So, it's 20 minutes till midnight and it'll be Christmas.
My family is going through some tough times at the moment, and I'm going through a period of self reflection. I've had a whole year to myself, to make the most of it, and now that this year's coming to a close, I can have a good look at myself and where I'm currently at. I feel good, I feel fresh and ready to start a new chapter in my life.

Three weeks. Three more weeks and I'll be clocking off work for the last time. All the people I've come to know and love, I cherish their friendship and loyalty. My first solid job, and I'm really going to miss the place.

This year I'm spending Christmas at home. With relatives from all over the state. There's 20-30 of us all up, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them. I haven't seen a lot of them in a while, and they do mean a lot to me. My grandparents are going through a hardship right now, and I've just got my fingers crossed that they can continue to make the most of what they've got. And I've been amazed at how determined and strong they've been. I'm proud of them, and as much as I don't want to divulge my entire personal life and fine grained details to Newgrounds, I'd like to point out that they've been an important part of my life, especially in these last few months.

And on the other side of the spectrum, there's the pitter patter of tiny feet, running all over the place, and it all reminds me of how fragile and special life is. Take nothing for granted, yet live your life to the fullest, no regrets.

It's all brought me back to one of my favourite ads.

.
/* */
I'm sad, I'm happy, I'm apprehensive, I'm excited, I'm nervous, all rolled into one. Make your life all that you want it to be, and don't let anyone else dictate your life.
I look forward to coming back here for 2009, and putting in the haul for another year.
Have a merry Christmas Newgrounds.

With sincere well wishes,
-WritersBlock

My cage! My cage!
Lest they find me out of my cage!
Battered and swollen,
Bruised and bleeding, I'd be.
The guards, they were pacing,
My heart, it was racing.
Lest they find me out of my cage.

The king, the king,
He wanders the halls,
Draped in fine robes,
Sewn by his queen, to be.
The king, he was plottin'
For his lady to be forgotten,
Gutted and thrown out to sea.

Treason and murder, treason and murder,
They worked me into a rage.
I did no such crime,
Yet I'm paying the time, encaged.
The guards know no reason,
To believe in my treason,
While the tyrant king continues his ways.

Lies upon lies, lies upon lies,
The work of the king, a cunning disguise.
Locked in my cage,
Which is locked in a room, up high.
The guards do not notice,
That my freedom is closest,
In their absence, I slip through the bars.

Be quiet, be quiet,
While the king is asleep,
I hear very faintly,
A sound almost saintly, a bird.
From my cage to the shadows,
I glance through the window,
As I search for the creature I heard.

The cage, the cage,
Right there in my cage.
Its plumage, on fire,
It lit up my room, with flames.
This creature of light,
A miraculous sight,
A mystery of no other name.

The bird, the bird,
Let its presence be heard.
It beckoned me forth,
Into the fireplace, deep and cold.
With the touch of a brick,
A most intricate trick,
A passage, an escape from these walls.

I follow, I follow,
This fiery swallow,
Through passages thick,
Through passages thin, I crawl.
In a flicker of light,
The bird escapes from my sight,
And I escape into the king's sleeping halls.

A whisper, a whisper,
The smoke from a torch burning crisp.
A shadow of hope,
A scape from this mortar and stone.
Chasing the nothings,
I burn for the bluffing,
Of a bird conjured from broken bones.

The king, the king,
He lays down his guard,
As I'm driven by madness,
of a bird that was never there.
Like a hunter at night,
I steal through the shadows,
In his chambers, I bid him beware.

The guards, the guards,
They don't notice a thing.
The ultimate crime,
The death of a tyrant, a king.
With a blade in my palm,
I anchor his arms,
Slice throat like a slice of a pear.

Magician, magician,
Oh, what have I done?
First to the crime,
Cleanse me of guilt, of sin.
You saw me in action,
Not even a distraction,
Would counter my lust for the king.

The flames, the flames,
They burn in my eyes,
The magician's sorrow,
Was infinitely hollow, an act.
He gave me a grin,
And procured from within
His jacket, a card so absurd.

