Portraits of Characters

Session 41 - Demon Lords Broken

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:13:55 GMT

Session 40 - Assault on Torvan

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:38:38 GMT

Session 0 Crown of Spring - Corynn

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:36:20 GMT

A beautiful lady needed a flower, isn't that how it always goes? Even better, there was a quest. Regnum is a lot of fun so far. Found a map of the place below, for the start of my collection of Regnum maps.

It reminds me of something...

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:45:59 GMT

There's a trick to moving without being seen. Well several of them, really. But everyone always wants to know about the really flashy ones, the magic or the smoke and the mirrors. But the best trick is just to be nobody, to belong. That's what got me the name Smoke, that's what makes me legendary for my ability to slip away. Everyone looks for the thing that stands out, they can't help it. It's a hard trick to learn. Not only do you have to be able to blend in, but everyone likes to be special. It's tough being nobody.

The city is called Norwest, and it lies in a shadow that the inhabitants call Earth. They remember that much of Amber, even if they don't know that it exists. I was walking through it, surrounded by flashing lights, chattering people. Under my feet, the ground trembled like a bumblebee, machines with the power to rearrange continents making the whole city rattle just under the threshold of most people's awareness. I was taking the long way around, like any other late night shopper. I had my heart set on something pretty too. An onyx dragon, thousands of years old, and breathakingly beautiful.

So I meandered a little. When it's really important, you can afford to take the long way.
---

Galiat and I worked our way over miles of road. Slept on the ground, shat in the woods. I could tell that he was a little irritated, it would have been faster to teleport somewhere innocuous, and maybe nobody would have noticed. But it was worth taking the long way, to make sure we did it right. It was strange, working with someone else on a stealthy endeavor. He kept reminding me who I was, I kept breaking character. It was nice though. Like I said, being nobody is tough, so it was nice to be somebody when we weren't being observed.
---

Later that night, I was off Norwest's streets. About six hundred feet above them, give or take. I don't worry about the math too much. There's a stillness you get inside, when you're clinging to the glassteel side of a towering building. You know you've got to jump off of it, you know you've got all the gear to make that okay. Still, a little voice in the back of your head asks, "Are you sure? Are you just going to jump, like that?"

The air caught me with a shock across my body. Arms out, legs open, riding nothing across a long gap to the next building. I had my window picked out, but once I was through it I'd have to improvise. Even Smoke couldn't get the blueprints for this place. Luckily, I've always been good at improvising.

Fired a shot, the class broke, I tumbled across slick tile. Alarms were already ringing, and I knew they had deadly security here. There were a lot of things I could have done, employed one of the counterspells I'd brought, dropped a smoke bomb, rolled back out the window to cling to the glass. Instead, I did the risky thing. Stood up, ran across the room with a rifle in my hands. It worked. I fit the physical profile for building security, and the systems didn't fire on me. Know thy enemy. The people I was robbing were too paranoid to trust their own security force. So they set the traps for someone who looked guilty.
---

Climbing the wall of Amber Castle wasn't so bad. Doing it without a rope was a little worrysome, but I've climbed harder. No, the bad came when someone grabbed me, and pulled me into a window. He was a ballsy one himself. In a totally dark room, going through someone else's papers, he had the guts to ask me what I was doing there. I told him it was the same thing he was doing. He didn't laugh, but I think he thought it was funny.

Prince Caine. Interrogated me, but was good enough to answer my questions even though he had the upper hand. Told me a few things, asked me not to raise a fuss. Was good enough to sense me just by the fact that I was carrying my Trumps. That galled me a little. I wondered what he was feeling. How does it feel to kill your brother, and how does it feel to know he's not dead, after that?
---

The vault was cramped, in a strange way. Plenty of open space, but so little of it was safe to stand in. I think they believed you couldn't walk through it at all without stetting things off. Whoever designed it must not do a lot of yoga. I had my suit built so that it would give me feedback when encountering electrical or MT fields. It let me feel my way through the long steel tunnel, worm my way past traps that I didn't want to know what they did.

Time was a factor, but I'd left myself enough. If I'd laid low after coming through the window, it'd be running out now. They didn't expect me to be in so deep, so soon. A little further, and I came to the final door. This one was only supposed to open when all the traps had been disengaged, but that's because it was supposed to slide out of the tunnel I'd just crawled down. So there were no traps on it, and only a simple lock. The hard stuff was behind me.

