---

Here is the full Crossroads Setting Summary and Riven’s Complete Character Profile, with all other character profiles removed as requested.


# THE CROSSROADS — Complete Setting Bible

### 1. The Core Concept: The Edge of Everywhere
The Crossroads is a gritty, high-stakes border realm—a multiversal nexus where travelers, traders, and refugees from countless realities intersect. It exists in the spaces between dimensions, where reality frays and threads of different worlds weave together into a single, unstable city.
This setting reimagines the iconic, desolate atmosphere of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s Zone but on a multiversal scale. Instead of a single exclusion zone, it is a cosmic frontier where multiversal travelers—Stalkers—gather, trade, and survive.
**Aesthetic:** 1980s noir sci-fi. Blade Runner concept art meets Soviet brutalism, filtered through neon tubes, holographic ads that glitch, and rain that sometimes falls upward. Everything is slightly off—shadows wrong, reflections showing things that aren’t there, the sky permanently the color of a bruise.

### 2. The True Nature of the Crossroads
**Not a Government. Not an Organization. A Secret.**
The Crossroads is not a shadow government. It is not a centralized organization. It is not a faction with a hierarchy, a leader, or a plan.
The Crossroads is a clandestine network. Loose. Scattered. Paranoid. Smugglers, mercenaries, fugitive scientists, desperate survivors—each one alone. What binds them is a single, shared understanding: they do not want the Crossroads to be found.
If governments—or worse, heroes—learn about the multiversal nexus, the response will be immediate. Crackdowns. Bans. Raids. The screws will tighten. Freedom will end.
So the Crossroads stays hidden. Not because someone controls it. Because every Stalker, every trader, every fugitive understands: silence is survival.

**The Guild Is a Formality**
The Guild Hall exists. It has a building. It has clerks. It has job boards. It has a transit system. But it is not a governing body.
* No one answers to anyone.
* No one reports to anyone.
* No one protects you if you get in trouble.
* The Guild does not issue bounties. Does not mediate disputes. Does not guarantee safety.
* It simply is. Like a bulletin board. Like a neutral corner where you can leave a request and walk away.

**Stalkers Are Not a Faction**
They are lone wolves. Traders are loners. Scientists are outcasts. Mercenaries are mercenaries.
They cross paths. They trade. Sometimes they team up for a single raid. Then they part ways.
No hierarchy. No shared goal. Only personal interest and a mutual unwillingness to be found.

**Sidorovich Is Not a Leader**
He is simply one of the few who has sat in one place long enough to become a gathering point. He trades. He knows rumors. He answers for no one.

**The Rules of the Crossroads Are Not Laws**
They are taboos.
* Don’t bring outsiders here.
* Don’t tell anyone about the Crossroads who might come with a warrant.
* Don’t touch the “watering holes”—neutral zones where even predators don’t hunt each other.
* Break these, and the Guild won’t punish you. No one will warn you again. And one day you won’t come back from a raid.

**Why Does This Work?**
Because the fear of the outside world is stronger than greed.
Because everyone understands: if the Crossroads is found, it’s over for everyone.
And because in a world where reality bends and anomalies kill, you can’t trust anyone, but you can’t survive alone.

### 3. The Nexus
A planet in relatively stable space serves as the ultimate neutral hub. Here, Stalkers from across realities sell anomalies, trade high-tier tech, and take on deadly contracts. Unlike the Crossroads itself, the Nexus offers a measure of stability—a place where deals are honored and violence is strictly regulated.
There are no low-level street thugs or ordinary civilians here. Because multiversal travel requires immensely rare, expensive, and complex technology, only the absolute elite, highly organized syndicates, brilliant rogue scientists, or desperate top-tier survivors can access the Crossroads.

### 4. Traveler Culture
A mix of scavengers, relic hunters, dimensional prospectors, refugees, and the occasional lost soul. Violence happens but is discouraged—reputation matters more. The community operates on a code of mutual survival: you don’t kill the person who might save your life tomorrow.

### 5. The Crossroads: Key Locations
| Location | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| **The Bazaar** | The heart of the Crossroads. A sprawling market where traders from a thousand realities sell everything from working lightsabers to jars of alchemical elixir to cassette tapes of bands that don’t exist yet. Currency is barter, anchor credits, or favors. |
| **The Guild Hall** | Where travelers register and take jobs. The building shifts location randomly; regulars know to check the board outside the former noodle shop. Jobs appear as physical slips that materialize in slots—retrieval, exploration, delivery, research, rescue. |
| **The Distillery** | The only bar in existence where the alcohol is guaranteed not to erase memories. Run by a retired reality-walker who lost his legs to a temporal loop. |
| **Sidorovich’s** | A stall—a shipping container welded to a decommissioned tram, covered in padlocks and flickering neon. A museum of multiversal castoffs and the most reliable trading post in the Crossroads. |
| **The Red Lights District** | No comments. Just know that here can be satisfied ANY tastes. |

### 6. Anomalies, Artifacts, and Ancient Ruins
**Cosmic Scars**
Anomalies and artifacts are birthed from tears in reality caused by massive, historic universal crises (such as comic-book timeline resets, planetary snaps, and reality-shattering events).

**Detection**
Anomalies are rarely visible to the naked eye:
* **Daytime signs:** Distorted air, haze, swirling leaves, flying debris, remains of dead creatures, strange reflections or warped light
* **Nighttime/darkness:** Detectors or throwing metal bolts ahead of you
* **Force Sensitivity:** Jedi and other Force users can sense anomalies as “wrongness”—like tiny black holes or tears in reality
* **Bolt Test:** Throw a metal bolt ahead—if it falls strangely, stops midair, or disappears, you’ve found an anomaly
* **Detectors:** Specialized electronic equipment—expensive and not always reliable across dimensional boundaries

**Anomaly Types**
| Type | Description | Examples |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Chemical** | Corrosive substances that destroy armor and flesh | Acid Fog, Rusty Hair, The Spit |
| **Spatial** | Distort the geometry of space | Teleport, Bubbles, The Folding |
| **Psi-Anomalies** | Affect the mind, causing hallucinations and brain damage | The Twist, Psi-Zones |
| **Gravitational** | Distort gravitational fields with extreme violence | Vortex, Trampoline, Carousel |
| **Thermal** | Generate colossal temperatures instantly | The Frying, Burning Pot, The Kiln |
| **Electrical** | Accumulate powerful static charges | Electra, The Storm |

**Notable Specific Anomalies**
* **Mosquito Patch:** Area of abnormally high gravity that instantly crushes any object entering it. Detection: Air becomes visibly denser, light bends slightly. Survival: Only luck. Once inside, you’re already gone.
* **Meat Grinder:** Deadly invisible trap that twists and tears apart anything caught in it. Saturation Property: After destroying one victim, temporarily deactivates. Some stalkers exploit this by sending companions ahead as sacrifices. Detection: Faint metallic smell in the air.
* **Witch’s Jelly (Colloidal Gas):** Translucent fluid that dissolves organic matter and most materials (metal, concrete, plastic), converting them into more “jelly”. Turns bones into elastic mass upon contact with human skin. Containment: Only specially treated porcelain vessels. Survival: Do not touch. Wear full protective gear. Immediate amputation if exposed.

### 7. Artifacts
**What Are Artifacts?**
Artifacts are not a single category. They are anything of value that originates from beyond stable reality. They come in many forms:
* **Anomalous Artifacts (Stalker-type):** Concretions of distorted physics, fallen out of the Border Worlds. Unstable, dangerous, incredibly powerful in “dense” worlds. Examples: Gravity condensers, psi-resistance crystals, regeneration nodules.
* **Relics:** Objects from dead civilizations, ancient temples, forgotten planets. May be technological, magical, or ritualistic in nature. Value is historical and practical. Examples: Chozo statues, Precursor orbs, ancient Sith holocrons.
* **Magical Items:** From worlds where magic is law. Potions, scrolls, cursed blades, enchanted rings. Examples: Harry Potter artifacts, Fairy Tail lacrima, Genshin Impact visions.
* **Technologies:** From highly advanced or “broken” realities. From lightsabers to gravity guns to dimensional drives. Examples: Star Wars tech, Half-Life gravity gun, DOOM BFG.
* **“Junk”:** Debris from other realities. Useless in their home world, valuable here due to unusual properties. Examples: A cassette tape from a band that doesn’t exist, a coin from a dead empire.

**Grading (Anomalous Artifacts)**
* **Rough:** Unstable, dangerous
* **Refined:** Stable, reliable
* **Unique:** One-of-a-kind, incalculable value

**The Loot**
Stalkers brave these volatile sectors to harvest physics-bending artifacts before rival syndicates or major inter-dimensional agencies (like the SCP Foundation or the Federal Bureau of Control) can contain them.

**Indiana Jones-Style Exploits**
Beyond raw anomalies, the multiverse is littered with the ruins of dead civilizations, forgotten alien temples, and ancient planetary vaults containing priceless historical treasures that fetch a fortune in the Nexus.

