AzureWolf

[font=Georgia][color=blue]I found these posts in a now dead forum, and I think you Hellsing fans might find it interesting: [QUOTE][font=Arial][size=2][color=#ff0000]"A hardcore Hellsing friend of mine says that Hellsing was originally a very old hentai-manga...later remade into another manga (the one you ready today) and then the anime. " "yup, the hentai is called "Sour orange" but its very short - only few pages :] "[/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE] It's interesting where the best anime and manga series originate from, huh?[/color][/font]

[QUOTE=James][color=#707875]I just want to point out that it's unfair to make generalizations. There are people who get HIV (men and women) who either don't know their partner has the disease (neglect on the part of the partner), or who actually have a condom break or something like that. So, yes, while there are a lot of careless people...we should be careful not to say that everyone besides those born with the disease are automatically at fault. There's also the risk of being infected via blood transfer, for example. In any case, I agree that the current system for dealing with medication (especially life saving medication) is inadequate. And I dislike the way that poor countries are being denied access to cheaper versions of big-name drugs.[/color][/QUOTE][font=Georgia][color=blue]Ah, yes, that's a good point. You know, until you mentioned it, I never thought of that possibility. Well, in that case, the partner for being neglectful and risking his/her partner isn't the best person in the world, I'd say. I mean, that means he/she [i]you-know-what[/i] with someone else and then [i]you-know-what[/i] with the uninfected partner. The person who gets AIDS out of someone else's carelessness is not in any fault, IMO.[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]However, for the condom breaking thing, why play with fire? Not the best idea to express love to someone who could kill you.[/color][/font]

[font=Georgia][color=blue]I have to say, when I wasn't logged in, that sidebar looked like a waste of space (it might shy away new members - just a thought). However, when I actually logged in, I was very impressed.[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]Just a few questions/suggestions/comments, since this thread seems to be the place to mention things like this:[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue][b]LOVE[/b] the new reply bar/box since it works like MSWord, including all the shortcut keys, so it makes typing something [i]SO MUCH[/i] faster. This little box is one of my favorite things about the new v7. Goodbye vB code... Seriously, highlighting and clicking (or pressing keys) is faster than entering [*something] followed by [/*something][/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]You might need to update the descriptions of the forums. The anime lounge still says something about "any animes not listed below" or something.[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]You couldn't make the custom font idea? I mean, it's no big deal with this new reply box, but I'm just wondering since I couldn't find it in the user control panel and it was one of the most-asked-for features.[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]Oh, and the hybrid viewing... I like the idea, but I wish instead of making a link to the solitary post, it would jump you down to where the post is. You know, kind of like how "view new post" worked.[/color][/font] [font=Georgia][color=blue]Haha, that's all for now.[/color][/font]

I've got a really cool Celtic Font on my computer. Is that part of the practice? If so, that'd be really cool if you could learn that. You'd probably win handwriting awards for it if you could (and if there were handwriting awards). I like the Celtic Font.

lol @ cloricus. I have to say, though, I hope they were just making a witty remark to make a kind of point, because if it's true, the government is really wasting it's money. You don't raise an army to listen to music, you know?

I think the middle one is best. You know, sometimes you just gotta keep it simple. The text's tranparency is perfect when you have it on the front, but I think it looks better as a soley BG thing. And the little cut doesn't seem necessary for this banner, although your other banners benefitted from it before.

If I remember correctly, to access your FTP space on AOL: Go to Keywords --> type in "myFTP" It's pretty self-explanatory from there. AOL has changed quite a bit since I've had it, so it might be different. Still, you can do a search for "FTP" on AOL's website and I'm sure you'll find all the info you need/want.