I popped the door, and inside was my prize. My eyes misted up a little looking at it. So beautiful, so lovingly crafted. I was patient, and disarmed the last security device. If you ever do something like this yourself, remember, there's always one more inside the vault. My hand closed around it... and it came alive.
---

Walking down to the Pattern room was hard. Crawling with security, I kept myself hidden with the softest of Wavesongs. It took hours, working my way down the great stair. Sliding from step to step, pressed against the wall, under the gaze of inscrutible beings of light. The door to the Pattern was guarded of course. Sadly, I could only trick one of the two guards away. The other I had to kill, and I did so as quickly and mercifully as I could.

At last, the whole reason I'd come. To see what had been done to the Pattern so I could draw Trump of it. I unlocked the door, kicked it open... and Brand stared at me.

Perspective

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:15:05 GMT

Perspective is a valuable thing. For instance, was it really such a good idea to leave a conduit to the Pattern in Arden?

Time will tell.

Disorientation

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:14:29 GMT

It's quite amazing to have your mother spring the fact that she expects you to be a heroine on you. It reminds me of an old song.

Sense of the earth swirling below me,
Rush of the wind in my hair,
Seeing the branches flicker past me,
Serves her right for making that dare.

Then again, now that I'm singing it I remember it's about a girl jumping to her death. Never mind, perhaps it's better to avoid that line of thought.

In any case, Amber is gone and we were attacked by strange things. I drew one of them, more my impression than a realist sketch. I think it conveys more this way.

Just a sketch, but this is how I remember it. No power in the sketch for now, I don't know what powers they have, and I don't want it popping out of the card when I'm sleeping.

Of Battles, Sepents, and Blood Curses

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:01:38 GMT

This writing my own journals is problematic. I really will have to go find Pepe.

The beginning of the battle was interesting. A charge lead by Julian outside of Arden, which set the stage for the rest of the action. Retreating while wearing the Serpent down. Something I did not expect was an army from House Gevora, lead by the greatest champions of their house.

When the Serpent reached the walls, we got to the meat of the battle. I was able to be effective with a ballista, and had the distinct pleasure of getting to fight alongside my Mother and Eric.

The battle was terrific. The highlight, for me, was my fight with Lord Elrick, of House Gevora. He and I were very well matched, to this day I do not know who would have won had we not been drawn into a place where I had no support. We went back and forth, whip of fire against my Abyssal arm, sword against sword. He lept off the wall and I chased him, we impaled each other, and I took his weapons from him but his arms became blades.

Unicorn's Grace! What a fight. We will have to settle it one day again. I had to retreat into the Abyss and return to Amber via Torvan and Trump.

The low point of the battle was the shot by Kuru. I understand why she shot at me, since I had been trying to get her killed. But the bitch took my eye. That I do not forgive. She forced me to flee from the battle, damn that gun of hers, I should destroy it.

So I fled to the Abyss again, and this time I walked to the edge of the dark shelf, from below which nothing ever returns. I stared into the neverending dark, and I cursed that whore. As the blood ran from my ruined eye into my mouth, I pronounced words which I shall not write here, but which will sever her from everyone who cares for her.

A terrible black cold feeling grew in me, and I felt satisfied in a way I never have before, yet it was tinged with fear and trepidation. A true Bloodcurse. How did we even know we have this ability? Perhaps Oberon laid one on someone once, or Finndo. Or some forgotten son who died. Whatever the case, I know I had done it, without needing to die, as Corwin had managed.

This then, will be my judgement on Kuru. I do not need to slay her soon, as long as she makes no overt action against me. I will keep my hands ostensibly clean, I will only defend, not attack. I will wait until my curse has come into it's fullness, and she is stripped of every single person who cares.

And then I will crush her, and wipe the stain from my boot.

Useless King

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:44:55 GMT

((Another role-playing character. Original journal at cedro_of_amber.))

Random has apparently caved to Bleys's demands. Put his protection on Mikayla and Bronwyn. It's a surprising reversal of his previous position, the one where he claimed he would never deal with the man. Apparently his earlier words of confidence in those of us who were seeking to break Bleys's control over Trump and the Jewel were lies. If he doesn't want effective people to help him, then it's no problem to stop serving Amber through him.

Tio Eric has made me some interesting offers, and it seems like he might actually make good on them. I think I'll support him for now, Random is a dead end for anyone not named Kuru, and even she gets mere hollow honors. There is said to be a Serpent on the way, perhaps the actual Serpent of Chaos, who's eye Dworkin tore out. If Kuru is to be believed, it is on its way to attack Amber.

This will be an interesting test for Random. Let us see if he can hold the kingdom he pretends he deserves. I will be surprised if he can convince Amberites to throw themselves into a meat-grinder just on his say-so.

