Shinmaru

To be perfectly honest, if I were to go back into to time to change something, I bet I'd end up screwing it up even more. Then, I'd have to deal with some lame alternate reality crap like Marty McFly in Back to the Future II. I know I don't want Biff bossing my *** around. So, yeah, there's really nothing in my life that I'd honestly care to change. Actually, scratch that...in middle school, I would've stopped hanging around these jackasses I knew that did nothing but wear baggy pants and quote DMX all day. Christ, were they ever annoying. Okay, that's what I would change. I would go back in time, slap myself upside the head and say "Are you ******* nuts? Get the hell away from these people while you still can!" That would save me a lot of aggravation, I can tell you that.

I can still remember the days when Nickelodeon used to have cartoons that would actually make me [i]want[/i] to watch the channel. From the early 90s to the late 90s, Nickelodeon's cartoons were top-notch. I loved cartoons on other channels (WB, in particular, also had a ton of awesome cartoons like Animaniacs, Freakazoid! and Earthworm Jim), but Nickelodeon was where it was for me. Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Ahhhh!!! Real Monsters, early Rugrats and, my favorite of the lot, Angry Beavers. Angry Beavers was just damn awesome. The show was so quirky and random that it was impossible for me [i]not[/i] to love it. I still love every chance that I get to watch the show; every character, every episode, I just love the series to death. Plus, *dun dun dunnnnn DRAMATIC REVERB* has to be the best sound effect ever.

[quote name='ninetails390][B]Nintendo 64[/B'] Same as with Playstation, this is hard to think of a bad game, but I think Pokemon Puzzle league wins the prize. It's not that it's a bad game, in fact, I find it slightly addictive; it's just that it's not very, well, exciting. There aren't very interesting graphics, either, just backgrounds and falling blocks.[/quote] Actually, I think Pokemon Puzzle League is one of the better N64 games. I enjoy Tetris Attack more, because it lacks the annoying voices of PPL, but PPL is still an awesome game and I don't even care for that many puzzle games, heh. The game can be [i]very[/i] exciting, especially in multiplayer. I never got to buy the game, unfortunately, I only rented it but I was lucky enough to be able to play with a few friends. Tetris Attack/Pokemon Puzzle League is far superior to Tetris. Just my opinion, though.

I thought this one was funnier than your last one. As for the new style, I think it looks good. More aesthetically pleasing, but still looks goofy enough to look funny. I don't really have a preference when it comes to how your animations look, because I'm usually too busy paying attention to the jokes to really care what they look like, anyway lol. But, yes, this was very nice.

I come here because it's my job and that's that =/ ...okay, you got me. I still hang around because, no matter what, I still enjoy the conversation that pops up in Play It. Talking about games is one of my favorite things to do and OB still has the best gaming conversation I've seen on the internet. So, as long as all the other gamers stay, I'll still be hanging around OB. Sometimes I post stories and screw around in Adventure Arena, but that doesn't happen very often. Ironically, I have little to do with anime at all. Take that, OtakuBoards!

I wouldn't really get discouraged. To be honest, I think it's a well done drawing. Very sharp and clean and the coloring was well done, too. I really think drawings like this are sort of like the "first step" when it comes to art. You take stuff that others have done and you draw it, in order to get a feel for the mechanics of drawing, coloring, etc. When you feel you're ready, you start drawing with your own style. That's the way I see it, anyway. But what do I know? I can't draw for crap lol.

First off, to even have any hopes of being immersed in a game, the gameplay has to be up to snuff. As has already been said, even if a game has great graphics, sound, etc. if the gameplay isn't up to par, then the production values bascially amount to jack ****. Gameplay is what keeps people playing the game. When it comes to making a game more immersive, I agree with what Sciros said about interactivity. When you're immersed in a game, you feel like you're [i]in[/i] the game, that you're making a difference somehow in the game's world. Interactive elements really, really help make it seem that [i]you're[/i] contributing to whatever is happening in the game and not just whatever character you happen to be playing as. But, again, gameplay is what makes a game immersive in the first place. I liked the example that James used with Wind Waker. The game is not totally immersive because of its amazing graphics and sound (though, they add heavily to the immersion factor), it is because of the finely tuned gameplay and controls that one can become totally immersed in Wind Waker with hardly any effort at all. [quote name='Semjaza Azazel'](I know people who don't even hear you when they're watching TV or playing games lol)[/quote] That's me right there lol. Sometimes I just get so into a game that I ignore everything that's happening around me. I would be screwed if a natural disaster happened while I was playing a really immersive game :p

[quote name='Dragonballzman']PSX: Um...Gah...I can't remember the name...It was a Star Wars game, based on Episode 1...Jedi Power Battles, that's it! Jedi Power Battles. I can't really describe in detail what I didn't like about it...It just wasn't fun...[/quote] My uncle bought this game, heh. The controls were terrible and the camera was even worse, if possible. The little mini-Jedi made me laugh, though lol. But eh...still a terrible game. [quote]Various consoles: Any of the Resident Evil games. I like being able to walk around without looking like someone rammed a pipe up my ***. If Resi Evil 4 IS in full 3D like I've heard it is, I'll love it, but until then...Resi Evil games = euuugh.[/quote] I still dislike just about all of the other Resident Evil games, but RE4 is actually managing to capture my attention, which is practically a miracle lol. Still, I'm not a fan of the series, in general. [quote]Sonic Adventure 2: Battle...I spend third or so of the game speeding around with high paced music, smashing everything in my path. Fun. I spend the other 3 quarters shouting at crappy camera angles while looking for keys with rap music in the background, or mashing the B button in a crappy robot...Actually, if you include the "dark" story, you only play as Sonic for 1/6 of the game! >_< It just wasn't fun at all.[/QUOTE] Sonic and Shadow's areas are the only fun parts of Sonic Adventure 2. While fun, they definitely don't make up for the awful Rogue/Knuckles levels and the slightly tolerable Eggman/Tails levels. Searching for stuff in video games is almost never fun. Ick.

Even though it was short, I thought it was pretty funny. You know, I'd never actually thought to call Master Miller during that fight lol. I thought you could've added a bit more without making it seem monotonous, but it's good as it is right now. Good work.

