Shinmaru

I'm replying again. Yay. [strike]Annie[/strike] Mad Hatter, you already told me where you got your SN from, but I forgot. Neuvoxtere actually said where you got it from in her post, but I'm claiming illiteracy, though I can plainly read you custom title and name. Anyway, I'll just say that it reminds me of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, which rule. So, by proxy, you rule. Logic prevails once again! Manic Queen of Depression simply means that you are a fan of Marilyn Manson. Which, coincidentally, also contributes to the "Annie r00lz d00d!!1!11!" case. By looking at your signature and avatar, I can somehow deduce that you like dark, morbid images. Once again, that = ownage. By god, you'll be the coolest being in the universe at this rate!!! Lastly, the rest of your signature indicates that you are riding on the coattails of HORNY - a very intelligent decision on your part! We will rule the galaxy someday. Every time somebody looks at that acronym and giggles, our influence spreads ever wider. You also have dedications to many people in your sig, and I think that means that you have plenty of friends who you would consider close to you. You friendly person, you! Yep, I'm almost as good at reading signatures, avatars, and screen names as Ms. Cleo.

Nothing really major this year. Anime Expo is probably the biggest thing this summer. I'll be going for two days, hopefully. I also hope I'll be alive after those two days, which, considering how utterly tired I was after one day, isn't really a sure bet. I'll also be getting a job during the summer, hopefully at the library. I need money!

It's a solid album, but I'm still a bit disappointed with it. [i]With Teeth[/i] wasn't the really strong release that I was hoping for. I honestly haven't listened to it more than a couple of times since I got it, and I'm a pretty big Nine Inch Nails fan. Oh well, I still have [i]Pretty Hate Machine[/i] and [i]The Downward Spiral[/i] at least.

[quote name='James][color=#737373']I like the console's design. Nothing amazing, but a whole lot prettier than Xbox 360 (not that it says much, lol).[/color][/quote] I think that it looks okay, but I'm not really that big a fan of it. I'll agree that it does look a hell of a lot better than the XBox 360 design, though lol. The controller gives it a run for its money, though. Good lord is that thing ever horrible.

There are actually a few Mario Bros. cartoons on DVD. A quick search on Amazon will show you what's available. Apparently some of the Zelda cartoons might be on DVD, as well, though I've never seen any in person I have fond memories of the different Mario cartoons, though I'm certain that they would not hold up at [i]all[/i] in comparisons with other cartoons. The plots were pretty hokey, and the episodes were littered with animation and voice errors. They were very sloppily put together. However, I still like them if only because I don't mind watching silly cartoons every once in a while. Who doesn't love Mario teaming up with a giant bird version of Robin Hood? :D

