Gavin

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well I haven't watched wrestling seriously in years, so unless this would be completely original and only based on the WWF as a franchise I'd be fairly out of my depth. However I like the idea a lot, and I think with the right people involved it could work out very well, and be a very fun and successful RPG. One of the main obstacles you'd need to overcome would be that people would have a tendency to just God-Mod straight through their NPC fights and then be unsure how to handle a PC vs. PC fight. A solid set of rules/guidelines and maybe even a few Referee character would be a good way of dealing with this. What you could do add depth to the RPG itself would be to, dare I say, include the fact that wrestling is rigged and fake and thus show the showman side of the business and even the more dirty side of it with wrestlers taking dives for more money. It'd definitely add more depth and definition to the RPG, and kick it into a whole knew dimension in terms of content as you could feature a tag-team who are all buddy-buddy on camera but truly despise one another off it. At least those are just my suggestions.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I remember watching the original Mighty Morphing Power Rangers back years ago with my little brother, I can't believe they're still going today, though from the sound of it they're not nearly as popular. I've only ever caught fleeting glimpses of episodes of the newest serious, as one I don't have the channels to watch them on and two I really couldn't be bothered watched them if I had the opportunity to do so. Looking back in nostalgia, which is always good for covering up flaws in something, I recall watching the Ranger with glee as the kicked the ever-loving shite out of their enemies Kung Fu style. The MegaZords themselves I remember always looking fake, I mean how obvious was it that it was just some idiot in a suit and from what I hear they're still using guys in suits for the MegaZord scenes. As well as that the villain battles would always follow the same tone, [[I]Rangers fight small version of baddie, Rangers use super-weapons to kill small version of baddie, villain grows to enormous size and Rangers repeat previous actions now using the MegaZord[/I]]. Still it's a kids show so we can't really point out the plot holes, when it's really about the martial arts and moral lessons. [/SIZE]

[size=1]Interesting, most interesting. Great, I'm the first guy here who gets to shed his manliness and admit that he doesn't like most bugs, though if you pressured most guys they'd admit they hate bugs just as much as I do. Truth be told there's not actually a huge variety of insects in Ireland so my exposure to the likes of cockroaches has been thankfully small and only on holidays in warmer climates. I hate anything that is insectiod in nature and has wings, I'll admit that here and now, butterflies and moths especially. It's not a terror per say when they flutter in, but I find something deeply unnerving about them, and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is. Wasps and bees don't really bother me because they're not that big and I've been stung enough times to know it doesn't hurt all that much, plus I just keep telling myself "he may have caused you some physical pain, but that bastard's dead now". It's all about psychology when dealing with them. Spiders don't bother me either, well the smaller ones, but lately at home we've been infested with these three-inch long m***********s who make me very uncomfortable to see scuttling around, though I'm not nearly as bad as my brother David who runs off damn near screaming when he sees one. Again they follow the simply rule, if they're not big, they're not scary which sums up my impression of all bugs. The likes of woodworm and centipedes have never bothered be either because they're mostly harmless and I don't have any contact with them usually, unless I have to dig up a stone and I find them under it but again exposure is minimal. Really it's only the bigger bugs unnerve me, and then it's only certain types, but I will admit that I don't really like being around any bugs of any description. [b][color=DarkGreen]Careful Gavin, the autocensorship tends to miss compound swearwords. Usually better not to swear at all, ne? [/color][/b][/size] [right][color=DarkGreen][size=1]-Raiyuu[/size][/color] [/right] [size=1] [/size]

[SIZE=1]"[I]The show must go on[/I]", a phrase and a song by Queen, the latter being what I'm listening to for the last few minutes. Like Jordan (Drix) Chibi, you and I often disagree on a variety of subjects, though I don't think we've ever gone past the realm of friendly debate and into the territory where we get quite serious as I have done with others. What I'm trying to say and as usual I'm being complicated when being simple in what I say would be so much shorter and more obvious, but I want you to know that you have my support and empathy in what you're going through. You are a positive influence on Otakuboards, bringing all manner of entertaining and interesting threads and responses to the Lounge, and were they to stop I would be most saddened. I?ve gone over my own worst year more than a few times, it was last year or more precisely a twelve month period between October/November 2003 to the same period the following year when I started getting therapy. I won?t go into the details because I?ve given them plenty of times before, but I know that suicide might seem like a way out, but it?s not Chibi, it?s really not. When I went though my depression it was because my whole live collapsed at an age where everything new was just about to happen and for that to happen has put me back three years of life which I?ll never get back. But they (and they being very wise people) say whatever doesn?t kill us, makes us stronger and in this case and many cases, perhaps all cases this is the truth. I?ve dealt with a lot of my demons in the last twelve months and hopefully the coming eleven will allow me to finally go forward, but the point is that we all have things to live for and it sounds to me that your daughter is certainly one of them. I?m rambling here I know, as I?ve never been good at giving advice, but I think that in all honesty you should just move on, take your life by the balls and march forward. If your ex-husband wants to have joint custody of his daughter then you should let him, if you think he?s a good father and would be a good influence on your [plural] daughter. If you don?t well maybe you should still let him see her occasionally, because all fathers and I?m only going by what my father has told me, love their children more than they can say, and losing their child is beyond heart-breaking. I know that may sound a little sappy and that I may be siding with your husband, but I?m not, I just don?t think you should use your daughter to hurt him and in so doing hurt her. Anyway enough of my shite, as usual I?ve rambled for two paragraphs. Put simply Chibi have the knowledge that you have my support and that I hope everything turns out for the best. And yes for those of you who will note it, I skipped my Interesting, most interesting entrance because I thought the post and thread content warranted it, yes, that means I?m not going to stop doing it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.[/SIZE] [quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium']It's that time again, my dear children. ~_^.[/font][/quote] [SIZE=1]Oh crap, it was Corey I swear.[/SIZE] [quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium']A) Which aspect of OtakuBoards do you find to be the most negative/confusing?