Dagger

I can't believe that I never noticed this thread before! Anyway, your work is consistently impressive. I really like the Naru and Faye banners, as well as your Love Hina backgrounds--particularly the "girly" one. ^_~ Your Scrapped Princess banners alone are enough to get me interested in watching that show. The pixelated effect in the banner with the blond girl is especially cool, and adds a sense of mystery to it. ~Dagger~

I really enjoyed this. For some reason, reading it gave me the same feeling that I usually experience when reading song lyrics. The language is beautiful and evokes strong emotions. I'm not sure if I would categorize your poem as.... well, as a poem. It's not quite prose, but I'd have an easier time accepting it as poetry it were broken up into stanzas or lines. However, I think that the paragraph format works perfectly with what you've written, and also helps it flow. So please don't change a thing. ^__^ Overall, wonderful work. If this is what you're capable of when you're bored, I can't even imagine how amazing your other poems or stories must be. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sara [/i] [B][size=1]Cheers to amibasuki and Shroom for being sane, eh?[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Aw, what about me? ^_~ Despite what anyone else may say, I cling firmly to the belief that sleep is necessary for one to fully enjoy and appreciate OB--as well as all the other good things in life. Such as actually staying alive.... which, given a suffient lack of sleep, won't happen. ~Dagger~

Just search for ".hack" on Amazon.com, and you'll find a number of imported CDs and singles. There are plenty to choose from. ~Dagger~

My favorite character is definitely Dorothy--although I've also come to like and respect Angel. It's rare for a show to have not one, but [i]two[/i] sympathetic and interesting female leads. This naturally segues into the subject of Big O's love triangle. The show isn't big on romance (no pun intended), but what little it has is very well done. I'd prefer for Roger to end up with Dorothy, personally, but I realize that may not be possible. I watch Big O more for its characters and storyline than its mechas. They're alright, I suppose. Nothing incredible stylistically. The battles are consistently impressive--in terms of animation, not originality. The first season was solid. However, it didn't start to build up momentum until the end. I'm enjoying the second season, but with so few episodes left, I'm worried that not all the subplots with be resolved in a satisfactory manner. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by craig8429 [/i] [B]you managed to finish that horrid series. Dear god I watched 10 eps and it hurt my head. you should really look for the book it's based on. the anime is a disgrace to it.[/B][/QUOTE] I'm sure that the book is excellent. What made Boogiepop Phantom "horrid," in your opinion? It didn't hurt my head--however, it [i]did[/i] make me think. I loved mentally putting together the individual storylines and subplots, and watching them cohese into a greater whole. Of course, that may not be everyone's favorite pastime, which is why BP only appeals to a certain audience. ~Dagger~

I would have to go with RahXephon. It's a gorgeously animated mecha series that at first glance seems very similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion--but is actually totally different. Since I haven't seen all of Eva, I won't go so far as to claim that RahXephon is better. However, RahXephon definitely sets a new standard for anime in terms of character design and development. Despite its amazing action and well-thought-out plot, RahXephon is at heart a character-driven story. I simply can't say enough good things about it. Also, this show has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. It's right up there with Boogiepop Phantom, Read or Die and Cowboy Bebop. ~Dagger~

I'd prefer not to start school later. I don't enjoy waking up early, but I'll do it if I have to. During the crew season, I often need to wake up around 4:00 in order to participate in one of my team's 5:30 a.m. practices. It's nice to watch the sun rise, and I suspect that most teenagers don't get to see that very often. Even with additional arts classes, I still have a free period or two every day of the week. So if I'm really exhausted, I can just go find a free couch and take a nap then. My afternoon sports practices usually go until 6:00 as it is; if school started later, I'd have very little time in the evening to do homework and relax. ~Dagger~

