Shinmaru

[QUOTE=Boba Fett][color=green]Call me biased, but I?d recommend the [u]Thrawn Trilogy[/u] by Timothy Zhan. It?s a series of three Star Wars novels that take place after the events in [u]Return of the Jedi[/u]. Not only is this series considered to be the best written of all Star Wars novels, but there is a serious and powerful lobbying group within the Star Wars community to have these books made into Episodes VII-IX.[/color][/QUOTE] I agree with Boba, these are easily the three best Star Wars books I've read and are up there with the original Star Wars trilogy in terms of enjoyability. I had an absolute blast reading those three books. I don't read as often as I'd like to anymore (ironically, school is what keeps me from reading most of the time *twitch*), but over the past year or so, I've become fondly acquainted with The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The first five books in the series are absolutely incredible and wholeheartedly recommended if you're looking for an epic read. The books are as follows: [list=1] [*]The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger [*]The Dark Tower II: Drawing of the Three [*]The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands [*]The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass [*]The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla [*]The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (to be released this year) [*]The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (also to be released this year) [/list] I recently finished Wolves of the Calla and it's definitely the best in the series, I'd say. After that, I like Drawing of the Three, then The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass and, finally, The Gunslinger. They're all top-notch books and well worth a read. The main focus of the books is the journey of Roland, a gunslinger, to the Dark Tower where he hopes to slow or even halt the slow disintegration of his world. There's much more to the series, but I'm not about to give that away, heh. What's really cool about the series is how pop-culture is integrated into the story in order to [spoiler]juxtapose Roland's world to our world, since Roland's world is basically a twisted mirror image of our own.[/spoiler]

Yes, I shall definitely look forward to posting in this ^_^ [b]Name:[/b] Roland Gilead [b]Age:[/b] 25 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Sexuality:[/b] Heterosexual [b]Alliance:[/b] SENTINEL [b]Personality:[/b] Roland is very stoic and comes off as aloof to most people. However, this is because he has a deep mistrust of people and has no longing for the companionship of others. His indifference to emotion makes him perfect for what he is...a cold-blooded killer. He has a solid determination and almost nothing will stop him from achieving whatever it is he sets his mind to. Roland is also a hard worker and has no qualms against doing whatever is needed to get a job done. [b]Biography:[/b] Roland lived in a small city on the outskirts of Wutai. Growing up, he was an extremely hard working boy and showed a keen intelligence that was rare amongst his people. From an early age, he helped out his friends and family with the daily farming that provided the sustenance for his people to survive. Along with his father, Roland came up with several farming techniques that made gathering the crops vastly simpler and much more streamlined. However, his village's simplistic lifestyle would come to a rather bitter end. In their search for those whom had potential to join the ranks of SOLDIER, Shin-Ra paid a visit to Roland's village. Roland, 21 at the time, and a more than capable fighter, was considered for SOLDIER, but lacked the greenish eyes that signify a mako-injected person. Shin-Ra decided that the small village had been exposed to far more secrets than they would have liked and ordered their army to burn down the village. The people of the village put up a decent fight but they were vastly outnumbered and outclassed, especially after the Turks showed up. The only capable fighters of the village were Roland and his father. They used the trademark guns that had been passed down through generations of their family lineage to gain a slight upper hand but after the Turks showed up, it all went downhill. Roland's last memory of that day came when Reno of the Turks killed his father, with nothing more than a smirk on his face. "It's just business," he said, pulling the trigger and ending the life of Roland's father. Most likely, Roland would have been killed, as well, but Reno spared the life of the young man. After all, Reno only killed when it was absolutely neccessary and Roland posed no threat to Reno. Not on that day. Two years to that day, Roland finally traveled to the city of Midgar, only to find Shin-Ra Headquarters in shambles. He saw no sign of the Turks whatsoever and left the city, disgusted with the sight that he saw. Roland knew that the Turks were definitely out in the world, somewhere, as he had heard many rumors pertaining to their continued existance. Eventually, Roland happened upon a recruitment site for SENTINEL. At first, he was very reluctant to join with these "madmen" due to the fact that he still (and would likely continue to for a long time) harbored a deep resentment for mankind. However, his pure hatred for the people that had stolen all that he had (namely, the Turks, since they were the only remnants of Shin-Ra remaining) outweighed his dislike of working with other people by far. And so, he joined the ranks of SENTINEL. Roland's fighting skills have sharpened by leaps and bounds since the day Shin-Ra invaded his village. He wields his two revolvers with deadly precision and accuracy, despite the fact that they are extremely heavy and cumbersome to use. His senses have also sharpened to unheard of heights due to his years of travel in the world. He mainly fights using his two guns but he is not adverse to using hand-to-hand combat, either. [b]Weapon:[/b] Two large guns, seemingly taken from the Western stories of past times and ages. The stocks of the guns are yellow sandalwood, smooth and finely grained. Each gun can only hold six slugs each, but Roland has easily mastered the art of reloading, so that it only takes a couple seconds of quick maneuvering to reload each gun. [b]Appearance:[/b] Tall, with the tanned complexion that comes from years of travel. Black hair that is generally unkempt and a slight beard that he has grown used to not shaving. However, what people always remember about Roland are his piercing blue eyes...cold and unforgiving. See attachment picture for more detail on the appearance, heh. I hope this is good enough because I'm really looking forward to posting in this ^_^ If you have any questions or problems with my sign-up, you know how to contact me. EDIT: I'm more than fine with taking on a leadership position in SENTINEL, Chris. No troubles here, heh. EDIT #2: Maybe so, Dagger *grin*

