PiroMunkie

[quote][b]love[/b], n. [b] 1.[/b] A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. [b]2.[/b] A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance. [b]3.[/b] 3a. Sexual passion. 3b. Sexual intercourse. 3c. A love affair. [b]4.[/b] An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object. [b]5.[/b] A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment. [b]6.[/b] An expression of one's affection: Send him my love. [b]7.[/b] 7a. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language. 7b. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love.[/quote] Well there you have it.

When I was really little, I had a recurring dream/nightmare that I was being chased around our apartment (which we lived in at the time) by the Abominable Snowman from the Christmas classic, 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.' Wouldn't have been so strange if it wasn't recurring. >_>

Tori. Everything else I could possibly ever want in life would follow thereafter.

Heh, I always had this thing when I was younger that I thought it was bad luck to not be in your bed when the lights go out. Of course, the problem arises that I was the one who turned the lights off, and my bed was on the other side of the room. So, when I went to bed, I would always close my eyes, hold my breath, turn off the light, run blindly to my bed and curl up under the covers. Only then did I feel free to open my eyes and breathe again. Sometimes I was something that went BUMP in the night, though. In a house we used to live in, there were storage areas in which you could enter and walk behind the walls. So I would enter one in my room, and walk over to my sister's room and start randomly knocking on walls and moaning and stuff ...

It has been mentioned once or twice already, and probably really seems like a cheesey and naive response, but simply the best way to fight depression is to think and act [i]positively[/i]. There is really nothing else to it. In fact, it is pretty much the underlying message in most people's posts here. I had been in a depressed rut for most of my high school years and through my first year of college. My parents often told me they had at one time considered putting me into therapy, though they never did. I honestly don't think expensive therapy is often neccesary. The best way to help yourself is to look for self-help. Whether it be books, CDs, tapes, or whatever, any and all of it can help you. Yeah, it takes some cash to purchase those things (or you could simply go to the library and borrow them!), but any investment meant toward bettering yourself is a wise one. If you make the move to actually own the book, take a highlighter to it as you read it! Mark key phrases and quotes that you particularly find useful. You could even take notes to reinforce the ideas you like. A book I just finished reading no more than an hour ago is [i]Napoleon Hill's Keys to Postive Thinking: 10 Steps to Health, Wealth, and Success[/i] as written by Michael J. Ritt, Jr. I would definitely reccomend finding it and reading through it, and applying the principles taught within. In the back is a small list of other books you can check out if you would like. Reading self-help material is below you either! One of the most useful powers a person can learn to manifest is the power of submission. Set aside your ego and pride and realizing you can ask help from another person, and actually listen to what they say. If you want to find ways to make yourself happier, find happy people and just open up to them. Ask advice from them. A pessimistic person can't help you cheer up. Many self-help books are written by, or inspired by, people who are already very successful and are willing to teach others the techniques that have allowed them their place in life. If you even read so much as 5-10 self-help books, you have done more to better yourself than what I am willing to bet is a majority of people today! And don't [i][b]ever[/b][/i] think there is nothing you can do. If thoughts and suggestions aren't enough to overcome a feeling of depression or fear, take action. Action can overpower emotion.

You need more contrast. The brightest lights make the darks seem darker. It would also help you distinguish certain details. I imagine the image is suppose to be dull and dreary, but as it is it just seems dull. I like how it looks like you tried to work in a sense of motion with the background, though. Whether it was intentional or not, I don't know, but the zig-zags and the curves give a sense of life to things that are otherwise lifeless. I wish I could say the same about the Inventor, though. He is far too stiff and uninteresting. Overall, I would say the image is par. A fair concept, but an iffy delivery.

Sara, yours rocks, lol ... I hate drawing with a mouse ... -__- As if drawing hands and faces wasn't hard enough. [url]http://artpad.art.com/gallery/?ijwbcazxv8s[/url] I recommend watching it at a fast pace.

Trying pretty much cutting yourself off from the internet and sell your TV (any you have that are yours), and see how much time you free up in your day. I only really ever use the internet any more to just check my e-mail and quickly browse a few message boards. So I am only really actively on it maybe 10 minutes a day. Nothing [i]bad[/i] can come from setting your priorities straight. Sometimes you just need to take a step outside your box and take a look at what your doing, and make sure you have everything in order. I am starting to keep schedule much more than I used to (because I never did before), but it is still nothing huge. I recommend finding, possibly buying if you can't find it at a library or whatever, and reading the book [u]Personality Plus[/u] by Florence Littauer. Make sure just to get 'Personality Plus' and not 'Personality Plus for Couples' or 'Personality Plus for Parents.' The book has nothing to do with scheduling, but it does go over four basic temperaments found in every person - Popular Sanguine, Powerful Choleric, Perfect Melancholy, and Peaceful Phlegmatic - the strengths and weaknesses of all of them, and how to deal with people whose temperaments are very different from yours. There is a small test to find out how much of each of the four you are, which I recommend taking before and after you read the book (my scores changed dramatically). Judging by how you are talking, I would say your strongest temperament is Popular Sanguine backed by a little Peaceful Phlegmatic, you will have to find out what that is on your own. I strongly recommend the read, though, for anyone.

