Sara

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by dayday [/i] [B]You mean since over 50 people have looked at this[/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Not necessarily. Views go up when the same person looks at the thread more than once, as well. If you read a thread every time there's a new reply, you're doubling the views right there. Seventry views and no replies? *shrugs* It often seems that if [i]someone[/i] doesn't reply after a certain period of time, no one will. I guess there's a time limit on how long a thread with very few posts is "fresh." Other people may look at it, but if the thread was posted a few days ago and didn't go anywhere, they probably won't post. Sort of a self-defeating system, but hey. As for me...I often browse threads I'm not interested in, just to make sure everything's under control. [/SIZE]

[size=1][b]I'll start. This takes place in a rather surreal little[/size] [font=century gothic][/b]Otaku[b]Boards[/font] [size=1]land, but it's fun. Hope Kitty L doesn't mind that I wrote her in. ^.^[/b] It was a beautiful Saturday morning in early May, and Sara had absolutely nothing to do. The Otaku Public area was flawless (or as close as it was likely to get), the Art and Design forum was calm,and the only update in the Staff forum was another notice that someone would be out-of-town for a week or so. She waved to Desbreko, also browsing Staff, and wandered off. [i]There was nothing to do.[/i] She giggled. This was the greatest feeling in the world. She flipped on the television, looking for something to do. [b]Google News[/b] spat out a lighthearted [i]World's Greatest Hoaxes[/i] report. Sara rolled her eyes. "Not interested," she groaned. Oh well. Nothing wrong with doing nothing. Heh. A small chime rang, and she looked up. [strike]Calumon's_luver[/strike] KittyLynn had IM'd her. "Hi!" Sara smiled. "Hey. What's up?" "Oh," Kitty evaded, smiling sweetly. "Nothing." "Heh. Tell me about it. I've been doing [i]nothing[/i] all morning." "Oh," said Kitty. "Well." Sara blinked. "There [i]is[/i] something," Kitty said. "Sort of," she added. "...yes?" "Are you going to Otaku Prom?" she asked quickly. "I think you should." The words tumbled out in a rush. Sara blinked again. "Otaku...Prom." "Yes," said Kitty. "Erhm," said Sara. "No. I hadn't planned to." "But will you? I think you should. It'll be so much fun!" "Who are [i]you[/i] going with?" Kitty turned slightly pink. "I haven't asked anyone [i]yet[/i], but... Anyway! I really really think you should go. Please?" "You know this completely contradicts my entire social resume?" "Oh, [i]come on.[/i] It'll be fun. You need to have more fun. :p" "Oh, alright....I'll [i]think[/i] about it." Kitty laughed. [b]This gives those without dates the opportunity to find them. Use the story format to write it in. It's fun. [Logan, I'd love to see a re-enactment of your asking Ginny out. ^_~][/b][/size]

[size=1][b]*glances at James* Don't know if you saw my sign up, but I hope you won't mind. ^.^; If you do, just let me know, and I won't darken your thread again. ^_~[/b] Tally O'Hare sank into the overstuffed armchair she affectionately called "Barry." There was no good reason for naming an armchair; it had just seemed like a Barry. Work had been tedious today, and she had grown to loathe all things tedious. She sighed deeply. [i]At least it's over,[/i] some cheerful corner of her mind chirped. She growled. "I do not want to be cheerful," she snapped at herself. What she really wanted was a good excuse to yell, but the apartment, if worn, was in perfect order. No victim presented itself for Tally's wrath, and she was forced to seeth quietly. The answering machine flashed a red light at her. [i]Two new messages.[/i] With a heave of effort, she hauled herself up off of Barry and hit the [b]PLAY[/b] button. The messaged presented themselves. The first was from her not-quite-a-boyfriend, Dennis. "[i]Tally, it's me. Look, I know you're busy, getting ready for your trip and everything, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner tomorrow night. Just call me back. Love ya.[/i]" Tally let herself smile and tapped the [b]PLAY[/b] button again. "[i]Hello, my name is Bob, and I'm calling for a Mrs. O'Hare. As I'm sure you are aware, housewives today are under an unbelievable amount of stress. However! I have an offer that I'm sure you--[/i]" The message cut off as "Mrs. O'Hare, Oppresed Housewife," flung the message machine off the desk, pulling the cord out from the wall. She muttered something very unladylike about telemarketers before sinking again into Barry. Barry....Dennis teased her about Barry. "You spend more time with that [i]armchair[/i] than you do with me. Should I be jealous?" Tally smiled to herself. Not that she and Dennis were going out--it was a possibility, mind, but not an actuality. They'd met in her second or third year at the University, and had gotten to know each other pretty well. Then they'd graduated, and gotten even closer. Tally wasn't sure if she even considered Dennis a possible boyfriend--he just seemed like an older brother now. She giggled and hugged a pillow to herself. "The best older brother in the world." Okay, so maybe it [i]was[/i] a possibility.[/size]

