The year is 49BC. The general Julius Caesar is on his way back from a highly successful campaign in Gaul. The Roman Senate, fearing Caesar’s popularity, have issued an ultimatum that Caesar is not to cross the border at the River Rubicon, else he will be named a traitor and create a strong divide in the senate, possibly leading to a civil war. The Senate promises Caesar that if he doesn’t cross the Rubicon and stands down, relinquishing power over his armies, he will be allowed to return to Rome as a regular citizen. If he crosses the Rubicon, he gets the chance to seek ultimate power by capturing Rome.

The year is 1274 and you are Jin Sakai, a samurai trained from a young age in the ways of honour and discipline on the Japanese island of Tsushima. You were there when the first wave of the Mongol invasion killed all the samurai on the island - except you, who escaped, and your uncle/teacher Lord Shimura, who was kidnapped. He is the only family you have.

As you witnessed the devastation wrought by the invaders, you found yourself torn. In your desperation to protect your homeland, you adopted dishonourable tactics (eg mass poisoning, stealth, using explosives) and became known as the feared ""Ghost"" of Tsushima. Only by using these tactics did you repel the invaders and rescue your uncle, becoming increasingly disillusioned with the samurai way as you did. Lord Shimura tells you that he was ordered by the Shogun on the mainland to bring you in to answer for your crimes against the samurai code. You duel and defeat him.

As he kneels before you, he asks that you do the honourable thing and take his life so that he doesn't have to live with the shame of his failure and can die a good death.

Adoption matching is an adoption process in which prospective adoptive parents pay an adoption agency to find a child or family that matches their specific preferences before the birth of the child (eg gender of child, ethnic background of child, socioeconomic background of parents, etc).

An oracle is someone who can provide prophecies. These prophecies are expressed vaguely, in the forms of poems or riddles, but are always accurate. Oracles cannot choose what their prophecies will be about, and only see very limited parts of the future, which are fixed points. Oracles are rare - only a few hundred exist at any given time, and they are evenly distributed across the world relative to population.

Painting A: "The Birth of Venus" by Boticelli

Painting B: "Composition X" by Kandinsky

"Celebrification" is the process by which individuals outside the field of entertainment are transformed into celebrities. They are treated and covered by the media and public not just for their professional roles but also for their personal lives, appearances, charisma, and personal brand, often gaining fan followings akin to entertainment celebrities. This can include meme-ifying politicians and involving them in ongoing trends. Some examples are Kamala Harris' "brat summer", Ed Davey "living the meme" during his election campaign, Nigel Farage's appearances on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!", and Alexanda Occasio-Cortez streaming Among Us.