Rachmaninoff

[quote name='Aaryanna_Mom']Also, how a parent would be okay with not treating their own child is beyond me. No religion is more important in my opinion. If staying true to my beliefs meant allowing my daughter to die, then I guess those beliefs aren't something I should be supporting in the first place.[/QUOTE]I may not be a parent, but yeah, that kind of mentality just baffles me as well. But then my parents are nothing like that and as you touched on, the LDS religion does not prohibit medical procedures, at least I've never heard of any that are. I haven't been a member for quite a while so that could have changed. Still, with today's technology, refusing a life saving treatment just doesn't make any sense to me.

[quote name='Whoa, Mann;796132]I don't know... :] Could you compare them to TSO?[/QUOTE]I couldn't do a very good job of it. What little I've heard of TSO I did not care for. Even in Mannheim Steamroller I prefer the more authentic to the time period sounding tracks than those that are more modernized. Don't get me wrong though, what I heard of TSO was well done, I just didn't care for it as far as my tastes go. [quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]You do realize Rach that I'll be pestering you and Beth to go to the concert since it is on a Friday. I just need to figure out where I'm going to get $33 for the ticket. XP [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]Yeah, Beth mentioned that you like Mannheim Steamroller. I'll have to talk to you about that actually. Still, for you, with it being on the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, it's perfect timing and all.

Reading this thread makes me feel utterly normal actually. I can't even imagine being anything like what's been described so far. I tend to be very organized, driven and goal directed. It's gotten me to where I am now, about to get my Masters degree and then start the Doctrate program next year. I'm told that I'm helpful and that I'm good at compromising and getting people to get along. As well as that I'm outgoing and social. I also handle stress well since even though I get angry like anyone else, I'm not violent and I get over it quickly. About the only thing I don't do is seek out new stuff, that tends to come from others, usually close friends, saying hey, check this out. Now is any of this accurate? Beats me, most if not all of that is from those silly personality tests as well as the reviews given to me by past students, you know, where you fill out that form at the end of a semester to tell the school what you thought of your teacher. XP

Oh episode thirteen and fourteen. Otani just couldn't get any more clueless. How a guy could [spoiler]kiss a girl and forget is beyond me, sick or not.[/spoiler] Poor Risa. I like the new opening as well as the music though. I was worried that the show would lose some of it's momentum, but it's still going along well enough to make me laugh and cringe at the same time. And the first part of episode fourteen? I just loved the overly dramatic organ music to go along with Risa being upset over Otani [spoiler]not remembering their first kiss. [/spoiler] That was just awesome as well as the new character Maity showing up.

I started watching this and I have to agree that's its downright funny. It just never takes itself seriously. From the horrible parents leaving Hayate high and dry to all the antics that result in him being Nagi's butler. I like how it's going along and out of no where you keep getting interrupted by the narrator and the characters object since the 'episode' isn't over yet. Most if not all of the references go over my head but it doesn't really matter since it's got plenty of stuff on it's own that makes it fun to watch. Like when Hayate wakes up in [spoiler]the mansion and thinks he's died and gone to heaven, so he just helps himself to the facilities there.[/spoiler]

Of all the times for a thread like this to pop up. XP I actually am sick, I was a little tired on Saturday and it moved into a full fever, chills, aches and whatnot on Sunday. After sleeping most of the day I now find that I can't sleep, so I'm sort of doing a combination of things, watching anime, reading and visiting this place. Later I'll probably try to get some sleep again and hope it goes away since I hate going to the doctors office. Oddly, for some reason, this time around I can think clearly, usually I feel like my brain stops working when I'm sick. Though on the bad side... That has made for some very, very odd dreams when I did sleep. I don't usually have such vivid and intense dreams. Usually though I'm just miserable and I watch shows that require no thinking on my part or I sleep. I don't even try to play games since concentrating like that just makes my head hurt even more. lol

[quote name='Sandy']