Luna you bitch!

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:24:51 GMT

((This is a role playing character. I'm moving all my journals to this account. The original journal can be found at callieblackout.))

Silver. All of a sudden everyone is sporting silver like it's the new gold and pink. Scott got shot with it, Thomas got shot with it, they shot at me with it, fuck them. Time to go down to their place, and show them what Ur... Ura... Werewolves are all about!

Things are going okay, I think. Nobody's died yet, Eagle is happy, and we're tearing up our enemies. Waiting for the law to get on our ass. That's going to be fun. It's been over a year since I punched a cop.

Jones says I should be getting into music or poetry or something. It's my duty as an almost-full moon. Gotta remember the word for that one. Anyway, I used to think that all musicians are retards, but that's what they say about boxers so I guess it's okay.

I'm going to take a shot at some poetry, you'll tell me if it sucks, diary, you're always straight-up with me like that.

i see you up there
lookin' down
hi luna

see you're still
all mad, bout that thing

i didn't do it
wish you wouldn't
play me like i did

but i guess
that's how it goes

so if that's
the way it is

gimme some silver
shine up my claws

What do you think diary? Sucks right? It's cool, we won't show it to anyone.

Writing Blog - 1 Snow Walk

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:58:51 GMT

An unexpected car drove by, churning up the slush, tilling the gray soggy mass that lay to either side of the wheel ruts down the street. On the sidewalk, things were a bit more pristine yet, hard packed and glistening snow coated the pavement. John would step from opaque and still rough, to glassy and slick. Hands tucked into the pockets of his dark woolen coat, collar turned up against the wind that blasted down beside him, he barely spared the car a glance. No hat, and no gloves, no scarf. Just jeans and boots where the coat ended at knee length.

This was, John reflected, extremely miserable. The wind coming down through the broad arterial streets was bad enough, without having to watch his every step lest he slip and fall. The cold seemed omnipresent. He could hardly believe there was a time when his face didn't feel numb, when he didn't have to cringe into his coat to keep icy fingers of wind from sneaking down his collar.

The apartment was entirely too far away. Ten more blocks, John huddled into a doorway for a moment and looked down the street. Streetlights created pools of yellow-tinged slush and ice, reflecting up and off to scatter light onto the rest. There was nothing that didn't have it's own little shine from the frost. Every corner seemed to catch the light and toss it up toward the sky.

John craned his head up, not ready to leave his refuge yet. The sky was clear, to an extent the city rarely saw. There seemed to be nothing between him and the stars, though only the brightest of them could outshine the massive web of lights that lay just below. A flick of the eyes downward, one could see skyscrapers lit with a patchwork pattern of windows, neon signs fighting with streetlights for attention, radio towers holding aloft a lonely, blinking light.

The cold of the brick at John's back began to seep through the coat. The warmth in his chest and legs from walking faded, he felt the winter chill close around him like a cloak. With a sigh, he heaved himself off the bricks and back into the biting wind.

"Damned if you do..." he muttered. Nothing was open. In a city unused to snow, even a foot or so put everything to a halt. No cars had come since the last one, no more were likely to. No taxis prowled the streets, no other people were foolish enough to be out in this cold.

Spying the entrance to a park, John hurried across the street, feet crunching in the rapidly freezing slush. He hustled past the entrance, and into the first bit of trail that was sheltered on either side by trees. The wind fell behind, tangled in the trees, shook them, and roared above, but John was out of its reach.

He smiled, shrugged his coat down into a more comfortable position on his shoulders, and began walking. The snow on the ground was nice and powdery here, traction was good, and John was rather heavily congratulating himself on the wise decision. Though he'd rarely take the park trails at night ordinarily, he didn't put much stock in stumbling across a homeless camp or drug deal tonight.

He didn't expect to see anyone, really, so he just pushed on, nose down, navigating the paths by memory. The park was lovely at night, in the snow, but it would still be lovely as seen from above, from his apartment window, with a cup of hot cider in hand. So it was to John's great surprise, and actual heart-skipping terror that he heard a voice suddenly within arm's reach.

"I didn't think there was anyone else in the park." It was said in such a conversational tone, but with a confidant volume, and John pressed up against a tree opposite the speaker without knowing exactly how he ended up there. There was perhaps some lingering suspicion that he might even have yelped, but John's pride quickly assured him that no such thing was possible.

"Where..." John's eyes fell on the speaker, and his question fell from his lips. It was a girl, a woman, a person anyway, of the female persuasion. Unlike John, she did not seem to be shivering or discomforted by the cold. But she should have been. She was wearing nothing but a light blouse and a breezy skirt. Her skin was pale, so pale John's first thought was that she must have frostbite or something.

