Delta

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]Gotta go with Rei. She gets to wear the red uniform and her feet doesn't get blistered from wearing those wonderful, wonderful red pumps during battle. Truly, there [i]must[/i] be something magical about those shoes. Superficial stuff aside, Mars seems to be a girl who can get through anything. One tough chick, yeah? She stands out against the dumb heroine archetype of Usagi or Mercury's quiet attitude. Of the Senshi, she has got to be one of the more solid characters.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1][quote name='Katana][IMG']http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/941/pipsqueek9pg.jpg[/IMG][/quote] In all its simplicity, this banner amuses me greatly. Perhaps it's the lovely color theme, the cute caption or Ed himself but among all the banners you've posted, I found myself leaning towards this piece the most. The background complements the feeling the caption gives and the caption, in turn, fits the subject well. EDIT: (Hit the Post button too early!) Only thing I have doubts about in this banner is the typesetting (is that what it's called? Hmm...). Maybe you could try a different font color, say a darker shade of orange, for the caption and maybe a different color of shadow as well. Mmm hmm. [b]8/10[/b] (You got me with the title. Hehe.)[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]^ Same here! I also work best when the sun's down. Call it an effect of my biological clock but I am most creative at night 'til a few hours before dawn. Sure I wake up cranky and irritable but just a glance of my latest piece is enough to make my day.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]It's so cleeean!!! T_T Good job on the lineart, chief! Looks pretty meticulous, especially with his hair. The pose looks very natural and the expression fits the character's, um, character very well. And the hands... oh, THE HANDS! They're absolutely wonderful; you even got the seams of his gloves right. Lovely, just lovely. Like Goddess, I've doubts about the chair. Maybe you could erase the part where the lines intersect with his hair and probably soften its corners, just to make it look a tad more natural. [b]8.5/10[/b] +1.0 if you color it in. ^_~ EDIT: (Missed your latest post) [b]Coloured version[/b] What can I say? I *heart* his deathly pale skin and the shading on his hair. Your skill makes me want to strangle you out of jealousy. Mmm hmm. [b]9.5/10[/b] As promised! [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]^ Too right. Gotta learn how to win over people to get somewhere nice. And no, it's nothing like faking who you are or acting differently. To win people over, you gotta find the persona that jives with thetarget and develop it. [i]That's[/i] how you win people over. I've a friend who used to recite to me 50-stanza poems during lunch break. I feigned interest at the start; didn't want to put him down or anything cause he seems to be really into it. The act seemed to work 'cause he kept memorizing these poems and recitin gthem to me. Day after day, I listened to him. After a month or so, I found myself browsing for longish poems, something that I haven't done or thought of doing before. Somehow, by feigning interest, I was able to subconsciously "broaden my horizons" and get a new bosom buddy to boot! That's how you develop a complementary persona. [b]Faking

[COLOR=Firebrick][SIZE=1]I started way back in '95. I was 9 years old then and had no idea on where to get material for a group project on barbiturates and hypnotics. Yep, illegal drugs. The library's pretty scarce on that subject so a friend suggested we look for it on the Internet. Me and the web, we've been going on and off for ten years now. Our PC's had its share of virus attacks ("Gotta turn my curiosity down a notch," a family friend would say), after which I would usually take some months off because of paranoia. The library became once again the research destination of choice. Now that I'm in college, I've reunited with the Internet, mostly out of need and convenience. Clicking buttons to look for stuff about, say, faults is much easier (not to mention [i]waay[/i] more sinus-friendly) than browsing through ancient texts. Good ol' library now serves as a last resort that (thankfully) I have yet to turn to this semester. So there you go. My Internet history revolves around research. Boring, yes, but that's why I have OB and artsy sites in my Bookmarks. After all, ARPANET is soooo 60's.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]Oh hey, hey! Don't forget to use the Search feature, especially if you want to create a thread up there in Tokyo 3. Also, introduction threads are as good as locked so you'd better steer clear of those. ^_^ See you around, yeah?