Hahaha, oh, how I love cross-dressing. I never really new this style was a very prominant fashion, but I always enjoyed it whenever I would go back to looking at websites of random J-rock bands. I don't really care if there are guy styles, too, I would still dress like a woman. They usually have the more fun stuff, anyway. I doubt I would be the first either. I am sure there are plenty of men who would do, or do the same already. I know there were a lot of pictures I saw where I couldn't tell if the person was a man or woman. I don't know if I will ever actually get around to maybe trying this style ever, but I really do admire it. It is just far too awesome.

[QUOTE=kenshinsbabe][SIZE=3][FONT=Georgia]This is one of the questions that you can just randomly walk up to someonne on the street and ask them, just to see what they say: "Why do they call it a hamburger if it's made out of cows?" I've been asking people in my family that for a while now, and every time I do, they just say, "I dunno."[/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]It originated in Hamburg, Germany, originally called a Hamburg Steak. But it just switched over time to be 'hamburger.'

How in the heck did you go about losing 30+/- CDs? And yes, if lost all my music, I would probably be really distressed. I don't even have that much, mabe a little over 40 CDs, but that is because I have been piss poor for a good portion of my life. A goal of mine, though, is to just have a vast collection of music. Huge. Massive. Buy entire discographies of any and every band I like. New or old. It would just be sweet ... I could probably get a lot more into that, but yeah ...

I am not about to sit here in catogorize my entire high school of about 2500 people into difference descriptive categories and subcategories. (One) Because I am not even in high school anymore, so I no longer really even care, and (Two) because there are too many, and if I looked even further, people will fit into more than one category. But seriously, in a school of 2500 people, think about a personality someone can have, and we had at least one person matching the description. There was no "dominant" culture. And *GASP* people made friends with other social groups! Punks were friends with preps. Republicans were friends with Democrats. Homosexuals were friends with bi/homo/transexuals. "Popular" were friends with the "losers." Brainiacs were friends with the numbskulls. As grueling as that high school sometimes got, I am in no doubt that it is definitely one of the best in the state. Maybe not academically (though we are known for our English/Journalism departments), but in terms of putting your child into a diverse atmosphere and exposing him or her to just about everything, you are not really going to find that anywhere else.

Newbies are your future, bud. They are your next generation. if you don't like they are up to par with what you would like to see on the forums, [b]encourage[/b] them to be better. No one can take initiative to improve anything without first having [i]courage[/i] and being [i]encouraged[/i]. I joined OtakuBoards several years ago ... back before it was even its own web address and not some subfolder off theOtaku. So I have seen more than my share of "n00bs," myself included. But you know what? Those "n00bs," as you like to affectionately dub them, became your moderators, became your super moderators (now known as "team leaders" or whatever it is), etc. Myself included (not anymore, though). OtakuBoards seems to be growing faster and faster, generations of members seem to not be lasting as long compared to a the past. Even though OtakuBoards is still a relatively small community, changes are always happening. If you don't like them, try to improve them. Don't just sit there and complain about it.

Financially, my plan (I guess you could call it a dream, but you can argue a dream won't come true) is to be able to retire by the time I am in my mid-twenties. I am 19 right now, so i about 5 - 6 years I plan to be able to retire. Maybe sooner. How? Well, I am in the midst of starting my own online business. It will start slow, but the more people I can get wanting to make them money I will be making, the more money I will be making. If I work hard, I will easily be able to retire with the income I will have. After all, these days it takes income to retire, not age. No one says you will have to wait until you are 65 or so. As for general dreams ... well, I would like to see my signature become a reality.

An animal under care will live longer than an animal in the wild. Even if Toby is just a temporary stay, I would put him in a small fishbowl or aquarium if you have one. Put a decent-sized rock in there, and maybe some twigs, then fill it only a little bit with water. Enough that he or she can keep himself or herself wet. Maybe let him or her out under your supervision during the day. Of course, that is all just assuming you have a fishbowl or something of the like. You never know what the weather is going to do, though, which is why I suggested this.

