KHWiki:Magazine/Issue 4
You should also join the conversation over on the Keyhole! |
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 Page 3 - The Ansem Reports
Page 4 - Unlocking the Keyhole
Page 5 - The Door to Light
Page 6 - The Coliseum
Page 7 - The Keyblade Master
Page 8 - Dive to the Heart
Page 9 - The Round Room
Page 10 - Mark of Mastery Exam
Page 11 - Naminé's Sketchbook
Page 12 - The Grid
Page 13 - Flick Rush
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 by KeybladeSpyMaster
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Kingdom Hearts merchandise, especially in the literature area, has been making up a huge chunk of the news in the Kingdom Hearts world. The Kingdom Hearts merchandise news has especially picked up over the last three months, thanks largely to Yen Press still making an effort to localize many of the Kingdom Hearts literature that have only seen the light of day in Japan, which had left many fans in the West out of the fun. Now, however, we continue to see the English localizations of these works, including the Kingdom Hearts novels. We now take a look at the news from the last three months in this area. .png) First, on January 7, the cover art for the long-anticipated localization of Kingdom Hearts: The Novel was revealed, along with the release date for the novel. The novel, originally released in two parts in the summer of 2005, was published by YenPress's light novel brand, Yen On, in English on March 24, 2015. The novels take a more in-depth look at the character's personalities, adding to the story in ways not possible in the games. In addition to Kingdom Hearts: The Novel, YenPress announced on January 27 that it would be publishing Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel on September 20, 2015. This novel is set to give the same in-depth look at Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In the manga world, the localization of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga was completed with the English release of the fifth volume to the series on January 20, 2015. In addition, Volume 9 of the Kingdom Hearts II manga released in Japan on February 21. The ninth book in the series covers Sora's arrival to The World That Never Was and his clash with Organization XIII. Currently, there are no upcoming releases in the West, though we can be sure that the next localization of the Kingdom Hearts II manga will be coming soon. Finally, we have music, t-shirts, and hand towels that were advertised in the last three months. A Kingdom Hearts Tribute Album, featuring various songs from the series, remade by various artists, was quietly announced in January. The album, made most-likely for the series' thirteenth anniversary, was released March 25, 2015. The songs (combined to just ten tracks) include “Dearly Beloved,” “March Caprice for Piano and Orchestra,” “Rage Awakened,” and “Traverse Town,” and were remade in various different styles. Teefury sold a special “Kingdom Krest” t-shirt in early February, featuring a Keyhole, Paopu Fruit, Keyblade symbol, and Roxas's symbol decorating a crest-of-sorts against a navy blue background. And finally, Square Enix sold hand towels at its ARTNIA store in Shinjuku, featuring artwork of the fun little Shadow Heartless, Dusk Nobody, and Flood Unversed enemies from the series.We as fans sure have been getting a lot of love from Square Enix in terms of merchandise. What do you think? Would you get all these Kingdom Hearts goodies? | |
 A rumor broke out on January 7, 2015, scarcely a week into the new year. Bill Farmer, the voice actor for the lovable and, well, goofy, companion of Sora's, Goofy, announced on Twitter that recording for the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III had been completed. Like Shadows being given a heart, fans worldwide began to swarm and flood Bill Farmer's Twitter with questions about the game. Many of these questions were skeptical of the voice actor's claim; after all, it was understood that the development team was still choosing worlds just a month earlier. To top it off, in response to a question on whether work had started on the game, Farmer stated that recording had been going on for “the last few years” and that it “is supposed to come out later this year.”Mind you, Bill Farmer's claims should be taken cautiously, knowing what we know from other sources, including Square Enix themselves. Except for Farmer, there is no other evidence to the game's release in 2015. Then again, Square Enix didn't completely dismiss the possibility with their response to the situation; an official statement simply states that the release date for Kingdom Hearts III "remains unannounced". Perhaps it does release later this year… | |
 The mysterious online game Kingdom Hearts χ has received some interesting updates to its story over the last three months. The new story updates continue to prepare us for Kingdom Hearts III as it delves into the mysteries of the Keyblade War. The first important update came on Christmas Day, December 25. The new mission introduced a new character, Ephemer, who is a Keyblade wielder from one of the opposing unions, but seeks to know the truth behind the gathering of Lux and the true structure of the world. We first run into him while he is battling an Invisible in Daybreak Town, to which the Player rescues him. After that rescue, Ephemer gives us some valuable information. Ephemer reveals that the Lux that was being collected was really all from Daybreak Town, and that the various worlds they had been sent to visit didn't truly exist, but were basically holographic images. This non-existent world was created to make it possible to visit