I think they're all quite good, actually. Too bad you had to be all cheap and hog the best one (Purple Link) for yourself :p Besides Purple Link, I really like Green Link's pose; looks like he's trying to fly lol. I think it's pretty funny, anyway. Red and Blue fighting is good for a chuckle and Blue Link aiming the bow and arrow is pretty nifty. The only problem I see is that the banner seems a tad fuzzy, especially the logo for Four Swords - other than that, everything is well done, I think ^_^

Heh, yes, I seem to have a rather nasty habit of subsconsciously changing tense when I write stories. It's a problem I'll have to force myself to get over lol. Either that, or I'll have to become a far better proof-reader, haha. Probably both, I'd say. Thanks to everyone for taking the time out of their busy lives to read and critique my little story ^_^

Well, California's funding on stuff like that is pretty much going down the tubes, so any programs to help pay for AP tests are pretty much being depleted. We DO have a fee waiver that brings down each test to $6 but it's pretty much given to those who really, really need it. There's another fee waiver that drops the price of the test by $20 but I don't qualify for that one, either. What sucks is that it's not a question of grades but the fact that my parents make too much money -__- And they don't even make that much more than the limit, so we'll been in a bit of a jam when it comes to scrounging up money. Luckily, there are fundraisers and stuff, so it won't be [i]too[/i] difficult. Not going to prom should free up some money, though :p

The mp3 argument is a moot point, anyway, since most musicians make the bulk of their money from touring, rather than record sales. The actual record companies are the ones who profit from record sales. Besides, most musicians aren't "swimming in money," anyway; those are just the few who've broken out into the mainstream. Since I'm posting, I might as well answer the questions, heh. [b]1. Regardless of whether or not you download anime, do you believe that doing so is wrong?[/b] I agree with Braidless Baka, a lot of it depends on circumstance. If a fansub of an unlicensced anime gets distributed around the internet and gains some good popularity, it can really only mean good things for companies who could potentially license it; it all boils down to fansubs being, basically, free advertising. And, I think, the downloading of licensed anime can really only be justified if you went out and bought the series afterwards, but I don't know how many people actually do that. [b]2. Do you think that you'd buy more DVDs if you didn't download any shows?[/b] Well, I don't really buy many DVDs, anyway, so I can't really answer that question lol. [b]3. Do foreign (not Japanese) anime companies pay attention to the popularity of various fansubbed series?[/b] It would be wise for them to pay attention to this stuff, I think. If a fansub gets popular, you can be assured that [i]someone[/i] would want to capitalize on that popularity.

I'm undecided on the whole prom thing. On the one hand, our prom will be at Long Beach, which is a really nice place and a good choice for something like this. Plus, it'd be nice to have one last hurrah with a group of friends I'll likely never see again, heh. On the other hand, the whole thing is expensive as hell and I'm already paying out my *** for other school-related things (3 AP tests = almost $250; stupid fee waivers that I don't qualify for...). Plus, like Sara, I've never been much of a party-type person. I don't particulary care for large crowds and I'd probably end up going solo to the prom, anyway. So, yeah, I think I'll end up skipping the whole thing.

Sorry, but I don't really see any discussion evolving from this...plus, you blantantly used this thread as an advertisement for a webpage, which is a big no-no. If you wanted to advertise that site so badly, you could've just put it into your signature. Would've been a lot easier on everyone.

19th birthday, eh? I'll probably end up doing what I usually do and treat it like any other birthday. Which is to say, I'll end up treating it like any other day, except I'll be technically a year older than I was the day before. Oh, and presents. Can't forget those. The only thing that really makes my 19th birthday of any note is that my birthday falls on November 19th. I'm turning 19 on the 19th - doesn't that make you want to laugh? [quote name='Arcadia][size=1']That's one idea, anyway. Although I'm always open to suggestions. :p[/size][/quote] I'm always available to make the birthday a bit better *wink wink nudge nudge*

[quote name='Break][font=arial][color=#CC0000][size=2]Did I miss something? oO[/size][/color'][/font][/quote] Heh, just to give a recap (because it's no longer in my signature lol), this essay came about because of a 'I Hate Semjaza Azazel' club that I had in my signature a couple weeks back. Basically, it was a silly club that had crazy requirements for membership and Boba is the only one who bothered to do anything :p Though, mostly the blurb in my sig served to poke fun at the dorks who complain about him.

[QUOTE=James][color=#707875] I guess Star Fox is another big shooting franchise that I enjoy, although I never really got into the original game. The original always felt more like a tech demo rather than a game, for me. I'm not entirely sure why. At the time, it was like "okay, this is 3D...but really, really boring". I just never found it terribly interesting. Star Fox 64 was really a favourite though. I played that game to death, though I didn't particularly enjoy the multiplayer mode. But my all-time favourite shooter would have to be Super R-Type. Gorgeous visuals, fantastic sound...and stunning level designs. I think that was easily my most-played shooter. Ahh...memories. ^_^[/color][/QUOTE] Ha, at least now I know I'm not alone in not liking the original Star Fox lol. I was never a really huge fan of the game; I just couldn't get into it. As you said, it was just extremely boring. The only game I felt really used the Super FX/FX2 chip effectively was Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Star Fox 64, however, was awesome. Fast-paced, lots of enemies to shoot and some good boss battles. Loved it to the end and it's still one of my favorite N64 games. And I'm in agreeance that Super R-Type is pretty much the god of shooters...the game struck a great balance between thrills and difficulty (the first two R-Types were fun but they were hellishly difficult, even for shooters). Super R-Type was hard but not so hard that it drove you away from the game - it takes a really good shooter to achieve that sort of balance. To this day, it remains one of my all time favorite games ^_^

