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SF's "Write Your Butt Off" Competition HD II.5 Remix


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Ike's paired endings don't mention marriage at all though...? Otherwise, I agree, not all marriages have romance. Like arranged marriages, for instance.

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I put myself into Overdrive and assembled *MAX* this in the course of a night and some of a day. *weil wir Kämpfer für die Freiheit sind / Du auch*

Thus, I present, 4916 words long, representing Xenoblade Chronicles X, "wybo2xcx1lmse"!!!!!

…or if you insist on a more normal name, fine, how about “His Choice” for something generic?

Whatever you call it, plenty o' SPOILERS for the game here, both the main story and certain Affinity Missions. I kinda had to do the former at least, owing to my chosen character, the other was optional, but I felt it added to their argument.

Also, no actual dialogue, I'll work on that in the future, but this for my first entry, can I be excused for that?:

Spoiler

“We require further exploration of Noctilum’s northern reaches, find suitable ground for new probes.”

The usual sort of work for a Pathfinder, a job he was willing to have the team take up. Noctilum wasn’t fully understood, no part of this planet was, if humans did, he’d be out of a job. Belisarda could handle this, Noctilum was dense jungle rife with indigens ready to pounce, but compared to the otherworldliness of Sylvalum and the inferno of Cauldros, Noctilum was much less a threat.

Seeing she was free, he asked Eleonora for the details of this mission after viewing it on the BLADE console. The survey of Noctilum was proceeding as smoothly as could be hoped for at the moment. Yet it the northern and more distant regions remained less examined, this was simply a request to expand FrontierNav there, particularly in the northeast. Willing to serve, confident and slightly eager, he stated he would see it done. 

Eleonora smiled, Lao was one of the finest Pathfinders around, left to his crew, the Lifehold would be found in no time. Lao modestly shrugged off the praise, his team wasn’t special. Like everyone else, he would do his part to find the Core, or die trying. Eleonora thought to continue the small talk, to ask why Lao chose to become a Pathfinder, she never recalled having heard his reason why. Yet she kept focus and uploaded to him general coordinates for the region in need of FrontierNav expansion. 

Lao thanked Eleonora and walked away towards Division Drive to get him men together. Blonde hair, light purple eyes, a perfect complexion, and the way she acted, like she had never known want nor need. Sure it was part of her job to be courteous and kind, but she looked to him like she was here for the wrong reasons, as most were. It left him with some disgust, not that he could blame her exactly, and who knows what goes through other peoples’ minds?

What he couldn’t detect, and which she made sure none of the thousnads who passed by her on a daily basis, was that she was one of the most insidious humans to survive. That miraculous, intricate technology known as the mimeosome, a machine which in all ways so perfectly mimicked the human body in form and function, a technology which was responsible for humanity’s survival here on Mira. As humanity struggled to avoid extinction, she didn’t care, creating mockeries of humans in the mimeosome’s image, certain to serve somebody’s greed and want for power. Yet the worst part was, as Lao couldn’t have known either, is that she was not alone in these experiments with false people hiding amidst the real, who and how many did she answer to? That remains unknown. But had Lao to guess, to get away with this, they might have been the ones who played god with this Project Exodus (also called the Earthlife Colonization Project) in the first place.

Strolling down good “old” Division Drive, which was barely six months old, nothing on Mira man had made had a past greater than that, he glanced at Murderess. She was smiling at her comm device, must have just come back from a mission, credits funded to her account. Did she shoot someone in the back again today, and leave her lackeys to finish the job if there was further resistance? Anyone who would trade their birth name to be known by such an epithet, how is it that BLADE hadn’t gotten rid of her and the kind she engaged with? All he could think to be an answer was the same old one justifying a lot on this planet- the immediate crisis of Humanity. She, this woman who routinely ripped off others on collection errands and played games of intentional risk with her clique, was a serial criminal who Humankind needed to survive. 

If Lao had scratched a bit deeper, he would have found that though Murderess threatened and had her enforcers, she herself was a paper tiger. A better name for her would have been Crippler, for not once on this planet had she murdered a fellow human being, it was a farce, one on which she planned to rebuild her family’s name and fortune. Digging yet further however would have made Lao furrow his brows in greater revulsion than Murderess had done. Somehow, the man who had sent her parents to their graves back on Earth and left the little Sharon Effinger an orphan, had found passage on the White Whale and had stolen another’s mimeosome. His bloodlust was soon to revive as well.

Reaching the Pathfinder station, marked with its bright green arrows logo, Lao was noticed by Mondo and Saiden, to whom he called to inform of him of the job he’d accepted. Saiden was more than a decade Lao’s elder, and Mondo was slightly older: 43 and 34 to Lao 31, but Lao was acknowledged to be the better Pathfinder and thus picked to leader their group. He contacted the young Mondo (20), who was off in the Commercial District, he didn’t say much about why he was there, other than to relax for a moment. Lao told him not to come over, Noctilum was to the west, they’d come to him en route to the West Gate. 

Passing in front of Blade Tower, Lao had that great view of the Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Districts below, and that newly arrived starship belonging to the xenoforms calling themselves the Ma-non. This was New Los Angeles, on the high ground stood BLADE Tower and the military and governmental facilities, overlooking the civilians below. It was how society was supposed to work back on Earth, a responsible government dedicated to protecting and ensuring the happiness and rights of all who it served. Maybe Mira would keep that tradition alive, but Lao was far from the kind of person to assume it would be so.

If there was anything in particular which bothered him about the artificial landscape below, it was the Residential District. There you had a public park, tennis, a church open to use by all of any faith, all of that was well and good. Those pale, two-story single-family houses with a built-in garage, hedges fencing off each, and a swimming pool with beach chairs to lay back in. Those were what would never sit well with him in NLA. 

