Shy

Their small group slowly walked down the staircase; many of them clutching onto each other in fear. Of course, nobody was clutching onto Tom, but that's typical. Daisy let go of her tight grip on Kenneth, and stared blankly into the wall for a moment. "Are you like, okay Daisy?" Candy asked. She didn't reply immediately, and only continued to look at the plain white wall, as if she were trying to solve some sort of puzzle. Suddenly she jumped into the air, and moved her focus towards the other tenants. "...where... where am I?!" Daisy shouted, shoving the rest of group down the stairs in an act of self-defense. One by one they crashed onto the cold basement floor, tumbling on top each other in the pitch black room. "Who's touching me?" "I'm touching you." "Who are you?" "I'm your boyfriend." "I don't have a boyfriend." "Oh, dang. It was worth a shot." "Not really. I'm Kenneth." "Ergh..." A feint glow of green light started to appear from the opposite end of the basement, revealing a handful of dangerous-looking squirrels. It appeared one of the squirrels had gotten a hold of a glow stick, or perhaps some sort of radioactive popsicle - it was far too dark for anyone to make the distinction. "This isn't looking too good," Kenneth whispered as the squirrels began to make their approach. "Like, THOSE SQUIRRELS ARE COMING STRAIGHT FOR US!!!" Candy screamed in terror, trying to free herself from under Kenneth, Tom, and the still-unconcious Protiva. --------- Upstairs George slept peacefully in his bed, holding his squirrel-hunting rifle tightly. The events of the night had not affected him at all, for he was asleep before the sun had even set. When moving into his apartment, George had argued with Charlie over the "electricity bill." In his time Mr. Washington had no need for such a device, and certainly had no desire to pay for one after being trapped in the modern day. So in an act of bitterness Charlie remove each and every electrical light from George's apartment, leaving him with only candlelight to illuminate his quarters. This didn't bother him one bit, and he was happier not having to pay the extra expense of such a luxury.

Charlie walked up to the third floor, giving a long sigh, and shook off the last remaining bits of rain from his person. Odd grass stains littered the path leading up to George?s apartment, and being that he was also the building?s custodian it was quite frustrating to him. Charlie tapped on the door lightly, and entered the apartment. ?Hello George. It?s time for you to pay your rent for the month,? Charlie announced as he walked in. He looked around for a moment with disgust. For a man who was usually so careful about keeping a neat and tidy appearance (George always kept his wig freshly powdered) Charlie could never understand why his apartment was such a mess. It?s as if George didn?t know how to clean a room, Charlie thought. George was nowhere to be found, although old magazines and inkwells were abundant in the room. ?George? Where are you George?? The landlord continued to venture further into the apartment, browsing through a May 2002 issue of ?The Virginian? that he found lying on the carpet. ?I am in my quarters!? A commanding voice replied from the room ahead of Charlie, ?Take a seat in the parlor and I will be with you in a few moments.? ?Parlor?? Charlie took a second look around the living room. Aside from a wooden rocking chair there was no furniture present; the only piece of artwork being a very-dated map of America, which had the words ?Historical Reproduction? in bold type across the bottom. Of course, being unwilling to accept his ?time-travelling? to the 21st Century had crossed off the words long ago with his feather and inkwell. Charlie made quick use of the rocking chair, and began to move happily back and forth as he waited for his tenant to appear. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard from the bedroom. It sounded like something made of glass had shattered, and George?s voice could easily be heard shouting at the still unknown second party he was with. ?Plato! How could you do such a thing! Do you want Master Charles to discover you and take you back to where you came from?? [size=2][b]?THUD!?[/b][/size] No response could be heard from Charlie?s seat in the rocking chair, and for a moment he wondered if the second person in that room was dead. George was a little strange, believing that he was the original president of the United States, but Charlie never thought of him as being dangerous. Charlie continued to rock back and forth in the chair, faster and faster as his imagination began to build up an elaborate scenario of what had taken place in that other room. George opened his bedroom door a crack, and slid through, slamming it shut behind him. He leaned on the door nervously, ?Hello Master Charles! Would you care to go for a stroll around the block with me?? Charlie stared back in disbelief, and raised an eyebrow, ?Have you even looked outside of the building, George? It?s pouring rain outside.? ?Nonsense,? George shrugged off this information and smiled, ?If my troops could face an entire winter in this harsh weather, there is no reason that we should not go outside and enjoy the beauty of nature.? ?Uh-huh.? Charlie stood up, and reached his hand out towards George, ?It?s that time of the month, Mr. Washington. I?m willing to ignore whoever is in your bedroom if you pay me now.? ?What? There is nobody else in my bedroom! What an accusation!? [size=2][b]?THUD! THUD!?[/b][/size] ??but even though you have offended my honor, Master Charles, I will still pay my rent promptly.? George reached into his coat, one of the older kinds you only see on a painting, or one of those robots they have at Disney World, and pulled out a small leather sack. It jangled as he rummaged through it with his hand, and he pulled out a pair of very old-looking coins. ?I trust that you still accept silver,? George handed Charlie the two coins. Upon further inspection Charlie noticed that the coins were dated ?1756? with large images of Queen Elizabeth on both sides. ?Yeah, whatever,? Charlie muttered as he walked out the door, ?Why can?t he just pay in cash like everyone else??

[size=1][b]Name:[/b] George Washington [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Age:[/b] 215 [b]Description:[/b] [img]http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/images/gw1.gif[/img] [b]Biography:[/b] Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman. He played an important role role during the Revolutionary War by leading the Continental Army against the British. After the war was over, he was elected the first President of the United States of America, a position he held for two consecutive terms. Once his time as President had ended, George spent the remaining years of his life on Mount Vernon, his private estate, until he died of a throat infection three years later on December 14, 1799. Somehow, due to reasons beyond his understanding George has reappeared in the modern day. Having no skills that are considered useful in this day and age, he quickly found a job selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. Sadly, he is not very successful in his line of work, and can only afford to live in Apartment Building C. Nobody around him believes that he is [i]the[/i] George Washington, but George knows better, and doesn't hold it against them. All he is concerned about it finding his way back to the 1700's, and his beloved wife, Martha. Since the current President will not respond to the many letters George has written to him asking for help, he has enlisted the aid of Apartment Building C's tenants. Their many experiments have failed so far, but George has poorly-placed faith in them, and trusts that it will only be a matter of time before a way to break through the time-space continuum is discovered. [b]Reason For Moving In:[/b] He could not afford anywhere else to live. [b]Idiosyncracies:[/b] George Washington cannot tell a lie, especially when he has chopped down one of Charlie's beloved cherry trees. He is a simple, God-fearing man with few pleasures, all of which are simple as well. These include: horseback writing, smoking his pipe, and discussing Western Expansion. George does not think highly of today's government after discovering "sales tax;" he and a few comrades have organized a small militia group to overthrow the modern establishment. So far their efforts to seize power are unsuccessful. although many thousands of pounds of tea have been thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. -Shy[/size]

