I know this chapter is horribly overdue, but I've had to deal with some personal problems... Those who saw that blog on my deviantART saying "I give up", those personal matters were what I was referring to. It by no means meant that I was discontinuing this story, so don't worry about that, okay? :)

This chapter marks the first chapter of the second act. The beginning of this chapter with Link and Aryll was also inspired by the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics (which was BADASS, by the way! My favorite parts were the fou drummers and the tai chi performers). :3 I also had to look up some basic wolf body language to get in the groove of writing from Wolf Link's perspective. That's what made this chapter so difficult to write.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, sweetheart?”

Link and Aryll were sitting on a chair on the balcony of her bedroom. Castle Town below them was in the midst of celebration. People filled the streets beyond their capacities in celebration, and hundreds of fireworks glittered the night sky.

Hyrule was celebrating the ninth anniversary of the defeat of Zant and Ganondorf. A defeat that Link and Zelda saw first hand, along with their beloved, lost friend. Link knew though, that she and her people were indulging in festivities just as extravagant and opulent as Hyrule was.

“Yeah,” she replied, scooting backwards to get closer to him. He replied by wrapping his arms around her tighter, pulling the blanket over them, and rested his chin on her shoulder. They watched as more firecrackers were launched from the guard towers that surrounded the castle, each exploding in the designs of the emblems of the six ancient sages.

“Can you stand to pull away from them for a little bit for your story?” He asked. Aryll didn’t waste any time giving her answer: she whirled around and crawled up his chest, grinning madly.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, and Link couldn’t help but laugh.

“Good,” he nodded. “What part is this?”

“Five!” She replied. “Part five!”

“Part five!” He smiled. He raised his hand in the air and offered it to her. “Gimme five!”

She got up on her knees, trying to reach up to him, but every time she inched closer, he just went higher. As she raised both hands to try to get it, Link to the opportunity to reach under her arms and tickle her.

“Heeeey!” She laughed. “Stop, Daddy!”

He obeyed, chuckling softly, and pulled her close to him again. “Okay…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Act Two, Chapter One
-A World in Ruins-

When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was… I was… in a cell. A prison cell, it seemed. Outside, I could hear it rain. It was raining hard. The walls and floors were made of stone, and it was apparent that they’ve seen better days. The gates that barred me were old wrought iron, rusted and aged. That thing that grabbed me… It was now where in sight. What the hell was that? Why did it just throw me away like that? And where did it take me… Where was I?

These black square things were flying out of the ground, straight up into the air and through the ceiling, rotating slowly as they did so. They seemed to be hollow, holographic like or something, because I passed through them like they were nothing.

And… I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t a human. The second I looked down, I didn’t see my feet… I saw the legs of an animal… and they were mine. That thing that grabbed me… It turned me into a beast or something! What the hell was I!? A dog or something!? I opened my mouth to speak… No words came out. Just barks, howls and growls. Yeah… I sure as well was no human.

When I tried to run for the door, I was pulled back… Something was holding me down… It was a chain. That thing chained my front left leg to the ground. I took the chain between my teeth, grinding them against the metal to see if I could gnaw myself free.

I froze… I heard something coming from behind me. I turned to face whatever it was… It was that thing. That creature I saw watching me as I was dragged away by that monster. We made eye contact for what was like forever. It didn’t look like it was going to attack me, but I couldn’t be sure. For all I knew, it could have been one of them… But wait. How did it get in here? It wasn’t in the cage with me before!

…It smiled at me. And before I knew it, it jumped in the air. I jerked backwards instinctively and watched it fly over me and land in front of the gate.

“I found you!” It exclaimed. Its voice was high pitched, like a girl’s… Was it a girl? Orange, flame-like hair was pulled back over its helmet like a ponytail. When it was in the air over me I didn’t see any… body parts that looked male… But it didn’t possess any that looked female either. It did, however, have a rather curvaceous body—as much as its tiny frame would allow anyway—and what looked like small breasts on its chest… I guess it was a girl.

I crouched forward, my behind in the air, and snarled at the creature. I could feel my fur bristle and lips pull back. I didn’t even think of doing it… It just came naturally, like the animal part of me took over.

“Oooh! Aren’t you scary!” She laughed, crossing her short arms over her chest as she giggled. “Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?”

Just who was she!?

“Well, that’s too bad…” she shrugged. “I was planning on helping you… if you were nice.”

I managed to gain control over my body and stopped. I stood up, and I felt my ears flicker at what she just said. She just laughed again.

