Bit late but...
That sounds like an unhappy situation, FluffyWalrus. I'm afraid all I can do is give you some well wishes and echo sH0tgUn jUliA's comment...
That really sucks, fluffy. You'll figure out something. Just drop by every now and then to let us know you're okay, please.
Being skint sucks. Hope you get things sorted soon, Fluffy.
You have my sympathies, fluffywalrus.
There's definitely some trade-offs to rooming alone versus rooming with others. All things equal, and if I can choose, I take alone!
Best wishes Fluffy! I just got done dealing with a similarly bad situation. It worked out eventually, here's hoping your situation works out as well!
Unrelated question of the day time! (I had a day of silence yesterday in honor of fluffy's problems.) Am I the only one who thinks that the last thirty seconds of this trailer is pretty awesome? http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ubGpDoyJvmI
Unrelated question of the day time! (I had a day of silence yesterday in honor of fluffy's problems.) Am I the only one who thinks that the last thirty seconds of this trailer is pretty awesome? http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ubGpDoyJvmI
No you're not.
Unrelated question of the day time! (I had a day of silence yesterday in honor of fluffy's problems.) Am I the only one who thinks that the last thirty seconds of this trailer is pretty awesome? http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ubGpDoyJvmI
To wit, anyone who argues against this potential of this film: Optimus riding a freaking T-Rex!!!!
Doesn't mean it'll be some cerebral work of art, just fun,
To wit, anyone who argues against this potential of this film: Optimus riding a freaking T-Rex!!!!
Doesn't mean it'll be some cerebral work of art, just fun,
But it doesn't need to be. Can't we all just have our stupid fun, without people being, "Yes, while my inner man(or woman) child was bouncing off the walls with excitement at the sight of Optimus Prime riding an enormous T-Rex, the story and characters were not sophisticated and evolved, so I give this film a two-stars. As with every Michael Bay film it is not deep and filled with meaning about the nature of life and morality."
And I imagine the person saying that in the stereotypical pretentious person voice.
Also, I think that weird ship that looks kinda like a scorpion may be Unicron, with how it's eating some buildings in the trailer. (Unicron= evil robot god who eats planets, for those who don't know. He was originally introduced in the1986 movie, and has since been included in Transformers Armada, Energon, and Prime. As well as several other G1 things, including the comics and some reimaginings of G1.) also, since good old galvatron is in the movie(originally formed by Unicron reformatting/resurrecting megatron in the 1986 movie, his involvement in the comics was more confusing as it was like time travel and such, as there was still a crazy ratchet/megatron hybrid around.) And I'm pretty sure another revived/reformatted decepticon, Cyclonus has also been confirmed. So he may be there. And, he could even be a combiner(with all those ships shown in the space scene in the trailer.) Sorry, rambling. Serious writing question. Ever left a chapter on a serious cliffhanger, and then taken forever to get the sequel up? I'm worried I may end up having done that with BtLatD's latest chapter. It's a complicated thing.
Sort of. I left the last chapter to my first fanfic, Tales of the Tech Squad, with a huge cliffhanger and I still haven't put up the next chapter (last update was in June of last year). Unfortunately, I've lost the drive to continue it (I started thinking that the plot was changing too much and it was getting kind of stupid) so I won't be updating it anymore. I've pretty much given up on it. 
not particularly excited about that trailer myself, but then transformers was popular before I was born and I'm not a big Michael Baysplosion fan. *shrug* and maybe it's just because I'm a girl, but I never saw the appeal of the whole concept. I mean... robots are cool I guess, but totes not my thing. not to say I judge anyone for liking them, of course! robots are cool, dinosaurs are cool, so logically a robot riding a robotic dinosaur should be cool too! that's simple math! but none of the giant robot/transforming vehicle shows were ever terribly interesting to me. transformers, macross, robotech, gundam... through anime I've seen a lot of them, and none ever really wowed me.
then again, might have something to do with the fact that my tastes run strongly toward slice of life and romance... giant robots don't really feature very prominently in those genres. *grins*
I mean does every every damn thing have to be about some deep philosophical question concerning the meaning of life? Can't we just have some fun for a change? I'll tell you something. I don't know about everyone else here, but perhaps when I was young I thought a little more about the meaning of life and all of that stuff. Now that I'm on the downhill slope of life, I really don't care about any philosophy. I just want to have fun and enjoy what time I've got left. Perhaps my philosophy now is Hedonism.
