Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Apr 16, 2008 7:51:56 GMT -5
So this is how it ends. Left to twist in the wind at the end of the world... If that's how it is, I just want to go home.
But not like this. Not alone. And in this case, she truly was alone - for all intents and purposes, there was nothing left of the Balamb that Fujin had wanted to return to. There were no people, homes had fallen into disrepair, and even the smell of the sea was, at best, stagnant. The sea breeze no longer brushed against her skin, and the gentle wash of the waves had gone silent. It quickly became apparent to Fujin that she seemed to be the only living thing here. At first, she searched frantically for someone or something that indicated that not all was lost, but as she scoured the town the only thing to be found was more deadened emptiness. When she finally reached the hotel near the docks, it occurred to her just what might have happened.
"We caused this..."
Over the course of her search, small clues had begun coming to light that indicated she was not so alone as she originally thought. What was here, however, Fujin felt no inclination to meet face-to-face. Thinking back, there were in fact many signs of the horde of monsters that must have overrun Balamb. Whole rooms blackened by the suicide attacks of sadistic bombs, more than willing to sacrifice themselves in order to cause destruction, doors ripped open by claws and horns, and gouges in the walls of buildings that served as territorial markers. With no idea how long it had been or how she got here, Fujin knew that it was not unfeasible that the monsters coming from the Lunar Cry could have ended up here. Crossing the Horizon Bridge and following the undersea tunnel from Timber, the horde would have had nowhere else to migrate to on the small island, and ended up concentrating there.
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Under the weight of the realization that she played a role in her hometown's oblivion Fujin collapsed in the hotel doorway, silent, regretful tears falling freely from one eye, and eventually even soaking through the patch covering the other. There was little time for crying though, as she soon heard the sounds of creatures stirring not far away. Remembering the markings, it came to her that she must have crossed through several different monsters' territories, which seemed not to please them. Fujin quickly wiped the tears from her eye and bolted into the hotel, closing the doors as securely as she could behind her. Though the doors were heavy and didn't appear to be in too dire a state, she knew they wouldn't hold long. As an added measure of security, she barricaded the entry with the reception desk and several other pieces of furniture. With her back against the wall and eye on the stairs, there was little left to do for now but wait...
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Post by Xenos on Apr 18, 2008 12:47:12 GMT -5
(( ))
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Post by Alexander THE GIRL on Apr 19, 2008 1:12:15 GMT -5
((That means she likes you...I think. Don't let crazy Xenos distract you. XD))
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Apr 19, 2008 3:06:22 GMT -5
((Don't worry, I've got the rest coming as soon as I get home, but for now I'm spending a little while around town.))
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Post by Vincent Valentine on Apr 30, 2008 4:01:27 GMT -5
((- What was a great post Fu! I love it, and I love the fact we have some FFVIII characters...maybe I should quit and sign up again as an FFVIII character... -))
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on May 6, 2008 17:34:43 GMT -5
Loud animal roars filtered through the walls of the Balamb Hotel, triggering a vague memory of dense forest in Fujin. She couldn't identify whatever creature made the sound, but it did in fact sound familiar. And judging by the way her crude barricade was beginning to buckle, they were also rather large. However, after several failed attempts to break through, the monsters outside seemed to become frustrated and search for another method of entry which they quickly found. Whatever was out there, it was capable of scaling the hotel walls without great difficulty, and the sound of breaking glass soon reached her ears.
Now knowing from which direction danger would be coming, Fujin directed her full attention on the stairway, prepared to fight for her life. Just as the shape of a green and blue Grendel appeared at the top of the stairwell, another roar came from outside. Fujin had liked her chances before being forced to remember that the dragonesque creatures typically moved as mates. But as the other Grendel crashed through the hotel doors, she was faced with the problem of not only fending off two monsters, but having her exits cut off as well.
