Raiha

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'd say Mazel Tov, but odds are your slightly freaking out in the way someone realizing he doesn't have health insurance and yet has Stage II liver cancer feels. Don't feel bad though. People here on the whole are supportive when they're not wallowing in self righteous jerk-dom. And since I've seen your position before, yet wouldn't presume to know exactly how you feel, I can only say that the best thing you can do now beside taking Allamorph and Indi and Gavin's advice is to give your girlfriend the love and support she'll be needing more than ever. I've been the pregnant girl, and while I didn't stay pregnant I felt alone even though I had people to support me. Nobody can really know how bad it's going to be for the mother of your child, since she's the one that has to hold the damn thing inside her for the next several months. So breakfast in bed, kisses, compliments, they won't go amiss. And this too, will pass, so I'm not going to tell you that your life will ever go back to the way things were, but the ability to bear it will eventually become easier.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][center][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/zelda/egaliaavatar.jpg[/IMG][/center] [i]Egalia casually turned at the tinkling of the silver bells over her shop. Even if she dealt mostly in herbs, people still came to see her when they needed a healing spell or insight on how to defeat the overgrown spiders in her basement. She watched the newcomer with a sharp eye, one of her six cats curling around her ankles and then quickly climbing to her shoulder where it too watched the newcomer with narrow green eyes. She sat down on the tall stool behind her counter and gave her customer the ritual greeting.[/i] "Welcome. Herbs or Healing, I'll help in every way I can." "I'm here about some rosemary. My wife needs a clipping for a vulnerary." "Naught could be easier." [i]She turned, reaching above her for the shelf that ran across half the shop, in full view of the east facing window over the front door. Several small potted plants of herbs; basil, rosemary, thyme, bay, and the like grew in profusion. She brought down the right one and snipped off a few stems with a tiny silver knife and wrapped them in paper for her human customer. He took them and dropped the payment into the pottery jar she gestured at when he brought out his purse.[/i] "Thanks, we might be back for more later." "No problem. I'll be here." [i]He stumped out the door, clutching his parcel and Egalia sighed. Her cat leapt down and began to pace across the counter while she put back the pot of rosemary. Some days were so slow she could hardly bear it. And the last customer that had loitered had run for his life when he'd seen what she'd accidentally done to herself with gnome magic and a piece of ruby. She swore it hadn't been planned but it still poisoned the off chances that she'd ever find a bisexual male or female that wouldn't alternately vomit onto her bedroom floor or curse her for a monster. That had happened last time too. A 'disfigured abomination' were his words and while Egalia could admit that two cocks were not always better than two, and even passing strange, they were by all appearances utterly normal. Part of her bristled at the disfigured bit. At least the cats didn't mind. To them she was the giver of fish and milk. And as such, deserving of their presence. Egalia stroked the blue tortoiseshell that jumped into her lap, clinging to her wide apron with tiny claws. Maybe her next customer would try to rob her or hit on her and find himself horrified instead of just beg the usual boring set of herbs.[/i] [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]I kept my eyes completely focused on the doctor, barely acknowledging Gavin's exit. Part of me wasn't sad. It would be easier without him here. Kenso shifted slightly behind me and I nodded curtly at the man who was ultimately responsible for everything that would happen to my brother here.[/i] "If you think it'll help, I'd like to donate my blood. We're both B+." "I can't see it doing any harm. One of the nurses will come by to help later." "Thank you for explaining the situation to me properly." "Welcome. It's just not often people want to know." [i]I can't imagine my eyes looked untroubled, in fact I felt them partially going blank, and I leaned back slightly in my uncomfortable chair. Kenso looked over at us from his vantage point near the window, and the doctor seemed to shake himself, then briskly stand.[/i] "I trust you'll be around then." "When I'm not working yes." [i]He nodded and left, leaving me and Kenso alone with Michael. Part of me was pleased. Kenso wasn't going to fill my ears with mindless banter like Jae would. But I also couldn't share a bed with Kenso and trust that things would be entirely peaceful and calm and free of tension. Jae could. Gavin was gone for now but he knew where I lived. And I might even make it back again. The nurse came in with forms for me to sign again, and then extracted a pint from me with the kind of industrialized efficiency I'd seen from only a few people at my work. Kenso didn't offer his, and I didn't ask. For all I knew he had perfectly good reasons, he wasn't the right type, or he simply didn't want to explain things. Whatever. Arm bandaged, I stood and picked up my bag, the keys jingling on their clip. Kenso turned and stood up as well.[/i] "Thanks for coming Kenso." "Wouldn't have just stayed out of it. You've had enough shit for one day." "No kidding." [i]We headed downstairs, passing druggies on gurneys in the hallways, covered over with blankets, waiting for them to detox. Nurses rushed past us both, making me feel as if I was almost standing still in the white-washed, utterly sterile environment. At our car, Kenso quickly sweeped the bottom and back for me, and it started without exploding. And on the way back things were quiet. No music from the radio. No exchanged conversation. And I was glad. Parking in front of the apartments, Kenso got out first, one hand on his hip where his gun was. I followed behind, unarmed and vulnerable. He unlocked the front door and found it uninhabited, telling me so as soon as he came back. I dropped the bag next to the door and shut it behind me, leaning against it with a sigh of relief. The first good news all day. Gang bangers hadn't torched, tagged, or fire-bombed my house. Then again, a few knew me, and most all of them knew I was completely neutral. Because I didn't run drugs for my brother, or give his friends a place to hide, I was, I guess, safer than most gang families. And for the moment I wasn't unhappy about that.