NIGHTS THEY FORGOT: CONTENT WARNINGS
Nights They Forgot is not suitable for younger audiences. Its story contains explicit and sensitive written material in many forms. To ensure the safety and enjoyment of all readers, this page provides a non-exhaustive list of mixed content, advisory, and trigger warnings grouped by chapter below. Click or tap the main dropdown for any chapter to view a list of its applicable warnings. Under the dropdown, click or tap an individual warning to view details, but be aware that any warning detail may contain spoilers. Some contain especially significant spoilers where marked.
A Stanford Graduate School of Business resource on application of warnings in graduate coursework was adapted as the basis for selecting this list’s warning categories. However, the list is imperfect and incomplete. It is a live webpage and subject to change without notice. To help correct any omissions or to suggest changes to this page, please contact sc@giedzinski.com.
0: THE FOOL
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character calls the protagonist a b**** when she accuses them of a serious betrayal.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. Sickness, poor judgement, and blackouts caused by alcohol are depicted and discussed. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Sexual Activity (Spoilers)
One character kisses another, who does not verbalize consent. The character initiating the kiss does not know that the other character is someone else, in the body of the person they mean to kiss. This scene is intended to raise questions about autonomy and attraction, as well as to escalate the stakes in ongoing conflicts. In another part of the chapter, a different character discusses an interest in having sex with someone during a prior date.
Violence
A character punches another in the face, causing their nose to bleed. A character elbows another. A character mentions wanting to strangle another. Violence in this chapter brings conclusion and catharsis to the arcs of multiple conflicts.
Medical Issues
A character’s nose bleeds after being punched. This provides cover for another character’s actions, which later prove noteworthy.
Abuse (Spoilers)
A woman discovers her boyfriend has cheated on her. The man with whom he attempted to cheat is her brother, but the person now in her brother’s body is someone else—the protagonist, via a key paranormal mechanic. Her boyfriend’s past relations and infidelity with the brother are described. These abusive dynamics are foundational for all three characters throughout the remainder of the story, as well as for the protagonist.
I: THE MAGICIAN
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character refers to themself as a b**** when reflecting negatively on their past behavior.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. Irregular behaviors caused by alcohol are depicted and discussed. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. In one instance, a character questions whether the protagonist is under the influence of other substances. The protagonist denies this during a tense conversation that tests their willingness to trust others.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character whose sexual orientation is unclear refers to a gay character as a twink. This demonstrates how little certain characters know about one another.
Self-Harming Behavior (Spoilers)
The protagonist speaks about wishing not to be present, and they knowingly take an action to remove themself from the body they temporarily occupy. This behavior and ideation is requisite to a key paranormal mechanic in the story.
II: THE HIGH PRIESTESS
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, d**k, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A male character uses a sexist slur (pu***). This represents him as a possible threat to the protagonist and others.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The addictive cycle of repeated consumption of alcohol is discussed through a metaphor. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar, and alcoholism is emblematic of a key paranormal mechanic in the story.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
A character alludes to his suspicions that a violent act has occurred. Later, he describes the recent death of two individuals in a fiery vehicle collision, one of who was his ex-girlfriend, who he still cared for. This sets the stage for one on the story’s central mysteries.
Abuse
A character displays an obsession with his ex-girlfriend and projects suspicions of domestic violence onto her new boyfriend. The extent to which he has stalked her is unclear. This characterizes him as untrustworthy and provides exposition for future narratives.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A male character uses a sexist slur (pu***) to refer to a man he doesn’t like. This same character demonstrates discomfort and reluctance when interacting with and speaking about transgender people. He speaks positively and unquestioningly about traditional gender roles. His ignorance characterizes him as untrustworthy and also provides a new perspective on the population of the broader setting.
III: THE EMPRESS
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. Blackouts caused by alcohol and/or rohypnol are discussed. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. The suspicions of characters’ drinks being drugged present a challenge for the protagonist to defend and overcome.