[font=trebuchet MS][b][center][size=3]Issue #7 Part VI: [i]Pinnacle[/i][/size][/center][/b] ?Did you ever think for one moment that people might [i]like[/i] it when you help them out instead of helping yourself?? The sky was falling. That?s what Larry thought was happening at first. Clouds appeared and disappeared all around him. Shards of blue rushed by as quick as a wink. Larry tumbled around and around, growing ever more nauseous by the second. ?What have I done to deserve this?? Larry asked himself. ?I haven?t done anything to anyone!? ?That?s the problem. You haven?t done anything for anyone, either. You?re just a failure. You went out to get what you wanted, and what happened? You weren?t good enough to get it.? ?That?s not true!? Larry shouted, clouds enveloping his body. ?I [i]was[/i] good enough! It?s just that the coach didn?t realize it, or he didn?t [i]want[/i] to realize it!? ?Is that so? Can you prove that?? ?Of course I can!? Larry yelled. ?How?? ?I-I don?t know yet!? Larry admitted. ?But I?m sure that I could prove that he just didn?t want me on the team! I know I could!? ?No you can?t. You can?t prove anything, Larry. You?re not cut out for that sort of thing.? ?That?s not true!? Larry shouted. ?Yes it is. You?re just afraid to admit it. You don?t want to face up to the fact that you just weren?t good enough to get what you wanted. You?re a disappointment to your parents. You?re a disappointment to your friends. You?re a disappointment to yourself.? ?No!? Larry yelled. ?That?s not true, and you know it! I?m not a failure, I?m not, I?m not, I?m not! I?ll show you! I?ll show everyone!? ?Then show me.? Before Larry could squeeze out another word, he smacked down hard against the ground. Pain shot up through his head, down his arms, and in his ribcage. Larry coughed harshly and spit out some blood onto the pavement. He struggled to take in a couple of breaths, and he rolled over onto his back. He felt his ribs gingerly; luckily they did not feel as if they were broken. Staring up into the sky, Larry?s one wish was that he knew where exactly he was and where the hell he was going. ?Would you mind tossing me that bottle?? Larry looked up with a start. Standing across from him was a man dressed in faded gray jeans, dirty white sneakers, and a gray shirt with holes here and there. Over his shirt, he wore an old, dirty denim jacket. The man?s tanned, leathery face was almost completely covered by a thick, wild dirty gray beard. His brown eyes seemed to peer straight through Larry, and Larry got a very odd feeling from them. ?Well?? the man asked. ?Would you mind handing me that bottle?? ?Uh, sure,? Larry said, standing up with a groan. He bent over to pick the bottle up from the ground, and his ribs throbbed with soreness. When he picked up the bottle, he tossed it over to the old man. ?Here you go.? ?Thanks,? the man said. He examined Larry for a few seconds. ?You look like you?re in rough shape. What happened to you?? ?I wish I knew, myself,? Larry replied. ?Don?t we all?? the old man smirked. ?You look like you?re more than a bit troubled, kid. Mind confiding in a crazy old man?? ?Uh, I don?t think so,? Larry said, looking the old man up and down. ?You know, I don?t usually dress like this,? the old man said, noticing Larry examining him. ?I?m sorry,? Larry said quickly. ?So?why are you dressed like that, anyway? Run into some trouble?? ?You should know,? the old man replied. ?It?s not as if I had much choice in the manner.? The old man pulled over a shopping cart full of bottles that had put off to the side. He tossed the bottle into the cart, not taking his eyes off of Larry the entire time. ?What?s your name?? Larry asked. ?I don?t really have a name,? the old man replied. ?Or if I did, I?ve forgotten it.? He looked at one of the bottles in his cart. ?Uh, just call me Sprite. That sounds a bit appropriate, I suppose.? ?Sure,? Larry grinned. ?Sprite.? Sprite motioned with his hand, and Larry began to follow. They walked down the road together. Larry noted that it was a bit before sunset. People were walking quickly along the sidewalk, presumably trying to get home before dark. The streetlights were still off, since there was still just enough sun left to keep the area lit. Most of the stores littered along the sidewalk were getting ready to close down for the evening. The buildings were all old and dilapidated, ruined by time and neglect. Larry felt sorry for the owners of the shops. ?So,? Sprite said after a few minutes. ?What?s a young man like you doing in a dive like this? Shouldn?t you be out confronting your destiny, finding your place in the world, things like that?? ?I wish,? Larry said. ?Maybe I could find it if I knew where to look. Even a little hint would be nice.? He plunged his hands deep into his pockets and shivered slightly. The night air was growing brisk. Sprite looked over at Larry and nodded. ?Nobody gives you a map for that sort of thing, unfortunately,? Sprite said. ?People make their own maps, they create their own paths through the jungle. We?re all just trying to find our way through this murky mess. Some do, some don?t. That?s just the way things are.? ?I guess that you didn?t find your way?? Larry asked. ?Now isn?t [i]that[/i] a hell of a question?? Sprite said. Larry?s eyes widened, and he waved his hands through the air frantically. ?I didn?t mean it like that!? Larry yelled. ?It?s okay,? Sprite said. Larry sighed and calmed down a bit. ?No, I guess that I haven?t found my way yet. I thought I did for a long while. Those were happier times. No real problems, no troubles, no anything. Of course, it?s like that for most everyone for a while. No choices, no issues to deal with, just taking life as it comes. Things can change quickly, though. They?ve changed pretty quickly for me lately. They?ve changed for you, too, I gather.? ?You can say that again,? Larry said. ?Things are just so confusing. I don?t know what I want. I know what everyone else wants. But what they want isn?t what [i]I[/i] want. I guess that all I really know is what I don?t want.? ?It?s the same for everyone,? Sprite said. ?We never know what the hell is going to please us, but we all know what isn?t what we want. At least, we think we do.? ?Huh?? Larry asked. Sprite slowed his cart to a stop. He picked up a couple of bottles that were lying on the ground, and he put them amid the other bottles. He then turned to face Larry, looking him directly into the eyes. ?We all think that we know what we don?t want,? Sprite said. ?But the truth is that we don?t know [i]that[/i], either! Nobody knows a damn thing. We?re all just trying to find our way. And if we all try to go it alone, we?ll never find anything or do anything except for wander aimlessly through life.? ?What the hell are you talking about?? Larry asked, suddenly very unnerved. ?You know what I?m talking about,? Sprite replied. ?It?s the same for us all. We think that we can make a life of living for ourselves, gunning for number one, and not giving a shit about anyone else except for when it matters to [i]us[/i]! But I?m here to tell you that that?s not the right way to go about life.? ?What do you mean?? Larry asked. ?Why are you trying to pry into my life?? ?I?m not prying into anything,? Sprite said. ?I?m just trying to help. You?re not making it easy for me!? ?Making [i]what[/i] easy?? Larry yelled. ?I don?t even know who you are!? ?I?m not surprised,? Sprite sneered. ?Nobody ever knows me, nobody acknowledges me. Why? Because they?re