Kitty

[color=blue][size=1]Like most, I stumbled onto the[b]Otaku[/b].com first. I believe it was summer time (sometime in July) and I was rather bored. So, I plopped down in my computer chair and attacked google with different requests. One site that I decided to visit also had anime quizzes, and I got hooked. So then I went [i]back[/i] to google *cough*afterfinishingeverypossiblequizthere*cough* (>_>) and typed in "anime quizzes". The[b]Otaku[/b] wasn't the [i]first[/i] site on the list, but it was on the first page, and I clicked it. Eventually I saw the link to the Otaku[b]Boards[/b] and clicked (figuring there must be other quiz addicts like me there, lol). I registered and viola. I immediately became addicted to viewing and critiquing (though I was [i]waaay[/i] to nice a rater at the time) art in the Studio or whatever it was called back in version 6, and to RPing. I actually became pretty good at it. ^_~ I've fallen into a few "slumps", where I didn't go on the computer because I was totally uninterested. But I always found myself coming back. And I'll be a three year member sometime this July. ^_^ Ah.. I feel so proud of myself. x3[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1][B]Name:[/B] Nicole Murphy [B]Nickname:[/B] Nik or Nikki [B]Age:[/B] 17 [B]Appearance:[/B] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/chara_mikoto_ev01.jpg]Click[/url] Nikki is usually mistaken for a boy at first glance due to the way she acts and looks. She normally wears her father's blue navy jacket over her baggy shirts which are all raggedy and torn from having lived on the streets. She wears her brother's old shorts and enjoys being barefoot, but puts on sandals when she has to wear shoes. She stands a mere 5'4", and weighs just under 100 lbs. Oh, and she doesn't have the braids from the picture. [B]Weapons:[/B] Nikki keeps knives with her, mostly. She's never used a gun, and is a bit afraid of them, actually. [B]History:[/B] Nikki was born to a navy officer and his wife. They already had a son, whose name was Christopher, and he was 7 when she was born. They lived well, until they were moved to Middleton, well known for its criminal population and almost regular pirate raids. Nikki was only three at the time. A few months after they moved, her mother fell ill after their father had been ordered off to catch an illegal trading ship that was coming by the area. While he was away, she died, leaving Nikki and Chris to fend for themselves. Their father returned shortly after getting the news, but came back to find Nikki and Chris near death as well, having only been able to feed themselves with scraps they had managed to steal after running out of supplies at home. For the next year, their father raised them alone. They recovered, but all of their spirits wavered. Their mother's passing affected them badly, and there was rarely a day that went by where they didn't dwell on her death. Their father tried his best to lighten the mood whenever he could. Soon, their father had to return to the sea. His next job was to be a long one, so he left 5 year old Nikki in her brother's care, though he was only 12. He supplied them with enough money so they could buy food and new clothes for the next year. Before leaving, he gave Nikki his jacket and Chris his hat. As the months went by, things got worse. Chris has been left in charge of the money, but most of it was stolen while they went out to buy Nikki some new shoes. They were then left with only a small portion of the money their father had left them. Not too long after that, their house was burned down in a regular pirate raid. Thus, forcing them to live on the streets. They made a makeshift house in a backwater alleyway in Middleton Port that very few adults would be able to get to. It didn't take long for them to run out of money. The two of them grew up by learning how to steal and stay hidden. They soon got a reputation for being some of the most well-known thieves around. By the time Nikki turned 12, she could get the best meal in town for free, and no one would know it was gone until it was supposed to arrive at the customer's table. Chris, however, didn't enjoy the life style. He resented his father for never returning, and hated all pirates for what they did to his home. He trained himself to fight, and made sure to teach Nikki how to defend herself. She had a knack for throwing knives, and so she began to practice regularly. But Nikki didn't share Chris's resentment and hatred. She was a bit angry at her father for not coming back, but knew there had to be a good reason. And she actually admired the pirates. She didn't like how they attacked defenseless towns, but the rest of it seemed so amazing to her that she just couldn't help but aspire to be one. When Chris turned 22, he left Middleton. He had wanted Nikki to come along, but she knew she'd be better off staying where she'd grown up and learned to do what she did. She was only 15, but that didn't stop her at all. In fact, she thrived without her brother. He had always taught her to steal in moderation. Never take more than was necessary. But with her skills, she felt like there was no one to stop her, so why not? After two years of being the best thief in all of Middleton, she bumped into a man named Red who offered her a new home. A pirate ship, sailing for treasure. She eagerly jumped on board. But not before stealing him a few things. [B]Personality:[/B] Nikki is a headstrong tomboy who enjoys joking around. Anyone who hears of her past is skeptical at first, because they figure that no one so bubbly could have grown up like that. Constantly hyper, she can easily get on ones nerves if bored. She is usually clumsy, except when she's thieving. When she's mad, however, she usually loses a hold of herself and acts rashly. But she gets very frightening when angered. She gets very frustrated when people mistake her for a boy, but it was her idea to be called "Nik". But she has an incredibly large softspot for Red. She was enamored with him since she first met him. She'd do anything for him, and everyone knows it. [B]Specialty:[/B] Nikki is good at thieving, stealth, and throwing knives. [B]Snippet:[/B] A short, blue haired girl ran through the large crowd of people that filled the port that day. She peered over her shoulder to see if her persuer was still, in fact, persuing her at all. When she couldn't see hair nor hide of him, she slowed, panting slightly after her long dash. She giggled to herself as she