SunfallE

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Yes, please explain in detail what you are getting. I just checked and the submissions for quizzes is working, including the part for uploading the images. Also are you submitting them as a .jpg? Quizzes must be in that format. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Currently there is some work being done on the server which submission are on. There's an update about it on the main page of theOtaku as you can see here: [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/news/view/site_maintenance/2664/"][U]Update[/U][/URL] So once that is done you'll be able to finish submitting your quiz. But until then we ask that you be patient and wait for that to be finished. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Shy'][size=1]Simple question. Simple thread. I'm basically addicted to the things, so I was wondering what podcasts you listen to. Also I was curious if anyone here has ever tried starting (or currently is running) their own podcast. Discuss![/size][/QUOTE]To be honest, I never listen to podcasts. lol It's just not a format that I enjoy. That and I'm always doing things that require multi-tasking so even if I try to listen to one I end up tuning it out instead. So I just quit trying to listen to them and put music on since it doesn't matter if I tune out the song. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]oi. I had thought those reviews were being taken from theO or whatever. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]They are, but they are only reviews of new dvd releases that Panda writes up. Shes one of the site administrators over there. Doing reviews of actual series or other stuff isn't done anymore. Or rather other than the one's on new releases that Panda does, members can't submit any to the site. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Heh, I figured that you'd like the [B]Yellowstone[/B] IMAX soundtrack Rach. ^_~ As for the [B]Vltava[/B] from[B] Ma vlast[/B] by [B]Smetana[/B]... I adore that piece. It's my favorite out of the six symphonic poems by Smetana. I have to agree, the wedding march is beautifully done, and I love the basic melody to the piece, it's so beautiful. Anyway, a short while ago I was listening to [B]What is love, Life[/B] and[B] Rock my Heart[/B] by [B]Haddaway[/B]. Its got a nice sound for eurodance/house type music. I especially like the Life (Everybody needs somebody to love) mission control mix on the album. Now I'm currently listening to [B]Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64[/B], I played the violin when I was in orchestra during High School and though I never went anywhere with it I adored this piece and wanted to eventually learn to play it. So now I just make due with pulling it out and listening to someone else playing it. lol Though I love hearing it performed live the best. :catgirl: [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]yo. Is it possible for anyone to submit reviews of dvds/manga to [B]theOtaku[/B]? If so, how do I do it?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]No, it is not possible, the article and reviews section of theOtaku was retired well over a year ago and to the best of my knowledge there are no plans to revive it. However, you can always write some up for the Otaku Times since it does have a reviews section that is just waiting on a member to write one. ;) [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Okay, [I]that's[/I] just creepy. And I'm talkin' "Superman looking in the kid's window" creepy. I like the aura concept; I was actually just about to use it myself. Be warned: Nathan's aura will spike this evening. Feel free to make "if you caon't feel that, you're dead" quips all you want. :p (I hate it when I write FOMNT)[/FONT][/QUOTE]No! It's not creepy! Feh! It's her fault for using references from both Silver One and stuff we've talked about via MSN. The rest was guess work. So I wasn't sure if I got it right or not. XP So I'm glad I did. lol [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"][B]indiff[/B]: I've heard good things about that one, but I have a general distaste for war stories.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]Well depending on what you consider a war story, I'd reconsider. Most of [B]Now and Then, Here and There[/B], focuses on the characters instead of actual battle scenes. That's part of what makes it such a powerful show, it shows slices of people who are literally caught in the middle as well as how insane people can be. Still if you dislike war altogether, then pay it no mind. Its just that like NGE, the fight scenes are few and far between. [/FONT][/COLOR]

