NigaiAmaiYume

I'm going to suggest it before an Admin does...1. Please use proper spelling and grammar. Not only is this supposed to be a mature, contributing forum, many members speak English as a second language. It's hard enough for a native speaker like me to understand exactly what you are saying.2. Please, explain what you mean by this. First, you're using second hand information ("Some friends of mine"). Did this happen to your friend? Did your friend hear about it from someone else?3. I have no idea what you mean by "when they have some money tio take out they acouunt [sic] is deleted". Do you mean that if the account is negative, the account is deleted? That may actually be within Google's rights. Or are you saying Google took money out of a user's account, and then deleted it?

Various things. For the LONGEST time, I wanted to be a vet. Actually went to my current University (Good ol' U of Guelph) because of it's Vetrinary program.First year in Biological Sciences, however, I was HATING my classes, except Psychology. Then a partner in a chem lab asked me why I was in the physical sciences when I identified myself primarily as a fantasy writer. Now, this question had come up many times on-line. But when she asked me, I just looked at her, walked up to the TA, and asked if I had to stay if I planned on dropping the course. When she said no, I walked out, and haven't looked back.Ended up changing my program to Child, Youth and Family Studies (AKA Social Work). I still would have liked to work with animals, but now I am totally into my plan to work with children. Doesn't seem so different in my mind. ^-^ And I'm liking the classes better.Plus, it's REALLY helping my stories. ^-^And if you ask, why didn't I want to be a writer? That's like asking someone if they planned on breathing when they grew up. That's how hard it would be for me to STOP. ^-^

I'm really not sure how to put this delicately, so I'm afraid this might sound overly harsh. PLEASE remember this is intended as HELPING criticism. In both your post and the storyline written on your forum: please, watch your grammar. Something written so quickly and informally doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. You've obviously put a lot of time and thought into this project, both in the world development and in the game development. If you don't put the same amount of effort into your writings about your game - both official and advertising - people may assume a similar lack of concern in your product. Your style of writing is fine for quick paced settings, like inside a MMORPG. But for your game to be taken seriously, you have to be taken seriously. And one of the few ways you can do than on-line is through your writing.

*laughs* And here I was, liking my wrists for being the only bloody part of my body that DOESN'T store fat.My BEST advice: Don't worry about it.If anyone says you're anorexic, cheerfully point out a nice, fat-storing area.If you still feel a little anxious, wear wide, cuff-style or chunky bracelets to create a bit of a horizontal strip to distract from the actual shape.

I'm writing a novel that, for many reasons, uses base 12, also know as Duodecimal. The ways I have come up with to make this work: 1. Have an appendix explaining exactly what I'm up to. 2. Never mentioning any numbers above 12. *whimpers* Any more useful suggestions? And "Taking it out" won't work, I tried that, the universe got grumpy and wouldn't let me write anymore until I put it back in. Man, I wish that last bit was an exageration... LOL Notice from jlhaslip: Adjusted title length

Here's a 60% completed betatest of the logo I've been planning for my website. I'm putting it up at 60% finished because if I work any longer in MS Paint, my brain will explode. LOL (Why I'm in MS Paint and why it's only 60% is due to various mechanical and artistic limitations. If anyone wants a laugh at the expense of my insanity, I'll explain how I managed to get this largely done without access to either a computer nor actual talent! ^-^) Anyway, the 100x100 .gif betatest (With whitespace border so there's no lost detail at edges): Edit: Update! Better outline from actually paying ATTENTION to my graphed sketch. It's supposed to be a stylized butterfly/yin-yang. Did anyone guess that? LOL What remains to be done: - Finalize outline. - Include shade colouring. The wings are supposed to darken as they narrow, and the ball in the white space is supposed to be shaded, darkening to the lower-right. - Improve colours. These are just what I grabbed off the MS Paint main toolbar to work with. The butterfly is supposed to be a pink/purple/heliotrope, so I'll likely be working off of what's there, though. Body and antenna will be whatever is deemed most appropriate. Barring the above, any suggestions on improving the overall design? And anyone that's used to working in pixel art: Any specific areas that can be improved? Any suggestions on how to create the illusion of balance between the positive (coloured) and negative (white) space? I say "illusion", because there's definitely not a real area balance...