all these worlds to collect the Lux, something that would be impossible to physically do because of the vast space between all the worlds. He proposes then that the Book of Prophecies is the source of the non-existent world, something that would explain why we could run into characters that Sora and the others would meet in the future. This aligns with Maleficent's revelation in “A Fairy Tale?”, one of the additional cutscenes to Kingdom Hearts Re:coded in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, where she says that one could conjure up worlds yet to exist using the Book of Prophecies. With all this information, Ephemer still is not sure why they are forced as Keyblade wielders to fight for the Lux, and with that, the Player recalls the strange dream from several episodes earlier where the Player saw the Foretellers and the cloaked figure. With that, Ephemer resolves to go to the Clock Tower where the dream took place. The second update, which was added late January, continues on that venture to explore the clock tower in Daybreak Town in search of the truth. In that quest, however, Ephemer decides to stop for the day and continue the following day. The player agrees to meet up with Ephemer the next day, but after waiting the whole day, Ephemer does not show up. Noticing the Player's disappointment, Chirithy, the cute little creature that has been with the Player from the start, arrives to comfort the Player. The Player picks up Chirithy, which throws Chirithy's cape into the air, revealing a Dream Eater Spirit symbol on Chirithy's back. With these two updates, we come closer to understanding the events that led to the Keyblade War. Still, despite how much closer we come to the truth, the story has gotten notably confusing, driving fans to the edge. What do you think is the truth behind Daybreak Town and the Foretellers? Are we in the Realm of Sleep? Or something entirely different? Tell us in the comments! | |
 The world has been left with great loss over the first two months of 2015, with two wonderful voice actors passing away. On January 15, 2015, Chikao Ohtsuka passed away of ischemic heart failure at the age of 85. Chikao Ohtsuka was the Japanese voice actor of both Master Xehanort and Captain Hook in the Kingdom Hearts series. He was also known for voicing popular characters in animated shows, movies, and other video games, including Wario from the Super Mario Bros. series and Doctor Eggman from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. His son, Akio Ohtsuka, plays Ansem, Seeker of Darkness in the Kingdom Hearts series. Then, on the morning of February 27, 2015, Leonard Nimoy passed away of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Leonard Nimoy was the English voice actor of Master Xehanort in the Kingdom Hearts series, but is best known for his role as Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek television series, which he starred in starting in 1966. He also played the role in various Star Trek movies, and was an actor in other popular movies. He recently began dedicating himself to photography, though he occasionally reprised the role of Spock. His final post on Twitter was a poem that read: ”A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.” We will greatly miss both these fine men, and their contributions to our beloved series, and are grateful to their many other contributions to society. They were more than just voices; they were the life and character of these characters. Whether you are a fan of Spock, Hook, or Xehanort, these men brought these characters to life, and it will not be easy to replace them, in the game and in our hearts. We will miss them dearly. Rest in peace to both of you. |
 by Chainoffire | ||
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 Tumblr: The Keyhole recently reached 100 followers! The Underdrome: We've started anew! The theme for this year is music, and we started in March with violins and this month we have moved onto pianos! Be sure to cast your vote! What instrument will be featured next? Who will become Featured Article and featured media? Head on over to page 6 to learn more about our exciting battles! Promotion: We have a new member joining The Keyhole's staff team! Ever since he joined, Aixon has wanted to help us out on the wiki. But he far succeeded his goal in helping us out. He has been a MAJOR help on The Keyhole. Heck, he's been handling The Keyole by himself for quite sometime now. He's kickstarted progress on the KH3D world articles, made the treasure lists for KH3D, he's the most active user on The Keyhole, he put the extra weight of Featured Article and featured media on his shoulders, he's vocal in the tea parties, both bringing up issues that need to be dealt with and helping resolve our own, he's helped out TREMENDOUSLY with the magazine, uploaded the DDD soundtracks and put them onto a table (something I've been procrastinating on for... ever.), and he made the best box anyone could ever hope for. I know that if he's FinalRest's favorite, he's defiantly #1 on my list. And since he's allergic to the colour fuchsia, owns a Lamborghini, makes a heck of a lasagna, and he smells like tulips that have been sprayed with the tears of a majestic rainbow, we are proud to announce that Aixon is now a moderator. Hop on by to his talk page and give him a congratulations and a hello! | ||
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Our activity has been a bit low this season, but that doesn't mean that we can't give those who've joined a warm Keyhole welcome! All our new users are welcome to our wiki family, and here just one of our newbies that we'd like to shine the spotlight on.