Sure, they each presently housed multiple civilian families, and he understood the hundreds of times it had been told to him such was necessary to preserve a semblance of the old life people had back on Earth. Not everyone was mentally so strong, not everyone was suited to be a BLADE, and even those who joined BLADE could find the sight comforting. It would be the life they hoped they could return to once the present crisis was past. “Return” was a funny word though, their horizons would not be the Pacific Ocean and Sierra Nevada, it was the steel rims of NLA. California was naught but particles floating in the depths of space between Venus and Mars; and nowhere on Mira, not Primordia, not Noctilum, not Oblivia, and certainly not Slyvalum and Cauldros, could California be found again.

Lao did visit the Residential District once in a while, he saw plenty of green outside NLA, but was not immune to the appeal of standing amidst some flat and plain turf. He was himself one of those jaded people to survive, they all had to be turn a blind eye to the visible injustices committed by Project Exodus. NLA was built to be a modern American city as the name implied,  though its inhabitants had come from across the Earth, they weren't all American. Two of the top leadership positions of Mankind were American- Director General of NLA Maurice Chausson and BLADE Commander Jack Vandham, but BLADE Secretary Nagi was Japanese. And there was supposed to be other Ark Ships, sponsored by other and varied countries, none of which were presently known to have survived however, it was better to assume that New Los Angeles and its 20 million souls of a little over 10 billion were all that remained of humanity.

For whatever national and ethnic diversity the White Whale had taken on, Lao could not miss what wasn’t there. A truly representative sample of humanity was not here, any tour of the city proved this, entire peoples, countries, regions of the world, were left to perish as others were privileged. What point was it if One Hundred Years of Solitude survived in a hunk of the Lifehold data yet to be found, when there were few who could say to have belonged to the Latin American world it described? Lao, as his name and nationality indicated, grew up being educated about racism, he was Chinese-American. Lao was not one for books, his short career on Earth had been in the military, but he had his smarts besides them.

Those houses symbolized yet another form of exclusion, apart from that of ethnicity and nationality. NLA was classy, real classy, upper and upper middle classy, to the great if not complete exemption of those from the increasingly lower rungs of society. Lao wouldn’t have foolishly asked for slums to be constructed on the double, those might naturally form in time once humanity can relax. What was the logic here? That that those who live well deserved to live because they had the skills needed for Humankind’s continued and uncertain existence? It held some truth, but the poor and underprivileged had never been given the chance to try! Nor was every of the lucky chosen an engineer or army man, there were plenty of common folk with special skills, why then they over their same with lesser means? Few dark-skinned persons raised in the ghettos could have ever been afforded the right to live in one of those Los Angeles suburban dreams. In New Los Angeles, there were those of African descent able to buy those homes, but none had ever lived poorly.

Returning to Lao, he did not take a trip through the Residential District this time, he descended the elevator to the lower level of the BLADE District. He found Doug at his usual spot and shot the breeze with his old army pal back from Earth, asking each other how things were and all. Doug said Elma was soon to deploy for Noctilum and that she had turned down his offer to accompany her, Lin, and Cross, instead she had that xeno named L with her. Lao said he was likewise headed there, and perhaps they’d meet up. If he or Team Elma stumbled on very aggressive indigens- Tyrants- be sure to sure to answer their call he request. Doug responded he’d get the Harriers on it as fast as he could, which was only so fast, given the Skell flight module was far from being finished, just hold out until then. Lao said he would never let some savage alien beast be the end of him, and Elma was an impeccable sharpshooter, assuring Doug all would be well.

Continuing onwards, Lao entered the Commercial District, the civilian shopping and entertainment area. It had boutiques, a movie theatre, and plenty of eateries. Americana was the theme of it all, with names ripped from a classic American novel used for streets and neighborhoods. Americana had the taint of that glossy image of an idyllic Earth without problems, it was the perception of a country only those affluent enough could maintain. But it bothered Lao much less than the Residential District, for it better served a purpose to the civilian public he thought. He’d been treated to a few good orders from Army Pizza as well, a restaurant whose “grenades” were delivered across NLA, and for its starry-eyed husband and wife proprietors, all of Mira once it had been tamed. 

Army Pizza was starting to come under pressure from the freshly arrived Ma-non, who as a species had discovered a newfound obsession for this distinctly Earthling treat. It would drive the woman making the pies to commit suicide from overwork in a few weeks. And after that, her husband would begin poisoning Ma-non orders as vengeance, feigning a few of his murders as suicides. Lao wouldn’t think the guy was wholly beyond reason in doing this. Xenos had attacked and blown up the Earth, and then attacked again and stranded them on this hostile planet. He got the Ma-non were different from those who attacked Earth though, and that the Ganglion harassing them here were enemy to them as well. He bought the explanation that humanity needed to work with peaceful xs to do better on Mira, and thus suppressed his prejudice.

Near Barista Court, where outdoor dining replicated many a good time on Earth, Lao found Shingo as he said he’d be. Shingo with only some embarrassment admitted he was here trying to find love, and he was sure it would only be a matter of time before he did. Lao found it somewhat entertaining, if a something of a foolish thing to be doing now. If the Lifehold wasn’t found soon, humanity would literally run out of time and existence. Mimeosomes also had a restriction which made the pursuit of companionship futile in a way, they could simulate the acts leading up to it, but procreation Lao could frankly tell you wasn’t possible. If he wanted to start a family, he’d have to wait until his real body which his consciousness was being streamed from to his mimeosome brought out of cryostasis, which meant finding the Lifehold Core soon.

Taking this casanova from his escapades for the time being, Team Belisarda now complete went on to the diner marking the start of the Industrial District. Around them were the mechs known as Skells of both industrial and combat purposes, as were a number of helicopters. As Skells were expensive and helicopters a precious resource as well, they would walk the whole way to Noctilum, as most BLADEs did. They reached the West Gate, the boundary separating this raindrop of civilization from the ocean of wilderness into which it fell. 

There were no asphalt roads to Noctilum, no airplanes, no high speed rails nor boats, only the pathways nature had coincidentally created. BLADE was having in the process of seriously considering the construction of a water purification plant at the nearby Lake Biahno. It would be only the second durable human establishment on Mira, barring the various little base camps with a few multipurpose trailers established across the five known regions of Mira. 