He opened his mouth again to warn her, offer her his coat, assess her sanity, and lost the power of speech again when he met her eyes. He could not have described them at first, but later would be satisfied to call them sapphire. Not only in color, but they had depths, hidden glimmers in them, that no one's eyes ought to have. There was something achingly beautiful about her delicate features, and yet dangerously alien as well. Her hair too was white, and it washed about her face and down her shoulders, stirring lightly in a wind John was pretty sure did not touch his own hair.

"Yes? Please finish your question," she said, with a toss of her hair. "I hate it when people just... stop and stare."

"Sorry." John tried to collect his thoughts. Was he going mad? Hallucinating? Or maybe he was just speaking to a crazy, frostbitten women with really expensive contacts. None of the options seemed good. Still, she was glaring rather intently at him now, demanding more of a reply.

"Um, right, sorry again. I uh... I was asking where you came from. I didn't see you when I was walking." John pulled himself fully upright again, stepping away from the tree.

"Of course you didn't." she sighed. "That's not much of a question. Ask a better one, or I shall be bored."

John blinked. "Well... the first one that comes to mind is... aren't you cold? Or... you know, getting frostbite? Would you like my coat? Or maybe... an ambulance?"

She laughed. It would have been a beautiful, musical laugh, but for the literal echo of tinkling ice that underlay it, as if all the icicles had fallen off the trees at once. But the trees remained quite firmly iced over. John shivered, a little worried knot forming in his stomach.

"That's your best question? No, I am not cold and I do not need help, but you, unfortunately, are boring. I'll give you another chance." She stepped out onto the path, without any noise as her foot sank into the crunchy snow.

John frowned a little, despite the worry, the weirdness of the situation and the woman, he was not without pride. "Fine. What's your name? I'm John Ramses."

The woman's eyes went wide. She smiled, but it was empty of camaraderie. One might say she smirked, but there was far too much pleasure in the expression for any mere smirk to contain.

"You gave me your name? Oh, now you are not boring at all. I shall not give you my name, but it will be awkward if you have nothing to call me by. You may address me as Crystal." She stepped forward, until she was all but pressed up against John's coat.

John looked back into Crystal's eyes, which seemed even more luminous now, and some deep primal fear uncoiled in the base of his spine. He felt not as if he were speaking to a little slip of a woman with open air all around him, but rather as if a full grown panther had just pressed him into a corner.

"I... didn't give you my name. It's still mine." Where did that come from? John wondered, of course it's still mine. "Why are you so beautiful?" His head spun, the comment seemed to have come wholly unbidden from his lips, and yet he ached to hear the answer.

Crystal giggled, and the impossible echo of breaking ice that overlayed it just spread the fear through John's body until his limbs began to tremble. "Because I am a dream, my boy with a king's name. Because I am impossible in your world, and yet generated by it."

Crystal stroked John's face lightly, behind the caress came a feeling of intense, painful cold. "Because, John Ramses, I am myself, without mixture or dilution. I am one thing, entirely." She smiled and stepped in to press against his body. "That has been your most interesting question yet." The touch of her, even through the coat and sturdy flannel shirt was numbing, it shocked his chest and made his lungs catch.

"I have to go." John took a shaking step back from Crystal, coming up against the tree again. "I have to get home."

"That is neither a question, nor is it interesting." Crystal's eyes narrowed, disappointed, John tensed involuntarily, as if he expected a blow. "But you may go, for now. I will see you again, John Ramses. Upon that you may depend."

John nodded, perhaps muttered a quick apology, he could never remember for certain afterwards. He knew only that he fled then, he ran and did not pay any heed to which twist in the trail he took. He just put down distance in an unreasoning panic.

Some time later, he came to his senses, and leaned against a tree, panting. The adrenaline crash left him dizzy, and nauseous. Questions reeled in his head. Had he somehow stepped on a dirty drug needle and not noticed it? Was it cold enough for him to be hallucinating? Did someone put something in his drink at the restaurant? Of those possibilities, only the last seemed to have any grounding in reality at all, and still, he couldn't credit it. It had been real, was all he could seem to believe, no matter how impossible that might be.

"Why am I so scared?" John wondered. "I was twice her size. Nothing happened, she never threatened me."

"Yes she did." Came another thought, one that John could not help but believe. "What would it have been like if she had really touched me?" He wondered, part of him shying away from the memory of her terrible cold and part of him, eager to find out. John swallowed hard, and pushed those thoughts away.

