Artemis

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial]Name: Riyo Age: 17 Gender: Female What village you come from: none (Let me know if that's alright, Conna.) Abilities/Special Powers: Riyo specializes in powers of the mind: She's telepathic and telekinetic. (teleportation is related to those, so she may develope it later.) She can also create illusions in the minds of others. (Think [i]The Ring[/i]) She has martial arts abilities, but prefers not to use them. Weapon: a simple pair of sais Appearance: See my icon Bio: Riyo's family was killed in one of the many riots which insued after the Dark Lord took over. She was found in the cellar of cottage by unknown traveler. The traveler left her with the monks of an underground (as in illegal) shrine. They gave her her name and trained her in the arts of the mind. Three years ago, the shrine was discovered by the Dark Lord's police force. Luckily for Riyo, she had been on journey to Konhom for supplies. She returned to find the shrine burnt to the ground and her mentors dead. On that day, she vowed to see to the fall of the Dark Lord. She has spend her time until now training in martial arts from anyone who would teach her. She has traveled the countryside and seen the turmoil of the people. She has used her mind powers as a service to those willing to share some of their scarce food. She is joining the tournament, not for the prize, but as access to the Dark Lord and his city. Personality: Riyo tends to be somewhat aloof. She has one goal in mind, and is in no mood for distractions (though they may arise....) Her experiences have made her quiet and bitter. She is very kind to the suffering, but has little room in her heart for the arrogant and well-to-do. She has a fear of relationships as everyone she's been close to has died. BTW, Conna, if I forget to post on here, just remind me on MyOtaku![/FONT][/COLOR]

[b]by Cloricus[/b] [quote]Or he never would have killed the woman in the first place and it's all your families fault for not moving into that house. Don't you just love it when history is non-linear?[/quote] Um...sure? yeah. Anyway, here's the article from crimelibrary. The Wichita Eagle may have more. [url]http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/index_1.html[/url]

Back in the seventies, all of BTK's murders were on the opposite side of town. That's why everyone was really surprised to find that the one right next to me was him. (Of course, it could be that a different murderer is trying to play off of BTK's fame. Supposedly, though, the police are sure it's the same guy.) We lived in that same house for 6 years. The one we live in now is only a few blocks away. I haven't heard of any other violent crime in our neighborhood since the '86 murder. Most of it is on the side of town where BTK's original murders were. I'll see if his case is on crimelibrary.com

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkGreen]Have any of you ever heard of BTK? He was serial killer back in the 70s in little old Wichita, KS. He disappeared back in '79. Everyone thought the case would simply go unsolved. He was compared to Jack the Ripper of London. Well, the Wichita police recently got a letter from "Bill Thomas Killman" admitting to the murder of a woman in 1986. He had a copy of her driver's license, the only thing that had been missing at the crime scene, as well as pictures of the scene which had been messed up by EMS when they arrived to try to revive the strangled woman. Here's the creepy thing: at the time, I was a year old, and my family had just moved into a new house. Two weeks after we moved in, that woman killed in the house right behind ours....her son was left alive, a 2 year old sleeping in the next room. If he'd chosen the house only one street over, the strangled woman would have been my mom, and the sleeping baby would have been me. Anyway...*shudders* If anyone else has done research on this serial killer, let me know. I could give you info directly from our local papers.[/font][/color]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed]"Well, let's get started!" Liz cried out urgently. "What's your first hour? We should start so that we end closest to our first classes," Harry replied. "I have History of Magic on the first floor this morning." "Really? Me, too. Let's start at the top and work our way down." "Sounds good to me!" Within a few minutes, Liz and Harry had reached the top floor and were running as quickly as the could through each corridor searching for their friends. They finished the top floor, and began running down the stairs to the next floor. Liz spun around the corner as fast as she could, searching frantically. BANG Liz ran smack into her darling cousin, Malfoy. "Watch where you're going, Jones!!" "Get lost, Draco!" Harry stood back surprised. He'd never seen Liz so forceful. "Hey, we don't want any trouble, let's go, Liz." Harry began to drag Liz away. "Yeah, you're dad was yellow livered, too, Potter!" Harry clenched his fists tightly. Malfoy had just gone too far.[/font][/color]

OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in so long. At least the play's over. No more rehearsals. No more performances. I can have a life again!! Happy St. Patrick's Day! [FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkGreen]"How 'bout if I take Liz to the Ravenclaw common room, and you can take Alex to the Hufflepuff's, Ron?" Harry suggested. "We'll spend less time roaming the corridors that way." Ron shrugged grudgingly, "sure." "Good night, guys!" Liz called out as Ron and Alex trudged down the east corridor. "Where's your common room?" Harry asked. "Down the south hall." The two walked on in silence for some time. Liz became increasingly aware of how quiet her school could be at night. She suddenly felt very secluded and wanted to reach her room as quickly as possible. She led Harry up a set of stairs and past the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. Liz stopped for a moment and gasped. She felt a ghost of the chill that had overcome her during the class. Harry halted with her, concerned, "Are you alright? You went really pale all of the sudden!" Liz shook herself, "I'm fine, just a bit tired. I just need to get to bed." "Are you sure?" Harry grasped her arm to steady her. "Yeah. Don't worry about me." She turned to him, and they locked eyes for a moment. Liz turned away again, blushing. "Well, at least your color's back," Harry said laughing, somewhat nervously. She grinned back and led him down the hall again to the statue of serene unicorn. She turned the horn down and recited the password, "Bella." "Good night, Liz." "Good night, Harry." Liz felt herself blush again as she hurried into her common room. [i]What is [/i]wrong[i] with me? I've never been like this around a guy before! I'm usually so calm and collected. I really need to get a grip.[/i] She climbed the stairs to her dorm room and crept quietly to her. She had changed her clothes and pulled back the sheets when she suddenly felt a memory of the chill race through her body. She clenched her teeth and shuddered for a moment. [i]Something's up here.[/i] she thought to herself in a panic.[/font][/color]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed]My entire senior class went to a special showing of The Passion of the Christ on Wednesday. I was very impressed with it and cried at several parts. I didn't see it as anti-semitic at all. I think that's a trumped up charge to make it look bad. I'm very proud of what Gibson has done. I didn't see it as cheesy or overdone. People have talked about the demons. I thought it was an interesting take on how we're tempting by them. They're real afterall (and you're all going to call me crazy...). I thought Satan was appropriate. The kids creeped me out, but I thought they worked out just fine. I talked about the movie more in MyO. I'm gonna see it again tomorrow w/ my youth group. My brother and sister will be seeing it for the first time.[/color][/font]

OOC: I don't really mind the soap opera stuff...I'm a hopeless romantic, myself...lol :luv: Julie, Vash, and Stocatta ran to catch up with the rest of the group. [color=blue][i]What on earth is going on? You can't seriously mean that he's back! Sarah turned him in for the bounty! He can't have broken loose so quickly as injured as he was... This is insane![/color] [color=purple]So, what are we supposed to do?[/color] [color=gray]I don't know why you're all so worried. There are way more of us than him![/color] [color=red]Fine, let's head back to the hotel, regroup, and form some sort of plan...[/color] [color=blue]Sounds good to me![/color][/i]

OOC: :bawl: This is so sweet! [FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed] Elizabeth made sure to wake up early for the second day of school since she'd gotten a late start the day before. She sat up in her bed and stretched for a few moments. Her bedding was all twisted off and halfway on the floor. [i]I must have had an intense dream last night again. I'm usually such a peaceful sleeper.[/i] She closed her eyes and tried very hard to remember what she'd dreamt. All she could bring up was the intensely terrified feeling that had overwhelmed during Defense Against the Dark Arts. It had come and gone so quickly, she hadn't a moment to judge where it was coming from. Liz took a deep breath to erase the panic so she could return to the present. She had a long day ahead of her.[/font][/color]

