Baron Samedi

[quote name='Lore][color=55555][font=trebuchet ms]Having just added a dot for the city where I go to school, I zoomed in and was startled to discover that it was automatically placed about five blocks away from my dorm.[/font'][/color][/quote][size=1] *prints map, draws a circle delineating everything within five blocks of Lore's marker* My precious...[/size]

[size=1]I used to consider Alex a friend. We used to get along fairly well, and I had a fair amount of respect for him. In his time here he made some really enlightening posts, some really brilliant stuff. But gradually we stopped talking and, it seemed to me, that he changed. I have seen a lot of very harsh and/or agressive stuff written by him about or to other people in a manner that could only be described as hounding, both on and off the site. I think it is a shame, because underneath all that venom was a guy entirely capable of decent, thought-provoking posts. His original name was Poisontongue, and I guess that despite all the name-changes he never really left that spirit behind. As for Mitch, he has been a long-time patron of the boards. He is, dare I say, a historic part of these boards. It's hard to describe what I think of Mitch. We've chatted on the odd occasion, and I regard him as a friend. Again, I have a lot of respect for Mitch, for several reasons. Some might disagree, but in his own way Mitch was brilliant too. Whilst they are occasionally eratic, many of his poems are several notches above what most often is posted in Anthology, and he modded that section [back when it was Literature] for a pretty long time. I think a toast is deserved. Both of these members have been large in OB history. But anyone who says that they couldn't see this coming is fooling themselves. I believe that Alex already had several temporary bans under his belt. Too many chances. And as for Tony leaving.... it sucks, but it's his choice. He too has been what I would consider to be a core part of OB for a long time. Not so much recently, but yeah....[/size]

[size=1]Two things I'd like to mention to everyone. 1). Shy's post in the Arbiter. It is stunning, and even more importantly, is capable of completely changing the Legionnaires situation. Read it, it's good. 2). I'd like to commend Gavin on his most recent post in his mission thread. I just cannot wait for the next post... this is too interesting. A great twist, let's see how it turns out. [/size]

[size=1]If you think alligators are scary, you should see the real deal: crocodiles. They'll [i]eat[/i] your puny alligators. :p[/size]

[size=1]The DK Jumbo steamed up behind Plumber & Plunder, doggedly gaining ground. Crash was completely focused on the track, and Krystal was completely focused on the actions of the Red Fire cart. They couldn't afford any mistakes. Crash fought to keep the wheel steady, as the DK Jumbo thudded back down on the track just past the jump, landing on some booster pads and gaining an extra dose of speed. Up ahead of them, Lara let out a cry of delight as they ran through the row of item boxes. She held aloft a miniature lightning bolt, before throwing it into the sky. With a piercing shriek, three lightning bolts hurtled back out of the sky, heading for the other teams. --- Xiayou groaned resentfully as their cart shrunk to a toy-sized model. Damn whoever did that! --- Shadow swore, part with relief, and part with anger, as their cart shrunk. He had just made the jump, so at least he didn't have to be fished up by Mog. Except he was now tonking along in 'Weak' mode. --- Crash and Krystal winced as a lightning bolt struck their car, but nothing happened, aside from a small scream. Their last protective heart was gone, but they were still large as life and in the race. Excellent. --- Mario and Lara were no longer looking behind them, instead they were focused on the track ahead. Both Lara and Mario had used all the items they'd had, and they needed the next row of items to be something good. It was hard work to continuously fight off threats from behind. Speaking of which.... Lara had a glance behind them, as they sped towards the next item boxes. Her eyes widened, as a red shell shot towards their cart, impacting firmly on their exhaust pipe, and sending the team of Plumber & Plunder flying up into the air, as Furry Flurry screamed past underneath. 1. Furry Flurry. 2. Plumber & Plunder 3. Kickarse 4. Oriental Beauty[/size]

[size=1]It's hard not to believe that this was all set-up, and scripted out. It is so perfect. Despite the occasional bracketed remarks, you kept up a constant stream of humour for over 30 minutes, in a most serious, and almost unwitting, tone. Very, [i]very[/i] clever wordplay. I can't believe how quick you two were with some of those comments, heh. We need a thread rating system....[/size]

[size=1]Why not just have it automatically track messages, and send read receipts? That way, people don't get the popup, they don't need to worry about it, and they can't shirk Des' wrath by saying "Oh sir, I never read it [please don't kick me]" If it can be done, it seems like a good way to do things.[/size]