[center] [b]Happy Trails To You[/b][/center] ?I wish you hadn?t done that, Joshua,? I said dryly, ?I?m right here.? There were a few moments of silence that had followed, the only noise being Ariana?s weak attempts at screaming for dear life. Seeing my girl strapped in that chair was a true testament to cruelty. She deserved better than that, and I gave it to her with my handgun. Two shots in the forehead, blowing out any signs of life instantly, because I cared for her. The truth is that Ariana?s wounds were already fatal, and even if they weren?t the toxins they had pumped into her certainly would have finished the job. I was too late. Joshua wiped the blood off his face with his classic red handkerchief, and struggled to make any sort of response to what I had just done. ?Y-y-you killed her.? He whispered. ?That?s where you are wrong, Cowboy. She was dead long before I got here. I just hurried the process along,? I fired two extra shots into the wall, hoping to snap him out of his current state. ?It?s taken us a hell of a long time for our paths to cross again, and at the risk of sounding selective, I have no interest of holding our epic reunion in this old military bunker. ? ?Then where do you propose we hold it?? Joshua replied, returning to true form as he withdrew his knife from Ariana?s corpse, ?Tomorrow?? ?Tonight.? I countered, ?Midnight. Meet me at the Astro Lanes. One way or another, let?s finish this upstairs.? ?Her name was Panyin, the ?Forgotten Angel,? and she was Adam?s first love. His relationship with Ariana, intimate as it may have been, was always a private affair. However, the romance with Panyin was something he would speak very openly about. She was a beautiful woman, or so I?m told. Dark skin, a slender figure, penetrating brown eyes and long dark hair that she kept wrapped up in a silk shawl. Born in Ghana, she was given a life of privilege and prestige by her parents. Making good use of their resources, Panyin, and her identical twin sister Kakra were given a formal education, and by the age of 15 the girls were fluent in three languages. While Kakra was the more athletic of the two, having done extensive training in several forms of martial arts, Panyin was the artist. She spent much of her free time painting the sights of Ghana, frequently visiting run down or ?dangerous? parts of the nation in order to capture their images perfectly on a canvas. Panyin was in London when she first met Adam, visiting for a week while Kakra competed in a female martial arts tournament of some kind. Adam was there for Kakra attempting to recruit her as a bodyguard and assassin, but it was fate that caused him to bump into Panyin first. Panyin was sitting in her hotel suite, relaxing in little more than a bathrobe when Adam came knocking at her door. She greeted the handsome stranger, and invited him inside for a few moments. He, believing her to be her sister, one of the world?s most fearsome martial artists, had mistaken the girl for identical twin. ?I?ve been watching you from afar, and I must admit that I?m intrigued by your talents.? ?That?s awfully flattering sir. I feel a little embarrassed,? She laughed, tightening the strap around her robe, ?You knowing so much about me, and me not even knowing your name.? ?I?m Adam,? He shook her hand nervously, slightly distracted by her appearance, ?I am starting up a few large business ventures in the East, and I feel like your services might be required.? ?That?s very exciting. I?d love to help in whichever ways that I can, but you know I?ve never done it professionally before. It was always for pleasure.? ?I feel exactly the same way.? He smiled sadistically, ?Perhaps we could get together tomorrow night and arrange another meeting, over dinner... when you are a little more clothed.? ?Oh, of course.? Panyin blushed, ?That sounds great.? ?I?ll pick you up around 9 o? clock then, in the lobby.? ?It?s a date.? ?The view from my office window is especially nice at this time of year. With spring comes the promise of new life, and nowhere is that more obvious than in Odaiba Memorial Park. As unpredictable as the Japanese climate may seem sometimes, one knows for certain that winter has ended when the first fresh flowers begin to blossom. However, from the 24th floor, the floor I call home, they seem quite insignificant. A single blossom is impossible to see; it?s only when many dozens of the flowers reveal their hues that I can take notice and appreciate them. ?When I sit up in my office on a lazy afternoon, looking out my window at the ground below, I feel powerful ? like God. I often wonder if this is how He views us from above ? unable, or perhaps unwilling to see us as individuals. ?Well one day Jeanette had picked me a flower from that very garden and given it to me as a gift. I immediately recognized it from it?s signature pink petals, but this one appeared to be suffering from some sort of terrible illness. The insects below chewed dozens of individual holes into it?s petals, and even when placed in a vase the stem was too weak to support it?s own weight. It would slowly sink below the water in the vase, as if it were trying to drown itself. What had appeared to be healthy garden from so high above was really just a collection of sickly flowers and weeds. ?So if this [I]is[/I] how God views us, how can we hold Him responsible for not doing anything about our suffering? How is He supposed to know about the AIDS epidemic or religious zealots claiming righteousness as they take hundreds of innocent lives? We?re all just flowers in His garden, small ones at that; and every other blossom makes you all the more insignificant to Him. ?Excuse me for getting a little philosophical on you, Cowboy. After all, this isn?t a time?? ?--There isn?t anything left to discuss. Let?s just do this.? Joshua?s eyes remained focused on my own. This was not the same look of affection that I had grown accustomed to in the past. I guess I couldn?t really blame him, though. ?I know,? I let out a small sigh, and loosened the grip I had on the briefcase at my side, ?You didn?t fly this far to hear about our Lord; which is a shame, because a man in your position should be looking for redemption at about this time.? He only continued to stare at me. His look showed nothing but distrust and hatred towards me, both of which were unfounded in this particular case. Had I wanted to, I could have incinerated the whole structure in an instant. A man such as myself only makes an appearance when absolutely necessary, and such was the case with bidding a fond farewell to my Cowboy. ?Why do this Adam?? His right hand inched closer and closer to the dagger he had concealed in one of his jeans? pockets. ?Had I wanted to cross Hanzo swords in a brilliant rooftop duel, I would have done so on my home soil. I came here with one sole purpose in mind ? but don?t think for a moment that I have neglected what has happened to my Angels. The both of you will suffer, far more than any of my girls ever did, don?t forget that. ?It?s time to begin, Cowboy.? ?Let?s bowl.? When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and when in the Lenmark Astro Lanes, we bowl. Joshua got out of his chair and moved slowly down the lanes. He paused for a moment to pick up his personal ball. It was a pale green, and had the name ?Lulu? engraved above the finger sockets. I had half a mind to ask him about the name, but he was not in the mood to answer many questions at the moment. He took a few small steps, adjusted his stance slightly, and looked at me for a moment. He moved his attention towards the pins, and on his first attempt the Cowboy had knocked over each and every one of them ? a strike. A large red ?X? appeared on the video screens above us, and some sort of silly animation immediately followed. Joshua ignored it, and walked back to his seat quietly. Over the course of their dinner, Adam had realized the true identity of his date. Although he felt foolish for making such a careless mistake, he snuffed it off and never revealed the truth to her. On the spot, he created an elaborate story on how her paintings were gaining notoriety in Japan, and how he wished for Panyin to design several murals for his soon-to-be-completed office building. It was a smooth cover to the fact that Adam had originally wanted her sister to work as an assassin. After meeting Panyin he found himself more and more interested in her, and not the martial talents of her identical twin. In fact, he had [I]never[/I] been this interested in someone before, and insisted that the two of them travel to Tokyo one day so that he could show her the city that apparently ?loved? her paintings. Within a few weeks they were off, enjoying the sights of Japan together, and as Adam often recalled, it was when they had fallen in love. As a result, her original plan to stay there for a few days had ballooned into nearly a month long vacation. They were constantly together, holding hands, embracing one another ? given the strength of their passion it wasn?t uncommon for them to cancel a sightseeing tour in favor of more amorous pursuits. Unfortunately a number of complications had arisen during this time. Having Panyin so close so often made it impossible for him to carry on his illegal business ventures, out of fear of revealing his crimes to her. He assigned these dealings to some of his trusted associates, loosening the grip of his fledgling empire for only a moment, but long enough to almost lose it forever. Adam?s first protégé, a young man by the name of Jin Furuhata, saw the control that his mentor had lost in day-to-day operations and knew this was his chance to rise among the ranks of Tokyo?s crime bosses. Without Adam?s knowledge, Jin had recruited a personal entourage of his own, comprised of some of the most formidable combatants in the world. Years before Adam?s Angels had burst onto the scene, Jin?s move showed great foresight into how modern Tokyo would be run; had his attempted takeover been countered so early in the game, there?s no knowing how powerful his crime syndicate would have become. However, one showdown brought the end of Adam?s temporary lapse of power, and changed his own life, and the fate of the Tokyo streets forever -- the night Jin Furuhata and his group of assassins made their own attempt to kill Adam. Eight frames down, two to go. Joshua was leading by a few pins, and given his years of experience in the game, it wasn?t surprising at all. By this time I had adjusted to the thought of Ariana?s death; after so many others had fallen, it didn?t come as much of a surprise to see her dying in that damned chair. Joshua remained silent, as he had through much of the night. He would repeatedly stare at me, probably expecting me to strike him down if his vision strayed away for only a moment. Conversely, my attention wanders throughout the bowling alley, surprisingly busy for so late at night. Even with the thunderous sounds of pins crashing everywhere, my senses were honed to the point that Joshua could not have made a sneak attack. He was fully aware of this fact, and part of me believed that most of his staring was an attempt to search for a moment of weakness, and make his move. ?Cowboy,? I spoke rather loudly, in order to be heard over the background noise, ?Before this game ends, and before the score is settled, -- or more correctly, before one of us is killed, because the score will [I]never[/I] be settled, I wanted to apologize. ?You know the price of living this life, and nobody can escape it. Not you, not the Desert Taipan, not Lelia? not even myself. That?s why I took your child from you, Joshua. It?s the same reason I shot Ariana downstairs: to save them from unnecessary suffering, to show them mercy.? Joshua got out of his seat, and picked up his bowling ball. He took a few steps down the lane, and lowered his head. ?So you ended an innocent life, to save him from what might happen?? He screamed, and turned back towards me, ?Do you really think you have it all planned out, Adam? That you know the future, that you were doing the right thing by killing him? Well that?s ********.? The Cowboy adjusted his hat with his free hand, and paused for a moment. Using me as his new target, Joshua flung the green ball straight towards me. I leaped out of the way, missing it?s trajectory by only a few inches as it demolished the plastic chair I had been sitting on. I stood up and opened up my briefcase, revealing a small assortment of weapons. I grabbed the first one that caught my eye, a beautiful Wakizashi short sword; he withdrew his signature