Violence
A character implies that the protagonist may have drugged two drinks with intent to commit sexual violence. This is all proven untrue, but not before they make threats of retaliatory violence against the protagonist. Later, another character’s hands are cut by sharp metal while they threaten to hurt the protagonist. Both of these instances escalate the dangers faces by the protagonist, and the latter introduces an important new character.
Medical Issues
A character’s hands bleed following an injury. This is a consequence of a careless act that has lingering effects on multiple characters.
Abuse
A woman prepares food using a grill on her husband’s behalf, and she expresses misgivings about his unhelpfulness. Although this instance is not framed as anything egregious, it sets up a pattern of behavior for her husband, which drives multiple conflicts.
Self-Harming Behavior (Spoilers)
A character cuts their palms while ripping apart and holding two thin strips of metal. This character is in the body of another, and their act of callous self-injury/violence raises relevant questions about how the character views or respects themself and the bodies they occupy.
IV: THE EMPEROR
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, b******, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction (Spoilers)
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. In one scene, the protagonist drives a car while intoxicated. They believe that the muscle memory of their borrowed body will allow them to do so safely, and this unsafe behavior tests the limits of that theory. In another scene, a character describes their desire to continue drinking forever and their desire to forget their pain. This is an important perspective on a key paranormal mechanic in the story.
Violence, Death
The protagonist previously being punched in the face is described again. Visualizations of a fatal fire/vehicle collision are described. Multiple characters attend a funeral-like gathering, and one character mocks the dead and their family. The protagonist tackles that character off a chair onto a folding table. Neither character presents significant injuries afterwards. This altercation adds a physical dimension to a rising interpersonal conflict that continues throughout the story. These actions also characterize the protagonist and others when confronted with difficult emotions.
Abuse
A woman prepares food using a grill on her husband’s behalf, and she expresses misgivings about his unhelpfulness. Although this instance is not framed as anything egregious, it sets up a pattern of behavior for her husband, which drives multiple conflicts.
Self-Harming Behavior (Spoilers)
A character speaks about feeling out-of-place in the world due to a key paranormal mechanic. Their antisocial abuse of alcohol can be viewed as self-harm. This sets them up as a foil to the protagonist, who deals with similar feelings.
V: THE HIEROPHANT
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character uses the word b**** in a playful context with a friend.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Sexual Activity (Spoilers)
A significant part of this chapter occurs during a kink-focused event that features numerous intimate acts between consenting adults. These acts include wax play, fire play, pup play, spanking, domination/submission, voyeurism, and multiple forms of bondage, including Shibari. These events serve to introduce new characters and develop otherwise unseen aspects of power that undergird the social fabric of the setting. In one instance, a character drinks alcohol from the protagonist’s mouth. This act is essential to the primary paranormal plot line.
Violence
Consensual acts of violence occur in a kink context. These are inherent to the chapter’s setting and to the maintenance of narrative tension.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
A character confides in the protagonist about personal mental health struggles, specific to Dissociative Identity Disorder. The inclusion of this topic represents that character’s attempt to rationalize, compare, and contrast a key paranormal mechanic using her own experiences. Although not central to the story, D.I.D. is one lens through which the protagonist evaluates and examines their life experiences.
Self-Harming Behavior
Consensual intimate kink acts between consenting adults in this chapter often include elements of bondage or masochism. These may present as self-harming behavior triggers, but context is applied within the chapter to minimize that risk, which is inherent to the setting of the chapter.
VI: THE LOVERS
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, d**k, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Sexual Activity (Spoilers)
A small part of this chapter occurs during a kink-focused event that involves numerous intimate acts between consenting adults. One particular action beginning in the prior chapter renders a character in a state of bondage without their consent. The consequence of that action is the moral development of multiple characters. Later in the chapter, in a different setting, the protagonist and another character engage in penetrative sexual intercourse. Although both characters do verbally consent, they each both borrow others’ bodies via a key paranormal mechanic, since neither has their own body. Consequently, the dubious ethics and possible harms of borrowing bodies feature prominently in the story from this point onward, especially regarding sexual activity. Multiple conflicts later in the story stem from this intimate scene.