[size=1]My parents are actually pretty close to perfect. Weird, though....yes. Yes, I would have to say they are. I don't know if this particular anecdote counts as weird, but it sure was annoying. I was ready to walk out the door and drive over to a friend's house. My keys are in my hand. I give my dad a hug. He says, "Be back by midnight." I say, "Okay," and turn to go. "Wait, Sara--" he says. I turn back around. "I was talking to my friend Wayne the other day. Do you remember Wayne? Used to live in Minnesota--Well, he teaches as University of Missoula, Montana, now. Well, I was talking with him, and he asked if you knew where you were going to college. I said, [i]No, I don't think so[/i]--Do you know, by the way? You don't, do you? Well, I said, [i]No,[/i], but we were guessing something in the creative arts--Do you know what you want to do? No? I didn't think so. Anyway, I said we were guessing something--drawing, painting, writing, somewhere in there. And it turns out that Missoula has a rather [i]reknowned[/i] creative arts program--" Here I am, keys in hand, and my father talks for me about Missoula, Montana for the next ten minutes. Begging your pardon, but [i]what the heck?[/i] It was just...very surreal.[/size]

[size=1]Ooh--so pretty! That's simply amazing. A-maze-ing. *gives you a smiley sticker* I adore your photoshop skills.[/size]

[size=1]I suppose you could say I've had a crush on a couple people. However, I'd be absolutely petrified if they ever found out, so don't look for any names. ^_~[/size]

[size=1]This is a hoax. It was a hoax the last three times it was posted here. And it's a hoax now. Fear not, no kitties are being mauled in such a manner.[/size]

[size=1]He's a she, heh. I guess I didn't make that clear. It's honestly not a remarkable picture...just postworthy because it was in pen, I guess.[/size]

[size=1]I hate this thread. [quote]Originally posted by wrist cutter: [b]Well, if anyone's interested, here's a bit more in-depth look- There are two words in Japanese that are pronounced 'otaku' - ?I?^?N - geek, nerd, enthusiast ?ä?î - your house Now the first one is pretty simple, it's the one we're all familiar with. However the second one is a bit more difficult. As TN said, it's not used a lot... but it really depends on the situation. I wouldn't say to TN, "Hey, I'm going to otaku", or "I'm going to your house". But if I were talking to President Bush or someone, I would most certainly say "I'm going to otaku" because it would be rude if I said "anata no ie", as I would to TN. It's a formality thing. As a standalone kanji, ?î is pronounced 'taku' and basically just means house. But it can combine with what is called the 'honorific ?ä' which is just as it says. It makes the word more formal, and usually signifies 'your'. It's like the phrase, ?u?ä?a?¶?ú?¨?ß?Å?Æ???I?v. Saying just ?a?¶?ú without the ?ä is rather rude since you're celebrating someone else's birthday. Even if it is a friend, it'd be kinda mean to just say ?a?¶?ú. I can't think of any English equivalents unfortunately, but you might get the idea.[/b][/quote] [quote]Originally posted by James: [b]Okay, once again...I'll set it out as clearly as I can. lol The word otaku, in the context we are using it, basically means "hardcore" when it comes to anime/manga type stuff. Of course, in Japan...it can be considered offensive, depending on context. And there are a variety of ways in which the word is used. In western culture, otaku is used quite often...and for the most part it is used to describe someone who is a hardcore anime/manga fan. And so, that is why it was used on theOtaku.com and such. It's a very basic and clear way of describing what the sites are about and waht they relate to -- if you're familiar with anime and you see our site come up on Yahoo! or something...you will immediately have an idea as to what it is about. Anyway, yeah...I'm surprised that this thread is still alive. I can understand why some people would want to know the meaning (and the context in which we use it) though. [/b][/quote] If you're still interested, there is a rather exhaustive discussion of the word in [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=12374]this[/url] thread.[/size]

