morta verba

Hello!

I suppose this is a bit of an introduction to this whole thing. There is no real planning or structure, just kinda jumping in and seeing what happens.

Unus Annus has always been really special to me as both a fan of Mark and Ethan and also everything it represents. One of the (many) things that stood out to me was that they picked a random Friday in November to start when they could've pretty easily picked new years or the first of the month or waited for the "perfect time" but they didn't. Just had the idea and ran with it.

I've been thinking about it again after the 5 year anniversary stream and decided why not do my own smaller version? And why not post it online for some sort of accountability? So that's why we're here. (It's intentionally not called Unus Annus or something of that nature bc if I do end up liking it, this year long blog will still get deleted but I'm not against creating a second, third, etc. blog and repeating it. Everything still gets deleted, words still die, but its a new journey each time. Maybe. Depends on if it drives me insane or not lol)

I give no promises on quality or even really quantity. I may pick out some criteria/goals per day later on but for now the only target is write something and maybe make it a lil creative.

I hope it would be obvious but just to make it incredibly clear, no AI will be used in any part of this. All weirdness and grammar issues are 100% human made :D. No idea what this is going to be or turn into but hey why not try and make something hopefully somewhat cool. (also I claim no ownership of this idea. If you are inspired and what to do something similar, go for it! I think its a really great exercise in being able to let go of creative ideas and find peace in creating temporary art)

Memento Mori.

28/02/2026 (1/365)

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Everything is starting to feel like it’s on fire again. Did it ever stop? Has it ever stopped? Everyday a new person to accommodate. Everyday a new threat to asses. Everyday a new problem. When will it stop? I suppose it only stops when life itself stops. The fires rage on. There is no end. But there is better. Building better strategies. Building better better teams. Building a better future. Where the fire is less feared and more just a part of the background.

Memento Mori.

A small cat surrounded by large scary dogs. You would think the cat would be terrified and running for its life. Does the cat realize she has the capability to scare animals much larger than her? That by being aggressive and loud she can seem more dangerous than she actually is? Or is her brain only filled with arrogance and nothing more.

Memento Mori.

Wow. One hundred. I'm a little surprised I've made it this far to be honest. I've always struggled with long projects like this one that require consistent effort. But I'm really proud of myself! I've been late to my self imposed daily time deadline more times than I would've liked but honestly? I've managed to post something everyday and that's really cool. I don't know if I've gotten much better at writing, but I also don't know if I've really challenged myself? I guess the act of writing alone is a form of practice. I've mentioned in the tags of previous posts that I wanted to go back and redo some of them but I gave myself the deadline of making it post 100 first before I could go back and redo old updates. So maybe some of those sometime soon? I also wanted to make it to 100 before finding writing prompts to use so also some of those maybe? Thanks to anyone who's found this and is reading this now. While I've enjoyed existing in my own little corner of the internet, I wouldn't mind to be found to be honest. But I haven't gone out of my way to post in popular tags or anything like that. But I do think I'm going to stop avoiding popular/common tags and see what happens. Either way, this has been a lovely experience so far. Here's to 265 more posts!

Memento Mori.

The mighty dragon laughs at the dumb squirrel and blue jay and flies wherever he wants and runs wherever he wants. Dumb baby animals who can’t do anything and are dumb and weak. So small and can’t do anything right. The mighty dragon proceeds to be dive bombed by all winged creatures and pelted by all manner of small rocks and fruits and nuts for the rest of its life.

Memento Mori.

A young blue jay looks down at the ground. She sees the same green shades and the same dark forest she always does. She glides for a moment before guiding her wings to go down, trying to get lower and lower. She narrowly avoids collision with the mismatched branches, swerving from left to right as she tries to find a clear path. More and more trees block her path and she is forced to fly back up lest she injure herself. Gasping for air and muscles trembling from use, she looks down with nowhere left to return.

Memento Mori.

A young squirrel looks up to the sky. He sees the same blue shades and the same bright light he always does. He scurries on to the nearby tree, trying to get higher and higher. He goes up the branches, jumping from tree to tree as he finds new footholds to climb. Running and running and running until he gets as high as nature will allow him. Gasping for air and muscles trembling from use, he looks up with nowhere else to go.

Memento Mori.

All anxieties can be driven away by the mind worms. Now you would think, “mind worms? That doesn’t sound good!” But as we all know, you can never and should never and would be stoned if you ever judged a book by its cover! So clearly that must mean that mind worms are great! Amazing even! Now, what are “mind worms” you ask? Why, they are the greatest thing since sliced bread! The most advanced form of technology known to animal kind! The hottest temptation that’s sweeping the nation! Acquire one today! You know how! Just do it!

Memento Mori.

Why are crow’s names so close to cows? Because they pirate because they because ARRRR wait let me try again What’s the difference between a cow and a crow? The SEA wait no that’s wrong. one is a pirate! No wait Crows are bros and cows are … bos? No Cows are crows but hurting like ow and also pirates wait no

Memento Mori.

The world is whirring away. Just past the next door. Moving and running and blazing through anything in its path. You sit just before it. You can hear it. You can almost feel it. You’ve fallen in before. Sometimes on purpose. Most times not. Most times it pulls you in and doesn’t let go. You take a deep breath. You jump in again.

Memento Mori.

