Delta

[COLOR=#790A43]Chalk another one up for THE [b]wrist cutter[/b]. THE wrist cutter never fails to amuse/entertain/educate this fangirl whenever THE wrist cutter makes another of them distinctive posts in this side of the network. And THE wrist cutter has a fanclub too. Truly Nifty. *will edit this post if I find anything niftier...probably *[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#790A43]Did anyone say "anime movie?" [size=1]A rhetorical question, of course. I'm just surprised no one's asking for our favorite series this time. Movies! Go studio_ghibli![/size] Well, my favorite anime movie has got to be [b]You're Under Arrest! The Movie[/b] (durrr...). Although some will say that the near-lack of comedy is its weakness, I think the movie was better because of it. It was poised to be an intelligent action flick and I will have none of the clumsy Ken Nakajima the series oh so abused. The characters were drawn more realistically than in the series and the whole of Tokyo, its landmarks and whatnot, were faithfully recreated. It's a rare chance to see them Bokuto police officers act like professionals that's why I heart it. ([spoiler]plus Tokairin's in it so [i]wheee![/i][/spoiler])[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#790A43]Poor whale. Instead of another man-destroying-the-environment issue (can somebody please explain to us the connection?), why don't we think of it as a natural process instead? Like when the bull sharks started to move into estuaries and freshwater environments. It's not like them sharks were driven inland by pollution, yeah? ^_^[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#790A43][quote name='Anime Elf']How do you guys feel about the U.N. and the U.S. relationship now and how would you feel if the U.S. pulled out?[/quote] The UN-US bond is a tad shaky and there are times when they stand on fundamentally different grounds, but they always kiss and make up at the end of the day. They got through the whole WMD inspection shebang early this decade, yeah? If the U.S. withdrew its membership, the UN'll still be UN. Though the withdrawal won't probably please the logistics department, the remaining 190 nations will still maintain the amity UN built up among them and good relations with the US, of course. What I think about the UN is it's this mother-figure type to all them 191 member-nations. It's the one international organization that everybody calls on to when they need help (and even if a nation doesn't call for help, UN sends help anyway). If you don't want like the idea of it being a political body, at least think of it as an express delivery service for aid. [COLOR=#559EEB]Hurray for UN blue![/COLOR] (it's a lovely shade, don't you think?)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]Nope, you're not insane. There's a point in every fangirl's life when she finds herself deeply infatuated with a fictional character (henceforth known as "The One") and may spend countless hours dreaming different "what if he (or she) was real" scenarios starring The One and, of course, the fangirl herself. I should know; I've gone through the same phase. How did I get over it? I kept myself busy, iow, temporarily stopped watching anime. Yep, it's pretty much like [i]that[/i] period after a break-up when you'd work yourself to death just to keep The One from traipsing around the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is your mind. Pretty soon, you'll find yourself thinking "How quaint of me to fall for such a character. There are legions of men out there with more colorful lives!" Yep, yep. I got over it, so will you.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][b]My average Saturday[/b] will start at 9:30 am, GMT+8:00, when I'll wake up with an awfully bad headache from watching too much TV the previous night. Then I'll go downstairs where the old ice box is, poke/sniff/inspect things in there and then snack on a piece of white bread and chocolate (which is, btw, stored a room away from the fridge). I'll greet my family (up and chirpy that time of the day), go back to my room and lie down. Once the sugar kicks in, I'll suddenly remember that I was supposed to go to some meeting that started an hour ago. I'll decide not to go and instead try to remember what I've planned for Saturday night. I'll stay in that languid, sessile, polyp-ish stage until The Mummy calls me for lunch. Then I'll clean the house for a bit then set my cute T-rex of a dog loose so that she and I can wreak havoc 'round the house. I'll *probably* take a bath after that and finish whatever it is them ghastly professors/editors want me to write/layout by 4pm. What happens after that pretty much depends on whether I'm gonna go out and party the night away or I'm gonna cut the rug in my room with Gloria Gaynor and The Village People instead. [b]My perfect Saturday[/b] would be one where there will be no meetings to miss, no magazines to layout, no functions to attend and I'm able to make it to the 0630H breakfast with the family. Mmm hmm. Oh yeah, and I'd like it if it rained the whole day.