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Found 40 results

  1. Ok I basically made this to ask about preferences on the stories for the worlds. I would like to know if people would rather the worlds follow the stories of their respective movies with no relevance to the plot similar to the later games or if they would want the worlds to have their own unique stories with slight references to scenes from the movies, and have the worlds actually have importance to the plot overall. I'm not sure if BH6 is going to be relevant to the plot, but I do know that it is going to have it's own story.
  2. Drip, drip, drip, drip Constant, never ending. -Act 1- The cell was a 10x10 stony room. About 20 feet up there was a small barred window. Somewhere above this cell, there must have been some leaky plumbing. The drop, or drops, formed at the top of the window from some unknown source and fell to the bottom of the window about every 4 seconds. Each seemed to commit suicide as soon as it got a good look at the miserable surroundings of its new dwelling and at the sole, miserable creature of which to keep company. The creature was male. Exceedingly long, ratty, brown hair covered his face like a veil and ran down his back. The clothes, if they could still be called such, had once been the standard tan-colored long-sleeve jumper. Now only a fraction of the now almost black fabric remained. Tattered and ripped all over, it barely covered his torso and the top half of his legs. He sat with his legs crossed against the wall left of the window, staring up at it. (488, 489, 490..) he always started the day this way. Counting 1,000 drops. He didn't stop his counting when the small, rectangular slot on the wall to his left opened with a quiet electronic sound. The slot, as well as the door next to it and a bowl-shaped object in the corner, stood out amongst the rough, stony walls, floor and ceiling. They were so smooth and sophisticated in comparison to the barbaric cell. Although the rust helped them seem more at home. The metallic tray slid in as usual and the slot closed. He still paid it no mind. (997, 998, 999, 1,000) He took a deep breath through his nostrils and then glanced at the tray. Not that he needed to. He could smell its contents. A glob of green and brown slop. He'd been served the same thing for the past.. how many years had it been? He couldn't recall. He reached out and picked up the tray, he wasn't looking forward to the process of nourishing his wretched body, whatever nourishment could be gained from.. whatever it was. There were no utensils, never were. He set the tray on his lap and slowly began digging out small portions with his fingers and started eating. Then, something moved in the slop.. It just was a small wiggle. His eyes widened, more so than they had in a very long time. He reached inside the pile and pulled something out triumphantly. A grub, a pretty large one. His mouth watered as he slipped the worm between his lips as if it were a delicacy prepared by a gourmet chef. This was going to be good day. He simply had no idea just how good. -Act 2- Dreams, he never had them. At least not while he slept at night. He did, however, sometimes black out. In the these blackouts he would have the most vivid of dreams. Showing, what he believed to be the halls and other areas of the prison, and even outside the walls. He saw magnificent visions of the planets' wildlife and forests that lay just outside his confinement. He wondered. We're they dreams at all? Maybe just memories buried and confined to his subconscious.. Or perhaps, something else entirely. They were so real to him. At times it felt as if the blackouts were his spirit escaping from his body, desperate to see something beyond these dripping walls. By the time his eyes shot open, he heard the familiar sound of his tray sliding across the bumpy stones toward the slot. He reached out to grab the nearly full tray, but it was too late. The slot closed shut with a mechanical *Shunk* He guessed he had probably been out for over 10 minutes. At meal time each day, a tray was slid in through the slot. After about 15 minutes, the slot would open back up, and an invisible force would pull the tray back through. Probably an electro magnet, he thought. His eyes narrowed in disappointed as he eyed his fingers, still covered in slop. He hadn't finished his meal, but that didn't matter so much once he remembered the worm. (Mmm) He thought, almost grinning as he rubbed his belly. Suddenly, his mind turned away from food as he recalled the vision he had seen moments prior. How could he have forgotten it the first place? It was the most bizarre one yet. He sat in his cell, alone. Counting drops as he always did. When suddenly, there were no more drips. Not a sound. Then out of nowhere, the door to his cell burst open! And in came.. the worm. It looked exactly the one he had eaten.. Except much, much larger. As he stood to his feet, he noticed that even with only half of its body upright it stood taller than him. Hundreds of legs ran down its entire body. The ones on the rear half of its body scuttled along to propel the enormous worm forward. It stretched out a single arm towards him. At the moment he knew it had come for him. Come to free him from his life of solitude. It looked at him with what seemed like a look of reassurance. He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the outstretched arm and the worm led him out. It led him down winding halls and corridors. After a short time they came to a door. He looked at the worm worriedly. The worm simply shook his head as if to say, "It's ok." After a moment he reached out and pushed the open button on the console next to the door and it shot open. He expected to see the outside world. But there was just.. Blackness. It wasn't space, there were no stars. Suddenly, he was sucked into the void. He shot one last glance at the worm as he was whirled away. He remained in the doorway, nodding reassuringly. In no time at all the doorway, along with the worm, were gone. Out of site forever. He quickly came to a stop. His body no longer being pulled. He was floating, alone once again. He began to feel the darkness come over him. It was like tentacles constricting his body. They started around his ankles and worked their way up. He struggled to no avail, he would be consumed. Just as the darkness was about to cover him completely, he heard a voice. It was a familiar one he heard sometimes in his visions. It always said the same thing. "Derren," it called out. And in that moment, a light burst forth. It broke a small hole in the darkness. The tentacles loosened, soon falling from him completely as the void of darkness began crumbling before him. Light piercing through every crack and break. "Derren-El!" He heard as the darkness shattered to nothing and he was engulfed in light! He had heard that voice. He'd heard it say that word, "Derren." He'd even had visions of being alone in darkness, but the darkness had never been broken. And there was something else. He had never heard "Darren-El." That almost sounded like a name to him. Not that he knew much about them. What he did know was about numbers. His number, to be exact. Even if the patch on the right arm of his jumper hadn't come off, he would never forget his number. "8842." The number was tattooed on his chest. Never to be forgotten. [Alright, that's all for now! I will update it later.]
  3. Welcome back to another thread where I talk about things that can be improved or added upon in the Kingdom Hearts formula to not only improve KH3's quality, but the quality of the series as a whole. Now, I've mostly covered some of the more bigger issues in previous entries, so I admit that I'm not running on a ton of gas with this one. Still, it's a concept that was sort of used and then dropped after only one game, the first ever game in fact, and while it wouldn't affect KH3's quality if it didn't return, I think it would be at least interesting to see nonetheless. So then: remember when Kingdom Hearts, the original Kingdom Hearts i.e. KH1, had alternate cutscenes? As in, if you failed certain objectives, completed certain objectives out of order, or plum just ignored certain objectives, the story would change to adhere to your decisions? An example would be if you lost to either Leon, Cloud, or Sabor, the story would show a cutscene to exemplify that you lost, or if you completed Deep Jungle or Olympus Coliseum before you completed Wonderland, the cutscene with Maleficient and the other Big Bads replaces Alice with Snow White, or if you defeat Dragon Maleficent before you clear Olympus Coliseum, she doesn't show up in the cutscene where Hades is raging about Hercules. Yeah, I do too. Good stuff. Like I said before, that was a concept that was only used in KH1. It was sort of used in KH2, in the prologue during battles with Seifer both at the start and during the Struggle tournament, but those were so minor, I wouldn't even count them. The reason I bring it up is because it was a mechanic that allowed somebody to take the story into their own direction, even if they did it by accident. There is a lot of intrigue, I think, to seeing various scenarios play out differently based on making different choices, which is what helps makes other RPGs and games of that nature so interesting and have high replay value. KH3, even though its bound to have other reasons to encourage replay value, can benefit from this as well. Let me bring up the most interesting example in the KH1 "alternate canon" to help gauge my point, which would be Monstro. In KH1, if you complete Neverland, where Riku starts acting like a dick to Sora, before you complete Monstro, Riku's behavior and interactions in Monstro will be drastically changed. Instead of playing around with Sora while also trying to figure out the puzzle that is awakening Kairi, he'll just be straight laced, make less cracks, and in return, Sora will even flat out deny that he is Riku at all. This leads others to theorize that maybe the Riku we meet in this "alternate canon" could be Ansem possessing Riku's body, depending of course on the direct chain of events that leads to that conclusion. It's that kind of narrative structure that could add a new layer to KHIII's story. After all, we've all been pretty set on what is going to happen story-wise in KHIII, so it's not exactly going to be a surprising tale. Even if some new twists and turns are thrown in that nobody expected, I doubt that its going to be largley different that what most of us have come to expect, especially since we've had almost a decade to speculate on it. So letting some events be judged in this manner spices things up a little. Also, its an opportunity to put more emphasis on the Disney World aspect of the series. Granted, I'm in the party that isn't all bleeding heart about Disney Worlds and their importance and whatnot, but I'm not exactly uncaring about them either. And I would certainly care more if they were handled in this manner. Just imagine the scope of the worlds combined with the amount of alternate scenarios you could come up with if you go to this world before that world, or complete this world before that other world, or you help this person before you do that, or you completely leave that person to rot like an asshole and go on to do something else (Poor Pinnochio and Geppetto ), and then imagine how certain characters like Riku may say or do based on your actions, maybe even coming close to slightly altering their motives or just portraying their reactions to certain things in different ways, which in turn make you feel like you're pushing the story into a different direction. Like I said, this isn't something that KH3 really needs, but I think it would be a good addition nonetheless.
