I Bring Tidings From... THE FUTURE!!!

I had a freaky dream last night. Or this morning, considering I was still having it right up until I woke up. My Grandma used to say that a dream would come true unless you ate something before you told someone about it, but I'm betting none of you will read this before I eat, so I'm in the clear.

In the dream, I wake up and head out to some bleachers. I never really figured out why we were at the bleachers, but that doesn't seem to matter. I found my two brothers sitting in them, with a space between them that I would have assumed was saved for me filled instead by one of two giggling young girls, the other sitting on my brother's other side. The four of them seemed to be having a good time, and are sorta surprised to see me. They don't really get a chance to tell me why at first, as I get up and get a spot in the row behind them.

It's about here that they tell me that this isn't the year 2006 any more. We're in the future now. They're probably gonna tell me more, but all of a sudden, the crowd starts ducking under the bleachers. Or rather, lying down on the lower steps, like they're hiding. Not really knowing what's going on, I try to follow suit, but I'm clumsy and end up sprawled out all over the place. Not that it really matters, I don't think they were really hiding. It's more like an "ASSUME THE POSITION" kind of drill, so the cops (I forgot the technical name for them, but they were cops basically) could do their survey of the population. It's at this point I notice that the bleachers are full of people, and circle around for quite a ways, so there's at least a small town's worth on them.

These cyber-cops-of-the-future seem to enjoy taunting people, which is really easy when the rules are as strict as they now appear to be. I see one fat man pulled out of the bleachers a ways down, apparently for the crime of eating fried chicken during the inspection, or eating fried chicken while overweight in general. His fate wasn't learned, but it probably wasn't TOO bad (I hope). Next one headed over for me. He looks down at a pizza box, closed. Part of their box presentation is to have little toothpicks featuring toppings on top. The cop getures to the speared chicken and, addressing a portly man a row or two above me, starts the following conversation: "So, having a little chicken on your pizza, eh tubby?"

"No! No, I swear! It's just cheese! Look!" He reaches up and flips open the box to show that yes, it is a cheese pizza. There's not even holes where the chicken toppings could have been removed, just a perfectly normal cheese pizza.

"Hrmph... Well, okay, mister, but you'd better watch it."

It's at this point that I decide I'm confused enough, but at the same time, I feel like causing some trouble. I really don't know what got into me, but even with my brothers tugging at my shirt to get me to stop, I ask the cop: "Hey, I'm a little fuzzy on the rules, being from 100 years in the past." I wasn't really sure it was 100 years ago, but I decided to go with it. "Can a skinny guy like me eat the chicken, or-"

I get cut off by a surprised look from the cop. Another couple of cops appears, and they're all asking the same questions. "Did he say he's from the past? He doesn't know the rules? Take him to the re-education center!" Before I knew it, I was being hauled off, with my brothers all the while pleading for me to be released.

Eventually we came to a place that did indeed look a lot more science fiction-y. I was lead to what looked like an enclosed habitat, supposedly to be more like my own time. It had a TREE!!! In fact, when they opened the door, and a leaf flew out, it was a top priority that the leaf be returned to the habitat. The only way they had to do this, apparently, was to maek the entire floor bounce, in the hopes that the leaf would bounce back into the habitat. I mentioned repeatedly that if the tree just had a tail, it would be much easier to sweep in leaves like that. I think the next time I checked, there was indeed a tail.

I get shoved into the habitat, and it's already populated. I'm told by the administrator that I need to head to the computer terminal and log in my personal data. I feign innocence (still claiming to be from "100 years ago" even though I don't know what the current year really is), just to toy with them, and also to cover for the fact that I honestly have no idea how to use this computer. It looks like theres a muzzle over the monitor, or something.

Then my dream skips ahead a bit. I find myself looking around MagicTheGathering.com just to poke around. I was reading an article by Linda Rosewater about how the latest sest was just released for Magic Beta (cardboard) and will soon be ready for the full deal (online, obviously). So that was a bit disappointing. I end up talking with some of the other "inmates" and learn more about how the system works here. Most of the people are very friendly and forgiving, but the authorities are strict beyond words. It's almost like that one episode of Star Trek: TNG, where Wesley gets a death sentence for stepping on the grass, only not QUITE so harsh. Some things are stricter, like healthyness and morality (I'm not allowed to swear at all), but a lot of things, like sexuality and violence, have become more acceptable. Kinda fits in with how the world was going today.