I would just like to say this: Love at first sight is a two-way street. It only works if the other party believes it, too. Like it has been mentioned, you could claim "love at first sight" on someone, but that person could not care less about you. There is no love there. Of course, the chances of this happening are greater than one in a billion. So meet people. If you truly believe that the person who you will fall in love with and marry will be able to spot you as soon as you spot him or her, then meet people. Meet people all the time. The more everyone meets everyone else, the quicker people will be able to find the people they want to be around, or even the one they love. You cannot sit around all day being a hopeless romantic, waiting, believing that [i]someday[/i] the love of your life will just come knocking on your door. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. You can be a romantic, just don't be hopeless.

The king-size, dark, wooden doors to Mannix's comparably modest estate smoothly opened as Mannix retired for the night. He probably would not sleep right away, but he did not [i]plan[/i] on having to go out again until daybreak at the least. He closed the door with apparent fatigue, then taking the time to stretch his limbs. His home was larger than one person would need, but not by too much. He personally refused to take servants, as opposed to many of those of high class. He had an unspoken empathy for them, because he was raised by those very people. Also, being the work-a-holic he is, he did not spend much time there as it was. He made his way to his study without haste. This room was where he spent the other half of his ridiculously anal life. He moved to his desk and removed his formal armor he had worn to Arano's meeting, placing it on the often-used rack standing adjacent to his desk until he decided to go to his room for the night. He sank into his chair and sat back in it for a moment before paying attention to anything. It was at that time a low beeping caught his ear. On his desk, his scouter sat in front of his computer terminal. A solitary, small icon blinked on and off. Someone had tried to contact him while he was away. Mannix picked the scouter up from his desk and secured it over his ear, and activating its re-contact system before leaning into his terminal and checking on what data and reports had been sent directly to him in the past several hours. After a few seconds, a voice came over his scouter. "Tetop here. What's your business?" "Address me as 'Sir,' damnit," Mannix said passively, his attention divided between the conversation and reviewing the data for the evening. "Yes, Sir. I'll try and make it quick," the TA said as he corrected himself and made his way to the point. "We have been receiving electronic reports back from the numerous teams you sent out to repair the deep-space sensors. A majority of the are back in working order, but there is a good section which took more damage than the others. We actually had to make the teams that came back after finishing go out again to bring spare parts to these sensors. However, the most significant turn of events came as a result of the readings we began to get as these sensors became operational." Mannix sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, giving the TA his undivided attention. "Go on," Mannix said. "To begin with, Sir, each team that we have had a chance to speak with personally has reported picking up a large source of power on their scouters. None of them could get a definite reading off it, as its level was constantly fluctuating, but it was rather unnatural for that area. Needless to say it was a little unnerving, with the recent strike on the Red Light District and all. I am almost afraid to say the readings we received from our repaired sensors were even less comforting." The TA paused his in speech. Rapid typing could be heard over the scouter. "I will send the files to you now, if you wish, Sir." Mannix directed his eyes to his terminal screen. "Go ahead." A few more keystrokes were heard, and a series of documents, both text and visual, began popping up on his screen. Mannix leaned into his terminal once more and opened all the of sent files, analyzing each of them briefly, for now. "The visual files are just one from every hour," the TA said, "but the data shows that the mass is growing steadily. It is difficult to see in the visual readings, but it is there." The images displayed on Mannix's screen were almost indentical to those energy scans Arano showed at his meeting, except these ones were noticably larger. One thing was clear, they were getting closer. "How often are we having the sensors permanently record these readings?" Mannix asked as he wiped a hand tiredly over his forehead. "Once every fifteen minutes," the TA responded. Mannix nodded his head to himself, and cleared his throat. "Make it once every five minutes, and have copies of the data sent directly to me until further notice. And if there is a drastic change within the five-minute interval, let me know immediately. I shall send these over to Defense now," Mannix said. "It will be done, thank you for your time, Sir," the TA said. The link was closed. Mannix took a moment to glance over the data. He then tapped a button and spun his chair around where a large monitor on the wall flashed on, displaying what was on Mannix's terminal screen. Every five minutes, the data would refresh. He studied these readings intently. The TA was right, the level of power was never the same from one reading to the next. The real question there was whether that is how the source of this power was naturally, or if it was being done intentionally to throw off the sensor readings. One things that bothered Mannix was how long this power had gone undetected. There was a sudden appearance of it once a few months ago, but it was gone soon after and we thought nothing of it. Perhaps someone in Defense later stumbled upon these creatures once again. This was the first time Mannix had heard anything of them since then. So really, none of this was new, but now it was critical. If only word had been spread further in advance, at least among the high-ranking individuals in each department, greater precautions could have been taken to prevent such actions as what happened yesterday morning in the Red Light District. Arano was right, though. Mannix's main experience with mobs was always him against the masses. At least here, the Saiya-jins had the homefield advantage. The unity of the Saiya-jin race was a force to be reckoned.

