Gavin

[SIZE=1][CENTER][B]See you soon[/B][/CENTER] Walking on clouds, higher than the sky. Feel like dancing, show my joy to the world. Reach the house, glaring lights my greeting, a man in uniform shuffles up to me. He's sorry, burglar they think, she must have interrupted him, can't see her, blood everywhere. I collapse, my vision darkens, see you soon baby. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Box']I dunno...just about everyone hated the Nazis then. They killed even more people, and Hitler was crazier than Hussein. I've heard of some famous Nazi mass murderer-generals being caught living in America in the 80s. Those did seem pretty fair(I saw it on Unsolved Mysteries, so I probably don't know the half of it). But then if Hitler would've been caught, I'd bet that the trial would be much further from "fair" than Hussein's.[/quote] [SIZE=1]Little known fact, Hitler would have gotten away with his Third Reich had be not been stupid enough to invade Poland. As for Nazis living out past Nuremberg, that's true, although at this stage any survivors will be in their late 80s now, though given Europe's total abandonment of the death penalty, I think they're safe from the hangman. In regard to Hitler, he did himself a favour by committing suicide, they'd probably have filleted him rather than just hanging him.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Would you rather have [B]Charles'[/B] cats take over your house? Or.... Would you rather have killer smurfs attack completely destroy your home?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Definitely going with the table-tennis playing cats, I could just sit and watch that for hours of free entertainment. Hell put up a webcam and charge people for watching it. [B]Cross-dress for a day ?[/B] Or [B]Go naked for a week ?[/B][/SIZE]

[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][COLOR=WHITE][SIZE=4][B][CENTER]Kumite[/CENTER][/B][/size] [LEFT][size=2]Through many incarnations, and under the guiding hands of many talented staff members past and present, the Arena has flourished here on Otaku[b]Boards[/b]. Starting out as the humble Games and Stories forum, it has over the years transformed into a truly defining aspect of the boards as a whole, both in it's lore and the memories of it's members. For their contributions, many older members have become by-words for quality, who's own distinct styles disseminated among the forums populace into what we now consider the normal quality of Otakuboards. Sadly many of these members are no longer active, and yet their memory lives on in the category they themselves helped to define. [b]Kumite[/b] was and remains a simple proposal. Taking sixteen talented role-players, this event will pit them against one another to produce works of quality which will then be judged by the member populace of Otakuboards until we are left with only one remaining member who can officially be crowned the best in the Arena. The requirements for an application are simple, one sample of work which you consider epitomises your skill as a writer. It can be a new work, or a previous one, and may be a sample of either story-writing, role-playing or sparring, each of which will be the areas of competition in Kumite. After selecting the sixteen best, the event will officially launch and hopefully prove enjoyable for all those participating. The set up hasn't changed too much, two players will be matched up against on another and provided with a theme on which they will return a work. This work will then be judged by myself, which will make up [b]half[/b] of the score, and the rest will be made up of votes from the public of Otaku[b]boards[/b]. Yes, that's right, everyone on OB can take part, even if they're not competing for the grand prize and your votes can mean as much as mine. Now, having received some very helpful feedback in regard to the "Spar" section of the event I've decided to revamp it completely and provide it with a complete back-story. Without further adieu, I present:[/SIZE][/LEFT] [SIZE=3][CENTER][B]Agent of Death[/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The world is an unpleasant place, and thus we have made it with our own selfish decisions. The fractured human race exists divided because of politics, race and creed. People live their entire lives in fear because governments and leaders see fit to keep them in this state of apprehension. And one particular tool of fear that has proven highly effective over the centuries is the assassin. Imagine now that you are an agent of the government, that you kill without hesitation or remorse under orders from the elected faces of the people. You are capable of killing in hundreds of different ways with dozens of different weapons, or if the situation requires it, with no weapons at all. You exist to eliminate the enemies of your nation, and you are very, very good at what you do. Imagine that you and fifteen fellow agents were dispatched to a foreign city with a population of twenty-three million citizens. You each arrived at different times and via different routes, and upon arrival received orders that you were to terminate your fellow agents with extreme prejudice. You are not made aware of their crimes, you do not need to know, you are simply a means to an end, and that end is their death. Your mission boundaries are few, firstly, you are unarmed and will not by supplied by your government, thus you must acquire all weapons within the confines of the city. Secondly you may kill anyone you deem necessary, but should avoid eliminating all but your targets to avoid capture by local law enforcement agencies. Capture will result in the activation of a neural toxin imbedded in the base of your skull, which will result in a quick, painless death. Good Hunting.