afraid of what I have to tell them! They?re afraid of what they need to hear! They?d rather listen to something a bit easier to choke down, something a bit more soothing to their ears. Well, if you must know, that?s all a crock of shit! I know exactly what you?ve been thinking, exactly who you?ve been talking to, and I don?t like it one bit!? ?I don?t care what you like!? Larry shouted. ?Who the hell asked you to evaluate my life? Who the hell asked you to butt in on everything I?ve been doing? It?s none of your business!? ?It?s most definitely my business,? Sprite replied icily. ?You telling your parents that you were going to be an architecture major, and then not declaring a major? That?s my business. You trying out for the school baseball team behind your mother?s back, neglecting your studies, and then not even making the team? That?s my business. The utterly selfish feelings coursing through your mind as we speak? [i]That is my business[/i]!? ?How do you know about all of that?? Larry asked. ?Who the hell are you? What the hell do you want with me?? ?I just want to help you, that?s all,? Sprite said. ?You need my help, and I want to give it to you. I want to help you, Larry. Stop pushing yourself away from everyone. What would your mother think if she knew about all of this? Your father? Joseph? [i]Jenny[/i]? What would they all think, Larry? Would they approve? I don?t think so. You just don?t see it. You?re too busy looking out for you and you alone. It?s not healthy. Why are you doing this? You?ll just end up a bitter and broken man. I?ve seen it happen. It will happen to you.? ?Shut up!? Larry shouted. ?Just shut up!? Larry reared back, and punched Sprite as hard as he possibly could. The punch landed directly on Sprite?s nose. The force knocked Sprite backwards a few steps. He tripped over his feet and landed into his shopping cart. The cart tipped over with Sprite inside of it, and fell onto the ground. All of his bottles spilled out onto the sidewalk and onto the street. Sprite lay on the ground moaning softly, his hands covering his nose, which was bleeding softly through the nostrils. Larry stood looking down at Sprite, paralyzed from fear for a few moments, and then he turned tail and ran away. He ran as fast as he could, head down, eyes closed, and arms flailing wildly. The buildings all began to blur together. The world around Larry was swirling into an unrecognizable mess. His mind was spinning with a thousand thoughts at once. Where am I? How did I get here? Where am I going? Why am I here? What?s going to happen next? So many questions, but not an answer for any of them. Larry slowed to a stop. His lungs were burning like fire, and every breath he took was fanning the flames. His mouth tasted like blood. With his hands on his knees, Larry looked all around him. At first there was nothing unusual. But then the buildings all began to grow, to take shape. They stretched higher and higher into the sky. Large sections of stone shot out from the sides of the building. The block columns began to morph into limbs. The buildings shook and crumbled frighteningly. Heads grew out of the tops of the roofs. Larry could not believe what he was seeing. He tried to rationalize what was happening, but there was no possible explanation for what he was seeing. The building had taken shape into his mother. She looked down upon Larry, her face coarse, and her eyes blazing with anger. Her right index finger stretched out slowly from her hand and pointed downwards at Larry, wagging back and forth in annoyance. ?Larry,? her voice boomed. ?Sprite has told me what you?ve been doing! You?ve been a very naughty boy, disobeying your mother like that! Just what were you thinking?? ?I?m sorry!? Larry shouted weakly. ?I just?I just wasn?t thinking! I wanted to do what I wanted! I didn?t want to listen to you anymore!? ?Don?t you worry, son,? a voice said from behind him. Larry turned around. Another building had taken the shape of his father. ?Your mother has just been worried about you. You know that she wants nothing but the best for you. I?ve been worried, too. What?s this about you not having a major??? ?It?s no big deal, Dad,? Larry said quickly. ?I just don?t know what I want to be yet! That?s all! I have my whole life to find myself, don?t I?? ?But you wanted to be an architect, didn?t you?? a horde of voices shouted from another direction. Larry turned once again, and saw that a group of buildings had morphed into his neighbors from back home. ?You wanted to be an architect?a rich architect?a famous architect. You wanted to make us proud, didn?t you?? ?Of course I did!? Larry shouted. ?But I don?t want to be an architect! I never wanted to be an architect! Everyone forced it on me! That?s not what I want at all!? ?Then what do you want, Larry?? another voice asked. Larry turned around and saw Joseph, standing tall over him. ?What do you want?? ?I don?t know what I want!? Larry cried. ?I don?t know what I want at all!? ?Is it [i]me[/i] you want, Larry?? another voice said. Larry looked over his shoulder, and saw Jenny peering eye-to-eye with him. He fell backwards. ?Is it, Larry? Is it me you want?? ?Yes!? Larry said. ?I mean, no! I mean?I don?t know what I mean! I want you, but it?s not all I want! I don?t know what I want! I don?t know, I don?t know, I just don?t know! Stop pressuring me!? ?We?re not pressuring you,? everyone said at once. ?We just want what?s best for you. Don?t you understand that?? ?I know, I know!? Larry said. ?But I don?t know what?s best for me! I don?t know what to do! I want to, but I just don?t! Can?t anyone see that? It?s not easy, I just want to wake up, I want everything to just be better!? ?Then wake up.? Larry woke up. Light streamed into his eyes. His vision was blurry for a few seconds. He blinked back the tears that were forming in his eyes. He tried to open his mouth, but found that it was gagged tightly. Larry then tried moving around, but his arms and legs were bound to a chair by a long rope. ?The kid?s awake,? a voice said. ?Yeah, I see that,? another voice answered. ?The stuff?s almost ready. He?ll be going nighty night again soon enough.? After a few seconds, a man approached Larry, and grabbed his head tightly. The man thrust Larry?s head painfully upwards, exposing his neck. ?Say good night, kid.? The man plunged a syringe deep into a vein, and pressed down upon the plunger. Larry shouted in pain, his screams muffled by the gag in his mouth. He thrashed around wildly in his chair. After a few moments, it was over. Larry woke up again with a start. He was back in his room. Everything was just as it had been. His room was as neat and tidy as it had ever been. Larry felt his neck. There was no pain, nothing to suggest that anything out of the ordinary had just occurred. He shivered. Everything had seemed so real. It couldn?t all have just been a dream. It was too real for that. Larry tried getting back to sleep, but he couldn?t. He was too restless. He felt more alive than ever, but somehow he felt completely dead inside. There was nothing to explain it. There was just the feeling that he had. Larry knew enough to know that his feelings had been very unreliable lately. Feelings were just feelings. But, somehow, he felt that he knew everything that was going on. He just knew. But he couldn?t call it up into his mind. Try as he might, there was just that little something keeping him in the dark. Just like always. Larry fell asleep, though he wasn?t tired.[/font]

