Allamorph

Oh Lately It's So Quiet "He's really serious about this, isn't he?" Chris leaned casually against the chain-link fence protecting the rooftop HVAC equipment of one of the city's many towering office buildings, idly watching her younger brother relentlessly drill his still scythe-less apprentice, her hands thrust into her pants pockets and her right foot resting flat against the fence below her back. To the side of her, Nathan's inscrutable familiar stood statuesque and silent, left hand comfortably on her sword's hilt, her eyes never leaving the pair across the roof. The werecat nodded once in answer to the query, but otherwise showed indication that the remark had registered. A gust of wind raced across the top of the building, tousling the blonde shinigami's short locks and causing Isen's long grey hair to billow to her left, their bangs whipping across their faces and into their eyes. Chris studied the werecat for a moment longer before returning her attention to the men. "I almost didn't believe him when he said he'd started training someone," she told the air. "I mean, he's never done this to my knowledge before. Back when learning combat skills was as commonplace as basic education, and even for some time before the War, I remember him saying it was his policy to never teach. It was something about him not being able to stand how confined it made him feel." She reached a hand up to run through her disheveled hair. "He used to joke about it with me when we'd get to see each other during the War, whenever one of us got a break from the front lines, so I thought he was pulling my leg again. "Obviously he wasn't kidding," she concluded, letting her hand slide down to rest on the back of her neck. "I really never thought I'd see him take a student." Isen nodded serenely again, taking a small breath before responding. "After we met each other and decided to become partners," she said, as Alex took a breather, "we learned that there was not time to send me back to the trainers for instruction. Everything I needed to know had to be taught by him, and I had to learn both between engagements and on the fly. A few lessons I was able to pick up from others who worked closely with him, but he was my primary instructor for everything that I had not learned in the pride. "He always gave pointers to his subordinates, though, and even before I left to train in East Asia he was starting to be more receptive to requests for help. I also remember him saying that he hated the idea of teaching, but he never seemed to mind giving assistance if he was asked." Nathan called an end to the break and began issuing sharp commands to Alex, who complied by rapidly executing three, four, and five consecutive forms for each order. "I think that is how he feels about Alexander," Isen considered. "He sees himself not as teaching the boy so much as I think he sees himself simply giving what help he can." Chris made an approving noise. "Still," she remarked, "looking at his methods and his pacing, he would probably have made an excellent instructor. It's been two months now since I came to fill in, and he's only just recently moved the boy on to strike combinations. Most instructors I know of currently would at least be sparring by now, if they were training every day like Nathan is." Again Isen nodded. "He is somewhat aggravated with the level of instruction the newer shinigami are being given," she said. "He told me that he wants to make certain Alexander knows his skills so well they become mere reflex. He says the boy's biggest problem right now is his lack of confidence. He was confident before," she clarified, "but the blunt introduction to the reality of vampires broke that almost completely, and Nathan believes if he can train him well enough, Alexander will simply fight by instinct instead of freezing up." "Everyone freezes up the first few times," Chris noted, half to herself. "It happens, and you move on." "Nathan knows this, but he also knows that most people go in prepared the first time. Alexander did not go into that mansion with the necessary skills, so he barely knew what to do at all. His instincts saved him more than once, but he does not realize it; all he sees is how useless he was, and so the next time he will be even more unsure of himself and may not even allow himself the opportunity to succeed for fear he will fail." Isen shrugged. "At least, that is what Nathan says." The women stayed silent for a moment afterward. Isen was probably right, Chris thought to herself. She knew how much her brother loved seeing people succeed, and knew from experience how far ahead he was willing to plan to see that it happened. She also knew that he really wanted Alex as a future ally instead of just a 'subordinate', a sentiment with which she generally agreed; she had taken extensive measures herself to increase the effectiveness of the people under her command, and were their positions reversed at the moment she knew she would probably be doing the same thing. Her other hand joined the first behind her neck, and she interlaced her fingers. "So," she began, changing the subject, "who is this contact my brother has back across the Gate? From the way Nathan's been acting, he must be pretty trustworthy." She sent the werecat a sly look. "Or has he not told you either?" Isen shook her head. "He has said nothing to me at all. I know it has something to do with Adrian, maybe that old 'mentor' he spoke of, but there is no way to be certain." "Adrian?" "The shinigami whose spot you are filling." "Oh," said Chris. "Interesting." She remembered the odd look her twin had given her when she'd described to him her recent encounter with vampires, and the debacle it had turned into. He'd mentioned something about scouting it after things had cooled down enough that he felt safe sending others into the area. She'd asked what he meant, and he'd told her of two other shinigami in the areaâ??Lucia and Phaidra, if she remembered the names correctlyâ??who had a good deal of expertise in suitable fields, and had said he would arrange a meeting later. Now that she thought about it, she began to notice him slipping back into the old commanding mantle he had worn so well during the War. She wondered to herself what, if anything, he suspected, and how much he had learned since she had been away. She made a mental note to find out later. "You know," she decided aloud, "I'm kinda hungry." She turned an amiable grin to Isen. "You hungry?" Isen made a thoughtful noise. "One of Nathan's favorite spots is just a few blocks from here," she told Chris matter-of-factly. "It has really good music, he says." "Really," mused Chris. "Well, my birds won't be back for probably another three hours; whaddya say we go grab lunch?"

