terra

Yeah Rutgers!! Not that I go there. I do come from NJ, though, and my boyfriend's house is literally a stone's throw away from there. ... Fine, fine, not literally. [quote]How many of you are thinking about taking a gap year? Have any of oyu done so?[/quote] I'm not sure what you mean by a gap year, never actually heard that terminology. But I'll assume you mean taking a year off? I'm not, but I have been considering a term abroad for like ... a couple months now. I really need to fill out my application since it's due rather soon, and I need to get a recommendation or two as well ... [sighs] Anyway, I'm thinking of going to Auckland, New Zealand to study for next semester, mostly just for fun. If I do end up going, it should be great -- grades while you're abroad don't count towards your GPA, so I can slack off (not that I will) (seriously!), a friend of mine might go as well, and it'll be experiencing a whole new culture (and my major, English, from an entirely different non-American point of view, yay!). I thought about going to Australia for quite some time, but the Melbourne and Sydney universities I looked at didn't have many courses that I couldn't take here, while U. Auckland offers all sorts of Mauri (sp?) culture classes. ... Sorry ... this got rather off-topic ...

Crystal wished to pace, but somehow that didn't seem appropriate with the venerable Owl-Elder so nearby. Since she'd had nowhere else to go when the group disbanded, he had invited her to the area where she stayed, giving her free reign in what could roughly be termed as his own living room. The rooms were amazing, particularly for the underground; there was an abundance of the glass elements reflecting natural light down into the rooms, so that it nearly felt like the outside. But still, it definitely was not. The Owl-Elder had told her she was free to return to the Bird Dwelling, but Crystal, of course, had flatly refused. Now that she was down here amongst the action at last, there was no way in hell she was leaving. Of course, at the moment she had pretty much nothing to do. It was frustrating, to say the least. Usually, she'd be out at the practice ranges, or sparring with Sharpie, or [i]something[/i] ... But here all she felt she could do was sit in the middle of the floor and stare at the reflecting glass structure, wishing it were real sunlight, wondering if the Owl-Elder wished the same thing as well. The Owl-Elder entered the room and took in her position, just watching her for a few moments. "Patience, Crystal," he said. "What are you talking about?" she said. "I'm just sitting here. Patient as can be." He chuckled a little, in that oh-so-wise way. "Your body is in place, but your mind is racing," he said. Crystal didn't respond that time. It was true. She was wondering desperately what was going on, what kind of help they might get from the key the Owl-Elder had showed her earlier, what was going to happen next. But there was nothing she could do. "You've always been too rash, Crystal," the Owl-Elder said, settling down on a couch, his wings laid along the back of it. "You must understand, we all have need for rest sometimes. Even more so before a battle that promises to be as important as this." " 'Always'?" Crystal repeated, turning to look at him. "I've been tracking your progress, of course," the Owl-Elder said. "Based on reports alone, but I have to say that the reports sound true enough." Of course. Everybody said she was too rash, too hasty. Too young for the responsibility of a full Sighter. The Owl-Elder laughed at her mutinous expression. "But it doesn't mean you won't grow into a great asset to our kind, when the time comes," he said. "And it seems the time is drawing near, faster than we'd all wish for."