"[B]I will not have this Paraxis, I will not sit by idly and watch as the rest of you attempt to slant this game in your favor.[/B]" Celesta was not amused by Illyria's addition of the Kaijin to the Ragnarok nor by Paraxis altering the new soul in a manner that was inconsistent with the powers they were allowed to use. "[B]If the child should not have passed into the Ragnarok the fault lies with you Paraxis for failing to correct such an inconsistency from the beginning by tying their fate to one another, that of mother and child.[/B]" "[B]It is not your place to dictate the rules of this game.[/B]" Paraxis said ever so softly. "[B]Nor is it your's to attempt to deal with us in this underhanded fashion.[/B]" Celesta replied tartly. "[B]Whether you object or not I am going to do something about the Kaijin.[/B]" She did not wait for the others to speak, Celesta vanished as she briefly left Valhalla to do just that. "[B]Are you really going to sit by and let her do as she pleases?[/B]" Jachym questioned. "[B]I will wait to see just what she has in mind before I make that decision.[/B]" Paraxis seemed unconcerned by the turn of events. [CENTER][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Ragnarok/ragnarok-soul-patrick.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Ragnarok/ragnarok-soul-chohee.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Ragnarok/ragnarok-soul-naomi.png[/IMG][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Ragnarok/ragnarok-healcard.png[/IMG][/CENTER] One moment Naomi had been with Marta and Jeanne as they entered the building and then the next she found herself in a place she did not know. It made her think of heaven with gentle mists surrounding her and what seemed to be a small but unearthly garden. [I]What?[/I] She did not have to wonder long when she realized that she was not alone. "[B]Come here child.[/B]" The young woman with long flowing black hair commanded. Naomi's eyes widened when she took in her appearance, garments of the purest white in a sleeveless dress, gathered at the waist with a belt made of pure gold and a golden crown with a sundisk symbol on the front. But what struck her more than anything was the ageless beauty of the woman. Hesitantly she walked forward, resisting the urge to kneel, not even understanding why she felt it. "[B]Good, I have brought you here for two reasons, first I must bestow my power upon you. The power to heal, though you must be careful as you will be limited by your own strength.[/B]" Celesta reached forward and simply touched Naomi on the forehead. "[B]Second, to give you a warning.[/B]" "[B]Power? Warning?[/B]" Naomi felt dizzy from whatever the woman had done when she touched her. "[B]I don't understand.[/B]" She finally stammered. "[B]You are in the Ragnarok child, where the fate of mankind as well as the Gods is being decided. However, know this. There are those who would use any means to alter the outcome of this trial. I cannot allow this to happen, it is for fate to decide.[/B]" Naomi was confused, Ragnarok? Gods? If not for the strange things she had seen she would have wondered if she was hallucinating. And yet something told her that what was before her was indeed real. "[B]It is simple child, the Kaijin has been revived, a creature of ancient origins who's sole purpose is to twist things at the behest of the one who summoned it. In this case it seeks to protect Charlotte's child. But to counter that, one of you has been altered and infused with the desire to kill that child.[/B]" "[B]Jeanne![/B]" Naomi exclaimed as understanding dawned as to why she had been so focused on killing the child. "[B]I still don't understand, what should I do?[/B]" Naomi asked her. "[B]You must warn the others if you can, the Kaijin cannot be trusted, you must destroy it if you can to end the unbalance caused by it's presence, only then will Jeanne return to herself and will the Ragnarok come to it's conclusion.[/B]" "[B]It's conclusion?[/B]" Naomi was still uncertain of just what she should do, all that was happening was just too overwhelming. "[B]You need not concern yourself with that child, if nothing else keep my warning in mind, whether or not you choose to act on it is up to you.[/B]" Celesta moved to dispel the illusion of her heavenly home that she had used to isolate Naomi from the others who had been with her. "[B]Wait! Who are you?[/B]" Naomi cried out as the surroundings began to fade. "[B]I am Celesta child, the Goddess of Life.[/B]" And then she was gone and Naomi found herself back at the building, but the other two she had been with were gone and she was not in the same place that she had been before. It was at that moment that she felt the most horrible and uncomfortable feeling that she had experienced since she found herself in this place. She knew even before she turned that something was behind her. Naomi turned around slowly only to step backwards with a gasp of fear at what was before her. A creature straight from one of her worst nightmares. Shaped like a man from the waist up and that of a snake from the waist down. Naomi took a step backwards and then shrieked in both fear and surprise when the creature caught her wrist before she could flee. "[B]Daughter of Celesta and of Jachym, why do you fear me?[/B]" "[B]You're... you're...[/B]" Naomi shivered. "[B]You're the Kaijin![/B]" She finally managed. A statement that only resulted in the creature smiling at her. "[B]I would be careful of what I was told if I were you.[/B]" The Kaijin let go of her wrist with a cunning smile that was quickly replaced with one of concern and care. Naomi looked past the Kaijin at the sound of the doors opening. She did not know who they were, but she had seen both the woman and the boy before. The question now, as she looked at both of them, was who could she really trust?