I first came upon The Otaku.com about last March. I was in a Computer class and for every project we had to turn in, we needed to make a cover sheet with a picture on it. My sister showed me The Otaku.com, so I went there to fulfill my need for cool pictures. I never really noticed the link to the boards until a couple months later. However, on May 20th, 2003, a day that shall live in infamy, I joined OtakuBoards under the extremely horrendous name of mirai_torankusu (commence with the laughing - you know you want to). I was a decent newbie...I had my share of good times (I had tons of fun in the Nintendo forum) and bad times (a couple bad threads and some god-awful RPG posts). I slowly improved and around the time myOtaku debuted (August, I think), I officially changed my name to Shinmaru. I continued to post a ton in the Nintendo forum and, in September, I was asked to become a mod. Being the cool guy I am (read: OMG JAMEZ WANTZ MEH AZ A MOD!!!!111), I gladly accepted James's offer and became the Moderator of the Nintendo section of the boards. Becoming a mod didn't really change me all too much: I started as a power-hungry tyrant and ruled the Nintendo forum as a power-hungry tyrant. I continued posting a lot in Nintendo, but my thread creating went lower and lower as the months passed by, which is truly a sad thing. I'm hoping to rectify that as of now ^_^ Somehow, I became a pretty popular member for whatever reason. I wasn't even aware that people actually knew who I was but apparently people actually remember me as mirai_torankusu (which is good or bad depending on how you look at it). I've gotten to know a lot of great people on the boards and I've developed some really great friendships that I wouldn't trade for the world - OB has definitely been a very, very positive experience for me, without a doubt.

I just want to pop in here and give my support for the gaming forum merging. I think it makes sense in a lot of ways (most of which Tony mentioned, heh). The gaming forums were far too stagnant, especially Pokemon and Microsoft. Nintendo, pretty much the most popular of the gaming forums, was lucky to get a few good posts a week. I'm really hoping the new gaming forum will attract a good mix of people and open them up to threads that they never would have seen before. Another thing that I'm really excited about in Play It is how [B]general[/B] it is. It has the potential to not only encompass gaming as of right now but to open up discussion on the entire past, present and future of gaming. Of course, it was possible before to make a post like that in some of the old sections but it makes more sense to just have a general gaming area - I have a couple thread ideas that would make far more sense going into Play It than Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft.

The shooter...pretty much a dead genre these days. A good shooter is a very rare commodity right now; they come around only once in a blue moon, it seems. Sky Gunner and Ikaruga are the last two good shooters that I can think of. R-Type Final is coming out, too, though I doubt it will sell well (hopefully, I'm wrong, heh). It wasn't always this way, though. Pretty much since the beginning of gaming, there have been shooters. Asteroids and Galaga were among some of the most successful games of their time, regardless of genre. Some of the best shooters in history were released during the time of the Nintendo/Super Nintendo. Games such as Salamander, Darius, Gradius, R-Type, 1942, etc. are all worth experiencing. The trend of great shooters continued onto the PlayStation, which was actually a good console for shooters. Einhander, G Darius, R-Type Delta, R-Types...some damn good shooters, right there, all begging to be experienced. And that's what shooters are, to me; an experience unlike any other. A lot of genres just can't offer the white-knuckle thrills that can come out of a really good shooter. Just the feeling of being surrounded on all sides by enemy fighters, blasting away frantically at the ships, sweaty palms barely able to grip the controller...shooters give you quite the rush. Are you a fan of the shooter genre? What are your memories of shooters? Why do you like shooters? If you don't like them, then why don't you like them? *hopes to get some good discussion out of this*

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Cyke [/i] [B][color=darkblue][font=trebuchet ms]I couldn't figure it out, but the two SSB games out there are not fun for me, [I]at all[/I]. I don't even consider them to be fighting games, contrary to popular belief.[/color][/font] [/B][/QUOTE] And why don't you consider them to be fighting games? That's just a bunch of elitist nonsense, in my opinion. Smash Bros. and Melee are just as legitimate as any other fighter; they just have a more "arcadey" (and I use arcadey loosely, since Smash Bros. can get much deeper than the normal arcade game) feel to them. Fighters that are similar to Smash Bros., such as Power Stone and its sequel, I would count into the fighting game genre, as well. [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Cyke [/i] [B][color=darkblue][font=trebuchet ms]Maybe I'm stuck in the 2D era of fighting games. When Marvel vs. Capcom came along, I played that game to death, as well as its sequel. I love that game. I've played Capcom vs. SNK 2, and I liked it, too. For me, the best fighting game ever created has been Street Fighter Alpha 3, and no fighter has come half as close to it, in my view. It's just what I like.[/color][/font] [/B][/QUOTE] Sad as it is to say, I'm probably stuck in the 2D era for fighters, as well. It's not for lack of giving 3D fighters every opportunity in the world (hell, I was pretty damn excited for Soul Calibur II's release), but I've never been able to get into 3D fighters all too much. Could be any number of things, heh. Stuff like Marvel vs. Capcom (and its sequel), Smash Bros./Melee and Power Stone (and its sequel) are more my style of fighting game; fighters that maintain a ridiculous pace and really get me into the game and make it fun.

Well, I'm not usually big on fighting games. I play a few every once in a while but, generally, they don't really hold my interest. The problem, for me, anyway, is that some fighters try to be [i]too[/i] deep; some fighters pack in so much stuff to do and exploit that the game because a bit unenjoyable because you have to master this stuff in order to compete with the better players. That's always been kind of a turn-off to me. Something like Melee is more my style, since it's deceptively simple rather than "hey, look at all this stuff you can do" deep. Melee is simple enough to be very approachable to the everyday person, yet can become very deep if you let it become so. I've never had a dull moment trying to master the characters of Smash Bros. Melee, heh. So, yeah...fighters like Soul Calibur II, Tekken, etc. aren't really my style of fighting game, so I'm not gonna go into the whole "state of fighters" stuff; I just thought I'd offer up my comments on Smash Bros. Melee.