pulled a bag of apples from her jacket. Taking one out, she examined it to make sure it wasn't bruised. "I was sloppy today. He saw me.. If he catches me, I'm toast," she said to herself, taking another glance back over her shoulder. It looked fine, so she pulled it up to her mouth to eat it. But before she took a bite, she felt herself collide with someone. She was sent backwards onto the cobblestone that paved the streets of Middleton Port. She rubbed her elbow, which had felt most of the fall, then realized she'd dropped the apples. Turning her head, she saw them rolling about all over the street. "My apples!" she cried, scrambling to pick them up. But soon, an army of feet and legs stomped between her and her prize. Flustered and bruised, she was about to yell at the guy when she rolled over to see a young man holding out his hand for her. She hesitated, but put her hand in his and he lifted her up. "Thanks.." she began, her eyes locked on him. The man she had bumped into was quite handsome, and reminded her somewhat of her brother. When he asked her if she was alright, she blinked herself back to reality. She pulled her hand back from his, standing silently for a moment. "Thanks a lot! You just made me spill a week's lunch!" she shouted. "Sorry, again. You were in quite a rush back there. Running from someone?" the man asked her. "Yeah. But I do everytime I get my meals. Well.. I do it all the time, actually. Whenever I get anything. I've tried getting clothes from the tailor, but I'd have to pay to place the order and it's such a big hassle, and..." she trailed off, spotting the familiar face of the grocer she had stolen her apples from. "Uh-oh.." she mumbled. "What is it?" the man asked, glancing from her to the man pushing through the crowd of people. "I-I gotta go. If he catches me, he'll.. He'll.. Who knows what he'll do to me!" she stammered, taking a few steps forward. "Come with me," the man offered. "With you? Who are you, anyway?" she asked, feeling rather hesitant. "Call me Red. Now come with me if you want to dodge your friend here," he smiled, nodding his head in the direction of the fast approaching grocer. "A-Alright," she agreed. He held up his hand, and she took it happily. He then began to push through the opposing force of the crowd, pulling her along behind him. They swam through the current of people for a short time before approaching a large building. Maybe the largest in the Port. "Ah! Here's a good place," Red called back. She looked up at a large sign that read, "Charlie's Bar and Inn". She had been in the Inn before, but only to look around. Charlie, the owner of the inn, was a kind old man that tolerated her and even let her stay the nights free occasionally. She returned his kindness with respect and not stealing or causing trouble. Red approached the man behind the bar. "Do you think I could get a table?" he asked politely. "Sure. Take any seat ya want. Oh. Hey there Nik," the man added, spotting the girl attached to Red. "Hey Liam," the girl replied, smiling wide. Red glanced at her, then proceeded to grab himself a table. She sat down across from him. "Your name's Nik?" he asked. "Well, some people call me Nik, others call me Nikki." "Ah.. Nikki's a nice name," he smiled. Nikki felt her cheeks turn red. "Tell me Nikki.. You know something about thieving, right?" "Know something? Red, I'm the best thief in all of Middleton. I was just careless today is all. Why do you want to know?" she added, curious as to why he had asked her. "My crew is out at the docks on my ship, and--" he began, but was cut off. "Are you a [i]pirate[/i]?!" she cried eagerly. Red glanced around at the others in the bar, who were all staring at the two of them. "Well, yes. But if you would be quieter about it.." "Oh.. Right, sorry," she replied, her cheeks turning pinker. "As I was saying, my crew is out at the docks, and we've run out of supplies. I was wondering if you would know any good places that I could.. [i]find[/i] some?" he asked her. "Yeah. Sure. There are plenty of good shops down here that I hit all the time. The best one to go to is probably Peter's. He has the most stuff, so he's more lax when you take stuff," she suggested. "Peter, eh? Why didn't you steal your apples from him today instead of the other guy?" "Oh.. I dunno," she sighed, her eyes avoiding his. It was obvious that she was lying, but he felt it wasn't necessary to ask her much more on the topic. "Nikki.. Would you like to join my crew?" he asked, standing up from his seat. "Hmm? Me? Become a pirate?" she repeated, stunned that he would ask her. "Yeah. I'm the only good thief on my boat, and I could use someone with your skills," he told her. Her cheeks were a beet red by now, but she didn't care. She was so delighted. She'd always admired pirates, and now he was asking her to become one of his crew. "Yes! I'd love to!" she shouted with glee. Jumping up, she hugged him tightly. She let go quickly, realizing that he hadn't expected it. "Uh.. Sorry.." she mumbled, terribly embarrassed about her overreaction. "N-No problem," he replied, scratching his head before bursting out laughing. "Come on. Lets go visit Peter, eh?" -- OOC: Hope that's alright, Kamuro. I'll edit anything that needs fixing. ^_^ EDIT: Found a few minor mistakes is all. They're all fixed now, though. x3[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Katrina studied the leader's face as he spoke. She had seen him before. While he busied himself with talking, she pulled her dagger from it's place on her belt, and tightened her grip. She glanced over his men, and counted four. [i]"They plan on fighting us one on one. How stupid. But.. There's only four. Then who's the other guy here for?"