Dagger's right: you can't get a divorce this early in life. Like everyone else, I think the first one is the best one. The border style has a Photoshop nature to it (i.e., people who use PS mostly make those kinds of borders). I really like it. The pictures are very cool for some reason, but [B]the border[/B] is probably what takes it over the top. :p The second one is probalby the worst of the three (but is still good). Seriously, I think it's the border that helps with the banners. I mean, the "shadowed" effect it makes works with the Witch Hunter Robin theme, I'd say. Of course, choice of pictures and how you enhance them are primary, but the border is also part of the picture enhancement, I'd say. Your myO pic looks great as a myO pic, but sucks as an avatar. Conclusion: very nice work. You know how to theme anime's with their mood, it seems. Even better, you are finally not doing Eva, so that's always a step in the right direction. ;)

[quote]I find it hard to believe that these supplies should cost as much as they do.[/quote] Well, to start from the beginning... HIV is a very dynamic disease, in that you always have to change your medication. It's just a downhill battle that everyone eventually loses - with the exception of an [I]extremely[/I] few, who are the descendants of those inflicted with the Bubonic plague during the Black Death and survived. The problem with HIV is simply the mechanics of infection: Macrophage attacks, attempts phagocytosis (to devour), but is injected with HIV's RT (reverse transcriptase, which is the key element to infection) and mutated. The time to digest and breakdown the virus is just not as efficient as the virus' injection, rendering the immune system useless. Now, if we could hinder the effectiveness and speed of the RT HIV uses, the immune system could handle the rest. That's exactly the line of medicine people work with. Yes, it always works rather well, and reduces the virus count drastically when first applied. However, mutations arise in the virus' RT coding, making the medicine a person first takes useless against the new strand of RT. There are several virulent mutations, each of which are given specific names: HIV-1 (original), HIV-2, HIV-3, and I think there are a few more. Only the virulent mutations are given specific names, since other mutations are too small and/or easily removed. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but besides the people born with AIDS (and that needle thing, which totals to a very small margin of the people), it's really a person's own fault for acquiring the disease. I always thought AIDS would decrease as time passed, since people would be more wary of the disease - but no - we've got too many people having fun. Anyway, to get to the point of the thing, there's a reason why medication for HIV in particular is expensive, since you always have to keep switching medication, take a stab in the dark as to which mutation the person has, and then recommend a new drug; all the while testing new blood samples. I also understand where insurance companies are coming from, since they are probably losing much more than they do with other people using the insurance. Although it is technically wrong, is it also not technically wrong for someone else to pay for your own vices? I mean, isn't insurance supposed to be something that pays for an incident/happening that is completely unforeseeable? Does HIV/AIDS really fall into that category? I would say not... In short, there are ridiculous prices, but there's always a reason behind it. As for the whole drug addict thing, I think there's just a quantitative aspect to it: it's possible to help more drug-addicted people than HIV-infected persons with the same amount of money.

[B]Shinken:[/B] I was referring to TN's comment, not gay marriages. [quote]This phenomena isn't restricted to a single species, but can be found in macaques, sheep, gulls, and so forth.[/quote] If I remember correctly (which I probably don't), there are a lot of animals that have a certain period where a strong sexual drive consumes them. They'll basically do it with anything - even a rock. O_o I don't think it's homosexuality that's making them so. Now, if they were ONLY doing it to the same gender and not anything that they tried to do it to, then I'd be surprised.