I hope you meant 3AM ... otherwise you are pretty darn lazy. :D Anyway, I saw Underworld on Friday night, so I thought I'd add my comments. [quote]Selene fought smart to a certain extent. Yes, her gun had unlimited ammo , but she took cover and ran away from the Lycans instead of fighting them head on, for obvious reasons.[/quote] Selene's fight scenes tended towards the ridiculously impossible, in my opinion. She was a bit invincible, really. Werewolves could shoot entire clips off their machine guns at her, and she would be standing completely without cover and yet they would all miss. (Terrible aim, these lycans have.) Plus, she knocked out three of Viktor's guards without any trouble, not to mention her final attack on Viktor. I guess he was weakened from the fight with Michael, but still. Also, I had an issue with the scene that's in the ad, where she shot a circle through the floor of the building so that she could fall to the floor below. It seemed in the time it took her to do that, the werewolves would've been upon her (I don't think she shot all of them down). Overall, though, I agree that the fighting was pretty cool. [quote]The rainy, dark, and somehow exceedingly blue-tinted city (of who?s name we are not given..) definitely has style. Everything takes upon a definite gothic feel. They?ve got haunted mansions, ancient vampire tombs, subways, and every other dank location you could imagine a secretive war to take place in.[/quote] I agree, it definitely had a lot of style. Along with this, though, was one of the movie's problems -- the passage of time. Since they never showed anything in the daytime, it at times felt like one ... very ... long ... night. [quote]Michael- whoever chose this guy to act should get a pat on the back, then a ball pin hammer to his head. He?s like Keanu Reeves, except he talks less, and he looks even more pathetic.[/quote] I didn't think he was half as bad as CRAVEN. Worst. Casting. Ever. I'm okay with there being a random American among all the cool British vampires, whatever. But at least have someone who can act. [quote]Lack of Purpose- This movie really ends with no real purpose. Ok, Michael is a hybrid, he and selene are in love, and that?s it. Ok, Marius with hunt them down?. Great.. So what happens now? Are the vampires and Lycan?s still fighting. Are Selene and Michael against everyone?[/quote] I think that the movie did end with a decent amount of purpose to it. Selene and Michael aren't necessarily going to be against everyone, I think, because there may be other vampires and lycans who agree that a union and peace agreement can exist between the two races. In fact, the original war is the one that seems to lack purpose, since its origin was a mystery that was revealed in this movie. I think that lends more purpose to the war in the future movie. Hm, that was semi-incoherent.

[b]Name:[/b] Aissa Safiya'a [b]Age:[/b] 23 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Race:[/b] Frae-Ren [b]Location:[/b] Tal'Ebot, Maurii [b]Occupation:[/b] Healer [b]Appearance:[/b] Aissa usually dresses modestly simply to avoid uncomfortable encounters in the city, though she sometimes wishes she could wear more revealing clothing. She is cute, with short brown hair that falls just past her ears and a few freckles dotting her face. Though one might expect her eyes to twinkle with merriment from the rest of her cute features, they are calm and blue, which is often startling upon first view. She is of average height and build. She has a bow and arrow and a few pouches with herbs to use in her various spells. [b]History:[/b] As a Frae-Ren brought up in a warrior's city, Aissa's life has never been particularly easy. Though the Frae-Ren make up a good percentage of the city's population, the Ethai'En and Shii'Saiit often look down on the mages as inferior for their lack of physical battle skills. It is not an overt racism, but it is still there. Even so, the Safiya'a family has lived in Tal'Ebot for several generations, and they have no intention of leaving. Their line consistently produces strong and talented mages, though this is not a well-known fact throughout the warrior-dominated city. Aissa currently does not show as much talent in offensive magic as her younger brother, Arland, but her defensive and healing magic skills have grown quite quickly. She's been able to make a living off her magical healing talents (though most of her clientele tend to show up in secret, being somewhat ashamed of associating with a mage). Aissa has learned to deal with this racism as a fact of life, though she definitely doesn't like it and wishes she could do something about it. She also feels a certain jealousy for Arland's skills in offensive magic, since if she had a choice she would be more aggressive; however, she still loves him, and the rest of her family, very dearly. She sometimes wishes she would have a chance to travel the rest of Laeth E'Thae, but without a really good reason, she is unwilling to leave her family and her home. [b]Personality:[/b] As described in her history, Aissa is generally happy with the path set out for her, and falls into her role of being a good daughter, loyal to the family, tolerant of racism against her. Thus, she is usually calm and collected, holding herself slightly apart from her surroundings. Sometimes, though, she feels a subtle urge for something more, but is unwilling or unaware of how to satisfy that desire. [b]Tidbits:[/b] Aissa has a gorgeous singing voice, pure and high, which can sometimes be used to her advantage when she's casting magic. If you don't like the dynamics between the races I made up for the city, I can probably think of something else for her history if you'd like ... :p I just figured since it's a city most famous for its warriors, etc. Just let me know.