Strangely, the creatures were slow to attack her, advancing with slow, measured paces. Fujin was thankful for their sloth though, as it provided her with some time to evaluate the situation. She had fought pairs of Grendels like this along with Raijin on their way to G-Garden once, but that had been in a more open environment. Of course, she'd also had her GFs, weapon, magic, and someone to cover her back. All things considered, running was not only the safest option, but the only one that seemed as if it might allow her to survive. And since there are no open exits, I'll have to make one.
By now the first Grendel was halfway down the stairs while the beast that had come through the doors was nearly within striking distance. Fujin sprinted to her right in the opposite direction from the main doors, and also away from that which sought to eat her. As she expected, both Grendels sprung into action, moving to chase her down. They were clearly faster than she, but Fujin wasn't looking to outrun them yet. As she reached the back of the room, the former Garden student kicked off of the wall, throwing her body into a butterfly twist and slamming the heel of her boot into the nearest monster's skull. Her target went limp and hit the floor, stunned by her fierce attack. Its mate, however, was still coming at her full bore and lept to tackle her.
Fujin's eye widened, surprised that the other dragon could round the stairs so quickly. She dove to her left in an effort to evade, and thought she had been successful until she tried to roll onto her feet. Searing pain radiated through her right leg, causing her to stumble and fall. A few moments' meditation could have solved the problem, but it was neither the time nor place for that. Meanwhile the beast had recovered from its tackle and was once again ready to pounce upon her. Knowing that attempting to run would be futile, Fujin desperately searched for something to help fend off the Grendel. The only thing that presented itself was the broken leg of a chair from her barricade. If nothing else, it's pointy.
No sooner did her hand close around the piece of wood than the dragon pounced, jaws wide open and ready to drive its teeth into her neck. If it had time to think before dying, the monster must have been surprised to find not flesh between its teeth, but solid maple. With blood falling from its mouth, the lifeless body fell on top of Fujin, pinning her. She cursed her luck as she heard the other Grendel begin coming to its senses.
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on May 9, 2008 8:21:55 GMT -5
After briefly struggling with the body laying on top of her, Fujin managed to toss the lifeless thing aside and took stock of her options. She couldn't fight in her current condition, but time was precious. Rather than attempt to heal her wounded leg completely, she simply focused her energy on blocking the pain and stopping the bleeding. The still-live Grendel had regained its feet by now and was shaking off its disorientation. It didn't seem to notice Fujin yet, and she had no intention of giving it the time to. She rolled onto her feet and hastily made a tactical advance away from the enemy.
Although numbing herself to the pain of her injury allowed her to move faster than she could have otherwise, the damaged muscle couldn't drive her at its normal capacity. A quick look over her right shoulder revealed an angry Grendel quickly gaining ground on Fujin and it would no doubt soon catch her if something wasn't done now. Frantically scanning the street ahead of her Fujin noticed that she was coming up on the old junk shop. The odds of finding a finished weapon inside were slim, but it offered more hope than any of her other options. Deciding not to take a chance on a possibly locked front door, Fujin took the direct approach and dove through the store window, which fortunately was too small for the monster chasing her to fit through.
Fujin looked up as she lay on the hard cement floor to see the short, muscled arm of her pursuer reaching through the small window she had just come through. Panting and now in much more pain than she had the mental strength to block, she was glad for the brief respite. However, soon the monster would just break the store's door in just as it had at the hotel. Even if it didn't, the small dragons had more patience than their ferocity would imply, and it would simply wait her out - she had to find something to take care of it with.
Fujin limped through the shop, discarding one half-finished weapon after another. Nothing seemed to offer the quick finish that she required until she reached the very back of the shop and found a powerful-looking rifle in perfect condition. Although most Garden students didn't use guns regularly, all of them were required to learn how to use them competently. Fujin picked the rifle up and quickly looked it over to ensure that it was safe to use. As she was loading a round into the bolt-action weapon, her "guest" made its entry just as expected.