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="times"][i]Majusra giggled and clapped her hands, picking up the first of the two to scan and absentmindedly holding her hand out for the cigarette a moment later.[/i] "Oh you shouldn't have! Thank you." [i]Chase watched, flicking the ashes into the ash tray she'd set on the table earlier. Manjusra cooed over the second title as much as she had the first, skimming the backs of the boxes and then setting them both down while taking long drags on the cigarette he'd handed her. Some part of him found the sight of one of the more bizarre Hunters in the system smoking and looking at porn a little more alluring than he'd anticipated. With a tap from her forefinger, she turned back to Chase and gave him a dazzling smile.[/i] "So Beartalker told you what I like then." "He did. Also told me you had the gift of Sight. Could tell what was where and all that." "It's true. If you noticed earlier. These red eyes see more than I really had planned on." [i]For a moment it looked like she'd be content to sit back and stare up at the stars, her lounge chair tilted back to the point of inducing dangerous relaxation. Then, like a light had gone out, she turned to him abruptly, her red eyes flashing black for an instant once more. Chase gulped down his beer almost purely as a reaction to the sound of her voice.[/i] "There's a new Ghast out there. Another Hunter asked me to see what it was like, and I've never seen one this big. It's like it mated with a Crawler and then ate it for good measure." "How big?" "Like I'm thinking if you force fed it some frag grenades it probably would still be alive afterwards. Just being within 50 feet was enough to give me a headache, and my range is normally 25." "So in short, a thermo-nuclear bomb wouldn't be overkill." "Give or take a few city blocks, yeah." [i]She ground out her cigarette in the ashtray, and looked down across the townhouse complex, then stood up and slid the glass door open again. With a jerk of her head, he stood up and followed her in, shutting it behind him. She took his glass from his hand before he could bus it himself and headed for the kitchen.[/i] "Just make yourself comfortable in there, I'll be right back." [i]He looked around uncertainly. A four poster bed with a light maple finish. A matching desk that looked like it'd seen some use, and a leather desk chair. Finding no other place that seemed acceptable, he sat down on the edge of the bed, finding it so low that he could just stretch his legs out instead. Manjusra came back in with two glasses of water and handed one to him, setting hers on the end table. She sat down on the left side of the bed, closest to the balcony, and looked up at him, showcasing for the second time, just how small she really was.[/i] "So what do you think of the place?" "I like the layout. And it's peaceful. Your living room floor looks comfortable enough." [i]Majusra laughed. Just a quick giggle that was over as quickly as it started. Chase felt his face color furiously as her meaning became obvious, and she leaned forward a little to get a closer look at him, reaching out pale fingers to stroke one of the braids on his shoulder. He put up a hand to feel hers, only to discover that he had the shakes. Almost as if she'd sensed his complete awkwardness she scooted closer to him and gave his arm a tug as if to pull him to the middle of the bed. He felt himself go rigid for a second, and then had to almost force himself to relax. So there's a beautiful woman and you're sitting on her bed and she's obviously interested in you. No reason to panic? Right? RIGHT?[/i] "Why so shy?" "It's just- I mean I'm a guest. And I wouldn't want t-. To take advantage of you know-" "Beartalker didn't tell me you were this silly." [i]Chase would've said something if his tongue hadn't felt like a useless waste of flesh slowly choking him, when he became aware that Manjusra was significantly closer to him that she'd been seconds before. In fact she was only a few inches from his face, her lips parted slightly, glistening with moisture. He looked up for a second and found that her eyes had dilated to the point of near total eclipse of her irises, and that her eyelashes were longer than he'd expected them to be. Then a few seconds later, he realized that it wasn't really getting warmer in her room, she was just so close he could feel her breath on his skin.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Mykul']The lip-licking. 'Nuff said.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]You mean like the way he kept licking his lips and scars like he really did have them paining him at all times? It's a nervous habit most people with facial scars pick up. My cousin does it constantly and it really drives me insane. So that's probably why during the movie I kept flinching whenever he did it.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The knock roused Manjusra from her light doze, and dressed in a plain linen nightshirt, her hair still messy she snatched up the rifle that was always just under the end curve of her bed and bolted for the door before whatever-it-was decided to knock again with bullets. Her unannounced guest found himself staring into the business end of Manjusra's fully loaded bolt action Karabiner 98K. Covering him with the muzzle, all he caught was a flash of red against a background of pure alabaster. Then he heard her voice, low and raspy, as if she hadn't spoken in awhile.[/i] "Name, rank, and number." [i]He stiffened almost immediately at the snap of authority in her voice and barked out the answer, sounding as programmed as [/i] "Sergeant Chase Amadahy, Serial Number 555-77-6404." [i]First test done, she slowly lowered the muzzle to point at his feet instead of his forehead and pushed the door open just a little further to get a better look at the newcomer. Shredded arm, beer, looking like he'd just spent the night with Crawlers. She extended her right hand for a moment, and then let her eyes drift from his arm to his face, and for a half a second he could've sworn her pupils dilated to encompass the red glow of her eyes. Then they went back to normal and she gave him a rather welcoming smile, a flash of white and pink against white.