[center][b]January 2nd, 2075[/center][/b] Shin woke up in a soft bed. He debated with himself whether or not to remain in the comforting warmth of the blankets, but decided that it would be best to get going. Shin stood up, stretched and put on his shirt. ?That was the best night?s sleep I?ve had in a long while,? Shin mused. ?Haven?t slept in a bed that comfortable since the old days.? He opened the window and paused a moment to let his eyes adjust to the early morning light that poured into the room. ?I feel like I was taking advantage of that poor woman, though. Perhaps I?ll find a way to pay her back someday.? Shin opened the door and crept out of the room. He walked slowly down the stairs in order not to wake up the woman who had kindly taken him in. He grasped the doorknob of the front door and began to turn it when he felt a hand placed upon his shoulder. ?Are you leaving already?? the woman asked him. ?Well, I have lots of things I need to do?uh?I didn?t really catch your name,? Shin replied. ?My name is Karen.? ?Karen?lovely name,? Shinmaru smiled at her. Karen?s cheeks pinked very slightly. ?Thank you very much,? she said. ?Are you sure you wouldn?t care to stay for breakfast?? ?You sure you want me staying for breakfast?? Shinmaru asked. ?Well, you seemed pretty hungry last night,? Karen remarked. ?I?m not really that hungry,? Shinmaru said. Immediately after that, his stomach growled loudly. Shin grinned sheepishly at Karen, who laughed a bit. ?I guess I [i]am[/i] a little hungry. I?ll stay for breakfast, then.? Karen walked over to her kitchen and Shin followed closely behind her. ?So, what would you like to eat?? Karen asked sweetly. ?I?ll have whatever you?re having,? Shin replied. ?Well, I just like to have some toast and cereal in the morning,? Karen said, pouring some milk. ?Sounds good to me,? Shinmaru said while grinning again. Karen prepared Shin?s breakfast and set it down lightly upon the table. Shin pulled it over and started eating it greedily. Karen stared at Shin and his voracious appetite with wide eyes. ?You certainly have a healthy appetite,? Karen said. ?Well, it?s been a while since I?ve had a good breakfast like this,? Shin replied. He poured himself some orange juice and gulped it down. ?Heh, sorry if I?m being a bit rude; I can?t help it. I don?t get to enjoy these things too often.? ?Why not?? Karen asked. ?I?m not exactly the richest guy in the world?? Shin lamented. ?That?s too bad,? Karen said, sympathetically. ?Yeah, I?m not too good at holding jobs, either?? ?That?s horrible!? ?But today?s the day where my luck changes!? Shin yelled as he leapt onto the table, hand extended into the air. ?In my hands, I hold the key to my future!? ??a newspaper?? Karen asked. ?Yes! A newspaper!? Shin said, excitedly. ?In this newspaper, I?ll find the perfect job!? Shin jumped gracefully off of the table and ran off. ?Goodbye! Thanks for being so kind to me!? ?Goodbye?? Karen said sadly, while waving. Shin opened the door and closed it, running all the while. He ran all the way over to the local park and sat down upon a bench, where he opened up the newspaper. ?Jeez?after all that talk, there had better be a good job in here?? Shin said to himself. After a hard half-hour of searching, Shin threw the newspaper to the floor disgustedly. ?There?s nothing in here!? He hung his head miserably. He looked up and a small ad, no more than three inches around, caught his eye. ?Bounty Hunter/Mechanic looking for partner to lessen the workload. Wage depends on amount of business received. Previous bounty hunting skills required.? Shin read to himself. ?What kind of idiot bounty hunter would put an ad in the newspaper? No, wait?I don?t even want to know?? Shin continued to search through the paper, but found nothing even close to anything that he would want. ?I guess I?m stuck with this job?oh well, I?ll look on the bright side, at least I know I?ll be able to do this! I used to do some bounty hunting for the syndicate?well, it was more like assassinations, but it?s almost the same thing?? Shin stood up and took a closer look at the ad. ?No wonder this ad is so small; this guy lives in a pretty poor neighborhood. How much could he really need a partner? Oh well, a job?s a job, I suppose,? Shin said to himself. ?Besides, if I?m in a part of town that doesn?t draw too much attention to itself, perhaps I won?t be found as easily.? Shin started walking slowly down the street. He crumbled up the newspaper and tossed it nonchalantly into the wastebasket behind him. ?Lucky thing this guy?s place is close; I don?t have enough money to catch a cab.? ----- Dead bodies surrounded Jake and Kataki. The raw stench of fresh death permeated around the room; Jake winced a bit at the sight of all the mutilated corpses, but Kataki stared about the room without even batting an eye. What unnerved Jake most about this were the faces of the corpses?every one of the faces was caught in a look of pure surprise. None of them had even seen it coming. Jake turned around and watched a door open on the other side of the room. A young woman entered the room; tall, with beautiful long, brown hair and shining brown eyes. She was dressed in the same manner as Jake, sans red tie. Kataki turned his head to her direction and acknowledged her. ?Miss Kanashimi,? he said, a sort of greeting. ?Hello, Joseibi,? Jake said. ?Hello, Jake,? Joseibi said. ?I thought you two were supposed to avoid a fight?? ?Well?? Jake started. ?We avoid nothing,? Kataki said roughly. ?We do what is necessary to accomplish our purpose. No more, no less.? Kataki?s eyes swept the room, taking everything in. His eyes darted from corpse to corpse, almost as if he were admiring his handiwork. ?In this case, it was necessary to kill these people,? Kataki continued. ?They refused to give us what they needed, therefore, they served no purpose. They had to die.? Joseibi grimaced and turned away from Kataki. ?I?m not sure I understand,? she said. ?I know that you don?t understand,? Kataki said. ?I?m sure Jake does not understand, either. But you?ll both understand eventually.? Kataki took out his sword, stained crimson red with the blood of those whom he had just killed. ?This sword has spilled the blood of thousands of people who served no purpose in life,? Kataki said. ?Eventually, we will die along with them. The difference between us and them is that we will have served our purpose in life.? He stepped lightly between two bodies that were seemingly embraced in one last desperate defense against death. ?We were made to kill those whom wrongly live in this world,? Kataki continued. ?That?s what people don?t understand about us. They think our purpose is to gather money, fame and power. Perhaps even Joseph himself convinced himself of that once. But our ultimate purpose is to cleanse this world of filth?filth like these people?and filth like Shinmaru Hazuki.? Kataki slipped his sword back into its case. ?People like Shinmaru Hazuki are those who deserve to die the most,? Kataki said darkly. ----- Shinmaru arrived quickly at the building that was specified in the ad. The building looked exactly how he had pictured it in his mind: dull, dilapidated and, basically, an eyesore. ?Just as I thought,? Shin mused to himself. ?This place is a dump.? Shin walked slowly up to the door and knocked lightly on it. ?Can?t believe it?s come down to this; never thought I?d be working at a place like this, that?s for sure.? After noticing the door was open, Shin walked inside. A small bell on the front door ringed as soon as he closed the door. His eyes took a quick sweep of the room: dust, dust and more dust along with random items of machinery. ?Hello?? Shin yelled. ?Is anybody home?? He heard a small crash come from the backroom, along with a muffled curse. ?Just a minute!? a voice yelled. Several more crashes