[/i] she thought. But at that moment, the man said "die", and the Demons behind him leapt towards the group. Just as she had predicted, each one of her friends was lunged at by a Demon. But their leader stepped towards her. "Ah.. Katrina.. Lucifer had specific orders that I bring you to him alive. But he said nothing about a few cuts," he grinned, pulling his sheath from its resting place above his shoulder. "Ha. You? You won't be able to lay a finger on me, let alone a blade," she smirked, keeping her dagger hidden. "Really now.. I know about the pistol you holster in one of your boots, and the two butter knives you call weapons hidden elsewhere on that slim figure of yours," he paused to look her up and down. It disgusted her, but she held herself back. "But you have none of them drawn. So how, may I ask, do you intend to block me?" "Why don't you swing that thing and find out?" she suggested, the smile on her face growing wider. "As you wish," he sighed, as if he pitied her. [i]"I'll teach you to pity me, you perverted son of a bitch,"[/i] she thought angrily, but the emotion did not show on her face. In a split second, he was on the attack. Stepping swiftly towards her, he grinned as he swung his blade at her. But as it neared her face, she brought up her dagger and ducked just in time. He grunted as his blade contacted with hers, and was surprised that she could hold a weapon significantly smaller than his steady against it. "Heh," he laughed through clenched teeth, "You are good. A lot stronger than you look. But still.. A toy like that can't stand up to a weapon like mine." "Fine." The man hesitated, surprised by her reply. But a moments hesitation was all she needed. She threw her dagger at him, and he barely managed to avoid it, the weight of his scythe making it hard to move suddenly like that. His eyes had followed the thrown weapon, and as his glance returned to where Katrina had been, he was startled to see her gone. "What the-?!" He spun around to see her running at him. "Stupid slut," he barked angrily, pulling his scythe around. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let some idiot girl make a fool of me!" But before she got close enough for her to attack with his blade, she dove and grabbed his feet. He was flung backwards and dropped his weapon. She quickly and easily pulled him up and held her retrieved dagger to his neck. "Where are they keeping him?" she shouted. "W-Who?!" he cried. He saw his weapon not too far from where he was being held and moved to get it. She saw this, pulled out her pistol, and shot his hand. He screamed in pain, pulling his hand back and holding it as it bled. "Where are they keeping Gabriel?!" she yelled again, pressing the blade of her dagger deeper into his skin. "I-I don't know! N-Nobody told m-me! I swear!" "Liar! You [i]must[/i] know. Having him captive wouldn't stay quiet for long in the ranks. There's no way you don't know!" she yelled. "H-He was here. At HQ. L-Leviathan got the job," the man whimpered. "Well I know [i]that[/i]. I figured that out long before I got here, you idiot. I want to know [i]where[/i] Gabriel was taken," she ordered, though more quietly this time. "He was taken here, but he g-got out. They sent a small squad to get him. They never came back. I don't know where he is or if they caught him or a-anything-" he stammered. "Shut up!" she barked, annoyed by his whining. "I want to know where the exit is to this room. The one we came in through is sealed off, and there are no other visible doors." ".. There is no exit. Not for you, anyway," he added. "What?" "Haha.." he laughed, the fear in his voice dissappearing quickly. "I almost forgot. You see that one? Over there? Fighting your male friend? Well, he's set to blow up once he's defeated." She stared blankly at the Demon he had pointed to. "Why would he..?" "What? Sacrifice us? To keep your friends from foiling any more of his plans. You he had wanted alive, but I'm sure he'd rather have you dead with your friends instead of all of you alive," the man explained calmly. "But what if we get the bomb off? We can still escape," she reasoned. "Ha. Not likely. Right now, Lucifer's venting in carbon monoxide in here. No matter what happens, your friends die. If you let me go, though, I'll take you to Lucifer and get us both out alive," he added. She was silent, then said, "Sure.. I'd like to see his ugly face again." With that, she released him. "Ha! Stupid girl, I'l-" He fell forward with a loud thud, a large bloody hole in the back of his neck. "Thanks for telling me prick. Now if you don't mind, I think I'll borrow this.." she grinned as she picked up his dropped weapon. She rushed towards Kugo, urgent to alert him that his opponent was, in fact, a ticking time bomb. -- OOC: My last post was posted before I saw Kamuro's post, so I deleted it. Hope this one's better. =P EDIT: Damnit! :animeangr Happened again.. ;-; Oh well. Edited it to fit Sapphire Flare's post. >_

[color=blue][size=1][b]THIS IS NOT BEAUTY[/b] is great. It really represents something that a lot of people can connect with and appreciate. Women who are "sexed up"- as is the girl in black in white, a.k.a. ugly- aren't always attractive. The way you did it is wonderful, and my only problem is the way you typed "ugly". The word looks a bit too flat (though you might have intended for it to be) for my taste. But other than that, it's great. ^_^ [b]9/10[/b] Damnit, Retri.. Stop being so good. Dx[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]I'm fifth. Oh joy. =P Ugh.. Mine sucks, so I'm probably going to be the first one eliminated. Meh. And yeah. Photobucket shrunk mine, too. ^_^;[/size][/color] [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/Round1Entry.png[/IMG][/center]

[color=blue][size=1]You never updated Stuie.. I'm hurt.. Ah, I kid, I kid. But really, I'm here to update the thread with my latest stuffness. I finally got some brushes for Photoshop and I've been using them practically nonstop (I'm new to it! So sue me if I get a little over-excited. >_>). xD I, personally, am proud of a few of them. The others.. meh. =P Some of you know that I'm participating in a GFX Battle with [b]Sean[/b]. I put up my entry a while ago, so now we're waiting for him to add his entry, then the voting starts. I'm putting it here for you to gawk at. ^_~ I even made an avatar for it, but that was before I realized I made the banner too big. xD Oh well. ^_^; [u][b]GFX Battle Set[/b][/u] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/Musicavatar.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/Sean-Music.png[/IMG] This next banner was made for Annie (aka Goddess). I love the quote she wanted. It's just so.. so.. Annie-y. >_> Wow.. I had no idea how retarded "Annie-y" sounded until I actually read it off the screen. xD Eh. Here's the bannerness! And yes.. the stock is a bit pixel-y, but it worked for the theme. So meh. =P (Shika-shika-maru! x3) [u][b]Goddess Request Banner[/b][/u] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/Goddess01.png[/IMG] Next, here are some banners I made for "Sig of the Week" competitions on GreyCobra Forums. I lost last week, but I made a redone version of my entry which I think is cool. This week's entry was a Wolverine banner. Tell me whatcha think.