OOC: Terra, you did a wonderful job with the letter. ***** The color drained from Aissa's face. "Oh, gods..." Leile continued to stare at the piece of parchment, lips moving silently as she re-read each paragraph. She was trembling, her eyes bright with distress, but Aissa had frozen in place, feet rooted to the ground. Anubis watched her, his expression implacable. "You felt it coming," he said softly. "Just as surely as I did. Not consciously, perhaps, but I'm certain that you sensed something." "Leave her alone!" Leile snapped. Her voice wavered dangerously, and she bit her lip. "Who could have expected [i]this[/i]?" The mage produced a hankerchief out of thin air and pressed it into her hands. She stared at him incredulously, uncertain whether to be grateful, offended, or both. "If you're going to cry, do it now," he told her matter-of-factly. "Later on, there will be little time for grief." "We.... we have to do something," Aissa whispered, catching Leile's arm. "We've got to--" "Help. I know," Anubis cut in. "I can take you to the ruins of Ma'Uriith, if that is your wish. I am probably the only man alive who could pass through there unscathed." He saw that Leile was peering at the scrap of fabric with no small amount of distrust, and he offered her a brief smile. "Real enough for you?" [b]Meanwhile....[/b] Maia had to remind herself that she was irritated. Very irritated. She seemed to be having a little trouble remembering that, what with Luthian's hands on her shoulders and his disarming--but irritating!--grin. She grimaced, and let the Tal'Iiren continue to steer her down the road. His tail was quite the distraction; she found herself watching its cheerful swishing out of the corner of her eye. [i]Gah,[/i] she thought grumpily. [i]Tails be damned. He's too attractive for his own good, anyway.[/i] The redhead stopped suddenly, her mouth open in a small "o" of surprise. This, of course, caused a minor and rather messy collision when Luthian walked directly into her back. He recovered his balance with his usual easy grace, but Maia nearly went flying. Luthian grabbed for her coat, hoping to save her from what would be an unpleasant tumble (as opposed to the more pleasant kind, which usually took place in Caedwyn's haystacks). A second later, she yelped in pain, and he realized he'd been hanging onto her braid. The girl's face dangled merely two or three inches away from the sidewalk, held up only by her hair. Maia put her hands on the ground, propping herself up, and very slowly and deliberately climbed to her feet. It was only when she turned to face him, hands on her hips and eyes blazing with indignation, that Luthian remembered to let go. [i]Uh oh....[/i] "First, the pebble," she hissed. He'd never imagined that a girl half his size could sound so terrifying. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to remind her that he'd just saved her from.... well, not certain death, but all the same.... "Then, you try to rip out all my hair!?" Maia grabbed the front of his shirt, and he prepared himself for a thorough tongue-lashing--when her cap slipped down over her eyes, effectively covering most of the redhead's face. She let go of him, confused, before discovering what had happened. Apparently forgetting her aggravation with Luthian, she whipped the offending accessory off her head, threw it to the ground, and seemed quite ready to attack the poor thing. He scratched the back of his head, grinning. [i]She's nothing if not unpredictable.[/i] "So, what were you looking at?" "Huh?" Maia straightened up, swiftly stuffing a number of objects back into her hat. "Oh... The crowd outside the bar. They're all looking at something. See?" Luthian squinted into the darkness. She was right--there was a startlingly large group gathered around one of the exterior walls. Maia was probably too short to have glimpsed it, but it looked as though they were trying to read a piece of parchment.

Seeing how as sleep is necessary for one's body to function properly, I'll have to vote in favor of sleep. Besides, sleeping and visiting OB aren't exactly mutually exclusive. It's a bit difficult to carry on an intelligent conversation when you're about to doze off. ~Dagger~

I'm half Korean (on my mother's side) and half Polish (on my father's side). I only look somewhat Asian--in fact, when I was younger, people used to think that I had been adopted, or that my mom was my nanny. It made for some rather awkward situations. Interestingly, I never thought of myself as being biracial until a teacher brought the subject up, around sixth grade or so. We were discussing ethnicity, and it turned out that I was one of two biracial people in the grade. Made me a little self-conscious, that it did. ~Dagger~

Yes, well, Boogiepop definitely isn't for everyone. I personally enjoyed the part about the spiders. ^__^;; The boy who that episode centered around struck me as a rather compelling character, despite the fact that he had some serious personality flaws. One of the things I like most about BP is the way it juxtaposes a surreal, dark storyline with complex, believable, and realistic characters. ~Dagger~

I watched Kikaider on Adult Swim, and though I disliked the style of animation, the story and characters kept me interested. I did see the episode where Misuko is waiting for Jiro's return. The next day, when they aired the first episode of Kikaider01, I seriously believed that I'd somehow managed to miss several very important details. For one thing, what on earth happened to Misuko? Did Jiro just forget she ever existed? I guess I got confused as to whether Kikaider01 is a direct sequel or an alternate storyline, a la the various Tenchi series. And I agree with you--the ending is absolutely terrible. However, I wouldn't say that Kikaider is entirely "humorless." If that's the standard by which you judge lack of humor, then I've seen plenty of humorless shows, such as .hack//SIGN and Boogiepop Phantom. ~Dagger~

Your drawings are wonderful. I especially like the girl's pose; it really seems to express her personality. I'd have to agree with Daigo--the guy reminds me a little bit of Cloud. It's more his outfit than his hair or anything else. Either way, I think you did a fantastic job designing their clothes. ~Dagger~

sieg, I'm going to assume that this is a Yu-Gi-Oh poem. Alright. First of all, it would probably help your readers if you indicated what fandom you're writing for--or if "Yami" is actually a character of your own creation. I wholeheartedly agree with AzureWolf. You should attempt to convey emotion through your use of the English language, not through smilies. Finally, computers come with spellcheckers for a reason. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B]Peaches gross me out. The area around that massive seed in the center just looks disgusting. Like an bloody, festering wound... Ick. Mangos are the best fruit there is... assuming they're ripe. [/B][/QUOTE] You are so right. There's nothing better than a nice mango--not too crisp, not too tart.... I'm growing hungry just thinking about it. I'm not hugely fond of fresh peaches, but I don't mind eating them canned. However, my favorite food would have to be either sticky rice or chocolate chip cookies. My mom makes a fresh pot of rice nearly every day, and I never get tired of it. I love chocolate chip cookies simply because I'm amazingly good at baking them. ^_~ ~Dagger~