Congradulations on standing up to peer pressure, Albus. While most of that's behind me, I can remember how painful it can be.Now, being a hopeless, HOPELESS romantic, I can see why your friends would like you to go out with her and be happy. But if you're not comfortable with it, stand your ground.Personally, I suggest going to the homecoming (Stag), just for the experience. You don't have to stay there the whole time, but it's still a major event in your life, and even if you don't dance it's fun to be there with your friends.And if you and this girl just HAPPEN to get out on the dance floor and move around (Not dancing, of course... Just... Moving...) to a fast song... *giggles*Sorry, I'll force my hopeless romantics to back off. ^-^

I've come to the point where I need to get a new computer. Because I travel a lot, I'd prefer to get a notebook/laptop, although my budget's kinda restricted at the moment so I might downgrade to a PC.Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions on where I'd be able to get the best deal?I live in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. I'm willing to travel to Kitchener or Toronto to pick up the computer, but I'd prefer to have it mailed if possible.I'd also need a pretty decent warrenty. I seem to generate a destructive force around me that causes anything I care about to become the target of gremlins and such. LOLUse would be primarily schoolwork/writing, although I want to start getting into media development (Creating Videos/AMVs, image manipulation, etc). I don't mind waiting for things to load, although I also multitask a lot, so I'll be needing a lot of memory anyway.I know exceptionally little about hardware, so any help in comparing parts would also be greatly appriciated!

Update: I did a quick write up for Bethany and some of the other characters for her story here. And believe it or not, it DOES qualify as a "quick" write up. ^-^