The beast crashed through the various tables and benches as it rushed toward her and received a bullet in the shoulder for its trouble. A near-deafening roar of pain reverberated through the shop, but the monster wouldn't be stopped. Another bullet tore through its leg and caused it to fall to the floor. As it rose once again, the Grendel's breathing became heavy and an iridescent glow surrounded its body. Fujin recognized this as charging its breath attack and quickly loaded another round. As thunder energy began to flow from its mouth she pulled the trigger, splitting the dragon's head in a gory display of death.
The rifle fell from her hands and she fell to the floor. The broken glass had carved dozens of small cuts into her body and the gash in her leg had begun to bleed once more. She needed meditation, but by now was having trouble even staying awake. Still, to sleep now would be sentencing herself to death. Reaching deep into a reservoir of energy that she was hardly aware existed in her, Fujin focused the last of her strength on healing the most serious of her injuries before passing from consciousness.
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on May 20, 2008 18:01:30 GMT -5
[OOC: Think I took long enough to write up a new post? Heh, it's a good thing I don't have anyone else waiting on me right now, otherwise I'd be in trouble. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to getting out of Balamb... After this post I think Fujin will be ready to hit the tracks, and then it's just a matter of getting from here to there.]
Light filtering in through a broken window and into Fujin's unprotected eye slowly drew her away from sleep, forcing her to face the sad reality of her circumstance once more. Soreness accompanied every movement as she drowsily rose to her feet and took stock of the situation. The grendel body was still laying there, which after a moment's thought surprised Fujin - she would have expected that some other monster would have taken advantage of the free meal.
"Perhaps I should just be glad that they didn't, otherwise that meal might have been me," she thought aloud to herself while picking up the rifle she had used the night before. It was a surprisingly sophisticated piece of hardware that really had no business being in a place like Balamb. In spite of how out-of-place it was though, Fujin was more than happy to sling its carrying strap over her shoulder and take the remaining half-dozen bullets with her as she left the junk shop.
Outside the sun shone as brightly as it ever had over Balamb, a fact that Fujin wasn't all together prepared for. The devastation around her was such that one wouldn't think the sun dare cast its light on it, and the fact that it did so anyway seemed cruel somehow. Looking about, Fujin was unsure of where to begin or even what to do. With little else to fall back on, she referenced her training from Garden.
Normally the first thing to do would be to search for any survivors and attempt to link up with them. However, she'd already been to the two most likely survivor locations in town, and didn't notice any ships at port. That left Garden, which would have picked up survivors and gone out to sea. Guess that means my objective would be to get out of here. Fujin cast a woeful glance in the direction of the train station, knowing that it was her only way off the island and that it would likely kill her just as quickly as staying behind. Having decided that her life was forfeit either way, Fujin casually strolled off to see when the next train was leaving.
As she approached the train station however, something caught her eye - a glimpse of herself in a store window. Her own clothes were torn in more places than she cared to number, not to mention thoroughly stained with blood. The blood had also gotten into her hair, clotting and making a mess of it. Even her eyepatch looked worse for wear. Can't leave town looking like this, now can I? If I'm going to walk to my death I might as well leave a decent-looking cadaver.
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Jun 10, 2008 12:22:32 GMT -5
[OOC: Ugh. Everything I try to write lately is crap. I'll try to get a post up before the end of the week, but at this rate I'm considering myself fortunate to be able to even post normally without being disgusted with the result.]
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Jun 19, 2008 6:17:34 GMT -5
[OOC: Okay, so I'm not only late with posting this, but I haven't quite solved my problem if not being able to write worth a damn either. But this is better than what I was putting out earlier this week, so I figured that I might as well post it before I'm up to a full month between IC posts.]