There's already a thread on this subject [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=40830][b]here[/b][/url], and there are two threads on the individual systems [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=36436][b]here (Nintendo DS)[/url][/b] and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=32057][b]here (PSP)[/url][/b]. If you'd like to post about the PSP being better than the DS (or vice versa) than go to the first thread. Thread Closed

I have to hand it to you, Asphy, this is an incredibly interesting idea for an RPG. :) [b]Name:[/b] Assuming you mean the character name, the character I'll be using goes by Nick. Otherwise, I'm Shinmaru! :D [b]Sample Story:[/b] [quote]Nick had never driven his car faster than he was driving it on this day. He was late for school. Normally, this sort of thing would not have happened. Unlike his best friend, Michael, Nick was a good student, and he was always punctual. However, it seemed that this day was just not going to be his day. His alarm clock had failed to sound off, the shower was not working, and he?d forgotten his homework earlier and had to turn back and get it. Along with his frayed nerves over the prospect of being late, a slow, venomous feel of anger was coursing through Nick. He was usually a very even-tempered boy, but the events of the morning had conspired completely against that notion. Nick continued driving speedily along the newly tarred streets, and he took the curves a bit sharper than what he would typically consider to be safe. He came to a stop in front of a crosswalk, and impatiently watched an old man crossed the street. Nick?s hands tapped irritably onto the steering wheel, and he momentarily considered honking the horn at the pedestrian. When the geriatric finally made it to the other side of the street, Nick blazed forward, sensing that he was almost at his destination. About thirty feet from the school parking lot, a small dog darted out from the front lawn of the school. Nick?s foot slammed against the brakes, and he swerved wildly in order to avoid hitting the tiny mutt. The dog ran past the front wheel of Nick?s car, and made it across the street. Nick turned around for a moment to make sure that the dog was safe. When he looked forward again, he saw, to his horror, that he was barreling into another crosswalk, where a pretty young lady with long brown hair was crossing. Since he did not have time to hit the brakes again, Nick swerved to the left, hoping beyond hope that there were no cars on the other side of the road, and also that the young lady would stay still. She did. She clutched her books against her chest, so frightened that she could barely move an inch. Nick sped away and turned the corner, driving away from the parking lot. He would have to find a new spot to park today.[/quote] I haven't done many RPGs, but I was in Kill Adam and [i]hero[/i], so that has to count for something, right?

