I was in a kind of temporal loop, wherein I kept getting captured by... I can only fathom a guess as to what or who they were, because it was like some sort of "animal control"-esque facility. They used dogs to find me, and corner me at that facility, which was built up almost like a waterpark, insofar that there were waterslides everywhere, each one leading further and further into their territory and further away from the only entrance/exit. They shoved me down the waterslide, and away I went.
Inside the (outdoor) facility, I met a cat and a dog. They talked, a la a Disney movie or whatnot. I appeared to be human, but it was never quite clear whether I was actually human or merely seeing myself that way because I thought I should've been human. The cat, who was a girl and reminiscent of Mittens from Bolt, wanted to try to help me break out, so we teamed up along with the dog, who was reminiscent of Dug from Up.
The first time, I think I managed to get out on my own, but the temporal loop reset anyway because I guess I hadn't gotten out as soon as I'd needed to. The second time, the cat and I were close to the exit, but the dog, who couldn't swim, was trying to keep the guard animals off of us as we were making a break for it but got pushed into a deep and fast current. The cat said we had to make a break for it because it was now or never, but I hesitated. Finally, I told her that I couldn't just leave him in trouble like that, and jumped into the slide after him to try to catch up to him. The cat followed me reluctantly, running alongside the slide, telling me I was nuts. I saved the dog, but we got recaptured and lost our shot at escaping.
The third time, since I knew some of the key things that were going to happen at that point, we were able to get to the exit fairly quickly, but were caught walking past a security officer's door. We made a break for the exit, but ran into the head mistress (or whatever) of the facility, who'd already been notified about our escape attempt. The security guard came running after us from behind, and I clobbered him and grabbed his gun, pointing it at the mistress' head. She didn't flinch, saying that I could never kill her, and calmly instructed me to hand her the gun. The cat and the dog, who'd been freaking out, were silent at this point, as were the rest of the guards and their guard dogs. Absolute silence as I kept the gun trained on the woman's head, unflinchingly. I prepared to pull the trigger, and she (still calmly) informed us that, fine, we had won, and we could go. The guards cleared a path for us. The cat and the dog, overjoyed, began walking ahead. I remained with the gun still pointed at the woman's head. She told me I could go now, that I could always go, that I always COULD have gone, but that no matter how many times I left, it would never change anything. I smiled and said, "I know," and pulled the trigger. Her facade of composure completely broke, but from the gun, there was merely an empty 'click'. The dog and cat breathed a sigh of relief, I tossed the gun to the ground, and joined up with them as we started to leave. One of them asked me how I knew that the gun was empty. I didn't answer.
Believe it or not, there was actually MORE to the dream, but that's about the point where things get fuzzy and I can't really remember what happened next. The dream shifted, or it was a different dream or at least a far different setting; that's about all I remember. So... yeah.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
tired
Yet another story, as one might imagine, lies in the photograph sealed within the picture frame. Thanks to its surroundings, the colors in the photograph seem as though dulled or subdued, despite the picture itself not having faded. A young woman lays in a bed, surrounded by white on all sides. She receives fluids from an IV, for the doctors fear she may be suffering from dehydration. She is almost human, and yet distinctly feline. Triangular ears sit atop her head, nestled among her blonde locks. On her face as well as beneath the alabaster gown, calico-patterned fur covers the gentle curves of her body. She is tired, but happy. Even in this vulnerable state, her will is indomitable. Her smile is both genuine and fierce.
She is beautiful.
Her back is propped up with pillows, and her face tilted to her right, where an older man is crouching. He is tall, and his features are much sharper than the young woman's, having both a strong jawline as well as sharp lines around the lips of his feline muzzle. The lines wrinkle as he smiles so broadly. He is dressed nicely, in khaki pants, and with the long sleeves of his white, collared shirt rolled up on his arms just past his elbows. His own fur is that of a dark gray; he is a thunderhead standing out among the pure white that makes up almost everywhere else in the scene. His face is turned toward his wife's, as he does his best to match her smile with his own. He is, for the first time, a father. The man's eyes are startlingly blue, and there is hesitance in them.