To emphasize this point, the crowd in the room suddenly interrupted in a cheer over the sporting event we were watching. I watched the slow motion replay to see what the fuss was about, and saw it was apparently a normal pass, except that half way through the trajectory, the object being thrown (I couldn't make it out, but it seemed to be some sort of razor sharp boomerang or frisbee) sliced off a leg from woman standing in the middle of the field. That's right, sliced it off. Where all the other players were wearing protective gear, she had been wearing only a bikini bathing suit, to emphasize her stellar body. Apparently, that was part of the game, or at least part of the entertainment.

My dream skips ahead yet again, and I'm put in a supermarket type place. Someone asks me if I can tell them where the business cards are. I have to say sorry, I don't work here, and I get cut off by one of my friends from the habitat (though now I appear to have been released, I guess), who tells me that we ALL work at this place. Every citizen works for every company, or something like that. Communism to the extreme.

Sighs... The dream went on for a bit more. I get in trouble not for messing up a game by passing through the field (no razor-rangs, though), but for saying "Fuck you" to the goalie after doing so. I meet up with a young girl who's captivated by the fact that I still smell like the Axe I put on before traveling to the future, since no artificial smells exist in the future... Anyway, it's pretty deep.

Everything I've written here actually happened in my dream. I mighta messed a few details, or added in a bit of a clarification after the fact, but this was my dream, until I got fuzzy near the end. But the more I wrote this post out, the more it sounded like a decent science fiction story. I'm not sure about the plot yet, other than either "finding my place in a new society" or "leading a revolution against the oppresive administration", but I'll think of one. And you will get the most intense story of a dystopian future EVER!!!

Total Awesome

Fan-made lightsaber duel. This is totally awesome. I would even go so far as to say that the battle is cooler than the ones featured in the prequels, and needless to say it blows the duels from the classic trilogy out of the water. I may have to get in touch with these kids when I remake the series. *Plots in a volcano lair.*

I had more to talk about. I've decided that I'm tired of waiting for an artist for my comic ambitions, and that I'll just train myself to draw instead. It's looking like it'll be faster, and honestly, I'd rather be able to depend on / blame myself than worry about someone elses schedule and opinions on my ideas. Call me a control freak. *Shrugs.* This also has more to do with an epiphany I had the other night, one I'll share with you all later, probably. Tonight, I need to get some shut-eye.

Blogger = Copy Paste Repository

I found this story on /b/, believe it or not, and knew I had to save it. Most /b/ threads last maybe 20 mins tops, so I won't bother linking it, but that also gives you an idea of the urgency I felt when trying to save it. First off, I was surfing the site on my PSP, which has no way to copy text (a huge oversight, I think), so I leapt to my computer, and found that it had already left the front page. It was a dead thread. Not to be dismayed, I brought up the thread number, and actually typed the URL out. It worked, and now I can give you the following:

One day I was walking with my girlfriend. She was babbling along a mile a minute, as usual, and I was listening and commenting only occasionaly, as usual. The conversation came around to her parents. I flatly refused to speak of mine. "Come on," she begged. "There must at least be a baby picture." So, I drew my wallet, and drew the only photograph I had, of me and Rachel. Last I'd seen Rachel was to sing her to sleep, knowing the next morning she'd be adopted and I wouldn't. My girlfriend, the color drains from her face. She took the picture from my hand, the wind whipping her blue-dyed hair across her face, lips moving silently. Abruptly, she takes off like a bat out of hell, calling over her shoulder to wait right there. Confused, I do, and she comes back with an equally confused girl-olive skin and dark blue eyes, like me. Straight chestnut hair. Even the same dress style-mostly black, fishnets on her arms, bondage pants. Me, just a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt. It should have hit me then, I guess. But I was so resigned to never seeing Rachel again... Astrid turns, jams the picture into the girl's hand. She looks at it, confused, tears springing into her eyes. "That's me and my brother." she says softly, a wobble in her voice. "Where'd you get this?". Apparently, I swore very loudly-I was almost ticketed for public profanity, until the situation was explained. But I did't even hear the swear fall from my lips. Probably "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"-my standard cry when deeply shocked. It was as if I was deaf. All I was aware of was the beautiful girl holding the photograph and crying. She looked up, incredulous, and spoke my name, once, as a question. Not my current name-the one I had before. The one I was born with and never told anyone. I opened my mouth, not knowing what I was going to stay, and without intending to, stole the words of a better writer than I:

It's me, I said. I'm the one who sang to you.