[/i] "Welcome to my home. I'm Manjusra Cheung. Call me Manji if you like." [i]She stepped aside and let him in, the bolts nearly flying into place behind him and he turned for a minute just to watch her security system. After letting him take off his shoes once he noticed the neat rack just to the left of the door, she padded across the entry way into the kitchen and set the kettle, his beer under her arm, and headed for the fridge. He blinked a few times as he took a minute to look deeper into her house. A sense of overwhelming stillness filled him. No animals, no burbling fountains, but houseplants offsetting the stark sepia and light tan walls, the woven mats, and the carefully set hardwood floor in the kitchen. She came back for a moment and looked at his arm for a minute, then abruptly snatched it up in her hand for virtually half a moment and then dropped it again. Immediately, he noticed a difference. In the space of a few heartbeats, she'd completely restored his arm, and then gone back to the kitchen. As he washed his hands in the small bathroom near the vestibule he felt a slight crackle and pop around his skin, then heard her calling out from the kitchen.[/i] "I hope you don't mind tea, it's more or less all I have right now besides water and soy milk." "Uh, It'll be fine." [i]She came back holding a tray and looking almost picturesque, watching him with a slightly bemused expression. He sat down at her gesture, awkwardly at first, since the table was only perhaps two feet off the ground at the most. In a startling short amount of time she'd set down a tea set, in addition to a small plate of what looked like lightly powdered cakes, a frosted mug for his beer, and folded cloth napkins. Then, still in her nightgown but with her hair elaborately knotted in the back of her head, she sat opposite him and poured with a slightly turned wrist. The Long Ding splashed into his ceramic cup, dark green, almost black, and frothed up around the rim in greeting. Manjusra smiled at him benignly and pointed a delicate finger at the drink.[/i] "Careful, it's a little more bitter than most people are used to." [i]She picked up hers with a delicate gesture and held it up, waiting for him to take the first sip.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][spoiler]I believe it was the mouth. Much like Shoot 'Em Up with the carrot in the head trick. I could be wrong but it did happen very fast. And for a pencil to not just shatter it couldn't have been the forehead. Perhaps the eyesockets? But mouth is more likely and an insta kill.[/spoiler][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][CENTER][FONT="Times New Roman"]My character likes pina coladas, long walks on the beach, and getting caught in the rain. Possibly so she can see if her lightning warding spell really does work or not. A soulful scientific adventurer, Egalia is looking for love and romance and someone to help her. But not an Igor. God no.[/FONT][/CENTER][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Manjusra considered them for a moment, then reached in her pocket for the silver knuckles, handing one to Thom over her shoulder.[/i] "You won't have to if we just destroy the heads completely. Fall to." [i]Without another word, she slipped the rings into her fingers and began to pound her right fist repeatedly into the remains of the female vampire's face, punctuating every blow with a sharp exhale of smoke.[/i] "I. Really. Hate. Leeches. Like. You." [i]As the rest smoked and smoldered underneath her fist, she smiled brutally to herself, the buzzing finally down to a manageable hum. Then she turned and wiped off the metal against the back of her pants, and held out her hand absentmindedly for the other. He handed it over and ran a hand up his face and through his tangled hair, remembering the slash across his face as he accidentally grazed it. [/i] "Ow, Jesus. Fuck!" "Oh, come here, I can fix that." [i]He leaned forward uncertainly and Manjusra placed the fingers of her left hand against his skin, rolling them across gently in a quick scatter of power that sewed the flesh back almost immediately. Her fingers pulled away with an almost audible pop, like static electricity, and she smirked as he rubbed the newly healed wound like it still itched. Giving him a "oh you big baby" smile she rolled up her chains and shoved them in her coat pockets and zipped it up, pulling her scarf back over her hair. The buzzing of her cell phone finally registered and she flicked it open, scanning the message from Jax and then snapping it shut again. She turned and gave Thom a look he'd seen before.[/i] "You leaving already?" "Ghasts. I'm sure you understand." "Sadly. Guess I'll check out your torture chamber some other time." [i]Already walking away, Manjusra waved a hand over her shoulder in farewell and turned her steps towards the directions Jax had left, hitting his number as she went. It rang an uncomfortably long amount of time before he picked up, sounding like he was talking in a waterfall.[/i] "Hey Manjusra. You caught me in the shower." "If only. How soon do you want me to stare at the Ghasts? I'm already downtown. Another Hunter and I beat a vampire couple into dust." "As soon as it's convenient. Wouldn't want to overtax you." "Spare me your slightly disguised machismo please." [i]He snorted and laughed the short bark of someone who doesn't really get a chance to use it often and she hung up, taking a slightly roundabout way home, headed for the building he'd mentioned in the message. And there the building was, the jangling of her nerves and eardrums an immediate warning to back off and circle around before she was detected. Doing just that, while fingering the edge of the whip in her pocket, she used her other hand to activate her Sight while she did, keeping herself from bolting at the overwhelming sensations. The aura of the Ghast was shrunken slightly in comparison to his body, but even that was ridiculous considering his sheer bulk. Bigger than any she'd ever seen before, maybe the result of a Ghast who had been allowed to live for too long, maybe just something that'd gotten an infection from another freak. But she was scared, and felt justified when considering the enormous thing that was making its home in the city she lived in. Shutting down her energy and then drawing the rest deep inside herself, she made tracks for home, throwing the locks behind her automatically, pulling and locking the blinds, quickly muttering the Lotus Sutra to herself repeatedly as she did. Once she had calmed herself with a cup of tea and a hot shower, she sat down in her bed, pulling the covers up to her waist, and reached for her phone. This time it skipped straight to message and she snapped out her report quickly.