Lucia had already finished her next assignment and had found herself a quiet spot in one of the parks inside the city. Even though it was lunch time there still were very few people around. Something that she enjoyed as she lazily lay on the grass soaking up the sun, even Ruby was being quiet and sitting calmly as she watched the birds that frequented the place. But then that moment of stillness was interrupted by the unmistakable aura of another Shinigami, once who was approaching her position quickly. It was merely a messenger and after handing her a small packet they were on their way. Curious she opened up the letter and read it with Ruby sitting on her left shoulder, reading it at the same time she did. But before she could do more than wonder who was missing or who else was on the team, she once again felt the presence of yet another Shinigami. Wordlessly she put the letter away and looked to the sky, becoming invisible to human eyes without a thought as the other approached quickly and then came to a stop in front of her. It was Adrian and Astera, and as always, Adrian was wearing one of his usual smirks. Leaving her to wonder if he was planning on passing on an assignment yet again. "Adrian," She acknowledged. "Why are you here?" "What makes you think I want something?" He asked innocently. "After all I could just be in the neighborhood for once and simply saying hello." "If that were so, this would be the first time." Lucia observed. Adrian did not come around to be sociable. Unlike Astera who given the chance would talk your ears off. "Oh Adrian!" Astera said with irritation. "Just ask her about the letter already! We need to find the missing Shinigami!" So he got one too? Lucia had noticed that none of the names were mentioned when it came to who was on the team, not that it bothered her. But Adrian? He's so irresponsible! Why would they assign him the task? She knew he was unlikely to care about what happened to one of his own kind, even if they had included the name of the one who was missing. "As you wish Astera," Adrian started to pull out the letter but Lucia interrupted him. "I already know the contents of the letter." "Ah, excellent, I don't suppose your letter actually told you who was on the team or who is suppose to be missing would it?" Adrian asked her, all traces of the smirk gone. Leaving Lucia to wonder why he was being serious for a change. "Of course not." Lucia replied. "Why would it?" "Oh I don't know, how about the obvious answer of knowing who you're working with would be helpful?" Adrian said with a snicker. Clearly amused at the situation. "And what if the letter fell into the wrong hands? After all the vampires have proven that they can kidnap a Shinigami, what then?" Lucia didn't expect an answer so she continued before Adrian could respond. "Seems to me that figuring out who is missing is a simple matter, just as who got the letter and who didn't. There's no reason to tip the vampires hand as to how many have been assigned to this task. All you need to know really is that you are not alone." "I suppose you could look at it like that." Adrian finally said. "In that case I'll be on my way, I'm checking to see who is missing and who has a letter, it would be easier if you checked the south side of the city while I checked the north." "Very well then," Lucia agreed. With a mocking bow in her direction Adrian took off. She watched until he was gone and then with a sigh turned to head into the city and find the others. The only question she was wondering about was if Adrian would actually finish the task instead of getting bored and losing interest. How he became a Shinigami she would never know.

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Lethargy'][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen]Everyone dies when they are supposed to die, and if you disrupt this natural occurrence by choosing the time of one's demise, you are essentially playing God, Allah, Jehova, Jah, Seaxnéat, Amun, Zeus, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahman, Anshar, that rock, the sun, Bob Saget, or whatever higher power you believe or disbelieve in. It is not one's place to decide when one shall leave this world.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]Humans interfere with the natural occurrence of ones demise by thwarting death on a regular basis. We use medicine and surgical procedures all the time to ward of disease, to essentially fix problems that in the past resulted in people dying. So are we not playing God by doing so? Life or Death, it is the same thing, we already play God by messing with when a person should have died.[quote name='Lethargy'][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen] No. I wouldn't. If there is no hope for someone, then why should they have their life ended five minutes prematurely? That is five minutes of their life lost. Sure, they might have been in excruciating pain, but at least they are alive. Killing someone who's dying is redundant.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]Saying that is easy when you are not the one experiencing the pain, and being alive in severe pain that is not going to end doesn't even come close to being truly alive. Letting someone suffer when they are going to die is redundant and pointless.[quote name='Lethargy'][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen]How does the amount of time someone has to live make a difference on whether or not someone should be assisted with their death? How does one instance of impending death warrant hope, and the other doesn't? Based on your logic, if there were two people dying, one of which had seven months to live, the other six, the latter should pretty much just give up and throw in the towel. The point is, we are all going to die, so it's best to just ride it out and live each day to the fullest, even if each day is agonizingly painful. It will pass.