Crystal stretched her arms, resisting the urge to spread her wings at the sight of beautiful daylight again. [i]Don't attract any attention[/i], Ben hissed in her mind. [i]The humans are still around, you know.[/i] Crystal rolled her eyes. "Geez, that's why I didn't spread my wings," she said aloud, much to the surprise of the rest of the party. They were huddled at one of the entrances to the clone caves, one of the most discreet ones. Reports said no humans had been seen in the area, at least so far, so the small crew had chosen this point to see off Karokku and Xythe. Crystal was semi-amused by the supposed subtlety of five strong bird-clones bearing the mass of the approximately four hundred-pound Karokku through the air towards the Bird Dwelling. She supposed they could use some form of machinery to convey him there, but what was the fun in that? Crystal was mostly not paying attention, though, instead playing with the key that the Owl-Elder had allowed her to hold upon request. It felt strangely like liquid in her hand, and was not keeping in firm key shape as an solid object should. "It works off mental energies," the Owl-Elder told her quietly, noticing her movements. Crystal didn't even bother to start back guiltily, as the Owl-Elder looked as uninterested in the process as she did. [i]And you obviously don't have any[/i], Ben's voice said to her mind. He did not seem to be paying attention either. Crystal narrowed her eyes in his direction as the Owl-Elder continued. "It's a safety measure," he explained. "This way, nobody without the mental capacity and the correct knowledge would be able to keep the key solid for long enough to open the door." "There's some secret knowledge associated with it?" she asked. "Yes, but you may be able to keep the key solid for moments at a time without it," the Owl-Elder replied. Crystal thought about this for a moment, and focused on the liquid material in her hand. She shut out thoughts of Ben, thoughts of Karokku and Xythe, thoughts of the Owl-Elder, and focused on the key and only the key ... It solidified for half a second before returning to its state of half-liquidity. Crystal shrugged and looked up, noticing Xythe was whispering something fervently to Ben -- "Bye Benny, we'll miss you Benny, Benny Benny" -- something along those lines. "So just what does this key open?" she said, turning to the Owl-Elder. "It's time to find out," he said, and the group turned back towards the recesses of the clone caves.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Dragon Warrior [/i] Silly willy Terra.[/quote] Ah!! I was [i]just[/i] about to post ... Then I went and posted on myOtaku instead ... but seriously ... I was literally just about to .......... Out of curiosity, who was the long blonde girl supposed to be? Oh, and, who is Fiona? :D ---------------------------------- Trystae paused at the edge of the forest, pulling the reins of Namaarie to coax him to a halt. She had ridden through the night, and the first signs of dawn were peeking forth from the east. Somehow, though, it seemed like the sun's rays were not reaching the forest; instead, an atmosphere of darkness pervaded the place. Trystae sighed and checked her orientation. She'd heard of a small elven village due west from here, and the fastest way would undoubtedly be through the forest; it might take several hours or even an extra day to circumvent the forest. Trystae reminded herself of her Valencia-made weapons, and urged Namaarie forward. Though the forest's atmosphere did not improve, Namaarie seemed unafraid, trotting forward at a good pace. Trystae forced herself to concentrate on their direction, trying not to be drawn in by the dank air, the heavy darkness surrounding her. It seemed that the trees of this forest were dedicated to completely blotting out any sunlight ... Trystae and Namaarie were nearly silent on their path, as if afraid to disturb anything. After an hour of travel, Trystae heard something at last -- voices ahead. Not sure if they might be friendly or otherwise, Trystae readied her bow, pulling an arrow out from her pack. Her legs continued directing Namaarie inexorably forward, though, and though she was uneasy, she did not feel fear. In a few moments, Trystae could dimly make out two figures ahead, floundering backwards amongst the thick brush. Straining to hear what they were saying, Trystae heard a woman's voice cry something that sounded like "Vivorian Root!" Trystae's eyes widened and she urged Namaarie to pick up his pace, cantering forward. Indeed, a vine appeared to somehow be armed with a sword, poised to strike upon one unarmed figure. Moving on instinct, Trystae aimed and let fly, her arrow careening forward in the air and slicing through the vine, causing the sword to drop to the ground. She followed just behind, Namaarie moving near his top speed now, and she pulling out her sword. "Get back!" she cried aloud unthinkingly, forcing herself in front of them so she stood between them and the vine. A long branch darted from her left, just in her peripheral vision, and she sliced it harshly, blood staining her blade. Trystae realized the man had picked up what she assumed to be his sword, and was fighting the trees alongside her. The woman, however, had backed off as she'd instructed, thankfully. "No!" Trystae cried aloud, backing up slightly, dodging a wicked lash from a branch. "Don't fight them. You'll have to go another way!" An arrow from far behind zipped through the air, cutting off one branch that Trystae would not have had time to dodge, and she mentally thanked whomever had shot it. "We can defeat them!" the male replied, completely ignoring her instructions. Trystae grunted her frustration in time with a parry. More and more branches were lashing out towards them now, and they were being forced backwards. "No, we can't!" she yelled to him. "Only fire can defeat them, and I don't have any. Look at how they're banding together! Just back off and run!" The man looked as if he was momentarily rethinking his brave statement of a moment before, and finally did as she asked, pulling back from the Vivorian Root-infested area. Trystae remained engaged with the trees for only a moment more before fleeing as well, twisting around as Namaarie turned tail to keep any final lashes from the trees from hurting either of them. She met the other two figures some hundred paces behind. The male was running a sweaty hand through his blond hair, as if rethinking the fight; the woman still had her bow and arrow trained on the Vivorian Roots, ready to attack. "And who might you two be?" Trystae asked.