There's a quote in the Bible: "Listen to the animals and they will teach you." I think it's in Job. Now take your cat. Does your cat like to suffer? No. Does your cat like angst? No. What does your cat like? Pampering, good food, and more pampering, right? Cats are Hedonists.
I had a dog that was a hedonist. Most dogs are up early in the morning around 6:00 a.m. "Let's go for a walk! Let's go do this! Let's play ball!" Not this one. "Mom, I've got to go outside." So I'd let her out. Then she'd want to come back in and if I was making coffee she stand there giving me dirty looks and trot back to the bedroom. I'd find her sprawled on the bed, and she'd raise her head and look at me then look at my pillow, and then look at me again as if to say, "come back to bed. It's too early." She didn't want to wake up before 9:00 a.m. Okay, I'm retired, so back to bed. The dog was happy. She was a German Shepherd. Then food? Dog food? For her? I could get her to eat it, but she'd much rather have something I was eating... like whatever Thai dish I'd prepared. Yeah, she liked spicy food, and she'd savor it. Hedonist.
So there you go.
Optimus Prime. I'm going to see that one. There are going to be big explosions. It's Michael Bay. I don't care about a deep plot. It will be ... satisfying.
Don't much care for Transformers, but I can go for quite silly basic stuff, too; Pacific Rim, for a close example. I think you can still have a 'dumb fun' film with a smart (as in well-constructed) script. Marvel seem to be the current masters of the blockbuster, and their films tend to place just as much value in characters and arcs as they do spectacle. My biggest gripe with a lot of modern films is just that they are so unnecessarily long and poorly paced.
On the writing side of things, I've never done it before but I quite enjoy having two disparate chapters in progress. Makes it much easier to get back into writing something if I can choose between serious action and romantic diversion. Maybe I should try that more often.
My biggest gripe with a lot of modern films is just that they are so unnecessarily long and poorly paced.
That, and it seems ALL films/games of a certain type must have the "Aha! You didn't see THAT coming, did you?!" ending but it usually just ends up being lame, such as Cloud Atlas or Mass Effect...
And Transformers was either just before or just after my time so I don't have an opinion on it really. Haven't even seen the latest movies.
not particularly excited about that trailer myself, but then transformers was popular before I was born and I'm not a big Michael Baysplosion fan. *shrug* and maybe it's just because I'm a girl, but I never saw the appeal of the whole concept. I mean... robots are cool I guess, but totes not my thing. not to say I judge anyone for liking them, of course! robots are cool, dinosaurs are cool, so logically a robot riding a robotic dinosaur should be cool too! that's simple math! but none of the giant robot/transforming vehicle shows were ever terribly interesting to me. transformers, macross, robotech, gundam... through anime I've seen a lot of them, and none ever really wowed me.
then again, might have something to do with the fact that my tastes run strongly toward slice of life and romance... giant robots don't really feature very prominently in those genres. *grins*
Have you tried Gundam Wing for a large mech robot thing fix? Might be more your cup of tea, being a bit more anime like. 
I seem to remember when they showed some on CN many moons ago, the dialogue in GW was suitably stilted to be good anime, haha.
I did mention Gundam. my cousin introduced me to anime originally and he was like... insanely big on harem anime and giant robot type stuff. he used to babysit us when we were little, and we weren't allowed to watch good movies, so he would bring over "cartoons"... many of which had stuff in them that is a lot more gory/adult/weird than half the movies he could have chosen. but my mom was satisfied just by seeing cartoon-like artwork on the covers. but the point is, chances are if there's a million girls chasing one guy or giant robots in it, I've seen it at some point. *shakes head*
but as I got older I had friends who introduced me to other types of anime, and I gravitated toward that stuff instead. but maybe my cousin is part of the problem. blame him! he killed giant robots for me! *nodnod*
side note: I have no expectations of a fantastic philosophical plot in anything I watch. but some things just don't appeal to me. generally speaking, I haven't taken a liking to anything I can think of that Michael Baysplosion has done (although I should probably stop calling him that because I know there are some big fans of his stuff). but I'm totes willing to just sit and watch a popcorn flick from time to time! as long as I find it entertaining, that's all I ask from a movie or show. as I said in my earlier post, I don't judge people for being pumped about transformers. just not my scene.