  4. MasterXemnas walked up to the counter to receive his order, when he opened the bag and peeked at his burger, he realized they hadn't put enough bacon on it and he slammed his fist down on the counter, causing the cashier to jump. "Fool! I asked for EXTRA BACON! What is this?" He asked, holding up two small pieces of bacon. "This isn't extra bacon! I demand to see the manager!" As the words left his mouth, Sora walked out and looked at him. "May I ask what the problem is?" "Fool. I asked for extra bacon and I get this!" MasterXemnas replied, throwing the two small pieces of Bacon at Sora's face. Sora pulled the bacon off and wiped his face clear of grease. "How about we take this outside?" "No." "FIne. You leave me no choice." Sora summoned his keyblade and attacked MasterXemnas. "Fool. You cannot beat me." MasterXemnas said, summoning his weapons and blocking Sora's attack.The fighting continued, slashing, blocking, and hitting each other before Elbow Juice came up in between the two and froze the weapons with a wave of his wand. He faced MasterXemnas with a to-go bag. "I believe this is your order sir?" He asked, handing the bag over to him. MasterXemnas peeked inside the bag, pleased to find a burger with 4 slices of bacon. "Fool. Yes it is." MasterXemnas replied, walking out the door. Lalalablah stood up from her spot in the back of the room. "What the heck just happened?" When no one answered she sat back down and muttered "Stupid people." to herself. ________________________________ How was that? This is the story I have wrote in accordance with the post: http://kh13.com/forum/topic/64761-permission/ Thanks to Lalalablah, MasterXemnas, Sora, and Elbow Juice for letting me use them as characters in this crazy story!
  5. I made this and I'm not really sure what else to do with it, so I guess I'll just post it here. It's a KH story about an original character I made up called Ziemia (Polish for earth, trying to keep up that trend) and her apprenticeship. Set pre-BBS. I originally meant for it to be longer but I decided I'd leave it hanging here. The context of the story should imply their fates. Hope you like it. ----- Ziemia sat quietly reading in her chair while her Master studied at the desk opposite her. While Ziemia filled her head with loosely fictional stories passed down through generations, her Master worked hard at unravelling the truth from the long-forgotten past. Ziemia highly admired that about her Master. He was so knowledgeable already, but he’d stop at nothing to learn even more. Meanwhile, all she ever did was drink in tales and fables even though there was still so much to learn. She didn’t mind that too much. She was still learning a lot from her Master every day and as long as she enjoyed her novels, did it matter that they weren’t real? Anyway, Ziemia found that she could learn a lot about herself by absorbing the views and thoughts of her authors and their characters and assessing them. Sometimes she did this with her Master, although that was hard to do since he didn’t see much point in them. Still, Ziemia was learning about herself through books and about the worlds around her through her Master. She was content. Yet as much as she tried to convince herself of that, she envied her Master too much to avoid comparing herself to him. His criticisms of her cut deep and her flaws were so apparent in their training against his perfections. She didn’t wholly like her Master and she certainly didn’t agree with him all the time, yet still she longed to have his power, his wisdom and above all his confidence. Whatever her differences with him were, there was nobody she respected more. Ziemia turned the page, almost at the end of her chapter. Most of the books she read were based on accounts of the heroes and villains of the Keyblade War, sometimes by surviving participants and other times by observant witnesses. They often weren’t accurate accounts (and when they were, her Master would take more interest), but Ziemia was only interested in the characterisations and stories. She loved it when one story portrayed light as the ultimate force against darkness, while another displayed darkness as the greatest power a warrior could ever wield and both would have convincing ideals behind it. Between both sides, Ziemia felt like she was learning more about light, darkness and the war than she ever did in her lessons. Her Master was quick to remind her that experience was the most valuable way to learn, but encouraged her to keep an open mind about light and darkness. Master and pupil had spent many sessions discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both light and darkness. To her Master’s disappointment, Ziemia was unwilling to utilise the darkness in her heart more than she was comfortable with. She’d never push it to be more than a dark corner of power she could weaponise in controlled bursts, afraid to try and unleash it any further. “Light and darkness are a balance,” her Master would say. “Unless you learn to balance the darkness in your heart with your light, how do you expect to reach your full potential?” “Forgive me Master,” she had replied once. “But if I’m not careful, the darkness will consume me. Many past warriors fell to their own power because they thought they were above it. Who’s to say I won’t corrupt myself? Someone could even use my own darkness against me!” “You think so?” Her Master stroked his chin, which was lately growing a small beard. “Darkness is difficult to master, yes. But once you accomplish that task, you need not ever fear it again. And you’ll never master it as long as you fear it.” “Of course, Master. But I need time. Under your tutelage, I know I’ll get there one day… It’s just not today.” “Ziemia…” He turned his head in thought for a moment. “There are times when people must take risks in order to proceed. Safety will not help you learn anything.” Yes, but it might help me live longer, Ziemia thought to herself but didn’t retort. She knew her Master was referring to her armour, which she still wore when they travelled through the lanes. Her Master was familiar enough with darkness to travel without it but she didn’t have faith that she’d cope that well. She hesitated before she next responded. “So have you mastered your darkness already, Master?” She felt nervous about the question but the old man smiled and answered easily. “Yes. But it’s not something I accomplished by cowering from it, Ziemia. You’ll understand one day.” “Of course,” she replied as she bowed. “Thank you, Master Xehanort.” *** Ziemia finished her chapter and put the book down. Her favourite character had just been killed. She always needed time to think when that happened. He’d trusted the wrong person and lost everything right when it counted. It was a dramatic, sudden and unfair end to such a worthy person. Sometimes life and death were equally cruel, but at the end of the day it was always their decisions that brought them to their close. Nobody was more at fault than their own selves. Ziemia wondered what legacy she’d leave behind; what lessons would her life set an example for teaching? She had no doubt her Master would leave greater ones, but she still hoped to match him in some way. He encouraged her to follow him in everything, but she wanted to be known for her own accomplishments and her own dreams. Characters that lived and died as somebody else’s number two were never respected and hardly loved. Besides, she knew from books that following too strictly in the footsteps of another was dangerous. If you follow the wrong person, their failures become yours. Indeed, Ziemia sometimes wondered if she was following the right person. Her Master’s knowledge was unrivalled, but his methods and ideals were highly unorthodox. She was unlikely to find a better Master anywhere else, but perhaps she should be more concerned about finding a good Master than a great one. For all his criticisms of her cowardice, she’d already taken a big risk in her life by siding with him and following in his footsteps. The pupils and teachers of her old school had been unnerved by him, but she decided to give him a chance and asked to become his apprentice. In some ways, she was glad that she did. She’d learned so much more since leaving her home and she’d never really fit in with the others anyway. There were times that she missed someone that she’d been close to, but still she’d always felt like an outcast. A friend that was never needed and rarely missed. Not that she’d come to Xehanort seeking companionship, but perhaps that was for the best. She didn’t know how to work well with people and so she was probably better off alone. All the same, Ziemia couldn’t figure her Master out. She’d lately been reading books that took time to write about character motivations: what these people were after, why they were after it, how far they’d go to get it and why they failed to achieve it. Sometimes she tried to apply this to her Master. What was he hoping to get out of all this learning? And why did he never feel the need to teach all of this history, even to her? If she didn’t understand where her Master was going, how could she claim to understand why she was following him? Master Xehanort stood up from the scrolls he was reading, a slight air of frustration around him. For some time now, they’d been spending their days travelling to whatever storehouses of records or banks of knowledge they could find. All to learn about the Keyblade War, which Xehanort appeared to already know inside-out. The more Ziemia thought about it, the more she wondered what the point was. Each time, Xehanort would absorb another vault of words, only to leave in disappointment or annoyance and repeat the process. Only now did Ziemia realise that he must be looking for something but whatever it was, he wasn’t finding it. “Ziemia, we’re leaving.” It was all he needed to say. Ziemia rose obediently, packing her book into her bag as she did so. Together, they headed out the door and into the open air, where Master Xehanort summoned his keyblade to open a gateway. Ziemia couldn’t resist a glance back at the little hut they’d just left. It seemed to have some kind of historical significance to Xehanort but even so, he had no real need of it. It was a cosy place though; the closest thing the two of them had to a home. They moved around so much, Ziemia didn’t consider anywhere a home anymore, but they stopped at this little place more frequently than others, usually just as a rest stop where the two of them would catch up on some reading. Ziemia was growing fond of it. It made her miss having a real home. Part of her even longed for a real friend, despite how much she tried to dismiss that gap in her heart. She turned back to her Master, who was waiting by the gateway. He looked at her with the anticipation of disappointment that he typically did while he waited for her to equip her armour. Ziemia was already reaching for her shoulder guard, about to summon it, when she hesitated. Maybe it was her latest reflections, maybe she was still sore from the loss in her book or maybe she was just sick and tired of never knowing what to do. Ziemia didn’t know for sure, nor did she really care. All that concerned her in that moment was stepping up and making a difference in her life. She wanted to grow beyond her Master’s shadow, to evolve as a keyblade warrior and as a person. It was a sudden spontaneous urge, a flash of desire, an impulse that meant the difference between order and chaos, light and darkness or life and death. It didn’t last, but neither did it refuse to leave a mark. Ziemia felt caught in a gravitational pull while she held on for dear life. She was struggling with the logic and sense of knowing her limits while respecting the dangers and the imbalance and ego within her that was pushing to defy her limits and make a difference in her life. She found herself at war with herself and no amount of inspirational words from the people she’d read about could put it right. There were too many factors and too many opposing sides to bring her to peace. She looked at the only real factor present, raising her eyes to meet those of Xehanort, looking to see what his reaction was. Her hand was frozen, hovering inches away from her shoulder guard; her hesitation was extremely obvious. Xehanort could see it and from the look he was giving her, Ziemia thought he looked intrigued yet doubtful. He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her the barest of smirks, as though daring her to make a move, not once saying a word, simply watching to see what she would decide. Ziemia was torn, but looking at Xehanort’s face made her lose focus. She could already see his face falling when she hit her pad; she could picture him shaking his head in shame as she passed through the portal wearing the protective gear that he loathed so much. She’d put up with his gripes at her reluctance for so long that in that moment, her annoyance took hold. She made her decision and lowered her hand. Master Xehanort’s slight smirk became a wide grin as Ziemia spurned her armour and stepped forward to travel without it. Even so, he never raised his brow, as though he were taunting her even now. As Ziemia came to a stop in front of him, staring at him with resolve, he still said nothing. He merely nodded his approval and stepped into the lanes between. Ziemia held back for a couple of seconds; one last hesitation of nerves forcing her to ask herself what she was doing. But there was no going back now. Even if she wasn’t ready, she had to make this choice. Ziemia summoned her keyblade and stepped into the darkness.