Mannix rubbed his teeth with his tongue in a subtle motion of disgust. He cast an unnoticed demeaning glare at Ares for being the drunken, belligerent fool he was; breaking the civility of the conference with jealous rabble. He then chuckled with what sounded more like a short grunt, amused by the condescending manner of Orin. He hated it as much as he loved it. After all, he was the same way, which always made it interesting to bicker with them. It often would go nowhere. It would be constant verbal battles, constantly trying to trump the other. The group sat in an uncomfortable silence. Mannix dragged his mug toward him, and downed the last bit that remained at the bottom. After setting it solidly back on the table before him, he reached one arm up and behind him, making a motion like he was trying to snap his fingers. One of Arano's servants quickly retreated to the kitchen area, and brought out another mug of beer for Mannix, placing it before him and removing the other mug. He took a sip of his refreshed drink, glancing around the table while doing so. Arano still sat patiently at the head of the table, awaiting any other responses to answer, or outbreaks to snuff. Mannix shifted his position, now leaning forward onto the table, interlocking his fingers, and resting his jaw snug against them. He contemplated briefly, imagining a single one of these Takrei mauling a Saiya-jin soldier. Then, as though he was counting sheep, rapidly increased their numbers until they were not only annihilating their opponent, but their enemy's resources as well. Mannix sneered behind his hands. If there was one kind of foe he despised the most, it would have to be the swarm. In this respect, however, it will be all the more pleasing to kill them. And with their regenerative powers, it seemed like the main option for the coup de grace was hand-to-hand. The gutteral rasp of clearing a throat broke the silence as Mannix lifted his mouth from his hands, which then laid themselves down on the table. "You have our soldiers rigorously training, but for what? They spar against another single Saiya-jin soldier in preparation to battle a mob? I hate to say this, but if that is how we are preparing our people, I can see the annihilation of our race," Mannix predicted. An uneasy motion carried in one wave around the table. Eveyone sat back in their chair if they were not already, to give Mannix and Arano a clear view of each other. "I shall bring into play my experience with the domination of the Insetto planet many, many years ago: I had by that time taken control of my fair share of planets, but on each one it was always one of two things: its inhabitants would cower, or they would defend themselves in a very one-on-one fashion. The Insetto planet, however, was different. Its inhabitants were, non-literally, machines; mindless drones in a mass-cooperative group: a swarm. They also were very territorial, so my arrival was unwelcome. They fought back. Now, while these creatures were by no means strong, they have a hive mind, and fight extremely well in groups. It would never cross what little mind they had to come at me one at a time. If you are fighting a swarm of a thousand, they should not be thought of as individuals, but rather one being with a thousand ways to hurt you. Perhaps the most irritating trait of any swarm, however, is their persistance. The mindless have the most morale. You can slaughter however many you want before the eyes of others, but their mood will not sway. They are barbaric, with no concept of any other emotion than what they have lived with. So tell me, how exactly are we preparing our soldiers by having them fight a solitary enemy? Because that is not what they are up against. You use different tactics when fighing a mob than you do when fighting a single being." The room sat silent. Mannix raised his hands back up to their folded position and leaned his jaw against it once more, awaiting Arano's answer.