however, I have certainly watched some "bad" movies and loved them! *cough1980'sFlashGordoncough* my dad left behind his entire DVD collection after the divorce. there's boxes and boxes of old movies from before I was born in there. everything from The Princess Bride to the entire Terminator series to Monty Python to pretty much the entire Mel Brooks collection. I've watched 50% of them. and there are a ton of cheesy 80's action movies in there... (I'm looking at you, Commando... which, incidentally, I enjoyed). so, despite my lack of interest in Transformers, I'm actually totes with you on the belief that not every movie has to be an academy award nominee for best screenplay...
But it doesn't need to be.
I agree, which is why I said, "but it'll be fun." You are speaking with a guy that loves cheesy 80's action flicks, after all. I would totally go watch "Blasto: The Hanar Spectre!"
Ever left a chapter on a serious cliffhanger, and then taken forever to get the sequel up? I'm worried I may end up having done that with BtLatD's latest chapter. It's a complicated thing.
As for cliffhangers left unresolved...I've only done it once. There was a story I wrote for FF8, wherein I was getting into the final phase of the story, and some of the main characters were captured and being tortured for information. Then I dropped the story.
By that point, the story had gotten away from me, as I hadn't really developed proper self-editing techniques. The project was little more than an excuse to sandwich in scenes I had an inkling to write. I didn't realize why I never bothered to finish it until years later, when I realized that the plot was a mess, and nowhere near as cohesive as it needed to be.
I still had a great bit of fun writing it. If I ever pick it back up, I will likely be able to rework it into something decent, but other projects vie for my attention.
Ohh...technically, I DID have another cliffhanger in my much self-ballyhooed "lemon" fic. I was challenged to write one by my good friend and eternal beta reader. However, I was not about to write pure smut without SOME semblance of a storyline, whether it was a false pretense or not.
Anyways, Dante and company ended up fighting demons as part of some great unresolved plot setup, then retired to their office. I then had Vergil kill off the rest of the demons, hinting at a larger story which would never come. Meanwhile, Dante and the ladies were banging the hell out of each other, and my readers all went WTH?!?!?! 
Hearing my beta's reaction the day after was priceless! 
Funny thing is, I probably could still continue that story, but I really don't see the point, as it stands just fine as it is. Still, in response to the question, it is a minor cliffhanger.
I did mention Gundam. my cousin introduced me to anime originally and he was like... insanely big on harem anime and giant robot type stuff. he used to babysit us when we were little, and we weren't allowed to watch good movies, so he would bring over "cartoons"... many of which had stuff in them that is a lot more gory/adult/weird than half the movies he could have chosen. but my mom was satisfied just by seeing cartoon-like artwork on the covers. but the point is, chances are if there's a million girls chasing one guy or giant robots in it, I've seen it at some point. *shakes head*
but as I got older I had friends who introduced me to other types of anime, and I gravitated toward that stuff instead. but maybe my cousin is part of the problem. blame him! he killed giant robots for me! *nodnod*
[snip]
I think my fave Gundam was 08th MS Team, as it was the old "Romeo and Juliet" tale, but it was done well. Furthermore, it didn't try to "add a twist" and ruin things. The Tenchi creator is probably among the few harem anime creators I enjoy.
As for harem comedies, or romance in general, I am getting tired of the "baka hentai!" tropes, wherein characters misunderstand and then abuse each other, or leave things unresolved for the sake of sequel-bait. Moreover, I don't generally enjoy slice-of-life rom-coms. They seem to be the craze now, perhaps cheaper/easier to make. Thus, the type of anime I enjoy is being made less and less.