Violence
An intimate scene detailed above under “Sexual Activity (Spoilers)” contains an undertone of sexual violence but is not sexually violent in its presentation. This leads the protagonist to grow and develop their personal morals in contrast to another character.
Abuse
Two characters discuss prior acts of infidelity and attempt to reconcile, revisiting an earlier unresolved conflict. An intimate scene detailed above under “Sexual Activity (Spoilers)” raises difficult questions regarding sexual abuse but is not sexually abusive in its presentation. This raises the human stakes of the story’s overall conflict between hedonism and empathy. An act beginning in the prior chapter renders a character in a state of bondage without their consent. The consequence of that action is the moral development of multiple characters.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character expresses shame connected to internalized homophobia/biphobia. This occurs within the building of trust between two characters, in an effort to resolve prior conflicts.
VII: THE CHARIOT
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, d**k, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. Two male characters uses the word b**** in derogatory contexts. This characterizes them negatively among their peers.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at multiple bars. One character smokes THC wax, possibly before driving a car. This sets up a consequence later in the chapter. The protagonist vomits due to excessive consumption of alcohol, which embodies the recklessness of their companions in the scene.
Sexual Activity (Spoilers)
The protagonist awakens in a bed with a sexual partner and later reflects on sexual activity from the prior chapter. They express complicated forms of regret, guilt, and confusion in its aftermath, which drive them to examine the consequences of leveraging and prioritizing their own autonomy above others.
Violence
A vehicle collision occurs. No one is injured. Characters discuss a different vehicle collision and fire, which was fatal, and they speculate about an act of murder. This is related to an ongoing mystery.
Abuse
The protagonist worries that they have committed a sexually abusive act by unconventional means. This establishes a new mode of thinking for them. Multiple male characters harass one another and encourage risky behaviors such as binge drinking. One of those characters makes an unsolicited verbal advance towards a female bartender. The actions of these male characters generate stress and tension that serves as a counterexample to the more caring social dynamics of the story’s major characters.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
Multiple male characters express sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, including a derogatory use of the word b****. Their hatred and misunderstanding of perceived out-groups is challenged by one character. These uncomfortable and hateful perspectives provide a necessary glimpse into the population of the broader setting.
Medical Issues
The protagonist vomits. This represents the culmination of multiple stressors and alludes to a deeper internal conflict.
Self-Harming Behavior
The protagonist contemplates death in the context of wishing to break a destructive behavior cycle. This establishes the weight of their circumstances, and it foreshadows an incident that occurs shortly after.
VIII: STRENGTH
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at multiple bars.
Sexual Activity
A character alludes to wanting to hook up with the protagonist. This briefly escalates tension in a conversation.
Violence, Death
A fire causes a panic, causing minor injuries. This tests the ability of major characters to handle a sudden crisis. A prior fatal fire/car collision is mentioned, pursuant to a continuing mystery plot line.
IX: THE HERMIT
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character uses the word b**** within a slang phrase as they consider the social consequences of voicing an opinion.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at multiple bars.
Sexual Activity
A character kisses the protagonist. Another character discusses kissing the protagonist previously. A previous sexual encounter is mentioned without detail. All of these instances challenge the protagonist to balance and examine their desires.
Abuse
The protagonist raises an uncomfortable question regarding consent as it relates to a key paranormal mechanic and a previous sexual encounter. This spearheads a discussion of ethics for the protagonist and another character.
Violence, Death
A prior fatal fire/car collision is mentioned, pursuant to a continuing mystery plot line.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character expresses a reductive perspective on male gender roles and masculinity, particularly regarding sex. This presents a challenge to the protagonist’s developing view of the world.
X: WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at multiple bars. A character mentions selling and bartering with LSD, but the consequences of both are also highlighted.
Violence, Death
A prior fatal fire/car collision is mentioned, pursuant to a continuing mystery plot line. The protagonist deals with a sense of dread about their own death, which leads to a greater conflict soon after.
Self-Harming Behavior
A character jokingly wishes to burst into flames rather than grow old. This highlights his nihilism as a youthful trait relative to others.
XI: JUSTICE
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. A character drives a car after drinking a beer. This characterizes poor judgement.