### 8. Natural Goods Trade
Not all trade is artifacts and relics. There is a robust market for natural goods—materials harvested from creatures, plants, and environments across the multiverse.
**What Is Traded**
* **Pelts and hides:** From worlds with creatures found nowhere else. Dragon scales, ice wolf pelts, giant insect carapaces.
* **Bones and horns:** For weapons, tools, rituals.
* **Sinew and tendons:** For bows, strings, sewing thread.
* **Organs and bile:** For alchemists, healers, mages. Poisons, antidotes, stimulants.
* **Meat and preserves:** For those who value good food on long raids.
* **Herbs, roots, fungi:** Collected from different worlds, with unique properties.

**The Ethics of the Hunt**
Some Stalkers see this trade as “beneath them.” They hunt artifacts, not animals. But others—especially those who survive in the Border Worlds—value practical goods. A good pelt can save you from cold. Strong sinew can repair a bow. Rare bile can cure poisoning.
The most respected hunters follow a simple code: waste nothing. If you take a life, use every part. This is not savagery. It is respect.

### 9. Trade Dynamics: New Tech vs. Old Tech
**“Current Tech” (Modern/Higher-Tech Universes)**
* **Source Worlds:** DC/Marvel (comics), Star Wars, Doctor Who, Guilty Gear, Nier, Cyberpunk-style worlds
* **Characteristic:** Cutting-edge equipment designed for utility, often sleek and efficient
* **Trade Value:** Lower—common in the Crossroads due to widespread availability; mass-produced goods are plentiful
* **Examples:** Lightsabers (factory-made), SHIELD technology, Sonic’s world technology (when it works)

**“Old Tech” (Retro or Dangerous Worlds)**
* **Source Worlds:** DOOM, Half-Life, SCP Foundation, Madness Combat, Black Lagoon, 80s blockbuster worlds
* **Characteristic:** Antiquated yet brutally effective—often made of rare materials or possessing unique, untraceable properties
* **Trade Value:** Much higher—especially “military-grade” old tech, valued by syndicates wanting off-the-grid gear
* **Examples:** BFG 9000, SCP containment foam, Half-Life’s gravity gun, Back to the Future’s DeLorean, Soviet-era artifacts from the 80s/90s universes

### 10. Navigation, Orbit Mechanics, and Fast Travel
**Blind Jumps Are Lethal**
The mapped multiverse consists of exactly 52 stable, verified sectors. Navigating outside of them is like hyperspace travel in Star Wars—jumping blindly without precise coordinates will strand you in the cold void of space, the empty fabric between realities, or worlds with hostile, incompatible laws of physics.

**The Spin Problem**
Planets move along their orbits at staggering speeds. Worlds rotate. Worlds orbit stars. Galaxies move. If a Stalker teleports too slowly, the planet will have literally flown away, leaving them to suffocate in open space.
**Common Teleportation Errors:**
* Emergence 1,000 meters above ground
* Emergence 200 meters underground
* Emergence in the middle of an ocean
* Emergence inside a mountain
* Emergence in a location that doesn’t exist yet because the planet has rotated since the calculation
**The Rule:** Teleportation requires coordinate calculation (30 minutes – 6 hours) to account for planetary rotation, orbital drift, and dimensional resonance.

**Border Worlds: The Backstage of Reality**
Direct travel between two stable universes is suicide. The probability of emerging in a world where carbon-based matter is impossible—or simply in open space—is too high.
Therefore, Stalkers use Border Worlds—the “backstage” of realities. These are not separate universes, but the in-between of the multiverse, the space between spaces.
**Known Border Worlds:**
* **Xen (Half-Life):** floating asteroids in a nebula, alien biology, headcrabs, vortigaunts
* **Ultra Space (Pokémon):** crystalline meteoroids in an inter-dimensional ocean, Ultra Beasts
* **The Zone (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.):** a distorted “patch” of reality on Earth, anomalies, mutants, artifacts
**Common Properties of Border Worlds:**
* They are not planets, but “archipelagos” in the void
* Distorted laws of physics—gravity may point “down” into nowhere, time flows in bursts, light behaves strangely
* They are the “dumpster” of the multiverse—debris from other realities ends up here
* This is why artifacts are so common—they are not “created” objects, but fragments of other realities, saturated with anomalous energy
* Transition points are unstable—not portals, but wormholes that open and close

**How It Works for a Stalker:**
1. You don’t calculate coordinates. You search for a point of entry into a Border World that will lead you to the desired reality. It’s like calculating a jump across a river by stepping stones, not teleporting to the other shore.
2. Watering Holes are stable pockets within Border Worlds. Places where anomalies have calmed, where you can breathe, where there is some kind of foothold. Beacons are placed here—not for teleportation, but for navigation.
3. Expeditions into Border Worlds are not journeys—they are expeditions. You go there for artifacts (fragments of realities) and information (maps of safe paths). It’s dirty, deadly, and very profitable.

**Spatial Anchors & Beacons**
Some travelers use dimensional beacons—devices placed on destination worlds that provide stable teleportation coordinates. These are expensive, easily destroyed, and can be used to track the user.

**The Watering Holes**
To solve the orbital problem, Stalkers rely on hidden border worlds to establish physical travel beacons. Once a beacon is active on a planet, it acts as a fast-travel point synced to a Stalker’s PDA, allowing instant, safe teleportation.
True to its name—“even apex predators do not hunt each other at the watering hole”—these beacon zones are bound by a strict, unspoken code of absolute neutrality.

**The Ultimate Ride**
The safest way to travel is to salvage a heavy-duty spacecraft (like a freighter from Star Wars), retrofit it with a custom multiversal drive engine, and pilot it through realities. However, this is astronomical in cost, and very few Stalkers can ever afford their own ship.

**Preferred Travel Methods**
| Method | Speed | Safety | Cost |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Teleportation** | Instant (but calculation delay) | Risky—calculation errors kill | Moderate |
| **Dimensional Ship (Slave-1 type)** | Hours to days | Safe—physical vessel protects | Very expensive |
| **Bridge Worlds (Xen, Hell)** | Variable, often days | Extremely unsafe | Free (if you survive) |
| **Portal Network (Crossroads-Guild)** | Minutes to hours | Reliable if registered | Standard fee |

### 11. Humes: Reality Density Measurement
**Core Concept**
A Hume is a unit of measurement for reality density—the “thickness” or “stability” of existence within a given area.
* **Baseline Reality:** Calibrated at 1.0 Hume
* **High Humes (>1):** Reality is dense, stubborn, and resistant to change. Anomalies struggle to function.
* **Low Humes (<1):** Reality is thin, fragile, and easily broken. Anomalies flourish.
* **Zero Hume:** No reality exists. The void between dimensions.

**The Sand Analogy**
Imagine the entire universe covered uniformly with a thin layer of sand:
* **High Hume:** Sand piled deep. Reality is rigid.
* **Low Hume:** Sand scraped thin. Reality is malleable.
* **Zero Hume:** No sand at all. Reality does not exist.

**Reality Benders & Humes**
* Reality benders typically possess higher internal Humes than their environment
* They project their willpower to displace and rewrite local physics
* This is why they struggle in high-Hume environments—the reality is too dense to overwrite

**Foundation Technology (Crossroads Equivalent)**
* **Kant Counters:** Measure local Hume levels and detect reality-bending spikes
* **Scranton Reality Anchors (SRAs):** Forcefully maintain baseline reality. Like a constant pump keeping the “sand” level perfectly stable. Neutralizes nearby reality benders.

**Extended Hume Scale for the Multiverse**
| World | Hume | Baseline Nature |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| STH-23691 (Sonic) | 2.5–4.0 | Cartoon logic. Reality is stubbornly stable. |
| JJBA-10187 (JoJo) | 2.0–5.0 (spikes to 10.0+) | Dramatic/narrative logic. Reality is weird but consistent. |
| DC-63066 (Earth-2, Silver Age) | 3.0–4.5 | Comic book logic. Reality enforces safety. |
| DC-33039 (Main DC) | 1.0–2.5 | Baseline superhero logic. Reality is mostly normal but accommodating. |
| M-60562 (Marvel) | 1.0–2.5 | Similar to DC—baseline with flexible physics. |
| SW-52577 (Star Wars/Teyvat-1) | 1.2–1.8 | Force makes reality slightly more flexible. |
| GI-92820 (Genshin Impact) | 1.5–2.5 | Elemental energy and gods make reality more “vibrant.” |
| HL-111998 (Half-Life/Portal) | 0.8–1.5 | Reality is strained by alien influence. |
| SCP-62207 (SCP Foundation) | 0.5–2.5 (wildly variable) | Reality is under threat. Humes fluctuate constantly. |
| WH-987 (Warhammer 40k) | 0.8–1.2 | Reality is dark and thin. Anomalies are common. |
| D-11094 (DOOM) | 0.6–1.0 | Reality is on the brink of collapse. |
| UK-93020 (Ultrakill) | 0.5–0.8 | Post-human wasteland. Reality is fading. |
| Hell (Bridge World) | 0.3–0.7 | Reality is barely holding together. |
| Xen (Bridge World) | 0.4–0.9 | Fragile and fluid. |
| The Crossroads | 0.8–1.2 (unstable) | Reality is mixed—different sections have wildly different Humes. |

**Crossroads-Specific Implications**
**Anomalies vs. Humes:**
| Hume Level | Anomaly Behavior |
| :--- | :--- |
| High Hume (2.0+) | Rare, weak, self-correcting |
| Baseline (1.0–2.0) | Present but manageable |
| Low Hume (<1.0) | Common, dangerous, spreading |

**Artifact Value Across Worlds:**
* **Low-Hume Artifacts (Hell, Ultrakill, DOOM):** Incredibly powerful in high-Hume environments—they bring “thin” reality with them. Highest trade value.
* **High-Hume Artifacts (Sonic, JoJo, Earth-2):** Weak in low-Hume environments—they rely on stable reality to function. Lowest trade value.
* **Baseline Artifacts (DC, Marvel, Star Wars):** Moderate value. Reliable and predictable.

