Shinmaru

[quote name='Anime_fangurl*247']Shrek 2 is quite, quite good times. I saw it last night and I can't stop smiling today. Shrek 1 pales in comparison, I think...I don't say this often about animated films, but to catch everything, every little references, nuance, parody, etc, you need to watch this movie a few times. It's that thick.[/quote] Definitely agreed. I got back from Shrek 2 about half-an-hour ago. I went into the theaters with...middle of the road expectations, let's say, mostly because I know how iffy sequels can be. Sometimes you'll have great sequels and other times you'll have horrible sequels. Of course, when I saw the movie, I was just blown away by how funny it is. Shrek 2's humor, much moreso than the first movie, I think, is like the Nickelodeon cartoons of old (such as Rocko's Modern Life); it has crazy antics to appeal to younger kids, but it also has subtle humor and references to appeal to adults, as well. The scope of Shrek 2's humor is pretty remarkable. Especially remarkable since I can finally cite a movie in which I can stand Antonio Banderas :p Overall, I'd have to say that my favorite part of the movie was [spoiler]KNIGHTS, the parody of COPS. That whole sequence was pure brilliance lol. I especially loved the grinding of the pepper in their eyes (to simulate pepper spray) and the part where Puss In Boots is thrown up against the wall ("Catnip!" "...ees not mine."). Just hilarious.[/spoiler] Great movie, heh. Certainly makes up for seeing Van Helsing a while ago.

[quote name='Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86']One thing I noticed about the first chapter, and a few times later on, is the repetition of individual words or phrases in paragraphs ... I'd try not to repeat too much that often though- the more variety in your sentences you can get, the richer the overall picture.[/COLOR][/quote] Yeah, that's a bit of a problem, heh. I'll probably go back and revise that when I have the time. At some parts of the story, the repetition is intentional (such as the repeating of 'cursory glance' and 'coquettishly' in the first chapter) and other times, it's not intentional, so I think I'll have to go in there and fix it up a bit. That could cause a bit of confusion if people don't know when the repetition is intentional or not, especially since I'm using it as a literary device lol. I think two chapters in a day is a bit much, so I won't put chapter five in this post, unless nobody else replies, in which case I'll edit it into this post tomorrow or Sunday. I'm still working on chapter nine at the moment ^_^

I think this story is off to a good start and it shows a bit of potential. There are a couple of things that I have an issue with, though...first, it's obvious that the point of view is a third-person omniscient point of view. However, at some points of the story, the scenes are described in a casual way (with words like basically), which works when the characters themselves are describing an area (because you'd expect people to speak casually), but not when you have an outside narrator describing the scene. This is a problem that I definitely admit to having myself from time to time, and it's just something that needs to be pointed out to you so you can remedy it, heh. Second, there are a few awkward phrases here and there, but that could have been intentional for all I know. Personally, I sometimes sprinkle a couple intentionally awkward sentences and phrases in my stories to establish some sort of mood...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Again, though, your story is getting off to a good start. I like the varied description of the setting and the characters, plus the transition from scene to scene isn't awkward, which is a plus. I'll be looking forward to seeing more of the story.