Sexual Activity
The protagonist suggests they may offer sexual favors in exchange for a character’s assistance with a difficult task. This raises the states of a tenuous alliance throughout the chapter.
Violence, Death
A character threatens the protagonist with a knife. Another character threatens the protagonist with a large vehicle and a gun. Suspicions regarding a possible murder are expressed. This all ties into an ongoing mystery plot line.
Abuse
A character expresses a willingness to engage in marital infidelity. This subverts prior positive characterizations and feeds distrust for the protagonist.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character reduces the concept of manhood to sexual activity/dominance, which prompts the protagonist to challenge that perspective.
Medical Issues
A character with a leg injury slips and falls. This increases the character’s anger towards the protagonist and motivates the character to pursue them.
XII: THE HANGED MAN
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. The protagonist is also compelled to use the word b**** in a friendly/joking context.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Violence, Death
A character threatens the protagonist with a large vehicle and a gun. That character also describes the grief of losing a child. This demonstrates that character’s stake in an ongoing mystery plot line. An urban legend told by a character within the chapter includes a person being stabbed to death by a romantic partner, the death of that romantic partner, and the death of a sibling (see “Self-Harming Behavior”). This is intended to emulate and match the characteristic darkness of Appalachian folklore.
Abuse
An urban legend told by a character within the chapter involves a blind person being misled and harmed by a caregiver, leading to further harm by a romantic partner (see “Violence, Death”). This is intended to emulate and match themes like betrayal that are common to Appalachian folklore.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character refers to their friend as a “big gay nerd” in an affectionate/sarcastic context.
Self-Harming Behavior
An urban legend told by a character within the chapter ends with two characters taking their own lives, by firearm and by falling, respectively. This is intended to emulate and match the characteristic darkness of Appalachian folklore.
XIII: DEATH
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, b*****d, c**p, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character uses the word b**** while expressing her anger. Another character uses a variation of the same word in a derogatory context (see Discrimination/Stereotypes).
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. A character exits a scene briefly to smoke marijuana, which demonstrates a level of stress.
Sexual Activity
A character accuses the protagonist of being “horny” for another character. In context, a case of impersonation/mistaken identity allows this glimpse into the mind of an otherwise guarded character.
Violence, Death
A fatal fire/car collision is discussed, pursuant to an ongoing mystery plot line.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character believes that two others are making a cruel ableist joke related to Dissociative Identity Disorder. This is proven false but demonstrates the risk of severe miscommunications caused by the protagonist’s secrecy. Another character displays sexism towards the protagonist when referring to them as b****y, which escalates that character’s pattern of hostility towards others.
Medical Issues
A relative of a recurring character is mentioned to be in a hospital for a serious condition, which keeps that recurring character from assisting in a critical task.
XIV: TEMPERANCE
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, c**p, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character calls the protagonist a b****, demonstrating anger at being deceived.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. Blackouts caused by alcohol are discussed in relation to a key paranormal mechanic.
Violence, Death
A fatal fire/car collision and suspected murders are discussed, pursuant to an ongoing mystery plot line. A character threatens the protagonist and another character with a knife, which briefly raises the stakes in multiple conflicts. The protagonist strikes another character’s face with an electronic tablet, causing the character to collapse and resulting in injury to the character’s face. This act represents a significant escalation in a major interpersonal conflict and has consequences for the protagonist in a later chapter.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character describes facing transphobia in school and from family members, including a threat of gun violence. This elucidates a key element of that character’s backstory and personality.
Medical Issues
The protagonist vomits. This represents the culmination of multiple stressors and alludes to a deeper internal conflict. A character’s face bleeds after being struck/cut. This teaches the protagonist to control their own capacity for violence.
Self-Harming Behavior
The protagonist mentions their willingness to die in order to overcome a key paranormal mechanic. This internal conflict drives them to seek answers in later chapters.
Abuse
A character mentions being threatened with gun violence by a family member. This explains several patterns in the character’s behavior throughout the story.