[/CENTER] [LEFT][INDENT][U][B]Agent Sign Up[/B][/U] [B]Name:[/B] [Your Name] [B]Appearance:[/B] [Must be in photo form] [B]Advantage:[/B] [A particular trait that will be beneficial to you] [B]Disadvantage:[/B] [A trait which you may find detrimental][/INDENT] I hope people have fun.[/LEFT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.[/SIZE] [QUOTE=Raiyuu][FONT=Trebuchet MS]It depends largely on how quickly the burns were cooled after you got them. If you burned yourself and were dunked immediately into a cool bath you'd probably get minimal scarring, and the longer you left them untreated, the more permanent damage there's likely to be. Unfortunately burns often leave at least some scarring. When you say 'how long do they take to heal', do you mean how long until no trace remains, or how long until they stop weeping/no longer need dressing? Because it takes a fair while longer for all traces to disappear than for them to be (in medical terms) 'healed'.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Raiyuu has pretty much summed up what I was going to say, the longer it takes for the burns to be treated, the worse the scarring is going to be, though by the sound of the OP his burns were treated fairly quickly. I have a burn on my hand I got from candle wax and though it's about five years old at this stage the scar tissue is still visible although faded, and I don't think it will ever heal fully.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I find it more than a bit ironic that only yesterday I posted in the actual Otakupedia thread that I was rubbish at writing articles, but what the hell I'll give it my best shot. Also Sandy, Josh is correct when he says that I have failed to deal with criticism properly before, and though I won't bring up the particulars, rest assured Sandy you are not the only one. As some of you may have seen, Kumite's revamp is now [b]finished[/b] and I would hope that in it's new form I'll be able to join the others in getting my event to the active stage.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Charles']I wouldn't pronounce it dead yet, not even close. The hype machine surrounding the console is inredibly strong and in the longrun it will do fine.[/quote] [SIZE=1]I agree with Charles, it hasn't even been released in Europe yet, and I know plenty of people who are more than eager to acquire one when they hit the shelves next March. We won't know whether the grave has been dug or not until Christmas 2007 when the "must buy now" hype has died down.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][CENTER][B]Return[/B][/CENTER] You fall in the door, another day down, another day to go. Tie off, shirt off, pants off, you consult the alarm clock next to your one-person bed, 18:15. You sigh, annoyed that your world is composed of only two things, work and sleep and you never get the latter as much as the former.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I really am utterly stupefied by this. Aside from the fact that this is completely moronic, and nothing to do with protecting people from "exposure to Christianity" I really have to wonder why these kinds of legal challenges are allowed to be made. I mean if he's successful, then the havoc unleashed by this Pandora's Box in going to be immense. Los Angeles will need a new name, as will anywhere in the U.S. that has anything to do with religion, I mean can you seriously see Los Angeles renamed [I]The Scientists[/I] or [I]The Nobel Prize Winners[/I] ? Seriously, if this gets through, the next challenge will probably be to legalise arresting men who dress up as Santa at Christmas. Or should that be X-Mas ?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. At first I was tempted to say my local church, given the undead's apparent weakness for anything related to God. However having put a bit of thought into it, and given Alan's references to the infinite hoards of zombies, I think I'm going to be sitting in a deck-chair in the middle of a nice park with a cold Coke, a warm bucket of popcorn and the detonator to a doomsday weapon that will set the planet's atmosphere alight. That way if I go, I take [B]every[/B] zombie with meno matter how many there are.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I have to admit, the sheer scope of this project is mind-boggling, there's so much of Otaku[B]Boards[/B] members and lore which definitely deserves to be written down for others to at least be aware of, if not apprechiate. If I might make a few nominations for articles: [B]Warlock[/B], [B]Final Flash[/B], [B]Boba Fett[/B], [B]Mod Rods[/B] and [B]Plushies[/B].[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][SIZE=1] [COLOR=DarkRed]Would you rather eat a smurf? Or.... Would you rather eat a snork?[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I'll take the smurf, well-done with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. [B]Gutted alive ?[/B] Or [B]Skinned alive ?[/B][/SIZE]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']Would you rather: be deceived by a friend and find out last, or deceive a friend and have everyone except them find out?[/size][/quote] [SIZE=1]Oh harsh choices there Josh, personally I'd rather been the deceived rather than the deceiver, as then I have a perfectly legitimate right to use my gym sculpted body to beat eight shades of spam out of that "friend". [B]Locked in a room watching Teletubbies for the rest of your life ?[/B] Or [B]Locked in a room watching Barney for the rest of your life ?[/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Indeed, it has been a long time. [CENTER]|[B]That First Shave[/B]|[/CENTER] You watch your father, how it seems so simple from his perspective. Your fingers scratch irritated at the short, coarse hairs that have taken up residence on your adolescent face. Lathering up, you hold the razor gingerly against your skin, before repeating what you saw only moments before. Nothing to be worried about, then... blood[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Would you rather be banned from Otakuboards for the rest of your life? Or.... Would you rather lose all your video games/systems in a fire and you just happen to be so poor that you will never be able to replace them? [/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Hmm, seeing as most of my gaming is done via PC, going with the second option means I'd lose access to OtakuBoards anyway. So as you might expect I'm going with choice number one. [B]Apple Pie ?