[color=blue][size=1][b]Finally.[/b] Geez, Sean. What have you been up to? =P Just kidding! Really, though, I'm glad to see the thread (finally) up. The theme is music, eh? Sounds easy enough. x3 I'll have my piece up soon. And yes. May the best GFX artist win. ^_~ [b]EDIT[/b]: [i]My Entry[/i] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/PicKitty/Sean-Music.png[/IMG] Aha! Mine is complete! I made it a bit big, but you didn't give specific dimensions, so it should be okay. (Unless you're a meanie head that'll make me do it all over.) xP Now I'm stuck waiting for yours. No fun! (Just kidding, of course.

[color=blue][size=1]It took about twenty minutes for the group to come across the old homeless shelter. The windows were broken in multiple places by what looked like bullets had been shot through them. The door was only on one of its hinges, but stood normally in the doorway, and the sign that probably used to say, "Shelter" was practically illegible due to all the graphitti. "I'd say no one comes here anymore," Sakura observed. "I don't blame 'em," Katrina replied. She shifted Sakura to Alchemy, then attempted to open the door. When it wouldn't budge, she took a step back, then kicked at it with her good leg. When [i]that[/i] didn't work, she walked - more like limped - over to the more broken window and smashed it with her arm. "What are you doing?" Alchemy asked, flinching as a glass shard flew past her face. "Making a new door. You'll have to help Sakura through. The rest of us climb in." Katrina went first, but tumbled to the ground when she got inside. From outside, Sariel called and asked if she was okay. "I'm fine. Put too much pressure on my bad leg. Now come on. You and Kugo next." Sariel and Kugo climbed through the window where glass used to be one by one, then helped Alchemy get Sakura in. "Sorry," Sakura apologized, a hint of red apprearing in her cheeks. "It's no big deal," Kugo assured her as he and Sariel helped her to a seat against the wall. Alchemy was the last one to climb in. As she surveyed the small single-story building, she asked, "There any working lights in here?" Almost immediately, the lights flickered on. The four of them spun around, expecting to see a group of cops, Angels or Demons waiting for them. But they only saw Katrina. She stared back and blinked. "What? .. What?!" The others shook their heads and began examining their temporary hide out. After a short while, the five of them gathered around where Sakura sat and began to discuss their rescue plans. -- OOC: Blah.. Sorry demonchild. I'll try to keep that in mind for the rest of my posts. Sorry again. >__>[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Hey. Hope I'm not too late. >_> I was just reading Naruto today, oddly enough. But meh. Here's the banner. I made it purple-ish because the image I found was dark red/purple. Hope you don't mind. ^_^;; Oh.. and I put your name on it, too. x3[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Oooh! Clash lyric. I knew Sun had great taste. ^_~ Heh. First vote! Not that it matters, lol. Just felt like saying it. =P Okay. Onto the reviewing, already. [b]Ima's Entry[/b] Hmm.. Tupac, eh? Well, Tupac does represent a sort of "Resist the Law" kind of thing, but your banner doesn't show that. All it shows is him in front of some orange stuff. o.O It doesn't really represent the theme at all. And I don't particularly like the background, either. AND there's no border. That bothers me the most. A borderless banner looks.. unfinished. That's all I have to say about it. Next... [b]Annie's Entry[/b] Ah. Now [i]this[/i] illustrates the lyric perfectly. I like the bloody knuckles, and how they're in sort of a resting position. It tells of having fought and won, just like the line says. The upside down flag, to me, represents the law after being defeated. And having the phrase, "anything can and will be used against you" is brilliant. Truly. The entire image stuck to the theme, and did a great job of expressing what the line meant to you. So, now that I've said my piece, my vote goes to [b]Goddess[/b]. Good luck to the both of you.[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Still haven't seen that movie, darn it. T_T Well, I love it. x3 Simple as that. I like how the image is a sepia tone (that's what it's called.. right? >_>). Like Sapphire Flare said, the text is perfect for it. It grabs your attention, but doesn't take [i]all[/i] of the attention, letting you gawk at Scarecrow and how utterly frightening he is. xD All in all, I'd give it a [b]9/10[/b]. Only because you got to see the movie before me. =P[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Hey Annie! Sorry it took so long to reply to your thread. I had planned to a while ago. Meh.. I'm posting now. =P Your Graphica entry is okay, but it looks choppy. The blockiness of it all just doesn't fit, I guess. And Johnny needs to be higher up so his eye is equal with the terminator's. I dunno.. I'm just picky, I guess. ^_^;; [b]7/10[/b] For your first post images.. What's so disturbing about them? o.O Tell me.. did ya get any PMs? xD [b]Kill the Moment[/b] I don't particularly like. Eh. It looks like just a picture. Maybe I'm going blind, but I really don't see anything "special" about it.. >_> Sorry? [b]5/10[/b] [b]Your Christ (in my heart)[/b] is awesome. I love it. The upside down cross blended with the heart is imaginitive and out of the ordinary. Great job. The background and border suit the image so well. And the little droplet falling off the heart is b*tching, too. Ooh! I _