Jacob dusted the dirt off of his robes with an irritable grimace. [i]I'm getting too old for this,[/i] he thought to himself. He saw Princess Taoin peering off into the distance at what appeared to be a very large person strolling towards them. Jacob did not know what this newcomer's purpose was, but he was determined to protect the princess at any cost. "Stand back, princess," Jacob yelled. "I will fell this man with a spell!" "Wait!" Taoin yelled, throwing her arm in front of Jacob's face. "I think we should wait and see what he wants." "But, what if he has come to kill us?" Jacob stammered. "I don't think that's what he wants," Taoin replied. Of course, what she didn't tell Jacob was that she was [i]fascinated[/i] by this newcomer. Or, rather, fascinated with the clothes he wore, which, although they were armor, looked nothing like any sort of armor that Taoin had ever seen in her life. Her curiousity overcame her judgement and she decided that she would [i]have[/i] to know who this person was and where he came from, for better or for worse.

[QUOTE=Heezay]:eek: [B]Whoa[/B], now [B]those[/B] are what I call graphics. I can't believe it! Man, if I had a GameCube, I'd buy this game without a second thought. Let's hope it's longer than the last one. It's probably the one problem with Mario RPGs: length.[/QUOTE] Well, I thought that Super Mario RPG was pretty short, but Paper Mario was of decent length. Not every RPG has to be absolutely massive lol. Something about the same length, or perhaps a bit longer, than Paper Mario would be good, I think. Paper Mario was a lot more fun than [i]a lot[/i] of RPGs I've played that are 30-40 hours long. As for those screenshots, they look spectacular. Can't wait to hear more about the game.

You could pretty much apply this sort of thought process to just about anything. Has music lost its originality? Has television lost its originality? Have books lost their originality? It's really hard to be original these days, because [i]so many[/i] ideas have already been used. I think the closest that anyone can come to being "original" in this day and age is by combining elements of different genres to create something fresh (done quite often to varying effects with music, heh). This has undoubtedly been done in the movie industry, as well. But, like OtakuSennen said, producers go after these sequels and adaptations because they want to make money. A known franchise will usually make more money than your average movie. Sucks, but that's how it goes (though not all film adaptations and sequels make lots of money).

Sounds plenty interesting. I think I'll give it a go. [b]Name:[/b] Jacob Drazel [b]Age:[/b] Thirty-two. [b]Role:[/b] Mage [b]Appearance:[/b] Tall and gangly, with brown eyes, shaggy brown hair and a clean-shaven face. He wears long, flowing mage robes of red and black and somehow manages not to trip over them. Unlike most mages, though, he does not wear a hat of any sort. [b]Personality:[/b] Jacob tries to be very dedicated but his overt dedication gives him a tendency to overlook the big picture, at times. He's intelligent, yet forgetful, athletic, yet clumsy. For every good quality Jacob has, there seems to be a flaw to go along with it. However, that does not deter Jacob from looking on the bright side in almost every situation and never giving up the hope that, yes, good will always prevail in the end. [b]Any Info:[/b] Jacob has been the royal mage of the princess for five years. Although the princess rarely has use for Jacob's magical powers, he nevertheless continues to follow her and keep her safe wherever she may go. Since he was first paired with the princess, Jacob has developed a strong affinity for her, much the same as a father would develop for a daughter. He would never want to see anything bad happen to the princess, though that forces him to impede upon decisions that the princess may want to make, much to her chagrin. [b]Weapon:[/b] Uh...whatever magic Gavynn decides that this character will be able to use, I guess lol.

I still enjoy MegaTokyo, though not as much as when I started it. Lately it's being centering far more on Piro's trials and tribulations and while I enjoy them somewhat, I find them a bit too dramatic and angsty for my tastes, most of the time. I enjoy it more when MegaTokyo goes at a more humorous angle, even if Largo's antics get a tad stale after a while (Boo will never get old). I will say that anything with Miho is pretty damn cool. I like her, heh. She's probably my favorite character in the whole series.

I enjoyed the humor of Super Mario RPG but, overall, I'd say Paper Mario's gameplay puts it above Super Mario RPG. The graphics rock. That's all that needs to be said, really. Plus, if Nintendo can expand upon the gameplay of Paper Mario even more (screen-filling boss battles and fights with tons of enemies are sounding mighty good right now), then this game will definitely be a keeper. I'm looking forward to it. Here's hoping my wallet holds up lol.

It's all being taken care of as I type this. We'll get all of that crap off of here soon enough. Just remember that if Yisan has posted in a thread, just don't look at it until all this has been smoothed out. EDIT: Okay, everything has been taken care of.

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade']Yah SOTN is awesome. It's the only game I played really. ... Oh no wait! I did play Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi (or whatever the heck the title was). I guess that's the worst game I've played on PS One, then. Of course SOTN rocks it's the best Castlevania ever. I said it's the crappiest game I've played on PS One because it was the only game I could remember playing at all.[/quote] Ah okay. Thanks for the clarification, heh. Teras Kasi was a pretty bad game, even for a button masher. Even made Tekken remotely playable for me lol. Luckily, I only played it once. Rented it about three years ago when I first got my PlayStation. I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan and the reviews for the game didn't make it sound [i]too[/i] bad...unfortunately, it's one of those games that is worse than reviews make it seem, though I'm sure you already knew that lol.

Heh, you must not have played that many PSX games if you have Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as the worst lol. That game is brilliant, in my opinion...it's actually my favorite game on the PSX. NES - I didn't really own [i]that[/i] many crappy games for the NES, but Golf was the worst game I owned. I hated that game so much. It wasn't even a matter of me being a crappy gamer when I was a kid, because I play it on Animal Crossing and it still sucks. The controls are evil. Very evil, indeed. SNES - I have the dubious "honor" of actually owning both Home Alone games. Yes, you may start the laughing right now. Both games are pure garbage, not even worth playing to see how bad they are. The controls were horrible, the gameplay was worse and every time you died (which was often), you were treated to a soundbite of McCauly Culkin screaming. Ugh...I feel ashamed for having even touched both of those games. PlayStation - Bubsy 3D is just one of those games that just makes you want to kill yourself. The graphics are bright to the point of destroying your corneas, the controls are dyslexic and Bubsy is an annoying character who I would not hesitate to torture and maim if he was a real person/animal/thing. I took me a couple years to regain the IQ points that I lost playing this game. N64 - I hate Donkey Kong 64. I always have and I always will. Donkey Kong 64 [i]used[/i] to be good...when it was called Banjo-Kazooie. There was just way too much random crap to collect in DK64 and most of the odd-jobs you had to do to get all of those golden bananas were really, really boring. The last boss fight is what saved this game from being a total train wreck, for me. That was pretty fun. GameCube - Surprisingly, I don't really have any crappy games for my GameCube, other than QB Club 2002, which my dad bought. That whole series just sucks, from the controls to the graphics to just about everything else. Luckily, everything else I have for the GameCube is pretty good. And I don't own any crappy Game Boy games, since I don't realy have that many in the first place.