A joker, a joker,
A fire breathing master of whim.
A token of mystery,
A burden through history, a card.
A success for a price,
I'm his sacrifice,
Doomed by a fiery bird.

These tricks, these tricks!
Played for the fool that I am.
Murdered the king,
For a bird of the magician, himself.
A new day, a new king,
yet the laws stay the same,
And I'm locked up and back on the shelf.

My cage! My cage!
Lest they find me out of my cage!
Battered and swollen,
Bruised and bleeding, I'd be.
The guards, they were pacing,
My heart, it was racing.
Lest they find me out of my cage.

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

.
/* */

End of the Line

I paced back and forth, back and forth, down the length of the carriage of the train that pulled me through the subway towards my fate. Up until now, I'd had no issues with living my life of secrets, hiding in the shadows. You don't know what the term "on the run" means until you've been through what I have. I was wanted by every policeman in the whole damn nation, and right now, as I paced through the subway train, they waited greedily for me at the end of the line, like a pack of ravenous wolves waiting for the opportune moment to lash out at my throat. I'd back myself into a corner, they'd beat me, cuff me, and drag my limp body into a maximum security cell at the state penitentiary. I'd try to escape, I'd receive regular physical abuse by both guards and inmates alike.

There was no way I'd just sit back and let that happen. Sure, I could try to fight, but what good would it do? I had to get off the train. It was terribly fortunate that I was on this train by myself. All throughout my years on the run, I had made many friends and allies, thugs, criminals, you know, the underworld type. Well I didn't stand much of a chance on my own, there were too many armed officers escorting me through the city, a public humiliation. The man that had evaded them for so long had finally got his just desserts. From what I had overheard, they had been given instructions to hand deliver me to prison themselves. So they took me to the subway, and that's where a small window of opportunity opened up.

My friends and allies had caught wind of what had happened, it really surprised me how many of them managed to gather themselves in the subway earlier this evening. They had followed me down to the subway, and took the opportunity to attack the police. There was gunfire, fists and blood. There were casualties, to both parties, but the police officers had an air of panic about themselves, and while some men showed great focus and skill, others fell whilst still fumbling for their weapons. There was a moment there when I believed that I would get out, my handcuffs were unlocked, and I was about to make a dash for the exit before I was dragged through the open doors of the train.

Everyone there knew what they were getting into. It was tragic, yes, but such is my life that these things no longer surprise me. From what I gathered, the officer in the train with me was the only one still fighting. He had his strong hands tight around my neck, and I believed that I would have died there and then, but there was a loud bang and his hands fell slack, he was dead. A mysterious survivor had walked onto the train and shot my attacker square in the head. By the time I had realized this, they were off the train, the doors had closed, and the train had begun to roll towards the end.

So here I was, pacing the train, looking for a means to escape, taking particular attention to step over the body of the dead officer each time I made my way past him. If I did manage to get off the train, there was just a long, dark passage. All I could do was follow the tracks back to where I had come. With my intricate knowledge of the police system, there'd be more officers searching for me back in the subway station. I couldn't keep going, I couldn't go back. Was the inevitable end finally here?

There were only two doors in the whole carriage, and they were both pressure sealed, that was a no-go right there. The windows, they had taken their fair share of abuse over the years, they had been built to last. Graffiti was etched into the glass, and there were a few cracks here and there, but it was easy to see that the glass was a solid 2, maybe 3 inches thick. I couldn't help but think of those hammers with signs saying something like "break glass in case of emergency", one of those would be handy right about now...

I knew I couldn't be too far away from the end of the line, and so I was becoming more irritated, frustrated, and I kept on going back to the doors and trying to open them, despite knowing that they definitely wouldn't open merely thirty seconds ago. This turned from frustration and annoyance to destructive aggression. I tried ripping the seats from the walls, but most of them seemed to be fastened much better than I had expected. I did manage to rip off a few back rests. It relieved some stress to bash them against the window. It relieved even more stress to beat them forcefully into the dead cop on the floor. There was no way out, might as well make the most of what little free time I have left.