[/i] "This is Optical88 and I hate to overstate the obvious but it's huge. You'll need to bring in as much firepower as you can. Probably an RPG for good measure. I checked and it doesn't even seem to have the normal weaknesses nor any that made themselves apparent. I didn't want to get close enough for him to smell me because to be fair, he could probably eventually batter his way into my house and you know how it goes." [i]Then, without a qualm, she pulled the covers over her head and tried to relax enough to fall into a dreamless sleep.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]"No kidding. You always had such a way with words." [i]Thom looked over Manjusra briefly as she climbed in the passenger seat, all legs and light jacket. Hadn't changed much, a new small diamond shaped scar on her cheek, but nothing horrific like he'd seen on some hunters that got faces full of acid and venom. Then again, Manjusra's slight size and uncomfortable gifts ensured that she'd always have to fight quickly and then dart away out of the range of discomfort. He noticed the glisten of the chains around her waist, and he smirked while lighting up two cigarettes and passing one to her. She took it and for a brief second, her face was illuminated in the glow of the cherry.[/i] "I like your chains there. Very kinky." "You should see the ones in my basement." "If only. But alas, we have business at hand." [i]She smirked in a mirror of his own and exhaled slowly, leaning over to look out the window, drawing one finger in a quick jerk from her lower lip to the bottom of her chin almost before he noticed. Immediately he felt a light crackle and a buzzing pop in his ears, and all of a sudden Manjusra relaxed with an audible sigh. Crossing her legs, she casually cracked the knuckles on her left hand simply by contracting and releasing in a quick jerk. As Thom turned the corner on Madison, he turned to Manjusra, who had already used her edge again as the previous one wore off. For a moment they both sat in the car, idling to collect themselves, then, moving before Thom could, she stepped out on her side, and strolled casually to the dimly lit sidewalk corner across from the building. He followed behind at a safe distance, and she quickly tapped her fingers to her pupils and muttered a word he didn't quite catch. He did however catch the unmistakable eyeshine of her red caught in the sparse lighting across the street. Then it went away again and she shut it down by blinking a few times. Out of consideration he began to push down the power that always had crackled around him, just waiting for the order. She turned to him, her white hair slipping free from her scarf and glistening like molten silver in the lamplight.[/i] "Two like you said. One male, one female. Strong but not invincible. Both look like they're getting ready to go out for a feed. Their auras are clinging to their bodies more than they would if they'd just eaten." [i]He nodded slowly, and then dropped his cigarette, grinding it out with his boot heel, then shifted his grip on the first of his two guns.[/i] "Ready?" "More or less. I'll try to lead so you can pick off anyone who tries to flank me." "Not a bad plan. I'll try my best to not accidentally crush your skull. Maddie." [i]Manjusra was already tugging gently on the first seven section chain whip, pulling it out to clump together in her hand, ready for a quick snap to extend it out for maximum range. Thom gave her a smile that would've been a sneer on anyone else and the two quietly made their way into the building, the door already unlocked as if the vampires knew. But since she'd only seen the two there and no others with her Sight, Manjusra hung slightly back and waited for the first to materialize. With the same unnerving shriek she'd heard dozens of times before in her sleep, in real time, she steeled herself and watched for the burst of gunfire in the darkened room. Immediately, the buzzing in her ears took her over, and relying only on her Sight to keep her from breaking down, Manjusra spun around in a tight circle and jerked the second whip out as she flung the first towards the female vampire. The first missed and shattered a pane of glass while the second struck a glancing blow across the vampire's extended forearm. The smell of burning flesh filled the room, and she whipped both around her head and struck again, her eyes wide open and staring.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial] And hey, you're the one who pulled in the amorphous tentacles.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Yeah, but I didn't include them mating with gigantic squids or blue spotted octopuses to form new and exciting strains of tentacle monsters that prey on Japanese schoolgirls and costumed superheroes. And as of yet they do not have prehensile reproductive organs but they DO have detachable mandibles![/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh yeah, and before you think Heath Ledger's hit on some new way of being the Joker, I have to say, before all the die-hard comic book reading Batman fans say it. The Joker was ALWAYS a sick sadistic twisted bastard with mental issues up the wazoo and less jokes so much as a burning desire to make things snook-a-loopy. I think one of the problems with all of Batman's fighting is that on the big screen it's very hard to see what's going on. Sure he's using all kinds of great fighting skills but you can barely see them because naturally Batman does all his fighting late at night in the dark in dimly lit abandoned buildings or parking lots. I'd say in the first movie it was better because you could clearly see him getting his *** beat up in the League of Assassin's training and you could obviously tell when he was fighting at first. Then of course it dissolved into fight scenes I can almost see? And like he complains in the movie, his mobility is severely limited so most of his attacks end up being him bashing downwards with his fists on some guy's head, neck, shoulders, etc.