Your wish is my command. I'm currently working on finishing Chapter Nine, so I'll have no problem updating as long as replies keep coming. [b][u][center]Chapter Four: The Old Men[/b][/u][/center] When Jacob went to sleep, he dreamt of the things that he had forgotten. He woke up in a small, white room. He was strapped to a bench. There were bright white lights hanging overhead that were blinding Jacob and blurring his vision. He could hear voices chattering endlessly about him. Jacob tried to figure out where he was, but he could not collect his thoughts enough to form a coherent guess as to where exactly this place was. One of the doctors motioned over to Jacob and they pressed a syringe into his arm. Jacob began to twitch uncontrollably, his arms shaking, his chest heaving and his legs kicking. Slowly, but surely, he settled down. ?Are you sure that he will be okay, Dr. Milo?? one of the doctors asked. ?Of course he?ll be okay,? Dr. Milo answered. ?And, even if he isn?t, we can make it look as if he is okay easily enough.? ?Well, if this doesn?t work, then we?ll be in some hot water,? another doctor pointed out. ?You let me worry about that,? Dr. Milo answered. Dr. Milo felt Jacob?s body to make sure that nothing was wrong with him. He felt his ribs, his arms, his legs, his shoulders, his face and his extremities. Nothing was wrong with Jacob that Dr. Milo could discern. He poked and prodded Jacob?s body some more with a stick and, when Jacob did not show any adverse reaction to being poked with a stick, Dr. Milo proclaimed the experiment to be a success. ?Now,? Dr. Milo said. ?Stick him in a tank so that he can get better.? At that moment, Jacob fell into unconsciousness. When Jacob woke up, he was in a tank, connected to a massive amount of tubes that were sticking out of his body every which way. His vision was blurred because he was completely submerged in a strange liquid. It was definitely not water, that much Jacob knew?it was like a strange, gooey substance, not thick enough to be solid, but not fluid enough to be liquid. Jacob could hear the faint sounds of conversation going on all around him. However, since the liquid pervaded every pore and hole in his body, including his ears, the only sound that Jacob could pick up were dull mutterings. ?Was there anything in particular that you wanted me for?? a pretty doctor asked Dr. Milo. ?No, I just wanted to stare at you for a bit,? Dr. Milo muttered duly. As soon as Dr. Milo realized what he said, he slapped the pretty, young doctor in order to get her mind off what he had just said. ?Why did you just slap me?? the doctor asked. ?An experiment,? Dr. Milo stated. The doctor decided not to press the issue because she thought that Dr. Milo, though intelligent, was a greedy, manipulative, heartless idiot. Dr. Milo was well aware that she thought of him in those terms and rather enjoyed it. Nobody had ever been so kind as to recognize his good points before. All of this confused Jacob, who could not understand why he had been poked and prodded with a stick, only to wake up inside a glass tube and hear bits and pieces of Dr. Milo hitting on a female doctor. Jacob tried to shake his body in order to loosen the tube?s grip on him, but that only succeeded in making the tube?s hold on him even tighter. Eventually, Jacob gave up on this endeavor and relaxed his attempts to free himself from the tubes. Dr. Milo walked up to the glass tube and tapped on it lightly. ?You?re going to make me a rich man,? Dr. Milo said with glee. ?If you don?t get killed, first, that is. That would be terrible. I don?t suppose I can stop those idiots from using you for their harebrained schemes, but there?s a risk involved with just about anything worth doing, isn?t there? You should know that, above all other people.? The phone in the room rang loudly and Dr. Milo went to answer it. Before he could pick up the phone, however, the doors opened and a blackened figure stepped slowly into the room. Jacob found it impossible to tell who this was; all he knew that he was deathly afraid of it. He was not the only one. Dr. Milo had paled considerably and took the first opportunity to hightail it out of the room. The black figure walked up to the control panel in the middle of the room. He pressed a button and the tubes slipped out from Jacob?s body. The liquid drained out of the tube and Jacob fell against it, freed from his bonds. The figure pressed another button and the tube around Jacob repressed into the base. Jacob fell, naked, onto the ground. ?Jacob, Jacob, Jacob?? the figure said with a smooth voice. ?We meet at last.? Jacob?s eyes widened and he scooted backwards as fast as he possibly could. He rammed hard into the cool metal of the container that he was in, sending a shock through his spine. Jacob fell forward onto the ground and looked up slightly. He locked eyes with the black figure. Jacob could feel his insides, his very being, being pervaded by this madman. Every secret, every truth, every fallacy, every aspect of Jacob?s life was privy to this man?and Jacob was frightened beyond all belief. ?Now, why are you frightened?? the figure cooed to Jacob. ?After all, there?s no reason to be frightened of me. I simply want what?s best for the two of us.? ?No!? Jacob shouted. ?You want to hurt me!? ?You can?t expect pleasure,? the figure said. ?Without a little pain to go along with it.? ?I?m so afraid?? Jacob muttered. He was shaking all over, a combination of fear and the cold air of the room blowing against the liquid all over his skin. ?I know that you?re afraid,? the figure said comfortingly. ?I was once afraid, myself. That was long ago, however, in another world, in another place.? The figure walked over to Jacob, but the bright lights impaired Jacob?s vision and he could not see the figure?s face. ?No!? Jacob shouted again. ?Stay back!? Jacob tried to scoot back more, but realized that he had no more room to maneuver. He raised his hands into the air, placing them in front of his face, in a futile attempt to shield himself from this mysterious person. ?Tsk, tsk,? the figure said. ?That?s too bad. Well, if you refuse to cooperate, I suppose I?ll have to make you cooperate?? The figure flicked its wrist and a small knife appeared in his hand. In a flash of movement, the figure grabbed Jacob and stuck the knife against his exposed throat. ?Let?s see how you can handle your life.? The figure started to cut Jacob?s throat slowly. Jacob could only emit a guttural groan as he felt the cold steel slice open his throat. Blood sprayed in thick streams onto the floor and the figure dropped Jacob?s lifeless body onto the ground. Jacob awoke with a blood-curdling scream. He couldn?t stop shaking. The sight of the blood, the feel of the steel, the fear, the absolute fear, of the figure gripped Jacob?s mind like a vice and would not let go. He could feel his heart pounding a mile a minute. Sweat was pouring off of every part of Jacob?s body. He wiped his brow with a shaking hand and laid down upon his bed in an attempt to clear his mind. That dream had seemed so real?Jacob knew that he had felt that knife cut his throat; he had felt the blood flow from his opened throat. Jacob touched his throat. It was as fine as it had always been, no cuts or anything. He sighed to himself and rolled out of bed. He walked over to his dresser, got out some clothes and got dressed. Jacob decided that he needed answers, so he went to see the old man who owned the building. He was down at the bottom floor in the kitchen, drinking some tea. ?May I ask you a couple questions?? Jacob asked. ?Go ahead,? the old man said, taking a sip of his tea. ?Do you know what those old men upstairs dream about?? Jacob asked. ?I don?t have a clue,? the old man replied. ?You must have some idea!? Jacob said. ?How long have they been living here?? ?About fifty years to my reckoning,? the old man said. ?So, how could you go that long without knowing what they dream of?!? Jacob yelled desperately. ?Look!? the old man said, smashing his teacup against the tabletop in a fit of nervous anger. ?I don?t know a god damned thing any of them dream of! I really couldn?t care less; I have no interest in that sort of thing.? ?Why not?? Jacob asked. ?That?s none of your business,? the old man said. ?If you want to know so badly, why don?t you go ask them yourself?? Jacob stood up and began to walk away. ?Fine,? he said. ?I will.? Jacob walked upstairs slowly. After a few minutes of walking, he reached the top floor and the rooms of the old men with the nightmares. He knocked on the door of the first old man and a voice told him to come in. Jacob opened the door and went inside. The old man was sitting on his bed, watching a television. ?Hello, young man,? the old man said. ?Is there something that you wanted?? ?Yes, there is,? Jacob said. ?I came to ask you about something.? ?What is it?? the old man asked. ?What do you dream about?? Jacob asked. ?Dream?? the old man asked quizzically. ?Yes,? Jacob said. ?Dream.? ?I don?t have dreams,? the old man said gruffly. ?You don?t?? Jacob asked. ?No,? the old man said. ?I don?t.? ?But I?ve heard you screaming?? Jacob said. ?And the old man downstairs told me that you have nightmares.? ?He?s a damn liar,? the old man said. ?I haven?t dreamt in years.? ?But?? Jacob started. ?Get the hell out of here, kid,? the old man said. ?You?re starting to bug me.? Jacob got up and left the room. He went into the second old man?s room in the hopes that he would have better luck in there. He opened the door and went inside. Just like the first one, this old man was also reclining on his bed and watching television. ?Hello, sir,? Jacob said. ?Hello, young man,? the second old man said. ?Is there something that I can do for you?? ?I came here to ask you something,? Jacob said. ?Ask away,? the old man invited. ?What do you dream of at night?? Jacob asked. The reaction that Jacob got was similar to the first reaction: A vehement denial of the old man having dreams of any sort and a plea, yelling and cursing, for Jacob to leave his room. Jacob left the old man?s room, dejected. He was about to pass the last old man?s room when he decided to go in there just for the hell of it. He lightly rapped on the front of the door. There was no reply, so Jacob went ahead and walked inside. The old man inside was staring out the window at all of the commotion outside. ?What are you looking at?? Jacob asked. ?Life,? the old man replied with a sigh. ?Life?s passed me by in my old age.? He favored Jacob with a crooked, longing smile. Jacob pulled up a chair and sat down next to the old man. The sun was starting to rise and there were already people heading off to their respective jobs. ?Not a lot of luck with the other guys, huh?? the old man asked Jacob. Jacob raised his eyebrow and looked over at the old man. ?How did you know about that?? Jacob asked. ?I?m not in denial,? the old man replied. ?My senses are still sharp, even after seventy years. They haven?t deteriorated at all since the day I was born.? ?So?? Jacob started. ?You know what I was asking about?? The old man nodded. ?Yes,? he said. ?You were wondering about the nightmares that we have.? ?Yes,? Jacob said, his eyes widening. ?What do you dream about?? ?We dream about the things we?re trying to forget,? the old man said. ?But it doesn?t work. We can suppress the memories as much as we want, but they?ll always resurface in our subconscious.? He took a moment to turn around and wheeze a raspy cough. ?We can never forget the horrors of what happened.? ?The Seven Year War??? Jacob asked hesitantly. The old man nodded in reply. ?What do you remember about it?? Jacob asked, hope rising in his chest. ?Death,? the old man said gravely. ?Nothing but death. The smell of it, the taste of it, the sight of it, the feel of it. Those times meant nothing but death; we were puppets, you see, a band of hired guns. The Army is nothing but hired guns, they just don?t get paid. All we did was kill people and we weren?t discriminate about it?we all followed our orders like a flock of blind sheep.? The old man spat bitterly onto the floor. ?That?s horrible?? Jacob said, feeling sick to his stomach. ?Yes,? the old man said. ?I have one more thing that I want to ask you,? Jacob said. ?What is it?? the old man asked. ?How is it that you can sleep soundly while the other old men thrash and moan in their sleep?? Jacob asked. The old man sighed heavily and looked back outside, tears streaming slowly down his face. ?They still fight the dreams,? the old man said. ?They don?t want the memories and they?re willing to do anything to get rid of them. The mental torture they experience in their dreams is astounding?I should know, I used to be the same way.? ?What happened?? Jacob asked. ?I gave up,? the old man said. ?I gave in to that nightmarish horror world to ease my suffering?but it hasn?t eased my suffering at all. I?m immersed completely in it, I?m controlled by it. Those horrible memories have been nothing but a virtual damnation ever since they started!? ?I?m sorry?? Jacob muttered, not knowing what else to say. ?There?s nothing to be sorry about,? the old man said mockingly. ?I?m in perfect health, I sleep soundlessly every night, I have a good home?I should be the happiest man in the world!? Jacob got up and started over towards the door. ?You want to know more, don?t you?? the old man asked. Jacob halted. ?Yes,? he answered. ?Stop while you?re ahead,? the old man warned. ?It?ll cause you nothing but pain and suffering. It?s not worth it!? ?I already have pain and suffering,? Jacob said, smiling a crooked smile. ?I might as well know why.? Jacob left the room and walked downstairs past the old man who owned the building. ?Did you find out what you wanted?? the old man asked. ?No,? Jacob answered. ?Just more questions.? He opened the door, walked through it and closed it. He began walking down the sidewalk while the third old man watched him through the window of his room. EDIT: Some edits pertaining to awkward words and sentences.