[color=blue][size=1]"Kugo!" Sariel cried, attempting to jump to his side, but was held back by her injured ribs. "You alright?" Katrina asked, awkwardly kneeling beside him. Nobody said a thing. She was about to declare him unconcious, but he rolled over and smiled weakly. "I'm okay." After giving him an annoyed look, she shook her head, and plopped down on the sidewalk next to him tiredly. "Okay. Lets get a head count, shall we?" Alchemy proposed. The others, aside from the unconcious Sakura, mumbled their agreement, but kept their heads down. She tapped her foot impatiently, but sighed in defeat. No one wanted to be the bearer of bad news if any of them were missing. "Fine. [i]I'll[/i] count then.." She pointed at each person, her mouth moving as she quietly counted to herself. [i]"Me, Sakura, Kugo, Sariel, and Katrina."[/i] A smile was beginning to cross her lips when she realized something. She faltered for a moment, a sad look taking hold of her face. [i]"Gabriel is.."[/i] Katrina thought, only having seen Alchemy's shocked look for a second. "Gabriel's missing." The name sunk the mood even lower than it had been, as if a giant lead weight had been placed upon everyone's head. "Shit. The ones who bombed the place. They were after him. And they didn't care if we died in the process of getting him," Katrina explained, though everyone had figured it out. "You think they'll kill him?" Sariel breathed. "Eventually," Katrina replied immediately, though no emotion was present in her voice. She was being more "matter-of-factly" than sympathetic. "But not yet. They went to all the trouble of taking him alive, after all. I'm sure they want to torture him plenty beforehand. The only question is.." "Which side took him?" Kugo finished for her. There was a silence. "I'd say the Angels," Sariel proposed. She looked at everyone quickly, to see if any of them agreed. "Probably," Alchemy nodded in agreement, "I mean, they tried to kill him once. Since everyone knows he's still alive, they most likely wanted to recapture him to maintain their reputation." Alchemy and Sariel looked to Kugo and Katrina. Katrina kept her gaze on the ground, quietly thinking. Kugo closed his eyes and sighed. "It was Demons," Katrina said finally. "Most likely," Kugo added, though his eyes remained shut. "How do [i]you[/i] know?" Alchemy asked, sounding offended that she didn't agree with her theory. "I was one of them once, remember?" she replied cooly, her glance shifting from the ground to Alchemy. "Nobody in the Angels can handle bombs like that. They were set easily and quickly, and without us knowing. I know who did it." "How's that supposed to help us? It doesn't matter who did it. We need to figure out where they took Gabriel!" Sariel spat. Katrina looked at her, but said nothing. Alchemy looked from one to the other, afraid that they might start fighting. "Wait," Kugo interrupted. The girls' eyes locked on him. "If she knows who did it, maybe she knows where he took Gabriel." Sariel opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, knowing he was right. Reluctantly, she nodded. "So," he turned to Katrina, "Where does this Devil usually take his prey?" "He doesn't." Everyone stared at her silently, though their surprise was quite apparant. Without being asked to explain, Katrina said, "He gets paired up with someone who has a job that needs an expert bomber. In this case, the job was to get Gabriel, [i]alive[/i], and kill the rest of us. But I can still narrow it down. There are only a few people low enough that it wouldn't matter if they died, but they could still get the job done." "Who, then, would he trust with a job like this?" Sariel asked in an annoyed tone. "Easy. It's Levi." "Levi?" Alchemy parrotted. "Who's that?" "Oh. Uh.. Forget that. His real name's Leviathan. Sorry. I used to call him Levi when I worked with him," she added. It disappointed her that she hadn't gotten out of the habit yet. "Where would he be?" Sariel asked. "There's only one place he'd go to torture someone who's been as big a pain to him as Gabriel has.." -- OOC: Hope you don't mind Fallen. I'm using Katrina's experience with the Demons as an excuse to letting her know where Gabriel's been taken. Tell me if anything needs changing. x3 Oh. And I hope I didn't mis-use anyone's characters. >_

[color=blue][size=1]Retri! I love them! Your last two pieces are great strides forwards from what you'd previously been doing (though it's all good, lol). It shows that you can make fantastic works without distorting or changing the original image too much. And the stocks are AMAZING. Really Retri. You've become my god.