OOC: I'm not sure, but this is turning into a bit of a soap opera... c'est la vie... half of it's my own fault! :rolleyes: ;) Stocatta walked back to the hotel with Julie and Vash, more than a little shaken. [color=blue][i]Vash, I'm really sorry. If I hadn't hit you, you wouldn't have been in that position.[/i][/color] [color=red][i]It's alright... I just need to take a hint...[/i][/color] Stocatta flinched as the dejection and sorrow within him hit her like a ton of bricks. She never thought she'd really feel pity for him, but she did now. [color=blue][i]I wouldn't mind so much if you'd just be respectful, Vash.[/i][/color] He turned to her with a child-like half smile and said, "I'll try." Stocatta was taken aback. Twice now, she'd been hit by sudden emotion from him, except, this time, it was her own emotion towards him. Things were just getting too weird...

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkGreen]OOC: oh, I want to post, but I don't want to interrupt what's going on....Um...I'll backtrack! Liz looked at Karen in surprise. She hadn't expected others to know so much about the planets. She'd taken a few basic astronomy lessons back at her muggle school in the States, but that was because she'd been a gifted student. She looked back into her telescope in awe of all she observed. "This is so beautiful!" she gasped in amazement. "Isn't it?" Liz spun around surprised. Harry was standing beside her at the next telescope, agreeing with her assertion. She smiled, amiably at him. "Yeah. I love the night sky. It's so peaceful and gorgeous! I never got a view like this back home. The cities were too bright. You could never see anything." "I know--" Suddenly, someone shouted, "Karen!" She was about to fall out the window, but Ron had stopped her just in time. Liz then realized that she'd been holding her breathe and let it out again, "Wow, that was too close." "I think today's been a little much for all of us," Harry replied. [/font][/color]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]As you can see by my banner and avi, I'm a big Daft Punk fan. It's some of the best techno I've heard and proof that the French aren't [i]all[/i] bad. However, there's an earlier thread about Daft Punk if you'd like to see more posts about them. Just do a search on OB for them. Welcome to the Boards![/COLOR][/FONT]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][FONT=Arial]Liz began walking up the long staircase to the astronomy tower with her fellow Ravenclaws. She wished that Alex was there, but at least she would get to see her Gryffindor friends. Occupied by her thoughts, she wasn't ready when the students in front of her stopped suddenly. Someone up ahead was laughing. "Did the Slytherins even check their schedules?!" "They don't have astronomy until tomorrow night!" "We've got it with the Gryffindors tonight!" The Ravenclaws were shoved to the right side of the staircase as a disgruntled group of Slytherins began to descend. Liz, realizing what was happening, joined her classmates in laughing at the Slytherins. "Oh, shut up, Yank!" Draco hissed at her. "Excuse me?" she asked irritably. "You heard what I said! All you snooty Ravenclaws are a bunch of nerds!" Liz could no longer control her temper. In one swift movement she shoved Draco down the stairs and turned around as though nothing had happened. An avalanche of Slytherins were now falling down the stairs. The Ravenclaws began laughing even harder as they continued their trek up to the Astronomy room.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=Sienna]About a week ago, I was sitting up reading a book required for my religion class at my Catholic school, and I suddenly started thinking about how I might be called to be a religious sister. It was really odd. I hadn't really seriously considered it since before I started dating two years ago. I felt a renewed since of yearning for that vocation. I'm going to keep praying about it for awhile because I'm not completely sure, and I would love to be a wife and mother some day. But, on to my question: Have any of you felt a strong calling to any particular vocation? In this wording, it applies the most strongly to Catholics, or at least Christians, so I'll try to rephrase it: Do you feel that there's anything in particular you're supposed to do with your life?[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Wow, I'm going to have to admit right now, that as an intense Catholic, I can't help being slightly biased. My initial reaction was, admittedly, "yes. I could consider that beautiful." There was no way of telling at first how they'd created the picture. The red/orange in the background made me think of the blood and suffering of Christ. Upon reading the title and realizing it was the work of "art" I'd heard about, it was all I could do to keep from puking. It was like receiving a physical blow. I think it's quite insulting to be shown something like that. I've also taken philosophy classes, and I'm currently taking Apologetics. We're reading [i]The Evidential Power of Beauty[/i] by Thomas Dubay. It takes everything back to the classical sense of beauty and art, the four Transcendentals: The One, The Good, The True, and The Beautiful. All for reside within each other. Therefore, anything completely beautiful is unified, truthful, and good. Clearly, this "art" is not truthful. It does not portray Jesus as He truly was. Anyone can see it's not "good" either, in the sense of morally good. As far as I can tell, we're accepting far too much as "art" these days. Often times, it has no meaning, and it's completely subjective. We base everything on the "artist" not on what he/she is portraying. True art should capture the essence of what is being portrayed. No, I do not think something like this should be in a museum, but there's a lot of "art" in museums that really doesn't belong there. At the Wichita Art Museum, there's a large canvas with a bunch of paint just thrown on, brushed around here and there with obviously no rhyme or reason. This piece of crap is supposed to be "the energy of New York City." I think it's a waste of wall space. I don't think all art has to be initially eye pleasing though. If I saw a good painting that was a true portrayal of the soldiers in Vietnam or WWII, I would call it good art. Something like that would take on a very mournful, sad sort of beauty. Wow, I've rambled on for far too long :babble: without really saying anything. This wasn't all as well put as I would have liked, but I think I'm gonna leave it this way.[/color][/font]