blade. Within a moment the battle had begun, and all Hell was set to break loose in this tiny Georgia bowling alley. Panyin had never met, or even heard of Jin Furuhata before that night. As far as she knew, Adam worked as a successful investor, drawing much of his fortune from the recent advances in robotics technology. A random office high-rise near the Odaiba Memorial Park became his ?future base of operations,? where Panyin was to one day paint the beautiful images that had supposedly drawn Adam?s attention in the first place. They were at the actual construction site when it happened. Most of the building was finished, except for the windows; Adam thought it would be a perfect place to spend an evening with his girl. Sneaking past the lone security guard was no problem for a man of Adam?s talents; even Panyin had shown an exceptional talent for breaking and entering, something that he was sure to make a mental note of. It was somewhere between the 20th and 30th floor when it happened, at least, that?s what Adam remembers about the night. He was holding Panyin in a tight embrace, talking to her about their plans for the future. He vividly described the apartment they could share, and the places they could travel to, together. She was more than a woman to him, she was a future. Before she arrived, Adam knew his fate, and like those before him, he was destined to a life of pain. If nothing else, Payin was his hope that there could be more to life than what was promised, and it?s something he could never have had without her. Suddenly a trigger was pulled, and with the muffled cough of a silenced gunshot all of that changed. A .30 caliber bullet blasted its way through Panyin?s arm, and she fell to the ground immediately, silently crumpling over. A second shot, directed towards Adam from behind managed to graze his shoulder, but by this time he had drawn his personal handgun and opened fire on the hidden assailant. Within five shots the masked man had been shot off his perch from the floor above, and dropped to the ground, hundreds of feet below. Knowing better than to drop his guard, Adam drew his Wakizashi with his free hand, and began to survey the area for more possible assassins. A pair of older men, dressed in faded brown ponchos, swung down and while Adam had managed to get one of the men during the pair?s decent, the other dashed towards him. Using his speed and resourceful, he dodged Adam?s attempts to gun him down, and disarmed the pistol from him with a quick front snap kick and followed through with a roundhouse, pushing Adam back. Adam stumbled for a moment, and then made his move with the Wakizashi. Stepping forward past the man?s next few blows, Adam proceeded to deliver some lightning fast cuts of his own. While the first few blows missed his opponent, The man, who was more worried about the Wakizashi, was caught off guard with a side kick that brought him to his knees. Adam, taking advantage of the convenient positioning, finished the fight with a standard decapitation. He began to breathe heavily, and ignoring the obvious danger, he dropped his weapon and rushed towards Panyin?s side. At this point she was unconscious, but still alive. The poor girl knew nothing of the life Adam had hidden from her, yet she was still a casualty in the war Jin Furuhata had initiated against her lover. Then Jin appeared, from where I have no idea, but he wore a simple gray business suit with matching tie, and tightly clutched a Bo in his right hand as he approached. [b]*[/b]?Adam, this ends now,? Jin announced loudly, looking at Panyin?s body with some deranged sense of accomplishment, ?Your empire, your power, and your fortunes: I?ve fought long and hard to get to this point and tonight they will all be mine.? ?You?re wrong, Jin,? Adam glared, ?You, and everyone you care about will die for your betrayal. Let this be a warning to anyone who ever tries to stop me?? Adam pointed his gun at Jin, closed his eyes, and fired. [b]*[/b] [size=1]Since I do not speak Japanese, this is only a rough translation of what was said that night.[/size] Joshua crashed backwards onto the lane. The two of our blades clashed, neither showing any sign of weakness, or a willingness to submit to their opponent. Joshua leaped backwards a few feet,, ?This is going to be just as difficult as I imagined it, isn?t it? Getting my revenge.? ?Revenge isn?t yours to have, Cowboy.? ?You killed those I cared about, you could have achieved great things with your position, but you turn your back on the life I provided. Without me you would still be traveling around the world, whoring yourself to rich businessmen. Is that the father you wanted your precious son to grow up with?? ?Better a whore than a murderer, Adam. It was only a contract; one that I couldn?t ever agree to. It wasn?t all for him,? His gaze turned away from me for the first time that night, ?I couldn?t continue like that anymore.? I aimed my gun at Joshua, ?And you won?t have to ever again. Good night? I caressed the trigger and my piece spoke, but Joshua had already started moving. Normally my barrage would have cut him down since my piece instinctively tracked his movements, but this time he slipped. His cowboy boots weren?t ready for the slick bowling lanes and he slid down the lane. He took advantage of my surprise and drew his own piece. His magnum roared, shattering the nearby scoring machine and driving me towards cover. A shot from that powerhouse could rip an arm off at this range, possibly more for the unfortunate. Joshua wasn?t often off. The recoil from his gun drove Joshua further down the lanes and into the pins: a strike. Again, the big red X appeared on the screen, followed by the same stupid animation. Now it was my turn to bowl. I quickly leaped to my fallen suitcase and pulled out a timed grenade. I pulled the pin and tossed it at him as the machine began to clear out the pins. 3 second fuse. One. I heard the Cowboy scrambling around his cramped position. The machine had cleared out the pins. Two. Wait. The machine had returned the bowling ball, or in this case, my grenade. I quickly rushed away to safety as my grenade dropped into the ball return. Three. Taking cover beneath the remaining chairs, I covered my head as the grenade burst, flinging fragments of marble and plastic shrapnel into anything and everything nearby. As the smoke cleared Joshua made his way towards me, laughing at the good fortune that had just smiled his way. He steadied the knife with both hands, visibly shaken from the impact of the blast. I stood up and reached desperately into the briefcase once more. A three-section staff, the only weapon of reach in my arsenal, appeared to be the safest bet, and as such it was drawn immediately. I connected the individual sections, making sure they would not slip apart during combat, and readied myself for another frame. Joshua attempted to surprise me once more, rushing in with failed uppercut, and finishing off his charge with a stab through my right shoulder. Reeling in pain, I slammed my weapon into the Cowboy, and vaulted him skyward. He flew through the air for a few feet, smashing through the large glass walls that had separated the Lenmark Astro Lanes from its adjoining karaoke bar. In the panic caused by the explosion and ensuing fight, the karaoke bar, and most of the bowling alley had been completely cleared. Joshua struggled to stand up, more focused on the bits and pieces of glass that had stuck onto his body than my approach. Loud disco music blared over the speakers inside. The lyrics were unrecognizable to Joshua, but to someone from an older generation, they were the sounds of my youth. I hummed along softly as I carefully walked over the debris that had littered the floor. He threw his signature weapon, his signature move, a most ineffective signature move, I might add. His bizarre habit of throwing his weapon away was easily his biggest weakness, and I proved that fact once more by easily deflecting the knife. I thrust the end of my staff into Joshua?s chest, following through by slamming the other end against his face. Battered and bruised, he grabbed a microphone stand, and making a weak attempt at improvisation, used it to defend himself. My first few swings were countered successfully by the thin metal pole, though repeated stress from the attacks quickly forced it to snap into two identical halves. Without missing a beat, the Cowboy charged me again attacking with the two halves. I quickly flicked my staff into a low parry over my kneecap and twisted the top end to cover my face as both blows rained down from the ends of his shattered stand. I quickly separated my staff into three pieces and tried to use the bottom portion to disarm his left hand. Joshua, however, anticipated this and dropped both ends preemptively. He pulled off the microphone connected to one half of the stand and whirled the cord in an elaborate parry, totally entangling my staff. We stopped for a second, both of our weapons were hopelessly entangled. We looked at each other, dropped the mess, and sprinted towards opposite ends of the alley looking for new weapons. Seeing no better alternative, I grabbed a handful of glass shards and flung them at Joshua as if they were shurikens. Even though they were definitely not intended for such use, three of the pieces found their way directly into his leg. He rushed over the bar, hopping over the counter and disappearing completely. A moment passed, and Joshua revealed himself again, this time with a newfound shotgun, ready and willing to take down anything in his path. He quickly unloaded two shells into my position to the right of the bowling trophies. I somersaulted to the right and took down the biggest bowling trophy I could find. It wasn?t much, but there wasn?t any other sort of cover in the area. I quickly raised it as he emptied the next to shells into my position. The trophy took it but it knocked me back through the display case and into the diner waiting behind it. Out of ammunition, he dropped the shotgun to his side and took a bottle of whisky in its stead. He took a swig, stepped out from behind the countertop and pulled out the small dagger he had been hiding in his pockets this entire time. I demolished a wooden chair against the linoleum floor, and used one of it?s legs as a means of defending myself. Joshua struck with the dagger, I took the blow with the chunk of wood I had just claimed as my own. The blade sunk firmly into the pine chair leg and we both let go immediately, seeing no need to struggle over something as small as a dagger. But, while unarmed, the Cowboy struck with his whisky bottle, shattering it on my head and spilling the liquor all over our open wounds. In a daze, Cowboy swung at me wildly with what was left of that bottle, adding new cuts and scars to what was an already-plentiful assortment. I was cornered, unable to see, and so you?ll understand the mistake I made when the tin can I had grabbed to block the glass turned out to be pressurized. Another small explosion rang throughout the bowling alley, most of which was already in flames from my grenade. Thanks to the force of the blast we were once again on the ground, unarmed, unwilling and unable to stop this vicious conflict. Smoke crept into the small diner as flames drew in closer. He ran over towards the refrigerator, knocking assorted cans and bottles below it as he rummaged his way through tabletops of cooking supplies, looking for something he could use against me. I pulled the last ace up out of my sleeve, a lone dagger, and closed me eyes. I threw it carefully at the refrigerator, striking it's power cord.Sparks began to fly near the bottles and cans that were below Joshua?s feet. ?You know, I?m going to win this Adam,? He declared, breathing heavily, ?All in all, this isn?t the most difficult fight in my life ? your time is over, and I?m going to avenge my son.? ?Well if fate happens to reverse its directions today, be sure to tell your son, my son, that I cared about him very much? even in the end.? ?He?s alive?? I never gave him an answer, for I was never given a chance to. The sparks had ignited the cans at his feet, causing them to burst. He was flung against the cold refrigerator door when another set of cans exploded from behind the appliance, giving it just enough force to topple directly onto Joshua. With a resounding ?thud? all that was left visible of the Cowboy was a mangled arm, outstretched from beneath the wreckage, and the simple hat that had struck fear into the hearts of my lost Angels. ?Cheers.? [size=1]-Shy[/size]