“That’s much better!” She smirked. “You humans are obedient to a fault, aren’t you?”

Wait… She knew I wasn’t really a wolf? Did she see that thing transform me or something?

“Ooops!” She gasped. “But you aren’t a human anymore, aren’t you? You’re a beast!”

She slapped up my chin a few times… Gods, it didn’t take me long to decide that I already hated this… Whatever she was! I retaliated by biting forward, just missing her hand. She quickly withdrew it and slapped down on my muzzle, narrowing her beady eyes at me, and the squeakiest whine escaped my lips.

She jumped backwards, wagging her finger at me. “There, there. You be a good boy and calm down. There’s no need to bite!”

She raised her finger to her eye level, as if she was examining it. Then without another word, pointed it at the chain around my leg, and a black and orange laser-like beam shot out of her fingertip, and it cut through the links, like knife slicing through butter.

I looked down at the broken chain links. Their ends were smoking somewhat, like a flame cut through it… Just what did she do?

“You look kind of surprised!” She smiled. Taking a step back, she jumped in the air… And she didn’t fall down—she was floating. And what looked like floating drops of black liquid surrounded her.

“So! I bet you’re wondering, where exactly are we!” She spun around a few times, feigning this look of ignorance as if she didn’t really know. With one more spin, her entire body dissipated into the black orbs, then assimilated on the other side of the gate before landing gracefully on the ground.

“Well, I’ll make a deal,” she beckoned with her hand for me to come over. “If you can get over here, maybe I’ll tell you!”

…Could I really trust her? What if it was a trap? I could be walking right into death by following her. I didn’t know how to fight in this body! …Then again, I barely knew how to fight as a human. But still, it was looking like I was out of options. I had no choice but to go along with her.

But how was I supposed to get to the other side? My eyes wandered all over the bars, searching for any sign of giving way through them that I might just be able to pounce through and break them. And the entire time, her eyes were on me, giving me a playful, expecting look, as if the answer to her riddle was so easy.

She stretched her arms up and yawned loudly. She opened an eye and stared at me for a second, and then her gaze fell to a box next to the gate. Then back and forth her stare volleyed.

…Something told me that she was giving me a hint.

Taking my chances, I walked over to the box. I nudged it to the side, and there it was: a crawl space under the bars. I crouched down and tried to dig my way through it. It was a pretty tight fit, but I made it.

My body instinctively shook by itself, shaking the dirt and dust off my fur. I heard her laugh again, most likely that she had to help me get out. I turned to glare at her… But she was gone. I could still hear her voice, though, and senses in my brain were telling that she was still around. Then all of a sudden, I felt something fall on my back… It was her, sitting on top of me like she was me and I was Epona! Then all of a sudden, my body started spinning by itself, like how dogs chase their own tails, but I was trying to bite her, trying to shake her off my back… I definitely had to learn how to control this new body of mine, whether I liked it or not.

“Hmph! I guess you’re not completely stupid after all!” She laughed. She was still on top of me, perfectly maintaining her balance as I was thrashing under her, like she was some expert rodeo rider.

She grabbed my ears, and got me to stop. I felt her hands brush against something cold inside them… It felt like I still had my earrings on. She leaned forward so that her belly was on my back as she rested her cheek in the palm of her hand.

“Listen,” she said. “I like you.”

Wow, what an honor that was.

“…So maybe I’ll get you out of here,” she smiled. She grabbed my right ear harder and tugged on it and spoke right into it, “But in exchange for my help, you’re going to have to do exactly as I say!”

She let go of my ear, and my head fell forward. “If you need anything from me, just give me a sign! I don’t know… Wiggle your ears, or wag your tail or something…”

“So, are we all clear?” She narrowed her eyes again, a mischievous grin on her face. “Good. Now, come on! Get moving!”

- - - - - - - - - -

I walked around aimlessly, following the halls wherever they went. The path seemed rather straight forward, so it didn’t seem like I was making any mistakes. The creature on top of me wasn’t chiding me or anything every time I turned a corner either, so I had that going for me. It seemed like I was in a sewer or something, judging by the water wheels and waterways. The entire place looked in bad disrepair, though; as bars were rusted through—thankfully, rusted through enough that I could just walk through them.

“Wait,” she said, patting me. I looked up at her, asking her with my eyes what was wrong.

She pointed to a corner, and I followed her finger… And there was what looked like a flame floating in the air. I stepped back a bit.