He reflected for the umpteenth time that none of what had happened was really possible, but still, it seemed real and plain as day. "Was Crystal the only strange thing?" he wondered, then looked around. The park was dark... darker than he ever remembered it being. The only light came from above, but when John craned his head up, there was no haze of light generated by the city's mighty glow. There were only the stars. Billions of them, a carpet of tiny lights across the sky. More than would ever fall on the eye of a city dweller. More than you could see across most of the nation in fact.

It was as if the sky had never been marred by an artificial light at all.

Terror welled up in John then, and this time, it was rational as well as instinctual. "I have to get out." He said desperately, aloud. "I have to get out!" The shout echoed off the woods, woods that seemed to have trees far too large for a park planted a mere two decades ago. The path still had more or less the right shape, and John clung to that like a lifeline. He let his vision focus in on the path, and he ran again, this time with purpose. He stared at nothing but the path, drove his legs until the breath burned in his chest, and he was sweating in his clothes.

Until he was surrounded by light. He looked up, and there were buildings, blessed, creaky old brick buildings, lightly dusted by snow. There were only a few, bright stars in the sky, the city drowned out the rest. Behind him... he looked back cautiously, and felt giddy relief spread through his body. There were only some young trees, and snowy paths. No interloping ancient oaks, no bizarre ice women. He stared for a while, unsure if he wanted there to be anything strange in the park or not, now that he was safe back on his sidewalk.

But the sweat chilled against his body, and the wind picked up again, and John shuffled on across the slushy street to his building, taking the steps two and three at a time up to the third floor. Once back in his apartment, he flopped down on the couch, giggling with a hysterical note in his voice. He turned the heat up, and some soft music on. Then he made himself a cup of hot cider, and sipped it on the couch, glad to finally be warm.

"Whatever that was," John thought, "and I'll probably never know, it was crazy, but it's over now. Snow never lasts long here, by tomorrow it will be melting. In a couple of days, the rain will come back, and you'll never know it snowed at all." Lulled into a pleasant lethargy by the cider, and his exertions, John got up, and turned out the lights one by one. As he rolled into bed, he tucked the covers around him and thought one more time of those haunting, gemstone eyes.

But he was tired, and sleep claimed him just minutes later. John did not dream that night, or at least, not so that he remembered. His sleep was deep, and peaceful, restful. Outside, more snow was falling. Not the thin, scarce powder that had drifted down for most of the day. Flurries of large, fat snowflakes were falling, and falling, and falling without stopping. By morning, the almanac would have a new record to record.

Writing Blog - Mission Statement

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:55:53 GMT

I'm going to give yet another shot to turning this journal into a writing blog. At the moment I have no idea what kind of schedule I can keep, so I won't commit to one. The stories contained within may not be complete, and will probably be first drafts, especially at first. Some will just be vignettes, some may span multiple entries in an episodic format.

Comments are welcome, critical, inquisitive, or simply emotive. I may or may not respond to comments. In the case of criticism, if all I have to say in response is a defense of my work, I'll probably not respond. I was once told that you shouldn't defend your work, and I try (and often fail) to adhere to that. The story should stand on its own.

Spelling and grammar will often be wrong, you can nitpick that if you want, but since I consider that kind of editing to be best done when you have some reason to create a polished product, I'll likely ignore such nits. The main purpose here is to keep me writing on a regular basis, and then stretch my muscles a bit once I've gotten into a groove.

I hope that anyone who still has my journal friended enjoys these, or is at least amused by them. I will likely be hiding the majority of each story behind a cut so as to not explode your friends list. A 'teaser' portion will remain above each cut.

For a final note, the stories may be graphic, they may even be erotica. I have written sex stories in the past and will do so in the future, so be warned. If for whatever reason the content behind the cut is NSFW, I will indicate so in the cut link. And no NSFW content will appear above the cut.

Onward!

Yes We Did

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:50:36 GMT

Congratulations, President Elect Obama.

Good things coming for the US I think. It's nice to be able to hope. Everything came up roses for me this election, more or less, no real complaints, except about the treatment of LGBT folks in other states. While I abhor abominations of 'legislation' like Prop 8 in California, I didn't expect that battle to be won this time around. Instead, I see it as the battle that my generation will have to fight. One that we will be able to mark down on our list of accomplishments in 10-20 years.

Onward!

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:09:46 GMT

It is snowing. In Bellingham.

In APRIL.

I have never seen this in thirty years of living here. I am just staring at it in shock, my mind doesn't want to process what's happening.

Wow.

Climate Change indeed.