Stocatta watched with mild shock as Knives and Mai began walking back from the church. [i][color=blue]So, you've got her now, eh, Knives?[/color] [color=orange]Oh, shut up, Stocatta, or I'll set you up with my brother.[/color][/i] Knives laughed as Stocatta's face turned bright red, though he wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. Vash approached to give Knives a hug, careful not to shove Mai aside. [color=red][i]Who are you setting me up with, Knives?[/color] [color=orange]I think you and Stocatta would make a nice couple...[/color][/i] "Don't even go there," Stocatta shot heatedly at Knives. She sat down with Kayla and Sarah again, and pretended to ignore Vash as he turned to approach her. "You know, I think I'm ready for those doughnuts." Stocatta rolled her eyes and stood up again, "Fine. Let's just get this over with. Knives, take care of Mai, for me." She winked at them and amused to see them blush. "Ok," she continued, "where are we supposed to get your doughnuts, Vash?" He began leading her down the street of the town. Clearly, he already staked out the perfect doughnut shop. The two approached the woman at the counter of a tidy store. "Is one dozen enough?" Stocatta asked Vash. "Only if they come with a kiss," he replied mischieviously. Stocatta turned away from him quickly and said to the woman, "Two dozen glazed doughnuts, please." "That'll be $$15, ma'am." Stocatta scowled as she pulled her wallet out of one of the pockets in her cargo pants. As she handed the woman the money, Vash whispered in her ear. "A kiss would be cheaper." Stocatta dropped the wallet slammed her left fist into his face while receiving change from the shopkeeper. She turned back to the woman, replied, "Thank you, ma'am," as the doughnuts were handed over, picked up her wallet, and began walking away. "I'm leaving the doughnuts in your hotel room," she called back to Vash who was on the ground in pain. Stocatta had gotten halfway to the hotel when she sensed an air of betrayal. [i]Vash is just up the way, injured. It'll be an easy catch for some big reward money.[/i] Stocatta spun around to see a figure looming behind Vash, who was now sitting on the ground dejectedly like a lovestruck schoolboy. The shadowy figure held a large sword over his head ready to strike. Stocatta's eyes grew wide. [i][color=blue]Vash's about to die![/i][/color]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Last night, some friends and I went to see [I]In America[/I]. It's an awesome movie about an Irish family who immigrates to NYC. When they told me about it, I assumed it was set in the mid-1800s, but, as far as I can tell, it's present day, or within the last twenty years, at least. It's told from the point of view of the 10-year-old daughter who tells you straight off that they recently lost a child, her little brother Frankie. It's a very emotional movie that had me tense and scared at some points, and near tears at others. I would definitely recommend it, but not if you're just looking for something fun to see. I really didn't know what to expect from it, and since I don't usually see R-rated movies, I wasn't sure if it would get really bloody at some point. (They end up getting an apartment owned by a druggy, and there's a creepy guy on the first floor who's always screaming.) By the time the movie was over, I was emotional exhausted. It was weird, because we get to the theater and everyone else is 50+. :confused: The guy sitting in front of me kept getting ticked off when I was talking [I]before[/I] the movie, so we moved to the very back... :rolleyes: Anyway, if you've seen the movie, what did you think? Did you like it? If you haven't seen it, definitely give it a shot!