...ew. Anyway, to appease you, I guess, I shall spread the joys of Nine Inch Nails, but only because they're my favorite band, heh. What appeals to me most about Nine Inch Nails is how the music that Trent Reznor puts out has evolved far beyond the basic limitations of Industrial music and into something that has really become an inspiration for other bands to build off of. It's amazing to think that all of Nine Inch Nails' music is, basically, Trent Reznor and Trent Reznor alone (except for their live concerts, of course). I only have Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, but I've heard most of Nine Inch Nails' music at one time or another. I prefer Pretty Hate Machine, but they're both fine albums. I think I might pick up The Fragile soon, too...we'll see how that goes. All three are fantastic albums, though, along with Broken, heh.

It might be a bit early to make this thread, and there might not even be that many people who care, but oh well. Anyway, on June 6th, Sonic Youth will be releasing their new album entitled [i]Sonic Nurse[/i]. This is very good news to me, because Sonic Youth is one of my absolute favorite bands (only Nine Inch Nails tops them, for me, and even that's a bit shaky) and what's even better is that I [i]know[/i] I'll have enough money to be able to afford the album by the time it comes out, so I'll definitely be picking it up, heh. The track listing for [i]Sonic Nurse[/i] has been up on Sonic Youth's site for a while now, but I'll list the songs here, anyway: "Pattern Recognition" "Unmade Bed" "Dripping Dream" "Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream" "Stones" "Dude Ranch Nurse" "New Hampshire" "Paper Cup Exit" "I Love You Golden Blue" "Peace Attack" Only ten songs, but if it's anything like an average Sonic Youth album, it'll still be long as hell lol. Also, Sonic Youth will be releasing a DVD a couple days after that with twenty-three music videos, band commentary, interviews and all that fun stuff that people just love. I don't know if I'll be able to break the bank for this, but here's hoping. It would certainly be cool. All of Sonic Youth's videos on one DVD is a damn good deal, heh. They'll also be appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 9th, so that'll probably be the first time that I've ever watched the Tonight Show lol. In case you stumbled upon this thread and you're actually interested in hearing some of Sonic Youth's music...[url]http://www.sonicyouth.com/archives/index.html[/url] - that has some good videos and some great mp3s available for download (a few of which I've used on my myOtaku before). Sonic Youth can be kind of hard to get into at times, but if you stick with them, they're definitely worth your time. Just an amazing, amazing band...I can not tell you how much I'm looking forward to this CD lol. *waits for the inevitable reply from Tony* :p