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FIreBRick][SIZE=1]Haha... I *kind of* cheated. See, the only work I did in that piece is the caption; everything else was just manipulation and...stuff. I copied the general format of the ad from one of those spoof iPod-anime wallies floating around. Her silhouette I traced from a comic book cover with the Pen tool (just to make it look smoother). It's pretty easy; here's where I first learned how to "vectorize" (think that's what it's called): [URL=http://www.vectorage.com/][b]Vectorage[/b][/URL][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1][quote name='Ilium][COLOR=DarkRed']My biggest problem, though, is that I don't have the attention-span to get anything done[/COLOR][/quote]Bullseye! Out of ten sketches, only one would make it to completion; the other nine will get filed into the ever-growing stack of unfinished work in my desk. It's not that I'm horrible at drawing (I'm very good at it, actually), I just find it hard to sustain the momentum I had at the start. Sometimes, I even begin to loathe the piece I'm working on and erase the whole thing out of frustration. Same goes for wallpapers, banners and avatars. So there you go. An artist frustrated with Attention Deficit Disorder.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Firebrick][SIZE=1][quote name='frubafan4eva][SPOILER']The first saddest moment was in fruits Basket its betweeen two scenes both are equally moving. One is when momiji talks about not having his parents, to be disregarded by your mother like that its just so sad and when he and Tohru hug and cry together even though he has changed forms well it brings tears to my eyes.[/SPOILER][/quote]Yes, yes! That scene takes the top spot! I bawled my eyes out when I saw that episode and I've yet to get over it. With that cheerful attitude of his, only a few would've guessed he had such a sad story. Hey, I've got one! How about [SPOILER]Sayo's death[/SPOILER] in [i]Rurouni Kenshin[/i]? Not even the most tragic stories of unrequited love can match this. [SPOILER]Just when she was getting along well with Sano, she had to die. Yes, [i]die[/i]. It's as if this cute pairing was doomed from the start.[/SPOILER] The sidestory may be a tad irrelevant to the arc (then again, what sidestory isn't?) but it was worth every cel. *sniff* So sad.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]81.25% Filipino + 18.75% Spanish = ME. My father's pure Filipino and Mum's a bit over a quarter Spanish. Oddly enough, I'm the only one with tropical-island-girl looks among the brood. My skin doesn't burn, it immediately [i]tans[/i] ("darken" actually, since I'm copper-skinned already). It's pretty neat 'cause I get to stay under the sun longer without feeling anything. Gotta hand it to my genes.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]The Bat-boss's already here; might as well add Catwoman in. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/catw.jpg[/IMG] This is fun![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]It's good that you don't start your sentences with the usual pronouns, "the" and "a". It pushes the readers to continue reading the piece, IMO. You used alot ofdescriptive words and they helped greatly in conveying the feel of the scene to me. How you ended each part is pretty rad too, kinda like I was actually watching a short film. Only because of sudden transitions between scenes, especially towards the third part, I think each beginning merits a sort of introduction. You may opt to start with a fight and probably set the, er, setting after a few sentences. then continue.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]Or, if you're using FireFox, you can go to [b]Tools > Options >Languages...[/b] and add "Japanese" in the list. Just be sure to move it to the top of the list. Hey, have any of you guys tried [b]Ask Jeeves[/b]' Translator? Search [b]"japanese translator"[/b] and series of forms will appear at the start of the page. Pretty nifty tool; it also shows how words are written in Japanese.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#AD651F][FONT=Garamond][b]"Alright...we all ready to sneak in, bash whoever the hell we need to bash, and get out with group one?"[/b] Fayth circled the soldiers, her face skewed in deep thought. Her eyes flashed towards Rieur, who nodded in reply and approached the soldiers. Fayth then faced Hauken and answered him: [b]?No bashing. Not yet.?[/b] Rieur took one of the guards? helmet off and chucked it to Tetsuya. The swordsman caught it with one hand and inspected its inside with the other. [b]?What?s that for?? ?Well? Leader said stealth, yeah?? [/b]Rieur asked. By then, Tetsuya was adjusting the helmet over his head (?Alright, Tetsuya?? Tomoya asked. ?A little musty but I?ll manage,? echoed Tetsuya?s voice from within the helmet) while Tomoya undid the straps on the soldier?s armors. [b]?Can?t really cross that,?