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]We have similar laws about picketing the government, abortion clinics, the homes of those who work in such places. In each of those, so long as a reasonable distance is kept the protests are allowed, so I really do not see how having similar space for the families having a funeral would be unconstitutional.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]That's my standing as far as this goes. Even more so since looking into this particular group shows that they pick the most shocking and visible means possible to get their message out. Freedom of speech cannot equate to absolute rights to get in someone's face at any time. They are hiding behind that like cowards and using it as a tool to further their hate messages. It's ironic really, in the end the laws requiring them to stay back like one has to at any protest is more designed for their safety than anything else. People are getting more than just a little angry over their tactics. This isn't the first time the law has had to put restrictions in place to keep protests from getting out of hand on both sides.

[quote name='Sandy']Also, "killing the baby" is referring to Charlotte, just read what the Kaijin said in Shy's post. Paraxis intervened it through Jeanne, and you just nullified everything that Paraxis said in my post.[/QUOTE]I know you guys worked this out, but no, honestly, no. I see no contradiction at all. You are the one who told us that the souls would find themselves in a room reflecting a memory and all Aaryanna did was have Jeanne show up expecting to be at a party she was heading towards. All we needed was a reminder to keep the plot point that Jeanne had been infused with the desire to kill Charlotte's baby. I mean, her post didn't indicate that the desire to kill the baby wasn't there. The only thing she didn't do was outright rush the plot point you introduced here. Sure she didn't get the implication, even though it was stated in Shy's post and then yours with Paraxis, but Aaryanna didn't really say one way or the other either. Anyway, it wouldn't be a death card rpg without some form of drama right? lol And that did make for a fun bit of snipping between the gods in Crystia's post. :p

I never got insulted very often and I don't really remember any specific names, at least not directed at me anyway. About the worst I ever got was being considered a wuss for not liking sports and being more into classical music. Now I've been teased a lot, but that's not quite the same thing and being occasionally called a dork by Crystia doesn't really count since she's never meant it as an actual insult... Well, at least I don't think she ever has. lol

[quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]To Moderators and the rest of the staff: If you could drop your current post and have someone just as good as you take over, would you?[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Well I haven't been doing it very long so I'm not really interested in dropping it and yet it's not why I joined so it wouldn't matter either way really.[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"] I still find it ironic since it never occurred to me that I would be asked so that pm from Des was a total surprise. Though I understand that's the standard reaction. Personally, I think Des gets a kick out of essentially sneaking up behind an unsuspecting member and going POW! [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]That's putting it mildly. My first reaction was to wonder what the hell I had managed to do that required an administrator to pm me directly. And then when I realized what it really was that reaction turned to a 'what the hell?' response. I would have never guessed that I was even being considered for a staff position. But then there's been a lot of things about joining this place that I never saw coming. Anyway, for now I'm happy to help out. But then if I had realized what fun this place is, I would have joined a lot sooner. :)