It's funny, I originally got into anime b/c traditionally "western" entertainment was growing stale. After I felt anime following the same tropes, I returned to gaming. Now that few games are made which TRULY interest and compel me (not a big FPS guy, and RPG's are few and far between), I have moved on to reading and writing.
I'm a finicky gamer. *nod* there are a whole bunch of requisites before I'll even consider playing a game (generally #1 being, I must be able to play a female protagonist... though there are a few exceptions) and I'm not into sports games or most first person shooters, though I do have one fps on my shelf. and also I have to admit that despite my general lack of interest in giant robots, what I've seen of Titanfall makes me genuinely sad that it will be like ten years before I can afford Xbox One. but yeah. I may like one game, and then another in the same genre I just totes can't stand. *shrug* loved Dragon Age: Origins, liked Dragon Age 2, love Skyrim, but couldn't get into Two Worlds, Fable, or Diablo at all. I can't really explain why I like or don't like the things I do. I just go with it! I prefer to call it complexity of character! (as opposed to mental instability *grins*)
hmm. I totes wandered away from my original point of responding, which was to say I agree! many anime follow the same old general storylines over and over again. especially the harem comedies. I felt like all of those could be using the exact same script with the names cut out and replaced as necessary for each new cast. *shakes head* but for some reason, the slice of life stories hold my interest endlessly, even though many of them also include the same basic plot points somewhere or another (school festivals, graduations/orientation ceremonies, club activities, etc). for some reason, they just always seem to hit the spots that keep me invested. mainly, most of them tend to be cute, upbeat, funny, endearing, and not drowning in excess drama. which, when it comes to anime, is what I really like... something that makes me smile and leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy when it's over. *smiles*
that's not my taste in all genres of entertainment, mind you, on TV these days, for example, I seem to be gravitating toward darker shows... Revolution, The Walking Dead, Helix, etc., and in my reading I like romances. but for anime, lighthearted fluff is where my heart is at present.
'Got that albatross of a first chapter off my back.
I'd share, but I don't want people to see some of the other tripe I've written -- LOL!
Perhaps later, after I ... "revisit" my profile.
I did mention Gundam. my cousin introduced me to anime originally and he was like... insanely big on harem anime and giant robot type stuff. he used to babysit us when we were little, and we weren't allowed to watch good movies, so he would bring over "cartoons"... many of which had stuff in them that is a lot more gory/adult/weird than half the movies he could have chosen. but my mom was satisfied just by seeing cartoon-like artwork on the covers. but the point is, chances are if there's a million girls chasing one guy or giant robots in it, I've seen it at some point. *shakes head*
but as I got older I had friends who introduced me to other types of anime, and I gravitated toward that stuff instead. but maybe my cousin is part of the problem. blame him! he killed giant robots for me! *nodnod*
side note: I have no expectations of a fantastic philosophical plot in anything I watch. but some things just don't appeal to me. generally speaking, I haven't taken a liking to anything I can think of that Michael Baysplosion has done (although I should probably stop calling him that because I know there are some big fans of his stuff). but I'm totes willing to just sit and watch a popcorn flick from time to time! as long as I find it entertaining, that's all I ask from a movie or show. as I said in my earlier post, I don't judge people for being pumped about transformers. just not my scene.
however, I have certainly watched some "bad" movies and loved them! *cough1980'sFlashGordoncough* my dad left behind his entire DVD collection after the divorce. there's boxes and boxes of old movies from before I was born in there. everything from The Princess Bride to the entire Terminator series to Monty Python to pretty much the entire Mel Brooks collection. I've watched 50% of them. and there are a ton of cheesy 80's action movies in there... (I'm looking at you, Commando... which, incidentally, I enjoyed). so, despite my lack of interest in Transformers, I'm actually totes with you on the belief that not every movie has to be an academy award nominee for best screenplay...
Flash Gordon was great! For one, it has the irrepressible Brian Blessed in it (Gordon's Alive!), and it has Max Von Sydow doing an excellent Ming the Merciless (with another great baddie, his sidekick Klytus), all with that flavour of high-camp and silliness. But on the whole, it sounds like your dad has great taste in movies and comedy. I hope you've studied those Monty Python ones well.