We offer a big hello to him, as well as the new users who will be coming in the near future. We hope you enjoy your stay in the Keyhole/KHWiki universe! | ||
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Each month the Keyhole hosts a tea party for all users to get together and discuss wiki related issues. We've had a lot of big issues recently, so we've kept to one forum for the last few months to prevent over archiving. Below are important policies we have discussed.
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 by TheFifteenthMember | ||
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What's the latest at the KHWiki? Check out all the recent happenings!
On top of that, we're still tackling all our projects, which you can see at Merlin's House and the Vacant House! Happy editing! | ||
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This is the spot where we show our appreciation to all the new editors that have joined us in the past three months. Who does the spotlight shine on this issue?
To all these newcomers and the ones that we haven't had the time to mention, we offer you a very warm welcome! | ||
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Roundtables are meetings held on the #KHWiki-noticeboard IRC channel every 1st Friday of the month at 7:00 PM UTC. Below are important policies we have decided upon at our latest roundtable meetings.
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Head on over to the magazine talk page to let us know who you think should win! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 by TheFifteenthMember At the KHWiki and Keyhole, we decided to play a small prank on the KH community. After all, we spend the entire year dedicating ourselves to encyclopaedia so we thought we'd seize a moment of playfulness. Our grand plan was the announcement of the new Kingdom Hearts -3D HD ReMIX- - a completely made-up title that is definitely too good to be true. The article was unleashed onto the internet, where it had been interpreted by fans in their own ways. Venerable KH fans were commenting not only on the wikis, but also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and even KH13! Let's take a look at some of the reactions: Note: All names are censored.  Beginning with our own Wikis, the comments above clearly show that the majority of our peeps weren't fooled with some even irked off. That's Chainoffire making his comment in the second panel and I agree. "What else is darkness but hate and rage?" Let's lighten up and have some fun. The last panel shows that we've managed to deceive one of our users at least, right to the extent that the game was conveyed to another wiki! That calls one success at the very least!  Over at our social networking sites, most people had their doubts but the guys at Google+ seemed convinced! In fact, they started a lengthy conversation on the topic; the comments above are merely a snapshot.  And over at the threads made at KH13, I've selected a few of my favourite comments in the montage above. There seems to be a varied range of opinions. Again, while the majority cast their suspicions (and rightly so), there were still a couple of believers in the crowd which is all we wanted. Another thing we did for April Fools is lay out a special issue of the magazine with its own cover and article. It wasn't as large-scale as the other prank, but I still at least had someone sincerely asking me whether I'm leaving the wiki or not! And that wraps up our April Fools! Apologies for those irritated souls, salutations to those who caught on quickly, and SUCKER to the losers who believed us. | |
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by TheSilentHero
Now you know how to sign your posts! But of course, every user wants a... custom signature! To create your own signature, you have to follow three simple steps. Step 1: But if you type "~~~~" on a page, it still shows the default signature. To have your custom signature show up, follow the next two steps. Step 2: {{User:<username>/Sig}} That's all you need to do. When you save the page, you'll see it looks identical to your signature page. Step 3: {{User:<username>/Sig1}} Be sure to check the box saying "Treat signature as wikitext (without an automatic link)" (KHWiki)/ "I want to use wikitext in my signature" (Keyhole) and save. Now, when you type "~~~~". your custom signature and a timestamp will show up automatically! | |
 Shocking! The Drive Gauge exploited! by TheFifteenthMember
What's the trick? It's rather simple. As you may have noticed, the game mercifully restores your Drive Gauge after certain events or cutscenes, if you were using a Form/Summon beforehand. The reason for this is at points where the game temporarily disables combat while you were using the Drive Gauge, including non-hostile areas where your party members wander or particular cutscenes, Kingdom Hearts II doesn't want to waste your remaining Drive and being a wonderfully friendly game, it solves the problem by restoring your Drive Gauge to the max.