[b][u]General Awards[/b][/u] [b]Overall Member of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]James[/color] [b]Male Otaku of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Syk3[/color] [b]Female Otaku of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Sara[/color] [b]Staff Member of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]James[/color] [b]Funniest Member:[/b] [color=blue]Charles[/color] [b]Most Opinionated Otaku:[/b] [color=blue]Poison Tongue[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Member most likely to be here in two years:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Best Newbie:[/b] [color=blue]Dagger IX1[/color] [b]Best Oldie:[/b] [color=blue]Shy[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Most likely to become a Staff Member:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Favorite Banned Member:[/b] [color=blue]Taylor Hewitt[/color] [b]Most improved Member of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Kitty[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Thread of the Year:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Silliest Thread of the Year:[/b] [color=blue][url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33546]I.....am Lone....[/url][/color] [b][u]Random Awards[/u][/b] [color=red][strike][b]Avatar Award: (Best Avatars Overall)[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Signature Award: (Best Signatures Overall)[/b] [color=blue]Sara[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Best Location: (Best Specific Location)[/b] [b]Best Otaku Couple:[/b] [b]Best looking Otaku:[/b] [size=1]Honorable Mention:[/size] [b]Otaku clique of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Honorable Mention:[/size] [b]Best MyOtaku:[/b][/strike][/color] [color=red][strike][b][u]Otaku Writers[/u][/b][/strike][/color] [color=red][strike][b][u]Social Otakus[/u][/b][/strike][/color] [b][u]Anime Otakus[/u][/b] [color=red][strike][b]Otaku of the Year: (Best Anime member overall)[/b][/strike][/color] OMG! I couldn't decide: hardest choice since that "boxers or briefs" incident. I actually got a headache while trying to figure out who to pick, so picking no one is almost the same as picking both of my choices. [b].hack//SIGN Member of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Black_Phoenix[/color] [color=red][strike][b]DragonBall Guru:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Digipeep of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Ben[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Gundam Member of the Year:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]Yu-Gi-Oh Member of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Solo Tremaine[/color] [b]Least Disappointing Yu Yu Hakusho Member:[/b] [color=blue]Dagger IX1[/color] [b][u]Otaku Gamers[/u][/b] [b]Gamer of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]Shinmaru[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Nintendo "Mario" Award:[/b] [b]The Sony Award:[/b] [b]Xbox Gamer of the Year:[/b][/strike][/color] [b]PC Gamer of the Year:[/b] [color=blue]cloricus[/color] [b][u]Otaku Artists[/u][/b] [b]Best Graphic Designer (Banners, wallpapers, etc.):[/b] [color=blue]Kinetic[/color] [b]Best "Traditional" Artist (Drawings, paintings, etc.):[/b] [color=blue]Sara[/color] [color=red][strike][b]Best Spriter:[/b][/strike][/color] [color=red][strike][b][u]Series Otakus[/u][/b][/strike][/color]

Why does everyone think that the freindship of two girls or guys has to be taken to such a level? You can be pretty close without being close, if you know what I mean. ;) Additionally, Subaru and Tsukasa are barely close since both of them only "mingle" in The World. As for episode 19's events, I would say you should check out the thread dedicated to it. I KNOW I said my peace there - although I can't remember it anymore.

That's the reason that the entire set is called "Project .hack." It isn't just a series: it's a mass media integration. While you can be fairly satisfied by just experiencing one part of .hack, it's true and most original award comes by enjoying every aspect of the project.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Gettles [/i] [B]Actually the relationship between Merille and Kirika could be argued either way, one major arguement that it is a yuri is in [spoiler] Kirika's letterto Mirille in I beleve episode 23.[/spoiler] but on the other hand, you can argue against it, pointing out [spoiler] Mirille telling Kirika to avoid getting too close to others after that Czech guy is killed in the attempt on Kirika's life.[/spoiler] Either way though, I think that wether or not the two are like that is not important and really such things are not important considering the tone of the seires. [/B][/QUOTE] Nyah, you didn't think I would, but I finally got around to checking out the episode in question. There's nothing of a yuri/lesbian nature within that letter. It gives off a "[spoiler]this might be goodbye forever, so thank you for everything[/spoiler]" vibe. You'd have to stretch and distort that message quite a bit to make it anything else. [spoiler]Mirielle telling about not getting close to anyone is because of their line of work. It's even justified when the guy dies and she says that this is why you shouldn't get close to anyone[/spoiler]. The yuri/lesbian relationship's importance is nonexistant simply because the concept or possibility is nonexistant.

[quote]Thas for all the comments, Azure. I really appreciate your taking the time to post.[/quote] Meh, I'm just waiting for you to slip up and post something bad, so I can take revenge for [B][font=comic sans ms]something...[/font][/B] Whoa, that's really scary! I can't begin to describe that picture!-but I will anyway. It looks semi-realistic, like you know it's fake, but it doesn't know it's fake or something. Really, the word for it is something along the lines of spooky. You've got a gnack for eyes - I can say that much. The hair is really nice, and that little design on his face is very cool. The pose is very fitting with the feeling his face is giving off. Now, for my one gripe: the hand on the right (the one that's cut off) doesn't seem as 3D-ish as the other hand. It seems a little cartoony compared with the other one, I'd say. Overall, this artwork is really (REALLY) different from what you've shown us before. If that's what you mean by it not coming out the way you meant it too, then it's very obvious. However, if you were referring to quality, this is anything but lacking.