Mannix looked down upon the Red Light District - or, more so, what [i]was[/i] the Red Light District of Varnga - from his lofty position above the city, arms folded firmly across his chest. He had stabilized himself up there for the last couple hours, keeping himself in one spot after finding Arano Karakkaze so that the teams he sent out could find him for their reports. All had come by him by this time. His initial reports of the blast did not include such a massive shockwave. What he originally thought was a matter of two miles had quickly become realized as ten. There were so many rescue squads and volunteers scouting the area for any form of life, putting out fires, and grounding the live wires. Who or whatever did this sure got Vegetasei in a dither. "I have never seen our people in such a weak state," Mannix muttered to himself. "I am sure Defense is having the time of their lives right now." Mannix checked his scouter for the time. He still had a few hours before he would attend Karakkaze's meeting, which he was actually looking forward to for more purposes than just learning of what has caused this mayhem. There is always a meal more than fitting for any Saiya-jin. Apparently someone was closing in on his position, as well, but of negligible power in comparison to his own. He removed his scouter and clipped it to the belt of his armor as a Technical Assisstant (TA) showed up at his side. "Sir, I have further report about the conditions of our deep-space sensors," stated the TA. He was ignored, it took a while before it sunk in as to why. He lowered his head briefly, and moved around to the front of Mannix. "When you talk to me ..." started Mannix. "... talk to me eye-to-eye," finished the TA. "I apologize, I forgot." Mannix switched his attention to the TA, who was now abiding by the 'golden rule' Mannix forced upon those under him. Only those he feels he can trust does he ever allow to stand at his side, those he sees as equals. "Are you going to stand there, or are you going to tell me why you are here?" Mannix sternly inquired. "Right," responded the TA, "the sensors of deep-space that were knocked out of their strategic position are now back in place. Getting all of the ones which were knocked out of commission back in order, however, is going to be a more difficult task." Mannix sighed. "Enlighten me as to why." "Simply put, the damage done cannot be fixed from here," informed the TA, "we need to send people out to fix them by hand." Disgust came across Mannix's face. He really felt like tearing that TA apart at this moment, or anyone for that matter. "How many are out of commission?" "Fourteen." "Send teams of three out to each one," Mannix ordered. "... Go!" The TA took off. Mannix remained, furious, but keeping his cool in front of those under him has always been an ethic of his. He clenched his fists tightly, and unfolded his arms. His chest expanded as he took in all the air he could, and held it for a moment, arching his back ... A primal scream bellowed over the Red Light District. Mannix erupted in a chaotic, white aura. He held it for a few seconds then let it disperse, immediately rocketing off to his own establishment until it was time to give Karakkaze a visit at his conference.