Hey :) Okay, let's see. For the first one ... as horrible as this sounds, I feel like it's been done before. I mean, it definitely has a powerful raw emotion behind it, which is good, but it seems a little cliche, particularly the suicide note lying on the bed and the ending. Perhaps next time you write a poem like this (well hopefully you'll never feel like this again, but that aside), you could come at it from a more original perspective. It has some good points, though: it definitely has emotion, and I think it portrays very well the desperation and loneliness that really would be felt by someone thinking about suicide. Don't run away, though, I [i]really[/i] like the second poem! I think its theme that you have to figure out life for yourself is very good. I'd change the last line, though, possibly to sound a little more optimistic; as it is, it sounds a little too lonely at the end. You may have intended it that way, but the beginning sounds nicely optimistic, how your path is definitely laid in front of you -- I like that feeling, and I think it should persist throughout the poem. One other small thing, the line "Yet they can only help, not do" -- perhaps you could think of a better word for "do." I can't think of one ... but I'm not the poet here :). Oh, and maybe you could think of a more original title? I hate titling things myself, I think it's the hardest part of writing ... There are a couple lines I really liked, "Hidden under layers of emotions and dreams" is one, and the shortness of the "Are out" line is very effective. Overall, I thought the second poem was really good, and I like its message :).

I think you're referring to Erkenbrand. (By the way, the answer I meant for my question about the Ents was "Watchwood," but that's far gone now.) What's the name of the eagle who rescues Gandalf after he falls from Durin's Bridge?

I have a chemistry one I like ... Two atoms are walking down the street. One stops and says, "Ah! I lost an electron!" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive!!"

I know what you mean as well. High school was pretty easy for me, particularly senior year; I went to a small school, so grades practicaly were by reputation by that time, and I didn't have to put any effort into anything. (Small rant on the same thing BabyGirl just quoted -- I hate when people think a lot of vocabulary words equal a good piece of writing. I think this usually isn't the case. Not that you can't have a great piece of writing that has tons of huge words in it, of course, but nor do you have to have a bunch of six-syllable words in your piece for it to be good.) That aside, college has changed that for me. College is probably about as hard as you make it. People here can definitely get by taking all easy classes, and they'll come out with a decent major and go on living their lives. Others take classes that challenge their minds and expand their knowledge base, which is probably a much better way to use the education, no matter what degree you end up with. I suppose I'm saying that if you plan on going to college, you'll probably be able to find a lot more challenges there, as long as you look for them. (And ... you might even find challenges without looking for them ... I know I have :p.) With those challenges, you'll be able to stretch your potential further and see just how far it goes. If you're not planning on going to college, I'd guess you just have to find ways to challenge yourself, perhaps through writing like you suggested.

Glorfindel, I was mad they cut him out of the movie. Though it made sense, because Arwen's part at the end seemed a little random at the end. I'm pretty sure I'm right, so I'll ask a question: What does Treebeard say he'll call the area where the Ents will supervise Saruman, after they've taken over his tower? By the way, in my book it's spelled athelas, but whatever.

The corsairs of Umbar? (I was informed by PM that I'm right :).) I should read those books again. Here's my question: After the Battle of Pelennor fields, what's the the herb Aragorn uses for healing purposes, and who are the two people he heals? (Not that hard ... maybe some non-hardcore LOTR fans will join in? :D)

I got Photoshop from "completely legal sources." Actually, the ITS department at my school has it, and since I'm an employee of ITS I was able to get a copy. A couple more Love Hina-errific things ... This banner is really not my style, but I thought the picture was really cute. The too-cute flowers seemed to go well, and the word "flirt" just sort of followed. [img]http://pantheon.yale.edu/~elc23/fun/lovehina2.jpg[/img] I'm also attaching another Love Hina background (187K). Long description: I really like the way this one turned out. It features Shinobu and Kaola, and once again I saw the picture and everything else sort of followed from there. I wanted to try out a tan/neutral color scheme, and I think it worked out rather well. I'm pretty bad at putting a background to pictures usually, but I love the film strip thing, even though it's probably not the most original idea in the world. The turtle was an afterthought, because the lower left area seemed a little empty, but I think it ended up looking pretty cute there.