[quote name='maladjusted][color=firebrick'] To tell the truth, the only stories I've read from you were all about death or something closely related to it, so maybe it'd be better to concentrate on something different? Nothing is really wrong with writing about death, but I just think you should make your stories vary from theme to theme[/color][/quote] Yeah, funny how that works out, huh? Maybe I'm secretly a violent psycho obsessed with death and murder? lol For some reason, I guess people just end up dying in my stories a lot. I can't really explain why it happens, it's just the way the stories come out. I bet if I tried to change the way they came out, I'd probably end up going crazy or something (I did manage to get rid of a lot of the 'thoughs' in my last story, so I'm not a lost cause to changing my writing style a bit :p). That would be funny if the next story I wrote ended up being a really happy story. We'll see what happens. My inspiration works in strange ways, I can assure you. lol

Yep, another story. Unlike my last one, which took [i]forever[/i] for me to write, this one came out pretty quickly. I think, overall, this one is more polished than Julia, too. ----- I checked myself to make sure that I had everything that I needed. I didn?t really need that much, just my pistol and my car, but it doesn?t hurt to look like you know what you?re doing when you?re on your last wheels. Most killers I see, the ones on television and movies, they like to dress in black. You?d think it?s because they want to be hidden, like camouflage, but you know that?s not the truth. It?s the ******* movies. Since when have [I]they[/I] been about realism? You know they just dress in black because it?s what people [I]expect[/I] them to wear. Why? Because it makes you look like you mean business. So, I put on my black shoes, shirt, pants, jacket, sunglasses, the whole deal. Thank god I had black hair?if I had some different hair color like blonde, the whole thing wouldn?t have the same effect. Thinking about that made me chuckle to myself a bit. I sure as hell never thought about hair color before that. Of course, I was going to be gone by the end of the day, so what did it matter what the hell I thought about? I went outside and climbed inside my car. It was a beat up old Chevy. I had no idea what kind of Chevy or what year it was?it was just a Chevy to me. Cars are almost all the same, unless you pay out your *** for an expensive one. One car is as good as another. I put on my seat belt and put the key into the ignition. Right when I did that, I had a funny feeling in the back of my head. I could hear something faintly in the background. It sounded like piano keys?I knew I?d heard the tune before; recently, as a matter of a fact. The part playing out in my head was the beginning of the song. I tried my hardest to place the name of the song, but I couldn?t. I turned the key and my car started up slowly. I had gotten used to it, though. My car was old and beat up, but it was reliable. Sure enough, the car started up. I drove out into the street and started out to where I was going. I stopped at a red light and had time to muse over my thoughts for a few moments. I had a few places to go today ? right now, I was on my way to see an old ?friend? of mine from my younger years. His name was John, I think?I couldn?t remember much, anymore. He hadn?t done [I]that[/I] much to me, in all honesty, but if I was going to off someone, he would definitely be first on the list. Stealing a guy?s girlfriend and taking his job are pretty big offenses, if you think about it. Those things are part of a guy?s life. You don?t take a guy?s life from him, unless you?re willing to give up yours. The light turned green and I drove forward. It was about a ten minute drive to John?s house. I parked across the street from his home and got out of the car. I looked to see if any cars were coming and, when I saw that there were none, I crossed the street. I looked at the front of his home and saw that there was an empty garbage can by the front steps. The garbage men must have just passed by. That was good?I didn?t want anyone to see that I had been here. Not yet. I needed time to do the rest of the stuff that I wanted to do. It wouldn?t be too easy to fill my itinerary with the police on my ***. I knocked on John?s door. Once, twice, three times. I heard John?s voice yell from inside of his home. ?Who is it?!? he yelled. I yelled my name at him, telling him that I wanted to visit him. I waited a few seconds, then John opened the door and let me in. He raised his left eyebrow slightly and gave me a questioning look. ?What the hell is with that getup?? he asked. I told him that I just felt like wearing all black. It was a special occasion, which wasn?t really a lie. ?Well, I?ll get you a drink, I guess,? John said, leaving the room. I looked around his home. Hadn?t really changed must since the last time I had visited him. His house still had the air of a rich man who spends too much money and tries too hard to make his house look impressive. Vases, paintings, rugs?this room was full of them. His other rooms were probably worse than this. I was definitely doing the world a favor by getting rid of [I]this[/I] jackoff. The police would probably thank me if they knew him personally. John walked back into the room, holding a drink in each hand. He handed one to me. I took a sip of it. The bastard gave me iced tea. I should have known that he?d try to slip me some crap like that. ?So, why did you decide to drop by?? John asked. He seemed a bit put-off by my visit. It was understandable. After all, John and I had never been good friends. I told him that I just wanted to see how he was doing. That was sort of a lie, but I didn?t care. He turned his back to me and started feeding me some ******** about his house. I was getting tired of him real quickly. I wanted to drag this meeting out a bit, but I didn?t think I could stand John?s crap any longer. I took out my pistol and raised it into the air. I gripped it tightly with both hands and squinted my eyes slightly as I aimed the barrel of the gun at John?s head. He turned around, still talking about his house. His eyes widened considerably after he saw that I was pointing a gun at him. ?Hey, just what the hell are you-? he started. Before he could say another word, I shot him in the forehead. His head whipped backwards and a sharp spray of blood flew onto the wall. Both of his arms flailed in the air and he stumbled backwards, looking like he was going to fall over any second. I plugged him a couple times in the gut and he fell over, blood spreading onto his shirt. He?d have a nice crimson shirt in a few seconds. I couldn?t afford to stay that long, though. I had to hightail it out of there quickly. More likely than not, someone had heard one of the gunshots. I slipped the pistol back into the left pocket of my jacket and opened the door. I made a goodbye gesture to John?s body and closed the door. I walked down the stairs a bit and started humming to myself. ?And this is the end,? I whispered to myself, stretching out the word ?end? for a few seconds. ?This is the end?of the world.? I stretched out the word ?world? for about the same length of time as I stretched out ?end?. I knew the song, but I still could not place it. I was slightly frustrated but I decided to let it go. I couldn?t let that slow me down, since I had such little time on my hands. I looked for more cars, saw none, and crossed the street back over to my car. I opened my car door, stepped inside and sat down. I put the key into the ignition, still humming the same tune, and turned on my car. I drove out into the road again. Right now, I decided to pay a visit to the church. I hadn?t been to a church in about twenty years. I had only gone a couple times when I was a little kid and I didn?t remember a thing about it. Of course, I never really had a reason to go to church, since I?m an atheist, but I was still a bit curious about the whole thing. I figure, my last day here, might as well make the most of it. I was never going to see that sort of thing again. I rolled down my window and laid my arm on the door. I saw a red light ahead and slowed my car to a stop. I looked to the side and saw a few people walking down the sidewalk. I looked to the other side of the street and saw some people buying some fruit. The light turned green and I drove forward. I could see the church ahead, even though I was still a couple minutes away from getting there. It was a large building, one of the largest in the city. The church was very ornate; some rich guy had paid for it to be built. The towers rose endlessly into the air and there was a beautiful stained glass window located above the entrance. I parked my car by the church and looked out of my window to admire the towers for a few seconds. I got out of my car and I walked up the steps leading into the church and stepped inside. If possible, the inside was more beautiful than the outside. There were stained glass windows lining the sides of the building, flashing brilliant colors all about the floor. An organ was playing a song in the background. I had no idea what it was but it sounded nice to me. I peered down the nave and to the apse where the minister would give his daily speech?at least, that?s how I thought it worked. I really had no idea but it was a good a guess as any. I looked around and spotted the area where the priests gave confession. [I]This[/I] was what I had been looking for. I had always wondered whether confession was worth it or if it was really just a bunch of crap. I figured it was the latter, personally. I never