The Great White Yonder

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:47:53 GMT

I'm off to Winterpeg Mannitoba, a place no doubt fraught by terrible apparitions such as polar bears and strange maple-men.

But it's all worth it because eurekagray is awesome. And his art show will also be awesome.

Yay vacation!

You're so vain you probably think your journal is about you.

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:04:29 GMT

I got a haircut today, and have been playing with my hair all afternoon.

I'm so vain. ^_^

And pretty. ^_^

Oh, feeling much better now, thank Hegel. Should be close to 100% for my upcoming trip to Winnipeg, for which I am SUPER excited!

The pain....

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:09:48 GMT

I haven't been this sick in years. Ugh, ow. I really hope I can keep this medicine down.

Space ships!

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:02:38 GMT

Wooo! They sure are phallic! Some of em anyway. This ship will house the protagonists. Discussion of the ships and how they will work upon request.

This is going to be the standard, 'plunderable' ship. Big enough to be a prize!

Humans have crappy ships. But they are big!

He's a psychic, really. Not a stoner. I promise.

Sketches again. Maybe this'll be a habit.

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:45:10 GMT

Concept sketches! Doing some work for a project with eurekagray. Well, it's not really work if it's fun, but you get the idea. None of these images got cleaned up at all, they're just .jpgs of the scan, resized and re-oriented.

Also, if you are eurekagray then you have the raw scan in your gmail inbox.

Drawing hair that's spiked up is not easy, even anime-style. Designing uniforms is hard too. It's going to be hard not to draw too much from Mass Effect

Full size on the Marine pic.

And now, the dreaded antagonist aliens, who evolved from... capybaras?

Profile view of said alien's head.

A random hand. Only 3 knuckles on the top of the hand so probably belongs to one of the furry aliens.

Snow!

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:29:19 GMT

Snow! ^_^

Eeeeeeeeee!

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:25:00 GMT

Alisha has totally forgotten what she was going to say to her class. In fact, I think she's entirely forgotten that there was a class at all.

She can't help it you know. One of the students is playing with a bit of string.

It's mesmerizing.

This is the upsize of the above thumbnail... The images below go back in time, to a resize of the original scan. The subject of the drawing was by request.

And the sketchy 'cleaned up' version.

And finally, a manageable size of the initial scan.

Geats!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:52:43 GMT

Beowulf was awesome. Was the animation perfect? Of course not. Was the story true in every detail to the poem? Of course not.

What Beowulf was, was a damn good action movie that captured the spirit of the poem and showed off some amazing animation chops from the studio that made it.

Go see it!

Right now!

I'm serious, get in your car!

Dreaming

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:47:07 GMT

Had a rather strange dream this morning. I dreamt about swimming competitively at first, which isn't terribly usual but not too odd, and I have been vaugely thinking about getting back into swimming and joining a Master's team or something.

But then the dream went all self-righteous and stuff, with me smugly putting bullies in their place, and in fact even getting them killed / maimed via pre-planned 'accidents'. Weird accidents, like slowing down my flying saucer enough that their flying saucer would rear-end me, and then they'd get shot at by the turrets? police? who watched for people maliciously bumping others.

The flying saucer spiral down into a Star-Wars style reactor pit thingie was kind of cool to watch though.

Seriously though, weird dream. ^_^;

It's my birthday...

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 01:58:07 GMT

and it's been pretty good.

Had a great dinner, nice presents, delicious dessert. Had to work but I even got sent home early on account of birthday. Now I'm just chilling. ^_^

Wanna know stuff about me? Click the cut link

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 20:41:56 GMT

(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)

✓ I miss somebody right now.	✓ I don't watch much TV these days. (Never)	✓ I own lots of books.
✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses.	✓ I love to play video games.	✓ I've tried marijuana. (Meh)
✓ I've watched porn movies.	✓ I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship. (Kind of...)	× I believe honesty is usually the best policy. (This question is way too complex, ethicaly, for a checkbox answer.)
✓ I curse sometimes.	× I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.	× I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.