[size=1]Banners cannot be larger than 500x100 pixels, or contain more than 300 characters in them. I don't believe there are any specific restrictions for how large banners can be in terms of kilobytes or megabytes or whatnot, but it's probably better to use your judgement. OB takes a while to load for those with slower connections already, so it would be considerate to have your banner take up as little bandwith ad possible. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]This topic doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The post quality is terrible, the attempts at humor are pretty poor and nothing here serves a specific purpose. I would suggest viewing our forum rules regarding post quality before anyone here creates a thread, or even replies to one ever again. Topic closed. -Shy[/size]

[quote name='maladjusted][color=firebrick']There were too many people and I could barely keep up without going back to the signup thread and re-reading it to see who the characters were and what their backgrounds were.[/color][/quote] [size=1]This happens a lot. In my larger RPG's (like Don't Shoot the Goombas or Anime Stereotype High School) it was really difficult to keep track of everyone's characters, which made it nearly impossible to create an interesting story that would include all of the characters in some sort of way. This was my fault because I let too many players in at once, out of fear that the RPG would become inactive. Well, the exact opposite happened: people posted a ridiculous amount in the RPG's first few days, and nobody could keep track of what was going on. This is a shame because both of those projects had a lot of potential in them (even though DSTG was just a bastardized version of Project Gamer.) The trick is finding the right group of people to participate, because even the most fleshed-out concept will fail if nobody wants to sign-up for it. Creating an RPG centered around something with a niche' audience (whether it be an obscure anime series, comic book character, etc.) isn't likely to succeed because if someone feels like they don't know anything about the property, they aren't going to sign-up and post. Project Gamer worked because of the popularity of console gaming on OB; Evangelion: God's Shadow didn't work bcause only a handful of members on the boards had ever seen Neon Genesis Evangelion (Ironic for an anime message board, no?) Something like Kill Adam, which isn't based on a particular work, has broader appeal because even someone who has never seen Kill Bill can still understand it's premise -- a pair of "real world" assassins looking for revenge. The concept is simple enough for everyone to understand, but the writing quality of the participants lead to a great deal of depth. Also, it had a lot of pretty graphics and html. Those things aren't required for a great RPG, but nobody can deny they didn't have some affect on it's popularity. As others have mentioned, I think James put it best when he said that RPG posts are becoming an awful lot like chapters from a novel. The writing quality of the boards has improved drastically over the years, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the Adventure Arena forum (formerly Games and Stories.) The great RPGs we have in the forum today seem to dwarf even the best efforts in the Literature forum. When people work together on writing projects it seems like everyone's creativity flourishes, and that's what really excites me about RPG's in general. There's a lot that goes into making a great RPG, so this is definitely one of those topics where we could come up with dozens of different answers. What I look for in a strong RPG is: a strong premise that gives the players a lot of flexibility to explore it, talented participants who are dedicated to it, a clear vision for the plot (ie: a beginning and an end are planned from the beginning, although nothing has to be set in stone), something new to offer to RPG's in general. There are very few projects that fit this criteria, but that's not to say that [i]every[/i] successful RPG has these things, or that every RPG that has these things is guaranteed to succeed. The key is to be flexible, and with some strong fundamentals (such as those listed above) you should be able to find a way for your RPG to work. -Shy[/size]