[color=blue][size=1]Same girl in more than two things? Naughty Boo! >:^O (Don't worry.. I've abused my fair share of renders as well. ^_~) The [b]Eyes On Me[/b] banner is nice, but the text is a bit fuzzy. And I don't like the font. It's cool how you blended the girl into the rest of the image, but maybe it'd be better if you defined where she ends and the brushing (or whatever that funky stuff is) begins. I dunno. Just my opinion. [b]7/10[/b] The second thing is okay. I don't particularly like it, but it's not bad. The color's nice, but the different shapes on the girl are too blocky and don't blend smoothly. Maybe that was the idea, but I don't like it. >_< [b]6/10[/b] The third banner (again with the girl! Gah.. @_@) is just okay, too. The colors you chose are a bit odd, but they work for the banner. No text, so it's a bit plain. The girl looks nice, though. ^_^;; [b]7/10[/b] [b]Gurt is the Shizz[/b] is probably the best out of these four ('cause there's no girl! Mwahaha.. Kidding. =P). The white, black, and different shades of pink all look nice and actually makes the text pop out a bit more. I like the little "Gurt"'s floating around everywhere, and it would've looked better if there were more of them and they were a bit more spread out. And the blockiness of it all works nicely with it. [b]8/10[/b] Who is Gurt, anyway? >_> Oh no! I'm turning mean! D:[/size][/color]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1]Has anyone seen Sean online? I'm waiting for him to put up our battle thread.

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1]Holy ****. O_O Who's idea was it to come up with this camp? Hitler?! I mean, jeez! It's like they're trying to erase all traces of the kids' individual identity, preferences, and personality! Isolating them from society isn't going to help them, it's just going to **** them up. It's insane! But poor Zach.. Poor [i]anyone[/i] who has to go to that shithole. I mean.. Who would send a kid somewhere so horrible? It's ridiculous! His parents [i]really[/i] need to go shove it. The "Christian thing to do", eh? I'm damn glad I'm athiest then.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[color=blue][size=1]"It's not a bad name," Rin mumbled, checking over her legs to make sure they weren't too beaten up. "R-.. Really?" Talan wondered. The way he spoke it sounded as if no one had ever approved of his name before. "Yeah. I knew someone named Ren once," Rin smiled at the mention of his name. He was an old friend, but she lost contact with him after she was drafted into the Project. "Haven't seen him since this whole.. [i]thing[/i] started." The two sat quietly for a few minutes afterwards, both sharing an equal distaste for the Project, though for different reasons. "Why don't you like the name? I don't see anything wrong with it," Rin asked, tired of the awkward silence between the two of them.[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Do I think censorship has gotten out of hand? No, not yet. But it's still incredibly irritating. The thing with words being editted out of songs is ridiculous. Who told them to do that in the first place? The outraged mother's who complain about their children hearing cursing in their music should shut up and just change the channel, skip the track, turn off the radio, or [i]something[/i] rather than wasting everyone's time by whining about a song that said 'slut' too loudly. But really, they shouldn't have to do even that. All those words are just that. [i]Words[/i]. The ones singing the curse words are in almost every single case NOT talking to or about you or your children. And anyone who takes the things said in a song personally (I'm talking about words that might offend them, not parts of the song that are meaningful to them, just so you know) are, in my opinion, stupid. And the stuff about Law and Order is annoying as well. Like Kamuro pointed out, the showing of a warning before hand should be all the warning the viewers need. If a mother and her seven year old son are sitting on the couch watching TNT (or whatever channel it normally plays on) and the mother sees that warning, she can change the channel right then and there and turn on something more 'child-appropriate'. Then those who are more mature and/or less impressionable may watch the show without key parts being bleeped out for the sake of making sure the station doesn't get sued by a mother whining and looking for money. Keep in mind, though, that I don't watch Law and Order that much (I tune in and out every once in a while, but never really watch an entire episode), so I used mainly the others' descriptions and discussion about the show to write the above paragraph. ^_^;; Little disclaimer for you. xP[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1]Hmm.. A battle you say? I'd be delighted! You'll probably kick my butt, but I'd still like to try. =P I shall eagerly await the thread Sean. I feel so special being the first one you challenged. x3 Oh! And welcome to the GFX Club. ^_~[/size][/color]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1][B]Name:[/B] Nikkie [B]Age:[/B] 17 [B]Gender:[/B] Female [B]Appearance:[/B] [Will Edit] [B]Character Snippet:[/B] I didn't know. I swear I didn't. Nobody did. Not her father, not her mother, not even her boyfriend, the one who she told everything to. She hadn't told [i]anyone[/i]. But they were blaming it all on me as if I had known all along and just didn't bother telling anyone. Ellie died a few months ago. I felt like dying, too. I hadn't known. All that time, she was hiding it from everyone. Nobody could tell. She never looked any different. And then.. the call. She called me at midnight and said 'it was time'. I asked her if she was high. She growled impatiently, then howled at me over the phone. Well, not at me, but she howled pretty loudly. Then she told me. I froze. There in bed, phone at my ear, in the middle of the night, stunned by the news. Ellie was having a baby. "Are you joking?!" I screamed, wishing with all my might that she was. "No! Hurry, call Tommy!" she moaned, breathing hard. "W-Where are you?" I stammered, the rational part of my brain beginning to recover. "My house-" She stopped to let out another howl, followed by a few more moments of heavy breathing. "My parents are visiting my grandmother in Yishun." "Okay.. I'll grab some clothes, drive over and call Tommy on the way. I'll tell him to meet us at the hospital." She whimpered a weak 'okay' between