[/B] Or [B]Chocolate Ice-cream ?[/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Mr Maul kind of hit it with what he said, I've always kind of imagined OtakuBoards in a physical form as being a kind of megalopolis, though more in keeping with something like the Mega Cities of Judge Dredd or even Star Wars' own Coruscant in that the city isn't all splendid and gleaming but reflects a living, breathing populace.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Starwind']The only travisty to justice in this case was the fact that it took so long to find him guilty. Anyone who's kept tabs on the news, knows that this has further divided the nation and that things are only going to get worse unfortunatly.[/quote] [SIZE=1]Oh yeah, because you know most war-crimes tribunals that are carried out by the U.N. itself in the Hague tend to take less than a week to condemn someone of being guilty of crimes against humanity. Be realistic here, Saddam's trial has been rigged from day one, his lawyers are even protesting the fact that the Iraqi government have themselves interfered with the trial. If people want to see real justice done here, and not some petty PR stunt that will be forgotten in five years time, send Saddam to the Hague and allow him to received a just trial like anyone deserves. Just because he has denied these rights to others does not automatically mean we can take the moral high-ground and deny him the right to a fair trial.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][COLOR=DarkRed] [SIZE=1]Easy, I would much rather be a vampire. I would take a vampire over a werewolf anyday. Why? Simple, vampires kick ***. And i'm immortal, and you would be able to fly. And the night wouldnt really bother me, I like the dark anyways. Anyway's, my turn. Would you rather be the Hulk? Or.... Would you rather be The Thing?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]The Hulk, definitely the Hulk. Being the big green giant means that at least when you're not angry you're able to fit into normal society, with the Thing you're strong 24/7 sure, but your definitely not getting a sighted woman with a mug like that. Jessica Alba as your maid ? Or Angelina Jolie as your maid ? Heh, OK definitely one for the guys.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Shinje][color=crimson']Are any of them even grounded in reality?[/color][/quote] [SIZE=1]I think given the evidence that's already been provided, we can pretty much give a resounding "no" to answer that.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Due to a rather nasty bout of the flu in recent days I haven't been able to do any revamping work with Kumite. However seeing as I hope to be over the worst of it, the renovated version of the thread, along with a new sign up should be ready by Sunday evening at the latest. As a lot of people have been saying, I'm going to try and make this event as simple and fun as possible, while still retaining the competitive edge of writing that I had hoped to achieve with this event. So don't count me out just yet.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Would you rather work on a farm for 10 hours a day every day for a year and get paid $7.00 an hour? Or.... Would you rather work on a farm for 14 hours a day every day for a year and get paid $7.10 an hour?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Hmm, tough one, four hours of extra work for ten cents, nah I think I'll stick with only ten hours of farming every day and then weep for my lost dime. Lose your hands ? Or Lose your eyes ?[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=BKstyles][font=tahoma]Concerning the general sign up, it may appear very demanding as it's already been said...though I personally can deal with it. But perhaps it would be more productive to allow the members a choice between either a piece of poetry, an RP post, or a story from the anthology. With a keen eye, many aspects of someone's writing style can be told through a single piece of writing so long as it's wisely chosen by the members. After all, poetry is the flow of words together to convey a story in consolidated form where as a story is such in more detail. Concerning an RP post, that is pretty much conveying a part of a story as well...so if inclination can be seen through one of these, it's safe to assume that they are somewhat proficient in the other areas as well. I can think of a few examples from my past RP posts I'd use as a single example to show off my talents which I think would cover all of the categories amply. This would serve to make choosing the examples for the sign-ups easier and quicker and it would make the selection all the more careful because it IS being chosen to represent an apparent knack for multiple categories of writing.