XV: THE DEVIL
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Sexual Activity
A character expresses a desire to have sex with a partner. This functions as a step in the resolution of a brief conflict that provides a look into their relationship. Multiple characters (including the protagonist) dance/perform in a burlesque show, wearing sexually suggestive costumes. This tests the protagonist’s willingness to embrace their sexuality in a controlled manner. The protagonist and another character discuss sex, which helps both draw boundaries. A character makes a crude comparison between a private online social group and mutual masturbation, which reveals that character’s identity to the protagonist.
Violence, Death
A fatal fire/car collision and associated injuries are discussed, pursuant to an ongoing mystery plot line. A character threatens the protagonist with a gun, which sparks a new power struggle.
Medical Issues
Injuries caused by guns are briefly mentioned. This presents new evidence towards a major ongoing mystery.
XVI: THE TOWER
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. A drunk character stumbles and exhibits unusual violence, demonstrating the power of alcohol to modify and degrade that character’s behavior.
Sexual Activity
A character references a previous sexual encounter with the protagonist while justifying their anger, which establishes a motive behind their drastic and violent actions.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
Characters discuss deaths caused by a fire/car collision, pursuant to an ongoing mystery plot line. The protagonist experiences anxiety regarding a threat of gun violence, which furthers the conflict with an antagonist from the prior chapter. A character threatens, grabs, and restrains the protagonist, in addition to later attempting to throw them off a ledge during a fight. This tests the protagonist’s ability to negotiate with a hostile opponent and willingness to defend themself. A character punches another in the face while attempting to defuse an apparent/presumed instance of domestic violence, which spares the protagonist from being restrained. Two characters brawl, and one falls from a ledge and dies. This twist sets up the final escalations in multiple major conflicts.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
A character cuts their hands on sharp thorns, eventually getting blood on the protagonist’s face during a fight. This completes a symbolic cycle from that character’s introduction. That same character dies from a fall, and their body is described. This communicates the gravity of their loss to those who witness their death, including the protagonist.
Abuse
A public fight between the protagonist is misconstrued as a domestic dispute, which spurs another character to intervene on the protagonist’s behalf. A character mentions having been tied up and restrained by the protagonist and others, which establishes a motive behind their drastic and violent actions.
XVII: THE STAR
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**k, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character refers to the way she presents herself as a b****, which reveals the dissonance she feels in many social situations.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. The protagonist vomits, calling into question the effect of frequent alcohol consumption on their wellbeing.
Sexual Activity (Spoilers)
The protagonist recalls a previous sexual encounter with a character who has since died. This forces them to evaluate the conclusiveness of their past choices.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
Characters discuss deaths caused by a fire/car collision, pursuant to an ongoing mystery plot line. The protagonist and others reckon with the sudden death of a major character, and the protagonist also expresses fear of their own mortality, which sets an ominous tone for the chapter. An article mentions multiple gunshot injuries and a fatal accident incorrectly presumed to be a suicide, providing important evidence towards an ongoing mystery. The protagonist is shot in the neck by another character and dies from blood loss. This fulfills an earlier prophecy and forces them to directly confront death: their ultimate fear.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
The protagonist vomits, demonstrating their illness from alcohol and shock from a recent traumatic event. The protagonist bleeds significantly from their neck, and blood covers the hands of a character attempting to save their life. This symbolically entwines the mortality of both characters and visualizes the impact of the protagonist’s life on others.
Abuse
A case of romantic infidelity is revisited, causing stress for the protagonist.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character alludes to patterns of prejudice among the larger setting’s population, which reframes the behavior and camaraderie of many central characters.
Self-Harming Behavior
The protagonist expresses a belief that they were supposed to die in an earlier event. Their survivorship guilt and lack of self-esteem present obstacles to their continued involvement in major conflicts that affect other characters.
XVIII: THE MOON
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Sexual Activity
The protagonist appears topless in front of a romantic partner, and briefly while standing near a window. This adds to the disconcerting unreality of a scene that seems detached from the surrounding narrative.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
The protagonist’s gunshot wound is described, which establishes the seeming impossibility of their survival. Characters describe the violent aftermath of the protagonist’s death upon their resurrection, which clarifies its consequences and effects on others. A character recalls a childhood experience involving a violent animal attack, which provides a solemn departure from his typical attitude.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
The protagonist experiences the visceral sensations of a gunshot wound in their neck, which delineates the transition between a separate scene and a return to the primary storyline. A character wears a bandage on her face, showing the long-term effects of a previous action by the protagonist.
