Raiyuu

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Even after my early lead, I was sure you were going to beat me when you caught up and made it a tie. It could have easily gone either way. Thanks Sandy for running this undoubtedly Nifty event, and for accepting me into the first RPG I've joined that's actually finished (no kidding). I'll see you in the next one![/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=Purple][B]"I'm ... the ... wha ... um ... [I]wha?"[/I][/B] All the former contestants took out cameras to capture this once-in-a-lifetime moment: Ling Xiaoyu, utterly lost for words. She blinked at the lightning storm of flashes and clicking shutters. [B]"Hey, you guys!"[/B] she yelled, rubbing her eyes. [B]"Now all I can see is a load of little purple squares!"[/B] The general laughter let the girl catch her breath, and as it died down she did her best to answer Mog's question. [B]"Um ..."[/B] With everyone's eyes on her, Ling realised the last thing she wanted to do now was talk. Standing all alone on the podium and making an embarrassing speech didn't feel like much of a prize! [B]"Um, look, you guys,"[/B] she said, [B]"I hate speeches ... and since I'm prob'ly not gonna see you guys again for a while ... let's have a great big group hug instead!"[/B] Needing no further encouragement, the audience invaded the stage, mass-glomping the Ultimate Videogame Survivor. Mog fluttered into the air to try and avoid being trampled, but Ling, planting her feet goodness knew where to gain a bit of height, plucked the furry creature from the air by his pom-pom. [B]"Just 'cause you're the host doesn't mean you get out of the group hug!"[/B] she scolded the little fuzzball, before holding him aloft and yelling to the crowd at large, [B]"hey everyone! It's the guy that made us eat mushrooms and fight monsters and get shot at by the Mafia! I think we should give him a really [I]intense[/I] hug, right?"[/B][/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I'm resisting the [spoiler]"Chad will get full body armour"[/spoiler] theory with all my might right, just because it seems so predictable. Every Bleach forum has threads saying [spoiler]OMFG Chad will have teh full armorzz!!1![/spoiler]. Every one. I just don't think it'll be that logical a progression; look at Ichigo's Ban Kai. [B]Nobody[/B] saw it coming, and I'm inclined to think that Chad's powerup will be a similar surprise. Besides, look at Chad's weaknesses: he got owned by Shunsui because he was slow. Even Shunsui acknowledged that Chad was powerful - I think he said something like "if that final blast had hit me I'd have been in trouble". But that's Chad's problem - he's a powerhouse, but all the bad guys can dodge his blasts pretty darn easily, outmanoeuvring him and carving him up in the process. He needs extra speed and extra finesse in his attacks more than anything.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Electric tuners can tune to any tuning you can [strike]tune[/strike] think of. As long as you know which note each string is supposed to be, there's no problem. All electric tuners do is tell you what note you're playing and whether it's sharp or flat - it's up to you to decide whether it's the 'right' note or not.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Your wish is my command. [B]Thread locked.[/B][/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=Purple][quote name='Solo/Krystal][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]I have two questions for the finalists: [B]Is there anything you can attribute your successes to?[/B][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote][B]"Umm ... I think people sort of didn't notice me,"[/B] replied Xiaoyu. [B]"I didn't really do much near the beginning, I just sort of ... messed around ... and with so many other people, no one thought to vote me off! Plus, I was really lucky with my teams - the Heroines just kept winning everything, so no one had to get voted off, so I was safe."[/B] [quote name='Solo/Krystal][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]...and [B]If you could share your victory with anyone, who would it be?[/B][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote]Xiaoyu only had to think for a moment. [B]"Ada!"[/B] she answered. [B]"We made friends hunting mushrooms and then we were on the Heroines team together! Umm,"[/B] she hesitated bashfully, [B]"is it okay to just say that 'cause we're friends?"[/B] [quote name='White/Mario][FONT=Arial][COLOR=DimGray][B]If you could re-do one thing during the course of the game, what would it be and why?[/B][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote]Xiaoyu looked a little shy. [B]I think I let my team down a couple of times,"[/B] she said. [B]"I did stuff without really thinking ... like when I got caught in that net in the forest, or when I tried to fight that troll on my own and Ada had to magic me back to life. So I guess what I'd change would be, that I'd think more and be more cautious near the beginning of the game. Does that count as one thing?"