Well, there actually IS a bit of a reason for all this... It kinda elaborates on what I'm discussing over here. And I would love some opinions on what I've got so far. The setting is mostly Spy Genre, James Bond kinda stuff, although this group focuses more in intel gathering rather than search-and-kill. The twist is the addition of psychic abilities, refered to as "Potential" - the idea being that, theoretically, everyone should be able to do this things, and these people have "reached" or are "finding" their Potential. Most potentials in G3 are enhanced or developed through drugs, although there are a few naturally gifted individuals as well. I'm trying to work out balance, both in jobs and in gender (I'm predisposed to female characters, being of the XX Chromosome persuasion myself.). BTW: I suck at names, so what's here is generally placeholders until I figure out what I really want to call people. ^-^ Hence G3 - literally "good guy group". I'll come up with a better reason for the acrynom later. LOL Note: "Previous Generation" characters are not named. This is because these characters were developed with an individual I need to discuss ownership of (again, this thread). Anyone named is my own creation. Bethany Potential: Various, generally described as Psychometry (the ability to sense details of objects, although Bethany's abilities are slightly different than traditional psychometry) Also has "reverse empathy", described below Details: Bethany is the daughter of a previous subject of the G3 and her bodyguard/lover. Bethany was conceived during a period when her mother's DNA was being rewritten by experimental drugs to enhance her Precognitive Potential, and Bethany's own body shows many effects of this drug that have not remained stable in any other individual. Indeed, it appears her body naturally produces traces of the original drug or a derivative, although G3 has not (offically) tried to exploit this. Since she was an infant, Bethany has been studied by G3, and has grown up as both its golden child and with the potential of being its greatest weapon. Her family (including non-related friends of her parents that took part in the Previous Generation adventures) have been ademant about allowing Bethany the chance to have a normal life, and frequently spoil her in an attempt to offset G3's influence. While Bethany has yet to demonstrate any offensive Potentials, her sensory Potential is generally considered stronger and broader than any other known. Having grown up with this sixth sense, Bethany has difficulties describing it to other people in terms they can understand. The best she has been able to explain is that she can sense the "flow" or "spirits" of objects and people. With objects, she can sense if there is something "wrong", and through manipulation find ways to "correct" this and improve things. She can also gather some of the "imprints" of traditional psychometry, although she finds this secondary to the "inherent spirit" of an object. Her psychometry is more difficult with people - whereas objects tend to have consistant spirits, all people are individual, and she has to literally learn the imprint of a person before she can accurately predict things about them. That having been said, for people she knows well, she can read feelings and health even at a distance, including how their spirits "fit" with others she knows. There is some suggestion Bethany may also have telekinesis, although on a very small - or more accurately, fine - scale. While she can't lift objects, she seems to be able to influence objects to "correct" their "flow" just by holding them for long enough. She has downplayed this ability to the scientists of G3, however, afraid of how they may desire to use it. This ability seems to work best on living things, most likely because bodies are designed to transport material around, and Bethany is just enhancing what occurs naturally. The most interesting Potential Bethany had, and in many ways the most dangerous, is something that can only be described as "reverse empathy" so far. Literally, Bethany projects her emotions to those around her - what Bethany feels, others sense and generally feel as well. Because of this, Bethany tries always to be pleasant and happy, a very natural state but also incredible consciously enforced. Bethany also has schooled herself not to experience intense emotions other than joy, in order not to impose them on others. She has given some hints that she has even become afraid of these intense emotions within herself - particularly anger and passion. While her participation in G3 has always been voluntary, Bethany has always understood she would enter the organization as a spy. It is the best place for her abilities, and the only place she can be herself. Part of her, however, misses the "normal" life she will never have, even if she can't fully understand it. David Potential: Unknown, has demonstrated energy projection Details: No one at G3 knows why David has the Potential he's shown, or why so many organizations are suddenly interested in him. At least, if they do, they haven't admitted it. David went to high school with Bethany, ignorant of her secret life with G3. He did know he liked her, however, and while he was kind of intimidated by the bubbly girl everyone couldn't help but love, he was constantly amazed she wanted to spend time with him as well. This all changed in their last year of school, however, when events showed he is as interesting to some organizations studying Potentials as Bethany, and while they don't know why, the giant holes in the walls from him trying to protect her from the gunfire are really good starting points. Suddenly, the everday boy-next-door is thrown into the world of psychic abilities and G3, with the special guest start of his long time crush. Who, by the way, has know practically since she met him that he was the love of her life, and has spent years trying to neither scare off nor become too attached to. Now they both have to come to terms with the fact their lives will never be normal, and just because the perfect person is handed to you on a silver platter, your love life will never be easy. Miranda Technological Potential: "Organic Cyborg", increased physical abilities and certain surgical enhancements Details: Thirty years ago, Miranda was a mere foot soldier of G3. But when an accident in the line of duty left her as a quadripeligic, she was offered a second chance at life - if she turned it over to the organization. Miranda became the focal point of almost all of G3's physical experiments, increasing both her life span and her abilities at the cost of playing the part of the perfect soldier and never again being quite human. Twenty three years ago, Miranda was assigned to a young woman as both bodyguard and spy, watching the development of her Potential in secret. Twenty two years ago, Miranda was willing to throw away everything G3 had given her to save this same woman after being kidnapped and written off by G3 as a "necessary loss". Twenty one years ago, Miranda became Bethany's godmother, and her constant protector both in G3 and her normal life. Miranda is still looking after Bethany, and nominally leads the group that has built up around G3's golden child. Miranda knows she isn't trusted by the higher ups, but that's ok, because she no longer trusts their judgements in regards to her "family", either. While she is still regularly "upgraded" and superhumanly skilled with firearms, Miranda's body is reaching the limit of both it's capabilities and ability to withstand the constant surgery. It's very likely the only reason she is still alive is Bethany's help and secret telekinentic psychometry. Miranda refuses to let the shell she's using give up, however, until her charge is strong enough to defend herself from a world that seems to only want to use her. DQ Potential: Mad Genius (Literally: Insanity with possible enhanced intelligence) Details: DQ is Bethany's "cousin" - the daughter of her mother's best friend. She's also the eldest of eight children know affectionally at "The Brood" ("Six of us were planned - my brother Dominic [third of the eight] came kinda early, and of course Mom was only expecting one of the twins...."), has inherited the family trait of messing with that which man was not meant to know, and chosen to specialize in mechanical items like cars and cannons. Like Bethany, DQ has spent most of her life knowing about G3 and planning on working for them. Indeed, her nickname refers to the character from the James Bond movies, since she's planning on being strictly R&D. She stands at 5 foot minus 1, seems to spontaneously generate caffine and/or sugar, and names all her inventions after characters from Disney movies. Her current favorite is her car Mufasa, which she's trying to trick out so that at least some part is considered illegal in the 50 states ("I mean, why else work as a spy if you don't take advantage of it?") She's Bethany's best friend, and has made it her goal in life to keep the girl from going crazy. While others may question her methods (Frequently. Loudly. Desperately.) it's worked so far. She's also generally considered one of the "saner" members of her family, especially by Miranda, who has had a long history of trouble with DQ's mother. The reasons are given as such: most of what she builds only blows up when it's SUPPOSED to, she GENERALLY tends to respect authority, and usually stops when the smoke alarms start, or at least gives adequate warning to any others in the area of the consequences ("I've had LOTS of experience with what happens when you DON'T." Proceeds to complain about dolls lost over the years to her own or her siblings' experiments). Others The group also has a selfish, sexy, poison using empath (Olivia) and a computer hacker/oracle with clairvoyance (Vikki), but I'm getting too tired to type them up. As you can tell, I'm short on fighters - right now, really only Miranda, although David is getting training in martial arts in the hopes that chi disciplines will help develop his Potential. Oh, and DK, if you count all the explosives. VEG As mentioned, I want the group to be mostly subterfuge/intel, so I'm not sure who else to match with them to up their offensive capabilities (Between Bethany, Olivia, and Vikki, they got the intel gathering COVERED, believe me.). Any ideas? (Presuming anyone got down this far... LOL)