Magic Nerdiness

I just hadda get this on paper. Check out Bound // Determined. It's a split card. One half is an instant that costs less than 2 mana. Therefore, you can imprint it on an Isochron Scepter. Once it's there, it doesn't care which half you play, so go ahead and make a copy of Bound, sacrificing whatever you please, and let the recursion engines begin. *Runs off to design deck.*

I TOLD THEM THEY WERE SENDING THE WRONG GUY!!

What Organization XIII member are you? Find out Here!

Soooo.... I dunno, he's a cool guy. I like these tests. Totally unscientific, but I still usually get one who fits. I figured it was either Demyx, or Larxene (on the left here), or maybe even the ultra-cute Zexion (dunno why, but I even thought he was a cutie in the GBA game. Shame he was dead for KH2.) Ah well...

I still never really got why they said that Nobodies didn't have true emotions. I mean, yeah, I can see that maybe the boss-guy didn't, but Demyx seemed pretty cowardly, Larxene seemed pretty arrogant, Axel seemed rather caring, and Roxas and Naminé were pretty well rounded individuals (though the last two were apparently special cases). And another thing, while on the subject of Nobodies: What's with Axel and "Got it memorized?!?" I mean, yeah, I guess it was cool the first time, but he said it like 2 times in a 2 minute period. What's with that? Is it supposed to be some reference to Sora's Castle Oblivion experience, or maybe it makes more sense in the Japanese version. *Shrugs.* Don't worry, I'm not gonna learn Japanese just so I can play video games in their native languages. I'm not THAT hard up.

...yet....

Check This Out:

From the first Matrix movie:

Oracle: Do you know what that means?
[points to a banner]
Oracle: It means know thy self. I wanna tell you a little secret, being the one is just like being in love. No one needs to tell you you are in love, you just know it, through and through. Balls to bone.

Then you get this little tidbit from Reloaded:

The Architect: There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the Source and the salvation of Zion. The door to your left leads back to the Matrix, to her... and to the end of your species. As you adequately put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you are going to do, don't we? Already I can see the chain reaction: the chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you to the simple and obvious truth: she is going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

So then, the Architect could tell that Neo was in love. Wait...
I dunno, I'm tired, and someone misquoted the Oracle as saying "No one CAN tell you you're in love." If that's the right answer, then I guess Neo isn't in love... I gotta go back and watch those again, obviously.

Edit: A little more digging, a little more tired:

* Tank - A tank is a type of heavy vehicle. (Cf. the name of his brother, Dozer). Also a subtle reference to the "tanks" the humans are kept in at the power plant towers.

* Dozer - A bulldozer is another type of heavy vehicle. "Dozer", meaning "sleeper" could also be seen as connotating the "sleeping" state of those jacked into the Matrix (although Dozer himself was Zion-born).

Reasons

I was having a conversation with my brother earlier. I lost a bit of it, but I can reconstruct it a bit from memory, I think.

Brother: hey man, give me ten reasons not to sleep real quick.....
Effervescence 34: that is the number of evil ogres who will kill you in your sleep?
Brother: ok that's one
Effervescence 34: no
Effervescence 34: thats 10
Effervescence 34: each ogre is a reason
Effervescence 34: it only takes one to kill you in your sleep

Then I suggested World of Warcraft, followed by regular Warcraft or Starcraft.... I said that Adult Swim was on, and I thought South Park was redoing their Family Guy episode. I think I suggested that a roomie may have X-Box Live for Halo 2 fun or something. Moving on, I reminded him that /b/ was always open, though I'm not sure he got the reference. I followed that up by saying that the same was true for Katz and Ihop, as well as Walmart. Then he seemed to sign off, and I closed the window, which is why I lost a lot of the convo. It picked up here:

gorawandan: more more more
Effervescence 34: you need to re-watch the matrix trilogy and determine if he really would have knocked the vase over had the oracle not said anything
Brother: i'll put star wars instead
Effervescence 34 wants to directly connect.
Effervescence 34: this next reason comes in picture form
Brother: what for this is my roomates comuter
Effervescence 34: its nothing dirty, i swear
Effervescence 34: just an 80s game screen
Brother: well yeah but can it wait, like not that i"m, afraid of a virus I just don't have the time
Effervescence 34 cancels request; no connection was made. (Note: For best results, you and your buddy should use the latest version of AIM.).
Effervescence 34: mkay
Effervescence 34: the reason was
Effervescence 34: "THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY NINJAS.
ARE YOU A BAD ENOUGH DUDE TO RESCURE THE PRESIDENT?"
Effervescence 34: and theres a crazy 80s guy with a flat top and sunglasses there
Brother: haha that is pretty good
Effervescence 34: yup
Effervescence 34: how many reasons is this so far?
Brother: well six
Effervescence 34: mkay
Effervescence 34: reason seven
Effervescence 34: Bees!!!!!!!
Effervescence 34: or, conversely:
Effervescence 34: B's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brother: oh yeah
Effervescence 34: b b b b b b b b b b b b b
Effervescence 34: hrmmm
Effervescence 34: your bed may be coated anthrax, and the only way to know for sure is to sleep on it
Effervescence 34: I'd call that a reason to stay awake
Effervescence 34: reason 8:
Effervescence 34: the girl you swap support group nights with just swallowed a bottle of pills in an attempted suicide that is probably just one of those cry for help things, but either way you've gotta keep her up all night long.
Effervescence 34: reason 9: you never did catch them all
Effervescence 34: and reason 10:
Effervescence 34: *drumroll / stalling for time*
Brother: I like 8
Brother: lets go I have to get off
Brother: and you don't even know that's a pun
Effervescence 34: do too
Effervescence 34: reason number 10 to not go to sleep yet: you have to get off
Effervescence 34: easy enough
Brother: wait what was the drum roll one, although that was pretty hiariuos
Effervescence 34: that was the drumroll one
Effervescence 34: i had not thought of 10 at the time, so i was stalling
Brother: no it wasn't
Effervescence 34: fine
Effervescence 34: reason 10: your princess is in another castle
Brother: cool, tty tomorrow and tell you how it turns out
Effervescence 34: aight
Brother signed off at 12:03:04 AM.

Okay, I saved it for posterity. I feel better.

Happy Easter

I don't have much to say about it, really. At least, not now. I did find this picture, though, which pretty much illustrates a lot of my issues with Christianity.
So there you have it. *Shrugs* I may go into it later today. Moving on for now, though...

I bought the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack today. A while ago I made a list of good childrens movies I wanted to list as timeless, and worth showing to my children when that year's Disney offering wasn't all that exciting. I'll see if I can link it, but the part I'm referring to is here:

I also spent the last hour and some watching Lilo and Stitch, which is really one of the better Disney movies out there. I've been thinking about parent-hood a lot lately, because I'm getting those urges, I guess. I dunno. Hormones, a phase?

Anyway, Lilo and Stitch is one of those children's films / TV shows that I can enjoy as a more mature individual. I've become sadly disappointed with the quality of childrens entertainment lately, for the most part. Lilo and Stitch is going to stay in my family DVD library for years. Also in there: Aladdin, The Lion King, Transformers, and, should it be canceled, Sesame Street. That was quality childrens programing right there. Oh yeah. And the Incredibles.

Heh. When I went looking for it, I wasn't even sure Lilo and Stich was on the list, and I wanted to be sure and add it. Turns out it was the founding member. I'm glad I keep this stuff recorded, I guess. In trying to think if there's anything that shoud be added, well, nothing comes to mind now, but I know I'm gonna pretty much forbid the early princess movies, because of reasons I've stated before.

I re-watched the Matrix Trilogy lately, and I gotta say, I think I was kinda wrong about the second and third movies. Part of my initial fascination with the first one was quite simply the premise of it all. It's always advertised as a Hollywood Blockbuster-style action adventure in which Keanu Reeves randomly kicks ass, and the most important part of the movie is the sweet gun battle in the lobby. If any one here hasn't seen it yet, lemme tell you, that is NOT what the movie is about. Sure, that's a good part of it, but the real meat of the movie, the thing that truly makes it awesome, is the idea it tosses into your mind. What is reality, really? Can we ever trust our senses completely? That's the sorta thing that really gets your mind going. The rest of isn't that big in comparison.