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]And the reason the Hellhound didn't accidentally kill, viciously maim, or eat the domesticated female dog in his pleasure is [i]because[/i]...? Oh nevermind, you said it was chance, and deus ex machinae and let's rejoice and all that crap. But this calls to attention a question I have based on a post. Short of edges, which we'd have to activate constantly as I recall, is there actual literal magic that allows us to ward houses while we're away or will it be in steel plated wooden doors and kevlar blinds we trust? Because if we're allowed to use magic that obviously doesn't attract supernaturals to it, it would seem like our edges would be rendered useless or utterly imbalanced. And how exactly does one overhear a phone call based on a random rumor that one hunter might've mentioned in passing to another but not yet put up on the Hunter-Net system? Plus, I'd like to point out that while six characters, and they know who they are, have my cell phone number; I thought I made it clear Manjusra doesn't make her face well known around the Hunter-Net system. People know she exists but they don't know what she looks like, and they always tend to deal with her in the third person and twice removed through e-mails. So if you could please remove that part Knuckles Girl, I'd appreciate it. I'd like to keep her slightly more under wraps than have the entire whole of the Hunter system know what she looks like.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The day slowly approached twilight, and Majusra had already finished the reply to her uncle’s letter, gotten the mail, made dinner now slowly baking in the oven, and brewed a cup of gunpowder green tea. Sitting at the low table in her breakfast nook, she stretched her legs out and slowly sipped the savory liquid, considering the taste as a philosopher would contemplate the meaning of life. Slightly tangy with a gentle undertone that slowly snuck up on you like a creeper about to take your eyes from your head. With a shrug, she turned those thoughts aside and sat up to go check her e-mail one more time. Her phone quietly received a text message that she didn’t read, probably because she’d accidentally set it to silent mode instead of vibrate. On the hard wooden surface of her desk, the sound was loud enough to get her attention.[/i] "Wonder why nobody's called me yet." [i]Walking over to her phone, she found the text still illuminating the screen and took a closer look. Nothing too interesting, just a future request. She shrugged, turned it back to vibrate and prepared dinner. And while she chewed slowly, contemplating things the way someone with far too much alone time always could, her phone was quiet. After dinner she did the dishes, as few as they were, fed the small bowl of betta females swirling around glass marbles and a flourishing bamboo plant. ......still nothing? I must be losing it. Manjusra sat in a mountain of pillows, her cell phone resting on the end table while a dim light illuminated the glossy centerfold of the Marquis Magazine. Flipping one of the pages to a Midori special on Japanese bondage, Manjusra sucked on her lower lip intently, studying the way the knots formed little flowers against the backdrop of the model's dark hair. As she was thumbing through the second half of the publication the phone began to vibrate, jolting her out of her reverie.[/i] "Gonna be able ta handle those big nasty creatures all by yer littl' self, now, snowflake?" "Snowflake? Well I guess it's better than being called whitey." "Someone called you whitey?" [i]Her upper lip twitched in a sudden burst of good humor. It was Eraser96, but she called him Thom just like he'd always called her snowflake. Their banter was always the icebreaker that kept things looser than the average hunter to hunter relationship. She put on her more sardonic tone and kept the laughter in through a superhuman feat of willpower.[/i] "He might've suffered from a lack of prior knowledge in his latest hunt and lost an eye." "Oh but baby that's what I like about you. So anyway, those freaks. Gonna need help?" "Not really. I'm just the sign by the wayside. I already pointed Sword224 and Shield223 in the right direction. I take it you saw the thread on the Crawler infestation earlier." "And it was some nasty shit. But there's also rumors of a couple vampires stalking over on 53rd and Madison. Could use a hand." "I'll jump in, if you don't mind me Suspending you while we're on the way there." [i]Hanging up before he could get the last word in, Manjusra noticed the voicemail, and punched in her pin number almost lazily. Ah, Bruiser267. The one with that horrifying station wagon and the interesting edge activations she had seen from a distance once. Might as well. A change of scenery? What did that mean? Shrugging as only a female hermit with utterly broken relationship radar could, Manjusra leaned back against the downy goodness of her pillows and chewed on her thumb, deep in thought. Then, without another moment of musing, she strode over to the closet and pulled out her combat boots. Silver knuckles she slipped into her left pocket, and chain whips were already lashed around her waist, tied loose enough to pull free with a minimal amount of effort. A simple scarf around her head since they wouldn't be out in the cold long. Vampire hunting. Always a refreshing intellectual treat.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh gawd. Batman and Robin was seriously the worst Batman movie ever. I remember my heart dying when they made Comm. Gordon fall and grovel before Uma Thurman. And my god the rubber and spandex were like some kind of horrific porno gone wrong. BUT ANYWAY. Just got back from the utterly packed 12:30 a.m. showing in my area and quite honestly, the Joker takes it away. With his potato peeler, switchblade, butterfly knife, buck knife, and RPG. I had the best time ever since the majority of the movie is comprised of "HOLY ****" moments strung together with slightly less than thrilling movie equivalent of the cutscene you skip every time you play the video games just so you can get back to viciously maiming things. Morgan Freeman's performance was divine as usual, and Aaron Eckhart made me sing and dance and then of course cover my eyes in fear. Of course someone halfway through lit up a joint and then of course the marijuana was circulated through the entire system so that might've changed things... [spoiler]However the greatest moment of the entire movie was when the Joker makes his way into the criminal hideout and sticks a pencil into the table and then declares he shall make it disappear. Then of course when one of the overzealous body guards goes for him he grabs him and slams the thug face first into the pencil, picking it up while lodged in the man's face and voila. The pencil has indeed disappeared from the table. ....into the guy's skull. There was a mixture of shocked laughter and uproarious applause for the Joker from the audience.