[/font][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I definitely understand where you're coming from BK, and honestly I think it's probably my own overall lack of experience when it comes to both poetry and sparring that prompted me to look for samples off people. The only problem I could perceive with a single sample piece would be that it might not reflect the person's overall ability, but then this competition is about overall writing ability so I guess a person wouldn't sign up unless they were confident they could win. I think I probably will trim it down to only a single required sample and the spar sign-up sheet, although that will be reworked. [/SIZE] [QUOTE=BKstyles][font=tahoma]Concerning the character creation for the Spars, it's good to give an element of freedom and I personally like the idea of an OB self as if "jacking in to the matrix" (just using an example since i think it portrays the concept the best, my apologies if I'm not doing it enough justice). But guidelines should be set, as you've already realized to prevent god-modding and such. Though i think the problem is more so about what i said previously, which is people not knowing what kind of character to create in order to fit in to the mix comfortably. The people who would sign up for Kumite i imagine would not go the "god-modding" path anyhow since that itself would take away from the feel of the competition. It should be a competition, not a potential slaughter as portrayed through would-be convincing spars. Anyhow, the guidelines can be general and still allow for a good amount of freedom. Such as merely stating the overall theme a character should follow, such as "Think medieval mages and warriors" or "Strong monstrous mutations" or "Martial arts experts with typical Japanese or Chinese styled weapons". Something that gives us an idea on how we should elaborate on our personal skills so not to overpower (of underpower) our characters too much. Even my aforementioned examples may seem a bit more specific than what you could make them, but the point I'm trying to get across is that we simply need a spectrum of how our characters should be created so we don't have people differing so much that it just appears unconvincing for certain characters to match up to others, regardless of how much control each person has in writing a spar. Like an example I used earlier, someone with menial skills in comparison to such powerful ones like creating powerful blasts and some types of invulnerability wouldn't really flow as well. For an example taken from anime, something like Byakuya from Bleach vs Ryoko from Tenchi. Both have powers and skills, but one clearly outmatches the other.[/font][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]The "Jacking into the Matrix" quote is exactly what I've been getting at BK, as while keeping a degree of realism to the event, I would also like to give people a chance to be able to exercise their skills over a greater environment of competition. Originally I wanted people to be able to craft whatever character they pleased and then have them spar against someone else, but as you and others have correctly pointed out that could be very unfair for one of the parties involved i.e. a cowboy against a Jedi would be a rather short fight. After speaking with a few friends, I think what I'll do instead is provide a short back story to which the characters will be tied to in some way, no whether that will be a medieval setting or somewhere in the distant future is something I'll have to decide quickly on though I would like to do something somewhere between modern and near future.[/SIZE] [quote name='BKstyles][font=tahoma']So again I hope you don't take all of this the wrong way, Gavin. I'm not trying to tell you how to run your event. Apologies if anything I've said seems offensive.[/font][/quote] [SIZE=1]On the contrary BK, I'm very appreciative you took the time to answer my question and give me some suggestions on how I might improve my event. I think seeing as we're [Sandy, White and myself] are all trying to take over one of the most important positions on OB, we need to be able to take criticism of our work without it becoming personal, so long as that criticism is constructive of course.[/SIZE]

[quote name='DeadSeraphim][COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]Would you rather be killed by Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger?[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] [SIZE=1]I'll go with Jason Vorhees because of the sweet hockey mask and machete combination that and I'd hate to die in my own dreams as **** is so much more exaggerated there. [B]Shopping with mom ?[/B] Or [B]Fishing with dad ?[/B] Neither prospect has ever been fun for me.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Lunox][color=dimgray] Is $4000 really a lot?* I've heard plenty of bids that have gone into the six to seven thousands, and one sold for $9100. *Obviously, yes, it's a lot of money, but I mean in terms of the PS3 bidding craze.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]O_O $9100 ! Why didn't that person just go buy a super computer with like I don't know, five independent gaming monitors signed by Bill Gates himself. Seriously, the only time I will ever spend more than ?400 on a system is for a PC system, and that's because I can do a hell of a lot more with a PC than I can with a PS3/360/Wii or whatever their sequels will be. I also agree with vegeta rocker, I won't bother getting the PS3 until a few months after it's been released as to avoid the inherent bugs in the crop from the launch. [/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Kurayami Oji][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Would you rather be filthy stinkin' rich(and by that I mean $30,000 a year) for the rest of your life? Or.... Would you rather be a hooker and make double that?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I think you may be missing a zero there Kurayami, as $30,000 a year is not an exceptional amount of money, in fact without event a full high school education I could have had a job where my starting salary was in or around that figure. Anyway assuming the figure is something filthy rich like say 3 million a year, I'd definitely rather just make than instead of having to work nights in order to make twice it. Sure as Alan did in his choice I could take all that money and invest it to a point where I no longer need to work at all. [b][Edit][/b] However as an Irishman I suppose all I'd need to do is give them a few lines of the accent and they'd be plenty satisfied.[/SIZE]