Yeah, that's what I've tried to do with the characters...they're not really meant to be "main" characters (which is why I've tried to avoid extraneous description when it comes to them), but they're definitely there to add something to the story. These characters mainly represent a sort of fallacy when it comes to the appearance of the city (or any city, for that matter). This land, on outside appearances, is supposed to be inviting, but that's obviously not the way Jacob sees it - he's very confused and lost in this new place. The young man in the bakery is sort of like the city itself...he looks inviting but, in reality, he's extremely dangerous. The old woman has pretty much eschewed all pretense of looking inviting and is just a nasty old woman, which is what the city is really like, from the perspective of Jacob. Of course, that's just one spin on it, anyone else could come up with their own interpretation of it, heh. Anyway, I'm going to post the third chapter right now. It's a bit shorter than the first two, but definitely no less important. [b][u][center]Chapter Three: The Diner and the Nightmares[/b][/u][/center] Jacob walked through the throng of people that were occupying the sidewalk on which Jacob was currently traveling. He made his way through them, thrusting, shoving and barging his way through the crowd. Jacob eventually stopped trying to go against these people and joined in on their mad rush to go wherever it was that they wanted to go. The crowd pulled Jacob forward and he just let them carry him. They twisted and turned along the streets in what seemed like a very arbitrary path to Jacob. After following these people for a few minutes, Jacob tired of their twisting, turning path and slipped out the side. He tripped over a small rock and fell onto the ground. He looked up into the air and saw that he was in front of a small building. The building had a large wooden sign above the door that read ?Diner?. A sign to the side of the door read ?Help Wanted?. Jacob opened the door and stepped inside. Since it was the early morning, there were not many people inside. There were a few people at the front picking up their daily cup of coffee. There were a few other people sitting forlornly at the benches scattered randomly around the diner who were drinking the cups of coffee that they had picked up. With each sip that the people took, they slipped further into a caffenated depression that could only be helped by taking in more coffee. Jacob decided that they could not be helped and sat down at an area of benches situated in order to avoid the coffee breath wafting around the room from the mouths of these people. When Jacob sat down, a waitress had begun to approach him. She looked up from her menu, saw his face, blushed a deep color of crimson and walked away, embarrassed. All of this happened in the space of a second and left Jacob feeling very confused. A large, heavyset man, presumably the manager of the diner, waddled up to Jacob, apologizing profusely for the waitress? strange behavior. ?I?m very sorry,? the manager said. ?Julia usually does not blush and get embarrassed after looking at one of the customers; it?s not company policy, you see.? ?It?s okay,? Jacob said, craning his neck to get a closer look at Julia. ?I can assure you that it will not happen again,? the manager said, wringing his apron uneasily. ?It?s okay,? Jacob said again. This time, the manager seemed reassured, and left after berating Julia in a language that Jacob did not understand. Julia approached Jacob timidly, her head bowed down so that she could not look him in the eyes. ?I?m sorry,? Julia said with a soft, barely detectable Spanish accent. ?It?s okay,? Jacob said for the third time. If it were the manager he was saying this to, Jacob probably would have been getting a bit annoyed by now. ?Is there anything that you would like?? Julia muttered, clearly still embarrassed. ?Well,? Jacob said. ?I?m not really hungry, but I noticed the help wanted sign outside. I was wondering if there was a job available.? ?Help wanted sign?? Julia asked. ?There?s no help wanted sign, is there?? Jacob got up, walked over to the help wanted sign, plucked it from the window and showed it to Julia. She looked at it and called the manager to Jacob. The manager tilted his head when he saw the sign. ?I?d forgotten that we?d put up that help wanted sign,? the manager said. ?When did we put that up?? Julia asked. ?After I hired you,? the manager said. ?We still needed more help, but everyone who applied kept dying because they ingested rat poison.? ?I won?t die of poison ingestion, will I?? Jacob asked. ?No, I don?t think so,? the manager said. ?We don?t have any rats in here, so there?s no need for rat poison.? ?I?d like to take the job,? Jacob said. ?I don?t know,? the manager said. ?Do you have any experience waiting tables?? ?I don?t remember,? Jacob replied. ?Do you have any experience manning a cash register?? the manager asked. ?I don?t remember,? Jacob replied. ?Well,? the manager said, peering into Jacob's eyes. ?I guess I should hire you, anyway. All the other people who applied aren?t really in a position to take the job. You?ll start tomorrow. I?ll give you your uniform when you arrive.? ?Thank you very much,? Jacob said, then turned around and left the diner. As he walked away, Julia stared at him from inside the diner. She had been embarrassed to see him, but now she was sad to see him go, even though he would be returning the next day. Jacob walked down the street, relieved that at least one of his problems was solved. He now had a job, but he had no place to live. He wasn?t sure how he was going to rectify that little situation. Happening upon the job at the diner was a stroke of luck, for the most part, because Jacob had not considered that there would be a job available at the diner until he had asked about it. And he had only asked about the job, because he was curious as to why Julia was embarrassed to see him. Jacob continued walking down the street. In the distance, he spotted a rundown, ramshackle old building. Something about the building drew Jacob towards it?he figured it was because the building seemed like it housed cheap rooms and Jacob would only be able to afford cheap housing for the time being. Regardless of the reasoning, Jacob continued to walk over to the building until he successfully reached it. Jacob opened the door and walked inside, the musty smell of dust filling his nostrils as soon as he stepped foot into the front room. Jacob walked forward and the wooden floor creaked loudly under his feet. He heard an angry voice travel from upstairs to downstairs and the creaking of the splintery stairs soon accompanied it as an old man bounded down the stairs, yelling his head off. ?Doesn?t anyone knock before they enter any more?!? the old man cried. ?I?m sorry,? Jacob said, suddenly afraid of this old man. The old man saw Jacob and peered at him. ?Who are you?? the old man asked. ?I?m here to ask about a room,? Jacob replied. ?We don?t have any openings,? the old man told him. ?I?d heard that there were some openings,? Jacob said. ?Well, there [i]are [/i]a couple openings,? the old man admitted. ?But nobody ever takes those rooms.? ?Why not?? Jacob asked. ?There are old people up there,? the old man replied. ?And they have nightmares.? ?Nightmares?? Jacob asked. ?What kind of nightmares?? ?Grisly nightmares,? the old man said. ?You can hear them twisting around in their beds and moaning like crazy in their sleep. Their nights are full of rest, but they never get any rest at all, because their nightmares are worse than their actual lives.? ?I don?t think I?ll mind it too much,? Jacob said. ?That?s what everyone says,? the old man nodded. ?But they always complain to me about it and I have to explain that I told them about the nightmares when they first wanted to buy the room. It gets very tiring after a while.? ?I?m sure it does,? Jacob said. ?You won?t be getting any of that trouble from me, I promise.? ?Fine,? the old man said. ?You seem like a good kid, even if you?re crazy for wanting to sleep up there.? The old man showed Jacob to his room and left him to his own devices. When it was nighttime, Jacob could not get any sleep, because he was tired of having dreamless sleeps. Jacob went to the room next to him and sat down next to the old man who was having nightmares. The old man twisted and writhed under his covers, moaning every few seconds and recoiling as if he was being tortured. He had a look of eternal exasperation and pain on his face, though he was still getting a good rest regardless of the nightmares. Jacob left this poor, old man and went to the room of the next old man. This old man was much the same as the last old man. In fact, had they had not been in different rooms, Jacob would have sworn that this was the same old man as the old man in the other room. Sweat was pouring down the forehead of this old man as he grunted and groaned his way through his nightmares. He uttered phrases like ?No!? and ?Get away!? interminably as he clutched his blanket fearfully, as if that was the only thing keeping him alive at that particular moment. Jacob only had the energy to bear the nightmares of one more person, so he decided to pay a visit to the old man in the room next to this one. Jacob walked inside this room. Unlike the other two, this one was extremely neat. The old man in this room was sleeping soundlessly, his chest heaving up and down rhythmically. Jacob knew that this old man was having nightmares, but he figured that he was too proud to let anyone else know that. This spectacle unnerved Jacob than the frantic antics of the other two old men, however. This old man was obviously aware of his nightmares; he had simply given in to them. Jacob left the room and walked to the edge of the stairs. He briefly considered going to the old man whom gave him his room, but decided not to bother him with his complaints. The old men?s nightmares did not bother Jacob in the least. In fact, he was actually a bit interested in observing them, since he found them to be very interesting. He found them to be all the more interesting, because he knew exactly what they were dreaming of. They were dreaming of the things that Jacob had forgotten. So, there you have it. How do you like the writing style so far? Mostly through this story, I've been switching between a serious and a satirical tone and I'd like to hear some opinions on it ^_^ EDIT: Changed a few awkward words and sentences.