heard any stories of priests offering any good advice for any of these people?s problems. From the sound of it, they were just there to make people feel a little less guilty about things. They didn?t really seem to solve any problems, but that?s just my opinion. I walked over to the confession booth and stepped inside. The booth was really stuffy and dusty. I wondered to myself if anyone ever cleaned them. I sat down on the bench and the priest on the other side spoke to me. ?What is the matter?? the priest asked in a soft voice. I told him about how I had killed John earlier on in the day. The priest?s head lifted up sharply and he looked over at me. ?What did you say?? he asked. Instead of repeating myself, I told him about how I had not been to church in over twenty years and how I would not be here at the end of the day. ?Young man,? the priest said sternly. ?If this is your idea of a joke, I am not laughing.? For some reason, that made me laugh. The priest glared at me. ?I would like you to leave if you are not going to take this seriously.? I thanked him, which I?m sure made him confused, and walked out of the booth. The short experience was less than I had hoped for. Sometimes, being right about certain things is pretty disappointing. Absolution was one of those things. I walked out of the church and down the stairs to my car. I opened the door, stepped inside and put the key in the ignition, all the while humming the same tune I had been humming to myself all day. The piano keys were ringing a bit louder in my head. I was still a bit frustrated that I could not get to the source of my problem, but I decided to drive over to the local bar and drink it away. I turned the key and headed out onto the street once again. I drove for a couple minutes until I got to the bar. I parked my car and walked inside, taking off my sunglasses and placing them in the right pocket of my jacket. I went up to the front of the bar, pulled out a stool and sat down. The bartender walked up to me and asked what I wanted. I told him to just get me a can of beer, as I wasn?t very thirsty. Now that I was in here, I didn?t feel very much like drinking. The bartender filled me a glass and slid it over to me. I took a drink and grimaced. It didn?t taste very good. I placed the glass back onto the table and just stared at all of the people in the bar for a moment. I looked across the room and I saw a man and a woman who were arguing. The man?s face was very red and the woman was in tears. The man got up and stormed over to the bathroom area. The scene depressed me slightly, so I decided to do something about it. I got up and walked over to the bathroom area where the man had gone. I entered the bathroom and took out my pistol. I looked at the regular stalls and saw nobody there. I walked over to the closed stalls and saw a pair of shoes in one of them. I decided against opening the door and shooting him right there, because I figured that would be too messy. I walked up to the sink, put down my pistol and started washing my hands. After a few seconds, I heard the toilet flush and the other guy emerged from the stall. He put soap onto his hands and started washing them. He looked over at me, grunted, and began to walk away. He obviously did not see my pistol. I grinned tightly, aimed the pistol at the back of his head and fired. The bullet went cleanly through his head and bits of brain and blood splattered onto the wall. He fell face first onto the ground, breaking his nose. Blood flowed from the fresh break, not that it mattered. He wouldn?t be feeling anything for much longer. I washed my hands again and dried them off. I put my pistol back into my jacket, stepped over the guy's body, and left the bathroom. The commotion in the bathroom had not roused the suspicions of anyone outside. Everyone had been as they were before I went into the bathroom. Even the woman whom the man was fighting with had calmed down. Her eyes were red and puffy, so you could tell that she had barely gotten over her crying fit. I walked by her table, stopped and told her that she wouldn?t have anything to worry about. She looked up at me, confused. ?What are you talking about?? she asked. I told her that she would find out soon enough and I walked out of the bar and back over to my car. Again, I went into my car and put the key in the ignition. Instead of driving, though, I turned on the radio. I heard a report about a killing that had taken place earlier in the day. The description of the scene of the crime and the victim fit with John and his house. The police were already on my trail. The piano keys were louder than ever. Banging, crashing keys. The noise wouldn?t stop. There was not much time left in the day. The sun was already setting. I decided to head on over to the last place that I needed to go before I had an army of officers breathing down my neck. I turned my car on and drove over to a large skyscraper. I parked my car in the parking complex next to the building and made my way over to the entrance. This building was a business area, where John?s wife worked. I opened the door and walked inside of the building. Just about everyone inside was busy and none of the people paid me any mind. I walked over to the elevator, pushed the button and waited for the elevator to descend. The elevator door opened with a pleasant sound and I walked inside. I pushed the button for the 36th floor and waited to ascend to my destination. The elevator stopped and the doors opened up. I walked out and headed over to a small office down the hall. I knocked on the door a couple times. A sharp voice told me to come inside. I went in and saw John?s wife, working furiously at her desk. She looked up at me. ?What the hell are [I]you[/I] doing here?? she asked. I told her I wanted to see her one more time before I left. She asked what I meant, but I didn?t tell her. I asked if she wanted to die. Before she could answer, I brought out my pistol and shot her in the head. Her head snapped back as my bullet lodged itself in her head. A spray of blood lined the walls and her body hit the floor with an audible thump. I heard a scream outside and I turned around to see another woman at the door. I shot her, too, but I knew that wouldn?t be the last of it. I had to leave. I ran out of the room and looked around quickly. I couldn?t see a set of stairs anywhere. I took a gamble and ran off to the left. After about thirty seconds of running, I came across some stairs. I ran up a couple, when I heard a gunshot and a quick breeze go by my head. ?This is the police!? a man yelled. ?Drop down to the ground!? I ignored him and continued up the stairs, the piano keys ringing louder and louder in my ears. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, because I knew that the police would waste no time in hurrying after me. Luckily, John?s wife was on a floor near the top of the building, so I didn?t have to run up too many flights of stairs to get to the roof. There were a couple close calls before I actually made it the entire way up the stairs; the police managed to get some decent shots off and I was almost hit a couple times. One of the bullets even grazed my hear, which stung like you would not believe. I ignored the pain and continued on my trek up the stairs. After a few minutes, I finally made it onto the roof. I ran over to the edge of the roof and jumped on the ledge. The policemen opened the door leading to the roof and filed out one by one, all still pointing their guns at me. I raised my hands in the air, my left hand still gripping my pistol. ?Drop your weapon!? the lead officer yelled. I kindly obliged him by dropping my pistol from a safe distance, making sure that it did not fire accidentally. If that happened, one of the officers might jump the gun and kill me. And that would have been disastrous. I even kicked my pistol over to the lead officer and stepped back onto the edge of the roof, hands still in the air, piano keys still ringing louder than ever. ?Come on down from the ledge,? the officer said kindly. ?We don?t want to hurt you.? I thought about telling the officer that they had already hurt me, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. ?Come on, son, we?re not going to do any harm to you.? I told the officers that I was going to leave soon. I couldn?t get off of the ledge even if I had wanted to. ?What do you mean?? the lead officer asked. ?Because this is the end,? I answered. ?The end of the world.? The officers in back looked at each other with confused looks on their faces, murmuring all the while. ?Is this some kind of sick prank?? the lead officer asked. ?Are you one of those psychos that go on harping about the Apocalypse every day?? All of a sudden, it hit me. The piano keys softened, the singing grew more melodious and everything seemed to fit. I could finally leave. ?Apocalypse Please,? I said. ?Just what the hell are you talking about?!? the lead officer yelled. ?I can finally leave,? I told them. ?Like hell you?re leaving!? the lead officer yelled. ?I?ll kill you before that happens!? ?That won?t be necessary,? I said. ?I can face the end of the world myself.? I spread my arms and let myself fall backwards. I saw the lead officer?s eyes widen before he ran up to the ledge, in a vain attempt to catch me. He was too slow, of course, so I fell. I kept falling and falling, with the knowledge that I had done right, with a tune in my head and a song in my heart. My last thought before I hit the ground was that the end of the world could not have been much nicer than this. ----- Comments and critique are appreciated, as always. EDIT: Edits, edits and more edits.