He is nervous.
He and the woman are looking not only at each other, but also into the face of the tiny bundle they together hold. He is a newborn, wrapped in blankets and fast asleep. His thin fur is a shade of light gray, with the slightly darker stripes of a tabby pattern already beginning to show. His eyes are closed, and he is fast asleep, oblivious to the world. He is a tabula rasa. He has nothing to hide and no intentions to share with the world - not yet.
He is innocent.
The photo in the dusty picture frame tells these stories. There is even a story told by the sticker on the back, upon which the date "12-23-94" has been fancifully inscribed in bright red ink. However, although all of these stories may weave in and out, intersecting with one another, none of them are the story which we have come for today. Today, our story is this:
A shaking hand, covered in light gray fur, silently reaches over the desk and lays the picture to rest face-down, out of sight.
Either the boy's luck held out or his stalker was simply not yet ready to make his move, for the next few minutes (though tense) proved uneventful.
"Okay, kid," came a gruff, familiar voice from behind. "That's as far as you go. Now turn around, nice and slow." The boy complied, turning to face his stalker for the first time. Blocking the room's only exit was a tall, tawny-furred figure: a dingo. He was outfitted in a khaki vest, worn unbuttoned, and a slightly darker pair of cloth cargo shorts along with what appeared to be a pith helmet. He also stood a few notches over six feet, which would have given him a rather imposing air even if he had not had a gun pointed directly at the youth.
After a brief silence, the boy - a feline with the markings of a gray tabby - grinned and spoke loudly. "Oh, I remember. You're that guy from the cantina. Leon, right? Geez, it must've been hard for you to make it through all those tight squeezes to get back here, as big as you are. I'm surprised you didn't just give up and go home."
"Without collecting my prize?" Leon sneered. "Doubtful. Oh, and forgive me, but I can't say as I remember your name. Not that it matters." Taking a step forward, the dingo glanced at the flashlight still in the cat's hands. "Drop it, and step away from the dais," he growled.
"Right, right," the cat muttered. He leaned down slowly, keeping his eyes on Leon. His finger lightly rested atop the flashlight's switch. "I certainly don't want any trouble!" On the last word, he slid his finger forward and the light came on at the brightest setting, aimed directly for the dingo's eyes.
"Son of a--" Leon staggered, and it was the only chance the cat had. He deftly pulled a circular metal disc from his belt, and in the same fluid movement, hurled it through the air toward the blinded dog. The brief clang of metal on metal, followed by the sound of something skittering across the stone floor confirmed that the chakram had hit its mark and knocked the gun from Leon's hands. The chakram ricocheted toward one wall of the cavern, and then the other. Before Leon could register just what had happened, though, the cat was suddenly behind him - and then darkness, as the cat clubbed him in the back of the head and he collapsed on the cold rock beneath him.
Looking over the unconscious body of his would-be assailant, the cat frowned. "Sorry, but I'm not the kind of treasure hunter who's just going to give in to some thief who followed me to a job," he quipped. Hearing the whirr of his chakram returning toward him, he raised a hand, ready to expertly snatch it out of the air. "And my name is Ndoto." The cat grasped, and was startled to find not the cool steel of his weapon, but only air. Off-balance, he stumbled forward, tripping over and falling into a heap on top of the dingo's body, as the sharp weapon sailed mere inches over his own ears. The chakram collided with the stone wall behind him, but having lost most of its momentum, merely bounced to the ground rather than continuing to ricochet. Heart pounding, Ndoto got to his feet and began to dust himself off. His tail frizzed in annoyance as he grabbed his chakram and reattached it to his belt. Stepping back over Leon's fallen body to retrieve his flashlight and collect the pouch from atop the pedestal, he grumbled. "That would've been way cooler if I'd actually caught the darn thing," he complained to himself as he exited the alcove and began to make his way back toward the outside world. Leon groaned.
