Introduction

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It's about sundown on a chilly autumn's day. As you wander along an old hiking trail, you notice a plume of smoke in the distance. With utmost curiosity, you step off the path, leaves pleasantly crunching beneath your feet as you descend the hillside. As you grow closer to the source, the smell of a cozy wood fire grows stronger. You reach a clearing and find the source: the chimney of an old cottage billows smoke, the rising cloud gently reaching for the last golden rays of afternoon sunlight. Behind the cottage lies a small lake, whose reflection of the red-orange sky is interrupted only by the soft ripple of the wind and the occasional leaf gently touching down on the water's glass-like surface. Inspired by the scene's beauty, you continue towards the door.


You read the sign on the door. "Peculiar," you think to yourself. Well, you are a little cold, so maybe a quick visit for the warmth of the fire couldn't hurt.

The warm air blankets you as you enter, carrying the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and hickory. You scan the interior. The stone brick walls all around are adorned with fine weaves and oil paints. To your right lies the kitchen, filled with pots, pans, kegs, and a lit cast iron stove with what smells to be a fresh loaf of bread baking in the oven. To your left is the hearth, gently crackling and popping as the flame within dances mesmerizingly up into the chimney.

As your eyes return to the center of the space, you notice a small table with a lit candle as well as a rocking chair in which sits a curious beast; this spectacle has seemingly appeared out of thin air! Upon closer inspection, the beast seems to be black bear wearing a nightshirt, out of which comes two five-fingered paws, one holding a glass of fragrant whiskey, the other holding a novel. On top of its ursine head sits a nightcap. It looks up from the novel, and your eyes meet.

Oh! hello. I appologize, you've caught me in my pajamas! My name is Arthur, and this is my cottage! Or cabin, or whatever you wish to call it. Oh! you've never seen a magical talking bear? Well don't worry, I'm not magical! I'm actually the result of an extreme statistical improbability. None the matter with that, I hope you enjoy your visit, no matter how long (or brief) you choose to stay. Have a look around, inspect any books or items you see, have a drink, anything, really! I'm just glad to have a guest!

About the Site

Well, sorry to break your immersion, but I'm not really a talking bear (but that would be quite cool, wouldn't it?). I'm actually an engineering student at the Missouri University of Science & Technology, and this is my little side project to keep me from going insane. My previous websites were a little aimless and that led to me getting burnt out, so I'm trying to stick to this cozy-house-in-autumn theme, because that's what's most comforting to me. That's not to say there won't be side tangents featured here, though. I'll primarily feature worldbuilding and story content here, as well as art, journals, and tidbits about things I'm very passionate about. Any opinions featured on this site are (mostly) satyrical, so take everything with a grain of salt.

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