[/b] Her finger pointed to the expanse of desert that lay between the forest and the fortress walls. [b]??With those.? [/b] Hawk-eyed archers were posted atop the fortress? southern wall and from there commanded a full view of the featureless expanse that lay between the forest and the fortress walls. No rock or shrub was large enough to serve as cover for a person, much less for a company of five. Hauken nodded. In silence, the company prepared to enter the fortress. +---------+ Two soldiers on horseback rode to the South Gate, towing behind them five civilians, each with his head covered and his hands bound to either of two ropes. While three walked behind the horses, two were being dragged on the ground, probably unconscious from the fight with Lord Daichi?s men. Yet the archers remained wary, and their eyes followed the company as it slowly trudged to the entrance. Fifty arrows were nocked and ready by the time the riders stopped at the foot of the watch?s tower. The watch's voice rang clear across the plais as he shouted the challenge to the company: [b][i]?For many nights, the watch of Suma has been awakened??[/i][/b] A few minutes ago, another soldier had passed through the South Gate and shouted the answer loud enough for Rieur to hear. And this was what one of the two riders repeated to the watch: [b][i]??By the crying plovers of Awaji Island.?[/i][/b] At the watch?s signal, a door to the right of the massive gate creaked open. A guard came out and talked with the two for a while. He eyed the captives for the last time before he went in. The soldiers and their hooded captives followed him through the entrance and disappeared in the shadows of the room inside. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1][quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']If thermonuclear bombs(kills anything in a 75 mile radius, gives 3rd degree burns to anyone within a 14 mile radius) can be invented in the mid 1900's bones can easily be created. I believe anything can be created. [/COLOR][/quote]I admire this attitude, this belief that humans can achieve anything. Yet study of these bones serve no other purpose than for study of ancient environments and faunal succession. Was the theory created in an effort to destabilize an institution, say, the Church? Will Dan Brown write about this conspiracy and add another bestseller under his belt? Mmm hmm. [quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']Also before the flooding Noah was ordered to bring 2 kinds of each beasts unto his ark. If dinosaurs where one of them wouldn't their be some kind of breed alive to this day?[/quote]If modern animals did come from the Ark, shouldn't species propagate in a concentric manner around Mount Ararat, the supposed "Cradle of Life" after the Great Deluge? Or as an example, given the theory that Australia separated from the other continents sometime in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), how do you account for the marsupials? What I mean is, records show that humans appeared only in the Quaternary Period (1.8 million years ago to the present. That means it's beyond Biblical record (or at least Genesis' sixth day) and, consequently, no Ark. The Ark story should have happened some 65 million years ago. Even theologists/ians admit that the world wasn't created in 6 days. It is but a [i]representation[/i], something that shouldn't be taken literally. [quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']Do you believe that dinosaurs ever existed?[/COLOR][/quote]Yes, I firmly believe that dinosaurs once roamed this planet. [quote name='from another forum']Everything we see in geology points in one direction - it's not the fault of geology if it happens to point in the direction that doesn't agree with your Biblical myths.[/quote] This is fun![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1][quote name='densuke']In the long term, the quality of American animation has been generally negligible for something like 40 years. It's too expensive to do properly anymore (that's why Futurama is mostly made in Korea). And it's a lot less popular than it was back in the day. I don't think plastic surgery will help...[/quote]Outsourcing, baby. Even Japanese animation studios do it. [b]Saiyuki Reload[/b], for one, was drawn by a Korean studio. So were [b]Metropolis, Mononoke Hime[/b] and [b]Cowboy Bebop[/b]. [b]Slam Dunk[/b] was sourced from the Toei's Philippine branch. The story (and sometimes the key cels) are the only elements made by the Japanese themselves. Many anime series aren't really 100% from Japan and yet they still belong in this category. Perhaps it's time we dub animation from outside Japan "anime" too.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]Teacher says I know enough that I can be dropped off anywhere in Tokyo and make it to the nearest airport. I think that's not saying much; they [i]have[/i] police officers competent in English, don't they? And seeing that you guys are better at it than me, methinks it's time that we plan a trip to Japan. I really want to learn to speak Osaka-ben and talk like them stereotypical gangsters I see in NHK. It sounds so casual, laid-back and (gotta admit it) [i]cool[/i]. Mmm hmm. [quote name='Sage Kaley']I can't speak very well but my writing and reading skills are actually pretty good. [/quote]Let's switch Broca's areas, shall we?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]^ A good plot? [quote name='Xy GGu']How about Star Ocean 2? Awesome story! Cool stuff! Anime-esk already!...