[/font][/quote] [SIZE=1]Honestly the only thing that I could put down as being negative, and really negative is used loosely would be the issues that arise over certain threads in the Lounge. Most people who post regularly already know what I mean, as I'm trying to put it tactfully but bluntly the most negative thing is when debates over things like religious beliefs and homosexual marriage turn personal. I have no problem debating with people on these topics, I do have issue with people who get personal and start insulting people left right and certain over other people's responses. However this occurs thankfully only every once in a while and seems to have become even more irregular over the years so while it's a negative it doesn't come up very often. The only other thing would be that I think the Arena could do with a few more Ratings, but we discussed this so there's not much more to be said. [/SIZE] [quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium']B) What is your favourite aspect of OtakuBoards?[/font][/quote] [SIZE=1]There are far too many to list, but my personal favourite aspect would be the level of quality in the Arena or Square to give it it's newer name. For the last four years I've enjoyed story writing with the people here and it's only gotten better as time has gone on, I started off and "grew up" so to speak in the Arena and have always had a soft spot for it. The thing I like most about the Arena and the RPGs therein, is that even if you disagree with someone in say the Lounge, it doesn't matter in the Arena because it's all about the story. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Manic Webb']While most movies coming out of Hollywood appear to be nothing but remakes and sequels, I don't blame producers and writers. I blame the studio executives who greenlight these remakes, and ignore 90% of all original scripts that come to them. Studios want "the sure thing," and that appears to mean making a movie that has a pre-existing fanbase. Novels, comic books, older movies, and classic TV shows already have legions of fans; getting them into the theatre is going to be easier than challenging audiences to try something new.[/quote] [SIZE=1]Manic has pretty much summed up my thoughts on the subject, it's down the studio executives on what scripts become movies and they're far more interested in the potential financial rewards for another Terminator movie, than producing a "new" film that might attract only a limited audience who will really appreciate it. As Manic said, it is far easier to attract people who are fans of the genre/franchise than to get people to see a movie that is based purely off some author/scriptwriter's own unknown work. I don't necessarily blame the studio execs, they're only trying to look out for the well bring of the studio but always going for sure-fire remakes, sequels, prequels and movie-versions is only going to be able to go on for so long. It's simply not possible to continue to remake and rehash every popular movie/book/TV series in order to make new movies. Some films do well for being remade every few decades, others don't and there's no point in flogging a dead horse by adding in say Brad Pitt, and claiming it's excellent. I'll be the first to admit that as a Star Wars/Star Trek fan I'll always go and see the new movies when the first come out in the cinema and it's people like me that keep getting sequels, prequels and remakes to these films made. Well unless of course you're George Lucas and then you can do it because you want to, and you can release new edition Star Wars DVDs with a bunch of changes that make fan of the original versions cry out in pain. Sebastian Shaw is the original Anakin and he should have been kept as the Force Ghost regardless of Lucas' personal preferences, but I digress from my original point. Simply put, the studios want more money, if that means making Terminator 50 then that's what they'll do. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I really had to sigh as I read Chibi's first post, it really does amaze me how President Bush is willing to make himself appear an utter jackass in front of most people in order to appease his Neo-Conservative supporters. I mean it is completely baffling that he is willing to pursue an agenda such as this when the finances that this "project" will require could be far better spent on other more necessary endeavours. While personally I don't agree with the idea of pornography, it's not as if they drag women off the streets, rape them and video it for all to see, nor it is the case that the TV networks force people to view the finished material. With the destruction wrought by the recent hurricanes, as well as the fact that more hurricanes are forecast to occur before the end of the year, it would seem that the fund this idiotic endeavour will consume would be far better spend helping the victims. Or the case could the made that if President Bush wants to spend this money in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, he might as well expand the current task force on those who peddle child-pornography, rather than go after relatively harmless studios who produce a form of legal and dare I say normal erotic entertainment.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well as I have a fairly slow internet connection anyway. 26.4 kbps usually I've become accustomed to having to wait for a page to load. However lately I have noticed that it's taking noticeably, though not considerably longer for pages to load on the Otakuboards network. At first I put it down to my computer which had been acting up for the last while with different problems, but reading what's here it might be a combination of my modem being a jerk and OB having some network problems. I have run several scans with both my anti-virus and anti-spyware software and come up with nothing, so either OB is going through a kind of slowdown time or my modem is being a far bigger jerk than I'm giving it credit for being. Until James or perhaps Justin post something on the issue, I'm just going to assume it's my PC and continue insulting it to ease my frustration. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Sorry about the delay in finishing this Craig, I got roped into working with my uncle for a few days away from home. Hope this is all up to scratch. [b]Name:[/b] James "Jack" Griffin [b]Age:[/b] 24 years old as of July 2nd [b]Power:[/b] [i]Super-strength[/i]: To say Jack is strong is to say the Atlantic Ocean might be a little wet, he has been a mutant for nearly a decade and as such has considerable command of his powers. Jack's strength can be measured as being Class 100, meaning that at peak strength he is capable of military pressing up to and over one hundred metric tons, however due to Jack's own nature he has never pushed himself to lift such an extraordinary amount of weight, and as such it may be said that his current level of strength is closer to around Class 60. It is believed that with proper training Jack could be capable of possibly going beyond Class 100, though at the moment those theories are unfounded, and Jack has little interest in training to lift such amounts. A side effect of Jack's superhuman strength are superhuman levels of endurance and permanence, which obviously compensate his body's ability to lift such tremendous weights. His enhanced stamina allows him to lift such excessive masses for long periods at a time, in essence giving him the superhuman staying power to lift weight in accordance to his Herculean strength. Along with this stamina and strength his mutation has compensated for the tremendous pressure his body is exerting when Jack puts his powers to use, his skeletal structure, and more specifically his spine has been augmented through mutation to incorporate an unknown mineral that far increases the resilience of his bones. His muscles' tensile strength has already been described as being currently between Classes 60 