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed]I'm really lookin' forward to my senior prom. I don't know the theme yet. It's up to the Junior class to put it on, so they pick the the theme. I was on Prom committee last year. We did "Midnight in the Garden". It was really pretty, and we had a lot of fun with it. I had a great time at the dance, but my date was a crappy graduate who'd just broken up with one of the seniors. He went mostly to make her jealous. Even weirder, he was my friend's older brother... yeah...just a bit weird... I'm thinkin' I'm gonna go w/ a junior this year. Most of the guys in my class are taken/gay/jerks, so they don't really work. Have fun at your Prom, Tony! I'm gonna laugh [I]really[/I] hard if you don't end up as Prom King. We had an upset at Winter Homecoming. An honors girl, Clare, and the most quiet guy in our class, Joe, won royalty. It was awesome![/COLOR][/FONT]

[i]They're searching.[/i] Artemis flew faster. She had no desire to face Aranel's wrath at having to look for her. [i]Let's just get this over with.[/i] Soon, ahead she spied a large brown eagle speaking harshly to a group in human form. [i]Aranel.[/i] Joining the group, she dropped to the ground, morphing into human form, now wearing black pants, a tank top, and boots, trying to blend in with the nearby modern humans. The Titan A-Jay glanced at her as she approached, "Well, Artemis, late as usual I see." "Go freeze something," she spat bitterly before turning to Anima, "What have I missed?" "Only a minor argument between Aranel and Mekaryu." "Damn! I bet that was good. So what are we doing now?" "If you're willing to accept my authority, Lady of the Forest, we're going to search for the other Titans." [i]I saw that coming...[/i]

Liz and Alex walked out of the dungeon from their Potions class, eagerly awaiting dinner. "That man is insane! I don't know how I'm going to manage all of the homework he gave us! It's only the first day of school!" "We look at it over dinner, Alex. I promised that I'd help you though this, and I will!" Alex laughed and shook her head, "If you think I'm going to spoil my dinner with homework, you're as crazy as Snape!" Liz swallowed her own laugh as she watched Professor Snape walk up from behind Alex. "So, I'm crazy, am I?" Snape snarled irritably. "That'll be five points each from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!" Alex turn bright red and her hair quickly changed colors. "Apologies, Professor," she muttered. The girls stood quietly for a moment while their cantankerous teacher walked off. "I have to survive an entire year of [i]him[/i]?!" Alex exclaimed increduously. "No, you'll probably have to survive [i]seven[/i] years of [i]him[/i]." Alex sighed and the girls continued their trek to the Great Hall.

Where do all of you Americans see these?! The only British TV show I've seen is "Are You Being Served?" simply because it was on PBS. I found it quite funny, but I only saw it once or twice. I'm a big fan of Monty Python's Holy Grail *glances at signature* Oh, I guess you can see that... But, anyway, I'd love to see the show, too. I've seen Mr. Bean before, in Rat Race (which, in my humble opinion, was not nearly as good as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.) In general I prefer dry, British humor to American bathroom jokes. duorocks17 is a big fan of Austin Powers and such movies, but I can't stand them! One of the funniest movies I've ever seen is The Importance of Being Earnest. (Rupert Evrett, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon) It's mostly dry, tongue-in-cheek humor which really cracks me up. Now that I think about it, I really dislike most American humor. I don't watch much TV because it doesn't really attract me. (Our sitcoms are [i]so[/i] lame!) I do like Gilmore Girls, but I don't usually have time to watch it. If anyone knows where I could get a hold of some of those British comedies, let me know! I'm dying for some [i]good[/i] humor! ;)