[/quote]I think they already have done an anime based on Star Ocean 2 (Second Story, amirite?). The title's [b]Star Ocean EX[/b] and from what I've heard, it covers the whole of Disc 1. The character renders look pretty neat; they even managed to make Ashton look rad. [b]Fear Effect[/b] would make one action-packed anime. You got characters with great attitudes, a unique storyline and room for fanservice. Mmm hmm, I figure it'd be like Cowboy Bebop, only grittier .[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]'Cause this is what they do here, yeah? They discuss stuff regardless of whether the thread starter is here or not. If anything, it is proof enough that they are interested in discussing the complaint at hand, not the member that filed the complaint. [u]My $0.02 on the signature rule:[/u] Hah, you guys should try visiting MiniTokyo! They have a 480x60 size limit and you only get to use .gif. Talk about restricting. Forces us banner makers to be more creative with space, which is good training actually.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]Teacher! I've a question: My character hasn't defeated the weapon's beast yet and I wrote it so that she's unconscious at the moment. Does that mean that she'll be transported back to the meeting and can play in the Earth Castle arc (with her mearly useless weapon), or does she have to totally defeat the beast before she can join the party?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#CD853F][FONT=Garamond]Hard fighting and long labour Rieur had still; for the swordsman was bold and grim, and he brandished his sword without relent. Stroke by parry, she matched his speed and warded off his attacks with the stave of her bow. To this routine the warriors were bound as held their guards up against each other; yet weariness had already started to steal into the archer?s bones and tilted the duel into the other's favor. And then, and then strength left her arms, and she finally gave in under a blow that came directly from above. At long last, the first blood of the duel was drawn. Both archer and swordsman stood struck with astonishment at this inevitable turn in the match. Untethered now by skin and sinew, the blood flowed freely down the archer?s arm, staining her sleeves red and liberating a crisp metallic scent into the morning air. The gash ran half a forearm?s length on her right shoulder, and the cleanliness of the cut told of the sword?s consummate edge. It exacted searing pain which grew in intensity with each movement from her failing body. Even the quiet, fluid breeze that wove through the bamboos stung Rieur as it passed the ridges of the wound. The bow remained in Rieur?s grip yet it was not raised to receive her foe?s next hit. The blade swept around its wielder in full force, cutting through the air with a fierce howl, and struck flesh anew. Seemingly unchecked by contact with its target, the blade completed its fatal arc, ensuing a terrible cry that rang all around. Deathlike silence came upon the grove and all fell still.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1][quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1']However, the internet is full of pervs and retards who would cyber with anyone or anything having the chance to do so.[/SIZE][/quote]...[BOT]-sex? Erhm, yeah. On to the topic... Cybering ain't as bad as some Internet propaganda would have it. For ultra-creative writers, cybering could very well be [i]the[/i] outlet to vent out their sexual frustrations. It's interactive and spontaneous. Downside is that if your connection is lame, your partner/s might view you as, well, frigid. And for all the aspects it shares with intercourse, cybering might actually count as cheating. But because you can't catch a bodily virus through it, I say go for it.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]^ Front crawl was the first stroke I learned.The teacher said it was [i]the[/i] stroke to use if you wanna get out of trouble fast. Pretty tiring but it's my favorite. I think I swim well enough to last long enough to pull a couple of people to safety and wait for rescue to arrive at the boat wreck. Survival swimming, yeah?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Firebrick][SIZE=1][b]The Stars[/b] It seems that the "right person", henceforth known as The Star, already has a system of individuals, henceforth known as Planets, gravitating towards The Star. When a lesser-known star, henceforth known as Star Prime, catches The Star with a non-contact force, the Planets will also start to revolve around Star Prime, forming a binary star system. [b]The Planets and the Asteroids[/b] Revolving around Stars are Planets which also have people revolving around them, henceforth known as Satellites, and Asteroids which have no Satellites at all. Of course the Asteroids are greater in number but they fumble through space and collide with each other, and that's probably why they don't survive long. The Planets, on the other hand, have established their orbits around The Star and, save for highly-eccentric, orbit-crossing Planets, will never collide with each other as long as The Star is around. It's odd that we look at the motion of great celestial bodies to model more trivial terrestial interactions.[/SIZE][/COLOR]