and 100, and has also been compared, perhaps inaccurately to the nigh-indestructible metal Adamantium in terms of sheer durability. His internal organs, tendons, joints and bodily systems (cardiovascular, circulatory and respiratory) are far more advanced and efficient than their normal human equivalent, Jack body burns over 87.5% of all calories he consumes within one hour, leading to Jack?s greatest flaw, a massive and insatiable appetite. Jack increased strength and endurance comes with them a superhuman appetite, though some would surmise that part of that hunger is a hold-over from his pre-mutation days of being overweight, and as such may be actually psychological. Psychological or not, Jack eats like a hippo, consuming at least twice the normal amount of food for someone his size, and continuously snaking in between those meals, however his body burn off nearly all the excess calories, if there ever are any, within an hour. Jack himself is also pretty rigorous in his exercise regime and works out constantly to ensure he doesn?t end up overweight again due to his eating. [b]Codename:[/b] Brawn [b]Appearence:[/b] [url=http://adventkane.250free.com/McFadyen.jpg]Jack[/url], this photo was taken during a performance of Hamlet by Xavier's students with Jack in the title role. In terms of physical size, Jack is a giant, standing 2.025 meters or 6'8" in height and weighing over 120 kilos. Despite Jack's mutant abilities he doesn't look nearly as strong as he is, in actual fact he looks like a tall normal person, rather than a super-strong mutant. His muscular structure looks the equivalent of someone who works out regularly in the gym without building up bulky muscles, they are toned, rock hard and spread across his body, but he looks merely athletically well toned. In terms of dress, Jack normally sticks with plain coloured chinos and a shirt of some variety, though he'll wear literally anything that's comfortable, his shoes are size 15 and are normally black or brown leather of some formal description. [b]Personality:[/b] Normally a quiet man, Jack prefers to sit back and listen to others talk, then offer his opinion if asked or warranted. While he is quiet by nature, if a person were to actively engage him in conversation, they would fine him to be eloquent, well-versed in many subjects and willing to listen to arguments or debates with an open mind and offer back in depth, unbiased and honest responses. He is regarded by most to be an immensely kind and considerate man, innocent in his beliefs with a certain naive charm, honest, genuine and above all loyal. A major character flaw would be that Jack takes everything said to him to heart, making him very sensitive to what other people say to him, which can lead to outbursts of anger rarely seen in the man. His sensitive and perhaps bookish nature have meant that he is also very shy in approaching women he is romantically interested in, causing frustration on his part. He is also quite blind to when women show interest in him, unless they come right out and say it. Overall Jack is a gentle giant, unwilling to do harm to others unless absolutely necessary and even then he will hold back as much as possible. [b]Bio:[/b] Jack has known very little, if anything personal about his parents growing up. His father Connor, now deceased, was the lead singer of the Heavy-Metal band Death's Excess and throughout the early, mid and late eighties lived the excessive, alcohol and drug fuelled life of an 80's music superstar. Jack's mother was Connors long-time groupie/on/off lover Natalie McCarthy, also deceased, with whom he spent most of his free time in the 80s between gigs and recording sessions. Jack knows relatively little about his mother aside from the fact that she was an orphan, which may or may not be true given his grandparent's dislike of her son's girlfriend, but for the time being until such a conception is contradicted he is happy to assume it's the truth. It would seem that Con and Natalie became parents by accident, something that eats away at Jack, Natalie fell pregnant after a fairly intense session of drug-taking and love-making and considered having an abortion without telling Con. When Con found out he was going to be father, it didn't really make any difference to him personally, saying that he'd simply dump the kid on his parents back home in Ireland and continue on with his life in the States. Natalie being a groupie was happy to do whatever Con wanted of her, lest she be rejected by him and lose everything, she gave birth to Jack in Ireland on July 2nd 1985, as part of Con's plan to make it easy for Con's parents to raise Jack and rid him of the responsibilities of fatherhood. Natalie herself was more concerned about the fact that should couldn't have access to her cocaine and vodka supply while she was in hospital, than she was about her son. The presiding physician said it was utterly staggered that a child like Jack, born of such indulgences could come out as healthy as he did, his parents didn't really give a **** whether Jack was healthy or not, and left for the States so that Natalie could get lipo to get her figure back. Jack's grandparents, Jim Senior and May took their grandchild home, dotted on him and raised him as their own. Jack is at times a little sad that he never knew his parents, and at other times glad that their dead because he couldn't possibly forgive them for the background to his birth and their callous behaviour in regard to him. Growing up on his grandfather?s farm, Jack was like every other child, he went to a local national school, enjoyed interacting with other kids his age and played sports with great enthusiasm. When news came in 1991 that Jack?s parents had been killed in a road accident the cause of which was revealed to be a massive excess of drugs and alcohol Jack?s grandparents were devastated, while they had never approved of their son?s lifestyle and choice in girlfriend, he was their son and they were heartbroken at his death. His body was so badly burned in the accident, that the coffin had to be left closed during the funeral and wake, he was interred back home in Ireland along with the rest of his family. The loss of their only child meant that Jack?s grandparents began to feel their age, his grandfather was nearing sixty and his grandmother wasn?t far behind him, in the end, the couple decided to sell most of the farm and keep the house and remaining acres as a country home. Jack was barely eight at the time and so doesn?t really recall much of this clearly. Between the time of his parents' deaths and his mutation, Jack developed a predilection for overeating, maybe it was a way to deal with stress, maybe he just used food for comfort after his mum and dad died, nobody, least of all Jack is really sure why. Over the months that were to follow Jack began to get taller, but he also began to get wider and to a very noticeable degree which would make him the target of fairly severe bullying in school. The bullying caused Jack to get more and more insular, and made him turn increasingly to food as comfort, as well as eating more, possibly the only positive effect of the bullying would be that Jack become far more involved in his school work than before, unlocking the bright young man within him. But his school work, like his comfort eating was just another way to try and forget about the bullying he went through on a daily basis. Life continued in that same miserable cycle for Jack for a number of years, he's become insular to the point of near agoraphobia and would spend his time alone in his room, either watching movies, reading books or doing school work. His life, if it could be called that, was a major concern to his grandparents, and though they tried to get him out and about into the world, their attempts were met with a wall of