* * * * *

× I have broken someone's bones.	× I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.	× I hate the rain.
× I'm paranoid at times.	✓ I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free. (Yes and no. I think this is a body modification question, and if it really was a magical change type thing, there are some things I'd like to be able to do.)	✓ I need/want money right now. (Dear god yes)
× I love sushi.	× I talk really, really fast.	× I have fresh breath in the morning. (Who in the world would be able to check this box?)
× I have long hair.	× I have lost money in Las Vegas.	✓ I have at least one sibling.
× I was born in a country outside of the U.S.	× I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.	× I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
✓ I like the way that I look. (Though I do need to lose weight)	× I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.	✓ I am usually pessimistic. (This way I'm never unpleasantly surprised, only pleasantly!)
✓ I have a lot of mood swings. (>_>)	✓ I think prostitution should be legalized. (Mill's Principle of Liberty)	✓ I slept with a roommate. (Does it count if we were sleeping together before we were roomies?)
× I have a hidden talent.	× I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.	× I have a lot of friends. (Naw, just a few close ones.)
✓ I have pecked someone of the same sex.	× I enjoy talking on the phone.	× I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
× I love to shop and/or window shop.	× I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.	× I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
✓ I have a mobile phone. (Landlines suck)	× I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.	✓ I've rejected someone before.
× I currently like/love someone.	× I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.	✓ I want to have children in the future. (More ambivilant on this than I used to be.)
× I have changed a diaper before.	× I've called the cops on a friend before.	✓ I'm not allergic to anything. (Pretty sure this is true.)
✓ I have a lot to learn. (Everyone does.)	× I am shy around the opposite sex.	✓ I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
✓ I have at least 5 away messages saved.	✓ I have tried alcohol or drugs before. (Redundant question?)	✓ I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
× I own the "South Park" movie.	× I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.	✓ I enjoy some country music.
× I would die for my best friends. (Uh... this is so situational.)	× I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist.	× I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
× I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.	✓ I have dated a close friend's ex. (My first steady girl.)	× I am happy at this moment.
× I'm obsessed with guys.	× Democrat. (Eh, the party of incompetance)	× Republican. (Versus the party of selfishness)
× I don't even know what I am.	× I am punk rockish.	× I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
× I study for tests most of the time. (Never had to)	× I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.	✓ I can work on a car. (Thanks dad)
× I love my job(s).	× I am comfortable with who I am right now.	× I have more than just my ears pierced.
× I walk barefoot wherever I can.	× I have jumped off a bridge.	× I love sea turtles. (Random!)
× I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.	✓ I plan on achieving a major goal/dream. (I hope most people do.)	× I am proficient on a musical instrument. (Used to be, would like to be again.)
× I hate office jobs.	× I went to college out of state.	× I am adopted.
× I am a pyro.	× I have thrown up from crying too much.	✓ I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
× I fall for the worst people.	× I adore bright colours. (Oh god no)	× I usually like covers better than originals.
× I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays. (Don't hate them, but they aren't great.)	✓ I can pick up things with my toes.	× I can't whistle.
× I have ridden/owned a horse.	× I still have every journal I've ever written in.	× I talk in my sleep.
× I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century. (Hell no. If anything, the future needs to speed up.)	✓ I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions. ()	× I wear a toe ring.
× I have a tattoo.	× I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.	× I am a caffeine junkie. (Since I'm on perscription stimulants, caffeine does jack to me.)
× I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all.	× If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder. (Getting away with it or not is so not the reason to murder someone or not.)	× I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better.
✓ I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.	✓ I'm an artist. (Prose, Storytelling)	× I am ambidextrous.
× I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed.	× If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony.	× I have terrible teeth.
× I hate my toes.	× I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me.	✓ I have more friends on the internet than in real life.
× I have lived in either three different states or countries.	× I am extremely flexible.	× I love hugs more than kisses.
× I want to own my own business.	× I smoke. (HELL NO)	× I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else.
× Nobody has ever said I'm normal. (I'm sure someone must have said it sometime, but not regularly.)	× Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then.	× I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons.
× I like the way women look in stylized men's suits. (It's okay, I guess.)	× I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me.	✓ I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds. (Since I was like... 6.)
✓ I have played strip poker with someone else before.	✓ I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help.	× I believe in ghosts and the paranormal.
× I can't stand being alone.	✓ I have at least one obsession at any given time.	× I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again.
× I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment.	× I'm a judgmental asshole.	× I'm a HUGE drama-queen.
✓ I have travelled on more than one continent.	× I sometimes wish my father would just disappear. (He's dead, you jerk! ;_;)	× I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am.
× I am a Libertarian. (Hahahahhaa, no.)	✓ I can speak more than one language. (Spanish)	× I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be. (If I'm tired enough, but I think that'd work for anyone.)
✓ I would rather read than watch TV.	× I like reading fact more than fiction.	✓ I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do.
✓ I have no piercings.	× I have spent the night in a train station or other public place.	× I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried.
× I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night.	× There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it.	× I like most animals better than most people.
× I own a collection of retro games consoles.	× The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver.	✓ I have hit someone with a dead fish. (Hey, I was on a fishing boat in Alaska. Another really random question.)
× I am compulsively honest.	× I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired. (Do eyeglasses count?)	× I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers.
× I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex.	× I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders.	✓ I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to. (Only when I'm depressed)
× I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on.	× I dislike milk.	× I obsessively wash my hands.
✓ I always carry something significant around with me. (A ring, usualy)	× Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair.	✓ I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others. (Doesn't always work, but I try.)
× Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother.	× I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document.	✓ I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird.
× I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time.	× Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed.	× I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won.
× I do not 'get' most comedy acts.	✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing. (It's a service. I don't have puritan/christian hangups.)	✓ I don't like to chew gum.
× I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it.	× I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car.	✓ I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years.
× I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other.	× I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly. (No. But I play role playing games.)	✓ I love to sing. (But I'm not very good at it.)
× I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up.	× I have a custom-built computer.	× I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it.
× I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human.	✓ I've gone skinny-dipping.	× I've performed in three plays.
× I enjoy burritos.	× I'm Irish and loving it. (My sister has been in Ireland for a year.)	✓ I have a thing for redheads. (Mmmmmmm)
× I am a twin!	✓ Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'.	× Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else.
✓ I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes. (Who doesn't? Even if you don't regret, it would be nice to use your hindsight.)	× I sleep more than 12 hours a day.	× I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough. (Shouldn't this say "more proud"? Kind of ironic if it really is bad grammer.)
✓ I need more time to myself.	× I wish I was more open-minded.	× I hope that I go really prematurely grey.
✓ I download songs from the internet. (zomg piracy)	× I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend.	× I say random things to freak people out.
× I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note.	× I love playing Truth or Dare. (Used to)	× I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it.
× Music helps me remember that I am not alone.	✓ Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems. (Endorphins are fun.)	✓ I think this survey is particularly long. (It is pretty long!)
× I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones.	× I can only hate someone that I love.	× I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks.