[quote name='Thaylien']In my eyes the fight was too... calculated. If you changed it ever so slightly it would be a great fight scene (I've had a lot of experience in fighting large odds, I used to get picked on a lot and I had attemtped lynchings on a fortnightly basis when I was in school). My point is that, to pick one point as a specific example, 'I kicked him hard on the kneecap, shattering it.' he wouldn't know that. Try 'I kicked him hrd on the kneecap, there was a crunch and he let me go with a cry of pain.' Not the best substitute, but that's all you would get from Joseph's perspective.[/quote] Yes, I definitely see what you mean. I think that's a complaint notable enough to warrant me going back and tinkering with the story a bit, heh. Thanks for the suggestion ^_^ I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I have about three more a few pages back in the forum, in case you care to read those, as well.

[quote name='Mimmi][size=1][color=#8b0000] In some places I felt that you moved too quickly forward (I'm thinking of the scenes with the gang, when they are first introduced and later on in the alley), but in general you have a great story pace.[/color'][/size][/quote] Yeah, I think that's the biggest problem I had with this when I was finished with it. In some parts, like the scene you mentioned, the story moves a bit [i]too[/i] quickly. But I'm a bit reluctant to change it, I suppose. [quote][size=1][color=#8b0000]I won't go into specifics (unless you want me to) and just say that it was a fantastic read.[/size][/color][/quote] I'd like to see you go in-depth if you'd like to do so ^_^ EDIT: That 'though' stuff was a problem, too...I fixed that right now lol. Just one of those things that you have to have other people point out for you :p

My idea of a "hardcore" gamer is more in line with Desbreko's. I see them as people who take an interest in more than just the games...they're interested in the industry as a whole. There are a lot of interesting stories and stuff involved with the gaming industry if you take the time to look. It's nifty stuff. Desbreko made another good point, too...you can always read and hear opinions about the games, but the best way to judge all of them is to actually [i]play[/i] them (not that anyone suggested that you didn't have to play games to know that they're good). Reading and getting opinions on games does work a lot of the time, though, especially if it's a genre of gaming that you enjoy and are familiar with. With stuff like the example Azure used, with Gran Turismo, I usually leave it to my own judgement, because racing games aren't a genre that I'm really familiar with because I don't play them as much. Gran Turismo was critically acclaimed, but I didn't think it was good enough to make me enjoy racing games all too much...that's beside the point, though lol. [quote name='Semjaza Azazel']And truth be told, I write too much as it is heh.[/quote] *recommends that for 'Understatement of the Year' award* :p