[FONT=Arial]I've been out for a few years, but my first younger sister just had her commencement last night. She's pretty pumped, and wants to get out of this town more than anything (mainly because of emotional issues she thinks are inescapable here, which she actually made for herself), and she's gonna go heavy into Graphic Design....though her real love is "legit" art. (I have no idea how you distinguish graphic design from charcoal, oil, and watercolor.)[/FONT]

[QUOTE=Lunox][font=trebuchet ms] [spoiler]So you're going to become the neighborhood cat lady? ;)[/spoiler][/font][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial][Spoiler]Actually, the neighborhood cat [I]man[/I] is my distinction already; and besides, she has a [I]dog.[/I] So probably the Dog Lady. Which is even more odd.[/spoiler] ;)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]And now to showcase how absolutely bizarre my musical tastes are, I'm on kind of what you might call a [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2wMsnE2cvI"][COLOR="Blue"]fun classic[/COLOR][/URL].[/FONT]

[quote name='Aceburner']That settles it. Indi is now a kitty.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Perfect.[/FONT] [CENTER][IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/funny-pictures-basement-cat-clw.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

[FONT=Arial](^_^) I think UGA will be better for you in the long run. Much less snobbery to deal with, and a solid education as well. Besides, just 'cause a person graduates from Ivy League doesn't mean they automatically know what they're talking about. If your parents can't deal with that, then that's a shame, but it's ultimately their issue and not yours. They shouldn't have to milk [I]you[/I] for [I]their[/I] prestige. Have a good week, too.[/FONT]

[quote name='Sabrina][FONT="Tahoma"']I hadn't planned on writing such a huge post, but Sarvel took over. o_O [/FONT][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Tends to happen like that. :animesmil I'd like to get one up soon. I'm off for two days, so we'll see what happens.[/FONT]

[quote name='Boo][size=1']*month late* I feel sort of offended being called a whale killer where as I'm a Dutchman. :([/size][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Hence the question mark. 'Cause I couldn't tell ya where I got that idea, but it's the only idea I'd got.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Sarvel is a snot. [I]*nodnod*[/I][/FONT]