So I went into the sequels expecting to be let down. I was setting my expectations along the level of "OMG REALITY ISN'T!", which is honestly an impossible goal for the movie to meet now. In fact, it sorta off put me even more because a lot of stuff in Reloaded actually helps prove without a doubt that we, the audience, are not in the Matrix. There was no way it was gonna be as good as my initial reaction to the movie.

Of course, this was my initial reaction. Watching it over and over again, the whole "Red Pill / Blue Pill" revelation really doesn't seem as exciting any more. Yes, the Matrix is an artificial reality, not the real reality, blah blah blah... I started to get distracted by other little nuances, like the Oracle's vase prophecy, and stuff like that. And in THAT field, the second and third one are good movies. They follow through, mostly, too. You gotta look deeper than just a surface impression for the good stuff. So when I watched all three movies just last week, they seemed a lot better, in my eyes. I liked watching them, and therefore, the whole trilogy rightfully sits as a trilogy in my eyes. The first movie still holds a place in my heart for being revolutionary, but the trilogy as a whole succeeds just as much, albiet in a different way.

The question still remains, though, throughout all three movies (and the Animatrix, too): if you had the choice of being hooked to the Matrix, living in blissful ignorance and eating steak, or being freed to Zion, living under less than stellar conditions and eating what tastes like runny eggs (or maybe Tastey Wheat...), which would you pick? Would you choose as Cypher did, and try to get back into the Matrix? This all assumes that it's possible, of course. My personal theory is that the Machines had no intention of returning Mr Reagan to the Matrix, when simply killing him would have been much easier for them. But given the choice, which is of course impossible to actually be given, I'd probably rather live in the Matrix. It's too bad there's no going back... I'll have to stay away from any of those red pills.

Oh yeah, Brain Age is coming out for the DS this Tuesday. I'm gonna pick myself up a copy, definitely. If you haven't heard, Brain Age is something of a mental stimulator, something to keep the brain cells active. I could use some of that. I'll prolly set aside an hour or so for "brian activity" every night, actually. I could use some time to read, really. The DS will be part of my regimen, but, like a single healthy meal, it's not the complete solution to my problems. I need to read more, bottom line. And write. Maybe two hours, then. *Shrugs.*

G for Ginormous

I give greetings from a gentleman generally good-natured and genial. From genesis to goodbye, I'm given to go gliding into glaciers of gloom and generously gifting guys and gals globally with my great gab, generating giggles, guffaws, grunts, and, granted, even groans from the general public. A goofy guardian of gods and goddesses, I grant my grace and genious, grouped with my giddy gait, wherever they are genuinely needed. Great Scott!, this gram has grown gigantic. 'Get to the grand finale', you grumble. 'We have the gist of it.' Good then. I'll go by G.

Are you like a crazy person then?

I dunno where that came from. Just popped in my mind during work. I had a lot more of it, too, but I had issues with overlapping. *Shrugs.* I think it suits me pretty well, don't you? Meanwhile, I discovered a disturbing truth when I did my last name:

Lo and look! A loner, a loser, lost in a loose-linked line of limitless events. Lord of no land, longing only to be liked, leeching love from lads and lasses long-distance like a little lice-ling. Lots of leeryness lingers locally. Let's leave it to its lonesome, and label it L.

I dunno, I think both are appropriate for me, at different times. You'll notice that the G one was bigger than the L, so that's saying something. Also, when I do T, my middle initial, it gets even more silly, and somewhat egotistical again, more along the lines of G. So I'd say the good outweighs the bad.