echoed out from the backroom. ?Damn it! Stupid tools?hold on!? Shin frowned. ?Whoever he is, he sure is clumsy,? he said to himself. A man stumbled to the front desk. He was about Shin?s height and had on a dirty, deep blue suit. He shook some of the dust out of his short black hair and peered at Shin with his sharp blue eyes. ?Uh?can I help you?? the man asked. ?I?m here to answer your ad,? Shin replied. ?Ad?? the man asked, mystified. ?Oh, right! That ad!? He chuckled to himself. ?I almost forgot about that little bugger. It?s been ages since I put it in the newspaper. I never thought anyone would answer it. This isn?t exactly the best neighborhood for business, know what I mean?? ?Yeah, I can see that,? Shinmaru said, nodding his head. ?Heh, you must be pretty desperate for work if you want to work here,? the man said. ?Well,? Shin said. ?Let?s just say that I?m in need of a new life.? ?Hey, you?re preaching to the choir, man,? the man replied. ?I know exactly what you?re talking about.? He pointed at some of the machines littered around the room. ?You have any experience with this stuff?? ?Well, I don?t know how good my mechanical skills are, but I do have some bounty hunting experience,? Shin answered. ?Got any references?? the man asked. ?Bounty hunters don?t carry references,? Shin said amusedly. ?Point taken,? the man replied. ?Well, you look plenty tough. I guess I could try you out and see how things go.? ?Thanks,? Shin said gratefully. ?What?s your name?? the man asked. ?My name is Shinmaru Hazuki,? Shin said. [i]No use in making up a fake name[/i], he thought. [i]I doubt he knows who I am, anyway. Besides, fake names are hard to think of.[/i] ?Nice to meet you, Shin,? Vincent said, shaking Shin?s hand. ?I?m Vincent. Vincent Suzuki. Let?s hope this is the beginning of a great partnership.? ?Yeah, let?s hope,? Shin agreed. ----- Jake and Kataki stood behind Joseibi, while she read off the report of the incident to Joseph. ??and they were unable to get any information on the whereabouts of Mr. Hazuki,? Joseibi said. ?So, they had to?dispose of the people.? ?I was hoping to avoid bloodshed, Kataki,? Joseph said. ?With all due respect, sir, it was unavoidable,? Kataki replied coolly. ?Yes, we?re well aware of how you feel on the subject, Kataki,? Joseph said. ?Is there anything else you?d like to add, Joseibi?? ?No, father,? Joseibi said. ?You?re all dismissed. Please continue with your mission.? Joseph waved them out of the room and they all left. Outside the room, Jake turns to Kataki. ?So, where do we go from here?? Jake asked. ?I?ll leave that up to you, Jake,? Kataki replied. ?I have other matters that require my attention. I?m placing you in charge of this mission.? ?Me?!? Jake said incredulously. ?But?? ?You [i]will[/i] be in charge of this mission,? Kataki said smoothly. ?Those are your orders. Are you going to follow them?? ?Y-yes, sir,? Jake said. ?Good,? Kataki turned to Joseibi. ?I assume that you are accompanying him, Miss Kanashimi?? ?Yes, sir,? Joseibi said, nodding. ?Very good,? Kataki replied. ?I?ll leave you two to?take care of the mission.? Kataki turned and left the room. ?What do you suppose he?s doing?? Joseibi asked Jake. ?It?s not our place to worry about that,? Jake replied. ?Let?s just worry about the job.? Besides, Jake wasn?t exactly sure that he [i]wanted[/i] to know what Kataki was up to. ?I suppose we should?? Joseibi said. ----- Vincent took Shin on a tour of his building. He led Shin into the backroom where most of his work took place. ??and this is the backroom where I do most of my mechanical work,? Vincent said. ?I also have my computer back here; I get most of my bounty data from the network.? ?This is a pretty high-tech setup for such a low-tech building,? Shin remarked. ?Yeah, it took me forever to save up for it,? Vincent noted. ?It?s pretty good, even if the technology went obsolete in about a week. I still update it occasionally with the funds that I scrounge up.? ?Er?isn?t food a little more important?? Shin asked. ?Hey, I can live without food,? Vincent replied. ?Food isn?t my main source of income. This computer is the key to my income. I can?t afford to let my technology become obsolete.? ?But how can you afford other things if you just??? Shin started asking. ?Never mind?? Vincent walked up to his computer and sat down. He turned the monitor on and tapped on the keyboard a bit. ?Might as well check for some bounties,? he told Shin. ?See if we can get some action.? Vincent typed for a few seconds and a few names scrolled down the screen. ?Great, all these guys are chicken scratch; the only good bounty is on Earth!? ?What?s wrong with that?? Shin asked. ?My ship is in the shop,? Vincent replied. ?I wasn?t able to fix it myself and the bastards won?t let me get it back until I get the money to pay them for it. Say, you wouldn?t happen to have a ship, would you?? ?I used to have a ship,? Shin answered. ?I had to get rid of it.? ?Figures?? Vincent muttered. Vincent turned off his computer and stood up. ?I guess we?ll have to do this the old-fashioned way, then.? ?And what would that be?? Shin asked. ?We go out into the street and hope that we find a crime that pays a bounty,? Vincent answered. Shin frowned over at Vincent. ?Exactly how long have you had to do that?? Shin asked. ?Not that long,? Vincent replied. ?I?ve only had to do it for half a year now.? Shin smacked his hand to his face. ?I can?t believe I thought I would be better off here?? Shin muttered to himself. ?What was that?? Vincent asked. Shin sighed. ?Nothing,? he answered. ----- Jake sat in front of a computer and typed away, with Joseibi standing behind him watching closely. He made his way swiftly through each menu and sub-menu in the hopes of getting the information that he wanted. ?What exactly are you looking for, again?? Joseibi asked. ?I?m trying to see if Shin?s record is still on the mainframe,? Jake answered. ?If it is, then maybe we can trace his steps.? Jake continued searching for a couple minutes, then he frowned. ?Great?it?s long gone.? ?Well, it [i]has[/i] been five years, you know,? Joseibi pointed out. ?Yeah, but it was worth a try,? Jake sighed. ?Let?s not let this stop us,? Joseibi said. ?We?re still going to find Shin no matter what.? Jake looked up questioningly at Joseibi. ?Yeah?no matter what, Joseibi,? Jake said slowly. Joseibi turned and left the room. ?There?s something going on in that girl?s head that I?m not sure I like?? ----- Shin and Vincent slipped on sunglasses and stepped out of the building. ?Could you remind me exactly what we?re going to do?? Shin asked. ?We?re going to walk around and try to find a crime to stop,? came the reply from Vincent. ?No matter how many times you say that,? Shin said. ?It always comes out sounder dumber than before.? ?Hey, it?s been a slow week!? Vincent argued. ?Would you rather us sit around with nothing to do and starve to death?!? Shin rolled his eyes. ?Fine, you?re the boss?? he said, grumpily. ----- And that's the end of that chapter! There was one more chapter that I wrote on Fiction Press, but I've decided to forego adapting that to prose. The chapter was basically a filler chapter about Shin and Vincent's first day on the job...not really integral to the story in the grand scale of things. Besides, if I get caught up in writing filler chapters, I might get bored writing the story again; and nobody wants that, right? ~_^ So, basically, this means that updates will take a bit longer, since I'll be writing chapters from scratch, rather than adapting them from script form. Luckily, I have a three day weekend coming up, so you'll probably see the next chapter around then. After that...well, hopefully, I can get into the habit of writing maybe one chapter a week. We'll see how it goes. As always, comments and critique are vitally appreciated ^_^