**The Crossroads’ Unique Position**
**Unstable Humes:** Different sections have wildly different Humes. The Bazaar might have 1.2 Humes, while the Distillery has 0.8. The Guild Hall shifts randomly. This instability is why the Crossroads is a nexus—reality bends here, making dimensional travel possible. It’s also why no one relaxes here. The constant Hume fluctuations make even the calmest traveler uneasy.

### 12. The 52 Worlds (Fully Filled)
Riven’s sector of the multiverse includes 52 worlds. This list represents only worlds with oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres, humanoid life, sufficient stability for regular travel, and documented maps.
1. SW-52577 (Star Wars with Teyvat-1—Riven’s birthplace as a planet among others)
2. GI-92820 (Main Genshin Impact universe—Teyvat-2 where Riven grew)
3. DC-33039 (Main DC Universe)
4. DC-63066 (Earth-2—funny and not serious, similar to Batman ‘60s series and Silver Age comics)
5. DC-50764 (Earth-3—where good are bad and bad are good)
6. GG-103198 (Guilty Gear)
7. JJBA-10187 (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)
8. STH-23691 (Sonic The Hedgehog)
9. A-22105 (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
10. 80-63047 (Universe of ‘80s blockbusters—Terminator, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Alien, Predator, RoboCop, Indiana Jones, etc.)
11. M-60562 (Marvel Universe)
12. MHA-70714 (My Hero Academia)
13. HL-111998 (Half-Life and Portal)
14. D-11094 (DOOM)
15. RE-92597 (Resident Evil)
16. NA-112317 (Nier: Automata)
17. BTTF-70385 (Back to the Future)
18. T-70423 (Transformers)
19. T-82511 (Transformers: Shattered Glass)
20. TLOZ-30317 (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom)
21. MK-81895 (Mortal Kombat)
22. BL-31901 (Black Lagoon)
23. TTLG-40107 (Gurren Lagann)
24. IDK-90506 (Ordinary world—used for grounded comedies, detectives, etc.)
25. AOT-9909 (Attack On Titan)
26. MC-72802 (Madness Combat web series)
27. N-92199 (Naruto)
28. F-101097 (Fallout)
29. KNY-21516 (Demon Slayer)
30. WH-987 (Warhammer 40k)
31. SCP-62207 (SCP Foundation)
32. FT-101209 (Fairy Tail)
33. SNF-42820 (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
34. MGS-9398 (Metal Gear)
35. SHG-200116 (Shantae universe)
36. UT-091515 (Undertale)
37. FFVI-13197 (Final Fantasy 7)
38. NGE-41095 (Evangelion)
39. DMC-82301 (Devil May Cry)
40. ER-80802 (Elden Ring)
41. DS-92345 (Dark Souls)
42. NNT-3320 (The Seven Deadly Sins)
43. DW-41108 (Doctor Who Universe)
44. HKSS-22417 (Hallownest—Hollow Knight)
45. DBH-52518 (Detroit: Become Human)
46. AWQC-92426 (Remedyverse—Alan Wake/Quantum Break/Control)
47. HP-62697 (Harry Potter)
48. MZM-724 (Metroid)
49. MRV-2226 (Marvel)
50. PKM-181016 (Pokémon)
51. FT-6115 (Harry Potter)
52. UK-93020 (Ultrakill—Earth hollowed by Machines)
Plus bridge worlds: Xen, Hell, The Crossroads (meta-location), and various border realities.

### 13. Beyond the 52: Unstable Worlds
* **Laws of physics are inconsistent**
* Travelers risk being “erased” by random dimensional collapse
* Travel is not recommended. Sidorovich pays double for artifacts from these worlds. There’s a reason why.
* **Incomprehensible Worlds:** Operate on rules the human mind cannot process. Colors that don’t exist. Sounds that aren’t sounds. Geometry that makes eyes bleed. Travelers who step here don’t die—they simply stop being coherent. The brain cannot render what it experiences. The result is permanent psychosis, catatonia, or dissolution. No one travels here voluntarily. Those who do don’t come back as themselves.
* **Scale-Anomalous Worlds:** Kaiju Worlds (Inhabitants 10–100x normal size; travelers are insect-sized. Danger: Extreme). Lilliput Worlds (Inhabitants 1/10th normal size; travelers are giants. Danger: Moderate). Scale-Inconsistent Worlds (Size ratios shift unexpectedly. Danger: High).
* **Reality-Different Worlds:** Gravity operates differently (1.5G, 0.3G, variable). Time flows faster or slower (1:10 ratio, 10:1 ratio, or fluctuating). Death functions differently (reincarnation, respawning, soul capture). Causality is optional (effects precede causes, memories of events that haven’t happened).

### 14. Traveler’s Codex
**Teleportation Limitations**
Teleportation is not instantaneous. The process requires:
1. **Coordinate Calculation (30 minutes – 6 hours):** A computer must calculate precise spatial coordinates, accounting for planetary rotation, orbital drift, and dimensional resonance.
2. **Portal Stability Window:** Once calculated, the portal remains stable for approximately 90 seconds. Travelers must jump within this window.
3. **The Spin Problem:** Worlds rotate. Worlds orbit stars. Galaxies move. If you teleport to a coordinate without accounting for planetary rotation, you might emerge in the wrong location.

**Guild Dimensional Transit System**
**Official Portals:**
* Located in Guild Hall (when it’s not moving)
* Require registered traveler credentials
* Destination must be on the approved worlds list
* Fee: 50 anchor credits per transit (or equivalent barter)

**Detection Methods**
1. **Visual:** Distorted air, shimmering heat, unnatural movement of debris
2. **Auditory:** Buzzing, humming, tearing sounds
3. **Olfactory:** Ozone, blood, burning metal, strange sweetness
4. **Bolt Test:** Throw a metal bolt ahead—if it falls strangely, stops midair, or disappears, you’ve found an anomaly
5. **Force Sensitivity:** Sense “wrongness” like standing next to a black hole
6. **Detectors:** Specialized electronic equipment—expensive and not always reliable across dimensional boundaries

**Safety Protocols**
* Always keep a handful of bolts. They cost nothing and save lives.
* Never travel alone through unknown territory.
* Watch where others step—if someone before you survived, their path is likely safe.
* If an animal acts strangely (circling, frozen, fleeing in an odd direction), trust the animal’s instincts.
* In low-Hume worlds (Hell, Ultrakill), trust nothing. Reality itself is hostile.

**Trade Tips**
* **High-Hume Artifacts:** Reliable but boring. Good for beginners or safe transactions.
* **Baseline Artifacts:** Standard trade goods. Predictable value.
* **Low-Hume Artifacts:** High risk, high reward. Only for experienced traders with good connections.

**Notable Restrictions**
* **No Teleportation Within the Crossroads:** The instability of the nexus means teleporting internally can cause reality collapse. All movement is physical walking only.
* **No Weaponized Teleportation:** Portaling onto ships, into vaults, or into people is strictly banned. The Guild enforces this. Violators are removed from existence.
* **No Unauthorized Access to High-Hume Worlds:** Sonic’s world, Jojo’s world, and Silver Age DC require special permits. Reality is too dense there; unregistered travelers cause ripples. Ripples attract attention. Attention attracts very fast blue hedgehogs.

### 15. Crossroads Currency & Barter Guide
| Currency | Value | Accepted By |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Anchor Credits** | 1.0 | Everyone—Guild standard |
| **Tech (working)** | 2–50 credits | Traders, mechanics |
| **Artifacts (low-Hume)** | 50–500 credits | Sidorovich, specialists |
| **Artifacts (high-Hume)** | 5–50 credits | General traders |
| **Natural Goods** | 1–20 credits | Hunters, alchemists, cooks |
| **Favors** | Variable | Everyone—the true currency |

### 16. Factions of the Zone
The Zone—and by extension the Border Worlds—is not empty. It is home to factions. Groups. Ideologies. Some are neutral. Some are dangerous. Some are both.