Crystal watched as Rena loped out of the room, presumably to check on whatever children she was referring to. She turned back to the group and spoke her thoughts aloud, not bothering to think of consequences. "You think the Fox-Elder planned this to help us?" she said derisively. "That he sold us out to the humans, killed off his own friends, and it's supposed to be some [i]benefit[/i] to us?" The Owl-Elder's golden eyes swiveled over to her, taking in her wings. "Not many bird-clones have the authorization to leave the island," he said. "Who might you be?" Crystal blushed slightly but held her ground, tossing her hair. "My name is Crystal," she said, her avoidance of the question answer enough. The Owl-Elder half-sighed, half-smiled. "Well, Crystal, I cannot say whom the Fox-Elder was thinking of when he came up with this plot," he said honestly. "Perhaps he was, indeed, just thinking of the fox-clones and hoping to gain power for his own race. But you should not rule out the possibility that his plot did have some deeper purpose, some benefit for us all." Crystal took this in, and said, "Well, what's our next move?" "What would you like to do?" the Owl-Elder said, his keen eyes on hers. Crystal was slightly taken aback, not expecting the question to be turned back towards her. "Er ... I want to figure out more," she said eventually. "Are their any remaining fox-clones alive? Questioning them might give us an insight as to why all this is happening. And I want to hear more about the human side of this as well, and how they got involved, perhaps we could do some sort of reconaissance." "Spy on the humans?" Ben said. "Don't you think they'd kind of notice, well, your wings?" She glared at him. "I don't know, I'm just throwing out suggestions here," she said. "Do you have any ideas?"

I'm a junior in college, still torn about my career, so I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. At my college at least, there wasn't too much pressure to concretely decide on my major, though I'll admit most architecture majors sort of knew it from the start. You couldn't really apply to be an architecture major until the end of sophomore year, though, so two years in college is still quite a while to figure out what to do. Point is, you have a long, long time to really figure out what you want to do. Many people go to college, come out with a random degree, and figure out what they really want to do years later. You can always go back to school, or to a grad school in something different, so don't get caught up in the myth that you have to know exactly what you want to be when you enter college (I remember I definitely thought that in high school). Anyway, I personally couldn't decide whether to major in a science or in English (in order to, also, become a writer), so I'm doing both instead. :D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DFantasy [/i] [B]Yes, I too am in the same situation as you but for one exception. The hottest girl in school likes me(and i'm not a jerk(to transtic) and we are now dating!!! [/B][/QUOTE] ... ..... Anyway. Most of my relationships have grown out of friendships. My two most recent serious boyfriends (including my current one) were both platonic friends to whom I always complained about my guy problems, while they were semi-secretly liking me all the while. I just didn't see them in that way for a long time (maybe about a year), until one day it just clicked and we started dating. I guess my point is, don't give up, maybe one day one of those girls will get a clue. :p For me, dating a friend just seems to make more sense. Of course I think it also tends to lead towards more serious relationships, since you already know each other so well. Case in point, the last guy and I dated for about a year and a half, and my current boyfriend and I have been going out for a little longer than that now. And for the record, I personally am never attracted to jerks.