As her uncovered eye attempted to pierce the black veil that seemed to cover the train tunnel's entrance, Fujin vaguely remembered a quote from one of her classes about how darkness looked inside the person who looked into it, or something to that effect. It certainly felt that way, and that feeling had held her in place for the last half an hour. She had spent the whole of the previous day preparing for this, only to wish that she had decided otherwise. The idea had been that getting cleaned up would leave her refreshed for the journey ahead, but every inch of progress just served to remind her how utterly alone she was here. And now, as the darkness stared back at her, its gaze focused on that isolation and froze her where she stood.
"STUPID, WEAK," she admonished herself aloud, hands clenched tightly around the hardwood staff she managed to find the day before. "UNACCEPTABLE!"
Setting her jaw, she stepped forward. And did so again. With every step the darkness loomed above and around her, but the strong-willed determination that first drove her to Garden refused to allow her any hesitation. So focused was Fujin on pushing herself forward that she failed to even realize that it had become too dark to see, and only became aware of that fact after stumbling over part of the railway. Feeling slightly more foolish than she had standing outside the tunnel, she turned on the flashlight strapped to her hip - another item she had the good fortune of picking up during her preparations.
As the dim light revealed the interior of the tunnel Fujin wondered if she would have been happier not seeing what was around her. The train tracks were completely ruined, their metal rails bent and twisted and the wooden planks beneath were a splintered, broken mess. That was nothing compared to the condition of the bodies around her. Some of the bones were completely white, picked clean of any flesh, while others pieces were left to rot where they lay. Worse than that were those that seemed to be rotting where they stood, and when the flashlight came on they suddenly became aware of a fresh body to make into one of their own.
At first they moved slowly and didn't appear to be much of a threat. It must have been due to extended inactivity, however, because it wasn't long before they were advancing with some swiftness. Unsure of what exactly to do Fujin backpedalled slowly and weighed her options. Before she could make any decision though she heard a rasp over her right shoulder. Without even thinking Fujin spun on the ball of her right foot. As the lower end of her staff made contact with the back of the undead's knee she levered it off-balance and left it to lay on the ground while she bolted further down the train tunnel, passing its compatriots before they could lay their rotting hands on her. Unfortunately, proceeding deeper into the tunnel only revealed more undead and, eventually, a wall of train wreckage.
Trapped between a closing wall of zombies and a wall of train which was going nowhere fast, Fujin decided to take the high road and used the limited hand and foot holds that the side of the train car provided in order to climb on top of it. When she shined her flashlight on the horde below her, Fujin couldn't help but feel as if she'd seen this situation before in every zombie movie ever made. Then the thought occurred to her that those movies tended to end with everything that had a pulse dying and she decided to forget the movies even existed and took a glance down the tunnel. In the limited space that she could see the wrecked cars seemed to arrange themsleves in an easily-navigated zig-zag pattern. Thankful for small miracles, Fujin waved goodbye to her zombie hosts and made her way along the top of the train.
From there, Fujin walked. And walked. Cut off from the outside and lacking the foresight to bring a watch, she had no idea how long she had been at it. What she did know was that this train couldn't possibly run the length of the undersea tunnel, and she would eventually have to come down and contend with more undead, this time without such an easy escape. Fujin was so focused on what to do after reaching the end of the train that she wasn't paying any attention to the part under her feet, which suddenly gave way and allowed gravity to have its way with her. Her head briefly made contact with the back of a chair and nearly did the opposite with the world around her.
So many pleasant surprises today; it's a good thing I love bad news she thought while shaking away the fog which threatened to shroud her vision. When that failed Fujin looked down toward her light to see its bulb flickering off and on before going out completely. A sigh of frustration slipped past the rueful grin on her lips before she slumped back against the wall behind her, too tired to go any further for now even if she could work up motivation.
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Jul 21, 2008 23:43:20 GMT -5
[OOC: Well, I broke my own rule about not letting a month or more pass between posts. The good news is that I plan on skipping Midgar entirely and going straight to Esthar to bug Kuja and Shiva, and it's totally legit. See, I didn't think of it at first because we never actually see a train in all of Esthar, but there -is- the train station at the edge of the Great Salt Lake (which I may also skip, non-legit-wise <_<;; ). So, look out Eastern Continent, here I come!]