I've been writing this story for the past few days. I had some trouble with the ending, though. Even right now, I'm still not sure if this is how I want it to end, but I figure this is as good as I can make it. I hope everyone enjoys it, at least. ----- As I stood on the roof watching the soft, orange glow of the setting sun, my thoughts were still consumed with her. Just as swiftly as she had come into my life, she had been taken away, though vengance had come just as quickly. It seemed that no matter what happened in my life, it all took place at such a rapid pace that, at times, I couldn't even keep up with it. I gazed onto the streets below, high above all of the activity that was taking place down there. People scurried to and fro like ants going through their mindless activities before they turned in for the night. Even with the distractions below me, however, I could not get my mind off of the events that had taken place over the past few days. My name is Joseph and I'm a senior in high school. Like most teenagers, I suppose I'm a pretty rebellious guy. People usually choose to rebel by dressing different, listening to different forms of music and other things of that nature. My form of rebellion is self-imposed solitude. I do not care for most people...in fact, until last week, I had not met one person that I had even the slightest affinity for in my entire life. During the course of my life, all I've observed are the foolish actions that take place because of the silly prejudices of individual people. People are picked on, hurt and even killed; I decided early on that I would just keep myself away from anyone and everyone, except when I absolutely [i]needed[/i] to be surrounded by people. School, unfortunately, is one of those places where people are unavoidable. A learned mind is one of those things that I feel is actually worth having to be around people all day, which is why I still continue to go to school. It's not easy; far from it. I still witness the same savage taunting and beatings that I've seen since the early beginnings of my youth. As these people have gotten older, it seems they lash out at each other far more often. It's very sickening, at times. Somehow, I still manage to keep to myself. But that's beside the point, I suppose, though it does pertain to the events of the past few days in a way. The new semester had just started a few days ago after we returned from vacation. I entered the school and hastily made my way towards my first class. I turned a corner sharply and ran straight into another person, spilling their books onto the ground. Usually I would have continued walking to my class, but since it was my fault that this person had dropped their books, I helped pick them up. I took a short glance at her and, before my mind could adjust, I spoke. "A-are you okay?" It was the first time in my life that I had ever stuttered. She was a pretty girl with lovely brown hair and the smooth, delicate skin of an angel. But that's not why I stuttered. Her eyes were what made me stutter. Her eyes of warm brown that touched my soul the moment I looked into them...I did not know it at the time, of course, because love was a foreign emotion to me. I had no need for it because I had never felt the slightest caring for any of my peers or superiors. I continued to help her pick up her books and handed them to her. She smiled at me with the smile I'll continue to remember perfectly until my last day on this planet. "I'm sorry," she said softly, with a calm, melodious voice. "I'm afraid I didn't see you when I turned the corner; I was in a bit of a hurry." "No harm done," I said, dusting myself off. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "No, not at all," she replied. "The books were the only problem and you helped me out with that." She smiled again at me. She didn't have a pretentious, fake smile like almost all of the women around here have. Her smile was geniune and I'm not ashamed to say that I was almost enamored with her by then. "What's your name?" I asked her. Another unprecedented moment. I had never asked for another person's name in my life. "My name is Julia," she replied. "How about you?" "My name is Joseph," I said. "Nice to meet you, Joseph," she said, smiling again. The bell rang and she began to walk off. "I have to get to class now. Maybe I'll see you again later!" "Yeah..." I muttered. I reformed back into my usual skulking self and walked to my class. I sat down in my seat and got out some paper so that I could take notes. However, I could not pay any attention to my teacher's lecture. All of my thoughts were on Julia. It was strange...I had never bothered to think about any one person for even one second. I didn't know how to handle this. Before I knew it, the bell rang again and I shuffled off to my next class, where I went through the same thing again. As we were let out for lunch, I found myself a place to eat and hurriedly ate my lunch. As soon as I had eaten, I got up and roamed around the school, searching for Julia. I looked in every room, every spot in the school that I knew of, but I could not find her. Lunch ended and I was not any closer to finding out where she was. So, I went to my next class and tried to concentrate on my work. Of course, I could not. School let out and I squirmed my way through the crowd and out the front of the school. I looked across the street and I spotted Julia. I took a quick look to both sides to make sure that there were no cars approaching from either side and I ran across the street to greet her. She immediately brightened up when she saw me. "Hello Joseph!" she said. "I tried to find out at lunch time, but I never saw you." "I was looking for you, too," I replied. She laughed. I remember that she had a very infectious laugh. I almost laughed, myself. "It's funny how things work out sometimes," she said. "We were both looking for each other, but we couldn't find each other." I had to agree. It was actually pretty funny if you thought about it. "Do you mind if I walk you home?" I asked her tentatively. I had never been so forward with anyone in my life and, to be honest, I was nervous as hell. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied. "I'd like to walk with you." We walked down the street together for a while, just admiring the sights. Julia spotted a bench and asked if I wanted to sit down for a few minutes. I told her that I didn't mind. We strolled over to the bench and sat down. "You're a very quiet person," Julia said, staring out at the street. "Why is that?" "I don't like talking to most people," I replied. "Is there any particular reason [i]why[/i], though?" she asked. "I don't care for most people," I said. "There are too many people who are selfish, violent and ignorant. I don't care to talk to those who fit that mold." "Not everyone is like that," she said. "Most people are," I replied. "Where do you live?" she asked me. "I live a few blocks down," I said. "Mason street." "But there are nothing but abandoned houses there!" she said, clearly surprised. "That's the only place I can live," I said. "I need an abandoned house, so that nobody will know that I'm in there." "Why would you not want anyone to know you're there?" Julia asked me. I was about to give her the same answer I gave everyone, but she looked into my eyes with those beautiful brown eyes of hers. It was like she was peering straight into my soul...but it wasn't like an invasion of privacy or anything. It was like she was giving me strength, somehow. "I used to live in an orphanage," I began. "My parents died when I was very young, I suppose. I've never bothered to find out the true story behind that because it never interested me. I grew up in the orphanage until I was old enough to get a job and go out on my own...maybe about four years ago. I ran away from the orphanage, moved to this city, got myself a job and shacked up in that old house." "Why did you want to run away from the orphanage?" she asked me. "Because it wasn't where I needed to be," I replied. She raised her hand up to my cheek and stroked it softly. "I can see why you have such a low opinion of people...you've never had anyone to care for you, from the sound of it," she said. "It's not so bad," I said. "I