If you're not familiar with this group then here are two places to get you acquainted with them: [URL="http://shop.mannheimsteamroller.com/content/About_Chip.htm"][U]History[/U][/URL] & [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheim_Steamroller"][U]Wiki[/U][/URL] Now basically Mannheim Steamroller is considered to be an 18th century classical rock group for their style of combining acoustic, electronic and digital and analog into their works. But what really makes them fun is the combination of songs where they add a modern rock sound to them and then they also have songs where they use real instruments to create a more authentic recreation of how a song would have sounded when it was originally composed. I really like those songs the best. I'd link you to a sample but I haven't really found one that would let you hear more than the simple thirty seconds you get at a place like Amazon. Christmas music is always rather iffy for me, other than some of the more traditional classics like the Messiah and the Nutcracker. I've never been all that keen on the jingles from popular cartoons or even albums produced by rock groups. But Mannheim Steamroller is by far one of my favorite types of Christmas music just because I really like what they've done with a lot of different Christmas songs. If you haven't heard of them, though I suspect you probably have since some of their Christmas arrangements have been used quite a lot. Anyway, I'd definitely recommend checking them out. I'll be doing the same since I'll be picking up their newest Christmas album that they released this year: Christmas Song. Also, another great thing about this group is they're reasonably priced with their albums running at only $13 per CD. Also, if you already know about them, then you'll want to check to see if they'll be stopping in your area for their next [URL="http://shop.mannheimsteamroller.com/content/Tour.htm"][U]Tour[/U][/URL]. I know I plan on attending when they come to Salt Lake City later this month.

Before we get started you'll want to take a moment to read this article: [URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21578578/"][U]Dad sues funeral picketers[/U][/URL] Now if you didn't read it, to give you an idea of what the deal is here, this is what happened: [INDENT]While services were being held, three adults and four children from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., picketed on a sidewalk within view of the church, holding signs, including ones that read ?Thank God For Dead Soldiers? and ?God Hates Fags.?[/INDENT] Basically, once the father of the soldier learned of this he sued the church that was involved in it and won. Also: [INDENT]Since the protest at Matthew Snyder?s funeral, Maryland has joined a number of other states in passing laws prohibiting the kind of demonstrations the Westboro church stages at funerals.[/INDENT] And having read the article I agree with this. I honestly find the motives behind the protest unbelievable ignorant and inappropriate. I can't even imagine how anyone would think that doing something like this would be acceptable. I'm going to leave it at that because frankly that kind of behavior disgusts me. As the article says the group is using the First Amendment guarantee of free speech to spread hate and inflict pain on grieving families. I agree with that statement. That and I find the whole thing kind of sad really.

[quote name='The13thMan'][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]There's actually no circles to be seen here. It can be disproven, period. No loop, not even an ellipse! As for the mootness, it can get quite circular there (and even though i have no problem going in circles for the sake of clarity and better understanding) so i won't go on any further there. I'm actually not so much telling the person that he/she's wrong as i am trying to explain an easy way to figure out for yourself if it's right or wrong. My appoligies if i've offended anybody. Oh, and as a side note: Oh no! I'm being modded!!! =0 [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Okay, I'm not going to repeat myself here, this is not the point of this thread The13thMan and you know it. You're arguing just for the sake of arguing. You want to discuss it, start another thread and stop coming back to it. Saying you don't believe in something is fine but to continue to correct someone who doesn't agree with you is unnecessary and rude really. We got your point the first time and the repeats are pointless. Further posts going down this same path will simply be deleted.

Well as far as reading goes, I'm still not following anything at the moment. But I did get back into watching [B]Lovely Complex[/B] the other day. It's still just as funny as I remember and the second season is turning out to be even more fun with the introduction of new characters. Other than that I'm not really following anything at the moment. I have too many other things that keep coming first.

[quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]That and since it was on a school night and my friends who are older were watching R rated horror films... Well that just meant I couldn't tag along. I really wanted to though. hehe[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Your mom would have clobbered us though. Even if it wasn't a school night. XP Anyway... when I was younger we always dressed up and did trick or treating. And of course I always got a separate party for my birthday as well. So Halloween was always a lot of fun. It was pretty normal really, about the only exception was the year that a bunch of teenagers in the area decided to go around in the middle of the night and smash the windows of cars parked along the curb. They did a lot of damage and I remember how annoyed my parents were as well as the other adults. There were other years where houses and cars got egged, but that one where the kids destroyed windows was the most extreme. About the only good thing about that is they got caught by the police. lol This year I got together with a bunch of friends and we watched horror shows and made fun of them while we snacked on popcorn and stuff. No trick or treating, even though the complex I live in isn't for the university, there aren't any families living in it at the moment. Anyway, all in all, even though I got very little sleep, it was quite a bit of fun. It was a tight fit with ten people there since the living room of the apartment I live in isn't all that big. We still had a great time just the same though.

[quote name='Shy'][size=1]-Shy[/size] :devil:[/QUOTE]o_O You used a Smilie... That my friend is by far the [I]creepiest[/I] post I've seen in this entire rpg. No question about it. *slowly backs away from Shy*

Well being American, Theater is what I am use to, however, it doesn't really matter one way or the other to me. We have a combination of both when it comes to how it's spelled here in Salt Lake City. Though when I see Theatre I tend to think of foreign productions instead of local material. Also, even though my first instinct is to be bothered by the lack of ratings, at the same time, they were utterly pointless since so few people even used them correctly. Though the threads do look naked without them. Though I'm sure I'll get use to it. lol Anyway, over all, I think the new names and such are a lot nicer. :catgirl:

My day has been fine so far. The only thing that sucked was having to get up early to teach a class. I ended up substituting for someone and naturally it was a course that is at 7am. Normally I don't mind, but I was up late last night watching movies so I didn't get enough sleep. XP On the good side, I don't have any thing else going on since I finished my own work along with the the lessons I give this morning so other than some homework which I've already finished, the rest of my day is free. It's a shame I'm too tired to really enjoy it though. I'm kind of in between here, not tired enough to sleep and yet not awake enough to care about doing stuff with friends or anything else for that matter.

[quote name='The13thMan;795892][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]The reason i started on about the Oujia boards is simply because there's an easy way to disprove it. It's a bit more tricky to disprove ghosts. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]That's got nothing to do with this thread though.[QUOTE=The13thMan'][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]This is a false analogy. Arguing against Oujia boards is nothing like arguing the existence of God to a Catholic. Oujia boards can be disproven (or proven) experimentally, in the manner that i described. There is nothing one can do to prove or disprove the existence of God (Which is why ID is not science, btw). I don't believe it is moot beyond what we already discussed. Of course, you can disprove me by carrying out the experiment and proving positive results. Otherwise, no, very un-moot.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]No, very moot. You've missed the point, this is not about arguing in circles over whether or not something can be disproved. You're taking this far more seriously than is necessary and going off on a tangent while you're at it. If you really want to argue the point of proving whether or not a superstition can be disproved or not, then start a thread on it please, instead of insisting on telling someone they are wrong in a thread that isn't about that to begin with.

So once again it's that time of year... Halloween. Now I know we already have a thread on costumes but this is more for what beliefs or superstitions you have in regards to this holiday. As well as for what you actually do or if your family actually has anything that they do every time this holiday comes around. I've grown up with mixed messages as to this particular holiday. On the one hand it's my birthday so I've always considered it a day to celebrate. But on the other hand I've run into some very superstitious people who absolutely hate the holiday and think it shouldn't even been recognized or celebrated. Now for myself, I always have some sort of party that I attend, one with my family to celebrate my birthday and then later one with friends to celebrate the actual holiday itself. Sometimes it's a full costume party and others we get together and spend the evening watching as many horror movies as we can stand. Usually with the intent of freaking someone out, though that rarely happens. Still I think I love watching movies with friends the best, it's just a lot of fun to get together and watch horror films until we've had enough or we're too tired to stay awake for more. That's what we plan on doing tonight and I'm looking forward to it. As for beliefs or superstitions? I don't have any. I don' really believe in ghosts or witches or any of that stuff. That's why the movies are so much fun, since you know that zombies or other creatures aren't real. Anyway... what are your beliefs or superstitions, if any, and what do [I]you[/I] do on Halloween?