I can read multiple novels, but I prefer to read one novel at a time. It's just a lot easier for me to concentrate and get the most out of a novel if it's the only thing that I am reading at the time. Plus, when I read several novels at once, it takes me a lot longer to finish them. I also tend to forget stuff that happens in other novels when I start going from one to another and back again. It gets confusing lol.

[quote name='Juuthena][size=1']Was that at Anime Expo? At the '03 one, there was a girl dressed as Padme with two storm troopers. She was like, identical to Natalie Portman...[/size][/quote] Yeah, that was at Anime Expo last year. We were running to a different room, and then I spotted The Dark Lord of the Sith and made my sister take a picture of Darth and I. Getting a picture with someone who looked like Natalie Portman would be pretty great, though. :(

I live in La Puente, California, and the best place to go in town is... [img]http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38174000/jpg/_38174278_spearmintrhino300.jpg[/img] ...okay, not really. Mostly we're just like any other town - kind of boring, not very many good places to go. I guess that the best hangout would be J&B's, which is the local burger joint. Everywhere else sucks, though. I like it here because it's quiet, not because of the the entertainment. :p

I used to be very hot tempered. In middle school I was a real bastard, but I'm pretty sure that's true of 99% of college students. I'm calm most of the time now, though. It takes a lot to really get under my skin, and I don't get insulted very easily, either.