[size=1][b]Name:[/b] Mannix [b]Age:[/b] 29 [b]Nickname:[/b] N/A [b]Height:[/b] 5'7 [b]Weight:[/b] 162 lbs. [b]Appearance:[/b] [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22158]Click Here[/url] [b]Biography/History:[/b] Mannix's resemblance to the Saiya-jin Prince himself is no coincedence. It surely cannot be expected that a King with his own harem at his fingertips only ever produced a single spawn. Though carrying the Royal Blood, he is not treated as a Prince. On the contrary, he was raised by hired hands, living within the confines of the Royal Palace, and knowing he was the bastardized son of the King and half-brother of the Prince. His relationship with the King, his true father, and the Prince are both fairly distant, but differ. His father was always busy, if not with work, then with the Prince. Once he was old enough to comprehend it, he gathered he was nothing but a third wheel in his father's life, if that. Everything he did for Mannix was indirect. He was fatherly enough to keep Mannix on the silver platter, but he was nothing but trimming for the main course. The Prince and he, on the other hand, have a more underlying respect for one another, having known each other since they were young. He was raised around technicians, the best and the few. As such, his specialty came in here. It was not until his early twenties that he was able to secure a position in the said department, before then there was hardly any use for them. Saiya-jins were never known for their abundant technology. Up until then he did what any other Saiya-jin did: conquered and destroyed. As the Saiya-jin race gathered more technology, however, higher demand came for those who knew how to work with it. Mannix was a shoe-in. He started off merely in repairs, but soon worked up to research assisstant, tagging along on missions to negotiate with various races. During this stage he spent much of his time in space, and little of it on Vegetasei. He quickly became more of a consultant, in which his time was split fairly evenly between home and space. He was just as likely to send someone out to do the negotiating as he was to lead a small team himself. However, in the last few years he constantly proposed to his true father, the King of Vegetasei, to be head of Research & Development and to be appointed within the council of the Department of Technology. With the changing tides of the Saiya-jin race, and the plans Mannix had in store, he was eventually given the position. Mannix is a strict and powerful warrior with complementary charisma. He leads his department with an iron fist, expecting nothing but the best from those under him, and with little tolerancy for those who fail. [b]Signature Attacks:[/b] ? METEOR ASSAULT - Mannix releases a rapid, machine-gun-like succession of ki blasts each causing a concussive blast rather than an explosive. These can either be focused on one area, or randomly scattered. This is often followed up with a significantly weaker form of Meteorite that takes no where near as long to create, and travels much faster. It is formed the same way as a Meteorite, but he pretty much just throws the initial ball as opposed to feeding it a lot more energy. ? MARIONETTE - This technique first requires that Mannix be touching his opponent, but shortly thereafter the victim finds themselves encased in a spherical barrier of ki. Mannix can then pull "strings" of energy out and use them to whip his opponent around and beat him mercilessly. With each hit and force of strain the barrier takes, unstable ki builds within the barrier and clings to the victim. The more unstable energy that builds up, the more it hurts the victim when the barrier is struck. When Mannix wills it, the unstable ki is explodes as the barrier implodes, and the victim feels a torturous pain as though he is being both pulled apart and crushed simultaneously. This technique can also be a team effort. If an ally, or friend of the victim in a saving attempt, pulls in the opposite direction, the victim also feels as though he is being pulled in various directions. With enough effort, the stress of being pulled in either direction can trigger the explosion as well. ? FOREVER ZERO - Forever Zero is original in that it strikes from below, and is Mannix's fastest technique in terms of attack speed (regarded as instantaneous, though it just moves and happens faster than most can follow), though it requires some charge time. It is created as a ball of ki no bigger than an average marble at the end of Mannix's fingertip. Then, in an instant, an area spanning miles in diameter erupts in a pillar of flash and blaze. Those caught within suffer its incinerating power, and those who survive it would be buried in rubble. He has never really used this in combat, but originally used it for levelling cities while conquering planets. Instead of blowing everything up, he would let it burn and crumble. So it is relatively weak in comparison to other techniques since it was only ever meant to destroy large areas of land. (similar to the move Nappa uses when he first lands on earth, except over a much wider area) ? METEORITE - Mannix's most powerful attack, and as such, it is the only one capable of destroying a planet if he wishes to take the time putting that much energy into it. Its formation begins closing his hands into the prayer position where a furious aura engulfs him and his hands are pushed shoulder-width apart as a ball of energy forms between them. During this time the ball throbs, trying to grow bigger, but Mannix presses it to its more compact size for easier control. At the end of all this, he holds it to his side (like a Kamehameha), letting go with one hand shortly before thrusting the ball forward where it instantly increases 100-fold in size and begins its descent. It is very slow moving, but causes devastating damage. Its first contact with the ground sends a powerful, planetary shockwave; causing earthquakes and tidal all across the lands. It then detonates in a gargantuan, exponentially expanding dome, leaving nothing but a crater. [b]Weapon:[/b] N/A [b]Power Level:[/b] 50,000[/size] ----------------------------------------- Two towering doors slid open to a deep command room lined with many Saiya-jin adamantly working at various stations. They were all rather frantic given the recent event that struck part of Vernga, but as Mannix stormed in everything hushed; all attention was on him. "The moment I found out who let that pass our sensors, our defences, and into our city: I'll have his tail!" he declared, his voice blasting clearly throughout the room. Not a second later, all scurried back to their work, now at a faster, more panicked, pace. While they knew Mannix would not literally claim the tail of any Saiya-jin under him, he was infamous for being quite harsh to those who failed him. Without another word, Mannix gave one more look around the room, and left. He strode through the hallways with an enraged presence as he began making his way to the lowest levels of the facility. A research assisstant came his way, stopping as he passed by expecting Mannix to acknowledge, but only embarrassed himself. He scurried to catch up with the furious commander. "Sir, I've received word from Defense that several of our deep-space sensors within the area of the blast are out of commision," he said, "and others were knocked out of their strategic position." Mannix turned sharply, pressing the bottom of two buttons on the adjacent wall. He made no eye contact with the assisstant. "I was on my way to inform my superior, but I saw you here on the way." Mannix sighed, irritated. "And what do you expect me to do about it? Hmm?" he snidely inquired. "You've wasted time here, and offended me with your presence." A single door slid open to an elevator in which Mannix then entered, still barely acknowledging the underling. "Go report this to your damned superior. It is his job to take care of that." The elevator door closed. Mannix slid open a side panel and punched in a code, and he began his descent. He stood unmoving the entire trip. The elevator stopped, the door slid open and Mannix strode out, now with a calmer pace. He made his way through the corridors, these ones darker than usual. He stopped in front of a large, garage-like door. Behind it was one of many generator rooms, in which powered most Vernga. He turned, approaching a normal door to his left, knocked once, and entered. The room was the size of a large office, with one large computer terminal, recording the current condition of every generator in the aforementioned room. For Saiya-jin technicians stood in front of the screen. Some pointing towards a certain area on the wall-monitor on which a line of icons were blinking, others were discussing. Mannix stood just inside the doorway for a few seconds until one took notice. "Oh! Sir." This caught the attention of the others. "Four generators are down. I sent some men to try and activate back-up power for the affected district, and there is a repair crew in there now trying to figure out how exactly to get these main generators in working order again." He motioned to the four blinking icons on the screen. "Other than that, I am not sure what to think of any of this." "Good work." Mannix nodded. "Send five teams out to the affected area of the Red Light District. I want a full report on the effects this energy wave had on us. Meanwhile, the people upstairs are trying to figure out where the hell that thing came from, and who the hell sent it here." The technicians nodded in acknowledgement. "And tell the teams I will be there shortly. I have to make a stop before I head over there myself." --- The latch of the large, polished doors clicked before being pushed open. The guard motioned Mannix inside, and closed the door behind him. At the far end of the room, the Prince of all Saiya-jins stood facing away, staring out his wall-wide window. There was a brief moment of silence, both stood in wait for the other. "Mannix ..." Vegita lowered his head a bit, but kept his gaze outside. Mannix stepped further into the room and placed his fingertips firmly on the flat of Vegita's desk, leaning only slightly forward. Vegita released a sigh as he turned from the window, taking a small step away from it and facing his half-brother. They stood sturdy, looking at each other eye-to-eye. After a moment, Mannix took a seat in the guest chair. "Four generators are down, with a repair team already working on them," Mannix reported. "We have men out to get back-up power activated for the Red Light District. I sent several teams out to the district for a full damage report -- I will be going there myself shortly. And we just received word from Defense that several of our deep-space sensors are either out of commision and/or knocked out of their strategic locations. There should be men working on remedying that as we speak, as well." Vegita paced forward, placing one hand on the back of his chair for a moment before taking a seat himself. "You know you don't have to report directly to me," he informed. "I hardly have to report anything to you. I seize my chances when I get them," Mannix responded. Vegita leaned in to his computer and continued about his work for a few seconds, entering a figure here and there, before leaning back in his chair once more casting a lethargic eye at Mannix. "What's [i]really[/i] going on here?" Mannix asked as he folded his arms across his chest. "Our sensors have picked up nothing abnormal since Furiza, but apparently someone out there still wants us destroyed and seems to already have a far more efficient way of doing than Furiza ever did. I do not always know know what is going on, but I [i]do[/i] know of anyone on this planet, there is no other person who would know except you." "And Father," Vegita responded, almost as though it were reflex. Mannix rose abruptly from his chair, placing his fingers firmly on the flat of the desk, leaning in only slightly. Vegita just looked up at him straight-faced. "The Technology Department and the Defense Department are probably the most intertwined of any two areas under the reformations," Vegita stated. "If you are going down to the Red Light District, you will most likely run into Arano Karakkaze. Let him tell you if he chooses, but good luck." Mannix stood upright, taking his hands of the desk. Vegita rose from his head and faced his half-brother. He nodded. Mannix pivoted 180 degrees and walked directly out the door.