[/spoiler][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]“I guess you could say I always was a watcher. But it wasn't until the Messengers had forced their hand that I'd become a Watcher.” [i]The lines of her diary lay open in the rose colored light of her bedroom, the only time she picked up a pen and paper was in the early morning, when she wrote down her thoughts and memories before the day tainted them. The hunts she'd been on, things she'd killed successfully. She closed it carefully and turned, drawing a brush through her tangled hair. The bed’s sheets lay tumbled to one side where she’d thrown them off, and she pulled them back, replacing the overlarge pillows as she did. The shades were drawn, but then again, sun would kill Manjusra just as easily as it would a monster. XP had ensured that she’d always be shunning sunlight, crouching down in shadows when she could. But she had made the most of it, at least recently. A Hunter like her was a rarity, incapable of bearing the presence of the demons and freaks that freely roamed the earth, and often shying from her own kind, it still suited her. The Hunter-Net ensured that she’d never be completely cut off from her peers, and she could easily transmit what messages she had that way, or through the cell phone that always managed to find its way back to her no matter how many times she tried to misplace it. And the headaches had never gotten better. Only worse. Hair combed and plaited, Manjusra made her way to the small shrine in the alcove just off the side of her bedroom and knelt before the two jizo statutes dedicated to her sisters. Lighting the tips of the incense that would burn for the rest of the morning, she bowed and intoned the Lotus Sutra for the pair of them in an extremely low voice. After bowing twice she turned as her computer beeped at her and rose to her feet, obeisance done for the day. The computer’s screen, set to a very low light setting reflected her face as she sat at her well used desk. The other lights in her room the glow from the incense and the rose colored night light over her end table, Manjusra was used to navigating by touch alone. Even so she had a small bookshelf along the back wall that was filled alternately with fiction novels and BDSM pornography. The messages in her inbox were scanned through quickly enough. Several from lesser hunter’s looking to see when she was available to do readings, a couple pieces of spam, and a letter from her uncle in Xianjing. One from Beartalker; and instead of the usual text it was a video file to boot. Some days were worth getting up for. She pressed play and leaned back, his dark voice pouring out through her speakers, his face partially shadowed.[/i] “Opticall88; I’ll need information if you can get it on a hive downtown. The corner of Westminster and McArthur. Go during the day if it’s not too much for you and please respond after receiving and after recon. By the way, I think Shield223 will be seeing you very soon.” [i]The message abruptly ended without any ritual farewells, but Beartalker had always been curt with her. Perhaps he was uncomfortable with her religion, or the way she was often apathetic about the fates of some humans, but when it came to it, she would always take requests he made. Simply because she felt that he was higher ranked than her, she could even say that she owed him her allegiance. And indeed, she could even admit that she could respect him at times. Typing out a reply almost absentmindedly with one hand, she turned and drew aside the curtain that separated her closet from the rest of the room. The sun was already shining overly brightly on the cold day for Manjusra’s taste, accustomed as she was to the dark and quiet of the late nights. But even so she pulled on a pair of dark wash jeans, her combat boots, and her overcoat. Her hair pulled back in a tight knot at the base of her neck, she pulled her hood deep over her eyes, pulled her turtleneck up over her nose and stepped out into the light through her back door. Downtown was only a six mile walk from her apartment, and she didn’t mind. About 50 degrees Fahrenheit in broad daylight, unseasonably cool, but just right for Manjusra. The pavement under her feet seemed to tingle through her legs, and her ears buzzed every now and then as she passed normal looking people and one or two inactive monsters. Finally, she reached the location of the supposed hive that Beartalker had mentioned and took up a position in the office building across the street from it. Sitting in the second story lobby of a dentist’s office, Manjusra went utterly unnoticed as she put her face close to the glass, looking down into the seemingly abandoned building. Thankful for her sunglasses, Manjusra carefully raised a hand to her eyes and reaching underneath, touched the pupil of both her eyes and whispered.[/i] “Samadhi.” [i]Immediately, behind the darkness of her glasses, the building exploded in a seething, heaving mass of dark green auras. They crawled and writhed everywhere within the confines of steel, wood, and drywall. Manjusra’s stomach roiled but she managed to contain it, then looked again, her red eyes glowing slightly with the effort. By tilting her head downwards, she could see the Mother that had made her nest what seemed like two stories down from the ground floor. She’d seen enough. With a quick jerk of her head, she shut off the Sight and turned towards the exit. A light buzz in her ear, perhaps of a weak Hunter passing her by on the street as she beat her way home, moving quickly, as if she were being followed. As she made it into her safe house, she locked the door and threw the deadbolts twice, just to make sure. Undressing back down to just a turtleneck and looser fitting jeans, she sat down at the desk again and turned on her web cam, modified to emit only a dull blue light. She began to record almost immediately after.[/i] “This is Optical88. Recon completed on suspected hive downtown. One Mother burrowed and made herself a basement. Over 50 Crawlers, varying stages of development, perhaps six fully grown. By tonight there should be a few more reaching adulthood. No further abnormal presences detected. Will clarify further if necessary.” [i]She ended the message without a farewell of her own and sent it into cyberspace, leaning back and waiting for a call from the other select few Hunters that knew her number. It was nice, not being very well known. And there were very few Hermits out there. But she knew a few that could call her if they really needed help. Or wanted a reading done. Or needed to know if their death was walking in their eyes.