I met Tony Hawk at a skating exhibition that my cousin wanted to go to. As far as celebrities go, though, nothing will top this... [img]http://shinmaru.250free.com/MyLordAndMaster.JPG[/img] :cool:

[QUOTE=Juuthena][size=1]I

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082]But enough about me; let's talk about [b]Shinmaru[/b] for a moment. Just at a glance, you can tell he's into stupid humor. And if you're brave enough to click that link in his signature, you'll see it goes farther -- he [i]lives[/i'] stupid humor, as detailed in his blog. And although it may at first seem inexplicable that he managed to secure a moderator position, the first line of his signature gives a clue as to that. He obviously chases the girls, going so far as to use part of his signature to immortalize a fancy of his. No doubt he got in good with the rest of the staff during some "closed door meetings," if you know what I mean. ... And lastly, he seems to be too lame to make his own banners.[/color][/quote] How did I know that you'd be describing my signature? :p But, yes, I'd say that all that is accurate, except that I never close the door during my meetings. To stay on topic: [b]Baron's[/b] sig indicates that he thinks that it is nifty that Alan wears dresses. Could this possibly be another young romance blooming on our fair message board?? That same message also indicates that he has no clue how to use apostrophes. His banner and avatar set demonstrate that he likes to fling paint at stuff and call it art. Lastly, his post suggests that he has no sense of humor. :p

You know The Invisible Boatmobile from SpongeBob Squarepants? Yeah, I drive that. :cool:

I'm 5'9", which is about average for a guy, I think. I used to want to be taller, but I've been the same height for a couple of years now, and I've gotten used to it lol. If I suddenly grew an inch or two, it would probably disrupt things quite a bit.

I personally don't agree with this list, but what are you going to do? I think that it's impossible to make a definitive Top 100 Albums list because there's such a wide variety of music out there. I always roll my eyes at these sorts of lists, but I doubt that I could do any better. Someone would probably ripping on my list just the same. :p I'm just sad that there's no love for [i]Surfer Rosa[/i] on this list. I like that album more than [i]Doolittle[/i] (I also like [i]Trompe Le Monde[/i] more, but I'm pretty sure that critics hate it for whatever reason lol).

I hate writing essays at home. Seriously, I find it to be very boring unless the subject interests me. Usually when I'm at home I have all of the time in the world to write an essay, and when I have a lot of time to do something, I slack off. I don't think that I've ever finished an essay at home very quickly. On the flip side, and I feel like a real dork for admitting this, but I really like writing in-class essays. The fact that you only have a limited to finish it and make it really good makes it so much more fun. When I have a time limit breathing down my neck, it's a hell of a lot easier to map out an essay in my head and transfer it to paper. (I don't use outlines, by the way, unless a teacher forces me to. I've never needed an outline to write a solid essay.) I remember talking to Lore last year after the AP English Literature exam, and we both agreed that it was really fun, especially the essay part. English nerds love challenges, damn it.