( part I )
Comments always welcome.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
blank - Music:Yoko Kanno - Aqua
( The Bird Chirps, I Sing )
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:Tales of Legendia - The Bird Chirps, I Sing
( Happiness )
I absolutely adore The Fray's new album and I simply can't recommend it enough. I have been listening to it constantly ever since I bought it about a month ago. I posted this song in particular because I feel a very personal connection to these lyrics. I often find myself being perfectly content, happy, and enjoying life, and then with absolutely no impetus, I will suddenly feel inconsolably depressed. The feelings last as long as they last and there doesn't seem to be any reason - sometimes it wil be hours, sometimes it will be days - but it seems that when I feel those clouds lift from around me and I start to feel truly happy again, it's not because of doing something I like or trying to take my mind off my mood or anything of that sort. It simply comes back as suddenly and inexplicably as it left in the first place.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
content - Music:The Fray - Happiness
melancholyI really can't believe I've never bothered to post this information here, but somehow, I just realized that I don't think I ever have.
If anybody here is into the whole online console gaming thing and would like to add me as a friend, I'd be more than happy to oblige!
XBox Live Gamertag: Ndoto
PlayStation Network ID: Ndoto
Nintendo Wii Friend Code: 2871-9180-7710-3935
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Friend Code: 3093-6733-6942
Mario Kart Wii Friend Code: 2148-8759-7642
Animal Crossing: City Folk Friend Code: 4855-0032-4982
- Location:Home
- Mood:
contemplative
Since I've been being kind of hermitic these past few days, I thought it would be neat to just post a brief entry on some of the things I'm looking forward to in the coming weeks (or in some cases, months, haha!).
- The Watchmen movie - I was lovingly introduced to the graphic novel by
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
shinkuu who graciously mailed me his copy, and I am SO excited for this movie right now! - Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP - it's been friggin' AGES since it was released in Japan, and next week the US version is FINALLY seeing release! Now if only Phantasy Star Zero for the DS would hurry up and come out over here...
- Playing more Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP - I know, I know, I really need to work on finishing up the FES content of Persona 3 so I can move onto Persona 4, but I've been so completely addicted to this game that it's ridiculous. And after that, I wanna pick up Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP and play that. And then I'll probably bust out my copy of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and play through that. And then I'll wanna run out and get Star Ocean: The Last Hope and play through that as well. Yes, yes, I'm Square Enix's bitch. However, speaking of Persona...
- Persona remake for the PSP - Atlus USA announced that it's being localized, and I literally wanted to weep with joy.
- Playing more Flower for the PS3 - This downloadable game was billed as a "visual poetry experience" which seemed at first like it was a really fancy way of saying that it was an 'arthouse game' like Braid. After having played it, though, I understand what they meant. After beating the first level, my eyes teared up a little bit. It's just that beautiful.
- Suikoden Tierkreis for the DS - though this is with more trepidation than the other things I've listed thus far. I really want to love another Suikoden game like I loved the first two, but I haven't honestly heard much about this game's Japanese release and so I'm trying not to get my hopes too high. All I know is that it's supposed to take place in a different dimension than the rest of the Suikoden series, so... yeeeeah...
- Peggle on XBL Arcade - does anyone know where the status of this even *is*? Is it supposed to come out around the same time as the DS version, which drops next week?
- Pokémon Platinum for the DS - I've had a major itch to return to Sinnoh, and I think this is just what the doctor ordered...
- Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360 - Yeah, I hate scary things because 90% of my body is made up of kittens and marshmallows, but playing the co-op demo with shinkuu was way too fun to ignore! This is a game it's doubtful I'd ever play on my own, but since the entire campaign is co-op by design (whether it's being controlled by a human or just the AI) I don't have to!