  6. I was a bit bored, so I decided to write something based off the Vita game I've been playing, called Freedom Wars. Here you go. --- I am Silvia "Justice" Kuroi. I am a Sinner. My hand lifted off of the blue screen in my room, the screen that encompassed an entire wall of my room, known as the Window on Liberty. Past the several icons and menus that were still there, as the screen could detect my presence, I could see my face. Soft cheeks with a hint of rosiness to them, a small nose and thin lips for a girl, with sharp eyes and thin eyebrows. My pupils were fairly slit-like, with a grey color. Thin half-rim glasses sat over my eyes. My hair was black, with red highlights, and done in a pony-tail with swirly bangs cupping my face. My clothes, as the massive Window on Liberty, showed, was the simply Type-88 Military Gear. A green denim jacket with a red camisole underneath, with a thick black skirt, gloves, and high boots that went up to my thighs. The Window on Liberty was my access to much of the information given to me by my Panopticon (my home nation), with information such as special missions and even the current rankings of the different Panopticons around the world. My home, New York, was number five. I let out a sigh and glanced around my room. The best description for it was white. Glowing white tiles on the floor, a clean white bed, and grey-white walls that were relatively clean--a stark difference between the lower levels of the Cell Pavilion. It had the constant smell of concrete and disinfectant, which at times was enough to make me cough and sneeze. These levels were divided up by ranks, called CODEs. I was CODE Five out of Eight, meaning I was high on the social ladder. Eight was the highest possible rank, while One was the lowest. One meant you were nothing but scum, the worst kind of sinner. That was my life. I was a sinner from birth. Our world had so few precious resources left, and so anything and everything that was a drain on that was considered bad. Even people. We became sinners, punished for our drain on resources and sentenced to a penalty of a million years. The only way to prove our worth was to work the million years off. Even at CODE 5 I still have 941,757 years to go. You would even gain more years by breaking the billions of laws the Panopticons had set up to keep us in line. And they always knew if you did. Even in my personal room, my cell, I had two cameras watching me at all times. This didn't count my Accessory of course. Standing at attention in front of the only door stood a tall man with an absent and deadpan face. His eyes were a threatening red with tiny pupils. Plastered on his forehead was the black eye symbol of the overseer, the person who watched us all. My accessory wore a red beret with black spiky hair with red highlights--a matching choice I had made. My accessory wore the standard uniform for his kind--a tan trench coat with black boots and gloves. My accessory was not human. A cyborg built as the ultimate camera and guardian. He would safeguard me in combat (even as a drain on resources, the Panopticons considered sinners resources as well) and always keep a close eye on me. The Accessory noticed my gaze and spoke: "Your current sentence is 941,757 years. Please continue to contribute." That was part of my life as well. Contributing to the "Greater Good" in an effort to not only achieve freedom, but to retrieve resources for my home as well. The only way to do that was the special missions (which were called voluntary, but we all knew we were forced to do them) that contained these resources. "Hello Sinner!" Came a high voice from my Window on Liberty. I glanced in that direction to see Percy Propa, the cartoon bear that was the mascot of my home. "Your home thanks you for your continued contributions! But that nasty Agarthan Panopticon is still attacking us! Please do your part! For the Greater Good!" With that, he disappeared and I noticed a new mission had appeared on the Window: "Mission CT5-3 "Illumination." Each and every mission held a special code name, such as Carnage or Firefly. This one was called Illumination, where it was necessary to destroy a special Biped Abductor. I nodded and accepted the mission immediately. From here my Accessory would take me to the special flying craft to send me to my destination. I elected to bring some of my comrades along, Mattias, Uwe, and Beatrice. "Awe man," Mattias whined the moment he boarded the craft, "I was to stop by the Fueling Station too! This shaz is boring! Fight this abductor! Beat these sinners....man, I could go for a break!" "Shut your trap," Uwe snapped, "We have our mission and we have to do it. Don't forget that it's your home that is even letting you even visit the Warren. If the Hourai won we wouldn't have anywhere to eat that ice cream." "Uwe is right," I said, "We have to do this....for the Greater Good." "Yeah yeah yeah...doesn't make it any less boring," Mattias mumbled shaking is head and rubbing his hair. Beatrice, who up until now had been sitting quiet, spoke up, "Well, we can always stop by afterwards, Mattias. Besides, I need to see Julien anyways." Mattias shrugged. He was a fairly short boy with caramel-colored skin and bright red hair. He was feisty and likely the most brash out of all of us. Uwe was a large, broad-shouldered man with thick arms and dark skin. He was the oldest out of all of us, who had a lot more experience on the battlefield. Beatrice was smaller, with pale skin and golden hair. She was quiet, and a lot more empathetic than Mattias was. Each one of us had our own Accessory, which made for a team of six in total. My Accessory turned to me and quickly spoke, "We will be arriving shortly. Please prepare yourself." Accessories never spoke or acknowledged another Sinner unless approached directly. They only served to watch and aid a single Sinner only. "You here that, we're almost there. Saddle up." Uwe said, glancing at the other two. Beatrice and Mattias had a nervous edge to them. These higher CODE missions meant harder enemies and fights. We were in for something new. We all suddenly jerked to the right as the craft stopped and began to lower and settle. The massive doors slid open, letting the light and dust fly in. The sun was already setting, and through the opening, I could see where we were: a massive abandoned part of the city. We all piled out and watched as the craft lifted off. It would only return if we were to win this or lose. I pulled out my weapon--an EZ Schwarzfalke II. It was a light blade that acted as a chainsaw as well. My Accessory lifted up its bulky AAW-M2; a powerful rocket launcher. The others pulled out their respective weapons and we ran through the dilapidated ruins. Years and years ago some great war was held, and much of the world was turned to ruin. Sections like these were littered about New York. Nothing but dust and echoes, with crushed structures and the barely standing skeletons of buildings from long ago. "We've got Sinners!" Uwe shouted, hefting his launcher and firing off a round. The Agarthan sinners, decked in matching black sinners, seemed to come right out of the ruined woodwork as they quickly swarmed us. "Bug off!" Mattias hollered, gunning the sinners down as we all heard the worst kind of sound when you were in battle: The guttural scream of an Abductor. We could see it down the road. A towering, skeletal beast. Every step it took made the ground shake. They were terrifying monsters whose sole purpose was to capture resources and decimate everything else. This one was bipedal, which meant it had a fairly humanoid frame. Worse though was that it was Cold-Resistant--its body had a blue tiny and shiny blue crystals covered its body. "Silvia!" Beatrice told me, "Let us go distract the Abductor!" "We will stay here!" Uwe added to that, "Both of you go!" I nodded to him and Beatrice and I legged it to the Abductor. The monster seemed to notice our approach and it lifted its metallic head. We heard the charging of a beam, and the two of us expertly dove to the side as the ground exploded. This was the worst kind of Abductor. The ones capable of firing beams from their heads. While Beatrice and I were capable of dodging the explosion, her accessory wasn't so lucky. The beam hit it head on and went flying backwards. "Keep going!" I shouted at Beatrice. We couldn't afford the moment to go and retrieve the Accessory. They were durable enough, and going back only meant time for the Abductor to fire off another attack. "Abductor in sight. Engaging Combat Protocol. Request cooperation in Abductor destruction." My Accessory told me, halting its own progress to fire off a round from its rocket launcher. The slug hit the Abductor head on and gave me time to point out my Thorn. All Sinners were equipped with thorns. These prickly weapons were like grappling hooks and had the main purpose of allowing us to get up close and personal with these giant bastards. My arm jerked as the white thorn shot out and hit the junction between the Abductor's shoulder and its right arm. I pulled hard, launching my body up and into the air as the distance closed rapidly between us. My body stopped hard as I was now clinging to the Abductor itself. Now came the hard part. Taking it down. I quickly brought my blade around and brought it crashing down upon the junction. The chainsaw whirred to life as I began to tear through armor and bone. This was one of the many tactics in taking down these things: tearing them down bit by bit until there was nothing left. I had made it barely a portion of the way when the abductor swung its other arm and hit Beatrice dead on. She screamed, her body flying into the side of a building. I didn't see her get up, and I knew she was done for. Her Accessory was only now making its way to us, which meant there wouldn't be time to get her unless I stopped my progress. I hopped off of the Abductor and ran over to where