I'm not sure if this subject is similar to what is presented in the [b][url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=46347]Punctuation and Writing thread[/b][/url], and if it is, then I apologize. Anyway, a lot of us write just about every day in the forms of short stories, essays, blog posts, and whatever else you would like to include in there. After a while, I'm sure that everyone develops certain quirks in their writing style, ideas, content, or in the overall process of developing what they are writing. I'm curious as to what kind of quirks people have around here. I'm just going to stick with my personal quirks when it comes to writing short stories. I don't know if I have any quirks with blog posts, other than the fact that I always write my posts between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM PST lol. One of my quirks is that I have a group of names for characters that I like to use a lot of the time. I'm horrible at thinking up really cool names for characters, and I used to waste a lot of time just sitting around and thinking up names (I still do this for titles of pieces, and it drives me nuts). After a while I just got tired of it, and decided to use a core group of regular names that I liked. Some of these names include: Julia, Maria, Ashley, Sarah, Joseph, Nick, Vincent, and Jacob. I think that there are a few more, but oh well. I also like using names of characters from stories/television/movies/etc. that I like as tributes. For example, Marion from my short story, "The Librarian", was named after Marion from "The Library" episode of Seinfeld and Marion Crane from [i]Psycho[/i]. Strangely enough, I don't have a problem thinking up last names, since last names can be as bizarre as you want them to be and nobody will give two craps about it. I like thinking up last names. Another quirk of mine is that I can't sit and write a story for more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time. I get distracted incredibly easily, and it's tough for me to concentrate on a story for an extended length of time. To combat this I get up and take a stroll around my house for a couple of minutes. Sometimes I'll talk to my brother and sister, and other times I'll just pop in on everyone else in the house for no real reason. This practice really annoys my brother, and I'm pretty sure that my sister thinks that it's funny. Oh well. Also, I can't sit down and just try to think up an idea for a story, or else it will suck and I'll end up abandoning it. For me, inspiration always comes when I'm doing some really random, mundane activity (I just hope that's not a reflection of my stories). The ideas for what I'd consider some of my better stories have come from riding an elevator, walking to class and noticing a bunch of flowers blooming, and listening to the radio. I think that it's my attempt at making my life exciting, because I don't really do very much of worth otherwise. :p I think that's enough for now from me. Anyone else?

[quote name='Generic NPC #3']I am sure this will be closed or merged with something else considering there really is no need for this thread when there is a PSP thread, a DS thread AND a PSP vs DS thread on this forum.[/quote] Yep. [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=40830][b]The PSP vs. DS thread is here[/b][/url], [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=36436][b]the DS thread is here[/url][/b], and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=32057][b]the PSP thread is here[/url][/b]. Those are the places that you'll want to go if you want to post about any of those subjects. Thread Closed

Let's hold up on the name-calling, everyone. I don't exactly agree with Bloodseeker's sentiment, but there's no reason to call him 'ignorant' or 'a fool' or whatever else. The posts in this thread have been civil, for the most part, and I'd like for it to remain that way. I'd like to go on in life continuing to believe that it's possible to hold a debate without resorting to name-calling. :)

[quote name='Lady Asphyxia][font=Arial Narrow][size=2]I think the only thing I have difficulty with is that I want something to happen. I'm a person in one of those camps, you know?: [i]A story is interesting when an ordinary person does something out of the ordinary[/i]. I want M. to...to put up with helping her husband and for her to get sick while he isn't and not have any help and then eventually just snap and do...something. And the ending just [b]lends[/b] itself to that sort of thing.[/size'][/font][/quote] Yeah, I agree with you. I think that the ending is a bit unsatisfying, and at the very least, demands that there be another part to this. Once I start fleshing out my ideas a bit more, I can definitely see myself revisiting this story and resolving it a bit more. I already have tons of ideas for characters in this town, interactions, different plot points, etc. The problem right now is getting it all to fit together right now lol. But I [i]really[/i] want to stick with it, and I think that most of what I write for a while will be in some way connected to this story. :)

Ha, wow, you're way better at this than I am lol. I never spot this kind of stuff; I still think that I'm pretty bad at editing my own work. Anyway, most of what you pointed out were definitely slights on my part. I'll get to fixing those up when I have the time. As for a couple of them...well, I kind of wanted to be a bit more subtle with why Marion's real feelings on the matter would offend Sally. I think that it's made pretty obvious that Marion doesn't care at all for what Sally is saying, and if Sally were to know that, then she'd be pretty offended. I don't think that it needs to be explicity stated afterwards. I like to let the reader use his or her imagination, sometimes lol. As for the last thing that you pointed out, well, that's just Marion letting out a bit of frustration about her own problems. She's going through this bore of a life, and while the taste of medicine can be pretty bad, it's not really something that would make for a really significant complaint lol. I would probably be pretty annoyed if I went through this really menial, boring day-to-day routine and was met with nothing but complaints when I got home. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to edit the story. I'm pretty bad with pronouns, and I'm always at a loss as to how to refer to characters without getting really repetitive. I think that's really tough, honestly lol.