- Class of Heroes for the PSP - I am just eating up whatever tidbits I hear about this game like a ravenous wolverine. Everything about it sounds right up my alley, between character customization, class and race choices, item and weapon crafting... I can't wait!
- Getting better at guitar - I'm still in the very basic first stages of learning, and I know it's going to take a while before I understand what I'm doing, let alone get any GOOD, but I'm really having fun with it. At my latest lesson I learned about power chords, and so my homework has been practicing the repeating chords from 'Wild Thing'. There is no doubt in my mind that mageuzi will be so completely sick of that song in the coming weeks that he will take my guitar from me and bring it down over my head, Tom & Jerry style.
- Playing around with my Flip Video digital camcorder - I ordered this from Woot.com during their Woot-Off last week and got it for like half of retail price. For some reason, I'm incredibly excited about being able to play around with this, and supposedly it's been delivered to the apartment today!
I'm definitely feeling a lot better than I was over the weekend, and hopefully will be back online (in an IM-able capacity) soon. But I do think this time away from things has been good for me. So, yay!
- Location:Work
- Mood:
busy - Music:Final Fantasy X - People of the North Pole
But! I've finally uploaded the avatars I commissioned from
hmogburn, so I'm pretty happy about that! LOOK OUT EMO FURRY ICON HURRAbout to head to guitar lessons. I'm getting better, at least, maybe...?
- Location:US, Maryland, Montgomery, Gaithersburg, Norwich Ct, 19
- Mood:Blank
I'm trying for the first time to post an entry via an app on my iPhone. The future is now, people!
I'm sitting in Starbucks waiting for it to be time for my second ever guitar lesson. I really don't have any kind of spectacular update other than that. Yesterday was shinkuu's birthday! Be seemed to like the couple things I had picked out for him, though I really do wish I'd been able to get him that Etrian Odyssey II gunner figurine I found... but it was only a preorder for a release in July!! Not a great gift when you have to wait five months for it, ASSUMING it isn't delayed...
We did play some Phantasy Star Online last night, which was super cool!! Argh, I'm such a fanboy for that game and I so don't even care.
Been trying to work on writing recently. No idea how to counter lack of ideas coupled with crippling writer's block for ideas I've already had...
shinkuu ?So, I wanted to get up early today to get into work a bit early, but apparently my body decided that plan to be better reimagined as, "Wake up, turn off your alarm, go back to sleep and have a really freaky dream."
I only remember bits and pieces. At first, I was in a huge arcade - like, Dave & Buster style - with
syerubi , trina , and some others, possibly shinkuu and mageuzi . We decided we really wanted to go out to lunch or something, so the others headed to the car while syerubi and I said we'd catch up. She started doing DDR on this absolutely HUGE monitor - like, think movie theater screen big - and some other kid joined in as well but she didn't realize it, so she kept trying to pick the songs even though it was this other kid's turn. After I realized that we'd been messing around in the arcade for like, hours, I said, "Maybe we ought to go out to the car," and sure enough the others were STILL out there waiting for us. Needless to say, we both didn't feel so great after that, because now our lunch was more like dinner.We drove to Olive Garden, and as they were seating us, we passed a table where
qaflove was having dinner with her parents. We were seated, and so after qaflove finished her dinner, she came over to sit with us as well. Then the dream shifted and I was living in a... house? Townhouse? With someone who both was and wasn't mageuzi . Some ex-con had like broken into our house and was living on our spare room, and he really seemed like he was off his rocker. But, I kept trying to be as accomodating as possible in hopes that he, you know, would either leave or maybe NOT KILL US. I kept going through my closet and bagging up my old clothes that didn't fit any more so I could give them to him.That's really about all I can remember. Also, in case you haven't noticed, I turned off my daily tweet updates. It was getting super annoying.