her grunts and heavy breathing. I went to a lot of effort that night. I dressed quickly and quietly, grabbed my father's keys off the hook by the garage door, then jetted off into the night to help Ellie. As I had said, I called Tommy, her boyfriend and the father, though for some reason I couldn't figure it out at the time. He sounded a bit hesitant, but agreed to meet us at the hospital. I had never particularly liked Tommy, and had thought he was bad for Ellie when they first started dating. But they'd lasted a year, and he hadn't done anything worse than getting really drunk at a party and barfing in the car while we drove back. We never stopped teasing him about that. I had to admit, he was dependable and loving, though I hadn't seen this at first. I parked in her driveway and saw the light on in the living room. I ran to the door and pounded on it. The door opened to reveal a red-faced Ellie in her bedtime attire: a small shirt and boxers. She didn't look pregnant. Not at all. I would've asked why, but felt that it was more important to get her to the car and to the hospital as fast as I could. As she wobbled towards the car, I rushed inside to grab her house key, which she always left on the kitchen counter when not in use. I ran back to the front door, locked it, then ran back to my father's Jaguar which he had imported from a Japanese dealership. I wondered to myself afterwards as to why I took his rather expensive car instead of my mother's, which was just a simple four-door Honda, though it was always reliable. I was probably speeding the whole drive to the hospital. I'm surprised I didn't get a ticket since I drove through every stop light at seventy plus miles per hour. Ellie's birthing sounds from the back seat kept me in a panic, nearly making me crash into every car on the road. When we finally arrived, I rushed her inside and she was immediatly taken by two men who were dressed in weird aqua apron-like things, with matching hats and masks. They sat her down slowly into a wheelchair and rushed her away. A woman at the desk asked for a bunch of information, some of which I could give her, and some of which I could not. Tommy arrived minutes later. We sat in that room for twelve hours. And that was just when we were awake. In total, I think we were there for almost a day. When I had read every magazine laying on the table, exhausted all possible conversation out of Tommy, and seen more than fifty different people go in and come back out, I began to think to myself. Would father be mad at me for taking his car? I had left a note. Maybe the circumstances would make him ease up for once.. What would happen to Ellie? Would her parents disown her or accept the child and help her raise it? Would Tommy be a good father? Would Ellie even survive the process? Looking back on that day now, I regret ever asking myself the question. At first, I blamed myself for her death. I figured that it was my fault for bringing her strength in to question. She was strong willed, and would have made it had I not doubted her. But it wasn't my fault. The doctors said she must've thought she was getting fat or something and started doing whatever she could to stay skinny. The baby was born a mere three pounds six ounces, and had to have life support for two months. It was a baby girl. Her parents kept her and named her Ellie, but refuse to let Tommy or me anywhere near her, blaming the two of us for it all. When the nurse came out and told us the news, I felt, like I said before, like dying. I had just sat there for almost twenty four hours, not trying to help, not hoping for the best, or anything. I had sat there like a useless lump and let my friend die. Tommy attempted suicide later that night, but was found by his father and had the idea beaten out of him. I don't blame Tommy for what happened. He didn't know either. He couldn't have stopped it, either. And the worst part is, he was willing to take little Ellie. He [i]wanted[/i] to raise that little baby girl. He sat by her side, holding her tiny hand in his while she rested in that plastic box, day after day. I used to blame myself. Mainly right after she died. But a month later, I realised it wasn't my fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. I hadn't done anything, and I couldn't have done anything. The whole thing just made life that much harder to deal with. -- EDIT: I don't know any last names common in Singapore, so I'll just give my character a first name for now. ^_^;; Sorry 'bout that. >_< And I added the Character Snippet, which I made a bit too long (I think, anyway), and also somewhat dark and depressing. It's about teenage pregnancy sooo... yeah.

[color=blue][size=1]Ooh! Very nice! I love pokemon fanfics (don't ask why

[color=blue][size=1]"Shit shit shit shit shit," Katrina chanted as she crawled along the floor. Her leg had been hit by a large chunk of the bar, and was bleeding quite badly. It hurt to stand, and walking was out of the question at this point. So, she crawled, as fast as she could, towards the giggling Alchemy. "Idiot girl," she muttered angrily, ducking as a flame flared over her head, nearly singeing her hair off. "Alchemy! Move it," Katrina barked, grabbing a hold of the young girl's upper arm and tugging as hard as she could. "It's hot in here.." she mumbled in a very drunk fashion. "Shut up." After a few moments, she heard some beeping. It took her a moment to realize what the source was. When she did, she froze, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. Alchemy was crawling behind her- not because either of her legs were injured, but because she saw Katrina doing it and, being extremely tipsy, copied her- and bumped into her. "Heeey... Wha's the hold up?" she asked, blinking oddly. "Fuck." "I didn' do it.. I think.." Alchemy answered. Had they not been about to fry and/or collapsed in on by the rest of the building, Katrina would've enjoyed saying things and hearing Alchemy's alcohol-enduced responses. But the circumstances kept her from feeling anything but pissed off. "Run, damnit. RUN!" With all her might, she pushed herself up using a non-burning, knocked over bar stool and began to hustle awkwardly towards the back exit. She looked back briefly to see Alchemy still crawling. "GET UP!" she shouted angrily, wanting to go back to and drag her out, screaming about how she should never drink ever again all the way outside. But her leg stung horribly the moment she tried to spin around. "Damnit," she cursed, biting her lip as she held back tears of pain. Alchemy eventually reached Katrina's legs, and was immediatly pulled up by her collar and shoved outside. The moment the bombs were detonated, the two of them jumped through the doorway onto the ground. The flames whooshed past their heads, the heat unbearable. It passed, but left the air sticky and stale. Sweat seemed to be flooding out of every possible pore on her body, trying to keep her cool. But it was so hot. Katrina felt like falling asleep right there. No longer wanting to care about Alchemy, the others, or the Demons and Angels. Fuck it. Fuck it all. And it all went black. "Katrina..?" came Alchemy's voice. It sounded semi-sober. Barely escaping a collapsing and burning building will do that to a person. [i]"Ugghh... Whaaat?"