[quote name='Manic']Which title is going to give me current-day Spidey? Not another teenager title.[/quote] [size=1]As far as I know, Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Knights' Spider-Man, and Spectacular Spider-Man (I think) are both set in "present continuity." Of course, I try to treat each comic book as a seperate entity, since they seem to be more enjoyable that way for me. Even the Ultimate universe, which claims to have strong continuity, is already a mess. The whole Ultimate Marvel Team-Up title screwed them over a bit with first appearances of Hulk, Black Widow and the Skrulls that blatantly go against everything presented in Ultimates. Speaking of which, they are coming out with an Ultimate Elektra title to coincide with the upcoming (Summer 2005) movie. I really see this as overexposure of the character since she has her own Marvel Knights title already, but Wolverine manages to appear in twelve titles every month so two comics with Elektra won't hurt anyone. Lord knows I won't buy any new Ultimate titles after they butchered my beloved Fantastic Four. A fun comic I'm reading these days is The Pulse which is about Ben Ulrich (from Daredevil) and Jessica Jones (from Marvel Knights' Alias) who have been hired by the Daily Bugle to write stories specifically about Superheroes and villains. This leads them to investigate some unsolved murders, and as a result you get to see all sorts of bits and pieces of the Marvel Universe that are not normally explored. It has a bunch of little references that one might not get unless they have had prior experience in Journalism, I guess, but I find it to be a lot of fun. Fantatic Four has been a pleasure to read for the past year or so. Mark Waid is my hero; and everything of his that I've come across is brilliant. Kingdom Come and Empire and instant classics. His current Spider-Man arc in FF is fun and light, but it's not his best work. I enjoyed Imaginauts more, but it's still better than most anything else out there. Gotham Central is still one of my favorites; easily the best Bat-book out there. It's a police drama set in Gotham City, and is always a pleasure to read. Their latest arc showed how compellng the writing is, a super-villain doesn't have to be there in every issue to keep the readers interested... .. and don't read Superman/Batman.. it's simply awful. Ugh! That's enough of my ramblings for now. -Shy[/size] Edit: I just noticed that Xander already answered Manic's questions for me, oops.

[quote name='buffy_boy_'](they never kill the person who is in the title)[/quote] [size=1]They killed Buffy twice, you might recall... -Shy[/size]