They crossed the highlands covered in wild non-Earth grasses, being grazed on by the sheep-like indigens appropriately named by human scientists as “Ovis”, who in turn were consumed by the lizard-wolf amalgams assigned the label “Grexes” by the same humans. You had the great giants called Millesaurs, who left some to wonder if they had discovered Earth back in the Cretaceous Period, they were larger than the largest land creatures back on Earth, and made their habit very close to NLA. Fortunately, these were docile beasts, sipping water all the day with their long necks drooping forward, never once showing signs of aggression unless provoked by humans, for all native life knew better. Only when provoked did the Millesaurs become a menace the Harriers would have to commit ten Skell to destroy, and not without casualties. 

Being Pathfinders, Lao’s team were not fighters in the foremost, though he and plenty of other BLADEs like Nagi, Frye, and Yelv had been veterans back on Earth. Pathfinders were explorers, their goal being mapping in greatest detail every inch of this planet for what it was worth. Establishing the data collection system known as FrontierNav was their top priority, done with the implanting of probes which would then passive start analyzing the surrounding environ for all sorts of information. If it detected interesting plant life or ancient and abandoned xeno technology, that would be come missions for Curators, minerals of note would be for the Prospectors to collect, pieces of humanity’s broken and scattered Lifehold would be assigned to the Reclaimers, indigen and hostile xeno intel would go to the Interceptors and Harriers if they ever needed to fight them. The Interceptors and Harriers would be armed with weapons and armor made by the Outfitters, who forged that technology from the Prospectors’ haul. With Harriers on the prowl, Pathfinders could more safely do their jobs. Such was the interconnected web of duties of BLADEs. 

As a matter of precaution however, all BLADEs from the offensive Harrier Doug to the peaceful Mediator Hope carried weapons, two of them, one for close range and one for distances. Familiar inasmuch as one could be with Primordia, where NLA found itself nestled and hence was the best known region of Mira, Team Belisarda was able to evade combat with hostile indigens and xenos alike, reaching the Green Threshold.

Here, in a reversal of how things had gone some time before, Lao found Elma and her trio taking a moment before crossing into Noctilum. Elma said hello to Lao, Lin was happy to see him, Cross spoke to Lao in their own way, and Lao got an interestingly-worded greeting from that peculiar lone xeno named “L” who had joined BLADE in a nonspecific role. His appearance was a bit concerning, the blue skin and hair, his horns, he looked something like a devil. Yet his jolly behavior and messy yet passionate self-taught effort to learn English from a Lifehold piece before encountering human beings on this planet made him seem harmless, like a happy fool if anything. Lao was cautious in case this was a sinister farce, but never spoke his of his wariness, Lin wouldn’t like it, it wasn’t diplomatic, and Elma could he was certain could keep tabs on him.

Since they had a long way to similar destinations, Lin asked if they could travel much of the way together. Safety came in numbers and Lao was more concerned his group would slow down Elma’s than vice versa, but she brushed that off. And so he agreed to band with Elma for the time being, Lin was happy about this and Lao liked seeing Lin happy. She was only 13 despite her technical genius as an engineer, working hard on inventing a successful Skell flight module, and her innocence and childlike exuberance was heartening. No actual children had been allowed on the White Whale, the grown and sexually productive would have to produce the next generation of humanity, the first tragically beyond Earth, once they access to their real bodies again. 

Lao found Elma just as delightful, but very different in how she was mature, calm and cool, yet still warm and human. Elma and Lin were “his girls” as he gently praised them from time to time, one a child, the other an adult (Elma is 29). He absolutely was not attracted to Lin in that way, and he could not love Elma in that way either. And he could only speculate if she held feeling that fond for he who had heroically sacrificed himself and the Ares Skell defending the White Whale as the Ghost xenos sent it crashing onto this planet and momentarily invaded NLA, neither they nor this Lone Hero had been since.

How would Lao have felt at that moment if he had known what he would not for some time concerning Elma? That she was fundamental to Project Exodus, that she knew the truth of who was chosen to escape the Earth and who was condemned to annihilation, most certainly it would have been in her power to affect those lists of eternal consignment? 

Reasons to hate her would have been amplified by the great lie all but a handful in the highest administration of the government and BLADE knew. And she alone of them all was a hypocrite, it was her xeno body alone which resided in the Lifehold in cryostasis, every single human being’s had been tossed aside on the Earth. They were to be given new flesh and new blood, all according to their carefully catalogued personal genomes, identical to what was lost in form, age, and material to which their consciousnesses and memories would be transferred from a server where everyone’s were truly being stored at the present time. 

This was all good, but she lied. Die with the Earth or sacrifice the body one had been born with to live on, this was a moral choice everyone offered to board the White Whale should have been presented with. If Project Exodus had excluded everyone who had refused to give up their Earth body, they could have found people more than willing to take their places. Instead, just as it arbitrarily decided who was worthy of life and death according to wealth and ethnicity, Project Exodus chose to keep everyone in the dark and destroy their bodies regardless of their wishes. What was a body? For one perspective, it was just proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acid working all together as an organism. Yet what those who attached sentimental value to their bodies? Who found the bodies they had been born into, nestled loving parents through as a child, had gotten covered in mud and bandages as a kid, that once ate thirteen hot dogs to ill effect on a friendly dare, that furiously jotted down answers for the SATs, that experienced their first kiss, much later made first love, and later even perhaps held its newborn progeny, priceless?

But this was not in Lao’s mind at the time. Instead he just pushed forward with Elma’s team and his own through Noctilum. What a sight it is on first entry, the jungle so dense a hundred yards felt as though a mile thick. He had promised to take her to the zoo one day, just imagine if she saw this. -He quickly dashed this thought from his head before it could visibly affect him, there was no way he’d let her come here, way too many things that could kill them. 