Heh. That poll gives away some important story related stuff. Anyway, as a few people know, I recently watched Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time. I was sort of on the fence about Evangelion in regards to my expectations, since there seem to be an equal amount of Eva supporters and detractors in my experience, but I have to say that Evangelion impressed me very much...I'd even say it's right up there with Cowboy Bebop as being one of my favorite anime (I don't watch much anime, if you can't tell). One of the things that I noticed, and loved, about the series right away is how it juggles many different genres (action, drama, sci-fi, comedy, etc.) and does it so easily and so well. It reminds me a lot of Cowboy Bebop, not so much plot-wise, because they're obviously two very different anime, but it the ease in which it pulls off its multi-genre style. Not many series that I've seen could switch from drama to comedy and back to the dramatic as easily as Eva seems to do it, heh. The plot, to me, was pretty basic, even with the religious references and stuff that were melded into everything (though, I didn't have a problem with all that, as it was done decently, too). What makes Eva complex, and everyone knows this by now, are the characters. Those characters, which are some of the deeper, psychologically entertaining characters I've seen, are the driving force for every facet of Eva's plot - there is a lot of impressive stuff in Evangelion, but the characters are what shoot this anime into the stratosphere, to me. Every important character's motivations can be clearly understood due to how well they are developed psychologically. It's pretty amazing, heh. And, of course, we come to the final two episodes, which even Eva fans seem to be split down the middle with lol. Personally, I felt that, while a bit confusing to the first-time viewer, they were both well done ([spoiler]I especially loved the alternate reality stuff near the end of the last episode - that was extremely entertaining lol[/spoiler]). They both had some great insight into the psyches of some of the more important characters of Evangelion and it's pretty cool to remember how some of the characters were at the beginning of the series and reflect on their progression to how they are at the end. It's fascinating stuff. So, yeah, overall Eva gets the stamp of approval for being cool and stuff. Yay!

I don't have many CDs, myself, but whatever, heh. These three are in order of how much I enjoy the bands overall. 1. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine: Regrettably, I only own this and The Downward Sprial (though, I've heard a ton of songs off the other albums). I consider Pretty Hate Machine to be better, song for song, than The Downward Spiral. The whole disc does a great job of immersing you in the music, which I feel is what Nine Inch Nails excels at. This is pretty much what I use to get more people into Nine Inch Nails, since it seems to be their most accessible work lol. 2. Sonic Youth - Washing Machine: Just a freaking brilliant album all around, in my opinion, and it's easily Sonic Youth's greatest work. It takes the greatest elements that made their early work (Daydream Nation comes to mind, especially) so memorable and gives it a real shot in the arm. Damn near perfection...the album peaks at the end with The Diamond Sea, which is just an incredible song. I love it to death, heh. 3. Pixies - Trompe Le Monde: I really have to thank Tony for getting me this, because it's such a fun album to listen to. I don't really understand how in the hell so many people can bash this...it's really damn good (better than Doolittle, too). Like Tony said, there are some great fast-paced songs and explosive choruses...but my favorite song on the album is a relatively slower song, Motorway to Roswell. I'd be hard-pressed to pick my favorite song of all time, but Motorway to Roswell would definitely be way up there.

I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Truthfully, this is the type of story that I really enjoy writing...one that delves into the depths of human emotion and thought, one that I can really [i]feel[/i] when I'm writing it. I like writing stories that challenge me to think when I'm writing them, that challenge me to reveal myself to my audience through my writing. What you said puts it perfectly into perspective: The story has [b]life[/b]. That's the main goal, in my mind. The story has to be living, breathing, happening around you as you read it. You have to see the characters, feel the characters and [i]become[/i] the characters. I'm glad that my little story was able to do that for you, heh.

Heh. Pretty darned good, just like I was telling you on AIM (before my computer went bonkers and got cut off, that is). I like the whole self-help book feel that you have going on with this. And, despite the fact that it doesn't help with monetary or sex-related problems, which make up about 90% of human troubles in my estimation, it's still pretty cool. I demand more! *turns the page*