I just beat Tetris DS. The marathon mode, anyway. I got past level 20, and then I won. That was odd. I mean, on the one hand, I'm proud of myself. I beat the game. Yay me, right? I'm a Tetris master. But I dunno, the DS version was kinda overly easy. I had it set on ghost piece, for starters. And even at the higher level, where the pieces would suddenly appear on the pile, you had a few seconds to scoot them around and rotate them, so it wasn't too hard to get past level 20. *Shrugs.* Also, this hurts a lot of the mystique that surrounds Tetris for me. I'm used to playing the kind of Tetris with only two possible outcomes:

1. You Lose, or
2. You Quit.

Tetris itself is supposed to be infinite. It is the ultimate test of man vs machine, and the ultimate example of our greatest weakness. There's an infinite supply of blocks being generated. The question of if you will be beaten doesn't even come up. It is inevitable. You will be. The only question is WHEN you will be beaten. We cannot defeat the unflinching consistancy of the machine. But in the same situation, our greatest strength is also revealed. We play it anyway. We know that eventually we will lose. But we attack the bricks, and hold out as best we can, denying the logic of the situation that tells us it is pointless to attempt a problem that is un-solvable.

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to.

So there it is. Our power is our choice. And really, we aren't playing Tetris against the machine. The machine has won before it began. It is no longer a competitor at that point. It is merely part of the environment. And we aren't fighting it any more. We compete with ourselves. Tetris does more than generate infinite blocks. It keeps score for us. And each time we play, we hope to better our scores. By bettering our scores, we better ourselves. Or maybe we do better than the next guy. But our unending competition, our refusal to see inevitablity and instead see a victory in a defeat, that is one of humanity's greatest strengths.

Of course, now that I've BEATEN the game... that's lost to me. Tetris is no longer unbeatable. It's been nerfed by Nintendo. It will give in after a while. Tetris isn't supposed to beat in. Tetris is supposed to be constant. Without that... without the constant dropping of the pieces, how can I be sure of other consistancies?

That was fun. I should play more Tetris, eh? But only on my SP, the classic Tetris, where the blocks never quit dropping, there's no hold button, only 1 "Next" window, and when a piece is down, it's DOWN. *Nods.*

Edit: Btw, I'm doing laser tag again tomorrow. My callsign? "Mr. Anderson"

I BEAT KINGDOM HEARTS 2!!!!!

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, first, I wanna say this: The game is flat out awesome, so go buy it!

Now, after that stunningly accurate review... SPOILERS AHEAD!!! (Nothing Major, but still, better safe than sorry for some people.)

I got home this afternoon and decided to check out the world awaiting me. I had what looked like 2 more Disney Worlds awaiting me: Halloween Town and Pridelands. I whipped through them, though the boss for the Pridelands gave me a taste of what I could expect more of later on: Bosses where you have no clue what's fucking going on... X_X.

Anyway, after that, I did a Passover Seder at my church, which I won't talk about here, cuz it's within the spoiler warnings. I'll discuss it maybe later. Easter's coming up, and I'm in a religious mood lately, so that'll pop in as a blog. Enough prattle, though.

So I get back, and remember that the game has alerted me to a couple of new things going on. The last world was available, but rated itself at several levels above my current state. Not only didn't I think I was ready try that yet, I didn't wanna skip all the other material available to me. I hadda finish the Tron world, and something was up in Twilight Town, so that needed going too later, too. After wizzing through the Tron world, and discovering to my dismay that the Antiform was still out there, I headed into Traverse Town. Sora and his friends went to the Mansion for the first time, in order to enter the digital Twilight Town from the beginning of the game, the one Roxas called home. Once there, they find the doorway to the last world (so apparrently you didn't wanna end up there on your own?...), where the final battles take place. I wasn't sure if I really was gonna end it tonight, but I decided I had come too far to leave it unfinished. Plus, the story cutscenes had started picking up again, and I was ready to see how it ended.

I know I said I'd have spoilers, but I'd just as soon go without the play by play of the game. I've gotta say that the whole 3 kinds of Ansem still confuse me, but I sorta had it figured out. It got easier as they started dropping off near the end, so there was only one left, and you knew he needed killing too. But first, the sub bosses. Rather than just fighting giant nameless heartless, like in KHONE, there were three other members of the organization to fight with. I don't remember their names, but I know they had them. And they were pretty tough suckers. It was even tougher considering I went into Anti Form on TWO OF THEM... X_X I died in one of those encounters, and swore off the form for my continued battle against him. The second time was fucking CLOSE. I was like... "I've already gone into anti form three times today... I can't have luck that bad...." Apparently, I can. But I still managed beat him. I had about a sliver of health left myself, though. It was seriously so close that after the battle, I wasn't sure who'd won. I kept dreading that I was gonna see the Continue screen. Let me say it now, I hate the Anti Form....