I was originally planning on putting the Milton quote in the banner itself.... I suppose I just never got around to it. The image would definitely look better with some text, and I'll be sure to add it soon. I'm using Photoshop Elements, or some variation thereof. I first got the program around a month ago; it came free with my mom's new digital camera. So I'm still in the process of figuring a few things out. ^__^;; ~Dagger~

Heh, the banner is absolutely hilarious. Fantastic work. Its timing, images, and text are perfect. Especially the quasi-dramatic DUNs. ^__^ I'm with OtakuSennen; it reminds me of an Adult Swim black-and-white card. I definitely think you should be able to post it in your signature.... but if any mods object, I suppose that'll be that. ~Dagger~

I've recently started watching Boogiepop Phantom, which is a truly amazing show. Anyway, this banner uses images and quotes from that series. In case anyone's curious, the really faded background words read: "As people get older they forget about what's important in life. They reach an understanding with reality and convince themselves that they enjoy what they're doing. That's how the world works." Good, bad, or just plain mediocre? I'd love to hear your opinion. ~Dagger~

Like VP-Master, I don't know about the manga. But the anime opening sequence does contain some stylized nudity. It's nothing I would consider offensive--just a little harmless (albeit random) fan-service. I've been enjoying watching FMP 1. However, I have to say that despite its amazing animation and likeable characters, the lack of a coherent plot really brings it down. The comedy is alright, but far from dazzling. I actually enjoy the dramatic sequences more.... so I'm not too sure that I'd like FMP 2. Nevertheless, I'll definitely try to see it. ~Dagger~

I've always found that I do my best writing really late in the evening, long after the rest of my family has gone to bed. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it's because I'm somewhat more relaxed--not to mention tired--during that time of day. All I know is that my ideas flow far more easily and naturally at night. Silence may have to do with it as well; music or external noises tend to distract me from my thoughts. Is this true for anyone else? ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Double_B_Daigo [/i] [B]ANother Idea, Why not a Naruto lounge? THis has got to be the single anime that created a universe around itself. It expeanisive and is on the level of DBZ in the character listings. Why not? [/B][/QUOTE] It doesn't seem to me that James plans to add any new forums, particularly ones that would revolve around a specific series. However, I'm not saying that the shows you mentioned aren't worthy of discussion. I doubt that the staff would even think about creating a new forum, such as Tenchi or Rurouni Kenshin, unless there was [i]considerable[/i] demand for one. For now, you could just start a Naruto thread in the Anime Lounge. If you believe that it's popular enough to deserve its own forum, I'm sure a thread about it would attract plenty of replies. To be perfectly honest, I don't think that a Rurouni Kenshin forum is a good idea. Most of the Kenshin threads I've seen consist of either borderline spam or fangirl raving. But if you want to talk Kenshin, I recently read a pretty interesting discussion of the OVAs ("Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal," and "Samurai X: Reflection"). ~Dagger~

Heh. I had a pretty hard time making my decisions, especially considering that this is a hypothetical discussion. 1) Youko Kurama's powers (Yu Yu Hakusho). Even in his human form, Kurama is practically impossible to defeat. Despite his comparative physical weakness, he devises ingenious strategies to overcome his enemies, using only his plant-manipulating magic. Plus, his attacks are far more aesthetically pleasing than the average anime hero's blast of light. 2) Boogiepop's cloak (Boogiepop Phantom). This is simply the coolest item of clothing that I've ever seen. On the outside, it just looks like dark blue fabric--nothing out of the ordinary. But then, as so often happens in anime, a stray gust of wind will come out of nowhere and blow the cloak open. Very dramatic. Instead of cloth, its inside appears to be some kind of portal or window to the stars. Quite neat-looking, and potentially useful. 3) Yomiko's book collection (Read or Die). What can I say? I love books, and this girl appears to possess nearly every single piece of literature ever written--not to mention newspapers, manga, and much more. ~Dagger~

I don't believe in bad luck. If you feel unlucky, you'll probably end up [i]being[/i] unlucky. It seems to me that people like to blame their mistakes on bad luck rather than taking responsibility for them, as they should. Superstition is really just a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. You'll be a lot more relaxed if you don't worry about the negative effects of, say, walking beneath a ladder. I do believe in karma, but not as a supernatural force. Behaving inconsiderately and cruelly towards others will eventually come back to haunt you, no matter how long you get away with it at first. Conversely, kindness is usually rewarded, if only by an increase in your personal satisfaction and happiness. ~Dagger~

Recently, when I click on the "Modify Posts" button, I've been getting an error message (I've pasted it below). This isn't a terrible inconvenience, but I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem, and what might be its possible cause. Parse error: parse error in /home/theotaku/public_html/my/include/life_modify.inc.php on line 104 ~Dagger~