[quote name='CrimsonKnight][COLOR="Purple"']Oh, and p.s. death is a part of life, but for that to be your name, are you obsessed with it? are you emo??? *gasps* Ha! got ya. just kidding. hope i didn't hurt your feelings, and if that was against otaku rules, i'm sorry. please don't give me another refraction. i just had to add something else. that's all. and overly happy people don't like talking about death! take that into consideration.:animedepr p.p.s. purple is also my favorite color, so don't try to say that just because red is the color of blood, i'm obsessed with death as well. goodbye![/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]And that, ladies and gentleman, was the entire gamut of the emotional spectrum in sixteen point one six four seconds. But yeah, I've never heard of the 30th of February (possibly for a good reason), so whoever was born on that day has my complete sympathies.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Mental depravity. And if you think for a moment, you will see why this must be so. [quote name='Raiha][INDENT][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Perhaps a cockroach...[/FONT][/COLOR'][/INDENT][/quote] Damn. [I]One [/I]cockroach.[/FONT]

[quote name='Aceburner']Language warning.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Aside from the one word, that was the most beautiful language I've heard in a while. :animecry: [CENTER]-------------- This is India [IMG]http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/Misc/India1.jpg[/IMG] where you call when you have technical questions [IMG]http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/Misc/India2.jpg[/IMG] or telephone problems. [IMG]http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/Misc/India3.jpg[/IMG] Comforting.[/CENTER][/FONT]

Soulgaze Within his eyes, and 'neath the white That seemingly obscures his sight, Lie phantoms born of basest fear; Beyond the edge of Reason's sphere They wait, secluded from the light. Their soundless cries of furious spite Will rob the strongest of his might And lock him in the ghastly stare Within his eyes. They will consume your soul, despite Your frenzied, wild attempts to fight The wraiths; their madd'ning whispers sear The heart, the mind to pieces tear. There is no hope for you tonight, Within his eyes.

[FONT=Arial]Finished up Halo 3 and switched to Kamelot. I was impressed at the staffing for the Halo 3 soundtrack; twenty-two piece choir and sixty-odd piece orchestra, the leaflet said. Very nice to know, and to hear. I think my favorite out of the whole set has to be the third track on the second disk, during the Gravemind section: [I]One Final Effort[/I]. It seems to be the most cohesive and self-contained of all the tracks there, even though I absolutely love the choir chords at, say, the beginning of disc 2 track 10. Kamelot is pretty solid. Casey Grillo goes a bit heavy on the bass pedal now and again, but it's not too often and doesn't really detract from the mix, so I'm not bothered by it. I also love the strength of Kahn's voice. However, they lack the sheer epicness that Nightwish achieves on their music. Again, not a huge deal, but it makes a difference, I think, between really good rock and absolutely amazing music. So yeah, Kamelot gets added to my list of approved groups. Too bad they decided not to go with live winds. That would have been sweet.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]What is this, a bill going through the Senate? =P I thought this was [I]my[/I] request, not a popular- consent. I never asked what era it was in, I said I didn't care. (Which also means it can go unnamed or implied. Or both. [I]*nudge*[/I]) Plus, [COLOR="DarkRed"]Gavin[/COLOR], you're a jerk for throwing the "lover v. lover" card. :rolleyes: I mean, come on. Show some originality, man. And watch my previous conditions; by the time the Dark Jedi get there, I'm all that's left, so it'd be kinda hard for any one to kill the dead Jedi.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Yet another non-player character to add to the ranks: Chris, Nathan's older twin sister, and her familiar (both pictured), who has no audible name. And yes, her familiar is three birds. Air Elemental.[/FONT] [CENTER][IMG]http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/RP%20pics/SD/Christine.jpg?t=1211695256[/IMG][/CENTER]