[/B] [quote name='SunfallE][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Out of all the participants, who do you think was the most creative with their posts, or rather who was the most memorable or outstanding in your mind?[/B][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote][B]"Krystal was the best at that!"[/B] decided Xiaoyu. [B]"When she had to fight that woman with the scary mouth, she was awesome! It was really exciting. I really didn't wanna vote her off, but she would've beaten me!"[/B][/COLOR][/FONT] I feel the need for some out-of-character posting to answer these, since in-character I can't give people the kudos I'd like to, heh. I've made a friend in JJ through the game, and he's helped by being my sounding board for some of my dumber ideas for posts even after he got evicted, which is the 'real-life' reason behind my answer to Solo's second question. And there's no doubt in my mind that Solo's more deserving of a place in the final than me, if only for that outstanding post in the [B]Battle Royale[/B] challenge. I think he's the most consistently excellent writer of any of the contestants in the game. [RIGHT][/sycophancy][/RIGHT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][quote name='SunfallE][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]My only regret was to realize that it?s not available on DVD here in America yet.[/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote]I believe it starts airing on Adult Swim sometime this year. I'm interested to see where KT takes Bleach next. He's given us his long-range plans, i.e. that [spoiler]Aizen will attack in about four months and everyone should train up[/spoiler]. But the Soul Society arc covered two or three months, story time, and took [I]years[/I] to conclude in real world time. So these four months of training can't only contain training, surely? After all, [spoiler]Ichigo's already powered up, and Chad and Renji are getting there[/spoiler]. So something has to go pear-shaped in order to keep the story interesting. I'm anticipating [spoiler]an Ichigo-Grimmjow rematch, for one thing. Grimmjow pwned Ichigo before, but Ichigo wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders - he was essentially trying to fight Grimmjow without letting Wichigo out. So I suspect when they fight again, Grimmjow will underestimate him spectacularly - and I'm especially looking forward to his expression when Ichigo's mask comes out[/spoiler].[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Doesn't Leon feel like he's dragging this whole issue out far too much? This thread has thrown back a pretty unanimous vote of "forget it, she's obviously not into you," and yet somehow, despite this advice, the problem is still under discussion. Now, I'll be the first to say that relationship advice threads on messageboards are stupid, but that's just my opinion and it's not like I can stop you posting them. But if you do take it upon yourself to post your relationship problems, isn't the whole point to listen to the advice you're being given? [B]The very existence of the thread is pointless[/B] if you're going to ignore everything that's being said and post update after update of "poor Leon tried to talk to her again today but couldn't". Here's the thread in a nutshell, Leon. [I]She doesn't think of you that way. You've asked enough times to know that she isn't playing hard to get, she genuinely doesn't want you as a boyfriend. Back off and set your sights elsewhere.[/I] In my experience, freezing up around a girl points towards your not being suited to each other anyway. If you can't strike up a simple conversation, how are you going to handle flirting?[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Dagger][FONT=Verdana'](On a side note, the show's official site is supposed to resemble the SOS Brigade's website--that's why it looks so bad.)[/FONT][/quote]I clicked on over to the website and thought, "what's Dagger on about? It's a bit sparse, but not all that bad". Then the background loaded. I think I need to some Valium to stop the shapes spinning behind my eyelids.