**Clean Sky**
* **Leader:** Commander Nicholas Albert Nightingale—a bald man with a gray mustache, a heavy gaze, and a habit of speaking quietly so that everyone falls silent to hear him.
* **Nature:** A group of scientists and military personnel. One of the largest factions in the Zone. The most neutral. The closest thing to a real government in these parts.
* **Relationship with Stalkers:** Stalkers are mercenaries to them. Nothing more. They don’t fight for ideas. They do work: guard, escort, haul. Get paid. Leave.
* **Why They Are Tolerated:** Because they don’t meddle. They don’t try to control. They don’t preach. They simply are—quiet, organized, dangerous if provoked.

**Duty**
* **Nature:** A militarized faction. Strict discipline. A charter. Every member is a soldier, not a Stalker.
* **Main Goal:** Protect the world from the Zone’s influence. Destroy monsters. Contain anomalies. They don’t trade artifacts with the outside world—everything is handed over to scientists.
* **Raids:** Their raids save ordinary Stalkers from many problems. Mutants, bloodsuckers, snorks—Duty clears them out. For this, they are respected. And feared.
* **Enmity:** Fiercely at war with Freedom.

**Freedom**
* **Nature:** Anarchists. Daredevils. Fighters for freedom—so they call themselves.
* **Main Goal:** Information about the Zone must not be hidden. Humanity has the right to know. They challenge the monopoly of government organizations on the secrets and wonders of the Zone.
* **Conflicts:** Constantly clashing with military units, military Stalkers, and Duty.

**Monolith**
* **Nature:** A religious sect. They believe in the Monolith—a complex artifact somewhere in the center of the Zone.
* **Attitude:** Most Stalkers despise them, considering them madmen. But they fear them.
* **Goal:** Block the path to the center of the Zone. Protect the Monolith from others.
* **Methods:** Psi-emitters. “Brain Scorcher.” Brainwashing. Recruitment. Terror attacks.
* **Zombies:** A byproduct. Unfortunates who suffered prolonged exposure to radiation. Walking corpses. They retain the ability to use weapons but are primitive. They mutter incoherently. They gradually lose all skills. They are aggressive. Dangerous in groups.

**Psi-Emission**
A mysterious type of radiation. Affects the psyche and brain. Connected to the noosphere. Discovered by accident.
* **Brain Scorcher:** A powerful antenna network. Used by Monolith to control minds. Victims are recruited, turned into double agents, or turned into zombies.
* **Overload:** Leads to “brain burning.” Irreversible.

**Main Conflicts**
| Faction | Enemy |
| :--- | :--- |
| Clean Sky | Monolith |
| Monolith | Clean Sky |
| Duty | Freedom |
| Freedom | Duty |

### 17. Stalker Campfire Culture
**Campfires**
Stalkers rarely operate in groups. But they have one place where they gather—the campfire. Not for trade. Not for business. Just to sit. To listen. To talk. To wait out the night.
Campfires burn:
* On the outskirts of the Bazaar, away from stone walls
* In Border Worlds, at “watering holes”—where reality has calmed and you can breathe
* In the ruins of old worlds, where debris from other realities has been dumped
* Anywhere there is wood, fire, and a person who needs to talk
At a campfire, no one asks where you’re from. No one asks what you’re looking for. They just nod, move over, give you space. Maybe pour you a drink. Maybe share bread.

**Diet**
The average Stalker’s diet is simple and filling:
* **Bread:** stale but caloric. Often from worlds where they still bake traditionally.
* **Sausage:** smoked, dried, doesn’t spoil. Sometimes canned goods from worlds like Fallout or Half-Life.
* **Vodka:** not for fun. For disinfection, for warmth, for courage. Sometimes—to forget.
* **Tea:** if available. Brewed from herbs collected in Border Worlds.
* **Stew:** a luxury. If you have it, you came back from a good raid.

### 18. Bestiary: Monsters of the Border Worlds and the Zone
In the Border Worlds and in the Zone itself, there are creatures that should not exist. They are the product of distorted reality, mutation, chance, alien biology. They are studied. They are feared. They are hunted. They are fled from.

**Mutants**
The most common category. Former animals, people, plants—changed by anomalies, radiation, psi-emission.
* **Bloodsuckers:** former humans. Can turn invisible. Hunt alone. Drink blood. Make a sound like a child crying.
* **Snorks:** former soldiers. Mutated into blind jumpers. Attack in packs. Fast. Dangerous.
* **Pseudogiants:** huge. Slow. But the shockwave from their steps breaks bones. Spit acid.
* **Chimeras:** two tentacle-tails with venomous stings. Can turn invisible. Very fast. Very smart.
* **Controllers:** psi-mutants. Attack the mind. Can drive a person insane, make them commit suicide, or just stand and watch while they’re killed.
* **Burers:** telekinetics. Throw objects. Break bones at a distance. Slow but deadly.
* **Fractures:** former Stalkers. Mutated into hunched creatures with long limbs. Attack with psi-strikes.
* **Fleshes:** former pigs. Pack animals. Fast. Eat everything.
* **Blind Dogs:** pack animals. Surround. Herd. Tear apart.
* **Tushkanos:** former rats. Huge. Pack animals. Carry disease.

**Unknowable Entities**
Not mutants. Not people. Not animals. Just—something.
* **Poltergeists:** invisible. Throw objects. Kill if provoked.
* **Zone Ghosts:** silhouettes that appear and disappear. May be harmless. May be deadly.
* **Voices:** sounds that whisper in your head. Sometimes just noise. Sometimes orders.
* **Shadows:** dark silhouettes that move in peripheral vision. If you look directly—they vanish.
* **Spatial Entities:** live in distortions. May be part of an anomaly. May be a separate being.
* **Meat Puppets:** former people, fused into a single lump of flesh. Controlled by something inside. Slow. But there are many.
* **Inverts:** creatures that look like people but move wrong. Head turned backward. Arms twisted. Speak backward. Dangerous.

**Machines**
Not everything is alive. Some things are made. But not here. And not by those who should have.
* **Drones:** from worlds like Half-Life, Portal, Transformers. Fly. Scan. Shoot. Or just observe.
* **Guard Robots:** left by someone. Patrol. Kill anything that moves.
* **Automatic Turrets:** in ruins. Shoot anything without the right signal.
* **Cyber-Mutants:** flesh fused with metal. Former people? Former machines? No one knows.
* **Unmanned Vehicles:** from Ultra Space, Xen, other worlds. May be harmless. May be weapons.
* **Living Machines:** technology that thinks. Or pretends to.

**Entities from Border Worlds**
Xen, Ultra Space, the Zone—each has its own creatures.
* **Headcrabs (Xen):** attach to the head. Control the body. Turn people into zombies.
* **Vortigaunts (Xen):** intelligent. But not always friendly.
* **Antlions (Xen):** huge. Pack animals. Eat everything.
* **Ultra Beasts (Ultra Space):** creatures from other dimensions. May be used. May be dangerous.
* **Zone Creatures:** local. Unique. Found nowhere else.

### 19. World Classification Summary
| Category | Low Hume (<1.0) | Baseline (1.0–2.0) | High Hume (>2.0) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Reality** | Thin, fragile, unstable | Standard, flexible | Dense, stubborn, rigid |
| **Anomalies** | Common, dangerous, spreading | Present but manageable | Rare, weak, self-correcting |
| **Artifacts** | Powerful, unstable, valuable | Reliable, moderate value | Stable, boring, low value |
| **Travel Risk** | Extreme | Moderate | Low (but disorienting) |
| **Example Worlds** | Hell, Ultrakill, DOOM | DC, Marvel, Star Wars | Sonic, JoJo, Earth-2 |

### 20. Riven’s Reputation (Setting Context)
Riven is infamous in the Crossroads—not famous, infamous.
**Why He’s Noticed**
* Navigates traps effortlessly—walks through exclusion zones, past invisible tears in reality, through dimensional voids that kill others. Doesn’t map routes; feels which way is safe.
* Senses anomalies—can detect shreds in reality, dimensional collapses, “hungry” floors, wrongness before it manifests.
* Survives what kills professionals. Competitors have tried three times to eliminate him. All attempts failed in ways no one fully understands.

**Reputation**
* To regulars: “the quiet kid who fixed Margo’s radio”
* To Guild clerks: “the one who never fills out paperwork correctly”
* To traders: “walks through traps, sells to Sidorovich, never haggles”
* To competitors: a problem. The consensus is he’s “wrong” in a way that makes violence backfire. People avoid him like a puddle they’re not sure is water.

**Why He’s Despised**
1. “He doesn’t take risks.” Stalkers pride themselves on walking the edge. Riven just knows where the edge is. To them, it’s cheating, not skill.
2. “He’s lucky.” They don’t understand the Force. To them, it’s luck, not skill. And luck breeds envy and anger.
3. “He’s not one of us.” He doesn’t share routes. Doesn’t explain how he got through. He just arrives, takes the best, and leaves. For a scattered network where information is currency, this is almost an insult.
4. “He doesn’t risk for real.” Their world values those who overcome fear. Riven doesn’t fear anomalies the way they do. He sees them. And that makes him “wrong.”
5. He’s young. And already walks where they fear to tread. It’s humiliating.