“Oh…” She raised her brow. “Well, well…”

What was that?

She giggled a bit. “Wanna see something interesting? You’re a beast! You should know what to do! Use your senses and poke around…”

What? My senses? …Well, I knew canines did have enhanced senses and all… But how did I use them? …Oh well. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on… Well, I don’t know what. I was just trying to focus on something. I opened my eyes again… The flame was gone. And in its place was a man in a soldier’s uniform. He was completely white and translucent, like a ghost. He looked terrified to death, clutching his spear defensively.

“Can't...run...any...farther...” He gasped. “That's...far enough...right? I'll be safe here...I think...” He gasped and looked up, the most horror-stricken look on his face. “What was that noise?! Don't... Don't anything come near me!”

I shook my head, unable to believe that I just saw that… Was that really a ghost!?

“That was a soldier’s spirit,” she told me. “Maybe someone from the other world?”

‘The other world’? As in, where dead people go?

“And there’s more when he came from, wandering about,” she said. “They can’t see us, though. If you’re wondering why… you’ll just have to wait until we get where we need to be!”

- - - - - - - - - -

The sewers lead to this circular tower with stairs running along the sides. I raced up the steps. It was a long climb, but nothing I couldn’t really handle.

“Hmm…” I heard the girl gasp. “I wonder where we are!”

She was horrible at hiding sarcasm.

“You still don’t know, little wolf?” She giggled. “You’ll know soon enough, when we get to the top!”

That was all she needed to say to motivate me to run faster. I wanted answers. I wanted to know where I was. I wanted to know what happened to me. I wanted to know why she helped me, why she wanted me… All these questions raced through my head at once, I thought I was going to pass out again.

We finally got to the top… And there were bats flying around again. Two of them. And something told me they weren’t going to let me go.

They circled around me, and my… wolf instincts took over again. I growled deeply, crouched down, ready to attack at any time.

“Remember,” she whispered in my ear. “Just because your body’s changed, doesn’t mean your instincts haven’t!”

One finally swooped down, its mouth open and gruesome fangs ready to bite me. I didn’t even think—I just pounced forward and took its tiny body in my mouth, digging my own teeth into its skin. It shrieked something terrible, and I carelessly spit it back out, hitting the floor, dead. Before long, the second bat got closer to me, and I did the same to it. They were on the ground next to each other, lying in their mixed blood. Then they exploded in the same fashion as that monster I first encountered before I turned into a wolf.

“There we go,” she grinned. “That’s my wolf.”

…I learned one thing from that experience: bats tasted horrible.

“Look,” she pat the top of my head. She was pointing up towards an open window.

“I can get us up there,” she smiled. She jumped in the air and spun a few times before disappearing, just like that. I looked around wildly, trying to see where she went, but then my body felt light… I was dissolving into those black squares floating into the air!

- - - - - - - - - -

I reappeared in the outside. It was definitely raining, and harder than I first thought. And the skies… They were orange and black again, and so was the air… Everything looked like a sepia-colored photograph from Rusl’s picto-box. And there were those black square things again... It looked like I was on some sort of castle.

I felt something fall on my back. I looked up… It was her again. Did she really do that? Did she just teleport us out of there?

“Ahh…” She smiled. “Finally, some fresh air! And look at the sky! The Twilight Realm is looking quite lovely today, wouldn’t you agree? A bit wet for my taste…”

The… The Twilight Realm? That was where I was? I wasn’t in Hyrule anymore?

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” she said. “But you’re going to have to get us there! …Over there, in that tower.”

She pointed forward towards a keep… It looked like a pretty straightforward route.

- - - - - - - - - -

I was in the tower, and it seemed like I had to go up more steps again. I followed them up, on the lookout for any monsters that might pop up. Before long, I got to the top. The doors were cracked open slightly, and I peeked through it…

The room inside looked like it belonged in a mansion, but it really has seen better days, it seemed. The fireplace was going on, crackling silently. On the other side of the room, there was a person, tall and slender, looking out of the room’s only window. The person was cloaked in all black, their entire body covered.

I walked into the room slowly, approaching the figure warily. I growled lowly, and I heard the girl on top of me just giggle. Then, the figure turned around, only the eyes and nose showing, gasping softly… From the voice, it sounded like a woman…

I let my guard down somewhat, not sensing any danger. I inched over to her a bit, and the imp on my back sighed.

“Midna!?” The figure spoke. Yeah, it was definitely a woman.

