Katzaniel

If that doesn't work, here's a free image hoster: http://www.jamie-quinn.com Hope you get it up again!

I would like to second comments made by Peredhil, Tamaranis, and many other well-wishers. Then, I would like to say that I'd tacklehug you, but a. Katzaniel is a little big for that. b. You've got katanas now. c. That will be taken care of by others, I'm sure. Also, I think I found the word for you: (I'm seeing symptoms of it for myself...) Chronic Volunteerism! Symptom #1: You're always busy. Symptom #2: Nevertheless, you hear yourself say, "I can do that!" Symptom #3: Upon hearing these words, you do not wince. I wish you well, Salinye. You're greatly missed.

Nah, I had the rest, but not enough time to deal with it. If you guys have started posting again, I've either missed it or not gotten to it yet, but whatever the case I'll warn you that I won't be able to contribute for some time yet. I'm really sorry, 'cause I really do want to work on this again.

I think that my opinion is very similar to some of what Ayshela just said, but I'm going to say it in my own words anyway. Winning or losing doesn't matter at all. The important thing is whether you can survive. Strive to win, because we all need goals. Congratulate yourself on finishing, because we all need praise. Do it on your own terms because none of us need guilt. If you've cheated somehow, then apologize, forgive yourself, and learn from the mistake so that next time you can win just by doing it. I just need to reiterate here. Regardless of whether you do it on your own terms or theirs, surviving is surviving. If it haunts you because you did it on their terms, it is nothing more than a signal that next time, survive on your own terms. Try to realize that. If it still haunts you, maybe there is something that needs to be done, here and now, on your own terms, to survive the memories? More likely than not, that something will be more difficult than the first challenge, but if you can get over it without compromising yourself, even if it means conceding a prior "loss", then you have survived and you have "won".

On a small island off the coast of mainland Japan, a whispered conversation was taking place. "I usually try to stay away from this sort of thing," a male voice was saying in hushed tones. "You don't want to make these people upset, you know?" Some footsteps were heard, walking down the alleyway, and the sounds receded. One pair of shoes against the cobblestones, however, and two solemn voices. A name was said. Money exchanged hands. And the silent walker moved on... A few hours later, and four Japanese businessmen could be heard in a heated exchange. "That's not a good enough excuse!" "You've got to be more discreet than that," and "Get the job done, now you idiot, before she finds out about us." The sound of grinding steel was heard, and a scream. "Hurry it up!" one urged the others. And a few moments later, they rushed off the scene. As they ran off, a black wolf stepped onto the street. Watching them escape from view, it sauntered into the building they had just left, investigating. Down the hallways, sniffing ever closer to the room in which they had stood, making secret plans just moments before. Tanuchan paused in the doorway. A video surveillance screen showed a picture of Ayshela in a dark room. What was going on here? And a cheque, with... Katzaniel's name? Something must be terribly amiss. Engrossed in searching the room, Tanuchan was surprised when a voice spoke loudly over her shoulder. "Oh, so you've found out about us." Turning around slowly, the wolf saw her friend Katzaniel. She stepped forward, trying to figure out what the tigertaur was doing. "Not so fast," said Katz. Holding forth a brown sack, Katzaniel waited for a moment. Then, upon Tanuchan's curious expression, she continued, "Don't you have a gift?" "A gift?" "For Ayshela. I thought you'd found out about the surprise..." "Surprise?" "Yes, for her birthday. What are you doing here if you didn't know?" "I..." Tanuchan paused. "I heard a scream." "We're watching Ayshela, so that she doesn't find out by accident. She screams a lot if she's having a bad day, you know." Katzaniel smiles in amusement. "And the grinding metal?" "My gift." The tigertaur holds out a pair of steel gauntlets. "She's already got boots." "What were you saying about not making people upset?" "Oh, just that I usually avoid birthday parties. You don't want to set a precendent, or everyone will wonder why you never wished them a happy day. But I had to do something for my awesome co-guild-leader." "Oh... and I thought... never mind." Tanuchan perked up. "I have an idea. I'll bring it when I come back. When's the party?" "As soon as everyone gets the notes those Japanese guys are seeing to." "Just one more thing...." "Yes?" "Why are we in Japan?" "To beat the timezones, of course!"

Gryphon - I can't speak for Boaz, but from what I've seen, there is a majority of Kerry supporters and Bush did get elected... because Canadians and very likely other non-Americans prefer Kerry. As for why Americans themselves tend to prefer Bush, that's what I've been trying to figure out. I'm getting there. Kerry doesn't have much of a platform, I guess. I've been told he's also planning to put Vietnam Veterans on trial as war criminals...? Yowza. Kerry is giving Bush a lot of trouble over his planned draft, but has no better plan. I guess the thing that confuses me so much is why is the world turning bipolar? The Canadian election and these past two American ones. Are there more? If so, what is it all about?

He's a registered member all right, or was. I sent him a PM a while back about my planned quill quest, and he replied pretty quickly too. Guess he doesn't come much, though, so he probably gets his PMs via his email.

Alaeha, I'd really like to hear your opinions on this. If you don't want to post here, can you PM me? The thread's purpose was debate, after all, and I haven't heard too much from the supporters of Bush. Are you willing to elaborate?

Why have you deleted some of your longer things from around here? I missed the post as well, but surely you're forgiven... Especially since it seems like rotten things have been happening in your life lately. Are you planning on leaving us, Yan Yan? If so, please explain why so we can convince you not to! Last I knew you were thanking us for helping out. Please give this another thought.

And the world breaths a collective sigh of resignation. ... It was like watching a 'Rider game (or season), that was. Losing, but they're doing well, and there's always that hope of a comeback. Until the last second ticks off the clock there's always that hope. (By the way, I don't like Bush much )

I would choose blindness. There are programs available to read text from a screen. A keyboard is all I'd need to write to the screen. Of course it would take some learning to survive, but so would deafness. I would not lose you guys either way. However, loss of hearing makes communication in the everyday world much worse (I think) than loss of sight. Someone calls your name. A friend sees you and wants to chat. A teacher makes a lecture - usually they say everything they write, and more. A tape recorder could replace a pad of paper for that and for reminders. I have always been fascinated with blindness and darkness; perhaps I would survive better than some others, for I have been doing everyday things in the dark since I was very young. Making my way to my basement bedroom. Using the bathroom. Finding a desired object. My writing as Jaqui was a way to exercise this strange fascination. I would miss reading, but there are audio books, and the writing on this website alone could satisfy me for a lifetime, if I found a decent enough text-to-speech converter (and I'm certain they exist). On the other hand, as others have said, there is no substitute for music. So... I choose blindness, too. Definitely over death. And over deafness too.

I know what I plan to write and that's half the battle for me usually... but mine will probably be late. RL is not offering anything new or unusual, just a whole lot of the same old. Sorry, Alaeha! Sorry, Valdar!

Since I so commonly play WW, I feel that I should make a post explaining that I'm not going to play this time. I'm swamped in RL right now and barely keeping up with everything else I'm in. (In fact, to be honest, I'm not keeping up with everything else I'm in). Sorry Celes. This looks like a fun theme.

Regardless of whether this is true, it's fun to imagine. I watched an hour or so from one of the debates with a few friends, and we had heard rumours of the hidden mic. So we pretended we were the people helping him out. "Tell them that ... (blah blah blah)." "Okay, no no, backpedal, backpedal!" "You can still save yourself if you say that ... (blah blah blah)." "Oh dear God!" (Takes a drink). It would make a good drinking game. Apparently Canadians are something like 70-30 for Kerry, so it's fascinating to me that Americans are so divided. Presumably you're paying more attention than we are... I just don't understand what's so great about Bush. I found it disturbing that he laughed every time Kerry made a good point against him. I was worried about his policies. ("I strongly encourage all healthy people to *not* take their flu shot!" Isn't it possible to handle the problem some other way?). Kerry didn't seem like a genius either, but at least he had some small respect for homosexuals and others, and if he had a hidden mic the prompters wouldn't have given up halfway through and gotten drunk. By the sounds of it, Americans like Bush because he's known. What happens in four years? The war will still be going on. Bush can't be elected again. I guess I just don't understand the logic. As for all of you voting for independents, it's the same old argument we had about the Canadian election, isn't it? Unfortunately it's no less clear in this case. At least you're able to stand up for what you believe. Perhaps this will prompt some rebuttal.

Man... Except for poor dragonqueen, it sure helped to have a name starting with "s"! I think that PM'd games tend a lot more to the villagers. Don't get me wrong, I love games that allow PMs. But perhaps we need to address this in the next one? Anyway, don't have time to read the last post yet, but the roleplay in this one was great! Loved Vahk's intermediate (non-phase-shift) posts, and I loved the RP that got me killed, as well as the gun/knife fight. Loved it all really.

Nyyark said he would start this, but he hasn't been around. I was really looking forward to reading some debate like we got for the Canadian Election, so I thought I'd start this even though the election is coming up quickly. (It's on the second, isn't it?) Please, comments, rants, whatever!

I'm sure it would, but it would still be fun, and it certainly wouldn't be against the spirit of the thing. ... I figured it out, and at the speed I write (sample size for calculation: 1 post ) it would take ten hours every three days for a total of about one hundred hours writing that month. Definitely no time this year. Definitely have to try it when I'm out of school.

I might consider this, if a.) I had time, and b.) I was capable of ignoring stuff that I know is terrible. My style of writing is so totally against what this has to offer. Perhaps another year; take all my holidays in November, maybe, and see if I could go for what BPO suggested.

"That probably wasn't a great way to welcome her the Pen," mused Katzaniel, who had morphed into her tigertaur form upon entering the clearing. "Nevertheless, set her on my back... you're right, we need to find someone who can help us heal her more fully. And can help her to feel comfortable here." Yan Yan, shrugging, puts Anna on the tigertaur's muscular back, draping her arms so that she would not fall easily. Katzaniel reaches over her shoulders and holds Anna's hands, keeping her upright. "There are a few that I know of who came here from other lands. Perhaps one of them even knows her, or at least knows her homeland and can help her reach it?" As the two walk along, Katzaniel tries to mentally list those who might be of help.

At the end of the tunnel, a figure peers into the mansion. "Not the Underworld," it mutters. "Nuts. Lucifer is going to be so mad when I actually make it back." Entering the house, Horace spies the hulking piano. "I think I've heard of these," she muses. "I wonder if I could summon Him with it?" The demon sets her briefcase by the instrument and sits on the stool. Something inside the briefcase groans. "Now, this can't be too difficult..." Horace readies her hands above the keys, picturing the evil audio dance that they are about to perform. And then, because Horace has the odd ability to bend reality around her unique form of ignorance, the fact that she thinks she can play means that the piano actually does perform for her. A twisting, twirling, uncanny unearthly swell begins to fill the mansion. For a full minute Horace plays, as most of the house's occupants stand spellbound by the sound. Then she stops abruptly, shrugs, sighs, and picks up the briefcase, leaving the room. Before she exits, she trips, dropping the case onto a harp that rests by the doorway. The cacophany is in distinct contrast with the piano's sounds, and Horace curses loudly. "In the name of the Lord of the Dead!" she screeches, standing up and finally leaving the room, moments before the first curious person peers in to find no one there.

As the party continues down the tunnel, an eerie echoing scream is heard. Yui looks at Aegon, Tamaranis adjusts his cloak, Katzaniel hefts her spear, Gryphon stands up taller and Inbi cups her hands as if preparing a spell. The twins jump high in the air and Kerri even hits her head on the tunnel roof. "Ow, ooh, aaaah!" she says, feeling her head and then jumping again when Terri screams. The twins spend a moment fuelling each other's fever-pitched fear before Gryphon stands between them, looking them each carefully in the eyes and calming them down. "I wanna go home," whines Terri. "We've lost one too many already," says Katzaniel. "I don't want to have to worry about whether you made it back or not." She turns and begins following the tunnel again. One by one the party joins her, and soon the twins are jogging along. "You're right, don't leave us behind!"

I find that strange, since I rarely see "toward" actually used, and I read both American and British books. I had gotten the idea that "towards" was bad from a list of commonly misused words in the Harbrace College Handbook for Canadian writers: "backwards Use backward [NOT backwards] as an adjective: a backward motion." Either I incorrectly assumed that this extended to forward/toward/et cetera, or maybe Canadian English does have a specific rule for it. Either way, I should probably let Yui survive...

The sun was nearing its zenith, as it had done countless times before. At the base of the largest tree in the forest, a great tiger opened its eyes, as it too had done many times. Leaves fluttered down from above, and that was perfectly normal. The cat cocked its head, though, listening carefully. Something in her forest was amiss. From a distance, sounds could be heard, indicating a chase. Humans, thought Katzaniel, by the clamour. Curiousity piqued when the tiger realized that one was injured. This was no ordinary game of tag, or any other mundane Pen activity. This was somebody chasing someone else, probably with the intent to further do them harm. The large cat was on her feet, only seconds after having opened her eyes. She stood still for a second, her body morphed, the body of a black sleek panther rippling along, from head to toe, the creature. Satisfied with this faster, more inconspicuos form, Katzaniel took off after the humans.

Erm... I figured it out, too, but I'm not sure if they've had that nasty time-change thing or not (wouldn't be so nasty if it happened everywhere ). So, I think it's 8:00-10:00. According to my Palm Pilot, two weeks and it'll be back to its old 9:00-11:00. For any of you who live in the states: Is that right? Time-change next Sunday?

I'm sorry if this comes across as brisk, but I take notes as I read, and it's easiest to do it in point form. As before, I'm really enjoying this story. I like your style, one carefully selected word sliding into place beside the rest, forming (usually ) perfectly clear sentences. It sets the mood, and it's easy to read. I am also intrigued by the plot, despite what you might interpret from my long absence from reading it. Nowadays I tend to stick to reading short stuff... it takes more time to peruse a story like yours. But, when I have the time, it's worth it. I just wish I were better at describing the things I like. "Your style", real specific, huh? Anyway, here are my notes. (3) You'd have to check this, but I think that "...dripping with the sarcasm that the situation warranted." should be "which", as in "...dripping with the sarcasm which the situation warranted." "Apparently, even their women are designed to deny them any pleasures, the young man noted wryly to himself, his lips twisting." I find the meaning of this unclear. At first I took it to mean that the Toi's women are denied pleasure, but looking back I realize that you probably meant the men are denied pleasure through the women's shape. I'm not sure what you could say to clarify that, and perhaps it was just my own misunderstanding. "...though he looked as dumbstruck and horrified as she did." Consider also "...though he looked as dumbstruck and horrified as she." "Apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to buy the other man’s story, having had a few too many ales to over the course of the night that had fed his temper." This is awkward, you could try removing the "to", as in "...having had a few too many ales over the course of the night..." But the last bit still seems forced. Especially given the tone of the rest of your writing. Perhaps: "Apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to buy the other man’s story, his temper being fed by the few too many ales he had had over the course of the night." "HMM?!" This is, in my opinion, distracting. At first glance it looks like initials, despite the obviousness of its context. I think italics would serve your purpose better. "...all the while watching the man who’d been a friend just five minutes ago contemplate the best way to murder him..." I think you're splitting something or other... Infinitives, is it? Anyway, it sounds wrong. I recognize that "...all the while watching the man who five minutes ago had been a friend contemplate the best way to murder him..." is even worse, but maybe you can split it into two sentences or something. "...all the while watching the man who five minutes ago had been a friend and was now contemplating the best way to murder him..." ? I would definitely recommend moving the last part, " the few patrons left in the bar forming up behind him." into its own sentence. "The few patrons left in the bar were a relatively small group, but definitely forming into a wanna-be mob." Or even "would-be mob"? Though now I'm just putting words into your mouth "Turning towards him..." Oh no you don't, you don't get away with that with me helping proofread! "Turning toward him..." "The portly tavern's owner..." I see what you're doing here, but it looks at first like a typo. I'd say "The portly tavern owner..." instead. "I’ll have this little ‘infestation’ of yours taken care of in no time."" Now this might just be me, but I think you should remove the quotes there. "I’ll have this little infestation of yours taken care of in no time."" seems to me to be both more effective in showing your point and more along the lines of his actual beliefs. "...by any one of these country backbreakers." The words "any one" caught me up. Maybe "a single one" or "even one" would read more smoothly. "...buoyed by a rousing chorus of gruff ‘yeah’s from his mates." The quote seems informal here. I wonder if you could get away with "gruff assents" instead? "...in the ways that ignorant miner had in mind." I'm thinking "...in the ways that that ignorant miner..." or "...in the ways that the ignorant miner..." "...making her dead wasn't compatible with his mission to return her to the Collectors at Devonswyrd." Again, it just seems wrong to me. Not sure why, but I think a comma would help. "...making her dead wasn't compatible with his mission, to return her to the Collectors at Devonswyrd." Or maybe it's just the contraction, disrupting the natural rhythm of the statement? "...making her dead was not compatible with his mission to return her to the Collectors at Devonswyrd." I might have mentioned this before, (I'm not going to check) but I think that contractions are okay in a certain mood or style of writing, but that they stand out in yours. They're fine when you're quoting a character, for example, but they detract from any other sentence. "The look she shot him as she stood up made it clear..." I kind of get the sense that you're squeezing too much information in here. I don't know what to recommend. Lookie that, a perfect example: From between gritted teeth, he ground out a simple, "That won’t be necessary." He should have known the ox wouldn’t be smart enough to let it go at that. The first contraction, "won't", is barely even noticable. It fits with what one would expect. People naturally speak like that. But the second is obvious, to me at least. Also, I'd add a "that": "He should have known that the ox would not be smart enough..." "...just become the first person ever to take him down." Or, "...just become the first person to ever take him down." "He turned towards..." Gah! "He turned toward..." "... It wasn't until they were well away from the tavern that Djaz let himself curse and shake out his aching hand." The last statement is good, I like the effect. But the ellipses, I think, do not need to be there. (Those are yours this time ) Out of time again, ever with the intention of making time just for this story, Katzaniel