Earlier on today when I tried to see your newest work, I got the dreaded "red x's of doom" but since you were so kind to provide me with a link to this thread, I see that they're back up again :) I think your avatar is very well done. I like the misty, hazy effect; looks quite fantastic, I think. Good job with it, heh. And, since I love your avatar so much, it's kinda obvious that the first banner is my favorite of the banners. Just a very well done banner, I think. Not much more I can say. The last two banners are also very well done, but I simply prefer the first one. The lack of borders on them doesn't really hinder them, I think; if you had added a border it would have done more bad than good. At least, from what I can see (I'm looking at them on a crappy monitor right now, bleh). Overall, good work. If I were inclined to give out number ratings, these would score plenty high.

Ask and you shall recieve :p Heh, methinks I need to spend more time revising this stuff. Thanks for spotting the little mistakes and stuff littered throughout the story; I shall get to work revising it right away *raises finger into air dramatically* And, yes, there is more...much, much more ^_^

This is a story I started a very long time ago (almost a year ago, I think). I began writing it in script form, but I got bored and stopped writing it. However, ideas have been forming in my head and I really want to finish the story, so I decided to adapt it to normal prose form and give it another go. Hopefully, there will be enough motivation for me to finish it. [center][b][u]Life After Death[/center][/b][/u] ?[i]It was all just a dream?[/i]? [center][b]January 1st, 2075[/center][/b] A young man stood on the very edge of a rooftop as the sun set on the horizon; the dark red rays of the setting sun meshed perfectly with his crimson red hair as it flowed with the slight wind that was blowing softly. He was almost as a shadow, a dark silhouette set against the foreground. It was no wonder, as his black clothing, with the exception of his gray tie, did nothing to contradict that feeling. A door at the very back of the roof opened and several soldiers filed out around the young man. They pointed their guns threateningly at him, as the head solider stepped forward. ?Shinmaru Hazuki!? the soldier shouted. ?We?ve finally caught up with you...drop your weapons!? Shinmaru turned his head slowly and grinned sardonically at the soldier. ?So, you actually managed to find me for more than a few seconds, eh?? he said with a hint of amusement. ?Took you guys a couple months this time. Losing your touch?? The soldier shot a warning bullet that grazed Shin?s left cheek. A slight cut opened and a drop of blood fell slowly down the side of his face. ?I didn?t ask for a sarcastic comment. I asked you to drop your weapons.? ?Take it easy, old chum. I?m unarmed.? As if to prove this point, Shinmaru turned slowly and opened his coat. There were no hidden weapons at all. The soldiers tensed slightly, as Shinmaru grinned down at them. ?See? What did I tell you? No weapons to speak of.? ?You can try to fool us all you like, but we?re well aware of the games you like to play, Hazuki!? the soldier warned. ?I?m sure you are.? Shin stepped ever closer to the edge of the building. ?What the hell do you think you?re doing?!? ?Relax, I?m not going to hurt any of you guys. My watch alarm is beeping, that?s all.? Shin poked and prodded at his watch for a couple seconds and the shrill beeping noise died down. ?There we go?now where were we?? ?I do not believe that you are taking this seriously at all, Mr. Hazuki," the soldier commented. Shinmaru laughed, a laugh of a man on the edge of life and death. ?I can assure you that I am taking this very seriously,? Shinmaru stated. ?After all, if I didn?t, I?d be going home with you guys.? Shin turned his back to the soldiers, but kept his head turned over his shoulder. ?Well, I?ve had fun; see you in a few weeks, I suppose.? ?What?!? the head soldier yelled incredulously. Shinmaru declined to answer. He stepped lightly off the side of the building and plunged to the ground below. Two soldiers ran up to the side of the building and looked down. There was no trace of Shinmaru that they could see. One of the soldiers noticed some movement over to the side and his eyes widened. ?Look over there!? the soldier yelled. Shinmaru waved at the soldiers in the helm of his ship, a sleek red starship. ?Damn that son of a bitch, he gave us the slip again!? the head soldier yelled furiously. He angrily grabbed a communicator out of his pocket and yelled hoarsely into it. ?He?s escaped! Get two ships on him! Now!? ?Yes, sir,? came the answer from the communicator. After a few seconds, two starships emerged from behind the building and give chase to Shin?s ship. His ship did a few evasive maneuvers, but after a few minutes it was hit with a blast from a laser cannon. The ship lurched slightly, then exploded. Parts of the ship rained down on the city below, like a drizzle of metal. The head soldier grinned in victory. ?Got him,? he said triumphantly. ?This is a proud day for the Syndicate?the day we got rid of another traitor.? He turned to a few soldiers and barked some orders. ?Be sure to search the wreckage very thoroughly! I want nothing in there to go unnoticed! Is that clear?? ?Yes, sir!? The soldiers saluted and shuffled off to search through the wreckage. ----- Shinmaru stepped out of the building on the opposite side of the street. He noted that he was lucky that the soldiers didn't