Flash Gordon was great! For one, it has the irrepressible Brian Blessed in it (Gordon's Alive!), and it has Max Von Sydow doing an excellent Ming the Merciless (with another great baddie, his sidekick Klytus), all with that flavour of high-camp and silliness. But on the whole, it sounds like your dad has great taste in movies and comedy. I hope you've studied those Monty Python ones well.
Ah, but has anyone wearing a Flash Gordon t-shirt ever been asked to remove it, because it was scaring the other passengers?
edit Writing question: How much 'screen time' do you give to your characters' romantic relationships? Are they the focus of your tale or are they something that are kept in the background and then given special chapters every now and then? Or have you a different method for showing them? I ask as although Stuck in the Middle has a Shep/Miri relationship - but they've only really had one (or two depending on your view) scenes together - neither especially 'loving' - and I'm really feeling a need to write a nice chapter with the two of them (which is difficult, plot wise, due to their decisions 
)
p.s. Why does the new site seem to hate Internet Explorer?
p.p.s Are we being discriminated against? 
The Dragon Age folk got a message from some Normandy eating vampire (looking, I hasten to add - I blame the photo and my imagination 
) lady saying that their forum was being re-organised. Where's our message - and will it be delivered by a dragon eating asari? 
My character's romantic relationships are not the focus of the story. I'll dedicate 1/2 chapter to it (about 1000 words) if it's really important, but after that it might play as a subplot throughout. Still depending upon the type of story, anyone can die. Take Shepard for example. If Shepard is the protag in the story, and has a relationship with Liara for example, I'll dedicate 1/2 chapter to that, and if it's a story within ME3, Shepard and Liara are sharing quarters, and you'll see that dynamic. Why? Because of LotSB. I figured they committed to being bondmates then. That ME3 game crap was for new players. But I'm not going to focus on the romance. I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination.
Pretty much, mine is all about the luuurve... lol. The plot and Reapers are just something that gets in the way of it. While others things do happen, the Shepard/Liara relationship (and some others too) take the main stage really. So many of my chapters are 'Liara and Shepard are relaxing in the captain's quarters...'.
And I agree, Julia. It just wasn't even a question to my mind, those declarations were made quite clear in LOTSB.
For me it's all about the plot and the action, with the romance being just bits of dialogue here and there. Basically have it be there, and be a big thing for the characters, but not be what they focus on when there's a galaxy to save.
Also, random QOTD time. Does anyone else play Path of Exile, and if you do, do you have problems with the auto-updates slowing your loading times insanely?
For me it's all about the plot and the action, with the romance being just bits of dialogue here and there. Basically have it be there, and be a big thing for the characters, but not be what they focus on when there's a galaxy to save.
Also, random QOTD time. Does anyone else play Path of Exile, and if you do, do you have problems with the auto-updates slowing your loading times insanely?
It's all part of one organic soup the way I see it. When not in direct action, some are going to take all the love and comfort they can get.
And sorry, no, don't play that one.
@ Fatiguesdualism
Well, I haven't done many stories that involve romances as I tend to gravitate towards action- or plot-oriented scenes. The only story that I have so far that involves any romances is TLFW (The Last of the Fereldan Wardens) where I am going to have Neria (elven mage) end up with Alistair and Duran (dwarf noble) and Natia (dwarf commoner) end up together. There are other romances too (Theron (Dalish elf) is going to end up with Leliana, Aedan (human noble) is going to end up with Morrigan, and Solona (human mage) is going to end up with Zevran), but I am focusing on Neria, Duran, and Darrian (city elf) so those romances will be in the background. I think I've made it pretty obvious so far the Neria likes Alistair as well as Duran and Natia being interest in each other. Since TLFW is at the point where the darkspawn have all but destroyed Cailan's army, as well as the Grey Wardens, at Ostagar, I haven't been focusing much on the romances since there has been so much action. I'll probably have it be more balanced out later on, but as of right now, there's more action than anything.
@ Ignis Mors
I don't play that. Sorry.
Question: Does anyone get so focused on one or more of your stories that when you go back to the game they are based off of, your first thought is, "Wait, that's not right. I did this, this, and this. Not that."? No lie, I've had this happen so many times I've lost count.
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