So, the creature on top of me… Her name was Midna? I looked over to her, and her eyes were fixated on the cloaked woman, snickering softly.

“You remembered my name!” She scoffed. “What an honor for me…”

I turned back to the woman, who was looking down at me. She didn’t seem to be afraid. Her eyes, blue and kind, seemed to take pity on me… like she knew that I wasn’t really a wolf.

“So, this is the one for whom you were searching…”

“He’s not exactly what I had in mind, but… I guess he’ll do,” Midna replied, her voice hinting at disappointment… Just what was that supposed to mean!?

The woman knelt down so that she was at eye level with me. Her eyes scanned my face before she looked down at my leg.

“…You were imprisoned?” She asked me.

I tilted my head, trying to get a better view of her face, but she looked down, hiding her eyes from my sight. “…I am sorry.”

“Poor thing,” Midna frowned. She pat my side a few times. “He has no idea where this is or what’s happened… So, don’t you think you should explain to him what you’ve managed to do? You owe him that much.”

“…Twilight Princess!” She snickered.

The woman said nothing. She just stared at the ground, not looking at either me or Midna. But she finally glanced up at me, her eyes serious.

“Listen carefully,” she said with a sense of urgency. “This was once the land where the power of the gods was said to slumber… This was once the kingdom of Hyrule.”

I felt my ears stand up straight at that, and my head raised at that. This place… This ‘Twilight Realm’ …was Hyrule!?

“But that blessed kingdom has been transformed by the king that ruled the twilight…” She added, her eyes and voice sad. “It has been turned into a world of shadows, ruled by creatures who shun the light…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Queen of Hyrule stood before her grand throne and a massive statue of the Triforce surrounded by the three goddesses. Her right hand gripped the rapier firmly, ready to use it at any time. Her royal guards surrounded her, protecting her and themselves with their own swords and massive, full body-length shields. Dozens more stood in formation along the throne room, all at attention, ready to give their life for the queen if needed be.

All of them watched the grand entrance to the throne room. The room was massive, taking up all the floor space of Hyrule Castle’s central keep, the castle complex’s largest structure. The columns that supported the vaulted ceiling were at least fifty feet tall. Three huge, paneless windows were on each side, allowing abundant sunlight to pour into the room, reflecting on the marble columns, floors, and the Triforce statues.

All of a sudden black smoke poured through the entrance, catching the first few flanks closest to the door off guard. They lost their footing as they jerked backwards in surprise. Large monsters—the kind of which attacked me—rushed out of the smoke screen, taking advantage of the opportunity to attack the off-guard soldiers, slamming them down against the floor and against the columns. The soldiers behind them ran to their aid, making battle cries to honor Hyrule and the Queen, but they were effortlessly struck down by the beasts.

The Queen could only watch helplessly behind her entourage, gasping as her men fell, one by one, flank by flank.

The smoke quickly cleared, and out of it emerged the beasts’ leader. His clothing was black, grey, and fabulously ornate. He wore a pointed helmet that completely covered his head, with large, compact eyes, a strong nose, and a gruesome tongue. He was flanked on either side by one shadow creature, each of them wearing an elaborate face mask as well.

He got closer to the Queen, and her guards huddled together in front of her. He finally stopped, standing before her at the steps to her throne. He and the Queen stared at each other for the longest time, neither saying anything. He didn’t need to introduce himself; she already knew who she was. And she didn’t have to either; she knew that she’d probably end up getting killed by him, anyway.

“It’s time for you to choose,” the man finally spoke to her. His voice was distorted by his mask, but it projected all the same, echoing through the entire room. “Surrender, or die.”

“Oh, yes… A question for all the land and people of Hyrule…” He added, snickering sadistically. “Life? …Or death!?”

The guards turned to her, nervously anticipating her answer. She just kept a steady face, but inside, she was just as terrified as her guards were. She watched her soldiers captured by the creatures struggle for their lives, and she knew some of them were already dead. She knew the consequences of both choices fully well. She could continue to fight, but he would retaliate by killing the people of Hyrule first, and eventually, herself… If she surrendered, she would surely be killed too, but at least her people would be spared.

She was the country’s queen. She was in no position to make a selfish decision to prolong her inevitable death; she knew what she had to do.

She lowered her sword, and let the gold-plated hilt slip out of her grasp. The rapier hit the ground blade first, before bouncing on its pommel. The clanking echoed through the hall, breaking the unbearable silence. Her guards gasped sharply, their eyes widening in shock at her decision, but she showed no outer signs of distress. She knew inside that it was for the best.