silence from their grandson. Jack would have been the first one to admit his life wasn't exactly ideal it was better than having to deal with the **** he'd have to deal with if he went out into the world. However all that was going to change one day during the summer of 1999, when Jack's mutant power would first manifest. While Jack didn't spend much time in the company of those his own age, Jack loved spending time with his grandfather when he's start work on some new DIY projects. Jim was a man who loved to work with his hands, and has his own full woodwork workshop converted from one of the old animal houses back before they sold the farm. Jim's big plan was to build his own medium-sized boat that he could go sailing on the Shannon with, and by late June '99 he was more than 90% finished overall. Only a week before Jack's fifteenth birthday, his grandfather was in the workshop when the support for the dorsal section of the hull collapsed on Jim, pinning him to the ground and crushing his legs. Jack was the first on the scene of the accident, the blood was completely drained from his face when he saw what had happened. Grasping at the broken hull section, he began to pull, somehow hoping that he'd be able to dislodge it from his grandfather, Jim himself was shouting how he wasn't strong enough to move it, how no human was. Jack couldn't really hear his grandfather speaking, it was all like white-noise as his grip against the timber of the ship intensified, his attention was entirely focussed on moving the dorsal section of the boat. He felt the blood begin to drain from his head after a few seconds, but all of a sudden the boat seemed to get lighter, before his grip on it disappeared altogether, his vision darkened and he fell to the floor in a heap. When Jack woke up, he found himself in a hospital bed, his grandparents worried eyes locked on his, their expressions a mixture of shock and joy. His body felt entirely drained, he could barely whisper, let alone move and had to hoarsely whisper to ask what had happened. His grandmother looked around the ward awkwardly, before turning to her husband and nodding slowly, Jim leaned in to his grandson and imparted an explanation which sounded so ridiculous that it forced Jack to laugh and further strain his hurt body. According to his grandfather, just before Jack had passed out, had had not just lifted the boat off his grandfather, but thrown it out through the roof of the old animal barn, a feat of pure superhuman strength. As ridiculous as it sounded, Jack had to admit that it explained why his grandfather was actually sitting there speaking to him instead of being a mushy pile on the barn floor. The doctors were unable to explain why Jack had exhausted himself so, seeing as how for the moment Jack?s grandparents had kept the secret of Jim?s rescue to themselves. Jack himself was perfectly fine, and yet had been in a coma for over two months, obviously the strain caused by the activation of his mutant abilities, though Jack was still shocked he'd been in a coma for over eight weeks. Now awake, the mystery of why Jack was so tired because evident, his body wasn't receiving enough sustenance to function properly, after eight weeks it had already burned through all of Jack's excess weight reducing him back to a normal weight. Now awake, his appetite grew in tandem with his body's food requirements, requiring Jack himself to consume the equivalent nutrition for two people at least. Leaving the hospital with a clean bill of health, Jack wasn't really sure what to do with his life, his weight problems were gone, now replaced with the fact that he wasn't like other people in a very evident way. His grandfather was now confined to a wheelchair after the accident, though he made sure to explain thoroughly to his frightened grandson that without his help, Jim wouldn't be alive, let alone lucid enough to complain about the loss of his legs. The trio returned home , but Jack knew his life as it had been was over, the new millennium was only a few weeks away, and with it, it would seem Jack's lige was to take a new direction. Not much is know about Jack's life between his sixteenth birthday and when he joined Professor Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning in 2008, a full eight years he is unwilling to disclose in detail, though many assume Professor Xavier himself is fully aware of the details. He has admitted that he was a bare-knuckle boxer for a number of months, possibly even years, quitting after he severely injured a man during one of his more intense fights when things got out of hands. He has also revealed that he spent some time in the company of his maternal family, though more details than that he hasn't revealed, and subsequently several rumours on his life have become popular. Nowadays, Jack is happy to just spend his time among people like him and has been vocal in his condemning the idea of compulsory mutant registration, calling it xenophobic and claiming it will lead to increase violence against mutants young and old.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][b][Edit][/b] Alright Bill, that's everything done and dusted and hopefully all up to scratch. Anything you want changed, just give me a holler on AIM. [CENTER]---------------[/CENTER] [B]Name:[/B] Long Fang [B]Allegiance:[/B] Maximal [B]Function:[/B] Maximal Vice-Commander/Tracker [B]Beast mode:[/B] Timber Wolf [B]Weapons:[/B] [I]Primary Weapon:[/I] Energon Blade-Claws [I]Secondary Weapon:[/I] Harmonic Disruptor [I]Tertiary Weapon:[/I] Incursion Grenades [B]Height:[/B] 2.36m [7ft 7ins] [B]Quote:[/B] "There is no such thing as a hopeless battle, all battles through skill and effort can be won regardless of enemy opposition" [B]Profile:[/B] Long Fang is a battle-hardened Maximal warrior but a relatively green commander, he?s not truly comfortable with the mantle of command placed on his shoulders but is willing to do his level best should be need arise. In his own words, he prefers to just do the fighting while command gives to orders, he trusts them to do their job well and they can trust him to do the same. The Predacons and the vaunted Tripredacus Council are, in Long Fang?s mind scum that should be irradiated from the face of Cybertron and later the face of the galaxy. The only thing that Long Fang hates more than the Predacons are Maximal traitors, he despises them more than he could ever hate a true Predacon because Predacons are born Predacons, but a Maximal traitor is an insult to all the Maximals and Long Fang have ever fought for. Generally Long Fang is good humoured, if you?ve a problem, he?ll listen and do his best to sort it out, if you need some help and advice he?ll do what he can. Most of the time you?ll find him either working away at something that needs repairing or upgrading, or you?ll find him conversing with Sabre about what he calls ?command things?, or he can be found simply standing watch for Predacon activity. If you try to engage him in conversation when he?s working, you?ll meet a wall of silence, he works in silence because it allows him to focus solely on one task without being distracted by people talking to him. At other times when he?s not working he?ll discuss a plethora of subjects ranging from frontline combat to Autobot history, which incidentally is his favourite subject. Long Fang is the current Magnus, the highest honour any normal Maximal soldier can hope to attain. The title is awarded to only the greatest Maximal warriors and there can be only one Magnus at any given time. A new Magnus is chosen only when the current Magnus is killed, challenged by another in honourable combat and defeated, or gives up the title of their own accord, and only then can another be chosen. The title is granted by a vote by the Council of Primes and any surviving previous Magnuses, and