No kidding, I'm up to 24 credits already. LOL I though intro wasn't supposed to count?

Short answer: 2 stories I'm willing to drop, 1 story I want to keep, and 1 story I've changed but contains enough elements I'm worried about legalities.Long answer: I'd better start this with a frequent exchange between me and my new friends:Me: *explaining story* And here it gets a bit complicated...Them: It's a MARY story.Me: I mean complicated for ME.Them: *vaguely frightened* Can we get a flow chart?In short, this is touching on a TONNE of grey areas.The main story I'm worried about actually isn't ANYTHING we developed together. When playing around with an original character, I wondered what she'd do in a Spy setting - and suddenly, several other characters I loved but hadn't known what to do with snapped into place.The problem is, my FAVORITE, Bethany, has kinda insisted she's the daughter of two characters this guy and I made up, and I don't know how to change THEM enough to not get any concerns about legalities without screwing over HER, because part of her personality is her relationship with THEIR relationship. (Does any of that make sense? Should I explain it more?) [edit]Double trouble comes with the WHY of Bethany. In short, her mother was given an experimental drug as a child that was designed to develop psychic abilities (Or Potential as the new setting is calling it). The bad guys take her and overdose her in an attempt to maximize her Potential, which kinda screws up her DNA. The good guys get Bethany's mother back and cure her, but not before Bethany is conceived. The end result of this is that Bethany may not be 100% human as we understand it, especially since she seems to produce tiny amounts of the drug naturally in her own body. The Bethany stuff is actually from her very first incarnation, but the fact it matches so well with what had come out of my former friend and my's story with her mother makes me wonder just how much I can change and just how much I can keep.[edit]On top of that, by including Bethany, I suddenly find places for all the kids-of-this-group I made up when bored.I'm TRYING to figure out ways to rewrite the first generation, which would end up getting refered to in flashbacks and parallels with the main story, but I'm not sure exactly how much I'll have to change.And then there's the other story, which I absolutely LOVE, and just want to be able to write.Another problem (Which HAD come up during this relationship) is that I'm a MAJOR control freak. While I could DEVELOP things with other people, when it comes to the actual writing, I'm SUPER possesive.*groans* I wish I didn't like Bethany's story so much. It's not like I don't have FIFTEEN other things to do.... But I REALLY wanna do it! *laughs*