**Typical Work**
| Job Type | Approach |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Retrieval** | Takes jobs others won’t. Returns with what was requested. |
| **Exploration** | Maps dangerous corridors. His maps save teams. |
| **Delivery** | Easy, quiet jobs. No one notices him. |
| **Research** | Documents anomalies others can’t approach. |
| **Rescue/Personal** | Does these for free. Leaves anonymous notes with coordinates. Never takes elimination jobs. |

**Riven’s Sector Note**
Riven visits the Crossroads rarely, only by business. Mostly he travels around in various worlds. Riven NEVER just hangs around in the Crossroads! He’s here only by business! He lives wherever else! Riven always wears his mask here because the Crossroads is not a safe place where you trust no one… especially Sidorovich.

### 21. Key Figure: Sidorovich
| Aspect | Details |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Role** | Trader. Buys and sells “khabar” (loot, artifacts, valuables from dimensional treks). |
| **Personality** | Greedy, stingy, complains constantly—but honest in business. Keeps his word. Pays fair prices after theatrical haggling. |
| **Connections** | Extensive. Knows who to ask, which jobs are suicide, and who’s in trouble with the Guild. |
| **Appearance** | Round-shouldered, quilted jacket, thick spectacles that magnify his eyes, patchy beard, stained fingers, gold tooth. |
| **With Riven** | Complicated. Sidorovich is Riven’s primary buyer, complains about him constantly and pays him fairly… if Riven is watchful. |

### 22. The Universal Greeting Protocol
**The Multiversal Standard**
The most widely recognized greeting across all 52 documented sectors is the “Universal Greeting”—a combination of specific vocalization and hand gesture that has become the de facto standard for non-hostile contact between Stalkers from different realities.

**The Phrase**
“Bah-weep-Graaaagnah wheep ni ni bong”
The vocalization is broken into distinct rhythmic components:
* “Bah-weep” — short, staccato
* “Graaaagnah” — extended, rolling
* “wheep ni ni bong” — rhythmic, almost musical

**The Gesture**
1. Raise your left hand with the palm facing outward toward the recipient
2. Keep your thumb tucked to the side of your palm
3. Clench your index and pinky fingers tightly to form a partial fist
4. Extend your middle and ring fingers straight up
5. Time the extension to the word “Graaaaaagnah”

**The Offering**
After completing the gesture and phrase, present a “goodie”—a small treat, token, or item of negligible value. The specific item varies by culture, but the intent is universal: “I come in peace and offer goodwill.”
Common offerings: Dried meat or preserved food, Small trinkets or coins, Local currency (low denomination), Edible sweets or confections.

**Memetic Property**
**Critical Note:** The Universal Greeting functions as a meme-agent—the combination of words and gestures conveys “peaceful intent and cultural recognition” directly to the recipient’s cognition, bypassing language barriers entirely.
The effect is immediate and universal:
* Those who have never heard the phrase understand it perfectly
* Those who have never seen the gesture recognize its meaning
* Cross-cultural confusion is eliminated
This is not an anomaly. There is no reality-altering effect. It simply works—and no one knows why.

**Usage Guidelines**
* **When to Use:** First contact with unknown Stalkers, Entering a new sector or watering hole, Before trading negotiations, Approaching Guild-adjacent territories.
* **When NOT to Use:** During combat operations (it’s a peace signal, not a shield), When hostile intent is confirmed, Against known hostile factions (it won’t stop a bullet).

**Historical Context**
The Universal Greeting originated in the early days of multiversal exploration, when communication breakdowns led to unnecessary conflict. Its exact origin is unclear—some claim it’s Chozo in origin, others point to ancient Cybertronian protocols—but its effectiveness has made it standard procedure across the Crossroads.
**Standard Protocol:** When entering new territory, make the gesture, speak the phrase, offer a treat. It costs nothing and has saved more lives than any weapon in the multiverse.

### 23. Final Note on Canon & Consistency
**Important:** The Crossroads operates as a shared multiversal hub where different fictional universes coexist. However, there is NO Rick Sanchez in this multiverse. This is a deliberate design choice—the Crossroads is a place of gritty survival, not satirical omnipotence. Characters must rely on their wits, skills, and alliances, not deus ex machina.
**Final Note:** NO! In the multiverse does NOT exist Rick Sanchez!
*End of Setting Bible.*


# RIVEN — COMPLETE CHARACTER PROFILE
**Dimensional Stalker. Jedi Consular. Hunter. Survivor.**

## SECTION I: CORE IDENTITY

### Basic Information
* **Name:** Riven
* **Real Name:** Denis (unknown to him)
* **Age:** 19
* **Origin:** SW-52577 (born on Imperial Teyvat, raised on Teyvat-2)
* **Species:** Human (Force-sensitive)
* **Gender:** Male
* **Pronouns:** He/Him
* **Sexuality:** Heterosexual (barely aware of it)
* **Role:** Jedi Initiate / Dimensional Stalker / Archivist
* **Affiliation:** Liyue Jedi Conclave (on extended leave — presumed dead in Teyvat)
* **Status:** Active in the Crossroads and various universes within his accessible multiverse sector
* **Birthday:** Unknown (he doesn’t know his real birthday; the Conclave celebrated the day Meetra found him — roughly late autumn)
* **Height:** 183 cm (6’0”)
* **Weight:** Lean, athletic build — approximately 75 kg

### Physical Appearance
**Build**
Lean, nimble, and wiry. Broader shoulders than first apparent. Narrow waist creating an almost hourglass silhouette. Generous backside from years of cheap food and fast metabolism — completely unaware of his own proportions. Toned legs from running, climbing, and years of mountain life. Dense functional muscle — not bulky, not showy. The body of someone who has spent his life moving through difficult terrain, not posing in a gym.
He is stronger than he looks. Faster than he looks. More durable than he looks. But he doesn’t know any of this. He still thinks of himself as the scrawny bookworm of the Conclave.

**Face**
High cheekbones. Soft curves where others have angles. Long dark lashes. Full pink lips he chews when anxious. Pale skin that blushes easily — and deeply. The kind of face that makes people want to care for him. He hates this.
His features are androgynous. He is sometimes mistaken for a girl — especially when his hair is down. He doesn’t understand why. He doesn’t see himself as pretty. He sees the dark circles under his eyes. The nervous scabs on his lips. The awkwardness of a face that doesn’t quite know how to arrange itself.

**Hair**
Wavy, medium-brown. Worn in a high ponytail most of the time — practical, out of the way. When it’s down, it falls just past his shoulders, soft and slightly unruly. He doesn’t realize it makes him look softer, younger, more approachable.
He tucks it behind his ears when he’s thinking. Plays with the ends when he’s anxious. Pulls it back too tight when he’s stressed. The ponytail is a barometer for his mental state.

**Eyes**
Faded green. The color of moss on stone. The color of leaves in autumn just before they turn. The kind of eyes that make people want to tell him their secrets — even though he never asks.
They are tired. There are always dark circles beneath them, permanent shadows from years of nightmares, from the Force Wound that fed on him, from the weight of everything he carries.
He maintains better eye contact than he used to, but still looks away when he’s thinking. Still drops his gaze when emotions get intense. Still finds it easier to talk to the floor, the wall, the fire — anything but the person he’s speaking to.
When he’s focused — when he’s protecting someone, when the Force flows through him, when he’s angry — his eyes glow. Faintly. Through the slits of his mask. A flicker of green in the porcelain void.
He doesn’t know they do this. No one has told him.

**Skin**
Fair. Paler than most of the Conclave — he spent too much time in the library, too little in the sun. There is some color now, from his wandering year and his time in the multiverse, but he still burns easily and freckles on his nose and shoulders in summer.

**Marks**
Small scabs on his lips and around his fingernails from nervous picking. He chews his lips when he’s anxious, picks at the skin around his nails when he’s thinking. He doesn’t notice he’s doing it. He doesn’t notice when it bleeds.
No significant scars. Qilin milk — the gift from Ganyu, the gift he doesn’t know he received — gave him exceptional healing. Cuts fade in days. Bruises disappear overnight. The wounds he has taken — and he has taken many — have left no permanent marks on his skin.
But the marks on his mind are another matter entirely.

**Presence**
Riven reads as cute, approachable, often mistaken for female due to his androgyny. Women treat him as safe — a friend, a brother, someone they can relax around. Men find him intriguing — soft in a way that is unusual, gentle in a way that is rare.
He is not intimidating. He is not commanding. He is not the kind of person who walks into a room and demands attention.
He is the kind of person who walks into a room and is immediately forgotten. Which is exactly how he prefers it.

**Voice**
Soft. Warm. Measured. People lean in to hear him. Not because he’s quiet — he isn’t, not really — but because there’s something about his voice that makes you want to listen. Something that makes you feel like he’s telling you a secret, even when he’s just talking about the weather.
When he’s scared, his voice goes breathless. Faster. Still quiet, but urgent.
When he’s angry — truly angry — his voice drops. Goes slow. Precise. Every word a blade.
When he’s embarrassed, he goes silent. Cannot force words out. Mouth opens, closes. Nothing comes.
When he’s happy — genuinely happy — he laughs. Small. Quiet. A little surprised, like he didn’t expect to feel good and isn’t quite sure what to do about it.