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Note: Not meant to be cruel and unusual, just being Raiha. The Sakura and Sasuke picture, while nice and colorful, confuses me in the realm of Sasuke's arms. What's going on? What is he doing? What's that small little one there? Your male angel has a pretty curve and sneer but his shoulders aren't broad enough so he ends up looking like a midget. By contrast he has nice hands but the whole image doesn't work in the context of how miniscule his wings are. Unless they're vestigial and he was never meant to fly with them. Same for the Show you Care girl. As far as Sesshomaru goes, the problem there would be his lips. They're exceedingly feminine. And his face just seems broad. Now don't get me wrong, I know he's supposed to be the pettiest demon this side of that stupid well Kikyo keeps falling into but the broad face contrasted with the sensual lips [good sexy factor there anyway] just doesn't make sense. Like a dog with webbed feet. If I haven't said anything about the others, it's because I haven't figured out what I can be brutally honest about. But on the plus side, I really liked the blindfolded one from the beginning. And before people cry 'oi what's your game?' I drew anime for years, and still do. So I know what balancing enormous eyes in a face that ends up pentagram shaped is like.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]ALBINO FRIEND?! I tells ya I get no respects at all, none! But on the other hand I guess it's better than 'that yellow chick that's really white.' And I had Louisiana crawfish once. Too bad I can't stand spicy food, otherwise it might've been edible for me. So you're describing in essence body bags that are full of teeth? ///Thanks for clarification. Oh yes, for those who are vaguely interested my character's phone number is [i](473) 384-4647[/i]. See if you can figure out what it actually says.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]A nice visit to the Colonies eh? I suppose Maine would work nicely, because I'm sure for all my character's issues she loves lobster. And I hear there's nothing like Maine lobster... As for other characters, I think inwardscream's there too.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]So what I'm hearing is that Ghasts are the supernatural equivalent of cockroaches. ....Greeeeeeeaaaaat. In other news open to suggesting character histories with DeLarge and Engel.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]I was only a kid and I remember hanging out the sunroof...lol. He had his window open and he looked up at me and waved. That was fun, but at the time I didn't really grasp his importance. I think I said something like "Why do we all have to stop? He's [i]just the President![/i]" Haha[/font][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I thought that when I was 10 and Bill Clinton was in town and we had to completely detour just to get into our HOUSE. I remember thinking: "....so why are we stopping for that fornicating country bombing jerkoff anyway?" Let's see, I saw Kobe Bryant at the In-And-Out hamburger joint in Irvine, CA but let's face it. It was Irvine. Famous people live all around there and Malibu beach. Also saw Jon Davis from Korn at a gas stop. He was driving a baby blue Ferarri and wearing a Slayers T-shirt. I ignored him to be honest, mostly because I was having trouble not laughing over how short he was. Seriously Indi, you're taller than him. When I was 13 at Take Your Daughter To Work Day, Mia Hamm was there and not only did I get her autograph but when she was opening up a Q and A time I asked her in a nice pretty voice: "So did you ever collect stamps?"[/FONT][/COLOR]

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I stepped out of the shower, body temperature cooled to a point safe to pick up Kiwi and let her nuzzle me. Wrapped in a clean blanket and smelling like lavender I let her suckle until she drifted off for a nap, which didn?t take long considering most of the afternoon while we?d been fighting like madmen, she?d been entertained by a drifting ball of fluff that Crystia had conjured up. The feral in question was now looped around the banister in the hallway and keeping an eye on Billy and Sevara?s rooms. Downstairs Neil was probably raiding the refrigerator again, searching fruitlessly for leftovers from the night previous while squeezing one of those high tension strength builders for his hand. He was determined after all, to someday soon beat Gavin in arm wrestling. Whether with brute force or by snapping all of his fingers off. I leaned over and tucked in Kiwi, and then turned back downstairs with my husband still sprawled on the bed snoring most likely now that I wasn?t there keeping him turned on his side. In the living room, Neil was sitting, locked in a meditative pose for a change, so I contented myself with mixing up a batch of biscuits, throwing in the shortening. Some would?ve called it heart attack heaven, but with Saiya-jins to feed, they both burned up the fat right away as well as relied on it for quick energy. All the carbs kept them from running down and the protein, cows and sheep withstanding, served as fuel for little things like this. Or mock tourneys that I set up to keep them endlessly amused instead of setting small animals on fire on accident while throwing ki balls into the fields.[/i] ?I swear the times I spent sucking back those flames....? [I]Passing one hand over the stove, I lit the gas burners with a thought and twitch of my fingers. Pouring teriyaki marinade into six large plastic bags looked like it would serve. Gavin had picked up the quarts of frozen sausage on a bundle deal from work, and properly roasted were both tasty and relatively healthy by comparison to other things out there. Biscuits, sausage, salad? What the heck. If I didn?t, Sevara would complain that I wasn?t serving balanced meals to the family. On the other hand there was always plenty of milk for Crystia, who for some reason never demanded any other kind of food in her typically cute and pleading way. With a sigh, I began slicing off the casings and hurling them into the freezer bags turned marinade devices. In the corner of my eye I could see Neil exhaling in time to the ticking of the clock over the table. His power level was lower than I?d expected, and lower than he normally kept it when rampaging around the house or practicing lifting weights. I did know however that all it took was a second for it to expand on itself exponentially and begin shattering the furniture. As such I noticed that he?d dropped himself into the scribing circle I?d set into the floor for people who wanted to mediate without finding some abandoned mountaintop. Even so there were times when I?d accidentally breached it myself and tasked Billy with putting the legs back on the coffee table. Either way as long as he didn?t break things he couldn?t fix himself I was inclined to not throw an additional shield around his. Instead I contemplated what kind of salad to make instead, and then leaned back while the griddle danced and snapped and the oven began to heat itself.