I gave him one last swift kick. He truly was beaten to a pulp. I tried the doors a half a dozen more times, until I had completely exhausted myself. I finally took a seat, there was nothing left but to wallow in self-pity and despair. But I would get what I deserved, after all, I was as broken and devastated as the officer on the floor. Yeah, so much for the plan of going out in a blazing glory. So much for becoming a hero amongst the criminals. When those doors open, they're going to take you and lock you up, and you're not going to put up a fight, yeah, I bet they'll hate that.

But the doors didn't open. There was only the voice of the driver over the PA system, "Die motherfucker", and a crash. They found me at the end of the line in pieces...

Okay, just a quick plug for my new audio submission, Lost Heaven (WritersBlock Mafia Mix)
It's a cover of the theme song to the video game "Mafia". I love the game and I love the original.

I'd also like to take this time to front-page congratulate Lochie on the new drawing tablet. Well deserved, he's an awesome guy.

And if you're a musician, you should think about entering December's MAC (monthly audio competition). The deadline is December 24th, so you'd better hurry!

And I'd like to welcome back gumOnShoe. He's made a comeback to Newgrounds with a new writing competition. If you're into writing, and find the time to write a story of 300-600 words, then check it out here. This deadline is December 13, don't waste your time on this one!

I've written something for the writing competition, feel free to give it a quick read, I'd love to know what you think of it. And if you like it, I've got several more stories posted on Camp North and Fourth Perspective.

Hope you guys are having a good Christmas. I'm spending Christmas at home this year. But I'm also going away for a few days from tomorrow to sort out University for next year. ^_^

I think I'm a sofa.

this stapler encased in jelly.

.
/* */
Why?
Because you're a cock.

P.S. Cock.

.
/* */

It's felt like a while since my last full length song. And even longer since I've made a song I've spent a while on. I'm happy with the result of my new tune, it's made mostly out of samples and presets, but there's a couple of custom 3xOsc synths in there too.

I'd love it if you guys would give it a listen and a vote, maybe a review too, that'd be pretty cool. ;D

Linkage.

Thank you.

PS. Using samples and presets is OK, as long as you use them in the right way. Take Helix6 for example. I've noticed a few stock FL samples in his songs, but they don't sound cheesy or out of place in the music. Don't completely abuse the samples and presets, keep the music sounding fresh and you'll be fine.

