The Kid's Tale (working title)

Kid starts sprinting, like there's no time left. Maybe there isn't. Hard to tell if he's running toward a dream, or running from a nightmare.
Aww, but that ain't the beginning. Every tale's gotta start somewhere, and for the Kid, this story goes a little further back.
I remember the first time I met the Kid. Came in from the East. Clothes a mess, hadn't washed in days, smelling like the gutters. Could tell he hadn't eaten or slept in a spell either. I take him in without a word, give him some hot dinner, not too much. Haven't said a thing, and he passes out on the table. Poor Kid, doesn't even look old enough to shave, let alone carry that sword around. I carry him to bed, real gentle like. Looks like a boy, snores like a werewolf.
I rummage through his rucksack, looking for something about him, a name at least. Find a picture, real nice one too. There's the Kid with I dunno, a ma and pa, looking real happy, smiles as wide as the horizon. Kid's holding some girl's hand, real looker she is. Got a dog too. Don't see too many of those around here, not in these times anyways. Lighthouse in the background, gotta figure it was taken in Windsdale. I hope not for the Kid's sake, it's not an easy walk from there. Two hundred miles over a mountain pass. Kid's gotta purpose, ain't no one doubting that. Question is: what's the Kid doing here?

End. This is the first part of the first chapter. Really like where it's going. Gotta lotta kinks to work out, but this isn't bad coming off the top of my head. Fitting into the narrator style pretty well, I'll keep it for now.

Any thoughts or opinions, please let me know!

The Progress of the Airwaves

Was thinking about writing a blog today. Then I remembered it's a double experience weekend on Call of Duty. Maybe Monday blog.

Epic Title

Kid's heartbroken, that's for damn sure. Anyone can see the tear stains under those eyes of his. Love's a fickle thing, I say. But he already knew.

So what are you gonna do now Kid?

The look on his face, it says it all. Kid's got no idea for the first time.

Must be tough, growing up alone. I did it too, but times were easier then. Before the Great War, and the Rift. Folks were kinder back then, had a little more generosity in their hearts.

But none of that don't matter, not now anyways. Go to the Wall, honor the dead all you want, but the past is gone.

He knew this already, the Kid. Always figured him to he smarter than he looked.  Not that it'd be hard, mind you. Aw, I'm just kidding. Kid's not a bad looker. Always wondered why he wanted to settle down with an old belle like that. But, business is business, and there's nothing more to be said about it.

So I ask the Kid, what now? Kid seems a little more ready to answer it this time.

But what do you know, he just gets up and walks away. He's heading to the forest. Kid's never been there. Always was scared of the darkness behing those mean old trees. I'd be a liar and a fool if I said I wasn't a bit scared too. I've seen the inside of that dark place. Trees will make you lose your mind.

I ask the Kid what he's doing. Without even turning, Kid just shrugs his shoulders and keeps walking.

The Kid was always the silent type. Don't blame him. Seen a lot of bad things. Wouldn't wanna talk about it either. Nowadays, too many folks talking, not enough listening.

-END-

This has been heavily inspired from the game Bastion. Anyone who's played that game will know exactly what I mean. Thinking about doing more with it. Joe, hope you liked the title.

-CS

The Path Less Traveled.

Disclaimer: if you're a religious stickler with high blood pressure, you may want to leave. Now. If you find yourself wanting to argue with me about this, don't. I normally welcome debate about my views on any topic, but not on this one. No, instead, if you don't like what I have to say, or how I see, think, feel, exist, please disappear from this page.

We're going to talk about my faith today. First off, let me tell a story. And by story, I mean a declaration. Here we go:

Atheist. I am one.

WHAT?!? YOU KRAZY DAWG!!

No, I am not crazy bro. You're crazy if you think I'm crazy for being an atheist. And this brings me to my first point.

Atheists are not crazy. Stop labelling us as such. We are everyday people. Your Tommys and Jamies, your teachers and dentists. The only reason why we are given the label of crazy is because when an atheist makes a mistake, his (I use 'his' loosely, referring to both genders) lack of a religion is always skylighted.

Typical scenario: "Oh he was always a bad kid, doing naughty things all the time. He should have spent more time in church instead of with those weird kids."

Church wouldn't have saved him. He made his own choices. Perhaps they may have been influenced by others, but the choice, ultimately, was his. That's one of the most important things I've learned from my new belief. Fate shall not control us, gods cannot confine us, society cannot stop us. We are our own masters, free to do as we damn please.

Now, to be fair, atheism isn't a free ticket to do whatever we please. It just gives us the freedom to make decisions without fear of a higher being, or an eternal damnation to some lava pit.