[/I] ?Milks for Crrrrrrrystia?? [I]I looked down to find the feral in question twining herself around one of the legs of the kitchen chairs, before perching up on the pony wall and giving me a beseeching look. With a sigh of resignation I reached for her silver dish and poured in a measure of goat?s milk, the kind she craved on a regular basis, and a little more than usual this time. Whenever I called upon her to use her duplicating magic to guard the house she usually burned through it faster than usual. Best to keep her in good health rather than have a weak point in the defenses. Which reminded me to figure out a way to subtly drive Sevara into eating more protein. Unless she really was cut out to be a healer after all. Not a shock, but for a Saiya-jin I suppose it would be. Only part I reminded myself. The sounds of Crystia gleefully lapping up her milk mingled with the hoarse sound of Neil attempting to focus his thoughts further. And for now it was quiet outside. The sun was beginning to set, which meant I could snap up the wards and relax for the evening. We?d already drawn straws on who was standing watch. And since I?d pulled the next to last I could kick back with a book. Since Billy was too tired to make trouble right now. And Sevara had always been relatively well behaved, at least by comparison. Apples to Oranges. Ugh, why was I even thinking that? And besides, the sausages were burning.[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Can they be lured into traps with Krispey Kremes? [b]Jumpers[/b] Pretty much oversized insects that can throw on human skins, they're the humanoid equivalent of the flea. Hard to catch and hard to keep up with but if you can hamstring them they're pretty much useless. Recommend oversized weed whackers or chainsaws.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Seven section chain whips...never run out of ammo.... *deranged giggling* But as for another monster? [b]Creepers[/b] No, I am not referencing that appalling B horror movie with those slithering, things. These are what killed my character's sisters to trigger her imbuing. Famous for the way they can slink into people's houses through any cracked surface and then reform into much larger creatures, the Creepers will first eat the eyes of their intended victims and then play with their bodies. Most don't write on the walls with blood, but then again the older they get, the more playful they are. Most are intelligent enough to avoid detection, but with generally malleable bodies they are hard to catch anyway. They target the very young or the very old and can be killed with cold steel or silver. Sunlight isn't an issue in matters of killing, and bullets would work, if you could get it to hold still long enough.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?The name is Rach. Rach Maninoffus. I?m into pest control. My job is simple. I catch the bad guys that escape and bring them back alive. Usually anyway. But I remember one case that didn?t go quite as planned. Maybe it?s because I was slated to catch two teenage girls. Maybe it?s because they were so utterly unlike the normal hardened criminals I stalk down and collar. But here?s the story. Try to keep up.? [i]It was cloudy, dark, and Chibi and Crimson ran like scared schoolgirls. One, guilty of murder in the second with an umbrella. Her defense?[/i] ?Well I didn?t know it would open that fast.? [i]And Crimson was a convicted morality bomber, concerned with the elimination of gang activity and as such had the harebrained scheme of bombing Wal Mart bandana racks. Just why she didn?t take it to the bandana manufacturing companies instead, we don?t know. But that?s probably why she had been in the Big House first. For being a certifiable nutter butter. Snook-a-loopy. Barking mad. You get the picture. But whatever right? Sure I blinked a few times when I first had the assignment faxed to me and handed over by my sultry secretary and wife, Beth. Either way there I was chasing after them, running down the street after them, keeping to the shadows, the collar of my trench coat pulled up heavy over my neck against the cold night of Otaku City. Passing the ?Taku Mart on my left and the Anthology Library on my right I saw their tenders pulling down the shades and locking up for the night. Late enough to have businesses closing and early enough to where there were no girls starting up their businesses, I should?ve kept a closer eye on them, when both abruptly vanished in front of me. Turning to one of the night walking girls on the corner and asking if they?d seen two girls in orange run by seemed like a really stupid idea. So I followed my gut. It?s never really steered me wrong, and if it could lead me to marrying my secretary, it could lead me to two cons. And sure enough, in the karaoke bar I found the pair of them trying to inconspicuously blend in with the clientele. Of course the part where they were both too young to be admitted didn?t help their cause, and hiding in the bathrooms wasn?t the best of plans. That whole ?escape through the A/C vents? only works in movies, not in anthology stories written by anonymous psychotics. And eventually when they thought they?d lost me, just as the man known for some odd reason as the ?Original Darren? was stepping up to give us a rendition of ?Summer Lovin?? they bolted for the door.[/i] ?All I really want is being with you Summer lovin' is all we should do.? [i]Oh gawd. Being an experienced man in matters of psychological torture and its limits, I chased after them instead of staying to have my sanity shredded. And there they were, standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking harried and defensive. I took a step towards them in what I hope was a menacing manner, but it didn?t manner exactly how it came out because that?s when it happened. Chibi and Crimson were hit by a bus in a manner that could only be described as ?terminal.? And while that meant I didn?t get paid, at least nobody else would be killed in a horrible bombing or accidentally impaled by an umbrella. Oh well. It turns out you can never catch ?em all.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]