prefer to be on my own most of the time, anyway." I got up and held out my hand for her. "Let's keep walking." She took my hand and got up. We started walking again, side by side, until we got to her home. We walked up to her door and stood in front of it for a few seconds. "Thank you for walking me home," Julia said. "I don't really get to spend much time with anyone outside of school and, usually, other people are too busy with school to spend time with each other." "Well, you're really the first person I've spent any time at all with," I said. "I usually just go straight home after school. I figured I could at least walk you home after bumping into you earlier." She smiled at me again. "That was very considerate of you," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She opened her door, walked inside of her house and closed the door. I stood staring at her house for a few seconds, then I started to slowly stroll away. I walked the rest of the way to my house, opened my door and went inside. After I went inside, I closed my door and locked it. I sat down and attempted to do my homework. Of course, I could not concentrate on a single assignment. My thoughts led me elsewhere, down other paths, paths that had been left untraveled for the majority of my life. I forced myself to do a few math problems, only to find that I had not even written down a single problem. I thought I had been writing for half an hour, but my pencil had not touched the paper even once. I rubbed my forehead in slight frustration. Obviously, I could not concentrate on my homework in that particular moment. I decided to take a short nap, in order to clear my thoughts. I slipped into my bed and attempted to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I could not sleep, either. My thoughts were bouncing around in a million different directions all at once and I could not clear myself enough to drift off into sleep. This pattern continued well into the night. I stayed up, against my will, until three in the morning, when my body simply gave in and I collapsed into slumber. When I woke up in the morning, I was tired beyond belief. I debated with myself as to whether or not I should attend school, but I decided that it would be for the best that I still go. I dragged myself out of bed and walked to school. I passed by Julia's house, but it seemed that she had already left for school. So, I continued to walk by myself until I arrived at the school. I walked over to my class and spotted Julia waiting over by my classroom. I walked over to her and greeted her. "I don't have much time to stay here," Julia said. "Class is starting in a bit. I just wanted to tell you to meet me in the garden by the photography area during lunch. Does that sound good?" "Yes," I agreed. "It sounds very good to me." "That's good," she replied. "Well, I have to be going now - I'll see you at lunch, though." She turned around and walked off, her hair flying gracefully behind her. I stared into space for a few moments before snapping back to reality and walking into class. I sat down, but I still could not concentrate on my work. The teacher's speech was fuzzy, his motions a blur, his writing a foreign language. All my classes were the same. The same foreign language, the same blurry motions, the same fuzzy speech. I couldn't understand anything. The sweet release of the bell sounding off for lunch was the only thing that kept me from going crazy. I walked over to the garden, under the tall tree that loomed over the middle of the vast flora. My eyes swept over the area. There weren't many people walking around; just a few that had come to admire the bed of flowers. I spotted Julia walking over to me from the lunch area. "I apologize for being a bit late," she said. "The lunch line was a bit long." "No problem," I said, sitting down. She sat down next to me and began eating her lunch quietly. I took out a small lunch of my own and began eating. As soon as we finished, we sat back and admired the emerald green of the grass from the shade of the tree. "Isn't this a nice spot?" Julia asked. "Yes," I agreed. "It's soothing to look at." Julia nodded in agreement. "I come here a lot during lunch," she said. "Sometimes, the school gets very overwhelming...it's nice just to sit back and admire the view." "Yeah," I said. "I probably should have come here before. I could have used a nice spot to avoid all of the people." Julia stayed silent and continued to take in the view. "Joseph?" she asked suddenly. "Yes?" I asked in return. "If you hate people so much, what's so different about me?" She saw that I was taken aback. "I'm just curious, is all," she said quickly. "I don't know," I said. "There's just something about you...I can't explain it, because I've never felt it before. You just seem to be radically different from anyone else. Free from their prejudices and hatred. I could see it in your eyes from the first moment I saw you." She blushed slightly. "You're sweet," she said. "I never really thought of myself as a special person before." "That's because you're used to your own qualities," I said. "To someone like me, you're a special person." She looked over at me and I looked into her eyes, which were more beautiful than ever. Just looking at them seemed to fill me with warmth. The bell rang loudly and my concentration broke. "There's the bell..." Julia said, obviously disappointed. "I'll see you after school." She stood up to walk away, but there were several people blocking her path. The up front, the leader, I suppose, walked up to her and grabbed her arm forcefully. Julia winced in pain and tried to pry her arm away from this newcomer. "What's a beautiful girl like you doing with a freak like him?" he asked. Julia grimaced and kept trying, in vain, to get out of his grip. "Please let me go!" she yelled. She tried hitting him but he evaded her shots with ease. I stood up and walked towards them, glaring. "She asked you to let her go," I said. "I think it would be a good idea if you respected her wishes." "What do you know?" he asked. "I think I like her. She's a feisty one. I like my girls feisty." He tugged Julia's arm violently and pushed her away. Julia looked close to tears, but then composed herself. She walked up to the man with fire in her eyes and slapped him across the face. "I want you to stay away from me," she said furiously. "I've never had feelings for you and I never will." A couple of the man's cronies attempted to approach Julia but the leader held out his hands and stopped them. "You'll pay for that, you *****," he said. "I'll see to that personally." He signaled the others and stormed away, his friends in tow. She held her arm gingerly. I looked at it, evaluating the damage. "It looks okay," I said. "I think you came away with only a bruise where he grabbed you. I think his pride took more damage than you did physically." "Yes..." she said. She was obviously very shaken by what had happened. I had to admit, I was pretty shaken, myself. "I'll take you over to the class," I said. "Okay," she replied. We walked over to her class and she went inside, with a bit of hesitation. When she was in her class safely, I walked over to my class. I arrived a bit late, but I didn't really mind. I couldn't concentrate on my studies, anyway. After school, I met up with her at the front of the school. We looked around warily to make sure that the people we had fought with earlier were not following us and I escorted her home. We didn't talk much on the way, because we were both still scared out of our wits. Eventually, we made it to her home. "Do you want me to stay with you?" I asked her. "No, that's okay," she said. "I don't want to trouble you." "It wouldn't be any trouble at all," I said. "I don't think it will be necessary," she said. "I'm sure that you are very busy." I frowned, but decided not to press the issue. I did not want to force myself upon her if she felt that I was not needed. "However," she said. "I [i]do[/i] want to thank you for standing up for me at the school." "It was nothing," I said. "You did more for yourself than I did, heh." "The effort didn't go unnoticed, though," she said. "Most people would have tried to avoid a confrontation." "Well, I just didn't think it was right for