[size=1]Sorry I took a bit ... not having the internet yet hooked up in my dorm room slows things down a bit. [b]Name:[/b] Mannix [b]Age:[/b] 29 [b]Nickname:[/b] N/A [b]Height:[/b] 5'7 [b]Weight:[/b] 162 lbs. [b]Appearance:[/b] (see attachment ... guess who had way too much time on his hands one night? I did it entirely in Photoshop, 6 hours ... the far arm behind the back means I was too lazy to draw another hand) [b]Biography/History:[/b] Neil, read my PM if you have not already. [b]Signature Attacks:[/b] ? METEOR ASSAULT - Mannix releases a rapid, machine-gun-like succession of ki blasts each causing a concussive blast rather than an explosive. These can either be focused on one area, or randomly scattered. This is often followed up with a significantly weaker form of Meteorite that takes no where near as long to create, and travels much faster. It is formed the same way as a Meteorite, but he pretty much just throws the initial ball as opposed to feeding it a lot more energy. ? MARIONETTE - This technique first requires that Mannix be touching his opponent, but shortly thereafter the victim finds themselves encased in a spherical barrier of ki. Mannix can then pull "strings" of energy out and use them to whip his opponent around and beat him mercilessly. With each hit and force of strain the barrier takes, unstable ki builds within the barrier and clings to the victim. The more unstable energy that builds up, the more it hurts the victim when the barrier is struck. When Mannix wills it, the unstable ki is explodes as the barrier implodes, and the victim feels a torturous pain as though he is being both pulled apart and crushed simultaneously. This technique can also be a team effort. If an ally, or friend of the victim in a saving attempt, pulls in the opposite direction, the victim also feels as though he is being pulled in various directions. With enough effort, the stress of being pulled in either direction can trigger the explosion as well. ? FOREVER ZERO - Forever Zero is original in that it strikes from below, and is Mannix's fastest technique in terms of attack speed (regarded as instantaneous, though it just moves and happens faster than most can follow), though it requires some charge time. It is created as a ball of ki no bigger than an average marble at the end of Mannix's fingertip. Then, in an instant, an area spanning miles in diameter erupts in a pillar of flash and blaze. Those caught within suffer its incinerating power, and those who survive it would be buried in rubble. He has never really used this in combat, but originally used it for levelling cities while conquering planets. Instead of blowing everything up, he would let it burn and crumble. So it is relatively weak in comparison to other techniques since it was only ever meant to destroy large areas of land. (similar to the move Nappa uses when he first lands on earth, except over a much wider area) ? METEORITE - Mannix's most powerful attack, and as such, it is the only one capable of destroying a planet if he wishes to take the time putting that much energy into it. Its formation begins closing his hands into the prayer position where a furious aura engulfs him and his hands are pushed shoulder-width apart as a ball of energy forms between them. During this time the ball throbs, trying to grow bigger, but Mannix presses it to its more compact size for easier control. At the end of all this, he holds it to his side (like a Kamehameha), letting go with one hand shortly before thrusting the ball forward where it instantly increases 100-fold in size and begins its descent. It is very slow moving, but causes devastating damage. Its first contact with the ground sends a powerful, planetary shockwave; causing earthquakes and tidal all across the lands. It then detonates in a gargantuan, exponentially expanding dome, leaving nothing but a crater. [b]Weapon:[/b] N/A [b]Power Level:[/b] 50,000[/size]