I had seen Beatrice go--when I heard that dreaded sound of a beam being charged. The explosion caught my back, sending me flying a few feet. I toppled and tumbled over, struggling to get back up. "Damn," I hissed, finally halting. I could barely get up, which meant my own Accessory would have to help. I saw him halt his firing and switch to recovery as he ran over to me, but like how I was taken down, the Abductor fired off a beam and my Accessory was downed as well. "Critical damage sustained....emergency shutdown enacted...requesting recovery.." My Accessory said, its body essentially lifeless (although there was barely any life to begin with). Shit. Half of our squad was essentially taken out, and I didn't know if Uwe or Mattias had managed to reach us yet. At least, until I heard Uwe's gruff voice. "Don't worry girl, I got yah." He told me, lifting me back up and restoring my energy with a medic pack. "We took those idiots down and saw you were in trouble! Mattias the Leo is here to help!" Mattias shouted, bearing his gun down on the Abductor and letting loose with a volley of bullets. "I will go help Beatrice," Uwe told me, "Destroy that Abductor. On the double, Sinner." I nodded and rolled over to my Accessory's side. It gave me a blank look as I jumped it back to life with a resuscitation device. The Accessory stood back up and hefted its weapon without so much as a thank you. "Functions restored. Engaging enemy." It said, turning back to the Abductor and resuming where it had left off. The Abductor let out a scream as it saw all of us. I gritted my teeth and pointed my Thorn, letting it shoot out and connect with the junction again. I flew for it, landing with a painful crash as I pulled out my blade again. The saw bore down and cut through with even more force. The Abductor seemed more distracted by Mattias and the two Accessories, as it attempted to barge through them. Even as it ran, I hung on tight and cut through the bone. I was done with the armor and was practically done with the entire arm as well. I heard a rocket go off, and watched as one my Accessory's slug hit the arm I was cutting. The arm snapped and fell off--with me along with it. I landed on the ground with an "Oof!" and rolled over. That was one arm down, which for a bipedal Abductor was a crippling thing and a serious advantage for us. Fewer parts meant fewer things the monster could do. "Booyah!" Mattias cackled, "This thing is toast!" "Silvia!" Beatrice shouted as she ran up to me, rolling around the Abductor, "Everything alright?" "Yeah," I told her with a nod, "I'll be fine." "Here." She said to me, charging her thorn up and letting it lash out and cling on to me. I felt more of my energy come back to me, and I thanked her with a smile and another nod. There were three thorn types, one of which was the healing thorn--which Beatrice used to a special mastery. Just by lashing it out could I feel my strength returning. "Thank you," I said, before dashing off. The Abductor was still a great threat to us, and its destruction would entail the completion of our mission. I readied my thorn, my eyes studying the monster. The other arm was a good target, as it could still slam that down, but my eyes went right for its head. Even without it the Abductor would still be able to move and be a very great threat, but the removal of that part would mean an even greater advantage for us. I prepared for the right moment, waiting for when the Abductor was at the right angle, and then suddenly shot my thorn outward. I cursed as it missed. Damn! The Abductor had suddenly started to storm forward, and my thorn went whizzing right past it. I was about to fire the thorn off again, but at that moment, I was suddenly hit by a barrage of bullets. More Agarthan Sinners had appeared, and they weren't happy that we took down the first wave and had been taking down their Abductor. "Hostile Sinners detected!" My Accessory announced, "Engaging enemies!" I swivelled towards them and brought out my rifle--an EZ Katze Kralle I. I squeezed the trigger and returned fire upon the Sinners. "Allow me to help!" Beatrice said, pulling out her own gun and aiding my counter assault. The Sinners didn't pose much of a match for us, though it appeared that they were a decent distraction--without Beatrice and my own assistance, Mattias and Uwe had been struggling to deal with the Abductor. "Oh no!" Beatrice shouted, running after them with her Thorn at ready, "You guys, here!" She then exclaimed the moment her Thorn was charged up enough. From the ground spotting a massive black and green thicket, with radiated with a powerful green glow. I ran forward to get close it, and when I was close enough I immediately felt the effects of the healing thicket. I pointed the barrel of my gun out and let loose a hail of bullets on the Abductor. It turned to me, seeing my own self as an enormous threat, and it readied a laser from its head. "Got you!" I exclaimed, immediately pointing my thorn and letting it fly forth and stick to the Abductor's neck. I launched into the air and slammed right onto the Abductor's torso. "Finish it off!" Uwe announced as he shot at the Abductor and managed to distract it for the time being while I scrabbled up to the monster's neck and bore my saw down upon it. While much of the Abductor was bone and grey armor, its 'nerves' were thick pulsing orange veins that ran all throughout its body. I tore through these, slicing through the nerves with ease as my allies distracted the monster. I grinned as the Abductor suddenly jerked and wobbled as I sliced the entire head clean off. That was one major nuisance done for. "And another one bites the dust!" Mattias shouted, aiming hard and assaulting the Abductor's core: its pod, which was often used for holding onto important resources...often times other people and Accessories. The pod began to crack, and soon enough the whole pod exploded open. Uwe let out a cry of victory as my three allies finished the Abductor off. It began to stand up, and I quickly hopped off before it decided I was another danger. But even then, the Abductor lasted barely any longer as its knees buckled and it finally fell backwards. It landed with an astounding crash; dust and dirt flying everywhere as the Abductor let out an unsettling scream of torture as it 'died'. "Mission complete," My Accessory said, lowering its launcher, "Contacting support craft. Contributions have been logged." "Nice job," Uwe told all of us, "Quite proud of you all," "Yeah yeah, thanks old man," Mattias told him, "Nothing but another string of successes from yours truly!" "You better shut your face before I do something even worse than a 20-year penalty to you, kid," Uwe told him off, crossing his arms. I could only shake my head. "Well done," Beatrice said, "That was...quite intense." "And it'll only get worse," I replied, "We still have three CODE ranks to go." "CODE Eight....man.." Mattias murmured, "That's gonna be hell, for sure." "Yes," I said with a nod, "But we have to reach for it. For the Greater Good."
  7. 1. I heard somewhere that the Sora Roxas sees is a data copy. Then how would that link directly to Sora the way it does? 2. Mickey, Sora, Donald, and Goofy convert themselves to data when entering DTT, but what about when they leave it through the Corridor of Darkness?
  8. I have talked to some people about this topic and they say that I don't care whether the art style will be cartoony or realistic. They just want the game to be a good game; I'm one of those people who don't think that zelda game's art style doesn't think that the game's art style makes the game what it is because there are other factors besides a zelda game's art style that make a good zelda game. They are Story, exploration and gameplay(sorry if I missed any). I will tell you my opinion on each of them. Story is an element in a zelda game that makes the player really interested in game. Even though a good story is based off of poeple's opinions, this element has been in most zelda games. This element also could change the way a game is played and make the game more linear. For example, Skyward Sword is more story driven than any other zelda title, making it the most linear zelda game yet. I'm going to add my opinion on this. I really don't care if a zelda game is linear even though I prefer a more linear approach in the zelda series. Also, story is one of the things a really hope for in a zelda game. Exploration is basically the act of exploration an over-world without being told what to do. Twilight Princess was on the right track, but the land is so empty in that game that it made the overworld seem less interesting and boring. It also made the overworld feel "dead" in my opinion. The wind waker did an excellent job with its exploration. Once you get through certain parts of the story in the game, you are able to sail wherever you want to go and plus there are a lot of islands to see and exploration once you get on it. Skyward Sword had little to no exploration. The story was so linear that it kicked exploration out of the window. To tell the truth, I am not really the "I want to explore just for the heck of it" kind of guy. I prefer linear gameplay over open-world gameplay. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't try Zelda U because who knows, I may end up liking it at the end. Gameplay is how you play the game I guess. I don't really care that much about the gameplay that much because every 3d zelda game (with the exception of Twilight Princess on the wii and Skyward Sword for the wii) have basically the same gameplay but with their own unique innovations. I like Twilight Princess's gameplay more than any other zelda game because it gave you a diversity of special attacks for you to move on bosses and enemies. I also like the wind waker's gameplay too because it finally gave the zelda series a tiny bit on innovation that oot and mm's gameplay had introduced.
  9. [This is a story about how Terra and Ventus became friends. This is my contest entry.] --- “Terra, you can’t keep putting this off.” Terra stopped gazing at the floor and looked up to meet the frustrated eyes staring back at him. Awkwardly, Terra turned away to stare at something else while he searched for a response. She was right, of course. Aqua was usually right and Terra took a moment to be thankful that she never rubbed that fact in. She may be about the same age as him but sometimes she seemed a lot older. She was standing across from him with her arms folded while he leaned against the corridor wall, clearly uncomfortable. When he couldn’t think of anything to say, Aqua spoke again. “He’s been getting a lot better. Really! I’ve spoken to him; Master Eraqus has spoken to him. Why won’t you go talk to him?” Terra sighed. He had to say something. It might as well be the truth. “I’m worried I might say the wrong thing again. I messed him up pretty badly the last time I tried to talk to him. What if I…?” “Terra,” Aqua softened. “That wasn’t your fault; you just didn’t know. Don’t blame yourself.” When Terra hung his head, Aqua sighed. “Well, don’t blame yourself anymore. Forget about it and just start over.” Is it that easy? Terra wanted to move on from this more than anything right now, but every time he remembered those cries he would go back to feeling terrible. He needed to atone for this, somehow. “What am I supposed to say to him?” He looked back up at Aqua. “How do I make things up to him?” His face must have had shame written across it, because Aqua took sympathy and stepped towards him. “Just go in there and be his friend. Once you’re there, you’ll know what to do.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to be more confident in yourself, Terra. You can do this.” Terra gave her a shaky smile then hesitated to reply, still enwrapped in doubts and nerves. Aqua turned and started walking away. “If you don’t go talk to him, I’ll stop going easy on you during sparring.” Despite himself, Terra couldn’t help but give out a brief laugh. It wasn’t much but it made him feel better. Once he’d relaxed again he scratched his head, considering Aqua’s words. Terra wanted to be more confident in himself, but that was easier said than done. He wasn’t afraid to fight anything, but talking to people was a very different story. He appreciated being able to chat with Aqua the way they did. As Terra had these thoughts, it occurred to him that the support he had in Aqua was exactly the kind of thing he needed to give. Be his friend. That’s what Aqua was doing for Terra right now. Terra had to take that example in turn and pay it forward. If the least he could do was make him laugh, that was enough. Terra straightened up and made up his mind. He made his way down the corridor until he reached the right room. Originally this had just been one of many spare rooms in the castle, but now the door had a name plate attached to it where it had previously been bare. This was new since Terra had last been here. VENTUS Clearly what Master Eraqus had told them was true; Ventus was going to live with them from now on. Reading the name on the door filled Terra’s stomach with butterflies again. Suddenly his confidence was draining. He nervously reached for the door handle, but stopped himself. I probably shouldn’t just walk in. He slowly raised his hand to knock on the door, but held back at the last second. I’ll probably disturb him; I’m not a gentle knocker. Terra cleared his throat to call Ventus’ name and ask permission to enter, but the words were caught in his throat. He’ll probably freak out when he hears my voice. Dejected, Terra turned around to walk away and almost bumped into Aqua, who looked like she’d been watching him the whole time. She was shaking her head, she had her hands on her hips, she was sighing and she even looked like she was trying not to laugh. Terra stammered to make an excuse but Aqua was already walking past him. “Let me help,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. Before Terra could stop her, she had her hand on the handle and was opening the door. She did so gently, with an air of caution that was not lost on Terra. “Ventus? It’s me, Aqua. Can I come in?” There was silence, but Ventus must have nodded because then Aqua was stepping into the room and waving at Terra, beckoning him to come in as well. Fighting every impulse in his body, Terra stiffly followed her in. The room was still quite bare. Nothing but the simple necessities currently decorated it, but Ventus didn’t have much personality to personalise it with yet, nor had he been living here very long. Terra felt a wave of sympathy as he remembered that Ventus had no idea who he was, so how could Ventus know what kind of room to live in? The room is as empty as his memories, Terra reflected sadly. But with a spark of hope, he thought: It won’t be empty for long. Ventus himself was sitting upright on the edge of his bed, no book in hand, no creases on his covers, no sign that he’d been doing anything else when they’d walked in. With his current state of mind, he could easily have been doing that for hours. He was smiling faintly at Aqua, as though he were practising happiness, but when he saw Terra his smile faded. Terra could feel his own heart sinking but there wasn’t a trace of fear or accusation on Ventus’ face, just curiosity and a blank lack of recognition. “Do you remember Terra?” Aqua asked him softly, gesturing to Terra. “…Terra.” Ventus mused, staring at him. Terra made himself stare back and tried to look friendly. I probably look like guilt itself. There was a pause while Ventus sat in thought. It started to grow uncomfortably long and Terra was beginning to wonder if Ventus even remembered what he was trying to remember when his eyebrows furrowed slightly and he finally said: “…I think so.” Terra was heavily regretting every second of this. “You know, he doesn’t have to remember me,” he whispered to Aqua. “Given what happened…” Aqua took his point. “It’s okay, Ventus. You only met Terra once before. He’d like to talk to you so that you two can get to know each other.” Ventus looked at her as she spoke, hopefully registering what she was saying. “Okay?” she added after a pause. “Okay,” Ventus replied. He seemed impossible to read, but then Terra reminded himself there was nothing to read. Not for the first time, Terra wondered what had happened to cause Ventus to lose all his memories like this. He wanted to help, but he was still afraid. “Okay,” Aqua finished. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She must have spotted Terra’s fear because right before she left, she whispered “Be brave,” to him. She closed the door behind her, leaving Terra awkwardly standing around the centre of the room, alone with Ventus. Ventus gazed at Terra vacantly, while Terra glanced about as he fumbled for something to say. Okay, how do I start talking to him? Terra could never find the right words to say, as evidenced by his last talk with Ven. I should say ‘Hello’ or something first. Wait, did I already say hello? Will he find it weird if I say hello twice? At this point, Terra was certain Ventus would find anything he said weird. How much time had passed already? 30 seconds? A minute? 5 minutes? It felt like an age and nobody had said anything. Finally Terra went for a greeting. “Um, hi there.” He threw in a smile and a wave, trying to be welcoming. “Oh, hello.” Ventus responded as though Terra had just walked in. Even so, Terra was sure Ventus must have found him strange. It had been so easy to talk to him the first time, but now Terra felt disarmed. He had to find a way to make them both comfortable. “So…” Terra began, before he was even sure what he wanted to say. Whatever you do, don’t ask him a question. Don’t ask him a question. Do not ask him a question. “…How are you?” Terra mentally buried his face in his hands. “I’m fine.” Ventus replied without missing a beat. Oh good, he is getting better. However, Terra was sure he was about to mess him up again. Be his friend. Try and make him laugh. “Great! That’s really good. That’s…” Terra tried but he couldn’t think of any humour that Ventus was likely to get at this stage. Forget it. Just talk to him. Talk to him without asking any more questions. Terra tried to think of something to talk about, but he was unsure what Ventus would be interested in. No questions! “What do you want to talk about?” Terra mentally buried his head in the ground. “I don’t know,” came the response. Terra would have appreciated it if this kid just said more than a few words at a time. He began to feel very isolated standing in the one spot. He gingerly trod towards a table to try and find something to distract them. He didn’t expect the sudden remark that came next. “You look nervous, Terra.” “Huh?” Terra spun around looking back, perhaps a little too sharply. Ventus hadn’t moved and was still looking at him but his face showed concern. More than that, Terra had heard concern in his voice. So he isn’t completely empty. “Are you okay?” Ventus asked. “I-I’m fine,” Terra replied. Terra still felt foolish, but this time he also felt renewed. I’ve been forgetting to just talk to him like a real person. Ventus had been an unstable and even alien element until a few moments ago. Terra had been letting his fear get in the way of talking to a friend. He hadn’t been letting his heart do the talking. That was going to change now. “How about I tell you a little bit about myself?” “Okay,” Ventus nodded and actually smiled slightly. His eyes still had a ghostly quality to them, but he had a heart like everyone else and Terra was determined to help him find it. With newfound confidence, Terra opened up to him. They spoke for nearly an hour. Terra told him about where he came from and how he came to the Land of Departure. He talked with him about learning under Master Eraqus and how he was almost as close as a father to Terra. He told Ventus about his friendship with Aqua and how both of them were training to become keyblade Masters. When he told Ventus that becoming keyblade Masters was a shared dream of theirs, Ventus nodded and supposed aloud that since he would be staying with them, he’d have that dream as well. Terra encouraged him to find a dream he really wanted, something he cared about most of all and to give it everything he had, with whatever he had. “Thank you, Terra.” Ventus almost seemed to have brightened over their conversation. “You’re very nice.” For the first time in a while, Terra felt self-aware again, but now he was able to shrug it off easily. He was having a good time with the kid. He was a little spacey, but he listened to everything Terra said with genuine interest. Terra had also never known that he had so much to talk about. He felt like he was learning about both of them. It was very pleasant. “Well, yeah. I want to be your friend.” Ventus looked surprised. “You want to be my friend? Really?” His seriousness nearly made Terra chuckle. “Of course! I want to help you. I want to look out for you and be there for you. I want to be your friend, Ven.” The words came easily to him, but that was probably because they came from the heart. While still wanting to make up for their first meeting, Terra had really grown to care about Ventus and felt protective of him as though he were an older brother. “Do you want to be my friend?” Ventus looked truly happy as he replied. “Yeah, I sure do!” Then he frowned for a moment. “Wait. You called me Ven. But my name’s Ventus.” Terra smiled. “I know. I called you Ven as a sort of nickname. It’s shorter than Ventus and friendlier sounding. Is that okay? If you don’t like it, I won’t call you it.” Ventus considered for a moment. “So a nickname is a shorter name for friends? And you think ‘Ven’ could be my nickname?” Terra could tell Ventus had a lot to learn, but he wouldn’t resent a second spent teaching him. “Yeah,” Terra made a little arm-pump gesture, an excitable quirk he’d acquired over the years. “My friend, Ven.” Ventus paused for a moment, then smiled more broadly than he ever had. Terra laughed cheerfully. “Yeah! Ven. I like it, Terra. I can tell my friends to call me that! Should I tell Aqua to call me that?” “Definitely! Aqua would love to be your friend.” “What about Master Eraqus?” “Uh, well… He’s our Master so it’s a little different. I guess he can call you that if he wants.” Terra stood up and looked out the window. “You know, we’ve got a few hours left of sunlight. You want to go out and train for a bit? Together?” “Okay, let’s do that.” “Do you know the way to the training grounds? I could race you.” Terra had intended to go easy on Ven, but was surprised to discover just how fast Ven could run. He sped down the corridor where he shot past Aqua who had shouted a startled “Ventus?” at the sight of him only to hear an over-the shoulder cry of “Call me Ven!” Despite Ven’s claims, he actually didn’t know his way to training grounds and did two circuits of the castle before making it outside where Terra was waiting. The two of them had laughed over it, although Eraqus later complained that next time he’d like a little more warning before his catatonic guest nearly knocked him over. Aqua soon joined the two in their training, which eventually just became three friends hanging out. The trio spent that night lying under the cloudless night sky, watching for meteors and shooting stars.
  10. -1- Departing Refrain Roaring wind and swirling blacks and purples blanketed everything. His eyes were squeezed shut as the world stretched and tore; pulled backward through the Space Between, there was nothing that could be done as the island was ripped into infinitesimal pieces beneath his feet. His brown hair was matted down hard around his face, damp and freezing against his forehead. His arms were pressed to his sides as he traveled, though he wouldn't have had the strength to fight whatever was pulling him along if he wanted to. He ground his teeth, pulled faster and faster through the darkness, feeling as though his legs might be left behind if it didn't slow down. Bright white light suddenly burst through the tiny gap in his eyelids. The blue eyes snapped open as the urgent pulling sensation gave way to gravity; his arms and legs came free, his neck swung up to see what he was flying toward as he was blasted from the portal. A sizzle filled the air as long black claws raked out after his body, snaking through the air toward him, as if it were going to snatch him like a fish on a hook and send him whizzing back the other way. Arms came up to shield his body unnecessarily; the short-lived portal snapped shut only moments after his exit, the shadowy claws bursting into wisps of smoke before his eyes. His relief was cut off by the wall he slammed against. Sneaky buggers, walls. His body clung to its yellowed surface for a moment, leaving the former Keyblade Master to slowly peel off and fall to the dirt with an unceremonious thump. Pain reverberated through all his limbs, spreading from the back of his head through his limbs, pulsing in his marred fingertips. His bare hands were scraped and already covered in dirt and sand. They were shaking as he tried to bring his arms under him to bear his weight. His head rose slowly, the soaked brown spikes clinging to his face as he tried to gather himself. His voice was a hoarse whisper, barely able to reach his own ears, "No... No, no!" He coughed, his whole body shuddering once as his arm slipped, bringing him back down to the earth. Lying on his stomach for minutes that felt like lifetimes, he closed his blue eyes once more as he silently wished himself away from his dirty resting spot. As he teetered on the edge of consciousness, his mind forcing him to relive the confrontation once more. He had been sitting on the floor of his house, back against one of the couches in the living room, that silly ear to ear grin spread over his face. His hands were wrapped around a spiky auburn haired young boy, both of them laughing as they wrestled on the floor. A typical summer night, it seemed; roughhousing on the floor, shooed inside by an oncoming storm. As dusk wove into evening, and his son was ushered on to bed by his wife. The retired Keybearer took a moment to relax on the carpet, letting his head sink down into the cushions of the couch, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spun hypnotically. The smile still on his lips, he pushed himself to his feet. "Dad?" The shaky voice of a younger girl echoed down the stairs to him. As she asked him to come up, he was already taking two steps at a time, for no particular reason other than he could! He hopped around the corner, poking his head into the room. Another auburn haired kid was kneeling on the bed in her pajamas, pointing out the window to something. Sora chuckled, pushing some of his own light brown locks out of his eyes as he walked over to the window to see what was so startling. He ruffled the long red-brown tresses that made her look so much like her mother as he spoke, "It's just a squall; you remember how they turn the sky funny colors." He took a look for himself, despite his own assurances. Blinking a few times, he pushed off the edge of her bed, standing frozen at the window for a long moment. Before he'd fully registered what he was doing, he'd raced to his room, thrown on actual clothes and barreled out the door; he wore just a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. His old adventuring outfit didn't exactly fit him anymore. The Keybearer was in a hurry in any case. He never would have been any the wiser if he hadn't looked out the window. Just woulda gone to bed, and woken the next morning none the wiser. He skidded to a halt in the grass in front of the mayor's home, fists clenched tight as he glared up at the figure perched at its apex. It was as black as the sky all around it, like a shadow in a dark room, and the only thing lighting it up was its hands held up to the sky: thin white bolts of lightning were arcing up every few seconds, becoming more and more frequent until the moment Sora arrived. The man on the rooftop lowered his arms to his sides, the hood peering vacantly downward; its contents were a mysterious void in the dark. As they stared each other down, the skin on the back of Sora's arms was crawling, spreading slowly up to his neck and seeping down his spine. How had he managed to miss such overpowering Darkness? His bright blue eyes fluttered open again, bringing him back to the bit of dirt he was recovering on. His head was still aching, pain pulsing throughout the rest of his limbs, but he managed to control his arms enough to bring his body upright. He leaned back on his wall, which still bore his imprint, blinking slowly at the world he'd arrived in. "The Land of Departure...? Aqua!" he murmured to himself, pushing off the wall and stumbling up the hilly path that led to the main building. His bare feet slid along the grass and the rough edges of the dirt road, the cool, itching sensation drawing him back into his nightmare again. He was back on the grassy field in front of the mayor's house, golden flashes all round his hands as both Fenrir and Sleeping Lion appeared. The hood jerked backward, as if the person underneath had let out a derisive chuckle. Leaning forward, the cloaked figure was off the rooftop in an instant. Gloved fingertips, arcing white sparks, were centimeters from his face before Sora even realized he needed to move. Leaning back, he swung Sleeping Lion hard, connecting awkwardly against the Man in Black's hood as he fell to the ground. The hooded figure vanished into a puff of shadow, leaving the Keybearer to stare at it for a moment from the ground, wondering what had just happened before white light lit up everything above him. His head snapped forward; the man was suspended horizontally in the air, spinning around to focus on Sora. The gloved hands pressed together, wild arcs of blue static shooting off to the empty air around him as he brought the hands to bear. As Sora tried to roll away, he felt something brush against the backs of his legs. There was a sudden release of pressure in the air for a split second, and everything went silent. Just for a second. Sora was sent skidding backwards over the grass, his heels catching on something as his momentum carried him along, sending him spinning and tumbling back until he finally rolled to a stop on the edge of the beach. Water rushed through his fried pant legs, two still-smoking handprints on the back of his calves where the connection was made. The remnants of the attack were still making him twitch and spasm when he heard slow, deliberate footsteps moving steadily closer. His ears were still ringing as Sora pushed himself over onto his back. The walking shadow nearly standing on top of him, his silhouette ruffling in the gusting wind. He could see the lips moving in the darkness of the hood, the slow, monotone voice of his enemy impossibly clear in the storm, "To think, that that is all the force to be mustered by the strongest of the Wielders." A divot in the dirt caught his foot. He was brought back from the troubling memory to stumble. Sore fingers caught on the doorframe that led to the lower corridors. His soaked jeans weren't helping at all as the slightest breeze sent chills up his spine, making Sora feel even more lifeless than he thought possible. He called for anyone, receiving no reply as he tried to make his way along the corridors and up staircases. It seemed the Wielders in training had already fled, and Master Aqua had gone with them. As he mounted the final spiral staircase, he was leaning heavily on the banister, and nearly toppled back down when he finally came to the landing. Doors up and down the dormitory were left wide open, the contents of some strewn out into the hallway; one door looked like it had been blasted or torn off its hinges. The heavy oak doors at the end of the corridor were barely cracked open, but scorch marks marred every inch around them. His voice was caught in his throat, reaching out to push on one of the handles, which looked as though someone had tried to melt it away, the barrier creaking slowly as he entered. "Empty... What could have happened here?" His mumbled words gave away his despair as he sunk down inside the Master's bedroom, his back pressed to the door, and his palms pressing to his eyes as he waded through the catastrophic fight again. The points of his Keyblades were digging hard into the sand as Sora used them to prop his body upright, two more scorched hand prints on his back. He was panting hard now, his whole body weighed down with water. Shaggy brown locks sticking across his face and forehead as he stood at the edge of the island, his bright blue eyes just barely able to make out the curved tree where he and his friends had spent so many carefree days and nights wondering up the unforgettable experiences they might have on other worlds. Half-lidded and trying to wipe sweat and a sticky crimson substance from his eyes, he heard another boom of thunder from across the main island, bringing up his Keyblades as he waited for the shadow to strike once more in hopes of catching it off guard and landing a lucky blow. A hefty gust of wind rushed past, a precursor to the danger that was causing it. Sora gritted his teeth hard as he waited for sudden pain. "What good are you?" The voice was hard and hushed, the sand around the shadowy figure's feet swirling around him as he came to a sudden halt, making the Keybearer stumble backwards as he tried to figure out where his opponent was coming from so quickly. "Well... No use wasting time. Hardly worth the effort. Doubt you're going to save anyone." The hood turned, looking down along the dunes, catching sight of the woman with her long auburn ponytail flowing in the breeze. "Least of all, your family." Another boom broke the clouds above them, and everything began to swirl. Pieces of houses were already being pulled in, ripped out of the ground as winds immediately started to gust over the islands. Sora took off down the beach toward his home, all thought of the battle gone, only wanting to reach her before everything was ripped apart again. The ground shuddered; a column of earth shifted up in front of him, leaving his section of beach to sink below the raging waves, foaming as they rushed in toward him. He leapt up, managing to drag his worn out frame onto the shard of land above him. Almost there... Just a bit more... His feet sank into the sand as he ran, hopping over fractures that were appearing all along the island, yelling for her to grab the kids and go, to run, to get away. Wind rushed around him as another boom echoed across the shattered landscape. A palm wrapped around the back of his head, pushing him forward into the sand. It wrenched his head back by the long, brown spikes, holding him down to watch what was going to happen. The monotone voice hissed in his ear, the flapping hood muffling the words, "Ah, my favorite part. The sappy goodbyes..." Twisting and trying to fight away from the grip on top of his head, he felt a knee crash down between his shoulder blades, and the hand bunching up in his spiky brown hair yanked hard. Pops issued all along Sora's spine as he felt the pain spread