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]Yep, yep. Dancing's insanely fun and it's a pretty useful skill to have. One surefire way to get close to my prospects/prey without setting off their absolute terror fields. Mmm hmm. First time you're on the dancefloor, you'll think dancing is really hard 'cause there's suddenly this huge wide coordination gap between your brain and limbs. Even if you don't forget all them dance moves you carefully mapped out in your brain, they won't look as nice as when you say Ms. Spears shake it on TV. A million to one, you'll end up with your booty literally on the dancefloor. Congratulations, you've successfully faked an epileptic seizure. Fortunately, atrocious dancing can be remedied by practice, practice and, what do you call it? Ah yes, practice. It's not like people were born dancing, yeah? Watch, imitate, develop, perfect. Preferably in front of a mirror. Mental practice alone won't cut it, you gotta work on your co-or-di-na-tion. That way, you can do them choreographed production numbers you've always dreamed up in your head. If you can't remember everything I've written in the previous paragraph, just repeat this to yourself: [i][b]Own it[/b][/i]. Have oodles of fun in the dancefloor. And if shaking your booty still doesn't get them happy hormones going, then I give you the permission to go insane. (Ah yes. Especially when something slow's on and you've no one to cuddle up with. I remember prancing around with a very gay friend in a mock interpretative dance/ballet-gone-wrong 'round them couples at the prom. Precious, precious moments indeed.) And yeah, the robot dance is timeless. Just remember to lock your muscles, loosen your joints and fake a dumb look.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][FONT=Garamond]So it is true. The view from the mountain pass really is breathtaking. A thin grey line lies yonder in the horizon, where the perfect azure sky meets with the cerulean waters of Makeda . From here, the busy port town and its fleet of merchant ships seemed lost in sheer vastness of the two entities. How sailors find their way to Makeda through that featureless cobalt desert with the aid of nothing but charts and stars still eludes me. I could spend hours in blissful idleness in a place like this yet as enchanting as the view was, the sun is already nearing its zenith. Come noon, I shall have to meet with Cirdan the shipwright and deliver him this package, as per instructions of the client. After a sleepless, moonless night?s worth of riding through the treacherous merchant trails, Asfaloth still hasn?t outrun the sun. She is weary and so am I. I do intend to return to this place, if circumstances permit it, take repast and rethink this whole messenger business. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][FONT=Garamond][b]Name:[/b] Alena Eredluin [b]Age:[/b] 19 [b]Height:[/b] 5?8? [b]Weapon of Choice:[/b] Lances are her specialty and she is particularly fond of the double-bladed type made in Arlis. Never meant to be wielded by weedy warriors, this oversized swallow has a length of 8-and-a-half feet and the blades at each end reach up to Alena?s hips. As it is a tad too bulky to lug around, it can be taken apart at the middle and slung over a shoulder by a chain that couples the two pieces together. A truly versatile weapon, it can be brandished it in its collapsed form as a pair of linked swords. [b]Secondary Weapon:[/b] To wield something as heavy as her primary weapon, one must have able arms and a strong grip. Alena is blessed with both so she can easily hold her ground in a bare-fist battle. [b]Powers: [center][u]The War God?s Seal[/u][/center][/b] Made out of an iridescent red material on which a four-point star is etched, its rather simple design belies the great power locked within. Releasing the first seal gives the user a boost in agility which enables heavy-blade users like Alena to move in step with nimble archers without sacrificing strength. An even greater form of release grants the user insatiable bloodlust and unmatched battle prowess at the cost of her own sanity. Until all her adversary?s souls are released from their corporeal vessels, the wielder shall continue to draw blood regardless of whatever harm befalls on her. [b]Background/Bio:[/b] The blood of Eredluin courses through the veins of the kingdom?s finest soldiers, men bound to an oath to serve and protect their motherland with the best of their skills and to the fullest of their capabilities. But every few generations, an aberration is bound to occur in this impressive lineage. Someone with no regard for family traditions. Someone who