Thank you for the compliments ^_^ I've recently finished chapters four and five; perhaps I'll post them on myOtaku sometime or maybe I'll be able to get them in here (knock on wood). Anyway, here is chapter two. [b][u][center]Chapter Two: The Subway[/center][/u][/b] Jacob walked outside, shielding his eyes, because he thought it was daytime. He was quite surprised to find that it was nighttime and that the only light came from the lampposts situated high above the buildings. Jacob began to walk on the sidewalk in an attempt to get used to his new surroundings. Nothing was familiar to him at all; the cars lining the roads were makes that he could not remember ever seeing in his life, the houses and buildings were made of a strange material that he could not remember feeling in his life and even the light from the lampposts felt strange and unfamiliar. Jacob walked a few feet and stopped in front of a bakery. He liked the smell emanating from the shop and, though he did not have any money with him, he went inside simply to partake of this delightful smell. Jacob walked over to the far right side of the bakery, nearest to the kitchen and sat down on one of the benches lined up against the windows. ?Is there anything I can do for you?? a voice asked from Jacob's side. Jacob turned his head and looked up at the young man who was standing next to him. This was the boy whose job it was to man the cash register during the night shift. He was about Jacob?s height with a pallid complexion and thick, dark black hair that looked comical set against the frail nature of the rest of his body. ?No thank you,? Jacob replied. ?I?m just enjoying the smells.? ?I like the smells, too,? the young man replied. ?They make me feel better about things.? Jacob smiled. He liked this boy already, though he found it funny that such a man was responsible for giving people baked goods. ?Would you care to join me?? Jacob asked. ?I?d like to, but my break is almost over,? the young man said in reply. ?How would you like a doughnut or two?? ?I couldn?t possibly?? Jacob started, but the young man cut him off. ?I insist,? the young man said, beaming. ?You look like you could use a good doughnut.? Before Jacob could reply, the young man went to the back room to fetch a box of doughnuts. In a few seconds, the young man came back with a pink box with a dozen doughnuts inside and handed it to Jacob. Truthfully, Jacob was not really very hungry, but he did not want to seem rude, so he set to work on eating the doughnuts in the box. Just as Jacob was finishing off the last of the doughnuts, a man entered the bakery. The man was dressed in a brown business suit. He had sandy blonde hair and an elegantly trimmed mustache. He sauntered up to the front counter and tapped the bell near the cash register impatiently, waiting for some service. The young man heard the ringing of the bell from the back room and rushed to the front desk. He seemed disappointed that Jacob was not ringing the bell. ?Finally,? the man spat out exasperatedly. ?I have been ringing this bell for a while, you know.? ?I?m sorry,? the young man said, tilting his head slightly. ?What may I do for you?? ?I need a box of doughnuts,? the man said. ?And I need them very quickly, as I am in a hurry.? ?I?m sorry,? the young man replied. ?But I just sold our last box of doughnuts to that man over there.? The young man pointed over to Jacob. ?What do you mean?? the man asked incredulously. ?You run a bakery, for God?s sakes! How can you run out of doughnuts?!? ?Well,? the young man answered, stroking his chin. ?I have some more doughnuts in the back if you really want them that badly?? ?Yes,? the man said. ?Yes, I do. Go get them.? The young man did as he was told and went into the back room to get the extra doughnuts. He came back after a few seconds carrying a black box with a dozen doughnuts inside. He handed the box to the man, who paid him for it and left the bakery. The young man walked over to Jacob and sat down on the opposite side of him. ?I didn?t really like that guy very much,? the young man said. ?He seemed a bit rude to me,? Jacob agreed. ?Yes,? the young man replied. ?He?ll have a nice surprise waiting for him.? ?What do you mean?? Jacob asked. ?Well,? the young man said. ?Those doughnuts that I gave that guy were filled with rat poison. We set them out for the rats to eat when we get infested with them. The doughnuts are in a black box so that we know not to eat them or give them out to anyone.? ?Then, why did you give them out to him?? Jacob asked, suddenly feeling very ill. ?Because I didn?t like him,? came the reply from the young man. ?He?s the third person who?s come in here this week that I haven?t liked. They always take those doughnuts without any questions and then I get worried because I never know if they?ve eaten them or not.? Jacob knew this was true, because he was getting very worried, himself. ?How do you know if they?ve eaten the doughnuts?? Jacob asked. ?They die and I hear about it on the news,? the young man replied. ?They usually blame it on the men?s wives, because everyone knows that those types of guys always have affairs within the workplace.? ?Oh,? Jacob replied. He was now almost as pallid as the young man and he was sweating profusely. His stomach felt knotted and twisted and he had an urgent need to vomit. ?Don?t worry,? the young man said, noticing how nervous Jacob was. ?I didn?t give any of those doughnuts to you. I like you.? ?I should be leaving,? Jacob said. ?I have somewhere to go.? Jacob knew this was a lie, because he did not know where he was at that moment, but he was eager to find somewhere else to go, so, in a sense, he was telling the truth, even if he was not. ?Okay,? the young man said, beaming again. ?I suppose I?ll see you some other time.? ?Yeah,? Jacob said, lurching over to the front door. He opened it, stepped outside and closed the door to the bakery. A fresh blast of cool air greeted Jacob as he walked around outside. He continued to walk down the same sidewalk that he had been walking along before. After a few minutes of walking, he noticed another person walking beside him across the street. This man was wearing a black business suit, had short brown hair, sunglasses and was wearing a small, concealed headset. Jacob continued to walk along the concrete, pretending that he did not notice this stranger. He turned corners and crossed streets, the stranger keeping perfectly parallel to Jacob?s path. Jacob tried to trick the stranger by running in a zigzag path and jaywalking to the street that the stranger was walking on. Jacob felt that this plan would work perfectly no matter what, but he was wrong, because the stranger was smarter than he thought. The stranger zagged when Jacob zigged and zigged when Jacob zagged. Jacob did not even trick the stranger when he crossed the street; the stranger simply jaywalked over to the street that Jacob had previously been occupying. After a while, Jacob?s sickness was getting worse, the need to vomit was growing stronger and his heart was racing faster than he could keep up with. Jacob decided to slow down and take a rest. The stranger took this opportunity to cross the street and confront Jacob. ?I?ve been looking for you for a while now,? the stranger said, throwing a steely glare in Jacob's direction. Jacob made no response to this. The stranger reached into his pocket and took out a pistol. At the sight of the pistol, Jacob?s eyes widened and he began to run again. The stranger, who had not expected Jacob to get scared and run, was caught off guard slightly and began to give chase again, but Jacob was far too fast for the stranger to catch up to him. The stranger fired the pistol, but Jacob expertly evaded each shot by twisting and contorting his body into seemingly impossible angles in order to avoid each shot. The stranger stood transfixed at this sight, amazed that one person could avoid bullets so easily. He was even more amazed that he was experiencing this for himself and not in a movie or a book. The bullets that Jacob evaded hit the brick walls of the buildings that Jacob was running next to and chipped off parts of brick that rained onto Jacob?s back as he continued to run away. Jacob kept running and spotted a tunnel off in the distance. He ran into the tunnel and took the stairs down below, unaware that the stranger had begun to follow him again. Jacob emerged from the stairs onto a small platform. He heard the slow rumbling of a subway car off in the distance and decided that was his only way out of here; it was hard to think enough to decide that, though, because he was still desperately ill. The stranger emerged from the tunnel and waved his pistol in the air, screaming at Jacob. An old man came out from underneath a bench, raving at the stranger to shut up and let him sleep. The stranger responded in kind by shooting the old man and Jacob immediately threw up violently onto the ground. At that moment, the subway arrived and the doors opened. People filed out onto the platform and quickly filled in the area. The stranger fired a few shots in the air, meant to scare the group of people and get them to disperse, but nobody seemed to notice what he was doing. Jacob took this opportunity to stumble his way through the crowd of people into the subway car. When Jacob fell inside, the last of the crowd made their way through the doors and they slid shut, sealing everyone from going out and anyone from coming in. Jacob crawled over to a seat and pulled himself up, resting against it and recovering from his violent illness. An old woman with a dog in her lap was sitting next to Jacob. She was muttering to it under her breath even before Jacob had pulled himself alongside her and she was not stopping even after Jacob began to listen to her speak to her dog. ?We just had to go onto the train on this night, didn?t we?? the old woman muttered to her dog. ?Now we have a smelly little bastard sitting next to us. Who knows what sort of shenanigans he?s done tonight? I wouldn?t be surprised to hear that he was out cavorting with whores.? ?I wasn?t doing anything of the sort,? Jacob said indignantly, his voice wavering slightly with queasiness. The old woman paid no heed to this statement, however, and continued her dialogue with her dog. ?It?s people like him that are ruining everyone?s way of life,? the old woman said. ?He makes me sick to my stomach.? ?I?m the one who was just sick to my stomach?? Jacob muttered. The old woman heard him, but chose to ignore him. ?At least I have you to confide in, my precious little dog,? the old woman cooed, gently kissing the dog on the nose. ?You?re the only one who understands me, unlike that bastard sitting next to me.? Jacob wanted to take exception to this statement but decided not to press the issue. The old woman was right; the dog was probably the only one who understood her. Jacob was not about to dispute that. Jacob had no idea where the subway car was going. Even if the car had a map, it would not have helped much to consult it, since he would not have been able to tell one part of the city from another. Jacob decided that he needed rest and fell asleep, waiting for the subway to reach the end of the line so that he would have a definitive place to get off of the subway. Jacob slept a dreamless sleep for a few hours, before he was shaken awake. A tall, gruff man was looming over him and shaking him harshly by the shoulder. The man, the driver of the subway car, addressed him in a thick, foreign voice. ?We?re at the end of the line,? the driver said. ?Time to get out.? Jacob rubbed the sleep out of his bloodshot, bleary eyes and groped his way out of the subway car out onto the platform. Jacob yawned vociferously as he trudged towards the stairs leading out of the underground platform and back up to the city. He stepped out from the darkened tunnel out into the dull sunlight of the early morning and covered his eyes with his hands, eager to find at least [i]one[/i] place in this strange city that he could be comfortable in. As always, comments, complaints, critique, questions, analysis and whatever else are always welcome. EDIT: Changes in dialogue, sentence structure and other such things.