- - - - - - - - - -

Outside in the large central square of Castle Town, they watched in shock and awe as Hyrule Castle went up in flames. Oblivious to them, the orange and black clouds of twilight fell over them, and as the light slowly disappeared, so did their bodies, leaving only floating, flickering flames in their place.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without light, the people became as spirits…”

“Within the twilight, they live on, unaware that they have passed into spirit forms,” she whispered solemnly. “All the people know now is fear… Fear of a nameless evil.”

She looked out the window again, before turning back to me. “The kingdom succumbed to twilight, but I remain its princess…”

My ears stood up again and my eyes widened. Her… Did she mean… Was she really…?

From underneath the cloak, her hands appeared, clad in light, beautifully designed gloves. I stood up on my front legs, and I guess I threw Midna off balance a little; I heard her gasp then grab onto my fur, like she was about to fall off.

She grabbed the hems of the hood, and then slowly pulled it backwards, finally revealing her face. “I am Zelda.”

I stared at her in shock… I didn’t know what to say… That is, if I had the ability to speak. She was the Princess Zelda that I was going to meet!? She’s the ruler of the entire kingdom!? But she was so young… Well, Rusl did say that she was around my age, but it didn’t hit me until then that eighteen was such a young age to be a ruler.

Her blue eyes were mournful, but at the same time strong. The golden tiara on her forehead hugged the crown of her head perfectly. Her brown-blonde hair—just a shade lighter than mine—was pulled back, with thick tresses running along side of her soft face, both tied together neatly.

Rusl was right: she really was beautiful.

“You don’t have to be so sad!” Midna exclaimed. “We actually find it to be quite livable! I mean, is perpetual twilight really all that bad?”

Zelda lowered her eyes sadly, turning away. I saw at her tiara wrapped around her entire head by a chain that hooked at the back with an elaborate golden plate. She looked back at us—to Midna—with a serious face.

“Midna… This is no time for levity. The shadow beasts have been searching far and wide for you.”

I looked back at Midna, who was still smiling cheekily. So… if those creatures were looking for her like Zelda said… did that mean she really wasn’t on their side?

Midna looked at me for a second before jumping up in the air, and I sighed happily at the weight lifted off my back. She turned around and sat in midair like she was on a chair. She crossed her legs and rested her face in her palm, watching the fireplace.

“…Why is this?” Midna finally asked.

I glanced back at Zelda, and she shook her head, like she was disappointed.

“Why indeed!” The imp giggled. I looked at Midna, and she was shrugging her shoulders, her hands raised in defeat.

Zelda stared at the imp’s back sadly, and then glanced at the clock resting on the fireplace’s mantle. She gasped and turned back to me. “Time has grown short. The guard will soon make his rounds.

All of a sudden, I felt something drop on me again… It was Midna. I looked at her, and she was shuffling in place, as to get herself comfortable… It wasn’t so comfortable to me; she was ruffling up my fur.

“You must leave here quickly,” Zelda warned us. Midna turned around to look at the door.

I turned back to the princess, trying to tell her with my eyes that I wouldn’t go, that I’d stay to face the guard and try to break her out… Zelda seemed to understand me and shook her head.

“Please…” Zelda practically begged. “Before the guard comes.

Midna pat my back. “You heard her! Let’s go!”

I reluctantly nodded and turned, walking out of the room, leaving Zelda behind.

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. If Zelda knew the time as well as she did, then that guard was definitely on his way. But I was quickly halted by Midna: she grabbed my ears and reared me back. Gods, I hated it when she did that!

She leaned forward, whispering in my ear to wait a second. I faced forward, and I heard the door at the bottom of the stairs open… From the way the shadow of the door could be seen on the wall, it seemed that it was closer than I thought, too.

“Not that way!” She cursed. “The guard’s coming! Boy, he’s prompt!”

She looked up towards the window where we came from. “…I’ll get us out of here.”

- - - - - - - - - -

We were outside. Midna was floating about, like she was dancing in the rain. All I could do was just watch her… So, she was one of those Twilight creatures. What I wanted to know, though, was why she seemed to be against them—her people, and why she knew Zelda.

“Well?” Midna asked, turning to me. “Do you know where we are now? …I guess a promise is a promise, so I’ll return you to where you were before you got into the Twilight Realm… I don’t why you would, though; twilight really isn’t all that bad…”

“But…” She smirked. “Are you really sure you want to go back? …Are you sure you’re not forgetting something important?”