[center] [b]Tumblin' Tumbleweed[/b][/center] Ariana stumbled off of the hood, leaving a trail of shattered glass, blood and her mother?s brain behind her. Her face, once a vision of beauty, had become horribly mangled in the battle that had just taken place. Jamie smirked, ?I doubt anyone will be paying much for a centerfold of you now, Love.? Though it was difficult to notice beneath all of the blood and sweat, her French maid outfit remained almost perfectly intact. The wardrobe of a porn star must be able to handle all sorts of things, I thought, a fight to the death is nothing compared to some of the things I have seen Ariana handle in her films. Because of her profession, and my own previous work as a male escort our paths had crossed years before Adam had ever entered our lives. It made sense that Adam's only two American associates had become aquainted in their homeland; the irony was that I first got to know Erotica in the heat of passion. I was in Shag, a San Francisco night club with Matt, and had just started working as an escort. Matt, a famed San Francisco film star had been my boyfriend for several months, and this was one of the rare occasions where we could pull ourselves away from our work. Matt wasn?t the most attractive man I had ever dated; with his shaggy brown hair and slightly rotund shape ? but like most men in his profession he made up for it in other areas. This was our night of fun together, just the two of us, where we wouldn't be interupted by any discussion of what, or who I did for a living. But he persisted, and the topic of conversation kept coming up. For someone who engaged in casual sex so often, he seemed disturbed by my new line of work. Shag was one of the more exclusive clubs on the San Francisco club scene. The owners, afraid of being stereotyped as a "gay club" went through great lengths to hire some of the more prominent rock groups in the bay area. Playing in such a small venue was generally frowned upon by these bands, but the style and prestige associated with Shag had built a reputation for itself. African tribal artwork, a far cry from the disco balls and black lights found in the competition adorned the walls. This was [i]the[/i] club for those who didn't club. We were sitting at the bar, enjoying a pair of watermelon margaruitas when Ariana Love burst onto the scene. Had she entered any other city in the world she would have gone undetected, but this was downtown San Francisco, and here she was a god. She wore a low-cut black top and a simple pair of blue jeans, probably hoping to blend into the crowd. Unfortunately this was not an option for Ariana, and within a few moments the attention of the crowd had turned away from the dance floor and towards the blonde bombshell. Tommy, the regular bartender, just about feinted when he saw her approach the counter and asked for a drink. She turned towards Matt, who was sharing an intimate embrace with myself at this point, and smiled. ?It?s good to see you again,? She noticed Matt's hand, placed firmly on my leg, and rolled her eyes, ?I see that things haven?t changed with you.? Confused, I stared blankly at her for a moment. Matt released the soft hold he had on my leg, and leaned in towards Ariana to give her a kiss on the cheek. ?Joshua,? He announced loudly so that I could hear him over the loud music, ?This is Ariana Love, we?ve worked together on a couple of projects.? ?That?s a good way of putting it,? She giggled lightly. ?It?s nice to meet you... Joshua.? ?I thought you looked familiar, ? I paused and thought for a moment, ?You?re one of the woman I?ve seen in Matt?s films?? ?Those aren?t Matt?s films, darling, ? She seemed insulted, ?They?re mine.? Ryan joked, ?It?s all about top billing with her,? He shared a glance with her, ?Maybe you?ll find that out tonight.? I took another sip of my drink. It was one of the many I had that evening. Normally I was not a heavy drinker, but this was one of those rare occasions when I threw my reservations out of the window, and simply tried to have a good time. "Maybe not," She sighed, and twisted her hair softly with her fingers, "My hotel has a check-out time of 10am. Lord knows I'm not going to having any fun tonight and be awake by that awful hour." Her voice had a hint of the South to it, although I couldn't place it at the time. It wasn't as strong as one might expect from a Georgia girl; just soft enough to give her an aura of innocence about her. ?If you?re interested, you could stay with Joshua and I tonight.? Matt said lightly to Ariana, in an almost seductive tone of voice. ?I?d love to.? Jamie raised his blade in the air and made a charge towards Ariana, sitting defenseless on the concrete. The Angel slid her hand underneath the truck behind her and groped around for an item to defend herself with. In most circustances this would have been a simple coup de grace, but the bitch was trained better than that. Jamie's swift movements with a blade were that of legend. Most victims never saw his Katana blade, for the speed of his attacks gave the impression that it's broad handle was connected to an invisible blade of air. Only one, Ariana Love, was fast enough to counter such a lethal blow, and on that day she had proven it. Luckily, or unluckily for Jamie, she had discovered a wrench, 5/16 to be exact. Jamie had failed to notice, or perhaps just ignore this as he swung his mighty Hanzo sword at her. Dodging Jamie's first blow, Ariana tripped him with her legs, and as he hit the ground the wrench was passionately slammed into his forehead. Mostly unarmed, Ariana had managed to disable the world?s premiere assassin. A simple wrench, and a pair of legs was all it took to take Jamie and his beloved weapon to the floor instantly. Not failing to take advantage of a situation, the Angel grabbed Jamie?s signature weapon and assumed an offensive stance. Half-concious, he immediately dove under the truck, barely dodging the blade of his own katana by way of Ariana's attempted decapitation. Jamie drew his handgun, and carefully set his sight on the only thing he was able to see -- Ariana Love's ankles. [i]Bang.[/i] Her scream was unbearable, far worse than anything she could have done to me with Jamie's sword. The Cowboy and Desert Taipan had crippled another former ally; my guilt was apparent, but I decided that guilt was a luxury in this case. If things had been a bit different I doubt she would have been standing over me with the same feelings of remorse. ?A single move, a single breath,? My attention focused on her face, rather than the bloodied mess that was now her left leg, "?and you won?t be able to do any of those things again. We need to talk.? ?We have nothing to talk about,? She said, her tone of voice showing sheer disdain for the two of us, ?Just finish me off!? ?Finish?? I smiled, ?We haven?t even started yet.? After struggling to find the right key to my door, the three of us, more than a little tipsy from our night at Shag, worked our way through my small hallway and towards the bedroom. My apartment in San Francisco was always a mess. Work demanded that I make a home out of whatever hotel room I was at for the night, so over time I began to think of my apartment simply as a storage space. Cardboard boxes, filled mostly with clothes were scattered throughout the area. In fact, the only furniture in the entire apartment was my king-size bed, more than enough for three people to share for the night. My black collared shirt was mostly unbuttoned at this point, revealing a simple white undershirt beneath. Matt moved his hand along my backside, caressing me while Ariana began to completely strip down. She pulled Matt away from me for a moment, and began blowing into his ear. ?It?s so nice to be with you again, Matt,? She proclaimed, thrusting him and myself onto the bed behind us. Ariana slowly crawled on top of Matt, massaging his shoulders lightly while removing his shirt. I leaned in close, kissing Ariana on the neck. My jeans quickly became unbuttoned, lowering them to my ankles as Ariana moved her lips up and down my body. I grabbed her breast, not realizing that Matt had already taken a firm hold of them both, and paused. I gently moved my fingers through her long, beautiful hair, intertwining my body with hers and rolling on top of her. Matt placed his hand along my hips and adjusted himself to face my backside, whispering softly as that memorable night finally began to take shape. ...and that is how I first met Ariana Love. Ariana awoke from her slumber, in a daze from the drugs[b]*[/b] we had injected into her. Jamie and I had never really experimented in such tools, but tonight it served an important purpose, and was an absolute necessity. Jamie, still injured from the day?s encounter had left for Japan a few hours earlier. He was hoping to catch one of the final Angels, and possibly find a lead regarding Adam's whereabouts. While his manufacturing plant and other business ventures remained unphased by our string of murders, he had gone deep into hiding after the death of Lelia. If I couldn't get the information out of Ariana it was imperative that he find someone more willing to share, or at the very least someone afraid of the very painful death that we could provide. ?Where am I?? ?You can?t know that. You [I]know[/I] you can?t know that.? She began to vomit a volatile combination of the sedatives and the blood that had been slowly dripping down her throat for the past few hours. A girl like her healed fast, so I made it a priority to keep the bleeding constant. Ariana never knew, but we were 20 feet below the streets of Atlanta, directly underneath the Lenmark Astro Lanes: Georgia's favorite 24-hour bowling alley. It was just an abandoned storage area, most likely from the days of World War 2. Thick cement walls and steel doors made it nearly impenetrable from the outside, but over the course of time it had become connected to the lanes through an intricate network of tunnels. A favorite hazing ritual for new Astro Lane employees was to carry the "fresh meat" at random points inside the tunnels against their will, forcing them to make it to the surface on their own. If that wasn't difficult enough, the blindfold they strapped on was more than enough to keep things challenging. Some were able to succeed with relative ease, but a local legend claims that one man spent nearly 12 hours trying to find his way to the surface. Not willing to accept the aid of his co-workers, he felt it necessary to accomplish this feat and prove his worth to the others. When he reached the lanes it was time for his next shift to begin, and the poor fellow spent over 24 hours at the Lenmark Astro Lanes without a single moment of sleep. Ariana was strapped tightly to a steel chair with tight leather straps, nothing new to her, only this time she wouldn?t escape. A silk scarf that I had found on her costume worked as a suitable blindfold, and was the only hint of color in that dimly lit space. The walls were solid gray and all light coming from a single bulb dangling over her head. Brown tile floors, which upon their installation were quite colorful, had faded into a light hue over time, nearly impossible to distiguish from the cement walls. ?Are? are my arms broken? I can?t feel them anymore.? [I]Soft sound of footsteps echoed through those reinforced halls.[/I] ?I doubt you can feel much of anything right now, Love. Most people wouldn?t have returned to consciousness as soon as you did. But that?s okay, it gives us more time, to talk.? Ariana began to cough up blood again, staining herself and the floor beneath her. ?As for your arms, no, they aren?t broken yet. Those leather straps around them will do the trick, though, as soon as they dry. By that time the numbness will wear off, and you?ll feel every bit of it and everything else I?ve done to you so far.? [I]Closer. Tap? tap? tap?[/I] ?You get me out of this, Joshua. You?re better than this, and I?ll tell you?? Before she could finish her sentence I punched her across the face, silencing her instantly. ?Here?s the deal, Erotica. Shut the hell up, and speak only when spoken to,? I sighed, and took a sip from my drink, a simple mixture of orange juice and vodka that they had prepared for me upstairs, ?Why didn?t you leave when you had the chance? You, and the others didn?t have to suffer this fate.? ?I chose this path, and I?ll follow it through to the end. I wouldn?t leave Adam?s side just because the two of you wanted vengeance for what happened to that child.? ?[I]My[/I] child.? [I]?tap? tap? tap?[/I] ?If you only knew what he did, I wouldn?t be your target, Joshua.? ?You were at his side protecting him, how could I not take you on first?? [I]?tap.. tap? silence. The footsteps had stopped outside.[/I] ?It?s amazing how you can be so close to the man, and still know nothing about his actual location. Personal numbers, addresses, you couldn?t find them could you? Those links you once had to him are long since severed.? ?So are a lot of things, and there?s going to be a lot more if you don?t give me the information I need.? I drew my knife and shoved it into her abdomen, ?Where?s Adam? ?I wish you hadn?t done that, Joshua.? A familiar voice said dryly from behind, ?I?m right here.? - - - - - - - [b]*[/b][size=1]"I can't thank you enough for this, especially given the circumstances of our relationship." "You killed my father. Don't think for a moment that I had forgotten about it, or shown forgiveness." "From what I understand, you were prepared to do the same yourself. In either case, you, a young woman, are likey to become the most powerful person in all of Tokyo." "Not quite, not yet. A mark has been placed on my head by Adam, it's only a matter of time before his Angels, or some other mercenary arrives at the Den of Snakes." "I think you will handle yourself well enough." "And so should you. I'm exepcting results, Cowboy. Adam's business, his payroll, I get it all when this is over. For that you will receive whatever protection I can provide, and a promise that you'll be able to leave this scene behind once and for all." "That's a fair enough trade for me. Thanks again for these, Kyoko." "Take care of yourself Cowboy. Your son is lucky to have man like you as his father, even if your cause is an impossible one." "I thought it would be impossible to make it this far, but Adam is only a few steps away. It's too late to turn back now." [/size] [size=1]-Shy[/size]