And speaking of killing, some indigens did assail them as they ventured through the region. It was no problem, Lao knocked them off guard with his javelin, Lin toppled them over, Elma struck precisely but relentlessly, Cross was talented, and even L Lao had to admit provided some nice support. Lao’s teammates did their share too, when it was clear in advance a Tyrant was in their way, Mondo, Shingo, and Saiden offered themselves as decoys, and falling for the feint, a hailstorm fired from Lao’s sniper rifle, Elma’s dual guns, Lin’s gatling, and L’s psycho launchers weakened it enough for a melee kill. A few jokes about Tatsu, that furry childish xeno that it insisted it wasn’t a potato or papaya who Lin was both cursed and blessed with, part of the banter which followed this handful of fighting encounters.

They at least reached the area known as the Qing Long Glade, it was covered in truly alien blue grasses, light blue-white trees like fungus where arose from the same soil, and insectoids the size of small pets called Germivores disguised themselves as plant life and borrowed into the ground waiting for prey and hiding from predators. Here in Noctilum’s northern half, things were much more open than in the smaller southern half and its jungles. The sun had no issues penetrating the canopy to the ground, why the Suncatch Ravine was a testament to its splendid radiance. Jungle or not all was vibrant, pristine, untouched by humanity, which Lao traversing through it all, could only see degrade, much as it had done to like environments back on Earth. Humankind could not make Miran nature more perfect, all it could do is take from it and add to itself. As others expressed bewilderment at the majesty that was part and parcel of the daily grind of a BLADE, Lao kept his praise short and none too emotional, though he felt the aesthetic overflow within.

It was at the BLADE base camp in this area that Lao’s crew and Elma’s departed from each other after a merry little expedition together. Her team was headed for Dead Man’s Gulch, the site of some abandon xeno mech which was to be secured from indigens and then retrieved by helicopter due to how significant it appeared to be. 

Lao had his team’s sights set on the Weeping Whitewood, which sounded just pleasant as Dead Man’s Gulch. All the plant life in the Whitewood was pale or grey, looking rotten and dead, with pools of blood-red water, corrosive and poisonous to the touch. And yet it this was still part of Mira’s natural beauty, it support its own ecosystem. Belisarda worked as it usually did and completed its job, it found sites for new probes to expand FrontierNav and instilled as much of the area as they could into their heads, looking for anything they could suggest examination of later in the written report for this job.

Beginning the trek back to NLA job well done, they passed through the base camp at Qing Long Glade again. They were charitable enough to help a few other BLADEs with their odds and ends, not much of it was prescribed Pathfinder duties, but the BLADE divisions were only a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Night was falling when they were nearly out of northern Noctilum, at the Canopied Nightwood, where they chose to turn in and get some sleep at the base camp. Lao opted to just lay outside, there was always active duty BLADEs defending the base camps and he always slept lightly whenever out of NLA just in case.

Trying to fall asleep, he stared at the stars peaking between the trees and mushroom-shaped rocks called the Nopon Highroad looming above him. In this state, as he drifted towards slumber, his consciousness and unconsciousness melded together. The trees, the rocks, branching out ever higher, they became his hands. Yet as far as he could reach, wherever the Earth was in the distant cosmos, he could not reach it. He was certain Charmaine and Chenshi were back there, reaching just the same for him. Entering deeper and deeper into dream, Lao felt it all real, that his body was real, he envisioned stars shining in the daytime hours, his wife and daughter passing comets, sending him a sunshower and rainbow beyond compare. 

He awoke but an hour after he fell asleep, the fantasy was gone. He knew they were dead, they were not of the 20 million of 10 billion who were selected by Project Exodus, he alone survived. Why? He shed tears with the guilt of a survivor. He was shaken to the core, but in the darkness was able to hide it from anyone nearby. When the glint of the artificial light produced by manmade trailers entered his eyes, he squinted with disgust at it all. He suppressed this feeling and fruitlessly tried to return to sleep.

In the next morning, he hid his tiredness from his team and together they pressed on in their return to NLA. As they traveled directly south, they had to turn to the west once they reached Lakeview Stronghold, a fortified base belonging to the Ganglion. Humanity could not force out these xenos from their well-fortified military bases established months before humans crashed on Mira. The Ganglion Lao had seen in Elma’s company were intent on the total annihilation of humanity. Whilst the fighting the Ghost back by Earth, they had in a matter of seconds detonated the entire planet, a blink of an eye. Unaware they too were stuck here, Lao only knew that they would eradicate everything, every last human, and not only that, they would obliterate the smallest sign of humans having ever existed. Thus, the Lifehold had be reduced to less than rubble, it mattered not if it was forgettable or glorious, a Shakespeare play or a dime novel, absolutely nothing of humanity was to endure.

His crew taking a half hour or so’s break, Lao said he was fine and if everyone else could defend for himself, he was going to do a little recon. He wanted to see if there were any little paths near Lakeview Stronghold could use to sneak past the Ganglion. It’d be quicker if there was one. Everyone else, admiring Lao and trusting in his wisdom, let him go on independent recon for the break, just return safely is all they asked of him.

This was it, that feeling he had felt in the night, he was acting on it. The Ganglion destroyed the Earth, the humanity that survived was flawed. It had always been flawed, but at least it kept it to Earth, now, humanity was just starting to become an intergalactic species, and it found the first new planet to screw up. Perhaps it was too late to get better, perhaps humanity was a tumor to the universe. 

…All of humanity should have perished along with the Earth.

So driven by the knowledge he held that few of the 20 million others not in the upper brass had, so longing for his wife and their daughter, so given from these things to assume the worst in Humankind, Lao betrayed. 

 

If anyone needs supplementary information and material, I am willing to provide what I can.

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Fudge flakes and chocolate crunchies! I set my piece too late! I should've taken a moment to look over the specifics better having not played the game in years (and the six months is also off I recall, it's more like 2-3). This is XCX Chapter 6 and that is just a little too late.:>_<: I should've watched the plot on Youtube first, but no, I rushed to put out an entry. Haste makes waste.

Not like it affects much, it only means the Team Elma meeting has to be left out, which isn't pivotal as an event in itself in my narrative. More a chosen vehicle to accomplish what could have been done by other means. Or it could be Elma is doing something other than Chapter 6, another random and inconsequential mission.