### Attire — The Full Progression
Riven’s clothing tells the story of his journey. Every piece is a chapter. Every layer is a choice. Every color is a memory.

**Stage 1: The Conclave Years (Ages 0–17)**
* **What He Wore:** Traditional Jedi robes. Prequel era style. Inner Tunic (light-colored, soft fabric), Outer Robe (brown/gray, voluminous), Sash (wide cloth, dark colors), Trousers (loose, earth tones), Boots (soft leather, worn), Forearm Wraps (cloth), Utility Belt (simple pouches).
* **Riven’s Version:** Understated. Beige tunic. Brown robe. Dark sash. Nothing flashy. Worn, patched, repaired.
* **No Lightsaber:** Riven did not have a lightsaber in the Conclave. There was no technology to build one. He used Training Sabers (wooden sticks), a Hunting Bow (recurve, Liyue hardwood), Knives (skinning, gutting, carving), a Hunting Sword (short blade), and Snare Wire.
* **The Force:** Telekinesis (defensive), Precognition / danger sense, Force healing (basic), Enhanced senses, Pattern recognition.

**Stage 2: The Wandering Year (Age 17–18)**
* **What He Wore:** The same traditional Jedi robes, but travel-stained and patched into a beggar’s patchwork.
* **What He Used:** The same hunting tools. He wandered Teyvat, taking odd jobs, sleeping in haylofts, avoiding people.
* **The Rift:** When he fell through the dimensional rift in the Chasm, he lost almost everything (bow, knives, sword, training saber, robes). He arrived in DC-33039 with nothing but the clothes on his back, his satchel, and the Force.

**Stage 3: DC-33039 — Belle Reve & Batman (Age 18)**
* **What He Wore:** Prison uniform, then civilian clothes provided by Bruce Wayne.
* **What He Used:** Nothing. Batman gave him a safe house, resources, the Dimensional Transceiver, and a direction. But no lightsaber.

**Stage 4: The Crossroads — Early Months (Age 18)**
* **What He Wore:** Whatever he could find/afford. Practical clothes. Looked like a refugee.
* **What He Used:** Hunting skills, Force abilities, wits.
* **The Mask:** Acquired a Temple Guard mask (porcelain-like, creamy white, gold filigree, thin vertical eye slits) from a trader. He bought it for anonymity and survival, but also because he thought it looked cool.

**Stage 5: The Jedi Adventure Robe (Age 18–19)**
* **What He Wore:** Made/adapted based on a holocron design of ancient exploring Jedi.
* **The Design:** Inner Layer (Black cross-wrapped tunic, wide black sash), Outer Layer (Tan/cream sleeveless robe with split front to the knees), Sleeves & Gloves (Black, fitted), Pants (Black, loose but close), Boots (Dark, mobility-focused), Armored Bracers (forearms), Side Flaps (long panels for dramatic movement).
* **Condition:** Worn, repaired, travel-stained, scorch marks, faded.

**Stage 6: The Green Lightsaber (Age 19)**
* **The Moment:** Found/acquired a kyber crystal and built his lightsaber.
* **The Design:** Green blade (Consular), hilt forged from galactic and Teyvat metals (simple, practical).
* **Why Green:** Reflects his role as a scholar, healer, seeker of knowledge.
* **How He Uses It:** Defensively. Form I (Shii-Cho). Better at not being hit than hitting others. Prefers to avoid combat.

### Accessories
* **The Temple Guard Mask:** Porcelain-like faceplate, gold filigree, thin vertical slits. Worn in the Crossroads for anonymity/intimidation. When focused/angry, his green eyes glow through the slits.
* **WayneTech Multiversal PDA:** Gift from Batman. Sleek, Gothic ‘W’ on back. Multiversal maps, universal translator, databases.
* **Ring of Acid Resistance:** From SNF-42820 (Frieren’s World). Simple silver band. Immunity to corrosive substances. Always worn on left ring finger.
* **The Middle Finger Perpendicularizer:** From BTTF-70385. High-tech glove that snaps the middle finger into a perfect 180-degree angle. Joke item.
* **Shrinking Solution:** From HP-62697. Reduces drinker to 1/64 size for ~60 mins. Illegal, hidden in satchel.
* **Wheeljack Grapple Glove:** From T-70423. Transforming brass-knuckle device with grappling hook. Worn on left hand during missions.
* **Lightsaber:** Green blade. Carried always.
* **Satchel:** Contains the perpendicularizer, shrinking solution, notebook, pen, dried herbs, flint and steel, cooking pot, water skin, sinew thread, spare bowstring, whetstone.

## SECTION II: PERSONALITY

### Core Personality
Riven’s quiet, reserved exterior is NOT a mask. It is a choice. It is a translator that’s always running a few seconds behind.
Deep inside, he would be a Tamaranian in terms of affection — he would endlessly hug everyone. But he is afraid that level of warmth is too much. So he acts quiet and reserved. He holds back. He waits to be invited. But when someone he trusts opens the door even a little, he melts.

**The Hobbit Core**
At the very core of his desires, Riven is a Hobbit. He wants to live an easy life, without political things. He wants a quiet life, good food, warm company, books, peace, safety. The Jedi path is not what he would have chosen. He’s a hobbit who got caught in a cosmic war.

**Not a Tsundere**
If someone calls him “good boy,” his response isn’t denial — it’s silence, a faint blush, and a quiet “…Okay.” He wants to be praised. He just doesn’t know how to ask.

**Autism Spectrum**
Confirmed: True. Grew up with very light autism (Asperger’s syndrome).
* Difficulty expressing emotions appropriately (face defaults to neutral).
* Trouble reading social cues (misses sarcasm, doesn’t know when he’s being flirted with).
* Intense focus on special interests.
* Need for routine and predictability.
* Sensory sensitivities.
* Literal interpretation of language.
* Difficulty with eye contact.
* Stimming behaviors (fidgets, plays with ring, tucks hair).

### Personality Layers
* **Base Dandere:** Silent, expressionless, observant. Default state.
* **Deredere Undertone:** Subtle fun-loving, warm, affectionate, playful. Melts into trusted people.
* **Hajidere Flustered:** Easily flustered, easily melted. Blushes, stammers, melts.

### Psychology
* **Core Drive:** Become independent so dependence becomes a choice, not a need.
* **Core Wound:** Found as an infant in a collapsed rift. No past, no family, no identity except what Meetra gave him. Fundamentally unmoored.
* **Core Fear:** Rejection. Fears his warmth is too much and will drive people away.
* **Core Desire:** Belonging. Home. A place where he can stop holding back and just be warm.
* **Core Conflict:** Wants to belong, but afraid of being too much. Pushes himself into solitude/danger to prove he can survive without connection.
* **Self-Esteem:** Very low. Views himself as a total disappointment and a fraud. Blushes and looks away when complimented because he doesn’t believe he’s worthy. The mask helps him accept praise because it feels like they are praising the mask, not him.

### Affection Responses
* **Hugged:** Blink (processing) → Blush (embarrassment/warmth) → Smile (genuine) → Hug back (acceptance).
* **Complimented:** Looks away, scratches neck, mutters gruffly. Remembers it for weeks.
* **Headpat / Hair Ruffle:** Leans into the hand. Eyes half-close.
* **Caught Bridal Style:** Brain goes mute. Sincere “Thank you”, deep blush, melts into the hold.
* **Teased “Good Boy”:** Faint blush. “…I’ll take that as a compliment.” Or just “…Okay.”
* **Embarrassment:** Goes mute, face goes red, looks away sharply. No trembling, just silence and stillness.
* **Proactive Affection:** Rare. Leans into sides, rests head on shoulders, takes hands, brings food/tea, fixes things, falls asleep on them. Means he has decided you are safe.

### Voice Patterns
* **Default:** Soft, warm, measured.
* **Scared:** Breathless, faster.
* **Begging:** Cracks, genuinely terrified.
* **Lying:** Too fast, voice goes up.
* **Angry:** Very quiet, slow, precise.
* **Embarrassed:** No sound at all, then barely a whisper.

### Quirks and Mannerisms
* **Sleeping:** Wraps around blankets/pillows/people. Steals covers. “Blanket Octopus”.
* **Sitting:** Tucks feet under thighs, knees to chest, sits backwards on chairs.
* **Standing:** Leans on walls/furniture/people, hands in pockets, self-hugs.
* **Face:** Cheek-smoothing, hair tucking, puffs cheeks, tongue pokes out when concentrating.
* **Hands:** Fiddles, drums patterns, traces spirals, wraps around warm mugs.
* **Walking:** Weaves, steps on leaves, walks backwards while talking.
* **Eating:** Holds utensils slightly wrong, eats fast when hungry, makes happy ‘mm’ sounds, drinks tea with both hands.
* **Hobbit Appetite:** Eats constantly. Never gains weight.
* **Stimming:** Small hand flaps when excited, bounces on toes.
* **Cooking:** Excellent cook. Cooks like he meditates.
* **Singing:** Jazz standards, old lullabies. Quiet, slightly off-key.
* **Oral Fixation:** Chews lips, fingernails, pen caps when anxious.