Movement. There was definitely movement. But what was moving? Fujin had yet to do as much as open her eye, so it couldn't have been her. As that thought crossed her mind, a spark of realization flashed in her head. Over one eye was the blackness that had become so familiar, but in the other glowed a gentle orange, signifying the presence of light. Cautiously she opened her eye and saw that there were indeed lamps lit, and as her mind cleared she was able to reason out that it was the train which was moving.
Suddenly Fujin was on her feet, rifle in hand and sweeping the train car she was in. A quick look at the gun revealed the uselessness of such action though, as it appeared her fall had bent the barrel several degrees. It didn't make the weapon incapable of firing, but it did make it effectively useless. With a low growl she dropped the gun and kicked the staff that had been laying next to her into her hands. Even if she ended up having to rely on an improvised weapon, Fujin wanted to be armed, because it was evident that something more dangerous than the undead she encountered earlier was on the train. Something intelligent.
She should have relished the opportunity to interact with something that might not want to kill her, or at least could be reasoned with if it did. However, a natural distrust topped with several days of fighting for her life had put Fujin into "fight or flight" mode, and flight was rarely her first choice. Besides, there was no telling how or why the train had been put back on the tracks, or by who, or even if it was the same train. With that thought in mind, Fujin looked up to where she should have fallen through the ceiling to find that there was in fact no hole through which to fall. If her heart hadn't already been racing, that certainly would have set it doing so.
With ragged, unsteady breaths passing between her pale lips Fujin began making her way towards what she assumed was the front of the train. To an outside observer it might have seemed silly to see a well-trained young fighter tip-toeing through empty but exceptionally high-class train cars, jumping at anything that seemed slightly out of place. To Fujin though, every step felt like some kind of life-and-death struggle. A heavy, almost tangible sense of dread hung over her as she moved from one car to the next until she could no longer force her body to move forward.
Feeling as if her chest were being compressed by some massive weight and struggling just to stay on her feet, Fujin leaned heavily on her staff to help steady herself. She must have been near the front of the train by now, or so she'd hoped. If she could just regain control over herself she might be able to stop whatever it was that was happening to her. Building up her resolve and determination, Fujin tried to step forward, only to see something new blocking her path. Several nearly-formless shadows had materialized in the car, seemingly from nowhere. They had no distinguishable features, though their fuzzy outlines did appear as human silhouettes. Their voices drifted past Fujin's ear in low, moaning tones. The words were almost as insubstantial as the sources from which they came, but Fujin thought she could hear them repeating "doomed" and "pain" over and over. Then they began to advance.
Adrenaline flooded the former student's bloodstream and determination overrode fear, propelling Fujin's body into motion. The lower end of her staff came up swift and true, striking where the nearest shadow's chin seemed like it should have been, only to pass through harmlessly. That only made sense - attacking something which barely exists on the material plane was an exercise in futility. There was no time for Fujin to chastise herself though - she needed to find a way to repel the ghosts before her. A half-recalled lesson dealing with the undead floated through her mind, something about healing energies having a negative effect.
If I can't hit them, I'll just have to try to dispel them. Using the same technique that had saved her life in Balamb, Fujin focused her mind and body. Rather than redirecting the energy within her own body, she had to force it outward in order to affect the wraiths that continued to bear down on her. It was significantly more difficult to perform, and far more straining than simply casting a spell to similar effect, but there didn't appear to be any other options available to her. Although she didn't quite feel prepared and wasn't even certain that it would work, Fujin had run out of time and released her chakra into the train car, saturating it with her own life force. Several shadows disappeared in an instant, mostly those nearest to her. Others faded in and out of visibility as they fought to retain what little form they had. Unfortunately, just as many new wraiths appeared as had fallen.