[size=1]A lot of time has passed since he voting was done for the Otaku Awards, and I apologize for not taking care of the vote counting sooner. But in reality, it was [b]Japan 86[/b], [b]Chris[/b] and [b]Shinmarui[/b] who ended up doing all of the grunt work for me. When you see any of these people around be sure to give them a big e-hug, or something... *shrugs* Anyway, most of these awards were obsolete by the time the voting had finished, but congratulations to the winners anyway. Have fun with these things. It's only a few months until this vicious cycle gets to start all over again...[/size] [b][u]Generall Awards[/b][/u] [b]Overall Member of the Year:[/b] James [b]Male Otaku of the Year:[/b] Syk3 / Semjaza Azazel (tied for first) [b]Female Otaku of the Year:[/b] Sara [b]Staff Member of the Year:[/b] James [b]Funniest Member of the Year:[/b] Dragon Warrior [b]Most Opinionated Otaku of the Year:[/b] Poison Tongue [b]Most Likely to Be Here in Two Years:[/b] Adam [b]Best Newbie:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b]Best Oldie:[/b] Shy [b]Most Likely to Become a Staff Member:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b]Most Improved Member of the Year:[/b] Baron Samedi [b]Favorite Banned Member:[/b] Taylor Hewitt [b]Thread of the Year:[/b] The ?Deal With This Member? Thread 14 [b]Silliest Thread of the Year:[/b] How the James Stole Christmas [b][u]Random Awards[/b][/u] [b]Avatar Award (Best Avatars Overall):[/b] Charles [b]Signature Award (Best Signatures Overall):[/b] Sara [b]Best Location (Best Specific Location):[/b] Drix D?Zanith [b]Best Otaku Couple:[/b] Queen Asuka/Piromunkie [b]Best Looking Otaku:[/b] Babygirl [b]Otaku Clique of the Year:[/b] OtakuBoards? League of Not-So-Extraordinary Gentlemen [b]Best MyOtaku:[/b] James [u][b]Otaku Writers[/u][/b] [b]Poet Laureate:[/b] Mitch [b]Writer of the Year:[/b] Charles [b]Orginal Story of the Year:[/b] OB: Enter the Net [b]Role-Player of the Year:[/b] Arcadia [b]Brawler of the Year:[/b] Chaos [b]RPG of the Year:[/b] Kill Adam [b][u]Social Otakus[/b][/u] [b]Otaku Social Member:[/b] Japan_86 [b]Entertainment Otaku:[/b] Dragon Warrior [b][u]Otaku Anime[/b][/u] [b]Otaku of the Year:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b].hack//SIGN Member of the Year:[/b] AzureWolf [b]Dragonball Guru of the Year:[/b] Burori [b]Digipeep of the Year:[/b] Digital_Monster [b]Gundam Member of the Year:[/b] Domon [b]Yu-Gi-Oh Member of the Year:[/b] Solo Tremaine [b]Least Disappointing Yu Yu Hakusho Member:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b][u]Otaku Gamers[/b][/u] [b]Otaku Gamer of the Year:[/b] Shimaru [b]Nintendo ?Mario? Award:[/b] Shinmaru [b]Sony Award:[/b] Charles [b]X-Box Award:[/b] PoisonTongue [b]PC Gamer of the Year:[/b] DeathKnight [b][u]Otaku Artists[/b][/u] [b]Best Graphic Designer (Banners, wallpapers, etc.):[/b] Syk3 [b]Best "Traditional" Artist (Drawings, paintings, etc.):[/b] Sara [b]Best Spriter:[/b] Dragonballzman [b][u]Otaku Series[/b][/u] [b]Series Otaku Member of the Year:[/b] Desbreko [b]Square/Enix Member of the Year:[/b] Zidargh [b]PokéPlaque (Pokemon):[/b] Lady Katana [b]The Triforce Award:[/b] Desbreko [size=1]-Shy[/size]

[size=1]This has been a bit of a problem lately. Some members have been posting short (OOC) Out of Character posts in their RPGs without contributing anything to the storyline of the RPG.[/size] [QUOTE=Examples of OOC Posts][color=red]OOC: Can you change your last post for me? I wanted to include the reverse zombie vampires myself, since it was my idea.[/color] [color=darkblue][b][font=courier]OOC: GeishaMan, your last post was sooo funny! lol![/QUOTE][/color][/b][/font] [size=1]There's nothing wrong with these types of comments, but they don't need to be included in the actual RPG. They can be sent to the individual members through private messages, so that OOC conversations don't end up detracting away from the RPGs themselves. Any OOC posts that are not included with a "real" RPG post will be deleted immediately, and members are urged to limit the amount of OOC posts they do, unless it is neccessary for the game in some way. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]Yeah, I don't really see the point in makinh this thread, let alone keeping it open. I'm going to close it, since whatever quality was in the first few posts has completely degenerated into a bunch of nonsense. Thread locked. -Shy[/size]

"Anything with a sword," Cary said with an abundance of masculinity in his voice. Since being taken over by new management The Grind has been forcing it's employees to participate in all sorts of ridiculous promotional gimmicks. Just a few months ago the entire crew reenacted Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic in hopes of attracting some new customers -- and while Cary's performance as the Santa Maria was a hit, it wasn't the type of thing that would draw in large crowds. So in honor of Halloween, every employee at The Grind is required to wear a full costume for their entire shift. Cary hadn't worn a Halloween costume since he was in the second grade, and even though he was strongly against the idea he had no choice but to participate. The shopkeeper, an older Asian woman, came out of the back room with a few assorted costumes. He looked through them for a moment, but didn't see anything that he was particularily fond of. "Hm, I don't really know if I'm liking any of these costumes. Do you have something a little more... I dunno, exotic?" Cary asked. "Exotic, you say?" The old woman grinned as she pointed to a mannequin behind Cary, "How about a pirate?" Apparently pirates were the big seller this year, and as a result most of the store was adorned in various pirate outfits. Attempting to be an individual, Cary declined the offer, and continued looking through the store by himself. After a few minutes of browsing aimlessly, Cary stumbled across an old turban that was stuffed on one of the taller shelves. He slowly pulled it down and began to examine it. It was a deep blue color, and adorned with some type of red gem on the front -- this was not the type of ornate headdress that you would ever see in a discount costume shop. He tried on the turban -- a perfict fit, and most importantly, he looked good in it too. Cary brought the turban over to the counter, quickly gaining the attention of the shopkeeper. "You buy something?" She asked anxiously, with peculiar smile on her face. "Yes, this turban is too cool to pass up." "A wonderful choice. In days of Ali Baba and flying carpets these turbans were worn by powerful sorcerers and clairvoyants. With proper robes you could look very good." "A clairvoyant? Even better. I was actually going to use it for a Johnny Carson costume..."

[quote name='Xander Harris']I am thinking of running this RPG like a director of a T.V. show. Each episode would be divided into Acts and scenes. I think this would be good, as many RPG's seem to die because people don't know what they are supposed to do next. The format would go something like this:[/quote] [size=1]I like the idea, of doing things in a scene-based format, just because it makes things flow easier in an RPG. Your sign-up thread has a lot of potential, but I would just ask that everyone put more thought into the back-stories and personalities of your characters. Something like Buffy is very character driven, and statistics just don't give enough information about the characters. Time for my sign-up, yea! [b]Name:[/b] Cary Jacobs [b]Age:[/b] 19 [b]Species:[/b] Human [b]Guts[/b]: 3 [b]Strength:[/b] 2 [b]Martial Arts:[/b] N/A [b]Ranged Attack:[/b] 1 [b]Health:[/b] 3 [b]Magic:[/b] 3 [b]Work Skills:[/b] Botany - Living on a farm Cary has developed an uncanny knowledge of the plants and crops growing in Otaku Lake. When the wheat needs more fertilizer, or the cornfield begins to spell out cryptic warnings, Cary is the first to notice. Combined with his use of magic, he can find more common alternatives to some of the more obscure magical components that make up certain spells, with unpredictable results. (Example: Lotus petals are not so common in Otaku Lake, but using the right combination of sunflowers and grain might do the job, or accidentally open up the gates of hell, who knows?) Apprenticeship - Unknown to Cary, he is being constantly monitored by powerful mystical forces. They often use the power of the Hellmouth to challenge him, and see if he is worthy of joining their ranks when he comes of age. This group is known as the Order of Ka, and is comprised of powerful businessmen and Warlocks alike. Cary first drew their attention after he banished a powerful fire spirit who happened to be one of their founding members. Rather than punish him, they secretly provide aid to Cary in his more serious battles, hoping that he might one-day return the favor when the time is right. [b]Research Skill:[/b] 2 [b]Racial abilities:[/b] n/a [b]Technology:[/b] 3 [b]Biography:[/b] Cary was born to a pair of loving parents in their large farm in Otaku Lake. As Cary grew, so did the town, and by the time he had entered high school the farm was sold off to a group of real estate developers who hoped to turn the area into several blocks of affordable tract housing. The Jacobs family grew quite wealthy from this, and when Cary turned 18 his parents used their money to move out of state. However, Cary had no interest in leaving Otaku Lake. In order to afford living on his own Cary found work at Grind, a local coffee shop. He lives in a moderately sized apartment near his old family farm. Due to an attack by a fire spirit, construction on the estate has been halted indefinitely, and most of the original farm remains intact. Cary often visits the site to practice his magic in secrecy, which he has been doing for several years. In his free time Cary likes to write, watch old movies and study up on the occult. -Shy[/size]