All Around The two ancient spirits stared curiously at the wall their hostess had all but fled through without so much as a hint of a goodbye. The abrupt departure, though not out of character, left a bemused silence hanging in her wake, and after a moment the sounds of the local night traffic began filtering through the walls. Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Okay," he remarked drily, blinking once. "I don't believe Lucia likes the Council very much," offered Isen, still holding the plastic container Phaidra had pressed upon her. "Yeah...," Nathan agreed. He remembered how she had sent Phaidra a very intense look at the mention of the research in which the mage was engaged, and how the Council had approved her transfer. Lucia's flight had preempted the questions he had been formulating while he had let her speak; most likely the Council had cut short her own projects, though for what reason Nathan couldn't yet surmise. It struck him as extremely singular, and he decided it was probably worth looking into at some point. "...kind of careless of her, though," he continued after a moment, "leaving us alone like this." Isen's brow furrowed. "You mean with all her equipment out in the open?" she asked. She paused. "You're not thinking of plundering her laboratory, are you?" "Oh no, of course not," Nathan said dismissively, avoiding his partner's criticizing stare. "Besides, you heard her say her crystal was keyed to her own aura. She's probably done the same to every piece of equipment in this room. He turned to face her, placing his hands thoughtfully on his hips. "But," he went on, "I do have another idea." He started towards the center of the room, a grin spreading over his face. "Come on; give me a hand." ---------------------- "I absolutely do not believe you sometimes." The pair was strolling down the sidewalk several blocks from Nathan's apartment, he with his hands thrust nonchalantly in his trouser pockets and she beside him, the container of cake tucked securely under her left arm. Her katana swung free at her waist, completely concealed by her long duffle coat. "You have no place to talk," Nathan retorted jovially. "You did just as much as I." The slender werecat snorted. "Only so we could be on our way faster. I took no pleasure in our work." "That's a load of bull, and you know it," countered the Reaper. "Criminy, you were even telling me what to do!" He laughed. "'Took no pleasure' my eye." Isen dropped her gaze and smiled. They continued on in contented silence for a few moments; she broke it first, much less rambunctiously than before. "Lucia's not going to like it, is she?" "No, I don't believe she will." The blue man laughed again. "I'm pretty sure I've solidified myself on her 'bad children' list." Isen raised her eyebrows, amused. "Her what?" "I'm envisioning her right now as a rather humorless school marm," Nathan said as they reached the parking lot in front of the building and began to float up to their room. "She's certainly uptight enough." "Only if she has a thick wooden ruler," Isen added thoughtfully, passing through the outer wall and the first floor at the same time. "And horn-rimmed glasses." Nathan chuckled as he ascended to his floor. "See?" he said in mock-accusation. "You can't tell me you're not havingâ??oh, for crying out loud!" The two spirits stopped just inside his door, staring in astonishment at the occupant of the futon couch. With a sigh, the blue shinigami shook his head. "Am I the only one who bothers to use the door anymore?" he demanded, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Oh, come on, Nathan," cajoled the light-blonde woman, rising to meet them. "Is that any way to greet your own sister?" She paused and turned to the werecat. "Good evening, my lady Isen," she said, bowing slightly. Isen returned the gesture. "Hello, Christine." She smirked. "Don't mind my partner," she said while he stalked to the refrigerator to store the dessert, "you're not the first intruder we've had so far." "You're the fourth," Nathan muttered petulantly from inside the fridge. "Or fifth, if you count whoever brought that idiotic letter. Five consecutive people just decide to waltz into my apartment like they bloody own the placeâ??and two of them vampires!" The woman grinned. "Don't worry," she replied. "I usually don't. And I've told you, it's Chris." "And I've told you," smirked the werecat, "that that name doesn't suit you." Chris laughed. The shinigami looked remarkably like her brother. She shared the same friendly featuresâ??the nose, half-full lips, and long eyebrowsâ??and her hazel eyes held the same casual, confident, almost sardonic gaze. Her short hair was closer to white than a true blonde, but shadows brought out the hidden sandy undertones; which, contrasted with her dark eyebrows, lent her face a slightly exotic appearance. Her dress was light and summery: she wore a two-button short-sleeve grey blouse with a second white collar and the lower button undone, along with a pair of black unbelted capri pants and grey jogging shoes. She wore no jewelry except for a black choker necklace, a small gold chain on her left wrist from which hung a tiny jewel medallion, and an ornate anchor pendant which was sewn into the blouse and rested on her left shoulder. Her blouse's sleeves were pushed up, revealing white sparring tape wound securely around each of her upper arms just below the shoulder; the same tape was visible just above her midsection by the open bottom of her untucked blouse. She returned to the couch while Isen busied herself in another room. "Busy day, I take it?" Nathan groaned and joined her, flopping down longways with his knees stuck over the armrest. "Busy couple of days," he told her tiredly tossing his hat across the room. He pressed the back of his hand over his eyes. "Seems like I'm wanted by everybody everywhere. I haven't even checked my schedule yet." He sighed. "I just want a moment to myself, you know?" His sister smiled and ruffled his hair. "Well then, poor little brother, I guess now's not a good time to tell you I've been temporarily reassigned to your city." Nathan groaned again.