Fujin's heart sank. She hadn't expected a second wave, and doubted she could have defeated the first one to begin with. My just reward, wrought by my own hands she thought, silently accepting defeat. Her feet slowly shuffled backward, delaying the inevitable. After a few steps she tripped over her own boots and fell back, with little desire to get back up. At least, not until seeing the figures that now stood above her. Two men, both clad in elegant SeeD uniforms, stood wrapped in an ethereal blue aura. One of them had his arms held out, and Fujin realized that he must have been trying to catch her as she fell. The other already had his weapon drawn, and simply gave Fujin a confident smile and nod before directing his attention to the wraiths.
Both SeeDs rushed forward, weapons in hand. The barely-visible forms of their enemies made their actions difficult to distinguish, but their angry screeches and wails of anguish could be sensed all too clearly. The SeeDs, on the other hand, were quite visible and could be seen cutting and stabbing at the legion of shadows that fell upon them. Eventually the sounds faded, two men having won over a number at which Fujin could only guess - powerful warriors, even in death. As she got back on her feet, the pair approached her, presumably to see if she was alright. The one that had tried to catch her had what seemed to be a flirtatious smile on his face, while his partner slowly shook his head. For a moment Fujin thought she recognized the more serious SeeD, but found it impossible to place him or remember his name. He seemed to have a face that nobody ever quite remembered, but no one ever quite forgot.
For a while, the three of them stood in silence, staring at one another until Fujin finally spoke. "Um, thank you..." she said meekly. The SeeDs looked surprised, even shocked upon hearing her before the one with the forgettable face nodded in understanding.
"You... well come," he said in return. His thoughtful expression and broken grammar seemed to indicate that he was having trouble talking, and Fujin asked if something was wrong. The SeeD gestured to his partner, who gently placed his hand on Fujin's head. Her mind quickly filled with numerous images, and she quickly understood that they hadn't been silent at all; their language had become one of thought and feeling, raw concepts whose words were long forgotten. She wasn't entirely surprised by this, but what did surprise her is when she found herself conversing with the SeeDs this way. She asked them about the train - what it was and where it was going, and they replied by showing her the image of a gastly locomotive with a huge skeletal face at the front of its engine, its path marked only by eerie flames. They then showed Fujin what she recognized as an old, abandoned train station outside of Esthar. Suddenly the train stopped.
"You cannnnnot come... with us. This, your stop..." the SeeD that had tried to flirt with her managed to say. A door opened in the side of the car, revealing the very station that they had just shown her. With a heavy sigh she nodded firmly and departed the train, leaving her saviors to continue riding to wherever their next stop was. As she turned to look back at them, all Fujin saw were empty tracks...
[OOC2: Gah, I wanted to make this longer and expand on a couple of things, but I've waited too long to make this post as it is, and can hardly justify postponing it any further. Oh well. Anyhow, it should be obvious that what Fujin was riding was, in fact, Doomtrain, which is how she was able to turn up at a disused station in the middle of nowhere that hasn't seen traffic since before Adel looked like a dude. And now, to Esthar!]
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Post by Alexander THE GIRL on Jul 23, 2008 4:00:09 GMT -5
[OOC: Wait, okay, I gathered that the one was probably Nida, but who was the other one? How did Fujin even end up on that train? I AM SO HOOKED ON THIS STORY! XD]
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Fujin
Lvl 2
Even though I've lived clumsily until now, I'll still try to do what's right.
Posts: 207
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Post by Fujin on Jul 23, 2008 5:06:05 GMT -5
[OOC: The other one was, quite literally, some nameless SeeD. I thought about using Xu, but decided not to on account of the fact that somebody might decide to play her someday (Nida was a pretty safe bet though). As for how she got on Doomtrain to begin with, that's one of the things that I left out in my rush to finish this topic - it was supposed to be taking her to the proverbial "other side," ie she was dying. Reading over the post again, I can definitely see that I wrote it while fighting to stay awake, but at this point I'm just happy to call it done.]
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