doesn?t make good use of talents accorded to her to uphold the Eredluin precepts of loyalty and duty to the clan. Someone like Alena. From an early age, it was clear that Alena and her twin brother Aluze were especially talented children. They learned fast and trained hard and were fiercely competitive with each other. Though Alena was obviously a better swordsman than her sickly brother, she?d bow down to Aluze where academics and ruminations are concerned. The girl was the more impulsive, dynamic half of the brother who?d watch her get into trouble and pull her out of it. It was a chaotic arrangement but their mutual admiration held everything in place. But in a family that values warriors more than intellectuals, it is always the strongest member of a generation who was chosen as clan head. This place of honor had been kept for Alena for her to take once she came of age. Believing that her brother would be a more fitting leader, Alena bid him farewell and left the Eredluin household on the eve of their sixteenth birthday. She has worked as a messenger since then and checks on her brother furtively whenever her job brings her to their hometown. [b]Appearance:[/b] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/top1208.jpg]Alena[/url] (image courtesy of the talented Falcoon) [b]Personality:[/b] Alena shows great interest and enthusiasm in everything unfamiliar, especially when presented with the prospect of an adventure. She is always looking forward to the next good challenge and faces adversity with the cockiness of a swaggering drunkard. Even so, she knows her limits and can quickly evaluate others? thresholds as well. [b]Miscellaneous:[/b] Alena?s job as a messenger required her to secure a horse. Acquire she did; she won a snow-white steed in a friendly exchange of blows with a cavalryman. Though messengers favor dark horses as they are nigh invisible under the cover of shade, the fair Asfaloth was especially swift and light of hoof and could last leagues of hard riding before showing signs of fatigue. Aside from sparring, Alena also has a fondness for sweet liquor and always has a small flask of Rasen wine lashed to her belt.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][QUOTE=Raquel]Only if every person is a pacifist will it ever work. If one person were to kill a whole bunch of pacifists, someone somewhere will want revenge. Which throws the whole idea out the window. It's human nature. Though I belive that a pacifistic nature could be bread into the species eventually. Though... If everyone started smoking pot, they would just be too lazy to start ****.[/QUOTE]Quoted for truth with emphasis on the last sentence. As for just wars, nope, I never believed that such things existed. The word "just" performs exactly as a big red bow on a really crappy present; it's an ineffectual attempt on titivating the word "war." Besides, I've yet to hear of a war that wasn't waged out of paranoia, greed or vanity.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]I go to the mall and try on clothes. [SIZE=1]I once ran a such a tight schedule that I couldn't find time to shop around for a decent white blouse. If I really have to dress up for something, I'd grab the first thing I see then head straight for the counter. For people who've made the same mistake before, you know you'd end up not wearing the damned thing 'cause a) it clashes with everything in your wardrobe; b) there's a tear/defect; or c) you don't have a pair of shoes that'll go with it. So to prevent such fashion disasters from happening again, I see to it that any spare time I get will be spent windowshopping.[/SIZE] Or if I feel like doing a more productive task, I clean my room. [SIZE=1]And if I still don't have anything to do after that, I'd probably go on and clean up the whole house. It's good exercise and them dust particles make for a good excuse to wear ratty clothes and goggles in mid-December.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][QUOTE=bellpickle] Takui [/QUOTE]Quoted for emphasis. How could we forget about Takui? The guy's one amazing lyricist and his voice, though it may fundamentally sound similar to that of other artists, is able to convey so much emotion in a miniscule rise in pitch. I love [i]Fukuoka[/i] to pieces. *swoons* I saw a group named [b]Group Tamashii[/b] in last year's Red and White Show and they sounded really, really...odd (in a rad, whimsical sort of way). Even their song "Kimi ni JUICE wo Katte Ageru" is devoid of sense. If anyone's got info on them, let me in on it, yeah?