the title itself comes from the single greatest Autobot soldier in Cybertronian History, Ultra Magnus. Of all the commendations that Long Fang has been awarded, being made Magnus is the most important one to him, to a normal Maximal solider it is the equivalent of being made Prime. After the crash on Gaia, Long Fang found himself in a large wintry forest separated from the other Maximals and possibly within range of a Predacon attack, Long Fang?s scanners were unable to pick up any other Transformer life-signs as he searched and the cold was beginning to impair his motor functions. Hearing a sharp pitched howl, Long Fang turned to find himself facing a lone Timer Wolf, it?s eyes probing him as if to determine what kind of a creature it was looking at. Long Fang for his part saw that the wolf was unaffected by the intense cold and used his internal scanners to copy the wolf?s physical parameters and attain his Beast Mode. [B]Abilities:[/B] While in Beast Mode, Long Fang is the Maximals most expert tracker and scout, being able to track enemies over hundreds of kilometres on pure scent or other identifying particulars. His eyes scan through the entire light spectrum, allowing him to detect even cloaked enemies from a range of over a kilometre, his hearing is so acute that he can perceive even minute sounds and distinguish their respective locations from a distance of ten-thousand metres. When at full speed, he can reach a velocity of up to 240 KMPH for brief periods, allowing him to chase down some of the speediest Predacons though his ability to turn quickly at such high speeds is compromised. In Robot Mode, Long Fang is one of the tallest and strongest of all Maximals and possibly the most expert in hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat. His energon claws, which he has access to in either for are significantly lengthened in his form, beginning at his forearm, just below the elbow and extending thirty centimetres beyond his knuckles. There are three blade claws on each forearm, which Long Fang is capable of using to their extreme as weapons, the claws themselves are a titanium polymer able to channel energon through them to increase cutting power, durability and allow them to be used against other pure-energon beam weapons. Adapting his vocal circuitry while in Beast Mode, Long Fang was able to generate harmonic disruptions, capable of compromising exposed enemy (and ally) circuitry and sensors, as well as causing physical pain from the sound. This attack can be used in one of two forms, the first in Beast Mode when Long Fang howls with sufficient force and the second when his Beast Mode head transforms into the Harmonic Disruptor rifle which Long Fang carries in Robot Mode. The final weapon, if you could call it that, in Long Fang?s arsenal are Incursion Grenades which are highly advanced sensor disruptors, basically very futuristic chaff-grenades. The Incursion grenades are capable of disrupting all sensor and scanner activity on all spectrums for a limited period of time over a limited area, they are used for distraction mostly. [B]Weaknesses:[/B] Though Long Fang is the current Magnus, he is in no way invincible and has several weaknesses his enemies would be capable of exploiting. His first and most obvious weakness is Long Fang?s penchant for close-range combat, he prefers to engage enemies as close as possible to make full use of his blade-claws, which enemies can take advantage of by hitting him from a distance and outside his sensor ranges. Long Fang?s skill with a typical blaster rifle is also no more than quite good, and thus swift enough enemies would be capable of avoiding his shots altogether and returning volley fire causing him to take cover. Finally Long Fang?s final weakness is his absolute hatred for Maximal traitors, which will cause him to go near berserk in his need to destroy them, his logic algorithms seem to take a back seat when he is engages Maximal traitors as do his common sense protocols, however Long Fang does not get so angry as to make foolish mistakes, he is more vulnerable as he focuses his attention solely on destroying his target. [B]Sample Post:[/B] You?re making me give a sample post ? Bill after all our years together I though we were beyond this kind of thing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well as I never owned a SNES it's going to be a little hard for me to a pick a favourite out of say the four or five games my cousin had. The NES however was the first proper system I ever owned and as such it's going to take a bit of thinking and probably some reminiscing in order to dredge the least favourite games from my mind. [CENTER][b]Favourites[/b][/CENTER] [b]NES:[/b] For my favourite NES game, it has to be a tie between Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. 3. Duck Hunt was the quintessential pick-up and play game, you just started it, shot the ducks and laughed your backside off in a kind of silly glee. Mario however required serious skill but was still great fun to play, though I can?t honestly remember much about the game, aside from the fact that it was fun to play. The Racoon power-up was probably my favourite, it was fun being able to glide for periods at a time and then descent down upon foolish Koopas. Many ?Death from Above? shouts are coming to mind. [b]SNES:[/B] This is kind of a cop-out because I never actually played it on the SNES, but Final Fantasy VI, or III to give it it?s SNES title would probably take the title of favourite. Absolutely scouring my mind for memories, I recall a Mario game in which you could play as either Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach or Toad, I can?t remember the title, but it like SMB III was enjoyable to play and gave me the opportunity to play as my favourite Mario Brother, Luigi. [CENTER][b]Least Favourites[/b][/CENTER] [b]NES:[/b] My least favourite NES game falls to either the horrific Captain Planet or the deplorable Batman: Return of the Joker, I was young when I played them and not nearly as talented at videogames as I am now, but I can really remember just sulking in frustration after a bout of playing either of those two games. Again it was a long time ago so my memory of playing these isn?t great, but I get a deep feeling of anger and frustration just thinking of them, so really they must have done something to deserve that kind of emotional response. [b]SNES:[/b] Given the few games I ever played on the SNES, it?s understandable that some people may disagree with this, but I absolutely hated the original F-Zero game. I just hated it because I couldn?t get the hang of the controls, the whole layout of the game was confusing and my cousin would always want to play it because he knew I could never win. I grew to loath the game and all driving games in general because of it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Personally I don?t think there?s really any one thing that attracts me to join an RPG, though a solid and gripping premise/backstory is often the first thing that hooks me. While often I do only join RPGs created by people I know, this simply because I know the style, know the quality and know it?ll be good. Genre, well I?m not really restricted to one genre, but I prefer sci-fi/action where possible, though recently I joined René?s Speed Dating RPG which is quite different to RPGs I?ve joined before. One of the other things that catches my eye is when someone I know signs up to an RPG created by someone I?m not familiar with, and usually this causes me to immediately check out the RPG itself. I know that sound kind of shallow but I?ve got a slow internet connection which means I can?t afford to spend time browsing every RPG that starts. Finally for Character Creation, well I have to admit that?s more the icing on the cake rather than something that would make me join, if an RPG is mediocre all around and then has a good character sign up style, well it wouldn?t really push me to join. Overall probably Premise would be the most attracting thing, though as I said I?m not picky, a good RPG is a good RPG.