them to try to bully you into doing what they wanted," I said. "I had to do [i]something[/i], even if it wasn't that much." "Sometimes, a little goes a long way," she said, smiling. She leaned over and kissed me gently. My heart skipped a beat and my eyes closed almost immediately, but I never felt more in control or more assured of myself. I was truly happy. She moved her head slowly away from mine and walked into her house. She waved goodbye to me and closed her door. I stood there for a moment, frozen. I didn't know what had hit me at that moment...I wouldn't know until I had gotten home. I started walking back to my house, not knowing what to think. Except for that one moment of happiness, I was not assured that anything would be right. Something was bugging me in the back of my mind. I arrived at my house and stepped inside. I started to close the door, when I noticed a cat walking behind me. "Hello there," I said. "Did you follow me home?" I bent down to pick up the cat, when it suddenly hit me. I stopped quickly and ran back into my house. I opened a drawer and took out a knife. I figured that I would need it later on. I started running to Julia's house, cursing my stupidity. I was so concerned with Julia's safety that I had neglected to consider that we would be followed. We had looked for people when we left school, but they could have easily been hiding from us. I ran for what seemed like hours until I made it to Julia's home. I was tired and my lungs were burning with the need for oxygen, but I ran up to her door, anyway. "Julia!" I screamed, pounding on the door. "Julia, are you in there?!" There was no answer from inside. I sighed with frustration and looked at her front yard. A garbage can was knocked down and there were dirty footsteps leading away from the home...obvious signs of a struggle. Upon closer inspection of the footsteps, I could see faint traces of blood on the ground next to them. My mind was racing with a million thoughts at once, but I knew that I had to find Julia before it was too late. I followed the area that the footsteps seemed to be leading to, though they stopped after a while...the person's shoes had been absolved of all dirt, most likely. That didn't matter now, though. Knowing the mentality of these people, they would probably head over to some desolate part of town. I slowed down a bit, because I heard some commotion coming from an alleyway a bit further ahead of me. I ran as fast as I could over to the alleyway. The gang was there, as I knew they would be. They were huddled in a circle until they noticed that I was there. "****," one of them said. "We've been found!" They broke apart a bit and I could see that they had been gathered around the limp body of Julia. There was a deep gash in her throat and some blood was still trickling out of the wound. "We'll just have to kill him, too," the leader said, approaching me. "It would be very fitting that this guy goes after his girlfriend." I let him come a bit closer and I ducked down quickly, drawing my knife. The leader's eyes widened; he seemed surprised by my sudden movement. I took advantage of his hesitation to draw my knife up to his throat. "None of you move," I said icily. I brought the blade a bit closer to the leader, just so he could feel the pressure a bit more. The others surrounding us looked at each other tentatively. They were very unsure of what to do. The leader was trying to speak, but the blade to his throat was keeping him from talking. I knew I couldn't keep them still for long, though. No matter how much they looked up to their leader, their pride would keep them from staying back too long. I knew I had to act swiftly. I brought my knife away quickly and struck the leader in the small of the back with the hilt. He stumbled forward with a grunt of pain and fell onto the ground. The other four people then charged at me. I stabbed one in the stomach with the knife. I couldn't pull my knife out quickly enough, but I managed a quick punch to another one of the men. I ran to the end of the alley, barely pulling my knife out of the dead man's stomach in time to avoid a severe beating. I reached the dead end of the alley, with two others bearing down on me, the third feeling his face where I had punched him. I reared my arm back and threw the knife at the person in front, catching him right between the eyes. He fell to the ground with a shriek and convulsed a bit before laying still. The other person approached me quickly and managed a strong punch to the face. I fell to the ground, cheek throbbing with pain. He picked me up by the collar of my shirt and prepared to punch me again. In what seemed more a reflex than anything, I kicked him in the knee. There was a sharp crunch where I kicked him and he could only manage a short, sharp screech of pain before letting me go and clutching at his knee. The other person left took one look at the carnage of the area and decided to run away. I pulled the knife out of the body of the person I had hit between the eyes and walked over to the leader. He looked up at me, the fear of death in his eyes. "I'm not going to kill you," I said. "I don't think I could bear letting you off that easy." He tried to run away, but the hit in the spine from earlier left him without the ability to control his lower body. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked, clearly frightened. I ignored his question and raised the knife into the air. With one swift stab, I took out his right eye. He screamed with pain, his hands immediately covering the fresh wound that I had created. I raised the knife again and took out his left eye, completely blinding him. He yelled in pain some more and I started to walk away. "Your sight is not adequate compensation for what you have taken from me," I said. "But it will have to do. Enjoy your new life." I went over to Julia's limp body and picked her up, holding her gently in my arms. I ran away, knowing that the police would eventually be here. Before I decided to leave the city, I paid a visit to the school. With Julia's body still in my arms, I walked over to the tree where we had sat under only a day ago. With my bare hands, I dug a makeshift grave for her. How I managed to remain unseen by the police, I do not know. I figure it was just luck. I gave Julia's body one last kiss on the forehead before placing her in the grave and burying her. When the grave was finished, I shed a tear that fell onto the grave, the only tear I cried in my life. That did not matter to me, though. My life there was over, with only one memory left fresh in my mind. And that's where I stand today. My love for Julia had provided me actual joy and a purpose in life, if only for a fleeting moment. In the end, though, it had also reduced me down to the level of those that I had hated so much. I don't know if I could ever love again. Not if things end up like they have here. Such thoughts may be irrational, but there is nothing rational about what I have seen and felt. All I can do is keep my memories of Julia alive in my new life, wherever that may be. With as many cruel people as there are, myself included, someone like her should never be forgotten. ----- As always, comments and critique are appreciated. EDIT: Gah, added one pretty big part that I had forgotten to add before -__-;;; EDIT2: Hopefully, I made the fight scene a bit more bearable...I'm not good at fight scenes lol.

[quote name='Radaghast']I also used to be apart of a Dark Tower forum. You would not believe how many threads went up, showing connections between the books and the Lord of the Rings. Roland is Aragorn, the Crimson King is Sauron, Tick Tock is Saruman, etc....[/quote] Heh, I'm not surprised to hear that, seeing as Stephen King has said that Lord of the Rings was a definite influence on his desire to write an epic. While King said he didn't want The Dark Tower to have the same motif as The Lord of the Rings, there are quite a bit of similarities, a lot of which are probably intended. And that's what I like about The Dark Tower: A lot of pop culture is subtly assimilated within the characters, events and places of Roland's world. It's always fun to spot the obvious and not so obvious pop culture references within the different books.