Kink test thing.

Mon, 01 May 2006 02:27:58 GMT

TYPE O
You scored 100 imagination, 91 confidence, 75 dominance, and 29 generosity!

You are a KINKY, CONFIDENT, DOMINANT lover who prefers to RECEIVE. This
means that:
You like relatively kinky sex, and you have the great imagination that
will always keep your partner guessing and excited! There's no getting
bored with you around, you could never settle for dull sex, you want
something fun and new all the time. You aren't afraid to try out
anything you hear about. You might just be an intelligent lover who
needs to be mentally engaged, or perhaps you have some dirty dark
secret kinky desires, but either way, you're never boring. You are
pretty confident in bed. This means that you know you can please your
lover. Maybe you've read a lot of sex manuals, or have the experience
from previous lovers, or just tend to be skilled at whatever you get
your hands on, but you're good and you know it. You can really get
results and know that you have pure talent, so you won't be hiding away
shy, pretending to be all innocent. Your partners love your naughty
self assurance, you don't hesitate and this makes you a sensational
lover.
You tend to be dominant in bed, so you prefer to be the one giving the
orders than taking them. Maybe you like the power, or just like
controlling the pace, perhaps your partner likes to be dominanted, or
maybe you get a kick out of the whole master/slave relationship, it
could be something as small as liking to be on top during sex and tie
up your lover to tease them, or it could be as kinky as them having to
ask your permission to do anything at all. Either way, you are firm and
you enjoy it! You would rather Receive than Give. This usually applies
more to Oral sex than anything else, and other types of foreplay. This
could be for a number of reasons. Maybe you are just very hooked on the
sensation of orgasm, maybe you feel you deserve to be treated like a
god/goddess, maybe you just aren't confident about your skills when it
comes to returning the favour. Maybe you are lazy. Or maybe your
partner loves to give and that suits you fine, so everyone is happy.
Either way, remember to be a giver sometimes too, as long as your
partner likes it. WE SUGGEST YOU TRY:
Fluffy handcuffs, soft whips. You have the kinky factor that will mean
you'll enjoy playing games in bed, and using these fluffy cuffs rather
the metal sort of the just a silk scarf means you will be tied firmly,
but comfortably. You can't get away, but you wont be in any pain.
However, we know you'd rather do this to your lover than be tied up
yourself, so feel free, or take turns! Enjoy some light flogging with a
soft whip, just to see if you like being spanked, or use your hand.
Nothing too heavy, but a little bit kinky.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 95% on imagination
You scored higher than 76% on confidence
You scored higher than 83% on dominance
You scored higher than 1% on generosity

Link: The What's your sexual style? Test written by lu-mina on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test