I disagree with what a lot of people have been saying about them being too short. Expressing oneself in brief can be infinently more difficult than doing so in 16 lines. It's one of the reasons haiku continues to be a popular form: you have to chose exactly what you want to say, so that everything can be shown in a moment.These feel a lot like what I've been refering to as "Image poems" when I do them: stuff that lacks a lot of the structure normally seen in poems, but relying more heavily on symbolic language than normal prose. They definitely capture a specific image.Personally, I prefer the first one. I love the imagry of it, and your use of words seems very lyrical and honest.The second one doesn't move me as much. I think it's the bluntness of the last line; I guess I was expecting you to continue the metaphors of trying to prolong an inherently finite experience, and instead you go somewhere else entirely..Keep it up, and don't feel pressured to write more just because others think you should; you'll just end up lossing the feeling, IMHO.

I've got an interesting problem that's blocking me from writing some of my favorite stories.Six years ago, I became friends with a guy. At the time, we had a lot of the same interests, including writing. Bouncing ideas off of each other, we developed several stories, mostly through the process of him creating and writing for the male characters, me for the female ones (in other words, the gender we knew best.).He had a BIG crush on me, although I made it clear (eventually, when I figured it out) that I just wanted to stay friends with him.Unfortunately, we also started to grow apart. Honestly, the biggest problem was that I started to grow UP, while he seemed stuck in a place I was quickly becoming uncomfortable with (Depressed loner). It also quickly became apparent that I was his only friend, whereas I was starting to develop relationships with other people. And the more people I became friends with, the less I enjoyed spending time with him. This put a big strain on me, because eventually the only reasons I spent time with him was because I loved the stories we had developed, and I felt sorry for him.Finally, frustrated, I gave him an ultimatum: Grow up, get new relationships, or I was gone.I haven't talked to him in a year, and overall feel a better person for it.Unfortunately, I'd STILL like to write those stories. They're still knocking around in my head, and many of them have developed beyond what we had once done. Unfortunately, I don't feel right going ahead with them because he DID still have input, and they would not have happened without him.And when I feel cynical and don't care, I worry that I'll get them done and published, then he's sue me.What should I do? I don't want to start up a relationship with him again, and I don't know how else to talk to him without him assuming that. Besides, at the moment he holds the power, because he can just say he doesn't want to give up any claim to them without something from me in return.How can I write stories I love without getting screwed?