(I can't edit the above post due to the wall of text that is the entry, hence the double post.)

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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14 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Fudge flakes and chocolate crunchies! I set my piece too late! I should've taken a moment to look over the specifics better having not played the game in years (and the six months is also off I recall, it's more like 2-3). This is XCX Chapter 6 and that is just a little too late.:>_<: I should've watched the plot on Youtube first, but no, I rushed to put out an entry. Haste makes waste.

Not like it affects much, it only means the Team Elma meeting has to be left out, which isn't pivotal as an event in itself in my narrative. More a chosen vehicle to accomplish what could have been done by other means. Or it could be Elma is doing something other than Chapter 6, another random and inconsequential mission.

(I can't edit the above post due to the wall of text that is the entry, hence the double post.)

Call it creative license. I was informed of an inaccuracy in my most recent entry by Ana. I said Zelda had always been good with magic, and I hadn't seen the memory scene where it said she had to really practice and study. But it is not a big deal. 

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It's multiple memory scenes, technically. There are a few different instances where Zelda is trying to awaken her magic or Rhoam is lecturing her about it. :P

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1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

It's multiple memory scenes, technically. There are a few different instances where Zelda is trying to awaken her magic or Rhoam is lecturing her about it. :P

It is multiple memories.  As well as Zelda's journal, and Rhoam's in Hyrule Castle as well.

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1 minute ago, TheSilentChloey said:

It is multiple memories.  As well as Zelda's journal, and Rhoam's in Hyrule Castle as well.

I'm aware of Zelda's journal, but Rhoam had one too? I must've never found it. Despite that I thought I explored every nook and cranny of that damn castle.

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5 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Fudge flakes and chocolate crunchies!

Stealing this for future usage.

I actually think I liked yours best out of the Tellius stuff I read, Ana, though IO up and switched on me after that humongous yet extremely interesting infodump so I guess you only had to compete with Jotari here.

Overall looking pretty good guys, I like what I've seen so far for sure, even considering I've played...I think NONE of these games except Heroes, which Chloey snagged, and I feel like that doesn't really count. I'm still thinking I'll throw out at least a quickly-done piece for the practice and to show what exactly made me think of this prompt, so I guess expect that in the next couple days maybe?

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4 hours ago, Anacybele said:

I'm aware of Zelda's journal, but Rhoam had one too? I must've never found it. Despite that I thought I explored every nook and cranny of that damn castle.

Yeah he does located in the library which you need magnesis to find.

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7 hours ago, TheSilentChloey said:

Yeah he does located in the library which you need magnesis to find.

Ah, I see. That explains it. I didn't use magnesis to find a book there.

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11 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

though IO up and switched on me after that humongous yet extremely interesting infodump

I'm surprised someone actually liked it. I could work through try finishing it on my off time. That was mostly me adding garnish and aromatics to events laid out in the official Tellius timeline. My continued plans had to be me wholly inventing another ~400 years of events showing the decline of Begnion as an empire being a bad thing, contributing to what is said exchange from the 2nd playthrough Epilogue of RD (which is obviously spoilers):

Spoiler

Ashunera:
“How long has it been? A hundred years? Five hundred?”

Lehran:
“About twelve hundred years.”

Ashunera:
“I see. For mortals, that is many, many lives.”

Lehran:
“Yes. The peace we once had is on the verge of crumbling again.”

Ashunera:
“That is unfortunate. The miasma of war is beginning to shroud the world. However, I shall not again be frightened. As one born of the hopes of man I shall protect this world.”

 

7 hours ago, TheSilentChloey said:

Yeah he does located in the library which you need magnesis to find.

Yeah, I found that quite easily, since there are several readily noticeable magnetic bookcases, and if you approach from a certain way, you have to move one of them to get into the library in the first place. I think there was a Royal Guard equip behind the bookcase as well, one of those powerful but fragile items.

Helps Magnesis spam is a nifty way to identify if there is something hidden or can be interacted with in BotW. It doesn't always reveal relevant stuff, but covering the world in that red grid pattern is an option you're free to use at any time.

...I love BotW's Hyrule Castle, would have loved more of this stuff. The feeling of Castlevania but with Zelda and no annoying Medusa Heads in a clock tower, which is great given Castlevania has had something of an issue with 3D games. Though I would like different aesthetic themes if we had more.

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15 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

I actually think I liked yours best out of the Tellius stuff I read, Ana, though IO up and switched on me after that humongous yet extremely interesting infodump so I guess you only had to compete with Jotari here.

Heh, regardless, I appreciate the compliment, thanks. ^^

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Just once more? No, no more

Original

Word count: 1,727

PLEASE READ BEFORE READING THE STORY

Spoiler

I was hesitant to post this at first because of personal it was for me but ultimately I decided to go with it. I dunno maybe this piece was a bit too much and the pacing is a but fast but overall I don't think it's bad. I might add more to the ending before the deadline though.  Again maybe I went a little far here and I'm not too sure if it's as on prompt as I would like it to be but eh I'll let you guys be the judge of that. 

Edit: as ana pointed out gigantic Trigger warning. This story contains very dark and sensitive subject matter regarding mental health so if you are sensitive to that DO NOT READ viewer discretion is advised

Spoiler

The paper crinkled into Sigmund’s hand as a million daggers stabbed into his heart. Blood red marks and crosses covered the page as corpses would a warzone. He could only stare at the page in silence as the large ‘D’ painted in his own blood dragged him down into the endless ocean. What would his parents say? His grades are already pretty poor and with this, they’re just gonna get even worse. A scramble of his parents’ voices buzzed through his head.

 

Why can’t you just try harder? Are you even trying? Well, now you’re just making excuses. It doesn’t look like you’re trying to me. You won’t get anywhere by sitting on your ass all day.

 

The snake coiled tighter around his chest as cracks formed in his eyes. “But I am” He whispered to himself.

 

“Hey, Sigmund” A familiar voice called out to him.

 

Sigmund turned his head over to see a brown-haired boy with white skin walk over to him. “Hey, Josh, what’s up,” He said.

 

“Nothing much, so how’d you do on the test?”

 

Sigmund’s heart sank at the question. For a moment, he was silent. Should he answer? And if so, should it he answer truthfully? A small smile cracked on his face.

 

“I didn’t do too good,” He said as he showed his friend the red-stained paper in his hands, “see”

 

“Ouch” Josh winced as he looked at the test, “And after all that studying we did”

 

Sigmund sighed, “Yeah, just gotta do better next time I suppose”

 

“Yeah man,” His friend nodded. “Just gotta try harder”

 

“So what did you get?”

 

Josh smirked, “Just see for yourself” He presented his test for Sigmund to view.

 

Small black text was aligned across the snow white page marked with scribbles of gray. At the top in a beautiful rose like red stood a big old ‘A’. The knife in his heart twisted and sunk deeper into his flesh.

 

“Wow you did really well”

 

“Yeah though it’s strange how my score is so much better than yours seeing how much we studied together”

 

“Who knows,” Sigmund said, “Maybe my guesswork just wasn’t good enough”

 

Josh let out a slight chuckle, “Yeah I have no idea how I got some of these answers right”

 

A slight ding rang from Sigmund’s pocket as he reached in and pulled out his phone. He glanced down to see a text that read:

 

Dad: “I’m here”

 

“Gotta go?”

 

Sigmund glanced back up at his fellow second year, “Yeah”

 

Josh put away his test and slung his backpack over his shoulder, “Then I’ll see you Thursday then” He said as he began walking away.

 

“See ya” Sigmund waved before packing up his stuff and walked towards the exit.

 

------

Sigmund sighed as the cool evening breeze brushed through his hair. He slogged through the swamp of people around him as cinder blocks weighed down his every step. The sound of the surrounding chatter echoed into the air.

 

He should probably just be upfront about it. The lecture is gonna come no matter what so why bother trying to avoid it. It’ll be the same thing he’s heard a thousand times before. If he could perform better in school, he wouldn’t have to hear those godforsaken words over and over again but that was nothing but a pipe dream. Or if he could drive on his own, he wouldn’t have to deal with it so soon.

 

He sighed again, “might as well get this over with,” He said as he approached the small red Volkswagen in the parking lot.

 

“Hey dad” Sigmund ducked into the passenger seat and tossed his backpack into the back of the car.

 

“What not gonna drive today?” His dad asked

 

Sigmund shook his head, “No not today”

 

“Well, how are you gonna learn if you don’t practice?”

 

“I’m just tired ok”

 

“Alright, whatever you say” His dad with a slight roll of his eyes as he started the car and began the drive home.

 

For several minutes, a loud silence rang throughout the vehicle. Sigmund simply sat in his seat and fiddled with his phone. Tweets full of motivational messages scrolled past his somewhat vacant eyes.

 

“So...I didn’t too good on my calc test today” Sigmund finally broke the silence as he put his phone down and looked up at his dad.

 

His dad remained silent. Sigmund’s eyes glided down to his lap. His chest twisted from the anxiety that began to gnaw at his mind.

 

The first thing he’ll do is joke about how much good all that studying I did was

 

A couple more minutes passed and not a single word passed through his father’s lips. The second-year glanced back up at his father.

 

Why doesn’t he say anything? Normally the lecture would be in full swing by now

 

The fog of silence grew thicker and began to wrap around Sigmund’s neck. Air struggled to move through his windpipe as an anchor began to drag him below the surface.

 

His dad pulled the car into the driveway and sighed. “Just try harder” is all he said before walking out of the car.

Just try harder

 

Those three words began to scramble through his head as he sat there in utter silence. He felt the chains begin to pull harder as he slid closer to the chasm’s edge. He moved out of the car and grabbed his backpack. He walked through the garage. He stopped for a moment and looked at his dad’s shotgun hung on the wall.

 

He shook his head and continued inside. His backpack hit the floor as he sat down at the kitchen table.

 

Just try harder

 

Yeah right as if he wasn’t trying hard enough already. In the past week, he did nothing but study. He did practice problems, talked with the professor, met with study groups, looked over notes. What did that get him? Nothing but a big fat ‘D’ just like before. He’s nothing but a failure. A stupid stupid failure. The chains yanked harder pulling him over edge as he began to rapidly descend into the bottomless abyss.

 

“I honestly don’t know what to do about him” his father’s faint voice poked at his ears. “The boy can’t drive, he doesn’t work, he can’t even get a good grade on his calc test

 

How’s he ever gonna make it out in the real world like this?”

 

“I know and I try to tell him but we just have to be patient with him” His mom’s voice spoke up.

 

“I’ve been trying to be patient but that boy needs to learn to shape up and fast,” His dad said, “He’s 20 years old why by that age I already had a full-time job.

 

I don’t see that boy study or nothing. I just see him playing that damn game all the time” His father chuckled slightly, “I don’t see why we pay thousands for him to go to school at all if he ain’t gonna try

 

“But I am trying” Sigmund muttered to himself.

 

His father's words coiled around his neck suffocating him as his eyes began crinkle inward. “I am trying” He repeated as hands covered his face to try and hide the storm of tears flooding from the metaphorical dam.

 

His father was right. He was 20 years old and what has he done with his life? Not a goddamn thing?! But it’s not like he doesn’t try. His father just doesn’t see it nor does it lead to any results. If that’s the case, then why try at all? What’s the point in putting the effort if it’s only gonna lead to more pain and disappointment. And all this ‘trying’ is nothing but a bother to everyone, His parents need to drive him every time he needs to meet with a study group or tutor. It’s nothing but a waste of their precious time as he has been told countless times before. He’s nothing but a burden. A waste of space that would be better off gone. He’s nothing but a disappointment, nothing but a stupid failure. What’s one life in a sea of billions?

 

“S-someone...pl-please...t-tell me...I’m...wrong” He barely got out in between sobs.

 

Someone tell him he’s worth something that he means something to them as it happens in the movies and T.V. shows.

 

“Someone please just help me. I don’t know what to do” He whispered.

 

Several minutes passed as the black-haired boy just sat there in a pool of his despair-ridden tears. More time passed and the sobbing stopped. Sigmund lifted his head as his red and swollen eyes adjusted to the near pitch-black room around him. He looked back at the clock on the oven that read: 10:00. He had been crying for about three hours.

 

He sighed, “So that’s how it is…”

 

A smile began to curve on his face as he rose from his seat. He walked over and grabbed a pen and paper. He scribbled some words on it and tucked it behind the microwave. Next, he went to the garage, grabbed the shotgun and ran out to the river just outside the neighborhood.

 

A sudden boom blasted into the air as several animals scattered away at the sound of gunfire. Well, at least it works. Sigmund then aimed the barrel towards his face as his back faced the river below. He took a deep breath. Was this the right choice? He could stop now. He shook his head. Like anyone would care if he did it or not and besides it was already too late.

 

“I’m sorry for everything,” He said with a smile before the sound of a gunshot blasted into the air and everything went black.

 

------

“Where am I?” Sigmund said as he opened his eyes. He found himself standing in his living room. His family was there. His mother, father, sister, grandparents and even a few of his friends all sat and laughed as the watched T.V.. No pictures of him hung on the wall nor did any line the shelves.

 

They really didn’t care….

 

Life was normal. In fact, it was better for them. He had never seen them laugh so hard or being this happy and together. Did he do this? Did he bring them all together? Sigmund smiled. He made the right choice.

He turned to walk as his spirit faded away. A river of his family's tears flowing from where he once stood.

 

Edited by Ottservia
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@Ottservia You should have added more to your warning. If I'd known what I was getting into reading this, I would have not read it at all. I'll explain in a spoiler so the same thing doesn't happen to someone else.

Spoiler

You've only been a member of this forum since 2017, so you most likely don't know this, and so I can't entirely blame you for causing me some grief. I'm certain you didn't intend to hurt anyone either. But your piece triggered me because my brother committed suicide in 2015 and by a gun just as your piece's character does. I'm shaking a little and about ready to cry because I'm having flashbacks now. I was in the house when my brother did it, and I was the one that found him after. I'd love to completely forget what I saw, but while the memory has grown vague, it'll never go away completely. I couldn't open a bedroom door without feeling scared for the longest time because he was lying in a bedroom right in front of the door. I couldn't be in the church when my stepgrandma died without breaking down in tears over my brother. I felt like I was reliving his death and funeral. And I constantly felt guilty because of things like having been there but not even checking on him once all day, let alone trying to stop him from doing what he did, complaining about his bad habits a lot, and hating him when he was born because he wasn't the sister I'd always dreamed of having. Even though my parents told me I didn't need to feel guilty about anything, I still did for a time. I'd feel like I wasn't a good enough sister.

And now I feel like your piece is making me relive that horrible experience yet again. I'd like to say you should've written something else, but I wouldn't want anyone to be limited here just because of one person's experiences. So I'll say again, next time, make your warning clearer, please.

 

Edited by Anacybele
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15 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

@Ottservia You should have added more to your warning. If I'd known what I was getting into reading this, I would have not read it at all. I'll explain in a spoiler so the same thing doesn't happen to someone else.

  Reveal hidden contents

You've only been a member of this forum since 2017, so you most likely don't know this, and so I can't entirely blame you for causing me some grief. I'm certain you didn't intend to hurt anyone either. But your piece triggered me because my brother committed suicide in 2015 and by a gun just as your piece's character does. I'm shaking a little and about ready to cry because I'm having flashbacks now. I was in the house when my brother did it, and I was the one that found him after. I'd love to completely forget what I saw, but while the memory has grown vague, it'll never go away completely. I couldn't open a bedroom door without feeling scared for the longest time because he was lying in a bedroom right in front of the door. I couldn't be in the church when my stepgrandma died without breaking down in tears over my brother. I felt like I was reliving his death and funeral. And I constantly felt guilty because of things like having been there but not even checking on him once all day, let alone trying to stop him from doing what he did, complaining about his bad habits a lot, and hating him when he was born because he wasn't the sister I'd always dreamed of having. Even though my parents told me I didn't need to feel guilty about anything, I still did for a time. I'd feel like I wasn't a good enough sister.

And now I feel like your piece is making me relive that horrible experience yet again. I'd like to say you should've written something else, but I wouldn't want anyone to be limited here just because of one person's experiences. So I'll say again, next time, make your warning clearer, please.

 

I do apologize if my piece had that effect on you and as I said I was hesitant to post this particular piece and I did say in an earlier post that I would be writing something relatively dark and sensitive. My condolences to you and your family and I am truly sorry for what I have forced you to relive. Honestly while writing this piece I had to trudge through a very dark place cause if I’m being honest this piece is kind of a reflection of myself in a lot of ways. *sigh* I was afraid something like this would happen. This is what happens when you tread a topic as deep and serious as this.

Edited by Ottservia
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41 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

I do apologize if my piece had that effect on you and as I said I was hesitant to post this particular piece and I did say in an earlier post that I would be writing something relatively dark and sensitive. My condolences to you and your family and I am truly sorry for what I have forced you to relive. Honestly while writing this piece I had to trudge through a very dark place cause if I’m being honest this piece is kind of a reflection of myself in a lot of ways. *sigh* I was afraid something like this would happen. This is what happens when you tread a topic as deep and serious as this.

I realize that, and as I said, I don't blame you entirely. I know that you didn't know. And thank you. But if this piece is a reflection of yourself, then it sounds like you need some help. I highly recommend you seek some.

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4 hours ago, Anacybele said:

@Ottservia You should have added more to your warning. If I'd known what I was getting into reading this, I would have not read it at all. I'll explain in a spoiler so the same thing doesn't happen to someone else.

  Hide contents

You've only been a member of this forum since 2017, so you most likely don't know this, and so I can't entirely blame you for causing me some grief. I'm certain you didn't intend to hurt anyone either. But your piece triggered me because my brother committed suicide in 2015 and by a gun just as your piece's character does. I'm shaking a little and about ready to cry because I'm having flashbacks now. I was in the house when my brother did it, and I was the one that found him after. I'd love to completely forget what I saw, but while the memory has grown vague, it'll never go away completely. I couldn't open a bedroom door without feeling scared for the longest time because he was lying in a bedroom right in front of the door. I couldn't be in the church when my stepgrandma died without breaking down in tears over my brother. I felt like I was reliving his death and funeral. And I constantly felt guilty because of things like having been there but not even checking on him once all day, let alone trying to stop him from doing what he did, complaining about his bad habits a lot, and hating him when he was born because he wasn't the sister I'd always dreamed of having. Even though my parents told me I didn't need to feel guilty about anything, I still did for a time. I'd feel like I wasn't a good enough sister.

And now I feel like your piece is making me relive that horrible experience yet again. I'd like to say you should've written something else, but I wouldn't want anyone to be limited here just because of one person's experiences. So I'll say again, next time, make your warning clearer, please.

 

Oh wow Ana. That sucks. Didn't know that about you at all. This is the reason trigger warnings are sort of useful and shouldn't be downplayed or mocked.

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6 hours ago, Anacybele said:

I realize that, and as I said, I don't blame you entirely. I know that you didn't know. And thank you. But if this piece is a reflection of yourself, then it sounds like you need some help. I highly recommend you seek some.

Trust me I am well aware of my mental health problems but thank you. I have seeked and gotten help but sometimes scars like these take longer to heal as I’m sure you’re aware. Personally I don’t know why I wrote what I did and the piece honestly terrifies me a little bit

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9 hours ago, Ottservia said:

I might add more to the ending before the deadline though

We can make revisions before the deadline?

I think I might then, don't think I'll correct my major chronological error due to its relatively minor impact on the main point, but some other little fixes and self-criticisms I'm seeing I was considering ironing out.

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6 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

Trust me I am well aware of my mental health problems but thank you. I have seeked and gotten help but sometimes scars like these take longer to heal as I’m sure you’re aware. Personally I don’t know why I wrote what I did and the piece honestly terrifies me a little bit

I'd say that writing is a way to get it out of your head so you don't have to reflect on it.

 

Though I know all too well about old scars not healing too well myself as well.

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5 hours ago, Jotari said:

Oh wow Ana. That sucks. Didn't know that about you at all. This is the reason trigger warnings are sort of useful and shouldn't be downplayed or mocked.

Huh, you've been here since 2011, so you must somehow never have seen the thread I made about it when it happened. Maybe you were on vacation or hiatus or something. But yeah, exactly.

2 hours ago, Ottservia said:

Trust me I am well aware of my mental health problems but thank you. I have seeked and gotten help but sometimes scars like these take longer to heal as I’m sure you’re aware. Personally I don’t know why I wrote what I did and the piece honestly terrifies me a little bit

That is true, I don't mean that these wounds will heal over night. It's a process. Just so long as you've gotten help, you're already moving in the right direction. It doesn't always have to be seeing a therapist or counselor or whatever either. After my incident, I got back into coloring books and jigsaw puzzles, which are quite therapeutic. They can help you relax and stuff. Sometimes video games can do this too, though in that case, they have to be games that you enjoy and feel relaxed playing. Not all of them will do that. I always found simulation create & control games such as the Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon, etc. to be most effective in my case. Many of these games have a sandbox mode that you can just jump into and do whatever you want in with no limits or anything. The Sims games can't have one due to the way they work, but they can still be relaxing nonetheless.

2 hours ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

Well, that was a thing to experience. I am sorry for both of you.

Yeah, I would never want anyone to go through what I did. Thanks.

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8 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

That is true, I don't mean that these wounds will heal over night. It's a process. Just so long as you've gotten help, you're already moving in the right direction. It doesn't always have to be seeing a therapist or counselor or whatever either. After my incident, I got back into coloring books and jigsaw puzzles, which are quite therapeutic. They can help you relax and stuff. Sometimes video games can do this too, though in that case, they have to be games that you enjoy and feel relaxed playing. Not all of them will do that. I always found simulation create & control games such as the Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon, etc. to be most effective in my case. Many of these games have a sandbox mode that you can just jump into and do whatever you want in with no limits or anything. The Sims games can't have one due to the way they work, but they can still be relaxing nonetheless.

yeah I have talked with my parents about these feelings and I did so want to give this a more happy ending but seeing as how we were supposed to subvert expectation yeah. Sometimes my mind goes to the darkest places. Not helping matters was that I just finished  rewatching madoka magica as I began brainstorming and writing it. If you don't know madoka magica is an anime infamous for it's very dark take on the magical girl genre which tackles themes of loss, the duality of hope and despair, and existentialism. It's an amazing show and one I wholeheartedly recommend but it's very heavy. But anyway I'm on the road to recovery and thanks for the advice. 

Edited by Ottservia
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4 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

yeah I have talked with my parents about these feelings and I did so want to give this a more happy ending but seeing as how we were supposed to subvert expectation yeah. Sometimes my mind goes to the darkest places. Not helping matters was that I just finished  rewatching madoka magica as I began brainstorming and writing it. If you don't know madoka magica is an anime infamous for it's very dark take on the magical girl genre which tackles themes of loss, the duality of hope and despair, and existentialism. It's an amazing show and one I wholeheartedly recommend but it's very heavy. But anyway I'm on the road to recovery and thanks for the advice. 

I see, that's a good start. It's good to hear that you're recovering! And yeah, while that sounds like it's well written, I'm not sure watching something like that would do me any favors, at least not right now. xP

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15 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Huh, you've been here since 2011, so you must somehow never have seen the thread I made about it when it happened. Maybe you were on vacation or hiatus or something. But yeah, exactly.

 

I don't wander beyond the General Fire Emblem forum much.

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