.:MODERN:.
AFI- The Art of Drowning
AFI- Sing the Sorrow
AFI- AFI
AFI- DecemberUnderground
Alkaline Trio-Maybe I'll Catch Fire
Alkaline Trio- Crimson
Alkaline Trio- Remains
Angels and Airwaves- We Don't Need to Whisper
Angels and Airwaves- I-Empire
Anti-Flag- For Blood and Empire
Anti-Flag- Terror State
Apocalyptica- Apocalyptica
Augie March- Sunset Studies (A)
Augie March- Moo You Bloody Choir (A)
Augie March- Watch Me Disappear (A)
Birds of Tokyo- Day One (A)
Birds of Tokyo- Universes (A)
Blink-182- Cheshire Cat
Blink-182- Dude Ranch
Blink-182- Enema of the State
Blink-182- Take off your Pants and Jacket
Blink-182- Feeling This (single)
Blink-182- Blink-182
Blink-182- Greatest Hits (compilation)
Bliss N Eso- Flying Colours (A)
Bloc Party- Intimacy
Bluejuice- Problems (A)
Bodyjar- Bodyjar (A)
Boxcar Racer- Boxcar Racer
The Cat Empire- The Cat Empire (A)
The Chemical Brothers- Push the Button
The Chemical Brothers- We Are the Night
Cog- Sharing Space (A)
Coldplay- Parachutes
Coldplay- A Rush of Blood to the Head
Coldplay- X&Y
Cut Copy- In Ghost Colours (A)
Daft Punk- Homework
Daft Punk- Discovery
Daft Punk- One More Time (single)
Daft Punk- Daft Club
Daft Punk- Human After All
Daft Punk- Alive 2007
The Dandy Warhols- Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
The Dandy Warhols- Welcome to the Monkey House
The Dandy Warhols- Earth to the Dandy Warhols...
Disturbed- The Sickness
Disturbed- Believe
Disturbed- Ten Thousand Fists
Drapht- Brothers Grimm (A)
Dream Theatre- Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
Eskimo Joe- A Song is a City (A)
Eskimo Joe- Black Fingernails, Red Wine (A)
Evermore- Real Life
Evol Intent- Era of Diversion
Foo Fighters- In Your Honour
Fourth Floor Collapse- Books with Broken Spines (A)
Fourth Floor Collapse- Victoria (A)
Franz Ferdinand- You Could Have It So Much Better
The Fray- How to Save a Life
Good Charlotte- Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (single)
Good Charlotte- The Young and the Hopeless
Good Charlotte- The Chronicles of Life and Death
Grinspoon- Thrills Kills And Sunday Pills (A)
Groove Armada- Greatest Hits
Incubus- Morning View
Incubus- A Crow Left of the Murder
Incubus- Light Grenades
Jet- Get Born (A)
Karnivool- Themata (A)
The Killers- Hot Fuss
The Killers- Sawdust
The Killers- Day and Age
Kings of Leon- Because of the Times
The Living End- It's For Your Own Good (A)
The Living End- Hellbound (A)
The Living End- The Living End (A)
The Living End- Roll On (A)
The Living End- Modern ARTillery (A)
The Living End- From Here On In/Under the Covers (compilation) (A)
The Living End- What's On Your Radio (single) (A)
The Living End- State of Emergency (A)
The Living End- White Noise (A)
Matchbox 20- More than You Think You Are
Matchbox 20- Disease (single)
Metallica- Ride the Lightning
Metallica- master of Puppets
Metallica- ...And Justice for All
Metallica- Metallica
Metallica- Load
Metallica- ReLoad
Metallica- St. Anger
Metallica- S&M (live)
Metallica- Garage, Inc.
Metallica- Death Magnetic
MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
Muse- Showbiz
Muse- Origin of Symmetry
Muse- Hullabaloo
Muse- Absolution
Muse- Black Holes and Revelations
Nirvana- Nevermind
The Offspring- Smash
The Offspring- Ixnay on the Hombre
The Offspring- Americana
The Offspring- Conspiracy of One
The Offspring- Splinter
Pearl Jam- Rear View Mirror (compilation)
Pendulum- Hold Your Colour (A)
Pendulum- In Silico (A)
Placebo- Without You I'm Nothing
Placebo- Sleeping With Ghosts
Pnau- Pnau (A)
Powderfinger- Internationalist (A)
Powderfinger- Fingerprints (compilation) (A)
The Presets- Apocalypso (A)
The Prodigy- Their Law (compilation singles)
Queens of the Stone Age- Lullabies to Paralyze
Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf
Radiohead- Pablo Honey
Radiohead- The Bends
Radiohead- OK Computer
Radiohead- Kid A
Radiohead- Amnesiac
Radiohead- I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
Radiohead- Hail to the Thief
Radiohead- In Rainbows
Rise Against- The Sufferer and the Witness
Rise Against- Appeal to Reason
Robbie Williams- Escapology
Sigur Rós- Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
Silverchair- The Best of, Volume 1 (compilation) (A)
The Smashing Pumpkins- Greatest Hits
Sparkadia- Postcards (A)
Sum 41- In Too Deep (single)
Sum 41- Does This Look Infected?
Sum 41- Chuck
System of a Down- System of a Down
System of a Down- Toxicity
System of a Down- Steal This Album
System of a Down- Hypnotize
System of a Down- Mesmerize
The Vines- Winning Days (A)
Wheatus- Teenage Ditrbag (single)
Wolfmother- Wolfmother (A)
Years Around the Sun- Introstay
3 Doors Down- The Better Life
3 Doors Down- 17 Days
3 Doors Down- Self Titled
+44- When Your Heart Stops Beating