[SIZE=1]1. Pick a Band or Artist: Marilyn Manson 2. Are you male or female: Mister Superstar 3. Describe yourself: Personal Jesus 4. How do some people feel about you: Another Brick In the Wall [lol ?] 5. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: Wrapped In Plastic 6. Describe your current boyfriend/girlfriend: The Nobodies 7. Describe where you want to be: In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death 8. Describe how you love: I Put A Spell On You 9. What would you ask if you had just one wish: Minute Of Decay 10. Share a few words of wisdom: Better Of Two Evils 11. Now say goodbye: The Fall of Adam[/size]

[QUOTE=Sandy]Now now, aren't you being a tad paranoid? ,:) Even if you put the marker to point your house, all it would tell is that a person who uses a screenname of Baron Samedi lives there. ;P It's not like anybody would break into your house or anything only based on that info. Doesn't almost [I]any[/I] house have somebody living in it? What makes your house more special? (Unless it's some fancypants mansion or something...) I know it's sensical to be weary when giving info about yourself in the net, but there's no need to overdo it... X) We aren't [I]that[/I] important people, us otakuites. ;P[/QUOTE] [size=1]I'm not paranoid, lol. I'm just saying that generally, you're not really encouraged to give an address to the degree of a street name online. I mean, that is pretty accurate. dunt j00 wothc teh n00z, thei r lotz o bda ppl whoo stakl ppl!1![/size]

[size=1]Now, I'm not going to say that you're all a bunch of perverted stalkers [because the truth hurts], but why would anybody actually give so much detail about their location that you could rock up on their doorstep, unannounced? I don't even live in Perth, though I will by the end of the year. Currently I live a few hours south of it. But I wouldn't tell someone online [hell, anyone who I didn't know online] exactly where I live. Isn't this just a tiny bit cause for concern? You can't exactly control who looks at it, heh.[/size]

[size=1][b]Editing to take place later, damn Sakura ~_^[/b] [b]2: It flows reasonably well I guess. The outcome would be the same. And I'm tiiiiired...[/b] Crash wrestled for control of the half-ruined Jumbo, as the chain-chomping Red Fire flew past them, Lara waving half apologetically, half smugly. Living in a videogame world was a major blessing though, for as soon as the giant ball and chain disappeared, the DK Jumbo regained it's posterior, and was back in action, just in time to see Team's Kickarse and Oriental Beauty roar past. Krystal tapped Crash on the shoulder, and they switched places once more. She floored the accelerator, and with a bone-shaking rumble, the DK Jumbo chugged forth. Eventually, the Jumbo was back to full speed, and roaring down the slope before the Launch pipe. Lara and Mario were just reaching the bottom of the pipe, with Oriental Beauty and Kickarse a short distance behind, fighting for second position. Crash knew the pipe was a vulnerable location. Krystal steered the Jumbo dangerously close to the edge of the track, and swiped an item box. Into Crash's hands fell a spiky green shell, somewhat larger than the normal shells. He grinned to himself, because he remembered a photo of a giant shell in the garage where the DK had been parked. The two teams immediately in front of them were just reaching the base of the pipe when Crash hurled the shell forward. It grew to an enormous size, and Xiayou and Ada [the two 'gunners]' let out screams of surprise and fear as the giant shell came hurtling in their direction. They were sucked up the pipe just before it hit them, but the shell was sucked in behind them. It collided with both teams and sent them flying out of the top of the pipe, spinning off into the starry depths. Or heights. Or something. The DK Jumbo flew triumphantly out of the top of the pipe, and landed solidly, as it prepared to hunt down Plumber & Plunder. 1. Plumber & Plunder 2. Furry Flurry 3. Oriental Beauty/Kickarse[/size]