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Yeah, I assume Urahara's comment is referring to power levels rather than [spoiler]the actual process of Ban Kai; Chad will gain power equivalent to Ban Kai, without actually having one[/spoiler]. Even more interesting in this chapter is Urahara's little insight into his own Ban Kai. I think the Manga7 translation has him saying: [spoiler]"the ability to train or lend power to people ... my Ban Kai just isn't capable of such things"[/spoiler]. So what I infer from this is that his Ban Kai is either [spoiler]a sneaky sideways one like Aizen's Hypnosis, or it's so uber-destructive training against it would kill you[/spoiler]![/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]My banner right now is Saraguki Hiyori, the coolest character currently featured in the [I]Bleach[/I] manga. She gets frustrated by idiots who don't listen to her, and so do I (though not often here). But by far the most important part of my signature right now is that little innocuous link. You should all click it, and [U][thread=53196]here's a link that goes to the same place,[/thread][/U] in case you can't be bothered to scroll down. Clicking it and voting for me will prove that the last six months of my life were worthwhile :animeswea[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I think that's just a piece of twisted metal or something. As far as we know, Ishida's still [spoiler]getting beaten up by his dad[/spoiler]. I liked this chapter much more than 223, which was overly full of exposition. Kubo Tite's proven himself to be an incredibly capable writer, so an entire chapter of explanation seemed a bit off to me. That information could easily have been revealed gradually, rather than dumping a great big massive block of new facts on my head all at once. [spoiler]Hinamori[/spoiler] was as annoying as ever, obviously, but the first half of the chapter was saved by [spoiler]Yama-jii sending her to sleep[/spoiler]! Looks like the next few chapters might concentrate on [spoiler]Chad's training with Bankai Renji[/spoiler], which would be All of the Awesome.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I assume from having read the previous Grand Finales (as research for the Survivor Exam, heh) that we answer people's questions in character, right? Also, can Doukeshi and I vote in the poll? Thanks for choosing me, Doukeshi - I really thought I was done for after that last challenge. May the best, uh, female character win.[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=Purple]Xiaoyu closed her eyes and pondered Yuna's question for a moment. She'd never expected to get this far, but now she was here she was determined to do her best, so where she would normally have blurted out the first answer that came into her head, she thought carefully before replying, [B]"Lara should win because she's actually serious about the game. I came to have fun, and I did, loads of fun! But that means basically I just enjoyed myself and somehow ended up here in the final. I think Lara played the game properly. She tried really hard, so she should win! And she obviously knows more about videogames than me, 'cos she won that last challenge and I lost,"[/B] she ended ruefully.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I've deleted a couple of posts on this page, because even right after SunfallE's warning, people are just posting what they think is their strongest emotion, with no explanation. Like SunfallE said, it would be a shame to close this thread, so I'm trying to keep it clean by deleting bad posts instead.[/FONT]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Good grief. You learn something every day. I genuinely had no idea of the connotations the phrase has - I'd never even heard it used before, to be perfectly honest. [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS][quote name='indifference][/font][color=Indigo]One of my favorite foods is tuna sandwiches, I love them with everything on it like lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes and a few other things. I also love salads.[/color'][font=Trebuchet MS][/quote] Big up for sandwiches with everything on. I like to layer two or three different types of cheese, separated by lettuce or slices of tomato, some wafer-thin sliced ham, and then Thousand Island dressing to stick it all together. That's a day's worth of food between two slices of bread! [quote name='indifference][/font][color=Indigo]The trick to celery is to cut in into short little pieces about 3 to 4 inches long and then place them in a jar or container of water in the fridge.[/color'][font=Trebuchet MS][/quote] Interesting, most interesting. Maybe I'll give it a try, though I think it proves my point as well. Any food that requires that much effort to make it taste nice shouldn't be a food! [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Raine14][/font][color=Olive][font=Palatino Linotype][size=3]I hope no one is offended that I put up a thread on the same subject![/size][/font][/color'][font=Trebuchet MS][/quote] No one's 'offended', but right now I'm at a loss to see how this thread is different to Up4anime's. If you can define 'soul food' as meaning something different to 'favourite food', then I guess it's fine, but otherwise it's just another favourite foods thread and I'll have to merge the two. Maybe 'soul food' is the food that really perks you up when you're feeling down? [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]I