Anyway, after that, it wasn't really an option. Riku joined the party, and I think it was just me and him for the rest of the night. So no more drive forms. He did have a pretty sweet limit command, though. Got it up to like 200+ hits at one point. I gotta say, I really enjoyed the one on one battle between Sora and... Xenmas? Xenohart? whichever. I think it was Xenmas, but I get confused. Whoever it was, it was a really good battle. I consider THAT the real final battle of the game. The last one, where he's just sitting in a chair and your job is to hit him until he knocks you back, run / fly over and hit him again, that was lame. I mean, it was tough, and I enjoyed it, but it was just... I expect more from my boss battles than just them sitting there. Bleh....

But story wise... whoa. And I've seen some spoilers even. I was still surprised by the ending. I'm not gonna even talk about what happens, but just... wow. I love a happy ending. ^_^ I did wanna end by saying that I've seen a lot of grief from the Internet about how the Disney aspect of the game sucks. I'll admit, it is kinda... RANDOM. Seriously, there was enough material for a full story without the Disney worlds. They feel kinda like the varying Sonic the Hedgehog levels: Desert level, Jungle level, Water level, Snow level, etc., except with Disney themes. I mean, I guess it's cool being able to play alongside Aladdin, but it almost feels like two different games. They don't totally mesh together as well as one would like. I realize the limitations they have on them, though. Maybe KH3 will fix that one little problem, and either do away with the extra Disney worlds (Mickey and Co, and the other main characters for the story are not "extra", btw), or integrate them more.

Okay, I'm fucking tired. Time for bed. I have work tomorrow. Ugh.

One last thing. I hate the Anti Form with the fire of 1000 suns!

Now all I needa do is beat Chain of Memories...

Kingdom Hearts II - The War Begins

I got a request to see the battle from Hollow Bastion, where all the Final Fantasy characters are fighting against hordes of Heartless. Here it goes. Don't watch if you're scared of spoilers, though. YouTube - Kingdom Hearts II - Hollow Bastion - The War Begins~!

Meanwhile, in spoiler free content, here's an AMV of the "Deep Dive" video from the end of the first game, set to Evanescence's song "Haunted". I think it's cool, personally, and it synchs up really well, especially compared to a lot of the other fan made AMV's. Enjoy

What I Did Today

Today was a good day for Greg-kind. I got to hang out with Jackie. We played lazer tag, something I hadn't done for AGES. The first bout ended up being odd. When we started, Jackie's gun wasn't working right. We went over to the guy, and got him to fix it. Unfortunately, something got mixed up, and Jackie's pack was assigned the same number as mine. Working together, we managed to get 2nd place out of maybe a dozen. That was impressive. The second time was a bit more of a crowd. I think there were two kids' birthday parties going on at the same time. I've been doing lazer tag for a while, and I know that means a few things.

1. Trains of kids moving along the floor. Easy targets.
2. They team up. Or think they are. See, it was a team game, and so a bunch of the "Parties" got split up, but they decide to play together anyway, so you end up with roving packs of kids, multicolored, half of whom you can shoot, half you can't. ._. It's not cool; specially when the kids on your team say "No! Don't shoot Jake! He's with us!"

He's not with us, kid. He's got blue dots on his vest. Mine are green. I hate him for his blue dots. I hate him so much. I'm sure Jake's a great kid, and when he's not wearing those blue dots, I'd love to get to know him, take him on in a friendly game of Daytona (DAAAYYYTOOOONNAAAAAA!!!!!) or something. But I'm not in the real world here. I'm in Blazer Lazer tag. I've got a lazer gun in my hand. It has one purpose in my hands, and one purpose only. Shoot at different colored lights. If those lights happen to be be on your friend, tough shit. He made his bed when he put on the blue vest. Now my hatred for him burns with the fire of a thousand suns, and it must be vented by mashing the trigger until his lights blink and my screen registers a tag.

Wow. I'm a little outta control there. I'd better calm it down. Anyway, after lazer tag, I treated Jackie to some Golden Corral. Good stuff, there. I'm thinking we may make this something of a weekly tradition. We got to talk about all sorts of things, including the amazing story ideas I've been sitting on and such. Rawr at backlog.