Now I [i]really[/i] feel deprived because The Princess Bride is one of those movies I'd always meant to see, but for some reason something always comes up that prevents me from doing so. Chalk it up to stupid, sitcom-esque happenings around the house. By the way, I clicked the link Sara provided and got a nice surprise when I was referred to as the person "...with the long name I could never pronounce, hm." Heh. Every time I think I've purged my old name from the world forever, I always get some reminder of it :p

I've been going through some more experimentation lately...with this story, I went back to writing completely by hand. I'd been using the computer a lot lately, but with short stories it just felt a bit too...impersonal? I don't know, really, but it didn't feel [i]right[/i]. Even if it does make my hand hurt a lot, I seem to write a lot better and more creatively when I write by hand, compared to regular typing. I think this story turned out well, so I'll probably end up writing every short story after this by hand, heh. And, now, onto the story. The world was spinning, whirling, tilting out of control. Trees were bent out of shape, buildings were falling out of their foundations, and clouds were swirling into a giant white vortex. Steven did not know what to do. He was running through and unrecognizable mass of land. He was quite certain that he had known this place once before, but could not remember it correctly. The vortexing clouds frightened Steve, because they were the only things that he recognized in this strange and unruly world. Steven fumbled his way across the land, tripping over every rock, bumping into every tree. He was desperate to find somewhere, anywhere, where he could get some peace; a sanctuary from the anarchy that was dominating the world and his mind. Steven spotted a church in the distance. It was the only building that hadn't been ravaged by the wildness of the outside world. The church was very tall and seemed to rise unfailingly into the infinite reaches of the sky. The stained glass windows exploded with a myriad of colors set against the dark, drab colors of the walls, roof and columns of the church. Steven was crawling on his hands and knees towards this beautiful sight. He crawled up the steps with a grueling, insane fervor matched only by the wild thoughts currently cascading through his mind. Step by step, grunt-by-grunt, thought-by-thought, Steven struggled up the path to this monument of holiness. At long last, after much effort, he made his way to the entrance of the church. He stepped through the massive doors and into the dark haven of this hall of religion. Steven's shoes rapped against the polished wooden floor until he made his way onto the bright red carpeting leading through the main hall and into the choir. The ambience of the church comforted Steven slightly, but it was not enough to tame the troubled thoughts racing through his mind. The painful, excruciating pounding of each and every thought against his fragile skull was almost too much for him to bear. "please get out of my head," Steven moaned softly to himself. "i don't want you in here anymore go away go away go away!" Steven clutched the sides of his head, which was now pulsating, pounding and hammering away, in tune with each heartbeat, in rhythm with each shattered, numbing thought coursing through his mind. It was too painful to think, but Steven had to give in to the inevitable need to think. Steven groped his way over to the benches that lined the hallway next to the arcade and sat down, hands clasped together tightly in front of him. He bowed his head and began to mutter fragmented bastardizations of sayings and actions that he remembered that he had been taught. Steven began to pray. He prayed and prayed and he prayed some more. To whom or what he prayed, he did not know. He could have been praying to Jehovah, to Zeus, to Vishnu, to Buddha, to any god in particular from any part of the world. He could even have been praying to his good friend Steven Savant from the starlit sky. Steven liked him because they shared the same name. Steven Savant from the starlit sky was a peculiar man, peculiar to everyone, that is, but Steven, whom held him in the highest possible esteem. Steven Savant from the starlit sky was a skinny, pallid man with short, stringy brown hair and a wild look of pure life in his eyes. He sailed the diamond sea of stars in a boat built for two, though nobody else would ever come along with him. Steven Savant from the starlit sky would always tell young Steven of his journeys through the fantastic and his subsequent return from the furthest, most awe-inspiring reaches of the solar system. When told of these treks through the universe, Steven could always picture each and every aspect of the story, down to even the most minute of details, in his mind's eye. Sometimes, these stories were a bit much for Steven to handle because he rather enjoyed letting himself fall privy to the wondrous tidings of his imagination. Steven Savant from the starlit sky had never truly left Steven, even after he witnessed him waving goodbye after he set off for his final journey into the frontier of space. At that time, the stories were far too much for Steven to handle and he could feel his mind ready to snap like a twig because it could not bear the burden of learning more than it was meant to understand. Steven Savant from the starlit sky had decided to leave because he, himself, could not bear the hardship of seeing young Steven fall prey to such mental torture and anguish. Steven had fallen into a self-induced stupor and snapped out of it when he heard the deep droning of an organ in the far off corner of the church. The walls of the church vibrated in and out, perfectly in tune with the music of the organ. The walls tilted, stretched and contracted, going upside-down, inside-out and every which way possible. Steven unclasped his hands and staggered back towards the red carpet. The room turned upside-down and Steven grabbed onto a bench for fear of falling onto the roof and impaling himself on one of its many candlelit chandeliers. A priest came out of the backroom. He was slightly hunched over and his garb was not adorned with the usual wares of priesthood. He noticed Steven holding onto one of the benches and immediately got curious as to why a boy would do such a strange thing. The priest walked over to Steven and addressed him politely. "Young man," the priest said. "May I ask what it is you are doing?" Steven looked at the priest with wide, frightened eyes. "i'm holding onto the bench," Steven gasped. "if i don't hold on then i'll die." This statement confused the priest very much. "Why would you die if you let go of the bench?" the priest questioned softly. "the room is upside-down," Steven yelped. "if i let go i'll fall and kill myself." "That won't happen," the priest assured Steven. "do you promise?" Steven asked. "Yes," the priest replied. Steven let go of the bench and, sure enough, he did not meet a grisly end. This development made Steven undeniably happy and he ran to the window to stare outside. Steven saw a tall mulberry tree surrounded by a field of yellow grass. The mulberry tree was alive with color and the yellow grass swished and swayed like a bed of golden fire. The brilliant color made Steven's eyes swirl and he began to become afraid again. He whimpered slightly and the priest asked him what was wrong. Steven turned around to face the priest and screamed. The priest's face was distorted, his body was bent out of shape and he was speaking nothing but gibberish. The pulsing, groaning pain in Steven's head was getting worse by the second, so he bolted away. All this left the priest even more confused than before, as he had only wanted to help the poor young man. When Steven ran outside, he remembered a story that Steven Savant from the starlit sky had told him. He had traveled out to the furthest reaches of the galaxy and had believed he had reached the single most beautiful point in the universe. The stars were at their brightest just before huge explosions ceased their existence. Entire planets were juxtaposed against the black void of space in a stunning display of color. Galaxies swirled to and fro by forces and held together by other forces that Steven could not even begin to comprehend. His mind was wrought with pain just thinking about it. Steven Savant of the starlit sky had called it the "nexus of the universe". It was a place where everything was bound together, woven with the stitching of time and space. Steven had thought that such a thing would be impossible, but believed him, anyway, because he wanted so desperately for it to exist. Steven continued his jaunt from the church into a grove of wheat fields and cypress trees, all of which bombarded the eye with fantastical displays of vibrant, exotic color. Steven was overwhelmed. The wheat fields swished with the wind and attacked Steven like licking flames. The cypress trees, which were varying shades of red and green, loomed overhead like skyscrapers, threatening to crush Steven at the first misstep. Steven screamed with horror. He could feel the intense heat of the fire burning and melting his flesh. He could sense the intimidating nature of the cypress trees, ready to squash this intruder when he made a mistake. The turbulent vortex of clouds continued to tornado across the sky, ready to suck Steven into their endless void, making certain that he would never again see the outside world. He was ready to abandon his life at the hands of this predatory piece of nature; the music, the colors, the pulsing, pounding pain, they were all out to get him. A pair of men dressed completely in white found Steven in the middle of the wheat field. He tried to run from these strangers, but his mind would not cooperate with his body. He fell repeatedly and the two men caught up to him. "please," Steven screamed. "please don't hurt me i want to be left alone i don't want to burn i don't want to die i want to be in peace!" The two men nodded solemnly. "We promise to help you," the first man said. "do you really promise?" Steven asked. "Yes," said the second man. Steven calmed down and the two men grabbed him. The first man held down the kicking and thrashing Steven, while the second forced a white straitjacket onto him. They grabbed Steven forcefully and threw him into the back of a car. Steven cried with fright and rammed repeatedly into the doors of the car, but the two men paid no heed to this. Their job was finished. And from above the stars, Steven Savant from the starlit sky watched the demise of his beloved friend's tortured mind. As always questions, comments, critique, insight, analyzation and just about anything you can pull out of your hat are appreciated ^_^

