless you’re an experienced guide.
- **Autumn (September)**: Mushroom season and a chance to see *Lezya’s* glowing apples in twilight.
- **Winter**: The station’s snowy tracks make a photographic backdrop; the church hosts a modest Christmas service with carols sung in old Russian dialects.
### **Stay & Eat**
- **Accommodation**: Farmhouses offer basic rooms (ask at Ivan’s Provision).
- **Local Dishes**: Smoked fish from *Sinyaya Rechka*, wild mushroom stroganoff, and *sharikovskaya* brandy.
### **Do Not Miss**
1. **The Hunter’s Hut**: Take a guided trip (only locals venture in) to see the journal of “winged wolves”—thought by some to be evidence of hybrid beasts born from forest spirits’ wrath.
2. **Forest Legends Tour**: A 3-hour walk led by elders recounting tales of *Lezya* and the White Doe.
---
## **Local Lore**
- **The Curse of Zvezda**: When Adventure Zvezda failed, a local woman swore she saw the ghostly figure of the camp’s founder dragging suitcases through the swamps in search of “his stolen plans.”
- **St George vs Lezya**: The church hosts an annual festival where villagers reenact St George slaying a dragon as a metaphor for their ongoing struggle against forest spirits.
---
## **Map Summary**
```
Village Square → River Sinyaya Rechka (fishing)
↘ Forest (orchard, *Lezya*’s domain)
↗ Swamps (*Chernoye Boloto*, Hunter’s Hut)
↙ Derelict Train Station + Adventure Zvezda Ruins
```
---
Gadukino is a place where folklore and reality blur—a village that remembers the past not just in its ruins, but in the stories it breathes into every leaf and shadow. Approach with caution… or curiosity.
---------------------------------------------
Nestled in the verdant landscapes of Leningrad Oblast, 20 kilometers north of Pavlovsk and within reach of St. Petersburg’s shimmering skyline, lies Gadukino, a small rural village that embodies Russia’s enduring connection to nature and heritage. As you arrive via the gravel road leading into its central square, time seems to slow here—a place where the creak of wooden fences and the distant lowing of cows harmonize with the whisper of ancient pines.
Central Square & Surroundings
The heart of Gadukino is a modest gravel stone square, flanked by weathered but sturdy buildings. At its center stands a rusting war memorial, surrounded by benches where elderly villagers gather to share stories over cups of strong Russian tea. The village shop, Ivan’s Provision, has been run for decades by the same family; its shelves stock tins of caviar, loaves of rye bread, and handwoven woolen scarves alongside essentials. Behind the store, a small garden grows dill and garlic—remnants of Soviet-era collective farming practices adapted to modern life.
From here, the highway stretches south toward Pavlovsk and St. Petersburg, where some families still commute for work, though many have returned to this quiet slice of land in retirement.
Nature’s Bounty
Gadukino is cradled by a primeval forest, its dense canopy shielding winding trails used by locals for mushrooming (look for fat, golden boletus and the delicate white opikovnik) and berry picking. In summer, patches of wild raspberries and blackcurrants cling to the underbrush, their harvests simmered into jams or fermented into homemade kvass. The forest also hides a withering orchard—a relic of 19th-century agricultural efforts, where gnarled apple trees still yield tart fruit used for pies and sharikovskaya (wild apple brandy).
To the east flows the Sinyaya Rechka, or Blue River, its icy waters teeming with pike, perch, and silver-scaled grayling. Local elders swear by their secret fishing spots beneath birch-lined banks; winter brings ice-fishing holes where villagers catch sturgeon for smelted caviar.
Agriculture & Animals
Cows graze on the soft grass of meadows near the forest, their milk producing richly flavored butter and sour cream. Horses—shaggy, weather-beaten steppe breeds—are still used to plough fields during brief growing seasons. Most farms are family-run, sustaining themselves through mixed agriculture: vegetables in summer, stored root crops in winter.
Faith & Community
At the northern edge of town stands the Church of St. George, its onion dome and hand-painted icons untouched since the 1800s. Though services are rare (the priest travels from Pavlovsk monthly), villagers light candles for protection during harsh winters or illness, and children still learn to make chebureki (fried dough pastries) in the church kitchen for Easter.
Generational Shifts
Gadukino’s population now hovers around 150, with fewer than 10 children—mostly grandchildren of the elderly, visiting during summers or holidays. The school closed in 2003; its red-brick building is now a storage shed for hay and tools. Yet traditions persist: autumn brings an informal apple harvest festival, where neighbors share recipes and songs, while spring sees the community come together to mend fences or clear snow from the central square.
```
still idk about willpower will degreasing and soring breast :/ still have icon but not exist in pain window