know his escape routes as well as they thought. He looked tentatively down both sides of the street, wary of syndicate soldiers. He was relieved to see that the huge crowd around the wreckage of his ship was distracting everyone within a mile?s radius. ?This is just great,? Shin mused. ?No money, no food, no place to go?maybe I should?ve given this a bit more thought. I did have two months to prepare. Ah well.? Shin walked down the street, as the street lights flickered to life. The lights of several shops came on soon after and danced around the street in frenzied movements. Shin continued strolling down the street. ?I don?t even have a place to stay,? he lamented. ?The bastard syndicate stole my life from me?and I was too stupid to realize it until it was too late?? Shinmaru walked up to a random home and tapped on the door lightly. A beautiful woman came to the door to answer. ?Yes?? the woman asked, before looking down at Shinmaru. ?Oh my!? Shin was lying on the ground, groaning with pain. He looked up weakly at the woman and smiled with appreciation. ?Oh?you answered?you?re the first person to show me any compassion at all today?? ?What happened to you?!? ?Nothing much?just got in a bit of a scuffle?? Shin winced at the thought. ?I just need a place to stay for one night?just until I get my strength back?? ?You poor man?I?ll get you a nice bed to sleep in!? The woman helped Shin to his feet, put his arm around her shoulder and helped him limp his way back upstairs. ?Heh heh,? Shinmaru thought. ?I still got it.? ----- The syndicate captain spoke with the leader of the Black Moon Syndicate, one Joseph Kanashimi. ??and after a thorough check of the wreckage, we were able to find some traces of Mr. Hazuki?s DNA, but were unable to find any remnants of the body itself,? the captain stated. Joseph put a hand slowly into his coat pocket and took out a cloth. He dabbed at his head a bit before staring the captain in the eyes. ?I think it?s quite obvious that you let him slip through your fingers once again, captain,? Joseph said icily. ?But, sir?!? the captain stammered. ?That?s quite enough from you; I?ve dealt with your incompetence for long enough.? Joseph leaned over to one of his assistants. He whispered something in his ear. The assistant nodded and left the room. ?What?what are you going to do??? the captain asked. ?Something I should have done long ago. I?m putting someone else in charge of this mission. Somebody I know will get the job done.? A door opens and two men enter the room. The one on the left was a tall American; one of the few Americans left in the Syndicate. His dark brown eyes gazed lazily around the room as he swept a hand softly through his messy brown hair. He was dressed in all black, except for the red tie he bore on his chest. The one on the right had long black hair and piercing black eyes?his eyes never stopped for a moment as they sweeped the room frantically, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He too was dressed all in black, but he had a far more sinister look and feel to him. They walked right up to Joseph and stood in front of the captain. ?Jake Salazar and Kataki Akusai?just the two men I wanted to see,? Joseph commented. ?You had a new assignment for us, sir?? Kataki asked. The captain shivered slightly?no matter how many times he heard Kataki?s voice, the simple sound of it always unnerved him. The deep, calculating roughness was enough to send chills up his spine. It was as if Kataki was not one of his own?he was certainly nothing like Jake, whom had a calm, smooth voice. ?Yes, I?m sending you to work on the Shin Hazuki problem,? Joseph stated. Jake stood to attention as Joseph mentioned Shin?s name; Shinmaru and Jake had been good friends in the old days. Kataki slowly raised an eyebrow. ?I?m surprised to hear that Shinmaru is still alive,? Kataki said. ?Haven?t your men been able to capture him?? ?Most unfortunately,? Joseph said calmly. ?My men have not been able to capture him. I?m hoping that you will be able to do what they have not.? ?You can count on us, sir,? Jake said quickly. Joseph glanced at Jake, while Kataki merely smiled. He knew that this was another test for Jake ? even if Jake was unable to go through with it, Kataki would be able to kill Shin easily. ?Good,? Joseph said. ?Now please leave.? Kataki and Jake bowed slightly and turn around to leave the room. Jake walked through the door and Kataki was about to follow, when Joseph spoke up again. ?Oh yes, Kataki,? Joseph said passively. ?Please take out the garbage.? The captain?s eyes widened slightly, before he felt a slight pressure on the front of his neck. The cold steel of Kataki?s sword moved swiftly across the captain?s throat, dropping several pints of blood onto the dark floor. The captain?s body fell to the ground with a thud, as a couple attendants dragged his lifeless body out of the room. ?Thank you, Kataki,? Joseph remarked. ?It was my pleasure,? Kataki replied. Kataki turned slowly and walked out of the room. ----- And that's the end of that. As always, comments and critiques are most appreciated ^_^ EDIT: Changed stuff a bit, revised some weirdness and changed other random things. EDIT #2: I noticed the story was an absolute nightmare tense-wise, so I corrected the whole thing. I gotta be more careful next time o_o EDIT #3: I'm sure editing this a lot, haha. Spaced things out a bit more and made a couple corrections. The next part/chapter/whatever you want to call it should be posted tomorrow or Thursday by my calculations.