[FONT=Arial][I]*looks around*[/I] You know, I haven't been killed in quite some time. I thought it was kind of a tradition, almost; what gives, guys? Right, let's see.... Ohh, let's go Star Wars this time, just for fun. Era doesn't matter, since I'm not familiar enough and you probably don't care; probably pre-Sidious, though, and definitely pre-Skywalker. The planet I'm on is being evacuated because of Sith (naturally), and I and several Jedi have been defending the hangar bay where the escaping transports are being boarded. All the general soldiers have fallen to us, but I am the last Jedi standing; and just as the final transport is preparing to leave, the Dark Jedi show up. Probably about five total, though they don't all get there at once. There ensues a fight in which I basically hold them all off with whatever means at my disposal: discarded sabers, the Force, random blasters, combinations of the three. The longer I fight, the more in-tune with the Force I become, and I simply start reacting to stuff; and just as the ship exits the hangar I am struck down and become one with the Force, a la Kenobi. Overall an increasingly more peaceful atmosphere. Saber colors are your discretion.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Oh. Well in that case, I suppose I [I]won't[/I] kill myself tonight on that.[/FONT]

[quote name='Panache']Allamorph you should give Jesu a try.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]I'll keep that in mind. [quote name='Whoa, Mann'][edit: Sorry, Allamorph. You may not understand this from my point of view. I enjoy the screaming over clean guitar, and, either way, the clean guitar is still there, so why should the vocals even matter?[/quote] That's actually the key difference between our tastes; you're listening to each part as an independent entity, and I listen to hear the mesh. So when I hear Opeth, I don't hear that their style fits with screaming, and so it sounds like screaming for the sake of screaming instead of screaming with the music. And again, I said "with the music", not "with clean guitar". Whether or not the vocals clash with the guitar isn't as important; I mean, listen to something like [I]They Are There[/I] by Charles Ives and you'll hear massive clashing with melodies that simply do not belong together*, as if you took twelve different songs, put them with your own, and pureed them all together. But they [I]fit[/I], and the screaming doesn't [I]fit[/I]. Instead it seems to want to take over the entire song and do its own thing, instead of matching and blending with the rhythms that the guitar, bass, keys, and drums were all laying down. So in essence, it sounded more like two different groups when that happened: the band in one corner and Mikael Åkerfeldt in the other. And I'm not attacking you for liking it; I'm just tossing out my stance and making sure you understand why I dislike his particular screaming. (Call me shallow, but I much prefer the screaming in Drowning Pool's [I]Bodies[/I] because it seems to belong there.) I do have one other comment, though. [QUOTE][I]Overall.... the band is a death metal group yes?[/I][/QUOTE] As far as I'm concerned, a band should define their genre, not let a genre define them. That to me is the difference between regular bands and (imo) eclectic groups like Porcupine Tree and Nightwish; Porcupine Tree does some aggressive stuff, and then they can turn around and perform laid-back pieces like [I]Trains[/I] and [I]Lazarus[/I]. Nightwish is [I]called[/I] a Metal Opera group, but songs like [I]Sleeping Sun[/I] are more rock ballades than anything commonly associated with Metal. Even Kansas did some screaming back in the day. ([I]Lightning's Hand[/I], if you don't believe me; and granted, it isn't a whole lot, but it's there.) So I don't care if a band is Death Metal or not. If that's what they play, then cool, if they sound good doing it. But if that's all they allow themselves to play because "they're a death metal band", then that severely diminishes them in my eyes; they have set themselves a box they can't escape. Incidentally, I laugh a lot when I hear death metal, death core, grunge, metal, metalcore, grungecore, hardcore, hard rock, heavy metal, etc. It seems so silly to have to start your own category just because of a few minor style differences. Seriously. Romanticism as a style lasted for around seventy, eighty years, and we have to have new individual styles every few odd months? :bellylol: -------------- *[SIZE="1"]Most of Ives' works are like that, and it's really hard for me to not laugh during his music when he randomly tosses [I]The Star-Spangled Banner[/I] into a quote from something by Dvorak.