Copying from the Intro I did over at Xisto.com, before realizing that was the computer-technical forum. ^-^; *super embarassed at her faux pas* Anyway, you guys should be more interested in this... Anyway...Hello, everyone. You can call me NigaiAmai Yume.Or just Yume. Or BitterSweet Dreams. Or PaperDolls. Actually, I go by a lot of names; I've decided to stick with my (to be) web-site name in the forums to streamline things. I'll answer to just about anything that's obviously directed at me and not offensive. ^-^ Comes from being named Mary-Melissa in real life, I suppose. ^-^Why I am here:As stated above, I am a writer. And by writer, I mean I have 15 long* works**, mostly fantasty, developing in my head.* By long, I refer to anything with a decently organized plot that's become novel length, TV series, movie, comic series, or independent RPG setting wtih established NPCs. And one novella, but it's one of my more serious works, so I'm counting it.** This count is only of works that I would like to someday publish, and so does not include fan fiction. You do NOT want to know what THAT would total. o_OIf you're still with me, you can imagine that I've got a lot of work ahead of me.Unfortunately, the amount of stuff actually WRITTEN on any of the above fills about a notebook once printed. Experience has shown that I only seem to get things done when I have deadlines to freak about, and up until now things have been only in my head (And babbling to whoever will listen. Those have been surprisingly well receieve, however...).Therefore, I've decided to try and put a couple of my more developed works on-line as serial novels. Get stuff written, impose deadlines to force myself to get stuff written, and hopefully generate feedback (and, if miracles occur, a touch of recognition for when I finally DO get these published).As you can probably guess, I'm planning on using Xisto to start my website. The forums actually seem to be a bonus tool in completing my goal (Especially since I'm going to try to do all the HTML and coding from the ground up myself, and so will need a LOT of help...) as well as giving me a place to promote.We'll see how this all works.Oh, dear, I just realized I didn't mention my characters. Who've all managed to develop relatively-independent existance in my head, and have insisted on helping "run" the web site. Well, I hadn't wanted to scare people off TOO much.... I'll save them for later. VEGIf you're STILL with me, brief preview of the two stories that will hopefully form the backbone of my website:Phoenix Flair, Dragon DescentByline: Kinda Lord of the Rings through Oriental myth, where the "ring of ultimate power" that just about everyone wants destroyed is the two main characters.Synopsis:Koiugen has spent her entire life with the burden of one gold eye and one sky blue, showing her as the last of a rare bloodline that can channel the thoughts and spirit of her goddess, Koiureiza, the Great Bird of Fire and Air. As such, she is desperate to live as a symbol for her people, control the raging power within her, and find a way to bear a child that can continue her duties. Koiureiza's will, however, has drawn her to run away from her mountain clan, towards something she cannot identify.Shiren Lo was once called Boichukai, the reincarnation of the Dragon god of Water and Earth. Fearing the madness that has claimed all others of his line that bears the mark of the blue and brown eyes, he has fleed the sancuatry of his desert people, seeking things he has only seen in dreams: a wide and clear ocean, and a glorious lady of light and life.It was destiny that they would find each other.But will destiny also dictate that they must continue the fight the lovers Koiureiza and Boichukai began a millenia ago, destroying the world in the process?(Gads, I hate trying to describe PFDD. The full series is six books long, involves the plotting of eight other gods besides Koiureiza and Boichukai, some of whom are TRYING to get the world destroyed, and it's all told through the perspective of the mostly-mortal Koiugen and Shiren. I mean, we don't even START finding out what's really going on until the end of book 2! How am I supposed to give a good synopsis without giving everything away?? LOL)Vampyre HymnByline: Modern supernatural drama, where living with the consequences of choses means living with the very force of your beliefs.Synopsis:Everyone changes reality on the basis of their belief. For some, the effect they have reaches farther.Gloria used to be a normal girl. Holly used to be her mostly-normal sister that just happened to live inside Gloria's head.But what both believe about themselves - truly believe - is true. Which causes quite a few complications when Holly believes that her becoming a vampire shouldn't damn Gloria as well.Elijah used to be a normal boy.Now he's a magnet for anything dark and dangerous, and the force is only growing stronger. He's got to learn to fight the things coming after him, or become dinner for whichever of the legions of vampires, werewolves, and other nasties catches him off guard first.All he's got to teach him and protect him are a bitter and religious mostly-human Gloria and the mostly-vampire Holly that still lives inside her head.Good thing Holly's been living off of vampire's the past four years. That takes care of one problem...(Three season television series that also has a CSI-inspired alternate universe spin off.)I wonder just how long I can keep this all up before being locked up in the looney bin once and for all? LOL

Ok, that makes SO much more sense... I didn't know the difference between the two. Sorry for making a fool of myself. *grins* *heads over to create an account at Xisto as well*

I'm currently interested in developing a specific video manipulation program. What I would like it to: - take a video clip, export the frames as individual bitmaps - create clips from a series of bitmaps (saved as 001.bmp, 002.bmp, etc) or other images - allow for editing of time (ei how long to show each frame/image)Ideally, this program would allow for some of the coding to be written up before hand in a txt file to take advantage of copying the numerous, numerous file locations for the images and the timing and editing the file in Word or something.Since I've got something specific and a little weird in mind, I figured it would be a good excuse to get back into programming again.Part of the problem is, I haven't programmed anything in 6 years, and that was in C++. Fortunately, my programming style is more work out logic, develop psuedocode, then search through books and lists of commands until I find what I need to get things to work, so actual KNOWLEDGE is secondary to an internet connection. ^-^Any suggestions on where to start with my little insane project?