[size=1]Crash laughed when he saw Lara shoot at Shadow's tires. He laughed even harder as the DK Jumbo blazed past the angry team, whilst Mog feverishly switched tires. He stopped laughing when a well-placed shell from the Oriental Beauties sent the DK Jumbo tumbling upwards into the sky. By some magic twist of fate, they landed on the track, upright, but with almost no speed. And Crash certainly didn't laugh when the Parade Car when flying past on their left, as Ada cheerfully waved. Krystal whispered to Crash that the last item box had given her a blue spiky shell. "Wait a while, until all three teams are close together... the extra shells that come out of the explosion should take all of them out hopefully." Crash called back to her. The DK Jumbo was a fair distance behind all of te other teams, and it's acceleration was relatively poor. Switching positions with Krystal, Crash hoped that whatever they got next would allow them to catch up with their opponents. As Krystal came out of a frighteningly narrow turn, she ran through an item box, and into Crash's hands dropped a miniature lightning bolt. With a cry of delight, he hurled it upwards with all his might, and a chorus of angered and shocked yelling came from around the course. The Jumbo quickly gained grund on it's competitors, who were now in a tiny knot, fighting for pole position. "Quick Krystal, let's switch!" Crash yelled, just as the three carts ahead of them popped back into their regular size. Swinging back into the driver's seat, Crash watched in glee as the blue shell flew forward, cannoning into the Oriental Beauties, who were just ahead of the rest of the pack. They flew up into the air, and as smaller shells rained out from the explosion, both Teams Kickarse and Plumber & Plunder went sailing into the abyss. A harassed looking Mog quickly swooped down to recover the teams, but it was too late. Furry Flurry were back in front. 1. Furry Flurry 2. Plumber & Plunder 3. Oriental Beauty 4. Kickarse[/size]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior']Dangit, Kisha, your thing covers up mine! That's what we get for living in the same town, I guess. No one can see there's a little DW playin' in Michigan ;^D[/quote] [size=1]If for some strange and unbelievable reason anyone is looking for you DW, they can just click on your name on the member bar on the right ;)[/size]

[size=1]I think it would have been in 2001 when I first got online, on a school computer. As far as I can remember, all just about anyone used to visit was Ezone or Neopets. Oh, the joy of flash-games. Around that time I was really into Pokemon, and I found OB through a search. I joined under a different monikker, and spnt a while here. Unfortunately, I didn't have my own computer back then, and so I drifted away and forgot about this place over school holidays. Between then and 2003 I got my own computer and dialup. In May of '03, I remembered the site URL for some reason. Why? Who knows. Maybe it was destiny. *cough* Anyway, I came back and signed up under my new name which I used for anything [which has never been changed] and spammed my way around for a bit. Particulayly in the dot Hack forums, because that sounded interesting, even though I had no idea what it [i]actually was[/i]. I had no idea that it was a cartoon, heh. Anyway, I gradually cleaned up my act and since then I've wasted thousands of hours on OB, and other thousands exploring the rest of the interweb.[/size]

[size=1]Crash and Krystal were getting somewhat desperate for a decent item as they sat back in last place. The DK Jumbo's speed was allowing them to catch up, but they were still losing a touch more ground than they could afford on the turns. Crash was starting to sweat with nervousness, especially because Mog could wave the checkered flag at any time he felt appropriate. Spending any time in last place was virtually unnacceptable. Which was why Crash was so ecstatic when Krystal whispered in his ear "I've got a star" that he almost steered them straight off the track. But, once he regained control, Krystal held the Star aloft and with a surge of power, a flickering glow and oddly enough, a pulse of blood-jiving music, the DK Jumbo was blazing past Oriental Beauty, and straight into the exhaust of Plumber & Plunder, who had just thrown a banana straight at them. It had bounced off into emptiness. Crash grinned. He was invincible! He prepared to ram the Jumbo straight into the back of Red Fire, but they swerved sideways, and avoided the smoking Jumbo. The Jumbo roared up behind the Parade car, but just as their bumpers were about to meet, their invicincibility ended. Crash looked up to see a pleased-looking Shadow holding a banana by it's very stem. Crash yanked the wheel hard to the right, narrowly avoiding the slippery item, before giving it an even harder tug to straighten the screaming Jumbo back out. Damn. 1. Kickarse 2. Furry Flurry 3. Oriental Beauty 4. Plumber & Plunder[/size]

[QUOTE=Boba Fett][color=green]The Otakuboards calendar allows us to post important events and interesting tidbits for all the boards to see. It also apparently can be used to advertise for "My New Site" on every day of the week. I see the latter as spam. Discuss.[/color][/QUOTE] [size=1]Agreed. Most definitely this is an abuse of the calendar system, and should be dealt with. I think the thing is, the calendar is highly under-utilised, and because of that, things slip through easier.[/size]

[size=1]Thanks SunfallE ^_^ I think Hevn might just be the most isolated [though not for long]. Because I know that there is another New Zealander on the boards [you're not alone Shinji], that there is a fairly large number of Aussies on the East Coast, and that there are at least two Western Australians who still participate on the boards. But God, does it feel remote anyway :p[/size]

