Edit: Chapter 2 is done. Direct link to the story:
http://www.uberent.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=26913
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This is a story I'm writing. Yay. So I'm just basically going to post a link to the real thread, but I'll put the prologue below so you have something to get hooked on before going "meh I dont want to click a link". No, this isn't something silly or trolltastic. I hope it can hold your attention.
(link: http://www.uberent.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=26913)
If you ever post on the Uber Ent forums, I'd really appreciate it if you posted in that thread. c:
If you like it, you can find the first chapter through the above link.
Individuals
Prologue
Outside the stadium was a rowdy, shouting group numbering in the hundreds. People chanted and screamed, vying for attention. Hand-made signs poked out of the mass of people, bobbing up and down. One read, "CLONING is playing GOD!" Another, "KILLING IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT". Yet another, "Life is SACRED, not DISPOSABLE!" Onlookers gathered around, and some even joined in. Traffic down the adjacent road was markedly denser for this time of night than normal as drivers slowed to scan the spectacle as they passed. The streets would be ten times more congested when the game ended, but clearing the roads wasn't the issue.
From outside, the interior of the stadium shone brilliantly. The entrances cast stark trapezoidal light beams onto the alucrete ground outside - even the light tone of alucrete, even this ground power washed every Sunday evening by an entire crew of underpaid maintenance staff, lay dark in the late Monday night compared to the beaming light emitted from the doorways. From across the city, an observer would see a glowing aura above the sporting arena bright enough by itself to block observation of the stars - of course, with the rest of the metropolis illuminated as well, it hardly mattered. The mess of people outside was silhouetted against the building and cast one massive shadow across the street. Striped across the stadium front slid a holographic news ticker:
"…consuming the Achilles chemical plant in Nevada continue to burn out of control, despite the best efforts of fire crews from around the North America, from as far away as the Industrial States and British Columbia. Virginia Community Party senator Bill Richards announced his endorsement of clone civil rights today, with much vocal opposition from Communitan regulars. Indonesian rebel fighters have claimed responsibility for…"
Nobody seemed to notice as the traffic slowly thinned out until there was nary a single hovercar passing by. Then, all at once, the streets and sidewalks were filled with sirens and lights. Bright white headlights and red flashers illuminated the buildings. Hoverbikes, sleek black and silver police pursuers, and heavy wheeled armored cars closed in from both directions. Enforcement officers took positions behind their vehicles as masked riot cops poured out of the armored trucks and formed a line on each end, blocking off passage with clear riot shields.
Though the riot cops' faces were covered by their hard black combat masks, the faces of the enforcement officers made it plain to see that every single one of them was a clone. Covered by uniforms, each one had a serial number and barcode tattooed on their shoulder. Identical strong-boned faces with identical sharp green eyes peered down the sights of identical issued handguns. It was the opinion of the Fairville City Police Department that energized weapons didn't have the same psychological effect as the crack of a classic combustion firearm, and its enforcement officers were all excellently trained marksmen.
The masked riot police, meanwhile, underwent rigorous physical training to give them power in case they needed to "defend themselves" from a mob. Their matte black armor was insulated, which served two purposes. First, it made the suits all-weather and comfortable in any temperature. Second, and more importantly, it protected them from their own electric batons. All at once, in a highly robotic manner, every riot cop took their baton from their belt and raised it in the air with their right arm, riot shield held by the left. Every baton crackled to life, humming and snapping. Low thunder rumbled from far away.
A uniformed figure climbed on top of one of the armored cars. He was the one man among them with a different face. His skin tone was dark but his eyes a brilliant blue. In white light, they would seem to glow, but they were dim in the red of the police flashers. The silver badge on his chest and double-bar captain emblems on his lapels, on the other hand, shone a menacing red as he raised a microphone to his lips. Speakers on every vehicle relayed his commanding voice:
"ATTENTION CITIZENS. This will be your one warning! Return to your assigned dwellings at once or you will be arrested and forcibly removed from the stadium grounds! You will be tried in a court of law for your actions! If you return home now, all charges will be dropped! THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE. BE WISE!"
The riot police made a gap in the middle of each shield barrier. The nervous crowd that had gathered just to observe quickly made its exit, but the demonstrators stood their ground. A chant arose from their ranks. "Violence is not a sport! Violence is not a sport!" They raised their protest signs in the air. Some unwise fools raised aluminum bats and golf clubs - tokens of age-old sports that had dwindled in popularity with the rise of the one going on inside the stadium, but they were also potential weapons.
This was all the excuse needed.
The riot police closed their walls as the last onlookers made their fleeing escape. A purple-white flash of lightning shot through the sky with a deafening boom. On their captain's orders, the armored clones made their advance, batons buzzing and crackling as light rain drops were snapped up by the electrified rods.
The maintenance staff was called to clean the blood afterwards. An excited roar erupted from inside the stadium.
The first runthrough, plot beats everything. Backstory is what keeps it relevant and alive. A story with no backstory is just a story - you go through it, hopefully enjoy it, and are done with it. Backstory to explore and learn about and speculate on keeps you invested and deepens the characters. One of my favorite animes is Blood+ because of how realistic and believable the characters are. They act according to their experience and personalities in such a way that real humans would and are dynamic in the literary sense over the course of the story. You slowly learn more about the characters and their backstories and lives and begin to understand why each one acts how they do. The most convoluted is Hagi, who you wonder about the entire time until all is revealed and everything makes sense. It sounds cliché, but it's well done and other media should take note. Backstory is powerful and deepens the experience, causing it to remain in the audience's minds longer.That said, I probably enjoyed HL2 Ep2 more than anything in a long time, and that universe's "backstory" is known well enough to the point that there was little to wonder about in the game. The story and presentation were bonanaza amazing enough that I remember it just as well.
Mister Maf got a reaction from Binary in Individuals - a darker look at MNC's world
Mister Maf got a reaction from Skye in Plots Versus Backstories
Mister Maf got a reaction from Just a Gigolo in Do you leave messages when you rep people?
Mister Maf got a reaction from een in How much rep do YOU Have?