[b][url=http://www.nintendo.com/pop_video.vm?url=http://media.nintendo.com/mediaFiles/551fd702-5dee-4ad1-bc63-cbcbb2a7aa55.mov&width=600&height=420]Baten Kaitos video (large)[/url][/b] [b][url=http://www.nintendo.com/pop_video.vm?url=http://media.nintendo.com/mediaFiles/0eb641bf-7e7c-4325-a8ad-b2755122ecce.mov&width=600&height=420]Baten Kaitos video (small)[/url][/b] Baten Kaitos video from Nintendo.com...it's a bit short, but it's a nice look at the kind of graphical prowess that you can expect from the game. It's still looking impressive right now, though slightly less impressive than when I saw screens and video for the game a few months back. Still, from what's been released about Baten Kaitos so far, it should definitely be worth picking up for GameCube gamers in need of a good RPG. [b][url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/510/510950p1.html]Shinji Noguchi talks Baten Kaitos[/url][/b] An interview on IGN if you want to read up more on Baten Kaitos straight from one of the producers of Baten Kaitos.

I just want to reaffirm that this game looks freaking amazing lol. Even if you've already seen the other videos in this thread, you should download the high-res video, no questions asked. There's some great extra stuff included on the video and definitely makes it worth the long download time. It looks damned incredible, heh. I swear, this just might be the game that finally turns me into a Resident Evil fan, heh.

I have to say...I really love the premise of the game lol. DK's friends are gone, so you have to use a set of bongos to get them back. Heh. Anyway, the game is looking good enough graphically, thus far, but Nintendo has to be careful about the length of the game...if the game is too short, then it might not really be worth playing. Most musical games (if you could call this a musical game, I suppose) seem to walk that line, though.

Heh, what struck me as most interesting in the trailer was how [spoiler]it appears that a young Revolver Ocelot is in this game.[/spoiler] I'm not sure if that had been revealed on any site or something before this video came out, but oh well lol. It's rather easy to notice when you're watching the video, anyway. IGN's video is rather blah in quality, but you can tell still tell how great this game looks, which is quite a testament to it (I felt that the video that Nintendo released for Paper Mario 2 was a bit off in quality, as well...not really up to the sharpness of the screenshots).

Merged the Most Insane Moments and Most Glorious Gaming Moments threads, since they're pretty much consist of the same subject matter.

The game is looking very good right now, heh. Impressive stuff. The battle with [spoiler]Dark Samus leaves me wondering if that's something like SA-X from Metroid Fusion...pretty interesting.[/spoiler] Multiplayer is looking decent enough right now; I can't wait to hear more about the features that will be added to multiplayer.

I just saw the video, looks great. I'm liking the variety of puzzles in the video, heh. And the part at the end, with the four Links pushing the giant block, leads me to believe that there's going to be another Four Swords-esque adventure included with this game, which would be very cool. Definitely one to look forward to.

Just saw the video, the game is looking good right now...it seems like the on-foot gameplay is getting some extra care, too, since Fox seemed to be strafing and there's a lock-on targeting system in there. I'm pretty sure that the flying elements will be up to snuff, so the on-foot gameplay was the only aspect of this game that was really worrying me for a bit, heh.

Okay, I'm just going to step in here right now...I know neither of you want this to escalate into something big like what's happened in other threads, so I'm going to have to ask you guys to relegate this to PM from here on out. I know that you guys are trying to avoid a malicious argument, but I think it's for the best if two people don't dominate a thread, heh.

Oh man, I'm going insane right now. lol I absolutely [i]loved[/i] the Oracle games (easily my favorite Game Boy games) and if this game continues along that line (with improvements, of course), then we may have another fantastic Zelda game released by Capcom. The Oracle games, Link to the Past/Four Swords and now this? Freaking incredible lol. The game looks damn gorgeous, too, heh. I'm running out of adjectives to describe the games now lol. So many threads :p

I haven't logged too much time with either of the Advance Wars games, but this is looking pretty nice right now. I'd always heard that Advance Wars was one of those games that's "easy to learn, hard to master" much like many of the games that Nintendo has developed over the years. The graphics managed to impress me quite a bit, too. Should be fun.