The little corner of the universe (and web) I've been designing in my head has always been called one of two things: - BitterSweet Dreams - NigaiAmai YumeI tend to use the two interchangeably (see below for my discussion on "NigaiAmai Yume"). Now that I'm trying to force myself to put it up on the web, however, I'm not sure which to use as my "primary". On one hand, BitterSweet Dreams makes more sense for my primarily English audience. On the other hand, I like NigaiAmai Yume, and am a freak. ^-^bittersweet-dreams.com is available, but kinda strikes me as the web address of an SM porn site. LOLnigaiamai-yume.com is also (unsurprisingly) available, but obviously much harder for most people to remember.Any suggestions? (Of course, it's likely going to be a while before I actually BUY a domain, but ya never know...)About NigaiAmai Yume:NigaiAmai Yume is basically a literal translation of BitterSweet Dreams in Japanese. I got into Japanese due to my anime addiction, but honestly love the language and am trying to make a serious effort at learning it (Despite having proven languages kick my butt from High School French).When I first started seriously thinking about putting my stuff online, I opened up my Japanese dictionaries (romanji and kanji) to see what it would come out as. My findings resulted in 苦い甘い夢, literally the kanji for "bitter", "sweet" and "dreams". I loved the look of it, I loved the sound, and it's stuck.More indepth research has resulted in discovering better translations of "bittersweet" (Both the flavor and the feeling), but I've stuck with the literal one. My excuses are that the incorrectness adds interest (Which would be quite an exceptable reason in the orginal culture, from my understanding of Japan) as well as emphasizing the orginal oxymoron. Real reason, of course, is just that I like NigaiAmai Yume. ^-^

There are a few questions I have that I'd like to get some expert opinions on. Unfortunately, they aren't computer related, so I'm not sure if they'd be appropriate getting asked around here, despite the fact I'd love to get some of you guys' options on them (And build up credits, of course. ^-^)So, to streamline this, where should I post things about...- Writing - There are tonnes of subforums for designing computer art. Yes, I know are based on COMPUTER programs, but there's still a bit of old fashioned artistic tips and tricks involved. Any way to get equal treatment for writing up stuff in a language other than C++? ^-~ Trust me, I've got 20+ years of developing characters that I'd love to share, and while I plan on developing that section of my web site, a little practice would be nice. ^-^ (Note: 20+ years, and I'm 26 years old. DAMN, I'm crazy!!! LOL)- Does anyone know anything about.... ? - I suppose these kinds of questions are best done here, but the "no post count" and the "off topic" labels kinda frustrate me. Ok, the first one. LOL But seriously, I've got a few serious questions about topics like studying Nihongo (Japanese), how to work with base 12 in a fantasy novel without blowing the minds of my readers COMPLETELY to bits, and how to get the sun and moon revolving around a magic planet in such a way that they obey a few dramatic effects I want happening.... Bizzare stuff that I'm hoping SOMEONE has ideas about. Maybe in The Einstein Factor forum? Are we allowed to ASK stuff there? Would anyone answer?Or are neither topics appropriate in (postcount) forums of this site?

I've found nothing within the forums for AMVs or "Anime Music Videos". I'm ASSUMING this is where they should go... Does anyone here make AMVs? If so, willing to help a newbie? I'm planning on starting a few that have been bouncing around my head for a while, but since I plan on doing a lot of lip syncing (and am a control freak) I'm leaning towards working on frame-by-frame animation instead of the traditional clip technique. Yes, I know this would be WAY more work, but I'm wondering if others have gone this route and have suggestions on reducing that. I'm going to start asking in AnimeMusicVideo.org as well, of course, but I figured I might as well try here and work towards my website. ^-^ If you don't know what I'm talking about, Wikipedia to the rescue!