like wildfire down his back. The earth shifted again, the house suddenly dropped down several feet, before the whole piece of land started to lift away. The swirling clouds, glowing bright yellow in the middle and turning purple along the outside edges, were a sickening whirl of color overhead as they drifted toward the unsettlingly black eye. The movement was enough to unbalance the shadow. Sora's arm whirled around over his head, actually feeling the connection this time: Fenrir managed to catch right along his attacker's chest, knocking him flat on his ass. The Keyblade Wielder scrambled to his feet, ready to try and jump the gap, but then he saw the look on his wife's face. She'd made it outside again, his son and daughter holding onto her tightly, both of them calling for him to hurry. It was the sad little smile, the one she hadn't worn in years, and that slight shake of her head that kept him standing right on the edge of the abyss. "Remember what I said?! I still mean it!" His eyes open once more, still sitting alone in what had been Aqua's bedroom, his back resting on the door and his legs sprawling out across the tile floor. His body no longer shook as he rose once more, testing his grip as he turned to a wardrobe next to the entryway. He pried it open, finding nothing but a gold plaque inside, with a simple sentence etched into it: Step Right Up. He pulled at the remnants of his tattered clothes, the hand prints on his back and chest making it flimsy to the point of almost disintegration, and did as he was told; his last words to her were ringing in his ears as he shut the door, feeling warmth surround his body. Being electrified and shot through a portal can make it easy to forget who you are sometimes. The doors sprung open again, giving him enough light to see what had been done. He flexed his glove-covered palms, looking over the scuff marks on his fingertips, the only visible reminder of the events that had transpired. Sora said the words one more time, a quiet murmur in the broken halls, "I'm always a part of you, too. And I'll come find you; always will..." The leather squeaked as he clenched his fist, a weary smile slipping back onto his face as he straightened out his jacket. Throwing the doors wide open, he strode back down the mangled corridors. "Kairi. Riku. Just hang tight. I'm coming to find you." The gilded hem of the long, taupe coat trailed along at his heels as room after room went by again, the flames embroidered along the back flicking and shining near enough to make them look alive. His freshly gloved palms ran over the burn marks that were scattered throughout the dormitory hallway. Under the scuffed and sore tips of the Keyblade Master's fingers, the stone felt so brittle he thought he might have been able to break a piece off. It looked as though a dozen or more explosions had rocked just that part of the castle, leaving everything blasted and broken in its wake. The damage wound erratically up the steps to the Great Hall, and left a pile of rubble and kindling at the base of the stairway. The fingers curled into a fist, slamming it down on the center of a scorch mark. The stone around it groaned under the unnecessary force. Shafts of light filtered through a hail of dust and debris that shook loose form the wall, coating Sora down to the shoulders. It blew off swiftly as he stumbled blindly toward the stairwell that led to the Master's Hall. Resting his palms on his knees, panting hard and letting his head sink down, he felt the remnants of the palm prints tingling on his chest, parting gifts from his opponent. The one who had destroyed his home and taken him away from his family. It was him. His blue eyes stung as he looked at the door blocking his way, looking over the blocking bar snapped cleanly in two as if someone had gone through it with an axe and the burn marks left all around the outside masonry. There was no one else he knew who could do anything as terrible as this. His tired legs caught on the edge of a step, sprawling him flat onto his chest. He should have known when he saw the Man in Black from the start of the fight until the last moments, which were still replaying in his imagination. Riku had been right... Wind ripped through his hair again; fingers dug hard into the collar of his shirt, yanking him back. Sparks arced across every one of the man's free fingers, the deep black cloak whipping around his waist as he stood before the distraught Keyblade Master. Without hesitation, the hand came down, and lightning cracked the sky once more, illuminating everything in terrifying relief for the briefest of moments. The Man in Black straightened up, leaving the spiky brown haired man to lie battered and broken in the damp earth, finally beaten on the sandy shores of his home. The earth creaked and groaned beneath them, waves lapping up to them suddenly as they sank a foot, but then their sundered bit of land started to lift away from the rest. They were moving up toward the bright yellow clouds, swirling furiously with reds and purples as bits of the Destiny Islands were finally swallowed up into the pitch black at the very center. Tipping his head back to the rain, the Man in Black spoke softly again, rousing the broken Keybearer from his shocked stupor. "Honestly. How you ever managed to save anyone is a bit of a mystery." The hood twisted down to look at its target, the rush of movement still pulling at the hem of his cloak as they made their way skyward. Sora's whole body felt stiff as he lay on the ground, pain pulsing across every shocked and frayed nerve ending. He was barely able to shift his body as the Man in Black peered from the shadows of his hood. "Look at your home. Broken. Destroyed. And never going to return. And those poor people. Think of it: you couldn't save a single one. Not even your own family." A gust of wind nearly took the hood away from his face, a tuft of brown hair the only piece of his head that became visible before gloved fingertips caught the edge and pulled it down tight once more, scoffing as the Keybearer twitched at his feet. "'Keyblade Master Sora'." The gloved hand reached down and pulled Sora up to his feet, letting them look at one another for a moment. The spiky haired man struggled at his challenger's wrist, trying weakly to free himself, but froze as the Man in Black hissing his last words, "You should have listened to Riku." He was suddenly in the air, the shadowy figure standing on the hunk of earth far below him with his hands pressed together, sparks building all over his fingertips, arcing like some kind of Frankensteinian machine. A tiny glowing orb suddenly pushed his palms apart and sparks shot out into the air all around his hands. Even as Sora was hurtling away from the man, he could feel the tingle of static in the air as if a massive bolt of lightning were about to strike. There was a whisper of air unlike the rushing wind all around him; Sora looked up just in time to see a dark portal split open above him and to hear the Man in Black below him bellow his displeasure as his target flew across the threshold. He felt like he could still hear the angered scream ringing in his ears as his mind came back to the Land of Departure. His fingernails dug into the spaces between the stone blocks on the wall, the knuckles turning white as the Keyblade Master pulled himself upright again. His breath hadn't completely come back to him. His left hand pressed to the burns hidden underneath the steely gray vest that enveloped his torso and the zipper along the front chilling the skin between the aching palm prints on his skin. He pushed off the wall, his knee nearly giving way after the first step though Sora managed to steady himself, and stepped around the corner into the Master's Hall. The stained light from the glass above the intricately carved wooden thrones of the three Masters illuminated the room, freezing Sora as he stood among the rainbow of scattered sun shafts. His feet began to move again; the shuffling steps echoed in the silent space. The left chair, where he'd sat during his tenure, had been kicked over, tossed aside carelessly. The sun shone through the hollowed spaces around his selected emblem, charred entirely black on one side. He reached the foot of the dais, his legs unwilling to push him up the few steps onto the platform. The blue irises slipped to his right, the second Master's seat, Riku's seat... It had joined much of the wooden accents in the lower parts of the keep as a sizable lump of matchsticks and kindling that had been hurled into the nearest wall with pieces scattered around the base of the platform. The Keyblade Master forced his body each step up to the very center of the platform. Cracks formed a spider web all around him, the remnant of a blow so strong it spread out a few feet from the epicenter. The high-backed throne that had been set in the middle, the Grand Master's seat, was pushed back from the battle, sitting in the shadows underneath the stained glass. He stepped off the far edge, his aching limbs catching him and letting him stumble. His bare fingers found the arms of the chair, digging into the wood as he held himself upright. Sora did his best to breathe deeply, his whole body shaking as he exhaled. With a sudden effort, he started to pull the chair out of the shadows. Grunting, Sora managed to drag the thick wood into the light, illuminating the damage Aqua's attackers had inflicted. The back had been cleaved in two all the way to the seat, the two halves creaking eerily as he dragged it back toward the platform. He stopped to breathe again, panting as he ran his fingers along the back and the sides, feeling scorch marks all over. He lifted, groaning and wheezing until the feet scraped back onto the cracked masonry, sliding back into its proper place. The Keyblade Master looked up at the shorn back as he caught his breath and brushed his palms off on the flowing legs of his pants. Looking back to the corner of the Great Hall, to the third armchair that nothing could be done for, he stepped around to the side where the remaining seat was. He reached out carefully, brushing his fingers along the scorch marks for a moment. They felt different than the ones in the dormitory, and as he looked closer in the colored light, the pattern was entirely different. It flowed around everything, blazing hotter in some spots than others. The lightning spots were mazes of burn marks, and as he looked around the chamber for further evidence, he felt his heart sink. There were both the swirling fire spots and the arcing lightning strikes. "He's not alone." Sora mumbled, his hands working without instruction to pick up the throne and set it next to the other. His spikes bounced as he stood back, his irises moving back and forth to both empty chairs. His coat lifted as he turned in place, a gentle breeze rolling through the stone hall and whistling in the corners. "And I've managed to lose everyone." The words startled even the Keybearer, blinking as he felt the loneliness creeping forward again. His fingers searched around his neck, closing tight around the silver emblem and golden band that he'd worn for years. His legs started to shake once more, falling back into the empty throne. The wood gave a screech of protest as it was pushed back under his weight, coming to a stop in a crack before it toppled over and tipped him out backwards. The Keyblade Master set his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. His fingers let the charms go to rest against his chest, warmed in his palms so he couldn't feel them on his skin anymore and brought his palms up to rest over his eyes. The breeze whispered through again, teasing the legs of his jeans and the hem of his coat, but eventually even that died down. There he sat. The last of the Keyblade Wielders, alone in the Light, and waiting for the Darkness to fall.