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]It makes a difference because unlike the other option there is a chance that a cure will be found, and not all stages of Aids is horribly painful. Saying it's best to ride it out is really up to the person to decide. And saying it will pass? Terminally ill patients who cannot be cured will never see the pain pass. It will only end when they are dead. Which is the point here, they are suffering for no reason.[quote name='Lethargy'][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen]So since you don't believe in a higher power, killing people is okay then, right?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]Yes, and for the same reasons indifference listed. ^_~ I feel the same way about it as she does. Also, I'm a firm believer that everyone has a breaking point, a moment where something can happen that would make you wish to die. For some it's pain, for others it's something else. So leaving it up to the person to decide is how I feel it should be done. I watched my grandmother, who was in her eighties slowly die from a terminal disease that destroyed her lungs. Her last three weeks in the hospital were hell on earth for her. Without medical assistance she would have died and yet she was not allowed to even though she was ready to move on. There was no rest from the pain she experienced, all the medicine in the world was not enough to make it stop. It did not pass until she was dead. And pretty much everyone in my family was glad when she finally did die since it meant that she really was at rest and no longer suffering.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Talk about a change! I sign in and indifference is posting in the thread. lol For a split second I was going wtf? That reminded me of the Panopticon! lol[quote name='2007DigitalBoy;788407][COLOR="DarkOrange"]*looks at [B]SunfallE[/B]* You better hold onto this one dammit![/COLOR][/QUOTE]:animeshy: Oh you two! You and Rach. XP Besides DB [[SIZE="1"]don't give away my plans to steal Rach when we meet at the convention in SLC in two weeks![/SIZE]] [quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Yeah, that was my first excuse, but [B]Allamorph[/B'] wouldn't take it! Meanie! *hides behind Rach*[/COLOR][/quote]Pfft! Allamorph is just being his usual literal self. ^_~ And ironically what you did fell right into what indifference's character is like. So I think it fits actually, also, I love the fairy! I'm thinking she's going to be fun. And I see that you borrowed the name that A_M used for her ship in Silver One indifference. *pokes* Anyway... Vampires! That's going to be fun to work with, especially in an [E] rating format. I love creativity vs gore so that's going to be fun to do. *wanders off to start thinking about how she wants to do her post*[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Well I have some games for the SNES that I still pull out on occasion and play, for the simple reason that they were and still are awesome games. The first is [B]Secret of Mana[/B], a story where A young man is exploring the forbidden woods near his hometown of Potos with his companions, when he falls off a bridge over a waterfall. After surviving the fall, he finds his way back home blocked by undergrowth. He finds a sword in a stone in the middle of a nearby stream, and is prompted by a mysterious voice to take it. That of course leads to him having to go on a quest to revive the sword, etc. But what's fun is you can have a friend over and they can control a second character once you pick up companions. It's got fun magic spells and though the story is predictable its still fun. Next is[B] Illusion of Gaia[/B], also for SNES. This one is about Will who stumbles into a "Dark Space," where he meets a strange being called "Gaia". Gaia tells Will that he must leave his home and save the world from a coming evil. A comet is approaching, and it will bring ill fortune to the world. As he travels, Will gains the ability to change into other forms, each with special powers: Freedan, a dark knight, and Shadow, a solid form of energy. What's fun is that instead of the usual experience and leveling up system the game has a more unique system for advancing the player character's statistics. Defeating all enemies in a room earns the player a permanent stat bonus in the form of a jewel. These jewels increase attack, defense, or health power. I love defeating the last monster just to see that little pause where the jewel shows up and you get it. It's just nifty looking. Heh. That and I love changing forms. And one of the area's you clear is a city floating in the sky and you end up going from the top to exploring the bottom to solve everything, I love how it's set up. [B]Secret of Evermore[/B], also for SNES. Basically the main character after leaving a movie ends up chasing his dog who begins to chase after a cat in the street. He follows his dog, finally reaching a large, abandoned mansion. When the dog begins to chew on some wires in a hidden laboratory, the pair soon find themselves transported to the mysterious world of Evermore. What's fun about this game is that rather than using a traditional system of collecting magic points and using them to cast learned spells, the boy must, with the help of his trusty dog's nose, find various ingredients that may be used to perform alchemic formulas which the alchemists across Evermore teach him. Overall it's great fun since it's loaded with silly references to B-movies, making it fun. [[SIZE="1"]thanks to wiki for some of the descriptions for each game I listed. ^_~[/SIZE]] Anyway, that's enough for now, perhaps I'll add some more later. Heh. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Well they haven't ruined my life, but sometimes they are annoying. One of the first things I found out I was allergic to didn't give me any grief. And that was milk. If anything it made me happy since my mom couldn't make me drink all my milk anymore since I hated the stuff and still do. But the allergy isn't too severe and even though it's in so many foods it's rare for it to bother me. The other is smog and air pollutants. That one I really hate since we get inversions in the winter, when that happens I have non-stop headaches and usually end up getting several sinus infections. I'm always glad when it warms up and those inversions are over with. The one that really gets me is mosquito bites and bee stings. I'm not deathly allergic to them but they are beyond annoying. Mosquito bites just swell up until they are nearly the size of several quarters and hurt like hell. I have to take prescription allergy medicine to get it to go away. And the bee stings... the last time one got me on the foot, it swelled up like a balloon and I couldn't wear my shoe and had to take antibiotics for weeks to finally get it cleared up. XP So needless to say we have lots of traps to catch bees and a nice bug zapper in our yard to help cut down on the mosquitoes. As well as stuff to put on to help keep them away in the first place. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Prem... BKstyles has already been assigned to the padded room party. That's why his name is at the end. He's already doing it. ;)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='InusDemoness'][COLOR="Blue"]Does theOtaku ban plagiarists? I noticed this yesterday after report several stolen images, all posted as wallpapers by the same person. The plagiarized wallpapers were removed but the offending member was allowed to stay on the site and all her other works are still up. Isn't it unwise to let people who have stolen art work to such a magnitude stay on the site since they are more likely to do it again?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]There's another thing to consider, many cases I deal with are nothing more than someone finding something they like and putting it in. They aren't claiming they made it, but rather they misunderstood the purpose of submitting a wallpaper or fan art, they were using it like a photobucket account and simply displaying it. I don't consider that plagiarism at all though I still issue a warning. But like Panda said, someone like that usually never does it again. Also, people find things and rehost them elsewhere, making it easy to accidentally find something and not realize that it's a wallpaper. Usually that too was not intentional so I'm pretty lenient in those cases since again the member usually doesn't do it again. So in the end, it would be more unwise to instantly ban people when there are plenty of them who never intended to steal in the first place. And like Panda said we tend to give people a chance to continue since even those who did often never do it again.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Celestia couldn't help but think about all that had happened the other day. Instead of being taken to work with Matt in the lab, her and Jason had instead been taken to one of the ships in orbit around the home world. Based on what she knew she was positive it was one of the flagships, regular battle ships just didn't have that kind of space. But of all things she would have never expected to be taken to met Erica Kendrick, the former leader of the Resistance. Both her and Jason thought that she had already been executed for her crimes, but apparently not and for whatever reason, it seemed that Stevens had granted a request by Erica to meet her and Jason. When she had asked her Erica had just laughed and told her it was likely that the fool was hoping she'd talk about something important. But Erica had made a point of keep the conversation to personal matters. You would have thought they were simply getting together to chat about how the other person was doing. But even then, it was quite clear to Celestia how she had managed to lead the Resistance even while being a member of the High Council, Erica was very, intelligent as well as personable. Celestia was sorry that their time was so short, she would have liked to talk to her longer. But Dakar was prompt and came back the moment the hour was up. Then they had been taken to sickbay where Commander Crystal, the doctor who had modified them was waiting. That part Celestia would have rather forgotten. Crystal was not unkind, but she was as blunt as Celestia remembered, in no time she had gotten out of Celestia what was bothering her. The report she had seen about using genetics on the lesser races to ensure a healthy population. Something that even now still made her a bit sick to think about. And though she felt Crystal meant well, her lecture about stress and worrying over things that she couldn't change had grated on her nerves. There was only one thing she wanted to change, and that was to have her freedom back, along with the rest of the people from Earth and the other races. In the end Crystal had insisted on putting her on something to 'calm her nerves' as she put it and it irked her to no end that she had no choice but to take it. "[B]Still feeling put out?