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well Survivor to my knowledge is only shown on one channel I have access to, and as such I wouldn't watch it unless there was nothing else on, because put simply most of the other stuff on TG4 isn't great. The only series I've sat down regularly to watch was All-Stars, because it was repeated a few times and on at an hour when nobody else was up and there was very little else on. I wasn't really bothered who won, though I must admit I was rooting for either Boston Rob or Rupert I think [the big fella with the beard] and given the ending I wasn't really disappointed. I enjoyed Survivor, but wouldn't watch it over repeats of Star Trek or other Sci-Fi I like.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well luckily I haven't heard the phrase "Let's just be friends." all that often in relationships, or actually now that I think about it I've only ever heard it the once, so lucky me. In response to Yukina123's original post, while it may have hurt for your friend to say that he wanted to be friends rather than pursue a relationship, it's far better that he told you now rather than six or twelve months down the road when you think the relationship will keep going. I know it may seem hard now but honestly it's better this way because you know how each other feels and maybe in a while he'll be ready to start a relationship with you. In general however being told that your girlfriend in my case, just wants to be friends can be either a very painful thing or be a big sense of relief because it means there aren't usually bad feelings. Personally I'd rather end a relationship and stay friends with the person afterwards, rather than end up disliking the person afterwards and losing both a friend and girlfriend. But that's just my stance on it and different people will have different views.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Given the choice would I choose my dreams or love, well now isn't that quite the conundrum. I suppose like James pointed out it would depend on what your dreams were and how "true" the love you're speaking of would be. If I had to sacrifice all my other dreams in order to actually achieve true love, well I'm not really sure love would be worth it, I mean without your dreams you've really nothing to reach for in life. I mean your dreams mightn't be grandiose or anything like that but they're still your dreams, what you want the very most in life and if getting the perfect wife [in my case] meant that everything I ever wanted in life couldn't happen, well I'm not sure I could stick such a marriage. Again I have never know true love or anything close to it, so for all I know I could be talking out of my behind, put personally my dreams to me are worth so much that I don't think any love, no matter how perfect would be worth giving them all up for. However in saying that if I achieved all my dreams and had nobody to share them with, it would be a very hollow existence too, I suppose like everyone else I'd like to meet a woman who I genuinely love and be able to achieve a fair portion of my attainable dreams. But if I had to pick one over the other, I'd settle for a woman who I'd enjoy spending the rest of my life with and fulfil all my hopes and dreams, though one of those dreams would obviously be to find the perfect wife. So yes, quite the conundrum.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Honestly no I don't think I have a temper, at least not a temper that shows itself on any kind of a regular basis. I get irritated with people sure, but it would be very usual for me to actually get to the point where I'm angry with someone, though I'll admit it has happened in the past. I prefer if at all possible to resolve arguments with words, whether they be my arguments with other people or my family having arguments among themselves. However when I do get angry, I have a tendency to lose my self control to a large degree and when someone of my size and strength loses their temper, well things get broken. Of all the people capable of making me really angry, my younger sister is the best at it by far, and often she seems to just infuriate me to see how incensed I'll get. I don't know how she does it, well actually I do, I just don't know how she keeps breaking through all my restraint. I have never actually intentionally used physical violence against another person, no matter how angry I've gotten, something I'm very thankful for because I could really hurt someone if I did. So overall while I may actually have a temper, it so rarely erupts that I suppose you really couldn't call it a temper. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][B]Name:[/B] Jack Griffin [B]Age:[/B] 27 [B]Job:[/B] Bank Porter, though he has plans to open his own business eventually. [B]Appearance:[/B] [URL=http://adventkane.250free.com/Lee.jpg]Jack[/url] [B]Why are you here?:[/B] Jack's main problem with women is that they seem to go off him very quickly, but for the life of him he just can't explain why. Perhaps it's because he's dated the wrong kind of women, perhaps it's because there's something wrong with Jack himself, but whatever it is it's meant that his last five relationships have lasted the entirety of three dates maximum. Feeling rejected and utterly depressed, Jack signed up for Speed Dating in the hope that somewhere out there is a women who'll enjoy Jack's company and actually keep going out with him, but given his current track record his hopes aren't exactly built up. Jack is himself a nice fellow, he's quiet, polite, pleasant and quite the intellectual, he is well versed on a variety of subjects from classical movies to classical history. One of Jack's biggest personality flaws is that he lacks confidence in himself, when he gets nervous he has a tendency to stutter and mumble his way through conversation which many women have found off-putting. By that same token however, when Jack actually find himself taking about a subject he has knowledge in he can talk, and talk with precision and confidence, and in a way he has a very naive charm about him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. As I said when we last spoke about this, which was probably about ten minutes ago, I think that the second of the two ideas is by far the best one. If we simply do a rehash of Generation One, we're basically limiting ourselves to people who'll sign up as Autobots/Decepticons who survive that battle of Autobot City. Where as if we make this set after Generation One, Beast Wars and Beast Machines it'll allow people to come up with whole new characters and add to that a brand new story and we have a recipe for success. I'll admit the one flaw I see in the second idea is that maybe a few people will all want to be descendants of, or even successors to a certain transformer such as Grimlock. However given the calibre of role-players on OB I don't see this as being a particularly large problem. Finally I must add the obvious fact that Decepticons suck and Autobots will forever pwn them in terms of coolness, that statement is of course directed at all Decepticon fans.