recently discovered chili ramen and similar Japanese noodly dishes. I've been apprehensive about trying Japanese cooking because I have violent and unpleasant reactions to excess monosodium glutamate, and Oriental food tends to contain bucketloads of the stuff. But a lunch out at Wagamama's gave me no ill effects, so hooray, that's a whole new cuisine opened up to me. Just so long as I'm careful with the dreaded MSG content. I'm surprised there hasn't been much mention of pudding! My mum makes an awesome toffee-pecan filling which goes well in cakes, as an ice-cream sauce or in an arctic roll. It's so sweet I actually can't eat seconds without coming over faint from sugar overload, but it's heaven in every spoonful, yum. .:EDIT:. Oh yeah, least favourite foods. I don't understand the bad rap most veg gets, considering it really doesn't taste of anything. But celery is the worst semi-edible thing ever. It's a green vegetable so it should just taste of water, but instead it tastes ... bad. And it requires more calories to eat than it gives you on digestion, which is why supermodels eat it. It has no nutritional value, and is nasty-tasting. Therefore, worst food ever. In fact, I petition that it should be declassified, and no longer considered food at all. [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Thanks Dodeca for bringing up the quality of this thread! Seriously, people. About the last full page of this thread has been pretty sub-par, and I'm talking basic grammar, punctuation and spelling here. I'm not going to point fingers but if post quality doesn't rise I'm going to have to start deleting posts or close the thread altogether. Also, since there's obviously some confusion, here's how to use QUOTE vBtags. Copy and paste the block of text you want to quote into the text box. Then put this tag at the beginning: [quote*] and this one at the end: [/quote*]. DON'T put the stars in or the tags won't work. Right, hopefully everything'll get a bit tidier now. [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Stark, I also have a friend with all four [i]Farscape [/i]box sets ... I was jealous for a passing moment before I realised: she's my [i]friend. [/i]This means I can borrow them. And watch all the [i]Farscape [/i]without paying all the £400. And Up4anime, believe me, having an old brother is overrated. I [b]am [/b]one, and I assure you, I do my utmost to make life miserable for my brother. He's probably hanging around the Arena somewhere, ask him :p [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Up4anime][/font][color=Navy]But not actually dating just marriage.[/color'][font=Trebuchet MS][/quote] So ... all the commitment with none of the fun? You're thirteen years old, for goodness' sake. Live your life a bit before thinking about marriage. [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Bingely bingely bing ... you are now twenty-one years of age. [b]Bongely bong! Extra special bonus prize! [/b]You get a cookie from me for being the first person I've noticed in this thread to correctly use the conditional tense ("I wish I [i]were...[/i]"). Unfortunately you're so engrossed in enjoying your delicious cookie and admiring your twenty-one year old self that you don't notice the crossing signal has gone [color=Red]red! [color=Black]You inadvertently jaywalk in front of a police car and get arrested on the spot. Now that you're twenty-one you can be tried as an adult, and after a landmark televised trial full of controversy, your idiot lawyer gets you the Electric Chair. [i]I wish I could get that Kylie Minogue song out of my head. You know the one.[/i] [/color][/color][/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]"Backseat modding" isn't encouraged either, shinji. We're here so you can enjoy yourself replying to other threads, rather than lecturing newcomers. As shinji said, [b]AnimeHeroX,[/b] introduction threads aren't allowed here. Take a look at the [u][thread=52331]Otaku Lounge Rules Thread[/thread][/u] to find out why! [b]Thread locked.[/b] [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Nowhere in Metal Dragon's original post did it say anyone in the scenario is 'destined' to die. Yes, yes, I know we're all going to die someday, but if you're going to take that attitude about it why wait for your girlfriend to start attacking you with cutlery? I don't know a single person that would react to this incredibly unlikely and hypothetical situation by applying that logic: "my girlfriend's going to kill me, but I love her so much I'd rather not cause her the pain, so I'll kill myself instead". Is that about the gist of your train of thought here? Try this one on for size: "my girlfriend's trying to kill me, but i love her so much I'd rather not cause her the pain, so I'll [b]run the heck away [/b]and that way there doesn't have to be any killing at all". Votes for option B? Yes? No? [/font]