.:CLASSICAL:.
Piano- J.S.Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier Book II
Piano- Chopin: Piano Favourites
Piano- Scott Joplin: Piano Rags 2
Piano- Mozart: The Essential Piano Concertos (4 CD set)
Piano- Erik Satie: The Best of Satie
Piano- Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano- Various: The Best Ever Piano Music Collection (3 CD set)
Guitar- Gareth Koch: A Guitar Anthology (4 CD set: Carmina Burana, Espana!, She Moved Through the Fair, and The Fragrance of Paradise)
Guitar- Franco Platino: Guitar Recital
Guitar- Various: Cavatina
General- Beethoven: Symphonies No. 3 & 8
General- Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris and Piano Concerto in F
General- Philip Glass: Violin Concerto
General- Mozart: Symphonies No. 27, 36 & 40
General- Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
General- Peter Sculthorpe: Earth Cry, Piano Concerto, Kakadu (A)
General- Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works (Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel and Also Sprach Zarathustra)
General- John Williams: Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone OST
General- Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
General- Various: Complete Classics (6 CD set: Uplifting, Vocal, Golden, Favourite, Relaxing, and Spiritual)

So, I've just begun writing what I hope will turn into my first novel. It's loosely based on the plots of previous short stories. The tone of the novel will be much lighter, although don't rule out any torture scenes. ;) Maybe just one, I haven't decided yet.

The story revolves around a young man, Alexander Wilder. He lives in Halberg, the capital city of an as of yet unnamed nation. The nation is at war, and Halberg is under heavy attack, his University is shut down, and so he decides to leave the country to pursue studies and work. He stops over in Krankhafte, to visit his family, makes sure they're safe, before leaving to another unnamed country and unnamed city therein (possibly the nation that they're at war against/allies with in the war?). There, he gets hired as a laboratory assistant, by the reasonably well known and respected scientist, Dr. Frederik Blane. There, Alexander befriends Frederik, and becomes highly involved in some mysterious, almost mythological studies that Dr. Blane has picked up. Things play out similarly to A Note for Elizabeth. To keep things simple, Blane mentions to Wilder about a secret underground city (as of yet unnamed) and flees as the vampire virus begins to transform him. Then Wilder would flee, quite possibly as he wants to avoid being roped into a police investigation. Maybe in this next part he goes under the radar, crossing borders, I'm not so sure about this part, I'm just running through ideas here. He crosses over into "enemy territory" and is captured and interrogated for spy activities (maybe a light off the record military torture). He hears from another prisoner that a plague has been spread via chemical warfare, and was working its way through the nation, spreading out from small villages and farming towns, before getting at the major cities. The stranger mentions one town that he remembered hearing, Crankshaft, or Kankerhafte, or something like that... Wilder escapes, and makes his way back to Krankhafte, where things play out much like The Butcher of Krankhafte. Similar, not the same. But his mum will probably die, and dad will probably be reincarnated, and Wilder will be turned into this fish-zombie creature here too. From there he makes his way through the underground labyrinth into the underground city that Blane spoke of, and he learns of many mutant creatures there, preparing a war against the human race. He meets Blane in the city, and soon they start plotting a rebellion against the leaders behind the planned war. So Wilder, Blane and several (uncreated as of yet) creatures of the underworld plot to overthrow the butcher, Lucifer, and the Grim (the latter two are from the unfinished Beating Heart of Mr. Lincoln). I'm thinking that bringing Sergeant Lincoln into the story might be a bad move, but maybe I'll reconstruct his character through a military figure Wilder comes across earlier in the story. The rebellion will lead towards a war breaking out above ground, perhaps the city could be directly below Halberg, and Halberg could collapse leaving a giant man made canyon type thing where they battle it out, beast vs. beast, beast vs. human, human vs. human to the battered and broken end. Wilder will have sustained serious injuries, and he wakes after the battle in the hospital after having major surgery.

TL;DR- A tale heavily influenced by folklore and mythology, The Wilder Saga takes you on a journey that's part sci-fi, part war/mystery, and epic all the way through!

I've set a target of 20 page chapters and 20 chapters, 400 pages in total is my aim.
Progress so far:
Chapters-
1/20
Pages-
1/400

I'll hopefully keep this updated as I go along, if I do complete it, and if I do a good job, I'd love to look at getting it published, so I probably won't post it here, or I'll just post drafts, or something...