Fiona took a moment to pause and look around at their handiwork. Noticing the number of motionless drones in the facility, she wasn't very surprised that sixteen of the Reploids had died. She felt a momentary flicker of interest in who they'd been, if they'd had families, lovers, lives that existed only to be destroyed for a mere test ... But the interest faded almost instantly with the clinical knowledge that they had not had skills necessary to survive, and therefore their deaths were inevitable. She exited the training facility. Fiona headed for the information desk, where the woman already seemed to know who she was and directed her to her quarters. Once there, she stepped into the shower and allowed deionized water to pour over her in a hot stream, rinsing off the filth from the battle. She stood, head bent down, water flowing over her shoulders, for a long time. Finally, she toweled off and dressed, standing in the small confines of the chamber feeling rather uneasy. The surroundings were not uncomfortable, but Fiona felt a strange claustrophobia after the comparative freedom of the battle she'd been in earlier. She left the room with only a vague idea of getting some fresh air. Shortly afterward, she found herself at the military bar, sitting awkwardly on a stool. Her eyes flicked over their list of special cocktails. "An Irish coffee, please," she said to the bartender, who nodded and handed it to her a moment later. Fiona took a sip and felt the warmth run gently through her throat to her stomach replacement. There, a program analyzed the alcohol content of the liquid, her programmed alcohol tolerance, and her current mental state. The information was processed and sent to her mock adrenal gland, which released the appropriate hormones, allowing her to feel simulated effects similar to those of normal humans. Fiona sighed lightly as she felt the warmth spread to her head, her fingertips, gliding down her body to her toes, while her posture remained erect, sitting alone at the bar with only her thoughts and the bartender.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Adahn [/i] [B]I believe it's becoming clear. A large part of maturity is simply parental instinct.[/B][/QUOTE] I don't think that's necessarily true. I'm not sure why, I suppose it just feels to me that you can be mature without feeling a parental instinct towards anybody. Of course, having that parental instinct might contribute a lot towards your maturity, but I don't think it's a requirement. [quote][i]Originally posted by maladjusted[/i] [b]I don't like talking about boys or anything to do with my friends' 'crushes' or whatever.[/b][/quote] I don't think that not wanting to talk about friends' "crushes" or anything necessarily points towards maturity, either. I'm not saying you're [i]not[/i] mature, I'm just saying that that may not be the indicative factor. I know that I talk with my friends about their "crushes" on occasion. And while we may not always have the most "mature" conversations about it, that doesn't necessarily mean we're not mature. [quote][i]Originally posted by amibasuki[/i] [b]I don't get why people think you have to be the calm and collected, never-crack-a-smile-type person to be considered mature.[/b][/quote] I agree. Continuing from my above paragraph, I think you can have spouts of acting what might be defined by some as "immature," but still be a mature person overall. I'd hate to think that maturity means I won't be able to just completely let loose and do something semi-crazy like dancing around my living room to no music, or something else that might be deemed "immature." Those are all the thoughts I've had reading other people's posts ... Trying to define maturity myself, though, I'm a little at a loss. I would say part of it is coming to know yourself rather well, and part of that is figuring out your opinions about things like DeathKnight said, without worrying what other people will think of you because of them. It seems to me maturity has a lot to do with letting yourself be yourself, while also letting other people be other people -- not forcing your opinions on them, but respecting their opinions as as valid as your own.

Heh. I kind of agree. Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it blew, but it was not worth watching. My friends and I were really excited about this movie, because the plotline sounded so awesome. Firstly, Sean Connery was the leading man, and he's always a cool action-type star. Secondly, we thought the integration of characters from novels into a movie was a [i]really[/i] good idea. I kind of questioned the characters they chose (they seemed kind of random), but figured they'd be able to pull it together in a neat way. But, as you said, the plot turned out to be rather horrible. Just ... nothing about it was gripping. Nemo's ship looked cool at first, but certain points about it, such as the "radar system" (visually represented as a spinning globe with two random pointers on it ... which did not make [i]ANY SENSE[/i]!), made me think the directors were doing a really poor job. The whole incident with the record player was at best overdone, and at worst really really predictable. The setting of the whole thing in Venice was a pretty clever idea, but why did they need to send up a flare in order to figure out which point would [spoiler]stop the entire city from crumbling[/spoiler]? The answer seemed to be, just to get a cool car chase in. Also, the characters themselves were portrayed as too falsely mysterious. I never felt like I really got to know any of them, and therefore didn't care about any of them or what they were doing. Their backstories were quickly run over or never mentioned at all. And, of course, the acting wasn't too hot either (although I still think Sean Connery did fairly well, but that might just be because I think he's cool).

Hm, I think my parents actually read something about this in the paper a couple months ago, but since the news source was my parents, I didn't take them seriously :p. Anyway, now I'm seriously considering going as well, although I don't think I'll preregister. Maybe I'll coerce my boyfriend into going with me ... Is anyone else definitely going?