[QUOTE]Yes, because the right direction includes straight white men ruling the world.... Oh wait, they already do....[/quote] Well, that's understandable, because, I mean, they did populate the world and are responsible for the existence of gay people. [quote]God help us if anything ever changes with our people, that would be SOOOO HORRIBLE. Cause you know, it effects your miserable life so much... [/QUOTE] Normally, I'd disagree with you and say that you are assuming gay people are somehow greater than normal people, able to influence people who could (and want to) care less about their activities; thinking that they have influence on my life when I couldn't care less. That's what I would normally say, but these events have affected me quite a bit. So, yes, IF my life was miserable, this latest development from the political circus would have made me a gay man, so to speak. ;)

Heh, yes, my Bio teacher has had quite some fun with this new ruling. Lately, politics has had a very comical nature, and it's been very enjoyable. However, I wouldn't call it the right direction...

You know, that's how I make my borders too (the second one, I mean). Now, you just need more colors! ;) I [B]REALLY[/B] hate body piercings, so I'm having a hard time looking at a banner where people are bolstering their presence. The border and taste of fonts - as always - are very nice and suits the rest of the banner.

[quote]If you mean Eva (Evangelion), there are two threads on the first page already, so you should ask in there (I'm think a mod will probably close this). [/quote] Yes, it is interesting how Eva is allowed a myriad of threads, while every other anime is restricted to one. Heh, other animes have had MUCH more diverse discussions than these all-too-similar Eva threads.

Interesting. "gratiutiously violent?" As I recall, I didn't see any blood or any excessive violence. They kill, they finish. It wasn't like they were dangling severed heads or something. "Relationships" can bear the wrong connotation, if you ask me. Some people always think something is going on just because it's a show about two+ girls.

Whoa, that's amazing! They actually ran out of "never before scene" repackaging material for the same old Eva? Well, I guess you can only "never before see" the same thing so many times. Heh, they should have cut the scenes into smaller pieces so they could use the "never before seen" trick just a few more times. Anyway, as you can tell from above, I think this farce sounds like nothing more than Gainax trying to prove that they are the best milking personel you'll ever find - anywhere. Because they've ran out of deleted scenes, they are doing the next best thing: redoing old scenes and hoping people will shell out more for it.

Looks like you had fun coloring this picture, especially with how nice it came out. It's cool to be reminded that people can color inside the lines without a computer program. I really like the colors you picked for every area, including the blending areas. The wing is a little odd, especially since he/she has one of them. I'm not fond of the design either. I think what makes this picture first-rate is the coloring. I'm wondering if your other pictures will benefit such a boost of admiration with a wider array of light. Then again, I haven't seen the B&W version of this picture, but the colors are what catch my attention first, followed by the interesting eye design.

See, I knew there had to be something clever with those clocks (referring to previous pic). Those are the kinds of subtleties you can really appreciate! The execution is interesting, but I don't like the concept all that much. I look at those websites, and it's a little freaky stuff. I never saw the point to the different hues because they always looked worse than the original. That's just me though. Ben, I was referring to the original picture that's in the center (or about the center). About the smudging... I assume youa re talking about the texture on the fish, which I actually like. That's a cool effect, I must say. It reminds me of those effects the T2's and beyond have when their hit, and that shiny silvery stuff all runs around. What I really like is how the BG accentuates its texture by being darker - gives off a glow thing. What I don't like, though, is how boring the BG seems.

Very nice work. I like how you captured the features that make Kiba Kiba. I think that's what makes this thing stand out. I'm wondering why you don't have his dog companion drawn as well.

This release: it's a mixed blessing, if you ask me. You have to worry about that curse where all licensed stuff that is in one form of entertainment sucks when translated to another medium. However, there's something else you have to ponder about with the topic at hand: the unforeseen variable in this case - Miyazaki's unique perspective on things - and how much of that originality will be expressed in Howl's Moving Castle. Everything I've seen from Miyazaki gave me a surprise simply because of how unconformed it is to anything else. It's as if nothing - culture, religion, or interests - influences his work, and only his mind cultivates his creations. I'll say one thing: if Howl's Moving Castle is a success on the level of his other works, you can expect a new era of Miyazaki... uh... stuff. [size=1]Probably made a few words up, and made no sense. I'm just posting around at random, and keeping my posts short because I'm strapped for time.[/size]