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]My list ain't that long 'cause I tend to dwell on the series I watch and move on only after watching it for some 2-4 times. ^_~ [COLOR=#E558C0]Voltes V[/COLOR] - Yep, one can never go wrong with super robot anime. I've always found [i]Voltes V[/i] and [COLOR=#E558C0]Daimos[/COLOR] easier to comprehend than the alliances of [COLOR=#E558C0]Gundam[/COLOR]. I never completed this series though, and I wish I had 'cause what little I saw of the ending sounded very [i]Star Wars[/i]. [COLOR=#E558C0]Peter Pan, The Von Trapp Family, Princess Sarah. Little Women[/COLOR] - and other anime adaptations of the classics. Disney didn't produce enough movies to keep me entertained for a thousand lazy afternoons so I settled for the next best thing. [COLOR=#E558C0]SailorMoon[/COLOR] - Only got to the season where they meet Neptune and Uranus. It exposed me to most of the archetypes I see in anime today: the ditzy superstar, the quiet genius, the fiery chick (not to mention the ever-present, omnipotent talking cat). [COLOR=#E558C0]Fushigi Yuugi[/COLOR] - Hrrrmm... This must be the first harem anime I watched. Yeah, and I got to learn just about everything there is to know about bishounen in the likes of Nakago and Hotohori *squeal.* It's one very educational series, IMO. [COLOR=#E558C0]GateKeepers[/COLOR] - I love this series to pieces! It ain't drama-heavy and it's got a bunch of really interesting characters. The vehicles used by the characters aren't shabby either. Everything's so spruced up and high tech that it rings of them super-robot animes of the 70's. It's also because of the animation in GateKeepers that I started watching [COLOR=#E558C0]Vandread[/COLOR]. [COLOR=#E558C0]Boys Be...[/COLOR] - Yep. This is are J-dorama as anime can get. I saw this while I was in highschool so I really could relate with what the characters were going through. It ain't complicated (pretty linear plot, really) and I love the idea of dividing the episodes into seasons. Made me shed a few tears too (damn you, Kanzaki!). [COLOR=#E558C0]Gensoumaden Saiyuki[/COLOR] - Here's where the fun starts. Though I wasn't too fond of [COLOR=#E558C0]Reload[/COLOR] (blame it on the yucky animation), I loved each and every charcater that came out in this series (yes, even the diabolical Chin Ii Sou dug out his own niche in my heart). The animation is amazing and the seiyuus are perfect for the characters. Mindless violence and gore also a plus. [COLOR=#E558C0]Great Teacher Onizuka[/COLOR] - [i]"Eikichi Onizuka, twenty-two years old and single!"[/i] Who wouldn't love this anime? It has an amazing roster of characters and a great blend of comedy, action, drama and ecchi (well I can't leave out what it's known for, yeah?). I had fun looking out for the hundreds of references to pop culture (Doraemon, not the least of them) that riddle the series. [COLOR=#E558C0]Ghost in the Shell: SAC[/COLOR] - A brain-racker, this is. Had loads of fun figuring out all the references to popular and classic literature. One cannot fail to notice the lovely animation of GITS and the antics of them lovable Tachikomas. They're too cute for words. Huwaah~! *rubs eyes* That's probably a quarter of the anime I've seen most/all of so far. A well-rounded list, I must say.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]Hottest anime girl? That could only be [b]Asuka Langley Soryu[/b]. Everything about her screams "hot!", from that flame-colored hair down to the fiery personality, one wouldn't doubt it her she said she was Vulcan's incarnate. Add to that her curvaceous body (looks rather odd for a 14/15 year old) and her legions of fanboys and you've got the hottest anime girl around. (I was going to say "Motoko Kusanagi" but that lady ain't "hot." Far from it, the Major's the epitomy of coolness.)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][SIZE=1]At the risk of sounding like a crazed fangirl:[/SIZE] WAI~! THAT'S SO PRETTY!!! Coloring method, huh? Perhaps a single color for all the shadows with a tone paper effect would work nicely ('cause it looks like 'em professional manga drawings and I would love to see that beautiful lineart through the colors). If minimalism ain't your style, maybe you could go for something like [URL=http://www.minekura.com/gallery/gallery_p8_1.jpg]this[/URL]. All shadows are filled in with black and the solid colors are broken up with textured brushes (kinda like the art in [i]Gankutsuou[/i] but not really).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]"Trust me. This already looks better than the live-action version." ...Well it does![/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/x-liquidous-x_gackt_avi.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/x-liquidous-x_gackt.png[/IMG] Gackt. Rowr. Please PM me if you want me to change anything in this set. *bows*[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]My weirdest dream, huh? I remember dreaming about a swimming pool filled with heads that've been cut off from the legions of decapitated bodies hanging just above it. I remember correctly feeling absolutely [i]nothing[/i] for them bodies, showing them the same amount of interest I'd give to hardware store displays. Yep, that was pretty freaky, dreaming it right after watching [i]The Legend of Sleepy Hollow[/i] for the first time.