[size=1][b]Name:[/b] Talaith "Tally" O'Hare. [b]Age:[/b] 22. [b]Country of Origin:[/b] US of A. [b]Organization:[/b] Civilian; Photographer/Journalist. [b]Appearance:[/b] Hazel eyes, sandy hair. Casual clothes; dislikes formalwear. Wears an ever-present backpack containing camera equipment. [b]Biography:[/b] Tally's mother, leader of a local "Machine Rights and Acceptance" group, was killed when an anti-machine protest broke into a riot. Her father, also a supporter of 01, is a professor at a university. Tally broke contact with him shortly after her mother's death--a remarkable feat, as she was attending that school at the time. She considers herself neutral on the issue, but finds herself drifting more and more towards the common anti-machine sentiment she is surrounded by at work. Still, she forces her thoughts to remain neutral--it's her job to manipulate emotions, after all, and not to fall victim to them. She is currently not-quite-going out with her not-quite-a-boyfriend of two years, Dennis Hallaway. [b]Weapons:[/b] N/A.[/size]

[size=1]Linking them won't hurt your chances, Ruby, but I bet bmp's will. Save your pictures as something else. ^_~[/size]

[SIZE=1]Hehe. Yeah, she looks [i]so[/i] much better backwards, eh? *laughs again* Oh well. ^_~ As long as I have this thread, I might as well keep the rest of my pictures within it. This is just done in pen. And she looks a bit...goofy...Oh, well. [Her shoes are too dark, heh.] Eh..."Jean." Named after my...er...[i]friend[/i] Jonathan, just...because. I think he has a similar shirt, or something. :whoops: This took all of twenty minutes. o0[/SIZE] [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=425875[/IMG]

[size=1]I like the way the braids look, actually. Very spiff.[/size]

[size=1]Heh, well, it [i]is[/i] more sketchy. I haven't played with it in photoshop yet--it's meant to be a sketch, not...a piece of art, I guess. I do prefer the first picture I posted, but that might be just because I ended up spending a lot of time over in the day or so I was working on it. I really do like the way it turned out, though. ^_^ Here's another picture of her I found in my sketchbook....I'm not sure why the broken part is on the wrong side in this one. Maybe she was looking in a mirror? Who knows. Again, another style...*laughs* She looks...Huh. I don't really know [i]how[/i] to describe what she looks like. The fact that the hole is on the wrong side is bothering me, hmm.[/size] [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=425767[/IMG] [SIZE=1]EDIT: Oh, yeah. And she has jingle bells in her hair. I don't...remember why. o0'[/SIZE]

[size=1]SadClown, I believe you're missing the point. You really don't need to be so belligerent. I'm going to ask that if you'd like to argue with Justin, you do so somewhere other than this thread. Thank you.[/size]

[size=1]Mine worked for several weeks, then simply gave me the "image not found" message--I hadn't even changed the silly signature. I messed with it for a while, and it just started working again... *shrugs*[/size]

[size=1]Best to you, Lady Mac. You're in my thoughts and prayers. And for what it's worth...I'm very sorry.[/size]

[size=1]The border looks fine. ^_~ That's a pretty picture of Subaru, as well.[/size]

[size=1]Oh, Sere can draw! ^_~ Nice job. There are a few bits that bug me--her face seems to come out too far, if that makes sense. o0 But still, good job. [/size]

[size=1]*laughs delightedly and hugs Piro* I [i]tried[/i] to PM you to make sure you saw it, but my silly computer froze and wouldn't let me. Oh well. ^_^ Anyway, this is another picture of her. Different style, same chara.[/size] [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=425731[/IMG]

[size=1]Eh, I posted a [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=24151]thread[/url] about it a while back. I don't see the point in them, and I think it gives people an excuse to avoid posting something I might actually want to read.[/size]

[size=1]You're more than free to put a link in your signature, if you'd like.[/size]

[b] That's awesome but his expression is kinda funky [/b] [size=1]....When isn't Vash's expression kinda funky? ^_~ It looks great, Shinobi. It's a little JPEG-y, but it's still a great job.[/size]

[size=1]That would probably work. I may do that, actually. I don't know if the colors/shades were just easier to distinguish in photoshop, or if I just saw what I knew was there, heh. Or maybe shrinking it down a size lessened the distinction, who knows? Chris~ [i]How[/i] long have you been a member here? And [i]how[/i] many times have you seen me ask people not to rate my artwork? :p[/size]

[size=1]You could start a thread in the Art and Design forum asking for one. I'm sure you'd get more than enough to choose from.[/size]