Abuse
A character describes chickens being killed by a fox, which highlights his attitude towards death compared to other characters’ perspectives.
XIX: THE SUN
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
The protagonist expresses their fear of death, which has changed due to recent events. A character retells events that include an attempted shooting, another character being injured in a fall, two characters being shot, and both characters dying in a fire/car collision. This resolves one of the major mysteries of the story.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
A character retells a story that involves gunshot wounds and injuries caused by a fall. This resolves one of the major mysteries of the story.
Abuse
A character describes chickens being killed by a fox, which highlights his attitude towards death compared to other characters’ perspectives.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character calls attention to the United States government’s ongoing efforts to eradicate transgender people. This constant threat sheds light on the actions and fears of many characters. A trans character alludes to transphobia experienced from family members and a fear of further discrimination, which allows the protagonist to contextualize prior events.
XX: JUDGEMENT
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, d**k, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character uses an anti-gay slur (f**). This challenges the protagonist and others to quickly counter him with a response.
Alcohol Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. The protagonist’s level of intoxication presents an obstacle in their ability to defend themself and contribute to group actions throughout the chapter.
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
A character holds the protagonist in a headlock, suffocates them, and gags them. This serves as retribution for a prior action by the protagonist. That character also threatens to kill others before later ramming a vehicle through a crowded room. This pins and mortally wounds a character, who dies. The protagonist retaliates by strangling the character who drove the vehicle, but they spare them. This final act of violence proves the innate distinction between characters who are willing to kill and characters who are not.
Medical Issues (Spoilers)
A character is mortally injured when struck and pinned by a large vehicle. The other characters must quickly reckon with an unexpected ethical dilemma and collaborate to save a life.
Abuse
Three characters restrain Smith against their will due to a case of impersonation/mistaken identity. This further isolates them as they increasingly need to steer the key decisions of their friends.
Discrimination/Stereotypes
A character calls attention to the rising American hatred towards trans people, which contextualizes prior defensive actions by multiple characters. A character belittles the importance of gender-affirming care and gender equality, which betrays their motives and costs them their advantage in a conflict. A cisgender heterosexual male character refers to a group of other characters using the anti-gay slur “f**.” This forces the protagonist and others to directly confront hatred and ignorance during a separate crisis. A trans character describes the relationship between her experiences in transition and the negative forces of her environment, all of which coalesces into a key decision that resolves a major conflict.
Self-Harming Behavior (Spoilers)
Via a key paranormal mechanic, a character sacrifices himself to save a character who has been mortally wounded. This resolves his internal conflict regarding self-centeredness and sets an extraordinary example of bravery for the protagonist and others.
XXI: THE WORLD
Strong Language
Non-slur swearing occurs throughout the chapter. Words include f***, s***, a**, d**n, b******, and variations thereof. This language is used to create realistic dialogue and narration of thoughts. A character uses the word b**** to refer to a bad experience/situation.
Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Multiple characters legally purchase and consume alcohol. The presence of alcohol is essential to the chapter’s setting at a dive bar. The protagonist and another character use a THC wax pen, which grants them an opportunity to speak privately and resolve .
Violence, Death (Spoilers)
The protagonist and others discuss and mourn multiple recent deaths by gun violence, vehicle collisions, and an accident mistaken for suicide. This humanizes both the victims and the characters who survive, while concluding multiple interconnected narratives.
Discrimination/Stereotypes (Spoilers)
A character discusses the sensationalization and media voyeurism of hateful violence and the need for renewed federal anti-discrimination protections. This connects the story’s concluding narrative to the broader world of the setting.
Self-Harming Behavior
A character recounts a time in which she felt depressed and hopeless. Her hindsight allows her to present a more hopeful worldview for the protagonist.
S.C. Giedzinski 