After finishing the game, there aren't many opportunities for this to happen but there will always be one way to eternally trigger this exploitation: Save Points.  Simply take to your Gummi Ship on the world map whilst in a Form/Summon and you'll be pleasantly surprised to see your Drive Gauge at MAX when you return to land. I used this trick to grind my Drive Forms and Summons to get them to the maximum levels. I'd train in an appropriate world for the skill I was training and once my Drive Gauge fell to its last couple of bars, I'd rush to the nearest save point, exit onto the world map, return to the world, rinse and repeat. However, I do recognise a weakness in this method of grinding. It's arguably quicker to use an item or fight enemies to restore your Drive Gauge than face two loading screens, bearing in mind that you had to waste a couple bars of your Drive Gauge to return to the save point. The loading screens also break up the action, possibly making it less fun. What's your opinion on the matter? Tell us on the comments page! |
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Due to some conflicting schedules and busy lives, The podcast will be on a hiatus for a time being. We are working to get another episode out this month, but for the time being, we don't have any episodes for February or March. Thank you for your patience. | ||
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Music is a powerful tool that can convey a great amount of emotions through the use of instruments, appliance of certain beats and tones among others. Emotions can express themselves in the soundtracks of every game as they are what drive every scene, moment and action.  What better piece of music to portray this than Fragments of Sorrow. The instruments used and the few vocals that accompany them depict a feeling of rising tension, pressure and even fear; feelings that combine perfectly with the setting in which the song has been placed. The dark aura of the place mixes perfectly with the tune in order to evoke feelings that relate to the darkness as well as others that relate to the overall feeling of approaching a moment of great importance in which the decisions that are taken will heavily affect the outcome of the event. Even without the visual support of the world in which the music is incorporated, it has the power of recreating a mental image of an evil place filled with elements that seek to stop the player from fulfilling their quest and bringing forth light and peace. Now put it together with all the visuals from End of the World and the result is just spectacular. There are a few minor points that could be improved but overall this is one of the most amazing tracks I've heard in the Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack. | |
 Monstro; For just one reason: lack of story. In Kingdom Hearts, you had to chase Pinocchio and find a way out. In Chain of Memories, you had to find Pinocchio and find a way out. (Okay, I admit, a lot of CoM Worlds have a similar story to that of KH). In KH3D, you had to find Pinocchio, AGAIN! Of course, there's not much you can do inside a whale, so just don't put it in the game! Or make it a boss fight, like in BBSFM.  Pride Lands; There were a couple of things I didn't like about the Pride Lands. First, the disabling of Drive Forms and other abilities. I understand that it would be almost impossible for a lion to hold two Keyblades at once, but they could have done something. (Also, the large swarm of Rapid Thrusters and no access to Wisdom Form is just unfair.) Second, the "battle" where you have to defeat Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed in the Elephant Graveyard is super annoying. It's not really a battle either, they don't even attack you. And finally, the Savannah is way too big and takes too long to cross.  100 Acre Wood; Maybe I just don't like mini-games. Maybe I find it too much trouble to find a Torn Page before you can continue. I just don't like the world. I would prefer it if they scattered the mini-games throughout the other worlds. Besides, how often can a book be torn apart?  