Hello, everyone. You can call me NigaiAmai Yume. Or BitterSweet Dreams. Or PaperDolls. Actually, I go by a lot of names; I've decided to stick with my (to be) web-site name in the forums to streamline things. I'll answer to just about anything that's obviously directed at me and not offensive. ^-^ Comes from being named Mary-Melissa in real life, I suppose. ^-^ Why I am here: As stated above, I am a writer. And by writer, I mean I have 15 long* works**, mostly fantasty, developing in my head. * By long, I refer to anything with a decently organized plot that's become novel length, TV series, movie, comic series, or independent RPG setting wtih established NPCs. And one novella, but it's one of my more serious works, so I'm counting it. ** This count is only of works that I would like to someday publish, and so does not include fan fiction. You do NOT want to know what THAT would total. o_O If you're still with me, you can imagine that I've got a lot of work ahead of me. Unfortunately, the amount of stuff actually WRITTEN on any of the above fills about a notebook once printed. Experience has shown that I only seem to get things done when I have deadlines to freak about, and up until now things have been only in my head (And babbling to whoever will listen. Those have been surprisingly well receieve, however...). Therefore, I've decided to try and put a couple of my more developed works on-line as serial novels. Get stuff written, impose deadlines to force myself to get stuff written, and hopefully generate feedback (and, if miracles occur, a touch of recognition for when I finally DO get these published). As you can probably guess, I'm planning on using Xisto to start my website. The forums actually seem to be a bonus tool in completing my goal (Especially since I'm going to try to do all the HTML and coding from the ground up myself, and so will need a LOT of help...) as well as giving me a place to promote. We'll see how this all works. Oh, dear, I just realized I didn't mention my characters. Who've all managed to develop relatively-independent existance in my head, and have insisted on helping "run" the web site. Well, I hadn't wanted to scare people off TOO much.... I'll save them for later. VEG If you're STILL with me, brief preview of the two stories that will hopefully form the backbone of my website: Phoenix Flair, Dragon Descent Byline: Kinda Lord of the Rings through Oriental myth, where the "ring of ultimate power" that just about everyone wants destroyed is the two main characters. Synopsis: Koiugen has spent her entire life with the burden of one gold eye and one sky blue, showing her as the last of a rare bloodline that can channel the thoughts and spirit of her goddess, Koiureiza, the Great Bird of Fire and Air. As such, she is desperate to live as a symbol for her people, control the raging power within her, and find a way to bear a child that can continue her duties. Koiureiza's will, however, has drawn her to run away from her mountain clan, towards something she cannot identify. Shiren Lo was once called Boichukai, the reincarnation of the Dragon god of Water and Earth. Fearing the madness that has claimed all others of his line that bears the mark of the blue and brown eyes, he has fleed the sancuatry of his desert people, seeking things he has only seen in dreams: a wide and clear ocean, and a glorious lady of light and life. It was destiny that they would find each other. But will destiny also dictate that they must continue the fight the lovers Koiureiza and Boichukai began a millenia ago, destroying the world in the process? (Gads, I hate trying to describe PFDD. The full series is six books long, involves the plotting of eight other gods besides Koiureiza and Boichukai, some of whom are TRYING to get the world destroyed, and it's all told through the perspective of the mostly-mortal Koiugen and Shiren. I mean, we don't even START finding out what's really going on until the end of book 2! How am I supposed to give a good synopsis without giving everything away?? LOL) Vampyre Hymn Byline: Modern supernatural drama, where living with the consequences of choses means living with the very force of your beliefs. Synopsis: Everyone changes reality on the basis of their belief. For some, the effect they have reaches farther. Gloria used to be a normal girl. Holly used to be her mostly-normal sister that just happened to live inside Gloria's head. But what both believe about themselves - truly believe - is true. Which causes quite a few complications when Holly believes that her becoming a vampire shouldn't damn Gloria as well. Elijah used to be a normal boy. Now he's a magnet for anything dark and dangerous, and the force is only growing stronger. He's got to learn to fight the things coming after him, or become dinner for whichever of the legions of vampires, werewolves, and other nasties catches him off guard first. All he's got to teach him and protect him are a bitter and religious mostly-human Gloria and the mostly-vampire Holly that still lives inside her head. Good thing Holly's been living off of vampire's the past four years. That takes care of one problem... (Three season television series that also has a CSI-inspired alternate universe spin off.) I wonder just how long I can keep this all up before being locked up in the looney bin once and for all? LOL