Anxious murmurs rise out of the crowd and the cloaked figure scans over them considering her options. She really should leave, the longer she stays the more she puts everyone else in danger. But she can’t let this go on for any longer. “Okay look this is what we are going to do. Everyone who has had this treatment or lost the use of their skills, follow me to the right and I’ll treat you in order of the longest affected.” The three women closest to the front and pseudo leaders of the group look at the cloaked figure curiously. They had been expecting a tyrant, yet another person drunk on power throwing them to the side and if they were lucky would maybe let them catch their breath before tossing them to the wolves. But the woman in front of them, while clearly frustrated and terrifyingly powerful, was frustrated for them and not with them. They shared a look and decided to give her a shot.

The woman with short hair, the closest one to the one that was healed stepped forward and asked, “How were you able to tell from so far away? That something was wrong I mean.” The cloaked figure rolls her eyes as she examines another one of the women, “My teammates were stubborn idiots who refused to tell me when they were injured. After enough of them died from injuries I could’ve treated, I started figuring out a way to feel other’s injuries from a distance so that I could treat them before they became permanent.” She says with just enough fondness that you can tell she cared for her teammates but also just enough venom that makes you wonder if she’s forgiven them yet. Behind her, uncomfortable shifting from her previously dead teammates can be heard.

Memento Mori.

The cloaked figure looks uneasy but nods her head as she moves forward to hold the woman’s arm. “It’ll sound worse than it will feel,” She says. With a deep breath, her hands start to glow again and she moves quickly as a loud snap can be heard. The woman grimaces but as soon as she feels the pain, it's gone. She turns back to her arm and it looks as if nothing ever happened. The cloaked figure steps back as her friends around her run over to her in shock and ask if she is okay. She nods in a daze as she moves her hand in front of her face, a face of amazement as electricity gathers on the palm of her healed arm. Her friends also back away in shock, one of them saying “I thought you lost your ability?”. The cloaked figure speaks up, asking “Did someone say they were healing you before you lost the ability to use your skills?”

“How did you…? Yes, they said that my arm was starting to corrupt so they had to treat it so that I wouldn’t lose it. They said the loss of skill use was a side effect. Most of us here went through that.”

The cloaked figure looks away, unseen face seething. She composes herself and speaks again, “And only the women suffered from this ‘corruption’?”

The group of women look at each other in confusion. The cloaked figure speaks up again, “This was intentional. There is no such thing as “corruption". Not like this anyway.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve dealt with it before. Someone breaks your arm and reheals it in such a way that it blocks the channels your mana flows through. Effectively completely rendering your abilities useless.” 

Memento Mori.

A figure shows up out of nowhere and uncovers her hood as she approaches the group. “Huh OH HI” the hunter exclaims as he stumbles out of the way to let her approach the group of newcomers. She cautiously approaches the woman closest to the front, with a recently unseen patience and gentleness. 

“Can I see your arm?” She asks. The woman, clearly uncomfortable, hesitates. “I’m a healer, I can help. But you don’t have to if you aren’t comfortable doing so.” The cloaked figure quietly explains.

“Okay…” The woman replies, slowly offering up her arm in a way that shows that she does indeed feel like she has to.

The cloaked figure examines the arm as a soft glow emanates from her hand with a furrowed brow. From the outside the arm looks normal, if anything a little pale but something deeper inside is bothering her. Her face deepens as she moves from the elbow and gets closer to the shoulder. She looks up with as blank a face as she can manage and says, “This must hurt. I can help with the aching and maybe more but you will feel a sharp pain. It will pass quickly but this needs to happen for you to be able to heal. Is that alright?” 

The woman looks up at her with a resigned concern, “I uh… I… if you think that’s best. Do whatever you think is best.” She says as she looks away bracing herself for what she thinks is inevitable.

Memento Mori.

Even if you’ve done it before, it is really nerve wracking to just cut up a plant. Pruning away dying branches or trimming back wild growth. But especially to propagate. The cut off part gets wilted and sad. It looks like it's dying. But. You did the research. You’ve done it before. You trust the process. A few days pass and it seems like it looks the same. But you keep waiting. And one day it looks less wilted. And suddenly the next it perked right back up and now you have more plant! It's healthier! It has more space to breathe!

Memento Mori.

Being more conscious of both my needs and also simple ways to meet them has been such a game changer. Like I’ve been working on my computer more and my wrist has been hurting more. So one realizing that and also thinking “hey I should get a wrist supported ergonomic mouse pad or something” but that’s expensive. So I’ve been thinking about it for the past couple of days until I had a brain blast. I can sew. I have fabric. And I also have some old rice. And now I have a small fabric tube of rice! Which is working great so far!

Memento Mori.

Fresh air after a rainy week. The sun shining through. Warm but not yet sweltering. A slight breeze moves past the trees. A river lazes around a bend. A lovely spring day.

Memento Mori.

Returning to a hobby you loved but stopped for no specific reason is such a wonderful feeling. At first its frustrating. You used to be so good. Your actions are stilted and awkward. But slowly, the muscle memory comes back. Things you thought you completely forgot surprise you with their presence. Longer than it took when you were in the thick of it but faster than when you first learned. Reliving the feeling and remembering why you loved it and questioning how you ever forgot it.

Memento Mori.