Deep Jungle; At first, Deep Jungle wasn't in my top 5. Until I played Kingdom Hearts again. During your time in Deep Jungle, you are basically going back and forth between the Tree House and the Tent. This also means that you have to go through the Jungle Slider mini-game, which gets boring pretty fast (especially considering the fact that the actual mini-game where you have to collect fruit and can go through different paths isn't available after you finish the world. I hated that mini-game so much that I never played it after finishing the world and discovered the extra levels only a year ago). Basically, I dislike everything about this world. The Heartless, the areas, the mini-game. Let's be grateful Square Enix didn't get to use Deep Jungle in Chain of Memories and any game since.  Atlantica; In KH, the swimming mechanics were too much trouble. I'm still having trouble with it. (I know flying in Neverland works the same, but at least you can choose not to fly.) And when you think it can't possibly become any worse, KH2 keeps the swimming aspect, but replaces the Heartless battles with... musicals! The worlds are in danger, the Organization is collecting Hearts, what do you do? You sing, of course. It is just ridiculous. And if that wasn't enough, you need specific requirements to advance in the story. In fact, even when you have met those requirements, you get kicked out of the world anyway. And as IGN would say: "Too much water". | |
Interview conducted by Byzantinefire  Byzantinefire When can we start? KeybladeSpyMaster Ok, shoot Byzantinefire Well i just heard of the new dubbed cutscenes for the 2.5 HD Remix. KeybladeSpyMaster Yes. I actually heard them all this morning. Well, the ones posted by KHInsider. Byzantinefire Well i don't want to be spoiled by i already saw the secret ending i don't want to spoil to much for myself. KeybladeSpyMaster That's fine. KeybladeSpyMaster The secret ending, you referring to the new one from HD 2.5 ReMIX? Byzantinefire I think the one with Braig and Young Master Xehanort. KeybladeSpyMaster Yeah, that's the one. I think it's interesting. I wonder what Xehanort was about to say.... Byzantinefire Well a PS3 or PS4 game for Dream Drop Distance i worry we might have to wait 2 years for Kingdom Hearts III. KeybladeSpyMaster I don't think so. Tetsuya Nomura, first of all, is very determined to get the game finished soon. If they do Dream Drop Distance, I think it'll be soon. After all, it took them one year for each remaster, and that was three games. Byzantinefire Good point but we can't be sure about it there is no guarantee. KeybladeSpyMaster It'll be interesting to see how they do Dream Drop Distance, though. It's a 3DS game, requiring two screens. The other KH games with two screens, they were turned into movies Byzantinefire I guess so, i haven't really thought of that. KeybladeSpyMaster Logically, at least for me, they should make it into a game. Seeing as Attraction Flow is an upgrade of Flowmotion. Turning it into a movie takes that away. And I think fans should be able to try it out before they go to Kingdom Hearts III Byzantinefire Of course. So speaking of movies have you seen any films recently? KeybladeSpyMaster Not Disney films. Last one I watched was Frozen in November. The last film I watched in general was How To Train Your Dragon 2. That was a month ago. Byzantinefire Well of course i have seen dozens of films this year. Is there any films this year or next you are looking forward to? KeybladeSpyMaster I'm hoping to see Big Hero 6 sometime after it comes out. I'm really looking forward to Finding Dory, because the first is one of my favorite films. Byzantinefire Well its probably coming out in 2016. KeybladeSpyMaster I also watched Wreck-It Ralph again yesterday, which makes me hopeful for a sequel. And for its appearance in Kingdom Hearts III. Byzantinefire For me its Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars Episode VII, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Big Hero 6. Oh and the Penguins of Madagascar. Got to love Benedict Cumberbatch. KeybladeSpyMaster I'll be honest, I haven't even seen the third Madagascar. I wanted to, but then I didn't. Byzantinefire Well i'm not sure whether its a prequel or sequel. KeybladeSpyMaster