[/i] She didn't want to open her eyes. It was so nice in the dark. It was cool, and calm, and nobody wanted to kill her. "Katrina? Wake up.. Look," the voice persisted. This time, Katrina let out a moan. She blinked her eyes open and was greeted with the sight of her friend sitting beside her, pointing at something. She rolled over, and instantly regretted it. The pain in her leg returned, and felt as if she'd been shot there multiple times. She knew the feeling. She hated it. ".. W-What?" she mumbled, coughing a bit because of the smoke she'd inhaled. Katrina's eyes slowly moved off of Alchemy and onto the crumbling old bar, burning itself to the ground. The top floor had already collapsed, pouring out more smoke and flames. As she looked at it, her face warmed almost instantly. She coughed again. Now on her back, she propped herself up on her elbows and rubbed her eyes as the heat began to irritate them. "O-Others.. The others?" Katrina spat out. "I don't know." A long, awkward pause. If they were the only ones left, then what would they do? They didn't know exactly who did this in the first place, though it wasn't hard to guess. The Demons or the Angels. Someone ordered them all dead. "How long was I out?" "A few minutes," Alchemy replied, falling flat on her back beside her. It was cooler flat on the ground. After a couple more minutes staring at the burning building they had called their base, she followed suit. It was still silent, aside from the sound of flames ripping at the wooden frame of the bar. "You know what the worst part is?" "What?" "That bartender was the only one who knew how to make me a drink the way I like it," Katrina sighed. Alchemy laughed, interrupted by a little hiccup which sent them both into quiet laughter. It hurt a bit, though. [i]"Probably the smoke,"[/i] she thought. "No, I'm serious," she chuckled, "Every where else they just.. dump a bunch of stuff into one glass. He.. Well, I don't know what he did, but he didn't just do that. He'd do a bunch of other stuff, too." "We should look for them. If they don't find us." Another pause. And to think. Katrina normally preferred it quiet. But hearing someone's voice was better than hearing the flames of the fire that nearly killed you. She sighed again. "Yeah.. I guess." She began scrambling around in her pockets, looking for something she could wrap her wound with. She felt a nudge and looked over at Alchemy. She was holding up a large white hankerchief. "Where'd you get that?" Katrina asked, sitting up. "Grabbed it off the bar. Before I sneezed. I was gonna use it, but couldn't bring it up to my face in time," she giggled. Even her own drunk activities were funny to her. Katrina pulled her left pants leg up to the knee and frowned. There was a large cut in her calf, with a bruise above it. Where the chunk had hit and not cut, it still left a mark. "Looks bad," Alchemy commented. "I know." She wrapped the hankerchief around her leg- it managed to wrap around three times- and patted it gently. It still hurt, but not as much with the cloth wrapped tightly around it. She slowly got up, and was pleased to find that standing up no longer hurt. "Lets go," she sighed, holding out a hand for Alchemy. She helped her up, then began limping towards a place where she knew there was another exit. "How many ways are there outta that place?" Alchemy wondered, jogging up to her. "Plenty," Katrina replied. -- OOC: Hope you don't mind the "rescue" Apherion. ^_^;;[/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=1][i]"She's drunk off her ass again,"[/i] Katrina smiled, always amused by Alchemy's odd behavior. She was sitting beside the young girl, and laughed as she awkwardly got back on her stool. "I should've known you were the youngest," she grinned. "Oh? And why's that?" Alchemy replied, pointing a wobbly finger in her direction. "It's simple. You're the only one here who actually relaxes." Katrina shot a glance at everyone and saw their reactions. They all stared either at their feet or at the bar, not daring to look anyone in the eye. They all knew it, but it couldn't be helped. As each day passed, they grew more stressed and their relations grew more tense. But, of course, Alchemy hadn't seemed to notice. "That's s-stupid," she stuttered before letting out a sneeze that sent her backwards off her stool. Something like this would've normally sent the group into fits of laughter, but they kept quiet, with the exception of a few chuckles. Katrina, however, wasn't bothered by the silence. Taking advantage of the peace, she began to think to herself. [i]"The bastard knows I'm alive.. Oh well. It couldn't be helped. I knew news Gabriel would spread quickly, but I didn't know anyone would recognize me.. Eh. Screw it. I'll kill him whether he knows I'm comin' or not."[/i] "Want a drink?" "Hm?" She looked up. It was the bartender. "Oh.. Sure. Strongest you got." Alchemy nudged her. "And you call [i]me[/i] an alcoholic?" Katrina raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "You are. At least I can hold my liquor." The bartender handed her a large glass full of the strongest he had. "Yum," she muttered to herself before taking a big swig. Conversation had sprung up again, and soon enough the base was filled with chatter and laughter. Katrina kept quiet, not one for pleasant talking. Alchemy had tried a few times to get her to talk again, but she'd be waved or grunted away. Katrina took another sip of her drink. -- OOC: Couldn't think of anything. >_

[color=blue][size=1]I suck, but I figure I'll give it a try anyway. =P I made this for no particular reason, but I liked it (even if Stuie didn't..