[size=1][b]What your favorite episode is:[/b] "The Gift" is probably my favorite episode of the series, just because it managed to pack so much emotional punch into one episode. All of the major plot points weren't resolved until the final episode, but they WERE RESOLVED (something that cannot be said for s6 and s7's conclusions.) Heck, even Xander had his chance to shine in the episode.. how often does that happen? [b]Who my favorite character is:[/b] I don't have a favorite, but there are a lot of characters that stand out. My top picks would probably be Anya, Dawn, and of course, Andrew. [b]Who my favorite big bad is:[/b] All of them really have their interesting qualities, but I'd have tosay that Glory is my favorite Big Bad. Season Five's storyline was the most consistent, and I think having an overall good season is better than having a mix of spectacular/terrible episodes.Learning bits and pieces about "The Key" all season long was really compelling, and trying to figure out Glory's motivations was even better. [b]How long have you liked Buffy:[/b] I saw the first episode the night it premiered. (I remember asking my Mom if I could stay up later to see the entire thing. It was a big deal at the time.) [b]Have you seen a lot of episodes:[/b] Every single one. [b]What seasons have you seen:[/b] All of them, actually. Normally I wouldn't post in this type of thing, but I'm a huge Buffy fan. You have to remember that Star Wars 411 started out as something simiilar to this, and turned out to be an excellent thread. -Shy[/size]

[center] [b]Crying' Time[/b][/center] It was through a random encounter that we were able to have our conversation ? Jamie?s train from the bathhouse had been delayed, so I spent a good deal of that afternoon waiting for him at the Azabu Juuban station. I sat by one of the newsstands for a few hours, catching up on the few ?Western? publications that were available in this city. Adam had tried to teach me to read the kanji during my time in prison, but I never bothered to become literate in anything other than English. I admit that I don?t have a lot of interest in Hollywood celebrities, but given the right amount of boredom I?ll read anything. The train station was quiet that day. The children were still in school, and the commuters were still working hard at their desk jobs. Assuming that Jamie?s train didn?t take too much longer to arrive, we would be able to enjoy a nice evening together before the restaurants became too crowded. This was the most important thing in my life at the time. Revenge was still a priority, but after the battles we had just been through I?d like to one last night together, one where I don?t have to think about Adam. I was buried in my tabloid magazine when I heard a familiar voice from behind. ?Is this how all of your assassins like to pass your time? Gossip and movie stars?? My eyes veered from the page, and discovered that Yasuo?s daughter was standing directly behind me. She looked beautiful than when I had seen her before. The conservative business dress that she once wore had changed into a more elegant black dress. ?I?m waiting for Jamie. He had some out of town business to take care of. This magazine is just here to pass the time.? ?I guess that?s the difference between us, Cowboy. You?re content here waiting for someone to show up, while I?m on my way to seek someone out.? ?Anyone of note?? I asked, feigning curiosity as I put the magazine back onto its shelf. ?An old flame,? She thoughts to herself for a moment and smiled, ?I guess that?s what you would call him. My father never supported my relationships, even when I let him choose the suitor.? ?A lot of people aren?t happy with the choices they make,? I placed my reading material back onto the shelf. ??what about you? Are you happy with the life you have made for yourself?? Jeanette?s cold body was lying right next to me, or so I?m told. I was unconscious at the time ? in fact, I was unconscious for most of that trip. That?s what happens when you make a mistake in the presence of an Angel, Jamie reminded me later on about how lucky I was to have survived that encounter. He was lucky too, you know. Sometimes that man gave himself a lot more credit than he deserved. [size=1]-Shy[/size]

[size=1]Even though my family is notorious for ruining the sancity of marriage, I have always felt like a Gay marriage is something really crosses a line in forcing homosexuality into the mainstream. A wedding in and of itself was once a very religious ceremony, and it almost seems like a mockery of those beliefs to have two men or two women marry. In my opinion it is just the same as having a pair of atheists going through with the ceremony -- really you are shoehorning your lifestyle/values into those of another, and it just doesn't make sense to me. There was once a family on our street that was Jewish, and for whatever reason they chose to decorate their house with blue lights, signifying Hannakuh. That really undermines yourself when you have to conform to everyone else's traditions like that. No other species on Earth goes through a wedding ceremony, and I see no reason why a pairing cannot be "official" without there being tuxedos and boring receptions. Having said that, I do see the legal and emotional need for civil unions. I'm lucky enough to work at a company that acknowledges same-sex partnerships, and gives them the same respect and benefits that married couples do. When the world stops looking at homosexual relationships as being purely sexual they will see the need for legal recognition that is equivalent to a marriage. On another level, I'd like to point out how ridiculous it is for a single city to issue marriage licenses that violate the state laws. That is a huge issue to me, and I don't think that one city overstepping their boundaries is a push in the right direction. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]I'm sorry, but we generally don't allow favorites threads because they lead to short and pointless posts. Please put more thought into your future posts, and read the rules regarding post quality. Topic closed. -Shy[/size]

"Paper or plastic, Miss Richards?" "Hm? Sorry?" "Would you like a paper bag, or a plastic bag to hold your groceries in? A thousand years had passed, and now [i]this[/i] was my greatest concern. Anima, once a god among mankind had been subjected to living among them -- and I couldn't be happier. Life was simple these days, although the world itself had grown to be much more complicated. "Which would you recommend?" I asked the cashier, hoping for some advice in this complicated matter. The boy, he couldn't have been any older than 20, stared at me with an agigated look, and quickly shoved my purchase into a set of plastic bags. He handed me the bags, and moved onto the next customer, "Have a nice day," he muttered sarcastically. Blasphemy. Even in all of my time as a "mortal" I find it difficult to understand them sometimes. Can they not show respect to their paying customers, and help them through a difficult decision? Apparently not. Customer service is dead. I seem to remember my servants being particularily polite on Villa Anima. That was a different age, an age when I had power. Walking out of the store I paused for a moment, and looked back at the cashier. If this were 1,000 years ago he would have regretted hurrying me like that. Suddenly I felt a surge of wind rush in through the doors behind me. A display of paper towels had been knocked over in the wake of the gust, flying straight into the face of the cashier. A feeling of power coursed through my body; this wind wasn't random, [i]I [/i] had created it. Without realizing it, I dropped my groceries and ran outside. The sky was calm and blue when I had seen it last, but now it was a dark gray color. Clouds were forming above me as the sound of thunder echoed through the air. The time of the Titans had returned, and so had my powers.

[size=1]Okay, voting is closed. Let's see if I can't have the results out to you guys by Monday, okay? -Shy[/size]

[size=1]Just like the Duo thread I just closed, I'd like to remind everyone that these type of threads are highly discouraged from these forums. They have been done a million times before, and lead to the same poor replies in every instance. Thread closed. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]I'm going to ask that you improve your post quality, Megumi momo. Threads such as this do not typically generate any discussion, and lead to short and pointless posts. Please read the rules before attempting to post on these boards again; topic closed. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]Yeah, I don't really allow these "My favorite character is Duo!!11!" threads because they often lead to short and pointless posts, such as the one you have just written. This topic is closed, and this is your final warning about the quality of your writing on these boards. -Shy[/size]

[size=1]I don't really see any reason why this thread was created, and I doubt that it will generate any intelligent discussion. I'm sure that using an internet search engine (or checking Bandai's official website) will provide you with a complete listing of .hack products available in the United States. -Shy[/size]