- Location:Really ought to be leaving for work
- Mood:
blah - Music:No, REALLY ought to be leaving for work
- 21:23 Animal Crossing gates are open for any interested parties! #
- 22:13 Currently playing: Rock Band 2. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 00:50 I unlocked the achievement on Rock Band 2! raptr.com/ndoto #
- 09:26 Oh, so THIS is why I can't get my iPhone to work. is.gd/eGsQ #
- 10:13 twitpic.com/10628 - My new TV setup. It is beautiful AND magical: I somehow get tons of HD channels we don't get in the living room. #
- 12:05 @nyankokimi They're still chillin' on top of the old TV, which is currently in the corner of the room by the small bookcase and the window. #
- 15:31 @nyankokimi "They say you can tell a chef's skill by the way he prepares his tamago." The lions will keep watch over the Puyos. #
- 19:32 @shinkuu Do... do you ACTUALLY have spores growing on your towels...? #
- 19:34 @nyankokimi I do! My day was okay. Tiring. How about yours? #
- 19:35 @shinkuuakuma Whatcha up to, bibby? #
- 19:39 @shinkuu ...perhaps you should've relayed those sentiments separately... #
- 21:02 Currently playing: Rock Band 2. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 12:42 @shinkuu IT WAS DELICIOUS #
- 14:07 @shinkuu I'm sorry I had to drop you at the airport so early! I hope you were able to have a nice lunch at least? #
- 14:11 @shinkuu FYI: Wario Land for the Wii is on sale for $29.99 at Target this week! #
- 14:13 @shinkuu Oh yeah, and did you look for Best Buy video game vending machines in the airport while you were there?? #
- 14:28 @mageuzi OH SICK BURN #
- 16:03 A Mac mini refresh would seriously warrant consideration of a purchase. is.gd/eD5T #
- 16:07 @mood747 Sorry for the late reply! What I meant was, it's Maaya's 1st album SINCE her departure with Kanno. Not sure who she worked with... #
- 16:41 Debating unfollowing @woot since I use my iPhone app to keep track of woot, shirt.woot, sellout.woot and wine.woot... #
- 17:38 @mood747 Holy crap, you're right. I totally forgot about that album. Why did I think Shonen Alice was the most recent album?? >_< #
- 17:39 @mageuzi YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID WE WERE EVEN FOR DECEMBER RENT I WILL WRITE YOU A CHECK FOR JANUARY WHEN I GET HOME IF YOU WANT YEESH #
- 17:41 @mood747 Actually according to Wikipedia, it looks like she DID collaborate with YK for at least a couple songs on the new album! Good sign? #
- 17:41 @mood747 Linkage: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazeyomi #
- 18:35 @crzy4fishy 'Dear American Girl: Please stop stealing all of our hot boys; we are running out and will need to import from Japan soon.' #
- 10:38 Currently playing: Meteos Wars. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 18:12 I don't even know. I just don't. #
- 08:57 @jadieladie Snowboarding?? I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is literally nothing that you cannot do. #
- 10:27 @jadieladie Oh man, "Snuggling Wisteria" would be an AWESOME band name. :3 #
- 18:26 Currently playing: Rock Band 2. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 23:28 Happy New Year to everyone! I'm gonna party like it's 1999+(sqrt(50*2)) #
- 00:03 Happy New Year for reals now, everyone! #
- 11:58 Currently playing: Sonic Unleashed Demo. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 13:32 Currently playing: Bolt Demo. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 16:33 @nyankokimi Does your family have any New Year's Traditions? #
- 16:36 I just realized Raptr twittered my deep dark secret: I tried the Bolt game demo. No amount of bleach can wash away my shame. #
- 11:06 @jadieladie ANIMAL CROSSING NEW YEAR'S AHAHAHA #
- 20:12 Currently playing: Rock Band 2. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 18:44 Currently playing: Rock Band 2. Care to join? raptr.com/ndoto #
- 16:52 In less than a month, Maaya Sakamoto's first album since amicably parting ways with Yoko Kanno will "drop" (as those in the industry say). #
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