*grins* Enjoyable read, Megan ^_^ If I counted up the number of experiences like this I've had...well, I've have next to none, actually. I don't get the opportunity to play multiplayer with my friends very often lol. But, yeah, I've let opportunities like that pass me by many a time *frowns* But that hardly matters now, I'd say :p Good on John for getting the girl - and getting one that's a gamer :D

I'm usually indifferent towards Valentine's Day...I don't neccessarily hate it or anything, but I don't have some sort of growing anticipation for it when it comes. Back in elementary school, the VD ritual was just to bring cards to kids and hand them out. I never really wanted to give out any cards, but my mom forced me to since it was "the nice thing to do." Of course, I rarely got any cards in return, since I was one of the few who actually bothered to do anything for Valentine's Day. I always thought I could use that as an excuse to avoid handing out cards every year, but it never worked lol. From middle school on, I've never done anything for Valentine's Day. I've never really had anyone to share it with, so eh. However, this year my unlucky streak has ended, at least - I'm still not buying a stupid card, though. I've got better stuff in mind. One more Valentine's Day story for you guys...last year, a friend of mine gave me a box of candy hearts. As most people know, these hearts have messages written on them, usually of the "I love you" or "Be mine" variety. However, these hearts had some of the more off the wall messages I've seen. Stuff like "Let's read a book," "Hot lips" and "Hug me - now" were some of the highlights of the collection. So, yeah, there's my Valentine's Day cheer. Enjoy it greatly.

Heh, I'm quite familiar with both versions of the show. Comedy Central repeats the same episodes of the British version of Whose Line is it Anyway?, so I pretty much have those episodes memorized down to the word lol. The British version, of course, is a bit edgier than the American version, so I think it's a bit more enjoyable. That's not to say that the American version isn't funny, because it really is, heh. I agree with anatema that it can be a tad repetitive at times, since the same games are recycled [i]a lot[/i] (there was lots of game recycling going on in the British version, as well). However, that doesn't really make the American version any less funny for it. Definitely recommended for those into improv...the games are fun to play, as well (I've played them more than a few times, myself hehe).

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Inuyasha7271 [/i] [B]U lost me here Takuya I haven't even played the game yet I'll get back to you on that question. [/B][/QUOTE] Why even post if you're not going to answer the question? lol If you can't answer the question, then please refrain from posting. Thanks. EDIT: Haha, I guess I should answer the question now :p Characters: Toad, Toadette, Petey Pirahna and King Boo. Cups: Special Cup, All Cup Modes: Mirror Mode I'll wait for Takuya to give me the thumbs up/down, then I'll edit my question into this post. EDIT #2: Name the bosses that you fight in Super Mario RPG in order to collect the Seven Stars.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by otaku_em [/i] [B]I used to be obsessed with this game it is a great game! ^__^ [/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mike330 [/i] [B]so i just need to post a message to Anime_Guy and i'm in? so how do i post to him directly? [/B][/QUOTE] Where shall I begin? lol First off, I'll have to ask for a bit more quality in your posts. I've been watching you in this thread in particular, Mike330, and I'm not liking what I'm seeing. You don't have to make gigantic posts (we have James for that :p), but a small paragraph wouldn't be too bad. Same for you, otaku_em. I'm sure you two can work this out quite nicely, heh. Secondly, your post was off-topic, Mike; questions of your nature are best left for PM rather than asking it in your post, let alone making it the entire basis of your post. That is all...have a nice day, everyone. *nods and leaves*