All right, the group is together. Since [[SIZE="1"]habitual name changer[/SIZE]] is not going to be a part of this I have Shalua trapped by the barrier that keeps the Shinigami inside the mansion. Like I did with Alex and the undead dragon. The idea being that Shalua was caught in a trap like Alex had been when the illusion was shattered. However, since she didn't deal with the illusion she was facing, the barrier meant to trap her there did not disappear like it should of. So she's fine, but stuck and probably madder than hell that the rest of us simply headed for the Count instead of trying to get her unstuck. :p

Alex hurried to keep up with Lucia who was heading back towards the main room where they had first met the Count. As he watched the vampire children scatter and flee from their presence he couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit sorry for them. Not that it would stop him from sending them to the next phase, but rather that instead of being allowed to continue on with the rest of humanity, they had been wrongfully stripped of the right to die. The Vampires, at least those who were older, did not and would not understand that moving on was where they truly wanted to be. Instead they clung to the illusion of immortal life, not realizing that their time on Earth was but one step in the journey known as life. Alex of course understood it, but as a Shinigami, it was expected. One could not be one otherwise. Though sometimes he kind of wished he could explain, but at the same time he knew why he could not. Humans were not ready for that knowledge, they were too primitive to understand it fully. Much in the same way they could not grasp the Grand Hymn of the Shinigami. All one had to do was listen to their attempts to recreate what they had caught a glimpse of to realize how limited their understanding really was. He was following along when something caught his attention. "Uh Lucia," He said, even as he halted briefly while she pulled out her Crystal Communicator and did something. Though he could not see just what she was up to. "Shalua will have to wait. I don't know how she got herself trapped, but until we get that barrier taken care of, we can't get to her." Lucia closed her communicator and tucked it away in her tunic. "With the illusion shattered she'll be fine where she is." Lucia started heading towards the main room again. "Well yeah, but still, she'll be cranky as hell when she realizes that we didn't come for her." Alex pointed out. "Well that's just too bad!" Ruby said with a disdainful flip. "It's her own fault for getting caught in a trap like that." "Don't be such a dork Ruby." Nall piped up. "It's not like any of us realized it was an illusion either." Nall ignored Ruby's indignant snort. "Why don't you save the bickering for later." A cold voice spoke up as Adrian came around the corner, just as they were about to open the doors to the main room where the Count had been. He was closely followed by Aeru and what appeared to be a little Vampire girl. "Adrian." Lucia nodded. "Shalua, for the moment is stuck behind part of the barrier keeping us within the mansion, since we do not have the means to remove the barrier yet, Alex and I are heading to join Nathan who seems to be heading towards where the Count is. Though I cannot sense him so I am not certain of this." Adrian just spared her a short glance before opening the doors and walking inside. "I'm well aware of that, if this vampire is telling the truth then the only way to get to the inner most chamber is through the door to the right of the throne." "Why would I lie?" Neviril said timidly. "The Count is here, can't you feel his presence?" She seemed puzzled as the group walked towards the door on the right side of the throne. "Of course we can't." Alex explained. "You are tied to him where we are not. Normally we can sense him but this place isn't exactly normal." He turned to Aeru, "You seem to be alright, you weren't hurt were you?" Aeru shook her head. "No, I'm fine." "Well it's about time you all caught up." A voice chided them from the darkness as they entered the other room. As one they turned to see Nathan who was patiently waiting for them.

Yeah, I figured as much. But it does look really weird though. XP I mean, as silly as it sounds, the threads look naked somehow! lol Anyway... my post is finally up. I was going to do it last night but the site was down while they changed the names. On a fun note, I'm looking forward to Stevens reaction to the facility being taken in sector thirteen. I'm thinking that it's going to seriously annoy the hell out of him when he realizes that the New Alliance seized it. Hehe. Well, once it's finally taken that is. Though now that has me curious about some other things as well, though I'll just wait and see if I'm right instead of voicing it here. :catgirl: