The Ace of Spades

icarused — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:17:21 GMT

At LAX now, freaking exhausted. Twelve more hours before I'm home, two hours before I'm in Salt Lake City.

.........Also I've had Ginia, Erika, and Blanc as muses for too long when I find myself scoping out security while going through customs.

Info-dump for Ginia/Blanc/Erika's canon.

icarused — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:06:41 GMT

A comment on Ginia's HMD thread made me realize something; I really need to flesh out Ginia's world more. All the basics are there, the rules are there, but I need to get all the details out of my head and down on paper as well as tweak the things that aren't working or aren't clear. So here's me kinda dumping some thoughts out and trying to get organized.

A bit of pre-history for things, Ginia's canon is the first story in what was originally designed as a trilogy. Ginia and Erika's story is the first one and focus around hunters. The second story, Synthication, focuses on a different set of characters and deals with gangs and organized crime and drug dealers. The third story, The Flight of the Sparrow, has a new set of characters and deals with the government/military and a supersoldier program involving children.

(The third story is the other one Ginia that counts as a part of her canon. If I ever decide to canon update, she'll be pulled from this point in her life. Retired as a hunter and is living a quiet life as a bartender in Santa Fe at age 35... and then an old friend comes by and recruits her help in protecting a child soldier and a child genius.)

Her world is built off the idea of what would happen if the US government collapsed and retreated into a (semi) isolationist state to rebuild. A big aspect of the world revolves around freelancers or (bounty) hunters, but it's more an exploration into a world where violence is a norm and survival is key. It's not entirely a dystopian society, but it's a country greatly affected by urban warfare, corruption, and greed. It's a world where money can buy all things and there are people willing to carry out anything for a price.

As I see it, the US can almost be split into three different categories:

1) Areas with ongoing struggles. These are the cities or states that have heavy military presence or an ongoing power struggle between criminal groups, the military, and the hunters playing each side. Usually the larger cities or more populated areas. These are places like Boston and Davenport, where the Irish Mob has a stronghold on things and pretty much run the cities. There's still military presence, but they're generally met with resistance by hunters and the Irish Mob so there's a lot of fighting in the streets. We're not talking about tanks and jets flying over head, but definitely armed patrols and snipers around (on both sides).

Washington D.C. would be an example of a city with heavy military presence (because it's still the capitol of the US) and order. Everything is strictly regulated and by the book. You still have gangs and such about, but their activity is going to be a little more covert or with arrangements made (because corruption is a big thing). Hotbed for hunter activity because there's always information to be stolen, hits carried out, and people blackmailed.

2) Areas with fewer struggles. These are areas where one side has completely taken over to the point where it's accepted, or areas so small or rural that no one really cares. Almost considered no-man's land or places where people pass through on the way to somewhere else. A lot of the central areas of the US would count, ditto for central and eastern Washington and Oregon. Places that are either beyond saving and so no one cares, or there's no point fighting around there. A cross between the badlands or no-man's land and sleepy towns and small cities that are more resting areas while traveling.

3. Areas that have shut themselves out. These are cities or even states (Hawaii and Alaska) that have completely isolated themselves and/or locked themselves out from everyone. We're talking about gated communities and highly regulated areas, most often for the rich and wealthy. Little pieces of utopia regulated by themselves. Resort and vacation spots can also fall into these areas.

The one thing these places all have in common are hunters. They're figures that play both sides and can fit in anywhere as they're people that will do anything for money (though they can be classified by the jobs they take). Mercenaries also get tossed around and some hunters fit into that category, but there's usually a military connotation there.

For the sake of things, freelancer or (bounty) hunter is the blanket term and overall profession. The bounty part is sometimes included as a lot of jobs do involve tracking down people that have skipped town and most job offers and payments can be seen as bounties, but hunter is easier to use.

The breakdown from there is more dependent on job. By and large, most hunters take on whatever jobs come their way, but everyone has their personal preferences for jobs.

Hits: These are the assassinations and simple hits carried out on an individual. The most common job to be found because to quote the Sniper from Team Fortress 2, "at the end of the day, long as there's two people left on the planet, someone is gonna want someone dead". Conflicts between hunters can occur when someone is going after the same hit or there's someone protecting the target.

Guard/escort: Exactly what it sounds like. Usually involving protecting a person for a given length of time, but may also apply to an item. Also covers making sure person/object x gets from point A to point B. Can conflict with hits and retrieval jobs.

Retrieval: The opposite of guard/escort jobs when items are involved. The client wants a certain item, the hunter goes in and gets it. Can create conflicts with guard and escort jobs.
--Data retrieval: It's own section that deals more with obtaining information and goes more into the realm of technology. This is spying, collecting information off databases, spying, the works.

Data analysis: The planners and masterminds. These are the people that take information and break them down to create reports or to draft out plans. Often hired out by the military for covert operations.

Tracking: Specifically refers to tracking down a person and bringing them in. These are usually people skipping bail or more dangerous like an escaped criminal or someone running for any number of reasons. Usually brought in alive, but occasional the order for dead or alive goes out depending on the degree of danger.

Ginia identifies herself as a data analyst and retrieval specialist as those are the jobs she prefers doing the most and is the best at. It's also sounds most business-like as she often tells people she works in business. However, like most hunters, she's run the full gamut of jobs and has skills to make her versatile. But given the choice, she'll take retrieval and analysis jobs over everything else.

Contrast that with her former partner, Erika, who had a penchant for tracking and retrieval jobs. Then there's Erika's half-brother who had a reputation for carrying out hits and being an effective guard (hence the nickname "the Bloody King").

Jobs are received in a variety of ways. There are a variety of databases where jobs can be posted and picked up. This is the most common method. For hunters with a reputation and regular client base, repeat customers and direct requests are a secondary method. The first method can be hit and miss as far as the job and payout goes (some clients don't like paying up). The second method has a bit more reliability, though it's easy enough for a hunter to get trapped working for a client.

Payment for jobs can vary, though the business is quite lucrative in general. Unless she's taking a job pro bono or doing a personal favor (which happens quite often), Ginia doesn't take less than $10,000 US for a job for data analysis and retrieval jobs, more if she has to travel. Even if you consider a lot of the money goes toward expenses (travel costs, food, place to stay, supplies) and occasionally paying off people, Ginia can easily do two or three jobs a week if they're quick things. With that in mind, that's 30,000 a week at minimum. Even if she only works 40 weeks out of the year, she's still making 1,200,000 dollars in a single year, tax free on average.

[Traveling] Taiwan and Japan 2011, The Prelude

icarused — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:57:09 GMT

Copied from my tumblr:

Next week I’ll be traveling to Taiwan for a two week stay then flying over to Japan and staying there until August. In an attempt to actually do something with this tumblr and keep a record of my trip, I’ll be making this a travel blog of sorts.

The facts:

-I’ll be in Taiwan from the 23rd of May (well, arriving the 24th) and staying through the 5th of June. On June 5th, I’m flying to Tokyo and I’ll be staying in Kisarazu in the Chiba prefecture until August 31st. So 13 days in Taiwan, 86 days in Japan. (If you’re coming from the US, visiting as a tourist, and not planning on working or studying, you can spend 90 days in Japan without needing a visa.)

-I’m taking $2,000 US, but I don’t plan on using more than $1,000 US ($200 in Taiwan, $800 in Japan). I’ll be keeping a daily record of my spending and I’m trying to keep to a budget of sorts (I can spend 444 Taiwanese dollars a day in Taiwan (or 15.37 US) and 757 Yen a day in Japan (or $9.30 US) without going over 1,000 dollars).

-The plane tickets were given to me as a graduation present from my mom I’ll be staying with family in Taiwan and my boyfriend in Japan so this cuts down on the cost of living as well as the overall cost of the trip. I realize entirely this would be a very expensive trip if it wasn’t for those two factors so I’m very thankful.

-I’ve been in Taiwan before so I know what to expect and I speak Mandarin Chinese. I’ve never been to Japan before and I’m teaching myself Japanese so I can be somewhat competent while I’m there.

-I won’t have internet while in Taiwan so there’ll be a two week pause followed by a flood of information once I land in Japan and have internet.

So there are the basics. My next post will be on packing and preparations for the trip. Stay tuned!

[Icons] Mark Ruffalo x 33

icarused — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 08:12:01 GMT

This started out as making some icons for a friend's RP account. I probably went overboard.

[33] Mark Ruffalo (21 icons, 12 variations)

-Please credit icarused in the keywords
-Comments are love, but not required
-Please do not alter without permission
-All pictures from Mark Ruffalo Central

01 - 05

06 - 10

11 - 15

16 - 20

21

Variations

01b - 04b

04b - 08b

09b - 12b

icarused — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:59:56 GMT

Requesting help with my senior project - Performing arts related survey

icarused — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 05:31:13 GMT

So I have a bit of a favor to ask everyone.

I'm currently taking an advocacy for the performing arts class for my senior project and one of the presentations I have coming up is some data gathering followed by a call to arms.

Under the cut are fifteen questions that if you could take the time to answer, this would really help me out. You don't have to go into detail, yes or no answers are fine, and this will be completely confidential.

All comments are screened.

Thank you so much in advance!

1. What is your age?

2. Have you ever worked as a volunteer for an arts organization? If so, in what capacity?

3. Have you ever made a voluntary charitable gift (even a single dollar) to a non-profit arts organization?

4. Have you taken advantage of student discount tickets to an non-profit arts organization even within the last year?

5. Have you brought any tickets to a non-profit arts organization event in the past year?
-5b. If you have NOT attended an event in the last year, why not?

6. As a child, did your parents take you to see cultural events or exhibitions?

7. Did you have a class in some art form (music, art, dance, drama, etc.) available to you during your K-12 education?

8. If so, how long did you participate in these offerings? (Ex: four years of band in high school, music once a week in grade school, etc.)

9. Did you pursue an arts education on your own outside of school?

10. Do you currently participate in arts activities now?

11. How do you view an arts education in the school setting?

a. Fun things for kids to do, but not essential
b. Important as a motivator to keep kids in school, but not essential
c. As important as a sports program in schools
d. As important as any other core subject
e. Vital for teaching critical thinking, problem solving, creativity
f. None of the above - please explain further

12. Have you ever considered a career in the arts a viable option?

13. How do you view public funding for the arts?
a. Unacceptable. If it cannot sustain itself, it shouldn't exist.
b. Necessary evil.
c. Important for the survival of non-commercial art.
d. No opinion.

14. Have you ever seen an opera production? Why or why or why not?

15. "Opera is an art form that caters to an elite class and is inaccessible by the general populace." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not?

2010 Entertainment List

icarused — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:51:58 GMT

Going to try my hardest to keep this updated for the year, but I'm curious how many movies and plays I see in a year and generally tracking my viewing habits.

Edit: Expanded to include games and other forms of entertainment

[December 2009]
Seen in the movie theater
The Princess and the Frog
Sherlock Holmes
Avatar

Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds
Leverage
Fight Quest

Rented/Netflix
Company
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Curse of the Golden Flower
Coraline
M. Butterfly

Anime
Clannad

Games
Defense Grid: the Awakening (PC)
P.R.E.Y. (PC)
Jade Empire (PC)
Mass Effect (PC)
Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)
Lego Rock Band (Xbox 360)

[January 2010]
Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds
Leverage

Rented movies
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Prestige

Games
Rock Band (Xbox 360)

[February 2010]
Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds
Leverage

Rented movies
Newsies
9
Life is Beautiful

Games
Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360)
Heavy Rain (PS3)

[March 2010]
Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds

Rented movies
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Gattaca
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Every Little Step
Merchant of Venice

Plays/musicals
Working

Anime
Higashi no Eden

Games
Assassin's Creed II (PC)
Heavy Rain (PS3) [Finished 3/19]
Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360)
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers (Xbox 360)

[April 2010]
Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds
Lie To Me
Mythbusters

Rented movies
The Visitor
Dead Poets Society
Brick
Okuribito (Departures)
Manic
(500) Days of Summer

Plays/musicals
The Merry Widow

Anime
Durarara!!
Welcome to the NHK

Games
Assassin's Creed II (PC)
Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360) [Finished 4/10]
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers (Xbox 360)
Pokemon SoulSilver (Nintendo DS)

[May 2010]
Seen in the movie theater
Iron Man 2

Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds

Rented movies
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Ponyo
The Producers (2005)
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Plays/musicals
Crimes of the Heart

Games
Super Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360)
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers (Xbox 360)
Borderlands (Xbox 360 and PC)

[June 2010]
Watching on TV/Netflix
Lie to Me
Royal Pains
Leverage

Rented movies
Mysterious Skin
Treasure Planet
Nine
Once
Amelie
Transamerica
Toy Story 2
Kiki's Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
Eden of the East Movie I: The King of Eden

Plays/musicals
Crimes of the Heart

Games
Borderlands (Xbox 360 and PC) [Finished 6/18]
Assassin's Creed II (PC) [Finished 6/19]
Fallout 3: GOTY (PC)

[July 2010]
Seen in the movie theater
Toy Story 3
Inception

Watching on TV/Netflix
Lie to Me
Royal Pains
Leverage
Pushing Daisies

Rented movies
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
10 Things I Hate About You
Trucker
Moon
Run Lola Run
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Avatar
La vie en rose
Brother Bear
Anastasia

Plays/musicals
The Lion King

Anime
Durarara!! [Finished 7/25]

Games
Borderlands (PC)
Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)
Puzzle Quest 2 (DS)
DJ Hero (Xbox 360)
LIMBO (Xbox 360) [Finished 7/22]
Fallout 3 (PC)

[August 2010]
Plays/musicals
The Marriage of Figaro

Seen in the movie theater
Inception (Yes, I saw it a second time. Yes, I enjoyed it just as much.)

Watching on TV/Netflix
Royal Pains
Leverage
Lie to Me
Pushing Daisies [Finished 8/16]

Rented movies
The Illusionist
The Warlords
The Princess Bride
Tony Takitani
Water
Memoirs of a Geisha
Australia
The Kite Runner
The Bourne Supremacy

Games
Secret of Mana
American McGee's Alice
BlazBlue

[September 2010]

Plays/musicals
The Marriage of Figaro

Watching on TV/Netflix
Lie to Me
Leverage
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds

Rented movies
Paradise Now
The Place Promised In Our Early Days
The Queen
Eden of the East the Movie II: Paradise Lost
Red Cliff
Red Cliff II
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Man on Wire
Doubt

Games
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Monday Night Combat
Tales of Vesperia
Mass Effect

[October 2010]

Plays/musicals
Stop the World - I Want to Get Off!
The Glass Menagerie
Sunset Boulevard

Anime
Le Chevalier D'Eon

Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Criminal Minds
Lie to Me
Brothers and Sisters

Rented movies
Ink
The Cat Returns
Paprika
The Secret of Kells
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Games
Tales of Vesperia
Mass Effect
World of Warcraft
Rock Band 3

[November 2010]

Plays/musicals
Hansel and Gretel (Opera)
The House of Blue Leaves

Watching on TV/Netflix
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Brothers and Sisters
Firefly
The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

Rented movies
The Fountain
Up in the Air
Hairspray
Hotel Rwanda
Fire

Games
Tales of Vesperia [Finished 11/14]
World of Warcraft
Rock Band 3

[December 2010]

Seen in the movie theater
Tangled

Anime
Le Chevalier D'Eon

Watching on TV/Netflix
Firefly [Finished 12/2]
Brothers and Sisters
Leverage
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles

Rented movies
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Serenity
How to Train Your Dragon
Ip Man
Into the Woods
Victor/Victoria
Seven Swords
The Brothers Bloom
The Sky Crawlers

Games
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Mass Effect [Finished 12/21]
Mass Effect 2
Halo: Reach

icarused — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:10:48 GMT

FRIENDS CUT

If you were removed, it was most likely because we had very little in common, never talked, and/or I don't know you. Don't take it personally, you're all wonderful people, but it was within due time.

If I didn't defriend you and you wanted to be, feel free to remove me and I'll remove you back with no questions asked.

[Icons] 30 Assassin's Creed: Lineage (part 1)

icarused — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:54:41 GMT

Here are 30 icons made from the first part of Assassin's Creed: Lineage. Giovanni heavy, mostly color variations.

-Please comment if you are taking
-Credit icarused in the keywords
-Textless icons are not bases

1	2	3	4	5

6	7	8	9	10

11	12	13	14	15

16	17	18	19	20

21	22	23	24	25

26	27	28	29	30

Table credit

[Manga Coloring] Cho Hakkai // Saiyuki Reload

icarused — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:10:55 GMT

Panel is taken from the final page of Saiyuki Reload chapter 50 and it really isn't Youkai!Hakkai on that page, but I had the random urge to color him as such. Yes, I know I messed up on his vines (my excuse is his limiters aren't completely off) but overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. If anyone wants a version of this as human Hakkai, let me know.

And of course, the icon.

I'll fix the vines at some point so they look better, but for now, here you go.

Edit 6/29: Human Hakkai added for comparison purposes.

[Manga coloring] Sha Gojyo // Saiyuki, Kenren Taishou // Saiyuki Gaiden

icarused — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:07:21 GMT

Both are these are pretty old, but I thought I'd post them anyway. The Kenren was one I did awhile ago (it's actually my first attempt at really coloring a page) and the Gojyo was one I finished in chat a few days ago.

I put the texture on it to color the background and add some additional toning and whenever I take the texture off, the picture looks far too cold. But overall, I'm happy with how this one came out. I'll have to edit out the chapter title sometime.

...*sniffles*

But that's all. Any thoughts? Tips? Suggestions? Requests?

[Manga coloring] Ayla // Immortal Rain

icarused — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:56:12 GMT

Confession. Ayla is not one of my favorite characters from Immortal Rain. She's probably one of my least favorite characters. But this chapter cover? Had to be colored.

Consider it a practice piece. I don't claim to be an artist of any form, I just like doing these in my spare time.

icarused — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:43:40 GMT

This is for you, Yume. ♥ My apps are supposed to be graded more harshly than all the other apps since I'm the head mod SO RIP IT TO SHREDS. ????

Series: Melty Blood
Character: Sion Eltnam Atlasia
Timeline: Before the start of Melty Blood
Personality: Sion is an example of someone who knows everything, but has no idea how to put any of it to use. Her life dedicated to research and study, she’s acquired knowledge on hundreds of things on a variety of topics, yet has never put any of them to use. She could tell you the exact chemical composition needed to create an excellent flower preserver, but its knowledge she’s never put to any sort of use.

That is because Sion is also very socially inept. The only thing known about Sion as a child is she was an excellent student who devoted all her time to researching and restoring honor to her family name. Growing up, she was a willing social outcast, seeing no reason to associate with people who hated her and only interacting with people when she had something to gain from it. It would be somewhat accurate to say she has little regard for (or doesn’t understand the concept of) human privacy and rights, willingly hacking into people’s minds to learn what they know without any sort of permission and she has been shown wanting to capture people for her own studies, attacking them outright when they refuse to cooperate. She’s also very prideful, adopting a cocky and arrogant attitude when talking to people. When someone proves her wrong, she’s prone to exploding at them in an outburst of anger.

But even with her many difficulties, Sion can be a nice person. She’s been shown to apologize after her outbursts (though mostly to cover her own embarrassment) and because she’s never had any friends before (in actuality, she’s had one friend, but there’s very little information about her and their friendship was very short-lived), she’s very loyal to those who give her a chance and extend their friendship to her.

Background: Atlas academy is located in the Atlas mountains of Egypt. Unlike alchemists of the middle-ages, the alchemists at the academy study the origin of magecraft (magic) and the principles of the world. Their goal is to prevent the destruction of the world, a realization discovered by their founder, by creating a weapon that would counter it, but have only created something that would cause the destruction of the world in an even worse manner.

Sion is one such member of the academy. While her parents are never mentioned, it is stated her family was once a noble family of Atlas until they were disgraced. The downfall of the Eltnam family came before Sion’s birth in the form of Sion’s great-grandfather Zepia Eltnam Oberon. Zepia was the leader of the Eltnams and praised as a genius alchemist at Atlas. He was researching the mysteries of life and discovered only death awaited along with the destruction of the world. This realization drove him insane and he became obsessed with finding a way to creature a new future. He ultimately lost himself and became nothing more than an entity that could only exist under certain pre-calculated conditions, a curse.

This was the act that shamed the Eltnam family and by the time of Sion’s birth, they were nothing more than a shamed family, hated and looked down upon by the rest of the academy. Because of the dishonor to her family, Sion (known at this time as Sion Eltnam Sokaris) dedicated her life to working hard and proving herself as a student at the academy all in the hopes of bringing honor back to her family name. While despised by many of the students and teachers who hated her for the sins of her family and wanted nothing more than to eliminate her, the leaders of Atlas couldn’t ignore her intelligence and decided to make her an official of the academy.

This was a very controversial move, not because of her young age (while an exact age is never given and it was only stated she was “very young” when the decision was made, judging from her personal timeline, the age of the other characters, and her appearance in the manga, I assume she was around 10 when she was made an official), but because this put her in a position of great power and importance. Her name would become Sion Eltnam Atlasia, marking her as something akin to a representative of the academy and also granting her the right to teach at the academy. Her colleagues were afraid she would use her new power to retaliate against them for their years of torment and hatred.

Except Sion didn’t use her powers against them. In fact, Sion didn’t even care what anyone else thought, deciding if they did not want anything to do with her, she would grant their wish by having nothing to do with them. Given a laboratory for her research, she continued to be the prominent student of Atlas, only associated with other people when it was absolutely necessary.

Five years later, her life took a surprising turn. A vampire was running loose in a village and the Church Organization, an organization dedicated to the elimination of demons and vampires, sent several knights to Atlas academy requesting their assistance in eliminating the threat. Sion choose to go with them and that was where things went terribly wrong. The vampire eliminated not only the entire village, but all the knights of the Church as well. One knight in particular, Riesbyfe Stridberg, gave up her life to give Sion a chance to escape. (There’s very little information about her, but later parts in Sion’s canon shows Riesbyfe was someone Sion respected and had likely formed a friendship with.)

Unfortunately, Sion was ultimately caught. The vampire, TATARI (or Night of Wallachia), was none other than her ancestor Zepia. He bit her, beginning her transformation into a vampire, but for reasons unknown to her, allowed her to escape.

Sion never returned to Atlas, choosing instead to run and become a fugitive, resisting the vampiric urges rising up in her and the gradual change her body is going through. Atlas wants her back and the Church is also hunting her as she is now nothing more than an abomination in their eyes.

It has been three years since that day and Sion has two goals: Discovering a cure for vampirism and surviving. Upon hearing about

Sion has two weapons at her disposal: a handgun she can materialize out of the air and a thin whip-like weapon called "Etherlight." A tool developed and passed through her family, this weapon is able to “hack” into people's minds and gain their knowledge and memories (without the person realizing anything or losing their memories), and if connected properly, can control them for short periods of times. However, because of siphoning knowledge from other people, at times Sion experiences an identity crisis at times and becomes disoriented, unable to separate what memories are her’s and what ones are taken from others. Her body is also going through a slow, though painful transformation into one of a vampire. While she can still function during the day, she is prone to feeling weak and disoriented. She also actively resists the urge to drink blood, essentially starving herself.

Sample Journal Post:

[Private // Difficult to Hack]
…Odd. I recall resting in a forest the previous night. However, this is obviously not a forest-like setting and I am concerned how a change could have happened without my knowledge. This is an act that defies all common logic.

I will have to do research on this. It appears all my belongings are still with me and there are civilians around. What could have caused this level of destruction? No… this would not be the work of TATARI nor would this be a reality marble at work.

The weather here is much cooler than I am prepared for. The probability this is winter? ….98.77 repeating. I will have to find suitable shelter as well as clothing before I continue onward.
[/Private]

Sample RP: The situation was an improbability. Sion sat on the edge of a building, ignoring the cold weather. The cool air came as a welcome change, far better than the stifling heat and humidity of a muggy late summer. It kept her mind calm and focused, her senses aware.

How could this situation have come to happen? She ran the question through her mind, sorting out the possibilities and analyzing each one, turning the details over in her mind before discarding the theory. She needed more information, but information had yet to come by. There was the strange silver device that had been set aside her when she first arrived and there was a network of people, but asking for help without a greater understanding of the situation? That was not becoming an alchemist of Atlas.

Observe, gather, and analyze. Those were the steps she would take.

She gave a lazy flick of her wrist, a tiny filament dancing through the air, caught on the wind before it began to wind, finding its own path. It trailed through the air and down to the ground like a fishing like waiting for a fish to come by. And there were fish. The end of the wire attached itself into the mind of the first person that passed by. They didn’t even notice the wire attaching into their mind, digging into their skin and connecting to their nerves and drawing out information. On the other end, Sion closed her eyes, sorting through the information and filtering out the useful from the junk. When she was satisfied, she gave another flick of her wrist and pulled the wire out, gently reeling it back in.

Adstringéndum. What a curious name for a curious place.

Because sometimes I don't scare people enough

icarused — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:59:58 GMT

Several years ago, I took a sci-fi/fantasy class (WHICH WAS AWESOME) and we read a story called "Bill, the Little Steam Shovel" by Joe R. Lansdale. It's a children's story for adults and probably one of the best stories I've ever read. Why?

Because there's steam shovel porn.

This is the intro to the story:

"Bill the Little Steam Shovel was very excited. He was getting a fresh coat of blue paint from Dave the Steam Shovel Man in the morning, and the thought of that made him so happy, he secreted oil through his metal. He had been sitting idle in the big garage since he had been made, and we was ready to go out into the world to do his first job.

The first of many.

He was going to move big mounts of dirt and big piles of rocks. He was going to make basements for schools and hospitals. He was going to clear land for playgrounds so good little boys and good little girls would have a place for swings and merry-go-rounds and teeter-totters. He was going to move big trees and flatten hills so farmers could grow good food for the good little boys and girls to eat. He was going to clear land for churches and synagogues and cathedrals and mosques and buildings for the worships of Vishnu, Voudan, and such.

He was so happy.

So eager.

He hoped he wouldn't fuck up."

Now that we have that set up, here's the main part of the post:

There was one thing that Bill thought about that helped him through the long nights, even when he had the dreams. And that was Miss Maudie. The little gold steam shovel with the great head beams that perked high and the little tailpipe that looked so... Well, there was no other way he could think of it.... So open and inviting, dark and warm and full of dismissed steam that could curl around your dipstick like... No. That was vulgar and Miss Maudie would certainly not think of him that way. She was too classy. Too fine. Bill thanked all the metal in Steam Shovel Heaven that she was made the way she was.

*****

[Bill] first dreamed of a fine warm place with soft light and he dreamed of mounting Maudie, his dipstick out, riding her tailpipe like he was going up a steep incline. It was a good dream, and he felt a kind of release, as if all his steam had been blow out and his oils and fluids had been sucked from him. It was a feeling like he could collapse into a heap of smoking metal, and it felt good, this dream... And when he awoke, panting heavy through his steam pipe, he find that in his sleep, during the dream about Maudie, he had squirted transmission fluid all over the floor.

*****

[Bill and Maudie] rolled away together, went to the dark shadows on the far side of the garage. Maudie swung her shovel so that it draped over Bill's back. Her bumper parted and pressed to his, and they kissed. And kissed again. Soon they were holding each other, stroking metal, and then, heaven above and flatten all earth, he was behind her, and down came the oil stick, and then came the loving.

icarused — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:49:11 GMT

FRIEND CUT

If you were removed, it was most likely because we had very little in common and never talked. Don't take it personally, you're all wonderful people, but this was something I needed to do.

If I didn't defriend you and you wanted to be, feel free to remove me and I'll remove you back with no questions asked.

icarused — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:18:04 GMT

Starcraft 2 to be released as a trilogy

Considering it'll be released as separate discs that will have to be purchased, here's hoping for either reasonable pricing or enough content on each disc to make it a full game and not just like the campaign from the prior games. Still, I have to go WTF at this (and glad I'm sharing a copy with my brother).

And the Rock Band 2 merc creator? So very fun. Pictures to come later.

[Writing post] Synthication

icarused — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:09:07 GMT

Was going to post this yesterday, but then LJ went down. Boo.

For awhile I've had a character sitting around in my mind and finally I found something to put him down into. The actual story is one that runs parallel with Ginia and Erika's canon story since they take place in the same world and even go through some of the same locations. As for whether Ginia and Erika will be making an apperance in any form, who knows. Maybe a cameo of some sort.

Title: Synthication
Series: Original
Rating: PG-13 (up to R in later chapters, future warnings include drug usage, violence, sexual content, and language)
Word count: 2,153

[Carrying a cocaine-filled plastic bag double-wrapped in brown paper and tucked into a secret pocket inside a thick coat during the prime time of city patrols was begging for trouble]

And in other news...

icarused — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:01:07 GMT

Radioactive scorpion venom could be used to fight brain cancer

[Writing] Motorcycle Drive by

icarused — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:39:26 GMT

This is a piece I've been sitting on for awhile. There's a dynamic between Erika and Ginia I've always loved writing about. In some ways this is an unfinished piece, but at the same time, I don't know if there is a proper ending for it.

Series: Aubergine Dreams/Original
Characters: Erika Rosenfel and Ginia Solana
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Word Count: 768

([There's a sense of grace and serenity in the older woman Erika cannot understand])

icarused — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:30:54 GMT

Rock Band 2? HELL FUCKING YES. Played it yesterday for around 14 hours and you know what? I'm still not bored and there's still so much to do. And once the new drums and guitar arrives? It's going to be even better. Proper review and ramble to come once we have all the new instruments.

And in traditional form, I base my Rock Band characters off other characters. My default is always named Blaze, but this time my second character is Tyler Mercer. Who is looks a bit more like Bon Jovi. Huh.

....And Wrath of the Lich King finally has a release date. November 13th, one week right after Gears of War 2.

......CURSE YOU GAMING GODS, CURSE YOU.

[Fic rec]

icarused — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:12:21 GMT

The Kids Aren't All Right: A Year in the life of Tony Stark

This is a LONG piece, but if you enjoyed Iron Man, this is a definite read. A fictional piece piece written in the style of a Vanity Fair article about the life of Tony Stark, one year after the events of the movie.

icarused — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:55:34 GMT

Hey everyone, back from Kumoricon. Con report to come up... probably much later, but I'm working on getting my pictures off the camera now. Gallery should be ready tomorrow.

icarused — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:25:12 GMT

THE RP LOVE MEME

Concrit would be awesome. ♥

And now for your daily news:

icarused — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:08:10 GMT

Computer virus infects International Space Station laptops

Edit: For dog owners, a warning against toys by Four Paws

Regarding Sion:

icarused — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:34:43 GMT

Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear this is no one's fault. If you think you did something, trust me, you didn't. This is something I've been thinking on for a long time and was not influenced by any recent events.

There are several reasons I dropped Sion. The biggest reason is because I was going OOC with her and made plenty of mistakes. Her switching into her vampire-side? It wouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened. Her putting off her goal to find a cure for vampirism was another one. All these mistakes was making it harder and harder to play her. She was also becoming very quiet and hard to get her active. I simply couldn't play her anymore. I did consider putting her on hiatus, but I don't think it would have mattered much.

But more than that, I wasn't having fun playing her. I simply kept her around because she was connected to several players and I felt obligated to. Realizing that... RPing is something that should be fun and not a chore.

I love Sion. She's one of my favorite characters and probably always will be. But I can't play her right now. I'm not doing her character justice and I don't want to force myself to keep playing her. It'll only make things worse. Is there a possibility I'll bring her back in the future? Yes, but I would have to restart her. If I play Sion again, I want to start over and do things right. Yes, that would mean Sion wouldn't remember anyone or anything that occurred in Adstringéndum.

So there we go. To everyone who played with her, thank you, it was a lot of fun. Meisters, especially Tieria, I'm especially sorry for dropping her. Yume, I'm very sorry for dropping Sion.