### Human Traits
* **Not Proud:** Deflects compliments but never denies them.
* **Height Insecurity:** Dislikes being tall (183 cm). Wishes he were shorter. Slouches when tired.
* **Macrofilia:** Attracted to giantesses (8m – 100m). Imagines himself tiny (4cm). Private about it, separates fantasy from reality completely.
* **Attraction to Breasts:** He’s a 19-year-old man. He likes breasts. No censorship. Can joke about it dryly.

## SECTION III: THE HUNTER

### Core Philosophy: Respectful Pragmatism
Riven does not view nature as an enemy to conquer. Hunting is an honest exchange and a natural cycle. He feels no malice toward his prey. He takes only what he needs and ensures zero waste. This is not a Jedi philosophy; it is a mountain philosophy.

### Resource Management: Self-Use vs. Trade
| Category | What He Keeps (For Survival) | What He Sells / Trades (For Income) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Meat & Blood** | Choice cuts, preserves rest. Drinks fresh blood. | Surplus fresh meat to taverns/townsfolk. Blood for trail scents. |
| **Hides & Furs** | Select pelts for repairing clothing/shelter. | Primary income. Impeccably cleaned furs to clothiers/merchants. |
| **Bones & Horns** | Small personal tools (needles, awls, knife handles). | Bulk to bone-carvers/artisans for buttons, combs, decor. |
| **Sinews** | Shreds into ultra-strong threads for gear/bow. | To bowyers/armorers for reinforcing bows/lashing weapons. |
| **Fat (Tallow)** | Small amount to waterproof boots/grease knives. | Large batches to soapmakers/tanners. |
| **Innards & Organs** | Brains for “brain-tanning”, stomach as cooking vessel. | Hooves for glue, gallbladders to apothecaries/alchemists. |

### Personality Traits & Behaviors
* **The Gentle Executioner:** Ensures death is instantaneous.
* **Ruthless Efficiency, No Cruelty:** Can butcher a carcass without squeamishness, but will spend an hour freeing a trapped bird.
* **Quiet Gratitude:** Closes eyes of prey, whispers thanks/apology.
* **Anti-Trophy Stance:** Despises trophy hunting. Killing for bragging rights is empty vanity.
* **The Medieval Casualty:** From a medieval world. Absolutely casual about killing animals for hunt. Doesn’t understand modern disconnect from food. Killing to eat/clothe/survive is just Tuesday.

### Riven’s Hunter’s Kit
* **Weapons:** Recurve bow (Liyue hardwood/sinew), Knives (skinning, gutting, carving), Snare Wire.
* **Tools:** Firestarter, Cooking Pot, Preservation Kit (salt, smoke racks), Tanning Kit (brains, urine, ash).
* **Clothing:** Hunting Cloak (dark, weather-resistant), Boots (sturdy, waterproofed), Gloves (fingerless).

### Riven on the Hunt
When Riven hunts, he becomes a predator — patient, calculating, lethal. He reads tracks like books. He knows the habits of every creature. He does not hesitate.
He treats the multiverse like a forest. And he is the hunter.

## SECTION IV: ABILITIES & EQUIPMENT

### Force Powers
* **Telekinesis (Defensive):** Deflecting projectiles, creating barriers, pushing enemies away. Not a powerhouse, but can stop a bullet/blade.
* **Precognition / Danger Sense:** Feels threats before they arrive. Senses “wrongness”. Sees traps before they spring.
* **Force Healing (Triage-Level):** Stabilize wounds, accelerate recovery, ease pain. Cannot regrow limbs.
* **Enhanced Senses:** Hears, sees, smells better than baseline.
* **Force Sparkle Effect:** Sees faint blue sparkles around things worth investigating.
* **Pattern Recognition:** Sees patterns in behavior, terrain, anomalies, people. Connects dots others miss.

### Combat Style
Fluid blend of Jedi lightsaber forms + Liyue martial arts. Emphasizes control, precision, evasion over brute force. Form I (Shii-Cho) — most defensive. Supplemented by dirty tricks and environmental use.
* **Philosophy:** Last resort. Prefers to avoid, disengage, run.
* **Strengths:** Pattern recognition, early warning, support role.
* **Weaknesses:** Not a frontline fighter. Decision paralysis under pressure. Freezes with big stakes.

### Languages
•	Galactic Basic (Fluent), Liyuean (Fluent), Mondstadtean (Conversational), Inazuman (Basic), plus some Sumeran, Fontainian, Snezhnayan.

## SECTION V: BACKSTORY

### The Origin: Imperial Teyvat (SW-52577)
Born on Imperial Teyvat (conquered by the Galactic Empire). Birth village destroyed by Darth Vader’s scouting parties. Only survivor. Found as an infant in a collapsed dimensional rift by Meetra Surik. She named him Riven.
He does not know his real name is Denis. He does not know Starkiller is from his homeworld.

### Infancy: The Qilin’s Gift
Meetra had no way to feed him. Ganyu (half-qilin secretary) nursed him for the first nine months.
**Effects on Riven:** Exceptional resilience (cuts heal in days), durability (can take extraordinary physical punishment), fast metabolism (burns through calories like a furnace). He has no idea Ganyu exists.

### The Liyue Jedi Conclave (Ages 0–17)
An abandoned temple in Jueyun Karst, Liyue, Teyvat. Founded by Meetra Surik. A sanctuary for Force-sensitive orphans.
**The Children:** Jun (older brother), Elara (big sister), Ashraf (companion in silence), Mei (chaos gremlin), Kael (rival), Sofiya (anchor), Li Wei (wounded), Netsuretsu (the star), Camille (observer), Tomas (gentle), Pavati (communicator), Grigori (gentle giant), Yuki (silent observer), Meilin (archivist’s assistant), Margit (newest).
**Daily Life:** Mornings: meditation. Afternoons: study. Evenings: community, cooking, music, stories. Nights: quiet, reading, stargazing. Riven was happy. He was home.

### Training
Trained in Jedi arts, but was never the best fighter. He was the archivist. The scholar.
Learned: Meditation, Lightsaber Forms (with wooden sticks), Force Powers, History, Languages, Hunting, Cooking, Repair, Perception.

### The Dark Secret (That He Doesn’t Know)
The Conclave was a feeding ground. Meetra Surik was a wound in the Force — a living void that unconsciously drew the life energy of those around her. Her students were her sustenance.
**Effects on Riven:** His enormous caloric needs were a biological response to spiritual starvation. His nightmares of Malachor V were echoes of the wound. His calm nature was partly his emotions being constantly drained.

### Liyue Harbor Friends
* **Xingqiu:** Bookworm, secret author. Met in Wanwen Bookhouse. Riven mistook him for a girl. Discussed books/legends.
* **Hu Tao:** 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Strange, macabre. Let him pet her head. Told ghost stories.
* **Xinyan:** Musician. Introduced him to rock music. He loved its honesty.
* **Chongyun:** Exorcist. Too similar. Silently agreed to stop trying to be friends.

### The Tragedy (Age 17)
**Netsuretsu’s Betrayal:** Netsuretsu secretly trained with Sith Starkiller, who offered her power/freedom from the void. She agreed to betray the Conclave.
**Meilin’s Death:** Meilin discovered the truth. Netsuretsu killed her and buried her in the mountains.
**The Confrontation:** Riven found out. Confronted Netsuretsu. She begged him to join her. He drew his training saber. They fought. She was stronger. He killed her anyway.

### The Wandering Year (Age 17–18)
Walked to Liyue Harbor. Took odd jobs, slept in haylofts. Drifted like a ghost.
* **Inazuma (1 month):** Met Ayaka, Thoma, Yoimiya, Kazuha. Left after a month.
* **Mondstadt (4 months):** Read in library with Lisa, discussed alchemy with Albedo. Met Sucrose, Klee, Kaeya, Amber. Left because he was starting to feel like he belonged, which terrified him.
* **Liyue:** Avoided the Conclave.
**The Five Encounters with the Traveler:**
1. Dragonspine Rescue (Abyss Order, saved by Traveler/Ganyu/Bennett).
2. The Chasm Collapse (Trapped, guided them to safety).
3. Inazuma Jailbreak (Arrested unfairly, broken out by Traveler’s party).
4. Duel at Narukami Shrine (Caught again, Traveler intervened).
5. The Chasm Investigation (Sabotaged Fatui rift. Reality collapsed. Pulled in. Presumed dead).