She grinned her stupid little grin and spun around… and transformed into Colin! She screamed, but came out Colin’s voice… She spun again, and she turned into Ilia and screamed again!

My eyes widened… I had… totally forgotten about them!

“Do you want to save them?” Midna asked, still like Ilia, but Ilia’s voice still came out. She smirked at me… It amazed me at that moment just how mischievous Ilia could look; she was always too sweet of a girl to have the expression she had on then.

“Well, in that case, little Midna would be more than happy to help you!” She turned around and turned back into her imp body. “But you’d have to be my servant… And like a servant, you’ll have to do exactly as I say!”

…I knew she’d say something like that… That little—

“You don’t look too sure of yourself,” she laughed. “Why don’t you think it over for a little while?”

I was so tired of her cheeky little grin, her stupid little voice, her giant, beady eyes… I was so ready to pounce her, but before I could, she teleported me away. Where she was going to take me, I had no idea…

- - - - - - - - - -

I was… back at the spring in Ordon… But it wasn’t covered in twilight! Thank goddesses… But… I was… I was still a wolf!

“Oh, that’s right…” I heard Midna’s voice… but I didn’t feel her on my back. I looked behind me to see if she was there, but she wasn’t. I looked around, scanning all the trees I could see… she was nowhere in sight. “One more thing…”

“You may have left the twilight, but you still haven’t transformed back into a human… and you won’t be anytime soon!”

She laughed playfully, her voice echoing through the forest… Birds even warbled and fled the trees, flying off into the distance.

“Now… Why is that, do you think… little wolf?”

She giggled again. “Well, see you later!”

Ugh… Midna… I was so angry at her… I was so angry at myself. I didn’t even know why. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know anything. I was so frustrated; I was lashing out at the air, snarling like mad… Something built up inside me, and I instinctively released it, howling into the sky.

No…

WHAT THE HELL!?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Aw, Daddy!” Aryll frowned, hugging Link’s torso. “How did you change back? You’re not a wolf anymore!”

Link smiled softly. “You’ll find out soon.”

She knew what that meant. She loved her bedtime stories, but she felt her father had a very bad habit of cutting things right when they got good.

“So… you met Mommy, while you were still a wolf?” She gasped. “Wasn’t she scared?”

He chuckled at that and kissed her forehead. “Your mother is a strong woman, Aryll…”

“…That Midna was such a big meanie!” Aryll frowned against his chest.

“Well…” Link shrugged. She was, he had to admit… When they first met, anyway. There were so many times he wanted to bite her while he was a wolf, or slap her while he was a human… Little did he know that they’d develop such a strong friendship in such a short amount of time.

He looked up at the sky, and the remnants of the fireworks were still in the air, the smoke cloaking the large moon overhead.

He was starting to miss her.

So ends chapter five. I've got a few links for you again. The first is what I like to call SirJoshizzle's A Guide to Japanese Grammar. It's a little document I wrote up for those who want to learn the basics of speaking Japanese. It's really comprehensive (I like to think, anyway), and covers pretty much all you need to know. I also made it for my friend who's taking Japanese this semester, and he's freaking out about it because Japanese isn't the easiest language in the world to learn, and college language courses go fast. You can download it on my blog here: sirjoshizzle(dot)blogspot(dot)com(slash)2008(slash)08(slash)quick-announcements(dot)html There are some screenshots of the document too, so you know what you're downloading.

The second is a website my aforementioned friend is making. It's a project that's set to officially launch alongside the new version of HyruleNet (the Zelda fansite that I'm always on the most), called ZeldaFan, and what it is, is pretty much LiveJournal and deviantART combined. Put up blogs, artwork, fanfiction, etc. He launched it for BETA today and only HyruleNet staff (like me!) can make accounts to test everything out, but others are free to take a look around and see what it's all about. The features are pretty basic since it's only in BETA, but the overall design is gorgeous, animations are fluid, and I'll be moving everything on my deviantART (and possibly my blog) over there once it's officially up and running. So why not do little ol' me a favor and check it out, please? He spent four months hand coding all of it by himself (35,000 lines of codes), and he's a very good friend of mine, so it'd mean a lot to both of us. Until then, I'll be on HyruleNet's forums, and I hope you to see some of you there :D www(dot)zeldafan(dot)net.

Enjoy Life and Smile.