Okay, now I have the time to make a decent reply. As I mentioned earlier, I think that the best game in the Zelda series is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In fact, I think that it is the best game that I've ever played. There's no such thing as a "perfect" game, but I'll be damned if A Link to the Past doesn't come [i]real[/i] close to perfection. First is the gameplay. A Link to the Past isn't radically different from the two Zelda games that came before it in this department; A Link to the Past is to The Legend of Zelda as Super Mario Sunshine is to Super Mario 64. However, everything in A Link to the Past is evolved far beyond what was presented in the original game and Adventure of Link. The learning curve of the game is flawless. The game eases you into things, and amps up the difficulty when the player is able to handle it. This is what makes Zelda games in general so amazing, to me - each dungeon is almost always just enough for a player to handle without getting too frustrating. Each of A Link to the Past's levels is like this. Most of them can get very tough, but not so much that it becomes detrimental to the overall experience of the game. The dungeons are amazing, and easily the best dungeons in any Zelda game. From the lowly beginnings of the Eastern Palace to the insanely complex, intricate layout of Turtle Rock, the dungeons of A Link to the Past are some of the most clever that I've ever seen. In true Zelda fashion, the puzzles in each dungeon make great use of the different items that Link procures throughout his adventure. Many of the puzzles in A Link to the Past are very inventive mind-benders that give you a very good sense of satisfaction when you solve them. The bosses in the game are also the absolute best in the Zelda series, and maybe my favorite set of bosses in any game ever. The Light World bosses can be tough, but they can't prepare you for the bunch of absolute bastards that you'll come face-to-face with in the Dark World. The Dark World bosses are big, fast, powerful, and incredibly intimidating, exactly what I think that bosses should be. They all have distinctive patterns that you can exploit, but taking advantage of them is an absolute *****. There are so many obstacles thrown your way during these fights that it's tough to even stay alive, much less beat the bosses. No Zelda game since has come even close to equalling the Link to the Past bosses. Ocarina of Time's bosses look cool, and they're fun to fight, but they're all pansies. Majora's Mask's bosses are a tough fight, but A Link to the Past has more of them, and the final boss runs rings around Majora's Mask's final boss. Like Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker's bosses are way too easy. The GB/GBA games have come close, but I don't think that the handhelds can replicate the experience that the SNES could offer. A DS Zelda game could be potentially amazing in the boss department, however. The atmosphere for the boss fights is very involving, as well - the boss fight music is fast-paced, intense and it really gets the blood pumping. I daresay that [i]nobody[/i] could make it through the boss fights in A Link to the Past without getting some sweaty palms due to nerves. Zelda games are always great for atmosphere, and I would say that the succeeding Zelda games are at least A Link to the Past's equal when it comes to atmosphere in boss fights. A Link to the Past is also innovative because of its dual worlds concept. I don't think that it had been done before, but even if it had been, I doubt that it was pulled off as well as A Link to the Past does it. Certain actions done in the Dark World affect things in the Light World, and vice versa. It's a formula that has since been done in many other games since, more recently in Metroid Prime: Echoes. Not quite as innovative as something like The Legend of Zelda, which established its own [b]genre[/b], or Ocarina of Time, which actually made fighting in 3-D [i]easy[/i], but it's nothing to scoff at, nonetheless. Add to that the solid graphics, great musical score (though the N64 and GC Zelda games top it pretty easily), perfect controls, great selection of weaponry, epic layout, and lack of annoying side characters (:p), and you have my favorite Zelda game. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be waiting for Desbreko to come in here and try to outgeek me XD