NOOOO ... Why, why, why did I press reset form ... Now I must rewrite my comments ... :( :( :( Okay. So I've seen quite a few of your banners in various sigs, and I would say to try not to include that rainbow border on [i]all[/i] of them. It's nice and all, and does give things that "AzureWolf touch" or whatever you might want to call it, but it gets a little tiresome when you use it every time. That being said, I like the character placement on this banner (and most of your other ones) a lot. I also really like the effects in the background, especially on the right-most side. The "#1 Rookie" and "AzureWolf" texts look kind of random though, especially since they seem to cut in between the continuing quote in the corners. They just don't seem to fit in very well and sort of mess up the ... er ... "flow" of the banner. I like the avatar a lot, though. The background and border go very well with the picture. For the myOtaku advertisement, I'd say to make your "AzureWolf's myOtaku" text stand out a bit more. You could make it bolder, or in a less script-y font that would be easier to read against the busy background. :D Nice job overall!

I remember a topic on dreams too, but haven't seen it recently, so it's probably kind of old. I don't usually remember my dreams but had a really freaky one recently, because it felt [i]so[/i] completely real. There are three guys from my real life involved, let's call them Pat, Dan, and Eric (completely random names). So, Dan is my current real-life boyfriend. In the dream, I was engaged to Pat (it was about five years in the future, I was twenty-four or so). The oddest thing was I had asked him to marry me ... over AIM. Anyway, so on the day of our wedding, I got really freaked out and ran over to Eric and he made me feel better ... and we kissed. (Remember, this is the day I'm supposed to be marrying Pat.) Then I realized I didn't really have any feelings for Eric, and that I really wanted to marry Dan. But since Pat and I were getting married [i]that day[/i], I didn't know what to do ... So yes. It sounds rather incoherent, as dreams tend to, but it felt so real that when I was half-waking up I remember very clearly thinking, [i]Oh, my God, I really really really hope this is a dream because I don't know how to handle it otherwise.[/i] These also were all real people and I seldom dream about real people. It thoroughly scared me :p.

Actually, I like your current banner better. I'm not sure why, but this banner just didn't do it for me that much ... On my computer, the thing at the end where they move their swords is kind of quick, and doesn't look ... quite right. I think it's partially because they're not doing it at exactly the same time? Or because the guy's on the left cloak blows in the wind and distracts my eye? Or because the blade on the left is faded out and looks rather strange to me? Heh, I don't know. Anyway, the animation and transitions are still really nice, as everybody else said. The "Who will win?" at the end is a good touch. And it's obvious that you spent a lot of time making the pictures work together correctly, and it was worth it :).

Woah. That is really great. I thought it was great already when it was just the line drawing (sorry I didn't comment), but the way you chose to color it is really nice. I like the overall brown feeling it has, and it looks like just the dusty town I'd picture him in, hehe. It still sort of looks like he's just tilted, rather than actually leaning against the wall. I'm no artist so I'm not sure how to fix that, but his posture doesn't look right. An amazing job nonetheless.

At a shrill sound emanating from her pocket, May picked up her cell phone. "May, where'd you go?" Tao demanded on the other end. "We've got a call for a demon, Aurora and I have already left in the car." May rolled her eyes. "How kind of you," she said. "I'll make it there on my own then, I suppose." Tao gave her the address. "Make it quick," he added. "The guy sounded really pathetic, he said he might even call another agency just to be safe." "I'll be as fast as I can," May assured him, and put the phone back in her pocket. Coincidentally, she'd been walking in the direction of the house already. It was dark already, luckily, and May inhaled deeply, the darkness refreshing her senses. She began running through the streets at an inhumanly fast pace, not worrying about saving her strength as the darkness enveloped her and revitalized her senses. The sound of her boots clicking against the pavement became so fast that it was nothing more than a steady whirring beneath her feet. May reached the house just as Tao and Aurora were pulling up in the driveway. "Good timing," she commented as they jumped out of the car, their weapons already out and ready. They knocked on the door together and a man in a business suit, approximately forty years old, opened it for them. He would've looked quite nice if there hadn't been an expression of utmost terror written clearly across his face. He looked around anxiously and ushered them in, slamming the door behind them. "Which one are you guys?" he said. "You know what, I don't really care. There's a demon here, it's here, it's in my bathro--" He was cut off by a shriek as the aforementioned demon leapt out a room upstairs, visible from the setup of the majestic foyer. It jumped onto the banister of the stairs and slid down it as if surfing, landing to stand before them menacingly, claws outstretched, and hissed madly. "They're not always so easy to find," May said, pulling out her shotgun and firing. OOC: No, I didn't just kill the demon ... just shot at it. :p It's up to you whether I hit it or not ...