  11. There were six people gathered around the table. Five of them, Lea, her husband Demyx, MasterXemnas, Weedanort, and Aaron, were waiting to hear what the sixth was going to say. The sixth, a lawyer by the name of Nortanort, spoke out, "As the executor of Mr. Chiuchiarelli's estate, I have been empowered to read Mr. Chiuchiarelli's last will and testament.""Well get on with it! The bar's open soon," Weedanort drunkenly exclaimed.Lea sobbed out, "Oh poor dear Daniel," and sobbed even more.Demyx tried to console her with, "Oh, there there, Lea," but it didn't really work as she was still sobbing."How predictably boring," MasterXemnas said."I never worked for a kinder man," said Aaron."If we all seated, I shall start the reading," Nortanort said, even though he knew everyone was seated. Weedanort chuckled for reasons only his drunken mind would understand."I, Daniel Chiuchiarelli, being of sound mind and body," Nortanort started to read out, but was interrupted by Weedanort."Ha, that's a laugh." said he, laughing."Do here by divide up my considerable estate as follows: To my overly emotional sister, Lea."Here Lea cut in, with an extra loud sob. "Lea, darling, he's talking about us," Demyx said, trying, once more, to comfort her."Oh," said Lea, immediately stopping her sobbing.Nortanort resumed, "Who grubbed with her husband Demyx, grubbed for everything they could get from me, and cried crocodile tears when they needed sympathy."Lea made a confused sound, then listened to what she would get"To Lea, I leave: A boot to the head," Nortanort continued, pointing at Lea."What?" Lea asked, just before a boot appeared out of nowhere, and hit her in the head. "Ow," She exclaimed in pain."Lea, are you ok?" Demyx asked, concerned."And another boot to her wimpy husband Demyx!" Nortanort added, pointing at Demyx. He was having a bit too much fun watching people get hit in the head with a boot."Ow!" Demyx exclaimed. Weedanort laughed at his pain."This is an outrage!" said Lea, sounding angry."But still," continued Nortanort, "You are still my sister. You have both admired my Rolls Royce, and since I no longer need it.""Oh dear Daniel!" Lea said, anticipating a new car. This, to her, cleared up the effrontery of being hit in the head with a boot."I bequeath: Another boot to the head!" Nortanort added, still sounding happy."What?" Lea asked, just before being hit in the head again, with an ow right after it.Weedanort laughed again, clearly enjoying their pain."And one more for the wimp," Nortanort continued.As Demyx was hit in the head, he wondered just how much longer this was going to last, then went ow."Next, to my alcoholic brother, Weedanort," Nortanort started."Hey, I don't want no boot to the head!" interrupted Weedanort.Nortanort resumed, "To dear Weedanort, who has never worked a day in his drunken life.""I'm covering up my head," said Weedanort, doing so, with the mug he had been holding the whole time."I leave my wine cellar, and three crates of my finest whiskey," Nortanort continued."Really?" asked Weedanort, thinking it was too good to be true."And a boot to the head," Nortanort resumed, as one was promptly delivered to Weedanort. "And another for Lea and the wimp!" he added, then watched as the boots flew through the air. "Next, to my know-it-all nephew MasterXemnas," he started to say.MasterXemnas cut in, "This is so predictable.""A boot to the head," Nortanort finished, then watched the boot hit him with no small degree of smugness."I knew it," MasterXemnas said, after getting up from the impact of the boot.Nortanort added, after MasterXemnas had gotten up, "And one for Lea and the wimp," then watched the boots hit their intended targets. "This takes care of family obligations," said Nortanort, still reading from the will, "And now to Mister Aaron.""Oh, I don't want nothing, heh," Aaron nervously said, expecting the worst."Who took care of me faithfully these many, many, years, who cared, made me laugh, brought me tea," Nortanort continued, before another interruption."Oh, I didn't mind," Aaron said, feeling relieved."To Mister Aaron, I bequeath: A boot to the head," Nortanort said.The boot hit Aaron, who was taken aback from the impact of it."And one for Lea and the wimp," Nortanort added, smiling as he heard their exclamations of pain. They couldn't be seen anymore, as they had decided it was safer on the floor."And to my cat Shana, I leave," Nortanort continued, sounding as if he was almost done, "my entire, vast... boot to the head." Nothing was seen, but they could all hear the sound of a large thunk, and the cat screaming. Fortunately the cat was ok, but it didn't appreciate being hit by a boot."And finally, to my lawyer who has helped me with this will, I leave, not a boot to the head, but a rabid... Tasmanian... Devil.. to be placed in his trousers?!" exclaimed Nortanort, shortly before it was done. Through his gasps of pain, Nortanort continued, "And I leave my entire estate of ten million dollars to the people of KHInsider so they can afford to go somewhere decent!" Nortanort finished, having finally extracted the rabid Tasmanian Devil from his trousers."That's it?!" exclaimed the rest of the people around the table, with a "That's disgraceful" from Weedanort. Even Lea, and Demyx were shocked, after they finally got up."One last thing for everyone," Nortanort said, sounding scared at the prospect of what would come next."Cover your heads everybody," Weedanort said, figuring what would come next."I leave everyone a lifetime supply of ice cream," Nortanort said, being happy it wasn't a boot to the head."Ice cream? That's all?" was the question everyone was asking, expect from Aaron.He asked, tentatively, "Well... what flavor is it?""Boot to the head!" Nortanort finished off, finally. He started to laugh as the boots flew through the air, even if he was hit by one or two.
  12. What's more important in the kingdom hearts series to you? Gameplay or story? I've seen people say the story is the most important thing, and say they absolutely loved a game because of the story even thought they didn't like the gameplay, and hate a game that they didn't like the story from even though they liked the gameplay. Personally i find that to be pretty stupid but that doesn't matter. I'm not saying you have to only love one of them, i'm just curious on which one you guys think is more important
  13. || AN ORIGINAL STORY BY FIRAGA SENSEI || || BASED ON A TRUE STATUS UPDATE || ----- The world, or as we knew it, changed, almost suddenly, and quickly on the day that we all now know as "Day Of Duck." From there, ducks were all that were left. They ravaged the lands, took over the establishments, and all of the bread in the world was, at a time, wiped out. I myself, am a member of this new Duck race. My name is Duck Dodgers II, the son of the famous Duck war hero, Duck Dodgers. My father was a great Duck, but I will tell you more about him later. For now, let me focus on the origins. Ducks became the dominant force of life on Earth. Ducks began behaving like humans as well; they took jobs, lived in homes, and eventually, the first duck president was named on Duck Day 15, Duck Year 1 (November 15, 2014 in real time) -- Duck Washington. And at a time, things seemed to be peaceful. That is until segregation and discrimination grew between the ducks with white feathers and the ducks with black feathers. However, and thankfully, Abraquack Lincoln was elected as president in Duck Day 38, Duck Year 5 and helped established equality for the black feathered ducks, and all rights to ducks of all feather colors as well. Lincoln's reign was described as a true "duckocracy". Once again, an era of peace lasted for the duck kind. That is, until the Human-Duck War broke out. Yes, as it turned out, not all Humans were expunged from the Earth. Some of them survived and plotted revenge against the Ducks. Eventually, they raised an army and staged a coup against the Ducks. Both sides tore up the new Duck world, starting on Duck Day 210, Duck Year 12, in all countries: Duckstreet, Ducktopolis, Duckhaven, and the capital city Duckberg. Eventually, the Humans were defeated and called for surrender, but many Duck lives were lost, including President Abraquack and former president Duck Washington, and my own father, Duck Dodgers as well. He was a general in the war, and served our race well. I am very proud of him. After the war, I talked with one of my friends, a member of the Duck Army, Flash Duckstar. He was so nerve-racked after the war had ended. "I've seen pictures from the wartorn battlefields... bloodied bodies and feathers littered everywhere, the landscape itself shaped by the war... It was a horrible time...", he told me, holding the gun that he had used to move down countless Humans in his wings. However, the Ducks and Humans could finally shake hands and wing once more after forming a treaty, and the two species lived in peace together. But the next conflict came only one year later, when the Penguin Revolt occured, a revolted that ended in black, white, and red. What a great tragedy indeed, or should I say, "quackery". The Penguins, sick of the Duck's status as top bird, rose up to their status. It started with small groups of Penguins committing acts of violence against Ducks all over the world, and then the groups merged together to form their own Union, a union that would wage war with the Ducks for many moons. The Duck-Penguin War commenced on Duck Day 13, Duck Year 211, with the Humans siding with their Duck allies. Even more lives were lost, on all sides. Eventually, the Penguins gave in after a massive three year war, and once again, the now three species decided they would all live in peace. Yes, it seems that my race has made a habit of creating enemies and turning them into allies, only to create new enemies all over again. But maybe someday, there will come a time where the Ducks, the Humans, and the Penguins, along with all the other races of the world, can live in peace eternally. ----- || THE END ||
  14. || AN ORIGINAL STORY BY FIRAGA SENSEI || ----- Years ago, when the world was still new, God was sitting on his holy toilet. He had eaten too many burritos for lunch that day, so he was having a heck of a time getting it all out. He hadn't felt this bad since his son was put up on a cross... Pushing and pushing, he tried his best to make sure it all got out of his system. Unfortunately, for him, the load was too much for him to handle, and it actually got on the toilet seat. Getting up and wiping his holy ass with holy toilet paper, he noticed the stain on his seat. Some angels went to clean the holy stain, but God stopped them. He sensed something from the layer of poop on the toilet seat... Sticking his finger in the puddle of goop that lay on his seat, he tasted the brown substance that spewed from his holy bottom... God savored the taste... The angels looked like they were going to throw up, but God startled them with his booming voice: "This is delicious! I just knew that this would be delicious!" One angel whispered to the other: "You think God's right about this?" The other replied: "I don't know. He was right about that time he pooped out that other thing." "What was that called again?" "I believe it was called bacon." "Oh yeah..." So God proposed that this substance would become part of the world where his children lived. The question was, though: how? Then he got an idea. Years passed, and around the time that the year 1951 occurred, God decided to spread his new creation to a man named Pietro Ferrero, a simple baker from Alba who sold hazelnuts. He had one of his angels visit Ferrero in this sleep one day. The angel filled Ferrero's dreams with the idea of this new creation. The next day, Ferrero took what he remembered from his dreams and used his hazelnuts to create God's new food: a simple hazelnut spread. He initially called it "Supercrema", and began selling. Years later, Ferrero's son Michele would look to revamp his father's (or more likely Gods') creation by modifying the compostion of Supercrema in 1963. He attempted to sell the stuff beyond his home of Alba into Europe. The new product was renamed "Nutella". From then on and into today, Nutella is a most appreciated delicacy, renown all over the world. And with it's success, I'm sure it's applicable to say: "Thank God for Nutella." ----- || THE END ||
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