[/B]" Jason asked her, even as he put his left arm across her shoulders. Startled Celestia turned from staring blankly at the terminal in the lab to look at Jason. "[B]I'm sorry, I just can't quite thinking about all that happened yesterday.[/B]" She pulled free and went back to working on the program to delete the one's designed to protect the data in the council vaults. "[B]I know, neither can I. I was certain that Erica was already dead.[/B]" Jason also turned his attention back to the program they were writing, it was almost done. They had already tested it and other than a few glitches which they were fixing right now, it would work. "[B]They can't kill her,[/B]" Matt spoke up turning to face Celestia and Jason when they looked over to where he was working. Matt grinned sheepishly. "[B]I guess you guys don't know, but there have been numerous petitions for Erica's release as well as the fact that she's dying anyway, so using the normal methods for extracting information isn't possible.[/B]" He finished. "[B]You mean torture.[/B]" Celestia said flatly. Matt looked away uncomfortable, "[B]Uh yeah, you could say that. But still even if they could, a lot of people would object.[/B]" "[B]How nice of them.[/B]" Celestia said sarcastically. She didn't mean to sound hateful, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. "[B]Celestia...[/B]" Jason started to say. "[B]It's alright,[/B]" Matt said, suddenly going very serious on them. "[B]It's true, they'll torture anyone without question to get the information they want. Something I'm sure the two of you are well aware of. Just as I'm sure you're aware of the politics behind doing so to someone who wields a lot of influence and power, and Erica has always been well liked.[/B]" "[B]Why?[/B]" Celestia asked. "[B]Because she cares about people, everyone, even the lesser races. Before she became ill she was one of the biggest supporters of increased rights and better conditions for the lesser races. I'm sure you know that they recently decided to do away with breaking up family units right?[/B]" Both Celestia and Jason nodded, after all that change was the reason they had not been seperated. Otherwise, they would have been forced apart. Something that even though it had not happened yet, still worried both of them a bit. "[B]Erica is the one who not only proposed that, along with Commander Crystal, but before she was arrested, it had been approved. You see, even though she is quite ill, she still kept working on that to make sure it happened.[/B]" Matt smiled a bit and then continued. "[B]Anyway, I don't know about you two, but I've finished my corrections so lets put them back together and test it.[/B]" Both Jason and Celestia nodded once again and went back to their work. It would be interesting to finally be done, if this program worked, combined with the hacking one they had already written, they would be able to access the remaining vaults. But in the end, she didn't care. Doing this wouldn't change anything for her or Jason. With a sigh she continued modifying the code.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I never had summer assignments for the simple reason that I hated High School and never did more than I had to. I liked Orchestra and that was about it. XP But college, that was another matter, I loved college! So I always took the summer semester since a number of the classes had all sorts of fun extra activities that weren't available in the fall or spring terms. I took science honors just so I could also go on the trips with the class to the different national parks in Utah. Heh. Those trips were great fun, and so was the class, but then I like science. :catgirl: Now if it was a class that gave extra English assignments... I'd run in the other direction. Extra assignments like that are just wrong. lol Anyway... I'll trade you on the English for the Math Clurr. Those assignment/tests... I do know what to do with them. Unlike the English. XP[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Hurray for lists that are easy to find! ^_^ About the only thing wrong is you forgot to add Catherine Sanderson to the list Beth. Also if you could add that Teresa is a fairly decent cook that would work. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Gah! You're right, I did forget. XP I'll be sure to fix that. Also, just a heads up people, things are about to get a little more busy so if you want to get a post in before that please do so. Also, don't worry about knowing what to do, to a certain extent we will be handing out assignments, nothing major, but certain points that will be necessary, so some of you can expect a pm in the next day or two. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]There was always a bit of uncertainty when working with a new crew and the newest assignment was no exception. The only person Kendra knew was Marcus and it had been long enough that even though he was a familiar face, a welcome one at that, it was obvious that her initial impression of a slight tension was correct. That in many ways she no longer knew him, though she planned on changing that as soon as possible. But for now it was more important for her to work with Alex. They had finally settled on the course and so far each checkpoint had gone smoothly. With two of them it had been easy to make sure to follow the Colonel's last instructions to make sure to grab a bite to eat. One of them had simply stayed at the helm while the other one left for a little while. Kendra had even taken a moment to check out the engines in operation, later when they had more time she intended to check them out more completely. But for now she just concentrated on learning more about Alex since she would be working with him a lot. After the easy way he smoothly piloted the ship from the surface she was not surprised to learn that he had served 9 years in the 6th Squadron 101 first strike base, Jupiter Air force as well as 2 years in the 12th Squadron, 21st Orbital Platform, Saturn Air force. In no time it was clear that his knowledge of most space craft was quite extensive. Though he did not mention why he was no longer enlisted and Kendra did not ask. They were chatting about some of the different space crafts when they were interrupted by a chime indicating something required their attention. Both of them immediately gave the HULD their full attention, while Alex pulled up what the alert was for, Kendra pulled it up on the secondary terminal in front of her position as co-pilot. "[B]Well that's odd,[/B]" Alex commented. Kendra didn't have to ask him what he was talking about as she was looking at the alert as well. "[B]We'd better drop out of hyperspace immediately.[/B]" She observed. "[B]Agreed[/B]," Alex replied even as his hands flew over the various controls to input the command to pull them back into normal space, Kendra doing the same on her side until after a knowing glance at each other, they finished issuing the command to drop out of hyperspace and come to a halt. "[B]I'll contact the Colonel while you scan for the source of the disturbance.[/B]" Kendra stated even as she checked with the computer for the Colonel's location. Seconds later it came back, Marcus was located in his quarters. Immediately she paged him and then while she waited for a response she pulled up the feed from the ships sensors as well. "[B]Got it,[/B]" Alex declared, "[B]The anomaly is approximately .3 light years ahead of our position, it's between us and our final stop at the Creid's capital city.[/B]" "[B]That's in the unexplored area,[/B]" Kendra consulted the data they had from when they first left. "[B]And if I'm reading the data correctly, whatever the anomaly is, it has moved since the last data update.[/B]" Alex started to say something but at that moment another chime sounded and the terminal in front of Kendra split to a dual display, one of the alert and the other of the Colonel who had responded to her page. "[B]What did you need?[/B]" Colonel DeSouza asked. "[B]We've detected a gravitational anomaly approximately .3 light years ahead of our current position, requiring us to drop out of hyperspace.[/B]" Kendra glanced over to Alex who was already plotting a course around the disturbance as well as calculating how long a detour would take. A moment later the data came up showing the time it would take to go around, Kendra turned back to the Colonel. "[B]Detouring around the anomaly will add approximately three hours to our ETA sir. Unless you wish for us to move in closer and take a look to see if we can simply go around it and then get back on course. Depending on what it is, that could take less than an hour.[/B]" She waited patiently while the Colonel thought about it before responding. "[B]Move in until you can see what it is and then come to a stop. I'll be there immediately.[/B]" He terminated the communication. Kendra turned to Alex who was already bringing the engines to full speed in normal space and heading forward as she magnified the view as far as possible. Then as a distant object started to come into view and the sensors started providing feedback as to what they had found, Alex brought the ship to a smooth stop. "[B]What the hell is that?[/B]" He asked no one in paticular and Kendra had to agree. At this distance she couldn't quite be sure what it was and moments later, the standard scan came back indicating that there was no known record of it in the computer's data banks.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Just waitin' on [COLOR=DarkRed]Starwind[/COLOR] and [COLOR=DarkRed]Premonition[/COLOR] to post now. Come on, guys; I'm getting itchy over here.[/FONT][/QUOTE]*poke* And here I thought it was my job to be the impatient one! :p But yeah, I have to agree I'm eager to get going. Oh and to be clear DB, I'm fine with the Friday night time frame you mentioned. I'm just poking fun at Allamorph. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I've never been charged with anything by the police, and I've never gotten a speeding ticket either. Not that I didn't speed when I was younger, I just never got caught! And now especially since I still have my commercial driving license I am careful to not speed. Getting a ticket for that is far more expensive than for a regular license. Anyway, the only time I did get pulled over was before I found out I'm hypoglycemic. I didn't realize that I was weaving a bit and the officer at the time thought I was drunk, which of course I was not. In the end he had someone from the fire department come and check me out. It didn't take much for them to figure out what was going on. So it ended up being a good experience since I found out that my blood sugar can get too low at times. So now I have protein bars that I take everywhere so I never run into that problem anymore, if I feel off a bit I just have one of those and I feel fine. At the time... I just thought that I was tired. Anyway, later on, as a truck driver, even though the accidents did not include me, I saw the police a lot. From being required to give statements due to being a witness to the harsh reality that there wasn't a day I drove that I didn't see some form of wreck. One winter day, after I saw 35 different wrecks, I quit counting. >_< And the one time I was in a car accident when a woman ran a red light and slammed into my car, well the police then were extremely polite and made sure I was taken care of. As for the abuse of power bit... that's really not an issue where I live. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]The first toys that I really remember liking a lot were ones that I got shortly after Star Wars first came out back in 1977. From mock laser rifles to dolls to all sorts of stuff. All of us even had Star Wars blankets for our beds. Heh. Anyway, I, along with my brothers and my sister, spent hours and hours playing with those toys. I even remember begging my mom to play the record [[SIZE="1"]yes I do mean record, literally! cd's were not the format for recorded music yet :p[/SIZE]] Anyway, she would play Vader's theme so all of us could march around the house in a silly and ridiculous fashion. We had so much fun doing all of that. I've had other toys like an easy bake oven that I really liked, but nothing got played with as much as those Star Wars toys did. I even have a few of them still hanging around somewhere, even if they are worn enough to simply fall apart. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Desbreko'][color=#4B0082]If people really don't like how the myOtaku line is so much longer, though, there's something else I could look into doing that might be better. That is, having the myOtaku info on multiple lines, floated and aligned to the right so it would sit next to the avatar.[/color][/QUOTE]Until this thread went up I had never given it a second thought. lol It doesn't look strange to me at all. Still I would be curious to see what the other you mentioned looks like Des. ^_~ [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][quote name='Rachmaninoff']Ouch! I was not expecting you to get captured Beth. Looks like its down to Aaryanna and BKstyles. [/QUOTE]Trust me, in the dream... it was really annoying! lol Anyway, I present the final chapter! Now keep in mind, at the point just before BKstyles and Aaryanna would have been caught I woke up so I don't know who won. So I wrote it based on making things fit, and that includes the very end, since what happened was talked about among the Survivors, so I'm going on the basis that it really did happen. Heh. [CENTER][B][SIZE="6"]Chapter Six: Final![/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] SunfallE had barely heard Sandy?s voice indicating that she had been captured when the light that had surrounded her faded and she found herself back at OtakuBoards in the main Survivor thread. Seconds later she felt hands helping her up and then over to a chair facing a huge set of screens displaying both BKstyles and Aaryanna along with other views of the mall that they had been transported to. ?[B]Are you alright?[/B]? Ezekiel asked. ?[B]Rach and Kathy went to get you something to wrap that ankle up with.[/B]? SunfallE smiled, ?[B]I?m glad you?re okay. That scared the hell out of me when I saw you fall!?[/B] Ezekiel sat back down in one of the other chairs along with the other Survivors who had gone back to watching what was happening after helping SunfallE. ?[B]You?re telling me,[/B]? Ezekiel said, she leaned forward and whispered, ?[B]By the way, when Rach and Kathy get back we?ve got something important to tell you.[/B]? ?[B]What?[/B]? SunfallE asked, clearly puzzled. But Ezekiel just looked warily at where Sandy and indifference were standing further back. ?[B]You?ll see.[/B]? She said mysteriously and then she turned back to watching the challenge. SunfallE had barely seen that both Aaryanna and BKstyles had made it down the stairs and into a store that sold bedding to avoid the police and security, when Rach and Kathy returned and started helping her wrap up her sprained ankle. ?[B]What?s going on?[/B]? SunfallE asked them even as she watched Aaryanna and BKstyles evade the security and the police by virtue of climbing on top of the tall shelves that housed the blankets and pillows. Rach leaned forward to whisper. ?[B]Sandy?s been broadcasting this whole Survivor challenge live to the entire boards. I?ve been talking to the others and they think that he?s overstepped his authority, but even James is watching it and thinks it?s funny so nothing is going to be done.[/B]? ?[B]I see. But why did Ezekiel say you guys have something important to tell me?