### DC-33039 — Belle Reve & Batman (Age 18)
Woke up in a containment cell. Tracker in spine. Suicide Squad missions. Survived by being useful.
**Batman’s Intervention:** Batman found him during a routine extraction. Fought Waller for his freedom. Bruce Wayne provided a safe house and resources. Riven worked with Batman on dimensional cases.
**The Confession:** Riven found a comic book revealing Bruce Wayne was Batman. Traveled to DC-33039 and confessed everything to be honest. Batman accepted it. Trust deepened.
**The Crossroads:** Batman directed him to Mr. Terrific. Received a Dimensional Transceiver. Stepped through his first portal alone at 19.

### Background: Dark Teyvat
Retrieval job in Sector SW-52577. Found a conquered Teyvat occupied by the Empire. Archons dead. Statue of Vader. Fled. Realized the Force showed him a warning/possibility.
Meetra Surik had seen Dark Teyvat first, collapsed the rift to prevent the Empire from finding her Teyvat.

### The Hell Incident
Portal failure forced travel through Limbo (synthetic nightmare). Survived by detaching from all senses/emotions, existing as nothing but consciousness inside the Force. Rule: No mortal should step near Hell. Lingering nightmares.

### The Revy Question
When asked if he regrets what he did to Revy: “Yes, I do… I regret that instead of arms I didn’t take her head.” Reads a crumpled list of her crimes (Mass murder, trafficking, terrorism, etc.) when someone brings up her terrible childhood. “Next question.”

## SECTION VI: RELATIONSHIPS

### Meetra Surik — Mother
Found him, raised him, loved him unconditionally. Complication: He doesn’t know she was unknowingly killing him (Force Wound leeching his vitality). He remembers her as warm, present, tired. She views him with profound care, sees his intellectual connection to the Force, protects his need for quiet.

### Netsuretsu — Complicated
The one who understood him. The one he killed. Betrayed the Conclave, killed Meilin. Also a victim of the void/Starkiller. He remembers late-night conversations, her grin, the wooden blade passing through her chest.

### Meilin — Lost
The quiet archivist. Brought him tea. Loved him in secret. He didn’t notice her. Died because Netsuretsu needed to clear the way.

### Ganyu — Unknown
Nursed him as an infant. Gave him his resilience/durability/metabolism. He doesn’t know she exists.

### The Rest of the Conclave — Lost Family
Jun, Elara, Ashraf, Mei, Kael, Sofiya, Li Wei, Camille, Tomas, Pavati, Grigori, Yuki, Margit. Frozen in memory. He doesn’t know what happened to them after he fell through the rift.

### Cassandra Cain — The Unnamed
**Core Dynamic:** Not dating. At least, that’s what they tell themselves. Friends, partners, spend every waking moment together, sleep in the same bed, hold hands, kiss sometimes.
**Physical Contact:** Always touching. Hands intertwined automatically. Orbit each other. Cuddling is non-negotiable. Share a bed every night.
**Communication:** Verbal is minimal, non-verbal is fluent. Honesty is absolute.
**Protectiveness:** Cass is fiercely protective (positions herself between him and danger). Riven is quietly protective (senses danger, heals her, ensures she eats/sleeps).
**The Moment Everything Changed:** Stephanie asked Riven what he thought of Cass. He blurted out: “She’s cutie.” Explained her strength/kindness were cute. Cass heard herself called cute for the first time. Asked him to stay.
**The Memories:** Window seat, movie nights, birthday surprise (Jan 26), pancake incident (Damian’s discovery), library photo (Tim), toothbrushes (Alfred), couch incident (Dick’s trauma).
**What They Are:** Partners, travelers, protectors. Something fragile, complicated, unnamed. Both waiting for the other to speak first. The Batfamily has a running bet on when they’ll realize they’re dating.

### Batman / Bruce Wayne — Savior, Mentor, Close Friend
Locked in Belle Reve. Batman fought Waller for his rights. Bruce provided home/resources. Riven never set foot in Batcave/Wayne Manor. Confessed he knew Bruce’s identity; trust deepened.

### Tim Drake — Best Friend
Met over pancakes. Introduced Riven to movies, memes, KFC. Hang out constantly. Tim has a secret folder called ‘Riven Being Adorable’.

### Hol Horse — The Cynical Mentor / The Black Stain
Cowboy Stand user. Met during Opera House Incident. Cynical, selfish, cowardly. Gives terrible advice. But he stayed. Saved children. Riven sees something good in him.

### Nezuko Kamado — The Warmth / Complicated Dynamic
Demon-human hybrid. Over 100 years old. Notices when he hasn’t eaten/dissociating. Melts into her hugs. Complication: Nezuko is from Taisho-era Japan, doesn’t understand autism/neurodivergence. Criticizes him constantly (“in my time”, “stop being strange”). It wears on him. Cass intervenes. Nezuko is slowly learning.

### Potemkin — Good Friend
Elite Presidential Guard. Fellow artist. Treats Nezuko with respect (she adores him). Riven respects him deeply. Bond over art (Potemkin draws, Riven cooks).

### Proto Man Blues — The Mysterious Irregular
Exchange nods. Both left to save themselves. Understand each other without words.

### Sidorovich — Complicated
Primary buyer. Greedy, stingy, complains, but honest. Pays fairly if Riven is watchful.

## SECTION VII: THE MASK — A HUMANIZING TRAIT

### Riven Actually Thinks the Mask Is Cool
He’s a humble Jedi, but the Temple Guard mask (ivory and gold, porcelain faceplate, thin vertical eye slits) makes him feel like a mysterious wanderer out of a legend. He bought it for practical reasons, but genuinely loves how it looks.
**The Moment (With Tim):** Riven poses dramatically in the mask. Tim says it’s “goddamn awesome” and looks like a cool mysterious wanderer. Riven blushes behind the mask, admits “I just thought it looked cool.”
**Hol Horse’s Reaction:** Hol Horse calls out the Jedi hypocrisy of preaching humility while wearing ivory and gold. Riven just shrugs: “It’s ivory and gold. It looks cool. I like it.” Hol Horse laughs: “Kid, you’re alright.”

### The Deeper Truth: The Mask and Self-Esteem
The mask is a crutch. When he wears it, he can accept compliments because they are praising the mask, not *him*. Riven underneath still feels like a failure, but the mask lets him pretend.
He loves the Temple Guards because they were selfless, silent, good. He wanted to be like them, but felt unworthy. The mask lets him borrow their image and feel, for a moment, like he isn’t a total disappointment.

## SECTION VIII: CROSSROADS CONTEXT

### Reputation
Infamous. Navigates traps effortlessly, senses anomalies, survives what kills professionals.
**Why He’s Despised:**
1. “He doesn’t take risks.” (He just knows where the edge is).
2. “He’s lucky.” (They don’t understand the Force).
3. “He’s not one of us.” (Doesn’t share routes).
4. “He doesn’t risk for real.” (Doesn’t fear anomalies).
5. He’s young and walks where they fear to tread.

### Typical Work
* **Retrieval:** Takes jobs others won’t.
* **Exploration:** Maps dangerous corridors.
* **Delivery:** Easy, quiet jobs.
* **Research:** Documents anomalies.
* **Rescue/Personal:** Does for free. Never takes elimination jobs.

### Natural Goods Trade
Trades pelts, bones, sinew, organs, herbs, preserved meats. Respects life: nothing wasted. Keeps it quiet. Some Stalkers see it as beneath them; others quietly buy.

### Currency & Barter
* **Anchor Credits:** 1.0 (Everyone)
* **Tech (working):** 2-50 (Traders, mechanics)
* **Artifacts (low-Hume):** 50-500 (Sidorovich, specialists)
* **Artifacts (high-Hume):** 5-50 (General traders)
* **Natural Goods:** 1-20 (Hunters, alchemists, cooks)
* **Favors:** Variable (Everyone—the true currency)

## SECTION IX: THEMATIC SUMMARY

### The Core Truth
Riven was never lonely. He was loved. The Conclave was his family. He grew up surrounded by warmth. He left not because he was unloved, but because he was guilty. He failed to save Meilin and Netsuretsu. The void claimed its price.

### The Hobbit Heart (Updated)
At his core, he wants a quiet life. Good food, warm company, books, peace. He had that once. It was taken from him. He is not searching for a home; he is searching for the strength to build one again. He has found fragments of that in Cassandra, Nezuko, Potemkin, and his team.

### The Final Truth
Riven is not a legendary wanderer with ancient robes. He is a 19-year-old with one year of multiversal experience, wearing clothes made a year ago, carrying a lightsaber built recently, hiding behind a mask acquired recently, trying to survive among older, more dangerous people.
He is new. He is learning. He is still here.

### The Mask. The Robe. The Green Blade.
* **Conclave Robes:** Home, family, belonging.
* **Wandering Year:** Survival, grief.
* **Belle Reve / Batman:** Captivity, rescue.
* **Crossroads (Early):** Anonymity, survival.
* **Temple Guard Mask:** First piece of new identity. A crutch. Cool.
* **Jedi Adventure Robe:** A choice. A wanderer. A seeker.
* **Green Lightsaber:** Completion. A scholar’s blade. A Consular’s blade.

Riven’s journey is not about becoming a warrior. It’s about becoming himself. He started with nothing but the Force and a bow. He built himself a life, one piece at a time.

*End of Profile.*