[size=1]"Let's save the red shell for a bit, I'll try and grab something else. Let's switch!" Cash yelled to Krystal. With almost practiced ease [considerng they'd never attempted it before], Krystal swung around one side of the Jumbo and into the driver's seat, whilst Crash swung around the other side and into the 'gunners' position. Krystal whipped the speeding Jumbo down a spiral path, leaving a faint smell of burnt sawdust in the air. She ran straighht through a box on the road, and an identical one appeared in Crash's hands. He was so surprised that he immediately dropped it, and watched in shock as it disappeared behind a slope on the Rainbow road. Not far behind, Mario sped straight past the box which Crash had dropped, but just behind them Shadow drove straight over it. It washed off some of their speed, and sent their kart bumping up and down with a jarring, teeth-rattling sensation. Xiayou and Yuna sped past the jittering Parade Car, and into third position. Mario edged closer to Crash and Krystal, and then another well-placed banana by Lara sent Furry Flurry spinning dangerously close to the edge, and Plumber and Plunder into first place. Krystal narrowly avoided the terrifying drop off the edge of Rainbow road, and ran into another item box. Crash now held a shiny [and spiky] blue shell in his hands. "I think we'll save this one for later!" Crash yelled to Krystal "but we could sure use that red shell right about now!" Crash and Krystal switched places, and Krystal checked both ahead and behind. Oriental Beauty was catching up to them, but Plumber and Plunder was sitting just ahead of them.... which way to throw? 1. Plumber & Plunder 2. Furry Flurry 3. Oriental Beauty 4. Kickarse[/size]

[size=1]Thats it! I'm fed up with this 'American internet'. I'm going to go start my own, and call it.... Oznet! Great idea to set everything up through Frappr though. I wouldn't have considered it ^_^[/size]

[QUOTE=Ziggy Stardust][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=Sienna] Iraq was stable... backwards, stagnant, and horrifying, but stable (i.e not about to collapse in on itself). All that the Bush War did was make things considerably worse.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE] [size=1]True true. I mean, we wouldn't want a dictatorship which murders dissenters and freely abuses it's people to collapse on itself, would we...?[/size]

[size=1]You're welcome :p Awesome idea for a challenge by the way, though I have some worries over how the 'ranking' system is going to work... once again, it would seem to me that overall quality and creativity of writing should determine the winner, not who writes the most agressively [or cheaply, lol]. I look forward to seeing you all on the race-track ~_^[/size]

[size=1][b]OOC[/b]: I would like to say that it's a touch unfair to choose the best car in the whole damn game. Personally, I would like to see everyone pick from the first line. *shrugs* ********* Crash wiggled around in the driver's seat, getting comfortable, and getting used to the feeling of the wheel in his hands. And then he realised that he'd been a touch blasè about Krystal's earlier question. Half turning around in his seat, he said to Krystal "It's more than just a few races, actually. A year or so ago an evil alien came to my planet intending to level the place and turn it all into a carpark. We bargained with him until he agreed to a competititon to decide our planet's fate. He chose cart-racing, and made us play off against each other until we had a champion." Here he paused, immodestly, "Which was me. And then I flogged him when I raced him, and saved the planet. So, it was more than just a few races, in case you were, y'know, concerned or something." Krystal arched her eyebrow at him "How much did you flog this evil alien by?" Crash looked defensive "By enough.... about half a metre." Krystal laughed, and her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. The last team picked their cart and hopped in, and then Mog appeared [where did he come from anyway?] and began to give them instructions about weapon usage, and just how the passenger was meant to help the team win.[/size]

[size=1]Stop the Japanese from killing all the whales in Australian waters, whoo-yay![/size]

[size=1]You all need to get sets of those "almost-cause-for-a-mod-to-edit-your-signature" banners and avatars to accompany the re-launching of the Bikini Bandits. What is this story without lots of hawt sexy pictures to boot?! Aside from really entertaining and enjoyable to read, that is.[/size]

[size=1]Crash, Mario and Shadow found themselves in the great stone hall in the Temple of Warriors. Seating themselves around a fire pit, they reminisced about the challenges so far, and what might be ahead of them. Mario was thrilled that he had finally participated in a winning contest. This was one of the last time's that they would be together as a team, presumably, and there was a lot of heaviness in the air. The gruff macho exteriors, and the slowly fading adrenaline rush from the challenge kept any mushy stuff at bay....but only barely. As the sun slowly set, the three remaining members of the Iron Fists stood on the steps of the Temple, and watched as the mysterious unnamed constellations of this world came to life. Not much was said - the bonds they had previously forged in the fires of competition were readily felt.[/size]