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Whoa, Mann][SIZE="1"][COLOR="HotPink"]About Opeth... don't judge them by the vocals so much, Allamorph. I mean... if everyone judged by vocals, then there would officially be no King Diamond fans. Zing![/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote] [FONT=Arial]:p Let me clarify real quick: I spoke only of the vocal there not because they were the only thing I didn't like about it, but because the screaming detracted so much from the overall mix of the group?which, as I said before, is really good?that I just couldn't enjoy them when Åkerfeldt was doing it. When he was just singing, they sounded fantastic. [quote name='Panache']!!!![/quote] I know! :animeangr[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Went on a small splurge today, netting me six more CDs for my collection. Foremost among them was [B]The Best Of Dire Straits[/B], which has some [I]very[/I] nice classical guitar-influenced songs, furthering that band on my awesome scale. Also snagged the [I]legitimate[/I] [B]Once[/B] to replace the burned Nightwish disc I have, along with (for no reason, really) the [B]Halo 3 soundtrack[/B]. I saw Ok Go's [B]Oh No[/B] and decided "what the heck", and Kamelot's [B]Ghost Opera[/B] and Opeth's [B]Blackwater Park[/B] rounded out the selection. (Completely forgot to look for Porcupine Tree, though. Crap.) After a complete listening, my verdict on Opeth thus far is . . . odd. I [I]really[/I] want to like them; they have a great sound, and Mikael Åkerfeldt has a fantastic voice that blends really well with the arranging. But then he does the screaming?and not just screaming for the effect, but screaming over beautiful guitar licks. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it when it's done in taste with the surrounding music, but it just seemed to ruin the mood, like sludge poured into a garden. Granted, it's a dank garden, with gnarled trees and twisted undergrowth and heavy soupy mist about chest-high; but I like that ambiance just as much as I like a regular "happy" garden, and sludge is sludge. Ruins everything. So overall I think I have to rank them about B-. Shame, too; I [I]dug[/I] some of their clean stuff.[/FONT]

[quote name='Aceburner']^That has Allamorph written all over it. Mainly because it's from Married to the Sea[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Man, you can't even send a simple apology anymore without it ending up all over some message board somewhere. Golly. That's so [I]high school[/I].[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I think it's rather interesting that Sarvel immediately called them "dead" spots, instead of "sick" spots. To my thinking, "sick" spots would be an indicator of how damaged the world was?from an Elemental's perspective. "Dead" spots would seem to be completely out of place in the living world, as if they were defying it for some reason. I think that that difference might bother Sarvel's subconscious for a while, providing I'm reading Elementals right. Also, that means that Elementals like Sarvel would probably have been used as Trackers during the War.[/FONT]

[quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"]Correct, they do not go through shedding cycles like say certain [I]Siberian Huskies[/I].... [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Funny thing is, I'm allergic to pet dander. Twenty years seems to have allowed me a mild immunity, though. And if my dogs shed, then they'll be doing it outside. Only cats can shed indoors. :p[/FONT]