Wow, that was incredibly hilarious! When I first saw the thread title, I was a little disturbed, but this is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. I'd like to see what Semjaza himself thinks of your outstanding essay. Quite honestly, it helped me gain a better appreciation for all of our mods. ;)

Wow, Lynx! That's really awesome! I often have a hard time finding other truthfully practicing Catholics. It's not too difficult here in Kansas (the Midwest tends to be more traditional/conservative), but I haven't really found many here on OB. Do you actually live in Ireland, or are you of an Irish background and living in the U.S.? Oops! Back on topic! I can imagine that your wedding day would be a very profound day, particularly if you vow to spend the rest of your life with one person, and one person alone. The thought almost gives me chills. As far as other profound moments of my own, I don't know if this really counts. I've had very philosophical moments, even as a kid. I would sit around and just think, "What if nothing existed?" "What if I were someone else or nothing at all?" "What if I'm only dreaming and nothing's really as I think it is?" It's really bizarre when you start getting into that. In those moments, I would go almost outside of myself and wonder why I went along with everything that happens in life. It's kinda creepy and reminds me of The Matrix (although I used to think like that long before the movie came out.) Maybe I'm just weird... *shrugs* I can handle that... :smirk: :cross:

Wow. That sounds really rough. I've never completely been able to understand the emotional attachment people have to their pets. With a family of 10 kids, we really can't have pets. My brother had a beta fish for a few years. I think he was upset when it died. He didn't want anyone around him when he buried it in the backyard. Now he has a tutrle that he found in my uncle's pool. We think it's just hibernating right now, but it could be dead. *shrugs* I wasn't upset when Sapphire (the fish) died. I really didn't see it as a problem. Animals live and die. They don't have eternal souls like humans do. I realize that people develop emotional attachments to animals. I don't see a problem with that provided that those attachments do not replace human relationships. As far as I can see, putting the poor cat to sleep seems like the best option. His condition is only causing pain for the both of you. (Not that I advocate euthansia...I shouldn't get started on that...) I wish you the best of luck dealing with this. ~art~

High in the Black Forest of Germany, a chilling breeze ruffled the leaves of an oddly shaped tree. If one looked closely, the bark almost had the features of a beautiful young woman. The breeze stirred faster and faster, circling the tree. That's when it began to really move, not simply branches swaying in the gale, but the trunk physically shifting. The leaves and branches began to fade away and the bark smoothed into skin. In a few moments, a powerful young woman in a leather jerkin stood where the tree had been just before. She lifted her head to the sky and closed her eyes in ecstasy. [i]I'm awake! My powers have returned![/i] She brought her head back down, and her brilliant green eyes glittered with an almost feral delight. There whisperings in the trees, in the wind, of the return of the Apocalypse and the reuion of the Titans. She placed her hand pensively on a tree next to her. A large, powerful stag approached her and bowed his head intelligibly. "I have to go, don't I?" she whispered to him sorrowfully. "I'm finally back, and I immediatedly have to return to war." The stag nodded and a shiver of understanding raced through the tree. "Alright," she said resolutely, "if it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get." She bowed respectfully to the stag and raced off through the forest. Soon, she neared a cliff, but rather than slow down, she ran all the faster and lept off, suddenly switching form to a sleek, jet black raven with scarlet streaks that had matched her hair. [i]I don't see why they insist on meeting on a completely different continent. I don't know what they were thinking.[/i] Soon enough, she reached the sea and dove into it, merging herself with the deep blue water. Traveling would be much quicker now. In moments, she as the Western edge of the Atlantic Ocean. She shot out of it, again in raven form to see a startled fisherman jump back in the shock of a bird popping out of the water where he'd been looking for lobsters. She grinned inwardly before returning her attention to her journey to the gathering Titans. [i]I'm not sure who called us together, but he's getting a piece of mind very soon.[/i]