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]My my isn't this an interesting little RPG. [b]Name:[/b] Hope [b]Gender:[/b] Masculine [b]Age:[/b] N/A [b]Appearance:[/b] Hope has really only two true appearances, the first, shown [url=http://adventkane.250free.com/McFadyen.jpg][B]here[/B][/url] is the form Calon and the other emotions would most associate him with. In this form, Hope stands just over six feet in height and appears to weigh somewhere in the region of eighty kilos, his body is athletically toned with well defined muscles spread throughout. He always dresses in white or light, neutral coloured clothing, usually just a pair of plain chinos and a shirt of some description, though he can appear more formal if necessary. Like his daughter-figure Forgiveness, Hope is always barefooted when he appears to Calon, but on occasion he has worn socks and footwear if his feet feel cold, which is strange since he's just part of Calon's imagination and thus shouldn't feel cold. In his other form, Hope takes on a amorphous profile similar and yet opposite to Anger, while Anger is a large, black shadow when he appears to Calon, Hope has been known to become a large shapeless, radiantly white outline though this really only occurs when he does battle with Anger in front of Calon. It is in this form that the other associate emotions to Anger, most notably Fear and Hate are capable of trapping Hope and restricting him from being unable to return to his human form, and thus are able to torture Calon without interference from Hope or Forgiveness. [b]Personality:[/b] Hope is one of the only emotions on Calon's side, and as such is nearly always at war with the other parts of his (Calon's) persona. Because there are so many emotions fighting against Hope, he often find himself suppressed entirely and unable to reach Calon to offer him some kind of stability and support that might help him resist the tortures Anger and the others condemn him to. Eternally optimistic he believes that someday that darker and more malevolent parts of Calon?s personality will be banished and that Calon himself will be able to go on and lead a normal life. Hope himself is the quintessential human emotion, ever present, no matter how deeply Anger, Fear and Hate may seek to bury him he is always there and always countering their nature with his own. He is always pleasant, which sickens Anger more than he can bare to admit, his courage draws the wrath of Fear upon him, and his compassion is enough for Hate to be forever trying to destroy him. But for all of Hate, Anger and Fear?s efforts they have yet be unable to do anything more that inhibit Hope for periods at a time. Although he would never admit it, for fear of placing Forgiveness in danger, her presence with him is once of the greatest sources of his strength, without which Hope mightn't have the strength to keep fighting Anger, Hate and Fear. [b]Writing Sample:[/b] [i]Hope sighed heavily as a terrified and sobbing Calon cried large patches into his shirt, Anger had paid him a particularly nasty visit only moments beforehand, which Hope had been forced to watch as Fear and Hate cackled maniacally. Hope's right hand stroked through Calon's hair, while Forgiveness looked on, tears welling up in her large soft eyes. He felt sick knowing that all this pain, all Calon's suffering could be caused by such a malevolent entity like Anger, with his free hand he called over Forgiveness to come sit on his lap, he knew that all the hope in the world wouldn't be enough to undo the damage and torture Calon had been forced to endure, but having hope wasn't about undoing the damage, it was about making this better. After a few minutes, Calon's sobbing stopped and he turned to face Hope and Forgiveness, his eyes were bloodshot and his voice strained from all the crying, he looked at the tears forming in Forgiveness' eyes and fresh ones began to form in his own, he groaned meekly and began sobbing again into Hope's shoulder, repeating the same phrase over and over.[/i] [b]Calon:[/b] I'm so sorry Hope... I tried to stop myself but Anger was... I was too weak, too afraid to fight him. [i]Hope gave a long shush to try to and calm Calon down, his hand moving down between Calon's shoulders and rubbing his back, as a father would to a son. He knew Calon wasn't strong enough to fight off Anger, especially without either Hope or Forgiveness near him to draw courage from, but somewhere deep down, Hope knew that at some point in the future Calon would be strong enough and then Anger's grip on the young man would be broken. [/i] [b]Hope:[/b] It's alright Calon, I know Anger frightens you, I know he hurts you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to be able to help you fight him. But I'm here now and so is Forgiveness, and you know we don't blame you for what you've done, because you're not the one in control, it's neither your will nor your nature to do these awful things. But you have to be strong Calon, Anger preys on weakness, he strikes you when you are your most vulnerable because he's a coward like all bullies, and when you get strong Calon, and you will keep strong I promise you that, then Anger won't be able to make you do things because he won't be the one strong enough. [b]Calon:[/b] [[I]Looking back up at Hope[/i]] You mean that Hope ? You really mean that, that Anger won't be able to make me hurt people when I don't want to ? [b]Hope:[/b] [[i]Grasping Calon's two hands[/i]] I promise you that Calon, I promise that when you get strong, Anger won't ever be able to hurt you again. [b]Forgiveness:[/b] [[i]Whispering[/i]] You did well today Hope, he'll get better and he'll be stronger for it because he knows we'll be there with him. [i]Hope hugged Calon, he had failed to protect him today, and the penalty for Calon had been harsh, he wouldn't fail Calon again, Hope promised himself he wouldn't...[/i] [CENTER]---------------[/CENTER] [B][Edit][/B] Sorry I took so long to finish ULX, I thought you weren't proceeding with the RPG, plus I kind of forgot about this... [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I'd never have thought of a messenger bag as being limited to one gender, though I can see how someone might classify it as a masculine looking purse. I have or rather had one messenger bag, though I don't use it because it's simply not big enough to store everything I'd carry around. My biggest problem with using messenger bags as Doukeshi pointed out is that they kill your shoulder when you start putting heavy stuff in them. Between using a backpack and a messenger bag, the backpack to me is the more useful and comfortable. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well I'm no expert on the subject of love and even less versed in the subject of genuine Internet-based love. However it would seem to be at least that if you really care for this person that you won't be averse to waiting a bit more, as the old phrase goes, "[I]absence makes the heart grow fonder[/I]". If she doesn't live a huge distance away from you, you could conceivably consider going to visit her and meet her face to face to discuss the fact you'd like to speak to her more often, or even simply call her over the phone.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Lady Asphyxia][font=Arial][size=2]I think you hit a very important point. At present, we have three ratings: [b]E, PG, M[/b]. E is for Everyone, which would suggest the RPG was quite tame in terms of violence etc. M is the high ground; it's heavy on violence, language and sex. Therefore PG is the middle ground. What detracts a lot of people from using it, I think, is that it's one short step up from E. Does this make sense?