(P.S.: Fun fact, Hitler was a Christian)
Next point: we don't dislike your faith, we dislike your religion.

One of the reasons I don't like being aroung the religious is because they always feel intimidated. I don't conform to your regimented ways, therefore I don't belong. You act as if you're a blood cell, and we are bacteria. Your brain goes into subconcious actions and you act in a myriad of ways. Here's a few I've noticed.

You try to convert us. "OMG HE'S NOT THE SAME! WE MUST MAKE HIM ONE OF US! ONEOFUSONEOFUSONEOFUSONEOFUS!!!" Begin the cult hive mind brainwashing techniques. First off, don't try to convert me. More than likely, you don't really even know me very well, so why would you try to change one of my most personal, rudimentary business? Dear religious people, I will never try to convert you. I will defend my views all day, but your views are safe from me. I am a peaceful being when it comes to personal choice. Do me the same justice.

You outcast us. "OMG HE'S NOT THE SAME! HE'S OBVIOUSLY A LESSER BEING!!!" Nope. Definitely not a lesser being. I like to think I'm quite intelligent. I have a good head on my shoulders, and I have enough common sense to think that some magical kingdom in the skies sounds a bit outlandish. Know what does make sense to me? Equality. That golden rule, about treating others the way you wanted to be treated? They should make a book with just that one sentence. It would make more sense to me then all of your holy scriptures. And wasn't Jesus big on helping the little guy out? In most religious encounters, I find myself in the position of the little guy, yet my offenders are "followers" of the supposed messiah. Oh snap dawg, did Tyler just call out a bunch of Christians for being hypocrites? Why yes, yes I did.

At this point, I'm sure some of you are mad. Or bored. It's ok, things are about to get a bit more personal, so you know where I stand on all of this.

My beliefs:
Evolutionism. I'd like to think we ascended from monkeys, then descended from angels.
Big bang theory. Yes. Makes a lot more sense to me than some big guy in the sky going "TA-DA! Check it out, I made stars and stuff!"

That's pretty much it. Look at how simple that is! No need to explain it, science has already done the work for me! Yes science. Beautiful, tasty science.

To be fair, science is kind of a killjoy. I wih we could live in a magical land where dragons flew around and we could all rescue princesses from castles, and our oil crisis could be solved with a dragon ball. Science and reality took those dreams from us. However, science was like, "Sorry about that bro, we're gonna make it up to you. Here, I give you an XBox 360."

SCIENCE GAVE ME BACK MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS!!! Sounds like a good enough reason to appreciate what the human mind is capable of. What's this? The big bang theory? Sounds interesting, let's give it a whirl!

Mind=blown. So much sense has just been made to me. I have so many questions, but they can all be answered with facts, and not personal opinions. I like this method.

Sure science has been known to screw us. Tools of war, ways to kill fellow man, industrialization, loss of our animalistic backgrounds. A-bomb? Bad, bad move science. You get a solid thumbs down.

I'm only going to throw one attack on religion. Crusades. I think that makes a fair enough point.

I am a nice person. When I meet people, I do it with a smile on my face and an outstretched hand. Am I judgmental? Yes. It's what I do. But regardless on my personal opinion of you, I will try to help you if you need it. I didn't need a book to teach me that. I didn't need the promise of a heaven, or the the threat of a hell to teach me that. I didn't need society to teach me that. I do it for my own personal reward. I enjoy seeing people smile. I enjoy the fact that when I'm old and on my deathbed, my memories will be enough to make up for my choice to not follow a religion. I will die with my head held high, knowing I did my best to enjoy life. I will look at my grandchildren, and know that I'm already in heaven. I will partake in the feast of my life, my cup will have overflowed, and then I will leave the table, and leave my seat for someone deserving of it.

Religious people don't understand this for some reason. They refuse to see my happiness with the ordinary, without attributing it to some higher being. Sunrises are beautiful. God didn't make that sunrise beautiful. It's beautiful because I make it seem beautiful. I have control over what you call miracles. A miracle, in my eyes, isn't necessarily a gift. It's a portrayed vision of the astounding. When my first child is born, I will see it as a miracle. Because I want it to be a miracle. I will feel no need to thank anyone. I will, because I am nice, but it will because I want to, not because I feel like I need to.

Let's wrap this up. There will be more to this at some point, I'm sure. But for now, I feel this horse has been beat enough. I leave you with this:

I choose my own path. Who I want to be, what I want to do, where I want to be. I am my own master. I was created to exist, but I exist to create. I am free from rules, and I live by my own code. I am an atheist. And I am happy.