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7B075B]^ Whoa. You win 10 Internets for your reference to quadrilaterals. [b]PEARLS[/b] by Ilaria Graziano has got to be the prettiest song I've heard in the past six months. The piano intro hooked me up at the first few notes and Ms. Graziano's voice is divine. The songs pretty haunting for something from [i]Cowboy Bebop[/i] but [i]the[/i] Yoko Kanno someow managed to make it fit right in the series. V.good.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#720755][SIZE=1]Made myself a new set! Bohahaha![/SIZE] THEY'RE SOOOO CUTE! Ehrm. The image is crisp and the extraction's excellent. That blinking thing to the left of them SD's makes your signature a tad more interesting. The border looks lovely; adding the subtle inner border is a good move. You should've made the caption a bit sharper, though, 'cause it doesn't jive well with the rest of the elements, yeah? Try setting the anti-aliasing method to "None." [b]9/10[/b][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#A18A58]^ Yep. Plot first before anything else. Perhap you could start with how you're gonna make 'em characters meet up. It could be through a magical medium or some bizarre twist of Fate; just make it exciting and fresh 'cause I'm pretty sure a party like that must have come together in a really, really odd way. Good luck![/COLOR]

[COLOR=#A18A58]This looks promising. Count me in! [b]Why you're entering:[/b] Glory, baby. Doin' it all for glory. (And to see if anyone of us can stand a round against THE Dagger. If we're lucky, we might be able to get a glimpse of her anime-knowledge Bankai. *dun dun dun dun*) [b]Your fave animes:[/b] In no particular order: [i]Ghost in the Shell SAC+2nd gig[/i], [i]Gensoumaden Saiyuki[/i], [i]Yami no Matsuei[/i], [i]Eight Clouds Rising[/i], [i]GateKeepers[/i], [i]Rurouni Kenshin[/i], [i]Bleach[/i], [i]You're Under Arrest[/i], [i]Shadow Skill[/i], [i]Cowboy Bebop[/i]. They're what most would call "mainstream". I ain't a hardcore otaku. :D [b]Two or more animes you'd like to see being questioned:[/b] Gotta have some [i]GITS[/i], yeah? Questions related to Studio Ghibli productions, anime-videogame tie-ups, and reference to pop culture in anime (we got lots of those in [i]Cowboy Bebop[/i]) would be nice too.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#A18A58]Kakashi's scar, huh? Any cheap brown eyeliner should do the trick. Draw the scar on lightly 'cause most shades are waaay to dark for what could be considered a healthy-looking scar (it may end up looking more like a birthmark than a scar, yeah?) Pat it down with skin-tone powder to blend it in. Easy, yeah? If you can throw in more moolah into the effort, I suggest you go buy one of 'em dark tan/orange (or another shade closest to the scar you've in mind) concealers. Dab in the scar, dry, draw in shadows with the liner then set the whole thing with powder. [quote name='Ms.BakuraIshtar][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=2][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]We are in a bit of a predicament though, you see, two of my friends have red hair and they refuse to dye it. So I guess what I am getting at is...If you or anyone out there knows of any red haired female characters besides: Ayame from Inuyasha, Carmilla from Vampire Hunter D, Satella from Chrono Crusade, or Molly from Sailor Moon. Please tell me their name and what anime/manga they are from. I wouldn't mind a picture either, but that is completely up to you.[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote][b]Ranko/Female Ranma[/b] from Ranma 1/2, [b]Asuka[/b] from NGE and [b]Elle Lag[/b] from Shadow Skill have really red hair...but it really wouldn't look right if someone came in to Prom in a plug suit, yeah? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#A18A58]Ah, yes. Your friends have finally reached [i]that[/i] stage in the life cycle of an otaku. Don't worry. It'll pass. You don't have to watch every single anime you like in subs. I mean, with the legions of subbing groups out there, sometimes you'd be a lot better off with dubbed anime. Dialogue in the latter tends to sound more familiar and is usually well thought of as compared to subs. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#A18A58]^ I like the green on them hardy plants. Very much. Should have included the whole of the plants plus some space above 'em. Also, them well-sorted, resistant rock fragments take up so much space in that 300x80 banner of yours that it's impossible to screw the color scheme up. The black border I'm not very fond of; could've gone for a thick border in a shade close to that of the shadows, yeah? Still, it's very cute. [b]8/10[/b][/COLOR]