[/font'][/size][/quote] [SIZE=1]That's exactly what I was getting at, [B]PG[/B] has always seemed like a little baby-step up from [B]E[/B] which makes people so reluctant to use it instead of M. I personally have no problem using it, because most of my RPGs of late haven't required anything higher than a PG but it still seemed as if I was only going a small bit above E rather than halfway between E and M. I think Lore's [B]T/Teen[/B] rating wasn't a bad idea, though I disagree with her about it being too related to age. The Ratings are based on what level of content is in the RPG, not who can get in. In truth I think the problem is that M seems to be seen as a kind of "[I]anything goes[/I]", which puts it on the opposite end of the spectrum to E and PG. I think perhaps because the Ratings are based on the American/Australian ratings it sows a small bit of confusion in people's mind. In Ireland up until recently we had about five ratings, [B]G/General[/B], [B]PG/Parental Guidance[/B], [B]12s[/B], [B]15s[/B] and finally [B]18s[/B], and I think a similar system would work well on OB. Having say the three years between each rating in terms of content gives people more freedom to control what happens rather without resorting to the "[I]just in case[/I]" scenario. The ratings as they are now seem to divided at either end of the spectrum, E being the same as General, PG being slightly higher and M being somewhere around 17s if I remember correctly. Adding in another one near M [Teen/15s we?ll call it] and even one between that one and say PG would be a good idea, but as was said in the beginning it's down to the creators themselves to use the rating they see as most prudent.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.[/SIZE] [quote name='Bombu][color=darkred']Naturally, my reaction when I first saw it: "WTF?!!!!111"[/color][/quote] [SIZE=1]I'd say that was everyones reaction when they saw the new controller, my was a kind of "WTF" mixed with "why the hell have they released a DVD remote before the controller", followed by another "WTF" when I realised it wasn't a DVD remote. I have to admit that the more I look at the actual controls themselves the more I'm fascinated by them. Without actually feeling one in my hands I can't make a definitive judgement, but after reading everything here I must admit I think it'll be an exquisite little control. I'll admit it looks weird, but I can't help but be captivated by it, but as had already been said how weird did the N64 control look when it was first brought out. This is genius and I am seriously hoping for a Star Wars game that makes use of the controls, I mean imagine the intuitive lightsaber movements you could make with this thing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Sorry for the lateness of this, I meant to post sooner but just couldn't seem to write anything. The brackets in this case are used for Irish. [CENTER]---------------[/CENTER] [I]The waves lapped gently against James' feet as he stood staring out at the horizon, he enjoyed passing the time here, it helped give him a sense of perspective. Drawing in a deep breath he grimaced, two weeks after his battle for PFL Irish Championship he still had the same aching pain in his chest, he went to scratch his chest and felt the hospital bandages underneath. Four broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, still it could have been worse, he could have four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and not be PFL Irish Champion. The tide lapping further up his legs brought him back to reality, the tide was beginning to come in and he had a meeting with Lucille later in the hour. He cast a final glance towards the horizon before sighing and walking slowly back towards his home, the PFL tournament he was entering would be without a shadow of a doubt the most arduous challenge he had ever faced. While he was ranked in the top ten in the world, there was still that sense of apprehension that he always felt before a tournament. Winning the PFL Irish Championship had been a stroke of luck with a good helping of skill, in this coming tournament he'd need his skills to be pushed to their absolute limits and if luck favoured him in a couple of matches along the way well so much the better. The skin beneath his merger watch began to itch, at twenty eight he was going to be one of the more seasoned trainers in the competition which would probably be an advantage. The merger watch itself was a fascinating piece of technology, though it did have the tendency to provoke odd poses from certain trainers when they used it. While most of the time James lived with his parents, he did have a house of his own which he lived in a far bit of the time between tournaments, times when he didn't want or need not to be disturbed. Pushing through the timber front door the smell of freshly cooked food wafted up his nostrils, obviously there was someone in the kitchen preparing a meal. James guessed it was his mother, she was always coming in to do jobs, complaining that he didn't eat enough and as such always looked thin and shouldn't live on his own so far from his family. In reality James lived less than a mile from the family home, but that didn't stop his mother from making it seem like a transatlantic voyage to get there. Moving through the double doors to the kitchen, he found his mother in front of two pots and a frying pan humming merrily to herself. James wasn't even remotely surprised and just went to set the table before Lucille came, moving over towards the cupboards he removed two plates, two knives and forks, two glasses, a fair of serviettes and finally a few bowls for the Pokémon. [/I] [I]James had completely forgotten about his mother and nearly dropped the tableware with his shock, like all Irish people James spoke fluent Irish and English, but preferred to use English because it was the more common language[/I]. "It's Lucille O'Donnell mam, you know, that famous Pokémon artist. She?s coming here to do a few pictures of me and my Pokémon for my big win in the PFL.? [I]His mother had obviously thought that this was a social evening, she worried so about her only son, he was too thin and didn?t even have a girlfriend.[/I] [I]James sighed heavily sometimes his mother was so obvious in her intentions that she lacked any kind of subtlety, though he supposed she intended her statements to be that obvious. While he usually kept his Pokémon ready for battle, and thus in storage, after his win in Dublin he?d decided to let them out for a few days to enjoy the weather and have some relaxation. Erebus his Lairon had taken to it with a fierce gratitude, though being that it had only recently evolved from Aron he suspected his enthusiasm to be a holdover from youth. Ticon was powering through the cold Atlantis water as though it were a small pond, the Walrien?s fierce strength was one of his defining aspects. Atlas however preferred to take a more relaxed position, sitting outside, snoring and soaking up the sun. After seventeen years with the Venusaur, James didn?t begrudge his friend the rest one bit. The doorbell chimed, and James realised how quickly the hour had passed...[/I] [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I have to admit that reading Stuart's kindly provided IGN summary has me interested to a mild degree in the game. I never really got into Mortal Kombat as a fan, though I have played most of the games that have been released but the last time I actually sat down and played Mortal Kombat would be months, if not years ago. I never played the Sub-Zero game on the N64 because I couldn't rent it, and Nintendo Official Magazine slayed it in a review but I might rent this for the PS2 if I see it and give it a go. The whole fast, normal and strong attack sounds deceptively like Revenge of the Sith, as does building up your moves to a third and final level which is kind of a positive and negative thing in my mind. My main gripe with RotS, aside from the absolutely awful graphics and voice-overs was the fact that you had to acquire buckets of experience to unlock more power and even then you had to go back and re-fight bosses to get more experience. Still this game isn't RotS and sounds a little like Streets of Rage from the Sega Megadrive II, which was addictively fun to play. Sitting on the bench with this one, could be fun and long lasting, or fun for three days and boring afterwards. [/SIZE]