I had received a large cardboard box in the mail. Inside of the box was a diorama of anime and pokemon figures. Inside of another box was a folder full of documents with the sender’s address, photos of their home, and a list of their favorite characters. My heart sank when it dawned on me that I hadn’t done my part of the holiday gift exchange. I rushed to the computer and scrambled to find the email that contained our secret santa assignments in my hotmail inbox.

I was in charge of teaching a photography class to the people in our office. When I walked into the house, someone asked me if I had the equipment necessary for instruction ready. I quickly ducked out and went back to the car to pick up my camera. I stepped out of the car and offhandedly snapped what was supposed to be a test photo but I was so nervous that I didn’t even take the lens cap off.

We were multiple seasons into the zombie apocalypse and I was still trying to find a place to camp. Most of the spots in the urban landscape had already been settled. I landed onto the rooftop of an apartment building only to find that I had stumbled into someone’s makeshift home. I snuck around some more until I was outside of a large banquet hall. The local residents were holding a meeting and I had to introduce myself as I grappled with what was real or not.

I was playing as the Driller in Deep Rock Galactic when were were being swarmed with Spitters. I was pretty sure we were going to fail the mission as the music ramped up and the firing became more intense. Suddenly a bunch of display cars started turning in helicopters. I figured I would at least stick around long enough to see what happened next instead of giving up.

I was playing some kind of game where one team had to catch the other inside of a large warehouse. I was on the team that was being chased and we started on top of a large shipping container that was suspended high above. My role was to support the others as I scouted the area from our hideout. A few moments into the game, I heard some kind of commotion going on below. It sounded like a teammate got caught.

A friend had invited me to play a Final Fantasy game that was nearing its end of service. As a result, it was offering many of its features for free. My friend asked me if I wanted to buy something but I didn’t have anything particular in mind. The other players seemed content just hanging around and emoting in the hub area.

We were wading through the canyon stream while talking about the process of water wearing away at the rock. The water was about chest height when I spotted an alligator making its way towards us. “Gator…” I tried to say in the calmest possible tone as I backed away. I picked up a metal rod and said we needed to “get out now” under my breath. Once the animal got close enough, I immediately started bashing at its snout with the rod.

My dad and I were walking around an industrial area when we spotted my brother and his wife on the other side of the fence. We crossed over the concrete walkway as my dad commented that this seemed like a nice meeting spot. My sister-in-law made a comment about the passersby on the way over. We entered what seemed like an abandoned library together and perused the shelves of books in the various rooms.

Classes were finishing up for the day and my friend and I were setting up “visual traps” throughout campus. These were physical installations that had the tendency to lock the viewer in place like something out of a horror story. I was roaming through the hallways holding a giant razor blade in my hand.

My teacher came up to me and asked about my homework which was due today. I had to tell him that I didn’t actually finish the reading required to complete the assignment. “What a shame”, he said, “You’re a smart kid.” He asked me if I wanted to carry him in Heores of the Storm. I told him that it’s been so long since I’ve played that I probably wouldn’t be able to.