Anyway, then it was off to work. I had volunteered to substitute for whoever had electronics tonight. It was my one chance to utter the following phrase, and boy was it ever appropriate:

"I'm not even supposed to BE here today!"

We ended up staying until two o'clock. AM. x_x Oh well, at least we did get it all done. And it gave me some time to think about some things. One of them is a story idea I was planning on writing if we'd gotten out on time (the sister article to this post, titled "What I Didn't Today," or something like that.) Not gonna spill the beans on this one, cuz I like it a lot, and I don't wanna spoil it.

The other idea popping into my head, which I DO wanna share, is about World of Warcraft. I wanna start a guild. But more than that, I wanna start a RACE. Not like, a species race. I'm talking an amazing foot race, with players running across Azeroth in search of some prize. Basically, point A to point B, with various challenges and Hazards along the way. I'm not sure what all limits will be in place, though I know that Mage porting will be strictly no-no. Come on, that just defeats the purpose. Hearthstones, too, for that matter. But will I allow mounts? (Definitely no Gryphons) What about Aspect of the Cheetah for Hunters, or Cat Form for Druids? And what different challenges will there be to face? I'm not sure, but I bet it'll be cool. Don't you think so? HMMMM?

You should all sign up. I demand it.

1000 Heartless!!! (Slight KH2 Spoilers ahead)

Why is no one else I tell that to excited? It's weird. But yeah... My KH experience today went thusly: I had a chance to play, and while I wanted to get on WoW pretty quick, I wanted to see what was up in Twilight Town again (it had just reopened). First through, I hadda finish up the Pridelands (I had saved in the middle for some reason, and was mad that I didn't do the world all the way through. After I beat Scar, I headed to Twilight Town, and experienced a few cutscenes that basically told me I just missed Kairi. I hate when that happens. Next, back to the gummi ship, and oh noes! Hollow Bastion is on fire or something. So we go to check them out. We get there and first, I put a page in Pooh's book. Apparently the darkness surrounding the world can wait for me to read a little....

Anyway, we pulled Pooh outta the hole and I popped back into Hollow Bastion. Now they want me to head down to the abandoned castle thingy, so I can see Leon about something... ITS TRON! ITS THE FUCKING TRON WORLD. Of course, I had to play that. LIGHT BIKES BITCHES!!! Anyway, I played that, and midway through, I had to pop out to figure out a password to part of the world. That's when Mickey showed up and said "I can tell you some stuff, but first finish with Tron." Honestly, I wanted to talk to Mickey, but still, you gotta listen to the king. So I helped Tron save the day for the computers. I rode a lightbike through a hole in the wall (if you've played the game OR seen the movie you know what I'm talking about, and how little sense it makes). That was cool, but now, time to go talk to the king.

He told us some confusing stuff about Ansem being Ansem and not being Ansem and whatnot, and I think they're just making it up, to tell the truth. But anyway, after that, we find that the whole world is under attack. I saw some great cutscenes showing all the FF characters defending their home turf (it was seriously wicked stuff), before I got to charge in and help out. First, I fought off Demyx (I don't know why so many people are frustrated with him, it was easy for me), then went through helping out each of the FF characters out in their own little areas before going on to fight....

ONE THOUSAND HEARTLESS!!!!

Honestly, it was easier than it sounds. They were all crowded around me, and had reaction commands, so as long as I kept jamming triangle, I could take out like 15 or so at a time, maybe more. I think I leveled up twice in that area alone. It was actually kinda disappointing, because I was enjoying killing them all, and as the crowd thinned out when I got up to about 600 or so, it started to dawn on me that I was about done. It was exactly at 1000 that the area was cleared, and I was treated to another cutscene, and I'm not totally clear on what happened, but now I've gotta go around and unlock all the worlds again. *Shrugs* Sounds like fun, eh?

And if the other Organization XIII guys are as easy as Demyx, I should be in for a cakewalk.

One last side note, though. Chain of Memories has apoiled me. I'm so used to being able to break attacks I don't like, rather than having to time the block just right. (WHY IS THERE NO DODGE ROLL!?!) It's tough making the switch. I mean, once I'm in battles, it's pretty obvious that no cards means no card-breaking, right? But as I moved in towards, say, Oogie Boogie, I thought, okay, when he throws dice at me, just grab a 9 and.... waiiiiiiiit....!