[/B]? SunfallE asked. Rach just grinned and leaned forward and whispered something into SunfallE?s ear, something that had her grinning when he was done. Then having finished helping SunfallE by wrapping up her ankle, both Rach and Kathy sat back down to watch what was happening. ?[B]This really is unfair,[/B]? BKstyles was saying from his vantage point on the top of the wooden shelf as he glanced at Aaryanna who was standing on the other one that formed the next isle. It was apparent that with all the police and security filling the store that there was no escape. Aaryanna just shot him a glance, ?[B]What?s unfair?[/B]? ?[B]Well you know, that you have a mod rod, you can just zap them.[/B]? ?[B]You?re such an idiot BKstyles,[/B]? Aaryanna shot back. ?[B]You?re bigger than me, faster than me and stronger, so it?s not unfair. If you say that again I?ll kick you in the shins as well as zapping you.[/B]? BKstyles started to protest and then stopped at the sight of the police climbing on top of the shelves like they had. ?[B]Good luck.[/B]? He told Aaryanna before he took off at a run, slamming into several of them and knocking them off before jumping to the top row of another set of shelves. Aaryanna watched him briefly before turning her attention to those who were advancing on her position. She pulled her mod rod free and started zapping people as they were attempting to climb on top. Both of them continued hopping from the top of one row of shelves to another, either kicking people off or in Aaryanna?s case, zapping them. Then as both of them landed on the top of the same shelf, police that had climbed up on shelves further away took aim and fired at both of them. Both BKstyles and Aaryanna were struck at the same time; the force of the bullets that turned into electrical jolts sending both of them over the edge. As luck would have it Aaryanna landed closer to a group of security than BKstyles did, caught off balance by the fall, they wrestled her to the floor mere seconds before the next group did the same to BKstyles. ?[B]Nooooooooooooo![/B]? Aaryanna screamed as the light to take her back to OtakuBoards surrounded her and she heard the familiar chime before Sandy?s voice spoke over the mall?s announcement system. ?[B]Aaryanna has been captured.[/B]? Then seconds later? ?[B]BKstyles has been captured.[/B]? Seconds later both of them were back at OtakuBoards, dejected Aaryanna came over and sat down next to the other Sunflowers while the Aces surrounded BKstyles to congratulate him on winning the challenge. All of them looked up as Sandy along with indifference approached them. ?[B]Congratulations on winning the challenge BKstyles, now it?s time for you to decide who to evict from the game, remember, it can be anyone, even a member of your own team.[/B]? BKstyles looked at his teammates and then turned back to Sandy, ?[B]We actually did make our decision, but you started this challenge before I could tell you. So we will stick with it. We choose to evict SunfallE from the Survivor rpg.[/B]? SunfallE stood up and nodded, ?[B]Very well then, I?ll be on my way.[/B]? But she was stopped by Rach who grabbed her sleeve. ?[B]Not just yet Sandy, the Aces have something to tell BKstyles and then there?s something you need to see first. Once that is done, SunfallE can leave.[/B]? Sandy just rolled his eyes, ?[B]What is it now people? The challenge is over.[/B]? But then other than SunfallE who was still limping a bit the Survivors grabbed Sandy without warning and dragged him out of the Survivor thread, ignoring his protests as they took him to the Otaku Lounge and stuffed him into a thread there. With an evil grin SunfallE locked the thread, trapping Sandy inside. Seconds later muffled screams could be heard from outside the thread. ?[B]What did you do?[/B]? indifference asked as the Survivors burst into laughter. SunfallE just pointed to the title: [B]When Fan Girls Attack![/B] ?[B]You mean?[/B]? indifference started to say. Rach just laughed, ?[B]Yup, it?s full of rabid fan girls.[/B]? [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Lets see... I've been watching [B]The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya[/B], I really enjoy all the antics between Haruhi and Kyon. As well as how Haruhi is so focused and just walks over anyone standing in the way of what she wants. lol I've also been watching [B]Lucky Star [/B]which is about a group of girls attending school. It's fun in how the whole show is just about their relationship with one another and stuff they talk about like eating food. It's amazing just how funny it is. Then there's [B]Lovely Complex[/B] which is about a tall girl who falls for a guy shorter than her. The whole thing is really about her trying to just be a girl and not be treated different due to how tall she is. And though I've only seen one episode I'm also watching [B]Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei[/B] this show is simply priceless, as Dagger put it: [I]While trying to hang himself, the world's most negative man meets the world's most positive girl. Oh, and it turns out that he's her new teacher. What follows is twenty minutes of hilarity. [/I] And it's totally true. As for reading. I'm not reading any manga at the moment. And though I do have some Mercedes Lackey books I'm reading, for the life of me I can't think of the titles at the moment. [/FONT][/COLOR]