"GOL'BURGER - Brighten up your day!"

Franchise restaurants are hard to maintain, especially when they become one of the most popular fast-food services in the country! Thomas Alden grew up enjoying Gol'Burger's delicious hamburgers and fries growing up. Now, he's an adult in his thirties that has inherited a seat at the Board of Directors and a significant amount of shares in the company. With this comes great responsibility as his decisions will affect the company's future.

As Al Ray, the Chief Executive Officer of Gol'Burger, gets older, the world begins to change drastically. The FDA is beginning to implement and enforce new standards of practices regarding quality of fast-food chains around the country, putting the company's future at risk. The Members of the Board need to think of new ways to adapt.

What will you do in this privileged position of power? Will you flounder, find a way to rise above the noise, or become a victim to the strange forces in the background of the company?

Submitted for EndMaster's Crisis Contest 

Original Publishing Date: August 1, 2024

Corruption, complacency and conflict has eroded the once great Roman Empire. Split into two, and then diminished to the Italian Peninsula, Roman citizens, Christian and pagan, believe that the world as they know it is about end. His Holiness, Pope Leo, previously drove back Attila the Hun, called the Scourge of God by most west of the Danube River. The world believed that was the end of the Hun Invasion. They were wrong.

Eight years later, Attila still continues his conquest of the world, now having subdued all of Africa and the Eastern World. With the sacking of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire has collapsed into anarchy as the Huns and their subordinate tribes pillage and plunder the countryside. With no other obstacles in his path, Attila is once again free to attack the Western Roman Empire.

The alarming speed of the Huns' conquests and reports of new total war tactics terrify the west. Strange tales of hordes of vicious animals, warriors with the strength of ten men and demonic sorcery plague the imaginations of the Roman forces charged to protect what remains of the Empire. Before, reports of the Huns' savagery were already running rampant. Now, all forms of apocryphal tales are accepted as fact.

In a final desperate stand against the forces of darkness, the leader of the Christians, Pope Leo, has organized what remains of the bravest and most cunning soldiers of the Roman army to launch a covert mission to save the people of the West. There is no other way; Attila must be destroyed! Possessing otherworldly insight, Leo has been given he knowledge necessary to guide his chosen men, and you among them, to fight to the threat that seeks to end not only Rome, but the entire world. Will you defeat Attila's ambition to destroy the world, or will you be just another victim?

Update Notes:

Addressed the variable glitches that led to some of the content being blocked off. Fixed the issue and made some other edits.

France - Summer 1415 AD

The country of France faces a point of crisis. King Henry of England, fifth of his name and hope of the House of Lancaster, declares his intention to conquer France, stating it is the will of God. Charles, sixth of his name and known as the Mad King, is poorly suited to deal with the rising threat and relies on the strength of better men. To the shock of the French court, Henry and his army arrive safely in Normandy despite coastal defenses, leaving Henry to freely begin his siege of the port of Harfleur. Charles, furious and frothing at the mouth, threatens his lords into compliance to answer English aggression.

Command the destiny of Jean the Younger, heir to the Valois-Alençon dynasty. His father Jean the Elder, named the "Wise" and Duke of Alençon, is ordered by his liege to lead a portion of the French army to counter the English invasion. Little Jean wants to his father in action, drawn by the romantic, medieval desire to see the glory of battle. But, there is one problem: Jean is only a six-year-old boy! Nevertheless, he dreams of glory, being the son of one of the most powerful men in France.

Will you bind Jean's actions to history, guide him to a greater future or doom him to obscurity? His fate lies in your hands.

Very true. Have we not made enough Forum etiquette posts already? 

To revisit something someone else said, I would say I want site members to be forced to read these articles. Then again, we'd lose on some entertainment I guess.

Edit: I'll also say that we all have our times of weakness. We're not always our best selves; we all need to lean on GOD'S grace. I try to stay optimistic that anybody can become wiser for the experience and improve, even if we don't see it here. I'd rather hope than not.

The real April Fools joke was reserving all this for the day after.

This post does not feel welcoming to me. I feel attacked.

I'm shutting down the Gazette.

Welcome to CYS!

I saw mizal poop herself.

I was traumatized after that incident and promised to never poop ever again. I go full Pooh-bear all the time.

Give me the Hand with the Knife by Bilbo :)

Some newer people here have given their opinions, so I'll throw mine in here too.

I feel a draw towards acting with kindness. I represent the Church with what I do as a Christian. Even behind the mask of an online identity, the effects of what I do are still real. I never feel good about tearing someone down, and try to only tell jokes of a certain level if there’s an atmosphere of benefit of the doubt and understanding. Will11, and to whom this complement also concerns, the kindness you’ve extended to others is something I appreciate. I’m glad to know you and the sensitivity espoused is welcome. I’m thankful for you and glad to talk about this with you.

That being said, barring the most abjectly cruel situation, I’m never going to expect or ask for others to act like me. I also do not want this site’s culture to change.

There's really no accounting for children getting affected by things here. It doesn't matter how much we would try to gatekeep, filter out or protect those we would consider to be at risk; they will always find a way to get in and get hurt. Giving age ratings or disclaimers for certain threads or tabs is functionally useless. The person most at risk for being hurt by harsh discourse online is also the sort of person least likely to be fit to be online in the first place. Feelings get hurt all the time, but that’s resistance training for living. Any child of worth who is a good author, showing capability of critical thought, is not the character archetype we have to worry for. However, the vast majority of children shouldn’t be on the internet. In fact, most adults shouldn’t be on the internet. Trying to accommodate to this demographic in a space like this is a losing battle. I don’t always like the way things are done here, but you have to take the good with the bad. If one has the prerogative towards kindness, they should take it upon themselves to give towards one in need rather than demand authoritative action from on high. We risk losing what’s been created here otherwise.

Concerning section 3397 of the Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act (ECCHO 2025), I rarely use this expression, but...it's gay. This law is gay. There's no way to really enforce this that doesn't result in destruction to freedom of expression, and I value the atmosphere here. I would prefer to earn people’s respect here rather than have it be given freely. I don’t need anyone’s approval so long as I get good feedback on my stories. I’ll enjoy community where it can be found (and I value the relationships I’ve made here), but my primary concern is towards the craft. 

I don’t want this site to become like everywhere else. That would make me want to kill myself (if you know what I mean).

Welcome to CYS! There's lozenges in the main lobby.

Thank you, fearless leader.

Got it under the wire, but it's done.