And I don't really watch Marvel. I've seen parts of Iron Man 2, Thor, but that's it. I haven't even seen the Avengers. I'm really not that big a movie person. KeybladeSpyMaster I watch some movies once in a while, mostly Disney and such, but not very often. Don't know why. Byzantinefire Well you could always watch movies online. KeybladeSpyMaster I know, I just don't do so anyways. It's not that I can't, I just don't. Byzantinefire Fair enough. So have you been anywhere on vacation recently? KeybladeSpyMaster No, not this year. Byzantinefire Oh is there anywhere you would like to go? KeybladeSpyMaster Last year, we went on a road trip up to Seattle and then came down the coast to Sacramento, then back home. It was cool. I really liked it, especially through Oregon. Byzantinefire Well if i were to go on vacation i would have picked Europe. KeybladeSpyMaster That would be cool, too. Byzantinefire Yeah it would be mostly around the Mediterranean Sea. Any spots in Europe you would like to visit? KeybladeSpyMaster England would be nice to visit. As would Paris. I know it sounds generic, but I'd like to visit those areas. Byzantinefire But what about Istanbul? KeybladeSpyMaster Istanbul....don't really know much about it. Isn't that in Turkey? Byzantinefire Yes but a good portion of that city is in Europe as well as Asia. Its a transcontinental city. KeybladeSpyMaster Eh, I don't really know. I've got little reason to visit Istanbul. But if I could travel a lot, it'd be cool to visit Istanbul, and other parts of Europe as well. Byzantinefire Of course. Like Venice, Sarajevo, Athens, Cordoba, Florence, Granada, Marseille, Rome etc. Maybe also some of the Game of Thrones sets as well. KeybladeSpyMaster Hey, what kinds of things do you hope to see in Kingdom Hearts III? Byzantinefire Oh well Marvel of course. KeybladeSpyMaster I honestly don't have an opinion on Marvel or Star Wars or such, though I can't say I expect it to show up, seeing as it's been 8 years since they acquired Pixar and nothing's happened with them, either. It'd be cool, though. Byzantinefire And maybe some Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean as well. KeybladeSpyMaster Pirates of the Caribbean, that'd be cool. I hope it comes back, but the way the second movie ends....I don't know if they can pull it off without Sora crying his eyes out. Byzantinefire I'm not sure how they would work that out either. So is this good enough? KeybladeSpyMaster I would like to see Wreck-It Ralph, like I said earlier. And Tangled. A ton of classic and animation films. Not sure about Frozen. Byzantinefire Well Frozen is a bit overrated but it still highly recommended among Disney fans. KeybladeSpyMaster It's a great film, don't get me wrong. I loved it, but I don't want to see it if it's only there to make money. They have to make it worth it, otherwise, it'll suck, the world and the whole game. It'd be great to bring Disney Castle back, too. Byzantinefire Well Frozen characters did appear in Once Upon a Time. KeybladeSpyMaster Well, yeah. And I'm not saying I don't want it at all. But they have to make that world epic, not just there because Disney wants it there. It has to be really good. Byzantinefire Well some songs might be good. KeybladeSpyMaster Oh, no. Don't turn it into Atlantica Kingdom Hearts II style world. It was ok, but I don't want to see that again. I much prefer the regular combat style world than a sing-along world. Byzantinefire I was thinking of a more hybridized version. Both regular combat and singing. At the same time. KeybladeSpyMaster Hmmm...that'd be interesting to see. Byzantinefire I think they did it in Oogie's Revenge. KeybladeSpyMaster Hmm...well, I guess we just have to wait. I truly hope it's ready by next winter. For the thirteenth anniversary. Byzantinefire Yes that would be a good date. KeybladeSpyMaster Well, I guess that's it. Byzantinefire So we are done with the interview? KeybladeSpyMaster Yeah, unless you have something else you want to discuss. Byzantinefire Not really. KeybladeSpyMaster Ok, then. I guess we're done. Byzantinefire Alright. |
 Art compiled by Chainoffire
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