Heh ...Not bad for 3:30 AM. If you want things to be [i]really[/i] interesting, though, stay up for three days straight, and then start drawing. I got quite the collage of random gibberish last time I did that ... I should probably stop using myself as the guinea pig for my own experiments. >.> I like the scribbly sort of coloring/shading. It is neat ... and sort of fitting to the time it was drawn, lol.

[size=1]I think allowing people to sign up for the sins would be a bad idea. I would either (A) control them yourself, or (B) ask people through private messaging, people who you know can RP really well here on the boards, to play them for you when needed. Allowing people to sign up for both will lead to conlict of interest and imbalance. I can personally relate it to playing Dungeons & Dragons, if you set up a campaign allowing any alignment, you can get Good aligned players playing along with Evil, Lawful with Chaotic. It will be too hard to control to keep the story going well. I personally like my second idea of getting good role-players to play them for you, and just have the sign-ups for those of the Chapel. The Sins play an intricate part of this RPG, and you do not just want any random shmoe signing up for it. I bet you have an ideal plan of how each Sin is supposed to be. So it would make more sense to give a few select people an outline of their character, and see if they are up for it. You could always have a person play more than one Sin if they and you are up for it, just to limit the number of people actually playing. How will this affect overall role-play. If you get a good staff of Sins working with any staff of Chapels, the PC-on-PC roleplay will get very interesting. Choosing experienced role-players who will not be power-hungry as a Sin will know not to take advantage of less-experienced people, and maybe even rub off on them a bit. This is better than you just playing all of them yourself because they would be played by different minds, creating variance in creative concepts. Honestly, I think this could be a very good RPG if it effectively implemented the Chapter System originally started by James's [i]Kill Adam[/i] RPG. You have been here more than a year, I assume you know what that is about. I would strongly reccomend thinking about that and how it could all work together.[/size]

[quote name='Inuyasha7271']By looking at this thread I have learned alot of new things about Goth music and some bands, but one thing no one has explained is the diffrence between Gothic Music, Black Metal, Death Metal, and isn't Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne considered one of those.[/quote][size=1]I could have sworn I at least touched on the difference, but the main way to find out is to just listen to it yourself. As I said, the Goth culture was a mellower offshoot of the punk movement back in the '60s and '70s. It originally had nothing to do with metal, at any rate. Seriously, just download some Bauhaus or Souxsie and the Banshees, listen to it, and then download some Nile or any of the other bands people have generally been mentioning. There is a vast difference. The term "goth" can really be applied to any kind of music. Like "Goth metal" can easily exist. You just have to remember that if it really is "Goth," then the bands and music must reflect the values and general way of being of that culture. So, in theory, some of the bands others are listing could be considered "Goth," but generally there is a mass misconception of the culture, and so the title is usually applied where it should not be.[/size]

[size=1]I think it could use a background of some kind. It took a while for it to sink in that, "Oh, she is laying down." Otherwise it just kind of looks like she is floating. Perhaps that can come in when and if you ever color it, though. It is a neat picture though. I like it.[/size]